Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What went wrong led to a happy disaster.

“You sure this is gonna work Ei?”. A man dressed in brown rags caked with dirt, stood contrasting with the bright, green, lush grass surrounding him. Another man stood in front of him dressed in a dirty black shirt and grass stained pants. His dirt smeared face was scrunched up in concentration and his hands, woven in front of him, in the tiger seal.

He breathed shallow and fast, obviously getting more and more annoyed that his plan was taking so long to work, his apprentice at his side was not making his mood any better.

“COULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONCE!”

His posture broke for him to knock his fist on his assistant’s forehead with a loud ‘BONK!’
“Sorry Boss…” The man sheepishly said in his dumb, lazy drawl. Ei retook his position with a loud and irritated sigh.His legs spread wide and his back slightly hunched as his hands wove into the tiger seal once again. “This jutsu takes concentration, asshole!”,Ei snapped at the man with a purple swelling bruise on his forehead.

Eventually evening and the two men were still standing in front of the lonely grave. Both Ei and his assistant were starving, but that couldn’t be helped. If they pulled this off they could bring the shinobi world to it’s knees!... Well that's what they thought at least.

In reality the most they could really do would probably stir up the nations and maybe take over a small unarmed village… and give some middle aged man a heart attack and ptsd.

Finally around midnight cracks of light began to emerge from the dirt around the headstone. The light of the full moon cast it’s glow on the men and the grave, causing there to be an errily glow cast upon them. The ground began to crack with light pouring out of it. Ei’s crumpled face turned into a sadistic smile, which looked more like a sneer. Like a naughty child about to dump a 1000 piece puzzle on the floor.

Ei’s assistant on the other hand looked terrified. “Uhh, sir …. Maybe we shou-”.
He was cut off by the ground before them bursting open, a beam of light streaming high into the sky like a beacon or a flare. Ei’s smile was now gone, his face no longer sneering in victory, now the man was scared for his life. This was not supposed to happen. But it’s too late! Before either of the men could even turn around to run, their chakra was sucked into the beam of light leaving their lifeless bodies to crumple to the ground as death took over their chakraless bodies.

After a moment or two the beam of light flickered to a dull glow before completely disappearing leaving the silhouette, highlighted by the moon's glow to lay where there was once a grave.

Chapter Text

Kakashi stopped reading his book and looked up out his window sighing deeply, damn, there it was… the Shinobi Hawk, Taka, soaring in the heights above Konoha’s rooftops.
A signal for all Leaf Shinobi to go meet with the Hokage. To signal everyone this late must mean something serious is going on.
Kakashi, in true Kakashi style, lazily slipped off his bed and sauntered to the window, he dropped his book down on the desk, making sure to bookmark it first, then got ready to leave.
As Kakashi was about to chakra jump out the window a bright beam of light caught his eye.
His visible eye widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing into a glare, his lazy demeanour completely vanished. He added a little extra chakra when he jumped out the window and, among many other shinobi, ran at full speed to the Hokage Tower.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo Hatake woke up in a daze. His head hurt like hell and BOY DID HIS STOMACH HURT!

He gripped his torn flak jacket around where the pain was situated, he grunted at the pain.
Something about the texture of it didn’t seem right to Sakumo… He felt this texture before… It was never good.
He couldn’t figure out why though, since his brain was still taking its happy, old, merry time to reboot.
His brain finally spat out the answer to his question...


Dried Blood.

Memories came flooding back to him as his body tried to regain all of it’s senses and abilities once more.
It was like being a baby again, unable to do anything for yourself, not even understanding your own self.
Two minutes of rebooting finally allowed Sakumo to crack his eyes open, Thank God it was night! Although after being in darkness in so long, the pale moonlight was nearly blinding to his eyes.

He could hear footsteps, running, towards… him?

Sakumo looked shakily, stood up and stretched his limbs, helping them to move a bit better.
He looked at his surroundings, a shinobi habit, and noted a few things.

1) He was still in Konoha… although the Hokage Stone Wall seemed different. There are four faces… not three.

2) He is in the cemetery, although there are alot more graves.

3)There are two dead people where he is standing currently.

If Sakumo’s brain wasn’t still rebooting, he would have checked the bodies for clues as to his reawakening into the world of the living. Asked questions, did research…
But the only thing on Sakumo’s mind, like any parent, was his child.

Sakumo didn't realise it, but his body was moving on it’s own. He was running deep into the woods, and his chakra was suppressed.
His shinobi reflexes never failed him, only his emotions.

Chapter Text

Kakashi was mad! FURIOUS! LIVID!

He felt like tearing everything in sight apart till there was nothing left but tiny shredded pieces.

He got info from Tenzou, that something happened at his dad’s grave… and yet he is not allowed to be part of the investigation?!

This was absolutely ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!
(~Chloe vibes am I right~)

Kakashi glared at the anbu holding him back from the sectioned off area, this was his dad’s grave site, he had every right to know what was going on!

With a deep sigh Kakashi finally decided to give up and go back to his little apartment, maybe there was something there that would be better for him not to see.

The last thing he wants is old memories resurfacing, causing old emotions to resurface, causing old trauma to resurface.

Spending nights crying in silence till he puked wasn’t fun as a kid, neither was the gnawing pain that caused his chest and stomach to feel knotted.

Even after pondering over these thoughts, Kakashi still couldn't get his brows to relax.

One second they were normal and after a while he would feel them furrowed once more, the constant frown on his face was giving him a headache, his swirling thoughts didn’t help either.

Kakashi desperately needed sleep, he knew that.

But after this ordeal he didn’t trust his mind to not torture him with nightmares as he sleeps.

Rin, Obito, Minato Sensei………

Dad.

Kakashi eventually flopped down on his bed and grabbed his book, turning to all the orange bookmarks stuck in the special pages……

The smut scenes….

If there was any therapy that worked for Kakashi, it was smut.

He wasn’t proud of it nor was he ashamed but if it worked… It worked.

Kakashi had once been forced to therapy by the Fourth Hokage, which resulted in an annoyed Kakashi and a crying therapist who then and there quit his well paying job.

If Kakashi wasn’t annoyed by the whole situation, he would have looked smug.

From that day on, for the safety of the village, Minato never forced Kakashi to any more therapy sessions.

After hours of reading the same lines over and over again, Kakashi’s eyes began to feel heavy, although he knew nightmares would plague him, he allowed himself to drift off.

The nightmares would be ‘later him’s’ problem to deal with.

Kakashi fell asleep with his book resting, on his steadily rising and falling chest, not knowing that this night would change his future drastically.

Chapter Text

Sakumo was breathing heavily… the sounds, the scents and the auras of each shinobi were now in the distance.

Sakumo was bent over resting his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath.

Normally a small bit of running wouldn't have been a problem for him… but now, after waking up from what should have been an eternal sleep, he was rusty.

He could also add his age to the mix of excuses, since he was forty six years old… and still is technically.

Sakumo cleared his throat before light rain began to shower the area, providing Sakumo with both a relief from his burning lungs, but also a problem.

Him and his surroundings were getting wet, he needed firewood, which was plentiful in the woods surrounding Konoha, but with how the rain was starting to beat down, he was unsure as to whether the firewood would actually burn, also cutting down a large tree would definitely all for some unnecessary attention.

With only the clothes on his back and half of his original chakra, Sakumo had to find a warm place to stay and a way to survive the night.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Hyuuga kneeled in front of the Hokage and made her report.

“Sir, from what evidence we found, there were two dead bodies at the grave site, for a two metre radius around the grave the ground was damaged, torn up and cracked. We did an autopsy for the bodies. Their cause of death was chakra exhaustion.”

The Third Hokage rubbed his chin and took a deep inhale from his pipe.

“Please inform Ibiki that I need him in this case. And what of Hatake Sakumo’s body?”

The Hyuuga’s body tensed slightly, giving the Hokage the answer he needed to know.

“Hokage-sama… The body is missing… Anbu Agent Tiger has confirmed it to be stolen… The jutsu they had used is still unknown and there were footsteps leading away from the grave site to outside Konoha, with the rain we are unable to track the perpetrator down. From what we could tell, the tomb raider was running without the use of chakra.”

The Hokage hummed in thought.

“Alright, thank you Hyuuga Misaki, please tell Tiger I would like more details of what other evidence has been found at the grave site. Your work is appreciated, you are dismissed”

He gave a nod of his head which Misaki returned before poofing away in a cloud of smoke, leaving The Hokage to stare out his window over Konoha.

His eyes narrowed at the forest surrounding Konoha.

“Sakumo…”

Chapter Text

It was a rough night, after some running around in the forest Sakumo finally navigated his way to one of the training grounds of Konoha.

At the centre of this specific training ground was a large stone structure, it looked similar to the head of a kunai protruding from the earth.

Engraved on it were the names of fallen shinobi.

Sakumo was exhausted, after such a jutsu was used on him, he was surprised he had any chakra at all.

After he woke up his chakra reserves were half full, now they were only quarter full.

With a chakra jump, Sakumo neatly landed on a wide branch and sat down with a huff.

Leaning his back against the trunk of the tree, he stretched his legs out in front of him and made himself as comfortable and physically possible.

Not his preferred means of a place to sleep, but beggars can’t be choosers can they?

It’s better than sleeping on the ground.

No sand in his long hair, or bugs crawling into his ears…. And the leaves above him offer him some coverage from the rain.

No matter how hard the tired shinobi tried to keep his eyes open, he couldn’t…

Giving in to his desire for slumber, he decided he’s just ‘rest’ his eyes… which ended up in him sleeping peacefully.

_________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi woke up from his nightmare with a cold sweat, he rubbed his eyes then wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before getting out of bed.

Rin’s bloodied face haunted him still, after so many years, she still ruled over his dream life.

Payback for him once ruling over hers.

Kakashi still couldn’t understand what she saw in him that she loved him.

