They Come in Threes

Chapter 2 - Bidding on a Life Worth Living

Chapter 2

"Bidding on a Life Worth Living"

The first order as Hokage, following his inauguration, was definitely tightening Clan-village relations, and the intercontinental connections between the Shinobi villages of the world. To be perfectly honest, Kakashi was unsure of the future. Had it had turned out the way he had expected, he would've known he would've just been keeping the seat warm for someone who had truly deserved it, but now, he was lost.

The funeral last week just left a bitter taste in his throat, and that wasn't because of the double dose of coffee he was consuming to keep up with paperwork. Lately speaking, Kakashi had felt rather deflated- he'd been going to see one of his star pupils- well, the only one left, technically speaking, Sakura-- excuse him, Doctor Haruno, for some prescriptions for mild depression. (Ha, the thought made him chuckle. A Shinobi suffering from depression. Woe is I, I slaughtered 30 enemy nin the other day.)

It was piling on with the workload he had been given- of course, a splurge of documents had to be signed due to the massive damages and casualties following a great shinobi war. The people lost were, contrary to the jaded values of a senior much like, but not including himself, not disposable gadgets or little pawns to torture until they relented and broke. They were sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, friends and family. Each paper signed was a sign, a pledge on the lives lost.

It was the most demanding task when it came to Naruto's paper- no, it had been Sasuke's. Since he was previously a Konoha affiliate, that made his corpse was the property of Konoha, which in turn made him figuratively 'come back'... but only as just that, a cadaver. Naruto, Kakashi had never had to worry about- at least in the sense that he had security over his actions. He was proud of him until the last moment. The death he was more struck over was definitely Naruto's, but between which of the two's papers he had to sign, the one he had bequeathed his signature 'Chidori' to was the one he found more difficult to pen.

The second family he always had was now torn apart, and to say it was a bad feeling was more than overcompensation. It was an injustice to believe that it was something like a roadblock in his journey. Losing both of his soul sons (he had always considered them the children he had never had) was a blow to his psyche even Kakashi of the Sharingan, the man who had already faced such loss within his lifetime could properly handle. Because while the time with his friends and sensei was only heartfelt it had been as brief, and his father's memory was fondly recalled as it was distant, this was a relationship cultivated over almost a decade of love, camaraderie, and trust.

"Sorry, Sakura. I was walking down the street and.. I'm afraid I got lost ...on the path of life." Kakashi sat down at the local bar for a scheduled meeting with his final pupil, twenty minutes late as usual. He sounded awfully soulful, almost barring cheesy.

"Can it, sensei." Sakura lousily replied, pushing forth a bottle of sake. "I can't drink... but you'll need it. It's going to be a stressful few months from here on out. They're doing reconstruction... after all, so the noise is going to be mad." she stared oafishly at the poster on the wall, which was currently just impromptu plaster, and thin as paper. The 'bar' was just a tent with lights hanging from the plastic structure behind it, almost like a slightly larger version of the Ichiraku's restaurant. "..Seriously, businesses. Do they still want to advertise and waste all our ink supplies? You don't know if this crap's been locally printed."

A tranquil look transitioned into the masked man's face as he took a sip, (now unmasked) and he began to cringe at the warm finish. "I know, Sakura. Resources are limited." The daimyo was reluctant in putting in his security funds to recuperate the ninja village, especially after the attempts on his and his fellow ruler's lives. He ought to get rid of them as a whole if it weren't for the fact that Konoha was such a prized possession of the Land of Fire.