As feared, Kakashi's shit was unusually creamy and painful. He absolutely had to do something about it. Sakumo wasn't at home, although Kakashi honestly hadn't expected it to be any different. His father was certainly loitering around in the arcade or a pub again, after all, he didn't have a shift that night, so he felt safe when he swept the shards of the glass off the kitchen floor, treated his shirt from the morning, on the shoulders of which there were traces of blood from his scratched skin, with salt, professionally applied plasters or heparin ointment to all his wounds and finally spread out his haul on the bed. Although he was not plagued by a mini panic attack like yesterday with the cucumber, he was still uptight when he took the plug out of the packaging.

It was made of metal, probably hence the inappropriate weight in relation to its size, and his distorted visage was reflected in the shiny surface. Actually, he didn't want to use such a thing, just because of what it meant, but if he didn't want to endure this pain again in the future aka tomorrow, he had to stretch. Or rather, his ass. He had to stretch his ass.

Trembling, Kakashi threw the metal drop onto the rumpled bedspread, where it jumped into the air once, and scurried through his hair. Why was it so hard for him?! He knew that the thing served a good purpose, namely his own physical well-being, so why was he so hesitant now? His butt had to stand Madara's cock at least eighteen more times. If he didn't want to whine and suffer every time, he had to prepare for penetration. And he could only do that in this way. Stretching. With a plug. Good Lord.

Shaking his head and with a racing heartbeat, Kakashi pulled jeans and boxershorts down to his knees, pressed a generous amount of the lubricant onto the upper curve of the plug and squatted down a little to be able to insert it more easily. The gel and the metal itself were brutally cold, which is why he squeaked in shock – sounded almost like a girl, he was doubly happy to be alone in the flat right now. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath and shoved the plug into his ass with a jerk, causing him to groan briefly because of an unpleasant burning sensation and to support himself on the edge of the mattress.

Immediately he felt the weight in his anus, which was only held up by his still halfway functional muscle ring. He felt the circular plate that now covered his rosette and let his hip circle shallowly, causing the lump of metal in his rectum to move back and forth and sporadically bump against his prostate, which gave him that short flash of arousal again. Okay, he had to be very careful when he had the thing in. At least the material quickly adapted to his body heat.

Kakashi nodded appreciatively and pulled up his pants again. For lack of anything else to do, he turned on music – today something more upbeat, he wasn't in the mood for melancholy at the moment, but Dude gave him the necessary energy to clean up his constant mess.

Contrary to all expectations, however, it didn't take him too long, although he was far too distracted by the tape in between and preferred to rock out to Livin' on a Prayer or We Didn't Start the Fire instead of sorting his laundry. When I'm Still Standing started, he threw the last ball of socks into the laundry basket with a nice three-pointer and devoted himself completely to the small private party on the now fully walkable, fluffy carpet in a faded dark blue that covered most of the floor. He turned up the stereo, groped around barefoot halfway to the beat and clapped in unison with the melody. His "yeah~yeah~yeah"s at least somewhat met those of the background singers and for a short moment Kakashi forgot all the horrors of the past days, all the pain was only in his subconscious and for at least half a song he was a normal teenager, one day before the summer holidays, free of any burden or obligation. He was just Kakashi, dancing through his room, grinning stupidly to himself, singing with Elton John, completely ignoring the world around him.

A bell tore him out of his small, carefree dream. Panting, Kakashi looked at the room door, his smile disappeared in one fell swoop. Fear pushed out of the tiny cage in his heart, but it fizzled out again after a spark of logic. It couldn't be his father, he would never ring the bell. But a little restlessness filled his stomach after all. He just couldn't stand another encounter with Kina or worse: Gai right now, because that would make him aware of his misbehaviour and he had to admit that he had been an absolute asshole to the two of them this morning. He had always had problems apologizing honestly and admitting his own weaknesses.

It rang a second time. Kakashi turned down the music, paused the tape and crept to the flat door. "Who's there?" he asked through the wood. A peephole would be something fine.

"Hello?" said a woman's voice on the other side. "Is Sakumo Hatake there?"

