Important AN!
Just wanted to explain why I suddenly dropped from the face of the fanfiction earth: at the beginning of April, I was diagnosed with tendinitis (inflammation of tendons) in my right (main!) hand. I had it in the cast for over 5 weeks. It was painful and super uncomfortable, and after all this time it's yet to fully heal. A week of rehabilitation helped, but I'm still struggling with pain and inability to use it normally. Now, my left hand started to hurt and I'm afraid it might be the same thing. What I'm trying to say is that if my right hand won't get better and my left hand will get worse, I might disappear for a much longer time. Nothing is abandoned and eventually will be updated.
For the reasons above, this chapter is a bit shorter and most likely has more mistakes than usual. I wanted to update so that I could inform of my health issues, but naturally, I'm not in my best form to write at the full capacity. Also, reviews are honestly my saving grace when I feel especially upset. I probably memorized all of the current ones because of how many times I've read them, so I need some new reviews lol Just, please, don't bitch about my English. I know that it's bad and broken and plain unreadable in some places. I don't need to hear about it all the time, especially at this moment. If you can't ignore it, please give me a break and don't read my stories.
The last chapter brought on a very interesting response. Some were appalled by the characterization of my future Naruto, but the majority seemed to enjoy it. I just wanted to say, that there is a reason for Rei's OOCness, why he's so volatile. I'm not the author who outright spells such things right from the start, but I like to add enough hints and clues for you to figure it out on your own. Or you can simply wait until the time it will be revealed according to the plot.
I admit that it was my bad that I didn't add 'somewhat dark!future Naruto' in the description before that chapter came out. Honestly, I thought it won't be an issue. Apparently, it was. So, I added that bit in the story's summary.
Lest you fade here all alone
Chapter 7
Kakashi stopped in front of the memorial stone, his lone eye instinctively finding four names in rows upon rows of the neatly written gold lettering. He focused on one name in particular today.
"Hey, Sensei," the man offered a quiet greeting and then paused as if waiting for a word back. The only reply he received was a breeze being carried through the surrounding forest, rustling leaves of lush trees and bushes. "I didn't know you had a brother. But I guess nobody knew, even you. He's—" He furrowed his brow. "He's here now and I don't know what to think about him. Is he genuinely invested in Naruto's wellbeing? Can we really trust him?"
In the watery light of the cloudy day, a slab of black granite was as cold as emptiness swelling inside him.
No close friends, no family, no other attachments—that was the mantra Kakashi kept repeating day after day. Because people he cared about always were the ones to pay the price. It was better for everyone if he kept others at a certain distance.
He really shouldn't care this much about that boy. He really shouldn't. Yet, he ignored his own warning time and time again by going to check on the little Naruto whenever he had time and working as his ANBU guard as often as he could.
And now that radiant bundle of energy, joy, and light would disappear from his life too.
Kakashi had no doubt that Naruto would choose to leave with his uncle, he knew that kid. He knew how much the hate and disregard affected the boy, how much he wept in silence. And he was powerless to do anything about it.
"I don't know what to do, Sensei."
Neither memorial stone nor the engravings offered him any salvation.
"Do people need to be dead for you to actually talk with them?"
Admirably, Kakashi didn't jump out of his skin when an unexpected voice suddenly sounded from behind him. While his heart reached a frightening speed in record time and adrenaline instantly filled his veins, a barely perceptible flinch was the only external indication of him being caught off guard. He quickly spun on his heel, a kunai sliding down into his palm, ready for action…
"Hi!"
Kakashi's mind drew a blank for a moment as he stared dumbly at the main cause of his current inner turmoil who just greeted him with a hand wave and a bright grin under the mop of golden hair. Why was this person here? He didn't sense his approach. Who knew for how long he had been standing there and listening to his...
Sudden anger flared at the realization that this person sneaked up on him and eavesdropped on his confession. The jounin clutched his weapon even more tightly and almost growled out, "Rei Uzumaki."
"Kakashi Hatake," the blond said back coolly, clearly finding this situation amusing. Two ninjas stared at each other for a bit in a tense silence before Rei broke it, "You didn't answer my question."
