A/N: Sorry about the super long wait between chapters. I'm not really on ffnet anymore, and had lost inspiration for a while there, but I did my annual rewatch of LoTR and got some ideas going again. I know everyone wants to get back to Middle Earth, but there's a reason we're going over the Konoha stuff. Unfortunately, we've got a few things to resolve after the deaths from last chapter, but I hope for only one (maybe two) more chapters set in Konoha before we jump back to Middle Earth. Please bear with me, love ~ DC

Chapter 7: Interlude with Ninja pt 3

June (year equivalent to 3017)

Kakashi stood with his genin at the mid-point of the bridge. He had his hands set on each genin's shoulder as they stared at the tarp draped over what appeared to be the bridge's sign—why Tazuna decided to put the name of the bridge at the middle of the construct escaped the jōnin.

The bridge had been completed yesterday, but Tazuna practically begged them to stay one more evening, and Kakashi had consented (mostly because he was not ready to return to Konoha where yet another empty grave represented a lost loved one). Apparently, the no-longer-drunk bridge builder had a surprise for them, and the surprise was likely the name of the bridge. He wanted to roll his eyes—what did the bridge builder expect? Was he planning to name the bridge after their fallen teammate? Did he think it would assuage his guilt over lying about the mission rank?

Tazuna fidgeted slightly in front of the tarp covering the presumed sign at the mid-point of the bridge. Inari was filled with a mix of nervous yet earnest energy while Tsunami held the boy in place with her hands set on his shoulders.

Team 7 stared at the bridge builder half-expectant but mostly impassive. They would have left at first light if not for the bridge builder's request. Tazuna coughed and fidgeted again.

"I know I can never make up for what…for what my lie wrought—for your loss," the bridge builder paused and looked like he was about to justify himself but instead closed his mouth and bowed his head. Sasuke and Sakura were both tense—Kakashi could feel the tension in their shoulders—and likely would have lashed out had Tazuna given an excuse.

After a beat, Tazuna looked back up at the three surviving members of Team 7. "All I can do is offer my future services to your country and do my best to honor your sacrifices," he said this slowly and then pulled at the sheet hanging over the sign. It took a few tries, and the assistance of his family, but when the tarp finally fell, Kakashi blinked.

There was a simple wooden sign which spanned the length of the bridge set atop three pillars. It was simple, and the characters carved into the sign were without flourish or artistry.

"Seven Pillars Bridge," Sakura read aloud, unimpressed. Kakashi was equally unimpressed until he noticed the Kanji carved into the top of the central pillar and then the kanji carved onto the side pillars. His genin gasped as they too took in the additional kanji.

Sacrifice, read the central pillar, the foundation of this bridge. Carved along the base of this pillar were presumably names of those killed during Gato's reign of terror—a memorial of the sacrifices Wave gave to achieve this bridge and modicum of independence. Tazuna held out a wood chisel and hammer to Kakashi.

"We've added ours, but assumed you'd want to add yours," Tsunami murmured empathetically. Kakashi swallowed as he stepped forward and took the chisel and hammer.

Each name carved into the base of the central pillar were made by different people—Kakashi's keen eyes could tell. He knelt down and carefully began to chisel in Sato Shin's name with as much artistry as a calligraphist, which he was due to his training in the sealing arts. Sakura was sobbing into her hands by the time Kakashi had finished, and Sasuke was giving the girl a half-hug as he fought to keep his own tears at bay.

Shakily, Kakashi pulled away from his work and handed the chisel and hammer back to Tazuna. The jōnin then rejoined his genin and stared at the bridge before him. Seven Pillars for Team 7, and the centra pillar was sacrifice—the old bridge builder actually found a way to redeem himself in Kakashi's eyes.

He swallowed past the lump in his throat and regarded the somber old man. "Sacrifice, mourning, and suffering," he gestured to the pillars holding up the bridge's sign. "What will the other four pillars be?" Kakashi recalled passing two pillars at the end of bridge but there had been no kanji carved on them.

"Love, loyalty, hope, and family," Tazuna replied. "I'm thinking of putting the loyalty and hope pillars at the other end," he stated as he gestured toward the Land of Fire side of the bridge.

"It's perfect," Sakura choked out. She was wiping at her tears. Sasuke nodded his head and wiped at some gathered moisture under his own eyes.

"It's the very least I could do to honor all you have done," Tazuna replied while his family nodded. Inari broke away from his mother and hugged both of Kakashi's genin, much to Sasuke's surprise and Sakura's sad amusement.

"Please be safe, and maybe visit?" Inari asked quietly once he pulled away from the two genin.

"We'll try," Sakura said shakily, her voice still laden with sadness, but at least her tears were subsiding.

"We best be off," Kakashi whispered, and his genin nodded. They exchanged farewells and then proceeded on home to Konoha.

