Chapter 101 New Home

When Kakashi woke up, the pre-dawn light shone through the window, casting spots of light on his face. He instinctively became alert, but soon realized where he was, and his memory took over again.

He was not in the small apartment where he had lived alone for most of his life after the death of his parents Minato and Kushina, where the cramped space and cold furnishings left only the slightest trace of his personal presence.

For the first time in twenty years, he woke up in a real "home". For the first time in twelve years, he didn't feel alone when he woke up in the morning.

Even though everything was quiet, the air seemed to be filled with a warm and lively atmosphere. That was because in the room at the end of the corridor, three young genin were sleeping - his students.

"Kakashi?" Puck yawned sleepily on the pillow beside him. Kakashi didn't blame him for being sleepy, because they were busy until the early hours of the morning before they settled down.

Together they carried the luggage, sorted the scrolls and gear, the essential daily necessities and precious trinkets, and even argued about how far the bedding should be from the window.

Kakashi patted Puck's head gently to soothe him back to sleep, then carefully got out of bed, stepping over the sleeping Akamaru and around Blue who was lying across the bed.

He looked at the showers and decided to check on his students before washing up.

He gently opened the shoji door and walked into the corridor, stopping to admire the shimmering grass in the morning light. The grass stretched all the way to the edge of the cliff, rolling like waves in the morning breeze.

He remembered that this room had been a guest room, just across from his old room, and he was delighted that the students had converted it into a study.

This room was also in a great location, which was the main reason Kakashi chose it. It was between the old master suite and all the main entrances, close enough that he would be able to hear anything immediately if anything went wrong.

He walked silently down the hallway, unable to help but smile when he heard Sakura's soft snoring and Naruto's groggy sleep talk.

He gently pushed the door open, and as expected, the three children were curled up on a large mattress, still wearing their training clothes, with their hands tucked into their sleeves or hugging each other.

They seemed to have found the best way to sleep on one mattress: Naruto and Sasuke lying side by side, with Sakura sleeping upside down between them, saving space and perhaps protecting the two boys' ribs from her "iron elbows".

Even in their sleep, the two boys snuggled close together, their heads slightly tilted towards Sakura's toes, their foreheads almost touching.

This scene made Kakashi's heart tremble, and a sour feeling surged in his heart. It was because he recalled a long-standing regret, a wish that had never been realized because of anger, vigilance, stupidity and arrogance.

But soon, the sourness turned into a hint of sweetness. Sasuke and Naruto did not repeat his mistakes. The relationship between them was more mature and firmer than his own at that time.

He would do his best to help them clear the obstacles on their way forward, if their relationship was as strong as he thought...

He allowed himself one last smile before he closed the door softly and slipped back to his room and into the bathroom.

He stood under the shower, letting the cold water wash over his body. Only when the water temperature gradually rose and dispelled the last trace of sleepiness did he begin to wash seriously.

Much of the main house remained empty, as it had been even when he was little.

The house was too big for a single ninja raising a child on his own.

He remembered that many rooms were locked because they were unused or too dangerous.

But now that Kakashi had three growing students, he planned to give them more space.

The dojo needs to replace some partitions and repaint the walls, and the old house on the cliff side may be renovated to give the children a surprise...

When he came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel and fumbling for his mask, he suddenly realized that his backpack was missing.

He blinked in surprise at the empty room, walked out of the room confused, and looked around along the corridor.

As expected, the door to the students' room was ajar, and as he approached, he saw his ninja dogs gathered around the children: Blue was curled up next to Naruto and Sasuke's heads, Biscuit had burrowed into Sakura's arms, Puck was lying comfortably behind Naruto, and Souhei was squeezed between Sakura's legs and Sasuke's body.

"Traitor," Kakashi muttered under his breath, and Souhei raised his head from Naruto's arms and looked at him innocently.

"Your bed has grown cold, Kakashi," Wuhei explained in a low voice, low enough to ensure that the sleeping children would not be woken, which was unusual because Wuhei was the loudest and most inconsiderate of all the ninja dogs.

"Of course it's cold." Kakashi lowered his voice and said sarcastically, "If they wake up before I come back, tell them I'm out on errands."

"Should we wake them up for morning exercises?" Wuhei asked in a low voice.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"They are adults, I'm sure they will get up on their own."

"But we can help, right?" Sooty insisted, wagging his tail excitedly.

"You guys, really." Kakashi said helplessly while rubbing his nose. He couldn't blame the ninja dogs for their attachment, that would be too hypocritical. "Let them train with their own summoned beasts." He rolled his eyes and closed the door.

******

Xuanjian woke up to Lei Tong's gentle caress.

Soft fingertips gently stroked his hair, and this familiar touch immediately made him realize where he was.

"Why do you always give me a false sense of security?" Xuanjian complained in a low voice with his eyes closed. He buried his head in Lei Tong's neck and rubbed it deliberately.

Lei Tong laughed softly, which was one of Xuanjian's favorite sounds, low and warm, as if a resonance emanating from deep in the chest, with a hint of helpless pampering and rare indulgence.

"I'm going to the border patrol soon and will leave in a few minutes." Lei Tong said gently and gently kissed the corner of Xuanjian's left eye.

"What border patrol?" Xuanjian asked reluctantly. He noticed that Leitong had already put on most of his travel equipment and was leaning over the bed to look at him.

"Our bed." Xuanjian's heart couldn't help but skip a beat when he thought of this.

Even after a week, the novelty had not worn off, and the suffocation he had worried about had not occurred.

Xuanjian didn't like any kind of restraint, which was the main reason they argued last month about whether or not to move in together.

It was the similar sentence "Then I'll move to your place" that made Xuanjian really start to consider moving.

At the time, he couldn't help but sneer: "Don't be silly, my apartment is a mess." But Lei Tong just replied, "You are like that sometimes, but so far, I haven't been scared away by you."

Lei Tong is really a fool, but he is Xuanjian’s fool, and that’s what matters most.

"I told you last night that I was going to border patrol, and I've told you three times before." Lei Tong reminded patiently.

"I just remember something happened last night, but I don't remember anything about border patrol."