Chapter 45 - Rosebay Rhododendron

"Yamato-san's house isn't much of a walk, which is why a certain someone can sneak over here so easily," Nadeshiko explained, a block or two away. Kotoji was holding tightly onto Yakata's shirt, still, but not his hand. "We should get there in just a few minutes."

Yakata was still holding the narcissus. "Oh, I… I see."

In holding the flower, logic nudged gently against his mind for the third time, and given that Nadeshiko was finally there, his questions exited through his mouth. "So, um, Nadeshiko-san?"

"Yes?"

"Kotoji-kun, you, you obviously know that he can, um. Can grow things like he can, right?"

"Ah, yes. Since I've known him."

"So… so, why is that? That he can do this, I-I mean…" Yakata thought for a second more. "He's not an Uchiha, so, so is he related to that, that Senju family? With the… what did you—ah, the, um, Wood Release?"

"I suppose you could say that. His father, Yamato-san—you'll probably be introduced someday—does has that same gift as the First Hokage, who was a Senju. But he doesn't have a clan, and neither does Kotoji-kun."

"Senzu? Oh yeah, I'm a Senzu," Kotoji piped in, cheerfully, tugging on Yakata's shirt to get his attention. "Just like Daddy."

"Oh, um. So… it's, it's just a coincidence, then?" Yakata said, looking back at Nadeshiko.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Nadeshiko replied. "There are many people out there without clans, but with gifts of their own that you'd only find in a clan. But Yamato-san's an odd case. Even I don't know the whole story."

"Ah…"

She looked back at him, smiling. "Don't worry so much about it. Some things are just hard to understand. Family's one of them."

Yakata smiled back, slightly. "Yeah, I guess that's true…"

Yamato's house was on the second floor of an apartment complex a few blocks from the flower shop. They walked up the stairs and onto its outdoor walkway together. Kotoji didn't take his time, letting go of Yakata to climb up on his hands and feet, like an animal, and running forward until Nadeshiko caught him by the hand, which caused him to lapse into a fit of giggles.

"Come on, now, you're not escaping again," she said, though her voice was only barely playful. Kotoji wriggled out of her loose grip and went back to Yakata, hiding behind his legs and peeking out from behind him, hands clinging to Yakata's shorts.

That taken care of, Nadeshiko went forward a few doors until she came to the one marked 284, and she knocked on it.

An older man with half of his face covered by a mask answered the door. His hair was entirely white, and though he did not seem as old as Inoichi, he carried himself far more heavily. The one eye that Yakata could see (the other concealed by a bandage wrapped around his head) was small and very tired, and wrinkled.

Kotoji ran forward, immediately, and wrapped himself around the man's legs. "Kakashi!"

"There you are. I hope he didn't cause you much trouble, Nadeshiko-chan."

"Not at all. He was considerably well-behaved today… beyond running off, of course," she replied.

"Of course." Kakashi looked down at the little boy. "And did we have fun today out there, hm?"

Kotoji nodded eagerly. "I made a friend! His name's Yataka. I gave him a flower. It's his favorite."

"Oh really. And where is this 'Yataka?'" Kakashi stepped out of the apartment, looking around, eye creased with a smile, not expecting to see anything.

What he saw instead was.

Well.

"…Kotoji, go inside." He stepped in front of the boy, a hand reaching out and barring his exit from the door.

"Aw, but why?"

"Just go inside, I have to talk to Nadeshiko-chan about something." His voice was low, almost quavering. "Now."

Kotoji's eyes filled with a sudden, shiny fear, and he shrunk back into the apartment, hanging around the doorframe. Kakashi half-closed the door behind him, keeping one hand on the doorknob.

"Nadeshiko-chan," he said, "who is this boy?"

"This is Honbo Yakata," she replied, gesturing back toward him. "Our family's hosting him for the summer, while my father trains him. Yakata-kun, this is Hatake Kakashi-sama, my father's old sensei."

