#Kakagai Week 2020

[trekkie-in-space]

[NS 421 - NS 219 - BO 111]

[veryhiddenreki]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Kicking it off with my fave maito gai!

Spending your birthday with your husband is the best :))

If you see this wish my bby a happy birthday 😤

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Birthday Challenge

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

5431 Words (It’s a long XD)

Kakagai Week Day 8: Gai’s Birthday

Edited by: @mireleth

Two days of non-stop preparation, help from every single member of Team Seven and Team Gai, and more work than he has ever put into anything else in his life, and here he is.

Standing in front of Gai, sweating buckets after asking him for a challenge for the first time in months. 

“A challenge?” Gai looks unsure about the request, which only makes Kakashi worry more. “I would never turn down a challenge with you, Rival. Though, I must admit it is a bit odd. You are rarely ever the one to initiate a challenge.”

He had known that Gai might have concerns about the fact that he was actually asking for a challenge for once, but it was a risk that he had to take. His plans wouldn’t work otherwise.

Still, he had to play this cool or Gai would start to really worry about him.

“It’s your birthday,” he reminds his rival with a lazy shrug of his shoulders. “And I didn’t get to spend as much time with you yesterday as I usually do. I thought a challenge would make up for a bit of that time that we lost.”

Of course, it’s his own fault that he lost so much time with Gai yesterday, but he doesn’t need to tell Gai that. Tenzo had needed help with the finish line that he had planned out, and he needed to make sure some of their friends were available to hang around in some of the places they would be passing.

Not to mention the fact that he had to go over the set-up he had planned out with his team again, making sure that they know where to set up the markers for him and Gai to follow.

It’s been a lot of work to make sure everything is done in time. But when all was said and done, it’s perfect.

“A challenge to make up for lost time then.” A nod of his head and the usual blinding smile returns to Gai’s face. “In that case, what kind of challenge do you have in mind?”

“A race.” That had been the easiest part of the challenge to figure out. “Team Seven worked on their teamwork this morning to help me set up a trail for us to race down. There’s markers all over the village for us to follow, and a member of the team is waiting at certain checkpoints to make sure we don’t run off the path.” 

“There’s a path?” He can see the gears working in Gai’s head. “You really thought this out, Rival.”

There’s more that Gai wants to say. He can see it written on his face, but the words are left unspoken for the moment. Something for him to ask later when they’re alone.

“I wanted a challenge worthy of your birthday.” A little sappy, but it’s true. “A race seemed appropriate, but I didn’t want it to be too quick or it would be a forgettable challenge.”

“I doubt that I could ever forget a challenge that you put this amount of effort into thinking up for us.” Kakashi’s eyes widen with surprise, a deep warm feeling blooming in his chest. How is it that Gai can make him feel so loved with just a few simple words? “Where is this race going to start?”

Reaching out, Kakashi takes hold of Gai’s hand. “I’ll show you.” He gives Gai a quick smile before turning on his heel and heading towards the starting point where Sai is waiting for them.

From the top of the jonin apartments Kakashi can see half of the trail marked out, and for the first time since planning started he’s actually regretting telling Naruto to use ‘whatever he can think of’ to make markers.

He really should have known that Naruto’s answer to the problem would be shadow clones. It’s always shadow clones.

“So the markers are…” Kakashi nods his head, unwilling to give any verbal confirmation to the fact that he’s now going to have to race around the village searching for Naruto. The complete opposite of what he does every other day of his life.

“You’ll know the first checkpoint when you see it.” Deep down Kakashi wonders if Asuma remembers the deal that they made. It isn’t necessary to the whole thing, but it’s a nice touch he wants to see, if only because it will make Gai smile. “Follow the markers until the finish point. I have Sakura waiting at the end for us.”

Actually, everyone will be there when they reach the end. Hopefully Team Gai will have already joined Sakura, and the others will join as soon as they can. Honestly, it’s probably going to feel a little crowded for his liking, but it’s how he wants it to go.

He can’t imagine doing this any other way.

“Are you two ready?” Sai looks almost bored when he asks them, his hands resting on his hips. 

Taking one look at Gai, Kakashi smiles when he sees excitement burning in his eyes. Even after all these years and all of the challenges they have done together, he still looks like a happy puppy when he’s presented with a new one.

“I think we’re ready.” Getting into a ready position, Kakashi presses his hands into the ground and smiles as he thinks about what’s waiting for them at the finish line. “Start the count down when you want, Sai.”

“Three… two…” —Sai pulls a scroll out of his side pocket and flips it open, allowing the paper to spread out in front of him— “one.” A few quick hand signs and suddenly there’s a painted tiger bursting from the scroll. 

Digging his foot into the ground, Kakashi uses the leverage that it gives him and launches himself forward. Beside him Gai follows suit, though he instantly takes a small lead over Kakashi. 

An expected outcome, but not one that will set Kakashi back. The odds may not be in his favour when it comes to a speed-based challenge, but that will never mean that he will simply hand the win to Gai. If he does that he’ll never get better as a shinobi, and Gai will never let him live it down.

So he puts all of his effort into the race, and as their feet hit the main street he manages to close the gap between them. An accomplishment in his eyes. Now he just has to keep that gap as small as possible so he can see Gai’s reactions to the things that they will be passing.

First comes the dango shop.

The familiar sign stands out among all of the other shops around it, though Kakashi’s sure that part of the reason for that is the fact that he’s specifically looking for the dango shop. Though, seeing Asuma and Kurenai stepping outside just as they close in on the small shop does help. 

As they pass by he can see Gai lifting a hand to wave to their friends, only to have Asuma throw a stick of dango his way. He catches it effortlessly, of course, but there’s a confused look on his face when he glances back at Kakashi. He continues forward anyways.

It’s not the best idea Kakashi has ever had, but a little treat to enjoy at the end of their race is something that he thinks will be a sweet touch. Plus, he hopes at the end of the race Gai will have seen enough on their path to remember some of their fonder moments together at the small shop. 

    If he doesn’t, at least Asuma has remembered to give Gai the dango. That’s a win in his books.

With the dango shop now behind them, Kakashi turns down an alleyway and smirks when he sees one of Naruto’s shadow clones waiting for them. 

“Up!” Naruto smiles big and bright, pointing up towards the roof behind him. With the directions given, Kakashi decides to have a little fun. As he reaches the shadow clone’s side he jumps upwards, just enough to give himself a little momentum. Of course Gai hasn’t wasted his energy and has instead used all of his effort to jump onto the roof with one easy movement. As soon as he notices that Kakashi is no longer by his side he looks back down towards the ground in time to see Kakashi’s feet coming into contact with the shadow clone's hands.

With a boost from Naruto, Kakashi goes flying into the air past Gai. He’s pretty sure he can hear a soft “cheater” being called out to him, but he barely registers it as the wind blows through his hair. 

The top of the building comes into view, and being Kakashi he decides to do the most show-off move that he can think of at the moment. A quick front flip, and a mid-air spin that has his hair slapping him in the face, and his feet land on the roof.

A terrible idea really, because as soon as he catches up Gai’s feet hit the wooden roof and he’s off, a burst of speed and laughter leaving Kakashi in the dust.

That’s what he gets for showing off though, and he knows for a fact that Gai wouldn’t have him any other way. The feeling is mutual, of course, and he quickly follows after Gai, determined to close the gap once again.

Jumping from roof to roof is a breath of fresh air. The streets down below are always so crowded, and if he hadn’t wanted them to pass by the dango shop he would have stayed on the rooftops the entire time. There’s a certain joy he gets from feeling the wind in his hair and seeing all of the people they’re passing on the streets.

Thankfully, neither of the last two checkpoints involve being at street level in the village so he won’t have to worry about dodging between civilians any longer. 

Seeing yet another shadow clone up ahead, he smiles when he saw Gai look in the direction that they’re being guided towards. There’s an unmistakable glint in Gai’s eyes when he sees Hokage Rock. One that Kakashi knows is there even though he can’t see it due to his position directly behind Gai.

Maybe he’s already starting to figure out some of Kakashi’s plans, or maybe he just thinks it cute that Kakashi is leading him all the way up to the Rock. Either way, Kakashi is just happy that Gai seems to be enjoying himself. That’s the main goal.

Turning towards Hokage Rock, Kakashi smiles when Gai looks back at him.

“You’re falling behind, Rival. Have you been slacking on your training?” A taunt. Something that Gai picked up years ago from Kakashi when he had really started to take these challenges seriously. It’s a natural part of Kakashi’s personality to taunt Gai when he’s doing better than him, but for Gai it has been a process to become comfortable enough to return them without feeling like he’s insulting Kakashi somehow.

“Maybe I just like the view back here.” The jab works as intended, making Gai’s eyes go wide with embarrassment and causing him to trip over his own two feet. He recovers quickly, of course. Any good shinobi would. But that one second of misstep allows Kakashi to close the gap between them. 

Gai still looks a little surprised, but it’s quickly replaced with determination as they both turn their attention to Hokage Rock and increase speed just a little.

The path Naruto has laid out for them leads them up the right side of the rock, directly beside Tsunade-sama’s carving. It’s a little hard to see what’s going on down below from where he is, but that’s a disadvantage he has to take to ensure that Gai is on the outer side of the path.

Perfectly placed to see the top of each of the Hokages’ carvings. 

“Y-yamato?” Gai’s footing stumbles again, but this time Kakashi slows himself down to keep pace with him. It won’t be any fun if he can’t see Gai’s reactions to everything he has so carefully planned out. “Why is Yamato…”

Moving to Gai’s side, Kakashi looks over the edge and smiles at Tenzo relaxing on top of the fourth Hokage’s carving. The exact spot where Kakashi had first introduced Gai and Tenzo for the first time, shortly after getting Tenzo out of Root and away from Danzo.

It was the first time anyone had told him that they were proud of him since Minato-sensei’s death. The soft, kind look in Gai’s eyes are forever burned into his memory as the moment that he knew without a doubt that he was completely and utterly in love.

Of course he doesn’t expect Gai to remember right away. He was never good with faces and actually failed to remember who Tenzo was at all until he had gotten his hair cut and Gai had seen him hanging around Kakashi more regularly outside of their ANBU missions. 

