Sorry for how long this chapter took. I am at a block and it took me weeks to put this out.
I appreciate anyone who is still reading or waiting for updates. I promise it'll get better.
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The next morning Rin had left, waking me be just before the sun had come up to say her last goodbye. I had walked her to the village gates and watched as her and Tsunade walked into the forest, leaving me with the high that the last couple of months had given me.
A few short months later Minato-Sensei was promoted to be the Fourth Hokage as the war was ending. I had been personally invited to join the ANBU black ops working under the Hokage specifically as a bodyguard.
I had reclused myself again once Rin had left, not realizing how alone I had become before her accident. She was the only thing that I had to distract myself with, and when she left, it was like something was missing again, even if it was different this time.
The nightmares about Obito had come back full force as if they had never left, but this time they were accompanied by nightmares of Rin as well. Not that I hadn't had those before, but after all that had happened, I didn't expect them to return. Even worse, those were both accompanied by the ever so familiar feeling of suffocating and waking up drenched in a cold sweat.
I hate thinking back on the past anymore.
Today makes two years to the day since Rin had left for her training and I hadn't heard anything about where she was, what she was doing, or if she was even okay. The entire situation was nerve wrecking for the first year, but then I started trusting that this was how things were supposed to be. I had become numb after she had left, letting my emotions slip back into their familiar routine, which apparently made me perfect to join the ANBU. I had a certain 'Darkness' that they felt was needed to be an assassin. Guy and Kurenai were the only two of my peers who tried to stay in my life, and with Asuma having his focus on Kurenai, even she was distant sometimes.
I used my time in the ANBU to become stronger, even getting the nicknames "Copy Ninja" because of my Sharingan eye and the amount of jutsu that I had acquired because of it, and my least favorite, "Comrade Killer" because of what happened to Obito. Nobody would call me that to my face though, not only was I the captain, but I'm sure it was in fear of the same happening to them…Maybe it was better being feared than accepted.
The more time I spent among my new teammates, the less human I felt. I hardly recognized myself anymore when I was out on missions, I always left all my emotions at the village gates so that they wouldn't get in the way. Coming back from each mission made it harder to regain feeling though, that scared me more than anything. It was like I was a whole different person and as much as I hated the feeling, I also loved being able to forget.
…
I had spent the last week on guard duty outside of the Hokage's office, nothing exciting had been happening in the ANBU lately, so I asked to be put on light duty around the village until something important came up. I didn't like my talent to be wasted on missions that could be assigned to rookie members, of course my request was immediately granted being the head of the Hokage's security detail. I would watch as people walked in and out of the office; taking on mission requests, bringing documents to be signed, and the mountains of paperwork that needed reviewed and sent out to neighboring villages. Being the Hokage is not something that I would ever want to experience.
…
The door on my left creaked open slowly. Minato was standing on the other side.
"Kakashi, could you come into my office." He said, walking back to his desk on the opposite side of the large room.
I turned and walked through the door, closing it behind me, quickly taking a knee after entering, lowering my head respectfully. Although he had once just been my Sensei, Minato was now the Hokage, and I had to treat him as such even when alone in his presence. Even when time and time again he had told me that I could relax around him.
"Lord Hokage." I said with my head still bowed.
He cleared his throat. "Stand Kakashi, I don't need these formalities today." He threw himself into his chair and began rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "I'm having a horrible day and would love if my former student could just remember me for who I am for just a few minutes."
I nodded as I got to my feet and walked over to the grand windows behind his desk, sitting down and leaning my back against the one nearest to his chair, sighing and resting my arms on my knees, I looked up at the ceiling.
"What's on your mind Sensei?" I said.
"What isn't on my mind is the question." He leaned forward and rested his head on the backs of his hands. "I'm exhausted. This job is exhausting…Not that I would trade it…It's just a lot to deal with..." He trailed off almost as if he was talking to himself. "How am I supposed to make time for my family when I have an entire village to protect."
I shook my head as he let out a deep sigh and spun his chair around to face me. "Have you checked in on her today?" He asked.
I chuckled almost silently to myself. "Yes, I do at least three times a day if not many more, everything is just fine."
A smile spread across his face. Talking about his family always seemed to put him at ease, it was the one thing in his life that never changed. That's why I was assigned to him and assigned by him to look after and protect his wife and soon to be son.
"Thank you Kakashi." He stood up and extended his right hand toward me. "I can't think of a better person to have by our side."
I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. His left hand fell on my shoulder as I stood up, he squeezed it tightly before letting go. "Take the rest of the day to yourself Kakashi. You've done more than enough today." He let me go and turned back to his chair, sat down, and began shuffling through some paperwork.
