Swathes of orange and purple fills the sky and paints the village in darker, more somber colors by the time they reach their next destination. Lengthened shadows lick at their feet just as lights from homes blink on, one by one casting warm yellows on Naruto's face as they walk by on their way to the large tower, the heart of the village.

The streets are mostly barren as civilian families return home for dinner or to settle for the night, with only a few stragglers hanging around the small food stalls still open. Gaggles of children run past them, racing the clock and their early curfews.

Their innocent conversations and carefree expressions contrasts so much to what Sasuke remembers of childhood, of nerve wracking tests and weapons and missions, that his steps stop while his eyes pursue their movements. They linger on the way the kids joke and touch, unshackled by politics and questions of motivation. In the joy bubbling through their round faces.

"Sasuke?"

His gaze snaps back to Naruto, curious blue eyes greenish with the window lights. Half turned and many strides ahead of him, the blond seems unperturbed by the normalcy, the lingering echo of a life they've never experienced.

"Nothing," Sasuke snaps his legs to action just as Naruto's brows furrow at his answer.

Naruto stares at his face until Sasuke's a footstep away, where both their eyes quietly roving over each other's expressions. Blond eyebrows quirk a little in question when Sasuke just stands there, waiting. Blue eyes flicker to the side, concentration wrinkling his forehead, before Naruto snorts shaking his shaggy hair as he turns, muttering "Weirdo."

Back at you hangs on Sasuke's tongue as does his own head shake but he lets neither through, irked at the thought of doing the same action as Naruto. Instead, he follows the other as they move closer to the looming building until they are shoulder to shoulder.

The Hokage tower is, oddly, intact and unharmed compared to the rest of the village they traverse after their two options proved unavailable. It's imposing height, despite it's plain build, is unharmed though it stands closer to the heart of Konoha.

Perhaps rebuilt before anything else to serve as a focal point of morale.

They enter the building without questions. The halls silent and bereft of anyone but a handful of weak chuunin lackeys. They are probably new, faces Sasuke doesn't recognize nor does he care to by the way they skitter away from both him and Naruto. They skirt around them as he and Naruto progress closer to their destination, barely concealed emotions on their foreign faces.

Wonder and confusion towards Naruto. Anger, loathing, and grudging admiration for him.

Naruto ignores them with a disarming smile, while Sasuke gives them indifference. The eyes that follow their journey is so heavy, so pointedly focused on how close they seem to still be, he wonders how much of Naruto's obliviousness is learned from years ago or if he does it for Sasuke's sake.

But he doesn't bring it up, even when the eyes start to shift into alarmed indignation, that he is walking unguarded and confident towards the Hokage's office. But they pose no threat as the two of them move forward, Naruto with a slight hop in his carefree gait and Sasuke trudging beside him, planning to discuss their living arrangements with the Godaime.

Even in their weakened states, perhaps the others felt his and Naruto's powers slowly building, much stronger than they'd ever faced.

Quiet is the one thing Kakashi didn't expect of the position. He expects the caution for attacks from outside, with much of Konoha still in rubble and most of its offensive force downed by the war. The worry for supplies, needed for civilians and shinobi alike, as the village mends and tries to move on.

But he doesn't expect the solitude after a day's worth of arguments, a day's worth of paperwork on top of paperwork. The time in between today's shift and the next day's lets him wind down to think about issues outside of controlling Konoha's shinobi and efforts needed to rebuild the village.

More importantly, the two young men purposefully striding closer to his door.

It had been more than chance the two men didn't share a hospital room though both rooms had enough space to house a second bed. In fact, Kakashi and Tsunade adamantly made sure they were separated by plenty of rooms. Kakashi because he knew of how much of Naruto's injuries were after his and Sasuke's duel in the Valley of the End and Tsunade because of pure, accurate instinct. Both of them had planned to put floors in between the two, a better precaution considering how heated the two had always been, but the need of other shinobi and the fact that the floor they were being placed in was closer to Tsunade's office decided it for them.

But neither had factored in the other bond between the two boys, the one that drew them to each other like moths to a fire despite their outcries of rivalry and not being friends.

Kakashi remembers from long ago shiny obsidian eyes disturbed and worried as he looked at the empty chair across himself, absent of the loud teammate. The way Sasuke had worried at his lip just slightly until he stood, announcing his need to train and wondering if Naruto had killed himself. Remembers the quiet glances but snake sharp barbs every time Sasuke saw an opportunity to rile the other boy up, especially when Naruto's attention turned inward.

