Chapter 14

Insane bastard.

Huff. Huff. Huff.

Yuuki sat on the dirty ground and looked at the distant mountain.

It seemed like a hurricane out of blades passed through the clearing - every tree had crisscross lines on them. There were so many marks, that all outer laying of the bark was sliced off leaving only sandy wood beneath it.

Despite the cold season Yuuki was sweating like crazy from overexertion. His chest expanded and fell as he tried to catch his breath.

In the distance Yuuki could see a boy climbing the mountain using only one arm. The unmistakable shock of silver hair confirmed the identity of a mysterious youth.

Hatake Kakashi. His classmate and kinda, sort of friend.

Crazy bastard.

Would he be able to climb this mountain the same way Kakashi did? Yuuki didn't have to ponder for a long time, he knew the answer would be a resolute 'No'.

First of all, just this morning it rained with snow—the rocks must still be slippery.

Kakashi must be channeling chakra through his body to reinforce his muscles. And at the same time expel chakra through his palm with additional property of stickiness added to it as to not fall down and hold tightly onto the rocks. Mediation, dangerous physical activity and precise work of chakra manipulation. All three at once. While Yuuki still struggled not to walk too loudly on the sturdy ground.

Expelling chakra through tenketsu points to stick small leaves to themselves was easy. But making your body stick to something massive and not slide down under the gravity was another issue on itself. Their sensei firmly refused to teach them stating that they were too young. Right now, Kakashi —the youngest boy in their class— doing exactly that impossible thing single-handedly.

Did his parents teach him how to do that? Or did Kakashi figure it out by himself?

Yuuki overheard the conversation of his sensei, that apparently Kakashi's dad was some big shot amongst shinobi. 'White Fang', which told Yuuki absolutely nothing. Digging into his friend's family situation behind his back didn't seem right. Asking him outright himself also didn't seem right. Others respected his privacy— the least he could do is to extend the same courtesy.

Within two weeks of Academy Kakashi was pegged as a smart, talented kid.

Within one month of Academy, Kakashi was professed as the boy who was 'cut above the rest'.

Within two months of Academy, Kakashi was hailed as a genius.

Whether it was taijutsu, ninjutsu, strategic thinking, shurikenjutsu or literally any other subject or skill—Kakashi was able to achieve any goal set by their sensei without even breaking into sweat. While others had to practice hard over and over again until they got everything right— he only needed to see it once to understand the principles and then he could recreate it himself from the first try most often than not.

Only after a couple of training spars their sensei decided that it didn't make sense to continue practicing with his current opponents, whom he easily overpowered. So, he called up the students of higher grade specifically for Kakashi. It was a preferential treatment, but no one could say that it was unfair or undeserved.

It was a rather humiliating experience for others to know they weren't a match for the youngest member of their class—neither in theoretical knowledge nor in physical skills. Competitiveness and pride were driving force for many.

Their class had mostly offsprings of high-ranking shinobi and clan children. Out of three other classes in their grade theirs was considered to be the one with the most potential. Yuuki was surprised, when he heard it from his friends. He didn't know whether Yagura pulled some strings behind his back, his 'offing a grown-up man the first time he used chakra' impressed them or just generally good parameters of his body (chakra reserves, physical limitations etc).

While some of their classmates deemed Kakashi as the wall that they needed to overcome (Obito and Guy really took that motto to heart), others just felt that the distance, the gap between them— was too great to even feel jealous.

While others strived to become shinobi, it felt like Kakashi was born one.

The silver haired boy was 'that son' other parents compared their children to. Somehow, the child, being a guaranteed first place, became a measuring stick and motivator for his classmates, that were pushed by their parents to strive harder.

Personally, Yuuki wasn't as fired up as Obito about beating Kakashi specifically out of all people. For Yuuki, Kakashi was more like a personification of everything shinobi. A certain reminder of the path he had been thrown onto, of the path he had chosen himself.

Yuuki was on a receiving end of the same gazes, when he attended the school affiliated with Okiya, the place where he studied for two years. In fact, he still was — from other kamuro and servants of Yagura, who, despite being older and more experienced than him, couldn't produce the results as fast and as flawless as him.

In a way, Yuuki was a genius himself.

Kakashi was a reminder, that it didn't matter if he was a genius.

So, what if he was naturally more predisposed towards Fine Arts? So, what If he could master a song faster than others? So, what if he never had any problems with calligraphy beyond what font he wanted to learn next? So, what if his teachers could only sigh in admiration at his paintings? So, what if the songs he played never failed to touch the listener's soul?

These skills simply didn't matter. Oh, they probably would be a bit helpful in the future. But what mattered the most to shinobi was combat ability. The ability to fight. To hurt. To destroy.

Yuuki was born an artist.

A scholar, the voice from before said.

A prostitute, the dark voice in his head countered.

A Performer. An Entertainer. A Creator.

Whereas shinobi were destroyers. Protectors, if you were looking at it optimistically.

Yuuki wasn't bad as shinobi, but instinctively he knew— he would never be able to achieve the heights of Kakashi.

And this… this knowledge frustrated him beyond belief. That the skills he prided himself so much on — didn't matter. That everything he worked so hard for—didn't matter. That everything he actually enjoyed doing—didn't matter.

Yuuki thought whether he should just abandon all other hobbies/pursuits and concentrate only on shinobi arts. The idea sat uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach.

