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Kakashi blinked himself out of the trance he was in. He was staring at the embers in the fire, firey oranges smouldering in the darkness. He didn’t know how long he had been here, in this prelude to a hereafter.
Dying itself hadn’t been a surprise, but seeing his father had. The soft spoken song of Sakumo’s voice was something Kakashi hadn’t realized he missed so much.
They sat there for a moment, speaking lowly to one another about this and that, before they fell into a silence.
Then, Sakumo stood and nodded in the direction of the faraway distant light. “Shall we go?”
Kakashi shook his head and settled into the log more comfortably. “Not yet. I’m waiting for someone.”
Sakumo stood for a moment, looking at Kakashi for a minute before he sat back down. “Mind if I wait here with you until he arrives?”
Kakashi looked over at the man who was his father. They were practically the same age here. “I’d like that.”
They sat there in front of the fire for a while. All the time they didn’t have together, only a fraction of it was restored here, but it was nice to be able to talk like this. Now, knowing they were going to be there for a moment, they began talking in earnest. Kakashi shared stories about his life, the one Sakumo missed - about his Anbu days, his genin team, the hope he has for the future of the village. Sakumo shared stories of when Kakashi was a child.
They cried over the loss of Kakashi’s mother. Kakashi didn’t shy away from the tears he shed when Sakumo said she would be proud of him. It settled something deep within him he didn’t realize needed soothing.
They didn’t talk about Sakumo’s death. It wouldn’t change anything, and they didn’t want to hurt like that. Not here.
After a while, they stopped talking and just sat there, enjoying the fire, enjoying each other's company.
Time rippled and expanded, or it settled and dragged. It was everlasting, and it was happening in the same second.
“May I join you, lads?”
Kakashi turned, and beheld the sight of Maito Dai, something twinging in his chest at the sight of the man who took up the mantle after his own father died.
“Dai -“ Kakashi said, voice breaking on his name as he became overwhelmed by his emotions at seeing him again. He didn’t realize how much he missed him.
Dai walked over to where they were sitting, clapping a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder.
“It’s good to see you. Thank you for looking after my boy all these years,” he said, tears in his eyes.
Kakashi gave a watery laugh. “It was more like the other way around.”
Despite his happiness at seeing Dai, Kakashi knew he wasn’t here for him.
There was only one reason why Dai would come here now. There was only one thing this meant.
A flood of emotions washed over Kakashi. He was happy at being able to see Gai again, and was saddened by what seeing him meant.
He hoped Gai lived a long, full life. But, looking over at Dai, who had sacrificed his life for his son’s by opening the Eighth Gate, he knew Gai had resigned himself to the same fate.
Kakashi was grateful he died first. He doesn’t think he could handle seeing Gai go before him, like so many he loved had.
A growing beam of white light behind them appeared, glowing brighter and brighter. Kakashi had to shield his eyes, then smiled to himself. Gai always did make an entrance, of course it would be no different here.
And then, there he was. Walking in like it was just another day. Kakashi took in the sight of him, seeing that in here, he looked younger. Confident, happy.
Gai kept walking with that easy stride of him as he approached the fire pit. He looked at Kakashi, then at his father, and put a hand over his heart.
“How fortunate I am,” Gai said with a fond smile, “to be greeted in this new life by the ones I loved best in the last one.”
Dai let out a whoop of laughter, then ran over and pulled Gai into a bear hug. Gai clung to him just as tightly, both of them crying. Kakashi watched them, the two men who had achieved greatness despite all the odds against them. The two men who had kept their spirits positive and their enthusiasm high.
He looked over at his own father, the two of them prodigies in their own right, one of whom buckled under the burden of shame. Suddenly he was sad for his father, who lived his life without someone like Gai to help him through it all. Someone to pull him back from the brink after everything he lost, someone to remind him that he wasn’t alone.
Sakumo was watching the exchange with a similar expression on his face.
Eventually, the Maito men let go of each other, both of them smiling and laughing.
Then Gai turned to Kakashi, and Kakashi’s breath caught in his throat. He was greedy for the sight of him, eyes roaming over the man who meant everything to him. Still does. Always will.
“Kakashi,” Gai said, the cadence of his voice forming the syllables of his name in that way of his, and Kakashi’s heart panged as he realized how much he missed hearing that.
Gai walked up to Kakashi slowly, and Kakashi stood there, just taking him in. It had been so long, so so long, and yet he feels like he saw him yesterday. Gai stopped in front of him, and studied him for a moment, before a smile broke out on his face. Kakashi held his breath as Gai reached up a hand to cup his face.
“We didn’t have more time together in that life, but we will in the next one,” he said softly, and Kakashi leaned into his touch for just a moment.
They did have a beautiful life together. Kakashi didn’t know who he would’ve become without Gai. He couldn’t regret the fact that he wasn’t brave enough to allow himself to have anything more with Gai. It was too late for regrets. He cherished the time they spent together too much to be sorry about any of it. And from the way Gai was looking at him, he felt the same way.
More time, more time together, isn’t that what anyone wants? But Kakashi knew their story wasn’t over - they were just one chapter in a long line of rivals. Gai did say they were eternal, after all.
Gai looked at the beam, then looked back at Kakashi, eyebrow cocked as he nodded in the direction of the light.
“Shall we?” he asked, and Kakashi laughed. A challenge issued, even here. Gai just grinned at him, and Kakashi nodded.
Gai reached out his hand in invitation, and Kakashi did not hesitate to grab it, interlacing their fingers together.
“Let’s go, rival,” he said, and Gai squeezed his hand in response.
And so they faced the next challenge of their lives like they faced all other challenges before that one: together, hand in hand, side by side.
A flash of light, one green and one blue, like comets streaking the sky, the twin fire flames grew hotter and hotter, brighter and brighter, then -
Sakura petals fall from a tree. It’s a spring morning. A clear blue sky is the backdrop for two young girls playing in the sunshine. Yellow flowers dot the hill in the verdant green grass, and a gentle breeze makes the leaves rustle.
The perfect day.
“I am issuing a contest!” a young girl with a flash of cropped white hair yells, bounding up to her friend, a girl with long black hair who is lying in the grass, her nose in a book.
“Maa, do we have to? I just started this new chapter and the one boy just confessed to the other and I think it’s about to get good…”
“You’ve read that book a thousand times! We are only young like this once!” she throws her arms out and twirls in a circle. “We must make each other better! It’s what forever opponents do!”
“But you’re challenging me to a rolling-down-the-hill contest,” the black haired girl says, narrowing her eyes at her friend. “How is that making us better?”
“It makes us better at rolling!” the white haired girl says, causing the other one to laugh.
Eventually, she is successful in getting the other girl to rise to her challenge, the sound of their laughter echoing throughout the valley. Something in the world smiles at their joy.
Two souls, forever bound, forever pushing the other one to do better, be better, you can do it, I'm there right beside you.
A challenge issued: find me in the next life.
A challenge answered: I always will.