…

Kakashi led his genin through the streets of Konoha toward the Hokage Tower. Sasuke stared impassively ahead of him while Sakura stared at her feet; however, the two genin walked close to each other, their arms brushing as if to remind each other that one teammate was still there. The two had been subconsciously reaching out to each other since Shin's passing and often included Kakashi in the casual physical closeness. Unfortunately, Kakashi knew that today the genin remained close because of the gossip following them.

Kakashi kept his gaze forward and put more effort into appearing laidback, but he still stiffened at each comment he hear about the missing genin from his cell. The mood of the village was already somber and tense due to Jiraiya's passing. There was a tension to the air that was mixed grief and dread—as if people expected an enemy to take advantage of one of the Sannin's passing. He heard two old women whispering that a genin team returning from their first C-rank without their teammate was a bad omen on top of Jiraiya's loss.

Kakashi slowed his pace until he fell behind his surviving genin where he could then set his hands on their shoulders. Some of the tension that had been building in the children's shoulders lessened. He squeezed their respective shoulders twice before giving an eye-smile.

"Neh, race to the Missions' Office. Winner chooses where we go for lunch," Kakashi said with forced cheer—his genin saw through the tone. He flickered from civilian sight through a combination of illusion and the Body Flicker technique and landed on an adjacent roof. His genin jumped to a different roof and began running. He kept pace and let them win—Sasuke and Sakura tied, which was not surprising considering the race was all for show and they had already made plans to eat at Shin's favorite restaurant for lunch.

While Team 7 had escaped the general public's scrutiny, they were now in a crowded hall with a half dozen chūnin handing out missions to various ninja teams. Kakashi had hoped most of the genin teams were training in preparation for the upcoming Chūnin Exams, but luck was not with them. Asuma was standing to the side with his genin when Team 7 came in—the bearded man's cigarette fell from his mouth at their sudden appearance and the obvious missing genin. Gai was also present, and his initial blinding smile grew tight and his eyes hard. The genin on said teams took a moment longer to notice Team 7's arrival.

"Sasuke-kun!" the Yamanaka heir screeched before Asuma grabbed the girl by the shoulder. The Nara heir mumbled "troublesome" under his breath as he shook his head. The pale blonde girl blinked a few times before she did a proper headcount of Team 7 and her pale green eyes grew wide.

Sakura began fidgeting with the hem of her dress, and Sasuke moved closer to the pink haired girl (whether to hide from the blonde fangirl or to give and receive support from his teammate, Kakashi could not discern). Fortunately, the Hokage rose from where he had been observing the missions' office and occasionally handed out lower-ranking missions to eager genin teams (high-ranked missions were given in private by the Hokage).

"Team 7," the Professor greeted with a nod of his head.

Sasuke and Sakura bowed their heads slightly while Kakashi stepped forward. "Hokage-sama," he returned the greeting.

"I believe we need to debrief," the old man said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. He then began to walk toward the stairwell that led to his office. Team 7 followed after the revered ninja, and Kakashi knew the chūnin in the room would be gossiping the moment the doors to the stairwell closed. He wished he could save his genin from this.

"We may as well walk and talk," the Hokage suggested as they began climbing the stairs.

Kakashi nodded and walked a step behind the Hokage. "The client lied about the rank of the mission. He had missing-nin after him, hired by shipping tycoon Gatō. We encountered the Demon Brothers shortly after leaving the village, who were known associates of Momochi Zabuza. I wrote a detailed description of our encounters with the missing-nin in my mission report," Kakashi stated and hoped the old man picked up his desire not to elaborate on the encounters themselves.

The Hokage hummed and nodded. "And what of your reasoning? Did you add that to the report?" he asked.

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi had a sinking feeling he knew what the old man was getting at.

"You said you encountered the Demon Brothers shortly after leaving Konoha. You would have known the mission was easily B-rank if not A-rank given the known association with Momochi Zabuza. Why did you continue with a mission clearly mis-ranked which outclassed your team?"

"We insisted!" Sasuke snapped. If the boy had been a cat, his hackles would be raised, and he'd be hissing.

"Sasuke-kun," Kakashi tried to calm the boy down, but Sasuke continued to glare at the old man. Sakura, for her part, was also glaring at the Professor with her hands clenched into fists at her side.

"We had to help Wave!" she added. "Shin wanted to help them," her voice cracked slightly.

They had finally arrived at the floor where the Hokage's office resided. The old man turned his gaze to Kakashi. "You left the choice to your genin?"

"I could have made us return, true," Kakashi stared the God of Shinobi in the eye. "I made a judgement call based on the information I knew and the skills of my genin. I underestimated the enemy and…Shin paid the price."

"Sensei!" his genin protested, but the Hokage only nodded, and motioned for them to enter his office ahead of him.

"We insisted!" "You can't blame Sensei!" his genin continued to protest.

The Hokage sighed heavily as he closed the door behind him. "Kakashi-kun is your commanding officer, and even if you all agreed, others will still see it as his call."

Kakashi closed his eyes and nodded. He knew what the Hokage was trying to get at, and the gasp Sakura gave said she understood. Sai, the other Konoha ninja…they'd all believe it was Kakashi's call in the end and that he was fully responsible for Shin's death—and they were right, of course.