“Oh.” They’ve reached the end of Hokage Rock when he hears the soft exclamation escaping Gai’s lips, and he can feel a comfortable warmth in his chest when Gai’s eyes turn towards him. There it is again. Those soft kind eyes staring deep into his soul. “You really put thought into this, Rival.”

“It wouldn’t be worthy of being called a ‘Birthday Challenge’ if I hadn’t.” Part of him wonders if Gai will bring up the memory when they finish the race, or if he will be too overwhelmed with what waits at the finish line to even remember this moment. “Come on, Gai, focus or I’m going to get ahead of you.”

To prove his point Kakashi increases his speed just a fraction more. Barely enough to inch ahead of Gai. It doesn’t last long, of course. Seeing the threat to his win, Gai returns his attention to the race and goes barreling ahead of Kakashi.

A little too far ahead, in his opinion.

He really had hoped this race wouldn’t be too taxing on his stamina, but then he had gone and taunted Gai. This was his fault and no one else's. 

Following the next shadow clone down another turn, Kakashi smiles when the edge of the village comes into view. The finish line is close, and his heart is starting to hammer in his chest. Though, that could also be because of the effort he’s exerting just to keep up with Gai.

Why did he do this to himself? Gai is faster than him. A race is always a bad idea.

“You’re falling behind, Rival!” Gai throws his taunt back at him with the biggest smile. 

Some days he wonders why he’s fallen in love with Gai, and then he sees that smile again and he knows. There is no other option but to love the human personification of the sun. Only a fool would say no to such stunning beauty standing right in front of them.

Increasing his speed just a little, Kakashi smiles as he comes up to Gai’s side. “You know,” he gives the other man a playful look, “if I win this race you’re going to have to admit to your students that I’m better than you.”

There’s a frown on Gai’s face now. Not one of annoyance or anger, but rather deep contemplation. It’s sort of cute.

“And if you lose, you have to admit to your students that I am better than you!” Gai throws his taunt back at him as if it holds the same weight. “Either way, one of us will be embarrassed when our students find out who won.”

That’s actually sort of cute, the fact that Gai thinks Kakashi tells his students about their challenges at all. Though, admittedly they will see how this one plays out since they’re waiting for them at the finish line.

“My students aren’t going to be surprised at all,” he points out as they turn another corner, the finish line coming into view and Tenzo’s figure barely visible beside the giant house that he’s built for Kakashi in return for favours of his own promised sometime in the future. A wood clone. That’s the only explanation he can think of for how Tenzo has gotten here before them. “They know their sensei well enough to know you’ll win.”

When he doesn’t hear a protest from Gai, he glances back towards him. A look of confusion is cemented on his face as he takes in the sight before them. 

“Almost there.” Reaching out he takes hold of Gai’s hand and gives it a quick squeeze. “You’re not going to give up now, are you?”

Confusion melts away, replaced quickly by a new burning desire.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Releasing his grip on Gai’s hand, Kakashi turns his attention back towards the finish line and focuses all of his energy on increasing speed.

Whether he takes a moment to close his eyes and focus, opening the first gate for one last boost of speed, well that’s between him and Gai.

“Whoo!!!”

Everyone throws their hands up in the air as the pair come barreling through the finish line. Kakashi’s not really sure what’s going on for a moment because suddenly everyone’s surrounding them in every direction. This had not been in the plans.

“Gai-sensei, you were amazing!” Lee jumps forward, throwing his arms around Gai’s neck for a hug. “Your race was full of energy and youth!”

“We only saw the end of it.” There’s a soft smile on Tenten’s face when she speaks. A fond look as she watches her sensei and teammate hug. “How can you know what happened in the whole race?”

“We saw both Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei opening the first gate to try and secure the win.” Kakashi’s not at all surprised that Gai had resorted to using the first gate after his little stunt. It only made sense after all to meet cheating with cheating. “That tells me that the whole race was amazing without a doubt.”

“Ever the optimist.” Neji sighs, his arms crossed over his chest as always but a soft smile on his face. “I doubt any challenge between Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei would be anything less than spectacular. As long as they’re not playing Janken, of course.”

The jab hurts a little, but he deserves it. He really only challenges Gai to Janken just to bug him because he knows it always annoys him.

“So?” Resting an arm on Sai’s shoulder, Naruto beams when everyone turns their attention towards him. “Who won, Captain Yamato? That’s what we really want to hear.”

Making his way over to the small group, Tenzo smiles when Kakashi and Gai turn their attention to him. Waiting patiently for his answer. “Well—”

“Wait!” There’s a part of him that feels bad for Tenzo. Watching his kohai being interrupted and then shoved to the ground by an enthusiastic Gai in favour of the building behind him. “When did this… Tenzo, did you build this?”

Dusting off his shirt, Tenzo gathers himself to his feet and glares at Gai. “I did,” he confirms. “And you show your thanks by throwing me to the ground. I’m going to avoid doing anything nice for you again.”

Not that it really was ‘for’ Gai. 

With Gai’s attention focused on the house, Kakashi turns to look at Sakura and smiles when he sees her already holding out the decorative box he had left in her care. He had made the right choice trusting her with this task.

Taking the box from her carefully, he turns back to Gai, closes the distance between them, and holds his hands out with the box facing out towards Gai. 

Now he just has to wait for his sun to turn towards him.

“It’s beautiful.” For a second it looks like Gai’s going to walk away to explore the house. A reaction that Kakashi had accounted for, and from the corner of his eye he can already see Tenten and Lee getting ready to intercept their sensei. Thankfully, that won’t be necessary. “Kakashi have you see—”

The question is cut off when Gai turns to look at him. 

“What…” There’s a certain joy Kakashi gets out of being able to render Maito Gai speechless. It’s a rare thing that very few can accomplish, and he enjoys the fact that he is one of very few who have managed it so far. 

Now he just has to hope that the proposal Kurenai helped him create is good enough.

Except, now that he’s here with Gai staring wide-eyed at him and both of their teams waiting anxiously to hear what he has to say, he can’t do it. The words refuse to come out. 

All of that hard work he’s put into making everything absolutely perfect is ruined, and the only thing he can blame is his own damn inability to talk about his feelings and lay his heart on the line. All he can do is stand there as the panic settles in.

First comes the pain. The feeling of his ribs caving in him, like a crushing weight sitting on his chest. 

When he feels his hands starting to tremble he knows he’s done for. It’s a surefire sign that he’s slipping into panic mode. That he needs to get out of here, as far away from people as poss—

Gai’s hands are warm as they cover his, pulling his thoughts away from the pain and panic and to that blinding, beautiful smile.

“Take a deep breath.” It hurts to breathe, but he does as he’s told and draws in a deep, slow breath. “I can wait.”

Perfect.

Gai is always so perfect. Calm, patient, sweet, understanding. He never pushes Kakashi. Never expects him to spill his guts and make big flowery speeches about his feelings, even when it’s what he wants to do.

What he wishes he could do.

“Marry me.” The words fall from his mouth with unfamiliar ease, and he can already tell that everyone around him is silently judging. Wishing they could smack him upside the head, or yell at him. But they don’t. They just stand there and watch the disaster that is his life.

Gai, for once in his life, looks genuinely confused. “I… what?”

“Marry me.” This time there’s more confidence in his voice, his hands stretching out to present Gai with the box still sitting firmly in his hold. “Stay by my side, forever, adore me unconditionally and let me love you in return. Marry me, so I can tell all of Konoha… all of the world, that I get to wake up beside Maito Gai every day and call him my husband.”

It’s cheesy. Nothing compared to the well thought out, romantic, beautiful speech that Kurenai had helped him create. He’s certain she knew this kind of thing would happen when she agreed to give him a hand, but he appreciates her effort to help him nonetheless.

He cringes as Gai removes his hands. For a second he thinks Gai’s going to open the box presented to him, which is kind of the point of why he’s holding it out. Instead, those gentle sweet hands come up to cup his cheeks.

“Yes.” There’s no sweeter sound in the world. With that one simple word, Kakashi can feel all of his anxieties and fears drain away, excitement taking their place within seconds. 

“You—yes?” He’s almost afraid to ask for confirmation, but a simple nod of Gai’s head has his stomach twisting with excitement. “We…”

Gai’s hands move slowly, sliding back and carefully cradling his head in that strong, soft grip. He can’t help but close his eyes as Gai leans in and presses their foreheads together. Here, right now, with Gai, Tenzo, and both of their teams, there’s nowhere he’d rather be.

“I adore you.” He melts as Gai says the words. Three simple words he has been saying since they were young. Words that Gai uses to replace the one phrase that has terrified Kakashi for years. “And I can’t wait to be your husband, Hatake Kakashi. 

“You know,” there’s a spike of annoyance when Sai speaks up, but he stamps it down as quickly as it rears its ugly head, “I believe you are supposed to accept Kakashi-taicho’s gift in order to accept the proposal.”

“The gift can wait.” Tenzo’s voice is full of amusement. “Let them enjoy the moment.”

“It’s cute.” He can hear a ‘but’ in Sakura’s voice. He just knows it’s coming. “But…”

“No buts.” Tenten’s enthusiastic voice cuts his student off, and he’s certain he can hear the moment Tenten slaps Sakura on the shoulder. “Let them be cute. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You think Kakashi-sensei is ever going to show us this side of him again?”

“Good point.”

They were grounded, both of them. As soon as he could think straight and keep the smile off of his face for more than five seconds, he was grounding them both. It doesn’t matter that he isn’t their actual dad and Gai will just override him. He going to do it.

But for now, he’s going to focus on that warm feeling blooming in his chest as Gai leansed in and presses a kiss over his exposed eye. The happiness he feels as he thinks of the future he had thought he would never be allowed to have for years.

The future he he’s only just started to believe in.

His future, by Gai’s side. Forever and always.

“I love you, Turtle.” The words are soft and gentle. Barely audible, but enough that he can hear a happy sound leaving Gai’s throat. “Always will.”

    “And I love you, Rival.” He can’t help but laugh. Most people probably think their idea of ‘pet names’ is pretty unimaginative, but he can’t imagine Gai calling him anything else. “The man who came up with a whole race built around some of our fondest memories.”

        “So you did notice.” A small smile pulls at his lips. 

          “Of course I did.” There’s pride in Gai’s voice. “The dango shop, my favourite place to hang out with friends and a place you’ve turned down going to with me for years until just recently.”

