Chapter Text
Jiraiya was, for whatever reason, absolutely delighted with the outcome.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was beginning to question every decision that had led him to this point.
This was torture.
Not because the training was hard.
Because there wasn't any training.
Kakashi sat submerged up to his shoulders in the hot spring, steam curling lazily around him until it blurred the trees surrounding the secluded onsen. The water was almost too hot, soaking into his aching muscles and making his head feel pleasantly heavy, if only he weren't sitting next to the most infuriating man in existence.
Across from him, Jiraiya was completely absorbed in trying to peek over the bamboo wall separating the men's and women's baths.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The old man would stretch his neck, mutter something under his breath, receive a loud splash or an angry shout from the other side, then sink back into the water for all of five seconds before trying again.
Kakashi's eye twitched.
"...Jiraiya-sama."
"Mmm?"
"Weren't we supposed to be training?"
A distracted hum.
No answer.
Kakashi waited.
Nothing.
Jiraiya had already returned to staring very intently at the top of the wall.
Kakashi inhaled slowly.
"...Jiraiya-sama."
"Hm?"
"You said you were going to train me."
"I did."
"...So?"
"So what?"
Kakashi stared.
"So... when does the training begin?"
Jiraiya waved a hand lazily.
"It'll happen."
"...When?"
"When the time is right."
"The time has been right for three hours."
"Mhm."
"And?"
"...Patience is an important lesson too."
Kakashi watched him immediately attempt to peek over the wall again.
"...You're not teaching me patience."
"No?"
"No."
"What am I teaching you?"
"...How not to become you."
Jiraiya barked out a laugh.
"That's a valuable lesson!"
Kakashi sighed.
He'd had enough.
He stood, water cascading from his body in shimmering streams before splashing back into the spring. Steam clung briefly to his skin before the cooler air chased it away.
Jiraiya didn't even glance at him.
Too busy.
Kakashi walked toward the changing room, dried off, pulled his clothes back on, adjusted his mask...
Then disappeared in a flicker of shunshin.
Behind him—
"...Huh?"
Jiraiya finally looked over.
"...Where'd the kid go?"
Kakashi did what he had been doing surprisingly often lately whenever he found himself with nowhere else to be.
He went looking for Obito.
It didn't take long.
He found him lounging across a bench near one of Konoha's busier streets, one arm thrown lazily over the backrest while Genma sat beside him, the two talking about something that seemed to amuse them.
For some reason...
Seeing them together made something unpleasant twist inside his chest.
A sharp little stab of an emotion he couldn't quite name.
He frowned.
Shook it off.
Then shunshined beside them.
Genma jumped so hard the senbon between his teeth nearly fell out.
"What the—?!"
Obito merely turned his head.
"Oh."
A grin spread across his face.
"Hey, Kakashi."
Like it was the most natural thing in the world, he shifted over, making room before casually draping an arm across the back of the bench behind Kakashi's shoulders.
Kakashi let out a tired sigh.
"...Hello."
Without really thinking about it, he leaned slightly toward Obito.
The familiar warmth was... comforting.
Obito didn't seem to think anything of it.
Genma, however...
Genma looked between the two of them with increasingly obvious confusion.
He subtly elbowed Obito.
Obito blinked.
"...Hm?"
Genma elbowed him again, this time with considerably more force.
"...Ow."
Obito finally followed Genma's gaze to Kakashi leaning against him.
Realization slowly dawned across his face.
"...Ooooooh."
Kakashi looked up.
Obito scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Right."
"You two don't know each other."
He pointed between them.
"Kakashi, this is Genma."
"Genma, Kakashi."
Genma nodded politely.
"...Nice to meet you."
Kakashi returned the nod.
"You too."
It felt...
Strange.
Painfully so.
Back home, Genma had been someone he'd worked alongside countless times.
Someone who knew his habits. His strengths. His terrible sense of humor. Here...
He was just another stranger. It hurt more than Kakashi expected. Genma kept studying him long enough that even Obito noticed.
"...What?"
Genma tilted his head.
"...What rank are you?"
Obito snorted.
Kakashi did too.
"...Civilian."
"...You're joking."
"I'm not."
Genma looked between the two of them.
Then back at Kakashi.
"...No."
"I'm serious."
"...No, you're not."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"I work... worked... at a flower shop."
"...That's impossible."
Kakashi blinked.
"...Why?"
Genma opened his mouth.
