Here we go! I'm about to get so much done this weekend. Hopefully the story keeps progressing and I don't hit a creative block.
Let's get to it.
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I hate flashbacks.
That day… that mission… it's going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
"I'm terrified of you"
The tone of her voice, the tears, and the fear in her eyes will forever be engraved into my memory; but she was still here and Obito wasn't and that's why he was the one to plague my dreams still three years later.
I stood there looking at myself in the bathroom mirror a little bit longer before going to get dressed for the day. I had a meeting with the Hokage this afternoon and I needed to pull myself together before then, he already knew that I was a mess of a person, but I didn't need to give him another reason to worry about me. He always tells Minato-Sensei my condition and I wasn't feeling much like facing him today. "I really hope this isn't anything to worry about…" I thought out loud while pulling my shoes on.
…
The morning air was cool against the exposed part of my face reminding me that the year was coming to an end. I haven't been keeping tabs on the time passing over the past year, I wasn't doing anything exciting enough to compel me to do so. Seasons changed without me even realizing it, holidays came and went, I just kept going forward through it all.
I walked through the village with my hands in my pockets, taking in the silence of the early morning. Most people were just getting out of bed as the sun began to peek over the great stone faces. This was always my favorite time of day; I could get in some morning exercises before anyone got to the training grounds. I kept a steady pace, taking a long route to get to my destination this morning. I had plenty of time to kill before I had to be responsible.
"KAKASHI!" A voice screamed from somewhere behind me.
Why was he awake so early?
Guy came jogging up next to me. "Kakashi, where are you headed so early?" He had that glint in his eyes. I loathed him, but he could be considered my best friend. We were "lifelong rivals" as he called us, always trying to compete against me and win, regardless of what the challenge was.
"What do you want Guy?" I said sighing and closing my eyes, keeping my pace as he jogged beside me matching my walking speed.
I could feel his smile without even looking at him. "What do you say to a little competition!" his enthusiasm was killing me, there goes my peaceful morning. "A little race to the training grounds, I'm sure that's where you're headed correct?" His voice was so brash. I looked over to him, his strange bowl cut black hair…the weird all green body suit that he always wore.
Sigh
"Alright Guy." I stopped and crouched down, putting my gloved hands on the ground and getting into sprinting position. "Let's get this done with." I said. I might as well get this over with for the day. It would be good speed training as well; it was always easier to train this way with another person.
His face lit up like he was expecting me to blow him off. "WOOOO! I WILL DEFEAT YOU WITH THE POWER OF YOUTH!" He got into position. "GO!" He screamed as we both took off quickly down the road ahead of us.
I jumped onto a nearby roof, keeping my speed as I sprinted over the houses. Guy was to the lower left of me sliding down a railing. He was keeping the low ground, weaving in and out of alleyways. Surprisingly he never lost speed through the sharp turns that he had to make, occasionally grabbing onto a balcony and pushing off the side of some of the houses to gain momentum.
I see what his plan was, if he was able to use the chakra built up in his feet to kick off hard enough, he would easily get ahead of me even though I had a straight shot from the rooftops. Smart move my friend. I slid down the side of an especially steep roof of a building, landing on a bridge over the river. Guy was in an alley behind me and would have to cross the bridge to get to the forest ahead.
I jumped from the edge landing on the water below, focusing my chakra into my feet so that I could stand on the water just out of sight from where he would be crossing. I uncovered my left eye and exposed my sharingan, I looked out toward where guy had been. The outline of his body moving unbelievably quick between the buildings just before the bridge. Guy had known that the moment he was out in the open he would have the advantage, building up enough momentum to fly past me, but I had a plan. I crouched near the side of the bridge, focusing chakra into the palms of my hands.
…NOW
I jumped and pushed the palms of my hands against the exposed edge of the bridge, flipping my body up at the same time that Guy's body was rushing past the same spot, landing a kick straight into his stomach, propelling him up into the air with a huge gust of air. I landed on the top edge of the bridge looking straight up. Maybe I took that a little too far…his speed matched with the strength of that kick was going to send him really high into the air. Shit, I need to make sure he's going to be okay.
In that moment I saw his body rushing right back at me, headfirst looking down at me. His face beet red, temples pulsating on the sides of his head.
SHIT. HE'S FINE.
"SECOND GATE OPEN, GATE OF HEALING!" He was speeding toward me remarkably fast, I barely had a chance to move out of the way and slide off the bridge on my back as he smashed part of the wooden bridge to smithereens, splinters shooting out in every direction and Guy straight into the water below him. He must have at least clipped me on the leg because I could feel the bruise already starting to form on my shin. Damnit my sharingan wasn't even fast enough to completely save me from his attack.
"WHAT A CHEAP SHOT KAKASHI!" He yelled from the river. He was right, but he got me back, so I didn't feel bad about it anymore.
