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depressedhatakekakashi · 2 years ago

Text

Alabaster Blizzard

Words: 4,822

Pokemon AU: Snow

Characters: Hatake Yua (OC), Mifune, Hatake Kakashi

@alumort

Blizzards could begin without any warning.

All her life Yua had been warned of the risks of blizzards whipping up out of nowhere and blocking her path home. She’d listened to stories of children who’d gone missing and were never found again, listened to all of her father’s instructions on what to do if she ever found herself caught in a blizzard, and prepared.

As warden of the Alabaster Icelands, there was no one better prepared to deal with a blizzard if one happened. She and Mamoswine had gone searching through the bitterly cold winds and fought through blinding walls of snow that refused to vanish no matter how far they walked.

She’d dug fellow clan’s men out of the snow and bundled them up in blankets for the ride home without a second worry because she knew they would be safe.

She and Mamoswine would get them home safely no matter what challenges they had to face to do so. But even with all their skills they didn't always succeed.

There had been funerals held for those who’d been found too late, or who hadn’t been found at all. Still, they continued searching almost every blizzard and Chiyo had once told her with great pride that she had one of the highest success rates she’d ever seen.

Yua would be lying if her own pride hadn’t swelled a little when she heard that, but she’d tried hard not to show it. Arrogance was a part of her personality but it was unnecessary to show it to others.

After years of acting as warden alongside the Pearl clan’s warden, Mifune, she’d begun to think there was no challenge she couldn’t face, and it was at that moment when her confidence swelled a little too much that the world decided to challenge her.

“Kakashi,” her eyes scanned over the small room full of children. It was where the clan always went when there was a really bad blizzard. The perfect place to keep everyone safe, and yet no matter how much she looked she couldn’t spot her son anywhere.

He wasn’t huddled among the group of kids playing marbles, or hiding in the far right corner beside the bookcase reading.

He wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“I don’t think I saw him come in,” Chiyo’s words pierced straight through her heart, knocking the wind right out of her lungs. “Yua-“

“What do you mean?” she demanded, struggling to keep her anger at bay. “He was playing with the other children. He was supposed to be in the village with everyone else. What could he have gone!?”

Chiyo opened her mouth to answer, but no words came. For once in her life she was speechless, and Yua was left with a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach.

“Yua,” Ayame, her old childhood friend, stepped forward. “I’m sorry. I was watching Kakashi, but I turned my back for a second and when I looked back he was gone. Before I could even think of searching for him the Blizzard rolled in.”

“Gone?” her voice cracked, worry seeping into her words. “Gone where?”

“I’m not sure,” her friend looked away from her, ashamed to meet her eye. “I saw him and the other boys playing with an Elekid that had found its way into the village, but neither of them was there when I looked back.”

The sounds of the room faded into the background. All Yua could hear was the pounding of her heart in her ears.

Kakashi was gone. He was missing during one of the worst blizzards of the year, and she wasn’t even out in the field ready to search for him.

“Yua!” A hand came down hard on her shoulder and yanked her out of her spiraling thoughts. “Go!”

There was no need for a second order. As soon as she heard the word leave Chiyo’s mouth she was gone.

The cold bitter wind slammed against her body, but she pushed through and dragged her way forward until she found her Mamoswine lying just outside the perimeter of the clan's little village.

“Mamoswine!” She called out, her voice oozing panic. Seeming to sense the trouble that abounded, Mamoswine waited just long enough for Yua to pull herself up onto her back and yank her scarf up over her mouth and nose before standing. “Out! To the field! We need to find Kakashi!”

In all their years together Yua had never seen her partner move as quickly as she did today. Perhaps it was because Mamoswine could feel her fear in the way she clutched the fur on her back a little tighter than normal, or maybe she’d heard the panic that laced her words when she’d spoken.

Either way, Yua was thankful for her partner's quick actions at the moment. There wasn’t a single moment they could waste away in their search.

The Alabaster Icelands were known all over the region for the wide variety of ice-type Pokemon that could be found there. Many members of the Pearl clan had expressed interest in exploring the islands to meet new Pokemon, but Mifune had always cautioned them to avoid the area.

As wonderful as the Pokemon were, the weather was deadly for anyone who was ill-prepared.

“You alright?” he called out to Bisharp as the wind cut through his jacket as if it wasn’t even there.

A low, steely cry was the answer he received. Bisharp’s discomfort was evident in the way its voice tilted a bit lower than usual, but otherwise, it did nothing to show that it was incapable of moving forward. An impressive feat given they weren’t even supposed to be outside in this weather.