He calmly wrapped a layer of tape around his knuckles, holding its end with his teeth. After he finished, he added an additional layer of a glove over it. Whether artist or shinobi both categories took special care of their hands.

The boy approached one of the wooden stumps and took the correct position that he was so familiar with. From his hip his leg straightened — he hit the target with a loud thud. Again. No more lightness and grace of the previous dances that he learned. Again. Only swiftness and deadliness remained. Again. Yuuki felt the impact in his ankle, in his leg. Again. The force rattled his very bones. Again. The sweat tricked down his face. Again. Kakashi was able to knock Obito out just with one kick. Again. Would he able to do the same? Again. The bark of the tree got splintered. Again. Changing to another leg. Again. Yuuki looked at the silhouette climbing the mountain. Again. Splinters flew in his face.

Again. Again. Again.

Majority of the children in their class thought that Kakashi's success was attributed mostly to his natural talent and the genes he inherited from his parents. Yuuki knew it was a bullshit.

Obito could shout all he wanted, how one day he was going to be great shinobi—simply because he belonged to Uchiha clan.

There were so many Uchiha members but not every single one of them became great. The lineage, the kekkei genkai, the clan jutsus and techniques could give you an opportunity, a certain advantage, but whatever you could do with that— relied solely on the shoulders of the person himself.

Kakashi was indeed talented, but he was also equally hardworking. Yuuki knew because it was the same with him. He used to practice so hard that oftentimes he would forget to eat, to sleep, to breathe —with how absorbed he was into his own work.

The soul, that little special something contained in his songs and paintings could be attributed to his talents. But the strokes of the brush, the unusual painting techniques, the swiftness of his fingers on his dizi come from hours and hours of gruelling repetitive practice. He wouldn't be able to express anything with only talent.

So, what if Kakashi was so smart that he could predict a hundred of movements of his opponent? If his body didn't move fast enough to evade any of it—all his insight would be useless.

Kakashi was a scary bastard, because he was hardworking genius.

As Yuuki glanced at the mountain once again, he noticed that Kakashi reached the top. In a moment of inattentiveness, he channeled chakra through his limbs, which resulted in him blowing up a good chunk of the tree.

The boy started coughing like crazy as the rain of dust and splinters almost suffocated him. The psychological tears gathered in his eyes and poured down his cheeks.

The raindrops appeared as though they were tears. It looked like he was crying every time Yuuki blinked. The boy in the doorway was small and slender. His hoodie was soaked, and his complexion was white from the cold. Though the box in his hand was well protected and dry. He carried it inside his clothes the whole way back to his room.

His gaze was lowered as he changed into dry clothes. It was his bad luck to forget an umbrella.

His dark blue almost black hair was wet and a little messy. It contrasted greatly against his white skin.

The boy had a pair of unique-looking almond eyes. When his eyelids were lowered, he looked gentle and harmless, and even a little sleepy. It was as if he didn't have a care in the world. But when he looked up at that moment his eyes were especially bright and spirited. Yuuki felt happy and excited. The boy carefully put the box of chocolates on the table and immediately darted to the bathroom to wash his hands.

As though it was an important ceremony, he methodically untied every knot of the blue ribbon instead of cutting it off. Now that he looked at it the colour was the same as his eyes. Coincidence or on purpose? Yuuki like the former answer more, so he decided it was on purpose.

The corners of his lips kept rising even though he tried to press them into thin line. His body vibrated with energy and excitement. Finally, he untied the box, with careful gestures he tied the ribbon around one of the decorations that stood on his desk, the ones that he saw every day.

As he opened the box, he saw neat raw of chocolates laying side by side. They appeared rather crooked — of different sizes and shapes. Definitely homemade. Yuuki harboured a suspicion that she actually lied about that part, but it didn't seem to be the case now. The smile on his face stretched wider, his blue eyes glinted with happiness. He lunged for the sweet treat but because he was too eager, he accidentally bumped his knee on his chair.

Yuuki felt embarrassed of his own childish behaviour even if he was the only one in the room. To begin with he didn't really deserve them. During their first meeting he dissed her in his head the whole time. The second time he half listened to her chatter and mentally disparaged her. Yuuki awkwardly scratched his own cheek and finally calmed down.

The moment of truth has come. The boy put the weirdly oval shaped chocolate in his mouth and closed his eyes to understand the taste better. It was sweet. Too sweet for his tastes. That notion honestly shocked him because he loved confectionery, cakes, buns, anything sweet.

It felt like she dumped the whole bag of sugar only in one piece. It melted easily on his tongue. Yuuki started to chew. The pieces of something hard met his teeth. The boy scrunched up his face in thought. They were a bit hard to chew. Nuts? Sprinkles? That natural vanilla thingy? Cacao beans? Maybe, it was an eggshell? Do people put eggs in chocolate? How is chocolate even made?

Yuuki, whose only experience in the kitchen was ages ago, didn't know the answer. The boy just furrowed his brows and swallowed the rest with the glass of water. The only thing he knew was that they were definitely homemade. This knowledge made him ecstatic.

The boy stretched his hand to take one more but stopped. He honestly didn't think he could stomach it. But he promised to eat all of it… It wasn't like he could eat the whole box in one sitting. One chocolate a day seemed fair enough. Yuuki mentally gave himself an excuse and closed the box.

