Chapter Text
‘Have you heard?’
‘Yes! Who would expect such betrayal?’
‘And from who! The White Fang himself!’
He meant well, really. Missions were important – a priority – he was raised and trained to always put the mission and the best interest of the Village first, no matter the circumstances. He was fully prepared to either finish the job or to die trying. That was why he missed the birth of his son, that was why he was not there to hold her hand and kiss her knuckles when she took her last breath-
He was terrifyingly sufficient – enemy shinobi were ordered to flee on sight when he was their opponent. It was only making his job easier. He was even more efficient thank to the stores and legends his name earned. It was rather embarassing, but since it was allowing him to be home sooner, he was far from complaining. He could spend more time with Kakashi – he would pick him up from the playground in the evenings, and then when he passed the entrance exams with flying colors, either from school or the school grounds.
He noticed the stares directed at his son as well, the maliciously not subtle voices wondering if he would grow up to be a traitor just like his father?
Sakumo was not twenty anymore. He was not responsible only for the outcome of the mission and his teammates – he had a kid waiting for him. How could he put the mission first and recklessly risk his life again and again when there was this little boy waiting for him? He was so young and yet already had seen so much death, violence and blood; the beauty of being born at the ending of the Second Shinobi War. How could he possibly disappoint him like that and disappear from his life so early (not as quickly as his mother) when he could choose to fall back and get everyone safely home?
They should understand. They had children too – some of them not yet even born. How could he know that and order his friends to keep going, to blindly press ahead knowing they would not made it home. How could he look their partners in their eyes and tell them he failed? How could he look in their children’s eyes and tell them that their parents were not coming back?
They should understand, right? Mission was a priority, of course, the Village was always first but were not their children’s lives too? It could not be only about living or dying, after all, could their kids even call it living when they would have to fight to survive another day with nobody to look after them?
It had been months. It had been months since he decided to stop the mission and retreat to safety – that mission was a top priority, to be or not to be for matters much bigger than them, but just as he was about to give them orders their eyes met –
They had somebody waiting for them. He had someone waiting for him too.
The decision was good, he knew that, he saw the relief in their eyes too, Sakumo for sure did not imagine that… He wanted to believe he did not imagine it. He knew they were grateful to not be sent for certain death. All of them already lost so many loved ones, Konoha was struggling even if nobody wanted to admit it just yet.
He told them to fall back. They would regroup, come up with a new plan, pick a new, more suitable team and everything would be alright.
So much anger, so much resentment. He did not see it coming. Since when being alive was so unwanted?
‘…I can’t believe you’d pull up shit like that, Kumo! What the hell!’
‘I don’t understand why you’re so upset! You all agreed with me when I gave the order! We had no chance to pull this off!’
‘We didn’t even try!’
‘Because there was no point! We would all end up dead at best, if not captured and tortured into insanity for information!’
‘Fucking bullshit! We’ve had worse!’
‘We barely made it the last time, and before that too! You ended up in the hospital for weeks! Akiko lost her child because of that! You can’t expect me to ignore your wellbeing and go berserk over a fucking scroll!’
‘We’re shinobi! That’s our job, Sakumo! What you’re saying is basically mutiny!’
Sakumo laughed, shaking his head.
‘Do you hear yourself?’
‘Do YOU? You were given an order. WE were given an order! Do whatever on solo missions, but damn it, when you have people under your commands, THINK!’
‘That’s exactly what I did! I have PEOPLE under my commands, not tools! We all have families! It was not worth our lives and the suffering of…’
‘Oh, you and that family and friends nonsense! Do whatever when you’re on your own, be a coward and a whimp – but don’t drag us down with you!’
Oh, the scrutiny. So that how it was to be hated by everyone for choosing to protect.
It was only getting worse. Mission after mission he was getting worse – a stumble and a fall there, too slow over there. His teammates – his friends – did not trust him anymore. They openly refused to follow his command, so he stopped giving orders. The instructions turned into suggestions; when did he become so weak? How could he expect anybody to trust their lives in his hands when he was unable to make a call when needed?
