The Wave

Kakashi Hatake

Sarah was thankful that Neo had offered to take Orion in her car back to the house.  She was trying her best to gather her thoughts on how she was going to explain to Ti exactly how he came to be.  She honestly had not thought she would ever have to have this conversation.  Then when he had found out, his explosive reaction made talking to him about it out of the question until he settled down.  She glanced in the rearview, looking at his reflection as they came to a stop at the light.  He was quiet and looking out the window while tension filled the car.  She shifted her eyes forward as the light turned green.  An idea sparked as she looked at a familiar favorite and flipped her blinker on.  She noticed in the back seat he straightened, an excited look crossing his features before he smoothed it out.

"Do you want the usual?" she asked him, barely restraining a smile as he gave a sharp nod. "What kind of shake?"

"Strawberry," he responded quickly.

It was not long before the car was filled with the drool worthy smell of Whataburger French fries and burgers.  It was an intoxicating smell, and it was almost impossible to keep from snagging a fresh fry out of the bag along the way to the river.  She somehow managed to control herself long enough to park the vehicle by the river.  Ti was happily sucking down his strawberry shake when she turned the car off.  He glanced up and tilted his head to the side in question.

"I thought we could eat and enjoy the river while we talk," she explained to him.

Ti was silent as they got out of the vehicle and walked down to the steps next to the river.  In the spring and summer, the river would be packed with tubers.  Some people swam in the river as well but those mostly stayed down by the falls.  They were further up at the point where the tubers would start their journey downstream.  She sat down on one of the concrete sides and patted the spot next to her.  He sat down next to her, and she passed him fries and then his favorite burger, a Jalapeño and cheese Whataburger.  She had ordered a bacon and cheese Whataburger and fries for herself.  It was their favorite burger joint and a luxury they didn't indulge in very often.  They ate in companionable silence for a while, the trickling of the river and the flow of the water giving a certain ambiance to the moment.  She finished her burger before she finally felt ready to talk.

"Kakashi Hatake is your father, Ti," she said softly.  He stiffened at the words, and she could see him bulling up.  She raised her hand, stopping him from arguing before continuing, "Let me tell you what happened before you argue with me.  Give me that much respect."

He made a grunting sound before taking a big bite out of his burger, side eyeing her.  It was the best she could hope for, so she took a deep breath.

"Eleven years ago, I was living in an apartment not that far from here.  It seems like ages ago but in the same breath, only yesterday.  I was crazy about your father..." He took an aggressive bite out of the burger but remained silent. "There was just something about his character on Naruto that struck me and by the time I got through Shippuden, I was totally head over heels."

"Stupid falling for a fictional character," he muttered.  "I'm not buying it mom."

Sarah laughed, "Now give me a chance to finish the story."  He rolled his eyes but finished up his burger in silence as she spoke. "I then started hearing about something called the Multiverse Theory."  He glanced over at her but remained silent. "It basically believes that there are infinite realities and dimensions, that all of our stories come from these places and that somewhere, our stories are entertainment for others.  That every decision creates another splinter line of the opposite decision and so forth."

He looked over at her and started laughing, "Who would want to know about us?"

Sarah grinned then ate one of her fries before answering, "You never know.  At any rate, I started to believe in it and of course... I really wanted to believe your father existed somewhere.  Around the same time, I started having a ghost problem."