Tell the Ghosts to Go Home
Kakashi Hatake loved his village very much. He would die for the people of Konohagakure. He already had, actually, and he’d do it again if he had to.
But.
Being Hokage was exhausting. He hated it. He hadn’t even wanted the job in the first place, but he was trying to honor Obito by being the best Rokudaime he could be. Unfortunately, the meetings were almost as endless as the paperwork, and if that old councilwoman tried to shove him into yet another political marriage plot he would snap.
Not that he was opposed to the idea of marriage. He'd already eloped with his lifelong friend and rival, Might Guy, with many thanks to the Kazekage for hosting them. But apparently, that still wasn't enough for Koharu and the council which led to the Sixth Hokage arranging a surrogate so he and Guy could become fathers. That would shut them up. Although Guy effectively was already a father to Rock Lee, Kakashi somehow felt weird being something like a step-father to the adult mini-Guy. After cherry-picking through candidates for months, Kakashi finally decided on one–Guy said he trusted Kakashi's opinion–and almost a year later they ended up with their son Houki around the time they became de facto grandfathers to Lee’s son Metal. Koharu still pestered Kakashi about marriage, the old bat. Wasn’t it about time she passed on already?
"Lord Sixth, please, at least pretend to pay attention.” Shikamaru sounded tired.
Kakashi shook his head and his office came back into focus. “Ah, of course,” he apologized with a closed-eye smile behind his mask. “I really wish you wouldn’t call me that, you know?”
The jonin sighed. “Someone has to remind you of your position. I know it's a drag but you're still Hokage until Naruto’s inauguration."
Kakashi set his chin on a fist. “Hm. So responsible. Asuma would be proud of you.” The words were out before he could stop them, an uncharacteristic display of appreciation. Proof that he was going soft in his old age. Guy kept reminding him that forty-six was not old and they were still in the springtime of their youth. Kakashi decided to let Guy have this one even if he thought otherwise. He was lucky to get forty-six years. After all, his father only got thirty-three, Minato-sensei got twenty-four, Obito surprisingly got thirty-one, and Rin…Rin was too young.
Shikamaru’s eyes widened for a brief second, then narrowed into a glare. “Flattery will not get you out of this meeting, Lord Sixth. Pay attention.”
"Meh, worth a shot."
Kakashi tried to pay attention, he really did, but this meeting was just so boring and seemed positively endless. When had the topic at hand shifted from arranging a hold on all new missions on the day of Naruto's inauguration to issuing new merchant licenses? He couldn't keep up. Kakashi's mind just wasn't in it today—his thoughts kept circling back to a certain boisterous, dark-haired shinobi currently laid up in bed at home halfway across the village. Maybe he shouldn't have come to work today, taking care of his husband was more important. Guy said it was alright and he understood (he was married to the Kakashi Hatake, after all) but Kakashi kept glancing out the windows at the gathering storm clouds and he just knew Guy's leg and back were killing him as they always did when it rained.
That gnawing feeling low in his gut returned along with some other emotion tugging on his heartstrings the Rokudaime had long since identified as shame. It had been some time since he’d felt this way, not since coming upon Naruto and Sasuke’s mutilated bodies after their post-war duel in the Valley of the End.
He needed to go home.Guy would be fine alone.
Guy needed him.
He needed to get things done at work.
But he left him alone after Guy was in so much pain—
Guy hunched over the countertop, supporting himself with his arms and pressing a fist into his temple. Kakashi deposited the file of papers and his Hokage hat—a ridiculous-looking thing, really—on the back of the couch, ignoring how it unceremoniously tumbled onto the floor as he turned to the kitchen. Kakashi hovered in the doorway for a brief moment, watching his partner drag himself along the edge of the counter. But as soon as Guy began to sway, Kakashi was springing into action and beside him in an instant, holding the black-haired man upright.
"Hey. There's a chair behind you if you want to sit down."
"Hm. Thanks," mumbled Guy.
"Number?"
"Six." A sharp intake of breath. "No. Nine."
"What can I do?"
"Help me lay down?"
"Of course. Here," Kakashi offered, crouching and allowing Guy to settle onto his back. "Whenever you're ready." Guy buried his face in the nape of Kakashi's neck, silver hair tickling his eyelids. Kakashi wrapped his strong arms around Guy's thighs on either side of his middle and stood. Guy released a deep-seated groan. "Your back?"
"Hm."