Not noticing his orange book that fell off his chest to the floor, some of the pages creasing and crumpling from the impact.

His body felt a lot more tense than usual, partly due to his nightmare, and partly due to the fact he fell asleep with all his clothes on.

After a very cat-like stretch Kakashi rolled his neck around, letting it crack and pop,allowing his head to feel lighter.

He sluggishly walked to the kitchen and didn’t bother putting the light on, even though it was still dark out.

One hour of sleep…. Not bad.
After drinking a glass of water, and staring at his warped reflection on the tap he adjusted his uniform and jumped out the window on his way to speak to Obito…

At his special place on the memorial stone.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo woke up less than an hour after drifting off.

Dang it! Falling asleep while in this position could be detrimental to his hiding!

Any Hyuuga would have seen him and captured him!

With a sigh, Sakumo rubbed his eyes and straightened his posture.

Still dark, the village was quiet, not even drunkards on the streets….

After some drowsy minutes of fully regaining his senses, Sakumo felt a familiar chakra approach, his heart leapt into his throat as he quickly suppressed his own chakra.

“Kakashi…”

He subconsciously whispered to himself.

Kakashi arrived at the memorial stone, and a frown painted his features, before he suddenly relaxed….

Sakumo knew… Kakashi could sense him…

His son was playing smart, getting the upper hand by the element of surprise.

Let your opponent think you can’t sense them… then attack.

Sakumo sensed a gentle spike in Kakashi’s chakra….

Must be a shadow clone.

Sakumo smiled to himself, his boy had grown into a tall, handsome and intelligent young man.

A prodigy yes… but also a looker 🤭

"He's got his dad’s good looking genes”, Sakumo thought to himself.

There was no movement from the concealed shadow clone, that’s good.

It gave Sakumo enough time to use a transformation jutsu.

Kakashi’s eyes quickly snapped to the side when he felt the pulse in the familiar chakra, but he kept calm.

The pulse was too weak to be anything dangerous, the most dangerous that spike could be is probably a harem justu… but the chakra definitely was not Naruto’s.

Naruto had overwhelming, warm and fuzzy chakra, when he got mad his chakra would spike in a similar fashion to his hair.

Kakashi usually wondered what his own chakra felt like to others… if he had to guess, it would probably feel like smooth water, with some extra spice from his affinity to lightning style.

After quite some time at the grave site, the mysterious figure located somewhere in the trees still hadn’t moved, their chakra was so…. Familiar, like how he described his own chakra, but a lot weaker and … endearing?

Kakashi’s heart jumped, no… it couldn’t be…

He’s not alive!

If he was… the Hokage would have informed him by now, and… his dad would obviously want to see his son again… right?

Kakashi didn't let his inner thoughts show, but he felt a sense of both dread and excitement fill him before all his hopes were crushed.

He felt his clone dispel and the figure vanish.

The universe playing another cruel joke on him.

Kakashi sighed deeply, he looked over to the side watching the sun begin its slow and steady rise over Konoha.

“Obito, Rin, Minato sensei…. Dad…”

“Hopefully one day, I will see you all again…”

“If I even make it to heaven.”, Kakashi whispered to himself before leaving the training grounds, letting his sandals squish through the muddy soil beneath him, as he walked home.

Sakumo, now situated in another tree, watched his son leave, he felt his heart get heavier… Kakashi lost so much…

His entire team, Young Minato died too?

That was news to Sakumo, the kid was a prodigy just like his son…

Now looking at the fourth face on the Hokage mountain, Sakumo made out that it was indeed Minato Namikaze’s face.

“So the kid became Hokage?..”,Sakumo smiled sadly.

“At Least he achieved his dream…”

Chapter Text

Sakumo was breathing hard as he ran to the other tree, where he could get a better view of his son.

Only moments ago, Kakashi’s shadow clone made its move and attacked him, standing behind him and holding a kunai to his neck.

Of course Kakashi didn’t realise it was his dad, since Sakumo used a transformation jutsu.

With a body-flicker justu, which used up too much chakra for Sakumo’s liking, he flickered away to a different location not too far from the tree he just ran to.

Sakumo heard everything Kakashi said at the memorial stone, as the sun rose over the village.

There was a warm orange glow to everything, the ground was wet and squishy from the rain and whatever clouds were in the sky were highlighted with tones of oranges and pinks.

Once Sakumo sensed Kakashi was gone he dispelled his transformation jutsu and leaned his back against the trunk of the old tree.

He was still getting used to being alive and his chakra was getting a little too low…

“Food…”

Sakumo grumbled aloud to nobody in particular.

Another transformation jutsu would take too much chakra… the only option he had left… was a physical disguise.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Hokage sat in his office sighing in frustration as the little fuzzball of pure energy voiced his complaints.

“A D-RANK JUTSU AGAIN!? WE ALREADY DID ONE THE OTHER DAY 'TTEBAYO!”

Sakura looked annoyed and tired, Sasuke agreed with Naruto but preferred to keep quiet and let Naruto do the talking as he sulked…. Kakashi had his nose deep in a certain orange book.

The Hokage was not one to lose patience easily, and he didn’t, but Naruto had been going at it since The Hokage mentioned the rank of this mission.

Which was thirty minutes ago.

In the end the little boy crossed his arms, turned away and sat on the floor sulkily.

Kakashi put his book away, then patted his head and then led his three kids- I mean students, out the door after putting his book away and flashing the Kokage an apologetic smile.

Naruto was trying to scramble and fight but Kakashi held him firmly by his collar when dragging him out the office.

“Look Naruto, we all like high risk A-rank missions, but unfortunately… not everyone needs to be killed, or be saved from being killed.”

Kakashi stated matter of factly as his team walked towards the house they needed to refurnish.

“All we have to do is redo this little fence and then the mission is over.”

Kakashi fished his book out from his pocket and opened it to his creased page.

“The sooner we get done the higher the chance I’ll be in the mood to train you three…”

All three of the students perked up at this, Naruto went running and Sasuke after him, both wanting to reach the fence first and finish first.

“WOOHOO, I’LL FINISH FIRST!!! HAHAHA!!!”

Sakura shook her head and complained about Naruto before she jogged after them calling for ‘Sasuke-kun!’ to wait for her.

Kakash chuckled and arrived at the old home.

The Hokage was finally doing something smart and refurnishing these old places, flats were cramped with hundreds of shinobi and civilians living in there.

It got noisy and messy… so building up this old home was perfect to get people out of the flats and into better accommodation.

As Kakashi walked by, a flash of silver caught his eye, he spun around his eye darting everywhere to find who it was…

A man with short silver hair, similar to a spiky bob walked past… looks like he had a bad hair day or his barber deserved to be killed.

‘I hope he got a refund.’

Kakashi thought to himself with a grimace.

He wore some… interesting clothes.

A reddish dull purpley shirt and some navy blue sweatpants.

On his head was an old bandana, which had holes in a few places, and hung around his neck was a really old camera, from around his dad’s era.

The strap was made of old brown leather, which was dangerously close to snapping.

He was definitely a tourist, he had a slight limp in his walk and was hunched over.

Kakashi felt his chakra jolt… he had a … weird feeling about this man.

“KAKASHI-SENSEIIII!!!!”

Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts by Naruto’s raspy voice.

With one last look in the direction of the man and a small sigh, Kakashi walked lazily to where his students were and Naruto immediately started blabbering about how much he did and how it was better than Sasuke’s work.

Sasuke looked offended then started arguing with Naruto.

Kakashi smiled… ‘It’s gonna be a long day…’

Chapter Text

When Sakumo arrived at his destination, a wave of nostalgia washed over him.

Memories of being with his wife, training Kakashi in the backyard, ninken running around having fun and Kakashi practising his stealth in the bushes, overtook him with a punch to the gut.

The happy memories were almost too painful to recall as he gazed over the Hatake Compound.

The path to the house was overgrown, and the house itself looked ready to collapse at any moment.

The scent of the home was almost exactly the same, except for some more earthy notes coming from the soil.

Pushing aside his emotions, Sakumo walked into the home in search of supplies.

Sometime later, Sakumo came out of the home dressed in his old working clothes and absolutely laid with money… good thing he kept an emergency stash, he just hoped that the currency hadn't changed.

Wearing a maroon top, dark blue sweatpants and his old camera hanging around his neck, to give him the illusion of being a tourist, Sakumo was ready to leave…

Sakumo gulped audibly, something he doesn’t do very often.

Without the use of a mirror, he had to cut off his own hair.

He didn’t need to even see it to know it looked terrible.

With no other choice but to press onwards, Sakumo made his way slowly to the village centre to grab a meal.

A good meal, a nice relaxing time at the bathhouse and a good nap would have his chakra levels back to normal.

Just thinking about the onsen made Sakumo’s shoulders relax.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo passed Kakashi, he felt Kakashi’s sharp gaze on him, his heart was pounding in his ears as he walked past.

He appeared nonchalant when in reality he was panicking!

He wanted to run to his child, hug him, apologise for everything… but he knew he couldn't do that.

Just showing up and telling Kakashi, ‘Hello child… yeah I'm alive, cool right?’ was bound to send the young adult into either a panic attack or a physical attack.

He highly doubted Kakashi even forgave him for leaving him alone, as a young child…

Sakumo’s heart ached as he walked by, going to the Hokage was also a bad idea.

Knowing the higher ups, they were bound to use Sakumo to their advantage, which was the last thing he needed.

Imagine waking up from an eternal sleep just to be sent to the front lines and repeat your mistake of a life all over again.

Sakumo’s expression hardened… if it wasn’t for those higher ups his mission wouldn’t have ended the way it did… but no point in reliving the past which has already happened… The future is now and scary as ever.

No time to think of old mistakes!

