The ground crunched under Kakashi's sandals, mixing and disappearing into the more livelier sounds of the streets. He sighed and hid his hands deeper in his pockets. The day had been gloomy for him from the start and he just did not feel like coming out from his house. It had been scorching hot during the day and he could hear the distant sound of thunder looming in the horizon. It would rain soon. It would rain a lot.
And of course he had forgotten his umbrella. Not that he minded rain that much, but he preferred to keep himself warm and dry if possible. He could always dash the distance between his house and Naruto's, but the lazy part of him argued with that.
But he had promised Naruto he would come over for a dinner and he didn't like betraying his promises - no matter how small they were. Kakashi knew he was late already, but he also knew Naruto and Hinata wouldn't mind.
Sasuke and Sakura were supposed to come over as well. Kakashi couldn't help but to wonder if the young man had already gained to courage to spurt out his proposal, but it had been two weeks already since he had had the talk with Sasuke.
Kakashi's head felt restless. He hadn't slept well since the last time he had seen the dream and realized it probably had mermaid in it. A mermaid. Of all the possible outcomes, it was a mermaid. He had considered leaving for the small village to talk with the miko immediately when he had woke, but realized he couldn't just yet.
Hinata would be giving birth soon and Naruto had made him swore he would be there to meet the new addition to the family. If it wasn't for the dream and the restlessness that had itched its way into his soul he wouldn't have minded at all.
But now... He felt annoyed and caged. Kakashi didn't like that all. He didn't like when things bothered him so much he couldn't sleep and eat properly. There was something bothering him right on the edge of his mind, but he just couldn't wrap his finger around it. He knew it was the memory and it annoyed him to no end that he just couldn't remember what had happened before and after the pirates had attacked.
He did remember his mission before it. Just standard reconnaissance: get there, observe, get out. Nothing out of ordinary. He vaguely could remember the ship, its captain that had given him the creeps with his half rotten teeth and the meals that had tasted like ash and saw dust.
But after that... blank. Nothing but blank before he woke at the temple to the sweet scent of incense and herbs. The miko hadn't been able to give him much of answers, but now he suspected he had had the wrong questions. He hadn't asked about mermaids sightings or anything like that.
He had visited the Konoha library to check whether the librarian would know anything. The librarian had almost laughed straight at Kakashi's face (and probably would have if he hadn't been the legendary Copy Ninja Kakashi) and pointed at the fairy tale section. He hadn't found anything of note there. Just standard fairy tales with mermaids as the damsels in distress.
His time had been utterly wasted there. However he had met with and old hag at the market place (who had tried selling him a basket full of flowers) who had tried to frighten the children pestering her.
“Mermaids will have you the next time you go swimming you maggots!” she had yelled. “They'll lure you in and drown you all!”
Kakashi's interest had been piqued immediately. The stories he had heard and read about where nothing like that. They didn't portray them as vicious and capable of killing.
“I'll buy that basket if you tell me about mermaids,” he had said, and the hag had smiled a crooked smile at him showing she had only couple of teeth.
“Why? You in love with one?” she barked out a laughter mixed with cough. Kakashi had felt himself tense and almost left the stall, but his curiosity was not sated.
“Just tell me the story,” he sighed and rummaged through his pockets for coins. He had figured he could give the flowers to Hinata later.
What he had heard was nothing like in the fairy tales. The mermaids were not pretty, but more fish-like than human. They had predatory teeth to make it more easy for them to swallow raw flesh. And they liked nothing more than human children. They lured them in with singing and playing and when it was already too late, they'd drown them and eat them.
What a waste of time. A tale to frighten children not to go swimming alone.
The smell of food woke Kakashi to present. He was almost at Naruto's place when he realized he had forgotten the flowers home. He argued with himself for a while. It wouldn't take long for him to get them, but he was lazy and the rain would probably start soon... Oh, well. They were a nice addition to his otherwise utilitarian kitchen.
He wasn't even able to open the door before Naruto burst out and almost tackled him to the ground.
“You are late!” he yelled, but seemed to calm down after seeing the black circle around Kakashi's visible eye. “You're still not sleeping well?”
He decided to play nonchalant, like it didn't matter. He shrugged and dodged when Naruto tried to punch his shoulder.
“Idiot, you should sleep more!”
“Naruto!” Hinata reprimanded from inside. The light from inside gathered around her and with her light blue kimono, swollen belly and tea tray in hands she looked like a goddess of home. “Welcome, Kakashi-kun.” She bowed carefully.
She was always like this. Polite and a bit reserved. But Kakashi had seen her alone with Naruto, laughing with tears in her eyes and the happiness that radiated from both of them had been almost ethereal.
“Thank you for inviting me.” He bowed back and heard Naruto scoff next to him.
“I understand you being late, but not Sasuke and Sakura. Although, I have a feeling of why they might be late.” There was smugness in his voice that didn't escape Kakashi's attention.
“So Sasuke finally asked her?”