"WHAT ABOUT YOU?! YOU OPENED THE SECOND GATE ON ME!" I yelled right back at him as I got to my feet walking over to where the bridge had been destroyed. I looked down at him as he was brushing himself off. He sighed and jumped up next to me. "This is why you're my lifelong rival Kakashi." He brought his fist up to me. I did the same and we knocked our fists together. "I think we can call this one a tie". I said smiling at him, although I'm sure he couldn't tell with my mask covering my face. I pulled my headband back over my left eye.
He smiled back at me. "I suppose you're right. I have some things that I need to attend to now anyway."
"Until next time". I lowered my fist and placed my hands back into my pockets and turned to walk back toward the training grounds. "But you're paying for the bridge." I said with a smirk. I think I heard him laugh before he disappeared back into the alleys of the village.
I sighed. Yeah, I guess he is my best friend. Although, I could never admit that to him. He would get too much gratification from hearing that, can't let Guy have a bigger ego than he already does.
…
It was getting to brighter as the sun had washed over the village, everyone was out and had already started their days by the time Guy and I had parted ways. I didn't realize how much time had passed during our little competition and I'm not sure that I was going to have any time to train before my meeting with Lord Third. I redirected myself and headed toward his office, if I took my time, I wouldn't have to worry about being too early.
I walked through one of the smaller districts, on the outer edges of the village. This area had a lot of shops that sold goods collected from around the nations by shinobi during their travels. They would give the items to families that owned businesses in this district so that they could get some money for the items. This is what I loved about Konoha, everybody looked out for each other, asking nothing in return.
I walked by a small shop, baskets of shiny jewelry lining the shelves throughout the small building, some beautiful home décor pieces hanging on the walls. "Kakashi!" A small voice called from inside.
"Hey there Kora!" I said as the little girl ran up to me giving me a big hug. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. "How's my favorite girl doing?" I smiled down at her when she let go of me and backed up a few steps.
She giggled. "I've been working on my chakra control!" She said proudly. "Do you want to see?!" Excitement seemed to be bursting out of her tiny body from all angles. She was 5 years old, beautiful blonde hair that waved down her back and bright green eyes just like her mother. I've been coming by the shop since the day she was born. Her mother had known my father, they were childhood friends and she had made me promise after my father died that I would continue to come visit. So, when Kora was born, I made sure to keep that promise and came by at least once or twice a month depending on my missions. I watched this kid grow up and since she learned to talk, she told me that she wanted to be just like me when she grew up. If only she knew how badly I hoped that she wouldn't. That didn't stop me from teaching her the basics of being a ninja though.
"Of course!" I said happily. I loved watching her show me her newly developed skills. She would be top of her class at the academy when she attended in the spring if she kept it up.
Her face turned from a smiling mess to completely focused. She closed her eyes and let her arms hang at her sides taking a deep breath before bawling her right fist. I saw a small glow on her tiny hand moments before her fist met my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I wasn't expecting a sucker punch from the tiny child, let alone something that would have any impact. She quickly crouched down and swiped her foot at my ankles, knocking me to the ground with a thud. Damn she was getting strong.
"KAKASHI ARE YOU OKAY?" Kora's mother's voice sounding panicked came from behind me. She ran up and stopped with her hands on her hips. "Kora! What did I tell you about picking on him?"
I laughed as I got back to my feet. "It's okay Ms. Kitsaku, I'm perfectly fine. Kora was just showing me some of her new moves." I reached over and ruffled Kora's hair. "Good job! You're going to surpass me one day if you keep it up kiddo!" She grumbled at the title. She hates when I call her a kid.
"I'm not a kid anymore y'know!" She shouted at me and I couldn't help to laugh. "You'll always be a kid too me KIDDO." I emphasized the last part to annoy her. She was an awesome child, the closest thing to a sister that I would ever have. "I do have to get going though, I have a meeting with Lord Third to attend." I smiled and grabbed her into another hug. "I'll be back soon to visit, and we can spend some more time together, okay?" She let out a sigh of disappointment. "I wish I could meet the Hokage." She said.
I pushed her away again, crouching down to her level and holding onto her shoulders. "Well, one day you will, but one day you'll be Hokage and kids will want to meet you too". I said with a smile. I really hope that she would hold onto that dream for the rest of her childhood. She had so much potential, she could be anything she wanted. She seemed to like my answer because she nodded her head before turning to run back into the shop. A hand fell on my shoulder as I stood up. "Thank you Kakashi." Ms. Kitsaku said before following her daughter inside.
I turned to leave once again. I wasted enough time here that I would have to hurry to the Hokage's office if I didn't want to be late.
Who am I kidding? He knew I wouldn't be on time...
Just getting lost on the path of life again.
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I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed about this chapter but I DON'T CARE. This might be my favorite one yet. I love writing Kakashi's softer side.
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