After heading to Ichiraku Ramen, which was a place that opened a few years before Kakashi was born, Sakumo was well fed and in need of a good nap…

Thankfully the currency hadn’t changed at all, coins and notes were still the same… which was surprising to him but he wasn’t complaining.

Sakumo got up from his chair and headed to a store nearby, after getting some contact lenses and glasses he headed off to the bathhouse.

Unfortunately both of them were full… even if the ladies one wasn't…. He would still be in a pickle.

‘Just my luck…’

Sakumo thought… until the desk lady drawled that she could squeeze him into the shared one.

‘Sh-shared?’

(⊙_⊙;)

Sakumo’s face was tinged with pink and he considered leaving… but after some thought he relented and gave into his desire for a good soak.

Sakumo felt both annoyed and relieved when the ‘shared’ bathhouse was actually empty.

‘Squeeze me in?...’

Sakumo rolled his eyes at the desk ladies' attempt to get more money out of him, before he unfastened his towel from around his waist then slipped into the water.

_________________________________________________________________________

After a day of hard work refurbishing the fence around the home and taking care of Naruto who was freaking out because he mistakenly swallowed paint, Kakashi decided that he deserved a good soak at the onsen.

Chapter Text

Sakumo thanked his past self for putting on his contact lenses, changing his usual charcoal eyes to a reddish brown.

It was the cheapest out of the whole lot that was offered at the store, but they did the job.

They were pricey but they did the job well.

He also thanked his sensei for teaching him voice manipulation.

He created a fake drawl with a hint of some foreign accent, similar to the way the people of Iwagakure spoke.

This… this whole predicament he was in, was super awkward….

On the opposite end of the onsen was Kakashi, leaning back against the edge of the bath, orange book in hand, posture completely relaxed and his hips pushed outwards which made Sakumo shiver a bit.

His unoccupied hand ruffled his hair, before he rested his arm along the edge of the pool.

Sakumo kept his breathing steady and tried his best to relax.

‘I wonder if Kakashi has lost his virginity… He better not have!... He must wait till he finds the girl he loves and marry her… then… then I will be ready for grandchildren…’

Sakumo thought to himself with a small nod he couldn't suppress.

He couldn’t relax, he was in the bath with his son.

Two fully grown men in an onsen, dad and son… together…

Sakumo swallowed thickly, Kakashi only got in a few minutes ago, it would be suspicious if Sakumo decided to leave now.

He regretted paying for a full hour to soak, he had thirty minutes to go… from the pale blue slip of paper lying on Kakashi’s bathrobe, Sakumo could tell that Kakashi had paid for half an hour…. Which meant they would both be leaving at the same time.

Sakumo’s fists balled beneath the warm water.

‘This whole ordeal is agonising’

Sakumo thought he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Kakashi looked over at him and raised a brow.

“Is there a problem?”

Kakashi asked in a friendly voice.

“Ehem, no no… everything is quite alright…”

Sakumo assured Kakashi with a shaky smile.

“I understand that being a visitor from another land must be a bit stressful if you aren’t familiar with Konoha.”

Kakashi said, snapping his book shut.

Sakumo was pleased that Kakashi took the bait… assuming he was a tourist.

“Ah… I am indeed a tourist.. How did you know?”

Sakumo tried to sound convincingly surprised, he was good at this.

Espionage, undercover work, the whole disguise job was his type of work.

Well he was skilled at everything, but espionage was one of his many strengths that he prided himself on.

Kakashi gave a closed eyed smile before he answered.

“I saw you had a camera on you… no civilian would carry a camera on them around Konoha, unless they are a journalist of sorts.”

Kakashi said smiling to himself as he remembered his other persona of Sukea.

Sakumo nodded with a hum.

“Ah, I see…”

He chuckled.

Sakumo was calm on the outside, but his heart was beating faster than when he married his wife.

He was sweating more than when he trained.

He was breathing deep long breaths to try to calm himself down, like the first time he killed a man.

He was talking to his son…

The first time after waking up, he was talking to his son…

_________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi was suspicious of the man, silver hair, unkempt.

Whoever this guy’s barber is, deserved the death penalty…

Or, if this was the man’s style… the man, himself, deserved the death penalty.

Honestly! How can this man go walking around with a hideous hairdo like that.

Even Naruto has more standards than this guy and that is really saying something.

Kakashi conversed with the suspicious man and made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

His chakra was… familiar… like smooth water with a little extra spice and an endearing quality… almost like the love of a mother.

This is a man not a mother… he is probably a parent or just very kind hearted, like Iruka.

The more Kakashi analysed the man he was speaking with the more he was reminded of his dad.

Why the thought of his dad was plaguing him so much recently was an enigma to him.

Yes the whole tomb raider incident happened, but, his usual self would've gotten over it by now.

When Kakashi came into the onsen earlier, he, being the vigilant person he was, caught a glimpse of the pale red paper sitting on the stranger’s white bathrobe, he came in around 12:32… and Kakashi came in at exactly 13:02.

Quite the coincidence, both men had to get out at the same time.

The thought nearly made Kakashi shudder, he just hoped this man had some dignity and didn’t stare like some weirdos he had encountered in the past.

This time Kakashi did shudder as he remembered the face of the chubby, browned haired man, with small beady eyes and thick lips.

Supposed to be the son of some daimyo that he was to escort…

Eventually the dreaded time came for both men to exit the water, they shared a look of mutual and awkward understanding before turning around so their backs faced each other, then got out of the water.

Both men wrapped their robes around them then headed to the changing room to use the separate stalls.

When leaving, the desk lady flashed them both a wry smile before acting like she was taking care of paperwork.

‘I hope she gets fired’

Kakashi thought with a grimace.

The two men gave a subtle nod to one another before going their separate ways.

Kakashi created a shadow clone to tail the guy till the end of the day.

Chapter Text

Sakumo couldn’t sleep that night, he spoke to his son!

Finally!

He felt weirdly giddy… not like he was in love… ಠ_ಠ hell no…

WTF were u thinking….

Bruh…

Anyways… getting back to the story…

Sakumo was giddy, he felt elated!

He finally spoke to his son after all this time!

He felt horrible, but also happy.

Horrible that he wasn’t able to hug his son, apologise for everything, tell his son how proud he was…

But happy that even spoke to his son, even if Kakashi had no idea the weird stranger he spoke to was his dad.

At the inn Sakumo was staying at, he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.

Thoughts of his ‘weird’ encounter with Kakashi swirled in his mind.

Mostly thoughts of how Kakashi had grown, both emotionally and …. Physically….

He definitely got his dad’s genes, in personality and…. Size…

(⊙x⊙;)

Woo~

Sakumo shook his head at the thought… it was quite hard to not notice it, especially since Kakashi was reading some R rated book… which led to some interesting bodily reactions…

He did not raise his son to be like that!

During the time he was alive, he was sure he taught his son better than to read such… such filth!!

His personality was a lot more laid back from when he was a lil pup…. A little too laid back.

With a sigh, Sakumo allowed his shoulders to relax as he leaned further into his pillow.

He groaned and rubbed his forehead, all these thoughts were causing him a headache.

His chakra was somewhat replenished, which was good, by the end of his nap he should be at 100%.

_________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi had dispelled his clone only a couple of hours ago, it was currently midnight.

There was nothing unusual about the stranger… he was at a local inn and he went to bed at a reasonable time.

Had supper at the inn and did nothing suspicious.

But Kakashi couldn’t get his mind off the man’s chakra.

It was so familiar… and also, so… sad.

Too similar to his own..

Kakashi frowned.

… Maybe he has depression or something… must be because of his hair…

Kakashi sighed, he just could not get over that man’s hair… how could he live with himself with that hairstyle.

Kakashi cringed to himself just thinking about the man's hair.

Sure Kakashi himself was weird, but he only read porn in public and his own hair wasn’t that bad…

For his own sanity’s sake, Kakashi decided to stop judging the other man and focus on something else.

Which resulted in him reading his usual orange book and relaxing on his bed.

Chapter Text

It has been two weeks since the awkward encounter at the onsen.

Kakashi went on with his life, almost completely forgetting about the silly haired stranger, and Sakumo watched Kakashi from the shadows.

He noted quite a few things about Kakashi…

1) Kakashi had three students, a rowdy miniversion of Minato, a cold uchiha and a pink haired kunoichi named Sakura.

2) For Kakashi’s lazy demeanour, he was surprisingly tidy and clean, although he was late to almost everything… and not just by a few minutes.

3) Kakashi was well known, some people looked at him with awe whilst others seemed to be afraid of him.

4) Kakashi barely taught the kids he was supposed to teach.

Skumo also noticed that there were a lot less uchihas in Konoha… more like the little black haired kid on Kakashi’s team was the only one around.

Sakumo frowned a bit… he wanted to go have a look at the uchiha compound but he didn't want to leave his son either…

He frowned and decided to go check out the compound anyways … Kakashi wasn’t going to disappear.

He hoped…

_________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi chuckled sadistically as he put in his contact lenses, causing his usual charcoal eyes to turn a deep brown, he was currently wearing a sleeveless vest, which hugged his figure tightly.

Any of his fangirls would have died instantly at the sight of him.

His mask was off and he applied his purple makeup to the top of his eyes, and the strips to the bottom, covering his scar perfectly.

He finished off by putting on his wig, and slipping on his coat and scarf.

It was a hot day, not the best day to be wearing such heavy clothing… but his childre-... I mean students, had been putting him through a rough week, and it was time he got his sweet revenge.

‘Taking advantage of children’s stupidity… I’m so proud of myself’

Sukea smiled at himself in the mirror…

‘Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura… Get ready to have your dreams within reach… then crushed.

He chuckled to himself before heading out the door.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo had inspected the uchiha compound… his worst fears had been a reality.

“They're dead…”

Sakumo muttered grimly to himself…

“Every single one but…”

He remembered Sasuke.

The child who looked more like an adult, who acted harsh and cold…

His heart broke for the young boy, it’s good that Kakashi is with him.