"But-but—" Sakura was trying to protest what she likely perceived as the unfairness of the situation. Sasuke was trembling at her side in a mixture of grief and anger.

"Kakashi-kun, if you would…" the Hokage trailed off as he gestured to his office walls. Kakashi's eye widened in understanding before he shot a pointed look at his still protesting genin. The old Hokage just nodded as he pulled out his pipe and began to pack it while wandering over to the window.

Sasuke noticed the change in mood first and grabbed Sakura's arm to pull her attention away from defending Kakashi's choice to continue the mission.

"W-what's going on?" the girl asked as she looked between the village leader and her instructor.

The Hokage just raised his eyebrows toward Kakashi who quickly took out his sealing paper and ink. He then applied several privacy seals to the walls as well as the improved—though still experimental—seal to prevent space-time jutsu.

"I imagine you were all together when Fukasaku-sama was summoned to Kakashi-kun, and that you are aware your sensei was being trained as successor to Jiraiya of the Sannin?" The Hokage asked this all rather casually as he lit his pipe. The two surviving genin of Team 7 just nodded slowly. "Excellent, then you must also be aware that your sensei has been on a high-ranking mission crucial to Konoha's safety."

At this point, the genin gave each other confused looks while Kakashi grimaced. "Hokage-sama," he tried to protest.

"We just know he needs to become the next Sage," Sakura replied slowly.

"And that his enemies are very powerful," Sasuke added.

"Both of which are true," the Hokage stated much to Kakashi's sputtering protests. "We now know the face of our enemy and a bit more of their troubling skills. It is for this reason I am assigning you all with a mission of the utmost importance."

The genin were stunned into silence, so it was up to Kakashi to protest this. "Hokage-sama, we just got back from an extended mission," he said pointedly.

"Indeed, and you will have a week to mourn and rest," he replied calmly. The old man puffed out a ring of smoke and then began a meandering walk toward his desk as he continued speaking. "Jiraiya-kun was going to be my successor. He made it quite clear after Danzō's betrayal that I needed to retire, and so had been training you to take over his spy-network.

"Of course," the Hokage's voice cracked with grief, but he pushed past it, "that can no longer be the case. While you would be an ideal candidate for Hokage, you lack the name recognition, and we sorely need someone to continue Jiraiya's mission." The old man's voice was trembling slightly with his emotions, but he was doing his best to hold it back.

Kakashi stiffened when he felt small hands suddenly hold his own, and then he looked down to see his genin staring up at him with a mixture of worry, awe, and understanding. He slowed his breathing (which he only now realized had elevated) and squeezed both genin's hands. He then turned back to the Hokage feeling a little more grounded.

"While Nara Shikaku has the name recognition and administrative skills, he lacks the power to be Hokage, which means we must look elsewhere for a successor," the God of Shinobi explained. He finally arrived at his desk and turned to face Team 7. "Thus, we arrive at your mission: bring Tsunade of the Sannin home."

Kakashi's brain screeched to a halt. Kakashi could feel the excitement radiating off of Sakura at the prospect of meeting the legendary kunoichi herself, while Sasuke remained rather impassive beside Kakashi.

"She made a vow to never return," Kakashi whispered. "After Dan and her brother…" he trailed off and shook his head to rid himself of late-night conversations with Jiraiya about his beloved teammate. Kakashi closed his eye and shook his head again. "Why are you insisting on a successor now?" he asked as he regarded the old man.

"Jiraiya-kun told me you were ready to take over his network just before the last graduation cycle. While he didn't want to leave the field until his mission was complete, he did agree that you would be capable enough to take over the investigation and that the upcoming Chūnin Exams would be the perfect opportunity to bring forward my successor.

"Of course, then our spy told us about the lead in Ame and…" the Hokage trailed off. He looked away from them as he tried to compose himself. "I still believe the Chūnin Exams are the right time to present my successor, but Jiraiya-kun's passing—excuse me—" the old man gasped and took a shuddering breath as he pushed back his grief. He wiped at his eyes and took several breaths before he finally turned back to Team 7. "It is time for Tsunade to come home."

"Why my team, why not just me?" Kakashi asked quietly, his voice was wavering. He felt his students bristle at his sides.

The Hokage smiled sadly. "Kakashi-kun, do you think you can be parted from your genin long enough for that?" the old man might have sounded teasing if not for the tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.

"No," Sasuke commented and held tighter to Kakashi's hand.

"We wouldn't have let him leave without us," Sakura said rather boldly.

The Hokage laughed sadly before nodding his head. "Just as I thought," he said. He took another composing breath and sniffed as he looked away from the team. "Besides," he added, "I imagine your losses will help you connect with my wayward student."