And he knows first hand the fervor of Naruto's resolve, to bring his best friend back at all costs. Then and now still so passionately present, even when Sasuke had tried to sever their connection so many times before.

So, truthfully, he should have known that the two would seek each other out, even in their debilitated state. That Tsunade found the two in Naruto's room, civil and very much behaved is surprisingly pleasant, especially since it signified Sasuke's movement more than Naruto.

There's something like happiness that knocks at Kakashi's heart knowing that the young child with dark hair, green around the ears but so involved with Naruto's wellbeing when all factors are taken away, is still there within that broken body and mind. Still willing to connect with the one person who'd never doubted, never waivered even when principles were tested.

The fact that both their faint chakra signatures are calmly moving in the building, so close together that the two contrasting chakra blend in between them, rising higher in power though still so weak, is encouraging. The refreshingly serene duo parting the agitated signatures of the remaining shinobi lingering in the building as they move forward without incident sparks eagerness to speak to his students.

Former students, Kakashi reminds himself.

He failed both of them years ago, unable to keep up with either when Sasuke chose power outside of his influence and Naruto, finding no help from him, chose a better teacher, one close to his own temperament.

Kakashi sighs, thankful that his failings did not lead to the death of possibly the two strongest shinobi in this generation.

With the two moving about, recovering fast, faster than the rest of the injured forces, Kakashi hopes the two continues in their mutual support. Helping each other through emotional struggles that neither could open to those outside of them. He fingers the scroll and the key sitting in the drawer before him, debating whether or not to give one or the other.

Sasuke had reached for Naruto in what he believed was his dying breath. And Naruto had passed out with his body turned as much as possible to his friend.

That was sign enough.

The door slams open, banging on the wall, as Naruto jumps through yelling with all his heart, " 'Baa-chan!"

Kakashi shoots him an amused expression, expecting the stutter in the blond's overeager entrance, almost tripping him, as he quietly greets them with a wave instead of the Godaime.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naruto's face scrunches, striding closer with a dark shadow not far behind.

"Language, Naruto." Kakashi hunches over the papers he'd been perusing, a hand on his chin to watch them. He sees the faded colors all over Naruto's skin, the slightly darker echoes on Sasuke's paleness, and the fact that both boys are wearing chuunin clothes without a single new scratch as indicated by Sakura's earlier report about their well being.

"The fuck you doing here?"

Kakashi's eye curves upward, proudly as Sasuke's face creases in annoyance, "Working?"

Two pairs of eyes hover around the room, taking in the organized piles he'd created hours prior on desk right beside his familiar orange book. They walk forward, stopping a few steps before the table, Naruto with a confused expression, "Where's 'baa-chan?"

"At the hospital."

"I know she goes there, but why're you here?"

Kakashi silently grins up at him, through the cloth surrounding the lower parts of his face. Savoring the way the expressive boy's expression flits from confusion to annoyance as Kakashi waits for him to figure out the situation on his own.

"Hokage-sama," the honorific doesn't fit with the way his title is spit out as Sasuke pins him with a glare, an unacknowledged tic developing on the corner of his right eyebrow. Kakashi frowns at Sasuke's refusal to play along, a sourpuss after all these years. "We need-"

"Wait!" The tic grows more prominent as Naruto points at Kakashi, mouth wide in incredulity, "You're Hokage now?!"

He feels the smile widen at Naruto's shocked expression and the groan he hears, faintly, from the dark haired youth.

Seeing Kakashi behind the desk is just as unnerving as the ease they slip into the roles they once were when they'd been a team. It grates on his nerves that nothing's changed between them after all these years regardless of the sins he'd done against the village. The actions he'd taken against the Hokage. That now Kakashi sits on a throne with history he either knows and is ignoring or is allowing Sasuke leeway to bring up.

He may be able to stomach Tsunade in the position, because she healed him without her personal grudges blinding her oath as a healer. He may be able to acknowledge Naruto once he's up on that pedestal, it's a role he'd always wanted and Sasuke can't find it within himself to refuse that future. But seeing Kakashi sitting on the chair composed and just as observant as he remembers sends an uncomfortable sensation skittering on his skin.

The older man's grey gaze watches his every move even when his focus is caught by Naruto's demanding voice.

Kakashi used to read him like the book nestled in his grasp. Read him almost as deeply as Naruto could, spouting proverbs and insights he didn't want to hear without batting an eye.

