Disclaimer/author's notes: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, not me, no profit involved. Next chapter should be in two to three weeks. Warnings for plot gestation, Kakashi POV for purposes of exposition, and mentions of violence. Apologies if this came out funny and for the delay. Exams and new job are killing me. I do promise that next chapter will be Lunasuke POV and up by within two weeks at the latest.


After a lifetime of being Maito Gai's—and formerly Uchiha Obito's, though Kakashi tries and fails to forget it (horribly, horribly, so horribly he does now whether to laugh or cry)- eternal rival and best friend, Kakashi can say that he is a master ignorerer. It's his defense mechanism. Ignore Kurenai's concerned eyes as she tries to get him out of his ANBU-assigned apartment to meet up with the old gang. Ignore his subconscious screaming when he smothers the Fire Daimyo's troublesome nephew to death. Ignore Gai when he wants to race around the village the next day. Ignore the Uchiha brat's pitchy-black wide eyes so like Obito's, so much like Itachi's when he'd been eleven years old and tiny on his first S-rank mission under Kakashi's command.

It's one thing to shrug and think the abrupt end to the Uchiha clan just as tensions were coming to a head as conveniently-timed 'tragedy' for the village higher-ups. Having lived through two wars he knows worse things have happened. But it's another thing to think this while staring at a kid talking to a rock full of the names of his dead family. Kakashi isn't sure how much longer he can ignore this anymore, even if there is no proof and he knows in the end it was Itachi that did it. But still, in the words of the suave hero Sarutobi, Naruto Sarutobi from Jiraiya-sama's novels, he will have to do something about it and save the damsel (or in Kakashi's case, very strange little genin).

Besides, Kurenai and Genma are Very Worried (capitalized for emphasis), and with Asuma letting himself be towed along with the threat of being Banished to the Couch if he does otherwise, Kakashi is not be able to ignore the current situation (having acute chakra exhaustion, that is). Or even hide from it, for that matter. Not because Kurenai's guilt trip is working, oh no, but because she had been waiting as he tried to sneak out the hospital window with a trap involving a large stone, rope, and too much net to be not angry about that last he skipped out on the barbecue bill for the eight time in a row.

People in their village seem to be think Mitarashi Anko is the kunoichi to be terrified of in their village. Nobody believes Kakashi when he tries to tell them they have it all wrong. Kurenai has tea with Ibiki and discusses what genjutsu are most effective in breaking a man every Tuesday for kami's sake. If Kakashi's life was Jiraiya-sama's novels, Kurenai would definitely be the icy professional—lawful neutral alignment, of course—that he, the chaotic-good hero, would have to reason with to escape her ominous, bureaucracy-loving clutches….

"Asuma, Genma, it's been a while. Kurenai, looking as lovely as ever," Kakashi says as perkily as someone trapped and suspended upside down by his ankles can say, "Is this about that last Yakiniku Q's? I was going to pay you, but there was this enormous whale swallowed me, and along with me, all my—"

"That's quite enough, thank you, Kakashi," Kurenai replies tightly as her red eyes narrow, "Were you just doing that thing where you monologue internally and imagine that you're a Byronic hero from your porn instead of listening to anything we were saying?"

Kakashi looks at her innocently and Genma and Asuma exchange glances as if this is a very stupid question. Kurenai pauses a second, seems to come to this conclusion as well, and looks heavenwards before sighing reproachfully, "Kakashi, you can't just keep sneaking out of hospital windows whenever you feel like it just because the nurse asking how you're doing is too much interaction for you to handle. It's important you get your rest, especially with severe chakra exhaustion after such a strenuous mission. If you want to leave the hospital, policy says you need to check out with a doctor's permission first ... Don't make me bring Gai into this. He's been Very Worried."

Wait, this isn't, Kakashi specifically told them not to tell anyone, don't tell Kakashi the brats have spread the story this far—"Gai and I aren't dating. We're not," Kakashi bites out. If he repeats it enough times, it will become true.