There was a quiet beat for a moment as this ulterior motive sunk in. In that time, Kakashi took stock of his genin as well as himself. Part of him had been in a state of shock since hearing his team had a mission right after this disaster of one, and then his shock grew worse at the implication he was a contender for Hokage. However, now that he was paying attention, he saw his genin were looking emotionally drained and yet prepared to fight alongside him.

It clicked after a moment. They were feeling protective of him and yet also felt protected by being next to him. They were taking strength from each other despite the sadness weighing them all down.

Kakashi smiled sadly down at his genin before his vision spun. Right, the experimental anti-space-time seal still drained a lot of his chakra. He prized his hands from the children's hold and instead placed his hands on their shoulders where he then settled more of his weight. His genin immediately helped support him.

"Maa, Hokage-sama, I cannot hold the space-time seal up much longer, did we need to discuss that mission?"

"Ah, yes, my apologies for not noticing sooner," the Hokage stated. "During your week off, I would suggest meeting with Nara Shikaku and Yamanaki Inoji to go over what was discovered by Jiraiya-kun. We've made sure no physical evidence has remained so that our masked teleporting enemy cannot retrieve what we know."

"Shima-sama?" Kakashi asked a little worriedly.

"Back at the Mountain and waiting for you to sign a Toad summoning contract so you can start learning Sage chakra."

"Hokage-sama…" Kakashi's voice cracked. "I can't…" he trailed off and his genin wrapped their arms around his middle to offer comfort but also to better support him as his chakra reserves waned.

"You are Jiraiya-kun's protégé, Kakashi-kun. Someday, you will need to accept all that entails, but I will not push it now." The Hokage smiled sadly and then dismissed them.

Kakashi finally disconnected his chakra from the anti-space-time seal and then removed the privacy seals. Of course, when he did so, he could then hear what was occurring outside of the Hokage's office.

"You would think he'd know better," someone said in a placid voice over the sound of someone struggling.

"True," another impassive voice commented.

"Let me go, Scary-Eye-Sensei!" someone hissed.

"You cannot go charging into the Hokage's office," Kakashi recognized Tenzō's chastising tone—it had been used a time or two on Kakashi during his short stint in ANBU when the gray-haired then-teen had overworked himself.

"I don't care!" the one who had hissed at his sensei now shouted; his voice cracked with emotion. "I want answers from cyclops and ugly and broody," the person said this part quietly now, but each word was laden with grief. The speaker could only be Sai. Oh Sai…

Sasuke and Sakura came to the same conclusion if the way they both stiffened and paled was any indication. However, Sakura quickly left Kakashi's side and flung open the doors. On the other side was Team 1. Tenzō was holding a pale dark-haired boy in wooden restraints that wrapped around his torso so that the boy's arms were pinned to his sides. The boy was on his knees since the wood morphing up from the floor was short. The boy was not crying, but Kakashi could tell it was a close thing.

Sakura rushed toward the kneeling boy and then dropped down. "I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry." The girl was nearly pressing her forehead to the floor as she bowed.

Kakashi felt Sasuke's arms tighten around his waist and felt the boy twitch slightly as if he too wished to prostrate himself before the other genin and apologize.

"Why are you apologizing, ugly? Did you kill him?" Sai asked, his voice was blank now—leftover conditioning from ROOT that had taken over in his shock.

Sakura shook her head (her forehead now pressed to the floor) and sobbed. "I-I may as well have," she whispered brokenly.

"Then it's my fault too!" Sasuke snapped and took a step away from Kakashi. "Like Sensei said, blame is useless. What's happened has happened and we can't change it." He looked away as he fought back tears. "W-we can only honor Shin's sacrifice."

"I want to see him," Sai whispered, his voice still dead, though a tear slid down the side of his face. Tenzō looked to Kakashi, who nodded, and so released the wooden restraints—the wood morphed back into the floor.

"We need to bring him to the morgue," Kakashi stated as he began to leave the Hokage's office.

Nodding numbly, Sai stood and then followed the crying members of Team 7 toward the morgue. Team 1 trailed behind them, though gave the grieving ninja space. When Sai's shock enforced emotionless-ness finally broke, the boy began sobbing over his brother's corpse, and Kakashi led his genin away. There would be many more tears spilled yet today, he just knew it.

…

Kakashi slowly rolled his shoulders back as he arrived at his apartment door. Sakura had insisted Sasuke stay with her family tonight and had even tried to convince Kakashi to stay at the Haruno residence too. He had refused and had cited that he was a full-grown man with his own apartment. Both genin had given him varying degrees of disappointed looks but had gone off toward the Uchiha district so Sasuke could get new clothes and the like.

Now, though, Kakashi was by himself and in front of his heavily locked, trapped, and sealed apartment. He rolled his head from one side to the other to further release built up tension before he set to work entering his home.

Once inside, he erected his usual security measures and took stock of the space. Seeing as he'd been traveling the world for nearly a decade (or living in special operations bunkers the rest of the time), he did not have much in his apartment. The few items Kakashi possessed that were of a more sentimental nature had been moved from a secure storage facility to this apartment, while the rest of the space was filled with standard issue items.