Yakata suddenly and awkwardly bowed. "Very pleased to meet you, sir…!" he said. "I, I, I recognize you from the, from the cliff side. It's an, an, an honor to meet you, Hokage-san!"

"Yakata, please, you don't need to be formal. Kakashi-sama's an old friend."

(Every shivering, hesitant action seemed to defy his form. His was a body made for birdwing movements and sharp glances and beautiful, deadly grace.)

"…your father's training him?"

"Yes. Apparently," she looked back at him, almost fondly, "he shows a great amount of potential."

"Th-that's what he says, anyways… I, I, I dunno about that, though…" Yakata added, an almost unwilling smile on his face.

(Prodigy, murderer, martyr.)

(Kakashi's hands were starting to shake.)

"…how?" Kakashi's voice was barely a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Nadeshiko's face held a rare, soft concern.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

(The emptiness where his left eye used to be almost seemed to burn. His palm left the doorknob and pressed against it, in reflex.)

"Kakashi-sama, is everything all right?" She stepped forward, Yakata hanging back.

"Just fine. Excuse me." He cleared his throat. "Thank you for bringing Kotoji-kun back. I really…"

(Those eyes again, dark and on a child's face, but, but…)

"…appreciate it."

"It was no trouble at all. Kakashi-sama, really. Is something the matter?"

(He couldn't stop staring at the boy, hands holding a narcissus flower, face holding an emotion he'd never seen before.)

(Surely Itachi, the great sacrificial man, had never felt so unsure of himself?)

"No, I was just… worried about Kotoji-kun. But I figured you'd get him home safely." He waved his hand. "Thank you, again. Goodbye."

"Oh. Goodbye then, Kakashi-sama. Say hello to Yamato-san for me, then."

Kakashi didn't reply, just bending his head.

He went back into the apartment and closed the door behind him, and locked it.

"Na-Nadeshiko-san?" Yakata finally spoke once they were well down the stairs, and back onto the road.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Kakashi-sama, he… wh-wh-why was he s-staring at me like that?" He swallowed. "Was I, was I doing something wrong?"

"…you were doing nothing wrong, Yakata-kun," she replied.

(Because she had no other answer.)

(But she'd seen that look many times before, when she was very young. She thought it was an expression reserved only for her, and this fact ached in her chest.)

(She kept it well away from Yakata. He didn't deserve to touch that pain.)

They returned to the flower shop, to lunch and a gradual resettling, a return to comforting monotony, and Inoichi's gossip.

("Kurenai-san came by right after you all left.")

("Buying flowers for Asuma-san?")

("Always. I told her you said hello.")

Kakashi returned to Kotoji, who was tugging on his pants legs again. "Kakashi, you're not mad at me, are you?"

"No, Kotoji, I'm not mad at you. But I don't want you out of my sight until your father gets home." Kakashi had to sit down. "You understand?"

"Okay. Can we play?" He looked up, his eyes bright, and hopeful.

Kakashi put a hand on the boy's head, fingers brushing against the back of his neck and its red-freckled skin, but he couldn't offer anything more.

"Yes, Kotoji, go get a book. I'll read to you."

Kakashi could read automatically and still have room to think.

"Yay! Okay, okay, okay!"

Kotoji brought him a comic book; the Hokage one, with the green cover. Nadeshiko had given it to him as a present a month or so before. Kakashi had managed to get over his embarrassment in reading it for Kotoji's sake, because Yamato seemed to have no problem with reading it, and as such, it had become a favorite. And favorites meant repeat readings.

Words came out of his mouth as he read to the boy on the couch, but he didn't really hear them. Thoughts swarmed in his mind.

Best case.

(It was all in his head, just like all the others.)

Best case.

(Just like the six-tails, like Yukio-Kiine, like the boy with the heart in his hand.)

Best case.

(Itachi was dead. Certifiably.)

Worst case.

(Kakashi would rather die than let any harm come to Kotoji.)