"…What question?"
"Do people need to be dead for you to actually talk with them?"
Kakashi eyed his sensei's brother wearily. "No."
"Good to know!" Rei exclaimed cheerfully. "There is a kid who could use a little pick-me-up today and I bet he'll be thrilled to meet you."
Kakashi's eye widened when on the last word the blond was suddenly right in front of him, his hand clamping on his shoulder and pushing him down. Then, there was a brief familiar sensation of displacement and the next instant Kakashi's butt landed on a chair, a cacophony of Konoha's noise filling his ears and the spicy, rich smell of ramen assaulting his nose.
It took a couple of seconds for Kakashi to orient himself, identify the place (Ichiraku Ramen, oh the irony), and notice two pairs of identical azure eyes staring straight at him in confusion from the adjacent seats.
Naruto scooted away from him as far as he could without falling from his chair.
The silver-haired ninja immediately hid the kunai behind his back and tucked it away into his weapon pouch. He smiled, eye closing instinctively so the boy could see—though it did nothing to soothe the fear in those weary pools of blue—and then mumbled an awkward, "Excuse me," under his breath as he proceeded to stand up and make his getaway.
The blond's hand still resting on his shoulder ruined his otherwise flawless escape plan.
Rei who was sitting on the other side of the little Jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow at his own copy that brought him here. The latter patted the stiff Kakashi over his shoulder and then simply poofed out of existence.
Apparently, the one sitting here was the original, because after a couple of seconds a corner of his lips quirked up. "Add another miso ramen to the order, Teuchi-san!" he shouted and Kakashi had an abrupt urge to punch that smug little smirk clean off of his face.
"Coming right up!"
"No need to be scared, Naruto," Rei said as he gently pushed the kid back to the middle of the chair so that he wouldn't fall down. "This is Kakashi Hatake. He was in the genin team your father had mentored."
The silver-haired man didn't know how this stranger knew that, but he didn't care at this moment. He needed to leave. Right now. He couldn't quite understand what exactly compelled him to stay here. How hard it could be to leave—he just needed to stand up and use a shunshin. So, why couldn't he muster an ounce of will to do so?
Perhaps due to Naruto's impossible wide eyes fixed straight on him, full to the brim of innocent, pure wonder. "You knew my dad, 'ttebayo?"
"Uh…" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, not quite knowing how to deal with that kind of absolute admiration. If he decided to leave right now, he was sure it would break the kid's heart. But at the same time, his parentage was a secret. Was it alright to talk about it? "That's…"
Seeing the jounin's obvious reluctance to speak, Naruto's excitement wavered and his expression started to fall.
Rei, however, just rolled his eyes and let out a huff of exasperation. "Don't mind him, Naruto," he said with a grin, ruffling the hair of the young Jinchuuriki. "This guy is just a little bit shy in meeting new people."
Kakashi's eyebrow twitched at the comment. He shot a glare at the older Uzumaki when the younger one turned to look at the latter.
"He's an amazing ninja, though," Rei continued, seemingly oblivious the ire of the silver-haired jounin or perfectly ignoring it. "He knows more jutsu than even me."
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"He can also summon a pack of very skilled ninken."
"Ninken?"
"Yeah. All eight of them."
The kid's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Can I see them?"
"I don't know, Naruto," Rei replied in kind before motioning towards the jounin with his head. "How about asking Kakashi about that yourself?"
Kakashi on his part kept a steady glare on the blond man, his eye gleaming with a baleful fire and his mind working a mile a minute.
How come a newcomer to Konoha knew so much about him? His past and his skills weren't knowledge that one could gather in the streets with a simple reconnaissance. Information leak? Did this person have a spy among ninja of Konoha? Or did he broke into the Hokage Tower and read the personal files himself? With Rei's abilities, it wouldn't be so hard.
Kakashi's eye hardened with a resolve, deciding to go along with this blond bastard, for now, to learn just how much more Minato's brother knew and to make sure that he had no plans to use the stolen information against Konoha. Two could play this game.
