11. And We Note Our Place With Bookmarkers

Kakashi Hatake sat on the red sofa in his apartment, casually flipping through the pages of his favorite hentai novel by lamplight. It was a cozy little apartment – messy, but not glaringly so. The beige carpeting was clear, with various pieces of furniture – chairs and end tables, mostly – arranged around the average-sized television. Old magazines and completed novels were strewn carelessly across the coffee table, and the fluorescent light in the kitchenette flickered intermittently behind him as he read.

He glanced momentarily at the clock beside his lamp, making sure he actually had enough time to finish his current chapter before getting around to grading papers for the next day. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to grade them, because he really did care about his students and wished to monitor their success, but at the same time he had to see which twin Susanne would marry in the latest Make Out Paradise novel. So, seeing that it was only 6:30, Kakashi flicked the page over and commenced his reading, only to hear a dramatic pounding on his door moments later.

Now, who could that be?

Clamping his book shut, the eccentric teacher rose and moseyed over to the door, which he casually pulled open, watching as the misty rain blew into the apartment. There, standing in his doorway, was a certain raven-haired teen who stood rubbing his bare arms vigorously as he glared up at the man.

"Ah, Sasuke," Kakashi said, stepping to the side, "please, come in."

Sasuke stomped inside and shook some of the excess water from his borrowed shorts as he kicked off his shoes. No longer sopping wet, the Uchiha started for the bathroom, only to be stopped by Kakashi after a few steps.

"So, how did things go with Naruto this afternoon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke said, brushing the teacher's hand from his shoulder.

"Oh, I see. When did you start liking orange, then?" Kakashi asked, indicating the Uchiha's glaring shorts.

Sasuke glanced at his clothes for a moment and, realizing that lying would be useless, heaved a conceding sigh. "It was a disaster, all right?"

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?" the silver-haired man asked as he took a seat on the couch.

"Like you don't know," Sasuke snapped as he started once more towards the bathroom. "You planned for all of this, didn't you?"

"You're still going on about that, huh?" Kakashi muttered, taking a seat on the sofa.

It was true, of course. He had hoped that Sasuke would be paired with Naruto after seeing the connection between the two. But he certainly hadn't set them up; it was just a lucky coincidence. Kakashi knew that he would have a tough time convincing Sasuke of this, though, so instead he decided to continue feigning ignorance. Things were just easier that way.

"Now, are you going to tell me what happened, or do you just plan to sulk for the rest of the night?" Kakashi said, prying open his book once more.

Sasuke froze in his tracks and glared at the teacher over his shoulder. "You want to know what happened? You suddenly care about my feelings, now that you've already forced Naruto on me? Now you want me to feel like I'm in control, just so you can learn how your plan's going? Well, fine! I'll tell you! I told him all about Itachi and my parents! I opened up to him, let him know every little detail about my tortured past! Are you happy?!"

"Yes," Kakashi murmured, turning the page of his book absent-mindedly. "Now we're getting somewhere. So, if you were telling Naruto all about your past, why did you decide to come over here? It doesn't sound like things were going bad to me."

"You would think that," Sasuke said with a scowl. "Why can't you just accept that I don't want to get close to Naruto?"

"I think you're just afraid of what he means to you."

"Maybe I am! Is there something wrong with that? Haven't I been through enough in my life?" the Uchiha exclaimed, finally turning to face his teacher. "I don't want to be left alone like that again!"

"But if you keep pushing everyone away, Sasuke, you're going to be just as alone," Kakashi replied, setting down his book as he turned his full attention to the raven-haired youth. "I know it's hard to lose someone you care about, but you have to grow from that experience and move on."

"What about Obito?" Sasuke asked with an accusing sneer. "Aren't you just as guilty? Or are you going to tell me that you don't visit his grave every morning before school?"

He's got me there…

"This isn't about me, Sasuke. You know perfectly well how important Naruto is to you, and you can't just keep running away from it. Sooner or later you'll have to accept that."

"I don't have to do anything! I don't need you or Naruto… or anyone! I'm better off alone anyway," Sasuke muttered, turning his head awkwardly to the side.

"Now, I know you don't really believe that," Kakashi replied, raising his eyebrow skeptically.

"Yes, I do! I don't need anyone!" the Uchiha stammered, though he intentionally avoided Kakashi's gaze.

"Then why did you come here today?"

Sasuke froze, his eyes unfocused as he let the words sink in. It was only for a brief moment, a flinch really, and as soon as the initial shock wore off his scowl returned, but it was too late – Kakashi already knew he'd won.