It’s perhaps not the most romantic memory, but it’s important to them. To their relationship.

“The top of Minato-sensei’s carving on Hokage Rock, where you first introduced me to Yamato and I got hissed at for the first time in my life.” Kakashi can’t help but snort. It isn’t a lie, but he really hadn’t expected Gai to add that little piece of information when reliving the memory.

“It taught you not to hug people you didn’t know, didn’t it,” Tenzo grumbled off to the side. “And no, I won’t explain.”

“I’ll tell you the story later.” Judging by the way Gai’s looking around the area, he guesses that he’s talking to the kids. He can only imagine the various looks on their faces. It probably paints a very entertaining picture that he’d love to see any other day.

Now, though, his full attention is focused on Gai.

“And?” Stepping forward, he pushes the small box into Gai’s hands and presses a quick kiss to his lips, ignoring the groans of protest behind him because he hasn’t bothered to take off his mask. “What about here? Right where we’re standing now?”

“That one…” Gai’s eyes travel back to the house, taking in the view once again. “You really did that, huh?”

             “I thought it was the perfect place.” Glancing over Gai’s shoulder, he can’t help but smile when he sees the house. It had taken him weeks to figure out what exactly he wanted, and more than a few tries on Tenzo’s part to get it right. “Tenzo put in most of the work of course, and I owe him lunch for three years because of it.”

             “Damn right you do.” Tenzo tries to sound stern with his insistence, but there’s a fondness in his voice that Kakashi doesn’t miss.

              “It’s perfect.” When Gai looks back at him, there are tears in his eyes. Not the usual over the top tears when something amazing happens, these are more like watery eyes with a few stray tears rolling down his face. Kakashi’s pretty sure he’s never seen Gai cry quite like this before. “I love it.”

          “Well, good,” he laughs awkwardly. “It’s ours. We can move in whenever you want.”

          There’s supposed to be a tradition. Things you have to do, a wedding to be held, and the paperwork to signify that they are officially moving. He doesn’t care though. The quicker he can be in his new home with Gai, the better. 

            “You never did say what was so special about this place, Senpai.” Tenzo steps up to his side, eyes locked on the house he’s built for them. “Why were you so determined to have the house here? It’s so far away from everything.”

           Not that being far away from everyone else is really a downside for Kakashi. Maybe he’ll hear less ruckus on the streets at night, and he certainly won’t hear Kurenai and Asuma doing naughty things in Asuma’s apartment next door. 

           “It’s where Gai lived as a kid.” He smiles at the memories of the old house that he had visited so often when they were still young. Built by Dai to ensure they had a roof over their heads when he didn’t have enough money to buy them a place in the village. “I thought it was appropriate. Living in the same place as someone who loved him as much as I do.”

            This time Gai has to cover his eyes with an arm to hide the tears, and all of their students can be heard giggling behind him. 

          Cheesy. He’s probably being cheesy. A rare occurrence for him, but one the kids seem to be enjoying the chance to experience. 

           “This is the best thing I have ever seen,” he can hear the smirk in Sakura’s voice, “Ino is going to be jealous she missed it.”

Usually he would care that Sakura is obviously going to be spilling secrets about him to her girlfriend, but he can’t find it in him to bother right now. Not with Gai standing in front of him slowly lowering his arm and giving him the most beautiful smile he has ever seen.

Is it possible to fall in love all over again? Right now it certainly feels like it.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Rival.” If his mask wasn’t in place he’s sure everyone would be able to see the blush rising up into his cheeks. “Starting today, at dinner. We need to celebrate our engagement with our teams, don’t you think?”

He knows there’s no escape from what is going to be the loudest, most crowded dinner he has ever taken part in, and he can’t imagine ending his day any other way. Celebrating with his husband-to-be, his best friend, and the hatchlings and the pups.

It’s perfect.

“Hey, Bushy-brow-sensei, you haven’t even opened your gift yet.” Okay, almost perfect. There will always be Naruto and his special talent for ruining the moment. “We want to know what it is too. Kakashi-sensei refused to show us.”

The switch flips. As soon as Naruto shows too much interest in seeing Gai’s gift, Kakashi has to do everything in his power to make sure it won’t happen. Reaching out, he places a hand over the box as Gai moves to open it, and smiles playfully.

“I think it’s best if you open it later.” He can hear Naruto protesting behind him, but he ignores it. “When it’s just you and me.”

The look on Gai’s face says he knows exactly what Kakashi is doing, and usually he doesn’t entertain Kakashi’s trolling ways. Something about being ‘honest’ and ‘fair’ with their friends and students.

Today, however, seems to be different. With a playful smile of his own, Gai pulls the box close to his chest and turns his attention towards Naruto. “We should choose where we’re going for dinner.” No explanation. Perfect. “It has to be the best place for a celebration.”

Kakashi can already hear the answer leaving Naruto’s mouth, and for once he’s not going to complain. Ramen actually does seem like the perfect place for a celebration this time. 

Anywhere is perfect really, as long as he has Gai by his side.

[lopithecusfanfiction]

You’re Not a Burden, Child, For You Are Loved

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 1808 Alternate: AO3 Summary: Gai deals with his father's death with Kakashi's help Warnings: N/A Author's Note: For day 1 of KakaGai Week 2020 ( @kkgweek ). Gai and Kakashi are around 12 here. Enjoy! Prompt: Day 1 - Burden

Gai doesn't really understand the concept of being a burden. He knows Asuma thinks he's a burden to his father and that Kakashi thinks he's a burden to, well, everyone but he's never actually got it. That is until his father died trying to save him.

Now, every time he closes his eyes, all he can see is his father jumping in front of him and his team, body engulfed in green as he had already opened up the first five gates. His dad had told Gai and the team to leave, to leave the seven swordsmen to him. Gai knew what he was about to do, that he was about to open up the eighth gate to fight them, but despite this, it wasn’t until afterward that it really sunk in that his dad was gone.

Forever.

Maybe it was the shock or the adrenaline but he really didn’t feel anything until he, Genma, and Ebisu managed to stumble their way back to camp, meeting back up with Chōza-sensei. Genma had to be the one to debrief Chōza-sensei about what happened and who helped them, as Gai was too much in a daze to do so himself. Chōza-sensei had put a hand on his shoulder, asked him if he was okay, and, distantly, Gai remembers smiling up at Chōza-sensei and giving him a thumbs-up as he told him he was perfectly fine.

Gai doesn’t remember the rest of the mission. He thinks Chōza-sensei went to where his Papa had fought off the swordsmen and when he had returned, he ordered everyone back to the village. As they went, Gai remembers feeling an unexplainable tightness in his chest and wishing everyone would stop throwing glances at him. He didn’t understand at the time why they were so concerned about him.

He was fine.

They debriefed the Hokage and then went their separate ways, Gai going back to an empty, quiet house. The tightness in his chest was still there but he ignored it as he made himself something to eat, and then sat in silence as he ate. He then cleaned up his dishes, brushed his teeth, took a quick bath, and went to bed. As he laid there and had his eyes closed, he found himself back there, with his Papa, not even being able to say a proper goodbye.

Now, he lies in bed, awake, as he stares up at his ceiling. The spot beside him, the spot where his dad would normally be lying, is cold and empty. The tightness in his chest won’t go away and it’s uncomfortable. It makes it hard to breathe.

Gai sits up, rubs a hand through his hair, and then gets out from under the blanket. He leaves his mat there as he walks out of the tiny house and into the woods. It’s in the middle of the night so no one should be looking for him. The Hokage has given the team a couple of days off despite being in the middle of a war. Gai isn’t going to complain though. He doesn’t think he would be able to fight adequately enough with this painful feeling in his chest.

He keeps walking until he gets to the tree that he always practices his aim with; whether that be with kunai or shuriken or just punches and kicks. It’s a tree that is marred with many scars that Gai has given it. His father would sit over by the other tree, just behind where Gai would stand, and cheer him on. Gai’s chest constricts and he punches the tree as hard as he can.

Leaves fall around him.

He doesn’t know how many times he punches, kicks, and mutilates the tree but he’s panting by the time he hears the familiar voice next to him.

“Yo,” Gai turns to look at Kakashi. He doesn’t understand what the other shinobi could be doing here. It has to be well past midnight by now.

“Kakashi, what brings you here?” he asks enthusiastically, throwing out a thumbs up. “Here to give a challenge?”

Kakashi’s head tilts and he looks at Gai in question. “I heard what happened. Minato-sensei told me. I think he heard from Chōza-san.”

The feeling in Gai’s chest grows stronger and so he plasters on an even bigger smile. “Oh, that? It’s fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yeah.” He turns and punches the tree again. “People die in war all the time.”

Kakashi is staring at him quietly again and Gai ignores him in favor of starting a kicking routine on the tree. More leaves fall around the two and Kakashi catches one out of the air, holding it up for inspection. He does this for several seconds, before dropping the leaf to the ground.

“But your dad shouldn’t have been there.” Gai falters but covers it with a punch. “He was a Genin. He didn’t belong there.”

His punch misses and Gai falls forward with the momentum, hitting his head off the tree. He stumbles backward, holding his head in his hands. “Don’t speak about him like that,” he grumbles, rubbing at the pain on his forehead.

Kakashi sits down. “It’s true though. He had no business getting involved.”

“If he hadn’t, Genma, Ebisu, and I would be dead right now!”

Kakashi shrugs. “Then you’d be dead.”

Gai stares at Kakashi. He could never understand how Kakashi could be so morbid and matter of fact. Gai shakes his head, starting to get angry. “He sacrificed himself to protect something precious to him.”

“He was stupid.”

“No, he wasn’t!” Gai screams. “I said don’t talk about him like that!”

Kakashi gets up and gets right in Gai’s face. “You’re the Chunin. You’re the one who should have died. Not him, a Genin.”

Kakashi blurs in Gai’s vision and he doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he feels the hot tears rolling down his cheeks. His chest hurts and it’s hard to breathe and he doesn’t know what to do. “Shut up,” he says meekly, trying to catch his breath.

Kakashi doesn’t say anything more. He just stands there as Gai cries uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face in abundance. Gai lowers himself to the ground, back pressed up against the tree. He pulls his knees closer to his chest, pressing his face into them, and sobbing loudly. Kakashi slowly sits down in front of him, close enough to touch but not doing so.

