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Kakashi was in charge of his teammates – Minato-sensei had to depart to deal with his part of the mission. Kakashi’s team and Gai’s team were supposed to meet, disassemble a meeting and together follow sensei’s trail to another meeting point. They needed bigger team because according to information they had, two groups of shinobi planned to meet up to exchange information that would allow them to join forces. Konoha could not allow this to happen, the village would not endure fighting alone against joined forces. Not now, not after years of war that was not supposed to be dragging itself out for that long-
They were almost out of food. They did not have to worry about water, they could have plenty thanks to Water Release, but limited resources of something to eat when they were not sure for how much longer they would not be able to return to the village did not improve their already struggling teamwork. Obito was angry because he messed up and Kakashi kept rubbing it in, Kakashi was angry because he stupidly did not stop Obito from carrying Rin’s belongings (she was feeling a bit off and her back hurt), and Rin was angry because boys were arguing again and they lost the two-third of everything they had on their hands. Including blankets, water bottles, weapons – everything. Obito stubbornly took two backpacks with him when he needed to step aside to ‘deal with some stuff’, because he would not let Rin carry any extra load when she was feeling ill. With pants in his ankles and both bags on the ground, he was found by enemy shinobi that happened to choose the same spot for their toilet break. He barely managed to pull his clothes up high enough to run for his life.
When they reached safe distance from the enemy, an imminent quarrel started almost immediately.
‘…Well I’m SORRY I had to go take a shit!’ hissed Obito angrily, throwing a cone he picked up seconds earlier. ‘Some of us don’t have PERFORMANCE ANXIETY AND CAN HAVE BOWEL MOVEMENTS OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOME!’
‘What are you TALKING ABOUT’ groaned Kakashi. ‘I don’t CARE why you went there, just… Just WHY did you take all stuff with you?!’
‘In case someone walked on us and we had to run!’
‘And how did that work out for you?!’
‘Awh, give me a break!’
‘Sure!’ he snapped. ‘Have fun being hungry and sleeping on bare ground under NOTHING because I’m sure as HECK not giving you MY blanket and MY food!’
‘I don’t even WANT your stupid blanket!’
‘Good, because you’re not getting it!’ He kicked some moss and heavily sat down, trying to stop himself from attacking Obito with bare hands. That idiot! Not only they were in trouble because he had to play a hero which caused delays (of course he needed more breaks because he was carrying two backpacks), but now they were even more late because of his stupid bowel movements. He let out a weird sound, something between angry scoff and a snort when he suddenly remembered him jumping out the bushes with his pants still half down, screaming bloody murder.
Rin was sitting quietly, propped on a tree trunk. She was feeling bad – not only her back hurt, but her stomach was acting out as well. The boys were only making everything worse, as always unable to just keep it down. She took a few deep breaths.
‘Shut it, both of you’ she snapped at last, standing up. ‘We have to go back, we left behind the meeting point.’
‘We can get our stuff too!’
‘No, we can’t’ grumbled Kakashi. ‘They didn’t leave it there. Free weapons and food? Only an idiot would leave it behind.’ He pinched the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. ‘We have to take a detour.’
Obito only sighed, fixing his googles.
‘Lets get going then! We’re already late!’
‘I wonder why.’
‘Don’t’ Rin cut Obito sharply off before he answered. ‘Stop arguing. Let’s just go, we have no time to waste.’
‘Are we sure it’s here?’ Genma moved his senbon from one corner of his mouth to another.
‘I know how to read a map’ sighed Ebisu, looking up.
‘Maybe we’re just early! We had good tempo!’ noticed Gai with a smile and gave his friends a thumb up.
‘Maybe. Or they’re late’ noticed Shiranui with a shrug. ‘Obito is with them, I wouldn’t be surprised.’
Ebisu made a face and shook his head.
‘That’s just sad.’ He folded his map and put it back in his waist bag.
‘Not to mention they’re always at each other’s throats…’
Gai sighed and crouched down with one leg straightened to the side. Since they had to wait anyway, he could stretch in the meantime!
