The chill of early spring was making itself felt as Kakashi stood in front of the boarded-up shop window, the placard “Uchiha’s fine tailoring” swinging in the gentle breeze. He wrapped the heavy army coat more snugly around himself, feeling much older than his 35 years, and adjusted the scarf as he lifted his face to look at the shuttered windows of the first-floor apartment. Again he felt the pang of regret that he couldn’t be there for Shidate in the end – if it weren’t for the prodigal Uchiha’s kindness towards an orphaned boy, Kakashi wouldn’t have managed as well as he did after the dishonourable death of his father in the aftermath of the previous war. Out of habit Kakashi rubbed the scar that bisected what used to be his eye. It was almost two decades ago that his recklessness cost the life of his best friend, Shidate’s son Obito, as well as his eye. The scar still fresh and stinging, Kakashi had sworn on Obito’s grave to be there for Shidate, but the war had kept him occupied and far from Konoha during the winter when pneumonia finally took the gentle tailor, leaving the apartment and the shop deserted. Maybe it was for the best – at least Shidate wasn’t around to see members of once proud Uchiha family all but hounded out of the country in the aftermath of the war, deemed guilty by association with the war-criminal Madara Uchiha. Pushing the useless emotions back, Kakashi straightened and looked again at the shop.
Next to him, Naruto Uzumaki bounced more from boundless youthful energy than from the cold, swaddled in an obnoxiously orange and deliciously warm bomber jacket. “So, whaddaya think? Will it make a good flower shop?”
“Of course it will”, Kakashi blinked at his protégé. “I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.”
“The location is really good!” Naruto beamed. “The promenade and the central park are a stroll away, and it’s not too far from your mansion!” Seeing Kakashi’s frown, he quickly amended “Or my apartment! And, you know, the rest of us!”
The apartment buildings intended for military officers and their families were situated several blocks to the west, next to the military academy and the army orphanage where Naruto grew up. Most of Kakashi’s young volunteers were assigned quarters there after the war, having aged out of the orphanage while on the battlefield. Konoha wouldn’t have refused its heroes, especially when their commander dropped a hint.
“But the best of all, he’ll have Iruk… Mr. Umino just across the hall! You can rely on him to keep an eye out for Cpt. Yamato!”
Kakashi lifted a sceptical eyebrow at Naruto, only to be stared at determinedly in return. He couldn’t help a smirk, hidden as it was beneath the scarf. “I suppose you’re right. Mr. Umino will certainly make a good neighbour.” He looked again at the first floor, this time lingering on a second set of windows, curtains just visible. “He’s a caring person.”
oOo
Iruka hated the nervous dread that overtook him when he had to face unpleasant situations, or rather, people. In his younger days he hid behind brashness and delinquency, but once he started working at the army orphanage and the local school he prided himself on maturity and sense. All that went out the window on the day he learned that Naruto and his class-mates had all volunteered to fight under command of Col. Hatake, a career military man just a few years older than Iruka. Incensed that someone would dare draft minors in the war, Iruka flew to the training grounds where the volunteer squad was to be convened and exploded at Hatake, heedless of the gathered officers and functionaries. Now he crumbled in shame as he remembered how it took intervention of the army orphanage director Sarutobi himself, the man Iruka venerated, to silence his outburst and remove him from the scene. Once he managed to calm himself, Iruka could only be grateful that Naruto wasn’t there to see him disregard his courage and independence. He sent his charges off with carefully prepared packs and brave smiles, and then threw himself into work in an attempt to drown his worries. He spent the war in Konoha serving as support staff at military headquarters, among his duties filing the reports of deaths and field promotions. It was with dread and pride that he tracked Naruto’s advance in rank to Lieutenant, as now General Hatake’s forces turned the war decisively in favour of their country and her allies. Finally, after almost four years away from home, victorious troops returned to Konoha. Iruka was among the throng that lined the streets to greet the returning soldiers, and almost didn’t recognise the bronzed man who started waving wildly the minute he spotted Iruka. Naruto literally dove from the troop transport to engulf Iruka in a painful hug. As relief and gratitude flooded him, Iruka felt that nothing would ever be hard to bear now his baby brother was back.
