Roses {Kakashi Hatake}

5. Genin

At the end of he year, Kakashi had graduated, becoming a genin at the age of five. Akahana couldn't follow him immediately, but she comtinued training, striving to graduate as soon as possible.

She was still sad about what happened to Sakumo and it was not going to be easy getting over it, but keeping her promise was the only thing she could do to honour him.

"Kakashi-chan," the six year old muttered, "You've grown up way too fast."

Obito looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but he didn't ask her about it. If it was about Kakashi, he didn't want to know, he had openly called him a disgrace to the Uchiha and he was not going to forgive him for that.

"Aka-chan, you're talking to yourself again," Kurenai said softly from behind her. She was her only female friend and it was nice to have someone to talk to about things boys couldn't understand.

"Sorry," she said to her, "I must've been thinking out loud again." Yet, she started doing just that a little while later, trying to come up with ways to make him happy. She also did so on her way back home, not even hearing a single word that left Gai's mouth.

Gai didn't really mind, he was used to her habit of talking to herself when having a lot on her mind. The one thing that did frustate him was the fact she refused to tell him willingly.

But no matter how weird she got, he couldn't bring himself to dislike or abandon her, she was a lot like him, they understood each other and he cherished their friendship. Who in their right mind could hate her, with her permanent smile, even when worried or sad, and her kind personality?

Kakashi did, but there were probably a few screws loose in that baka's head.

Gai's father, Might Dai, liked the girl as well. She was a good influence to his son, to her classmates and others she knew. He liked her attitude and he believed she would some day be a great shinobi.

The adult genin was training in the backyard when his son came home, talking about the girl. He was a big fan of her, admired her and he could probably talk about her for a whole day.

There were times Dai was starting to think his son was going to fall in love with her some day, it definitely wouldn't surprise him.

---

"So, I've heard that Kakashi graduated," Sora said, casually laying on the couch. He had a day off from work and he planned on spending the entire afternoon with his daughter. Shikaku was out on a mission, which gave him the opportunity. Besides, his brother would come back to Konoha with his wife and son in a couple months, he would have to give him a chance to connect with Akahana as well.

Akahana nodded, "He doesn't even smile anymore," she muttered as she sat down on her father's lap.

"His heart is broken, it made him sad," he told her, "I remember feeling like that after my first girlfriend broke up with me."

"Why would kaa-san do that?"

"Your mother wasn't the first person I've loved," he said, "I've had many girlfriends before I met your mother."

"You can fall in love more than once?"

Sora chuckled, "Of course you can, Aka-chan! It may be hard, but it is possible and very likely."

Akahana smiled and nodded, "But Kakashi-chan has never been in love."

"First of all, there are different kinds of love," he said.

What he said afterwards was something Akahana was definitely going to have to think about, "There are many ways to break a heart, and far too little to mend one," he told her, "If I or your mum were to die, you would feel heartbreak as well."