"I know," Kurenai murmurs disapprovingly as she eyes the marks on Kakashi's neck left by a very, very aggressive redheaded cougar, "if you were, you wouldn't have those on your neck."

"Maa, maaa," Kakashi responds blithely, trying to ignore the blood rushing to his head as he tries to fix his mask so his neck is covered, "it was for a mission, doing my duty, you know how it is."

Kurenai's foot—once tapping impatiently—dangerously stills. Kakashi quickly imagines four different escape plans before deciding to divert Kurenai 's attention with tales of Genma corrupting impressionable baby genin with jokes of Kiri-nin and their "relations" with aquatic fauna and Suna-nin's small "kunai". Shiranui has it coming anyways for almost getting baby Uchiha's killed when they repeat what they've heard to enraged Momochi's and Subaku's. If Kakashi had his way, Shiranui would be on demon cat-catching duty for the rest of his life.

Luckily Asuma, easygoing peacemaker that he is, comes to the rescue as he shifts uncomfortably and says, "So you were working with the resistance in Kiri in offing Yagura? He was a jinchuuriki as well, wasn't he? That must have been nasty even with your Sharingan. Was it like they claimed at the meeting? I just can't believe that he could have been a mind-controlled puppet for so long without anyone in Kiri noticing. "

(Kakashi, disturbed by what he saw in the Mist even after all his years in ANBU, wonders whether he should tell them the more gory details of deposed regime's treatment of insurgents that had come to light in the days after Yagura's "passing away peacefully in bed after a prolonged illness" but decides not to. Getting his brain picked by Morino for all the gritty details before being sent unceremoniously to the hospital was enough for him. The thought of it still makes him blanch and want to reach for the closest Icha Icha and snuggle up with his ninken for comfort. Yagura, mad from the wars he must have seen on top of whatever repeated mind-rape the Akatsuki did to him, is one of the one deaths Kakashi does not mind helping cause. Besides, it doesn't add to his body count since he wasn't the one he landed the killing blow. Technically.

Anyways, the only ones who would think of crossing Yagura in his prime—or the Akatsuki going by the name of "Tobi" who mind-whammied him if one wanted to be technical—were those who already grief-mad or powerful enough that they couldn't be worried.

Having seen how the new Mizukage killed her predecessor after he had called her an old maid on top of mocking her family that died in the genocidal "purges," Kakashi thinks Terumi Mei can be called both. But on the other hand, she seems very ardent about making reforms in Kiri's government and improving relations with other villages. At the very least, she won't let what has happened happen again, Kakashi thinks. "You win some, you lose some," as Sakumo used to say.)

Genma spits out his senbon and grinds it under his foot idly, "This is the Bloody Mist we're talking about right? Weren't they having kids kill each other for decades before that Akatsuki group was even supposed to mind-fuck Yagura? What's the difference between one tyrant and another? In the end it doesn't matter to Konoha higher-ups if Terumi is better or worse than Yagura or the Akatsuki because her as Mizukage makes things better for Konoha, right?"

Asuma scowls and reaches for the boxful of cigarettes Kurenai has forbidden him from smoking. "Akatsuki has been poking its head around the border and the Fire Daimyo's getting antsy. We need to band with the other hidden villages if we're gonna get rid of them. If they can do that to one hidden village, they can do it to another, like that thing where they were trying to get Sand to attack us," Asuma drawls lazily, "Besides, I met Terumi on a joint mission about ten years back. She's better than the alternative, and this is getting Rasa off our asses for that mess Danzo made in Suna. This way we now have two allies we're kind of sure won't attack us for when Oto plans to strike during the exams. Hell, my old man says Rasa seems pissed enough he'll help us kill the snake."