The feeling didn’t last even a full year from the end of the war. Iruka’s calm was shattered yesterday upon seeing General Hatake himself in front of his building. The mere sight of him made Iruka freeze like a startled rabbit, and he only thawed when Naruto hopped over to greet him. When he remembered his manners and turned to where Hatake stood, the man was already vanishing down the street. Iruka kicked himself for missing the opportunity to apologise to the hero of Bousen and thank him for all he did for Naruto. But apparently he would have other opportunities – the man seemed set to personally oversee the adaptation and refurbishment of both the shop and the apartment across from Iruka’s, intended for one of his war comrades. Iruka steeled himself: come what may, he’ll do the right thing and apologise. After all, the man Naruto respected so much couldn’t be a bad person.
oOo
Spring sunshine accentuated every mote of dust in the bedroom as Kakashi leafed through Shidate’s papers in the roll-top desk, sorting them into “burn” and “keep” heaps. It probably didn’t make much sense to keep any of it, but there was room enough for keepsakes in the attics of Hatake mansion and yet another box of faded papers would make little difference. With a resigned sigh he dumped the entirety of remaining compartments’ contents into the “keep” box and expertly tightened the twine around it. That left only the bookshelves to go through. Most of the books would go to a used book seller, but they had to be at least leafed through to check for stray papers, nostalgic dedications or a precious photo tucked out of sight. Kakashi leaned back in the chair, book in hands, as he listened to bustle of cleaning coming from the rest of the apartment, Sakura Haruno’s commanding voice just barely overpowering Naruto’s whining. He honestly didn’t expect such enthusiastic response from his former volunteer squad to Naruto’s unsolicited call for help in preparing the apartment for “Cpt. Yamato”. Tenzou wasn’t even with the squad for long before he was captured…
Kakashi’s musing was interrupted by a diffident knock. He turned towards the door expecting to see Miss Hyuga, the blushing dark-haired beauty that kept throwing shy glances at Naruto when she thought he wasn’t looking. A dark beauty it was, only not the one he was expecting. Iruka Umino stood reluctantly in the doorway, a tray with a pot of freshly-brewed tea and a couple of cups in his hands.
“My, Mr. Umino, no need to loiter, do come in.”
“I didn’t mean to intrude”, Iruka said as he entered and lowered the tray onto the desk. “You seemed preoccupied.”
“Nothing serious, I assure you.” Kakashi smiled briefly as he leaned over to take a cup. It was only when he brought it to his nose to enjoy the aroma that he realised he still wore the cloth over his face to keep the dust away. With some embarrassment he pulled it down and took a sip, motioning to Iruka to do the same. For a beat they stayed like that in silence, Kakashi looking up at Iruka who leaned against the roll-top, playing nervously with his cup. Just as Kakashi was preparing a quip to break the impasse, Iruka visibly steeled himself and looked Kakashi in the eye.
“I meant to apologise for my shocking behaviour back then. You’ve been nothing but thoughtful and caring towards Naruto and the rest of the children. For that you will always have my deepest gratitude, General Hatake.” Iruka got it all out in one breath, his throat working nervously and his gaze slowly sliding to the side as he spoke, but he snapped his eyes back to Kakashi when he thanked him. For a moment Kakashi was glad that cloth still obscured a better part of his face, hiding any possible reddening of his cheeks. He smiled his polite smile up at Iruka.
“Please, call me Kakashi.”
“I-I couldn’t...!” Iruka stammered, and yes, the blushes certainly looked much better on that face then they ever would on Kakashi’s. Kakashi’s smile slipped from the polite into teasing.
“Why, Mr. Umino, if you are to be a neighbour and a friend to Tenzou, it would be embarrassing for two of us to keep being so formal, don’t you think? Besides, I’ve heard so much about ‘brother Iruka’ over the years that I have to stop myself from calling you by your first name. Unless you would permit me…?”
“Oh, of course! Of course, it would be an honour, Ge… Kakashi.” Iruka corrected himself at Kakashi’s ironic eyebrow. “Kakashi.” he repeated, with a slow smile spreading over his face. Kakashi may have smiled back at him, but the sight of Iruka’s beaming face wiped all else from his mind.
oOo
“No sight of them yet?”
