After smoothly pocketing the eighty thousand ryo, Kei went to meet with Hiruzen and was informed of his next mission: provide psychological counseling for Kakashi.
This was a task Kei gladly accepted. He had long wanted to examine Kakashi, but the man had always been uncooperative. Now, with the Third Hokage's personal orders behind him, Kakashi no longer had a reason to refuse.
Their meeting place was the village cemetery. Kakashi stood alone before a nameless gravestone, silent and still. The pain that radiated from him in that moment was entirely different from his usual indifference, it practically bled from his posture.
Kei didn't approach immediately. He waited quietly from a distance. Sensing someone's presence, Kakashi rubbed his face and quickly composed himself, reverting to his usual aloof expression.
But Kei could feel it. That calm was only surface-deep. Kakashi's emotional state hadn't truly stabilized, he was just unwilling to let it show in front of others.
Kei finally stepped forward and held out the bouquet he had brought. "Sorry. I tried to be quiet, but I still disturbed you, didn't I?"
Kakashi didn't take the flowers. His tone was flat as he asked, "What are you doing here?"
Kei wasn't the least bit bothered by the guardedness. He'd dealt with enough patients to know this type of wall intimately.
He placed the flowers gently in front of the gravestone. "Kakashi, can I ask you a question?"
"If it's more of your psychological babble, save it. I've told you, I'm not sick, and I'm not interested."
"You're misunderstanding me. Today's not about therapy. Just a simple conversation."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "What kind of question?"
"I want to know... what does a mission mean to you, Kakashi?"
The moment the words left Kei's mouth, Kakashi's expression darkened. He stared coldly at him for a long moment before finally answering, "A mission is something that must be completed, no matter the cost. Even if it means death."
"Good. Since that's how you feel, this will be simple." Kei pulled out the mission scroll given to him by the Hokage and handed it over. "For the next while, I'll need your full cooperation. It's an order."
Kakashi opened the scroll. Upon reading it, his jaw tensed. "I told you, I'm not sick. I don't need your therapy."
"I understand. I respect your feelings. But, Kakashi, this mission came directly from the Third Hokage."
Kei tilted his head slightly. "Didn't you just say yourself that a mission must be completed no matter what?"
"That was before I knew the mission was... this."
"Does it matter? A mission is a mission, isn't it?"
Kakashi exhaled slowly, frustrated. Kei's whole approach had been a trap from the start, and he had walked right into it. Now he was stuck.
If he didn't comply, he'd be failing a direct order from the Hokage.
But if he did comply, wouldn't that mean admitting he had a psychological problem? That he was afraid, running from something?
After a long silence, Kakashi said, "Fine. If you say I'm afraid of something, then let's go with that."
"It's not what I say," Kei replied calmly. "It's the truth. You really think no one can tell you're wearing a mask?"
"When someone's afraid, they often put on a mask, to convince themselves they're safe."
"I'm not afraid of anything," Kakashi shot back. His cold facade was cracking. "I've always been myself. I don't wear a mask."
Kei smiled gently. "If that's true, then why are you so agitated right now?"
He pointed to the scroll still in Kakashi's hand. "You could just refuse. But that would mean failing a mission. And you don't want that, do you?"
Kakashi's head throbbed. Kei had completely outmaneuvered him. If he refused to participate, he'd break his personal code of completing every mission. But if he complied... he'd be acknowledging the very fear he wanted to deny.
Kei said nothing more. He simply stood there, watching.
Eventually, Kakashi folded his arms and said with irritation, "Fine. Let's get this over with. Say whatever nonsense you've got."
"You're afraid of missions, aren't you?" Kei asked.
"That's absurd," Kakashi snapped. "I live for missions."
"Then why are you resisting me?" Kei stepped closer. "I'm just a doctor, not a monster."
Kakashi instinctively took a step back. "I just don't like you. Everyone's allowed to dislike someone."
"No, Kakashi. It's not that you dislike me. I knew someone just like you once. He buried his fear so deep inside, thinking that avoiding it would solve everything."
"In the end, it didn't help. He made everything worse. And he paid the price."
Kakashi met Kei's gaze. Kei didn't flinch.
"Fine," Kakashi said at last. "What will it take for you to leave me alone?"
Kei shook his head. "It's not about me letting you go, it's whether you can let yourself go."
"You say you're committed to completing every mission. So... are you going to fake it this time?"
Kakashi said nothing.
"I won't force you," Kei continued. "But for the next stretch of time, you're going to follow my lead."
"If you do that, then at the end of this period, no matter what, I'll report to the Hokage that you're mentally sound."
Kakashi thought it over. "Deal."
"Good. Then we'll meet again tomorrow. Pack your things, we're heading out of the village."
With that, Kei turned and walked away, leaving Kakashi standing in front of the gravestone.
Long after Kei had gone, Kakashi remained still. Then suddenly, a realization struck him.
Wait... wasn't he tricked?
He had been completely against therapy at the start. Yet now, somehow, he had agreed to follow Kei's instructions for an indefinite amount of time.
Wasn't that exactly what therapy was?
Kakashi clenched his fists, ready to confront Kei, but the man was long gone.
Only the flowers Kei had left behind remained, gently rustling in the breeze.
For some reason... Kakashi felt like they were mocking him.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters
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