When the ground was finally not rock-solid from the cold and everything was getting back to life, his missions seemed to be less frequent, he was being sent alone more often than usual. He was not surprised, he did not say a word when the Third confronted him about his team request to remove him from his position as captain.
Because he was being send alone, the missions were getting longer. Kakashi had to be left alone for days at time. Days stretched into weeks. He did not complain, but Sakumo could not call himself his father if he did not notice he was being a little distant. Or was he? Maybe he withdrew from him instead, and Pup only respected his unspoken wish to be left alone.
He should not teach the poor kid anything, what if he would ruin him and turned into something as weak and twisted as Sakumo himself? No, he left the training and teaching for the academy; Pup would be fine, he made some friends even before he entered the academy and they were in the same class. He was not alone, he was liked and teachers spoke highly of his skills. One for each generation, they would say.
Kakashi would be just fine on his own. Sakumo wanted to believe that.
He for sure noticed that Sakumo was closing himself in his room more often and for longer, sitting quietly in the dark. Kakashi would cook dinner and leave it by the door. It would grow cold because he did not even notice his son calling him to eat. When it happened for the first time, he cried – he let down his kid even in something as mundane as eating a fish he caught and cooked by himself. When it kept happening, eventually he could not even force himself to be sad or embarrassed about it.
He either ate it cold or tossed it away when Kakashi was asleep.
He would be fine. He could caught fish, they had some chickens… He could cook and clean, he was doing great at school despite having a pathetic excuse of a shinobi for a father. He was a genius too, just like once he thought he was, seen once in every generation…
Poor thing. It was a heavy gift to carry, but Sakumo knew his Pup could do it.
At least Sakumo was right about one thing – the boy, Maito Gai, did in fact made it into the academy. Moreover, he was steadily progressing, just as he predicted. He was sure the kid was a late bloomer and he would yet surprise the world.
Maybe Sakumo was a genius, he was a living legend scaring the enemy away just with his presence but it only made his failures even more spectacular. Once admired and loved by his family and friends, even strangers from the village, he became a walking scarecrow for every shinobi who would dare to defy the rules.
Shinobi rules were sacred. Sakumo always considered them to be more like guidelines.
He got it wrong – oh, heavens, he had been so wrong.
He wished he could brush it off and keep going. He tried, he really did – but the attacks, the arguments, those stares and whispers on the streets broke him. He snapped like a twig and there was no going back. He was already holding onto strings after his love died to give him the most precious thing in the world.
And yet, Dai-san somehow decided he wants to meet up with him, and then again. Their kids liked each other, they could play around while they talk! They were both shinobi and single fathers of boys, they had so much to talk about!
It all had started when children were forbidden from going back home on their own and Sakumo was sent away for over two weeks. Dai-san snatched Pup for the schoolgrounds and just had him living with him and Gai until Sakumo was back. Sakumo was invited for dinner – Kakashi was promised tonkotsu and Dai had to keep his word! – and it just kept happening. He kept accepting the invitations and opening his door when the green man, the Eternal Genin and the Clown of the Village was showing up. Sakumo could not turn him away even if he tried, his kindness was blinding. Dai’s presence was so warm and so bright (Sakumo needed it. It’s been months – no, years – he could not see the light, it died when his wife took her last breath. He was not even there by her side, he was late -) and almost scorching, yet he could not turn away from it.
It was already dark outside, but he did not notice hours that passed, lost in staring in space with the picture of his wife on his lap. He missed her so badly it hurt. He could barely breathe from the pain of loss and the suffocating heat of humid, summer evening had nothing to do with it. The cicadas were so loud, he could hear them through the closed windows.
He never even asked Dai-san why there was only him and Gai. It was hard to concentrate on difficult things when they were around, it was like the whole house was coming to life when they were around. Dai-san’s booming voice, Gai-kun’s laughter and excited chattering and bickering with his Pup… Was she even a shinobi like them or just an ordinary civilian? Did she walk out from their lives or did she run out of time?
