Naruto x Digimon
Alive - Team Minato's Digidestined
Chapter 04
Originally Written: Sunday, November 6, 2022 921AM to 1034AM
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Over the months, Kakashi had overheard quite a few older shinobi speaking of how being promoted to Jounin changed them. For the better, and the worst. Kakashi stared at his hands, wondering what changes they were talking about. He didn't feel any different. He still hadn't found the animal prowling the Hatake lands. Gai still followed him around. Obito still picked fights with him for inane reasons he couldn't figure out. Rin still followed him, despite being clearly frustrated with him. Missions increased in difficulty, and Team Minato still returned back home after every one.
Obito liked rubbing that fact in his face. 'See? Minato-sensei isn't gonna get us killed, Bakakshi!'
Said sensei walked next to him, having just assigned his team a mission to Kannabi bridge. Rin and Obito left to prepare. Usually Kakashi would have told him off for following him, but was too into trying to figure out what was supposed to change about him when he became Jounin that he hadn't noticed. Was he supposed to get taller? No, that didn't make sense. You naturally grew taller as you aged. Was his taste in food supposed to change? It did, since he was now twelve years old, and not six anymore. He could reach the stove comfortably now, and so stopped burning his food.
People forgot about his father. They seemingly expected him to forget as well. They stopped comparing them, even though Kakashi continued using the Hatake name in defiance. Civilians looked at him as though they expected him to be the shinobi who wouldn't let them down. He's not sure who they thought he was, but he certainly was not the Sage of the Six Paths.
He got stronger. He knew that he had. You couldn't make it to Jounin without your skills increasing, whatever skills those would turn out to be. That was expected though, being a Jounin wouldn't change that. He dropped his hands, and put his left hand in his pocket. It was a pose he became comfortable with over the years. His fingertips brushed over the rectangular device hidden in his pocket. He nearly lost it over a few missions, but always managed to retrieve it.
He started leaving food out for his wayward feral canine. It ate the food, and avoided the traps, but never came close enough for Kakashi to catch it. His ninken had seen glimpses of the creature of the years. Eventually they came to the conclusion it was a bipedal creature, with four arms, and two legs, covered in a pelt of blue and white fur. It sounded like nothing Kakashi knew, which he expected, but it still left him confused.
"What do you want, Namikaze-san?" Kakashi mumbled, standing at the edge of the Hatake grounds. He wasn't going to step in with Minato following him. Not that there was much of anything to stop Minato from just walking past him.
"Do you trust me any more than previously?"
"Not with my life."
"It's been six years…" Minato's shoulders slumped.
Kakashi ignored him. He felt chakra flow into his arm as he focused on the item in his pocket. It warmed in his hand, like the hugs his father gave him when he was a child. He wondered what his father would think of him now. The silence stretched on. He knew Minato could sense the chakra he was using, but didn't care.
"I wanted to let you know that as a Jounin, you being second in command of the team carries a larger burden than it did when you were a chuunin."
Kakashi's focus wavered. "What do you mean?"
"Before, I only had to take your comments and recommendations on missions into consideration. I still had the last say. Now, if I'm not there, or am predisposed for some reason, your orders to Rin and Obito can overrule mine."
His focus dropped completely. Minato's hand pressed on his shoulder like a heavy weight. "I expect you to not abuse this privilege, no matter how little you trust me. It can be revoked."
He clenched the device in his pocket. "Understood."
Minato looked at him for a long time. "Rest up Kakashi. Have a good night."
Kakashi stared at the grass around him for a long time. Birds and squirrels settled into their hideouts and homes as the sun set in the sky. From the bushes, wide red eyes looked at Kakashi, but he didn't notice.
"Destroy Kannabi bridge." Kakashi whispered, unsure of when he took the item out of his pocket. He held it in his hands, palms facing up. A barrier of swirling sparkles surrounded him. "Mission accepted."