That wasn't Kina, that was for sure, and even though the visitor didn't introduce herself any further, Kakashi opened the door. Two people were standing in the hallway. The older woman was perhaps around forty, had very short, jet-black hair in mild curls, ice-blue eyes, made a highly exhausted impression and seemed inexplicably familiar. The younger girl next to her was much smaller, fifteen at most, could almost swap clothes with Kina, had skin as dark as chocolate and a puffy afro swayed on her head with every slightest movement. Kakashi looked at the two a little critically and asked, "Who are you?"

The older woman smiled faintly. "Hello, I'm Yumiko Nakatani and this is Shaniqua. You probably won't remember me, but I'm Noriko's sister. You must be Kakashi, if I'm not mistaken, right?"

"Uh, yes.." Kakashi replied perplexed and looked from one face to the other. "That explains why you look so familiar to me. I think I saw you in a picture of my mum when she was still living in London."

"Mh, that's quite possible," Yumiko said. "Is Sakumo also there?"

"No, my dad is out." Kakashi remembered that he had been taught manners once and asked the two women past him into the flat.

"Oh, that's strange," Yumiko said as she walked to the living room with the black girl on her heels. When Kakashi stepped through the doorway behind them and pointed to the dining table where they could sit down, she explained, "We had discussed a few weeks ago that I would come here today."

"Is there a reason for that?" Kakashi asked over the jingle of the cups he provided to pour tea.

Yumiko laughed softly. "Yes, the question is justified, considering that I haven't been to Manchester for sixteen years."

Kakashi vaguely remembered a detail he had picked up ages ago. "You've been to Africa, haven't you?" His eyes darted briefly to the girl but quickly turned back to the tea. He put the three cups on the table and sat down on the last free chair – for the first time he felt the plug in his anus again and he inconspicuously slid his butt on the cushion so that the thing didn't touch his prostate.

"Yes, I was a teacher in Swaziland, teaching English to the children there," Yumiko said, also looking at the girl as if she knew exactly what had been going through Kakashi's mind. "Shaniqua is originally from Mozambique. She is an orphan and should've been sold from her protectory as a slave to a warlord of RENAMO."

Shocked, Kakashi's eyes widened. "Honestly..? That's terrible."

Yumiko drank from her tea, held her fingers in front of her lips as if she had scalded the tip of her tongue, and nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. But some fighters were able to free her and other girls and they fled across the border into Swaziland. It was.." For a moment, it seemed as if she was lost in gruesome memories. Then she jerked her head and smiled falsely. "It hasn't necessarily been easy the last few years. Mozambique is suffering greatly from the civil war. Peace negotiations have been held for a few months now, things are going uphill, but it will still take years before the country is stable again. In Swaziland, there are many war refugees who receive hardly any support and are even to be sent back because there is simply a lack of capacity. When I found out about it, I naturally wanted to help. I was particularly taken with Shaniqua here and when she was told to go back, I intervened." She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out a thick envelope. "Here, please give this to your father, yes? I know it's not all I owe him, but I'll bring him the rest."

With contracted eyebrows, Kakashi picked up the envelope and peered in. Inside were some hundred- and fifty-pound notes, clearly not hot off the press, but neatly held together with a rubber band. That had to be thousands. He looked up at Yumiko, who was blowing into her tea. "What is that for?" he asked hoarsely. The sight of so much money in one pile unsettled him.

Yumiko looked confused. "For your father, Sakumo. I desperately needed money to buy Shaniqua out of the militants, twenty thousand pounds to be exact. I didn't know anyone else outside of Africa, so I turned to Sakumo. He immediately transferred the money to an account from which I could withdraw it, he even sent five thousand pounds more in case I needed it for any bureaucratic costs or other expenses. I'm really grateful to him for that. It was only because of him that I was able to save Shaniqua from a terrible fate. It took a few years, I had to bribe some of the people in charge, but through adoption and proof of her language skills, she is allowed to enter England and live here with me. So.." Yumiko laughed awkwardly. "You two are cousins, at least on paper."

Kakashi looked embarrassed at the taciturn Shaniqua, who stared at him incessantly, and twisted his mouth into a smile.

"Well," Yumiko continued, "I actually thought I'd meet Sakumo here. Does he not even know that we wanted to come by?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi stood up to do something at the kitchen counter with his back to the two of them – the main thing was that they didn't see his trembling hands. "I don't know," he replied curtly.