Kakashi toed off his sandals, flipped on the light, and then proceeded toward the only surface in the living area. He deposited his storage scrolls on the chabudai and took a seat on one of the cushions. He sighed upon notice the dust which had settled over the place—he'd only been gone a little over a month.

Unpacking the storage scroll, Kakashi set aside the items he'd need to restock before the next mission (sealing ink, sealing paper, bandages, first aid material, soldier pills, rations), then sorted which weapons needed sharpening (a dozen kunai). The remaining items from the storage scroll included his dirty clothes and his sketch book.

Kakashi blinked once, then twice, before opening his sketch book. Since art had become such a part of his life during his years undercover, he had taken to sketching as a means of decompressing. Kakashi flipped through the pages and smiled sadly as he came to the pages of his sketch book after he'd started teaching Team 7.

His genin.

He'd been sketching his genin these past five, now six, months—it was such a short time and yet had felt so long. Sometimes, when his genin thought he was ignoring them to edit one of Jiraiya's manuscripts, Kakashi was actually sketching his genin. There were several good depictions of Sakura and Sasuke's frustration during D-ranks, and Shin's bemusement at his teammates.

Kakashi felt his throat tighten. He quickly pulled out his summoning scroll and called the Pack to him. He needed his dogs, he needed comfort. Kakashi was quickly swarmed by the dogs; Bull practically knocked the breath out of him. He wrapped his arms around one of the dogs (Guruko based on the feel of the ears and fur texture) and began to sob.

The ninken all gave their varying cries of Boss or Kakashi-kun, and then proceeded to try and console him. He just continued to cry until the tightness in his chest released and his tears subsided. Finally able to breathe again, Kakashi pet each of his dogs before looking back to his sketchbook.

Pakkun, ever the boss of the pack, spoke up. "Kakashi-kun, what can we do for you?" he asked almost gently.

"Just be here, Pakkun," he murmured, his voice hoarse, as he flipped to the last sketches he had made. Pakkun and several other ninken huffed but settled close to Kakashi.

Kakashi furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at the last page he had done. It was one of the nights they'd made camp on the way to Wave. Shin had taken watch along with Kakashi (the other two genin hadn't even thought of needing a watch), and Kakashi had sketched the gray-haired genin as he watched over his teammates. The teen's expression was almost content and fond, yet there was also a hardness to his expression caused by the then-B-rank mission.

Kakashi picked up his sketch book and began to move toward the second bedroom of his apartment, which he had converted into an art studio. He found some watercolors and some paper. He then sat down at the drafting table he'd set in the studio and began to paint the image he'd capture during watch onto the sheaf of paper.

The watercolors blended together to create the right tone for the pale boy's skin lightened by campfire. His gray-hair distinguished from the white of the paper and yet blended with it at the very edges. The end result was an almost simple and effortless-looking portrait of his deceased student. Kakashi leaned back as he watched the paint dry. He absently reached down a hand to pet Akino who had come into the studio along with a few of the other ninken who hadn't fallen asleep in the living area.

"I can't see color, but it looks great," Pakkun commented almost wryly.

Kakashi smiled faintly and looked over toward his pug and first summon but froze. There was an easel set up near where Pakkun sat, and it held a canvas with a faint charcoal outline. The outline was going to become a painting Jiraiya had been bothering Kakashi to make for years, and the Jōnin had finally relented before the Wave mission. The Legendary Pervert had wanted a portrait that captured his essence, which meant he wanted Kakashi to make a painting of Jiraiya with numerous scantily clad women hanging off of him. Kakashi was making it into a caricature rather than a serious painting; so, now, looking at the vague sketch of it made his stomach turn.

He got up from his seat quickly and threw the canvas against a wall where it broke. Jiraiya might have been an unrepentant pervert, but he was still a good and honorable man! A caricature was no way to honor the man. There was so much the toad sage could have done, there were so many people who loved him.

In his mind, he thought of Tsunade and how the two former teammates had a deep connection and love that neither would act on. He thought of how that love was now never going to see the light of day because death divided them like a poisonous stream. He thought of all of Jiraiya's fans and his works, and how all of the perverseness (while genuine to a degree) was a mask for the deep love he held for his country and comrades.

Kakashi almost frantically looked around his studio until he found the biggest canvas he could; he needed to use three easels to keep the canvas well supported. Admittedly, he only had this large of a canvas in his studio because Sukea had been commissioned by a daimyo to paint his estate, but Kakashi had a better idea in mind for the canvas.

At the very top of the canvas, he began painting a forest canopy at the cusp of fall—most of the leaves were still green but toward the left side of the canvas there were more oranges, reds, yellows, and browns dotted amongst the leaves. At the bottom of the canvas, he began painting long grasses, except toward the middle of the canvas' bottom he began adding red paint in the unique shape of spider lilies. Once he moved toward the right side of the canvas' bottom, he began to paint a river that curved until it would create a presumed island in the bottom right quadrant of the canvas. He then began making the curved and twisted trunks and branches of a wisteria tree at the rightmost edge of the canvas.