Sakumo knew it was only matter of time when he would hurt them too. He should not let them in his life in the first place, he was an outcast, a traitor – they should not be associated with a failure like himself. He was not a man of honor – he could not be trusted, not by the Village and not by the boy he selfishly brought up into this cruel, ruthless world. Did he make a mistake with pushing him into shinobi life? He hated it. Why did he condemn his boy to this cruelty?
He wondered if she was waiting for him. She would understand, made it better – she always could.
Fuck, he could not even keep her dog alive. How does he expect to do it with a child?!
Sakumo was not needed anymore. His kid was in the academy, he was already acknowledged and admired by his teacher and his peers. He had friends, he could have anything he reached for. Sakumo would only stand in the way with his failed, piling up missions and teammates who refused to follow his orders…
If he only stuck to the rules it would not end up like that.
The tanto was as sharp as ever – he had been blindly sharpening it recently, lost in his thoughts. Last night Kakashi had a chance to try it too, he did really well with keeping the angles. It was perfect.
There was nobody at home. He could feel he was trembling, but his hands were steady when he grabbed his weapon and bared the blade. It did not shine, he did not send a wave of chakra through it. No need for Fang to do it, a kitchen knife would do just fine too.
One strong push and that was it. The familiar, sharp punch-in-the-guts pain was almost blinding - the tanto went straight in. He took a painful, steadying breath and on the exhale, he turned the blade for a good measure.
The wound felt warm, hot even. It was spreading, he could see the dark stain slowly growing stronger with his every, strained breath. His heart was beating wildly, almost painfully. With a crooked smile, he thought it had caught up with the opening in his stomach. He knew he got it through one of the vital points, now he just had to wait.
Through the pounding in his ears he did not hear knocking on the door. He slowly leaned forward, falling on his front, pushing the blade even deeper. With a hiss, he slowly rolled to the side, curling up.
He shut his eyes tightly, trying to calm himself down and fight his every instinct screaming at him to get up, to press it down, to get help.
The poodle of blood was getting bigger. The sounds were getting odd, distorted. Did someone get into the house or did he just drop the blade?
Whichever it was it did not matter. He could feel himself bleeding out, his consciousness was slowly slipping away from him. Soon, just a little more and it would all be done. He would not disappoint anybody again, he would not hurt anybody again.
He would see her again.
He did not hear the familiar, booming voice calling his name from outside of the house. He did not hear anything.
The door was open. Not only unlocked, it was actually ajar – Dai could peek inside. It was dark and one could think that nobody was in there, but he was a shinobi and he could see underneath the underneath!
There were shoes by the threshold. He knocked again for good measure but there was no answer.
‘Sakumo-san?’ he called again, frowning. He was clearly inside, but no lights were on and the door were open. Something must had happened. He slowly reached for a kunai and peered inside, looking for anything suspicious. He decided to get inside and check – just to be sure! – that nobody was really there, even if the shoes were there and the door were not properly closed despite the cold.
Nobody in the kitchen nor in the toilet. Kakashi-kun’s room was empty too – there was only one place to check and it was the only one with the door closed.
‘Sakumo-san?’ he tried again with a knock. He could swear he could hear something from the inside, so he slowly opened the door.
There was something in the middle of the room, a bundle of clothes, a futon or somebody curled up on the floor. He went inside and bent over to investigate when a strong scent of blood hit his nose. With a gasp, he lunged forward to grab the person on the ground.
Long, silvery hair pulled into a ponytail – it was Sakumo-san, there was his blade next to him and oh god there was so much blood.
‘What the hell!’ he hissed, turning him on his back. He quickly checked his vitals; the pulse was there, a faint one, but still detectable. Did someone ambush him?! No, it was not important at the moment. He was wounded, lost a lot of blood but was alive. He had to get him out of there and he had to do it fast.
With a strain, he managed to lift him and threw him over his shoulder. Stumbling a little, he hurried out of the room, through the dayroom and the kitchen outside.
‘I’ve got you!’ he panted, pushing through the struggle to breathe. ‘Hang in there! I have a feeling you’ve done something very, very stupid! But hang in there!’