"Hm," Yumiko said. "Will you do me the favour and give him back the money? As I said, it's not all. Five thousand are still missing, but I'll get them, don't worry. But in fact, the trip here and the down payment for a flat didn't exactly cost a little."

"I understand." Taking a deep breath, Kakashi turned around again and leaned against the countertop. Fortunately, he managed to smile, albeit sluggishly. "Don't worry about it. Dad is not too dependent on the money at the moment."

A real smile crept into Yumiko's tired face. "Okay." She also got up and came to him, half a head shorter than him, but still looked at him from below with an almost motherly expression. "The last time I saw you, you were still sitting on the tricycle. You have truly grown up, Kakashi. And you look exactly like Sakumo when he was your age."

Kakashi politely pressed his lips together but couldn't say anything. He would prefer it if the two of them left now and he could give free rein to his emotional tornado in his chest alone, instead of Yumiko putting her hands on his cheeks as if she could hardly believe that he was real. "And yet I recognize a lot of Noriko in you. You have the same warmth in your eyes."

"Thank you.." Kakashi mumbled with a scratchy throat and cleared it. "It's nice to hear that not everything from her is gone." Why had he said that now..? Possible that he regretted more than usual that nothing of his mother's appearance remained. He himself, as everyone liked to remark, was Sakumo's walking image and Yumiko was outwardly the complete opposite of her sister. The hair black and shiny instead of reddish-blond and wiry, the eyes blue, almost cold, and not of that wonderful, summery green, narrow face with defined features – quite different from Noriko, who had optically corresponded to her character with her softness of nose, cheeks, jaw and lips. In addition, Yumiko clearly lacked the freckles, of which Noriko had had millions.

Yumiko's smile became a little bitter. "I'm sorry for what happened to her. I would have liked to have been here at the time and supported you two in your grief. It took many years before I stopped reproaching myself for not attending her funeral, after all, she was my little sister."

Kakashi lowered his eyes. He couldn't confess to Yumiko that Noriko had never been buried, that her urn was hidden in Sakumo's closet one room away, that her husband took it out to touch it while masturbating, that her son took it out when he got too lonely, that she had never been able to find the peace and quiet she deserved. "Yes.." he only managed to say.

"Wasn't it rainy that day, at least?" Yumiko asked. "She was a summer child through and through, always abhorred the dreary rain – an unfortunate preference for a British woman. She always wanted to swim in the Thames at sunset. 'And when I'm dead'," she imitated a strange voice that was surely meant to represent Noriko. She shook her head, laughing softly, and took her hands from Kakashi's face. "My sister was a case in her own right. Always a free spirit, she never cared much about the opinion of others. She just did her thing. I have to confess that I was surprised when she said she was moving to Manchester, marrying a soldier and wanting to start a family with him – and that at the age of not even twenty. My God, how young we used to be.." Again, she looked absently into the void and Kakashi touched her shoulder sympathetically. Yumiko shook herself briefly, breathed in loudly and said a little more robustly, "Well, the past is gone, the future is waiting." Her tone told Kakashi that the topic was over and that he didn't have to lie any more. Well, at least until Yumiko had to cut another one, which was not unexpected from his aunt, whom he hadn't seen for sixteen years. "How are you?"

"Good." People never wanted to hear anything else anyway.

Yumiko looked at him depressed. "May I ask where you got all these injuries from?"

As if everyone present here couldn't already see his bruises on his face, he also raised his forearms and stroked them. "I got into a fight with a few guys. Don't worry," he laughed soothingly, "the others look worse than me."

"Oh, okay.." Yumiko folded her hands in front of her hips. "And do you still go to school?"

"I'm facing my last year."

"That sounds great." With that, the forced small talk was probably over. Yumiko turned to Shaniqua, who was still sitting at the table without a word, sipping her tea. "Shaniqua, dear, I'll be back soon, yes?"

Shaniqua, cup to his lips, nodded silently.

But Kakashi frowned irritated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Did Sakumo not mention anything about our visit?" Kakashi shook his head. "Hm.. Well, we come more or less fresh from overseas, have a long and very stressful journey behind us. I have found a flat for Shaniqua and myself in Moston, but I still have to clarify a few formalities. They are not very interesting for a teenager, so Sakumo and I had discussed that Shaniqua would stay here until then. This gives you the opportunity to get to know each other." Yumiko put her hand on the back of her chair and from the white protruding knuckles, Kakashi assumed that she was clawing at it tensely. "I'm sorry, Kakashi, I didn't expect him not to tell you about it. Will he be back soon?"