"...Because..."
He stopped himself.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Kakashi understood immediately.
The Hokage's office.
Genma had been one of the ANBU who answered Minato's summons that day. As he was one of Minato-sensei's personal guards.
He'd seen Kakashi sitting calmly in a room filled with corpses, drinking tea with the Hokage like it happened every afternoon.
Someone like that... wasn't a civilian.
Neither of them acknowledged it and the silence stretched.
Kakashi simply closed his eye again, settling more comfortably against Obito.
He realized, almost absently, that this was the first time he had managed to lean against Obito without immediately feeling a panic attack creeping up his throat.
Progress.
Small.
But progress.
Obito and Genma continued their conversation, occasionally laughing about old missions while Kakashi quietly listened.
Five peaceful minutes passed.
Then—
"KAKASHI!"
All three of them looked up.
Jiraiya was stomping toward them, looking thoroughly offended.
"There you are!"
Obito immediately tensed.
The relaxed smile disappeared from his face.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he watched the Sannin approach.
Kakashi noticed.
Without opening his eye, he reached over and lightly patted Obito's leg.
It's fine.
Obito glanced down at him.
The tension eased from his shoulders.
"...Why'd you run off?" Jiraiya demanded.
Kakashi looked at him flatly.
"...Because you ignored me."
"I did not."
"You spent three hours trying to peek at naked women."
Silence.
Obito froze.
Genma froze.
Both slowly turned toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya coughed into his fist.
"...Research."
"...You ignored your student for your research," Kakashi corrected.
"...Maybe."
Genma blinked several times.
"...Jiraiya-sama...you actually took him as a student?"
Jiraiya nodded proudly.
"I did."
Genma's suspicious gaze immediately returned to Kakashi.
He looked him up and down again, as though trying to solve a puzzle that refused to make sense.
Kakashi ignored him completely.
Instead, he continued staring at Jiraiya.
"...If you want me to learn anything," he said calmly, "you're going to have to actually teach me."
Jiraiya sighed dramatically.
"...Fine. I'll stop."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Kakashi held his gaze for another moment, making sure he meant it.
Finally...
He nodded.
"...Alright."
He stood.
Obito reached over and gave his head one absent-minded pat.
"Have fun."
Kakashi immediately batted his hand away.
"...Don't do that."
Obito laughed.
"You've gotten less grumpy about it."
"I have not."
"You absolutely have."
"...Goodbye, Obito."
"See you later, Kakashi."
With one last long-suffering look at his new teacher, Kakashi walked over to Jiraiya.
The Sannin grinned.
"This time," he said, "we'll actually train."
Kakashi looked at him skeptically.
"...I'll believe it when I see it."
Jiraiya laughed as the two of them disappeared down the street together.
Jiraiya had lied.
The goddamned bastard had lied right to his face.
Kakashi should have expected it.
He really should have.
Instead of taking him to a training ground, or a secluded forest, or even one of those weird toad places Jiraiya was always talking about...
The Sannin had dragged him to his house.
Sat him down.
Disappeared for a minute.
Then returned carrying a very thin book. He proudly slapped it down in front of Kakashi.
"Basic Seals for Idiots and Kids"
By the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya
Kakashi stared at the cover.
...
He kept staring.
One minute passed. Then two. By the fifth minute, he was still staring at it with complete agony painted across his face.
Slowly...
Very slowly...
He lifted his head.
Jiraiya was already sitting on the opposite side of the room, completely ignoring him.
The man had taken out a notebook and was scribbling away furiously, muttering to himself every few seconds.
Kakashi recognized the notebook immediately.
Icha Icha.
To be fair... Kakashi loved the series. It was surprisingly well written beneath all the... questionable content.
That wasn't the point. The point was that his teacher had abandoned him less than a minute after arriving.
"...Jiraiya."
No honorific. The man didn't deserve one.
"Hm?"
"I'm not reading this."
Jiraiya didn't even look up.
"You are."
"No."
"I'll teach you after you've read it."
Kakashi looked down at the title again.
"...I already know basic sealing."
That finally earned him a glance.
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"And how exactly am I supposed to believe that?"
Kakashi's eye twitched.
Now he understood. He finally understood why Naruto called this man ero-sennin with absolutely zero respect. Kakashi had always assumed it was simply...
Naruto being Naruto.
It wasn't. The man earned it.