The run to the hospital seemed to last forever. He was holding Sakumo by his wrist the whole way there, making sure that the heartbeat was still there – Dai never run so fast for so long in his life. He had no choice but to do it, he still did not master it and was learning and it was painful later, but he had to do this. He could not get past the second one yet, but it had to be enough, it had to. He opened the second gate and kept running.
His lungs were burning, his legs wanted to give out but he pushed madly through the pain and discomfort and –
He made it.
The medics rushed to help when he screamed bloody murder from the second he entered the hall. They took Sakumo-san from him and carried him somewhere, probably for a procedure or whatnot but as much as he was trembling for his friend, he could not make out the words through the pounding in his ears.
He did not die on him, he carried him to the hospital. He made it!
Dai sat down heavily where he stood, his jacket soaked up in blood and his knees refused to keep up his weight any longer. His legs were shaking and he was panting heavily, seeing some dark dots flying in his vision. Once he caught his breath, he could not tell much to the medical staff – he went with a visit. Sakumo san stood him out two times in a row, he wanted to give him a friendly scolding so he went to see him. The door were open, something felt off so he went inside to investigate. Sakumo-san was found unconscious, he did not notice anybody else.
Hell, who could ambush him like that in his own house and stab him with his own sword in the stomach?
Dai closed his hands in tight fists. He did not want to jump to the conclusions, but the answer was pretty obvious. Especially taking into consideration the last months and his deteriorating performance during missions, his progressive withdrawal, things that Kakashi-kun let slip a few times, and the things even Dai heard on the street.
‘Sakumo, you damn fool,’ he muttered angrily to himself.
He was never a patient man so the waiting was excruciating. Luckily, the procedure was completed before Dai started climbing walls. The nurse informed him in which room he can find Sakumo-san. They were not family so he could not be told any details, but since he brought him there, he could know that Hatake Sakumo was stabilized, and there was no imminent danger to his life. He had to stay in the hospital for a few days, and he was being given blood as they spoke.
Dai had to confront him. Still agitated, he marched straight to the room in which he expected to see his stupid, miserable friend. Despite his anger, he did not kick the door down – he knocked and invited himself in.
Sakumo was laying on the bed, almost as pale as the bedsheets and his hair. His eyes were closed when Dai got inside, but he turned his head and looked at him, blinking.
‘Dai-san…’ he said quietly, his voice hoarse. He watched the other man approaching the bed, quickly glancing at his clenched fists. He could see the blood stains on his clothes.
‘Sakumo-san.’ Dai stopped next to the bed, flexing his palms. For a moment they only looked at each other. ‘You absolute, DAMN FOOL!’ Dai roared suddenly and structed a blow right into his jaw. The hit was heavy and precise, it sent Sakumo tumbling off of his bed. He fell hardly to the floor, almost toppling over the drip stand in the process. ‘WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, YOU TWAT?!’ He walked over the bed (he left his shoe stains on it) and jumped off on the other end; Sakumo, clearly shocked into silence, was trying to scramble up on his legs. Dai straddled him, grabbing him by the front of the hospital gown. ‘Are you INSANE? How dare you?! A SUICIDE ATTEMPT?!’
‘I-I… Dai-san!...’ His eyes filled with tears. He shook his head, trying to find his words, but he could not think of anything to explain himself. What was there to say? He messed up again.
‘You’re SO DAMN LUCKY I WAS THE ONE THAT FOUND YOUR SORRY ASS! Just wait till you get out from here, I’ll kick your butt sore! HAVE YOU EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR PRECIOUS SON! He would HAVE FIND YOU! YOUR DEAD BODY!’ He slapped him again, that time with an open hand. Sakumo did not even try to raise his hands to shield himself from the yelling and slapping. Dai let out a long, frustrated cry. They both ignored a commotion by the door done by nurses and a doctor alarmed by the screams.