Yamato came home to them together on the couch, a pile of small cardstock readers on the floor, the Hokage comic long since tired of. Kotoji ran to greet him and fold himself into his father's embrace. "Da-addy!"

"Hey, buddy! I missed you." He rubbed his face against Kotoji's, closing his eyes. "Things go all right while I was gone, Kakashi-san?"

Kakashi rose and began toward the door.

"Kakashi-san?"

"He was fine. I'm sorry, I have somewhere to be."

Yamato kept him from leaving with a hand on his shoulder, the other arm holding Kotoji to his chest. "Kakashi-san, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Nothing happened. I just remembered something I needed to do."

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I keep you from something? I hope I don't make you late for anything."

"I'll be fine. Just…" And Kakashi looked up with a rare and frightening wariness on his face. "Don't leave the house until I call you. Keep Kotoji close to you."

Yamato's face froze. "…Kakashi-san, what's going on."

"Just do as I say. It's a… a precaution. It's probably nothing. I won't take long."

And Kakashi pushed past Yamato and was gone in a blur, leaving the man clinging to his son in a vague terror, his grip tightening just that little bit.

"Hey, Daddy, guess what? I made a friend today," Kotoji said.

Yamato closed the door and locked it behind him.

And waited for Kakashi to call him.

Kakashi found Sasuke at Training Ground no. 19. It was a nice area, slightly forested. Finding him wasn't terribly difficult, with Kakashi's only needed action being a quick stop at the academy to see who'd registered with which field that day, after a onceover of the Uchiha family's training grounds turned up no results.

He was training with his student in the chuunin exams. Senritsu. The name had made its way over to even Kakashi—naturally, through Naruto. He and Sasuke were only barely visible; they were moving so fast, on the ground, between the trees.

In an earlier time, Kakashi would have been able to follow their movements easily. But Kakashi was now old, and tired, and other thoughts preoccupied him.

"Sasuke!" he called out.

The movement stopped, and Sasuke suddenly materialized, dropping out of a tree. There was a leaf in his hair, which he removed with his fingers, and a barely annoyed look on his face. His student remained invisible.

"Kakashi-sensei," he said. "What is it?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Why, what's the matter."

"Who is that boy you're training?"

Sasuke's expression stiffened, like a cat's. "What boy? My student?"

There was a rustle in the tree above them, and Kakashi saw a brown, sideways face emerged shortly thereafter. "You talking about me, Sensei…?" His large eyes blinked. "Oh, H-Hokage-sama…! Hello there…!"

Kakashi nodded, slightly (a formality) and returned to Sasuke. "Not him. I mean the boy you're keeping at your house." It was an effort to remember his name, when the face belonged to another, clearly. "Yakata."

Sasuke's expression did not change.

"…Go'on, you can go home."

"Oh, are we done training for the day…?"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, uh, okay then. See you tomorrow, Sasuke-sensei." The boy named Go'on did not look scared, nor happy, but his eyes were very wide. He disappeared into the tree and with a rustle was gone.

Sasuke was almost chest to chest with Kakashi a moment later. "Explain this. Who told you about him?"

"I saw him this afternoon. A few hours ago."

"Where. Who was he with."

Sasuke's red eyes were spinning.

"He was with Nadeshiko-chan when she dropped Kotoji off-"

"HE WAS WITH NADESHIKO?"

Kakashi breathed, slowly, patiently.

(Perhaps that had been a mistake. But he had to say it.)

"Yes, he was."

"Oh, why am I not surprised…!" Sasuke's breathing was heavy, and agitated. "I knew it, I should have…!"

"Sasuke." Kakashi grabbed him by the arm before he could leave. "Who is he?"

Sasuke paused. His shoulders rose and fell. His eyes burned in their sockets. "Why do you want to know."

"Why do you think, Sasuke."

Another few seconds of angered breathing.

Sasuke made another start. Kakashi pulled.

"Sasuke. Who is that boy, and why does he look like Itachi?"

