The Happiness Trilogy - Kakashi X Reader

Epilogue

"Kakashi," Hiruzen suddenly announced and I felt Kakashi lift his head. "You're coming with us too."

I kept my arms tightly wrapped around Kakashi but I turned sideways so I could look at Hiruzen. His eyes were friendly but certain as he stepped closer and placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Konoha isn't the same without you and the shinobi's keep asking where you are. Tsunade is working on a cure or a treatment. Either way, we need you to return home too."

"Come home Kakashi," Gai added. "I can't push myself to be better without you there. I have no rival to compete with..."

"I need someone to talk to about women," Asuma said as he took a drag of his cigarette. "Kurenai is driving me mental and I can't ask Gai because he still sleeps with a stuffed animal."

Laughed erupted into our small group. Even Gai smiled, ignoring Asuma's comment. "Let's go home. All of us," he stated as he turned around and started walking, certain we all would follow.

And that is was we did. We all made the trek back to Konoha. We didn't hurry, we took our time and talked about everything that has passed in the last few weeks. But during that whole journey, I never let go of Kakashi's hand. I clenched it tightly, afraid that he would disappear just like that night in the inn. But after that day, Kakashi never left me again.

We returned to Konoha and lived our life one day at a time. Kakashi was granted a leave of absence to not strain his body with training and fighting. It was hard on Kakashi, who missed the thrill of the shinobi live but he knew this was for the better. He did accompany Gai with training regularly and he remained fit and strong through it.

We mostly filled our days with just being together. We went to the hills often, a blanket underneath us as we laid down with a book in our hand and the sun shining down on us. We talked about all kinds of subjects but we never discussed our future. That point was banned, named taboo if you will, since there was no telling what our future would hold.

Tsunade and her assistants continued trying to find a treatment or cure for Kakashi but the war was moving in on us. The idea that was would rage and that Kakashi wasn't able to fight for our world made him sad but he knew it was for the better to sit this one out, at least until Tsunade had a solution for his hemorrhaging lungs.

I couldn't just sit still as our comrades did whatever they could to help Kakashi, so I continued searching for a cure on my own and after about a year, I finally found something.

The letter had traveled almost half of the world and it had taken weeks before it had reached me, but now, for the first time in almost a year, I felt the faint flame of hope flicker in my chest. In that letter doctor Rennie wrote that he had heard of my continued search for a remedy, and he explained they had developed a medicine. But, although the letter was a very welcome one, it also held something sinister.

A small package with a greyish white powder in there. It smelled terrible, but this package was our only hope. The words of doctor Rennie warning us of possible side effects.

'This medicine has been developed shows great potential for Tuberculosis patients but unfortunately, a few of our test subjects have experienced side effects, such as the loss of sight.

The effects of the medicine have been amazing and almost all our patients no longer experience typical tuberculosis. They are freed of the continued fits of coughing and they feel more energized due to the fact that their appetite returns and they are no longer plagued by the nightly sweat episodes.

Due to the major positive effects, I strongly recommend that you give your friend this medicine. The only thing I can offer both of you is the hope that the medicine will heal his tuberculosis without damaging his visual organs.

Sincerely,

Doctor Rennie.

I stared at the small package in my hand. This was what I had been searching for. A possible cure for Kakashi, so we could continue our happy life but now, I wasn't so sure. I wanted to keep Kakashi with me for the rest of our lives and I wanted our lives to last long. But would Kakashi feel the same way? Would he take medicine if there was a chance that he would become blind?

I was still pondering about it, oblivious to what was happening around me, when I felt arms sneak around my waist.

"What do you have there love?" Kakashi asked as he looked over my shoulder to the small package and the letter in my hand.

"A letter from a doctor called Rennie," I answered as I stared at the package. "He has developed a medicine."

I could feel Kakashi stiffen behind me and take the letter from my hand. His dark eye scanned over the content, taking in all the words until he looked up. "Do you think I should take it?"

An honest question and I knew what I wanted to answer, I just didn't know if it was the answer Kakashi wanted to hear.

"you think I should take it," Kakashi stated as he reached for the small package. "But what if I lose my sight?" He asked almost silently as he stared at the powder.

"What if you lose your life?" I countered. "I know you want to keep your eyes but what good are your eyes if they close forever?"

My words struck a chord deep inside Kakashi. His eyes, which usually showed his determination now wavered.

"I don't know how to live my life as anything but a shinobi. I need my eyes if I want to..."

"You can be anything you want to Kakashi," I said as I took a step back. "Your life won't stop if you can't be a shinobi anymore. It will just turn out differently than expected. But that has happened to us so many times already, we should be used to it by now."

It took every bit of willpower I had inside me but I walked away. I decided I had said enough and that this was a choice Kakashi had to make himself. Without me begging him to do what I thought was right.

In the end, Kakashi did take the medicine. And as luck would have it, his sight never got compromised. After I wrote to doctor Rennie to thank him for sending the medicine and telling him about Kakashi's amazing progress, he responded by sending us more. By now research had shown that in order to completely conquer the disease, the patient needed several doses. And he assured me that some changes were made to the drugs, they no longer could damage the eyes.

So Kakashi and I continued to live happily ever after but the war raged on. Kakashi was still recovering from the damage already done to his lungs and the Hokage, for the time being, refused to call him to duty. So Kakashi and I were homebound, at least for now.

We weren't to upset about it because as it turned out, Kakashi and I found a reason to not participate in the war. Underneath my kimono a bump started growing, and Kakashi and I were eagerly waiting what our future would hold for us. Because we were certain that our luck had been tested enough.