Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Can I keep You ? ❯ Part 23: Family (46) ( Chapter 23 )

Can I keep you?

Sequel to Pumpkins and Ravens

Main Pairings: Kakashi/Iruka, Sasuke/Naruto and others

Part of my 100 themes challenge.

 

Part 23 - Family (46):

 

Kakashi had discovered Naruto and Sasuke when he had been out walking around the village, sometime after he had appeared in Iruka's classroom. He had left the chuunin a small gift and a note in the presence of thirty pre-Gennin and a rather adorably stunned Iruka. Kakashi could feel nerves starting to churn in his belly, would the teacher be angry with him? Would he say no? He hadn't stuck around for the chuunin's answer; instead in the little note he had said that he would meet him at the great Torii gates of the heaven's shrine the following evening. He had only stayed long enough to press a masked kiss to the brunet's cheek and a wink to his class before vanishing once more in a puff of smoke.

 

Kakashi had never felt his heart beat so fast, he had been apprehensive about his delivery method but as he'd materialised briefly outside the window of the classroom after the event he had seen his beloved chuunin running his fingertips across the satiny petals of the lily seemingly oblivious to the stares of 31 pairs of interested eyes. Kakashi had thought the flower was perfect for what he had needed it for, understated enough to be given to a man but symbolic of the event he wished to attend with Iruka.

 

It had taken him a while at the Yamanaka flower shop to chose just the right one for Iruka, this was important to him and therefore would be done with militant perfection. He hoped Iruka hadn't been too badly pestered by his students for his little stunt, though the thought of the young brunet flushed with embarrassment was enticing a smile onto his cloth covered lips.

 

Kakashi had taken to walking around the streets, watching people discreetly from behind his favourite orange novel, it was a great shame that Jiraiya's talents had been taken from the world. He would miss the old sannin very much. It seemed that he was destined to see many of his friends, colleagues and what was close to family's names appear on the memorial stone. He shook the thoughts away, knowing they never led anywhere but to emotional turmoil that lasted for hours on end and he didn't want that today. He had been walking up the hill towards his home when he heard a familiar blonds' voice always noticeably louder than everyone else's.

 

Kakashi turned automatically, knowing he still wasn't ready to return to the quiet and empty house he lived in before going over to Iruka's. If he could skip the few hours' he would have to spend inside the dark and brooding house he would be better for it. Though he loved the house because of the memories it contained he also hated it for the same reason - yet he couldn't bear to give it up. He couldn't help but chuckle at the contradiction's whirring through his head - it was foolish really but he held some hope for its future prospects if everything panned out as he hoped it would.

 

The jounin moved on silent feet around the corner to where he'd heard the rambunctious blond, knowing there were many small buildings just around here having memorised the maps of the city to make sure he could get around when he needed to when he had been a small child. This particular area contained mostly small house shaped stores for people when they were away on very long missions or had died and the family were waiting to be sorted their belongings. What surprised him was the sight of the two newly fledged jounin knee-deep in boxes and looking like a pair of ghosts. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle quietly into his balled fist attempting to muffle the sound that he just couldn't hold in at the sight of the two young men.

 

The sound was met by two fierce glares, one deep cerulean the other a piercing midnight - he couldn't help laughing a little harder at the sight. Both young men were covered head to foot in some white substance the only real colour left was their eyes. Kakashi approached slowly, not wanting to get hit by the same trap or by the two cloudy white nin. He gave his signature eye crease smile when he deemed he was close enough but far enough away that he could pre-empt an attack from either party. He spoke as seriously as he could to the two young men, “Yo Sasuke, Naruto. Mah, can I inquire as to why you look like... you got hit with a bag of flour?”

 

Kakashi could hear Naruto growling at his question before he burst out with a response, “'Cos we are! Stupid Kakashi-sensei. You're as bad as Ero-sannin!” The last was mumbled under his breath but Kakashi caught the sudden sadness that washed through the fox but it was only a momentary thing which was quickly gone again. He turned to Sasuke hoping for a more conducive explanation and got a scowl for his efforts. Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly before turning the subject to something more in line with what he had been thinking about all day, “Mah, you two been to see Iruka today?”

 

Again with the glaring but this he didn't understand so he poked, “Why the look?”

 

He watched as they exchanged a look before Sasuke spoke this time, “Your the cause of all this.” With those words Sasuke moved a hand out emphasizing his point by waving it in the general direction of the boxes in the store.

 

Kakashi looked between the two snowy white nin and looked back at the boxes inside the store before responding, “ `Fraid to say I didn't do that.”

 

He caught Sasuke's scowl but turned to face the suddenly riled up blond when he started to shout, “Course you didn't stupid Kakashi-sensei - Ero-sannin did this little trick, stupid old geezer. It's your fault were even here!” Kakashi gave the excitable young man a look designed to express his puzzlement at that particular notion, unsure how he was responsible for whatever these two were currently doing.