Iruka leaned through the window, but there was no automobile coming and he shook his head as he drew back the curtain. Kakashi was supposed to bring his comrade home today, but there was obviously some delay at the hospital. The day was already getting hot, so he turned with concern to his guest, who was fanning herself with her hand, and poured her another glass of chilled lemonade.
“Perhaps you should have stayed at home, Sakura. It cannot be easy to keep going to and fro in your condition…”
Sakura quirked her lip and caressed her swollen stomach. “I come from peasant stock, Mr. Umino. Women used to carry on working until the moment they popped out their babies. Besides, I want to see how Cpt. Yamato likes what we did with the apartment.”
“I’m certain he will be pleased. You really outdid yourselves, you know. Even Kakashi was impressed.”
“Kakashi, eh?” Sakura grinned gleefully, and Iruka almost choked on his lemonade. Whether to spare him or to further embarrass him, she continued: “He was certainly surprised. I don’t know why he’s always caught off guard when people do things for him, when he’s always going above and beyond for others.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Iruka couldn’t help but gush. “I was amazed to find out that he is the landlord I have to thank for keeping the rent so cheap. When I tried to thank him, he shook it off as a pay-back for his Uchiha uncle, but the man had died years ago…”
Sakura scoffed at that. “I think it’s more of an alibi for himself than for the others. He used similar reasoning when he offered me and the baby the protection of his name.”
Spewing the lemonade through his nose stung more than metaphorically. Teary-eyed, Iruka grabbed for a rag, as Sakura cackled in a way eerily reminiscent of her mentor Dr. Senju. “What?” he finally gasped.
“It was about a month ago, when we first started sorting the apartment. My belly had started to show, and it was obvious that Sasuke wouldn’t be coming back any time soon.” Sasuke Uchiha, one of Kakashi’s volunteers, had recently left Konoha to hunt Madara’s collaborators in an attempt to redeem the despised name of Uchiha. “Having a child out of wedlock is bad enough, but an Uchiha bastard? So he offered to make it a Hatake – make both of us Hatake, if I wished it. Noble idiot, claiming that it was the least he could do in memory of the two Uchiha who accepted him in his time of disgrace… If you ask me, I think it’s rather that he blames himself for not preventing Sasuke’s departure.”
“And you declined?” Iruka still had some trouble gathering his wits from the shock.
“I couldn’t do that to either of us. He doesn’t deserve a marriage of convenience, even if he claims he’d stay a life-long bachelor anyway. There is time yet for love to come knocking at his door.” Sakura’s eyes bore into Iruka for a moment and then she smiled wryly. “And I may still find a husband willing to take both me and the baby for love, not for duty.”
“I’m sure you will, Sakura! Things that would have been unthinkable before the war are accepted now. Just look at Naruto and Miss Hyuuga!”
“Yes”, Sakura’s smile was fond, “Hinata is more fearless when it comes to breaking societal norms than I would have given her credit.” After all, it was no small matter for a heiress of an ancient noble family to pursue a nameless orphan, even if the said man had earned status and glory during the war.
“She had a fine example in you”, Iruka raised his glass to Sakura, “as you did in Dr. Senju.”
Sakura returned the toast: “Ah, but Hinata’s fearlessness is inspired by Naruto, and we all know who raised him to be that way.”
Iruka could only wish that he was as courageous and selfless as Naruto and the wonderful young people he found himself surrounded with. Or Kakashi… how could he ever measure up to him? Just as he thought they were getting closer, Kakashi proved himself to be nobler and more out of reach than Iruka thought.
oOo
Summer was hot and muggy, which would ordinarily drive Kakashi into the coolness of his hill-side mansion, poised to catch the breezes from the north. Even with three-quarters of it given over for veteran hospice and sanatorium, there was more than enough room for him to spend a relaxed afternoon reading, when he wasn’t playing checkers with Gai or visiting other war invalids. And yet, every three days or so Kakashi found himself strolling down the sunny promenade and turning into the side-street which boasted a newly opened branch-shop of Yamanaka Flowers. If asked, he would say he came to visit Tenzou, watch his gaunt figure fill out to something resembling the sturdy youth he first served with, see the haunted look fade from his eyes as he arranged bouquets for weddings and christenings which abounded in post-war Konoha. The fact that on those summer afternoons he would often find on-summer-break Iruka sipping tea in the cool back room of the shop had nothing to do with it. At all.
