Summary: Sasuke is dead, the world is saved. Four years after the war, Naruto finally returns to Konoha ready to face himself and who he's become. Kakashi only wants to help-even if he's the one who messed it all up in the first place. KakaNaru

Let's Forget All the Things That We Say

Prologue

Zero

The war was over.

They had won.

Somehow, they, the people of this world, had made it through. Through the turbulence of a madman's ambition and the remnants of a bitter history, the shinobi had triumphed. Madara was defeated, the souls of the tailed beasts freed, the world saved, and Kakashi, once again, helped lead Obito towards his end.

Unsurprisingly, the people of the Shinobi Alliance did not emerge unscathed. The casualties were numerous and this time around, there was no Nagato to bring them miraculously back to life: the dead stayed dead, the living went on living.

Lady Tsunade was among the dead. She died after exhausting the rest of her already dwindling life energy to drag the other four Kages back from the edge of death's manor after Uchiha Madara's devastating assault. Tsunade, Konaha's Fifth Hokage, was dead, and now Hatake Kakashi stood in her place, overlooking the village from his perch among the mountains—both figuratively and literally.

The wind was cold and unforgiving from where he stood at the mountain's cliff, blowing into his clothes and through his skin. Forehead protector characteristically skewed, Kakashi observed the hustle and bustle below through one dark eye. Vaguely, he could discern the buildings already erected and the people who wove their way in and out of them.

Konoha, with the interruption of the Fourth Shinobi War, had still yet to fully achieve its former glory—it would take years and years to come to return to life as the village was used to. But even then, Kakashi had his doubts of whether or not things would ever really be the same. For better or worse, Pein and Akatsuki, Madara and the fear of world devastation, had changed something. The Sharingan-wielder hoped it was for the better.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Ah." Kakashi removed his gloved hands from his pants pockets and turned towards the voice. "Is it time already?"

The cloaked and masked ANBU shinobi nodded. "Yes. The council is waiting."

"Well, wouldn't want to make them wait, would we?" The silver-haired jounin's one eye curved into his signature smile. He took one last look at the village below, the forest beyond, the sky above, and the sun hidden behind an onslaught of gray clouds, and turned away.

The shinobi had made it through. Konoha had made it through. Kakashi had made it through. But he had to wonder if somewhere in the process, perhaps some time ago, he had left something behind.

One

The Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, ran his visible eye across the sheet of paper in his hand.

Sakura-chan,

I miss you! And Ichiraku ramen. Mostly the ramen.

As usual, the world is enormous. I traveled before with Jiraiya-sensei, but somehow it never fails to surprise me. There's always something new somewhere, as long as you look hard enough.

I don't know how long I will be away, but please don't worry. I feel free as a bird and am more caught up with the springtime of youth than Fuzzy Eyebrows-sensei!

I am sorry this letter is so short. I've never been good at these type of things.

Tell everyone I said hi,

Naruto

Silently, Kakashi placed the lone sheet of paper and the envelope it arrived in back on the desk and pushed it gently across. It was swiped up by eager hands.

"What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?" He looked up at the pink-haired kunoichi. She hadn't kicked the habit of calling him sensei because he wouldn't let her. Somehow, it pleased him—in the least perverted way possible—to know that he retained more of his identity than the new wardrobe of heavy robes declared.

"Well, Sakura," he said, leaning back in his chair to survey the room, "It's definitely Naruto."

"Not that, sensei! It's obviously him, but—" Sakura's voice failed her midway. A hefty silence fell upon the room for a moment.

"But," Shikamaru continued for her, "What do we do? Should we bring him back, Hokage-sama?"

Crossing his arms, Kakashi let his eye sweep over Sakura's suddenly downcast countenance to Shikamaru's calm, steady eyes.

"No."

"But he—" it was Rock Lee this time "— Naruto-kun, what if he needs us?"

A small startle ran through the room's occupants as Kakashi suddenly stood, rising to his full height, slouch gone. The usually half-lidded eye was stern but without anger. "No, Lee. We don't know what Naruto needs. We can't even begin to guess what it is he needs. All we can do is have faith in him and wait. Whether it takes weeks, months, or years, we will wait for his return." Kakashi paused, and his eye curved up in a sudden reassuring smile that wove its way into his voice. "And we will wait for him, won't we?"

Sakura, Shikamaru, and Lee glanced at each before exchanging smiles between themselves.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now off you go."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi's smile never wavered until the three young shinobi shuffled out the doorway and the click of the lock sliding into place echoed throughout the now empty room. Alone, Kakashi stood staring at the door for long, long moments before finally collapsing back into his chair, clothed cheek resting heavily against the palm of his right hand. The room was suddenly too quiet. It made him restless.