"Look, I know it's easier to say that you don't need anyone, to pretend that you don't care about the rest of the world, but it's all a lie, Sasuke," Kakashi continued, studying the Uchiha as he spoke. "Deep down, you know that other people do matter to you, people like Itachi, Shikamaru… and even Naruto. As much as you may think you're keeping them out of your life, you're subconsciously letting them in because you need someone to rely on, someone to help ease your burdens in times of trouble. It's not some big conspiracy where we're all trying to force ourselves on you; it's just what we do. We form bonds, even if we don't really know why. Do you know what I mean, Sasuke?"

"Whatever," Sasuke said with a dismissive wave of his hand as he started for the bathroom.

"Well, in any case, leave your wet things outside the door, okay? I'll try to get the dried for tomorrow."

The Uchiha's response was a mere grunt as he slammed the bathroom door shut, causing Kakashi to heave an exasperated sigh.

Sometimes I hate that kid…

Of course, Kakashi knew this was an exaggeration, but he couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by his conversation with Sasuke. Even though he had come out on top, the teen had gotten a few good jabs in, a fact that the teacher found quite disconcerting. Was he really just a hypocrite? Sure, he was still dealing with Obito's death, but that really put him in the same position as Sasuke? No, that was different. Sasuke was resisting these new relationships; Kakashi simply wasn't ready to move on.

It wasn't even that particular aspect of the conversation that bothered Kakashi the most, though. The problem was that, deep down, the silver-haired man knew that, even if Sasuke recognized how foolish his actions were, he was stubborn enough to cling to them just to spite the rest of the world. He wasn't stupid, of course – Sasuke was always at the top of his class, after all – but at the same time he didn't like being proven wrong. Somehow, even after hearing Kakashi's reasoning that night, by the next morning the Uchiha would be back to pushing people away. Sometimes Kakashi had to wonder whether his efforts were truly worthwhile. He knew it was the right thing to do, and he wanted nothing more than to make Sasuke happy, but if nothing ever came of it, was it better just to let the teen do whatever he wanted?

No… that's not right. Sasuke knows he's wrong… we just have to get him to accept that fact. Maybe, just maybe, Naruto can convince him that these human connections are a good thing…

Before Kakashi could dwell on this much longer, he heard the shower start running and decided to get moving. He walked over to the bathroom, where he found Sasuke's drenched clothes laying on the carpet. After bundling these up and tucking them underneath his arm, the teacher started on his way out of the apartment for the laundry room. Just before stepping out into the dwindling storm, he grabbed an umbrella from off the wall began opening it as he threw open the door. It was then that Kakashi noticed a police officer with long, white hair standing in his doorway, his hand extended as if he was about to knock.

"Ah, Kakashi! Just the man I was looking for," the man said with a grin, tucking his hand into his dark blue uniform. "You got a minute?"

"Sure, Jiraiya," Kakashi replied, raising his black umbrella to shield both him and his guest. "I just need to throw some of Sasuke's clothes in the dryer."

"Oh, so Sasuke's here? What happened this time?" the older man inquired with a knowing smirk. "Romance troubles?"

"Yeah, you could say that… but I know you didn't come here just to make small talk, Jiraiya. What've you learned?"

"Hmm, no foolin' you, huh?" the officer chuckled as they walked stepped into the laundry room. "Well, it's probably for the best that we stay away from Sasuke for now, if you catch my drift."

"So it's Itachi, then?" Kakashi inferred, throwing the Uchiha's damp clothes into the dryer. "Can you hand me one of those dryer sheets there?"

Jiraiya pulled one of the sheets from a nearby box and handed it to his friend. "Yeah, we've found a couple of witnesses who can connect Itachi to Akatsuki – Zabuza Momochi and his adoptive son, Haku. Apparently they were neighbors of Kisame Hoshigaki over in Mizu before the Akatsuki merger, and they can confirm that Itachi met with both Kisame and Tobi about a week before the Uchiha murders."

"I see… so is your department ready to make a move, then?" Kakashi asked while depositing some quarters in the dryer.

"Well, that's just it. Even though this is a huge step forward, the fact is this case has been cold for so many years now. Right now, we have motive, and witnesses to support our theory, but it's all circumstantial at this point. Unless we can find some concrete evidence, we'll never be able to convince a jury of our theory."

"So, what are you planning to do, then?" the silver-haired teacher continued, leaning against a nearby washer. "Or do you need me to look in to something for you?"

"No, I couldn't ask you to do that," Jiraiya replied with a sigh. "We're working on getting a search warrant from the DA, but you know how Homura is. It might take us months to convince him that this is worthwhile, just because he wants to jerk us around. How an asshole like got to be in such a position of power is beyond me."