If it hadn’t been for the small Snover who’d gotten separated from its parents, the two of them would be safe in their cabin waiting out the blizzard. Mifune would have a nice warm cup of tea in hand, Bisharp would be perched beside its favorite window watching the blizzard whipping up snow just outside their cozy home, and everything would be good.

Instead, they were stuck outside trudging their way through heaps of snow toward the nearest cave, building, or whatever cover they could find to keep themselves safe from the weather.

“Lord Avalugg must be loving this weather,” dragging his feet through the snow, he squinted when he saw something ahead of him. A small shadow that could easily be a Pokemon, but which didn’t seem to move with the same confidence as anything which was used to the harshness of the climate. “Bisharp!”

His partner surged forward, cutting through the wind as if it were little more than a branch that broke easily under the sharp slice of Bisharp's cold steel arms. Running after it, he grunted when the wind crashed against his chest and forced him to stop after only two short steps.

Taking a moment, he focused on the feeling of the wind around him. When it died down, he stepped forward. If it picked up again, he stopped. It was a tedious task, but Mifune approached it with a calm head, just as Yua had taught him when he first arrived at the Icelands.

“Don’t try to move when the wind is against you,” she’d instructed while offering a hand to help him up off of the ground after he’s been knocked onto his butt. “Even if there is no blizzard, the wind here is unforgiving. Listen to it and move when it tells you to move.”

Finally, after pausing to allow the wind to push past him five more times, he reached his destination.

“Bisharp,” he called out, his Pokemon turning to him just as he stepped up to its side. “What is it we’ve fou- Oh!?”

Moving its body, Bisharp allowed Mifune to see the small figure that it was currently shielding from the wind. A young boy, no older than five if he had to guess, huddled up in a giant white coat with the diamond clan symbol on the chest and a tiny bundle of brown fur clutched against his chest.

Thinking quick, he dug into his side pouch and retrieved the Celestica flute which he’d been gifted when he was given the position of Lord Avalugg’s warden. Pressing it against his mouth, he placed his fingers over the holes in the exact way Yua had shown him and blew.

The high pitched note rang out through the air, its beautiful sound dimmed by the howling of the blizzard winds but Mifune had no doubt it would reach its target. With that completed, he stuffed the flute back into his pouch and shrugged off his jacket. “Here,” he threw the jacket around the young child’s body and scooped them up into his arms. “We’ll get you home, I promise.”

Beside him, Bisharp straightened itself up and looked skyward as a familiar cry rang through the air.

“Lord Braviary is on the way,” he spoke softly, his arms tightening around the child as he waited for help to arrive. “We’ll get you somewhere safe.”

The wind crashed against his body, forcing him to take a step back so that he didn’t fall over. Just as it began to pick up, threatening to send Mifune and his new companion flying, a large mass swooped down in front of them and blocked the wind.

“Lord Braviary!” He called out, smiling when the bird tilted its head. “I apologize. I know I’m not supposed to call you unless it’s an emergency, but…well,” opening his arms, he watched as Lord Bravery leaned in to get a closer look at the child he was holding. “We need to get them somewhere safe!”

Not one to waste a moment, much like its warden, Braviary around and lowers itself just enough for Mifune to crawl onto its back. “Thank you!” He called out as he crawled onto the Pokemon’s back. “Bisharp!”

His partner answered with a low cry and began running ahead. Once Mifune had a good grip on Lord Braviary’s feathers, the Nobel Pokemon spread its wings and lifted off of the ground. Before flying into the sky, though, it swooped over Bisharp and grabbed it around its body using its giant claws.

Although he expected some resistance from the wind, Mifune realized quickly that Lord Braviary was flying as smoothly as it always did. There was no resistance at all, as if it was flying with the wind, rather than against it.

“Don’t try to move when the wind is against you.” Yua’s words repeated in his mind and Mifune couldn’t help but laugh at his own nievity. Where he’d assumed her words had come from her own wisdom, he now realized she had learned it from someone else just as he had.

Or rather, something else.

The bitter cold was something Yua was used to.

Her bones had acclimatized to the constant winter weather when she was a child. Sometimes when Mifune or Sakumo commented on her lack of proper winter clothing she liked to joke about how her blood had turned to Ice when she was only fifteen years old.

Yua lived and breathed winter. In all of her life she’d never once found herself complaining about the cold weather, until today.

Today, her bones ached.