With most of the background now in place, he began to add figures to the landscape and shade everything in the warm rays of twilight. A statuesque yet voluptuous woman stood in a loosened black kimono—her pale shoulders were bare and allowed for just a hint of her shapely chest to be visible. The fabric of her sleeves and the bottom of her kimono blew in a wind only visible in the portrait. The wind was against this statuesque woman's back and so pushed the fabric of her kimono as well as her blonde hair toward the river in front of her, thus obscuring her face from the viewer. It also blew the hanging wisteria toward the river and bowed the long grass. Purple wisteria blossoms floated on this invisible current of wind almost like tears. At the woman's feet (and scattered about the island of grass and wisteria she stood upon) were white chrysanthemums along with a few shrubs of yellow camellias.

With the bottom right quadrant complete, Kakashi finished up the rest of the right side of the canvas. The wisteria tree blended into the rest of the green-turning-to-fall forest. The river completed its journey to the edge of the canvas, and the swatch of red spider lilies followed its path past the trunks of sturdy, towering trees.

The left half of the canvas was a clearing and at the bottoms of the forest trees were several amorous couples frozen in the middle of copulation. There were three different couples pressed against various tree trunks, while a couple lay in the grass among the roots of a foreground tree, and another couple huddled up in the branches of a different tree. The couples were of varying gender compositions, but all the women were well-endowed, and their faces held sultry or blissed expressions. A fan of Jiraiya's books would recognize the various couplings as characters and positions from his Icha Icha series.

Kakashi painted a mighty tree trunk against the left side of the canvas—so tall its canopy could not be captured in the canvas—and reclined against the base was a giant of a man. His white hakama was opened at the top so his chest was bare and showed his sculpted muscles. The fabric of the hakama trousers stretched against the faintest outline of muscle as the background-most leg was bent and his hand held a sake cup upon the raised knee. Off the foreground arm of the man hung a mostly naked woman who looked up at the man with a look of devotion. A single gossamer like shawl covered her waist but still alluded to her sex.

This feminine figure was not the only one near the reclining man. There were other women, and an effeminate man or two lounging within the tall grass. Some were touching themselves or each other as they looked upon the half-dressed man with longing and devotion. Each figure was mostly nude except for the almost ephemeral shrouds that hid parts of their bodies. These naked beings were beautiful and would undoubtedly be tantalizing to most who gazed upon the painting.

However, the reclining man in the white hakama had his gray eyes trained on the woman in black that stood across the clearing and river from him. The red lines coming down from the man's eyes looked almost like tear tracks, and his expression was of one overseeing his realm and yet longing for more. His unruly white hair contrasted the dark trunk of the tree, and the bottles of sake at his side stood out clearly against his white clothes.

About the reclined man were white, yellow, and red camellia shrubs. The red camellia shrubs were practically climbing the tree the man reclined against while others stood out starkly against his white hakama. The white camellia plants dotted the entire clearing, while the yellow ones followed the man's eyeline toward the black clothed woman. Some of the flowers lay crushed beneath the wanton bodies posed around the man, and an additional seven beautiful figures were frozen in the midst of intercourse throughout camellia dotted clearing.

Kakashi put the finishing touches to the canvas and then finally sat down upon his chair. His hands were cramped, his entire body ached from standing, and he could feel hunger gnawing at him as well as thirst, which made him distantly wonder just how long he had been painting for; however, these were minor concerns. What mattered was the painting before him.

His gaze scanned over the images. The left side was filled with debauchery and yet the man who created all of it could only look across the field of spider lilies and the river at the woman standing beneath wisteria among white chrysanthemums; a woman stuck in her grief. The man held a love and longing that can no longer be fulfilled as death divided them, and so all he could do was wait.

Kakashi felt tears slip down his face as he looked at his creation. This is how Jiraiya should be remembered: proud, strong, and still utterly perverted. In this painting he'd be surrounded by his work forever, but what he held most dearly remained—his love for Tsunade ever-lasting and with a promise to wait for her. The man in the painting held honor still; honor for the woman across the field and river, and honor in his death.

"Kakashi-kun," Pakkun's voice was cautious but it still startled Kakashi slightly. He turned to the pug at the doorway of the studio only to freeze and blink several times at the figures in the doorway. Part of him couldn't process their presence.

"Sensei," Sakura greeted him, her voice awed. The quiet words kicked Kakashi's brain into gear again.

The masked jōnin made a belated movement to hide his studio. However, since he hadn't eaten or slept in who knew how long, his legs gave under him and his vision swam. Almost immediately, he had a dour genin at his side and a brightly dressed jōnin. Sakura still stood in shock at the doorway along with Tenzō.

"Oh, eternal rival!" Gai cried as he helped Kakashi back into his seat. There were tears already gathering at the loud man's eyes, and Kakashi could tell a speech about his youthful hobby would be coming. He wouldn't be able to stand that.