He doesn’t know how long he cries for. All he knows is his eyes start to sting and his breath starts to come out in small little hiccups. He’s suddenly exhausted and wishes his Papa were here to take him home and tuck him into bed. A whimper escapes between his hiccups and he hugs his knees tighter. Kakashi places a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

It feels like ages before Gai has finally managed to get some semblance of control back. He lifts his head where he had it buried in his knees and looks at Kakashi. “He’d be alive right now if it weren’t for me.”

The mask and headband hide most of Kakashi’s face but Gai can tell he’s frowning in sympathy. His hand is still on Gai’s shoulder. “True.”

“If I were stronger…” Gai trails off. He wonders if this is what it feels like to be a burden. All his father has ever done was try to encourage him and support him in everything Gai has ever done. But Gai wasn’t good enough. Even with all that his father gave him, he wasn’t strong enough to fight, he never reached his goal to prove others wrong about him and his Papa. Now, instead, his dad is dead because of him.

He caused this.

“Then you would still be dead,” Kakashi says, interrupting Gai’s train of thought. “It was all of the seven swordsmen, Gai. You still would have died.” He pauses. “I would have died.”

It’s not often that Kakashi admits to a weakness. Gai shakes his head. “You would have defeated them.”

“No,” Kakashi says simply and then sighs. He moves, removing his hand from Gai’s shoulder in favor of sitting next to him, side pressed flush to Gai’s. “I definitely would have died. Minato-sensei would have died. Anyone would have died.”

“But-”

“No,” Kakashi interjects. “Your father might have been stupid to try and fight them but,” he shrugs, “well, I heard he killed four out of the seven. That’s pretty impressive.” He wraps an arm around Gai’s shoulders, pulling him closer and allowing Gai to lean his head down onto his shoulder. It’s awkward and Kakashi is stiff beside him with Gai not doing much better, but it’s the effort that counts. “I told you. Your dad is one of the coolest people around.”

“Was one of the coolest,” Gai corrects and fresh tears pool in his eyes. “Everyone dies, Kakashi.”

“It’s war.”

“I know.”

Kakashi sighs and his arm tightens around Gai. “You’re not me, Gai.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t get people killed.”

“But my Papa-”

“Made his choice.” Kakashi turns his head and buries his face into Gai’s hair. Gai stiffens more, not exactly sure what Kakashi’s angle is or what he is doing. “I’m glad he saved you,” it’s said so quietly that Gai almost misses it.

The statement makes something tighten in Gai’s chest but unlike before, it’s not a bad feeling. This one is warm and happy, just barely peeking through the heavy weight of grief. Still, it doesn’t stop Gai from saying, “I miss him.”

“You always will,” Kakashi says and then squeezes him before getting up. He holds a hand out to Gai. “Everyone dies,” he repeats Gai’s statement.

Gai reaches up and takes a hold of Kakashi's hand. Kakashi pulls him up and he doesn't say anything as he leads Gai back home, holding his hand the whole way. When they get back to the small house, Kakashi brings him over to Gai's bed, and, without a word, they both lie down on it, Kakashi pulling the blanket up over them.

Kakashi's arm wraps around Gai's middle and he presses himself up against Gai's back. They've shared a bed before when it was the only option, but Kakashi has never been so open to affection like this. It's weird yet comforting that he is doing this now and Gai feels himself melting into the mat and Kakashi's warmth. He places a hand over Kakashi's hand that is splayed over his stomach, intertwining their fingers.

Gai sighs, the weight of grief still constricting his heart, but feeling content now that Kakashi is with him. He closes his eyes with the knowledge that the next couple of months will probably be hard but, as he falls asleep with Kakashi’s warmth behind him, he knows he’ll be okay with Kakashi by his side.

———————————————————————————————��—

A/N: Thank you for reading!

[aquatischejunge]

@kakashiweek: Day 06 = Old Wound - ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

You can play with your eternal rival, too!

[kalira]

From the Great Beyond (podfic)

Podficced for @sakumoweek, Day 4: Father!

T; 6m:19s KakaGai, Sakumo & Dai

Sakumo and Dai may both have left, but they have never stopped watching over their children. 

This was originally written for KakaGai Week in 2017, and was the first time I ever wrote Sakumo!

(Streaming and downloadable on AO3.)

[kkgweek]

KakaGai Week 2020, Dec 25-Jan 1

Thank you for your feedback and participation last year! We’re back and better than ever this year, too! Please join us in celebrating Kakashi and Gai again!

This Year’s Prompts:

dec 25 – Banter / Burden

dec 26 – Flowers / Forgiveness

dec 27 – Dawn / Dusk

dec 28 – Lost / Found

dec 29 – Reversal / Mirror

dec 30 – Masks / Cover

dec 31 – Free / Break Day

jan 1 – Gai’s Birthday

How to Participate

Just post your content to Tumblr and/or Twitter using the hashtag #kakagai week or #kkgikkweek!

More detailed rules and guidelines are available here! If you have any questions, feel free to send us an ask!

We would really appreciate it if people could reblog this post so more people are aware of the week! We look forward to collaborating with everyone again this year!

[narutoevents]

