End of Interrogation
“I don't have a motto in life, but I do have a famous quote… those who break the rules are scum but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum” the boy says those words with fire in his eyes. A sharp contrast from his previous empty expression.
Silence befalls the rooms as Shouta’s eyebrow quirk up at the sudden change, a sigh of relief and a warm feeling swells in his heart. Something he never knew that he held in.
The boy is not cold hearted.
Shouta could work with that. He's just a misunderstood kid just like he initially thought.
“Truth” the detective says as he disturbs the silent room.
Shouta smiles, a fleeting smile that he soon recovers, turning stoic again, but his soft eyes betray him.
The boy appears to be loyal. Someone who doesn't betray and is not willing to sacrifice anyone.
A very hero quality. Something this world needed.
“Okay that's good enough, how old are you, Kakashi?” Shouta says as he puts his hand on pocket with ease.
Unexpectedly, the boy falters from that question as his previous vigour disappears.
Shouta's eyes darken, his eyebrow raising at the sudden wait, a thought flash in his head ‘did the boy not know his age?’
‘was he maltreated this badly that he did not know his age?’ thoughts like that continue in the hero's head. As he watches the boy think about his answer.
“I look 14 if that could help” the boy answers after a while. Maybe 4 minutes of thinking. But that's a long time to consider his age. In addition the boy is not sure. He doesn't know his age.
“Truth… he does look 14” the detective says seemingly trying to crack a joke but it did not land because Shouta is too deep in his mind, as he thinks what could have been the reason.
Shouta raises his eyebrows, “You're not sure?”
The boy looks at him, recovering the same indifferent gaze he carried when he first entered this room. The fire in his eye was gone, like a bubble, fleeting and leaving no residue.
“Yes,” his melancholy voice says.
An expected answer, but something Shouta doesn't want to hear.
‘The boy has suffered’ keeps repeating in his head as his mind starts to jump from one conclusion to another
All of them get worse by the second.
“Truth”
“Well, what's your birth date then?” Shouta asks, trying to keep the vegue age of this boy more clear.
“My birthday is September 14” the boy answers this time with no waiting period, an instant answer. Something Shouta is glad for.
“Truth”
But Shouta is a smart hero, someone who has interrogated a lot of people. So, it is given that he instantly catches a keyword in a sentence.
And he did. The boy left an information, an information that made his age confusing. He did not state his year of birth.
The glad feeling of his, soon fade as worries consumes it
Dulled black single eye stare at Shouta’s pair of dark eyes.
The hero opens his mouth, “What year?” he asks in a calm manner.
“Year?” the silver haired boy replies with confusion in his face.
Shouta's eyes turn darker and his breath starts to hold by the minute as he stares at the descent of the boy from calm indifferent to panic stricken face.
The single eye of the boy stirred, shaking as it became erratic by the second. He opens his mouth, trembling, and he utters, “I- I don't know”.
Shouta's eyes see sweat gliding from the boy’s face. He stands up from his leaning positions and hurriedly takes a step to the boy.
.
.
.
Panic filled Kakashi's emotion, just like how he was when he was younger, the same age as his current body. He usually deals with his sorrows with missions after mission, no rest.
He has never been one to have great coping mechanisms. His only way to distract those thoughts are by busying himself with missions and reading books. And he had none of that right now.
The boy gasps for air.
Kakashi’s eyes become erratic and sweat glides on his face. He genuinely doesn't know. He doesn't remember.
Was this the side effect of coming to this world? Losing some bits of his memory? Just like his last day in Elemental Nation? in Konoha?
Will he forget everyone? Until he's just Hatake Kakashi of this world? Not the Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village?
That's a frightening thought. Forgetting everyone until you're just an empty shell of your past.
Those thoughts made him panic. A Shinobi like him, a former ANBU captain and a retired Hokage, is panicking at the mere thought of losing his memory just like killing his live ones, again.
He tries to breathe but it's harder than the last. His hand soon become sweaty.
“W-why can't I remember?” Kakashi uttered with utmost devastation like the whole world is falling apart.
The day he was born is the day his mom died. And he doesn't even remember it. Like a bad son.
His mind refreshes at every instance that he filled up his birthdate, none of it has years, why is that? No there's one… but it's so blurry.
“Hatake, breath” a calming voice speaks to him as a hand rubs against his back.
Alert. Kakashi attacks the hand on his back and deflects, pulling himself into a corner.
Still in a panic mode, eyes still erratic.
Kakashi looks at the man’s eyes, realizing what he has done and utters “Sorry” those eyes held no malice, only worry, something he always sees in his deceased Sensei's eyes. His gentle Sensei who didn't deserve to die. It was all his fault.