"Yes, definitely," Kakashi nodded confidently. In truth, he doubted that Sakumo even knew that his sister-in-law had wanted to come over, let alone that he would show up in a sober state for the next few hours. "No problem, Shanaica can stay here."

"Shaniqua," Yumiko corrected him, making a soft clicking sound with her tongue as she always does.

"Shanicra?" Kakashi tried.

"Nikki works too," the girl spoke up for the first time. She had a distinct accent, but she spoke very fluently. Kakashi looked at her, she smiled back timidly.

"Well, if you don't mind," Yumiko murmured.

Kakashi waved it off. "No problem, I was bored anyway."

"Alright," Yumiko sighed. "See you in a few hours, Shaniqua. When I've sorted everything out, we've finally arrived in England and can start our new lives."

Nikki's smile grew a little and she nodded. "Yes. See you later, Yumiko."

Yumiko waved to the two and left the flat again. Kakashi pushed himself off the countertop. "Yeah.. By the way, I'm Kakashi, in case that somehow got lost."

Nikki blinked twice. She seemed to be rather reticent, which Kakashi couldn't do too much with. Normally, he was the one who liked to sit there without a sound and let the others talk. But he didn't want to say nothing to his cousin – it felt strange to call this foreign girl that, especially since the silence between them quickly became oppressive. "Yeah.. Unfortunately, I can't offer you a TV, ours is broken," he said, pointing to a pile of rubble made of wood, plastic and glass that Sakumo and he had not yet disposed of. Probably because they each considered it pointless, after all, the entire building would soon no longer be standing.

"Mh," Nikki said and Kakashi had a hard time interpreting the origin of this sound. Was it simply grasp? Pity? A "Never mind"?

For a moment it became quiet again in the room, only the second hand of the wall clock ticked loudly, until Kakashi half-heartedly suggested, "Shall we go to my room? We can listen to music there."

Without verbal confirmation, Nikki stood up and stared at Kakashi with her large, round hazelnut eyes.

"Yeah ok.." Kakashi grumbled more to himself and went ahead down the hall to his room. How good that it was freshly tidied up. Nevertheless, he scratched his neck in shame and said apologetically, "I'm sorry about the condition of the flat and such, the house is to be demolished soon and yeah.."

Either Nikki didn't notice it at all, or she didn't care that a good piece of the beige – once white – wallpaper was missing, Kakashi's bed frame had tons of scratches, quirks and burn marks, the carpet looked more grey than blue in some places and was covered with rust-brown blood stains, a rather musty smell hung in the room and dirt stuck to the window, that you could never get off again without breaking the window. As always, she sat down on the bed without a word, her legs strictly next to each other, folded her hands in her lap and looked around briefly before her gaze stuck to Kakashi again.

He went to his stereo, changed the tape and asked in an emphatically friendly way, "Do you hear rock and stuff like that?" A flitting of his eyes at Nikki made him sigh softly. "Rock music. With drums and electric guitars. Some call it noise, I love it." Nikki shrugged. "Well, I'll put something on that wouldn't shock you so much." He started the album The Joshua Tree. When he turned around, he noticed that Nikki was looking at the stereo with huge googly eyes. "Don't you know a stereo?"

She shook her head.