Meanwhile, Naruto took a cautious peek at the silver-haired ANBU. The latter's dark expression made him instantly turn away again and he inched closer to his uncle. "N-no, it's alright," the boy murmured, clearly upset. Not even steamy bowl of freshly prepared ramen that was placed in front of him failed to cheer him up.
Rei frowned lightly as he broke his chopsticks apart and took a quick peek at Kakashi.
"If you want to meet my ninken, I can summon them for you."
The young Jinchuuriki's face lit up like a bonfire. "Really?"
Kakashi smiled, his eye forming a smile too to match the one hidden behind his mask. "Of course. There's no trouble." He felt quite smug when he saw a flash of surprise flittering across Rei's features.
Before Naruto could shoot the hundreds of questions undoubtedly queuing up in his head, the older Uzumaki chimed in, "That will have to wait until you ate, kit."
"Okay, Rei!" the kid exclaimed before looking back at Kakashi. "Thanks, Old Man!"
Rei almost spat out the mouthful of ramen that he just took. Unfortunately, some broth got in his pipe and he started coughing all the while struggling not to laugh and make his situation worse.
Kakashi grimaced at the title. "I'm not that old, Naruto," he objected.
"Eeeeh? But you have the white hair and all, 'ttebayo," the boy replied as he quickly slurped down his favorite meal.
Rei dropped a few pieces of bacon into Naruto's bowl that he picked up out of his own. "He really acts like an old guy, right?" he asked, his soft tenor layered with obvious mirth.
The little Uzumaki beamed. "Yeah! Thanks, Rei!"
Kakashi gave the man a withering look, then picked up his own chopsticks and gathered all the bacon in his serving of ramen. "Just call me Kakashi," he said while placing all the offering into the kid's bowl.
Naruto's head snapped up to look at him, sheer wonder on his whiskered face. Then his mouth stretched into a toothy grin—a smile that could light up any day, no matter how dark. "Alright, Kakashi! Thanks!" he chirped happily before digging into his food again.
"Very smooth, Hatake."
"Learned from your example, Uzumaki."
The blond's smirk widened into a small smile, the curve full of so much warmth it startled Kakashi. He recognized that smile, had seen the same expression on his sensei's face so many times and yearned to witness it at least one more time for so long. However, the touch of sadness, a glimmer of grief, and unfathomably deep sorrow in those sky blue eyes cut his breathing a little short.
Naruto glanced at the adult on his left, then at the one on his right, and frowned. He gulped down what he had in his mouth and inquired curiously, "You're not eating?"
Instantly, all those out-of-place emotions were carefully wiped from Rei's face, replaced by the usual laid-back demeanor. "Yeah, we're eating," he said. Soon he noticed his nephew's empty bowl and grinned. "What? Do you want the second already?"
The boy fidgeted in his seat, twisting the hem of his t-shirt with his hand. "Can I?" he asked shyly. "Get the second?"
Rei chuckled. "Sure, kiddo, eat as much as you like."
Naruto broke into a grin bright enough to equal the sun itself. "Teuchi-san, second!"
The ramen chef laughed, putting the already prepared warm dish in front of the eager child. "For such a small boy, you sure can eat a lot!" he observed.
"Of course!" Naruto shouted in excitement. "Rei said that I need to eat properly if I want to grow up as strong as he and then I'll become the Ho—" he abruptly cut himself off, his eyebrows knitting together. "Then I…" After a moment, he nodded to himself, obviously coming up to some decision. "And then I'll become the leader of Uzushio, 'ttebayo!"
Kakashi froze. Teuchi blinked.
Rei laughed joyfully and gave Naruto an affectionate hair ruffle, eliciting a delighted giggle. "That's my boy!" he exclaimed, his tone overflowing with immense pride. "Now I don't have to worry about the future of Uzushio anymore!"
Kakashi watched the two Uzumakis, feeling the familiar hollow void inside his soul growing, threatening to swallow him whole.
Naruto was definitely leaving. The last spark of light in his disastrous life was about to vanish, to never illuminate the darkness that surrounded him and show the path out of it. Without his light, Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd be able to find his way anymore.
"Hey!"
The jounin almost jumped at Rei's raised voice. His hand flew to grab the kunai in a reflex, but he retained enough awareness not to pull it out. With a sigh, he eased his mind and body from the sudden alert mode.