I walked back to the middle of the room, turned to him and bowed. "Thank you…Lord Hokage…" I said before turning away to leave.
"Kakashi! What did I tell you!" He shouted after me as I walked away. I stuck a hand in the air and waved away his words, smirking under my mask.
"Yeah, Yeah Sensei." I whispered as I exited the office. I'm so thankful to have him in my life, sometimes I need him as much as he needs me. I would never have to tell him though, he already knew.
I stopped at the door as I was walking out of the office and turned to my subordinate. He was much younger than me, but nearly matched my power already. It's no wonder he ended up on my team, the two of us made sense working side by side, both being able to use the sharingan.
"Itachi, I have been given orders by the Hokage to take some personal time. Please report back to Tenzo if you need anything regarding your orders." I turned away after he nodded, taking off my mask and heading out.
What am I supposed to do with a whole day to myself?
I can't remember the last time that I had an entire day without any duties. If I wasn't on guard, I was on a mission or training with my team…I guess I could just catch up on some sleep. Although it was early in the morning, I haven't slept much in the past few months, opting for night shifts and day shifts, getting only a few hours here and there to rest. It was easier that way though, when I'm alone my thoughts wander and they're hard to get back under control.
Slipping through the alleys and over the rooftops of the village back to my apartment gave me plenty of time to think of all the things I didn't want to do for the day, enough so that I decided that I would go do some 'shopping'. I hadn't been by the shop to visit Kora in almost six months, which is the longest that I had ever been away. She is going to be extremely angry with me and now that she is a genin, she is a bit scarier than she was when she was five.
After getting home, putting my ANBU mask away and taking a quick shower, I left for my short journey to the other end of the village. I took my time so that I could burn a chunk of the day away, I didn't want to end up with nothing to do later in the day and the trade district always made me feel a sense of peace. Not many shinobi were from this part of town so not many people recognized me. It was almost like I could be whoever I wanted when I was here, not judged for my past or my actions.
There were plenty of people out shopping today, stacks of crates with new goods being moved around, kids running around between the shops playing and laughing. Sometimes I wonder what my life could have been like if I weren't born into the world I was, what would it be like to have been just another civilian.
Before I could finish that daydream a voice called out to me and snapped me out of it. I immediately threw my arms in front of my face, just in time to block the powerful punch that I knew had been coming. "You know, surprise attacks only work if you don't call out the opponents name, right?" I said with an eye roll.
Kora laughed as she took a step back from me, cracking her knuckles. "Yeah, well I wasn't TRYING to hurt you!"
"What makes you think that you could?" I scoffed, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Besides, we both know that I am way out of your league." I turned away and started walking toward her family's shop. I was trying to get under her skin, and now that she's eight years old, it was easier to do. She was an academy student, top of her class, and just weeks away from graduating to be a genin, and as stubborn as me. I knew just how to piss her off.
"IS THAT A CHALLENGE KAKASHI?" She shouted, making others in the area turn to look at the commotion. They rarely, if ever, get to see a fight unless it's an official area battle. Even those have been rare over the years.
I stayed silent as I continued walking. I wasn't going to fight her unless it was approved by her mother, I didn't want to deal with her wrath later. "If your mother allows it, I would love to knock you down a peg." I said, stopping at the shops entrance and glancing over to Kora.
"Is that you Kakashi?" Ms. Kitsaku's voice rang from somewhere in the back of the shop.
I sighed. "Yeah, it's me. Your stubborn child wants to spar with me, is that okay?"
Her laughter could be heard clearly down the road so even Kora heard it. I watched as Kora's face twisted into frustration at the sound. "Y'know mom it would be nice if you had some faith IN ME" she yelled as she walked toward me. Her mother walking out from the back and into view, standing by my side still chuckling.
"Oh honey, I do believe in you." She said with a smile. "I just think you need to pick your battles more carefully."
Kora rolled her eyes. "He's just big ol' dumb Kakashi mom! I can take him any day!" She put her hands on her hips and smiled at me. "So, what do you say? Are you ready to lose?" she said with a smug look on her face. Oh, how I couldn't wait to wipe that look off her face.
"Challenge accepted." I shrugged. "Where are we doing this?" If we wanted a crowd to watch, it would have to be in an open area and I think there is a clearing nearby, but I wanted to see where she had in mind.
Kora turned and looked at the people who had been listening on the conversation and shouted. "WHO WANTS TO SEE A FIGHT!" The cheers erupted around us, people who I didn't think were paying attention were now joining the others in the street ready to go.
"Clearing down the road. Five minutes." I said as I flickered away.
This was going to get rough