Iruka had cooled towards Kakashi somewhat since the day Tenzou came to his new home and shop, being solicitous towards the wasted former POW instead. Kakashi couldn’t begrudge Tenzou Iruka’s attention – after all, that was the original plan, for Tenzou to have someone he could rely on without the reluctance he still showed in front of his former commander. Iruka didn’t know anything about Tenzou, so Tenzou was able to be open and relaxed with Iruka. Kakashi only wished he could be the same way. As it was, he was glad to accept a glass of cool lemonade Iruka always seemed to have at ready and to sit as the third wheel. At least Iruka still smiled at him, and Kakashi strived to keep the smiles coming by sharing anecdotes, first about Naruto and other volunteers, then about Tenzou’s or his own misadventures. If he tended to pick the more embarrassing stories featuring Tenzou, well… As the summer progressed, Iruka started smiling at Kakashi more but seemed less and less inclined to look him in the face, no matter how Kakashi tried to draw his attention. At least Tenzou seemed to draw amusement from the whole thing and not to mind Kakashi’s attempts to win Iruka’s companionship.
August was coming to an end when the calm of the back room trio was disturbed by Naruto bursting in with breathless announcement that Sakura has gone into labour – somewhat premature, but not worryingly so. Iruka and Kakashi both leaped to their feet and glanced at each other.
“Kakashi, you should go to the hospital with Naruto. I’ll inform the rest if Naruto hadn’t yet?” Naruto shook his head, so Iruka started scribbling a list and shooing the two of them off. Kakashi had no doubt that by the time Sakura’s child was born it would be surrounded by cooing aunts and uncles armed with balloons and teddy bears. Never mind, Kakashi’s gift for his godchild will keep until the christening.
oOo
Kakashi kept proving bad for Iruka’s peace of mind. He had resigned himself to keeping respectful distance in their friendship, as befitted the difference in their positions and worth. But he hadn’t counted on Kakashi’s breezy manner swiping all the considerations away. Their summer encounters in Yamato’s shop had shown a new side of Kakashi – a mischievous and perhaps lonely boy prone to teasing his friends. Iruka could feel the distance between them shrink and started to feel strangely disconcerted by that. Autumn came, and with it Sarada’s christening, where Kakashi stood next to Sakura holding the baby, as is godfather’s prerogative. Iruka had never before seen Kakashi in formal clothes, so he admired how the fine cut of the suit accented his slender build. If he also felt heavy of heart watching the picture of a perfect family the three of them made, he ascribed it to sympathy for Sakura’s situation, not to any other possible reason, certainly not envy. Or jealousy. What did he have to be jealous about?
Iruka was among the close friends invited to the after-christening party in Haruno household. Sakura gladly kept dumping the baby in every available lap when she could wrest her from her grandmother’s arms, and Sarada was quite amenable to it once she got over the indignity of getting her dark mop of hair wet. So eventually Iruka found himself making silly faces while cradling the disinterested baby.
“If you’re not careful she’ll fall asleep on you and you’ll have to keep holding her until the end of the party.” Iruka was startled by a voice over his shoulder and turned to see Kakashi smiling amusedly at him. “You should hand her back to Mrs. Haruno while you have the chance.” Seeing Iruka’s hesitation, Kakashi added “Unless you want to get some practice in baby handling for the future?”
Iruka blushed and shook his head decisively: “I don’t think I will need all that much practice.” There was nobody he could picture himself having family with, after all.
Kakashi leaned on his shoulder and started gently poking Sarada’s cheeks. “You underestimate yourself, Iruka. You have a long career as an uncle and godfather in front of you.” Iruka’s confusion must have been obvious since Kakashi twitched his head to the other side of the room where Naruto and Hinata stood in conversation. Oh.
Kakashi turned to look at the couple, still leaning on Iruka. “We’ll be two old bachelor uncles spoiling our godchildren rotten and annoying their parents. At least that’s my ambition; you’re more the responsible eat-your-veggies type.”
