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Dark clouds hung heavy over Konoha as passerby rushed into nearby shops to avoid the rain. From inside the dango shop, a small group of friends gathered around a table to sip tea and enjoy one another’s company. It was so rare that they were able to do something like this, the obligations of adulthood keeping them distanced. But in this moment, with the four of them together, none of that mattered anymore. It was like they were naïve little genin all over again laughing and joking without a care in the world.
Hinata snuggled close to her husband as he joked about his hokage duties, specifically the paperwork. If only he had known there would be so much paperwork. Despite his complaints, however, it was clear that he still genuinely adored his role in the village. After all, it was all he had ever wanted—a fact which Sasuke would not let him forget. Sakura chimed in to remind her friend that if he thought hokage paperwork was bad, he should see all the forms at the hospital. Mental healthcare was no joke and Sakura took great pride in how hard she had worked to create an exceptional treatment center for Konoha. No matter what duties may have pulled them away from each other, however, the one thing that always brought them back was their children. Sarada and Boruto were especially full of great potential and it warmed their hearts to see both of them following in their parent’s footsteps. The four of them had all come so far since those halcyon days, it was hard to believe they had all gotten everything they could’ve ever wanted. The only missing link in this nostalgic little afternoon was their sensei, Kakashi.
As they mused where he might be, flinging Icha Icha jokes at one another, a familiar face scurried down the street. With his one hand, he shielded a camera from the rain. Naruto’s gaze locked on him, his mind warping back to childhood attempts at uncovering their sensei’s face. With his scruffy brown hair, purple face paint, and long coat, he was unmistakable: Sukea, the freelance reporter. The others followed Naruto’s gaze, cocking their eyebrows in question.
“You know, after all this time I’ve still never seen that guy show up in the ninja registration” Naruto commented. “Is he even from around here?”
“Hell if I know” Sakura replied. “Why? Do you think he might be a spy?”
“Maybe we should tail him” Sasuke suggested. “Figure out where he’s going and what he’s up to.” Naruto didn’t want to admit it, but Sasuke made a valid point. Hinata left some money on the table and together, the four of them ran off to track Sukea down.
So much about this man was truly a mystery and the longer Naruto thought about it, the stranger things seemed to become. He remembered Sukea mentioning he had been a part of the ANBU. Even if he no longer lived within the village’s jurisdiction, he still should have appeared in archival files at the very least. And yet as far as he knew, there was nothing on this man. Not even a history of his rise through the ranks. Not even a birth certificate.
The four of them crept through alleyways and leapt across rooftops, taking great care in being as quiet and undetectable as possible. They followed Sukea all the way to an apartment complex in the center of town, someplace cheap and unsuspecting. He slipped inside the lobby and ascended the stairs, glancing behind him as he shook the rain from his hair. There was no way the others could follow him inside. It would be far too obvious. Hinata stood in the walkway, shielding herself from the rain, trying to come up with a plan.
“What about this tree?” she then asked, pointing to one of the large oaks in the courtyard. “Maybe we can climb it and peek inside.”
“It’s too dangerous” Sasuke countered. “With a storm like this, we could get struck by lightning. Trees are always the first to get hit by lightning.”
Sakura narrowed her eyes at her husband, replying, “Well, do you have any better ideas?”
After a long stretch of silence, Naruto raised his fist triumphantly in the air and exclaimed, “Okay! Up the tree we go!” He helped Hinata up onto the highest branch, then gave Sakura a hand as Sasuke crouched down to provide her a footstool. By the time the four of them had perched themselves comfortably on the branches, Sukea had entered his apartment and began making himself comfortable. As luck would have it, his unit was right in the front with a large window overlooking the village.
Kicking his shoes off, Sukea approached the large bathroom vanity and idled on his reflection for a moment. It was always so strange seeing himself like this, staring back at a face that was not his own. A sigh broke past his lips as he then reached up toward his eyeball. Sakura cringed.
What is he doing? Popping out his eye? She thought to herself. He pinched the contact lens between his fingers, dropped it into the little container of solution, then removed the other eye. He blinked once, twice, three times in order for his eyes to readjust. Their usual stormy gray was now black and abyssal. He rubbed away the face paint with a cotton pad, cleared his throat. His voice fell a few octaves. He tore away the stickers on his cheeks, revealing a long, rugged scar cutting right down his left eye. And then he reached up to scratch his head, sighing, before removing what was evidently a wig. Underneath that brown scruff was a mess of silvery, spiked hair. And that was when it hit them: Sukea was nothing but a façade. Standing before them, completely unmasked, was none other than Kakashi Hatake.
“No way!” Naruto shrieked. All the blood drained from his face, his mouth agape. He slapped Sasuke hard on the chest, who fell backward and stumbled out of the tree. Sakura screeched, both at this suspenseful realization and at her husband’s fall. She was far too stunned, however, to jump into any action.
“O-Oh my goodness…!” Hinata clapped her hands over her mouth as blood trickled from her nostril. How embarrassing.
Kakashi froze before slowly turning toward the window. His former students hadn’t exactly taken much care in keeping quiet and now here he was faced with the four of them staring back at him in absolute shock. His face turned bright red as he rubbed the back of his neck and waved at them sheepishly. “You should’ve told me you were stopping by!”
With bugged-out eyes, Naruto shouted back, “What the hell, Kakashi-sensei! Are you telling me that Sukea was you the entire damn time?!”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Sakura chimed in. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding this for all these years!”
Sasuke groaned and propped himself up on his elbows in the grass below. “Well, I definitely didn’t see that coming” he muttered. Then, squinting up at the others, he shouted, “Naruto, you idiot! Watch where you hit next time!”
Naruto looked down at him, shouting, “What are you blaming me for?! I wouldn’t have hit you if Kakashi-sensei hadn’t freaked me out!”
Through gritted teeth, Sasuke replied, “That’s not a good enough excuse.”
It was admittedly refreshing to see that after all these years, they really hadn’t changed. Sakura grimaced at what had become of her husband, turning her wrath to Naruto who immediately raised his hands in surrender. He was too late, however. Sakura whacked him so hard, he stumbled out of the tree himself. Hinata called after him, scrambling to his aide, as Sakura descended ready to unleash her vengeance.
In any normal capacity, Kakashi should have been angry. After all, his students had finally uncovered his best kept secret. There was no telling who else would find out about this now. His true identity was a powerful piece of information and the results of this circulating could be disastrous. However, considering the circumstances, Kakashi couldn’t help but laugh. Down below, Naruto and Sasuke attempted to avoid Sakura’s wrath, using one another as human shields and arguing over who deserved it more. Meanwhile Hinata stood on the sidelines anxious and begging them to stop fighting. Truly, Kakashi expected nothing less.
Realistically, he doubted anything would come of this anyway. The memory of his true face would vanish quickly from their memory and even if they did try to tell others of what they say, who was to say anyone would believe them? It was inconsequential. Kakashi stifled his laughter as he reached for his mask on the dresser. As he tugged it up over his face, he shrugged and muttered in amused defeat, “Well, I tried.”