 

Unfortunately said look didn't penetrate the blonds' brain, so Sasuke came to the rescue instead. Kakashi heard Sasuke snort quietly in derision before speaking, “You are just as bad as he is. For someone so smart you can be rather dense. Let me help map this out for you. We are here because you asked Iruka to the Tanabata festival, which led us here to search for a kimono for him to wear. That clear enough for you.” Kakashi listened silently waiting for the Uchiha to finish, processing his words carefully and yet they still didn't make sense.

 

Why would Iruka need a kimono to wear from here? And what was here anyway?

 

Kakashi eyed the boxes again before looking over at the dusty raven, ignoring the blond who was still grumbling under his breath. He asked the one question that were bothering him the most at that moment, hoping the raven would answer, “Why would Iruka need a kimono from here exactly?”

 

He watched Sasuke face for a moment seeing the flour dusted features return to his usually impassive features and his dark gaze turned to the blond beside him. When Kakashi turned his sole smoky grey orb on Naruto he saw such sadness sweep through the young man, his shoulders sagging, those normally smiling lips downturned, but it was his eyes that bothered the jounin most. There was a depth of sadness he recognised only too well, his own feelings of guilt and pain tried to reach up and snag his heart but he pushed them back down once more. This wasn't about him.

 

Kakashi stepped forward, not sure what he was going to do but feeling an inexplicable need to comfort the blond boy. When Naruto spoke his voice was rough and barely above a whisper, “He needs it because the one he had, the one his father had, was destroyed when the Kyuubi and Pein fought. I... we took it from him. A precious item that was one of the few things left from his parents.” Kakashi could see the weight of Naruto's words visibly hovering around him, the pain of what he thought he had done Iruka. Kakashi felt his heart clench in response to that pain and found his own palm reaching out and holding onto a floury shoulder.

 

They stood like that for a few moments, his hand applying the smallest amount of pressure, he looked up into obsidian eyes that watched the odd display of affection and Kakashi could see the sorrow that filled the Uchiha's gaze. It was then that the jounin truly realised how much the young raven had changed. He felt a foreign sense of hope unfurling in his chest at the sight and nodded subtly to the quiet man, watching him hop over boxes to settle beside the blond on his opposing side.

 

It surprised Kakashi when Sasuke curled an arm around the blond, his face disappearing into a tanned neck, the Uchiha had become renowned for not liking public displays of affection but it seemed the raven was comfortable enough to do this for his blond lover and that made the Copy-nin smile behind his mask. Kakashi raised his hand to ruffle blond spikes, imitating Iruka's way of showing the blond affection, he watched silently as Naruto's fingers curled into Sasuke's shirt front grounding himself. The jounin spoke quietly to the two males curled around each other, “The village may have been damaged in that attack Naruto but you weren't to blame. The fox is a part of you - but he's not all of you. Iruka would never blame you for something like that, that's just not who he is.”

 

“But...” Pained cerulean orbs looked at him from under blond lashes.

 

“No but's - let it go.” Kakashi's voice remained gentle as he ruffled soft blond spikes once more, he gave the young blond now looking at him a warm smile, a truly genuine smile and watched as Naruto gave Sasuke a one armed hug before giving his own smile in return. Kakashi enjoyed seeing these two interact together; it was strange how they had struck a balance between them. They complimented each other perfectly but still managed to behave like chalk and cheese. It made him wonder if he could find that level of security and balance with Iruka. Kakashi could feel something warm fluttering in his chest at the thought and tried not to label the emotion that made him feel so warm inside. He had the desperate urge to go and see the chuunin at that very moment, wanting to be held and touched by the kind man.

 

Kakashi turned his gaze to the large pile of boxes, mulling over the other question he had wanted to ask whilst giving the two younger shinobi a moment together. When he heard shuffling he turned to see they had disengaged from their more intimate embrace and he saw that both pairs of eyes were looking in the same direction his were. He asked the next question on his mind, “So Jiraiya rigged a trap to go off - that explains your rather... pale appearance but who's store is this?” There were no symbols, names or other indicators as to who owned this small store that was piled high with uniform brown cardboard boxes and neatly draped furniture.

 

He turned quickly to stare down at the last Uchiha when he heard him speak, “It's mine.”

 

Kakashi eyed the young raven as dark orbs perused the neatly stacked pile. Kakashi knew how important these things must be to Sasuke, that Jiraiya had even considered doing this for him showed just how much he believed in Naruto's will to bring him back - and he had been right to do so. The jounin was glad that the old man had done this for Sasuke, at least he would have some things to remind him of his family, he was pretty lucky they had survived the catastrophic destruction that had been reaped a few years before. But he knew his own home also housed higher on the hill had survived the event along with the Uchiha district.