"Gai," his voice cracked and was hoarse from disuse. He tried to clear it but only winced. Tenzō seemingly disappeared, but Kakashi heard the cupboards in his kitchen opening and the sink turning on. Kakashi tried to speak again. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"You were late for Shin's—" Sasuke cut himself off and looked away from Kakashi. The jōnin blinked as he processed his student's words.

It usually took a day, maybe two to set up the funeral—had Kakashi been painting for so long? "I lost track of time," he murmured lamely.

Sakura snorted, and Gai made an aborted laugh. Sasuke just smirked.

"I'll say, Senpai," Tenzō commented from the doorway; he had returned and now held a cup of water. He handed the glass to Kakashi before speaking again. "Sai-kun wanted to proceed without you, but your genin and Gai-san insisted."

"Indeed, I know my eternal rival would never miss a comrade's funeral, not for anything short of a mission or grave injury!" While Gai's words were still loud, he had enough tact to not shout like he usually did.

Kakashi felt a wave of guilt crash over him for nearly missing his student's funeral and for causing his friend (and genin, since the two were clearly anxious still) such worry. "I…" Kakashi's apology stayed heavy on his tongue. His throat was closing.

"I think Sai-kun won't mind the delay, especially if a Sukea original is offered as the memorial picture," Tenzō commented almost cheerfully with a gesture to the watercolor Kakashi had made of Shin.

Sasuke tensed next to Kakashi while Sakura's eyes widened, and she began to gawk at Kakashi. "Y-y-your Sukea?! Shin wanted to—" Sakura's surprised and almost angry rant devolved into sputtering.

"Ah…so that was your cover on your long mission!" Gai practically yelled.

Kakashi just dropped his head forward and then shook his head. "I'm sorry for worrying you all," he stated once he had regained his composure. "I will get changed and then leave with you."

Gai was beginning to tear up, while Tenzō just stared at Kakashi with wide eyes, and Sasuke had his mouth open. "Sensei, did you just apologize?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi began to frown. Was he really that unapologetic with his friends and students? He sighed; now was not the time for self-reflection. Instead, Kakashi made an illusion so he could drink the water without revealing his face to his genin, and then handed Tenzō the empty glass. As always, his genin glared at the now empty glass and Kakashi's masked face.

"I'll be a few minutes," Kakashi stated and then made his way toward his bedroom. He did stop by the chabudai and grab a soldier pill since he hadn't eaten or slept in at least a day. Kakashi then grabbed a uniform from his dresser that was specifically meant for funerals along with some fresh undergarments and went to the adjoining bathroom. He still had travel dust on him but a quick rinse would not be amiss.

He sealed the door to his bathroom though, just in case his genin tried to spy on him in the hopes of seeing his face. He doubted they'd do such given the circumstances, but Shin and Sakura had roped Sasuke into unmasking Kakashi a few months into their time as a team. The boy's had hoped that paying for an onsen package would mean Kakashi would remove his mask.

Kakashi smiled sadly at the memory as he removed his clothes. Shin and Sasuke were so similar. They both had trauma in spades, and were brilliant aspiring ninja, but where Sasuke burrowed into his sorrow and anger, Shin tried to smile and make others smile too. He was a light on their team, and now he his light was forever snuffed out.

Kakashi stepped under the cold spray of his shower—he did not have time for the water to heat up—as tears slid down his face. He'd failed his team; one of the children entrusted to him was dead. Kakashi covered his mouth and tried to stifle the sob but a gasp still came out. No, he couldn't break down. His friends and surviving genin were still in his apartment.

Kakashi forced his emotions down and began to perfunctorily clean himself. Part of this was muscle memory from ANBU—operatives needed to efficiently remove traces of blood and their scent lest they be tracked by an enemy or found out while undercover. He was clean within a few minutes, and the familiar motions refocused him—or perhaps it was more accurate to say they made him return to an ANBU mindset. He patted himself dry and dressed in his uniform. He was back before his uninvited guests in moments.

While Kakashi had been busy, it appeared his genin had begun to snoop around his apartment and the two jōnin were examining the canvas Kakashi had just completed. His genin at least had the decency to look contrite for snooping and what few effects he had around the living room.

"I did not know you knew hanakotoba," Gai commented as he gestured to the painting. Sakura's interest piqued and she moved back over to the larger canvas.

"Maa, shouldn't we be going?" Kakashi deflected while he moved over to the desk at which he had left the watercolor of Shin.

"I thought this was just a…um…" Sakura trailed off while blushing; her gaze had settled on one of the male same-sex couples painted the middle of intercourse.

"It's a memorial for Jiraiya of the Sannin, I suppose the nudity and sex is expected," Tenzō remarked almost blandly. "Though we do need to go before my student convinces the priest to begin the service."

Sasuke was frowning even though he led the move toward Kakashi's front door. "You were editing a dirty book for a friend. Was…was that—did a—" Sasuke couldn't finish the question and instead shook his head.