With the long-suffering sigh of someone accepting his fate, Kakashi opened the book.
It was...
Painful.
Five pages.
Five.
The explanations were somehow both overly simplistic and unnecessarily complicated.
Half the diagrams were drawn terribly.
One page was nothing but Jiraiya complimenting himself.
Kakashi finished it in less than ten minutes.
"...Done."
Jiraiya hummed without looking up.
"Read it again."
Kakashi blinked.
"...What?"
"Let it sink in."
"...It's five pages."
"Mhm."
"I already knew everything in it."
"Mhm."
"...The diagrams are horrible."
"Mhm."
Kakashi inhaled deeply.
Then, without another word...
He threw the book.
It flew across the room with perfect accuracy.
THWACK.
"OW!"
The book bounced off Jiraiya's forehead.
"You little brat!"
Kakashi stood.
"I'm leaving."
He turned toward the door.
Took one step.
Immediately stepped back.
Someone had just entered.
Kakashi nearly walked straight into him.
His entire body froze. Pulse hammering.
Pale skin. Long black hair. Golden eyes with slit pupils.
Orochimaru.
The Sannin didn't even spare Kakashi a glance. Instead, he fixed Jiraiya with an utterly unimpressed stare.
"...Jiraiya."
Jiraiya waved cheerfully despite still rubbing his forehead.
"Orochi!"
"Were you inside my laboratory again?"
"...Maybe."
"...Jiraiya."
"I was just borrowing—"
"You broke the lock."
"It wasn't a very good lock."
"It was a sealing lock."
"...Details."
The two immediately dissolved into bickering.
Kakashi remained perfectly still.
Right.
Obito had mentioned this.
Danzo had taken the blame for Orochimaru's experiments and Danzo had been executed.
Orochimaru...
Had stayed.
Kakashi looked thoughtfully at the snake Sannin.
Then...
A terrible idea entered his head.
His instincts screamed at him not to. Every survival instinct he possessed told him this was an awful plan.
He ignored all of them.
"...Orochimaru-sama."
The room became quiet. Orochimaru slowly turned.
Golden eyes settled on Kakashi.
Waiting.
Jiraiya looked personally offended.
"Oi! Why does he get a '-sama'?"
Kakashi ignored him.
"Orochimaru-sama..."
He waited until the man silently acknowledged him.
"...I'm Jiraiya's new student."
"I gathered."
Kakashi nodded solemnly.
"He told me he's the greatest seal master alive."
Jiraiya puffed out his chest proudly.
"Damn right I am."
Kakashi continued without looking at him.
"He also said nobody else could even come close."
Orochimaru's expression became... interesting.
Kakashi kept going.
"I know you're skilled as well."
A pause.
"But..."
He looked back toward Jiraiya.
"...After spending today under him...He's a horrible teacher."
Jiraiya gasped dramatically.
Kakashi ignored him.
"I sincerely hope sealing itself isn't as poorly taught as he teaches."
He looked back at Orochimaru.
"I was wondering...Are you actually as bad as he says?"
Silence.
Orochimaru slowly turned his head toward Jiraiya. The look he gave him clearly translated to:
How dare you.
Kakashi continued innocently.
"I was wondering if...perhaps...you'd be willing to show me some of your teachings instead."
Another long silence followed.
Understanding slowly appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. He glanced at Kakashi.
Then at Jiraiya.
Then back again.
Behind them—
"...What?"
Jiraiya looked between the two, also understanding suddently, not happy.
Kakashi expected several possible outcomes.
Orochimaru refusing.
Jiraiya finally taking offense and actually teaching him.
Jiraiya taking offense and NOT teachnig him.
It would be fine, even if Minato-sensei wanted to let Jiraiya teach the Fhuinjutsu part, he would not complain.
What he did not expect—
"...Very well."
Orochimaru spoke calmly.
"You may become my student."
...
...
...
"...What?"
Kakashi stared.
Jiraiya exploded.
"YOU CAN'T TAKE MY STUDENT!"
He shot to his feet.
"YOU NEVER TAKE STUDENTS!"
Orochimaru ignored him entirely.
Instead, he stepped toward Kakashi.
"...Come."
He took Kakashi lightly by the wrist.
Not giving him much chance to react before guiding him outside.
Behind them—
"HEY!"
"OROCHI!"
"GIVE HIM BACK!"
The shouting faded as the door closed.
They walked in silence for several minutes.