Her fingers screamed in agony as the wind lashed against them, drying out the tender skin so much that she could feel it beginning to crack. If she didn’t get somewhere warm soon she was likely to parish.

“Mamoswine-” She tried to tighten her hold on her partner’s fur, but her fingers screamed in agony at the smallest movement.

A loud screech tore through the air at that moment, and without a thought, Yua turned her gaze skyward. There, hovering high above her, just within sight, was a mere shadow of a Pokemon. It was a Pokemon that she knew, though. A Pokemon that she could recognize without ever having to lay eyes on it.

The Nobel Pokemon Braviary. The Pokemon which she had been tasked to care for since she was only thirteen years old.

“What…” Sitting up, she watched as the Nobel Pokemon swooped down in front of them just low enough for Mamoswine to see it easily and began turning to the left. “You…you found him…”

For the first time since she and Mamoswine had begun their search, Yua felt a spark of hope igniting in her soul.

There was no explainable reason for why she felt that way. It could have been anyone that Lord Braverary had found, and it was simply leading her to them so that she could care for them until the Blizzard cleared up.

This wouldn’t be the first time the Nobel Pokemon led her to someone in need, but everyone else in the Pearl clan had been accounted for and other than Mifune there was no one outside of her clan in the Alabaster Icelands.

Even Team Galactic researchers didn’t dare wander into the Icelands. As reckless as they could be, they didn’t dare go past the border between Cornet Highlands and Alabaster Icelands unless they were accompanied by someone from the Pearl clan, and even then it was rare.

That left only two options.

Lord Braviary had either found Kakashi in the snow fields and taken him somewhere safe before going to find her, or Mifune had injured himself and was in need of medical attention.

She hoped it was the first one, but either way, her aid was needed.

“Mamoswine, Follow Lord Braviary!”

Doing as she was told, Mamoswine quickly turned herself to follow after the Nobel Pokemon, and finally, Yua felt the wind relenting. It was still cold and bitter, whipping all around her, but it no longer assaulted her head-on.

“Right,” she snorted, recalling one of the first lessons she had learned from Lord Braviary when she was still young. “Never walk against the wind. How stupid of me.”

It was no wonder her hands ached. She’d focused so much of her attention on searching the snowy ground for any signs of her son that she’d forgotten to pay attention to where they were going, and instead of allowing Mamoswine to lead the way she’d tried to control the direction in which they headed.

Her fears had clouded her judgment, and even now when she’d realized her mistake she knew it would happen again.

For anyone else, she would keep a clear head. The lessons she’d learned from the clan elders and Lord Braviary would lead her just as they always had and she would find whoever it was who needed her aid.

Kakashi was a different story, though.

Yua couldn’t keep a clear head when it was her son’s life in danger.

She couldn’t recall the lessons she’d committed to memory when all her mind would focus on was the crushing fear of losing her precious scarecrow.

“Please…” she whispered, her eyes glued on Lord Braviary’s back as they made their way through the blizzard. “Please be alright.”

Children were usually rambunctious. They loved to run around, play, and make as much noise as possible. That was what Mifune had noticed whenever he found himself interacting with the Pearl clan.

Their children always seemed to have endless amounts of energy even when they were feeling under the weather.

“Here,” he held a granola bar out to the child and watched as he examined it. “I have not poisoned it, I promise.” Rather than taking the offering, though, the child simply pulled Mifune’s jacket tighter around himself and buried his face into the fur collar. “You are rather stubborn, aren’t you?”

“Pree,” the little bundle of brown fur, Eevee, stood up from her spot and nudged her nose against her partner’s leg. “Pree!”

The plea was clear to Mifune even though he’d never interacted with the tiny Pokemon before. Eevee was begging her partner to take the offering. To eat something after the terrible experience they’d just gone through.

Even with his partner’s cries calling out to him, the boy continued to sit there with his face buried into Mifune’s jacket, staring up at the Warden with curious black eyes. A stare that reminded Mifune of a particular friend of his.

“So,” pulling the offering back, he settled into his spot. “What were you doing all the way out in the fields? Shouldn’t you have been in the village playing with the other children?”

Lifting his head, the boy lowered his eyes. “I was playing,” he whispered. “A Pokemon joined us. I started following it around and when I looked up again I was outside of the village.”

A stray Pokemon leading a child away from the village. It wasn’t unheard of, but usually when cases like that did occur the Pokemon stuck around long enough to either lead the child back to their village or the child would never be seen again.

