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Minato sighed as he continued searching in the dead silence of the leaf. It was late at night. The ereei silence of the sleeping village swallowed him along with the darkness of the sky. It felt as if he was walking in the land of the dead with no company except his thoughts.
His stomach dropped at the bad feeling growing in his gut. It had been a week since the death of Obito. Minato wasn't worried about Rin. He checked on her already and she was grieving and coping with the help of her parents. What plagued his sleepless nights, though, was Kakashi. His student had disappeared after they returned and there was not a single trace of him.
Minato looked everywhere, in Kakashi's house, in the training grounds and even near the stone. He was running out of options and was walking aimlessly in the streets.
Suddenly, he had an idea. He remembered how Kakashi and Obito always hung around Obito's house in the Uchiha compound. They used to always train and play there. Maybe Kakashi would be there mourning.
Walking down the streets of the Uchiha compound, Minato noticed how the closer he got to Obito's house the more deserted the area became. He didn't know where the house was located but a kind villager pointed him towards the way. He wondered if Obito always spent his days in this lonely and isolated place because there was literally no one there.
The yellow flash arrived at last and noticed how run down the house looked. Minato regretted never paying Obito a visit and take a look at his living conditions. It wouldn't have hurt to spend some time with Obito in this solitude. How could his student smile all the time when he lived at a place like this? He was so engrossed with Kakashi and his social withdrawal that he totally forgot about Obito's wellbeing.
Minato shook his head. The past is in the past. There was no use crying over spilled milk. All he had to focus on right now was not making the same mistake with Kakashi.
He looked around the house but found no one. The building was locked but there was a window that looked like it was broken into. He smirked. He found Kakashi.
Minato swiftly jumped through the window to what seemed to be Obito's room. It was dark and messy with clothes and stuff scattered around. He scanned th the room for Kakashi and sighed when he found him laying on the floor with his right half under the bed.
"Kakashi, hey, it's me." He said softly, getting closer.
"I should've closed the window behind me." His student replied, voice raspy and barely above a whisper.
Minato kneeled to get a better look at him. Kakashi's hair was messy, his clothes were dirty and tattered with blood splattered on them. The visible part of his face had dried streaks and his normal eye was dull and lifeless. Minato also noticed how he hugged a photo of team 7 close to his chest.
"How long have you been laying in there?" The teacher asked.
Kakashi simply turned his head towards him, "I lost count but since he left."
"It's been seven days, Kakashi. You missed the funeral."
He got no reply.
"You can't stay like this forever. You need to get up." He tried moving Kakashi but the teen didn't budge.
"No, Sensei, I don't have the right to get up when Obito couldn't."
"Kakashi, this is not the right way to think. Come on, you need some food and a shower." Still, no movement, "Kakashi, don't make me resort to drastic measures."
The only response he got was a faint 'get away'. The blond sighed and casually carried the silver haired Chunin on his shoulder and stood up. This caught Kakashi off guard and he yelped and kicked in the air, trying to break free. However, Minato's iron grip only tightned.
"Sensei, let me go!" The boy threw a kick that shook Minato's balance and they both fell on Obito's unmade bed. Kakashi quickly took this chance and scrambled away from his teacher, but Minato managed to grab his wrist.
"Kakashi, please talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about, Sensei. Just let me go, okay?"
"And if I let you go, what would you do? Train yourself to near death like you did after Sakumo's funeral?"
Kakashi glared at Minato for those words. It did unsettle Minato a little to see such a menacing look on a 12-year-old's face but it wasn't enough to make him back off.
"Just go away. You don't understand." His words sounded more broken and empty than angry. That sentence was so devoid of emotion and hope that it broke Minato's heart.
"No, I do understand. You're not the only one suffering. Don't let your grief make you forget about others. Obito is as precious to me as you are."
Kakashi sat facing him across the bed, "Really, Sensei? Because, I've never seen you pay attention to him, let alone visit him."
The blonde looked down, those words stabbing daggers at his heart, "I...I- you're right. I made a foolish assumption that Obito must be fine because he was always smiling. I know I'm wrong. I don't need you to tell me that. I really regret not getting to know him but I don't want to make the same mistake with you. Please, Kakashi, open up. Let me help you. I can't unless you let me."
"Whatever. He's gone now." Kakashi looked away and they sat in awkward silence.
"So," Minato started after a few minutes, "Is this where Obito lived?"
"Yeah..."
"It's so messy. Typical of Obito," He laughed, "Did you mess up the bed or was it like that when you came?"
"I found it this way. I think he forgot to make it before he left."
Minato smiled fondly and Kakashi layed in between the messed up sheets, trying to remember as much of Obito's scent as he could before it disappeared from the world and his memories.
"Are you hungry?" Minato asked suddenly, cutting his train of thoughts. Kakashi nodded, "Maybe there's something in the fridge."
They got up and went to the kitchen downstairs, opening the fridge, "Oh my," The teacher commented, "there's nothing here but ramen cups. Did he live off of those things?"
"Yes, it's affordable. The head of the clan gave him a really small monthly allowance." Kakashi replied and Minato felt like giving Fugaku a punch but shoved the idea down his throat for now.
"Oh, and what is that? Cookie dough ice cream? That's a big cup."
Kakashi's eyes widened, "What is it, Kakashi?"
"Right before the mission, he asked me what my favourite food was. It's this ice cream. He promised that he would buy a very big cup for both of us to eat while watching the movie he told me about. He was really excited about it. It was supposed to be after this god-damned mission. He even bought the ice cream, damnit!" By the end of his speech, Kakashi crumbled to his knees and started crying.
Minato quickly jumped to his aid. He walked Kakashi to the run down sofa and sat both of them there. He gave Kakashi a hug as the teen finally decided to open up. Kakashi didn't say anything, just kept sobbing and cursing from time to time. Minato didn't open his mouth either. He let Kakashi get out all that he had been bottling up.
Eventually, the silver haired student calmed down and his teacher spoke, "Would you like me to heat up some ramen for you?"
He nodded. Sensei smiled, "and maybe after that we could watch that movie together and eat the ice cream. I know I'm not Obito but we can't let the ice cream go bad, now, can we? You know the name of the movie right?" Kakashi again nodded.
The yellow flash prepared two cups of ramen and they both ate in peace as Kakashi told him about the different adventures he had with Obito while off duty. Minato was rather amused than anything. He didn't know that Obito and Kakashi spent that much time together. He honestly thought they hated each other because of the great amount of bickering they do on missions, but was very glad to know they had a very good bond. He found himself smiling both fondly and humorously at Obito's comedic antics.
"And then he decided to run across the field to scare the birds." Kakashi said eagerly.
"Why?"
"Because he's stupid."
Minato chuckled, "Did he succeed?"
"No, all the birds flew on him and pecked him and he started crying."
"What else did he expect, though?"
"But honestly, it was worth it. That was very funny to watch."
Minato just deadpanned at this. Typical Kakashi. He rolled his eyes.
When they finished eating, Minato brought the ice cream and they both watched the movie Obito liked. It was a surprisingly good action comedy movie.
"Gotta admit that this is delicious, Kakashi. I didn't know you liked sweets."
"I don't. This is just an exception. Also, I never knew Obito had good taste in movies. I thought he liked cliche actions."
"Yeah, but this one is really good. I got a good laugh, too."
Somewhere towards the end of the movie, they both fell asleep on the couch wrapped up in Obito's blanket and leaning on each other.
The next morning Minato spent all day listening to Kakashi and Rin ramble about Obito and his antics. Kakashi also seemed way better than yesterday. Minato smiled and hoped that Obito was laughing at them from above.