𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑪𝒀𝑶𝑵 𝑶𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑽𝑰𝑶𝑵 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

DEAD HEARTS DON'T BEAT...

AN: Guess who's back, back again. It's me, because why not. ^-^

Minato came to see him after their meeting at the hospital.

"He's all right. They said he passed out from shock."

The relief he felt was immeasurable. It was as if a heavy weight slipped off his chest and finally let him take in a fresh breath of air. The insides of his ears rumbled, sparking pain, and he clenched his eyes shut as he gnashed his teeth together.

"You're not the one to blame."

Wasn't he?

"I know you aren't."

Really?

"I expected this to happen. Both Kushina and I did. We were just waiting for it."

If he expected it, if they expected it, then why didn't-

No. It didn't matter.

"I'm sorry..." In the end, that was all Kakashi could say. "I'm...sorry." He'd repeat it, feeling the words rip through his throat like hot charcoal. It made him sick. It made him feel weak. It made him feel worthless.

Maybe he was both of those.

"You keep apologizing...even for things out of your control."

Was it out of his control? He was the one who landed Aizen in the hospital. He was the one who said yes to this...this relationship they had, this...thing Aizen called being 'lovers.'

It didn't feel like they were.

"I'm sorry."

He had nothing else to say.

"Kakashi, we fail when we don't succeed after giving our best. When we put our efforts in something we knew has no chance of success, that's madness. We apologize for things we don't mean to happen. That's what a mistake means..."

Did he put in enough effort? Was he trying enough? Did this relationship have any chance of bearing any fruit, or was it fruitless, just like they said it was? He didn't know. He didn't mean for this to happen, so he made a mistake, right? That's what he's being told, right?

"...but if you keep committing the same one, then that just means you were never really sorry."

His insides throbbed, twisting, gut-wrenching. The floor beneath him felt so cold and rough and he wished it would just open up and swallow him whole so he wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

He wished it swallowed Aizen as well.

"I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you the options you can take. Don't be sorry. Be better."

Be...better?

"I'm sorry..." Kakashi muttered.

"I know..." Minato replied, "I am too."

Was he?

"Love is timeless and everlasting. However, no matter how immortal the feeling may be, there are just some things that aren't meant to be. And sometimes, you have no choice but to move on and let go".

Move on and...let go?

"What If I don't want to let go? What then?"

There was only silence.