Sakumo thought to himself.

Kakashi knew more than anyone how the pup felt… he just hoped Kakashi knew how to handle the kiddo.

Kakashi was a genius, at everything… everything but emotions.

Even as a toddler, he couldn't comprehend why his peers acted the way they did, when they cried, when they laughed…

Sakumo felt guilty… Kakashi had no mother to teach him emotions, he tried his best to explain to Kakashi, but only a mother could teach her child properly, why people feel the way they do.

It felt like a secret jutsu to him, he just couldn't wrap his head around how mother’s managed to do the things they do.

Sakumo hopped from one tree to the next, Kakashi should be at the training grounds right about now…

He landed silently on a branch and looked through the leaves of the tree over at four figures on the field.

One raven haired, one blonde, one pink haired and…. One brown haired….

BROWN HAIR?!!

WHERE’S THE SILVERRR???!!!

Sakumo panicked!

WHERE’S KAKASHI?!!!

Chapter Text

Sakumo was panicking… a lot!

He was running around everywhere looking for Kakashi, he checked the usual areas Kakashi would be, like his tiny apartment, or the bookstore, or even Ichiraku ramen, but he was nowhere to be found.

Sakumo was breathing heavily, tears were prickling his eyes as he fought the emotions of anxiety and guilt.

He left his son for no more than half an hour, and he’s gone…

He rested his head in his hands as he crouched down on the tree branch overlooking the training field he had just returned to.

He took a deep breath and forced down his emotions.

He can’t find Kakashi if he’s panicking, also this brown haired fellow might have something to do with his son’s disappearance.

I mean he just appeared out of nowhere, and for what time Sakumo had been in the village… he hadn’t seen this guy before.

He is about Kakashi’s height, and looks to be about Kakashi’s age, he is speaking to Kakashi’s kids- I mean students and… his chakra… so similar to … Kakashi…

Sakumo narrowed his eyes at the man and decided to follow him, maybe then some light would be shed on this whole situation.

After a few minutes Sakumo had followed the man to an alleyway.

This Sukea fellow looked around suspiciously, so no one would see him, Sakumo guessed, then proceeded to make the tiger seal.

“Shadow clone jutsu”

He whispered before Kakashi poofed into existence beside him.

Sakumo was a bit shocked at first, his eyes wide and his mouth pursed into a small ‘-’ shape.

(⊙ˍ⊙)III

Sakumo felt like hitting himself in the head… Sukea had been Kakashi all along.

It was painfully obvious that he was the same person, the chakra, the age group… The little beauty mark on his chin….

Sakumo sighed then chuckled inwardly at his son…

‘Oh gosh.. This is going to be an interesting day indeed’

Sakumo smiled.

Chapter Text

“Loser! What the hell makes you think that’s gonna work!?”

“It works every time! He’ll have no choice other than to take off his mask!”

A raspy voice retorted before a loud bonk could be heard.

“You idiot! Even if it did work there is no way I’m gonna let you do something so foolish!”

The voice of a young girl shouted.

“Now, now calm down everyone… Naruto has given his plan… and so has Sasuke-”

“My sexy-jutsu will totally force him to take his mask off!”

“I highly doubt Kakashi-sensei’s nose is gonna bleed so much Naruto…”

Sakura muttered annoyed, yet kept her composure.

“But last time with Iruka Sensei!-”

“I have a better plan…”

Sukea smoothly said before Sakura could lose her temper, which she was very close to losing.

“Kakashi has worn a mask for basically his entire life…”

The kids raised a brow and Sasuke’s eyes narrowed.

“As far as I know of course… ha ha…”

Sukea quickly but awkwardly added before any questions could be asked.

Quickly moving on, Sukea set out a simple plan for the kids to follow.

Sakumo watched from a tree as ‘Sukea’ gave the kids a task to get done.

All the kiddos went home to collect their tents and supplies while the Kakashi shadow clone was informed as to the plan.

After the Hokage had been successfully persuaded, team seven was given permission to leave the village for a ‘camping trip’.

Simply put, the plan was simple.

Get Kakashi in a relaxing environment, spend a couple of days with him, get him to drop his guard, even just a little bit.

This would give the team the best chance of getting a peek of his face.

At first the kid’s were a bit doubtful that the whole plan would work, but they also couldn’t resist going on a camping trip either.

Sakura being excited to be near Sasuke for a night, Naruto excited to be near Sakura for a night and Sasuke mildly happy that he may get some extra training from Kakashi.

Sukea smiled to himself… the plan was perfect.

This would help him to unwind on a nice camping trip, but also get the kids to learn survival skills.

By learning survival skills, he means making them do all the hard work, like hunting and fishing, skinning and gutting, finding firewood, etc.

When team seven finally found and cornered a ‘surprised’ Kakashi, they all headed off to his apartment.

_________________________________________________________________________

“Maa~ I don't see the need for you all to follow me… I can pack my bags on my own…”

Kakashi softly chided with his signature close eyed smile.

“But sensei, you're a man, and men don't know how to pack properly!”

Sakura replied, shaking her finger as Naruto and Sasuke sent her offended looks.

Kakashi chuckled at her views, she wasn’t entirely wrong, he couldn’t lie.

“Sensei, the way men pack is completely different to the proper way of packing…”

Sakura said in a matter of fact tone as Sasuke and Naruto shared an agitated look as she kept droning on and on about how men never pack for different occasions that could potentially happen.

By the time she finally shut up they had entered Kakashi’s apartment.

“Wow sensei! I never would've guessed your apartment is so tidy!”

Naruto exclaimed as he made himself comfortable on Kakashi’s couch, which earned his ear a good twisting from Sakura’s suspiciously strong fingers.

“Naruto you idiot! That’s so rude!”
“OWWWWW SAKURA CHAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!”

“Be quiet you moron! Sensei has neighbours!”

Kakashi chuckled as the two of them bickered… as for Sasuke, he scanned the room attentively.

His eyes landed on two photo frames sitting on a desk-like structure right above Kakashi’s bed.

Upon closer inspection it was a photo of both of his teams, the one from when he was younger and his current team 7…

“Oi… Kakashi”

Kakashi turned to Sasuke.

“Your sensei….”

Kakashi’s face went a little rigid.

Now Naruto and Sakura were looking at him as well.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were the student of The Fourth Hokage?”

Naruto and Sakura looked at Kakashi with both mild surprise and interest.

Kakashi, in true Kakashi fashion, smiled and shrugged leaving the kids with many, many questions… not just about his face.

Chapter Text

Sakumo was in the camping store… looking around at all the tents.

It was early in the night and the store was close to closing.

“The good quality ones are so expensive… since when did I have to pay 10 000 bucks for a simple tent?!”

Sakumo thought out loud with a shake of his head.

“The prices are ridiculous aren't they...”

A suave voice broke him from his thoughts.

Behind him stood a tall man with a light brown bob, he had a bandanna on his head and a toothpick in his mouth.

“This place is for shinobi to get their fancy shmancy stuff from… and by the looks of it, you seem to be a civilian..”

The man looked Sakumo up and down suspiciously.

“I’m Genma, nice to meet you.”

Genma looked at Sakumo with a certain amusement.

“Funky hairstyle, can’t say I’m a fan, but whatever suits you I guess…”

Sakumo flushed, embarrassed.

“Ah-ha yes… ehem… my barber had a little… sneezing accident, ha ha”

Sakumo answered awkwardly in his fake drawl as he subconsciously adjusted his own bandanna.

“There’s a cheaper place down the street, I only came here to make a purchase for the Hokage.”

Genma started walking out the door, already knowing Sakumo would follow.

Sakumo hesitantly walked after Genma, keeping his guard up.

“From the way your chakra is coiling… I don’t think you're a civilian… In Fact I know you’re not.”

Genma smirked as Sakumo internally cursed himself.

“Yes, I may not be a proper civilian but neither am I a shinobi. From a young child my parents taught me the basics of ninjutsu and chakra control… but after their deaths I never took up the way of the shinobi…”

Sakumo lied, and he was good at it.

Genma seemed pretty convinced as he nodded his head slowly, before grabbing Sakumo’s arm lightly and ducking into an alleyway.

“Come on”

Genma smirked a little as they walked past night clubs booming with music and the stench of alcohol and sweat filling the air.

Sakumo felt his eyes widen as he was dragged past many erotic stores, women clad in revealing garments made him gag with slight disgust and men dressed in flashy tight clothes also roamed the area.

The whole place made him highly uncomfortable, even in his youth he wouldn’t have liked a place like this…. Or so he would like to think.

Finally after a few minutes, which to Sakumo felt like hours, they arrived at a quaint little store, dimly lit by an old outdated light bulb.

A fire crackled in the fireplace on the other end of the store, making the whole place a lot warmer.

An old man sat at the cash register near the entrance and greeted them with a wave.

Inside the little shop was quiet, the booming music of the parties outside were muffled, the only sounds that really stood out were the sound of his own footsteps against the wooden floor board and the crackling of the fire.

There were aisles of instant ramen, and other processed food, and at the other end of the fireplace were the fridges, which held many different sodas.

“Sup old man!”

Genma greeted the cheerful grandpa.

“Sup shortie”

The old man replied in his aged voice.

Sakumo would’ve been surprised if he was listening to the conversation, but he was too busy looking around the shop.

“Oh uh h-hello”

Sakumo finally greeted a bit embarrassed, the man gave him a wrinkly smile as Sakumo looked around.

Genma made his way over to the cashier table, before leaning against it and striking up a conversation with the old man.

_________________________________________________________________________

Naruto ran out of ichiraku ramen excited to get home and pack up the last of his things when he bumped into a grey haired man.

“OOf-, sorry old weird haired guy!... WOAH! THAT'S A BIG TENT!”

Sakumo looked at the tiny Minato in front of him, he acted just like little Kushina.