Kurenai sighs and moves her hands to pluck tendrils of black hair from the sweat on her forehead. "What are we doing about Danzo again? And is letting Oto in our walls really the best way to draw Orochimaru out? Even with our defenses and Kiri and Suna helping us in exchange for helping get rid of the old Mizukage, it's still risky and I don't like the idea of using a genin as bait—"

"You don't have to worry about the Uchiha boy," Genma interrupts, lips twitching upwards, "Apparently, in addition to his three fan-clubs, the Kazekage's son and the Uzumaki brat are rather … attached. Plus, have you seen what Gai has been teaching that little pink-haired one to do with chakra wire and taijutsu? Not even taking the ANBU squads we'll have observing them into account, no one's going to get past her without a fight, and if they do, then they have to deal with two angry jinchuriki. But that's in the worst-case scenario. Orochimaru's going to be led to where we want him to think the Uchiha is and then cut off from his troops like a lamb being led to slaughter. "

Asuma (having realized that Kurenai replaced his cigarettes with toothpicks while he was napping) nods in agreement and stares mournfully at his box of toothpicks. "Pops says that he's got a plan to deal with Danzo if things start to go to shit. He's being very tight-lipped though. I wonder—"

Kakashi clears his throat since it appears his lovely, not-at-all cruel comrades have forgotten about him trapped and dangling from the ceiling and all his blood rushed to his head ten minutes ago. "Excuse me, gentleman, lady, let me down from this trap and we can go back to my apartment where I can answer all your questions." Kakashi doesn't know (isn't allowed to say) much. He can just say he's heard whispers of whispers about two non-renegade Sannin trotting back to Konoha someday soon ( Jiraiya should be finished fixing up Gaara's seal and headed back to watch Konoha's summer bathing beauties any day now, and as for, Tsunade …. If anyone doubts Ibiki's brutal pragmatic nature, they just need to hear of his latest scheme: luring Tsunade-hime to the hometown she swore never to return to by writing to tell her that her no-good lecherous teammate got a girl in trouble and is refusing to take responsibility is just …. vicious. Hell hath no fury burned like a Senju spurned. Old-timers still talk about the lover's spat between the Second Hokage and Izuna that cost him his life and left old Tobirama with a lifetime grudge against the Uchiha clan, specifically Madara).

Asuma blinks at him slowly and Genma chuckles. Kurenai tosses her hair imperiously and begins to twirl a kunai around her finger. "We can cut you down and go back to your hospital bed," she offers in a manner that is not an offer at all. This is just like that time in Icha Icha Yuri Harem when Kagome-hime was making the proposition to Megami-Sensei that was not a proposition but actually an order—

"Stop translating every aspect of your life to a scene from those books, Hatake," Kurenai commands, "Also, I want to talk about your genin. Also, Naruto has been telling Kiba and Hinata about a 'sit-in' that Sasuke has been teaching him to use against other genin at the exams … I'm not sure what kind of techniques you've been teaching your students, but that sounds very dangerous. There are kinder ways of disabling your opponents then crushing them with your girth. Imagine the damage an Akimichi could inflict. And then there's your and Gai's wedding that they've supposedly been planning. How are you going to break it to them?"

Kakashi makes a noise that can be taken for agreement or resignation and then promptly plummets to the earth as Kurenai releases him from the trap. Just as nobody believes him when he says prim-and-proper Kurenai is terrifying, no one else believes him when he says Sasuke is the most vicious out of all his age group without even attempting to be so. Sitting someone to death, biting off someone's ear, designing a talking stick that stabs people … the aesthetics of how that child is violent would make his Uchiha forefathers proud.

Wait, wedding? Kakashi thinks. He feels a splitting migraine coming on that has nothing to do with his head hitting the floor.

Those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum. Those who betray their teammates are worse than scum. Nope, nope—those insubordinate little brats are going to be stuck deworming my ninken … All of them.

"Kakashi-sensei, Kakashi-sensei!" The words pull Kakashi back from his lovely, drug-hazy nap in his hospital bed. "Kakashi-sensei? Please wake up, Kakashi-sensei! I was so worried!"

Kakashi tries to turn over but he seems to be covered with a dog-pile of genin. Depleted of chakra as he is, he cannot even move a muscle. Especially since one of the genin is pink-haired and smiling and completely lethal. And she seems to have brought along another little blonde friend. And Sasuke. Who is wearing a glitter-covered green jumpsuit that clashes horribly with the yellow sunflower crown on his head.

