Childish Ideals
Kakashi had a secret.
A big poorly kept secret.
He should be better at hiding it as a future shinobi of Konohagakure. He worked every day at trying to hide it better, but he still found himself slipping up.
Kakashi held an intense fondness for his family.
It wasn’t strictly unallowed by the shinobi rules he had been learning to read, but it could also cause conflict. Such connections existed in a grey area with the potential to influence his decisions in the future. It was why he needed to remain vigilant.
It was near impossible to foresee a future where it was problematic though, which is why he struggled with the rules as they were. It must be his family. They were exceptional. Dad was a seasoned and loyal shinobi, and the village considered him a hero. Kakashi admired his accomplishments and humbleness and was proud to have him as a father and mentor. He always listened to every story he could get his dad to tell him of missions he had completed. Kakashi hoped to be as accomplished as him one day. There was no way his dad would interfere, nor would he ever be put in a position that required someone else’s help.
His sister, on the other hand, was a bleeding heart who had clear, established boundaries. She never failed to raise to the occasion or meet expectations. She often surpassed them. Her emotional mask raised whenever she stepped outside their house. Kakashi didn’t understand the divide. They may not have started the academy yet, but one was always a shinobi. There was no on and off switch. Yuina was also fearless at expressing her love for them when at home. It felt like a trap as he worked so hard to reign in his feelings, but he appreciated she knew not to act that way in front of others. She didn’t understand training as innately as he did, but she never slowed him down – she was always only a few steps behind. The reverse was true for intellectual pursuits. No matter how much he practiced, Yuina was often a few steps ahead. Subjects like kanji, mathematics, and social studies.
They were smart, competent, and strong people who walked the same path as him. There was no reason to believe that his fondness for them would ever betray him and cause problems. However, one doesn’t become a great shinobi by only preparing for the expected, which is why he prepared as he denied the possibility.
Kakashi even considered someone attempting to use them against him. He shook his head at the ridiculousness. He couldn’t imagine such a scenario. They wouldn’t get captured. They would never let it get to that point.
Kakashi thought of someone trying to use them against himself, but shook his head as the scene wouldn’t form. They wouldn’t get captured. They wouldn’t let it get to that point.
He didn’t need to think about it. What he needed was to concentrate on what he could do. What he needed to do. What he needed to learn.
Kakashi descended the stairs and walked towards the kitchen, where he could smell breakfast being made. He should learn to cook, too. He might need the skill for missions. A restaurant or rations may not always be available. He sat on one cushion next to the low table and opened the notebook to continue his investigation.
Sakumo opened the cupboards to grab a stack of three rice bowls. He filled each one with fluffed rice before topping each one with a fried egg. A sprinkle of cut nori decorated the top with flavour. Sakumo grabbed a spoon and scooped a taste to determine it was ready to serve. He plated the pickled radish and edamame.
Sakumo begun moving the dished from the counter to the table when he caught what Kakashi was reading. It wasn’t the first time Kakashi ‘borrowed’ Yuina’s noted. It led to Sakumo teaching the two the Shadow Clone Jutsu two months ago. Earlier than he had intended, but something he felt was necessary after the two hurt themselves while doing some experimental training. They weren’t going to stop, nor did he have plans to force them to. He would, however, ensure they had a method to proceed more safely.
“Good morning Kakashi.”
Kakashi’s ignored the morning pleasantries. His eyes tried to burn a hole through the notebook. His lips twitched downward under the mask. He flipped the book to show Sakumo. “What kind of code is this? Can you teach me?”
“Code?” Sakumo thought it would be more formulas that Kakashi had mistaken for code before, but what was written was mostly foreign even to him. He couldn’t even make an educated guess. Perhaps with time, but what he was looking at made as much sense as baby script at first glance. Yuina’s notes certainly increasingly used equations and diagrams, but, true enough, the writing also changed. “I’m uncertain.”
Kakashi’s eyes bursted like a balloon being fed air. Sakumo didn’t know. He had always answered his questions and guide him to where he needed to be.
“Codes need time to decode. The patterns aren’t familiar to me but they exist.” Sakumo pointed to a few words and phrases to Kakashi that reoccurred. “As they should be. If they were too easy, then it’s ineffective as a code.”
Kakashi understood but was left unsatisfied with the answer. Yuina’s experiments were useful for his own training, but she had been hogging her intel to herself more and more. They even made a deal, so hiding these things from him was unfair.
She should teach him to code if she already learned how.
Kakashi reluctantly put the notebook down on the table and grabbed his chopsticks. He looked at the individual grains of rice before he declared, “I want to cook lunch.”
Sakumo wasn’t sure how to respond to how quickly Kakashi’s objective changed. “Okay.”
Yuina descended the stairs as she finished up the small braid in front of her left ear. She plopped down at her spot at the table before biting the black ribbon wrapped around her wrist as she connected the two braids at the back of her head, hoping it would keep the hair out of her face and help weigh the rest of her hair down.