In this case, the Pokemon seemed to have abandoned the boy.

“It got scared,” the boy continued. “When the snow started blowing and it became hard to see it ran away. I tried to run after it but I couldn’t keep up.”

“And then you were trapped,” Mifune sighed. “It was lucky for you that Bisharp and I were in the area. If we hadn’t found you-” Bisharp cried out, silencing the terrifying words that Mifune had almost spoken aloud.

“Lord Braviary would have,” the boy insisted with a passion he hadn’t shown at all before. “Mother is always telling me about how amazing it is. How it can fly through the harsh blizzard winds and find anyone it’s looking for.”

“Lord Braviary?” Mifune shook his head. It was true that the Nobel Pokemon was amazing, and without its aid, the two of them would have been forced to trek through the harsh blizzard wind searching for cover. Calling on his friends respected Nobel had been helpful in getting the young boy to safety, but it seemed that he’d been fed stories that painted an even better picture of the great Nobal than what was true. “Lord Braviary is fantastic, but-”

“No!” the boy snapped. “No buts. The only Pokemon better than Lord Braviary is Mother’s partner, Mamoswine!”

Mother’s Mamoswine.

Suddenly, a lot of things made sense.

The boy's cold attitude had seemed strange, but now Mifune was faced with memories of an equally cold teenage Yua who had tried her best to ignore him for the first month she’d known him.

Nothing on the boy's face looked at all like Yua, though with the lower part of his face hidden by a large green scarf, it was hard for Mifune to tell exactly what he looked like, but his personality seemed a picture-perfect copy of her.

“Kakashi?” A familiar voice called out, causing both boys to turn their attention toward the cave entrance where they were greeted by Yua’s towering figure standing in the center of the entrance with her partner Pokemon just behind her. “Oh, Kakashi-”

For the first time since he’d come to the Alabaster Iceland, Mifune found himself watching as Yua ran passed him without a single concern and scooped her child up into her arms. If he squinted he was certain he would see tears of relief falling from her eyes, but he refrained.

It would be rude of him to pay so much attention to detail when his friend was no doubt experiencing one of the most terrifying days of her life.

“Mom…”

“Shush,” she whispered as her arms tightened around the boy's body.

Averting his eyes, Mifune stared out of the cave and watched as the snow blew by. A personal moment between mother and son was the last thing he wanted to infringe upon with his presence but there wasn’t much choice in the matter.

“How did you find us?” he heard the boy ask.

“Lord Braviary,” Yua answered, her usual calm returning to her voice. “I’ve been searching for hours. Where did you run off to?”

“I-I’m not sure. I was following the Pokemon-”

“Elekid,” Mifune’s ears perked up when he heard fondness in Yua’s words. His eyes stayed focused on the blizzard outside, but it was impossible for him to block out the conversation happening right beside him, and if he was being honest with himself he didn’t want to. It was a nice change to hear such softness in his friend's voice. “You wanted to learn about it, didn’t you?”

“Yes…”

“You-” pausing, Yua released a small, restrained breath. “You really are your father's son, Kakashi.”

“And yours.” Mifuhne winced when he realized the words he’d been thinking were spoken out loud, and in an instant, Yua’s attention turned away from the son she’d no doubt been worrying about since the start of the blizzard and focused on him.

“And me?” she asked, an amused expression greeting Mifune when he dared to look her way. “And what are you doing here? I thought A Dimond clan warden would be smart enough to get himself to safety before the blizzard hit?”

A jab. Playful with a hint of seriousness.

Her way of asking him a question she didn’t dare speak out loud.

Are you Injured?

“I was helping a lost Pokemon,” he explained, waving a hand over his body to show her that there were no injuries on him. “Bisharp and I got caught in the Blizzard, but we were lucky enough to find him,” he nodded toward the young boy who was still being held tightly in Yua’s arms. “Lord Braviary helped us to get here.”

“So you used it,” she smiled. “The note I taught you?”

“Well, Lord Avalugg would have been helpful as well, but it would have taken us longer to get to shelter.”

“Lord Avalugg still would have gotten you to safety,” she argued. “But- thank you. For finding him.”

Looking between the two of them, Mifune couldn’t help but smile. It was rare for him to get a glimpse into Yua’s life outside of her duties as a Warden. Her personal life was wrapped so tightly into herself, protected from the rest of the world, that he barely knew anything about her childhood or even the things she did when she wasn’t with Lord Braviary.