"He doesn't look like-"

"I can't forget things I've seen, Sasuke, and neither can you. Who is he?"

Sasuke's body loosened very, very slightly. "It's… hard to explain. But honestly, why was he out with her…? I have to get home-"

Pull. "Sasuke, wait. What's so hard to explain?"

"…why do you even want to know," he said again.

"Because when I see a boy walking around that looks very painfully like your late brother, Sasuke," Kakashi said, meaning every word, "it's bound to raise some questions in my mind. I knew him too, you know."

"…not like I did," Sasuke said, quietly. He yanked his arm out of Kakashi's grip, but he otherwise didn't move. "It's none of your business, anyways, he's just a … boy I'm caring for."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you caring for him? You're not the most altruistic person I know, Sasuke. You don't do things like this."

Sasuke's eyes burned holes into the ground. "Shut up. Why are you even asking me about this?"

"Sasuke, look at me." Kakashi held him captive with his words. "Just tell me what's going on. I won't be able to rest easily until you do."

There was a pained, resigned knowingness in Sasuke's sigh. "Just… just ask Sakura about it. She knows what's going on. Now let me go home."

"Sakura?"

"I… told her everything I know. About him."

"So she'll tell me, but you won't?"

"I can't. Now let me go," he said, "before something happens."

"…only if you promise I'll get answers from her."

"…I promise, if you'll leave me alone about this after you get your precious answers."

Given Sasuke, Kakashi had to take what he could get.

He was gone as soon as Kakashi said that he would.

Kakashi left for the hospital.

Sakura was busy.

He said he would wait, and he did.

He held his hands in each other in the lobby and tried to keep his mind from those darker places.

Sasuke had always been… disagreeable. Since the beginning. But his avoidant attitude there…

Kakashi tried to tell himself that he was angrier about Nadeshiko than about him. He knew how much that girl bothered him.

(And it bothered Kakashi, for the longest time, how much hatred Sasuke carried within him because of that. But it wasn't his place to say anything.)

(Not any more, anyways.)

(Though he and Yamato both had assured her that they were fine with her being around Kotoji, and that, most importantly, they were fine with her, once it became apparent that she had become included in Kotoji's group of Most Favorite People.)

(Her fear of being so adored was, at first, confusing, and then blindingly sad, once Kakashi worked his head around it.)

The thought of Sakura having answers for him was a bare comfort.

It was an effort, staying afloat in this sea of impossibility and suspicion.

Sakura finally arrived a good 45 minutes later. She was still wearing her white coat, and she looked like she'd rushed there. "Sorry for making you wait, Kakashi-sensei. What's going on?"

He looked up, stood up. "Can we take this to your office? I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."

(She noticed that his thin hands were tightened into trembling fists.)

"…sure, it's no trouble."

She made sure to close the door behind her once they arrived. The sky was turning a bloody orange in the windows behind her. "So what's going on, is everything okay?" she said. They both remained standing, her by her desk, Kakashi lingering by the doorway.

"Sakura, who is Honbo Yakata?"

She paused. Considering her options, most likely. "…did Sasuke tell you about him?"

"No, I ran into him on accident, and he left… a bit of an impression on me. I went to Sasuke about it later."

Sakura chewed on a corner of her lip. "Knowing you… I bet he would. So what did Sasuke tell you?"

"Nothing. I told him that I saw the boy out with Nadeshiko-chan and it upset him too much to talk, I think."

A sharp intake of breath. "Oh… yeah, he probably really didn't like that…"

"He told me I could talk to you about it. And I figured he wasn't lying just to get me off his back."

Sakura looked at her desk.

"…so who is he, Sakura?"

So she told him.

The first question Kakashi asked, once she was all done, was, "How many others know about this?"

"Well, counting you… me, Sasuke—obviously—and Karin. That's four of us. And my family knows some bare details, but certainly not as much as us." A pause. "And he introduced Yakata-kun to Naruto, but Naruto doesn't know the… full story."