2020 Events!

NaruHina 2020 - all year

January 2020

JustGaara Week - Jan 12th - 19th

Sai/Ino Week 2020 - Jan 18th - 24th

HidaKona Month - All Jan

February 2020

MadaTobi Gift Exchange (posting) - All Feb

KakaObi Week - Feb 10th - 23rd

March 2020

Tenten Week 2020 - Mar 3rd - 9th

MadaSaku Week - Mar 15th - 21st

ShikaTema Zine - Presales - Feb 29th - Apr 5th

Big Three Zine - Presales - Mar 2nd - June 1st

Sakura Week 2020 - Mar 22nd - 28th

KakaIru Zine - Apps - Mar 15th - Apr 15th

BoruSara Week - Mar 25th - 31st

ShikaSaku Week - Mar 27th - Apr 4th

ShikaTema Writing Contest - ends Apr 1st

TobiIzu Exchange - Apps - Mar 26th - Apr 15th

April 2020

ShikaTema Writing Contest - ends Apr 1st

ShikaSaku Week - Mar 27th - Apr 4th

ShikaTema Zine - Presales - Feb 29th - Apr 5th

KawaBoru Week - Apr 1st - 7th

Udon Week 2020 - Apr 1st - 7th

Exchange no Jutsu - Signups - Apr 3rd - 18th

KakaIru Zine - Apps - Mar 15th - Apr 15th

TobiIzu Exchange - Apps - Mar 26th - Apr 15th

Big Three Zine - Presales - Mar 2nd - June 1st

Seasons of Anime Exchange - Apps - Apr 13th - May 3rd

May 2020

Seasons of Anime Exchange - Apps - Apr 13th - May 3rd

Naruto RarePair Week - May 3rd - 9th

KakaMei Event 2020 - May 5th - 6th

SasuIno Week - May 17th - 23rd

KakaYama Week 2020 - May 18th - 24th

SasuSakuSara Weekend - May 29th - 31st

Big Three Zine - Presales - Mar 2nd - June 1st

Naruto Sensei Zine - Presales - May 10th - June 10th

Naruto x BNHA Zine - Mod Apps - May 21st - June 21st

GaaSaku Fanfest Exchange - Apps Open - May 22nd - TBD

June 2020

Naruto Sensei Zine - Presales - May 10th - June 10th

Naruto x BNHA Zine - Mod Apps - May 21st - June 21st

GaaSaku Fanfest Exchange - Apps Open - May 22nd - TBD

Naruto Canon x OC Week - June 1st - 7th

Big Three Zine - Presales - Mar 2nd - June 1st

KakaIru Mini Bang - June 8th - 12th

ShikaTema Week 2020 - June 24th - 30th

Big Three Zine - Presales - Mar 2nd - June 1st

SasuHina Month - All June

July 2020

SasuSaku Month - all July

MadaTobi Month - all July

Naruto Fantasy Week - July 1st - 7th

Naruto OC Mini Bang - July 3rd - 5th

Kunoichi Week - July 6th - 12th

KakaGai Day - July 7th

Quirk no Jutsu Zine - Apps open Jul 8th

Shikaku Week - July 10th - 15th

Uchihas Zine - Interest check Jul 15th - Aug 30th

KakaObi Mini-Bang - July 18th - 19th

/r/ Naruto Gift Exchange - Nominations Jul 21st - Aug 5th

Nine Weeks of Kakairu - June 28th - Aug 29th

Narutales wlw Zine - Sales end Jul 30th

Sasori Mini-Bang - Interest check closes Jul 31st

August 2020

MitsuChou Week - Aug 1st - 7th

Tsunade Week - Aug 2nd - 8th

/r/ Naruto Gift Exchange - Nominations Jul 21st - Aug 5th

/r/ Naruto Gift Exchange - Sign-ups Aug 5th - 12th

Quirk no Jutsu Zine - Apps close Aug 8th

SasuNaruSasu Week - Aug 17th - 23rd

ShiSaku Weekend - Aug 21st - 23rd

Nine Weeks of KakaIru - Ends Aug 29th

NejiTen Month - All August

Uchiha Pin Up Calendar - Apps - Aug 15th - 31st

KakaIru Zine - Aug 20th - Sept 20th

September 2020

Seasons of Anime Exchange - Reveals - Sept 1st

Sakumo Week - Sept 1st - 6th

KakaIru Fest Week - Sept 8th - 15th

Kakashi Week 2020 - Sept 13rd - 20th

KakaIru Zine - Presales - Aug 20th - Sept 20th

Nara Week - Sept 17th - 23rd

Naruto Secret Santa - Mod Apps - Sept 19th - 25th

RasaThird Day - Sept 26th

Izuna Week - Sept 20th - 26th

GaaLee Bingo - Prompt Submissions - All September

ShikaSaku Week - Sept 30th - Oct 7th

October 2020

ShikaSaku Week - Sept 30th - Oct 7th

Akatsuki Gift Exchange - Apps Open - Oct 1st - 15th

Seasons of Anime Exchange - Signups - Oct 2nd - 17th

Uchiha Sasuke Week - Oct 5th - 11th

TobiDei Week - Oct 10th - 18th

GaaLee Bingo - All Oct

SasuSaku Trends Zine - Mod Apps - All Oct

Naruto Secret Santa - Apps Open - All Oct

NaruHina Exchange - Apps Open - Oct 3rd - 31st

KakaIru Exchange - Apps Open - Oct 3rd - 25th

Naruto Kink Meme - Oct 7th - Nov 7th

Uchiha Shisui Week - Oct 18th - 24th

Founders Week - Oct 23rd - 29th

KakuHida Week - Oct 25th - Nov 2nd

Founders’ Halloween - Oct 31st

Genma HalloWeekend - Oct 31st - Nov 1st

November 2020

SasuSaku Trends Zine - Mod Apps - Close Nov 1st

KakuHida Week - Oct 25th - Nov 2nd

Genma HalloWeekend - Oct 31st - Nov 1st

SasoSaku Month - All Nov

Uchiha Pinup Calendar - Presales - Nov 2nd - Dec 1st

Naruto Poly Week - Nov 1st - 7th

KakaIru Big Bang - Writer Apps - Nov 1st - 15th

Naruto Kink Meme - Oct 7th - Nov 7th

Sasori Mini-Bang - Nov 6th - 10th

Rock Lee Week - Nov 21st - 27th

JiraOro Day - Nov 27th

December 2020

Uchiha Pinup Calendar - Presales - Nov 2nd - Dec 1st

Naruto Scifi Week - Dec 1st - Dec 8th

Naruto Week - Dec 7th - 13th

KakaIru Big Bang - Artist Apps - Dec 14th - 27th

ShikaNaru Week - Dec 11th - 13th

MadaTobi Gift Exchange - Apps - Dec 22nd - Jan 16th KakaGai Week - Dec 25th - Jan 1st

<< 2019 (Archived)         2021 (On-going) >>

[superbeast-sai]

another humble offering for kakagai week :*

Summary:

Gai puzzles over what flowers to get Kakashi before hunting him down for an important challenge.

kkg week 2020 day 2, prompt: flowers

[extremeexhaustion]

AO3 Fic: Kakagai Week 2020

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317729/chapters/69383481

I decided to participate in Kakagai Week this year! Here’s where I’ll be responding to all of the week’s prompts.

[shikakunaras]

Rating - Teen 

Pairs - Kakashi/Gai

Summary - Healing comes at the cost of immense grief.

Kakagai Week 2020 Day Two - Prompt: Flowers 

It’s been a while since I’ve written Kakagai. Have some angst :) 

[trekkie-in-space]

KakagaiWeek2020 - Day 7 - Free

Author : JackB

Rating : General Audience.

Words : 1298

Resume : Kakashi find Gai napping under the sun. Follow a lot of kisses.

Tag :  Post-War, fluff, teeth roting fluff, chronic pain, 8th gates recovery, long recovery, established relationship, kisses,

__

Finding Gai sprawled in bed in the middle of the day, peacefully asleep between warm blankets, would have been an excessively rare sight before the war. Taking nap had never been in Gai habit until now. One that will probably not stick too much around. Which is a shame. There’s just something beautiful to see Gai bathing in the warm light of the sun. His scars from the gates flaring of a lava red, bright and deep like fire where the sun ray touch him. His chest raise slowly to his slumber, calm and serene, for it is one of the rare time pain doesn’t bother him too much.

If Kakashi still had Obito’s sharingan, he would capture this moment and keep it forever in his mind. But all he can hope now is to be lucky enough to catch Gai taking a nap under the sun again.

It’s not like Gai likes them though, he feels like he misses the high of the day and it doesn’t help his mood. He doesn’t want to take a nap, but he doesn’t really have the choice. Recovering from the eighth gates cannot be done in a week, or ever actually, Tsunade had insisted on it. The strain put on his body had been so high that a full recovery is utterly impossible. But she assured the exhaustion shutting him down completely multiple time a day would wear off to more acceptable extent. Hopefully his chronic pain would follow the same pattern. But they are pretty much in undiscovered country there.

It’s been months and Gai slowly stabilized to two to three naps a day. Far from the start were staying awake for an hour was already a hardship. But even now he can only resist for so long before his body gives up. Gai feel it like a betrayal of the body he builds and trusted. He understands why it’s necessary, but accepting it is different. And it’s without counting the pain, when it reaches peaks, it’s not pretty. Gai has probably one of the best pain resistance in the whole village, but constant pain will take its tool on anybody.

Kakashi pull out of his contemplation and remove his uniform. He won’t be one to refuse rest when he can. His position as Hokage takes way too much time off him and finding a moment in his schedule is as rare as Gai taking naps before the war was. So he doesn’t hesitate to gently sneak under the blanket making sure not to wake up Gai. But as he snuggles close against him, Gai let out a little groan.

Kakashi is not sure if he is sorry to wake up Gai, sad to not being able to watch him peacefully sleep anymore or happy not to have to wait for him.

It’s with half-closed eyes that Gai turn to him, pulling Kakashi even closer as he gently wakes up.

“Slept well Turtle ?” He says quietly.

Gai mumble something inaudible, a smile on his lips.

‘He seems in a good mood.’ Kakashi notice.

“Your day ?” Gai asks in a breath as he open his eyes to Kakashi. His voice is hoarse from sleep.

“You know how it is, papers, reports, problems to fix, the routine.” Gai nod.

“You’re back pretty early, you’re just doing a pause on your schedule ?” He asks knowing Kakashi is more likely to finish his work when the sun is down.

Kakashi want to let out a little laugh when he feels Gai clung on him as if he’s going to disappear in a minute. Which could fairly be the case.

“No, finished everything for the day, outside of an emergency, I’m off.”

“Good.” Gai says with a grin.

He snuggles against his neck to give a little kiss and Kakashi immediately contract from the tickle it gives him. He can feel Gai hand on him, gently pushing his clothes away to reach the skin on his flank. His hand is warm and he can’t help but relax to the calloused touch he know and trust. Gai kiss his neck again.

“You’re in a great mood.” He can’t hide the surprise in his voice. It became rare for Gai to wake up in a good state of mind.

“Hm.”

“I’m curious has to why ?”

“It was my first nap of the day.”

“Really ?” It’s a first.

“Yeah, soon I won’t need any anymore.” Gai continue to mouth at him. Pushing the mask higher so he can kiss more skin. Kakashi flinch at the touch and Gai smile. Loving how sensitive his rival has always been.

“Don’t over do it though, it’s okay to take time.”

“Let’s not have this conversation again, haven’t we ? I should be able to do more.”

“For someone coming back from an ineluctable death I think you’re doing way enough.”

“Kakashi.. ” Gai’s right. It’s not time to argue about the subject, not when he can relax in Gai tender embrace.

“I know, I know.”

His laugh interrupt his words. Kakashi cower on himself to recover from the tickles Gai is determined to inflict on him. Gai doesn’t even have to touch him sometime, just his breath is enough to awake his nerve. The kisses never stop, anywhere he can reach is good enough and Kakashi gently wiggle in his arms.

“Who said you could kiss me like that ?”

“Me.”

“I don’t think I gave you the right.”

“I have all the right.” His teeth scrape at his skin, sending a shiver all the way to his legs. Kakashi makes a weird rattle as the word ‘do you now ?’ die in his throat. His teasing cut straight.

“I never said they were free.” His composure is rattled, but it passes.

“Hm ?”

“The kisses.”

“They are for me.”

“Actually they are very expensive, and your debt is pretty high and keep getting higher and higher.” Kakashi abandon himself in Gai embrace as he says this, his eye close for an instant but as he feels Gai retreat back he open it again. Almost outraged his rival decided to back up now.

“Then tell me Dear, how can I repay my debt ?” Kakashi’s chin shake at the nickname. It always makes him weak when Gai call him dear, especially with this particular voice.

Kakashi lower his mask.

“I think you know how.” He grin stupidly, even more as he sees Gai smile and close distance with him.

Kakashi can’t help but laugh when Gai reach his lips, but he quickly catch the drift and answer Gai passion with avidity and hunger. It feels like he hasn’t touched those lips for months when in fact they kissed that morning.

When they break apart Kakashi linger in the moment, eye closed and content. He can feel Gai eyes on him, scrutinizing him, noting every little wear out mark on his skin, every new wrinkle, every trail of exhaustion life left on him. Fingers brush his face, move to his temple and for a moment he is afraid to open his eye and look back.

There’s no word that can describe the way Gai look at him. If this is love then whatever other people have, it’s not it. If this is love, then he is the only one to have ever been loved.

At least, when Gai look at him that way, that’s what it feels like.

And for an instant he feels like crumbling under Gai’s gaze. It’s too much. He pushes the feeling away thought, then pull him back in his arms and roll them on the bed so he can be on top.

“I’m going for revenge.” He says before kissing Gai’s neck.

Gai’s laugh is a delight to his ears.

End.

[veryhiddenreki]

Just lovers admiring each other in a flowerfield

Late piece for kakagai week but :))

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Stone Cold Kakashi

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

4073 words

for: @tenzoyamato

edited by: @mireleth

Kakashi’s mind raced, replaying the meeting with Tsunade-sama continuously. The moment that he had realized this wasn’t a normal mission she was sending Kakashi and Gai on. That she didn’t have an S-ranked missing ninja for them to hunt down and dispose of. 

The moment when his stomach had dropped. 

Captain Yamato is missing in action.

The rest of the meeting was a blur. He couldn’t recall one second of what had happened until the moment Gai’s hand had come down onto his shoulder, finally pulling him out of his own thoughts. After that his only focus was getting to Tenzo’s apartment to find something for the hounds to sniff, and heading off to find his friend.

Still, the things that Tsunade-sama had said refused to leave him alone. The warnings, the reminders of their missions. It all kept running through his mind as he and Gai followed the hounds in search of Tenzo. 

Likely that he is dead.

This is a body retrieval mission.

The enemy cannot get hold of his body or the cells inside of it.

His head was spinning. Was the universe really not done with him yet? Had he not lost enough already?

Landing on the next branch in a long journey, Kakashi reached out to brace himself against the tree when his eyes started to lose focus. There was too much going on in his head. Too many thoughts. Too much worry digging deep into his heart.

It was getting hard to breathe as it all sank in. Tenzo. One of his best friends who had been by his side for years through Anbu and was now helping him work with Team seven. At least, that’s what he was supposed to be doing when Tsunade-sama had given him a solo mission. She’d told him he was the only one who could do it. The only one she trusted.

