I decided to run some errands before the conversation with Kakashi happens and decided on getting some take out from Ichiraku.
I had to buy groceries, some household supplies, and some more cat food for Mizuki.
She's still around, but she's just very old. I get scared for the day she passes away too, but I try not to think about it.
After I had everything done, I checked the time in the store and saw it was almost 3:00 in the afternoon, so I decided to walk over to Ichiraku for my take out.
On the way there, there was a loud crash and some angry shouting.
I checked to see what was going on and there was a blur of orange and blonde that just passed me.
"Don't come back here ever again, you despicable brat!" Someone shouted at the top of their lungs. "It's simple. If you don't have money, then don't bother coming around!"
I put two and two together.
My jaw and my fists clenched and I could feel anger starting to build up inside of me.
Hell no.
Not on my watch.
I put my things down and walked over to the shop owner.
"Hello miss, how may I-,"
"Save it," I snap, taking him by surprise.
He looked baffled now.
"I'm sorry?"
"Listen here," I narrowed my eyes. "If you EVER treat him like that again, I swear on my mother's grave that you will have hell to pay,"
Everyone was now staring and the man just rolled his eyes.
"And why shouldn't I? He's that demon child," He retorted. "You know, the one that killed Lord Fourth,"
Now he just took it way too far.
I hated it when people picked on my little cousin and I especially hated it when people blamed him for Uncle Minato's death. The villagers don't know the truth. No one in this village knows the truth, except for a few.
I kicked the table that was between us out of my way and got in his face.
"Say that again asshole," I growled. "I dare you,"
He smirked, knowing he got under my skin. But he doesn't know why that comment he made bothered me exactly.
"You're a ninja, aren't you? Aren't you ninjas supposed to be smart?" He asked. "And I'll say it again. That child killed Lord Fourth and he shouldn't be allowed to step foot in this village,"
In a flash, he was now pinned against the wall and now, I had lost my temper.
I pointed a kunai in his face for intimidation purposes and I knew I'd get in trouble for this, but I don't care right now. I couldn't stand it when people said that kind of crap and I had enough of it.
"I'd be careful who you say that to," I said. "You don't recognize me at all?
He shook his head.
"I'm Lord Fourth's niece,"
His eyes widened and now he recognized me.
"And I don't think my uncle would like you blaming a child for what happened to him and neither would my aunt," I continued. "I don't like it either, so if you want me to spare your life, then you better watch what you say about him and watch how you treat him,"
"I-I understand-!"
"And I'm serious about what I said," I pointed the kunai closer. "If I catch you screaming at that child or looking at him in a way I don't like, I will come after you,"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" The guy nodded desperately.
I put the kunai down and let him go.
Everyone who was staring quickly turned around and went back to what they were doing.
Like Aunt Kushina, I also had a nickname now.
It was "Firecracker" and people gave me that nickname after they witnessed me having a "nice" chat with a villager who happened to catch me on a bad week while berating Naruto for no reason.
My nickname wasn't as cool as hers though.
I picked up my bags from the store and started walking to Ichiraku.
However, I noticed a barrel nearby tipping back and forth. I watched it until it stopped moving, but I didn't really think anything of it, so I just continued walking.
By the time I had gotten to Ichiraku, I calmed down more and I sat down at the barstool to order.
"Good afternoon, Hana," Teuchi greeted with a smile.
Surprisingly, Teuchi still looks good for his age. He's also surprised that I still love ramen just as much as I did when I was a teenager.
"Hi, Teuchi," I smiled back.
"I'm assuming that you want the usual, right?" He asked.
I nodded. "Yup,"
He chuckled. "To go or here?"
"To go," I replied.
He nodded and went to the back to start making my order.
I didn't see Ayame anywhere, so I just assumed she had the day off today.
Teuchi came back with a brown paper bag and some chopsticks next to it.
"Enjoy," He smiles.
I stopped myself before I said "you too" and smiled back. "Thank you,"
I grabbed the bag with my ramen and exited the stand. I noticed the curtains moved quickly as if there was wind and I just looked at it questioningly.
I shrugged it off and started overthinking about how my conversation with Kakashi would go tonight. I was really nervous. What could he possibly have to say to me after ghosting me after all these years?
Now I made myself mad because I'm overthinking. I thought about how he just now decides to check on me when he didn't bother to stop by or talk to me when I lost Minato and Kushina.
On my way back home, I noticed Naomi was hiding behind a tree and had her byakugan activated. She also had her eyes narrowed as if she was irritated.
"Naomi? What are you doing?" I ask.
She deactivated her byakugan when she heard me and sighed.
"I was just coming back from the store and I noticed my little cousin was getting picked on by these other children," She answered. "I'm just irritated about it because they treat her like dirt and it doesn't help either that my brother goes and does the same thing,"
I wasn't the only one who had it rough. Naomi started acting nicer after I lost Minato and Kushina and then she ended up losing her fiance, Satoshi after the Uchiha clan got massacred. They got together sometime after the war and then he proposed. The wedding was supposed to happen three months after he proposed, but then Itachi ruined that.
Naomi also has issues in her clan since the Hyuga had some conflict and her father died because of that. We ended up becoming real friends after we sympathized with each other.