Rei was staring, the slight downward turn of his mouth giving away his concern. "Stop thinking about unnecessary things and eat your ramen," he urged in a surprisingly mother henish way. "It's getting col—" His eyes widened at the sight of Kakashi's already empty ramen bowl. "When did you—How did you—What?!"
Kakashi felt pretty amused by the man's unexpected fluster. When the latter fixed a frustrated glare on him, he simply quirked a questioning eyebrow. He didn't know why the man became this vexed, but he kind of felt pleased by the fact that he managed to put him off his stride.
"Get the second one!" Rei demanded. "I didn't see you eat!"
"No, no, I'm already full," Kakashi replied lazily, now truly curious why the blond was so insistent. "Besides, it's time for Naruto to meet my ninken, remember?"
The boy was just drinking the last broth drops of his second serving before he slammed the empty bowl on the counter and yelled out, "Yeah! Can't wait, 'ttebayo!"
"See?" Kakashi eye-smiled. "Time to go."
Rei clicked his tongue, shook his head, and muttered something under his breath as he pulled out the money to pay for their dinner. Something about missed opportunity and mask and 'how the hell he does that?'
"Hm?" Kakashi inquired politely. "You said something?"
The blond gave him the most brilliant deadpan stare.
Naruto glanced from one adult to another. "Um… What's wrong?"
"Nothing," they both stated at the same time.
"Ready to leave?" Rei asked. When Naruto nodded, he grinned.
And then a hand landed on Kakashi's shoulder without any warning and he suddenly found himself in one of the vacant Konoha's training grounds. His disapproving glower was met by the wicked smirk.
Damn blond bastard.
"Just how many Hiraishin spots you have in Konoha?" the jounin asked in an absent-minded manner, observing the man at the corner of his eye.
Rei scratched his head, humming in thought. "Dunno," he replied, short and unhelpful. "Lost the count after the first few dozens of them."
Kakashi squinted, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or just joking.
Minato's brother ignored his probing gaze and clapped his hands, a usual dazzling grin firmly on his face. "Now, show us your magic!"
"Yeah, Old Man Kakashi! Show us!"
Rei snorted, but covered his mouth in time to stop laughter from escaping.
Kakashi twitched at the name. Didn't he already bribe this brat not to call him that? He looked down at the little Uzumaki, ready to insist that he wasn't that old (even if he felt older than the dirt sometimes, it still was too early to be called an old man, dammit!), and froze at those pleading puppy eyes, sparkling in excitement.
"Uhhh…" the jounin drawled as he rubbed the back of his neck. The longer Naruto stared at him like that, the more his will folded like wet paper. "Alright then," he sighed.
The boy favored him with a beaming grin.
Kakashi strolled a bit further away, brushed his finger across the blade of the kunai, quickly made the necessary hand signs, and slammed his palm on the ground. There was a poof and after a moment eight ninken appeared in a chakra cloud: Bull in the middle with Pakkun sitting on his head and the rest around them.
"Yo!" Pakkun greeted him, lifting his front paw. "What's the occasion, Boss?"
"I promised someone that he could meet you all," Kakashi explained, motioning towards the two blonds.
"Whoaaaa! So cool, 'ttebayo!" Naruto gushed, running closer. "Can I learn to do that, Old Man Kakashi?!"
"Old Man?" Akino echoed while Shiba and Bisuke burst into laughter.
Kakashi ignored them with practiced ease and smiled at the little eager child. "Maa, I'm pretty sure your uncle will find you a suitable summoning contract."
Naruto whipped his head to look at the older blond. "Really, Rei?"
"I'll see what I can do about that," the man promised before gently pushing the kid towards the dogs. "And I'm pretty sure Kakashi will let you play with his pack for a bit." He turned to the silver-haired ninja and keeping his face absolutely straight, asked, "Right, Old Man Kakashi?"
Kakashi's eye narrowed into a glare at the name, but all he received back from Rei was an innocent eye blink. "Sure," he agreed as he gave Pakkun a meaningful glance—they were a pack and so verbal commands were unnecessary between them.