Kakashi shuffled down the hallway, Guy’s mass weighed heavily on his shoulders. Even without his excellent hearing, Kakashi could tell Guy was grinding his teeth with every step they took. He murmured to the black-haired shinobi that they were almost there. It was just a few more steps.
Kakashi managed to slide the door to their bedroom open with a slippered foot and carried Guy over to their shared bed. Guy had insisted that he could sleep on a futon with Kakashi just like he always had before the Fourth Great Ninja War, but Kakashi refused and they both ended up in the raised bed. Kakashi approached and turned around, slowly leaning back and letting Guy slip from his shoulders. Kakashi wrapped his scarred arms around his husband and lowered him until he lay flat on the bed, pouring chakra from the tips of his fingers into Guy's spine. Guy released a contented groan and Kakashi noticed the slight smile of relief tugging on the corners of Guy's mouth. Kakashi knew asking Sakura how to do that would come in handy. Kakashi continued to knead chakra into his hands and poured that chakra into Guy's thigh and back, even as he lay down beside the broad man. He didn't care one whit that he was wrinkling his clothes. He'd never given much care to whether or not he turned up at a meeting with ironed clothes, anyone who knew him expected as much and anyone who was meeting the legendary Kakashi of the Sharingan for the first time quickly learned not to get their hopes up. Shikamaru had long since stopped pestering him about it and simply supplied a freshly pressed uniform upon his arrival at the Hokage Mansion.
Kakashi felt a gaze on him and turned his head to meet a pair of dark eyes gleaming warmly at him. "What, do I have something on my face?"
Guy just smiled almost shyly and traced the edge of his mask with an index finger. "You were supposed to meet Shikamaru thirty minutes ago."
Kakashi hummed and rolled his head to look up at the rafters in the ceiling. "He's used to it now. I'll think of some excuse. This is way more important than another meeting. I'll say I got lost on the road of life."
"I don't think that one works on him."
"Why? Did he say something?"
"Hm."
Kakashi shrugged. "I could say I got distracted while rubbing chamomile into my husband's lovely bottom and just had to ravish him or I would die. But that's pretty shameless, isn't it?"
Guy let out a loud snort of laughter. "HA! You wish! Shikamaru is well aware of our activities, need I remind you, husband of mine? I have no shame about us enjoying the springtime of our youth."
"Yare, yare. You're right." He gazed at the ceiling, still pouring chakra into Guy's leg.
Guy pushed himself up on his elbows and nudged Kakashi’s shoulder. "You up for it?"
Kakashi thought it over a minute too long before he found himself being tugged up by the arms until he was seated squarely in Guy's lap.
"Guy, I really don't think—" he started to protest but Guy stared up at him with such innocence even Kakashi's ninken would've given in. This man would be the death of him. "Oh, alright."
"Yes!" Guy punched the air and the two men extended closed fists.
“Saisho wa guu! Janken!” Both men called and threw out their hands. Kakashi’s hand remained a fist but Guy had opened his hand and flattened his palm.
Guy let out a celebratory whoop and flung his arms and legs out. Something in his lower back twinged. “Oof!” His victory was short-lived as he curled into himself in pain. Kakashi climbed off Guy and brushed black hair from his husband’s forehead.
“Let’s take a rain check, yeah?”
Kakashi ended up leaving Pakkun with Guy in case he needed something and couldn't move again—he said it was for his own peace of mind even though the look on Guy's face said he would appreciate the company—but he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering from the mountains of paperwork in favor of the clock hanging on the opposite wall. Houki and Metal would be on their way home from the Academy any minute now. He hoped Mini-Lee would take it easy on Guy today. Maybe he should've let Tenten or Neji know he'd be home late again and he would be forever grateful if they looked in on the boys. He cringed at the thought of having to scrape cookie dough off the ceiling and shoji doors again.
"Oi, Kakashi-sensei!" Shikamaru bopped him on his head of silvery hair with the corner of the thick book he was holding.
"What?" He drawled.
"Don't 'what' me, brat. You sound like your father when you do that." Kakashi's head snapped up at the sound of the woman's voice. Tsunade Senju, the previous Hokage and legacy of the First Hokage, stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her full chest. Though shorter in stature than Kakashi was, her presence was enough to make him sit ramrod straight in his seat, tidy his unruly hair, and straighten his jonin vest until he looked presentable. Kaskashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, regaled a toddler Kakashi with tales of his friends, the legendary Sanin of the Leaf—Tsunade Senju, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. Tsunade was an extremely capable medical-nin, Jiraiya was the more relaxed of the three, and Orochimaru was a slippery sort Kakashi preferred to avoid altogether.