Sakura makes her lip tremble slightly and the blonde stares at him reproachfully. Sasuke just stares out the window and hums happily. Kakashi sighs as he resigns himself to whatever Sakura and Sasuke have planned. At the very least, if this the "sit-in" technique Kurenai was speaking about, it doesn't appear dangerous or inciting of rebellion of the youth. The last thing Kakashi needs is Danzo getting twitchy and trying to off one of his genin. Again. Right off the boat from Kiri, Kakashi had to hear from Ibiki how Danzo thinks Sasuke is going to start a coup among the twelve-to-thirteen demographic just because he is interacting with other children his age.

As if that could ever happen.

"Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and I have a favor to ask," the blonde announces authoritatively. Sakura nods along hesitantly, twirling her hair in her fingers.

"Hmmm, can't Sakura speak for herself?" Kakashi mumbles, trying to ignore how young the genin look, how small. If something goes wrong with the Third's plans and they aren't able to stop Orochimaru… Kakashi won't let that happen. Not to Minato's and Kushina's son, not to the brother of the one he failed, not to his little pink-haired, possibly psychotic padawan. He isn't the fourteen-year-old freezing at the snake's killing intent any more. These genin are his to teach, his to protect.

"I can," murmurs Sakura, eyes downcast, "but Ino is really good at getting people to do what she wants, especially important things. Even Sasuke-kun can just look at people and make them do what he wants. I can only punch people to do what I want or lose my temper when they don't."

At this, Ino scowls and tosses her hair. "Shut up, Forehead," Ino demands, "if your awful taijutsu can be improved to the point where you can beat Inuzaka, you can definitely manipulate people. Now put your abnormally large brains to use and remember our kunoichi lessons. It's just easier for me and Sasuke 'caus we're prettier than you. Or least Sasuke-kun is when he's not wearing that." Ino shoots Sasuke's green jumpsuit a dark look Kakashi wholeheartedly agrees with. Sasuke waves at them of happily and then begins babbling about Nargles before Ino shushes him. Because of course.

"Okay, I think I have this now," Sakura clears her throat and blurts quickly, "Kakashi-sensei, Ino-pig and Sasuke-kun keep telling me that your being late all the time and ignoring us are 'maladjusted coping mechanisms,' but can you actually start teaching us now? What if something bad happens and we get attacked by the snake guy and we die because you didn't teach us. We need to be able to defend Sasuke-kun's virtue from perverts. And I want to be Hokage! If Naruto can, then so can I. " After this, Sakura is flushing heavily and looking like she is about to faint at her own daring.

"See, Forehead, it's as easy as breathing," says the blonde who Kakashi is beginning to think is a horrible influence, "You just need to work on your self-confidence. How are you going to be Hokage if you keep on blushing more than Hyuga Hinata?" Kakashi wonders if he should mention that improving upon manipulation of others could also be helped by not discussing the manipulations in front of the manipul-ee but thinks the better of it.

Currently two of the genin are staring at him with huge, watery eyes and quivering lips (Sasuke is … taking to his sunflower crown and adding sparkles to it to match the bedazzled green jumpsuit; Kakashi rues the day he thought leaving the Uchiha with Gai was a good idea). How can he say no to those faces?

Apparently when they ship the Academy boys off to learn how to poke each other with swords, they teach the Academy girls the ways of manipulation and flower-arranging and espionage. Thanks to this, Sakura's (along with every other pre-teen kunoichi's ) puppy-dog eyes and liberal use of guilt-trips are absolutely lethal to suckers like him who feel awkward around a (fake-) crying woman.

What has his life come to? There had been a time when Kakashi had entertained the think idea Lord Third had assigned him Team 7 as cruel and unusual punishment, but he had taken comfort in that Haruno Sakura seemed to be mostly normal. This illusion had been shattered one quiet day when he met the Inner.

