Author's Notes: It's been so long since I've written anything! :( I'm really sorry about the prolonged absences, but I really don't have that much control over them right now… This next drabble… can't actually be called a drabble at all. XD It's way too long! But, I'll be calling it a drabble anyways… Yamato is extremely hard to write! Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

Drabble 10

Word Count: 1219 words

He's gotten really tired of reminding Kakashi that his name is Yamato now. He'll be 'Tenzo' forever, he knows it just because the older ninja is too stubborn –and is having too much fun with this, apparently- to adjust to the change.

But, really… this is getting out of hand.

"Now, Eternal Rival! Repeat after me! Ya!" Gai, always helpful, has decided to 'teach' Kakashi how to correctly spell his name. Yamato struggles to keep himself from bashing his head on the table in the small café. Kakashi's been ignoring Gai for too long, even though Yamato repeatedly glares at him, trying to convince him to get it over with, and Yamato feels a headache coming.

"Ya," Ever willing to shut Gai up, Kakashi finally, finally repeats.

"Excellent! Ma!" Gai says, his eyes practically burning with passion.

"Excellent. Ma," Kakashi says, alternating between looking at Gai and the book he's opened even before they entered the café, feigning interest in both.

"To!" Gai finishes with a loud howl that has Yamato's ears ringing.

"To," The way Kakashi says it makes it seem like the actual preposition rather than the last syllable of Yamato's name. Gai, thankfully, doesn't care enough to repeat the whole process again.

"Excellent! Now, put them all together! And, you, my Eternal Rival, will get-!" Gai exclaims, giving Kakashi a long, expecting stare. Kakashi smiles with his eye closed, and Yamato knows him enough to hear what's coming before he says it.

"Why… Yaexcellentmato, of course," And, then, Kakashi's attention is back to his book, Gai cries manly tears at Kakashi's hip-and-cool attitude, and Yamato wonders what got him here in the first place then remembers that he couldn't have refused if he wanted to, what with Gai practically dragging them both into this place and all. Gai starts speaking again as the latter, predictably, doesn't glance up, but as Yamato tunes in to hear what's being said, he realizes that Gai is issuing some sort of challenge, and he internally groans, envious that he can't ignore Gai's loud voice as well as Kakashi can. He falls back in his chair uncomfortably after that thought, and he keeps glancing at Kakashi while acting like he isn't staring.

Does Gai know Kakashi can't hear him? Does he know yet still keep talking to him like a normal person?

Despite knowing the Copy nin for long enough by Yamato's standards, it took him an embarrassingly long time to find out about Kakashi's disability. It should have been obvious, but Kakashi was, and still is, hiding it so well that it never occurred to Yamato before. He found out on pure accident too.

They had a joint mission. It seemed easy enough; they only had to get back a scroll from a few bandits. But, intel is seldom right these days, and Yamato and Kakashi end up fighting more than they thought they would. They were largely outnumbered, the bandits were ready for them and they were already tired after going for a few days without sleep so that they could follow the trail before it got cold.

The chaos of the battlefield was to be expected, but neither Konoha nin was ready to retreat without completing their objective. Kakashi, with his arm glowing a thunderous blue, shot from one enemy to the next, corpses and the chirping of a thousand birds following in his wake. Yamato provided back up when necessary from his place hidden in the shadows, inching slowly closer to the one holding the scroll.

He glanced at Kakashi, making that a part of his battle plan, just in case the other needed his help. It wasn't an unfounded feeling as Yamato saw someone creeping up on him from behind. He crushed the enemy with his wood, but he wasn't close enough to see the exploding tag thrown from the enemy's bloodied hand until it was about to go off behind Kakashi. He yelled out a warning, giving away his hiding place and putting himself at risk of a number of attacks, but, surprisingly enough, Kakashi didn't even look up from the foe he was dealing with, didn't roll out of the way of the ensuing blast. He took the explosion head on, and in the chaos, Yamato stole the scroll before taking off with his teammate.

With Kakashi injured, they were slower, but Kakashi predictably pushed himself far beyond his limit. They were being chased, and Yamato led the way, curving through trees and hiding in bushes before taking off again, putting as much distance between himself and the many foes tailing them and testing Kakashi's hearing every once in a while, either making loud noises or soft ones, or calling him when he wasn't looking… Yamato decided to focus on his current task. They didn't lose their enemies until Konoha was less than half a day away. Even when they finally reached home, Yamato kept thinking back to that moment in the clearing. What was that about?

It's been more than three days since Yamato first discovered anything. Since then, he's started noticing small things about Kakashi, which only now started making sense, and only because Yamato's finally admitted to himself that his friend really couldn't hear him. He's started learning sign language, the one different from that they use in ANBU, but he isn't sure he's going to get the chance to use it… Should he, even?

"Stop staring, Tenzo. It's not nice," Kakashi says in a mockingly lecturing tone, and Yamato quickly averts his eyes, noting that Gai stopped talking at some point, and utters a quickly muttered apology. Should he have apologized even though Kakashi can't hear him? He wishes there were some sort of guide as to how to deal with this situation, "You look spaced out, Tenzo. Something I should know?"

Kakashi's tone is light, but when Yamato looks at him for a moment, he finds that his eyes are serious, worried by Kakashi's standards. He didn't mean to worry anyone. Yamato doesn't know how to answer. Should he tell Kakashi what he knows? Should he keep it from him?

"I'm fine," Yamato replies after a moment, wondering if he took too long to respond. Kakashi turns his attention to his book, "If you found out something you shouldn't have about someone, would you tell them that you know?" Yamato thinks, and only after he closes his mouth does he realize that he's said that out loud, and he feels incredibly dumb. Smooth.

Kakashi doesn't bat an eye, and Yamato remembers that he might as well have thought out loud, only for his thoughts to fall on deaf ears.

"Depends," The voice that replies is unexpected, but Yamato recognizes Gai's voice, which somehow sounds different from before. It lacks its usual boisterousness, it sounds almost heavy. Gai was silent for a long time that Yamato forgot he was there at all, "Would you want to know?" Gai's question both answers his question and provokes new ones, Gai's stare, however, solidifies one reply over all the others.

Yamato nods, taking this important matter with all the seriousness that it deserves. Gai beams and gives him a wild thumbs-up, an action that inevitably catches Kakashi's attention. When Kakashi gives Yamato a questioning glance, Yamato signs, 'You know… Just Gai being Gai.'

Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed this one! I am taking suggestions as to which characters I'll be doing next, and Yamato was requested by readwithcats. To those of you reading my other fics, kindly note that those will be updated eventually when I have the time. I'm extremely sorry about this, but I believe that having to wait for good chapters would be much better than getting chapters that might not make sense and might not be enjoyable.

Also, also! If you like my writing and are interested in reading more Naruto fics, check out my AO3 account under the same name! New fics will be posted on AO3 while old fics will be updated here normally. Gradually, I will move over old fics to AO3 as well, but they would still be on this site regardless.

A Response to the Reviews on Drabble 9:

srirachacha: I'm glad you liked it! I hope that you continue to enjoy it :D

Tobi Uchiha-chan: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter :)

readwithcats: I hope you liked reading this chapter! I tried to do Yamato justice, but I found him difficult to portray XD I hope that you enjoyed reading this drabble!

Shadowheart51: I like your suggestions :D Eventually, I'll get around to writing drabbles involving them! I hope you enjoyed and continue to enjoy this series!

Until next time!