Kakashi let out an undignified squeak of shock. "Lady Tsunade!”
The sound of heels came quickly clicking down the hallway and a head of dark hair poked out over Tsunade’s shoulder. “Hah! We made it!” An out-of-breath Shizune panted.
Kakashi deflated in his chair and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “Apologies. I was supposed to meet you at the gate.”
Shizune waved a hand in front of her face. “Oh, no, don’t worry about it, Lord Sixth! I handled it!”
“How many times have I told you that you don’t have to call me that?”
“Hey, you’re about to hand over the title. Let them call you that for a while longer. You’ve earned this, you know?” Tsunade came into the office, deposited herself on the sofa in the corner, and crossed a leg over the other. She smirked at him.
Kakashi sighed. “They’ll just keep doing it even after I retire.”
“That comes with the job, Hatake. People look up to you—it’s how they show respect. Although, Naruto’s brat…”
“Lady Tsunade!” Shizune looked askance. “Himawari is an absolute sweetheart!”
“What? I know that! I mean the other one!”
“Boruto is a…special case,” Kakashi offered diplomatically. Shikamaru snorted from somewhere behind Kakashi and moved into his line of vision with a rustle of clothes.
“No, no, Lady Fifth is onto something,” he supplied and waved a gloved hand over his shoulder. “Well, I’m off. Make sure you finish that stack of papers before tomorrow, Lord Sixth. Reviewed, stamped, sealed.” Shikamaru left the office with a folder tucked under his arm containing a measly two sheets of paper. Shizune reminded Tsunade of her lodgings and left not long after Shikamaru.
Kakashi let out an exhausted noise and his head drooped forward until the engraved plate on his hitai-ate pressed into the stack of unsigned funding requests, merchant licenses, mission progress reports, Academy enrollment rosters, Anbu security rosters for the day of Naruto’s inauguration, and travel details of all the visiting Kage, their aides, and other foreign dignitaries. Kakashi groaned as the clock chimed. He heard Tsunade snickering and lifted his head to peer at the blonde woman.
“I don’t suppose you would—?” he began, offering a worn-down stamp.
“No way,” Tsunade said, shaking her head. “I’m retired.”
Kakashi’s hopes were very quickly dashed. He glared at the stack of documents, hoping if he stared long enough they might start to disappear on their own. But no such luck. “Tsunade-sama, may I ask you something?”
“Sure, brat. What is it?”
The Sixth Hokage put his elbows on his desk and set his chin on an open palm. He stared across the room at the portraits of the previous Hokages. “My father. Do you suppose he would’ve been proud of me?”
Tsunade blinked blankly at him. She closed her eyes and her face broke into a wry smile. “Of course, he would have. You know, your father always wrote to us after you were born.” Kakashi knew the ‘us’ Tsunade meant were her and Jiraiya after they left Konohagakure. “He loved you and your mother more than anything in the world and always talked about how he hoped you would grow up to be a good man. He wasn’t worried about whether you would be a good shinobi, he just wanted you to be a good person who looks out for the people you care about. And I’d say you’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
"I couldn't do anything for Obito. Or Rin. Or Naruto's parents. Or Asuma."
Tsunade considered the silver-haired man before her. “Kakashi, it's time to tell the ghosts to go home. Sakumo used to say you sow seeds, wait for good or bad weather, and harvest, but moving forward is something you always need to do. Let the past rest. It’s time for the next generation to take on the burdens of the world.” As Tsunade spoke she stood and approached the desk. She held out an open palm and flapped her fingers at Kakashi in a “Give it here” motion. Kakashi gave her a curious look but assented and placed his square stamp in her hand. Tsunade selected the top half of the papers Shikamaru left stacked neatly on Kakashi’s desk and returned to the sofa with it.
“Are you—?”
Tsunade snapped her fingers in his general direction, stamping her way through the first three pages. “Oi, gaki, work. So you can go home to your family. I still can’t believe you brats now have brats of your own,” she added.
Kakashi smiled softly to himself and slid the remaining documents closer.
After the Sixth Hokage and his predecessor finished reviewing, stamping, and sealing the entire stack of documents like Shikamaru instructed, Kakashi walked Tsunade to Shizune’s home. He left both women with a bow of the head and started down the main road through the village.
