The Day of Ceasing (Naruto, Yondaime + Kakashi)
Written for Kohaku-chan. Sorry this took so long...orz
Anyway, happy birthday and good luck with everything! ^_^
Disclaimer: Not mine. Kishimoto's (yes I do resent this fact).
Spoilers: Through Kakashi Gaiden.
Characters: Kakashi, Yondaime
Warning: Character death.
Word Count: 700
The Day of Ceasing
by Renata Lord (snowlight)
*
His breaths were coming out in small and shallow gasps. For the first time in as long as I remembered, there was a hint of undisguised panic in those eyes. Even his skin was already losing that human warmth, as if the sinking sun was taking all of his life with it to the other side of the horizon, into the gaping darkness.
This was good-bye, but neither of us was prepared for it.
"It's going to be alright," I tried to smile for him.
There was no reply. Slowly and deliberately, he reached out and touched my face with both hands. They were drenched in blood. In fact, his entire body was soaked in crimson, at once beautiful and terrible to behold in that twilight. He was Death itself, I thought deliriously. He had been my salvation, and now he would be my demise.
"You're going to be alright," I said again with all the conviction I could muster. I could tell he didn't really believe it.
"Please don't cry, then." Was all that he said.
I nodded. I would never cry. Not in front of him.
There were so many things I needed to tell him, a thousand upon another thousand. I wanted to remind him the backyard garden would require weeding soon, and this time he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. I wanted to ask what was he going to do for the Obon Festival, if he made plans already. Small things. Important things. But all the words died in my throat unspoken.
The time was up. The hourglass had already been emptied.
I squeezed his hand, once.
Then I died.
*
In the first few years apart, I wondered why he refused to open his dreams to me. Every birthday, every anniversary, every Obon Festival; no matter how hard or how long I knocked on that door to his consciousness, he remained stubbornly deaf to my pleas. Eventually but inevitably, it dawned on me that that I had not been forgiven.
Now that he finally stood in front of me, face to face, I found myself overcome with something akin to grief. With cold and inexorable certainty, the chasm between life and death had robbed me of him. The child from my memory had, in a time and space untouched by my presence, grown into a man.
"See, I told you it would be alright."
I didn't want to greet him the usual way, because there wasn't enough "long time no see" in the world to cover the gap of these years.
He didn't bother with the formal pleasantries, either. Narrowing his eyes at me, he looked mildly displeased. It was the same look he used to have when I got into trouble with the Konoha brass.
"To say such a thing, here and now....sensei, you truly are a terrible person after all."
I almost laughed. I took a step towards him and found his eyes met mine at my level now. I wasn't used to this change, but I liked it.
"Terrible? My dear, you speak blasphemy. I mean oh sure, I said uncharitable things about ex-girlfriends, ran up really big tabs at bars, and I always did give the Elders heart attacks, things of that nature. But to you, Kakashi? To you, I'm the greatest man who ever lived."
There was a small smile behind that mask.
"You really haven't changed in the least."
"No," I shrugged. Why would I? I'd been dead all these years. He looked older than I was now. Talk about disconcerting development. I'd expected it, but the visual shock was inevitable. A forced calm had replaced that painful grace, like a blade which had been put back into its sheath. "What about you?"
He appeared to give this some thought.
"It doesn't hurt when I say your name now," He said at last, the outlines of his body already fading back into the living world. "So I think I'll be alright, sooner rather than later."
He raised a hand to touch the tip of mine. The warmth of it lingered on my skin; even if after the barest of moments, we both let go.
*
Finis
Anyway, happy birthday and good luck with everything! ^_^
Disclaimer: Not mine. Kishimoto's (yes I do resent this fact).
Spoilers: Through Kakashi Gaiden.
Characters: Kakashi, Yondaime
Warning: Character death.
Word Count: 700
The Day of Ceasing
by Renata Lord (snowlight)
*
His breaths were coming out in small and shallow gasps. For the first time in as long as I remembered, there was a hint of undisguised panic in those eyes. Even his skin was already losing that human warmth, as if the sinking sun was taking all of his life with it to the other side of the horizon, into the gaping darkness.
This was good-bye, but neither of us was prepared for it.
"It's going to be alright," I tried to smile for him.
There was no reply. Slowly and deliberately, he reached out and touched my face with both hands. They were drenched in blood. In fact, his entire body was soaked in crimson, at once beautiful and terrible to behold in that twilight. He was Death itself, I thought deliriously. He had been my salvation, and now he would be my demise.
"You're going to be alright," I said again with all the conviction I could muster. I could tell he didn't really believe it.
"Please don't cry, then." Was all that he said.
I nodded. I would never cry. Not in front of him.
There were so many things I needed to tell him, a thousand upon another thousand. I wanted to remind him the backyard garden would require weeding soon, and this time he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it. I wanted to ask what was he going to do for the Obon Festival, if he made plans already. Small things. Important things. But all the words died in my throat unspoken.
The time was up. The hourglass had already been emptied.
I squeezed his hand, once.
Then I died.
*
In the first few years apart, I wondered why he refused to open his dreams to me. Every birthday, every anniversary, every Obon Festival; no matter how hard or how long I knocked on that door to his consciousness, he remained stubbornly deaf to my pleas. Eventually but inevitably, it dawned on me that that I had not been forgiven.
Now that he finally stood in front of me, face to face, I found myself overcome with something akin to grief. With cold and inexorable certainty, the chasm between life and death had robbed me of him. The child from my memory had, in a time and space untouched by my presence, grown into a man.
"See, I told you it would be alright."
I didn't want to greet him the usual way, because there wasn't enough "long time no see" in the world to cover the gap of these years.
He didn't bother with the formal pleasantries, either. Narrowing his eyes at me, he looked mildly displeased. It was the same look he used to have when I got into trouble with the Konoha brass.
"To say such a thing, here and now....sensei, you truly are a terrible person after all."
I almost laughed. I took a step towards him and found his eyes met mine at my level now. I wasn't used to this change, but I liked it.
"Terrible? My dear, you speak blasphemy. I mean oh sure, I said uncharitable things about ex-girlfriends, ran up really big tabs at bars, and I always did give the Elders heart attacks, things of that nature. But to you, Kakashi? To you, I'm the greatest man who ever lived."
There was a small smile behind that mask.
"You really haven't changed in the least."
"No," I shrugged. Why would I? I'd been dead all these years. He looked older than I was now. Talk about disconcerting development. I'd expected it, but the visual shock was inevitable. A forced calm had replaced that painful grace, like a blade which had been put back into its sheath. "What about you?"
He appeared to give this some thought.
"It doesn't hurt when I say your name now," He said at last, the outlines of his body already fading back into the living world. "So I think I'll be alright, sooner rather than later."
He raised a hand to touch the tip of mine. The warmth of it lingered on my skin; even if after the barest of moments, we both let go.
*
Finis