“Do you need some time?” The voice is so soft that Kakashi cringes.
He's turning to his younger self– no, not quite, he's becoming an abomination of his younger and older self.
Something he never thought would happen to him. Something he wishes to burn, he doesn't want that Kakashi, that freak of a Kakashi, that friend killer.
“Yes” was Kakashi's answer.
The two adult men left the room and Kakashi was left alone thinking.
What is going on?
Why doesn't he remember his birth year?
Or does he never consider it?
But what if he's really losing his memory? Hopefully not. He'll need his pack to keep tabs with his memory. He'll write several scrolls or diaries, that may help.
He will not lose his memory in a place full of unknown. A place far from home.
So, what is his birth year?
He was born before the 3rd Ninja war and was born in the 3rd Hokage's reign.
How far along in 3rd Hokage's reign was he born in and what year was the 3rd Ninja war?
the 3rd Ninja war started back when he was 5th. Kakashi thought of the man who resembled him, his eyes becoming painful, then duller by the seconds. His breath becomes calm and body colder.
Some said it was because of his father.
Kakash should stop dwelling on these thoughts. This doesn't help at all.
He was 5 and a half years old when his father came home with a grim face and a fake smile.
Then a year later when he became a chunin at 6 he came home with a dead father.
The war started between his 5-6 years of age.
In his memory, the 3rd war started from August 2, 117 to April 16, 119.
So, Kakashi will be born 5 years prior 117, which is 112.
Kakashi was born on September 15, 112. A date that seems impossible in this world.
Which is true. The 3 digits birth year doesn't exist anymore. If he tells those dates, he'll be deemed as mentally ill teenager. And possibly be locked in a cell known as a mental hospital, no thank you. He would rather not experience that.
Maa, his memory is in shambles. It's like he has 2 memories in his head.
An old man and a young kakashi. Coincidentally both memories have no birth year.
He never really thought about his age since the 3rd Ninja war, he just lived a life of blood and missions.
Kakashi is not the type to celebrate. So, it's okay to forget about the birth year. It was not that special anyway. For Gai it was.
He breathes in and breathes out.
Kakashi remembers all the details in his life, except after the fourth ninja war, it was blurry and that's a worry.
But when he thinks deeper, he gets some recollection of what occurred in his time as a Hokage.
It's not the first time he saw those moving paintings. Called TV or billboard screen. There's few of them in Konoha.
So, no he's not losing memory, not yet. It's just blurry. Like sealed by a fog. Full of mist that he has to dig throught.
Maybe it's a testament that he never cared about himself. That even the birth year was long forgotten.
But the blurry memory.
Gai was the only one who strives to celebrate his birthday, it's a goal or something.
He probably knows Kakashi’s birth year. If only he can ask now.
Gai is the sole reason why he remembers his age. From all the cake with Kakashi's age on it.
Age was not an important matter for ANBU. As long as you're an ANBU you're a weapon for the peace of your village. And he doesn't have a family to celebrate it, only Gai.
Kakashi misses Gai now. He sighs and looks at the mirror.
He sees his face, pale and stricken fear from the thought of forgetting everyone and disappointing his mom.
Fortunately, it was not that obvious because of his already pale conflection but some people who are good observers can see the change of his face.
And that Hero appears to be a good observer.
….
Shouta with the detective enters the interrogation room carrying a clipboard, he sees the teenager, Hatake Kakashi with his head leaning on the back of his two hands and his elbow on the desk.
“Yo!” Kakashi greeted– with emotion, waving his bandage hands.
Which was odd. He was silent earlier, so melancholy, like a robot who responds upon command.
Why all of the sudden?
The bandage in Kakashi's hand. His eyes observe it. It doesn't seem to be for wounds. For aesthetics reason.
Shouta rather not asks and makes the teenager irritated, but that is a good conversation starter… although the conversation started long ago. If he asks, will the teenager feel suffocated?
“It’s already night. About 8 PM, our conversation is taking too long, so I will be quick” Shouta says, looking at the boy with glint in his eyes.
He then witnesses another emotion surface on the boy’s face as he raises his eyebrows, seemingly acknowledging what will happen soon.
“What’s your father’s name?” Shouta asks.
“Hatake Sakumo” Kakashi replies with no emotion, the ease that he gives off from the rest is gone.
Shouta understands why and he's not letting the boy dwell in sadness, so he must be quick.
“Birthday?” Shouta asks, picking up the pace of the interrogation.
“September 3, birth year, I don't remember” The teenager said with no clue of agitation.
“I see” Shouta replies as his eyes gaze at the teenager then look at the paper his jotting down.
“Mother’s?”
“I don't know, never met her” Kakashi replied, rather coldly.