And now here they were.

“Kakashi?” a voice called out to him from a distance, but it was drowned out by the panic. His heart raced in his chest, pounding so hard that it hurt. His head was spinning and it was getting difficult for him to breathe. 

Short, quick breaths were all he could seem to manage. The burning feeling in his throat from a lack of oxygen only made it more difficult to breathe. 

Tenzo.

Everything that could go wrong raced through his mind. The image of Tenzo’s dead, bloodied corpse lying on the ground. Them finding Tenzo alive, only for him to be murdered right in front of Kakashi’s eyes. Even the thought of never finding Tenzo at all, and never getting closure to what happened to him. They all hit him one after the other with no break. No moment to breathe and collect himself.

An endless onslaught of everything that terrified him at that moment.

“Kakashi.” This time the voice was closer, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. His fingers trembled as they came to rest over his eyes, and the nausea settled in. His brain screamed at him for choosing now of all times to start panicking, but there was no escaping it. He couldn’t slow down his breathing, or force his fingers to stop shaking. No matter how hard he tried the nausea wouldn’t subside, and the world continued to spin around him. “Kakashi!”

A hand came down to rest on his shoulder and with a gentle tug he found himself falling forward into the other man’s chest. Almost immediately, Gai’s scent overwhelmed him. Shoving back the thoughts that were busy assaulting his mind, and giving him something else to focus on. Each breath got easier to take as he focused on that smell. Gai’s sweat, the most easily identifiable scent and the only one that he had learned to recognize as what Gai was offering him.

Safety.

“I know you’re scared.” The words were barely audible through the screaming thoughts in his mind, but they managed to break through. Providing him with something to focus on other than the dark thoughts swirling around in his head. “I’m here, Kakashi. Come back to me.”

The more Gai spoke to him, the easier it became to focus. To push away everything that his mind screamed at him and cling to the soft words that left Gai’s mouth. His breathing slowed as Gai walked him through the breathing exercises he had learned years ago after seeing Kakashi’s first panic attack.

“In and out.” He breathed with Gai’s words, waiting for the next order and following it with ease. “You’re doing good, Kakashi. Just keep breathing. In and out.”

A hand settled in his hair. Fingers ran through the short silver strands, pulling him back down to reality. His fingers stopped shaking after a moment, and as Gai continued to talk to him he felt the nausea fading. 

“Sorry.” He uttered the weak apology, not bothering to move away from the safety of Gai’s arms. “I’m wasting time.”

“The hounds are still on the trail,” Gai assured him, smiling when he raised his head just enough to look up at him. “Pakkun stayed behind to lead us to them, and we can go when you’re ready. Either way, we’re going to find him.”

“But what if…” Gai narrowed his eyes. “Gai, Tsunade-sama told us this was a body retrieval mission. You know as well as I do what that means.”

“And if that’s all you focus on, we’ll have no chance of turning it into a rescue mission,” Gai argued. “You’ll get stuck here panicking for the next hour. We don’t have the time to sit around and do that today, Kakashi. But I promise you that once we find him, once we have him safe at home, then you can break down. I’ll be there with you. I’ll make sure you’re safe and we’ll be at home. No-one will see. But for now I need you to stay strong. I need ‘Stone cold Kakashi’”

It was rare for Gai to ask him to wear that particular mask. The one that kept down all of the emotions that bubbled inside of him. Which so perfectly covered all of his fear and pain, keeping it hidden away from the world. From everyone around him, except for Gai.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi closed his eyes and slowly shut down all of his emotions. Just like his Anbu days. When he was never allowed to be anything short of absolutely perfect at his job, he had never taken this mask off. Even if the Hound’s mask was resting on his desk, ‘Stone cold Kakashi’ would still be there.

As soon as he felt the last bit of fear and worry being shoved deep inside of him, he opened his eyes once again. This time when he looked at Gai it was with the same eyes he would have when facing down an enemy.

Emotionless. Calculated. Calm.

“I’m sorry.” Gai’s hand cupped his cheek as he uttered his apology. There was no mask that Gai hated more than this one, but even he understood its uses. “We’ll make it quick, I promise.”

Taking a step back from Kakashi, Gai allowed his gaze to linger for a moment. Making sure that Kakashi was able to stand on his own and was ready for whatever was to come next. When he seemed confident with what he saw, he turned back to the small pug dog waiting for them and nodded his head.

With that, they were off once again. Soaring from tree to tree towards their destination.

Towards wherever it was that they would find Tenzo. 

A camp right next to a large river, no more than five enemy shinobi. That’s what Kakashi and Gai had found at the end of a seven hour hunt. When they had finally caught up to the other ninken Kakashi had been expecting a hideout. Perhaps even a heavily guarded village. Something that was worthy of all the worry he had been trying so desperately to ignore while they searched for Tenzo. 

Instead they found a small camp so lightly guarded that from where he was hiding he could see Tenzo, arms chained behind his back and blood covering the majority of his body as he sat propped against a large rock. 

This was nothing.

“Mist shinobi.” His eyes scanned the area for any sign of hidden shinobi. “The river will be a great asset to them so do whatever you can to keep them away from it.” Gai nodded, his understanding clear as he prepared to move in. “I’ll take the two closest to Tenzo. You take the other three.”

It would be easier for Gai to deal with the ones that were spread out. His speed gave him an advantage over most shinobi, including Kakashi. At least one of them wouldn’t see him coming, and the second wouldn’t have time to properly react before Gai was able to take him down. The third shinobi would be the one that Gai would have to have a proper fight with, and it’s a fight he was certain that Gai would win.

In his case, the two shinobi guarding Tenzo were close enough that he could hit them pretty easily in quick succession, allowing him to focus his attention on Tenzo. They wouldn’t have time to react at all if he attacked correctly, which would be easy with the hounds’ help.

“Pakkun.” The pug dog didn’t need him to explain the plan. Within an instant the dogs scattered in all directions and waited for his signal. “You ready?” He glanced over at Gai, waiting for him to process everything that they were about to do.

“Am I ever not ready?” Kakashi rolled his eyes. Of course that was going to be Gai’s response. “I’d say let’s have a competition, but clearly I’m going to take down more shinobi than you.”

“We can have a competition when we get home,” Kakashi offered as a substitute. “A race to the dango shop after we get Tenzo to the hospital, perhaps.”

“Oh, Kakashi,” Gai’s feet moved into position while he smiled over at the copy nin, “we both know you’re not leaving the hospital room until he’s released.”

“Fair.” Following suit, Kakashi shifted his feet into an attack stance and gave Gai a soft look. An apology for the date nights that he was going to miss while he was worrying over Tenzo. “Try not to take too long.”

His hand shot up, and within an instant the hounds moved in. Pakkun grabbed a mouthful of the shinobi closest to Tenzo, with Bull and Akino joining in to hold him down. As all of the others turned to see why their comrade had screamed out in pain, Kakashi and Gai moved in for the attack. 

As he’d suspected it was easy to deal with the two shinobi that had been placed to guard Tenzo. The first one was still dealing with three hound dogs holding him down, and as the second went in to help his comrade, Kakashi showed up with his chidori already charged up for the attack. Within a second the first enemy was down and he could turn his attention to the second as the rest of the hound dogs came to his side. 

Glancing towards the area where Gai was fighting, Kakashi noted that one of his targets was already down, and the second had just taken Gai’s foot to the sternum. A hit that Kakashi had no doubt would put the poor bastard out of commission. That left both of them with only one enemy shinobi to defeat. An easy task to take care of. 

Turning his attention to Tenzo, Kakashi started making his way towards him, a low whistle the only order he gave to the hounds before the enemies’ screams filled the air.

Tenzo.

His goal was Tenzo and nothing else mattered. He had to make sure that Tenzo was ok. Breathing. Alive. 

The screaming died out behind him, leaving only the sound of flesh being ripped apart and teeth digging into bone. He had learned to drown it out when he was six years old and had seen what his hounds were capable of during his first C-rank mission. 

Reaching Tenzo’s side, Kakashi knelt down and checked the binding around his arms. Chains that he couldn’t open himself, at least not without hurting Tenzo. Since that wasn’t something he was willing to risk, he pushed aside all thoughts of the chains for the moment and carefully wedged one hand under Tenzo’s legs and the other behind his back.

“You really got yourself into a mess this time, huh, Tenzo?” He spoke as if Tenzo could give him an answer, lifting the mokuton user into his arms and standing up once more. “I thought we agreed neither of us was allowed to get captured ever again after the Sunagakure incident.”

        “Sunagakure incident?” Gai’s hand came down to rest on his shoulder, signaling that all of the enemies had officially been dealt with. “You never told me about this one.”

     “You would have freaked,” Kakashi responded in a bland tone, his emotions still pushed into the deepest pits of his being. “It took me an hour to convince Tenzo I could get into Sunagakure without getting caught, rescue our week-long teammate who got himself captured during a mission, and get out alive.”

      “And?” Glancing back at the taijutsu specialist, Kakashi narrowed his eyes. “Well clearly you made it out alive.”

      “I did.” Holding Tenzo closer to his chest Kakashi turned to face Gai, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that the hounds were already starting to cover up their kill. “After the idiot was seen on the way out and I had to kill five Suna Anbu soldiers in order to get us both out of there alive.”

     “So, that was the guy’s last mission with you, right?” An unimpressed look from Kakashi gave Gai the answer he was looking for. “Just making sure.”

          Turning his attention down to Tenzo, Gai’s shoulders relaxed just a little. Mission accomplished. Tenzo was alive and safe.

        Now they just had to get home.

        Kakashi was about to head out, determined to get Tenzo back to Konoha as quickly as possible, when a hand came up to rest against his cheek.

          “I’m fine.” He knew Gai could see through his lie. He always did. But right now was not the time for them to be sticking around in the midst of a campsite that they had just decimated. They had no idea when someone might stumble upon the carnage, and their job was to get Tenzo home. “‘Stone cold Kakashi’ is here, as requested.”

      Gai winced at the reminder. He always hated being the one to ask Kakashi to put that mask on, even when they both knew it was needed to get the mission done.

       Gai’s hand moved upwards, settling in his hair while he took a step forward and gently touched their foreheads together. 

