Changing What is to Come

Rest and Reflections

The first thing Kakashi noticed after he woke up was the soreness in his shoulder. He yawned away the last vestiges of sleep as he propped himself upwards, sighing as he pressed down on his shoulder looking for the knot.

After he had bid farewell to his sensei yesterday, Kakashi went straight to one of the bathhouses around camp for a soak then came back to sleep. When he arrived, his squad mates were already sleeping. Despite getting an earlier start to their rest, Taiki and Banri were still sleeping soundly. He closed his eyes and detected Katsu's chakra right outside the tent.

Not wanting to disturb the sleeping teens, Kakashi rubbed away the sore spot in his shoulder till the tension eased and then quietly left the tent, grabbing his hygienics kit on his way out. Once he stepped outside, he was pleased to note that it was a cloudy day, the shade and small breeze a welcome change to the summer heat.

"Good morning, Kakashi-kun," Katsu greeted him in a low voice so as not to disturb the sleeping ninja all around him. The teen was eating some rice balls with a smile on his face, but Kakashi could tell it was fake.

"Good morning, Katsu-san," Kakashi nodded in reply regardless. "Did you rest well?" he asked, wanting to give the teen a chance to talk if he wanted to.

"Ah, I was so exhausted I just collapsed," Katsu sighed tiredly.

"When I came back you were all completely out of it," Kakashi agreed.

"We're not as young as we once were, it's your youngsters turn now" Katsu joked.

"I'll be sure to pass on your words of wisdom when you retire soon," Kakashi joked along with him. Katsu let out a small laugh, and his eyes seemed to clear up a bit.

"Want to join me for breakfast?" Katsu asked, waving the rice ball in his hand. "Those two will be asleep for a few more hours."

"Sure, let me just freshen up," Kakashi agreed, lifting his hygienics kit up in proof. He left him and got ready for the day. It didn't take him more than ten minutes, and he rejoined Katsu at the tent.

"Here you go," Katsu passed the pack of rice balls to Kakashi once he returned.

"How were the ninja we brought back, any serious long-term injuries?" Kakashi asked as he took one and settled down on the floor next to Katsu.

"Fortunately, not, besides they were mostly already patched up. One of them has a few broken ribs though, he will have to heal back in Konoha once he's good enough to travel," Katsu informed him.

"His cough did seem pretty bad," Kakashi recalled the ninja's labored breathing with a scowl.

"I have to admit though, I was surprised by how good you were," Katsu stated. "I knew you were a genius, but I thought some of that title was exaggerated by your age. When you attacked those ninja tunneling from below... that was some great control!"

"Thanks," Kakashi took the compliment in stride. "I was also impressed, Taiki and Banri had great teamwork, and I never realized how useful a bow in skilled hands could be," Kakashi reciprocated.

For the longest time, Kakashi never gave much thought to the bow, categorizing it as a tool used by weapon masters in certain scenarios. After seeing Katsu's fighting style, it gave him some ideas for create archery-inspired lightning jutsu. Of all the elements, the fastest was lightning. If he could shoot arrows enhanced with lightning, that would give him a deadly long-distance attack, something that is missing in his arsenal.

"Ah no," Katsu shook his head, "it's easy when your teammates cover the front so well."

With nothing more to add, the two enjoyed the remainder of their breakfast in companiable silence. Once done, they proceeded to clean the container, and Katsu flipped it upside down to dry.