safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

sixty-four

But Kakashi knew things were different. He couldn't do what he wanted, because that would hurt Eri. So, he simply mumbled a "goodnight," and let her shut the door.

He hated this. More than anything or anyone, he hated that he couldn't have what he finally got, which was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to him.

He solemnly walked back to his lonely home, pausing outside of the building to stare at the tall trees quietly whispering through the night breeze. It was a beautiful, Konoha night, and he wanted nothing more than to spend it with the one he loved.

"Yo, Kakashi-sensei." A gruff, boyish voice called to him, and he slowly returned his attention to ground-level. He forced a closed-eyed grin as his blonde-haired, rambunctious student approached him.

During the brief time that Eri was in the hospital, Naruto finally returned from his intensive training. He had grown quite a but taller and fuller; he looked more like a young man than a boy, and his voice had gotten lower with maturity. But he was still the same silly, trouble-making, driven shinobi he always was.

"Naruto!" Kakashi exclaimed as much as his lazy persona allowed him to. He had seen and greeted the boy since his return, but hadn't had the time to catch up.

The said young man gave a wide, cheeky smile. "Good to see you, Kakashi-sensei."

"You too." Kakashi ruffled his student's spiked yellow hair.

"You know, I caught up with Sakura today." Naruto began in a much more serious manner than was typical for him. "She told me about you and Eri-san. I gotta say... two freaking years? Man, we all saw it from day one."

"You knew?" The white-haired man was shocked at how his students perceived his relationship with Eri, even though they hadn't been together for so long.

"Uh, yeah." The blonde rolled his eyes. "Sakura, Sasuke, and I were all in on it. You were practically obsessed with her, and she always looked at you differently than anyone else."

The older shinobi breathed out a laugh, rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and muttered, "oops."

"Sakura also told me what... happened..." His tone saddened as his teacher's shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry."

"You can never be too certain in this shinobi world that we live in." Kakashi hummed in melancholic demeanor. He was trying to not show his student how troubled he was.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less."

"At some point you have to face reality."

"That doesn't mean you can't change what happens in the future."

"Since when have you been the mature one? Is that what all that secret training was for?" The older man chuckled, blowing off the root of what Naruto was trying to get at.

"I know things sometimes."

"Sure."

"Okay, fine. I'm the trouble-making goofball." He rolled his blue eyes. "I guess, what I want to ask is, what are you going to do?" He rubbed the back of his head and grinned, but he didn't know how hard that question hit Kakashi.