When Kakashi woke up again, Aizawa was sitting on the couch across from his bed looking over papers.
"You're up." He said, looking up from the sheets. Aizawa was wearing glasses and his hair was up in a bun.
"Y-" Kakashi stopped mid-sentence. There were cuts all over the inside of his mouth and over his lips. He looked at his hands and found them covered in scrapes from his nails.
He cleared his throat and spoke again. "Yes."
"I know you probably don't want to talk about this, but what happened yesterday?"
"Did he-I say anything?" Kakashi asked. He couldn't remember if he did end up losing control.
Aizawa hesitated. "You asked us to leave, nothing more."
Kakashi blinked. That was... a lot better than what normally happened. "Oh...."
Aizawa waved him off. "It's fine, but what happened to you?"
Kakashi sighed. He knew that Goto was already on the right track to figure out parts of his past, so he would have to answer this question eventually. He just figured he'd have a little more time before then. "I don't want to say it here, but I'm fine now. I can tell you when we get back... home." If Kakashi struggled with the last word, Aizawa didn't comment on it.
"Okay." Aizawa sighed. "Oh, Nezu fixed your documents so that you actually exist, but 'Zashi and I now have legal custody over you." Aizawa said. He didn't seem upset over the legal custody, in fact, he almost seemed worried that Kakashi wouldn't like it.
Strangely enough, Kakashi was fine with it. It would be annoying at times, but how would this be different from their original arrangement?
Kakashi wanted to say it was okay, but his breath caught in his throat. Did accepting this mean that he was leaving everything else behind? Was he cementing his place in this society? How long could he stay here before he inevitably had to leave?
"Kakashi?" Aizawa's calm voice snapped him out of his daze.
"A-ah. Thank you." He nodded. Was it okay for him to act like this? Could he just... integrate himself into these people's lives? After everything he'd done. All the lives he'd cut short, could he?
Well, it couldn't hurt to try, right?
~~~
Kakashi was discharged from the hospital a day later, and he decided that he could tell Aizawa and Hizashi at least a little bit about what his life had been like.
The three of them were sitting in the living room. Kakashi was sitting on an armchair, and Hizashi and Aizawa were on the couch.
He wasn't really sure how to start the conversation, so he told them to ask questions.
"Who is Obito?" Aizawa asked.
What a wonderful start.
"Obito and I were on a team together when we were younger, his right side was crushed by a boulder when we were children, and I thought he died. Turns out he didn't." Kakashi shrugged, hoping his voice hadn't wavered through his story. "I found out he was alive recently actually, when he tried to kill me."
"Why did he try to kill you?" Aizawa's voice was a mix of confused and possibly horrified. Kakashi guessed he was also seeing the similarities between their lives.
"Because I broke a promise I made." Kakashi sighed.
Aizawa and Hizashi were quiet for a bit.
"Who's Minato?" Hizashi asked.
"Ah.... Did I say something about him?" Kakashi chuckled and scratched the side of his face. "He was my teacher, and the leader of the village I used to live in. He's dead now though. Shukaku's sibling lost control, and he was dispatched to take care of it."
"You said you and Obito were on a team together, what sort of team was it."
"A military squad."
Aizawa and Hizashi closed their eyes slowly.
"Were there only two people on this team?"
"No. There were four." Kakashi said quietly.
"Minato was also on this team." Aizawa realized.
"Yeah. And the other person was..." Kakashi inhaled sharply. "Nohara Rin, she was a medic."
"I think that's enough for now." Aizawa said, after a few tense seconds of silence.
Kakashi didn't really feel like moving.
Whenever he got like this, there would already be a dangerous ANBU mission waiting for him, where he could hope for a death that never came.
Now, as he relives his past, there wasn't anything to stop his thoughts from spiraling out of control, to a place he never thought he'd be again. This conversation had acted as a key to a door in his mind. A locked door that should've never been opened.
Kakashi felt like laughing, crying and punching someone in the gut.
He assumed that Hizashi and Aizawa had left to allow him to collect himself and talk to each other about next steps. That was fine, Kakashi understood that.
