Chapter 1
Dai had just sent a seven year old Gai off to the academy so now he was alone again. Usually he’d be training himself like a madman or running laps around the village or something. But he didn’t feel like doing so for some reason which was extremely unlikely for him. Heck, if somebody found out about that, people would definitely be quick to assume he was on death's doorstep. He chuckled at the thought. It's alright though. He would just find something else to pass the time. Clean the house? He scanned his surroundings. There was nothing to clean. It was practically spotless. Or maybe he could cook something? Well, he certainly wasn’t hungry at the moment. Maybe he’d leave out whatever he made for Gai until he came back? Although He would be gone for hours and the food would get cold by then. So maybe not. It was weird. Out of all the days he just had to feel burnt out, this was one of them.
He was starting to pace around the room now. It was a habit he picked up as a young child whenever he was trying to process an emotion or thought. Or if he felt anxious about something. Sometimes he’d just do it for no reason at all. He had other habits like this too. Making repetitive movements and noises. Talking to himself. Things like that. The thought of doing nothing all day didn’t sound so pleasant to him though. It really shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Lots of people like doing nothing. Not him though. A lot of times, he wondered if there was something wrong with him. In public, he was this happy go lucky man who’d run around with his son in a silly green jumpsuit and orange leg warmers. Not giving a care in the world what others would think. But the truth is, even he felt embarrassed. Many more times than you’d think. Which was really surprising coming from him. Truth is. There’s a lot of things about him that people didn’t know. Not even Gai. He sighed deeply and slumped down onto the couch. For one, he pays too much attention to tiny little details. A lot. And well, he’s definitely not the smartest person. But he’s not as stupid as everyone makes him out to be. He still had common sense. He’s not one to talk too much about his past or personal life. Not unless it was about Gai though. He’d boast to everybody about his son all day if he could. It’s not like anybody ever bothered to ask about him anyways. Not that he really cared. He wondered how long he had to keep up this facade.. Dai didn’t realize he was dozing off until that moment. He quickly shook the drowsiness away and stumbled to his feet, letting out a deep breath whilst mumbling a few incomprehensible words. He dragged himself along the wooden floors until he had finally reached his room. Dai never really liked taking naps during the day. He found it hard to put himself to sleep whenever he ever tried. That and he just thought it was a waste of time and that there was no point in it. This particular time was different though. He fell asleep the second his head had hit the pillow
He had awoken in a cold sweat a bit later after sleeping for god knows how long because of a… Dream? It felt silly to be honest. A grown man in his 30’s having nightmares. Although he couldn’t really say for sure if it was a nightmare or not. It was more of a past memory, coming back to haunt him. He was in a familiar looking place. It was pretty dark inside but not dark enough that he couldn’t see anything. It didn’t take him long to finally recognize where he was either. And after he did, an instant feeling of dread washed over him. It was really strange but he tried not to think much of it. He was just having an odd dream. And it would’ve been somewhat okay.. Until he heard two voices nearby. He walked closer to where they were coming from until he could hear what they were saying more clearly. He peeked from behind a wall and saw two people talking in the kitchen. One of them was a young boy standing in front of the sink. He was pouring something from a pitcher into the drain. The other was a grown man speaking to him from a couple feet behind. “Hoshino, I’m starting to get really worried about you..” The man said. No response from the boy. “You’ve been getting rid of a lot of the food in your fridge lately...” Weird statement.. But still no answer. The man sighed and spoke once more “Why are you pouring your milk in the sink?” Hoshino shrugged and replied “Expired”. It didn’t take long for the man to put two and two together after that. His eyes suddenly widened, quickly realizing what the boy’s intentions were. “Hoshino, you’re not seriously thinking of-” He was abruptly cut off before he could even finish his sentence. “No!” Hoshino yelled defensively. He inhaled deeply and cleared his throat, quickly regaining his composure. “I-I mean.. No, I..” He didn’t know what to say. He stopped stuttering after a moment, realizing he was just embarrassing himself. He had been caught. Hoshino placed the empty pitcher on the counter and let out a shaky breath. His hands were trembling now and hot tears were streaming down his cheeks. The man's expression softened and he sighed “Hoshino..” The man walked over and draped his arm around the boy’s shoulders, using his other hand to rub his back. “It’s funny.. Tanuki, I-I used to be so organized.. And now that they’re gone..” He trailed off, not bothering to finish his sentence. He was right though. The place was a mess. Dai started taking a couple steps back. He felt dreadful the entire time they spoke. He didn’t want to hear anymore than he already had. As he was inching backwards, he happened to step on something. Whatever it was caused him to stumble and lose balance. He woke up before his body could even hit the ground though. Dai didn’t know if he should feel grateful for that or not.