‘I’ll kill you myself, damn it! You have so much to live for! Your son! The dogs! Even the stupid chickens you got couple weeks ago! If you felt so miserable and bad YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME, I WAS. RIGHT. THERE. ALL. THE. TIME!!’ He gripped him tighter, ignoring the nurse who run up to them and tried to pry him off of the patient. ‘I’ll be here later! Now I’m getting boys from school! Kakashi-kun stays over at my place until we get rid of the damn blood in your room! He can’t see it!’ He finally stood up, panting, red on the face. He pointed at Sakumo. ‘Better watch out, Sakumo-san! Don’t you dare trying it again BECAUSE I’LL KNOW! SOMEBODY SEDATE THAT IDIOT BEFORE I’LL DO IT WITH MY FISTS!’
He was dragged outside, his final threats accompanied by Sakumo and his uncontrollable sobbing.
Dai did his best to not look like something bad had happened when he arrived at the playground’s gate after a quick run home to hide the bloodied clothes. He waved at the group of children playing something involving kicking an empty soda can; he immediately spotted his precious Sprout. Gai grabbed Kakashi by his wrist and whisked him from the group, pulling him along to meet his dad. The boy just let it happen. He only waved a goodbye at the group of his friends he was being dragged away from.
‘Hello, papa!’
‘Hello, Gai! Hi, Kakashi-kun!’
Kakashi – as always – only nodded, looking up at him. He finally wiggled his hand from Gai’s grip.
Dai pressed his lips in a thin line disappearing under his moustache, and crouched down in front of the boy. He forced himself to smile, putting both palms on his little shoulders.
‘I’m taking you home with us, dear boy! You’re staying over for a while.’
Kakashi frowned.
‘Again? Is dad on a mission again?’
‘Not exactly.’ He smiled nervously. ‘He… He was injured during the one he had today.’
The boy gasped quietly, shocked, and stared at him with wide eyes. His father was hurt? That was so not like him, he was barely ever hurt before! And today he got it so bad he had to go to the hospital? They hated hospitals!
‘He’s fine now! He’s okay, Kakashi-kun, no worries! He has to stay in the hospital for a while, that’s why we agreed to have you at our place for the time being!’
‘I want to see him.’
‘It’s impossible today, dear one! But!’ He raised his finger before Kakashi could inhale for an argument to go anyway. ‘We can go there the first thing in the morning, right before school! How does that sound?’
Kakashi did not seem thrilled with having to wait, but after a moment of thinking, he nodded with a pout visible only in the frown.
‘…Before school!’
‘Of course! You have my word for that!’
He grumbled something in response and glanced at Gai, who was looking at him all pop-eyed.
Dai stood up and herd both kids in front of him, hurrying them on the way a little. He did not expect to have a guest that evening, he had to make a quick run to a store for something for dinner since they planned with Gai to have some noodles a bit more on the spicy side. Kakashi did not like spicy food, he had to get for him something else. He also should go to Sakumo-san house and at least try to start washing off the blood stain he left on the floor. The sooner he starts, the better. Not to mention he left the door open.
Kakashi and Gai watched in silence as Dai explained he had to go deal with some things now. He pushed a bag with two boxes of yakisoba bought on the way in his Sprout’s embrace. They were both big little ninjas after all, they for sure could go home from there on their own!
‘…If you want some tea, boys, use the stool to get to the stove and remember kettle will be boiling hot…’
‘It should be. It’s hard to make tea with cold water,’ noticed Kakashi and Gai nodded next to him, swinging the bag with food to the sides. Dai laughed loudly, shaking his head.
‘Of course! Silly me, of course it has to be hot! Alright then, champs!’ He crouched in front of them, placing his palms on their heads. He looked at them for a few moments, smiling. ‘Be nice! And remember to wash your hands before you eat.’ They both nodded. ‘And do your homework! I’ll check your writing later.’ One more serious nod. ‘I’ll better get going, the sooner I’ll leave, the sooner I’ll be back!’ He grabbed them by their necks and yanked both kids closer for a loud smooch on the forehead; one for each. Gai only smiled widely, used to his father’s usual quick goodbye, but Kakashi made a face and stepped back. He wiped his face, frowning at the man. Dai only laughed some more and ruffled his hair before he jogged away.
