Fragile Strength (Kakashi x oc)

S2 Chapter 11: Autumn Leaves

After my meeting with Tsunade-sama, the days went by like a blur. It was excruciatingly slow, but it also felt like the days didn't stretch enough.

I miss Kakashi. I want to see him.

But that meant telling him about this....

I glance towards the envelope sitting on the dinner table. It's been there for days. Forgotten but not. When I remember what Tsunade-sama had told me, my stomach starts to drop.

Then I start to dread the day Kakashi returns.

One of the days, I finally took that envelope and hid it. Somewhere, he won't see. I'm not ready to tell him yet. Not yet.

Whatever is inside that envelope, he can't know.

I spent a few more days alone, locked up in our home. I couldn't stomach anything. When I try to eat, I throw it up. I don't know if it's sickness or anxiety or something else.

Eventually, the front door creaks open one night. I was half asleep when I heard the click of the lock and the faintest footsteps. A figure paused in the doorway.

I blink, trying to wake myself up. I can make out his familiar figure behind the blur and grogginess.

The room was dark except for the faint streak of moonlight spilling across the bed. When he sat by the edge of the bed, I was finally able to see his face.

My Kakashi.

"I'm home." He whispered.

And that comfort. The warmth in his voice; the familiarity of his presence... it was finally able to put me into deep sleep.

No nightmares.

No anxiety.

No pain.

Just warmth. Reminding me that I'm currently alive.

Not dreaming of deaths and the future I don't belong to.

***

The night Kakashi finally returns to Konoha, the sky was heavy and soon, heavy rain starts to fall.

His steps were light and soundless- a habit he can never unlearn- but fatigue clung to his body.

Jiraiya is dead.

The more he let that sink in, the more his heart felt heavy. He felt grief, empathy and respect.

Grief at another comrade gone. Another light gone dim. Another day Kakashi had lived to witness a comrade fall.

Emphaty because he knows exactly what Jiraiya meant to Naruto. And he knows how hard it is to lose a mentor and a father figure.

Then he felt respect. Until his very last breath, Jiraiya fought for what he stood for. He fought to keep peace. And he had left his light in Naruto.

The heavy feeling in his heart only subsided when he finally steps into the house, catching a familiar scent. It's his home, where someone is waiting for him to return.