What he knew about her was her love for books, her incredible kindness, and her fascination with bringing her favorite tea everywhere with her so that she could have a cup wherever she was, which she always offered to share with him so long as he agreed to make it.

“Mom?” the boy called out, his eyes focused solely on her. “He’s Diamond clan.”

Looking back at her son, Yua offered a kind, comforting smile. The type of smile she usually reserved for those moments when she’d offer Mifune a warm cup of Tea during a late night outside watching the stars, or for those fleeting moments when she’d tell him about the family he never got to meet.

At least, he’d never gotten to meet either of them until today.

“He is,” she confirmed. “But he’s special.”

Mifune covered his mouth, barely containing the laugh that threatened to escape his throat at his friend's words.

“Special?” the boy asked, his eyes darting over to Mifune and examining him for just a second before returning to his mother. “How?”

“Well, you see,” releasing her grip on her son she sat back and placed her right forefinger against her lips while a thoughtful expression settled onto her face. “It’s…an interesting situation.”

“Like you and dad?”

Both Mifune and Yua cringed at those words. “No,” she answered swiftly. “No, your father and I are a couple. As strange as some view our relationship, we’ve been together for years.”

“And, you two?”

“We’re friends,” Mifune answered when Yua failed to answer with her usual swiftness.

“Friends, yes,” Yua confirmed. “Mifune is a Warden, like me.”

The boy narrowed his eyes and seemed to think over the information he had received before opening his mouth to speak. “If he’s your friend, why haven’t I met him before?”

A better question had never been asked, In Mifune’s opinion.

“You…well…” glancing back his way, Yua sighed. “Neither of you are going to accept any answer I give, are you?”

“No,” they answered in unison, both of them looking at each other when they’d realized what they had done.

“Of course not,” Shoulder’s sagging in defeat, Yua settled into her spot. “Well, we have some time before this Blizzard is finished. A perfect opportunity to fix that, don’t you think?”

Staring at each other, Mifune and the boy said nothing. Mifune because he had no idea where to even begin since he hadn’t even realized Yua had ever been with child, though now that he knew her mysterious disappearance six years ago made a lot more sense.

“Let’s start with names,” Yua suggested with a cheerful smile. “Mifune, this is my son, Kakashi.”

Kakashi. Scarecrow.

Once before Mifune had heard his friend's lover’s name and joked about how it meant ‘crops’ and now he was faced with the terrible realization that his cool, romance-loving friend was a terrible jokester.

“Hello,” the boy, Kakashi, waved to him as his Eevee jumped up onto his lap. “Dad says you’re nicer than mom.”

Bringing a hand up over his mouth, Yua tried her best to hide that smile that stretched across her lips but failed spectacularly and simply shrugged her shoulders when Mifunhe raised an eyebrow. “Is he wrong?”

“You are nice,” He sighed. “But…given your rather cold approach to other people, I find it…difficult to argue. One question though.”

“How does he know about you when you haven’t met him?”

“That would be the question, yes.”

“Is it so hard to believe that I speak to my husband about my closest friend?”

All night Mifune had been cold. His fingers had ached under the relentless attack of the wind crashing against him, and even in the safety of the cave Lord Braviary had taken them to he still hadn’t managed to properly warm up without his jacket.

Those few, simple words from Yua instantly chased away the cold, though. His heart swelled with warmth and immediately spread throughout his body, easing his aches and removing all traces of cold from his body.

It was as if he had found a fire to sit himself down beside, except instead of flames to warm his body it was love.

The love of his friend telling one of the most important people in her life all about him, and him in turn relaying that information to their son.

“Ridiculous,” pushing herself to her feet, Yua took a few short steps toward Mifune and leaned forward so that her face was now mere inches away from his. “You should know better.”

“You’re not exactly the most open person I’ve ever met,” he argued. “It seems only natural that you would keep that information to yourself.”

Reaching out her left hand, she extended two fingers and gently tapped them against the side of Mifune’s head. “Just because I don’t tell the whole world about my life, doesn’t mean I don’t talk about it,” she responded with a tender smile. “The whole world doesn’t need to know. Only my most precious people do.”

My most precious people.

A smile stretched across Mifune’s face as the words swirled around in his head.

Straightening herself up. Yua looked over at her son as he huddled back into Mifune’s coat. “Oh, and Mifune?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you,” she whispered, that same fond expression that she’d worn when she first entered the cave returning to her face. “For finding him. I don’t know what I would do-”

“Do you have tea?”

“What?” she looked back at him with confusion in her eyes.