‘Do you think that thing has something to do with the thing that happened to your dad?’
‘Probably.’ He squinted. ‘He was off.’
‘Papa is a bad liar,’ admitted Gai quietly. Kakashi nodded, still frowning, and they both turned around to finally head home. ‘I hope it’s nothing bad!’
‘He said my dad is hurt. And it’s so bad he had to go to the hospital.’ He shook his head. ‘He never gets hurt like that. Enemy runs when they see him!’
Gai gaped at him with wide eyes.
‘They run when they see him?!’ he repeated in a shocked whisper.
‘Yeah!’ He raised his chin proudly, taking long strides. ‘He’s that awesome!’
‘Woah.’ He gasped in awe. ‘But how awesome had to be the enemy to make him hurt?!’
Kakashi sighed, kicking a rock.
‘Dunno. It’s… Weird.’
For a moment they were walking in silence. Gai pressed his lips in a thin line and grabbed Kakashi’s elbow.
‘Come on! Let’s make a run for it before noodles get cold!’
His Rival only nodded. They did not race each other, running hand in hand.
The food was still quite hot, so they sat down for a warm dinner. Kakashi was clearly in a sour mood, but Gai would not be himself if he held it against him, especially in times like that! He did his best to keep him distracted from his worries. They did their homework and then went outside for a little spar. They spent some extra time on practicing their high kicks on the trunk Gai was usually training on. They washed themselves and then ended up sitting on the floor in Gai’s small room.
‘What would you like to do now?’ asked Gai, rocking to the sides on his butt.
Kakashi shrugged.
‘Whatever.’ He sniffed. ‘I could show you the new technique dad taught me. I should spend some time with him too.’
‘With who?’
‘Pakkun. Look.’ He crawled to his backpack and produced a shuriken. He cut his finger on it, watched closely by Gai. Kakashi made the well-remembered, practiced series of hand seals and after making a little cloud of smoke, he pointed at it. ‘It’s Pakkun.’
The smoke was gone almost immediately, and instead of it, there was a small pug on the floor, looking at both of them with his bulky eyes.
‘Kakashi!’ whined Gai, tugging at his shirt. ‘A summoning technique? You have a contract already? How cool is that!’
‘The contract is in my dad’s family,’ he explained, reaching for Pakkun. He pulled him on his lap with no protests from the dog. ‘Say hello.’
‘Yo, kiddo.’
‘HE’S TALKING!’
‘Of course I am! I’m a ninken, and not just any pup you see on the streets!’
‘I’m Gai! Kakashi is my Rival!’ He beamed when the body did not correct him. Pakkun only looked him up and down before he turned back to Kakashi. He earned a little head scratch while Kakashi was explaining to his so-called-Rival the whole ordeal with having a ninken for a summon, and that eventually he was going to have a whole pack of eight dogs.
Gai’s eyes almost popped out.
Kakashi nodded at the puppy on his lap.
‘Give him your hand. He will remember your scent for like, forever.’
Gai made another shocked face and let the dog spend another solid minute sniffing at his palm from all angles.
‘Do you know when you’ll have more?’ he asked, looking at the pug.
Kakashi shook his head.
‘No. It will just show up at some point. I hope soon! I can’t wait to meet all of them!’ He gave Pakkun a little squeeze. His eyes popped out a bit more for a second.
‘Me too!’ sighed Gai with a big smile. ‘It’s so cool, Kakashi!’
He only nodded. Pakkun wiggled himself free to roam around the room a little. It was a new place after all, there was a lot of things to sniff and to look at.
A low grumble outside caught their attention.
‘A storm?’ Gai frowned.
‘Smells like it’ agreed Kakashi, standing up. Out of habit he patted his knees clean. Instead of taking a whiff of the air, Gai walked to the window and opened it to have a better look outside. Trees outside were shaking and bending a little if they were younger, whipped by the cold wind that brought the dark, heavy clouds with it.