Time for the crucial question.
“Who trained you?” asks as he stares deeply at the boy.
While Kakashi looks at him, raising his eyebrows.
He is showing emotion.
“Maa, Who trained me?... A lot of people but I mostly trained by myself” Kakashi said, leaning his back on the chair, too relaxed.
He was relaxed all of the sudden.
Is it because he finds himself that he’s not in danger?
Although it’s strange, Shouta is kind of glad that the teenager is easing his attitude against them, finally showing some emotions.
“I see, can you name them?” Shouta asks.
“Nope, I won’t rattle them, but don’t worry. I won't be able to follow their orders anymore. I’m so far apart from… that place. They can’t contact me and I can’t contact them. Unless they found me of course… which is very unlikely”
“Truth”
This is the longest sentence the boy utters, Shouta thinks as he looks at the boy. But a loyalist? And several people are part of it, at that.
Shouta’s eyes narrow. This case is bigger than he thought. A group of people that trained children to kill and be loyal.
But his thinking process has to take a halt, he'll wander about it later, as he as opens his mouth again
“I see, do you want to be a hero?” A sudden bomb of a question.
The boy gazes at him, not surprised by the sudden question or rather preposition. And Shouta asks why in his mind.
“Maa, a hero? What does that entail?” the boy asks as his head go up, like he’s bored and stops when his eyesight collides with the ceiling.
“A hero is someone who protect and save people, a beacon of hope”
“Huh, I see, that doesn't define me though, I'm no savior,” the boy replies as his face tilts down, looking in Shouta's direction, eye straight in his eyes.
“You can think of it as a profession”
“Maa, Do I have a choice?” the silver haired boy asks, moving again, leaning to the table.
“No,” Aizawa said. Cold but not the hard truth. Kakashi has a choice and only he knows.
Then the teenager’s eyes turns crescent, he smiles. “Maa, don't really have a choice…so sure” He's eyes narrows as he looks at the unkept Hero.
Like a manipulator, Shouta thought and he sighs.
“You should cut out the eye-smiling of yours,” Shouta says as he rises from his position. “I have to a take picture of your face… by face, I meant no facemask”
“Do I have to?” Kakashi asks, bored.
“Yes” Aizawa says as he walks to Kakashi's right.
“There's a pinhole here, A video camera” He adds
The boy's eyebrows furrowed but complied.
A quick show of his face then shut it close, it's just a second of a frame. Maybe a smaller span of time than that.
.
.
.
A day later, a busy policeman cries as he tries to screenshot Kakashi's face.
A blurry picture of Kakashi is seen in the screen monitor of the policeman.
The policeman tries to fast forward and backward it but it always becomes blurry. Either blocked by his hand or facemask. Kakashi is just too fast!
Out of frustration from this, the newbie policeman cries. He cries because his favorite Hero Eraserhead asked him to do this task but he couldn't even do it. It's just screenshotting a face, why does it have to be hard?!
.
.
.
Taking a picture, done. Kakashi left the view of the camera.
His eye wanders to the hero who's talking to the detective—standing in the corner—about the deal and how he plans to propose for some principal– Principal Nezu, they named.
A proposal for Kakashi's schooling. He raises an eyebrow upon hearing that.
It also appears that the aforementioned principal will be so delighted at this new endeavor. Probably, far too delighted, as the hero described the man.
In addition, the unkept Hero, Aizawa, proposes that he'll be his temporary guardian, in the meantime as he tries to get the Principal to agree with this new endeavor.
Upon hearing their plan, Kakashi notices a key information. The Principal known as Nezu seems to have a certain influence here, a rather big one.
As someone like him, a person that can be deported due to the law has a chance to attend school and be a hero. A chance to be an exemption.
Also he noticed another thing, they're not that quiet. Not even trying.
Kakashi indifferently listens then walks towards the hero's right. “I should be going,” he states.
Out of politeness, Kakashi didn't run off somewhere. Which is something Kakashi usually does. But for this new life of his, he'll try to be polite, after all it's only his day 1 in this world.
He's not causing himself unnecessary troubles. Just for the satisfaction of escaping.
The hero stops talking and turns his front towards Kakashi, facing the silver haired teenager.
“No, you'll be going with me”
“Where to?” Kakashi asks, maybe a tad irritated. He wants to end this interrogation, just wants to find some place to camp and summon his ninkens, to get information and to crea
te another plan just in case this so-called vacation fails.
He's used to it by now, sleeping in the middle of nowhere. Ninja was not that accepted in villages. Fearing that it would bring more trouble than it's worth.
.
.
.
Shouta stares at the distracted empty eyes of the boy then says “My home” soon to be yours.