Iruka chuckled at the image and smiled at Kakashi. “That sounds good, actually. I think we’d make a fine couple of uncles.” The look he got back from Kakashi at that throttled anything he meant to add. He felt taken apart under the intensity of Kakashi’s one-eyed gaze. The moment was broken all too soon by Sarada, who had grown restless under the sudden tension and announced her displeasure with a wail. Sakura and Mrs. Haruno descended in a flurry to take her off the men’s hands and Kakashi was snatched away by Mr. Haruno for yet another toast to his first grandchild. Iruka was left standing alone and shaken, unable to take his eyes off Kakashi.
He remained unsettled all through the following week, at the same time longing to meet with Kakashi and scared to put what has happened between them into words. This was unlike anything he had ever felt, not even the deep admiration for kind Hiruzen Sarutobi, the only authority delinquent youth Iruka would recognise. It wasn’t enough for Iruka to have Kakashi’s good opinion, his friendship, his smiles, not anymore. He wanted… he wanted all of Kakashi, and he was overwhelmed by his greediness. Well, he’d just have to gather all his courage and face Kakashi straight on. It worked the last time, after all, and not much could stand between Iruka and his goal once he made a decision.
oOo
Kakashi didn’t expect to be this nervous approaching Tenzou’s shop. It was still relatively early on a work day and Iruka was probably still at school, or perhaps at the orphanage – their regular back-room encounters had dwindled significantly since the beginning of the school year, as was only to be expected. But Kakashi couldn’t wait until Saturday to meet him again, not after today. He had known that Dr. Senju summoned him to the presidential residence for an important reason; he had even dressed the part. Still, her proposal had caught him completely unprepared. She graciously allowed him a week to consider, but they both knew he wouldn’t be able to decline. Not because of the honour it would bring to him and his family name… but because no Hatake ever shirked an unpleasant duty, and Kakashi was exemplary in that.
Knowing what decision he would (have to) take made coming to terms with it no easier, though. Kakashi found himself striding agitatedly all the way from the presidential residence to the central park, touring it twice and then marching down the promenade until his whirling thoughts settled somewhat. He leaned his forehead on a sympathetic plane tree, took a deep breath, and turned on his heel to march to Tenzou’s shop. He’d wait for Iruka there, having sensible company would help calm his nerves – sometimes Kakashi envied Tenzou his equanimity, earned as it was in the hardest way possible.
It took Tenzou one look at Kakashi’s face, even paler than usual, to flip the CLOSED sign on his door and usher him to the back room, only asking “Tea or alcohol?” Alcohol it was; for an infrequent drinker Tenozu had an impressive collection of hard liquors, both imported and locally-brewed. Over the second tumbler, Kakashi briefed Tenzou of the situation and received a sympathetic grunt.
“Do you want me to break the news to Iruka?”
“No. It should come from me, especially after… especially now.” Tenzou hadn’t been to the Sarada’s party last Saturday, although he did supply the flowers, but the two of them had a long shared past and Tenzou could read him like a book. He caught on immediately, and smiled.
“So, you’re not worried how this will influence your friendship… you’re concerned about your chances.”
“Iruka is not the type to be diffident in front of authority. He’d be glad for me as a friend and even enjoy the opportunity to rib me about it. But to be… with someone in that position, that’s completely different.” Kakashi drained the tumbler and waved off the offer of another. “I can’t predict which way he’ll lean.”
“And you can’t hold off finding out”, Tenzou took a sip of his drink.
“I have to adjust to the outcome, whatever that is.” Tenzou only nodded, familiar with Kakashi’s need for control in his life. They sat like that in silence for a while longer and then Tenzou rose with a grunt to reopen the store, leaving Kakashi to mull over how to formulate his announcement in a way that would make Iruka the least likely to distance himself again. He might have dozed off for a minute or ten, because he didn’t notice the jangle of the shop doors nor the greeting before Iruka entered the back room and stood in front of him, his dark eyes glinting in the semi-gloom.
oOo
Iruka had his speech prepared, but it evaporated as Kakashi stood up to stand in front of him. If Kakashi in a suit was delectable, Kakashi in a dress uniform was splendid. Iruka gawped, his gaze travelling up and down Kakashi’s form until it stopped at his face… and Iruka couldn’t help the impulse as he pointed and exclaimed.