"Oh." He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "This is a device to play cassettes." Behind him, Where the Streets Have No Name became more and more energetic and Nikki's eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Kakashi laughed before he could stop and turned up the volume on purpose. "That's U2." He bent his arms and stepped from one foot to the other. "These are the quietest in my collection, even my dad can stand them. I have bands that are much crazier than that," he said aloud over the music. "The album came out in '87. I bought it as a reward for an A in math. Each cassette stands for a small milestone in my life. Here" – he pulled a cassette from the pile one shelf down – "Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses, their debut album, my first A in politics, is not my best subject, I have to admit. Or here, Metallica with And Justice for All, there I got the confirmation that I was accepted to Kensington. It's an elite school, where otherwise only children of stinking rich bigwigs go." Kakashi couldn't really say what was getting him in the mood to chat, maybe it was just the pleasure of having someone around him who cared to listen. He couldn't stop himself. "INXS with Kick, I won the gymnastics competition at my old school. You don't necessarily see it, but I'm quite flexible. Sport is my thing anyway. When I was named team captain of the rugby team, I got Vision Thing from Sisters of Mercy, which is my favourite band. A friend and I discovered them at Leaf Records back then, because Floodland was discounted in price, it only cost us eighty pence, a real bargain. They are not really known, rather niche, but we have completely fallen in love with the sound. I can show you when you're ready for them. The poster there is from them, the owner of Leaf Records, Danzo is his name, gave it to me when he dismantled the Vision Thing advertisement. Once Gai, my friend, and I met Andrew Eldritch, who is the singer of the Sisters, and he gave us an autograph. Shit, we had been really excited, like little kids. That was shortly after Gai's eighteenth birthday. I had given him a voucher with which he could choose any album, and he chose Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen. You may have seen the cover, with red and white stripes in the background and the ass of a guy in jeans, a red cap in his pocket. Unfortunately, I don't have it here because I didn't buy it again, we always listened to it together, mostly we lay there on my bed and smoked." Just at that moment, Kakashi's mind processed his prattling and the memories dampened any joy in him. The nostalgic grin dripped from his lips and he took a deep breath. "Well.. What I wanted to say: Music is my passion."

Now Nikki stared at him again. "That sounds great." She pointed to the speakers from which With or Without You warbled.

"Oho, you're talking to me!" he teased jokingly, Nikki's cheeks turned dark red and she looked away blinking. Kakashi turned down the volume a little so that they could talk normally, came to the bed and sat down next to her. Nikki shifted nervously back and forth. "Hey, I don't bite. Or are you just not used to physical closeness?" Nikki indicated a nod. Kakashi let himself fall backwards, groaning, pushed the plug away from his prostate and spread his arms. "I'm sorry. If I'm getting on your nerves too much, let me know."

"Ok." Nikki sat stiff as a stick, her spine straight, her face deliberately focused on the wardrobe.

Kakashi let his gaze glide over her back. Under her green sweatshirt with the grey dots, her thin figure was clearly visible, her shoulder blades lifted the fabric a little, she almost looked a little emaciated. Kakashi didn't want to imagine what she must have been through. He knew events like the Falklands War, because of which his father had not been in Manchester for a few months, or something like the Second World War only from stories, the news or history books. But she had seen the terrors of war live, perhaps had to dodge one or two grenades or bullets. Not to mention the atrocities away from the actual battles. He had once heard that during such times people like to burn and desecrate. An irrepressible sympathy grew in his chest. He sat up straight again and gently nudged his upper arm against her shoulder. "Hey, what kind of music do you like to listen to?"

Nikki's head shot in Kakashi's direction, but she didn't look at him properly. "I don't listen to much music."

"Not even with Yumiko?"

"Not yet."

"Mh," Kakashi snorted a little disgruntled. He hesitated, then he got up and took his Walkman from the shelf on which the system stood. He took U2's tape out of the deck, put it in his Walkman instead of his melancholic mix and held it out to Nikki. "Here, I'll give it to you."

Kakashi didn't expect that to be possible, but Nikki's eyes widened even more than before. She shook her head slowly. "No.."

"Yes, now take it," Kakashi grinned and handed her the Walkman, the headphones falling down and dangling briefly through the air. He pulled them up again and put the Walkman on Nikki's thigh. Her hands jerked back and she stared at the device as if it were poisonous. "I can't accept that.."

"Just think of it as a welcome gift, so you can listen to music anywhere," replied Kakashi, who was already putting in a new cassette, this time Honky Chateau. "This is Elton John, my mum loved this album. You would have liked her, in fact everyone liked her. She once told me that she bought this album when it came out, and shortly afterwards she found out that she was pregnant with me. That's why she blasted me with the songs before I was born." He threw a grin over his shoulder. "Wait, this is what she liked best." He fast-forwarded to Rocket Man and danced through the room again in his not particularly dance-like way. "She said that whenever it played, I kicked. We often discussed whether I meant it positively or negatively. Because actually Elton John doesn't suit my taste at all, it's too soft for me in general, but somehow I still like to listen to him. That's why I think the kicks were meant nicely. Now wait, the chorus is the best ever." He raised his index fingers in the air. "And I think it's going to be a long, long time 'til touchdown brings me 'round again to find.. I'm not the man they think I am at home~oh nonono.. I'm a rocket man~" He stopped dancing, if you could call it that. "I think I always wanted to be an astronaut because of this song."