"And Karin?"

"Well, I already told you, I contacted her first about finding those cells in Taki Kiine's blood. Since Yakata has the same cells, we're thinking they might be linked. Karin's trying to help as best as she can in the meantime by sending me copies of reports on Itachi and anything else she can find in… Orochimaru's old files."

"And that's her hypothesis, that he's behind it?"

"It's our strongest lead so far. I mean, everyone thought he was gone, but, well…" She folded her arms and sighed. "That was what he was known for, wasn't he. Dramatic comebacks."

Kakashi's fingers were tightly pressed into his palms. "Perhaps it's for the best we stay on the down-low about this."

"Ah?"

"Even I can tell that we have too little evidence to make any… official announcements. We have a ten-year-old clone of Uchiha Itachi, and a strange pattern of chakra saturation in blood cells linking him to Taki Kiine, and that's about it. If I were in charge, I'd wait."

"Seems that's what we're doing anyways," Sakura said, "given that Naruto's been kept out of the loop."

"Probably for the best, I think," Kakashi said. "He's got enough on his plate as it is with the chuunin exams, and given how little evidence there is, it wouldn't be wise to start an investigation now. You should keep me informed of further developments, though. Regardless of how little is actually going on, it's…"

"…uncomfortable, I know. It scares me how in the dark we really are, all things considered." Sakura's fingers tightened over her elbows. "To think, this might be just the tip of the iceberg…"

Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder. It was steady. "Or it might not be. Let's not panic for now. For all we know, we could just be seeing the remains of an experiment that ended long ago."

She smiled, only slightly uneasy. "Yeah. Thanks for handling this so well, Kakashi-sensei."

"I just wanted to know what was going on. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be."

"Really? What did you, ah, think was happening…?"

Kakashi didn't respond.

"…never mind." Sakura shook her head. "Well, Kakashi-sensei, I'll… keep you informed."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." A great deal of stress left his body when he exhaled.

(And yet, so much remained.)

"I'll be heading home, now. You take care."

"You too, Kakashi-sensei."

He went home with his hands in his pockets, his eye to the ground, almost shut.

He didn't even think of talking to Sasuke again. He had his precious answers, hazy and unsettling.

Instead, he had to talk to Yamato. He had made a promise, after all, hadn't he?

(He hadn't made a promise. But Yamato must have been so worried.)

His voice sounded almost calm on the other end of the line. "Hello, Yamato here."

"It's me."

"Kakashi-san? What happened? I've been holed up here with Kotoji and just scared out of my wits about what you said when you left. What's going on?"

"…nothing's going on. I was just… mistaken about something. There's nothing to be worried about."

"Well what were you mistaken about?"

"…I thought I saw someone that could have hurt…" You. "Hurt Kotoji." Yes. "It was just a trick of my imagination."

"Someone? Who?"

The memory in negative burned in his mind. His grip on the phone tightened. "Uchiha… Itachi. I thought I saw him." It was an effort, injecting a bare layer of self-depreciating disbelief, in the hopes that it would offset… whatever Yamato would think.

It worked. "…why in the world would you think that? He-"

"I know, I know, it's impossible. That's why there's nothing to worry about. I was just… imagining it."

He couldn't have helped how he had reacted, but even then, he could have done better.

"Yamato, I… apologize for scaring you. It's my fault."

"But why did you-"

"Listen, just… forget it."

Cold, static silence. "…all right, Kakashi-san. I just hope you're all right. I mean, if you thought you saw him…"

"I'm fine, Yamato. Just… tired."

"…well, then, get your rest. Don't push yourself too hard. Take care of yourself."

"I will, Yamato. And…" Sigh. "And apologize to Kotoji-kun for me, if I ended up scaring him too."

A mild laugh. It helped. "I get the feeling he was more than fine, Kakashi-san."

"That's good, then. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi did not have a very good night.

And as it happened, neither did Sasuke.