“Your eye! You have your left eye!”
For a second all was still and Iruka was just getting ready to be swallowed by the ground in embarrassment, when Kakashi burst into a snigger, clamping a hand over his mouth to stop what would undoubtedly have been an uproarious laugh. Still snorting, he smiled at Iruka and explained “It’s a glass eye. See?” proceeding to pop the eye out of the socket and present it to mildly disgusted Iruka.
“Kakashi! Put that thing back!” Iruka couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of the situation. Well, at least the tension he felt had dissipated, and Kakashi looked relaxed as well as he pocketed the eye and unearthed an eye-patch. But he grew more serious as he tied it around his head. “I have something to tell you, Iruka.”
“Well, that’s good, because I have something to tell you, too.” Iruka started confidently, but something in Kakashi’s mien stopped him. “No?”
“You should hear what I have to say first. It’s not bad” Kakashi hurried to reassure Iruka, “but it is something that will influence my life a lot in coming years.”
“Are you being reassigned from Konoha?” Distance would be bothersome, but teaching posts were not that difficult to find in any part of the country. “You’re not getting married, are you?” That was more of a joke, but a lack of smiling response froze something in Iruka.
“You might say that”, Kakashi sighed. “If everything goes to plan, after November next year I will be married to my new post. Dr. Senju wants me to run as her successor, and she’s confident I will have no serious opposition.”
Iruka was left speechless. Kakashi as president? That was… not so difficult to imagine, really. A war hero, man of impeccable professional and personal record, respected by all and well-loved by those who had served under him… In fact, Kakashi was as near to perfect as a presidential candidate could get. And Iruka said so. “You’d be perfect.”
If Kakashi was surprised at that, it barely showed. “I’d be in the public eye constantly once the campaign starts in the spring.”
Iruka inclined his head in consideration. “So?”
“I would have less free time for us to… meet.”
“But you would be willing to make an effort, no?”
“If you would want me to…”
“I would.” Iruka smiled, and received a tiny smile in return. “I would like it very much.”
At that, Kakashi’s smile grew, inching closer to a smirk. “Aiming to hobnob with the elite, eh?”
Iruka shrugged “It’s always useful to have an in when it comes to public funding.”
Now Kakashi guffawed and stepped closer to rest his arms on Iruka’s shoulders. “Somehow this gig seems much less onerous now.” He leaned to press his forehead to Iruka’s. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Iruka’s heart soared, and not even polite cough from Tenzou, who poked his head in the back to see what the uproar was about, could make him shift from Kakashi’s embrace.
oOo
‘It is a lovely sunny November day here in Konoha central park, and the paths are full of citizens partaking in the celebration in honour of our country’s seventh president. Naruto Uzumaki was inaugurated just a couple of hours ago as the youngest president in our history, his wife Hinata a vision of loveliness at his side. The solemn ceremony in front of the Parliament building was offset by the new president’s enthusiastic handshake with his predecessor and mentor, president Hatake.
‘And it is former president Hatake himself that we see strolling through the park now, greeting the people, accompanied by his god-daughter Sarada and several orphans he sponsored through the “Shidate Uchiha” program. The program was established by Mr. Umino, assistant director of Konoha orphanage, who was an advisor to president Hatake through most of his two five-year terms.
‘Mr. Umino is considered to be a surrogate father by the children from the program, so it is no wonder that he, too, is with the former president today. He is also said to be close to the new president, and we interviewed him earlier today to ask if he will continue to serve as an advisor to president Uzumaki as well. He seemed to be undecided as yet, but former president Hatake cut in to remark on Mr. Umino’s work ethic, going from his day job straight into the presidential residence to work there until late hours of the night. Mr. Umino seemed thoroughly embarrassed by this praise, and was seen having some words with the former president afterwards. It was obvious to your reporter that the two of them are not only colleagues at work but also friends in their private life.
‘This was Matatabi Toraneko, reporting for the Konoha News of the Day. Have a pleasant afternoon!’