"Homura, huh? Yeah, I remember my dad talking about him from time to time. Sounds like a hassle," Kakashi mused before sitting in silence for a few moments, waiting for the officer to reply. When nothing was said, he sighed and placed a hand to his masked chin in thought. "Look, Jiraiya, you used to work on the force with Dad, and you've been there for me ever since he passed away. If there's something you need me to do, just say so and I'll do it."

"Yeah, I know you will," Jiraiya groaned in irritation, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he spoke. "That's just it, though. I don't want you to do this out of some gratitude towards me. You have to really mean it, all right?"

"Sure, sure… what is it?"

"Well, here's the thing," the white-haired officer began with a deep breath. "I know you've tried to be a father-figure for Sasuke ever since his parents died, but I still need to ask – if we make a move on Akatsuki, will you be willing to take over as Sasuke's guardian, at least during the trial period? Now, remember, I want you to really think about this, Kakashi. This is a big commitment we're talking about here, so don't just say yes because you think it'll make me happy."

Kakashi pretended to think about this for a second, closing his eyes tightly and furrowing his brow as he listened to the drone of the dryer. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked to Jiraiya with a smile. "Yes, I'd be honored to. In fact, if you can actually win your battle in court, I'll sign the adoption papers the next day."

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief, the tension flowing right out of his body. "Whew… you have no idea how good it is to hear you say that. I mean, we probably could've found another guardian if we had to, but I doubt they'd have Sasuke's best interests at heart. After all, if we can put Itachi away, Sasuke'll be the heir to the Uchiha fortune. Besides, as far as I can tell, Sasuke doesn't really care for that many people besides you."

"Yeah, he can be a bit picky at times," Kakashi admitted, glancing over at the timer on the dryer. "So… now that we've got that out of the way, do you mind if I ask how your next book is coming along?"

"Oh, that!" Jiraiya chuckled, pulling a small notepad out of his back pocket. "Well, it's been going pretty slowly, to tell you the truth. I haven't really had a chance to seek out any good inspiration."

"Hmm… is that because all the nude beaches are closed during the fall?" the teacher said with a knowing smirk.

"Nude beaches? Ha! No, I don't go to those kinds of places. It's all about finding the right girl in nature," the officer said, his eyes widening as he imagined the possible scenes. "Like this one time, I was taking a walk through the woods when I came upon a little spring. I heard some giggling there and peeked through the bushes to find a couple of girls skinny-dipping. Oh… I get all excited just thinking about it! That's what I mean by inspiration!"

Kakashi eyed the now-drooling man skeptically. "So you expect to just stumble upon some naked girl wherever you go?"

"All it takes is vigilance, Kakashi," Jiraiya replied, tucking the notepad back in his pocket. "You should join me sometime – see the master at work."

"I'll pass. I'd rather just read the finished product."

"Oh, that's right, you just like the romance. Well, I'll be sure to include a nice, sappy scene just for you, all right?"

"I'd like that," Kakashi said just as the dryer chimed. "Ah, well, I'd better get these clothes back to Sasuke."

"Sure, sure," Jiraiya replied, waving his hand as he stepped out of the laundry room. "Remember, I'm not sure if we'll ever get through to Homura, but you be prepared just in case, all right?"

"Of course," the teacher answered as he pulled the toasty clothes from the dryer. "And hurry up with that book. I can only read the same ones so many times."

"I'll see what I can do," the white-haired cop said, tipping his cap before departing into the sprinkling night.

With Sasuke's clothes in one hand and the umbrella in the other, Kakashi started back for his apartment, thinking over his conversation with Jiraiya as he went. He'd known that Jiraiya was investigating the Uchiha murders, but he had no idea just how close they were to making an arrest. Should he mention something to Sasuke about it? No, of course not – there was no need for Sasuke to know at this point. As far as Kakashi knew, Sasuke didn't even think that his brother could be involved. And what if Jiraiya was wrong? Sure, it made sense that Itachi might've had a hand in the deaths of his parents, but it wasn't worth putting that to chance. Yes, he would keep this to himself, at least for now. Maybe when it came closer to the trial, he could ease Sasuke into this new reality.

By the time Kakashi had reached this conclusion, he had already arrived outside his apartment, which he stepped inside after taking a breath. He would have to control himself, lest Sasuke realize that something was up. As luck would have it, though, Sasuke was nowhere to be found, and Kakashi felt a twinge of panic.

Great, did he run away again? But… where could he have gone? I have his clothes right here…

Before letting his thoughts go out of control, the teacher decided to check the guest bedroom, which he pried open just a crack so he could peer inside. Much to his relief, he found the raven-haired boy snoring gently, apparently feeling exhausted after his emotional evening.

"Good night, Sasuke," Kakashi whispered as he sealed the door shut.