Suddenly, the Uchiha brat stops humming, making flower crowns, or whatever it is he is doing and turns pitchy-black eyes to Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei," he chirps, "try on this flower-crown if you don't mind. I want to see if the essence is Danzo-repelling enough. I'm going to have to make hundreds more for the chunin exams and then for your and Gai-sensei's wedding. Oh, and Mrs. Mei-sama's of course. She said sunflowers are her favorites!"

A lifetime of finally-tuned instincts keeps Kakashi from bashing his face against the wall. When will these children understand that he and Gai are not getting married, it's not going to happen. Kakashi doesn't do emotional attachment or cuddles, especially with people who he could get attached to even if they wear green spandex. Nosiree, commitment does not go with Kakashi's aloof and stoic nature. He's a lone wolf just like the heroes out of Jiraiya's novels, just like the Sarutobi Naruto from Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. He's Hatake, Kakashi Hatake and his injured heart cannot take any more heartbreak.

"Wait, did you just Kakashi-sensei was getting married to someone else?" Sakura says suspiciously. Kakashi feels his stomach plummet in a way that has become all too familiar since becoming Team 7's jounin-sensei.

"Yes," Sasuke says absently, "I sent one of my doves to give the new Mizukage a wedding invitation to Kakashi and Gai-sensei's wedding as a symbol of goodwill because Haku says that they think she is less genocidal than the old one. Then she wrote back to me to say that was strange because she is already married to Kakashi-sensei. So I asked her if she'd be open to marrying Gai-sensei as well since if she's the type to marry Kakashi-sensei she must be a very tolerant person."

By the time Sasuke has finished, Kakashi is looking at two sputtering, furious twelve-year-old girls. What is even happening? Kakashi knows he surely must have never done anything to deserve this. Except the Thing with Rin, the other Thing with Obito, the other Thing with Sakumo … upon this consideration, Kakashi thinks he may be the very worst scum and deserves an even worse fate than imminent death by two irate preteens.

"You two-timing, no-good bigamist!" shrieks the blonde Ino. Kakashi suddenly remembers that her father is one of T&I's most accomplished interrogators. It's a Yamanaka family business.

"How could you do that to Gai-sensei and that Mizukage lady?" asks Sakura reproachfully as she cracks her knuckles, "Gai-sensei is so good to you and so out of your league too. You, you scoundrel!"

Kakashi raises his hands defensively, all thoughts of Oto and Orochimaru and Danzo fleeing his head. "It isn't what it looks like," he tries to reason with the kunoichi, "It's all a big understanding. I'm sure Sasuke-kun misunderstood what Mizukage-sama wrote to him. Or maybe, Mizukage-sama is playing a joke on us." Kakashi shoots Sasuke a desperate glance.

"Oh there are no misunderstandings, Kakashi-sensei, or at least there are no misunderstandings on my part," Sasuke chirps, "You and Ms. Mizukage-sama got married when you 'consummated your passion' on the Kazekage desk after annihilating her opponent, or at least that's what she told me. It's an ancient ritual for picking a Kage's Consort Extraordinaires that's been around since the Warring Clan era. Well, technically I suppose you are her concubine and not her husband so when you get married Gai-sensei will become her concubine as well. She seemed rather fond of the idea in the letters I wrote to her. She said just a month ago some nasty person told her she'd die an old maid. Now she's going to have two husbands and a love like water that cannot be confined by one thing."

"Wait, what?" Kakashi manages say steadily, not blurting in the slightest. Perhaps it would be a good idea to let the genin beat him to death. He apparently is going to be in a polyamorous relationship with Konoha's Green Beast and Kiri's "Magma-Breathing She-Devil," as Momochi called her. And his preteen students are discussing his sex-life. "No, this can't be happening." Fate (or an angry Mizukage who thinks he cheated on Gai with her) is screwing with him. As usual.

"Eh!" Ino interrupts him, "there's a courting ritual that allows a Kage to have a harem if you have sex on top of a Kage desk?! That''s—"

"Vulgar!" Sakura finishes decisively, flushing as pink as her hair.