‘I never thought I’d say it but I’m glad you’re my teammates’ said Ebisu, taking his glasses off to wipe them off. Genma chuckled.
‘Aaw, mate, you’re making me cry!’
‘Thank you, friend!’ Gai beamed at him. ‘It’s very sweet of you!’
‘Don’t get me wrong, you’re both as annoying as you can be, but you’re not fighting all the time…’
‘Nah, waste of time.’ Genma looked around and sat down, propped on a tree trunk. ‘I’m a lover, not a fighter.’
Gai only chuckled, hiding behind his bandaged forearm.
‘Why waste energy on arguing when we can just have a spar to sort things out!’
‘See? Multitasking. That’s how it is to have smart teammates.’ Genma gestured widely at Gai, who was switching his legs.
Ebisu only smiled a little and sat down as well.
All three boys jumped at a sudden sound above them – a tabby cat jumped down from the tree Genma was sitting by.
‘Oh, hello!’ whispered Gai.
‘…Are we sure it’s a cat?’ Ebisu eyed the animal warily.
All three exchanged looks and just to be on the safe side, they all used releasing technique. Nothing changed.
‘It does look like a cat’ noticed Gai.
‘He’s probably just wandering around, looking for a girlfriend.’
‘Or a boyfriend, you don’t know that’ grinned Shiranui, nudging his friend.
The boys focused their attention on the tabby companion. The cat circled them, rubbing his cheek against them and ended up on Ebisu knees.
‘Nice’ he whispered, giving him a few tentative pets.
‘How does it feel to be the chosen one?’ asked Genma.
‘Amazing.’ He smiled, fixing his glasses. ‘Animals always choose the smartest companion.’
‘Why of course he chose you in that case’ he agreed, amused an straightened his back. He looked around with a sigh. ‘M’kay, so the spot is right, but I don’t think we’re early…’ He lifted his sleeve to check the time. ‘Huh, we’re late actually. And they’re not here-‘
‘They don’t have to know we weren’t on time’ Ebisu butted in. ‘The question is, what stopped them? Because for sure they didn’t get here.’
‘I mean, something could chase them away…’
‘No, I agree with Ebisu’ Gai sat down and crossed his legs. ‘There’s no sign of fighting. Besides, even if no fight and they had to leave, Kakashi would leave one of his dogs to fill us in. Or even send one to find us.’
‘Or he couldn’t’ said Genma quietly.
There was a moment of silence.
‘…I hope he didn’t loose his arms’ whispered Gai with a frown.
‘What?’
‘He can’t summon the dogs without his arms!’
Ebisu’s amused, loud snort scared the cat away. He did not pay much attention to it, giggling.
‘Sorry’ he managed between chuckles. ‘I just pictured Kakashi without arms.’ He waved his hand. ‘His long sleeves flapping in the wind.’
Genma snorted, shaking his head.
‘And that’s why you’re laughing? Damn, Ebisu! Remind me to not piss you off ever again!’
‘Loosing an arm would be a good reminder too, you know…’
‘It’s not funny!’ huffed Gai, jumping back onto his feet. ‘Kakashi did not loose his arms! My Rival is too good for that! Besides, even if he was to loose a limb, there’s Rin with him, and she’d for sure patch him up!’
‘Hey’ Genma patted his arm. ‘Deep breaths, we’re joking.’
‘Loosing limbs is not funny!’
‘I mean-‘
‘Not. Funny!’ he repeated slowly and jabbed him with his finger between ribs.
‘Alright.’ Genma raised his palms. ‘Not funny.’
They all almost snapped their necks turning their heads towards an unexpected sound in the bushes a few dozen meters away. Almost immediately they relaxed – it was the team they were waiting for.
Ebisu waved at them; Rin waved back.
‘You’re late!’ called Genma.
‘Rival! Took you long enough!’
‘I’d be on time if someone-‘
‘Just show it up your-‘ Obito argued immediately, not waiting for his teammate to finish.
‘Shut up, both of you! Or I’ll put you BOTH to sleep and leave you under some bushes!’ Rin pulled up three senbons out of her sleeve, already tucked in between her fingers, ready to be thrown.