“Hopefully. I threatened the teme so badly, it's a wonder if not! And they are both missing, so they are probably having se...” Naruto's sentence was cut short by Hinata's disapproving cough. “Having babies.”
Kakashi couldn't help but to roll his eyes and Hinata sighed.
“Whatever they are doing is none of our business,” Hinata curtly said and tried to hide her blush while making room to let both of the males in. Kakashi couldn't help a sense of pride while following Naruto inside. He had a comfy home, a loving wife, child incoming and most of all – he was happy and loved. He had achieved everything Minato had hoped for him.
“Yes it is! They are both of my friends! I want them to be happy,” Naruto argued and sat cross-legged at the table, impatiently waiving his hands at Kakashi to follow his lead. He smiled his famous eye-smile when he noticed that the table was once again filled with everyone's favorite food. Hinata had outdone herself. Again.
“Yes, Naruto, but sometimes.. Sometimes people need to find happiness by themselves. Not everyone needs pushing in the right direction. Sometimes it might be a wrong direction,” Hinata explained while pouring sake in the small porcelain cups. From Naruto's face Kakashi could draw the conclusion the blond didn't understand at all.
“What do you mean wrong direction? I mean, they are practically made for each other,” Naruto said and accepted the cup. Kakashi took his own with a thankful nod towards the hostess and noticed a shadow passing in Hinata's eyes. Did she know something they did not?
“Well, sometimes when you love someone, you don't actually love them. You love the image you have made in your head. And then you realize it not real. It's not the actual person,” she tried to explain, but it made poor Naruto even more confused. Kakashi had to admit he was a bit at loss as well, but soon his confusion was replaced with realization.
“I don't get it,” Naruto muttered and took a large bowl of ramen. “Sakura has loved Sasuke since we were in the academy. And Sasuke loves her. No questions about it.” He continued his muttering until his mouth was filled with noodles and couldn't speak anymore.
Kakashi met Hinata's eyes and understood she had probably talked with Sakura. He nodded to her and tried to steer Naruto's attention away from Sasuke and Sakura. Because there wouldn't be a marriage. Sakura's answer would be no.
Luckily Naruto had always been easy to distract, now maybe more than ever because of Hinata's pregnancy. The two had been awfully quiet about the baby's gender and Kakashi couldn't help but to wonder if Hinata had threatened Naruto to not to blurt it out to anyone.
“Speaking of love,” he begun while taking some of miso soup for himself, “have you already decided on a name?”
“Neji,” Naruto answered without a second thought. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. He had thought the gender was supposed to be a secret until the baby was born.
“So it's a boy then?” Time seemed to slow down. Kakashi had never seen anyone grow as pale as quickly Naruto did.
“A girl can be Neji too!” he argued and tried to avoid Hinata's seemingly disapproving gaze. She huffed and then smiled.
“Well, you did better than I expected. I had thought you'd ruin the surprise the first day we knew,” she admitted and took a delicate sip from her ramen bowl next to Naruto. Naruto's face fell and Hinata giggled. Kakashi couldn't resist a small smile either.
Later, when the rain and thunder had already passed and his stomach was full of miso soup and ramen, he got into thinking again. Time had passed rather well after he and Hinata had managed to steer Naruto's thoughts away from Sakura and Sasuke. It had been actually quite easy, considering the blonde's attention span was legendary for it shortness. After admitting they would indeed have a son, they had mostly talked about mundane things, until Hinata had started to yawn and tried to hide it behind her sleeve.
Naruto had almost kicked him out after that. He was amused by how protective Naruto had become, but it fit him. And when their son would born, he would have tons of protectors. Everyone in the village looked up to Naruto and it was pretty clear he'd be the next Hokage after Tsunade. His only competition was Sasuke and maybe Kakashi himself, but the raven hair had politely declined, saying Naruto was more suitable for it. Kakashi on the other hand wasn't interested in the long working hours and making decisions on behalf of the every villager. And he liked his freedom too much. Sometimes it was nice to be able just leave the village and adventure around the country.
Kakashi's feet avoided the puddles on their own accord. Luckily the rain had passed. The distant sound of thunder could still be heard and he was sure it would soon rain again. He'd be missing rain soon, though. The summer was coming fast and with it the scorching heat would be upon them for a long time.
“No sleeping on the roof today, eh?” he asked from no-one in particular. His hand searched the pearl on its own and he sighed. He hoped tonight would bring more rest than the others.
Back at his house he noticed he wasn't alone. There was a lone figure sitting on the rooftop. After straining his eyes to be able to recognize who it was, although he already had a pretty good idea about it, Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and sighed before venturing inside to get a bottle of sake. Sasuke would probably need it. Or then Kakashi himself, because he was about to comfort a man with broken heart.
Why things like this always happened to him? Why did they seek comfort from him? He wasn't good at this stuff.
Because they are your family, a small voice inside of him answered and he had to admit it was right. Team Seven was his family, just like Obito, Rin and Minato had been. Of course they would run to each other. They had survived worse, together.