Now he needed to finish his homework and go brag about the chocolate to Yagura. The first confession. It was sort of, kinda first client. Not really. But still indication that he was moving into right direction.

He glanced around his room trying to find the bag, then he smiled wryly and sighed in frustration remembering that he left it on his desk in Academy.

The boy sighed in relief when he saw his backpack on the desk. The folded umbrella in his hand was dripping water on the ground.

Everything in Konoha was intense. It has been years since he officially stepped foot in this Village and there were still some things, which were too much for him. The intensity of weather would be one of them. When it rained—it poured, when it snowed—it buried you under the meters of white snow, when the sun shined—the scorching heat burned your skin and made it hard to breathe.

Many things were different from what he used to know. The people and their mentality. The flora and fauna. The infrastructure and architecture.

But there was… this one unchangeable thing, that stayed the same no matter where you were. No matter which Nation you were affiliated to, no matter your gender, no matter your appearance. It was the same for all people around the world.

'You didn't fuck around with the Gods.'

Such a very simple, logical thing, that it didn't even need an explanation as to why you shouldn't do it.

A God. A higher being. A providence.

The term 'God' was rather encompassing— essentially it meant beings of worship. Mysterious creatures, summons, unknown entities, even humans.

There were hundreds of known Gods.

One of the most famous Gods was the God of Old —The Sage of Six Paths. From the myths we know that he was a powerful demigod, who once roamed around our lands— he was the one, who granted the ability to harness and utilise chakra to humans. Though it is believed that he passed away long time ago, he still has temples to this day. Most of his believers follow his doctrine of Ninshu and either stay at their temples in the mountains or roam the land trying to teach others about their religion.

'Gods of Old' are silent Gods, the ones who wouldn't answer neither prayers nor perform miracles.

Unlike in before the Gods had real power and could affect the lives of living beings. It has never been a question whether Gods were real or not.

The majority of kekkei genkai, special bloodlines and traits are believed to be granted by the Gods.

Usually, one clan would have one or two higher beings they worship. Uchiha clan— Amaterasu, Izanagi. The famed Sharingan was one of their blessings.

The keen nose and white chakra of Hatake; the sharp claws, fangs and the special bond with their ninken of Inuzuka; the ability to host, sustain and manipulate insects of Aburame and so much more.

The thing about Gods — they were all very different.

Some interacted with their followers on a daily basis, some chose only one person who would spread their message, some roamed the land, some resided on higher dimension, some wanted equal exchange for any blessing or help, some liked to toy with humans for fun, some were lenient, some were merciful, some were cruel, some were all three of those characteristics at once.

You couldn't say— Gods were good, neither you could say they were bad. Gods just were.

Their followers also varied. Crazy Jashinists and merciful Buddhists. Those, who spent their entire lives in servitude to their God and those, who called upon the Gods only when they were in need of something.

Anyone who lived past the age of three heard two important sayings 'Beware of the whims of Gods' and 'Be careful of what you wish for'

There were too many stories affirming those statements.

Once upon a time there was a God, whose name now was long forgotten. Battered and bruised, God appeared on the land of humans —in the middle of the forrest of now Konohagure— trying to hide from his assailant and heal his wounds. This God, who took the form of a sparrow upon himself, was found by a young child of six years.

The child, who wanted to be a healer, was kind and merciful. This child decided to nurse the sparrow back to health. After spending years together the grateful God, who operated on principle of equal exchange, granted the child his wish.

It seemed to be heartwarming story of innocent child and his merciful patron God. Valuable lesson of always being kind and help those in need no matter how small or insignificant the creature was.

Only this is not how the true story goes.

The God, who was caught in his shameful and vulnerable state, was being kept as a pet by a human brat for years on end—fed all kinds of trash and incests, stuffed into metal cage while he was still recovering, called little birdy and treated as an animal.

You could imagine how fucking blessed he felt during those years. And even beyond that, the God himself had quite rigid principles—he always had to repay the debt, the favour. Who would have thought that the brat was so greedy as to ask for immortality of all things?

The child was a kind one, he didn't harbour any greed for power or money— he just wanted to roam the world and save all those in need. At that time the study of medicine was quite limited, and even that limited information was like closely kept secret safeguarded in the hands of few, rather than shared with others.

At first, he wished for all creatures to be healthy and never suffer. Of course, his request was denied.

Then child decided to be the one who would make it come true. But with how short human lives were, he didn't think he would be able to achieve anything before he dies— so he should just had to live longer. And if he was already asking, might as well ask for as much as possible.

Simple childish logic devoid of any maliciousness.

The blessing was given. The child's body stayed the same at the age of ten, not getting older even by a day like his clock was frozen. At first, no one took seriously such a young healer, but later the legend of 'Young immortal' spread around the land and some even started worshiping him.

The end of his was rather tragic though. The thought appeared in the heads of greedy selfish humans — 'Will they become immortals too, if they took a piece of him?' The temptation was simply too great.

The man stuck in child's body was ambushed, ripped to pieces and eaten alive by the very people he tried to help.

They didn't leave even his bones.

On the day of his passing the cheerful sparrow song rang above the droplets of the blood — his last remains.

The blessing and the curse were two sides of the same coin.