Both Kakashi and Obito went quiet. Rin stared at them for a moment, silently challenging them to test her again before she turned to the other three.
‘Hello, boys’ She smiled at them.
‘You’re not even going to check if we are who we say we are?’ Obito crossed his arms behind his head. ‘So reckless! Kakashi does not approve!’
Gai, Ebisu and Genma only snorted.
‘Sure, someone could change into you three. Maybe it would work if you weren’t all together now.’
Obito raised his eyebrows.
‘You can swap yourself into anyone’ agreed Gai. ‘But there’s no way the enemy would know your dynamics! The faces Kakashi makes when you’re arguing are inimitable!’
‘His teapot arm when he’s mocking you…’
‘And the look on Rin’s face when she’s had enough of your dumbassery’ agreed Ebisu.
‘And Obito and is the most wet, chihuahua eyes the world has ever seen-‘ added Kakashi, pushing both hands deep in his pockets.
‘Kakashi!’ He took of his googles and turned around to wipe his eyes. ‘I told you so many times I’m not crying!’
‘Yeah, and I’m the tallest’ deadpanned Kakashi, very much aware that he was the shortest one among his peers.
‘Shut it, you shrimp’ snorted Uchiha and pushed him without putting any real force into it.
‘Sure, I can be a shrimp. At least shrimps don’t cry’ He playfully pushed him back.
‘Oh my god’ groaned Obito. ‘Rin, please, be the best and just put him down!’
‘Put me down yourself!’
‘Guys… Rin is still holding the senbons’ said Ebisu, raising his voice a little.
Kakashi and Obito slowly looked at each other and almost immediately had to look away – Obito chuckled while Kakashi almost made it look like he was not laughing a little as well.
‘So, we’re going, yeah?’ Ebisu fixed his backpack and frowned. ‘Where are your stuff?’
‘It’s a long-‘
Kakashi let out a loud snort and hid his face in his palms. He shook his head, trying to calm himself down.
‘We had a situation’ offered Rin, turning away to not look at her teammates.
‘You were attacked?!’ gasped Gai, walking closer. He grabbed Kakashi by the shoulders and gave him a little shake. He was still giggling. ‘Are you alright?! Did he get hit with a weird jutsu? Is he poisoned?’ He looked at Rin, his grip tightened. ‘Why is he making those sounds?!’
‘We were attacked, but we’re fine’ Rin raised her palms. ‘It’s just… It’s just a really stupid story.’
‘I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with you, Obito. You’re red’ Genma smiled, tilting his head a little.
Uchiha puffed his cheeks and fixed his googles.
‘Stupidly shitty’ added Kakashi before his friend could response. Rin made a weird sound.
‘Ohmygod! You won’t let me live!’ Obito huffed.
‘Never’ agreed Kakashi. He looked up at him, flushed from laughing. He grabbed Gai by his elbows, turning his gaze at him. ‘We lost almost all our things because Obito had to step aside for a toilet break and he took two backpacks with him’ he said, lowering his voice as if he was sharing a secret.
Gai nodded, watching him closely.
‘I was carrying Rin’s things because she’s not feeling well!’
‘Yeah, whatever- What’s important, he was not the only one that had a nature’s call.’
‘Iwa shinobi?’ asked Gai quietly.
‘Yes.’
Gai snorted.
‘…I had pants in my ankles’ added Obito gravely. ‘I had to run. I barely had time to pull my pants up…’
‘You’re exaggerating’ Kakashi raised his eyebrows at him. ‘You were still holding them under your butt when you jumped out from the bushes.’
All six of them had to bite on something or to press a hand to their mouth to not laugh too loud.
‘And do you know what’s the worst?’ Kakashi put both arms behind his head, looking up. ‘I’ll have to write a mission report and explain how we lost our equipment.’
It earned another round of stiffed laughs and snorts.
Luckily, Gai and the rest of his team did not have an issue with sharing their food when they had a short break soon before they found themselves meters away from where the enemy shinobi were supposed to meet to exchange information. It was already dark, so Kakashi summoned his dogs to join each of his colleagues when they scattered around, surrounding the place.