A smirk played on his lips.

‘So those two hit it off then’

Sakumo thought amused.

“HEY OLD GUY ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?”

“Hm?... Oh right, sorry young man… how can I help you?”

“Baaah, you're just like Kakai-sensei ‘ttebayo!”

Naruto moaned with his eyes all squinty.

Sakumo unconsciously took a deep breath at the name of his son….

“Anyways old guy, you have a big tent strapped to your back!”

Naruto smiled as he leaned backwards and tucked his hands behind his head.

“Me and my friends are also going camping, we know a good spot! Maybe you can join us! You’re a lot like Kakashi-sensei!”

Sakumo smiled…. ‘I’m alot like Kakashi, hm….’

“Oh… I’m like your sensei hm…. How so?”

Sakumo smiled fondly at the little fuzz-ball of energy.

“Well, you have a weird haircut and your hair is the same colour as Kakashi-sensei! Also you lose focus when someone is talking to you!”

Sakumo’s smile drooped.

“Uh huh… I see, well kiddo I might just take you up on your offer…”

Sakumo smiled as the young kid jumped up and down happily.

“Oh yeah! We will all be at the village gates tomorrow in the morning! Don’t worry about being late… Sensei is always waaaaaaayyyyyy late!”

Naruto yelled as he ran off waving.

Sakumo waved back with a smile.

This was better than he could have anticipated, he was planning on camping nearby Kakashi and his kiddos but now he could camp with them!

Everything was falling into place!

It was absolutely perfect!

Chapter Text

“Yeah, so I invited him to join us dattebayo!”

Naruto stood proudly, chest puffed out and hands resting on the crook of his hips.

“YOU IDIOT!”

A loud thump could be heard, scaring away some birds in the neighbouring trees.

“You do realise you just invited a COMPLETE STRANGER to come camp right with us! And who’s to say he won't be the downfall of our plan with sensei?! Sensei is sure to keep his guard up now! Thanks alot!”

Sakura fumed at Naruto as he rubbed a swollen bruise on his head.

“Hmph, of course the idiot didn’t even think of that. There goes our shot of seeing sensei’s face…”

Sasuke looked away from naruto with a sourer demeanour than usual.

"AGH NOT YOU TOO SASUKE!"

Naruto whined.

Sakura looked lovingly at Sasuke.

“Yes Sasuke-kun! Just as I said!”

_________________________________________________________________________

‘The lil’ Naruto fella did say not to worry too much about being late… and from what’s I’ve seen of Kakashi by the time I get to the village gates I should have more than an hour to spare.’

Sakumo looked at his new hairdo in the barber’s mirror.

His hair was cut shorter and evened out, the barber took liberties of even giving him some modern hairstyle… which Sakumo thought was for the younger kids about Kakashi’s age… but he didn’t look that old so he could pull it off.

His hair basically looked like the shorter version of Kakashi's hair... but more.... floppy.

After paying the old chubby barber his money, Sakumo picked up his bags and headed off at a leisurely pace down the road, heading to the gates…

After a few minutes he could see Sakura, swooning over an irritated Sasuke and Naruto talking animatedly to Sukea who seemed to be listening with interest.

“Uh greetings…”

Sakumo waved awkwardly as all eyes turned to him.

“Oh wow! Naruto you invited this guy!”

Sakura had hearts in her eyes as she completely forgot about Sasuke who was looking at Sakumo with slight surprise.

“OH YEAH! YOU CAME OLD MAN!!”

Naruto grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to the team.

“This is the guy I was talking about guys!”

Naruto smiled happily as Sakura held her clasped hands against her chest and swooned unabashedly.

Sukea eyed Sakumo with something of a wry smile.

‘Same guy from the onsen hmmm… at least his hairstyle is better. I didn’t realise how much it bothered me…’

“I’m Sukea, nice to meet you… uh…?”

“I’m Toshinori…”

Sakumo smiled kindly.

Sakura looked at Naruto and whispered…

“Why didn’t you say you were bringing this hot guy!!!”

“Huh?... He seems kinda old to me actually…”

Naruto said a bit too loud before Sakura slapped her hand over his mouth.

“Quiet idiot!”

Sakumo watched the exchange from the corner of his eye with amusement.

Sure he was a catch in his youth… but for a young girl like her to be swooning over him…

That’s actually worrying.

Sakumo gulped and put as much distance between himself and Sakura in the most non-weird way possible.

“Now now you two calm down…”

Kakashi walked down the path, orange book in hand, looking uninterested as usual and eyeing his fellow camping companions…

“Ah I see we have another accompanying us…”

Kakashi eye-smiled at Toshinori before putting his book away.

“I remember you…”

“I remember you too”

Toshinori (Sakumo) smiled at Kakashi.

“You two know each other?”

Sasuke eyed him with something he couldn’t place…

Was it ….Jealousy?

“We uh.. Met once before.. Ha ha…”

Kakashi eyed Toshinori with amusement.

Sukea watched them with amusement before turning his attention to a confused Naruto and a gawking Sakura.

“Ah so you two are acquainted.. That’s good…”

Sukea smiled.

“Uh huh… who are you?”

Kakashi smiled, playing his part of the unsuspecting sensei.

After everyone introduced themselves they all set off to the camp grounds.

After an hour and a half…

“Woah! Sukea-san! This place is amazing!”

Sakura gasped as they stepped out of the forest into the clearing.

Before them was a shallow river with fresh water flowing, there were different wild bushes sparsely scattered along the bank of the river and the grass was naturally short.

A big tree sat to the side of the clearing, it's branches heavily laden with bright yellow and white bloomed flowers.

The clearing was perfect for camping.

The ground was level and the grass was soft, there was just enough space for them to have their tents up and a nice warm fire in the middle.

“ALL RIGHT! THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! "

Naruto screamed before running off... meanwhile Sasuke didn't even notice the spectacular view.

Sakumo felt the eyes of the little uchiha boring into him, a bead of sweat ran down his neck.

'I have a feeling something is gonna go wrong'

Sakumo gulped when Sasuke briefly looked away.

Chapter Text

After Naruto ran off to the river Sakumo finally stepped foot onto the lush green grass.
Sakumo stopped in his tracks, the trees, the grass the scents everything… it was just like this where he proposed to his wife…

It was almost exactly the same as when he took Kakashi fishing…

He remembers the day vividly, as if it was yesterday when Kakashi caught his first fish.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi’s rod started bending as the his little arms struggled to pull the fish out the water, with some help from his dad the fish flew out the water landing on the shore where Kakashi caught it with his tiny hands.

It flopped and squirmed, yet was no match for the grip of the toddler.

Sakumo still remembers the smile on Kakashi’s face when he held up the fish for is dad.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo felt his heart shred to bits within his chest, a lump formed in his throat as he fought back the tears… thankfully everyone was more focused on Naruto than him… or so he thought.

An Uchiha boy gazed at Sakumo with interest and curiosity.

‘He’s hiding something…. I know he is...’

Sasuke gave Sakumo one last look before heading off to set up his tent, not bothering to help Naruto untangle himself from the tent strings he was stuck in.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi still remembers this place… from all those years ago.

He still remembers the stories his dad would tell him, the way his dad would look at the sky and point out the different constellations.

The way he spoke of his wife…

Kakashi’s mother…

With a sigh Kakashi finally gave in and decided to help Naruto untangle himself as the little blonde was close to breaking his tent.

Everyone finally set up their tents, Sakumo’s being big enough to fit three people comfortably…

Kakashi, very conveniently, had to go look for some firewood, the moment he was out of hearing range the kids huddled with Sukea and called Sakumo to join them.

“Old man-Toshi! Come here!”

Naruto whispered as Sakumo walked over to them.

They let him in on their plan to see Kakashi’s face.

Sakumo nodded thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin.

After much thinking strategizing and planning they all nodded and went back to their own little tasks of unpacking, just in time for Kakashi to come back with enough firewood to burn a field.

____________________________________________________________________________________

The fire crackled and the kids, Sukea and Sakumo sat around the fire as Kakashi took out some marshmallows that Sakura kindly bought.

Alright…. Operation Soften Up Sensei is now in action!

“Sensei… how do you know about this place?”

Sakura asked both genuinely curious but also with the intention of getting her sensei to open up.

After Sukea had told them the original plan to go camping with their sensei, they allowed him to choose the venue, which would be even better for him to relax, since he would be in a familiar place.

Kakashi hummed at the question, considering whether to share his answer or not.

He looked at each of his student carefully, then at ‘Toshinori’. (Sakumo)

With a sigh he replied softly.

“My Dad would bring me here when I was a child… in fact this is where I caught my first fish…”

Kakashi smiled warmly at his students… they all looked quite interested now, even Sasuke which was mildly surprising.

“He didn’t force you to train instead?... You are the last Hatake, surely he would want you to bring honor to your clan …”

Sasuke asked his voice much less harsh than usual.

Kakashi smiled.

“No, I never really realized it but… he always treated me as his child, not just another addition to the clan, or a someone else to take on the clan’s burdens…”

Sasuke felt a pang of jealousy, his own dad never treated him like a son… only an heir even though he wasn’t the next heir to being the leader of the Uciha Clan.

Sakumo stared blankly into the fire as Kakashi answered the kid’s questions, his heart felt like lead, like it was being weighed down by some force.

He felt empty, like a shell of himself.

The way Kakashi spoke, the sadness in his son’s eyes….

Sakumo sighed and looked up at the stars.

“So who was your dad anyways sensei?”

Naruto asked with a soft voice, he noticed the sadness in Sasuke’s eyes but knew better than to ask or talk about it with him.

It was better for Naruto to change the subject, this way Sasuke could focus on something else.

Kakashi looked at his students carefully before answering quietly…

“My dad was the White Fang of the Leaf…”

“Oh my! How did I never put two and two together! Ugh! He’s an absolute legend sensei! Is it true that he could rivel the three sanin themselves?!”