"Do you still want that?" Nikki asked quietly. She was seemingly absent-mindedly fiddling with the cable of the headphones the whole time.

"No," he said and sat down again. "That was just a boy's stupid dream."

"What do you want to be now?"

"Music producer." Nikki seemed confused, so Kakashi explained, "This is someone who... well, produces music. This is someone who sits in a recording studio and helps a band or a solo artist to get the best out of themselves. Sometimes he is already there writing songs, recording, mixing afterwards. There is hardly any music that works without producers. That's an important task, because you can't fuck anything up. The album that comes out in the end has to bang, otherwise all the work was in vain. A bad producer means a bad album."

"Mh," Nikki said again and again Kakashi couldn't assign this sound to any emotion. He sighed. "And you? What do you want to be?"

"I don't know," Nikki answered. "I didn't think about it."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen. And you?"

"Eighteen, will be nineteen in two months. My dad would certainly disagree, but in my opinion, you don't have to know what you want to be so early. And anyway: Life doesn't work according to instructions, my mum always said. She said that life comes as it wants to come, whether we like it or not, life doesn't care. I mean, Dad certainly didn't think that at forty-one he would be standing at a steel press and making car parts. He was a soldier, you know? He joined the military at sixteen straight out of secondary school, never did his A-Levels, which is the highest degree in England. But after my mum's death, he left and since, well, since then he hasn't had anything really solid anywhere."

"How did your mum die?" Nikki asked timidly.

"She was murdered." Kakashi was surprised at how easy it was for him to talk about it. "When Dad was in the Falklands War, she was attacked on the street. Three guys dragged her into an alley and... well, stabbed her off."

"That sounds like you were there."

"I was, indeed."

Nikki gasped, the first human reaction apart from the shock over her new Walkman.

Kakashi kneaded his fingers between his thighs. "Yeah.. She picked me up from swimming and yeah.. I just saw everything." Before this evening could completely spread in his brain, he took a deep breath and asked just as hesitantly, "You're an orphan, aren't you?"

"Yes," Nikki answered quietly into Salvation.

"How did your parents die?" Kakashi whispered it, unsure if this conversation wasn't too intimate.

Nikki ran her thumb over the buttons of the Walkman. "I don't know my father, mama never talked about him. And she was a nurse and had a shift when the hospital was bombed."

"Oh shit.." Kakashi murmured. "Can I hug you?"

Nikki made a throaty "Mh-hm" and Kakashi put an arm around her bony shoulders and lowered his ear into her afro. "I'm sorry for your loss." He gently stroked his thumb over her upper arm.

"Yes, my condolences for your mum. She sounds like a nice person."

"She was. I miss her very much."

"I miss my mama too."

Kakashi snorted softly and broke away from his cousin again. "And I'm also sorry that I'm talking so much. Normally I'm not so garrulous."

"It's okay," Nikki smiled. "I'm happy to listen to you."

"If you say that," Kakashi replied and there was silence between them again. Gradually, he didn't know what to say to Nikki anymore, apart from small talk or a spontaneous flood of conversations about half his childhood. And he didn't want to talk about the weather either. So, he asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Mh." This time it sounded clearly approving.

Kakashi couldn't defend himself against a smirk. "Have you ever eaten chips with vinegar?"

Nikki knitted her eyebrows in dismay. Kakashi stood up and paused the cassette. "Come, I'll invite you. It's not for everyone, but you'll have to get used to fish 'n' chips if you want to stay in England. Here you don't get anything else if you need something on your hand quickly. And it's better to get to know the taste sooner than later."

Still with a doubtful frown, Nikki got up, stowed her new Walkman and headphones in her handbag, which now couldn't close anymore, and followed Kakashi out of the flat to his Beetle. He drove her to the City Centre to a place where he liked to eat. He greeted the young man behind the counter in a friendly manner and ordered two portions of cod 'n' chips, one with vinegar for him, the other without, and a small bowl each with tartar sauce, ketchup and pea puree; of course, there was also cola. They spread out their late lunch on one of the bar tables and while Nikki eyed the chips suspiciously, he lit a cigarette. By now it had become a habit again, but it didn't bother him anymore. He grinned broadly at his cousin. "Are you ready?"