Another instance was the story of a famous dancer, who injured her legs with no hope of recovery. The dance was her life itself. Like a madwoman, she visited every temple, every shrine, call upon the names of every known and unknown God for someone, for anyone to help her.

She wanted to dance once again, even if it was the only thing, she would be able to do till the rest of her life.

One of the forgotten Gods first got overjoyed that his name was still remembered by humans, and then sequentially pissed when he realised, that the woman didn't ask for his help specifically, but just anyone who was willing to listen.

Furious God granted exactly what she asked for. The woman finally could dance — just as elegantly as beautifully as lightly as she used to do before.

The only issue with it was— it was the only thing she could do. She could neither sleep nor eat nor drink.

And she also couldn't stop.

The woman couldn't stop dancing. Not for an hour, not for a minute, not for a second. She quite literally danced herself to death.

The possibility of your prayers being answered was minimal, but even if they were…the outcome could be anything.

Usually, unless you were really damned pressed —you wouldn't fuck around with the Gods.

Yuuki, who was about to leave, suddenly heard a group of people stopping right under the window of his classroom. The heavy downpour ceased and turned into a small silent drizzle. Their voices were carried clearly into the room. "We have been stuck here for like… ages already, I think I might be a year older now already…" one of the girls complained.

Yuuki stared speechlessly at useless windows of their classroom. Apparently, it was on purpose, so they would hear any possible incoming danger from outside. But when someone asked if it was just a budget problem, Asuma—the son of Hokage— looked a bit too twitchy and fidgety on his chair.

The boy was about to step outside of the threshold, when he heard an oddly familiar voice. "It is about to end soon. Just wait a bit more."

It was Ri- oh, not… Ra-? Ro-? R-girl, who confessed to him today.

Yuuki turned back and looked at them through the window. They were sitting in the spot that observed the only exit out of the Academy grounds—the Gates. It would be awkward if they met now after that impromptu confession.

"Riri-chan," Yep, that's the one! Yuuki was suddenly given the answer to the problem that plagued him for so long. Now he should leave, eavesdropping on other's conversations was inapprop—

"-your face doesn't look good. Shouldn't you feel happy now?"

—it seemed very appropriate?

His desire to receive a feedback and basic human decency were at standstill.

The leg, which was about to step outside, suddenly froze. Right?! Shouldn't she feel happy?

Curiosity and the necessity of sticking to his manners were battling each other in his head at that moment.

"I feel like, I shouldn't have done… that, you know?" Riri-chan said with a subdued voice. Did she regret her decision only a couple of hours after confession?

The chocolate sat uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. Yuuki threw away his conscience and went closer to the window.

Truthfully speaking, he heard one too many people talking crap behind his back. It was the first time he held a silver of expectation, that, maybe, just this once he would hear something actually nice about himself.

In a way, Yuuki had the attitude of watching the fun to satisfy his curiosity. Will she be the same as others or not?

Yuuki put his elbows on the windowsill and rested his chin on his clasped hands, idly watching them from above. "Riri-chan, you don't have to worry that much," the girl with a very high-pitched voice answered exasperated, "-that will just make it full proof. My older sister did the same thing and it totally worked. Don't you trust me?"

Yuuki was confused. Maybe, they weren't talking about him at all?

"Of course, I trust you, Nakasa-chan!" The girl shouted loudly and then continued in a quieter tone, "-it is just… I feel guilty now towards Yuuki," The boy watched bewildered. Guilty? "-He was just so… sweet and nice. I think it would have worked even without…" She waved her hand in the air to gesture something that was utterly incomprehensible to the boy, "-that."

Yuuki prided himself on being quick witted and observant. But figuring out the gist of conversation in old friends' group was quite difficult. Could anyone tell him what 'that' was? What with the secrecy anyway? Like it is forbidden word or something…

The earlier happy giggly feeling of excitement left him. Even though he didn't even like the girl, it was still pleasant to hear he was liked. That was general trash mentality rooted into the people of Okiya.

Another voice chimed in, "Honestly, at first, I didn't get why you even liked him-" While he didn't get it either. It was still 'Ouch', he was very likeable. "-but now I kinda understand. He isn't like those stinky loud boys in our class." The one who said it had light blush spread across her cheekbones.

Yuuki, who was previously called stinky by Kakashi, inwardly replied "…thank you."

The girl continued her speech, "-I also think… even if you were rejected by him — he wouldn't have been, emmn, super mean about it. And he didn't even reject you anyway, so, emmn… You really should have done it without the ritual."

Yuuki felt his heart dropping. He threw away his attitude of carelessly watching the fun and became serious in instant. Ritual? What ritual? He straightened his body and watched them like a hawk.

"Hey! Don't say this word!" "What if someone hears?!" "What if they hear?" Their fearful attitude unsettled Yuuki.

Nakasa, whom Yuuki identified as the originator of this idea, said, "C'mon, you were constantly around him for how long… two weeks? And he never noticed you, not even once..."

He noticed her alright. It didn't mean he had to do anything about it though?

Nakasa ruffled her own hair in frustration. "My mom told me— you have to go all out if you want to catch your target. Why are acting so timid, hm?!" The girl glowered at them.

"Didn't your original plan fail? That's why you asked me for my help, right?! Why are acting now like all of that is my fault?" loudly shouted Nakasa. Two girls shrunk in on themselves.

"If he didn't approach you for two weeks himself, even to return his jacket-"

Riri-chan absentmindedly interjected. "The outer layer of kimono."

