Chapter 6: Family

"Yo! Great and powerful Kakashi-tensai!"

Kakashi's left eyebrow twitched. Calm, he told himself nonetheless, ignoring the gratingly shrill voice that cut through the air.

"OY!"

Count to one-hundred, Kakashi counseled himself quietly. Just count to one- hundred and she'll go away. . .

"O-Y! Are you deaf or just plain dumb? No, actually, don't answer that." Shouted Sayuri as she jumped onto the branch Kakashi was sitting on. Carefully covered by broad leaves, the area where she stood had the feel of a dark-green, leafy room she noticed as she plopped down onto the branch beneath her feet.

"Be careful," growled Kakashi, cracking open an eye to glare at the impudent female. "These branches aren't meant to be jumped on like that, you're gonna make it break."

Now it was Sayuri's turn to twitch in agitation. "Why, you. . . I'll break something for you! You. . ."

No! Patience, she chanted under her breath, quickly suppressing the urge to throttle the arrogant little piece of. . . No, he was going through something and she had to be patient. Quietly, drawing her legs up under her, Sayuri rested her chin on her knees. In her mind's eye, she replayed the mini-lecture Obito-sensei had subjected her and Asuma to the night before. Today was some sort of sad day for Kakashi, a day where they weren't supposed to bother him. Leave him be, sensei had counseled them.

Kakashi leaned back and stared at his teammate cautiously through half- lidded eyes. He hoped that he looked unaware and sleepy, because she was acting completely out of character. The Sayuri he knew would have kicked him off the branch and then settled in for a nap by now. Smothering a threatening sigh, he closed his eyes completely, deciding to simply return to his mediations. He knew why she was here, but girls were just too complicated to deal with like normal people.

"Kakashi," Sayuri cut in, just as he slowed his breathing to the appropriate rhythm.

"Hai," he replied without bothering to open his eyes. He could feel her chakra fluctuate.

"Ah. . ."

"You want to know why Obito-san told you and Asuma to leave me alone?" Kakashi stated bluntly, eyes still closed.

Sayuri felt her back grow rigid. She hadn't expected him to be so straight forward about. . .anything. Usually, Kakashi was a bundle of enigma wrapped in a blanket of fog, and he NEVER shared personal information despite all the prying techniques she and Asuma had tried on him. "H-hai."

Kakashi opened his eyes briefly to look at her. Sayuri felt his gaze measure her intensely, as if looking for something in particular. Sayuri couldn't help it. She'd never been one to back down from a guy's challenge, so she stared back. Silently, she wished that Kakashi would just open up this once, and not just because she was curious.

Kakashi shrugged to himself and stretched down lengthwise on the branch. Closing his eyes once again, he ran slim fingers through his spiked silver hair. "My parents were killed today."

Sayuri felt her cheeks burn pink. Admittedly, she had suspected something like that had happened to the acknowledged orphan boy, but she didn't quite know how to deal with it now that he had openly told her. Now she wished she had just listened to Obito-sensei and kept her mouth shut. "I'm sorry. If you need someone. . ."

"No," cut in Kakashi, "I don't need sympathy. That's why I asked Obito-san to tell you two to leave me alone. I guess it's not real fair to you though. Asuma already knew."

She had suspected as much. He had acted entirely too uninterested the other night. "Oh."

"It's nothing personal, Yuri." Kakashi said softly, "Asuma was in the building when I was brought in to meet the Hokage. Did you know he was actually the first kid I met in Konoha?"

Sayuri shook her head. She was confused. "Kakashi, I thought. . ."

"I didn't grow up here," he interrupted her. "My parents weren't even ninjas. They were traders. Weren't even killed for a good reason, just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Kakashi rolled his foot in a circle, causing his ankle to make a loud cracking sound. It had been a long time since he had talked to anyone about his parents. Well, besides Obito or Hokage. It had been a long time since he had really thought about it at all.

"Kakashi. . . "

"Ah," Kakashi cut in again. "I know, 'but I'm a ninja.' Well, I wanted to kill them. The people that killed my parents. Hokage said that he'd let me learn if I could."

"Yes, but, Kakashi. . ." Sayuri tried to begin again, this time leaning in closer to the silver-haired ninja.

"I will you know. I'll. . . ." Kakashi never finished the thought, as a somewhat miffed Sayuri kicked him off the branch.

"STOP INTERRUPTING!" she shouted at him as he flipped over expertly in the air to land on his feet. Glaring at her briefly, his angry expression mixed with a sort of stunned hurt, he debated whether or not to go back up the tree. Suddenly, the impact of her actions hit Sayuri. "Oh! Right. . .I'm so sorry! But I was trying to ask you something important and you kept interrupting! I. . .uh . . . I'm sorry! I really did mean to be sympathetic!!"

Sighing, Kakashi waved away her apology and turned to leave when a familiar arm wrapped around his neck in a loose choke-hold.

"Tsk. Tsk. Don't get mad at her for being stupid. You know it IS Sayuri," laughed a grinning Asuma. "See, she just forgot that she was being sympathetic, probably. Right?"

Kakashi twisted his head around so he could glare at his other teammate. He'd had enough of all this. He just wanted to be left alone again. ". . . "

"Hey, come on, don't go all 'look at me brood, I'm the great brooder Kakashi' on me," Asuma continued to tease, at the same time strengthening his hold on Kakashi. "Kakashi, we're your teammates, you're supposed to trust us, you know."

". . ."

"And do not forget me!" Kakashi felt himself choke, and not from the strangle hold Asuma had on him. He could recognize the sound of that annoyingly pompous voice anywhere. "Ah, the flowers of youth gather in one place to mourn with our brother and rival!"

Kakashi struggled to get his head up high enough to glare at the approaching green-clad creature. Unfortunately, that only made Asuma increase the strength of his hold, cutting off the last bits of air reaching Kakashi's lungs. The edges of his vision began to blur and then fade black, Kakashi heard voices shout out apologies and the merits of youth. Kakashi smiled despite himself. 'Brother,' he thought, it had a nice ring. Grief would never leave his mind, he acknowledged, but it was still nice to have a family once again. "Thanks," he managed to mouth, as he fell into the embrace of unconsciousness.