Sakura asked excitedly as Sasuke just looked mildly surprised.

Sakumo felt himself blush a little bit, thankfully the glow of the fire hid the tint in his cheeks.

“Who’s that?”

Naruto crossed his arms with a snort looking absolutely confused.

“He can’t be that great if I don’t know him..”

Kakashi chuckled amused at Naruto while Sakura gave Naruto a hard punch to the skull before berating him on his absolute stupidity and terrible manners.

Sakumo felt his sweat drop at Naruto but chuckled a little as well.

After some time had passed where the genin occasionally tried to rope Sakumo into the conversation they all grew tired and decided it was time to stop eating burnt marshmallows and head to bed…

Tomorrow was a new day… waiting full of surprises.

Chapter Text

Kakashi woke up panting… he was maskless and still wearing his wig… although he did take off his purple eye-makeup.

The kids wouldn’t be able to see too well in the dark to make out, that he was their sensei and not the cool, handsome, journalist he was pretending to be.

Well maybe Sasuke with his sharingan, but he knew Sasuke better than to waste chakra for pointless things.

It was a chilly night, a cool breeze swept lightly through the vents of his tent. The crisp air giving him goosebumps.

He was sweating and breathing fast… another nightmare, another Rin calling out his name in agony… another Obito crying in disappointment and anger…

Kakashi shook his head of the thoughts. Clad in only his tight black vest and his baggy grey sweats, he silently exited his tent…. He slipped a mask on before he left… and took the itchy brown wig off.

He walked down to the softly flowing river and gazed down at his warped reflection, before gazing at the starry sky above him.

With a sigh he sat there, thinking… about everything… life, death… the future… the past… the now…
…
The end

…

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo woke up late into the night… he had heard some rustling and his tent felt empty with how big it was.

During his days as a shinobi, he had to live in one man tents which held about three men… some of which had questionable hygiene.
Sakumo shuddered at the thought before getting out of bed and stretching, allowing his stiff joints to pop.

He put on a coat and grabbed a flashlight before heading out of his tent.

There was a full moon tonight, so the torch was kinda useless thus, Sakumo slid it into his pocket before standing a bit behind Kakashi.

“Mind if I join you?”

Sakumo spoke in his fake drawl.

Kakashi looked behind him and nodded with a closed eyed smile.

The grey haired man sat himself next to Kakashi as Kakashi he up blankly at the stars once more.

“I hope I’m not interrupting you…”

“No, no.. not at all… I’m just passing time…”

“Can’t sleep?”

Sakumo gazed up at the stars with Kakashi.

“You could say…”

‘Just as cryptic as ever…’

Sakumo thought to himself.

“So uhh… Kakashi…”

“Hm?”

“Tell me a bit about yourself…”

Kakashi immediately became on edge…

Sakumo quickly backpedaled.

“Woah woah you don’t have to if you don’t want to pu-… uh… pu-rudent sir…”

Sakumo internally slapped himself for nearly calling Kakashi pup.

It was his little nickname for his son ever since he could remember.

Kakashi stared blankly at Sakumo for a second.

“I think you mean… prudent…”

Kakashi said matter of factly and slightly confused at the strange man.

Sakumo internally cringed.

“Ah yes yes… I am not the best with speaking… I am from Iwagakure you see…”

Kakashi nodded before turning his gaze back up to the stars.

Sakumo was panicking on the inside… on the one hand he wanted t have a deep talk with his son about … well… everything… his life and how he was coping… but on the other hand he wasn’t really sure how to go about doing so…

Kakashi could sense his discomfort barely veiled by his rigid posture.

With a smirk Kakashi inclined his head slightly towards Sakumo.

“So I heard Naruto dragged you into this camping trip hm...”

“Ah the blonde one… yes, he has quite the character…”

Sakumo said with a chuckle.

Kakashi smiled as he spoke of his students.

“The two other students of mine are Sakura and Sasuke…”

“I’m guessing those three are inseparable hm?”

“Ha… they fight more than they work together… but when they do work together they are quite something.”

Kakashi said proudly…

Sakumo felt his own pride for his son… having students was no easy feat he could tell you that.

Some moments of silence ensued before Sakumo’s gruff low voice cut through the crisp air.

“Iron sharpens iron…. So does a friend sharpen a friend…”

Kakashi looked at Sakumo with intrigue.

“That’s an interesting quote…”

“I got it from a friend.”

Sakumo smiled at Kakashi, it was a knowing smile, the type to make one feel uneasy yet at ease.

They know something… or… do they?...

Kakashi sighed shallowly before gazing up at the stars…

Obito was once his iron…

He thought to himself… he still was sharpened by those cutting words…

“Your Father was a hero!”

Echoed through his mind.

The sun started to rise in the distance over the campsite as the two men sat in comfortable silence.

A new day has dawned…

Chapter Text

A shadowy figure landed in front of the Hokage, Anbu mask sitting perfectly on his slim face and dark cloak without wrinkles.

He straightened himself and dusted down his attire, before speaking in his smooth voice.

“Ibiki has sent back the information you have asked for sir…”

His delicate, pale, slender hand placed a scroll in the Hokage’s wrinkled hand.

“Thank You Mīakyatto…”

The Hokage replied as he opened the scroll.

The Anbu left in the blink of an eye a the Hokage read the contents of the scroll.

….

“Hmmm, this makes things a lot more interesting”

____________________________________________________________________________________

“ALRIGHT! NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL BREAKFAST!!”

Naruto barked his mouth still half filled with chewed up bacon and eggs.

“Ugh Naruto! Shut your mouth when you’re eating idiot!”

Sakura gave Naruto a good smack at the back of his head, causing him to choke on his food, which earned him a hard smack on his back from Sasuke, which successfully unclogged the food from his airwaves.

“UGH SASUKE! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!! HUH? YOU TRYING TO FIGHT OR SOMETHING?”

Naruto jumped up from his seat waving his fist at Sasuke.

“I literally helped you idiot.”

Sasuke retorted unfazed by Naruto’s lack of common sense.

“Yea well you didn’t have to hit me!”

“Oh then what was I supposed to do? Give you mouth to mouth?”

Naruto immediately shut up ad the dreaded memory came back.

…

“Pfftt whatever”

Naruto tried to act unfazed, as he took another bite of his eggs.

Kakashi, Sukea and Toshi watched in amusement.

Today was the day he was gonna help the kiddos unmask his son.

Sakumo was getting a little worried, ever since he was awoken from what was supposed to be his eternal slumber, the growth rate of his hair and nails had gone haywire… some of his bodily mechanisms as well… some which haven’t been very active since a long time ago.

His hair had been growing faster recently, as had his nails.

Thankfully he could easily cut his nails… but… his hair was a different story.

He wasn’t gonna risk what happened last time.

The adults finally sat down to eat their breakfast, Sakumo took a bite of his food and immediately felt his soul ascend.

This was one of the best meals he ever ate, similar to his own style of cooking… but.. better somehow.

More flavor in the subtlest of ways, flavors melted together perfectly.

The students had complimented their sensei’s cooking yes… but… Sakumo didn’t expect it to be this good.

He looked at Kakashi.

“This is the best food I’ve ever eaten! Where did you learn to cook?”

Kakashi’s eyes widened a little and a small blush formed under his mask.

He was never good at accepting compliments, it made him shy.

(Please note that this is a platonic engagement, and Kakashi is genuinely shy nothing more going on okay… I know some of yall wierdos (ㆆ_ㆆ))

Naruto snickered and elbowed Sasuke enjoy the seldom experience of seeing their sensei flustered.

Even Sakura watched from the corner of her eye as she took a sip of her cranberry juice.

“I-… uhm… I- I taught myself…”

Kakashi managed to get out.

“I never really had anyone to cook for me when I was a kid… so I taught myself how to cook.”

Sakumo felt a Claymore pierce his heart at those words…

(Claymore is a very large sword)

He should have been cooking for his son, he should have been taking care of his son, he should have been to the one to witness his son grow up.

He should have been there to comfort his son when his friends died, when his sensei died, he should been there to protect his son…. And yet…

Sakumo took a deep breath to keep his tears at bay.

“I’m sorry…”

Kakashi looked at him.

“Hm?...”

“I’m sorry you went through all that.”

“Oh… thank you for your empathy… but you really don’t have to apologize. It was a long time ago when all that happened”

Kakashi wasn’t used to these conversations, they made him uncomfortable… how was he supposed to respond without sounding rude?

“Don’t worry about apologizing for something that isn’t your fault.”

Kakashi put his hand on Sakumo’s shoulder as Sukea decided it would be such a good idea to sit with the kiddo’s… Totally not because he felt awkward and can’t handle emotional stuff…. Pffft…

Sakumo felt another sword pierce him.

“Ehem, p-please excuse me…”

Sakumo got up hastily and went away, leaving the rest of the group confused and Kakashi feeling a bit guilty.

‘Crap, I made him feel uncomfortable… I hope I didn’t say something offensive.’

Kakashi thought as he regained his composure and tried his best to finish his breakfast.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Sakumo had briskly walked to the end of the river before hyperventilating.

Breath after breath the tears fought their way to be free.

Eventually he couldn’t hold it in anymore, breaking down in stifled sobs he allowed his guilt to tear away at whatever he had left in him.

His knees on the ground head in his hands sobbing.

It's all his fault… again…

Chapter Text

It was about midday that Sakumo made his way back to the campsite, after sobbing for an hour and a half, exhaustion took over his body sending him to a light sleep, only to be awoken by the rustling of leaves as the large willowy tree swayed in the wind.

He quickly washed his face and made it back to the camp, Sukea was talking to the genin and Kakashi had his nose stuffed in a certain erotic book, sitting on a tree stump nearby.