Nakasa rolled her eyes. "-or kimono… whatever. Anyway! Doesn't that mean that he has no interest in you?" It did.

"Did you put necessary ingredients?" the girl pressed her with question.

"Yes," Riri-chan replied with a tired sigh like she was asked that question at least ten times. "The lock of my hair and fingernails, which I cut on the day of full moon." Riri-chan looked at her nails, which were carefully trimmed to the very root.

All girls gathered under the window scrunched their faces in disgust. "Eww, you could have just said yes."

Yuuki froze in shock. What?

Riri's shoulders drooped, and she sighed, "Will it even work?"

Nakasa didn't like being doubted. "The God of Love— Okuninushi-no-mikoto never fails. The God helped my older sister did that and now she is successfully dating her current boyfriend." Yuuki's body froze. He already connected all the dots but didn't want to accept it. "You need to stop worrying. As long as you put everything into the chocola-"

Yuuki didn't listen to the rest of their conversation, he immediately darted towards the bathroom.

Second later bile rose, and he threw up in one of the toilet cabins. In the disgusting pile of vomit splattered all over the white ceramic he noticed the small whitish fragments. Nails. He gagged and heaved until he couldn't do it anymore.

Thinking about what he injested— the bile rose once again, but there was nothing left in his stomach except acid. Again and again, he tried to retch. The boy couldn't shake off the feeling that it was still in his stomach. Inside of him. Just a mere thought of that made him nauseous.

He wanted it out. He wanted it out. Oh God, he wanted it out, almost hysterically thought Yuuki.

Even if he knew logically that there was nothing else left there, it felt like thousands of incests were crawling inside of his stomach spreading quickly throughout his body, burying themselves deeply into his organs, under his skin.

Yuuki kept shoving fingers down his throat. Even if nothing come out, he kept repeating this process again. And again. And again. And again.

His whole body was shaking like a leaf. His fingers and knuckles were bloody, skin torn because of his teeth. Tears were streaming down his face. The young boy curled his body against the cold ceramic toilet on the floor. His hands and feet and his whole body felt cold. The drool, the snot, the vomit were splattered all over his face, hands and clothes. Stuck in his hair, sliding down his clothes.

Yuuki didn't know how much time has passed until he noticed just how dark the room was. Trying to stand up— his trembling legs gave out right under him. Yuuki stumbled forward, his left knee plunged right into the vomit induced toilet water, which must have stayed there for hours, and painfully hit the tough ceramic structure. Only by luck did he not crack his head open against the wall.

The young boy looked down his body. Vomit, toilet water, dirt from the floor and God knows what else— these substances were all over him. Young master. Even others at Academy thought he was some precious rich kid from affluent family.

Some would say: "He looked mature, behaved unlike children his age." He was so excited about the gift he received today. He didn't even think to check. She was essentially a stranger. But… she was his future comrade. The one with whom he would stay side by side in life and death situations. The one who was supposed to have his back.

Suddenly he was overcome with urge to laugh. How ridiculous. And stupid. And he was looking down on that girl too… thought her shallow and insincere, when this whole time— wasn't he the stupid one?

He always thought that Mother was just trying to steal things, when she took the gifts for 'inspection', he should have known better —every unreasonable rule in that place had a reason.

The laughter sounded raw and hurt and broken and not like something that should came out of the mouth of a child. And soon the laughter dissolved into choking sobs mixed with coughs. His throat burned.

Yuuki braced himself against the wall and finally fished himself out of the ceramic bowl.

After finishing washing up his face in bathroom sink, Yuuki leaned against the counter and looked at himself in the mirror.

Tangled mess of the hair, bloodshot dead eyes, the droplets sliding down his pallid skin. So pallid and white in fact, that it made him seem not entirely human. A delicate face which now appeared sickly and haggard. His pretty black kimono with golden flowers sewed on it was now like a rag.

Yuuki suddenly realised that this kimono was the one he used to cover her with that day in the empty classroom. Ironic. Just grabbed the first thing in his sight when he was changing.

The boy felt like his kimono right now. Pretty trash.

The image reflected in the mirror was truly disgusting.

The boy stuck his face in the mirror trying to see every little detail, the big smile on his face couldn't be suppressed no matter how much he tried. Yagura bought him a new set of winter clothes. This one was the fourth already. The boy laughed as the fluffy white scarf tickled his nose.

"You like them so much?" Yagura asked teasingly. Yuuki excitedly nodded his head and then lunged himself on the older man hugging his knees. "Maybe I should buy you more, so you would stop feeling touched by every little thing."

Yagura straightened up his clothes and kissed him on his forehead. "Be careful on the road, okay?"

"It is just the first snow… What could possibly happen to me?"

When Yuuki entered the premises of an Academy, it seemed like everyone was in a festive mood.

As soon as he sat down at his desk, Rin handed him the box, which he absentmindedly accepted without even looking. "Here! With first day of snow!"

All blood drained from his face as he looked at the box of chocolates in his hands. His body started shaking. "You know, I was so excited about the snow that I wasn't able to sleep all night. So, I made the chocolates for the class myself instead of buying it." The words 'made myself' rang in his head like an echo.

Rin was nice. Rin was a friend. She would never… It has been months, he thought almost hysterically. He thought he was getting better.