There was a time when he used to arrive at his childhood home in the evening and it was as silent as a grave. He’d remove his sandals by the door and announce his arrival to an empty house, only the dust bunnies and birds in the garden to keep him company. He might’ve ducked down to the river to fish for his dinner or maybe use what was left over in the fridge, sit down to a meal by himself, wash the dishes himself, and then fruitlessly attempt a good night’s worth of sleep only to get up and do it all again the next day. And even though it had been thirteen years since he'd renovated and moved his family into the once desolate house, he was surprised to see all the lights were on inside, the door on the veranda flung wide open, and happy voices drifted into the garden. He could see the low table set up in the living room.
“Guy-sensei is still in the springtime of his youth!”
“That’s right, Lee!”
Kakashi tilted his head. “Hm?” Lee wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow as part of the Fifth Kazekage’s entourage.
“Ready, Metal?! Five hundred–no, five thousand laps!”
“YES, PAPA!”
“Lee, would you chill for five seconds? How do you have so much energy?” Oh, thank Kami. Tenten. There would be some order left in the house.
The Sixth Hokage slid open the door of his home and the smell of delicious food met his senses. He noticed seven additional pairs of shoes in the genkan, four adult sets and three much smaller, child-sized ones. Well, that wasn’t right. Even with Lee and Tenten there that would still only be two extra pairs. Unless Tenten brought the twins, that would make four. Neji could make five. But seven would mean…Kakashi mentally facepalmed. Gaara and Shinki must have arrived with Lee. Kakashi steadied himself against the wall and slid off his sandals. “Tadaima,” he called. “Sorry, I’m late.” He tugged off his leather gloves, revealing the jagged electrical scars lining his hands and wrists.
“Dad!” A short figure barreled down the hallway and smashed its face into Kakashi’s thigh.
“Yo,” Kakashi said and fluffed the brown hair with his free hand. Houki’s big wide eyes stared up at Kakashi. He noticed his son’s mask was pulled down around his neck, his big smile revealing white puppy fangs, just tiny versions of the ones Kakashi’s own mask hid. “I see we have guests.” Kakashi started down the hallway, Houki still clinging to his leg like a cicada to a tree.
“Uh-huh! Uncle Lee and Uncle Kazekage came early! And Uncle Neji and Auntie Tenten, too! We made dinner! I helped with the fish just like you taught me!” Houki chattered away and Kakashi chuckled lightly.
Father and son rounded the corner and Kakashi was greeted with the sight of Team Gai, now adults, in his kitchen. Tenten and Neji stood side by side at the stove, chopping up vegetables for a salad and stirring the steaming pot. Lee pranced about in circles around Guy, vamping up for a challenge. Guy was egging him on. Pakkun lay curled at Guy’s feet, watching Lee sashay around the kitchen with sleepy eyes. Houki released his father’s legs and ran off to find the other children chasing fireflies and screaming with glee in the garden. Kakashi made a beeline for Guy and put a hand on one of his broad shoulders. Guy twisted in his wheelchair and looked up at Kakashi.
“Kakashi!” His face broke into a dazzling smile.
The silver-haired shinobi squatted beside his husband’s chair and scratched Pakkun behind the ears. The pug at Guy’s feet patiently waited for a treat from the Sixth Hokage and, once he had the strip of jerky in his mouth, went up in a puff of smoke as the summoning was released.
“How are you feeling?”
“Never better! With you by my side, I could take on the world! I feel like a new man!” Guy boomed, winking dramatically and giving a thumbs-up.
Kakashi’s lips quirked into a crooked grin behind his mask. “Maybe after dinner, yeah? For now, let’s relax and spend time with family.”
“Lord Hokage,” a deep voice greeted. Kakashi turned to find the red-headed Kazekage standing stiff in the doorway.
“Oh, please, Gaara, none of that here. You know the rule; at home we’re family so it's just Kakashi. And relax a bit.”
Gaara nodded his head seriously and a light smile danced across his stoic features. He visibly relaxed. “Of course, Kakashi. I apologize for the intrusion, we arrived a day early.”
Kakashi flapped a hand in front of his masked face. “No, no, don’t worry about it. It’s not a problem. There’s plenty of room for everyone.” He smiled demurely behind his mask when his eyes landed on the small child hovering around Gaara's legs. "Hello, Shinki."
The child stared up at Kakashi with dark, discerning eyes. Gaara looked down and placed a hand on Shinki's shoulder. "Shinki, you remember Kakashi, don't you?"
Shinki nodded, his face and voice filled with awe, "Rokudaime Hokage."