His heart was beating really fast. And he felt… Sick.. He quickly shuffled out of his sheets and hopped to his feet. He sprinted towards the bathroom. Once he made it, he rushed inside and flipped the lights on. For a moment he just stood there in front of the mirror, his face pale, his breathing heavy and a somewhat hesitant expression on his face, as if he was about to do something he didn’t want to. He hated throwing up more than anything. Well, everybody did obviously. Any normal person however would just get it over with. And of course nobody liked the smell or taste that remained in their mouths in the aftermath. But it was better than having to cope with a stomach ache the whole day. Not Dai though. Whenever he felt nauseous(Which barely ever happened) He’d Quite literally go as far as forcing himself to hold it in to avoid vomiting at all costs. Either that or he’d just swallow it back into his throat(Gross..) Was it healthy? No. But Dai had always been too stubborn to care.
He took a deep breath and swallowed his pride. Better to get it over with now than never… Not long after he was at the sink and gargling mouthwash as if there was no tomorrow. Once he spat it out, he splashed water on his face and cringed at himself in the mirror. What’s come over him? Usually he was a very healthy man. Very rarely had he ever gotten sick. Surely it didn’t have anything to do with that dream..? Dai had been suppressing these memories for so long. He didn’t want to think about them anymore than he already had. Dai quickly brushed all the bad thoughts aside and rushed out of the bathroom. Suddenly, he heard the front door opening followed by his son's chirpy voice. “Papa, I’m home!” Gai was home already? How long had it even been? Dai spun around, regaining his cheery composure and greeting Gai with a warm smile “Gai, my dear boy! How was your-” He paused abruptly, spotting somebody standing behind Gai.
He quickly realized that it was just kakashi. “Oh! Kakashi!" he beamed, doing his best to maintain his cheerful and bubbly tone despite how nauseated he still felt. “What are you doing here, sweetheart?” A small hand suddenly grasped onto the fabric of his jumpsuit. “Please can he sleepover, papa?” Dai was taken aback by the sudden question. He opened his mouth to speak but Gai beat him to it. “Kakashi asked if he could and I can’t say no!” Gai gave Dai his best puppy dog expression. Dai raised an eyebrow before chuckling. “Well.. if it's fine with Kakashi, then I don’t mind..” He admitted he was not very used to unannounced visits, but he never really minded. And it’s not like this type of thing hadn’t been happening already. It had been about two years since the poor boy's father had passed, and he had started coming over more often after that. And besides, he seemed really important to Gai. He’d always be welcome in his home. His most “precious person”, his son calls him. It was cute. Gai’s little crush on Kakashi. He had suspected his son had romantic feelings for his rival for quite a while now. He decided not to pry too much on the subject though. “Well then make yourself at home, Kakashi! Dinner will take a while so I suggest that you two find something productive to do while you wait!” Gai nodded eagerly, running back outside. Kakashi didn’t follow after him immediately though. Instead he stood there. Staring intently at Dai.
It seemed he was observing Dai. for some odd reason.. As if he was searching for something. After a bit, he narrowed his eyes slightly before saying “Are you sick or something?” He asked. Dai was slightly stunned by Kakashi’s question “I- what..?” Kakashi spoke up again “Your face. It’s really pale” Dai let out a small sigh. He knew the kid wasn’t trying to offend him with the remark. And anyways, he was right. Dai wondered how off color and dreadful the hue on his skin had started to look now. “Oh, it’s nothing, Kakashi! I’m fine, okay? I haven’t eaten yet, that must be why my body is acting up so much today!” He quickly responded in contradiction to Kakashi’s observation. And while he knew it wasn’t a perfect excuse, he didn’t have anything else to lead with at the moment. Kakashi didn’t seem to be fully persuaded though. “You didn’t eat for the entire day?” He was right again but still, Dai didn’t want him getting too worried. He quickly shook his head. “Heavens no! That’s not what I meant!” Dai chuckled nervously “I haven’t gone outside in a bit! I just need some sun and I'll be okay in a jiffy! And well, I guess I'm just a little tired too! That's all! Silly me!” At times, Dai would speak very quickly, and this was of those times. It made his words sound a bit jumbled. Kakashi still wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t try to argue otherwise. He simply shrugged and ran outside after Gai. Dai let out a sigh of relief. Kakashi probably knew he was lying. He wouldn’t put it past the kid. Despite being seven the boy was very clever. He was grateful he didn't start interrogating him about it though. Dai walked into the kitchen and opened the medicine cabinet. He rummaged around the inside for a bit until he finally found what he was looking for. He took the pill bottle from its place and opened the lid, popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed it. He hoped the least it would do was pacify the state of sickness he was currently experiencing. Once that was finally out of the way, he decided to start on dinner.