The boy was able to grit out only couple of words, "Thanks…Fi-first snow… why?"

Rin looked at him in surprise, "Don't you know about this tradition?"

Apparently, it was some sort of tradition in mostly shinobi families to gift small snacks to their family members and friends on the first day of snow. Because yada yada this tradition was before the founding of the Villages, yada yada snow means good harvest next year, yada yada share joy with others.

Yuuki felt the bile rise just from being in the vicinity of the damned thing. Looking around the classroom on every table laid the damned chocolate. Yuuki felt surrounded. He felt ridiculous being so painfully aware of the stupid thing. It seemed like he was holding a ticking bomb in his hands rather than a simple sweet.

Yuuki tried to distract himself with anything else and discretely shoved the box out of his eyesight. "Hey… Where is Kakashi? I don't think he ever came that late?"

Rin looked at him with puzzlement, "Why would he be here?"

Yuuki looked at her equally puzzled, "Why wouldn't he be here?" The boy furrowed his brows. "Did something happen or…?"

"Oh! You haven't heard yet. Kakashi-kun has been transferred to the graduation class." The light blush spread across her cheeks. "He is so amazing."

Yuuki was shocked for a full minute. "But… graduation class… Aren't they graduating in a couple of months?" Kakashi was five. Only the ones who had an actual chance to graduate were placed there. Kakashi—he was talented, but he… he was five.

Rin whispered into his ear, "I heard sensei say that not only did he fit the standards of genin, but he was already fast approaching chunin level, at least skill wise. Can you imagine that? If Kakashi's father didn't put his foot down that he should attend the classes for at least a year, they would have already given him hitae-ate right away."

Chunin? Rin looked happier, prouder and more excited for Kakashi, than worried like he was.

Genin at five. It was undoubtedly a groundbreaking achievement for all Hidden Villages. The youngest genin to ever exist.

Yuuki felt weird mix of worried, proud, happy and shocked. Graduation. That was what they were studying for. Next year or the year after he would probably graduate too. And then…

Genma who was sleeping by his side suddenly woke up. "I thought everyone knew with how much of a buzz it produced. I had been grilled by my sister about my studies all night because of that. 'Your classmate who is three years younger than you is already graduating. Blah blah blah'. Like she didn't graduate herself at ten…" Genma mumbled into his desk. Actually, his grades were in upper bracket, but he was just lazy from time to time.

From behind his back, he heard the sound of someone grinding their teeth together. Obito stared hatefully at the place where Kakashi used to sit.

Obito stared hatefully at Kakashi's shining new hitae-ate proudly tied on his forehead. Rin elbowed him in his ribs and Uchiha mumbled the words of thanks and then practically shoved his present into Kakashi's face.

Yuuki briefly glanced at an extremely tall man beneath the tree, who was standing couple of meters away from them, pretending like he wasn't blatantly eavesdropping on their conversation. His long and still somehow fluffy white hair helped Yuuki clocked him in as the mostly likely prospect of being a Kakashi's father.

Apparently, it was also a tradition to give gifts upon a graduation, which was actually pretty obvious. But he was informed about the fact that Kakashi actually passed all exams and tomorrow was the ceremony by Rin the day prior. So, he had a night and part of the morning to wing Kakashi a somewhat decent present.

It would be a dick thing to say, but he didn't think they would actually graduate him. Kakashi was mature, serious and skilled beyond his age. He was qualified, but it was still kinda… like the wrong thing to do.

Rin stressed the importance of a gift so much, that Yuuki figured it was way bigger deal than he initially thought. Especially with Kakashi casually breaking historical records.

Medical kit, pack of new kunai, holster for tanto, the aftercare for weapons. These were the things Rin, Asuma, Kurenai and Genma presented him. He didn't know what was in Obito's paper back. But he really hoped it would be a cake adorned with death threats or something cute like that. Only then would his gift not seem like the most useless.

All were practical gifts, which also made a lot of sense now that he was using his head and not panicking. Shit.

Suddenly he felt embarrassed by his gift. He subtly hid the frame deeper into the folds of his clothes. Yuuki absentmindedly checked his body for any other possession. At this moment a rusty kunai felt like a better option.

All eyes were on him now. Kakashi held out his hand towards him, his gaze fixed on his lapels where the frame was. Observant bastard.

"My gift."

For a second, he even felt the eyes of Kakashi's father on him. Yuuki looked up at the sky and sighed, "You know I think I might have left it in my house… How about-"

"My gift," Kakashi the motion 'gimme' with a very serious expression on his face.

"C'mon, Yuuki-chan. Whatever you prepared for him, I am sure Kakashi would appreciate your thoughtfulness." He would have believed her if Kakashi didn't shot her dry ass sceptical look. Others chimed in echoing her words. They all seemed mighty interested in his gift. The traitors could feel when someone fucked up from the mile away. Like sharks smelling blood.

With red face Yuuki held out his gift. It was piece of a calligraphy. On the black background the white word 'Protection' was emblazoned in bold, powerful strokes. The small word 'Ame' was scribbled in the lower right corner. His signature and pseudonym.

Six children gathered in a circle around the frame and stared incomprehensibly at it. It was such an old man's gift.

"Is it luck?" asked Obito.

"I think… it is Zen?" hesitantly offered Kurenai.