‘…And looks like it,’ agreed the boy. He glanced at his Rival. ‘I don’t like storms,’ he admitted in a whisper. ‘But it’s fine when I’m at home.’
Kakashi nodded, looking around.
‘Depends on the storm.’ He did not like them either, but he was not going to admit to being scared.
‘I hope it won’t get too bad… When it does, the electricity goes off! I hate when it happens!’ Gai jumped a little, suddenly delighted. ‘I have an idea! Let’s make a blanket base! We can hide in it, with snacks and stuff!’
Kakashi perked up.
‘Do you have a flashlight?’
‘Yes! Papa has that big one! I’ll get it!’ He run out of the room. ‘I’ll get something to eat too!’
Pakkun looked up at his human; he pulled the chair to the middle of the room and left too. He was back almost immediately, dragging another chair with him. Gai was right behind him.
They rolled out a futon on the ground. Bed was used as one of the walls and with some books, they pinned a big blanket down on one end and threw it over the chairs. The flashlight and bowl with tangerines, bag of chips and bottle of juice ended up inside. They also grabbed some pillows to build the rest of the walls. They turned off the lights (since they expected it to go off anyway), closed the window and crawled inside their tent. Pakkun, of course, was taken inside too.
‘I have a book about dogs,’ said Gai suddenly. ‘We could read it.’
‘I know about dogs.’
‘But it’s a picture book!’
Kakashi slowly turned to look at him.
‘…We can read it,’ he allowed, raising his chin a bit.
Pakkun took a comfortable spot between the boys; Gai scrambled outside for a moment to grab the book and soon enough, he was back. The lecture turned out to be a collection of dog breeds, their characteristics – and of course, each one had a picture to represent the breed. They put it in the middle. Gai was holding the flashlight and was turning the pages, while Kakashi was slowly peeling the tangerines, making sure to get rid of all the nasty white strings. Pakkun was looking closely too even if the fruit scent was a bit itchy. He even nibbled on a few pieces just to give it a try, but in the end, the boys ate them all.
Kakashi pointed at each of the dogs that were similar to his father’s pack. His father’s hounds were all big breeds, just like the dog that was left after his mother. He barely remember it, but he could clearly recall the long, soft fur when she was curling around him when he was little. It was one of his first memories. He got a little sad when a dog similar to Momo surprised them on one of the pages. In the end, his father did not allow him to keep her. Instead, he gave her to one of his friend. She used to be a shinobi just like him, but injuries during one of the missions forced her to retire. She lost her husband on the same mission that left her crippled.
Kakashi knew Momo was alright and he could had visit her anytime he wished, but he still missed her. He had Pakkun now, but it was still not the same.
Pakkun was the first to doze off, but when Dai had finally gotten back home – soaking wet and shivering a little – all three were conked out. He huffed a quiet laugh, looking at them. It was difficult to say who exactly was snoring, but if he had to guess, he would point at the dog.
He crouched next to the entrance, looking at the boys. They were so calm and peaceful - Kakashi was on his side with a palm curled next to his face. Gai, as always, was sprawled on his back with half of his limps thrown on his friend. Dai did not question the puppy squeezed between them. He slowly reached to pull the covers higher on them – he was positive it was Gai who kicked the blanket off – and tucked them both in. Kakashi squirmed a little, but he did not wake up. Dai gently brushed hair of the boy’s forehead. Poor thing, he was this close to be left alone in this cruel world. What on earth Sakumo was even thinking…
He would have to have a long, serious conversation with him.
With another quiet sigh, he took the bowl with tangerine peels. Whatever would happen next, Dai would make sure that the boy was alright, he would rather eat a bucket of dirty shoes than allow the kid to be alone.
He slowly caressed his Sprout’s hair when he suddenly jerked around, almost slapping himself in the face.
Dai was not sure how long he was sitting by the entrance to the blanket fort, watching over his sleeping boys. With a sigh, he eventually planted two small kisses on the forehead for each, took the flashlight – it was still on – and backed out from the room. He quietly closed the door on his way out.