Ninkens alerted their humans about the strangers before they even noticed someone was approaching. They followed Kakashi’s plan, tightening the circle before they attacked. Their goal was to get the scrolls and leave no survivors.
Despite the darkness they had an upper hand. Both squads were bombarded with shurikens, explosive notes and after the initial attack from a distance, Gai jumped in with his taijutsu. Kakashi unsheathed his sword and run after him, whistling loudly at his pack – it did not matter if the enemy was still on their feet, each dog jumped at one of the men to pull them down on the ground.
Obito’s fire release illuminated the scene.
‘He’s making a run for it!’ yelled Genma, throwing shurikens after Iwa shinobi who just disappeared in the bushes.
Kakashi made a loud, clicking sound and whistled again. Half of the pack left their prey and chased after the man.
‘Let’s deal with them first!’ he ordered, kicking the closest one in the hand that was trying to slowly reach for a kunai. He crouched down and without a blink, he dug his white blade deep in his chest. He turned it – the young man, not much older than they were – produced a wheezy, gurgling sound when his lungs started to fill up with blood, but Kakashi paid no mind to it and went after another one.
Obito wiped his googles from blood splashed on the lenses and turned his head away when he slit throat of a man sprawled on the ground, unconscious. He most likely clashed with Gai and Bull (judging by the size of holes in his uniform and massacred face).
Rin turned her head away, busy with going through her waist bag. It was the only piece of equipment she had left and some of her friends were hurt in the battle.
‘Gai-‘
‘I-I’m on it!’ Gai tried to smile as always, but he only winced instead and pulled out a kunai. With a sigh, he crouched down and aimed at the middle of the enemy’s chest. He was held by the neck by Uhei’s jaw, he was not going anywhere. A quick push through the ribcage was a quicker way to die than to wait for him to bleed out since there were no guarantee that the dog punctured an artery.
‘Right. I’ll go after the boys’ announced Kakashi, straightening up.
‘Don’t go alone!’ huffed Ebisu at him with a frown.
Kakashi only dismissed him with a wave of his hand and disappeared in the bushes.
‘What a-‘
‘Don’t’ sighed Obito. ‘He’d go alone anyway. He’ll be fine’ He shrugged. ‘Did we get them all?’
‘I have alive one’ announced Guruko. Rin was merely two steps away from a man that was only pretending to be dead. She picked up a kunai and just as she crouched down to finish their part of the mission, he grabbed her by an ankle.
‘Oi!’ called Genma loudly, but Obito was faster – in couple of long strides he was right next to them and with a strained huff, he dug his weapon in between his shoulder blades.
Rin stabbed his neck at the same time.
There was a long moment of silence; only wind was whispering in the leaves and the last of the enemy was letting out a few irregular gasps.
‘He’s still-‘
‘He’s not.’ Rin shook his palm off her leg and took a step back. ‘It’s just agonal breaths. Ignore it.’
‘Okay. So, scrolls’ hummed Genma and kneeled by the closest dead body to tap it down.
Ebisu and Gai followed the lead. Obito glanced at his colleagues searching bodies in the darkness and extended his arm to find Rin.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly.
‘Yes’ She smiled even if he could not see it. ‘We did a nice job! It was fast. Are you alright? No cuts, no wounds?’
‘I-I don’t think so?’ He chuckled, pushing his palms in his pockets. Rin was right next to him and he did not know what to do with his hands. ‘I’ll have to take a look later, but I don’t feel anything now. I’m fine!’
‘I’ll check’ promised Rin, lowering her voice.
‘I think I got something!’
‘Long and thick?’
‘Genma, I swear to-‘
‘Get your mind out of the gutter!’ snorted Shiranui. ‘I’m asking if it’s a scroll!’
Before Ebisu could answer, a rustle behind them caught their attention and they snapped back into battle stances.
‘It’s me’ Kakashi announced himself. His dogs were trotting by his knees. ‘I got him. He had the scroll’ He was holding it.
‘Ha! I expected nothing less from my Rival!’
‘Was there more?’ he asked, ignoring Gai.