       No words were spoken, but Kakashi could hear the silent apology that Gai was trying to make. There was no-one who hated ‘Stone cold Kakashi’ more than Gai. No-one else saw the mask for what it was. Protection against the pain deep inside of himself. An act that Kakashi had put on at a young age because it was easier to be thought of as a ruthless shinobi, rather than being known as a broken man.

          After a moment Gai took a step back and turned his attention down to Tenzo, his free hand coming up to gently lift the bloody shirt away from the mokuton user’s chest.

         “A few cuts and bruises.” His hand traced over the worst one. A deep gash in Tenzo’s side that no doubt accounted for a majority of the blood that stained Tenzo’s clothes. “Other than this one though, he seems fine. Let’s put some distance between us and this camp and we can see what we can do about patching it up until we get back to Konoha.” 

Neither of them wasted any more time. Bursting up towards the trees, they started on their way back towards Konoha while the hounds each took position around them. If anyone managed to catch up to them they would have to get through the hounds for an attack, and that wasn’t likely to happen. No-one had ever made it through the hounds alive before, and with so much to protect they weren’t going to let Kakashi down now. 

A soft creak roused Kakashi from his sleep, his head lifting up off of the bed that he had rested it on earlier and turning to look back at whoever had interrupted him. Sleepy eyes focused on the green clad shinobi now making his way into the room, a soft smile on his face and two bento boxes in hand. 

“Mission report is done.” Rubbing his eyes, Kakashi looked up at Gai when he came to a stop at his side. “Tsunade-sama says that other than the deep gash that we were able to stitch up, there were no major injuries. Yamato should be able to leave by the end of the week, but he’ll only be on missions with Team Seven for a while.”

That was the first good news Kakashi had gotten since Tsunade-sama had given them their mission. Tenzo didn’t need to be going on any more solo missions for a while. Not after what he had been through. 

Not when Kakashi could still see the images his mind had conjured up of Tenzo’s broken and mangled corpse. 

“We got him home,” Gai reminded him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. “He’s alive, Kakashi. There’s not going to be another funeral.”

Hearing the words said out loud didn’t get rid of the feelings deep down inside of him, but Kakashi pushed them back. He was in public, where anyone could walk in and see him at any moment. Now was not the time for him to break.

Turning his attention back to Tenzo, he sighed. Tenzo was home, safe and alive, so why didn’t he feel better? Why was there still this heavy weight on his conscience?

Lost in his thoughts once again, Kakashi didn’t notice when Gai’s hand left his shoulder, or when the door’s lock clicked into place. There was nothing around him that caught his attention until he saw Gai in the corner of his eye, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with him.

Kakashi didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what came next. As soon as Gai reached out and cupped his cheek he knew it was time. He was finally being given the permission he needed to drop the mask Gai had asked him to put on hours ago.

His demeanour shifted as ‘Stone cold Kakashi’ crumbled away. Every muscle in his body relaxed and within seconds he could feel the tears starting to run down his face. Thankfully Gai didn’t leave him to suffer alone for long.  

Wrapping his arms around Kakashi’s shoulders, he pulled him into a tight hug, saying nothing as Kakashi began to crumble. Just sitting there and holding onto him through everything.

The pain in his chest was the first thing that Kakashi noticed. Not just the feeling of his heart breaking all over again either, but the way his chest was compressing in on itself as well. How his lungs struggled to draw in breath as everything came crashing down on him all at once. The slight tremble in his hands as they came up to rest against Gai’s chest.

Every dark thought he had been trying so desperately to ignore came flooding back, bombarding him with the feelings he couldn’t focus on when he had to save Tenzo. 

One day. 

Just one day without feeling so helpless in a world so determined to destroy him. Was that really so much to ask for? One day where he got to look at the people he loved and not wonder if this would be when he’d lose them. If their next mission away would be their last, and he’d find himself standing in front of another gravestone. 

Was that really so much to ask?

“He’s alive.” The reminder was a soft breath against his ear. “We found him, Kakashi. He’ll be fine.”

Yet it still didn’t feel real.

A part of his mind was still screaming at him that something would go wrong. That they hadn’t done everything right, and hadn’t actually been able to save Tenzo. It screamed at him that any moment he could turn around, and Tenzo would be gone. Another friend that he failed to save.

“It’s ok…” Gai’s voice barely broke through the barrage of thoughts. “He’s alive and I’m here. You’re not alone. Breathe in, and breathe out. I need you to do that for me, Kakashi.”

Burying his face into Gai’s chest, Kakashi tried desperately to focus on that familiar scent as he followed Gai’s instructions. One deep breath in, and one long breath out. His throat burned as he did it, but he continued following Gai’s instructions.  

Breathe in

Breathe out

It was a mantra that Gai repeated to him and he followed, but nothing changed this time. His chest still hurt, his hands still shook, and his mind was still full of those thoughts. Nothing he did seemed to help him through the panic that coursed through his veins, no matter how hard he tried.

“I’m here.” The mantra disappeared, and Gai held him just a little bit tighter. “I’m here, Kakashi, and I'm sorry.”

Crying. 

That’s the first thing Tenzo heard when he started to regain consciousness. Someone crying nearby. A soft sob muffled by something else, but still audible enough that Tenzo could tell what it is. 

He couldn’t remember what exactly happened. One minute he was fighting for his life, the next everything had gone black. There was a pain radiating from his side that he thought could be from a hit he took from one of the enemy weapons, but his brain was still a little fuzzy.

The only thing clear was the crying. 

Cracking an eye open, he turned to see who it was making the noise. His eyes were still blurry, but right beside him he could make out two figures. Both of them were blurs of blue and green, one a much brighter, more vibrant colour of green. 

Gai.

He didn’t need his eyes to focus to figure that out. Only Gai and Lee wore an outfit that bright, and Lee had no reason to be in a hospital room with him.

At least, that’s where he assumed he was if Gai was by his side. Even with his vision still blurred he could tell he wasn’t outside, and he wouldn’t be at his own apartment already. Not when it felt like he had been stabbed.

It had to be the hospital, and that was Gai at his side.

Which only left one option for who the other person was.

Blinking a few times, he watched as his vision slowly began to clear and Kakashi finally came into focus. But rather than sitting slumped in his chair with that awful book of his in hand, he was slouched forward in Gai’s arms.

The realization hit him like Gai’s fist to his face. Kakashi. Kakashi was the one crying. That sound was coming from his senpai.

His mind screamed at him to reach out and try to touch the older man. To bring attention to himself and help him realize that he was alive. That everything was ok. Maybe then he would stop crying.

But no matter how hard he tried, his body refused to cooperate. It wasn’t just his side that hurt, and trying to move made that painfully obvious. All of his muscles were stiff, and there was a dull ache in his back that made it uncomfortable to even be lying there, but there was nothing he could do. His body refused to move.

So he was stuck. Unable to do anything but listen to his senpai crying.

He’d have to make it up to the older man later, but for now he just lay there and watched, smiling softly when Gai’s eyes met him.

At least his senpai had Gai.

[lopithecusfanfiction]

Innocence

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy Rating: General Audiences Word Count: 2576 Alternate: AO3 Summary: Gai shows up late at night at Kakashi's apartment seeking comfort after a rough mission. Kakashi does his best to provide it. Warnings:

Hurt/Comfort

Angst

Blood

Author's Note: This is for day 7 of KakaGai Week 2020 ( @kkgweek ). I read some angsty stories before writing this one, so I was hit with the angst bug. The boys are around 11 and 12 years old here, but before Dai dies. Enjoy! Prompt: Day 7 - Free

The incessant, frantic knocking is what wakes Kakashi up from his sleep. He groans and turns to look at his clock. It's in the middle of the night, just after 1:00 am. He can't imagine who would be knocking on his door at this time.

With a tired sigh, Kakashi sits up, rubbing at his heavy eyes, feeling groggy. He throws the blanket off of him and gets up out of bed, shuffling to his door. "I'm coming," he says to the person on the other side of the door, though he knows he didn't say it anywhere near loud enough to be heard. Whoever is there is still knocking loudly. Kakashi hopes his neighbors don't complain

When he opens the door, he's met with the image of Gai standing there, blood covering his body. His eye widens at the sight, keeping the Sharingan eye closed, and his chest constricts in panic. "Gai!"

"Please don't shut the door," Gai pleads quietly, his eyes glazed over and distant. It makes something sting in Kakashi’s chest at the thought that he’s convinced Gai that he’s the type to turn him away even if it looks like he might be bleeding out in front of him.

"I…" Kakashi has never seen Gai like this, at least not in this particular situation. He's slouching in Kakashi's doorway, face flushed red, cheeks and eyes wet with tears, and snot running from his nose. He steps aside. "Come in." Gai limps into the apartment and Kakashi watches closely, trying to assess whose blood that is. "Are you hurt? Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

Gai shakes his head, wiping his face on his blood covered arm, smearing blood all over his face. He pulls the arm back and scowls at it before his entire face turns pale and slack. "Not mine," he says absently, looking as if he's going to be sick any moment now.

"Come here," Kakashi reaches out and grabs a hold of Gai's hand, dragging him to the bathroom. He’ll have to ask him what happened later. His first priority is getting Gai cleaned up.

Once in the bathroom, Kakashi aggressively turns the shower on and then pushes Gai underneath the spray of water. Gai has gone eerily quiet and it makes Kakashi wary and uncomfortable. Usually, Gai would be speaking to him a mile a minute, and Gai not doing just that is strange. Now, Gai stands there, not moving and staring off at a distant spot on the floor, eyes glazed over once more. Kakashi watches as the blood washes off of Gai’s skin and clothes. He’s going to need a proper bath to get all the grime off.

Kakashi turns away and turns the tap on for the bathtub, letting it fill up. Steam begins to engulf the air in the room, making it hot and sticky. Kakashi finds it hard to breathe with his mask on, the stench of sweat, mud, and blood filling the air with the hot moister. When he turns back to Gai, his eyes have wandered to stare at his hands, as if he can still see the blood on them.

Kakashi has a sickening feeling he knows exactly what has happened.

He pulls Gai out of the shower by the shoulder and walks him over to the tub. He shoves Gai down onto the bath stool, preparing a basin of water and a sponge. “Gai.” Gai jumps at Kakashi’s voice but doesn’t meet his eye. His arms fall to his side, limp and dragging Gai’s entire body into a slouch.

