Red (Kakashi Hatake x Might Guy)

Chapter Seven

Kakashi Hatake sighed as he stood at the grave of his father, Sakumo Hatake. The deceased man had his own little plot like many others, though his name wasn't on the stone since he'd committed suicide rather than dying on duty, so Kakashi visited him separately when he stopped by the cemetery, as he couldn't pay his respects for his father at the memorial stone like he could for so many others he'd loved and lost- Rin, Obito, Minato-Sensei, and Kushina included.

He hadn't been crying, of course. He'd never cried at his father's grave and hadn't felt tense visiting it since he was young and the wounds from his grief were fresh. Now, he was twenty-eight and... Well, he wasn't over it, but it was more of a numbing pain- one he could actually bare, rather than the burning, searing pain that had consumed him over it when he was a Genin.

Now, though, he felt tense.

And that was because he could feel no other than his (unknowing) soulmate, crush, best friend, and rival, Might Guy, in the surrounding area. It was easy to sense his chakra.

"You've really gotta stop spying on me," Kakashi called out, looking up from the grave as he crossed his arms. "You've always been terrible at it."

"Ouch!" Guy responded, hopping out of the tree he had been perched in- a few yards away from the hundreds of graves that lined the grass area. Kakashi sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets as the older man jogged up to him, a bouquet of orange flowers in his hands. Guy probably didn't even know that they were orange. "Isn't that a little much, rival?"

"No," Kakashi answered, unable to help but realize how close Guy was standing to him as their shoulder brushed. Guy had went through a phase where he'd spied on Kakashi for a while when they were younger, and though Kakashi hadn't really brought it up in detail, he figured that it wouldn't be bad to do so now. "You spied on me for like, five years straight when we were younger."

"You knew about that!?" Guy exclaimed, placing the hand that wasn't holding the flowers over his chest to exaggerate the already obvious shock that painted his ever-expressive face.

"Of course I did," Kakashi rolled his eyes, smiling underneath his mask. "As talented as you are, you can't hide your chakra, so you're incredibly easy to sense."

"Makes sense! I'm surprised you never said anything."

"You were just doing it because you were worried. Calling you out and telling you to stop would've only furthered your determination to stick your nose in my business."

"Sorry about that, by the way!" Guy apologized, the hand that had been placed over his chest moving to run through his hair, and then scratch the back of his neck.

"I'm assuming you were already on your way here and happened to see me. Who'd you come to visit?" Guy offered a half-hearted smile, glancing down at the grave next to Sakumo's- Might Duy. The two had been decent friends before they'd died, but it was still weird to see them buried next to each other. Then again, the cemetery was so full that there wasn't that much room for all of the Ninjas who needed burials, so it was common for the deceased to be put in plots next to people who weren't even their family. "I see. It's the anniversary of his death today, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm surprised you knew that," Kakashi immediately felt a little concerned as he watched Guy sat the bouquet of flowers down on Duy's grave. Guy was always good at acting happy, so it was hard to tell whether he was okay or not sometimes. The ravenette sat down on the plush grass in front of the slab of carved stone, running his fingers over the lettering that was etched into it before looking back at Kakashi. "Don't look so worried! It's been years. I'm more optimistic about it now... It was a noble sacrifice. I wouldn't be who I am today if that hadn't happened."

"You're so optimistic. I've always admired that about you. Never stop that."

"Yeah," Guy nodded, looking up at the sky and pausing for a brief moment. "You know, my dad never got to see color either! He's kinda like me... My mom wasn't his soulmate, but they were in love regardless. I really hope I get to see color, but even if I don't, I think I'll be satisfied with how things have turned out!"

"You can't say that yet, Guy. You're not even thirty. Surely..." Kakashi leaned down just a bit, placing his hand on his soulmate's shoulder. "Surely you'll get to see color at some point."

"I don't know."

"I don't want you to be bummed out about this," Kakashi mumbled, averting his gaze as he frowned under his mask.

"Ah, don't get the wrong idea! It'd be unyouthful to be upset over something so trivial! After all, I've fallen in love with someone who isn't my soulmate."

"Oh..." Kakashi sighed, somewhat disappointed. Sure, he never had any intention on telling Guy the truth, but an unrealistic and selfish part of him had hoped that Guy would just remain forever single so he could pine for the rest of their lives. "Have you now?"

"I mean, I have before, yes," Before. Past pretense. Thank fucking God. "This is kinda embarrassing. I would like to find my soulmate, but I think I'm okay if I don't!"

"It sucks not to be able to see color, though."

"How long have you been able to see color for?"

"I dunno, twenty years?" Kakashi answered, nervous as he took his hand from Guy's shoulder and nervously ran it through his own hair. "Almost twenty-five years, I think... Not for sure. I'm really bad at keeping track."

"It's been that long and you still haven't told them!?" Guy practically yelled, dark eyes wide.

"I mean, basically."

"Kakashi, that's ridiculous!" He scolded the younger man, shooting him a disapproving glare.

If only he knew.

"So are you."

"Yeah, but- Ugh!"

"Listen," Kakashi spoke, offering his hand to Guy, who was still sitting on the ground. "Why don't we get out of here?"

"I'd like that!"

Thankfully, the ravenette took Kakashi's hand in his, and the silver-haired man pulled his soulmate up. Guy stumbled for a moment, almost landing against Kakashi's chest before he caught his balance, the both of them laughing.

And with that, they left, Kakashi completely unaware of the fact that the older man would come back later that night and leave orange flowers on the grave of Sakumo Hatake as well.

Chapter Management