Crystal Lightning || (Kakashi Hatake x OC)

Glass Heart - Casket

Returning back to his normal routine felt odd. The Third Hokage had taken over for the time being, and soon Kakashi will be promoted to captain of his own team in Anbu. He was starting to hate being there, but he was advised to stay a little longer by Hiruzen himself. It was Minato's hope that Kakashi finds his way back through the darkness, and he did, even if he got to the point where he loses himself and got himself trapped before finding his way back. It took two weeks to rebuild his house, and he was already summoned for a solo mission before he starts being an active captain. He felt uneasy being assigned a solo mission directly from the Hokage. Look what happened last time.

"I'm home." He announced his arrival out of habit,

"Welcome home, senpai." Something new that he needed to adjust to, but in a good way; Akira responding. It never fails to make his heart skip a beat. She was progressing, but there were still some nights where she spent crying and then there were the random outbursts as well. "I'm in the living room."

He took off his sandals and peeked in the living room only to find her sitting in the exact same spot where he tried to end his life. His heart became heavy and guilt hovered around him. He wasn't thinking straight that night, and he wasn't able to keep it together. He just wanted to end his misery because he couldn't bear to live without her.

She looked up at him with sad eyes. Her green eyes seemed darker as they depicted the recognisable pain he was in. She had a happy life and a complete family, she didn't deserve this.

Kakashi didn't even bother to take off his gear. He actually had to leave soon, he just went back to check on her.

"I see now... I see what you've been feeling all this time..."

Then he approached her, sitting on his knees, and used his thumb to wipe her tears. "You are sad, you are scared, you are grieving, you feel lonely. That's okay. Be angry. Let it all out."

More tears streamed as she closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, "Are you leaving?"

"Soon."

"Me too." She inhaled shakily, "Are you going to come back?"

"Of course."

"Okay, good. Because I... I only have you... I don't know where else to go..." The tragedy inflicted abandonment issues, always anxious and terrified when he's away.

"Here." He untied his forehead protector and tied it to hers. It had his initials on the inside so she will always have a piece of him wherever she goes. There was this feeling of pride when he saw his protector on her. She looked like those heroines in children's tales. "That way, I'll always be with you no matter where you are."

She wiped her tears, but she was still sobbing. She couldn't hold it back. She thought of the people she saw dead, and then overthought about Kakashi again. Her thoughts were just messy these days. "But what if it happens again? What if I come back and something happens?"

"I'll come looking for you."

"I can't stop crying."

"Akira Haru, you are one of the strongest kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village. You carry your mother's legacy. You are now the Leaf's Shōton Ninja, just like her. And I'm so fucking proud of you." He pressed his forehead against hers, the tip of their noses barely touching, his hands cupped on her neck. In the words of Kushina Uzumaki, the woman who let him cry on her lap, who had always been there for him, the woman who made the ultimate sacrifice for her child and the village: "Enough already. Raise your head." 

It was difficult to do his first mission since the incident as a million things circled around his head. He had to keep a difficult secret from Akira, because it was about Tenzo's real history. There was so much going on that she isn't aware of, and he kept it to himself because he didn't want to put more burden on her. He somehow got involved in the wrong side of Anbu institution, under Lord Danzo, who convinced him that the Third Hokage was incapable. And then he accidentally discovered Tenzo's past and Orochimaru's involvement when he snuck into the Hokage's library. In the midst of rebuilding his house, tending to Akira, and meeting two of the most powerful men in the village, he finds himself back to graves more frequently. 'I need your help, dad.', 'What do you think, sensei?', 'I miss you, Obito, Rin.', 'We're doing fine, mama, uncle Abi.', 'I'm keeping my head up, Kushina.' he would say there. He needed to think because the confusion and overwhelming information made him angry. He needed to vent, and finally came to the conclusion that; he needed to bring Tenzo back to Akira. Because it didn't feel right the more he learns about the secrets that Lord Third had been keeping from the people, even if it was in everybody's best interest. He felt the need to clear the air and bring peace back to the village. No tension, no division, no one in each other's necks. That's what Minato would've wanted. For Akira, for his sensei, for his family and friends who were robbed of the lives they deserved.