Eventually...
Orochimaru spoke.
"...You didn't expect me to agree."
It wasn't a question.
Kakashi shook his head honestly.
"...No."
A quiet hum.
"I thought...at best...you'd refuse."
Orochimaru looked ahead.
"I knew your father."
Kakashi froze.
"...Sakumo Hatake."
There was something unreadable in the Sannin's expression. Not sadness exactly. Not regret. Something quieter.
"I respected him."
Another pause.
"I also know he had exceptional talent."
His golden eyes drifted briefly toward Kakashi.
"...So do you."
Kakashi opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Orochimaru continued walking.
"I will teach you...If only for his sake."
Kakashi stood rooted to the ground.
The words echoed in his head.
I knew your father.
I respected him.
His father...
Respected.
Remembered.
Not whispered about.
Not treated like a disgrace.
His throat tightened unexpectedly.
He lowered his head.
"...Thank you."
His voice came out quieter than intended.
"...Truly."
Orochimaru merely inclined his head.
"There is no need."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he added,
"...Though I should warn you."
Kakashi looked up.
"My standards are considerably higher than Jiraiya's."
Behind them, somewhere in the distance—
"I HEARD THAT!"
Orochimaru's lips curved ever so slightly.
"...Good."
For the first time since arriving in this strange world...
Kakashi found himself following someone into the unknown.
Not with fear.
But with genuine curiosity.
Orochimaru had not been exaggerating.
Not even a little.
The man had warned Kakashi that his standards were high.
Kakashi now believed they were inhuman.
For the past week, he had spent more time inside Orochimaru's laboratory than inside his own apartment.
The place had become strangely familiar.
Shelves lined every wall, overflowing with scrolls, books, preserved specimens, jars whose contents Kakashi had very intentionally decided not to identify, and enough sealing arrays to make his eye hurt just by looking at them.
Unlike Jiraiya's home, however...
Everything had its place.
Not a single scroll was out of line.
Every brush was cleaned.
Every ink bottle was sealed.
The laboratory was almost unnervingly organized.
And yet...
After an entire week...
They hadn't written a single seal.
Not one.
Theory.
Nothing but theory.
Kakashi had begun dreaming about seal structures.
"...Again."
Orochimaru's calm voice echoed through the room.
"What is the difference between an even-numbered seal and an uneven-numbered seal?"
Kakashi resisted the urge to sigh.
He had answered this yesterday.
And the day before that.
And three times this morning.
He took a slow breath anyway.
"An even-numbered seal is primarily used for reinforcement. It possesses greater raw stability and power than an uneven-numbered seal of comparable quality."
He barely had to think anymore.
The words came automatically.
"However...It is a closed structure, It cannot be expanded by attaching additional seals."
Orochimaru gave a slight nod.
Kakashi continued.
"An uneven-numbered seal is primarily used for simple containment, It is weaker by itself...but its structure remains open. Because of that, another uneven-numbered seal can be added onto it to reinforce the original. The total number of sides becomes even...but it does not become an even-numbered seal."
He looked up briefly.
"It remains two connected uneven-numbered seals, not one complete structure."
Orochimaru remained expressionless.
"So?"
"So... they behave differently, the two systems cannot be mixed. If an even-numbered seal and an uneven-numbered seal overlap...their structures interfere. The formulas destabilize, and they eventually cancel one another out."
Silence.
Orochimaru tapped one finger lightly against the desk.
Then—
"Can you overlay two even-numbered seals?"
Kakashi answered immediately.
"No."
"...Explain."
"They merge."
He reached for a nearby sheet of paper without being asked.
Picking up a brush, he quickly drew two simple four-sided seal structures.
"If these overlap..."
He drew them intersecting.
"...they stop existing as separate seals."
The ink spread into a larger diagram.
"They become one, a single eight-sided seal."
He set the brush down.
"But..."
He looked at Orochimaru.
"It will always be weaker than a naturally constructed eight-sided seal."
"Why?"
"Because the formula isn't complete. It retains imperfections from both original structures."
He pointed at the paper again.
"It reaches eight sides...but not eight-sided efficiency."
He picked the brush back up.
"In comparison..."
He drew a five-sided seal.
Then a three-sided one.
"When uneven-numbered seals combine...they never truly merge, they remain independent, they simply reinforce each other. The resulting strength approaches an eight-sided structure...without ever becoming one."
He finally placed the brush aside.