"I was going to say amazing, Forehead," Ino huffs, glaring at Sakura, "Kamis, you are such a prude. You know what, I'm going to become Hokage since you obviously can't enjoy the benefits!"

"There's such a thing as morals, Ino-pig! And if you think I'm going to let you be the one with a harem of pretty-boys, you have another thing coming!" snarls Sakura. One can almost see the lightning bolts sparking between the two girls.

Kakashi watches in almost morbid fascination. What is life? And he thought Sasuke was the one he had to worry about with his thing for older men…. apparently, he should warn Asuma that his student is aiming for a collection of husbands. Children these days … Rin would never be like this.

"Sakura, Ino, please calm down and stop making the atmosphere hostile. It's rather bad for the people surrounding you, you know," Sasuke cuts in as it looks like the two girls are about to launch each other through the wall, "Kakashi-sensei looks like his soul is dying internally which is very bad, in case you didn't know—" the two girls apparently do not care about Kakashi's soul dying internally and remain glaring at each other "—well, if the two of you are going to be that way, would you like to practice that calming group sing I was showing you the other day, you know the one for that thing we cannot tell the adults about?"

"No, no!" exclaims Ino hurriedly, breaking the violent tension in the air, "No singing, Sasuke-kun! Your samisen playing is quite good and maybe you'll even be able to use it for a genjutsu one day, kamis know how you learned though, but your singing … please don't sing unless you're using it offensively against enemies, Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura nods empathetically and says, "No singing! Ino and I … will just be leaving to prepare for that thing that , ummm, that— ummmm…." Ino elbows Sakura hard in the stomach and giggles nervously.

"By thing, we mean …. your Maito Gai's and Lady Mizukage's wedding. There's no suspicious thing that we're doing even if Forehead and Sasuke-kun make it seem that way!" Ino titters, "Just wedding-planning going on here. Choji's family is doing the food and I'm doing the flowers …"

Kakashi imagines the event and promptly closes his eyes tunes her out. When he opens his eyes, this will never have happened and he can go back to his single, solitary life. Yes, this is just like that time in Icha Icha Violence when the evil villain made orphaned, friendless Hayao-kun think that he was married when no such thing happened, yes that is what this is.

"Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-sensei?" a voice cuts in, killing Kakashi's Icha Icha reveries.

"Yes, Sasuke," Kakashi grinds out as he opens his eyes. He is met by a pair of huge, dark eyes staring up at him.

"You seem rather distressed, Kakashi-sensei. Did I do something to upset you?" The puppy-dog eyes are still staring up at him.

Kakashi does what he usually does in this situation and lies through his teeth. "No, not at all Sasuke. I'm just a little tired after the trip. Apparently getting married takes a lot out of me." Big black eyes blink up at him.

"Did you find Gai-sensei a nice ring? I'm sure you did, but I'm guessing that you did not find one for Ms. Mizukage-sama, seeing as how your marriage to her came as a surprise," Sasuke says absently, eyes staring out the window as he rambles, "You can have my this-Mother's ring for her if you like, and you don't have to worry about any of the details. Ino, Sakura, Naruto, and I can plan it all. Oh, I suppose I can ask Hinata and Neji if they want to join in. Neji has been very good with the wedding planning so far. He says it's befitting of a Hyuga so I wager Hinata will be good at it as well. This way they can bond and be like the brother and sister they're meant to be!""

For a second, Kakashi is struck by what an endearing little shit his student is. "Wait, your mother's engagement ring? Sasuke, I …. I can't accept that. We aren't that close." Kakashi needs to remind himself this isn't family, this isn't real. The genin will forget him as soon as they graduate. Everyone does, except Gai anyways. Things are better that way.

"No, Kakashi-sensei," the boy in front of him counters, voice taking the steel edge it so rarely does, "you are our family: Naruto's, Sakura's, and mine. I don't know about Sakura, but I do know that you are the closest thing that Naruto and I have to a father. I mean, closest person that is alive anyways. You don't have to be scared and alone anymore. I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone I care about ever again. And I'm not letting anything happen to people I cared about in the past either. Even if I have to do things I may not like, I'm going to save them."