A usual toneless nod on the part of Nikki. She pulled a vinegar chip out of Kakashi's bowl and nibbled on it carefully. Immediately she shuddered and hastily drank from her Coke, pouring almost more on her top than into her mouth. She smacked her lips a few times, probably to get rid of the sour taste, and shuddered. "No, I don't like those."

"Tehe," Kakashi laughed past his own chip. "Then wait until they let you taste mint sauce."

"Is it bad?" Nikki asked curiously.

"For some, including me, yes. But there are people like my dad who could spoon the stuff pure. Not mine at all."

She dipped her unvinegared chips one by one into each sauce bowl and found that, to no one's surprise, she liked the ketchup best. So, they stood at the booth, enjoyed the brave rays of sunshine that made it through the dense clouds, and talked about food. After all, that was a topic where Nikki came out of her shell and talked on her own, almost became euphoric. She raved about African dishes, mainly sishwala, as her mother had always done, a kind of corn porridge with mashed beans and diced beef. Sounded interesting, maybe they could cook it together someday.

Almost two hours passed, in which Kakashi was able to realize that his new cousin was really nice when the ice gradually broke after the initial hurdles. At some point, however, the conversation turned to Sakumo and Kakashi was reminded that he was only here because his father had borrowed the money from Madara so that this girl next to him could stand and breathe. Earlier he had been able to swallow his feelings, but now they came up again. The guilt burned in his throat.

In Sakumo's past, Kakashi's natural reaction to the amount of debt had been disappointment. He had thought that his father had simply squandered all that money because he couldn't deal with his grief for Noriko. In fact, however, he had sent it to Africa to save a human life. How could Kakashi dare to be mad at him because of the money? For Nikki's well-being, the sacrifice he made to pay off Sakumo's debts was almost null and void. The fact that he could see that sincere smile on her face, had the certainty that she didn't have to go to a war zone where what else could be done to her, was quite a big consolation. Because, if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't have felt guilty towards his father for simply breaking the contract with Madara after this morning and watching his father pay for his own mistakes. Now, however, he felt bad to have had such thoughts at all.

Kakashi watched Nikki's profile broodingly. She marvelled at the run-down streets on the outskirts of the City Centre as if they were beautiful. Certainly, he would react similarly if he had spent half or even his whole life in the war, the constant fear that a bomb could hit or militants could storm the house and do something to him. In permanent panic, certainly everything was beautiful, except for one's own home.

"Nikki?" he said after a while in which they had been silent again, although this time it hadn't been uncomfortable.

Her hazelnut eyes fixed on him.

"It's four. We should go back, otherwise we'll miss Yumiko."

"Okay," Nikki answered. After disposing of their rubbish in a bin, they drove back to the Crescents, where they met Yumiko down in the parking lot. "What a coincidence," she called out to them. "I have just arrived myself. Were you on the way?"

"Yes, Kakashi let me try fish 'n' chips," Nikki smiled.

"Oh?" Yumiko said. "With or without vinegar?"

"Both, but I've found that chips with vinegar don't suit my taste, way too sour. And I tried sauces. Ketchup was best. Although I also liked this pea puree." Kakashi thought it was kind of nice that Nikki spoke more now. She was probably just shy.

Yumiko laughed. "Courageous. But don't worry, you don't have to eat something like that because of me. They are not my favourite either. If I had the choice between vinegar chips and dog food in an apocalypse, I would choose dog food."

"Understandable," Nikki giggled.

"All right," Yumiko sighed. "I've sorted everything out now." She tapped her purse. "Our future in Manchester can start. Kakashi? Please convey my deepest gratitude to Sakumo. I will call again the days when the stress has settled with our arrival, then we can all meet for tea and get to know each other properly. How does that sound?"

"Good," Kakashi replied simply.

"So then. Shaniqua, say goodbye to your cousin."

Kakashi would have expected a smile and a wave at most, but Nikki hugged him, puffed her afro against his chest and whispered, "Thank you, Kakashi."