"He was a self-proclaimed super pervert," Kakashi explained quietly as he picked up the portrait of Shin. "He would also use the manuscripts I was editing as the key to various cipher communications." His voice was tight at recalling the various cipher's he'd received from that crazy old man. The number of dirty jokes that old pervert would put into some of his messages just to make Kakashi laugh or blush.

"We should get going," Kakshi repeated before anyone could comment on his sentimentality. In fact, to further prevent conversation, he used a mix of illusion and shunshin exit his studio window and move to the exterior of his front door.

Once his uninvited guests finally left his apartment, Kakashi set up his traps and seals and five ninja proceeded to run toward the graveyard. Once they arrived, it was obvious where the Shin's funeral service would be held. Between that scarred chūnin academy instructor, Tenzō's students, and a dozen other genin (who were waiting near the memorial stone with a patience only ROOT training could have instilled), it was clear where Kakashi should go.

Kakashi had several excuses ready as he approached the group, but Sai (who had been glaring at the latecomers) turned away from the arriving group and directed his eerie gaze at the priest overseeing the funeral. "Please begin the service," he said in a flat voice—once more, the boy fell into ROOT condition.

Kakashi bowed his head and held the watercolor carefully to his stomach as the priest went through the funeral rites. The bright summer sun felt incongruous, and the chittering of insects felt far too loud. It was another reminder that a shinobi's life was comparatively meaningless; the universe did not care that a child was dead.

One by one, guests set white chrysanthemums into a vase set before the KIA memorial. It was to the left of Shin's picture, while incense burned in a holder to the right of the picture frame. It was then that Kakashi realized he had not brought any flowers and only had the watercolor. How lost had Kakashi been in his own grief to not notice? Kakashi hesitated until he was the last guest to pay respects, and he could feel Sai's glare, as well as a disapproving look from that one chūnin.

Kakashi bowed his head and then knelt before the memorial and held out the watercolor before setting it at the base of his student's picture. He would get a frame for the painting later. "I'm sorry," he whispered so quietly that he doubted he would have been heard over the insects, except all those in attendance were ninja and likely had enhanced their hearing.

Kakashi then stood and stepped away from the memorial. He could sense that Sai had tensed but did not speak or further react. No doubt the young genin would like to yell at him or draw attention in some way to Kakashi's apology. But the teen remained tensed and quiet while the priest finished the service.

As guests departed, Kakashi and his genin remained at the memorials stone along with Tenzō and his genin. That one chūnin, Iru-something, was attempting to console Sai and trying to convince the emotionally stunted child to reach out to him. Eventually, after getting a third nod from Sai, the chūnin left and only Team 1 and 7 remained at the memorial stone.

"You were late because you were tracking down Sukea-sensei," Sai stated. His voice was still flat but there was the beginning of something, perhaps awe, in his voice. "How did you convince him to paint my brother?"

Kakashi tried to think of a lie that would fit the narrative Sai had come up with, but Sakura and Sasuke gave him away with their reactions (Sasuke had choked while Sakura was trying not to smile). Sai frowned. "Oh, I see, you copied his style," Sai said almost dejectedly.

"No, idiot!" Sakura yelled. Kakashi grabbed his now enraged genin and tried to shove her behind him while silencing her, but he must have been far more fatigued than he thought since she still blurted out: "He is Sukea."

Sasuke dropped his head into his hand, and Kakashi felt his eye twitch. "Sakura, covers are not meant to be exposed," he said dryly. Kohai had a smug, pleased look on his face, so Kakashi glared at the younger jōnin.

Sai just stared at Kakashi for a long moment while the pale boy's teammates stared between Kakashi and Sai like they expected something to happen. Perhaps a few beats passed, and then Sai began to laugh. It wasn't quite hysterical, but it did hold clear sadness.

"Nii-san found a way," the boy whispered as tears began to slide down his cheeks. The pale boy now bowed before Kakashi. "It's nice to meet you Sukea-sensei, please take care of me."

It clicked then for Kakashi. Shin had wanted to introduce his socially awkward little brother to the artist the boy had most admired and, in death, Shin did. "You'll have to ask your sensei if you can train under me," Kakashi said with his own sad amusement.

"Scary-eye-Sensei won't care," Sai announced with a teary laugh.

Sakura gasped in understanding by this point, and Sasuke's eyes widened after a moment too. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle slightly, and soon his genin joined in. Tenzō was practically pouting and trying to convince Sai that he couldn't dismiss his current sensei like that, while Sai's teammates began making shocked exclamations about the artist their teammate idolized. Kakashi continued to laugh sadly because how was it that things turned out this way. Shin achieved his goal; maybe the universe wasn't so uncaring.

TBC

Flower Language Key:

White Camellia's mean waiting, yellow mean longing, and red means a noble death. Wisteria, while often meaning welcome or kind can also refer to royalty. Spider Lilies often symbolize death as well as refers to a myth of two lovers who are doomed to never meet again. White chrysanthemum refers to grief specifically.