Naruto roars and, together with his father, races ahead to launch his attack. For one split second, the whole world lights up, Kakashi can see it, even through the lids of his closed eyes, and then the sun sinks behind the horizon and it's over.
Just like that.
There are meaningful glances and meaningful words, apologies and promises, there's disintegration, and conflation, there are disagreements and then there is, at last, peace.
Kakashi isn't really part of anything that's happening around him, and he is fine with that. He wants to not have to watch them clear away the bodies. More than anything, he wants to go home.
He can't. Home is miles and miles away, and the General is needed for the peace talks, which, at this point should be a mere formality, but you can never be sure about that sort of thing.
Sakura is healing his wounds when he sees Gai and his team. Gai is carrying a bundle in his arms, a body wrapped in white linen. Neji.
This is where the grieving starts.
This is where they go their separate ways.
It takes him more than two weeks to get back to Konoha with Naruto, the rest of Team 7, Tsunade, Shizune and Chouza-san.
The night of their arrival, there's a festival with fireworks to celebrate the newly established peace.
Kakashi leaves the others to the festivities and wanders off.
He finds Gai in his apartment, standing by the window in his dark bedroom, his back to Kakashi.
The room lights up, green, blue, red, yellow, but Kakashi only finds himself standing in Gai's long shadow and Gai, Gai is wearing black.
Kakashi hesitates.
Were there fireworks after the Third War? He realizes that he can't even remember anymore. It was another life; something that happened to someone else entirely.
Does it matter? Kakashi walks up to the window and looks out onto the street. People are laughing and dancing, some are crying, but Kakashi's eye finds those other ones, the few faces in the crowd that are completely blank.
Next to him, Gai doesn't move.
I'm back, Kakashi could say.
Or I couldn't have done it without you.
Or I guess, we're still alive, huh?
He doesn't say anything.
Instead, Kakashi reaches out and takes Gai's hand.
Outside, another firework explodes into an orange flower, flooding the room with light and something close to warmth for one fleeting moment.