Chapter 12: Breakfast at the Hatake Residence
The next day.
When Kurenai Yuhi arrived at the Hatake residence, full of excitement and carrying breakfast, the smile on her face froze.
"Asuma? What are you doing here?"
Kurenai looked resentfully at the two people sitting on the wooden floor of the veranda, eating breakfast.
"Ah, this..."
Faced with Kurenai's unhappy tone, Asuma was at a loss for words.
"Asuma heard I was broke and offered to treat me to my meals."
"Right, Asuma?"
As Kakashi spoke, he dropped a dumpling into a dog bowl below the veranda.
A small, pug-like dog wearing a tiny vest and a Konoha headband scrambled out from under the house and swallowed the dumpling in one gulp.
"That's right! That's it!" Asuma nodded quickly.
Kurenai pouted, looking at the two who had clearly planned this beforehand.
[Emotional Fluctuation from Kurenai Yuhi +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Emotional Fluctuation from Asuma Sarutobi +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra: 149%]
Kakashi was quite satisfied with the prompts in his mind. Even without doing anything to draw attention to himself, he was naturally approaching three Kakashi-units of chakra.
Obito Uchiha deserved a lot of the credit. Besides him, Might Guy and Kurenai Yuhi had also helped a lot.
However, he was still a long way from Naruto's 100 Kakashi-units.
That chakra powerhouse, Naruto... even when suppressed by Yamato, he still had four Kakashi-units of chakra.
All Kakashi could say was: comparisons are depressing.
But, speaking of Naruto...
Kakashi chewed his food slowly, thinking of his sensei's son.
Should I find time to go see him...?
While Kakashi was lost in thought, Kurenai had already taken off her shoes in a huff. She squeezed in between Kakashi and Asuma, copying their pose.
She angrily placed the breakfast she had brought between them and said, almost grinding her teeth:
"Eat!"
Even Kakashi, who had no interest in romantic drama, could tell from her tone that this pretty girl was very unhappy.
Kakashi and Asuma glanced at each other, both sharing a silent understanding not to say anything.
He obediently picked up an onigiri Kurenai had brought and began to eat.
"Woof! If you can't finish, you can give it to me."
Pakkun scraped his paws against the wooden floor, his eyes fixed on the leftover dumplings Kakashi and Asuma had.
"Here. Eat up."
Kakashi helpfully dumped the remaining dumplings from his bowl into Pakkun's. Asuma followed his example.
Watching Pakkun gobble up the food, Kakashi felt a twinge of regret.
Compared to Kurenai's onigiri, he actually preferred the dumplings.
But if he fed the onigiri she brought to Pakkun right in front of her, he'd probably lose this meal ticket.
"What are your plans today, Kakashi?"
During the awkwardly silent breakfast, Kurenai couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to speak.
"I'm planning to go find Shizune."
?!
Kurenai's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, giving off a strange vibe.
"To ask about any precautions I need to take after the eye transplant."
That was a lie.
He was mainly going to find Shizune to ask her to keep the fact that he had received Rin's eye a secret.
Kakashi glanced at Kurenai and finished the onigiri in two or three bites.
"I see. And after that?"
Kurenai let out a small, inexplicable sigh of relief.
"Asuma is going to help me with my rehabilitation training."
Hearing Kakashi mention him, Asuma blinked, confused.
"Is that so?" Kurenai looked at Asuma.
"It is! That's right!" Asuma swallowed the onigiri in his mouth and nodded quickly.
"I can help you with your rehab training too, Kakashi..."
"...Never mind. It's better to let Asuma do it."
The girl pouted, her voice lacking confidence.
Halfway through her sentence, she lost her own nerve. Even if Kakashi wasn't fully recovered, she was no match for him.
What's more, she was a Genjutsu-type shinobi; taijutsu was her weak point. Rehabilitation training was mainly about getting his body, which hadn't moved much for days, active again.
...
Kakashi was always efficient. After a simple breakfast, he arrived at the hospital and, luckily, ran into Shizune, who was just about to start her shift.
After exchanging a few words, Kakashi got straight to the point.
Shizune didn't ask many questions about his request, simply giving him an "OK" sign.
"No problem at all."
All shinobi had their own intelligence. Kakashi's Sharingan was practically public knowledge. For that ever-active Sharingan to suddenly turn into a black eye...
If an enemy encountered him and didn't know the inside story, they would be uncertain whether Kakashi had finally mastered the Sharingan or lost it. This would become a factor that could tip the balance of a battle.
So, Shizune understood.
"You've been a huge help."
"I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Kakashi said with a light, thankful laugh.
"Aren't you a pauper right now, Kakashi?"
"Or do you mean, you'll 'treat' me, and I'll pay?"
Shizune teased Kakashi with a mischievous smile.
"Ah... this..."
"You know about that too, Shizune-san...?"
Kakashi felt a little embarrassed.
"Hmph hmph. Of course. Kurenai was complaining to me about it last night~"
Shizune looked at the embarrassed Kakashi, laughed, and patted his shoulder.
"I'll stop teasing you."
"Let's forget about the meal. Your main goal right now is to adapt to fighting without the Sharingan as soon as possible."
"I'm going to get to work."
"You should get going too, Kakashi."
"Bye-bye~"
Watching the girl's cheerful figure disappear down the hospital corridor, Kakashi smiled helplessly.
Jeez...
I can't believe Kurenai told Shizune about me being broke.
But it didn't matter. The issue with the eye was settled.
The next step was to get his old sword skills back as quickly as possible and keep working on them.
Asuma was already waiting for Kakashi at the hospital entrance.
Seeing Kakashi come out, he walked over, hands in his pockets.
"Well? Find a place?"
Kakashi nodded.
Although Asuma wasn't as strong as Might Guy, his skills were still outstanding among his peers.
He was more than enough as a training partner for the next three days of rehabilitation.
After three days, when he got his sword, he should be pretty much recovered.
At that time, Guy could be his opponent, to help him get used to his old sword skills again.
He just hoped Guy wouldn't get too worked up, shouting about "YOUTH!" and opening the Eight Gates on him...
His current body definitely couldn't handle that.
As for Naruto...
He'd go see him when he had a chance.