“Do you have tea?” he asked again. “You’re always carrying some in your pouch, right?”

“Well, yes. Of course.”

“Then we should make some,” he smiled. “And we can wait out the blizzard while you tell me all about your family.”

“Are you sure you want to hear those stories?” she asked. “There’s a lot of them.”

Jabbing a finger toward the cave entrance, he smiled. “And there’s a lot of time. Besides, who would pass up the opportunity to hear about ‘Crops’ and ‘scarecrows’?”

Yua threw her head back and laughed. A bright, carefree laugh that he knew would never be repeated in front of others. A special treat just for him and Kakashi when no one else could hear her.

Throughout the years Mifune had experienced many blizzards in the Alibastar Icelands, but none were as memorable as this one. Regardless of whether the blizzard took an hour or an entire day to pass, Mifune could officially chalk this up to the best blizzard he’d ever experienced.

He only hoped that a blizzard wouldn’t be required for him to finally meet his old friend’s husband.

#Hatake Yua #Hatake Kakashi #General Mifune #Pokemon AU #Legends Arceus AU #AU-Tober #AU-Tober 2023

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shushmal · 4 years ago

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A pinch hit written for the @kkirzine! Leftover sales are almost over! Check it out here!

Sakumo’s face lights up, his lips turning up into a wide, excited smile. Kakashi’s hand is so small cupped between his father’s, one of his thumbs rubbing along the line of kanji on Kakashi’s skin. It doesn’t smear like ink but shines brightly as if it had just been brushed on. “The gods have blessed you,” he says, looking at Kakashi as if he couldn’t have been prouder. “Your soulmate was born today.”

“Oh,” is all Kakashi has to say about that, because he’s four and he’s really not sure what a soulmate even is.

Read it here on Ao3!

Kakashi’s four when he finds it. He’s pulling on his shirt by himself—because Kakashi’s not a baby anymore and only babies have to be dressed by their fathers—when he notices it. The black lines are stark against the creamy white of his wrist, and for a long moment Kakashi stares at it, confused.

“Otou,” he calls when he hears Sakumo walk by his door. “Did you write on me again?”

Sticking his head in the door, Sakumo raises his brow, his face open and indulgent. “What was that?”

“Did you write on me again?” Kakashi repeats, holding out his arm as his father crouches in front of him.

“Oh,” is all Kakashi has to say about that, because he’s four and he’s really not sure what a soulmate even is.

“It’s traditional to send a gift,” Sakumo adds, chuckling at his disinterest. “What would you like to give them?”

Kakashi thinks about it a moment, nose wrinkling under his mask. “Maybe a new kunai?” he says and pouts when Sakumo snorts.

“Well, they’re a baby right now,” Sakumo says, rolling Kakashi’s sleeve back down and fussing with Kakashi’s flyaway hair. “They won’t need kunai just yet.”

“It’s never too early for kunai,” Kakashi says, matter-of-fact. “Maybe a sword would be better, anyways.”

Sakumo actually tilts his head back and laughs with his full body.

Kakashi’s formal kimono is stiff and itchy and heavy, and he’s never worn it before today. But his father told him that they were having very special guests tonight and even paid the woman down the road to cook for them. Sakumo gently swats Kakashi’s hands away from his obi and fusses with Kakashi’s hair when it refuses to lay flat.

“Hatake-san,” Yua, their neighbor, says as she peeks around into the room. “Your guests are here.”

“Thank you, Yua-chan,” Sakumo says, pulling Kakashi into a more formal position on the floor. “Please show them in.”

“Who’s even here?” Kakashi grumbles as she turns away. “Why do I have to wear this?”

Sakumo presses his hand to Kakashi’s back, straightening his spine. “A good shinobi sits quiet and observes until the answers come to them,” he says, his voice chiding but gentle, and he smiles at Kakashi when he immediately falls silent and attentive.

Yua slides open the doors, presenting a man and a woman, both kneeling at the threshold. Together, they bow low, and it’s then that Kakashi notices the baby in the woman’s arms.

“Hatake-san,” the man says, his voice almost too soft to carry. “Thank you for your invitation.”

His hand still at Kakashi’s back, Sakumo bows just as deeply, Kakashi mirroring him. “Umino-san, welcome to our home.”

Umino-san smiles nervously at them when they rise, hands twisting in his kimono, but his wife is smiling. “If it’s fine with you Hatake-san, let’s skip all this formality,” she says. “Hatake-kun, come meet Iruka!”