Completely taken by surprise by this action, Kakashi didn't know what to do with himself other than pat her hair and back. "I didn't do anything.." he murmured ashamed.

Nikki broke away from him again. "Yes, you've become my family." She beamed from ear to ear, seemed to have completely changed compared to a few hours ago. "Thank you for that. And thanks also to your dad, without him I wouldn't have this chance for a life now. He's a good man."

Kakashi's quiet smile froze immediately. "Yes, I guess he is.." He cleared his throat embarrassed. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon, and then I'll show you metal. What do you think of that?"

"It's certainly good," she smiled and raised her hand. "Bye."

"Take care, you two, and welcome to Manchester."

Yumiko waved as well, the two walked to a red Ford a few parking bays away and Kakashi strolled up to his apartment, his hands deep in his pockets. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he took a deep breath, wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweater and started digging a large pot out of the kitchen cupboard. He had made up his mind. Whatever his father had said to him this morning and however he had treated him, Sakumo WAS a good man. And a good man deserved a good son.

To prove this to his father, he cooked cheese noodles, sat down at the laid table half an hour later and waited. He was a bit excited, but he couldn't really explain why. He wanted to clarify the matter with his father, apologize for his lies, and hand him Yumiko's money almost solemnly. Maybe they could even toast to the fact that everything would soon be fine, that they would soon have no more problems.

But Sakumo didn't come. Gradually, the meal got cold, so Kakashi ate his portion, chewing more than he was enjoying. With every languishing minute, this little feeling of happiness in his chest diminished. When his plate was long empty and the last daylight disappeared behind the high walls of the Kent, Kakashi felt nothing but a mental fatigue within him.

He had already given up all hope that his father would show up today, so he was startled when he heard the key in the lock. With a racing heart, he straightened his posture and stared towards the door frame. Sakumo's figure pushed through, holding on to the wood with one hand. The tired, alcohol-veiled gaze glided through the half-dark living room and caught Kakashi at the dining table.

"Dad.." Kakashi said kindly. "I made cheese noodles."

The gaze wandered further to the left to the kitchenette and to the floor in front of the refrigerator, where the shards of a drinking glass had been lying until a few hours ago. "You've cleaned up," he mumbled simply.

Kakashi also looked at that spot. "Yes. And my room too."

"Aha.." With that, Sakumo turned around again.

Kakashi hastily got up and only stopped again in the doorway. With difficulty, Sakumo slipped his jacket off his shoulders at the wardrobe. Kakashi rushed to help his father, but he slapped his arms away. "I can do it on my own."

With his lips pressed together, Kakashi put his hands in his trouser pockets. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Sakumo snorted. "Do you think I'm a frail old man?"

"No.."

"Then why do you treat me like one?" He barely hit the hook of the wardrobe and after several attempts, the jacket slid to the floor. "Fucking shit.." he cursed and kicked at the garment.

Kakashi was undecided whether he should intervene, he was too afraid that his father would misunderstand his actions and that he would be beaten again. Silently, he watched as Sakumo vented his anger on the jacket and finally turned around abruptly. Involuntarily he took a step back. This hatred in the dark grey eyes aroused panic in him.

Sakumo raised his arms reproachfully. "Why are you standing there, eh?!"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"What for?!"

"That I didn't tell you the truth," Kakashi murmured. "I didn't mean to lie to you, but I didn't want to be a disappointment. I know that my education cost you a lot, and I never wanted to jeopardize that. I'll pay you back the money."

"Ks, better is that," Sakumo grumbled. "And further?"

In his trouser pockets, Kakashi's hands clenched into fists. "I am also sorry for what I did to the girl. I didn't realize she didn't want it." What was needed here was not honesty, but humility.

"And further?"

"I'm sorry that I'm attracted to Kina. This has nothing to do with what was done to mum."

"And further?"

Kakashi searched in his gloomy memories of the morning to see what else Sakumo had accused him of, and finally said, "I'm sorry that I'm such a failure as a son. I'll try everything to change that."

"Good," Sakumo simply replied, walked past Kakashi and disappeared into his bedroom, slamming the door.

For a while, Kakashi couldn't tell if it was just minutes or even hours, he stood motionless in the hallway, melting into the darkness around him, repeating Nikki's words in his mind to internalize her truth. "He's a good man."