He deals with the dead and the ghosts for most (if not all) of his adult life, and somehow finds the strength to have a certain vibrancy for the very things he is attached whether is is Icha Icha, his students, his comrades, or the village.

Yes. I love Kakashi for his contractions; on the one hand, he's avoiding relationships and emotional connection, but on the other, he's doing that by reading a porn series (that I would argue that has strong romantic elements) and sex is all about physical/emotional connection.