Will of Fire: Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 1

Akira was sad. She always felt sad these days, but she was good at hiding it. Her parents didn't know how unhappy she was, only recognizing that she was training harder than ever now. She threw herself into her training regiment, coming back dirty, sweaty, and bruised every night. Her parents were increasingly pulled away for missions these days, coming back stone-faced and tired. She was left alone for much of each week.

She had slowly started to develop her own routine each morning. She would get up early before sunrise, and go for a run around the village. On her way home, she would run by Kakashi's new apartment and climb the tree outside his kitchen window. She would watch for a few minutes to make sure he was up, to make sure he was still there. Then she would climb down and run home to get ready for school. She had no idea if he knew that she did that. She assumed he probably did. He was too smart.

He was all that was left of Team Minato now. He had long been her least favorite of the three young ninjas, but she respected him all the same. She looked up to him, to his strength and determination to push through hardships. But now there was something different about him. He didn't glare at her when he saw her anymore. It had started when Rin hadn't come home.

Akira wasn't stupid, she knew what happened. Talk had spread around the village about it. Kakashi had killed Rin. But it was by accident. Akira knew it was an accident because Uncle Minato had told her so. And she believed him wholeheartedly. Kakashi wasn't that type of person.

Now when Akira saw him out on the streets, he would barely acknowledge her. Before Obito died, he had sent her away with a stern word not to bother him. After he died, he would just glare a bit and shake his head. But now, he would hardly look at her at all. He would just walk past her. Every once in a while he would reach out a hand and gently brush her shoulder, then give her a slight nudge. But he wouldn't meet her eyes.

This morning, the routine was a little different. Akira got up like normal and ran like normal, but Kakashi's place was anything but normal. When she climbed the tree and sat on the branch outside of his window, the sight she saw in his kitchen made her even more sad.

"Kakashi?" She whispered softly.

The teenager was in his kitchen, violently scrubbing his right hand. His hair draped in his face, blocking her view of her eyes. But she could tell that something was wrong.

She heard him mutter something.

Akira leaned forward and pushed the window upwards, allowing her entrance into his kitchen. She didn't know why it wasn't locked, but was grateful just the same. "Kakashi?" She said again.

"It won't come off, it won't come off." He mumbled.

Akira didn't know if he heard her. She looked down at his hands. They were red under the water, and his right hand was a brighter red than his left. He scrubbed at his right hand, his motions jerky.

"What won't come off?" She asked him. She couldn't see anything on his hands.

"It won't come off," he said again. Akira took another step closer to him and leaned forward a bit to look at his face under his hair. He was sweating, and Akira was shocked to see tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes.

Akira frowned. Something was wrong, but she didn't understand what it was. Akira reached out across Kakashi's arms and put a squirt of soap in her hands. Kakashi still didn't seem to notice her. That, or he didn't care. She reached down into the sink and stuck her hands under the water. She grabbed Kakashi's right hand, making him jump. He seemed to come out of his stupor but didn't move. He stopped scrubbing his right hand as Akira took over for him. She gently washed his hand, rubbing the soap over the back of his hand, over his palm, and in between his fingers. Her gentle movements seemed to calm Kakashi, whose breathing had begun to slow.