Having that sharp mind capable of dissecting his thought process in the past now backed by official power to act on his instincts...

The thought sends a shiver of dread through him, warring with the irritation coursing through his veins as Kakahi amuses himself with the idiot.

"Why, I'm hurt by your disbelief Naruto," Kakashi leans back on his chair, looking relaxed yet out of place, for his lack of hat and white robe. He looks comfortable, slouched and watching them almost stand over him, dressed in his usual jounin uniform.

"We missed your inauguration?!"

"Mah," Long fingers wave in dismissal, "Unnecessary. There wasn't a big ceremony. Tsunade-sama announced she'd assume the head position in the hospital and named me the Hokage. Whether permanently or interim..." Green clad shoulders shrug.

"I- congrats!" Naruto bounces on the ball of his feet, jostling Sasuke with an errant wave of his stump, "You don't look any different."

"The ensemble wasn't my style," The orange book reappears in his grip, slouching further into the seat with a short glance at both of them. Sasuke feels no inclination to question why and Naruto looks indignant, perhaps thinking that Kakashi's opinion was blasphemy, but stays silent so the older man replies with that annoying curve of his eye, "Too much in the way."

Sasuke sighs and Naruto stares, stares some more until he explodes, "Pervert! Gross!"

"I said no such thing, only that the robes and hat gets in the way of certain movements," He continues grinning at the blond, shooting them both with an expression merely missing the waggling eyebrows.

Naruto screeches, "You better not being doing stuff on the chair!"

"Only sometimes."

Naruto squawks and Kakashi giggles just like normal, mindless of his position of respect. A tag team of aggravation, worse than any duo he's had the pleasure to hang around. Only rivaled by, perhaps, Karin and Suigetsu.

"We need a place to stay," Sasuke butts in, tired of Naruto's screaming and Kakashi's enjoyment, even though the red flashing on Naruto's cheekbones creates an involuntary twitch on his lips.

"Of course, Sasuke." Finally acknowledging him with a tilt of his silver head, "I see you are well.

"As I could be."

"So distant," Kakashi returns to his leaning position, fist now located under his chin, regarding him with a neutral expression. Steel grey prod him for a positive reaction, which Sasuke ignores.

"I am tired Hokage-sama," Sasuke levels him a flat look, unwilling to play the game.

"You're no fun," Sasuke could hear the disgusting pout in Kakashi's voice, even though his the lone eye stays impartial and focused on Sasuke's face. "So not cute."

"I know, right?" Naruto pipes in, thankful to be out of Kakashi's firing range. "He's such a stick in the mud."

"All the more... fun for you," Kakashi's eye, once again, adopts its crescent shape, sliding into a leer while he looks at both of them.

The familiarity in the room is so sickeningly uncomfortable it leaves a bitter flavor in Sasuke's mouth as both his former comrades try to draw him into their childishness. Makes him think that nothing's changed. Nothing but him. "Kakashi."

"No fun, no fun," the older man sing songs, searching through a drawer in his right. After rummaging through the compartment for a second, movement unhurried despite the bursting eagerness flooding through Naruto's every pore and Sasuke's ever sharpening glare, the former jounin produces an inconspicuous key, which he lobs at Naruto. "Couldn't fix your apartment in time so I've taken the liberty to rent you a new one. A two bedroom apartment near the academy. All the amenities included and I've stocked it with basic necessities."

From their close proximity Sasuke could see the way Naruto's fingers are wracked with tremors, the key sitting squarely on his palm, as his face stays frozen in shock, mouth agape and falling wider with each of Kakashi's words. The way his eyes are forcibly open to hold back the shimmer of tears on the surface.

He remembers the way Naruto had looked years ago as Sasuke reached up, chopsticks holding a morsel of food to the tied blond. And, only hours ago, the way Naruto's shoulders curved around the toy innocently returned to him, face hidden from the world.

Seeing the expression now... Like he's never been given anything, without strings attached, before.

The naked gratitude painfully on his face a stark contrast to the overwhelming energy moments ago...

Ignites questions that burn all over Sasuke's heart, all the unknowns he'd never felt a reason to know flaring brighter on the surface. Everything he'd waved off as nothing more than Naruto-ism.

The blond swallows, audible, fingers closing around the key to place it securely in one vest pocket. Closest to his heart. Cheeks stained pink and hand loosely hanging onto the pocket, Naruto beams at the older man. "T-thanks."