"Waiting, huh," he mumbled under his breath.

Those words, he knew, were meant for himself.

Two

It had been a year since he told Sakura and the others to wait. It had been two years since he had left.

Kakashi was getting impatient.

The other members of the Rookie Nine and Umino Iruka had each received letters from Naruto, though some more than others. Regardless, Kakashi remained letter-less. Two years, two years and not a single word from the blonde had been directed to him. It was aggravating and it was worrisome, it made Kakashi envious and more than anything, a little scared.

He knew that Naruto sending letters back to Konoha was odd in and of itself. When the boy had been traveling and training with Jiraiya he had never bothered to send back any form of correspondence, but that was then and this is now. Things were different now. Every couple months a letter from the genin would arrive somewhere in the village—the last one went to Kiba—and all of Naruto's old friends would gather like bees to honey.

"What did he say?"

"Where is he now?"

"How's he doing?"

"When's he coming back?"

Naruto, that dunce, had imprinted himself on everybody's hearts and without him, there was just a little something missing. Kakashi, most of all, felt a daunting vacancy inside of himself. It was the same emptiness that had manifested itself since his father died, since Obito died, since Rin died—he had yet to fill it up. But he had tried, Kakashi swore he had. It just hadn't worked out the way he'd wanted.

And still, there were no letters from Naruto to stop that vacancy from itching at his innards.

Three

Perhaps he spoke too soon.

Kakashi stared hard at the battered envelope gripped tight in gloved hand, mind mulling over a million thoughts a second.

"You may leave."

That familiar swish.

Now alone, Kakashi settled himself deep into his seat, bothersome robes bunching up around him. He turned over the envelope over and over in his hands, examining every centimeter of the seemingly harmless paper contraption. He couldn't believe it. But clear enough, Hatake Kakashi was scribbled across the front in Naruto's all too familiar scrawl. Steeling himself, the Sixth Hokage stuck his finger into the open crevice of the envelope's mouth and tore it open. The envelope's contents slipped smoothly into his awaiting palm.

By the dim light of dusk drifting through the high windows, Kakashi unfolded the letter and read.

Kakashi-sensei,

How are you? I hear you're doing a great job as the Sixth Hokage, but don't get too comfortable because one day I'm going to steal that title right from under you!

I don't know when I'll be back, but I've been having a lot of fun travelling. Don't worry too much about me. I'm fine now.

Naruto

After reading it three times, Kakashi folded up the letter and stuffed it back into the envelope where it lay discarded on his lap. He ran his hands over his masked face and into his unruly hair, thought about standing up for a walk but didn't find the energy or motivation in his legs. Instead, he simply sat. Kakashi tilted his head to rest on the chair's back, eyes staring into the growing darkness of the room's ceiling as night fell dispassionately onto the world around him.

Slowly, his eyes closed and he drifted into a deep, restless slumber.

I'm fine now.

Kakashi couldn't bring himself to believe it.

Four

With a yawn that stretched his mask to a dangerous length, Kakashi skimmed absent-mindedly through his beat-up copy of Icha Icha Tactics. There, of course, had been no new installment in the Icha Icha series since Jiraiya's death. With no other books that caught Kakashi's eye, the Sixth Hokage had settled for rereading the three old novels. But after years and years and years of the same three books over and over again, even Kakashi was beginning to get a little bored.

He idly flipped through Icha Icha Tactics, searching for some of the juicier passages.

"Hokage-sama."

"Yes?" Kakashi answered without looking up from his well-worn book.

"There's someone here to see you."

"Oh? Then let them in."

"Understood."

There was the tell-tale whistle of wind as the ANBU operative vanished, the tumble of footsteps in the hallway outside, the clicking of a turning doorknob, and the miscellaneous soundtrack of bodies shuffling into the Hokage's office. Kakashi took noticed of all of this but his eye never drifted from the text in front of him.

A sudden sinking feeling had pounded its way into his stomach, pulling along with it his breath and calm. He only tightened his fingers around the green book's spine and brought it closer to his face.

"Yo, Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto.

Well, hopefully this story won't become the newest addition to my arsenal of unfinished fics. It's a story I really want to run with, something I want desperately to make happen. I suppose it's less about what I want and more of what I will, though.

Thanks for reading. Support is much appreciated.

bs

P/S: The title is possibly temporary. It comes from Julia Stone's song of the same name—I was listening to this while writing. Check it out, it's a wonderful bit of music.