"Really? Your brother doesn't like her?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's stupid," She replied. "If my uncle wasn't so strict with my cousin and my brother, I think they would actually get along. The Hyuga just has too many conflicts that need to be sorted out,"
"I see," I said. "I don't know how to help you with the clan's conflict, but I can help you with those kids picking on your cousin,"
She rose an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Just lead the way,"
I followed her to the spot where her little cousin was and I was surprised to see how young she was. She's the same age as Naruto and yet these boys who are almost old enough to become genin are picking on her.
"You're such a little twerp," The first one said while the second one was just messing up her hair.
She started to cry. "P-Please stop,"
"Excuse me," I said.
They all looked and Naomi stood next to me.
She's mastered the cold look that Hizashi had and I mastered Kushina's "look" so these boys immediately froze.
"Do you want to explain why you're picking on a little girl?" I asked.
"W-We're not scared of you!" The boy that was messing with her hair shouted, trying to act tough.
"Oh, you're not scared?" Naomi joined in, now activating her byakugan.
I knew she would never use it on them, but she was just trying to intimidate them and it worked.
The boys immediately backed away.
"You better leave this little girl alone or I will come after you," I threatened.
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
"I'm not even that old to be called that," I retort.
"S-Sorry...uh....lady," The boys said and then took off running.
Naomi lifted the little girl up and comforted her and pointed to me. The little girl had short, dark blue hair and the signature pale eyes. She was adorable and still had some tearstains as she looked at me curiously.
"This is Hana," Naomi said to her.
I smiled and got closer.
"You're adorable, what's your name?" I ask.
"H-Hinata," She answered shyly and hid her face in Naomi's hair.
She's such a sweet little girl. How could anyone pick on her?
I realized I had to get home or my food would get cold, so I waved at Hinata and Naomi as I left.
I was finally at home and I put the groceries and household supplies away. I opened my ramen and saw that it was still hot and my mouth watered.
I walked over to my couch and set it on the coffee table. I was ready to eat my ramen after my eventful day today.
"Finally, some good food," I said to myself and picked up my chopsticks.
But then, the doorbell rang.
I groaned and sat up from my couch.
I opened the door and it was Kakashi.
Great, now it was going to be awkward. I invited him inside and he slid his shoes off, then walked over to the couch where my ramen was.
"Uh, sorry I didn't get enough for you. It completely slipped my mind to get another bowl," I apologized.
"It's okay," Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not very hungry,"
I just nodded and awkwardly started eating my ramen.
It was quiet and I didn't know how to start and I don't think he did either.
A few more minutes passed by and I just put my ramen down. If no one started, then this would just get more awkward.
So I just took a deep breath before speaking.
"So, I guess you can start explaining from the beginning," I started. "Because I want to know why you cut me off when I did nothing wrong. I tried checking in on you and you couldn't even do the same for me,"
He averted his eyes and took a minute to respond.
"I...you're right," He said. "You didn't do anything wrong and I didn't check on you,-"
I realized he was beating around the bush and I huffed.
"So? What's the explanation?"
"Hana, please let me talk," he sighed. "I'm having a hard time opening up already and I'm trying my best here to do it,"
I nodded.
"I just...I can't help but blame myself for what happened in the war," He starts. "I was the leader of our team and I failed to protect everyone. I was so focused on the mission instead of working together,"
My gaze softened and I stayed silent.
"And because I failed to work together with you and Obito, our closest friends are dead. When you tried to reach out to me after the war, I was just really shaken up by the fact that I killed Rin, I couldn't save Obito, and I couldn't save you from a broken heart,"
"Kakashi..." I said quietly. "It's not your fault and even they know that. Rin wanted you to do it, remember? If you wouldn't have done it, she would've died anyway because they had the Three-Tails inside of her,"
He stayed quiet and I could hear his breathing becoming ragged as if he was trying to contain himself.
"And I understand how you feel about Obito's death. I blamed myself because I thought if I got to him in time, he would still be here and I thought if I did things differently, he would've been here still,"
I continued. "I know Obito wouldn't want us blaming ourselves over what happened. It took me many years to finally come to terms with the fact that it isn't my fault,"
"It is my fault," Kakashi replied finally. "I was the leader of the mission. I failed as a leader, a friend, and as a comrade,"
"Kakashi-,"
"And because I failed, I pushed you away. You were the only friend I had left and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you because I failed to protect you too,"
I widened my eyes.
"I didn't talk to you all those years because I thought if we weren't friends, it would be the best way to protect you because I failed to do so for Obito and Rin," He finished.
I was speechless and it took me a few seconds to reply.
I finally understood why he didn't talk to me and I realized he didn't actually want to call off our friendship. The anger I had about it vanished.
"Kakashi-"
"And I did care about you when Minato-Sensei and Kushina passed away. I just thought that you didn't want to talk to me since I didn't talk to you after I told you I was going in the ANBU,"
"I did," I said. "All I wanted was for you to talk to me because you were all I have left of Team Seven and my only best friend I had left after the war,"
We both got quiet after that and I stood up suddenly.
He looked confused and I walked over to him and sat down.
He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was wondering what I was doing.
I wrapped my arms around him and he stiffened up. He reluctantly put his arms around me and I had a small smile on my face.
I knew I had my best friend back.
We both were still suffering from the loss of our sensei and our friends, but I knew one day we'd be able to heal from the pain, now that we reconnected.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know Kakashi got out of character, but I have a hard time trying to get him to explain everything without getting him completely out of character and I feel like it would be different with someone he was best friends with in the past.