The pug nodded in affirmative. "Come here, pup," he invited the boy as he patted a spot behind him. "Let's go for a ride."
Naruto yelped in surprise when one of the ninken suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt and threw him on top of Bull. Next moment, the whole pack and the child dashed away, leaving only barks and peals of delighted laughter in their wake.
"Thanks," Rei said quietly after a few minutes of silence. "Naruto needed something exciting like this today."
Kakashi furrowed his brow at the implication of those words. "What happened?"
The blond pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels. "Just had to remind some people that the real monster in this situation is not Naruto." His features were set into a cold and indifferent mask as he spoke, but the fury and murderous intent swirling in those sharp blue irises betrayed his true feelings. "The kid was so shaken by those bastards, he even said that he doesn't want to stay in Konoha anymore. That was my plan in the first place, but I'd have rather asked him if he wanted to leave myself and not hear the child begging to take him with me."
Oh. So that was what happened. Kakashi's shoulders dropped. Konoha finally managed to break the little sunshine's spirit.
"Look, Kakashi," Rei said, sounding very serious now. "I'm not trying to turn Naruto against Konoha or anyone in this village, but he can't stay here. This is not the environment a child should grow."
The jounin agreed to that statement from the deepest parts of his heart, he really did, but they knew nothing about Rei Uzumaki. If Naruto was a simple child, he might not have questioned his motives. Unfortunately, the boy carried the burden of being the Jinchuuriki.
"If I said that I don't care about the Kyuubi, I'd be lying," the blond confessed as if reading Kakashi's thoughts. "But there are so much more to the Kyuubi and the rest of the Bijuu than humans know." He fixed the other man with a stern gaze. "They aren't only mindless beasts to be used as secret weapons by you people."
There was something inhuman about Rei's presence as he spoke, something unfathomably powerful and intense in his eyes that sent all Kakashi's instincts on high alert. He had to suppress the urge to back off.
Next instant, all that pressure disappeared without a trace and an easy smile brightened the blond's features. "Don't forget to add this to your report."
"…Right."
"What? You think I'd blurt something that I don't want the Hokage to know?"
Kakashi ignored him. Minato's brother wasn't stupid, so, of course, he understood his obligation as Konoha's ninja to report their meeting to the Hokage.
"Or that I wouldn't realize that you agreed with my request partially because you wanted your ninken to learn my smell?"
That surprised him, though sheer amusement in the blond's voice was downright confusing. "And you're fine with that?" he inquired carefully, narrowing his eye in suspicion.
"Sure, why not." Rei shrugged, definitely unbothered by that knowledge. "Honestly, I thought I'll have to bully you more to agree, so that worked in my favor." His mouth stretched into a savage grin. "It's not like your dogs will be able to help you if I ever became your enemy and was forced to attack you."
Those words were not an empty threat, Kakashi could feel it with every fiber of his being. Rei's sudden dominating presence, that chilling deadly aura, and that exhilarating air oozing with confidence were enough to make his heart shudder.
"But, hey," Rei slapped his shoulder, his malicious baring of teeth replaced by a cheerful friendly smile, "we're friends now, so I'll be counting on you coming to save me if I ever fall into trouble."
The jounin couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. As if this person ever would be in need of saving.
"In return, here." Rei held out the three-pronged kunai. "If you'll need any kind of assistance, want someone to keep you company, or simply wish to see Naruto, you can always call me and I'll come."
Kakashi stared at the familiar weapon, then glanced up at the man's genuinely honest face. Was he truly ready to accept this offering of friendship? He looked to the other side of the training ground where his sensei's son was rolling around in the grass, bubbling with merry giggles as he tried to avoid wet and cold noses of the assaulting ninken.
If this choice permitted of keeping his light in his life for a bit longer, the answer was obvious.
Without further pondering, his hand reached out to take the kunai.
"Good decision, Old Man Kakashi!" the blond cheered. "You should really be mindful of your age and—"
"Shut up," the jounin grumbled as he stuffed the blade into his weapon pouch.
Rei's laughter, carefree as the breeze, made Kakashi unconsciously relax. For the first time in years, he felt at peace.