‘Maybe? They had a few, not sure which one is it.’
‘Take all of them.’
‘Ohh, I am so taking their stuff’ mumbled Obito, looting the remaining kunai’s and shurikens from the pouch of one of the men.
‘Would be nice if they had a sleeping bag’ sighed Rin.
‘We’ll figure it out, don’t worry’ promised Genma. He passed all collected scrolls to Kakashi; he put them in his backpack. He looked up, zipping it back up.
‘They are all dead for sure?’ He put the backpack on. ‘All good?’
‘Yes and yes’ Ebisu sighed. ‘We can go set a camp for the night, captain, everything went well.’
‘Alright. Stay close.’ He whistled again, but the sound was different than previously. His pack gathered close to them, nudging them with their wet noses.
‘Still with the dogs?’
‘It’s dark. I won’t go back to fetch any of you when you get lost.’ Kakashi fixed his backpack. ‘Go.’
They obeyed wordlessly. They paid more attention to the dogs running next to them than to their captain somewhere in front – his ninkens were following his scent, they did not have to worry about getting lost.
Eventually Rin noticed she was falling behind a little – her stomach was getting even worse, not to mention she was simply tired after a few days constantly on high alert. Kakashi sent Bull with her – she had seen him literally sitting on the dog’s massive back many times, so she did just that.
The giant hound did not mind; he only nudged her with his slippery nose and followed the rest of the team.
They finally took a break when they reached a river.
‘Refill your water’ Kakashi’s voice broke the silence when he was sure his pack was all set. He snapped his fingers, allowing his ninkens to relax for a while and drink as well. ‘And we’re going.’
‘Can’t we stay here?’ groaned Obito.
‘Not by the river bank, genius’ he scoffed. ‘We’ll keep walking for a while and then we set up the camp.’
‘…Fair enough.’
Bull snorted loudly when Rin tried to slide off his back, so she stayed where she was. With a sigh, she let her eyes close.
At last, after their water supply was restocked and everyone could splash themselves a little if they wanted, they were back on the road. Approximately fifteen minutes later Kakashi decided they can finally rest.
‘So!’ Genma sat down, rummaging through his vast jacket pockets in hope to find a chocolate bar somewhere. ‘There’s six of us and we only have four blankets or sleeping bags.’ He scratched his forehead. ‘I can take someone under my blanket’ he offered.
‘I can give mine away’ volunteered Gai. ‘I’m always warm and was using it more as a pillow anyway, so Rin, Obito – feel free to take it!’
‘Are you sure you don’t want anything at all?’ Ebisu pulled his sleeping bag. ‘It’s rather cold tonight.’
Gai laughed proudly.
‘Of course I’m sure! A little chill in the air does nothing to me!’
Rin walked up to him – there was a bit more light since the moon finally showed up from behind the clouds – and Gai presented her with his blanket.
‘Thank you’ she sighed. ‘You’re a life saver.’
Obito pouted, taking his googles off. Gai grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
‘So, who’s sleeping with me?’ Genma wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Ebisu? Hm?’
‘I’ve got my stuff, thanks a lot’ he snorted.
‘Your loss.’
‘I will I guess’ sighed Obito, amused. ‘Kakashi already kindly informed us that he won’t share.’
‘Didn’t you say you don’t even want my stupid blanket?’ asked Kakashi, rolling out his sleeping bag. He placed it under the tree, glancing at his annoying friend.
‘And I stand by what I said!’
‘Yeah, have fun.’ He clicked his tongue, calling all of the dogs to gather around him. Bull, as always, placed himself behind Kakashi’s back so the boy could snuggle up to his side. The boy’s palms and feet felt cold as ice, even his nose – despite being hidden under his mask – was cold to the touch
He sighed grumpily, raising his shoulders and trying to convince himself he was not freezing. He rubbed his shoulders, waiting for the rest of the pack to find their spots. He would get warm soon, they just needed a few minutes.
Rin bundled herself up in Gai’s blanket, choosing a spot between Ebisu and Obito. Gai happily plopped down on the ground where he was standing – his head was quite close to Kakashi’s legs.