Sakumo swallowed his lingering emotions suppressing them as much as possible as he walked slowly towards Kakashi.

“I see you are a fan of uh…. Literature….”

Sakumo wasn’t really sure what to say to Kakashi, concerning his choice in reading material.

Kakashi looked up with a wry, eye smile.

“I quite enjoy the romance.”
Kakashi flipped his book shut.

“Uhm… Are you okay with your students seeing what reading material you have on hand…”

Sakumo asked with a sweat drop, while breathing nervous chuckles.

(Idk how to explain that ‘breathing nervous chuckles’ （；´д｀）ゞ)

Kakashi shrugged.

“The don’t really seem to care. Rather they see a person such as myself reading things like this, than them finding it out on their own don’t you think.”

Kakashi eye smiled at Sakumo.

“But they look up to you…”

Sakumo retorted in a more confused manner than a confrontational one.

Kakashi laughed heartily.

“I am the last person these kids look up to!”

Kakashi kept laughing.

“I’m always late, I don’t pay attention most of the time… and… honestly I… I’m not really there for them…”

Kakashi’s laughter quieted down a bit.

He looked thoughtful about what he just said.

It felt so natural to speak to this man, as if he spoke to this man every day of his life.

Like he knew this man for years….

The Toshinori in front of him merged into an image of Sakumo… they looked identical… except for the eyes and hair.

Kakashi quickly swallowed his thoughts and cleared his throat.

He then felt a hand on his shoulder, his dad’s voice merging with this peculiar man’s voice.
The same smooth, deep, rich tone.

Same pronunciations….
“Kakashi… these kids do look up to you…”

Kakashi’s breath felt cold as he inhaled, like needles of ice piercing his nasal cavities.

His lungs felt tight and his throat felt as if it was closing.

“Don’t put yourself down like that….”

Kakashi kept staring at the man.

He had this look… so … so familiar.

“E-excuse me..”

Kakashi quickly turned away and went straight to his tent.

Sakumo stood there his eyes on the tent, drooped with sorrow.

____________________________________________________________________________________
In the tent Kakashi ripped his mask off gasping for air.

Even being a shadow clone, it was all so much for him.

“WHY!! WHY WHYW HWYWHWHWYDWYWHWYWYHHWYW!!!”

Kakashi pulled at his hair whisper screaming as he curled up in fetal position on his camp mattress.

He slapped his hands over his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Was the world just fooling him?

Testing him?

What… he knew he wasn’t forgiven for his evils.

But was his guilt not enough of a punishment?

Kakashi picked up his pillow and smashed it into his face.

____________________________________________________________________________________

“Hm… What did you say to Kakashi he looked pretty scared.”

Sukea said with a smile concealing fear and confusion.

Sakumo smiled lazily and looked up at the beautiful evening sky.

“Well Kakashi… why don’t you dispel your clone and find out…”

Sakumo smiled happily at Sukea.

Chapter Text

“E-excuse me?”

Sukea’s eyes widened slightly.

“I’m not sure wha-”

“Kakashi…. Dispel the clone.”

Sakumo cut off Sukea… well Kakashi…

The Sillhouette in ‘Kakashi’s’ tent disappeared.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke all looked at eachother confused.

“WAIT A MINUTE- HMPH”

A slender hand slapped over Naruto’s mouth mid sentence.

“Shut up you idiot!”

Sakura hissed into his ear.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

“Kakashi…. I think…. I think we need to talk…”

Sukea was quite befuddled.

(hehe befuddled ( *︾▽︾). Me and my fancy speaking)

Why on Earth would this weirdly familiar random stranger want to speak to him…

‘Could it be him… no… no stop Kakashi… you know what false hopes lead to…’

Sukea sighed deeply, a sigh which came from the very depth of his lungs.

“Alright, ehem, uh kids you stay here in the camp… no going off on your own.”

Sukea commanded them, knowing full well they’d disobey him anyways.

Sakumo nodded a silent thanks before leading the way to a quiet space.

_________________________________________________________________________

“UGH! I CAN’T BELIE- URPH!”

“Stop talking so loud you idiot or they're gonna know we’re talking about them!”

Sakura whisper shouted into Naruto’s ear.

“Sorry, sorry…. “

“I don’t like that guy…”

Everyone looked at Sasuke after his intriguing statement.

“You don’t like anyone…”

Naruto jabbed back.

Sakura, already tired of Naruto, just rolled her eyes at him before turning to Sasuke.

“Why do you say that Sasuke?”

She asked with genuine interest, not acting all lovey dovey. Just being her natural curious self.

Sasuke felt his stomach flip, he looked away from her to his feet fighting the way his mind raced.

He hated not having control… yet with her… he… he almost loved it.

“Look… he just seems suspicious… did you see Kakashi’s face after he spoke to him?”

“Nah, I wasn’t really paying attention actually.”

Naruto said as he scratched his whiskered cheek.

“Of course you weren’t”

Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Well from what I observed, he came back from wherever he was… and then immediately went to Kakashi. He spoke and after a while Kakashi was just kinda staring at him.”

“Did you hear what they spoke about?”

Sakura looked up at him with her inquisitive eyes, he could see pieces of a puzzle being put together in her mind.

“I couldn’t hear much, but at first they spoke about that damn book he reads all the time…”

“OH YOU MEAN ICHA-ICH- AAAAA OWOWO OW OW OW ! Sakura sorry, ouch!”

“Be quiet you idiot, sensei might hear us!”

Sakura had Naruto’s now purple ear in a tight, twisted grip between her fingers.

“Sorry”

Sasuke choosing to ignore them continued.

“After they spoke about the book, Kakashi was saying … I couldn’t really hear but, that Toshinori guy… he put his hand on Kakashi’s shoulder… I couldn't tell if he had a tight grip on him or not… he didn't look like he was in pain, but…”

“But…?”

Naruto now also genuinely curious, looked up at Sasuke with less cute eyes, more round and sparkly, like the eyes of a toddler.

Sasuke fought the urge to kick Naruto away from him, but any aggression shown to Naruto would just end in a fight between them. Today was a long day, collecting firewood, hunting rabbit, and learning how to gut it took a lot out of Sasuke.

“But, he had that look…”

Sasuke continued.

“Constipated?”

Naruto asked genuinely.

Sakura and Sasuke just gave him an unimpressed and confused look before sharing a glance.

“No… he looked panicked and, something else I can’t quite put my finger on…”

“So are you saying maybe this Toshinori guy… wants to hurt sensei?”

Sakura asked a bit afraid.

Sasuke looked at her with soft eyes.

“I honestly have no idea…”

Chapter Text

All the memories from the clone came flooding back, and Kakashi's brain wanted to shut down.

It was just too much information to process, he didn’t want to think.
His blood pressure was rising, the hair on his nape and forearms were standing straight, his legs felt like lead, yet he took each careful step after step behind Toshinori.

His lungs felt like they were iced, his throat felt constricted.

“Kakashi, please take off the wig.”

Toshinori asked, he had this fake confidence in that moment, an authoritative yet fearful tone.

A look in his eyes, that rabid look, any shinobi could read it, heck, even a civilian.

Pure, unadulterated, fear.

Kakashi hesitantly took off the wig, as if his own body was moving without his mind thinking.

He didn’t know why he obeyed this man…

“And the makeup, Kakashi.”

Kakashi peeled off his eye stickers, and rubbed off the purple paint on his eyelids.

The man in front of him looked pitiful.

As if sorry for himself.

“Kakashi…. I- … I’m really not sure how to go about it…”

“How did you know it was me…?”

Kakashi interjected.

Sakumo looked at Kakashi deep in his eyes.

It was now or never, because never would Sakumo have the same courage he had now to open his mouth and utter those words

“No matter what mask you try to hide behind Kakashi… I will always recognise my son.”

Sakumo watched Kakashi for his reaction.

_________________________________________________________________________

Kakashi stared at Sakumo, expressionless.

Sakumo’s heart was beating so fast, his palms were sweaty and his forehead started producing beads of sweat.

Kakashi continued to stare at Sakumo.

He took one step forward.

His maskless face looked hypnotized by Sakumo’s eyes.

Sakumo just needed an answer, but didn’t dare to break the palpable silence.

Only a minute passed, yet it felt like hours.

Sakumo was just about to try and explain himself… before he could utter another word, a fist connected with his face.

“DON’T YOU LIE TO ME!”

A deep voice cut through the air, so enraged, such anger behind it.

Sakumo’s head and body, flew back, before he could pick himself up Kakashi was on top of him, about to send another punch to his face.

His hand stopped, his arm was shaking, Sakumo had shut his eyes tightly waiting for the impact of another punch.

Cold, wet droplets fell on his face.

Above him, he could see Kakashi, his son…

Crying.

His entire body shook, his arm still raised, started to slowly descend to his side.

“You-... no… you're not.”

“Pup… I know you better than anyone… please…”

Kakashi just kept staring at him, confusion took the place of the anger he felt.

Sakumo looked up at his son.

“SCREW THIS!”

Kakashi angrily got off Sakumo and briskly walked off to this tent.

Sakumo sat up slightly, wiping his bloodied nose.

“Oh my… what have I done…”

_________________________________________________________________________

That damn old wind bag!

He knew all this time didn’t he!

Kakashi stormed past his genin, each surprised at not just Kakashi’s bare face, but also his enraged attitude.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Sensei, are you alright?”

“Not now, Sakura.”

“Oh- uhm… alright then…”

Kakashi entered his tent furious, and aggressively zipped it closed.

From outside his genin could hear first a muffled scream of anger, then a pillow tearing.

_________________________________________________________________________

“Woah, I’ve never seen sensei so angry before…”

Naruto commented, surprisingly knowing how to use and inside voice now.

“Yeah… When he was walking past… It looked like he was crying…”

Sakura added.

“And yet where’s the old guy?”

Sasuke asked, looking more pulled up and serious than usual.