She grabbed her chopsticks and took a bite of the pickled radish before she recognized the notebook on the table. “I said you could experiment with me only if you stopped stealing my notes to run off and try on your own.”
“I was just reading.” Kakashi defended himself. Reading without action didn’t technically break the agreement they made.
“…right.” Yuina was clearly suspicious of him, but eating her egg while it was still warm took precedence. “And you only stopped because it’s ‘just reading’ and has nothing to do with you being unable to read it.”
Kakashi kept quiet.
It seemed her choice to switch languages worked, even if she half expected Kakashi to somehow figure it out anyway. A ridiculous thought, but so was the world. Yuina didn’t like the thought of using kids to experiment on her theories, much less Kakashi, but he was adamant, going as far as sneaking out to try himself. Frankly, he was more in tune with chakra than herself, and it was a fun bonding activity, so she gave in under the promise that he couldn’t do it alone.
Especially after the chakra exhaustion and burns they suffered that one time.
And wasn’t that a good thing to know? Chakra could burn.
“What kind of code is this?” asked an intrigued Sakumo.
Yuina eyed the two awaiting an answer before she shrugged. She loved them, but she wasn’t giving in that easily. “It’s a secret.”
Sakumo changed the topic. “I’ve been requested to make on more missions.” He gauged their reactions before continuing. “It would mean being away for longer periods.”
“When are you going on your next mission?” Kakashi offered no hesitation at the news. He was eager for Sakumo to be more heavily involved with missions again. He already clung to any detail Sakumo could share.
Yuina hesitated before nodding as if asking the same question as Kakashi.
Yuina didn’t understand Konoha’s insistence on children being responsible for themselves from a young age. Like logically she did. It was a historical thing. If they used to throw children into armed conflict as a young age, there was no reason they couldn’t be responsible for themselves. The premise was flawed from the beginning, though. Children on the battlefield were horrible for a myriad of reasons.
Kakashi may not act like he was three, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve sheltering or protection. He would undoubtedly claim he didn’t need it. She wasn’t exactly a child either, and Kakashi could have fooled her as being the reincarnated on more than a few occasions.
She suspected Sakumo would return regardless of their answers, but it was likely the difference between being left alone and finding someone to watch them. Between the two, she would rather be left alone because a babysitter felt wrong despite the ethics of it. She could watch Kakashi. That was fine.
“I haven’t been assigned yet, but I will soon.”
“I’ll look out for Kakashi, so come home safe.” Yuina didn’t know whether longer missions were necessarily more dangerous, but they certainly sounded like there were more opportunities for something to go wrong.
“I don’t need watching over,” Kakashi complained as expected. “And of course, he’ll come home safe.” He scoffed. “It’s Otou-san”.
Yuina’s heart broke. Comments like those reminded her that even Kakashi could act his age. She hoped Kakashi would never be proven wrong of such childish ideals of invincibility.
“Hurry up and eat so you we can train more before you go.” Kakashi finished his mean before he left.
The day continued on as normal.
Kakashi trained with Yuina the rest of the morning before he ended practice. Yuina was surprised but went to her room while Kakashi went to the kitchen. ‘
He tried to remember the things Sakumo would do to cook a meal. There was still leftover rice, so that wasn’t a problem. He opened the fridge. There was an amberjack they could share and some vegetables he could prepare.
Sakumo could hear sounds coming from the kitchen, so investigated. True to his intuition, it was Kakashi rummaging for a pan and dishes. “Would you like help?”
“I can do it on my own.”
Sakumo watched in pain as Kakashi kept the bones in, something he would expect from a smaller fish, but not one of that size, and as he added too much salt. At least the fish was already descaled because he wasn’t certain Kakashi would think about doing it. Kakashi’s knife skills were the one thing he didn’t worry about. They were different maneuvers, but he knew how to handle sharp objects.
Sakumo went upstairs as Kakashi finished up. He leaned on Yuina’s door frame and knocked on the wall to gain her attention. Her head had been buried in a book.
“Lunch is almost ready. Kakashi wanted to cook, so let’s be nice regardless of how it tastes.”
Yuina was confused. Kakashi cooked? He had never expressed a desire before. It was all training, so perhaps it was a good thing. “Of course!”
Yuina came down just as Kakashi set the table just as Sakumo would. She clapped her hands together. “You’re awesome!” How could she not praise Kakashi when he looked so happy. She sat down to take a bite. “This is really good!”
Kakashi preened at the praise and was excited to take a bite himself.
His face paled.
There was something wrong with his sister’s tastebuds. He watched as she enthusiastically ate more as he hesitated to take another bite. It wasn’t inedible but it wasn’t anything like dad’s cooking. The skin wasn’t crisp and the meat was tough and over salted.
Sakumo ate at a normal pace as he watched the two. He had such good kids. If only his wife could have watched them grow up alongside him.