“Kohari!” Umino-san hisses, embarrassed, but the woman just grins, beckoning Kakashi over.

Kakashi, stunned, looks at his father, but Sakumo nudges him forward. “Go on,” he says, and Kakashi goes.

Sitting up, Kohari adjusts the bundle in her arms as Kakashi approaches. In the folds of the blankets is a round little face, smooth in sleep, with a thick tuft of hair on his head. “This is Iruka,” Kohari says as Kakashi bends closer to see. “Please be good friends with him and take care of him in the future.”

Looking from her to the baby in her arms, Kakashi nods hesitantly, saying nothing. Kohari isn’t put off at all, gently shifting her baby until she can show Kakashi his arm, chubby and round with baby fat. Kakashi’s whole focus narrows down, the world fading away. At this moment, the only people that exist are this strange woman and the baby in her arms, because there, on Iruka’s delicate skin, is Kakashi’s name in the same bold letters, almost too big for the tiny wrist cradled in Kohari’s hand.

“He’ll grow big and strong,” Kohari says. “One day he’ll be a formidable shinobi, just like his mom and dad, and he’ll make you an excellent partner, Hatake-kun.”

Iruka wakes as she talks, blinking too-big eyes sleepily. His eyes are a deep, warm brown, and they focus on Kakashi, unblinking. Kakashi can see Kohari smile out of the corner of his eye.

“Iruka-chan,” she coos. “This is your soulmate. Say hello!”

Iruka gurgles back, a high, childish pitch, and he waves his arm at Kakashi, fingers grasping. Kakashi reaches up without a thought, and Iruka’s hand wraps around one finger, already calloused and scarred from regular throwing practice.

Sakumo leans in close over Kakashi’s shoulder, a steadying hand at his son’s back. “Always remember him, Kakashi,” he says softly. “Always remember how blessed you are.”

It’s only a few months later that Sakumo is dead.

Umino-san and Kohari still knock on his door to see him, or to leave him groceries and gifts. But Kakashi is a soldier. Things like family, like love are useless to someone like Kakashi.

They never stop coming by for nearly ten years. And when they stop, Kakashi barely notices—the loss of his sensei, his Hokage and commander, leaving him numb. By the time Iruka even crosses his mind, he’s graduated from the academy, an independent kid with his own life. And Kakashi feels he has no right to invade it.

But if he leaves a few vegetables on Iruka’s windowsill, then that’s just for Kakashi to know.

When ANBU get hurt, there are no emergency contacts made for them. But for a regular shinobi, soulmates are the first notified in the event of a hospitalization. Kakashi’s soulmate is an academy teacher though, and he’s glad for it, that the most danger Iruka faces is a few badly thrown shuriken.

So when he appears in Iruka’s hospital room in the dead of night, he already feels wrong-footed and Iruka is already glaring at him from where he’s face down on the mattress.

“Visiting hours are over,” he hisses.

“Maa, I just thought you could use some company,” Kakashi says, probably the first real thing he’s said to his soulmate since the day he was born.

Iruka’s eyes soften a fraction, because Kakashi’s voice is a little weak, shaken, and he sighs. “I guess that’s fine then.”

Kakashi can separate his life in chapters of a book: the prologue he’s forgotten and many chapters of death that make up his history. But now, Kakashi thinks he might like this new chapter dedicated to his students, and to Iruka’s smile that grows more familiar as the months pass.

“How do you get him to stop?” Kakashi whines from where he’s buried his face in his arms.

Sipping from his coffee, Iruka gives Kakashi a thousand-yard stare of a man who has twenty-three kids to teach as opposed to Kakashi’s three. “You don’t. You distract him.”

“I’m running out of cool jutsu though!”

“Don’t you have like a thousand?”

“That number is highly exaggerated, it’s more like high seven-hundreds.”

“That’s still a lot!”

“And yet I’m still running out!”

Iruka has a snorting, ugly laugh. Kakashi thinks he loves it. “Wanna go on a date Saturday night?”

“God no,” Iruka says, wrinkling his nose. “That’s my only chance to get a decent night’s sleep. I plan on passing out for a solid twelve hours.”

“Lucky,” Kakashi sighs, finally lifting his head from the table. “We have a mission Sunday morning.”

“Sucks for you.” Iruka’s smile is the exact opposite of sympathetic as he stands, shouldering his bag and draining his coffee. “Well, I need to get to the missions room. See you next week.”

“Maa, I don’t even get a kiss good-bye?”