"Don't mention it," Kakashi smiles back at the blond before looking at Sasuke. "I'd like a moment with Sasuke, please."

Although a brief scowl pops onto Naruto's face, he doesn't question the request. With a nod to both of them as he grabs the plant forgotten in Sasuke's hand, he leaves the room in silence, closing the door with a wave of his leg.

With stillness booming in his wake.

The click of the door signals a change.

A shift in Sasuke's body language, winding up and stiffening like a snake ready to strike, so easily observable Kakashi wonders how different the young Uchiha would be with someone he was completely unfamiliar with.

"He's recovering well..." Kakashi mentions offhandedly, breaking the ice as he watches Sasuke's shoulders draw up, dark head still turned towards the closed door. With a sigh, he continues. "You don't need to be so cautious, I'm not going to slap some punishment on you for what happened between you two."

The younger man slowly turns, nonchalant, eyes full of suspicion. "Favoritism?"

"Hardly. Naruto had faith you would return to us one way or another. That it needed you both to be incapacitated is an unfortunate necessity."

"I tried to kill him."

"And tried to do the same with the rest of us. Yet we're all alive, despite the numerous accounts of your...deadly prowess."

Displeasure scrunches up Sasuke's pale face. Another failure among perceived many.

Another sigh escapes Kakashi's lips "I am your ally as much as you let me, Sasuke."

"And what is the cost?"

"Oh just cooperation." He rapped on the desk, as if in thought. "Of course your past activities will have consequences, but your actions starting now will be even more important."

A wall of silence, unaffected.

"Naruto can only vouch for you for so much before his own future is jeopardized."

A grimace. "I didn't ask for it."

"No you didn't. That is just part of him."

This time the younger man lets out a breath, sounding weary, bone tired. Stance slipping out of the defensive, almost but not quite the bad posture that he loved to sport as a child. Kakashi watches a shadow superimpose, a brooding child peeking out of the gloomy teenager, feeling a sincere smile form on his face.

He waits for Sasuke to bring up something, anything that bothered him. Anything that Kakashi could try to help alleviate.

But nothing comes forth. Nothing but tiredness and slight annoyance.

And as much as he'd like to sit around with Sasuke standing near like a floor lamp, he knows the young man would resent him for wasting time. With a blink, he presents the scroll he'd been contemplating moments ago, holding it up for the young Uchiha to take. "This is the Third's account of that night. The truth about your clan and your brother."

A morose, far off look, "I already know."

"For the village," Kakashi lets it stand on the table, leaning away. "Absolve your brother... Perhaps mar your clan name but not as much as the Hokage and those of us in power."

"Why would you risk your position?"

He pins the younger man with a stare, so distrusting and still so, so young. Reminds himself of years past. Of wars and allies fallen. "Because it is time for all of us to scrutinize the past. To look deeply into the causes and the system we have in place that let so much bloodshed happen."

"Are you saying?" Dark grey eyes probe him, narrowed and suspicious. Pale fingers hesitantly rising.

"A part, a large part of the Uchiha clan's massacre had been from a lack of transparency in both the clan and the Hokage's motives and thoughts. Neither tried hard enough to reach each other. I will do all that I can to remove that wall between the clans and the village."

"If you think the clans will expose all their secrets, all their plotting to an outsider..."

"Perhaps - no. The system will no doubt stay the same during my reign with small changes here and there, but the next generation..." Kakashi's eyes drift to the closed door. "You all will have a chance to change everything. You have all experienced what it is like to fight together for a common goal. The strength in cooperation. And you all have the power to strive for that goal, be it as a leader or as support."

Scowling, Sasuke's fingers close around the scroll, carefully placing it into one of the flack jacket's pockets. "That isn't the only problem."

"Of course not. But any step to a unified, truly unified village is a step towards peace. Everything else can be chipped at in the years to come, but tell me...Will you help build that future?"

A deadpan glance is the only answer for a breath until a snort erupts from Sasuke's nose, turning away as he heads to the door. Shoulders confidently raised and wider than Kakashi remembers.

"As if I'd let that dobe try to fix all of this alone."

And the ill-hidden fondness in the insult reassures Kakashi just as much as the words spoken, if not more. The child he'd failed to save choosing to live for the future he'd once given up.

"The main house is still vacant." Kakashi throws out, wondering if that one detail, that one step towards transparency, would ruin it all.

A brief nod, a small bow, is the only reply as the last Uchiha walks away. Head held high.