Crystal Lightning || (Kakashi Hatake x OC)

Still Alright - Adam Merrin

"Really? Did you fail them? How many teams have you failed already? Don't you feel bad for them?"

"They don't have what I'm looking for."

"Aren't you just being too hard on them, Kakashi? They just got out of the academy. You're their sensei, silly. You're supposed to teach them what you want. How many teams have you sent back to the academy?"

"Never counted." He shrugged, coiling a strand of grass around his index finger. Kakashi rested his head against the tree he was leaning on, staring off into the endless blue and cloudless sky with his knees up. "It should be something embedded in you. You should've seen them during the bell test, Akira. They were ready to kill each other. I had to step in to stop them. You can't unlearn that so easily. It actually worries me that their first reaction is to go at each other."

"You could at least explain what you're looking for. Tell them that this tests their teamwork."

"No, it wouldn't truly be from their hearts."

"How would you know that?"

He yanked the grass off the ground, "Because that's what I did. When Minato-sensei made us do the bell test, I only worked with Obito and Rin to get the stupid bell. I didn't care what the test was about."

"Okay, I guess I can understand that." She leaned next to him, "Might also be that you're not ready too."

"Possible."

"It's all right. Be patient with yourself. Maybe now isn't the right time yet. You have any worries?"

"My students walking towards the same path as my old team. Me failing them. Being too late. Driving my team towards their death."

"That's a lot to put the blame on yourself. There are a lot of things that happened in correlation to each other, but it doesn't mean that it was cause and effect. Be patient with yourself, my darling."

"Huh? Say that again?"

"Be patient with yourself. What's the matter?"

"No, not that part."

"Oh." She leaned her head on him, "My darling."

"My love." He placed his hands over his heart,

"My future otto."

Kakashi froze as heat crawled to his cheeks, turning them crimson red. Who knew those words could have such an impact on him? It was totally out of his expectations. He never thought he would hear those words any time soon. His body was tingling, and if they weren't beaten up from the mission they just came back from, he would fuck her right then and there. It's got a nice ring to it. His heart swelled with glee, and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered their wings wildly. "T-this is the first time I'm hearing this!"

"Oh no." Akira gasped and covered her mouth mockingly, "You really don't remember."

"What?"

"You really were out of it." She tried to stifle her laugh, "I think you're going to be embarrassed if I tell you what you said."

"When?"

"When you were smashed. There was also this other time when you were high on pain meds and just got out of surgery, but that's a different story."

"What did I do?" He covered his face out of embarrassment,

"Nothing! Don't worry!" Akira flailed her arms dismissively, "You were just being really cute!"

"Did I say anything stupid? Tell me what I did!"

She gave him this mischievous yet content look. The night after he went out with his friends had been bored into her memory. She fell asleep smiling with Kakashi sprawled on top of her. "No, you just wouldn't shut up about how much you love me. And then you asked me again."