Kakashi was going to protest the title when four little hands came and grabbed poor Shinki from behind, Metal and Houki dragging the boy out onto the veranda where the Hyuga twins, Chizuru and Masaru, stood patiently waiting.
"Lord Sixth, have you completed the paperwork for Naruto's inauguration?" Neji Hyuga, always the pragmatist.
"Maa, don't worry about it, Neji. It's all been handled."
Neji turned at the counter and folded his arms over his jonin vest. He studied the Sixth Hokage intently with those pale eyes of his. Kakashi idly wondered if the byakugan could see right through his obvious placation.
"Lady Fifth assisted, didn't she?"
Evidently, the byakugan could.
Neji sighed. "We did warn her that would happen."
"Leave Kakashi-sensei alone, Neji," Tenten said before Kakashi could say anything, patting her husband on the shoulder. "I'm sure if Lady Tsunade didn't want to help then she would've said no." Neji deflated and shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line. He went back to stirring the pot of miso soup.
While Kakashi was distracted, Guy rolled his wheelchair over to the old radio on the window sill and flicked it on. Lee had resumed prancing around the kitchen, grabbing hold of Gaara's hands and dragging him around in a loose sort of waltz. Tenten nudged Neji in the ribs which made him roll his pale eyes with a demure smile. He offered a hand to her and the two began to dance. The kids poked their heads in when they heard the music. They shared a look with one another and tumbled into the kitchen and followed the adults' example. Houki and Metal each took one of Masaru's hands and pulled him into a corner. Chizuru sidled over to Shinki hovering near the doorway and invited him to dance with her. He hesitantly agreed and the two copied the movements of the Hyuga grown-ups, stumbling awkwardly over each other's feet. Kakashi drifted over to his husband and leaned over to tug his mask down just enough to press his lips to Guy's head. Looking around at all the life, and love, lighting up his house, he could scarcely believe he’d let himself be alone for so long, shutting out all of that for so many years. The White Fang of the Leaf’s face popped up in his mind’s eye and he smiled to himself as he said a little prayer for his father and mother to keep watching over him and his family.
The Sixth Hokage woke early the next morning and stared up at the cedar ceiling beams. He could make out shallow ax scars along the wood, marring the edges where the trees had been hewn. His grandfather and father built this house when Sakumo was a young boy and the small Hatake clan followed the footsteps of their distant cousins, the Ogata clan, and moved to the Land of Fire from the Bamboo village in the Land of Steam. Kakashi remembered scrubbing this house from top to bottom all by himself after Sakumo's death. His fingers had bled. Whenever he found himself back in the village after a mission, or after jabbing whispers met his ears at school or the market, he always returned to scrubbing blood he couldn't see out of the floorboards. Obito always pestered him about it the next day while Rin gently tended to the fresh blisters on his hands. Sometimes it was Kushina who caught him first and Minato-sensei looked on with a knowing expression but never confronted Kakashi about it. On those nights Kushina rolled out the extra futon, added more ingredients to the pile on the cutting board, and demanded the little silver-haired chunin stay for dinner.
There was no arguing with Kushina Uzumaki.
He stayed for dinner.
Kakashi turned onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut in the darkness, trying to make the faces go away. He wasn't that lost little orphaned chunin anymore. He wasn't an Anbu. He wasn't a genin instructor. He wasn't even Kakashi of the Sharingan anymore. Not really. He was the Rokudaime Hokage. And even that was only for one more day.
But he felt afraid. It was small and well-hidden, but the fear was still there. It was you're a coward like your father. It was you and everyone else in the world will end up like me. It was all I can give you now is death and then I will do the same. It was you're worse than scum.
It was ghosts. It always came back to ghosts.
It’s time to tell the ghosts to go home. That's what Tsunade said.
Maybe she was right.
Maybe their words would haunt him forever. Maybe they wouldn't.
Kakashi rolled back the other way, pressed a kiss to his sleeping husband’s temple, and silently climbed out of bed. He dressed in the bathroom and padded down the hallway to the kitchen. The kitchen, which had been so full of life and noise mere hours ago now stood quiet. Kakashi prepared some spicy tuna onigiri to take with him. He searched in one of the high cabinets for the bottle of sake he kept for this express purpose, and tucked it into the pocket of his flak jacket. Once he'd completed these tasks, he returned to the bedroom and quietly summoned one of his ninken, Biscuit this time, and asked the little dog to keep Guy company until he returned.