As if on cue Toshinori came walking back, a bit slowly.

His hand was covering his bloody nose and the cut above his eyebrow was dripping blood.

“OLD GUY!”

“I’m sorry Naruto… I … I think I need some time to think alone alright kid…”

Sakumo tried his best to smile.

“Oh… uhm… okay old guy…”

Naruto watched Sakumo limp away.

“Sensei and Toshinori are kinda similar don’t you think?”

Sakura looked at Sasuke for his approval.

Sasuke’s eyebrows were furrowed…

“Didn’t you notice that Sakura?”

“Notice what?”

“His accent..”

Sakura thought for a few seconds… and then it clicked.

“His accent sound normal now, not like some tourist… was… is he?... huh?”

“Now you see why I’m suspicious of him…”

“Yeah I do…”

Naruto was getting quite tired of Sakura and Sasuke always having their ‘private’ conversations.

“You guys are forgetting something important…”

Naruto said, crossing his arms.

“What?”

Sasuke and Sakura asked in unison.

“Sukea is actually sensei! We’ve been fooled so our obvious plan of action now is to take revenge on Kakashi sensei! Who cares about the drama with Old Guy and Sensei ....”

“Ugh Naruto…”

Sakura rolled her eyes and Sasuke just huffed in annoyance.

“You guys are real killjoys ya know that…”

Naruto grumbled.

Chapter Text

Night came quickly… Both of the adults were nowhere to be seen. All the leftovers from breakfast were polished off during lunch and the genin were hungry.

“Aww man, I’m stravingggggg”

Naruto groaned hungrily.

“Kakashi taught us how to catch rabbits, so we should put our practice to the test…”

Sasuke said, flicking a kunai between his fingers.

“Yeah but we learnt how to do that in the daylight…. And sensei did most of the work so…. Don’t we have any marshmallows left?”

Naruto was now holding his growling stomach looking at Sakura with puppy eyes.

Unfortunately for him, Sakura was not very impressed.

“Well Naruto even if I did have any left, I wouldn’t give you any since it’s not real food…. Also knowing you, you’d still be hungry after finishing the whole bag.”

Sakura crossed her arms and shook her head at him.

Naruto groaned.

“AW C'MON! WHY DID SENSEI HAVE TO BE IN A BAD MOOD!! GAH!-”

BONK

Sakura whacked him over the head.

“You idiot shut up! You’re gonna wake up sensei and Toshinori!”

Sasuke watched them both unamused at their antics.

Suddenly swinging his arm at a rustle in the bushes ,a tiny thud and a small squeak could be heard.

He walked over to his catch, a small brown bunny lay there skewered by his kunai.
It was an awful sight, but at least they now had some sort of food.

Naruto and Sakura stopped bickering instantly, looking at Sasuke with surprise.

He picked up the dead rabbit and removed his kunai from it gently, Sakura’s eyes widened and quickly looked away.

The sight of the poor bunny was too much for her to bear, Naruto on the other hand looked excited.
“FOOD!”

Sakura blessed Naruto with another bonk, to his ribcage this time.

“Shut up you idiot! People are sleeping!”

_________________________________________________________________________

People were in fact not sleeping and could hear everything quite well.

Kakashi was laying maskless in his tent, staring at the roof of it above him.

He hoped Naruto and Sakura could keep bickering, that way he had something to keep his mind on.

He wanted to feel proud of his students for learning how to hunt on their own, without his help.

But there was only a horrible aching feeling in his chest.

He was trying to not believe it.

To not accept it.

This man…. Was not his dad… no….

Kakashi hadn't realised it but the pillow he held over his head had begun to tear.

_________________________________________________________________________

“You two shut up! We need to clean and gut this thing if we want to eat it…”

Sasuke was getting more and more irritated by the minute.

Sakura blushed and kept quiet …. Unlike Naruto about to start yelling obscenities.

Naruto’s browns furrowed and his mouth opened only to be cut off by a loud tearing of fabric and the yelling of a certain expletive starting with the letter ‘F’.

(Frickerfrackerfrinklefluffs if you don't know what word I’m talking about 🙂)

The kids instantly looked towards Kakashi’s tent.

After a minute of silence the tent door opened and out stepped a maskless Kakashi, in only his undershirt and ninja pants.

The team looked unsure of themselves… It was weird seeing Kakashi with his bare face… but even weirder seeing him with dark circles around his puffy eyes.

“Need help skinning that?”

Kakashi asked Sasuke ignoring Sakura and Naruto’s looks of concern.

Sasuke handed the rabbit over to Kakashi.

“We should hunt for another rabbit, one won't be enough for everyone…. Sakura….. Want to come with me?”

Sasuke looked at the pink haired girl.

She blushed and nodded vigorously.

Sasuke gave Kakashi a nod before leaving.

________________________________________________________________________

As the two walked through the woods in search of rabbits, or any small critters, Sakura turned to Sasuke.

“I know why you left Naruto behind with Kakashi.”

Sasuke gave her a side eye.

“Why did I leave them alone?”

Sakura stared straight ahead.

“You think Naruto would be better at talking to Kakashi in this sort of circumstance… and I’m not really that great at comforting…and neither are you”

Sasuke looked at Sakura and sighed.

“Actually you are… but Kakashi would get overwhelmed if too many people fussed over him at once… you know him.”

Sakura looked at Sasuke with her beautiful, jade eyes, lit with sparkles from the light of the stars and moon above.

Sasuke tried his best not to stare into them and just kept looking ahead.

“I’m no good at comforting anyone, and if I went out alone it would look weird…”

Sasuke added his cheeks getting a little red.

Sakura giggled.

“Don’t tell me you were embarrassed to go alone.”

She chuckled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“Shush you're gonna scare the rabbits away.”

_________________________________________________________________________

“AGH THEY ALWAYS DO THIS! THEY LEAVE ME OUT OF EVERYTHING! I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF THEY RAN OFF AND LEFT US HERE IN THE DUST!”

Kakashi watched his student amused at his antics.

His decision to join his students really paid off.

He was afraid they would ask too many questions… especially Sakura, but Sasuke read the situation well.

He owes Sasuke for this one…

Kakashi continued listening to Naruto’s rant about how he was always ignored by his teammates and how Kakashi should punish them.

Kakashi cleaned off his kunai after masterfully gutting the rabbit.

“Naruto please get some roots from this morning.”

Naruto continued blabbing, as he got some weird root vegetables that were foraged this morning, with the help of pakkun’s helpful nose.

With some salt,water, wild herbs and whatever roots were left, a pot of soup started to form over the crackling fire Kakashi made earlier… a queasy Sakura and a perfectly fine Sasuke made it back just in time to give Kakashi a second bunny.

Now that both rabbits were prepared, they went into the soup and after some time it was ready.

“Sasuke, can you do me a favor?”

Sasuke raised a brow at Kakashi.

Kakashi filled a bowl with soup.

“Give this to …. Toshinori…. Please…”

He handed the bowl to Sasuke who took it straight to Toshinori’s tent.

Sakura and Naruto shared a look of surprise, as Sasuke walked off.

Chapter Text

Sakumo sat in his tent and heard the muffle of voices outside, his eyes were watery, not just from the punch to his face, but from the events of the past few days.

Was coming back really such a blessing?

He sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his hair.

His hair and nails had been growing faster than they should be… he couldn't understand how or why, but it was a problem he would deal with later.

He heard footsteps crunch through the grass as they neared his tent.

“Old man…”

That must be the Uchiha…..

Sakumo wiped his face of any stray tears and opened the tent flap.

“Yeah kiddo?”

After opening the tent flap he looked up at Sasuke.

_________________________________________________________________________

Sasuke looked down at the man peeking his head out the tent.

His nose was red and swollen, his cheeks were puffy and red, and his eyes looked slightly red.

“Kakashi told me to give you this…”

He handed the bowl of hot soup over to Sakumo, who accepted it graciously.

“Thank you…”

Sakumo took the soup with both his hands, then glanced Kakashi’s way.

Sasuke watched his reactions with intrigue.

“I don't know what you told him, or what he did to you…. But I suggest you sort it out soon.”

Sakumo looked at Sasuke with concern and confusion at the malice in the boy’s voice.

What looked back at him was a pair of angry sharingan eyes.

Sasuke leaned a bit closer.

“I wouldn’t make enemies with Kakashi the Copy Ninja, Master of over a thousand Jutsu, and flee on sight in the bingo book.”

Sakumo looked straight into Sasuke’s blood red eyes, even as a seasoned ninja Sakumo couldn’t help but get chills down his spine at the young boy’s malice.

He must really care about his sensei.

Feeling satisfied that he made his point clear, Sasuke deactivated his sharingan and turned around towards the campfire.

“We leave tomorrow back to Konoha after breakfast. I suggest you don’t be late.”

Sasuke said not looking back, before walking off.

Sakumo watched the young boy.

‘His killing intent needs some work…’ Sakumo thought before taking a spoonful of soup into his mouth.

Once again his mouth felt as if it was ascending… the taste of such a simple soup blew him away.

“Kakashi the Copy Ninja…”

“Flee on sight in the bingo book…”

Sakumo rolled the words on his tongue…

His Son had come so far without him, had achieved Jonin rank, and who knows what else…

Sakumo eventually finished the soup and once everyone went to sleep, creeped out his tent to clean his bowl and leave it with the other clean crockery.

He took one last look at Kakashi’s tent before heading back to his own.

_________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, everyone was weirdly quiet when getting ready to leave.

Sasuke assisted Naruto in putting his tent away, so the little goofball did not get tangled in the strings again.

Kakashi put away his two tents he brought, and packed away his camera safely so as to not get damaged.

Sakumo packed all his things early in the morning and sat on his packed up tent while picking at his fingernails.

Sakura was at the river washing her face.

Little did any of these individuals know, they were being watched from afar.

_________________________________