"Fuck, I hate feeling like this." Kakashi muttered. He would give himself a good slap to the face to wake up, but he couldn't move his arms.
His phone screen lit up.
A text from Obito.
10:04 PM
Did you get the stuff I sent you?
I hope you liked it!
Yeah. Thanks.
Wow, you're talkative today.
Ha. Ha. Very funny.
You okay?
Never been better.
I can tell you're lying, even through here.
Congrats. Would you like a medal?
What happened?
I...
Talked to someone about Minato.
Oh.
That's... rough.
Sorry.
Kakashi would say, "It's not your fault, no need to apologize," but he reminded himself, that Minato did die at Obito's hands, though he was being manipulated. Kakashi still killed Rin, even though someone else had orchestrated the entire thing, it was still his jutsu that ended her life.
I wish you didn't have to do things like that.
Me too, but I guess that's life.
10:11 PM
You should talk to someone about Madara.
And the Uchiha.
Wow. If you're telling me it must be bad.
Why? What brought this on?
Well, I've got a therapist. And it's helped...
Sort of. They aren't like the ones in Konoha.
This one actually cares I think.
But I haven't told him everything yet, so who
knows?
10:15 PM
Hey uh...
I need to talk to you about something.
Oh?
What is it?
Rin.
You don't have to if you don't want to.
I just...
Right. Of course.
How much do you know about... what happened?
I only saw her...
Oh.
I guess I'll start from the beginning then.
Thanks.
Kakashi took a few deep breaths, and began to type. The story was short, and he didn't sugarcoat anything. After he finished, Obito told him what happened from his perspective.
Neither of them said anything for a long time, until Kakashi's phone rang.
"Kakashi." Obito's voice was quiet and hoarse. He had probably cried, or tried to hold back his tears.
"Obito. Are-"
"-you okay?"
"Me? I'm fine. I should be asking about you."
"Me? You were the one who told the story! And I was the one who fucked up. Majorly."
"We both fucked up."
"I fucked up worse."
"No, I'm pretty sure I did. You wouldn't have fucked up as bad as you did if I hadn't first. So that means, by default, that I fucked up more than you did."
"Sure man, you just keep telling yourself that. I'll just be over here thinking the truth."
There was a pause, before they both began to laugh. Kakashi's laugh was quiet, and Obito's was more of a chuckle, but they were both smiling at the end.
"So, how are you doing?"
"A lot's happened, actually." Kakashi sighed. "Most of it's pretty not good."
"Uh oh. What happened?"
"Well first I was kidnapped-"
"WHAT?! Why? Where? Who?" Obito paused. "How?"
"Then I was given a TI tattoo."
"The ones they give with a knife? Someone did that to you?"
"Yeah."
"Holy Amaterasu."
Kakashi laughed humorlessly. "Yeah. Then some other fucked up shit happened. And now I'm here, talking to you."
"Should I come back? I should come back. Are you okay?"
"No. You stay where you are, I'm fine now. If you're not there who's going to send me pictures of beaches and sunsets?" Kakashi joked.
"Y-you're right."
"I can practically see you blushing from here."
"Shut up! No you can't!"
"Yes I can."
"No you can't!"
"Yes I can."
"No you can't! And I'm not blushing!"
"Sure you're not."
Kakashi kept talking on the phone with Obito until they ran out of things to say. Obito told Kakashi about the Guy on the Bench (which Kakashi thought was hilarious), and Kakashi told him about working with Todoroki and Bakugou.
"Where are you going next?" Kakashi was lying with his back on the couch. Without even realizing it, he'd dropped his guard once again.
"Well, I'm in China right now, then I'm going to India, then Turkey."
"Sounds like you're busy."
"It's fun though! You should travel when you finally get out of school!"
"Maybe I will."
"Mhm. Oh damn, look at the time!"
Kakashi glanced over at the clock. 2am.
"What time is it where you are? It's 2 here."
"It's 1 where I am, either way I should probably go to bed. I'm going sightseeing tomorrow."
