Shattered |Kakashi x OC|

Chapter 33: Monochrome Hues - Part I

We are finally at the finale of Part I! And as a surprise to those who waited a long time for it... it's a two chapter update! Enjoy ;)

2 years later

Feeling grim was something Kakashi had become familiar with through out his life. Tragedy after tragedy had left him numb. Now at twenty-years old, he had learnt to live with the feelings, and in more recent years, to hide them.

But he found himself feeling more crummy than usual after today's mission. He stood in front of his locker in Team Ro's locker room, tuning in and out of Tenzo's constant chatter at his back.

"By the way, what happened to the replacement? Our team is short a member." Tenzo asked as he rummaged through his locker.

"There's no rush," Kakashi responded, placing a hanger back inside his narrow cubby. "We're not in the middle of a war or anything. But the Hokage sent for me when we got back to the village. I assume it's for that." He shut the small wooden door with a groan and a click.

Tenzo looked up from his locker with an easy smile. Now at sixteen, the teen had grown taller, his voice had gotten deeper, and he had cut his hair so it barely brushed his shoulders. He still had his youthful features, but he was losing those by the season.

"That's good news then." He said.

Kakashi didn't join in on his smile like he usually might have. He instead turned and stared straight ahead towards the doors of the locker room. "I guess so. Someone was bound to come sooner or later."

He merely walked away, leaving a confused Tenzo behind.

The walk to the Hokage's receiving room was a blur as Kakashi let his feet take him in the familiar direction. His mind had been occupied by the usual thoughts he got after using Chidori during his assassination missions.

One would think it would get easier with time now that seven years had passed since Rin's death and eight since Obito's. But it didn't, it was only that Kakashi became less reactive to the memory of it during his waking days. Night were different though...

These thoughts were likely the culprits to his current mood, but he couldn't do anything about it as he opened a door and stepped into the Hokage's receiving room and bowed.

"Kakashi, welcome." Hiruzen said as the young man knelt down on the matted floor. "As you know, Team Ro is down one person after the injury of your previous member." The Hokage continued, his now white hair standing on end like it always did. "So a new member will be joining your team."

"Is it the one we previously discussed?" Kakashi asked.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, he's extremely capable. I believed he'll be a good addition to your team."

"Perhaps, but... he's very young." The Anbu Captain pointed out, his voice coming out uncharacteristically soft.

"Danzo recommended him that he gain more experience. And I trust that he will be safe in a capable team like Team Ro. And with a capable captain like yourself." The Hokage explained, and that was it.

"Thank you, Lord Third." Bowing at the praise seemed to be the only appropriate response, despite the way  Kakashi felt about having someone so young— a child— join the Anbu.

There was nothing Ahsoka Aoyama hated more in the world than having to write mission reports after she let them pile up. Though that was her own fault for letting it happen, when she choose to spend her little free time practicing her instruments instead— the shamisen and the lyre today. She cursed herself for it when she felt her hand cramping as she wrote another sentence detailing the events of her latest mission.