‘Night night!’ called Obito.
‘Sleep tight’ answered Rin, getting comfortable on her side.
‘Don’t let the bugs bite you’ hummed Genma in a sing-song voice.
‘Thanks, now I think something’s crawling on me…’
It rose a round of quiet giggles. They did not set anyone on watch – Kakashi’s dogs were there, they could all safely go to sleep. After first minutes of fussing with their makeshift beds and some hushed whispers they all fell quiet and the forest sounds seemed to get a bit louder. It did not take long for their breathing to become even and a bit slower, noticed Kakashi, but the longer he laid there the more he was wondering why he did not hear Gai’s little snoring yet, not to mention how cold he must had been – the only one of all of them with nothing to lay on or even to cover himself. They could not set up a fire to warm them either. That night was definitely the coldest in the last week, Gai really played himself with giving his blanket away.
‘Gai?’ Kakashi’s voice was a barely audible whisper. He was finally warm, surrounded by eight furballs.
‘What?’
‘You’re awake.’
‘So are you’ he noticed, his voice stupidly proud for some reason.
Kakashi pressed his lips in a thin line, slipping further in the sleeping bag. He would not mind ten degrees more.
‘Are you cold?’ he asked. There was a moment of silence.
‘…A little, yes’ admitted Gai.
Kakashi sighed loudly.
‘Come here’ he grumbled. ‘You’ll catch a cold.’
‘I’m fine here!’
‘I don’t need you to alert the enemy with your cough and sniffles.’ He nudged his dogs to move and make some space for another person. ‘It’s an order.’
Gai chuckled.
‘Alright! Thank you, Rival!’ He pulled himself up on his arms and knees. He crawled closer, squeezing himself in between the dogs and his friend. He was cold, but he was a shinobi – a little inconvenience like that was nothing for him!
Kakashi slowly unzipped the sleeping bag all the way down, turning it into a duvet. He already missed the warmth he managed to produce for himself.
‘On it or under?’
‘Maybe under?’ suggested Gai.
There was a moment of bustling an rearranging, but eventually they both ended up under the cover, propped on warm, soft side of Bull. The giant hound was huffing softly, unbothered by the commotion – the rest of the pack took the chance to cover the boys with their bodies as additional sources of heat.
Their arms were touching.
‘You’re a popsicle’ complained Kakashi, sandwiched between Bull, Gai and three other ninkens. Pakkun’s butt was slowly sliding off of his arm, so he propped him to stop him from falling off. He was warming his neck and shoulders.
‘Like you’re the one to talk.’ He freed his arm to scratch Uhei and then Guruko behind their ears. ‘I’ll warm up in a minute!’
Kakashi closed his eyes, not bothered to answer. Gai did not try to continue the conversation either; both boys were too exhausted for that. After a few minutes they both scooted a little closer to each other to increase the surface they bodies were touching – it was easier to warm up and keep the heat when they were closer. Having some extra ends of duvet allowed them to tuck it underneath themselves at least a bit.
‘That’s cozy!’ whispered Gai happily, because of course he would be thrilled for no reason. ‘Thanks again, Kakashi!’
‘Yeah’ He sniffed. ‘Don’t mention it.’
‘How could I not! You did not have to share your sleeping bag with me or keep your lovely dogs around, so we can all sleep without worrying to be ambushed-‘
‘Shh!’
‘Oh, sorry!’ he chuckled, immediately going back to a whisper. ‘What I’m saying is, you’re a great friend even if you trying to not be!’
‘What?’ he snorted, turning his head to look at Gai. He was staring at him too. ‘Who said I’m not trying to be your friend?’
‘No, not mine!’ He shook his head. ‘You’re trying to not be a good friend in general! Or so it might seem if someone doesn’t know you well.’
‘…Huh.’ He frowned. Gai smiled at him, happy as ever.
‘And for the record, I think you’re a great friend to me, Kakashi! You always inspire me to do better and help me if I need it even if I don’t ask!’ He grinned even wider. ‘I think I’m very lucky to have a rival like you!’