Asuma intently stared at the paper. Yuuki's faith in humanity returned. As the son of Konoha he should be more versed in stuff like that than others, right? Shinobi royalty in a way.

Asuma pretended to caress his nonexistent goatee. "It is happiness," he said with confident air of an expert.

"Ah!" "I see!" "It does seem to be so…"

What you bloody see?!

Yuuki massaged his temples. Kakashi stopped checking his gift and stared at him in confirmation of an answer.

Their usual everyday handwriting and the proper calligraphy in fonts were two different things. When he writes something in cursive font, sometimes he forgets even himself what on earth did he write. But still the style he chose was pretty simple and straightforward, no difficult embellishments or details.

Weren't they scions of powerful clans and shinobi? Why was he friends with illiterates?

With deadpan stare Yuuki replied, tone flat, "'Rest in peace' It is a prototype for an engraving on your future grave. I thought that I might as well call the first dibs."

The boy slapped himself on the mouth as soon as he said that and subtly shot a glance behind Kakashi's back at his dad.

Yuuki coughed and replied, "It is Protection."

"Awww." "That's so nice of you, Yuuki-chan."

"Now I see." Yuuki really wanted to throttle Obito who couldn't see shit even with those massive glasses of his.

The man in the distance loudly coughed.

Kakashi found his manners. "Thank you." With his face always under the mask it was difficult for Yuuki to determine how the boy felt about his gift.

"If you don't like it, you can just sell it." They voiced their objections.

A bit peeved and flustered he continued, "As a disciple of 'Akeboshi' it could still fetch an okay price."

"How much?" Obito asked, but Rin hit him hard on the shoulder.

Kakashi's father repeated the word 'Akeboshi' in shock. Yuuki scrunched his nose as he mentally calculated. "Probably the third of that tanto you looked at… the other day."

Yuuki glanced at Obito speechlessly, but clarified further for these fools. "The price of calligraphy based on many things." He awkwardly combed back some of strayed hair that came out of his braid behind his ears. "The materials used, the techniques, the fonts, the story connected to the piece and etc. But all of that is secondary. The most important one is the prestige of a calligrapher. His fame and all that. My master has made some small accomplishments here and there, so the price of this work would come mostly from me being his disciple and it being 'Saisho no Haru'-" Yuuki mumbled the last part in embarrassment. "Anyway, that's about it."

'Saisho no Haru' or 'First spring' was a name given to the first work of calligraphers. Yuuki really hoped they wouldn't know the meaning of it. They were invaluable works that were given only to important people of calligrapher. Just looking at it from emotional standpoint —you wouldn't give your first serious piece just to anyone.

For an artist the 'Saisho no Haru' was just… special. Many would sell their second, third and other works first and keep 'Saisho no Haru' till they found the right person to receive it.

There could only be one 'First spring'. If Yuuki ever became famous in that circle or at least semi decent, people would go nuts over his first work.

Because people loved the first's and the last's.

After all, they were the most memorable, the most special. First love, first kiss, last smile, last words.

Yuuki might have said that the silver haired boy could sell it, but he would be devastated, if he actually did. Last night he was pondering about it for a long time whether to gift it or not.

Kakashi was going out there, he would constantly face the danger starting tomorrow, while they stayed safe in confines of walls surrounding them. As a friend he be wanted to add a little layer of protection to him. With every stroke he infused his will for his recipient to remain safe, to come back to Konoha— even if he was last left standing.

Compared to Kakashi's achievements first work or not — it seemed like such an insignificant thing in comparison. Well, there was also a selfish motive. The first step of someone who would become a legend one day— what a nice story for his first work.

Honestly, he wasn't even sure if Kakashi would be offended —like Yuuki was thinking he wasn't skilled enough and needed additional 'Protection'. But from knowing the boy for so long he knew, that the other party never minced his words. If he didn't like it — he would make it very clear.

Kakashi looked at him like he was reassessing him anew. Suddenly, a man with long silver hair appeared in front of them without making a sound and manhandled his own son in proper ninety degrees bow. "Wha-"

The man whacked Kakashi on the head when the other tried to very reasonably fend off an attacker. "Say proper thanks to such a priceless gift. You have a good friend." Confused Kakashi once again thanked Yuuki.

The others kept looking back and forth between the father son duo and Yuuki and then stopped on the older man. "I am Sakumo Hatake. Nice to meet you. You are Kakashi's friends?"

Kakashi looked at his father like he was wondering what the heck the other person was doing here. It seemed like the process of gift giving was supposed to be a quick one. Say congratulations, give present and leave, because genin or not—shinobi didn't do emotions. Definitely not in public.

Truthfully speaking, Sakumo Hatake didn't look all that impressive. Just regular dad. A bit tired and worn out but still spirited. Unlike Kakashi he actually seemed kinda nice.

The children briefly introduced themselves. Rin had stars shining in her eyes, when she looked at him. Yuuki wondered whether it was hero worship or from seeing the grown up version of Kakashi. Obito's gaze flickered from Sakumo to Kakashi's mask, probably wondering if they looked similar.

Sudden curveball flew into Yuuki's direction. "You said it was your 'Saisho no Haru'…" The man smiled kindly at the boy. Damn, so he knew.

"What is 'Saisho no Haru'?" Kakashi and others asked. Yuuki wasn't answering that question.