"The mathematics may be identical. The architecture isn't."
Silence settled across the laboratory.
Orochimaru studied the paper.
Then...
He hummed.
"...Correct."
Kakashi relaxed by exactly half an inch.
Orochimaru looked back toward him.
"...You've memorized the theory."
"I have."
"...Without understanding it."
Kakashi blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"You remember every answer."
Orochimaru folded his hands into his sleeves.
"But you're reciting. Not explaining."
Kakashi frowned.
"...There's a difference?"
"A vast one."
The Sannin stood.
Walking toward another shelf, he removed a much older scroll.
"When you stop remembering..and begin understanding...then we'll begin writing."
Kakashi suddenly understood why the man had so few students.
He wasn't sure anyone survived long enough to become one.
Orochimaru returned.
For a long moment...
He simply looked at Kakashi.
Then...
Unexpectedly...
He reached over.
Pat.
His hand landed gently on top of Kakashi's head.
"...You've done well."
Kakashi froze.
"..."
"..."
What.
Was.
With.
People.
Patting.
His.
Head?!
First Obito.
Now Orochimaru.
Was there some invisible sign above him saying Please Treat Like Child?
He looked completely bewildered.
Orochimaru either didn't notice...
Or chose not to acknowledge it.
"You may leave..go home...rest."
Kakashi nearly cried.
Home.
His tiny apartment.
His old bed.
His terrible kitchen.
He actually missed it.
"...Thank you, Orochimaru-sama."
He bowed respectfully.
The Sannin simply nodded before returning to his scrolls.
Kakashi left before the man changed his mind.
By the time he reached his apartment, the sun had already begun to set.
His shoulders ached.
His eyes burned.
He had never thought sitting down reading books all day could be more exhausting than assassination missions.
Apparently...
He had been wrong.
He unlocked the door.
Walked inside.
Dropped his sandals by the entrance.
Then immediately went to shower.
Warm water washed away the ink stains covering his fingers.
When he finally emerged, drying his silver hair with a towel, he felt marginally more human.
He had just stepped into his bedroom—
Bang.
The window flew open.
"KAKASHI!"
Obito practically stumbled inside.
He landed rather gracefully...then immediately ruined it by tripping over the windowsill, but he caught himself before falling.
Barely.
"There you are!"
He pointed dramatically.
"Where have you been?! I've looked everywhere! The training grounds! The ramen stand! The flower shop!...Well. I forgot you got fired."
Pakkun, who had been sleeping peacefully on the bed, lifted his head just long enough to glare at Obito before deciding the interruption wasn't worth barking over.
Kakashi stared.
He was...
Far too tired for this.
"...Training."
He answered simply.
"For a week?"
"Orochimaru-sama."
Obito blinked.
"...What."
Obito looked like he had at least twelve questions.
He opened his mouth.
Kakashi didn't let him.
With a tired sigh, he walked over. Grabbed Obito's wrist. The Uchiha stopped talking immediately.
"...Kakashi?"
Without a word...Kakashi gently tugged him closer. Obito followed almost automatically, too surprised to resist.
Kakashi sat down on the bed. Pulled Obito down beside him. Obito looked utterly confused.
"...What are you—"
Before he could finish—
Thunk.
Kakashi leaned sideways.
Resting his forehead against Obito's chest.
Obito's eyes widened.
"K-Kakashi?"
No response.
Kakashi let out one long, exhausted breath.
"...Too tired...Think later..."
Obito blinked.
"...Uh...Okay?"
Another second passed.
Then another.
Kakashi's breathing slowed. His grip on Obito's sleeve loosened.
Within moments...
He was completely asleep.
Obito remained perfectly still.
"..."
"...Pakkun?"
The pug lazily opened one eye.
"What?"
"...What do I do?"
Pakkun looked at the sleeping Kakashi.
Then at the completely bewildered Uchiha.
"...Nothing. He does this when he's exhausted."
"...He does?"
"...No."
Pakkun yawned.
"...But I'm guessing."
Obito let out a helpless laugh.
"...Great."
Carefully...
Very carefully...
He adjusted himself against the headboard so Kakashi wouldn't slide off.
One hand hesitated awkwardly in the air.
Then settled lightly against Kakashi's back.
"...Sleep well," he murmured quietly.
Kakashi, already fast asleep, only mumbled something completely unintelligible into Obito's shirt.
Obito smiled.