“Gai,” Kakashi tries again, tone lower and more gentle than before. “Gai, you need to clean yourself.” There’s no response and Kakashi sighs heavily. “I’m going to take your clothes off.”

He strips Gai bare of his sandals and his legwarmers, peeling off the wet jumpsuit one sticky section at a time. He hates how it feels when he pulls it off from Gai’s skin, how it sticks to him, and how it sounds. He ignores how when it’s finally off of Gai’s body, it drips with water that is tinged pink. He throws it to the side and it lands in a corner with a loud splash.

Kakashi looks over Gai’s body for any injuries. His ankle is a bit swollen which would explain the limp and when he touches the sensitive area, Gai flinches away. It doesn’t look broken though, or at least not to the naked eye, but Kakashi has seen many broken bones and he thinks it would have swollen more than it has if it were. He probably twisted it then. 

The rest of Gai’s body looks fine. Minor cuts and bruises, nothing too serious. He’s shivering now that he is naked and Kakashi turns back to the tub to turn the tap off. He grabs the sponge that has been floating in the basin of water and starts scrubbing at Gai’s skin, not even bothering to try and be gentle about it. That doesn’t matter at the moment. What matters is getting Gai into the bathtub so he can warm up.

Kakashi scrubs and scrubs and scrubs, until the water in the basin is a mixture of brown from dirt and pink with blood. Gai’s skin turns a bright red in irritation as Kakashi tries his damndest to tear the tainted flesh off of Gai’s bones, rubbing it completely raw. He starts to bleed, some of the cuts on his body opening back up.

Gai’s body is nothing but a child’s and Kakashi has to swallow against the thought that he hates seeing it like this. Kakashi’s body is a child’s as well, but he’s been doing this a lot longer than Gai. He’s already a Jonin. His body has already been marred and broken and dirtied from the deaths dealt by Kakashi’s hands.

Gai’s body needs to stay perfect for as long as possible.

“Get in the tub,” Kakashi orders, dropping the sponge into the basin. The water splashes onto Kakashi’s bare feet. He pays it no mind as Gai lifelessly stands from the stool and stumbles into the bathtub, almost falling face first when he trips. Kakashi catches him, keeping a hand on his arm as Gai lowers himself into the water. “Be careful, you idiot.”

Gai doesn’t react to the scolding. He sits there, staring at the water, shivering uncontrollably. Kakashi frowns. “Stay there.”

He goes over and picks up Gai’s abandoned clothes, ringing them out and then carrying them out of the bathroom. He’s not entirely sure if Gai has a special way of washing his clothes but Kakashi doesn’t care. He needs them to be cleaned and Gai isn’t in any shape to tell him how to do it. He throws them into the washing machine, sandals and all, and deposits the detergent into the machine. He then starts it up, using the quick cycle, and watches as it spins to life.

He stands there for several minutes, gathering himself and the strength he needs to continue to help Gai. He goes into his bedroom and digs around in his closet. Gai is a little bigger than he is since he’s older but Kakashi’s own clothes are all he has so they will have to do. He pulls out a sweatshirt and sweatpants, lying them down onto his bed. Kakashi then goes back to the bathroom, taking a deep breath to ground himself, before entering.

Gai is still sat obediently in the tub. As Kakashi approaches, he’s happy to see the shivering has ceased and he’s looking more aware than before. “Gai?” Kakashi asks, hesitantly. Gai turns to face him but doesn’t say anything. “It’s time to get out.”

He helps Gai out, Gai wincing as he puts pressure on his ankle. Kakashi is going to have to wrap it but first, he needs to get Gai dressed. He lets Gai lean on him as they make their way to Kakashi’s bedroom. Kakashi assists Gai with drying himself off and then gently helps Gai on to the bed so that he is sitting on the edge. He slips the clothes onto him, murmuring an apology for the size. Gai mumbles that it’s okay. His voice is still too soft and timid.

“I’m going to wrap your ankle.” Kakashi grabs the bandages off his side table. Normally, they would be kept in the bathroom but Kakashi has gotten into the habit of leaving them by his bed for easy access. That way when he gets home from a long and hard mission, when he’s too exhausted to crawl his way to the bathroom, he can still bandage himself up.

Kakashi wraps up Gai’s ankle and is self-conscious of Gai’s eyes watching him. He wonders if Gai is judging his bandaging skills and is thinking he can do better than Kakashi. Kakashi almost wishes Gai would go back to being catatonic just so he would stop looking at Kakashi like that. When he’s done, Kakashi gives the ankle a once over to make sure he’s satisfied with his work.

Happy with the bandages, Kakashi stands. “You can rest in my bed,” he says, in a way that Gai knows to not argue with him. Although, Kakashi isn’t so sure Gai would have it in him to do that anyway.

He nods and lies down, allowing Kakashi to pull the blanket up to his chin. Kakashi looks at the time. It’s already almost 3:30 and suddenly, Kakashi is glad he doesn’t have a mission to go to later. He’s going to be exhausted and he’s not sure how Gai will be in a few hours, if he’ll still need him.

He turns to walk away from the bed when Gai catches him by the wrist. “Please don’t leave me.” He sounds like he might start crying again. If he does, Kakashi isn’t sure how to handle that.

“I’ve got to change my clothes. They’re all wet.” He tugs his wrist out of Gai’s grasp and walks away, ignoring how Gai’s breath hitches. Maybe he’s going to start panicking again.

Kakashi changes in the bathroom. While in there, he drains the bathtub and watches as the water swirls until it’s all gone. He throws his own wet clothes into the same corner Gai’s had been in previously. He’ll deal with them later. For now, he goes and switches Gai’s clothes to the dryer, leaving Gai’s sandals out to air dry. He then makes his way back to where Gai is lying.

His face is buried into Kakashi’s pillow, soft muffled whimpers escaping from his throat. Kakashi’s chest constricts again and he walks over to the other side of the bed, pulling the covers back, and slipping in under them. He scoots closer over to Gai and wraps his arms around his waist, pulling the slightly larger boy flush against him.

He’s shivering again.

Kakashi hates it.

“Gai.” Gai curls in on himself at his name, knees drawing up and into the fetal position. “What happened?”

“Bad mission,” it’s all Kakashi gets out of him and Kakashi squeezes his middle.

“Tell me more.” Gai stays silent. “Now,” he demands, acting as the commanding Jonin that he should be despite the physical position they are currently in.

A violent shudder runs through Gai and Kakashi nuzzles into the back of his neck to try and help calm him. It’s what his ninken do and it always seems to help Kakashi. Why not Gai?

“We…” Gai sniffles and raises a hand to wipe at his face. He then wipes his hand on Kakashi’s sheets but Kakashi can’t be mad at him for it. After all, Kakashi has done the same many times. “We had no choice. We were attacked, Kakashi, and we… I…” he trails off again.

“Are you going to be sick?” Kakashi asks, feeling the heat coming off of Gai in waves. His body is covered in a cold sweat. So much for getting cleaned.

Gai shakes his head but Kakashi isn’t so sure he’s telling the truth. He sits up. “Hold on.” He gets out of bed, wanders to his kitchen, and grabs a large bowl. He brings it back to the bedroom and places it on the floor next to Gai. “Just in case,” he says, crawling back in beside Gai. He resumes his previous position, with Gai’s back pressed close to Kakashi’s chest. “Continue,” he orders.

Gai straightens his legs and they brush against Kakashi’s, feet tangling together. “We weren’t prepared. We weren’t sent out to fight. Chōza-sensei wasn’t with us because… because we’re Chunins now.” Gai has been a Chunin for at least a year. He should be used to Chōza-san not going with him on missions by now and Kakashi knows that’s not why he said that.

“We’ve fought before. Of course, we have,” Gai carries on. “But this… this was different. This was… Kakashi, we had to.”

“Had to what?” Kakashi prompts even though he already knows the answer. The first time he had to, he wasn’t any better off than Gai is now.

“Kill,” Gai says the word quietly. Too quietly. He then promptly doubles over and throws up into the bowl Kakashi had set near him, regurgitating any food pills and vitamins he might have taken on his mission.

Kakashi grimaces at the sound but rubs at Gai’s straining back soothingly. It doesn’t last long. Gai probably had a mostly empty stomach to begin with. Kakashi debates getting up to grab Gai a glass of water but when he looks at the boy, lying once more beside him, and seeing just how young and small he is, he can’t bring himself to leave him again.

Instead, he nudges Gai back onto his side and pulls him closer, squeezing Gai’s body up against him so that they are lying the way they were before. Kakashi stabs his nose into the back of Gai’s neck, breathing him in, and letting him weep and shake in his arms without saying a word. Eventually, Gai does calm and goes limp. His legs are intertwined with Kakashi’s. Neither of them makes to move them.

Kakashi thinks about asking Gai why he had come to him instead of going home where Dai could take care of him but he doesn’t have to. He already knows the answer. It’s the same reason why Kakashi never goes to Minato-sensei whenever he has a tough mission that leaves him crumpled on the floor in the corner, feeling like dying.

Kakashi doesn’t blame Gai for not wanting his father to see him like this. Dai is special. He’s innocent like a child who goes to the playground and runs up the slide to his friends. That innocence needs to be protected.

Gai would stain and defile it if he went to him now.

Kakashi’s already ruined so he will take that burden on for Dai and for Gai. He’ll take the disgust and the anger and the mental exhaustion. He’ll entrap whatever Gai is feeling at the moment, take it away from Gai, and pull it into himself instead. That way, when the sun rises, Gai can go back home to his father as if nothing had happened. That way Gai can be okay, or as okay as he’ll ever be from now on, and Dai will be none the wiser.

That way, Dai doesn’t have to have his own innocence destroyed like theirs.

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A/N: Out of all the fics I wrote for this week event, I have to admit, this one is my favorite.

Thanks for reading!

[ao3feed-kakagai]

by Lopithecus

Gai shows up late at night at Kakashi's apartment seeking comfort after a rough mission. Kakashi does his best to provide it.

Words: 2576, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 7 of KakaGai Week 2020

Fandoms: Naruto

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai | Might Guy

Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Angst, KakaGai Week 2020, kakagai week, Day 7 prompt