"Okay. Talk to you later?"
"'Course!"
"Bye."
"bǎo chí liánxì!" ("Keep in touch" in Mandarin)
The smile didn't leave Kakashi's face, even when he fell asleep.
He dreamed of Team Minato. And instead of turning into a nightmare as usual, they remained happy. All of them.
~~~
I can't write romantic fluff to save my life but... uh... here?
Leaving Kakashi in the living room on his own, Aizawa thought, was both a terrible idea, and a great one.
He heard him talk on the phone with someone before he and Hizashi went to bed, and he was laughing, so they figured they could talk to him about their talk in the morning.
"He probably won't want to be treated any differently." Aizawa said when they got up.
"Mhm." Hizashi nodded and continued gelling his hair.
"Must you do that every morning?" Aizawa's lips twitched upwards.
"But of course!" Hizashi turned to face him. "It's stylish!"
"Sure it is." Aizawa chuckled lightly, his face turned more serious. His thoughts spiraled elsewhere.
Kakashi was in the military, and it seemed like his old village had a lot of problems. Enough that they needed to draft children. Kakashi had always seemed so calm, but maybe it wasn't that he was calm, it was just that he'd seen worse? The USJ incident didn't even phase him. Unless it did, and they just didn't realize it.
Hizashi wrapped his arms around his torso. "You're thinking too much." He muttered into his shoulder.
"I think I'm thinking the right amount." Aizawa retorted.
"Fine, I'll rephrase. You're keeping your thoughts to yourself too much." Aizawa hummed, but didn't say anything else. Hizashi sighed, and released the hug. "Right then. I'm going to make breakfast, you're staying here with Kakashi today, right?" Aizawa nodded. "Okay! Let's get this day started!"
Aizawa laughed at his husband's over the top antics.
When they entered the living room, Kakashi was asleep on the couch, looking calmer than Aizawa had ever seen him. He stirred, and sat up immediately.
"Woah, easy." Aizawa sat next to him. Kakashi grimaced and held his torso, clearly regretting his choice to sit up so soon.
Kakashi blinked a few times. "Oh. Good morning." His phone buzzed a few times.
"Someone's popular."
"What can I say?" Kakashi shrugged and picked up his phone. Aizawa smiled lightly, and shook his head.
Kakashi covered his mouth and the tips of his ears turned a little pink. Aizawa nudged Hizashi, and he looked over.
"Something interesting on your phone?" Aizawa teased.
Kakashi coughed once, then said, "Why do you say that?"
~Kakashi POV~
Kakashi checked his phone, and a picture of Obito in a very expensive-looking suit popped up, with the caption: Looks good, right Bakakashi?
It did look good. It looked very good. Damn it Obito.
"Something interesting on your phone?" Aizawa asked.
Kakashi cleared his throat, "Why do you say that?"
"Hm. No reason." He shrugged and handed him a plate.
"Alright! I'm off." Hizashi kissed Aizawa on the cheek. That was the first time Kakashi had seen them display affection in front of him. He didn't really mind though. "Try not to turn into couch potatoes before I get back!" He grinned, then left the house.
If Kakashi had been any less of a shinobi, he would've sat there, wide-eyed, staring at the door where Hizashi had left from.
Instead, he sipped his drink slowly, and placed it back on the table to hide his surprise.
The silence was very uncomfortable, but Kakashi and Aizawa both lacked the social skills to do anything about it. So, Kakashi ate his breakfast in complete silence, while Aizawa checked the time and clenched and unclenched his hands constantly.
~~~
It was about midday, and Kakashi was finishing up with the work he missed. Aizawa was working on his computer.
"I handed in the work I missed." Kakashi informed him.
"All of it?"
"Yes?"
"Okay. How did you find it?"
Kakashi pondered the question. What was he supposed to say? "Fine." is what he went with.
"Not too easy?"
"Uh...." Kakashi hesitated. The last time he said work was too easy was back in the Academy, which ended up with him graduating at 6, and any hopes of a childhood were tossed out the window and run over by a truck. "Maybe?"