‘You’re welcome.’
Gai did his best to not laugh too loud at his flat response, but he snorted anyway. Kakashi elbowed him, amused as well.
‘You’ll wake everyone!’
‘Sorry!’ he squeaked. ‘It’s just… Difficult to contain myself when I’m happy!’
‘So I’ve noticed.’
Gai only sighed, finally looking away from the silhouette of Kakashi’s face right next to him.
Not long after, Kakashi could feel sleep slowly catching up with him – he was finally, actually warm surrounded by heat sources from almost every side. It seemed like Gai was not going to start talking again and judging by the rhythm of his breathing, he was already dozing off.
With a quiet sigh, he closed his eyes. His right arm was getting heavy, really heavy. His left arm too. He tilted his head just so to let it rest on Gai’s shoulder – there it was, he was starting to gently snore.
His right ear was being licked-
‘Bisuke’ he whispered. The dog ignored him, and Kakashi was already too tired to really mind. It would not be the first time when the ninkens sniffed a splash of blood on his clothes or somewhere he did not wipe it off after a battle and they would give him a little bath.
He was already always smelling like a dog anyway.
Kakashi was sure those were not typical, early morning-forest sounds. Not to mention there were six of them and he could not hear any of the usual bustling around the camp – he could had been the first one to be awake, or there was something suspicious happening.
He slowly opened his eyes just enough to take a sneak peek at his surroundings. He was laying on his side, still surrounded by his dogs and most likely Gai was behind his back. Rin, Obito, Ebisu and Genma were still asleep – all four scooted closer to each other during the night, so they ended up forming a human pile of bodies. He could see gentle rising and falling of their covers, so they were breathing.
At least they were warm.
The sounds did not stop. With a sigh, Kakashi rolled onto his back and turned his head to look at Gai. He was sitting up, still propped on Bull – how could he not notice him trashing around and sleep through it? Gai ignored the movement next to him, his attention fixed on one of the smaller hounds from the pack – Bisuke was laying on his back, cradled in Gai’s arms like an infant. His tail was wagging and with his eyes closed, he was happily accepting shower of kisses all around his little furry face and nose. Kakashi needed a moment to fully register what he was seeing. If kisses were not enough, he was giving him his paw to hold.
Gai turned his head to smooch Bull’s giant head as well.
For how long was he awake, kissing his dogs to death?
Bisuke stretched his hind paws and went limp again. Kakashi could feel someone’s stare and when he turned his head just a bit, he met Uhei’s very telling gaze. The greyhound slowly reached to Gai and pressed his paw against his stomach, still staring at Kakashi.
‘In a minute!’ whispered Gai so quietly that Kakashi heard him only because he was right next to him. ‘It’s Bisuke’s turn now, you’ll be next’ he promised.
‘Yeah’ mumbled the creamy dog dreamily, tilting his head a bit to show where he wanted more petting. ‘Wait your turn.’
Finally, Gai glanced at Kakashi, but he needed a double take to notice that his Rival stared back at him. He smiled widely but said nothing.
‘…Hello?’ Kakashi raised his eyebrow. ‘What’s the meaning of this?’
‘Morning cuddles, of course!’
‘Of course.’
Guruko crawled closer, pulling himself into reach of Kakashi’s face.
‘Come on now’ he sighed, raising his arms to pet him. He squished his ears in a slow massage. ‘Kisses in public?’
Gai snorted.
‘Don’t hold your affections on my account, Rival!’ He winked. ‘Besides, your precious ninkens already told me you do cuddle and kiss them every morning!’
‘Shut up’ snorted Kakashi and looked back at Guruko. After a moment of thinking – and being intensely stared at – he slid his mask down enough to give a little kiss to his dog’s cold, wet nose. ‘Nobody has to know.’
‘Your secrets are safe with me’ promised Gai solemnly.
Kakashi only shot him an amused look, pulling his mask back up. Guruko laid flat on his chest, closing his eyes and enjoying the petting. Both boys exchanged glances and looked away to fight off a sudden urge to laugh.
They kept cuddling the ninkens until the rest of the team started waking up.