The Sixth Hokage slipped out of the house and walked through the silent streets of Konohagakure. In a few hours, these streets would be bustling with activity; vendors selling their goods, friends meeting up, shinobi returning home from missions, and families walking with their children. But for now, Kakashi was content with the utter stillness of the early hour. He ambled down the main road in the direction of the Hokage Mansion and made several sharp turns down side streets— a right past the cafeteria and bento shop, a left and then another right, another left, and through the residential neighborhood where Naruto and his family lived, around the corner and beneath the giant red torii gate. Always in sight of Hokage Rock. Shadows stretched across the faces of his predecessors, the space next to his own likeness prepped for the next Hokage. It struck Kakashi that another's face should have replaced his; a pair of goggles and Sharingan eyes.
The Konohagakure cemetery was empty, save for a stray cat grooming itself on the stone steps up to the memorial. Kakashi made his first stop at a headstone that matched all the others and pulled the sake bottle from his jacket as he squatted before the engraved rock.
"Hey, Dad, Mom." He poured the sake, filling the small bowl, and setting it on the headstone. The stone was clean and fresh camellia flowers filled the attached vase. Houki must've come the day before. Kakashi would have to join his son next time. "It’s just me today. It's been a while since I've been out here to see all of you. There's a lot of change going on in the village right now, you may have heard. I decided it was time for the next generation to take its place in the sun. My student, Naruto, is becoming Hokage tomorrow. It's…almost hard to believe that boy finally did it. All those years of saying he’d be the best Hokage and it's already upon us. They call him the Hero of the Leaf, you know. But…this village has had its fair share of heroes, I think." Kakashi paused. "Do you think I am to blame? For Obito. For his part in everything?"
The war.
The Akatsuki.
The Uchiha Massacre.
Kakashi took a shuddering breath and raked a gloved hand through his hair. There was no grave for Obito Uchiha, his name removed from the memorial stone that was replaced. His Sharingan was gone. Nothing physical of Obito remained in this world; his ashes were strewn in another dimension Kakashi could no longer access. Once, in a moment of weakness after the war and Guy was still in the hospital, he asked Sasuke Uchiha to revisit that dimension using his Rinnegan, to take him back and collect what he could of his dead friend. Sasuke simply asked “What’s the point?” and refused. Sasuke did not return to Konoha for a long time after that, not even for Naruto’s wedding. Kakashi knew Sasuke would be present for Naruto’s inauguration tomorrow morning but he wondered if Sasuke would make his presence known or if he would slip in just before and slip right out again after Naruto gave his speech.
"Hey, Dad, what would you have done if you'd gotten the chance to retire? I don't know what I'm going to do with all this free time. You always said you’d take up gardening. Maybe I’ll do that. Guy wants us to go onsen-hopping, a late honeymoon, he says. I suggested we wait until Houki and Metal make genin but you know how Guy is—he’ll probably challenge me to see every onsen on the continent. I think I’ve already lost a challenge I haven’t accepted."
Kakashi stood quietly at his parents’ grave for a few more moments and promised he’d come back with Houki and Guy before moving on to another grave.
Kakashi sat in the grass in front of the headstone and pulled his knees up to his chest. "Hi, Rin. Obito, I know you’re there too. Don’t worry, I promised I wouldn’t join you just yet and I’m not going to. I just want another minute of your time before I leave the two of you alone. I'm retiring tomorrow—no more endless paperwork, no more meetings, and…and I'm scared honestly. Hey, Obito? Was I a good Hokage? Although to be honest, I don't really think of myself as the Hokage. I've just been holding things together until Naruto can take over and be the real thing."
The Sixth Hokage laid back in the grass, the blades tickling the back of his neck, and he did something he had not done in a long time.
He sobbed.
He sobbed until the fabric of his mask stuck to his skin and he had to yank it down his face to breathe properly.
"Hey, Bakashi! The Hokage can't be a crybaby!"
"Huh?" Kakashi's eyes snapped open and his gaze was met with two young faces leaning over him. A wide, toothy grin and a pair of black eyes staring back behind the tempered glass of his goggles. Short brown hair and purple face markings. Kakashi blinked and bolted upright.
They were gone.
The Sixth Hokage rubbed at his charcoal gray eyes. “Yare, yare. Maybe I am losing my mind." He took a deep breath and looked around the cemetery. All was quiet.
Beams of sunlight started to poke through the tops of trees and Kakashi decided it was time to head back home before beginning his final day as the Rokudaime Hokage. Leaving the cemetery alone, Kakashi felt a peace he'd long yearned for.
He did not see the four misty figures waving at his back before dissipating in the early morning light.