Aftermath (Kakashi Hatake)

Part 15: Not So Fun Vacation

By the time we left the Hokage's office it was well after dinner and the sky was starting to darken. "I don't like this plan." Kakashi spoke up and I sighed. "None of us do but it's the only way." I said and he nodded but looked off in the distance instead of looking at me. "So how long have you been together?" Jiraiya asked, walking on the other side of me as we made our way back to our house, where I offered Jiraiya our guest room for the night. "Since this morning." I grumbled and he suddenly laughed. "I can't believe it took you so long. Tsunade owes me big time. She bet that you guys would be well into your twenties before you finally figured it out." Jiraiya boasted and I rolled my eyes. 'Why am I not surprised that two out of three of the Legendary Sannin had bets on my love life???' "Well, turns out we've both known for a while just hadn't worked up the nerve to saying anything until today." I looked over at Kakashi who was now looking down at me with a fond look in his visible eye. "It seems we just can't catch a break." He sighed and I nodded in agreement. "No, the two of you never seem to." Jiraiya said with an almost haunted look in his eyes.

When we arrived at home none of us really had an appetite. Since I had showered earlier and Jiraiya had also bathed this afternoon we decided to stay up and talk while Kakashi showered and got ready for bed. I showed Jiraiya to our guest room that was mostly unpacked, just a few boxes of knick knacks and some extra blankets littered around the floor. "Sorry about the boxes, we've been slowly doing each room at a time. This is the last one, after we get it done we will have to tackle the yard." I said and Jiraiya just waved me off, taking a seat on the bed in the center of the room. He patted the spot next to him and I took a seat. "How have you been lately? The last time I saw you I was very worried. I stayed as long as I could." Jiraiya asked and I just sighed. We both leaned back on the head board and stared straight ahead. When Jiraiya had seen me last I was still recovering from my breakdown. I was much better than before but I knew I looked rough. I didn't say a word to him other than to express my happiness in seeing him before essentially locking myself away with Kakashi. He came to visit me before he left and when he asked if I was okay all I said was "Would you be okay?"

"Six months after the Nine Tail's attacked I had a sort of mental breakdown. It was no secret that before hand I was struggling to overcome the losses of my first sensei and my former team mates. One night I found myself standing on top of the Hokage monument with a kunai in my hand, ready to just end it all." I said not looking at the man beside me. "Kakashi found me wearing only my dress from their wedding, already bleeding from my wrist." I paused again to take a deep breath. "He talked me down and took me home. When you saw me I was still trying to heal. I was trying to figure out how to live without them. It was difficult and I am sure that without Kakashi I would've never survived it." I said and he sighed. "Well, I can't say I'm not surprised by your breakdown. You were just a kid when you were thrown into the war. I know what it's like to lose loved ones and what you went through is no easy feat to recover from. I've worried about you and Kakashi on several occasions. I may not know Kakashi as well but he is the student of my student and I can't help but feel some responsibility over him. But I see the look in his eyes when he looks at you. That boy will follow you anywhere just like he said earlier. As long as you are okay, he's going to be okay and vice versa. You two remind me so much of Minato and Kushina. Just made for each other. I could write all the books in the world about love and not a single story will be able to explain the way that the two of you are together. Same with Minato and Kushina. I can't imagine a world with only one of you around and that's why we are gonna fix this. I'm not letting anything happen to the students of Minato and Hitoshi." Jiraiya said and I felt my heart swell with affection for the older man.

We talked about his travels, me scolding him for his 'research' as he called it while he laughed. He told me about how he had been trying to perfect the wind technique, Rasengan, since Minato-sensei never could but just couldn't figure it out. When Kakashi peaked his head into the open doorway and asked if I was ready for bed I just laughed when Jiraiya teased me. He's always been a little less protective over me when it comes to Kakashi than Minato-sensei was. Maybe it's because of what he said about us reminding him so much of Kushina and Minato. "Goodnight, gramps." I said and he smiled. "Minato and Hitoshi would be so proud of you. Both of them cared for you like you were one of their own. You know when Minato asked me to be Naruto's godfather he added something else. He said, 'By agreeing to be Naruto's godfather, you are agreeing to look after Asa as well. She's my family and if something happens to me, I need you to promise you will look after her. Kakashi too, we both know that not even death could separate those two.' I agreed of course and ever since then I've felt like I've been letting you down. Letting him down, and now you need more than ever and I will not fail you."