 

Kakashi felt a deep sadness at the thought that he had made Iruka remember what he had lost, knowing how important the fetters of life could be to people. He wasn't sure what he would have done in the same situation. If his home had been destroyed the things inside it lost - those things were irreplaceable to him. It would feel like he'd lost a part of himself for the good and the bad memories the building had born witness to. He stood silently for a few minutes, thinking and finally coming to a conclusion that he believed would hopefully cheer them both.

 

The Copy-nin turned to the pair stood quietly beside him and spoke quietly to them, “I have something for Iruka that I need you two to give him. But you can't tell him it's from me. It should save you looking through all this right now - so you can go and uhmm.... deflour yourselves.” He chuckled lightly at the flush of pink that tinged Sasuke's cheeks, at the unintentional innuendo that sentence took on. He watched as Naruto clasped a hand over his mouth as the other curled around his stomach to try and hold in the laughter Kakashi could see in dancing cerulean orbs.

 

Kakashi smiled when the laughter rang out as Naruto couldn't contain the sound any longer and he watched with a smile on his lips as Sasuke glowered darkly at him and the blond as Naruto's eyes closed tight and watered at the extent of his laughter. The sound was a welcome cacophony in his ears, a burst of pure unadulterated joy that seemed so rare in their world. Kakashi watched from the corner of his eye as Sasuke's lips twitched in response, knowing that the last Uchiha had felt some of that emotion too made the jounin happy. There was far too much darkness inside both of them that moments like these were treasured all the more.

 

Kakashi turned and started walking off, rummaging in his pouch for that familiar orange book. He heard Naruto call after him, “But Kakashi-sensei you need to give is whatever it is!”

 

Kakashi waved absently over his shoulder, eyes firmly glued to the creamy white pages lined with ink before his nose as he returned his answer, “I'll drop it off later. You are still living at Sasuke's am I right.” He heard Sasuke snort as the blond coughed at the comment, he could imagine the blond was an interesting shade of puce and he heard Naruto prodding at the young Uchiha once more about him not wanting to move into his flat. He chuckled at their antics as he walked back the way he had come, mulling over the interesting events of the afternoon and growing anticipation for tomorrow evening.

 

*****

 

A few hours later...

 

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing the cuff of his sleeve across his sweaty forehead. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to find? The jounin had returned to the house a few hours ago intent on hunting down the item he was looking for. It had taken him and three of hi nin-ken that long to find where the box had been hidden. It was in the older part of the house, tucked away with a few photographs and other things that he had asked Minato-sensei to move from the main part of the house.

 

He had been a child grieving and yet he had buried those emotions deep and continued on as if his life had never changed save for those few things he hadn't had the strength of heart to look at. Seeing those things now he realised how much he had missed seeing their faces and after everything that happen in the midst of the chaos of Pein's attack. That he had seen his father again it made him bring a few of those things with him back into the living room of the large house.

 

Kakashi retrieved a damp cloth from the kitchen and went to work on cleaning off all the mahogany framed images of his deceased family and friends. He carefully wiped the dust away from each image, his fingers stroking across so many absent friends he felt his heart ache in response to his sudden loneliness. He came to the largest item last, cleaning off the dark cherry wood top, engraved with soft whorls and leaves. HE cleared a space on the floor and slowly opened the heavy box, pressing back the thin layer of tissue paper to reveal the rich blue fabric underneath. He smiled softly, no longer encumbered by his mask as he remembered the last time he had seen it.

 

Kakashi had been only come up to his father's mid-thigh when that particular item was purchased. The grand old age of seven. They been into town and his mother had chosen the fabric and brought it home. She'd let the soft roll of silk spread out across the dining room floor so that she could etch out the patterns for each section. He remembered watching spending hours sewing but the most memorable part was the first and only time Hatake Sakumo had tried it on. He had looked up at his father and grinned, he'd looked awing in the rich blue tones and patterns to the young boy he'd been.

 

He could remember his mother coming up behind him and picking him up so he could get a better perspective as she'd said then, he'd always known it was because she loved holding him no matter how old he got. It was the last time for that too. His father had tousled his hair and called him a dandelion; the jounin chuckled at that knowing he had scowled at his Father before retorting that he was just as bad. The sweet tinkle of his Mother's laughter filled his ears as the memory dissipated. He ran his fingers across the silky soft material carefully replacing the lid and wrapping a string around it to keep everything tightly shut.

 

Kakashi ran his hands across the lid one last time before writing a quick note on a piece of thick parchment and with one arm holding the box to his chest he performed the hand signs to transport him to the old Uchiha district carefully settling the box on desk in Sasuke's room before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. It seemed that today was a day for quite a few memories to come to light; he transported across Konoha and turned when he materialised to face the dark stone. He walked over, turning and settling down with his back to the heavy granite hearing the scratch of fabric as his vest rubbed the rough surface full of the names of the fallen. He spoke quietly, “Good evening everyone.” As he settled in to catch up with old friends and long lost family.