“I thought you might need a sip,” Kakashi opened the conversation with the raven head and offered the bottle. He tried not to comment on his soaked clothes. For how long had he sat on his roof?
Sasuke accepted the bottle silently and stared at it with blank eyes.
“I don't usually drink,” he said after a while, but took a long swig anyway. Kakashi shrugged and sat next to him, realizing too late that the roof was still wet. He winced at the feel of wet pants and took the bottle from Sasuke.
“Me neither,” he commented and followed Sasuke's example. His brand wasn't as refined and tasty as Hinata's and Naruto's had been, but it served its purpose.
There was a long silence between the them. Kakashi decided it would be best just to wait for Sasuke to open up. Trying to ask him what had happened would only serve to chase him away. The bottle traveled between the two of them in a silent agreement while the thunder lazily rumbled in the background.
“She said no,” Sasuke finally said and took another sip. There was no emotion in his voice, but Kakashi could see his hand slightly trembling. Or maybe it was because he was soaked from sitting in a cold roof. He was probably freezing.
“I know,” he answered and leaned back looking at the black clouds hovering above the Leaf village. There was a humorous 'hmpfh' from Sasuke. “Did she tell you why?” He couldn't resists asking that. He had been so sure...
“Not really. But she's been more distant lately.” Hinata's words came back to Kakashi. Sakura had been infatuated with Sasuke for so long and hadn't really spend time with him before he came back to village. Maybe it was that she had conjured up her own image of him and loved the image more than the real man. She must have realized that herself and decided to let him go.
“Hm,” he decided to answer. He didn't know what else to say.
“Do you know what is surprising?” Sasuke suddenly asked. Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. “I'm actually... kind of relieved. Like I knew from the start that this was a bad idea. Does... does this make any sense to you? But at the same time I'm... angry. And disappointed. This just doesn't make any sense to me.”
Kakashi couldn't resist a bitter laugh.
“Matters of the heart never make any sense,” he comforted his pupil. He and Obito had both loved Rin and now Rin was dead. Because of him.
Yet he still visited her grave and told her everything. Just like he did with Obito.
“Kakashi-sensei?” Sasuke asked after the silence had stretched on for a bit too long.
“Yes?” Kakashi couldn't help but to feel pleased at the honorific. He missed being called a sensei on daily basis.
“I think I'll leave the village for a while.” It didn't surprise Kakashi. Sasuke was confused and seeing Sakura everyday would not help. And who was he to blame him? He was leaving as well.
“I'm leaving too,” he confided in him. He hadn't told anyone else yet.
“What? You are?” Sasuke raised his eyebrows. “Where?”
“To the fishing village,” Kakashi explained. “It's been a year since I was there anyway. I should check up on them.”
“Oh, you are going to visit the miko.” There was a knowing undertone in Sasuke's voice and Kakashi couldn't help the annoyed sight that escaped him. He had to admit the miko, Hiromi-san, was beautiful and generous and they got along great, but... There was something vital missing. And something about her rubbed him the wrong way. She had shady connections he knew that, but it was something beneath her beautiful surface that had always made the hair in his neck stand up. But he always tried to be polite. In the end, she had saved him.
“She might have answers,” he explained to Sasuke. “There's nothing else between us.” Clearly something was wrong with Sasuke, because he was pestering Kakashi's love life.
“Answers to what?”
“I'll tell you when I know,” Kakashi said mysteriously and chuckled behind his mask when he heard Sasuke's answer:
“Pfft.” The raven hair took another long gulp and sighed when he realized the bottle was empty. Kakashi noticed his footing wasn't as stable as normal when the youngster stood up. “Thanks for the sake.”
“Anytime,” Kakashi answered nonchalantly and debated himself whether he should comment on Sasuke's swaying. He himself was feeling slightly buzzed. “Be careful on your way home.” That was good enough. Sasuke was an adult, he knew how to take care of himself.
Sasuke just nodded to him and the next second he was gone. Kakashi could make out his silhouette for a while, until it disappeared in the dark.
He sighed. Why couldn't anything in life be simple? He let his eyes rest for a moment, but when he felt a drop of wet on his nose he sighed again, this time longer than before. Damn rain.
Inside his house he didn't bother with the lights. After getting rid of his damp clothes he jumped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. His head started pounding again. For a while he thought about summoning his ninken to keep him company, but their snoring would probably keep him awake for the whole night. Then again, he would probably be awake the whole night either way. Damn that dream. Damn his missing memories. Damn mermaids.
Damn life.
[Reviews - 17]Chapter or Story
Table of Contents
- Text Size +
Chapter notes: Rating: T
Warnings: Nothing new.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only own the OC's you don't recognize from the manga/anime.
Word count: 3,091
I'M NOT DEAD! Phuuh, this took a long time. I'm so sorry for the wait. For the record, I'm not abandoning this story (or any of my stories). :)
This chapter is unbetaed, so there might be tons of mistakes. Hopefully not. ^^"