Stumble [Rewrite]

Omake VI: Truth

It... surprised Kakashi that two weeks later, there was no incident to follow up the bomb that set off in the Hokage's office. Sachiko had been in his care since then and she was the sweetest, most polite teenager he'd ever met. She insisted on doing most of the chores around the apartment to make up for the fact that he was now her official guardian and she had the greatest passion for medicine and the healing arts since...

He forcibly blinked away the memory before his heart started to hurt.

But true, things could have been going better. The only people who knew about Sachiko and visited frequently to get to know her better were Shizune and Tenten, the former telling her stories about hospital life and the latter taking her to the shop and teaching her about the weapons being sold.

Kakashi peered over his book and to the floor of his living room. Sachiko sat on the polished wood as she was swamped by his pack of summons. They'd all taken a quick liking to her and talked on and on about the most trivial things. Well, at least he didn't think she was getting lonely with the lack of people she was getting to meet.

For one, he hadn't had a decent conversation with Naruto for two whole weeks. The Nanadaime had either completely immersed himself in his work and answered in monosyllabic grunts or avoided his old teacher's company all together. Two, he couldn't even pinpoint wherever the hell Sasuke was and gave up looking for him entirely. And three, Tsunade was just unapproachable. An angry sannin was one thing, but a distraught, grieving one was even worse.

He understood where they were coming from, though.

Tsunade had waited for Sakura to return to camp without a clue what happened. The war was over, there weren't supposed to be any more deaths or tragedies or losing hope. But when Naruto came into view and she saw Sakura pale and empty-

Dead like Dan. Dead like Nawaki. Dead like Jiraiya.

-she stopped breathing. She vowed to never let another loved one die before their time, but she did.

She failed a lover, a brother, a friend, and a daughter.

If she ever got close to Sachiko, she'd be failing a granddaughter too.

Kakashi glanced out the window. He also accepted the basis behind Naruto and Sasuke's absences. Sachiko's words were searing in her moments, relentless and painful as she gave them every reason why they shouldn't say her mother's name.

She looked at them through lenses that were every shade but rose and saw murderers instead of the men the rest of the world built them to be. It was an accident, they tried to tell her, because Sakura wasn't supposed to die.

She wouldn't listen, but who could blame her? She had every right to be upset with them. A parent-less child with a mother who held suicide in her arms and a father who wanted the very word 'shinobi' deserved recompense no matter the form it came in.

He turned back to his book and saw Sachiko press Pakkun's paw pads in his peripheral vision. She never got to meet neither Sakura nor Obito, yet he could see both of them in her small smile and in her softly burning eyes.

She was just like her mother but she hated the world.

Kakashi placed his book on the side table before getting up and opening the front door.

Speak of the devil, hm?

Sasuke, dressed in his gray vest and light purple shirt, stood with his chin help up like it always was. He looked over Kakashi's shoulder to catch a glimpse at the girl surrounded by eight different canines.

"May I speak with her?" he questioned lowly. The other cocked an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's a very good idea," the ex-Hokage smiled. "And you know that too but you still asked. Perhaps I can pass on a message instead."