Flustered Yuuki gripped the ends of his braid. "Mmm. Hatake-dono, you know a lot about calligraphy?" Yuuki hoped not.

"Hatake-dono is too official. Just call me Sakumo-san."

"Sakumo-san," Yuuki- the people pleaser- chirped in confirmation.

"Though I am not proficient in it myself. I do have a hobby of collecting the art pieces. Saying someone as famous as 'Akeboshi' only had small achievements really wasn't doing justice to your master." There was glint in his eyes, that Yuuki immediately recognised. He was a fan.

Saying fancy words like master was a bit too much. The most famous calligrapher in the Land of Fire 'Akeboshi' was just simply Yagura-nii. The man, whom Yuuki saw just this morning scratching his ass. Though it did happen only because he spent the whole night with Yuuki harshly criticising every detail and giving warm advice till it was perfect.

The reason why he became so popular was because he created this whole mysterious persona about himself, who only ever sent representatives in his stead. Everyone was hooked up on this concept and tried to figure out his identity, which was unsuccessful.

Of course, his works were splendid and magnificent, but in the Art world you needed to have something more than that —to be remembered wasn't an easy feat. How many talented people were drowned in the rivers of unknown? Their works becoming popular only after their deaths?

"I didn't know he took in a disciple." Yuuki first thought it was a dig at him — the man was probing whether he was lying. Frauds were a thing. But then, he saw him touching a part where Yuuki's signature was—it was written with special ink that only Yagura used.

Yagura liked to combine painting and calligraphy together and use all kinds of special inks in his works. His pieces always breathed individuality. There was no coping him. Usually, the master's style was reflected in his student's works. Sakumo scrutinising his piece made him flustered.

Just now he realised how much information he leaked about his master. If Yuuki was here, then it meant his master also resided here. Considering Yuuki's attire which was a traditional kimono—a bit fancier than he usually wore, you could probably tell he came from civilian background. Others were in their usual training garbs.

Yuuki took a deep breath and revealed further information, something he didn't plan to explain at all, after receiving a lukewarm thanks from Kakashi. The older man probably felt the chakra coming out of his work anyway. "Not that long ago, master received chakra infused ink. And he permitted me to use it. May I?"

Chakra infused ink was expensive. The seals were written with this particular type. He was lying about the price, only with this much he bumped the price to at least a half of that tanto if not more.

Yuuki had to draw at least dozen of times with the usual ink before he attempted the final draft. Who would have thought that this ink would look like stains from pee after drying up on white paper? Yagura's love for any extraordinary material sometimes backfired.

The boy had to wrestle with his wits all night till he just covered it with black paint. In a way what he did wasn't calligraphy. Maybe reversed calligraphy? He filled everything with colour except the white space in the centre leaving it in the form of 'Protection'. Yagura assured him that it was more symbolic that way.

In complicated world to be untouched by its darkness while Gods watched over us from behind. Wasn't that the best way to represent protection? His chicken soup upon his soul worked. And here he was now… regretting his decisions.

Sakumo gave it back to him and everyone watched intently, still remaining confused for the most parts. Both the man and the boy used many professional terms that others didn't understand. Yuuki positioned it in front of Kakashi- the recipient of his gift, and pulsed chakra through his work.

The beautiful painting of Lightning God in a form of a Wolf appeared on the black background. The word protection was interwoven by tendrils of lightning from all sides like the symbol was protected by the God himself.

The chakra shone with white colour making the lightning look realistic. Like white chakra of Hatake clan.

After Yuuki's accident with that ritual, he went to the library and memorised which clan served which God and what not. He also scouted the information that most likely his hands wouldn't get blasted off if he tried to draw any of them. Unless it was in demeaning way.

The God he drew was a patron God of Hatake clan.

The cries of admiration of his friends were making him flustered. But it made him also feel proud of him achievement.

"Wow. You could draw that well, Yuuki-kun?" exclaimed Kurenai.

"How much hours did it take to make something like that?" "Hey… Can you draw me?"

After answering the question of his friends he was finally asked by Kakashi. "Is it Kaminari-sama?" asked Kakashi with voice full of wonder.

As far as Yuuki knew— any clan in Konohagakure was, while not overly religious or fanatical, still extremely respectful towards their Gods, their history, their roots. Samurai clan like Hatake was more particular about honour. And honouring their predecessors seemed like something they would appreciate.

"Emmn. Yes… I hope I didn't overstep?" What if they didn't worship him anymore? Sudden thought appeared in Yuuki's head.

Both Hatake thanked him again, at which he just waved his hands in the air not to be so serious. But now he was somewhat relieved as he was leaving it in the hands of someone who understood its importance.

"Man… Now I feel like I should have brought something better." Obito said from the side. Yuuki mentally thanked usually socially unaware boy ten times over in his head for easing the atmosphere.

Yuuki didn't come from shinobi family, and he didn't know every unwritten rule or understood the common sense that was common sense only to shinobi. So, he still fumbled a lot.

This time it felt like he wore a suit to a simple outing that required just jeans. But still everything seemed to be okay. And no one seemed particularly offended by his attire or present.

Yuuki hoped Kakashi would stay chunin for a good decade, because he didn't know what he could possibly gift him the next time.

That night Yuuki had a dream.

"Hatake Kakashi, the legendary Copy-ninja... Graduated at five, became a chunin at six…"

This son of a …

very nice and polite man.