Aizawa sighed. "I'll print out the test you missed."
"Okay." Kakashi sat back on the couch. He hadn't seen Todoroki or Bakugou since he teleported them away from All for One. Were they okay? How did the heroes know where he was anyway?
"Here." Aizawa handed him 10 pages. "Take your time, but if you want to take a break tell me."
"Okay." Kakashi nodded, and got started. The test started out pretty simple, but progressed into harder, more complex questions, requiring experience and a lot of thought. It seemed like it was designed so you couldn't use artificial intelligence for the test.
It took Kakashi an hour to complete the entire thing. He gave it to Aizawa and asked if there was anything else he needed to do to catch up.
"You can take a break." Aizawa reminded him.
"I'd rather do everything in one sitting." Kakashi shrugged.
Aizawa sighed, "No, that's everything."
"Thank you." Kakashi found that learning and doing work at... home was much different than learning at school. He found he enjoyed it more. There wasn't anyone looking over his shoulder, and he could finish things as fast as he wanted. On the other hand, he also felt that he preferred a school setting, having to write most of his reports for the Hokage by himself in his apartment changed the way he viewed work.
Kakashi pulled out his list and scanned it. He was done with a lot of the things on the list.
1. Geography
2. ✔️ Basic Japanese history, a more in-depth look later
3. ✔️ Japanese culture (somewhat similar to Konoha)
4. ✔️ Conversational French, German and Spanish (why not?)
5. Rocket Science
a) ✔️ Physics
b) Engineering
c) Chemistry
Statics
d) ✔️ Aerodynamics
e) Flight software systems
f) Vibration and elasticity
g) Space navigations
h)✔️ Calculus
6. Medical science
a) Chemistry
b)General Biology
c) ✔️ Physics
d) ✔️ Calculus
e) Microbiology
7. Law
8. History of Slavery in Africa
9. The Russian revolution
10. Tepui tabletop mountains
11. ✔️ Species in the Amazon
12. Ancient Egypt
13. ✔️ Quirk history
14. ✘WW1 & 2
He was going over law today. He managed to find a lot of good books and lectures on the topic. One of the things he liked about this world more than his previous world, was the abundance of information.
In Konoha, research on topics unrelated to the Shinobi Arts were deemed unimportant, and all matters of justice and punishment were handed over to the leader of the clan the person was in, or if it was a civilian matter, it would go to the civilian council. Larger issues were handled by the Hokage and village elders.
Only after his death was Kakashi able to fully understand how deep the corruption ran through the village. Danzo was only the tip of the iceberg. His relations still stood, and the effects he had on the people around him wouldn't just fade after they put him 6 feet under.
All the children forced to work under him would constantly live in fear, and be unable to experience things with their emotions.
Kakashi wasn't one to openly show his emotions, but when he thought about all the torture and hardship that had come to be at Danzo's hands, he had a hard time keeping his voice level and shoulders relaxed.
He shut the computer, unable to do any more research for the day. Kakashi closed his eyes and began to wonder about what could've been.
What would he have wanted to be if not a ninja? Maybe a teacher. He might've opened a civilian school.
Probably not, but one could dream.
How much calmer would his life have been?
Images of Zetsu flashed in his mind. Everything. Every moment of his life up until his death had been orchestrated.
Even if he hadn't wanted to be a shinobi, would he have been allowed to chose a different path?
It's hard to say. Probably not.
The front door opened, and Hizashi stepped in.
Kakashi left his thoughts for later, and looked up at Hizashi.
"I'm home!" Hizashi beamed.
"Welcome home."
This chapter is very long, and it's because it's an apology.
I'll be going on hiatus for a little bit. I'M NOT DISCONTINUING!!!
I still love this story with all of my heart, I've just been exhausting myself with the constant updates, so I need to take a break and collect myself.
The break probably won't be very long, 2 weeks max, but if I don't do this I fear I might grow tired of this story, which I really don't want.
Again, I'm sorry, and I'll see you guys next update!
- Freddie