Kakashi would bet his Sharingan eye that the brat is thinking about Itachi. The brat won't give up her belief in his brother's innocence, but Kakashi saw the bodies in the compound. Having worked with Itachi for years in ANBU, he knows how the boy killed. The bodies screamed Itachi's signature: clean, careful, uncaring. For someone to kill like that, they must have had bits and pieces of their humanity flaking off with every person they wrecked, killed, or ruined. In the end, there's nothing, not even a monster, inside.

Kakashi shakes his head.

"Stop looking at me like that, Kakashi-sensei. People don't break or fracture into pieces like poetry. Do you look broken and see pieces of yourself floating around? I don't see any, and I don't see any of myself, and I didn't see any of Brother. And if it isn't broken, maybe it cannot be fixed, but it can be loved, saved, and never left behind." Black eyes are taking a Sharigan swirl as they suck away any doubt.

Kakashi chuckles halfheartedly. Big promises from a child so small, but Kakashi is half-tempted to believe Sasuke. Sometimes Sasuke is such an endearing little shit Kakashi forgets how unsettling he is. "How do you plan to manage that, eh Sasuke? Sometimes things don't go according to plan. You just have to keep on moving on and doing your best."

"Weren't you the one that says that those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum?" Sasuke counters, "If I keep moving and forget, then I am scum. I won't forget the ones I loved ever, nor will I forget and leave the ones I love now. Can you really call yourself that different? You don't abandon your ghosts. Why should I abandon mine?"

For a moment, the two sit in silence before Sasuke sighs, a brief break on his usually placid face. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei," he murmurs, "I shouldn't have said that. It was cruel. I just ... No one else looks at Brother and see what I do."

"But what you said was true, and forgiveness is a good a trait as any," Kakashi sighs tiredly before changing the subject. "So you and the other brats want me to train you?" He should have gotten along to it far sooner than this. Naruto should be able to learn some of his father's techniques, Sakura should learn some meditation exercises and katas to better channel the Inner's colossal strength, Sasuke can learn one or two of the healing tricks Kakashi picked up from Rin.

Sasuke nods slowly before smiling sweetly. "Kakashi-sensei, you don't think you could teach me that chirpy, bird-like jutsu? It sounds ever so lovely and I do like lightning."

"Wait, 'chirpy, bird-like jutsu' … do you mean Chidori?" Kakashi asks skeptically, thinking of all the damage it can cause. And Sasuke doesn't seem to have much respect for the amazingly awesome name Kakashi came up for it when he was just thirteen.

Sasuke nods empathetically. "Yes, you see Gaara gave me some sand to experiment with glass-blowing. I can use fire jutsu and make some fairly interesting beads, but I have heard about what happens when lightning strikes sand. Imagine what I could create with thechirpy jutsu, Chidori as you call it. It would be like a symphony of elements meeting in a crystal of expression and glass! Oh, I could make you a necklace!"

Kakashi does imagine it and feels the most distressed he has all day.


A/N: Since I got caught up with the Itachi Shinden episodes after I wrote this and the Wiki was kind of vague on the details, most of the Mist coup was my head-canon. Basically, Tobito is mind-controlling Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, to be his puppet-figure and rule Kiri, basically making everything there horrible. After sharing intelligence they gained from Zabuza & co and finding about how Orochimaru will try to set them up at the chunin exams, Suna and Konoha are freaked and trying bring the Akatsuki and Orochimaru down, starting by getting rid of puppet government in Kiri and making Mei the Fifth Mizukage. If anyone needs anything cleared up or thinks it wasn't clear before this, let me know and I can try to fix it!

Also, I'm not sure if it's just the comments asking for it that's making me feel it, but I'm really thinking about making this Shikamaru/Temari/Lunasuke instead or Lunasuke/Naruto? Or could I make them all date each other because I ship them all? Thoughts?

Thank-you to anyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed! 3 3