It's been so quiet in the village without Naruto bickering back and forth with Sasuke.

As for Sakura, she has been spending most of her time training under the new Fifth Hokage, Tsunade-sama. Naruto, feeling stifled and defeated at his failure of retrieving Sasuke and falling under his teammates hand, too wanted advancement in his training and he again accompanied Jiraiya in the wilderness after he recovered at the hospital of the injuries he sustained at the Valley of the End, months prior.

That would of left him with Sasuke, except Sasuke had long passed abandoned the village seeking more power from Orochimaru and there hasn't been one whisper of his whereabouts since then.

That left him with no other person to turn to but Iruka-sensei but even he had a limit.

Kakashi thought, he could bug his childhood rival, Gai, but the bond with Lee, his pupil, was too strong for the strange man to pay him any mind. The only others that he had left that were still among the living and he got along with, was Asuma and Kurenia. But they already started dating. Took them long enough, he thought to himself.

That's why, he was sitting here in the training field by the monument. Alone, with his shota bottle in his gloved hand. The only friend he had left.

It had been a long time since he visited his former sensei and Obito.

Tsunade had him busy.
No time for himself.

As soon as he completed a mission, he was sent right back out. It's like they fogotten he was human with human needs.

He doesn't come off that cold, does he?

Kakashi will admit, he has been distant.

He knows he has been lacking but quite could't understand from what.

He could do so much, until he was wore thin.

That unfortunetly happened while he was on a B rank mission that turned deadly fast. Another misinformed assignment. Not enough money he supposed to afford the high-price A rank mission.

He first sent word with Pakkun but when he heard nothing, he had went with his backup plan. If it wasn't for his older nin-dog, Kataiji, he wouldn't be here today.

Kataiji was his broad, dark-brown bulldog. Nice mutt but has hell of a temper.

It seemed the village committe were so busy, they couldn't even send a reinforcement team to retrieve him.

Kataiji took him most of the way on his back but he had got off and ran the rest of the way. Kataiji, followed him, keeping a careful eye on him in case he passed out. He had collapsed before entering the village gate, out of breath. Nearly out of chakra.

He wasn't found until the next morning.

That peeved him off but he brushed it aside almost immediately.

Ever since the Third Hokage died, he had tried to help restore the village in any way plausible but as of late, he felt more like their kicking mongrel than their valor hero.

He won't break. He told himself stubbornly. "Here Kakashi, another mission." .: Tsunade's voice :. Hewon't break. His gloved fist slammed against the concrete slab, the space trembling around him. "Kakashi, I'm sorry to do this but- "Won'tbreak He was shaking in contained fury, losing. "The Sharingan's needed and" Hewon't-

That was it.

Guh! He wanted to scream. Won'tWon'tWon't. Won't my ass. Even the last village hero had a limit.

He slumped against the monument stone, gazing at the ground. The shota bottle slacked in his grip.

The 3rd was never this inconsiderate to him. Neither was the Fourth.
Gods, he longed to be by his Master's and Obito's side.
It was like there was nothing more for him here in Konoha.
He was so tired.

Maybe the next mission, he'll just let himself break.
And shock them all.






To 03