"Kakashi-senpai, I want to eat grilled meat. Will you come with me?"
Leaving the Hatake residence, walking along the streets of Konoha with the sword at her back, Amamiya Rei suddenly turned her head toward Kakashi, her crimson eyes gleaming faintly as she spoke in a soft, almost pleading voice.
Rei truly did crave grilled meat, but more than that—Kakashi needed to eat.
If he went on like this, he really would waste away to nothing but skin and bones.
Rei watched helplessly as Kakashi grew thinner with each passing day, and it pained him deeply.
In Kakashi's eyes flickered a trace of surprise. He had not expected Rei to make such a request.
By instinct, Kakashi wanted to refuse. Since the day Obito and Rin had left his side, apart from his sensei and sensei's wife, he had never again sat down to eat with another shinobi.
But…
When he turned and met Rei's glowing scarlet gaze, shimmering with quiet expectation, he found he could not bring himself to reject her.
That moment of hesitation was all Rei needed.
Quickly seizing the opportunity, Rei grabbed Kakashi's wrist and tugged him insistently toward the yakiniku restaurant, determined not to give him the chance to back away.
Kakashi: "..."
He glanced at the restaurant before them, then at Rei—who looked as though she feared he might vanish if she let go—and with a weary sigh, he took the lead and pushed the door open.
Rei hurried to follow at his side.
Once they were seated, Rei waved a hand with reckless cheer and ordered plate after plate of meat.
Within three minutes, Kakashi found himself staring at the teetering mountain of meat platters, piled nearly to the ceiling. His lips parted in stunned silence, pupils dilating, the light in his eye scattering into disbelief.
A very bad feeling settled in his chest.
Meanwhile Rei, calmly tending the grill, pointed and scolded him with sharp words about his neglect for his own body.
"Kakashi-senpai, you really don't take proper care of yourself."
"It feels like Kakashi-senpai has gotten even thinner…"
"That won't do. If you keep on like this, your body won't be able to endure…"
As Kakashi stared down at the heap of pork belly piling up in his bowl, Rei's soft but relentless voice echoed endlessly in his ears.
There was a kind of thinness in the world known only as—"Amamiya Rei thinks you are too thin."
Kakashi didn't even know why. Rei always seemed able to see at a glance whether he had gained or lost weight. They met every day, and yet somehow her eyes never missed the smallest change.
Resting her chin on one hand, Rei watched him struggle with the roasted meat, and in a gentle murmur she declared:
"I will take good care of Kakashi-senpai."
Kakashi froze, raising his gaze to meet hers.
That was not right. It should have been him who said such words to her. He should be the one taking care of Rei.
But Rei only narrowed her eyes, her crimson irises curving with an innocent smile. "Kakashi-senpai, I will become stronger. I will protect you… Naruto… and all the others I hold dear."
Kakashi quickly lowered his head, staring fixedly at the bowl of meat before him.
He knew exactly why Rei had said those words.
It was because of their sensei and his wife—because Minato and Kushina were gone.
Compared to his own heart, already numbed by loss, it was Rei who was left defenseless, Rei who lived in fear of losing everything again.
Rei always thought of others before herself, and in doing so, she forgot her own fragility.
And when Kakashi shifted his perspective, standing for a moment in Rei's place, when he remembered all that Rei had endured, he too felt that raw, piercing ache as though carved into his own flesh.
Orphaned and alone. Betrayed by Shisui, the one who had once offered her true friendship. Dragged into Konoha, stripped of her freedom in a foreign land. And just when she had finally gained a teacher and his wife—who felt like true family—they too were taken from her.
The meat in Kakashi's mouth turned to ash. His heart drowned in a storm of grief.
He too would protect Rei.
Clenching his chopsticks, Kakashi silently vowed he would inherit the will of their teacher and his wife. He would watch over Rei, protect her, and ensure her happiness.
---
When the meal was finally done, Rei returned home to look after the child.
Standing silently at the entryway, he watched as the nanny bottle-fed Naruto. Though her hands were steady, her face twisted in undisguised loathing.
"..."
Rei truly wondered where Sarutobi Hiruzen had found such a woman.
This was irresponsibility beyond measure.
Her movements were quick, efficient, free of outward aggression—yet the malice in her eyes, the contempt in her expression, was far too obvious.
"It must be Miss Amamiya," the nanny stammered, startled when she finally noticed Rei standing silently behind her. Trembling, she offered a nervous greeting.
Rei inclined his head with calm composure, giving her no further expression. He walked past her, straight toward Naruto.
The infant's upper lip was still wet with milk. With tiny hands, he reached toward Rei's trailing curls, giggling happily.
Rei ignored the woman's earlier malice and spoke evenly:
"From now on, I'll leave Naruto in your care. I've placed money in the drawer. Whatever he needs, buy it for him. Make sure he eats nutritious food. He must grow strong and healthy."
He hooked one of Naruto's plump little fingers with his own. At once, Naruto clutched it tightly, unwilling to let go.
Rei's scarlet gaze shifted toward the nursemaid, his voice warm, but with an edge sharp as a blade:
"Understand this—Naruto is the most important person to me. I want him to grow up healthy and happy… at the very least, within this home."
The woman's expression changed subtly. She heard the weight behind his words, the reminder and the warning entwined.
"…I understand," she nodded quickly, lowering her head.
Rei had no need for her to love Naruto, nor to treat him with affection. He required only one thing: that she never harm Naruto.
---
That night, in the stillness of his room, Rei's mind whirred like a machine set to its highest speed, attempting again and again to dismantle the mystery of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
After half an hour, failure once more was declared.
His crimson eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. His body felt as though it had been shelled, battered into ruin.
In short, he had been bombarded.
"Knock, knock—"
A clear tapping sounded against the windowpane.
Turning his head mechanically, Rei saw Shisui crouched outside on the balcony railing.
"..."
Rei truly did not understand. Why not simply use the door?
But gentle as always, and he slid the window open, unwilling to let Shisui sit in the cold all night.
Yet tonight, something in Shisui was different.
On him clung a thick, suffocating aura of bloodlust, sharp and merciless. But the moment his gaze fell on Rei, the killing intent melted away, concealed in an instant.
Rei noticed the bloodshot rims of Shisui's eyes. Clearly, Shisui had not been faring well these past few days.
"Shisui… why are you coming to me so late at night?" Rei asked quietly.
Lately, Shisui seemed to prefer coming to him only after nightfall. His life resembled that of a ghost more than a shinobi.
"I'm sorry."
The words fell suddenly, almost broken.
Rei blinked, then comprehension dawned. He knew exactly why Shisui was apologizing.
For dragging him to Konoha against his will.
For making him a shinobi by force of circumstance.
But in truth, there was no need for apology. Every step Shisui had taken had been guided by Rei's own choices.
"I forgive you, Shisui."
Rei's voice was soft, his gaze filled with warmth.
At those words, tears welled in Shisui's eyes until they overflowed, spilling freely down his face.
It was as though Rei's words had broken something within him. His body sagged, collapsing slowly until he knelt half-fallen before her, as if all strength had been drained away. Tears fell in steady drops, darkening the polished wooden floor.
His fists clenched tightly against the floorboards, yet he dared not touch even the hem of Rei's garment.
But Rei reached out, her slender fingers threading tenderly through his hair, caressing the back of his head.
And within that touch—gentle, forgiving, maternal—Shisui broke entirely, sinking into the boundless warmth of Amamiya Rei.
---