Iruka slaps his back hard as he walks past, sending Kakashi sprawling across the table. “Nope!”

Kakashi lands in Iruka’s windowsill with a heavy thump and rattling of glass.

“I don’t have time,” Iruka says, not even looking up from the papers. “I have exams and homework to grade and I’m behind because the Hokage—”

“Iruka.”

Iruka takes one look at him and immediately shepherds Kakashi to the couch. Kakashi strips off his vest and gloves with a sound of disgust, burying his face in his hands when Iruka disappears into his kitchen to put the kettle on.

“Do you have something stronger than tea?” Kakashi calls.

The soft thump of the sake bottle set on the table rouses him, and Kakashi gives Iruka a grateful stare before he pulls down his mask and takes a long draw, straight from the bottle. The alcohol burns its way down his throat, tasteless and cheap and exactly what Kakashi needs right now.

“Buy me something nicer to replace it,” Iruka says.

“As long as I get to drink it with you.”

Smiling, Iruka sits down beside him with two cups of ramen, which Kakashi really doesn’t want, but it is the spicy kind that he likes best.

“Marry me.”

“Not on your life.”

“Iruka-sensei,” Kakashi whines. Inwardly, he’s surprised he’s gotten close enough without getting stabbed. Iruka ignores him and continues stomping home. “Please, just hear me out.”

“I’m sorry, Jounin-sama, but I really need to get home.”

Kakashi tightens his arms around Iruka’s shoulders until he can haul himself up enough to wrap his legs around the man’s waist. Iruka doesn’t even stumble, carrying Kakashi’s full weight easily. It’s incredibly hot. “At least let me apologize!”

Iruka pauses. “You’re going to apologize?”

“Yes, please.”

Huffing, Iruka elbows Kakashi off his back and faces him. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

Dropping into a perfect ninety-degree bow, Kakashi says formally, “I am very sorry for not taking your concerns seriously and for not speaking to you as an equal.” Iruka splutters in front of him. “Furthermore, I apologize for embarrassing you in front of our colleagues and the Hokage. It was wrong of me to—”

“Okay, okay!” Iruka says hastily, grabbing Kakashi by the shoulders and righting him forcefully. “I didn’t need all that.”

Smiling, Kakashi shrugs. “I figured I should be serious.”

“It’s awkward,” Iruka says, flustered, his arms crossed in front of him. “I apologize as well, for not trusting your judgment.”

Kakashi dares to take a step closer. “Call it a truce?”

Iruka eyes him from the side for a moment, before sighing. “Fine. But don’t come crying to me when it all blows up in your face.”

“Are you an idiot?”

Kakashi looks up from his book, completely unphased by the shouting or the nurse’s surprised squeak. “Why, if it isn’t the love of my life,” Kakashi coos as Iruka stomps towards him.

“Shut up,” Iruka snaps, coming to a stop right in front of Kakashi. “Really? Ebisu?!”

“Maa, I just,” Kakashi starts, and knows he has to be careful here, “Naruto struggles with the basics, and he really needs to master them to catch up to Sasuke and Sakura. Not that I’m making a comment on your teaching methods, Iruka-sensei—”

“I know that!” Kakashi takes the knock to the head with dignity. Iruka pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Naruto’s always struggled, but he works hard and has really come a long way.”

Rubbing the lump on his head, Kakashi glares at him. “Then, why are you so upset?”

“He won’t take Naruto’s training seriously!”

“Really?” Kakashi hums, tilting his head back to gaze at the ceiling. “He seemed honored by my request and has already run his training schedule by me.”

Iruka stops grinding his teeth long enough to consider Kakashi balefully. “You actually reviewed it?”

Kakashi pouts. “Of course I did, Iruka-sensei. Naruto-chan is my precious student after all.”

That earns him a kick to the shin, but the line of Iruka’s shoulders relax. “You should still pay him more attention, you know?” Iruka says with a huff. “He looks up to you.”

“He’s not my problem child at the moment,” Kakashi admits, tilting his head to acknowledge Iruka’s curious gaze. “Maa, I may be out of town for a bit, sensei. Do I get a good-bye kiss?”

Iruka kicks him again. “No way.”

“So violent,” Kakashi says. “You sure you won’t marry me?”

Iruka doesn’t even bother to respond.

Kakashi doesn't startle when Iruka flips the light on while he's haphazardly laying across Iruka's couch. Iruka is still in his funeral clothes, looking worse for wear. Kakashi shifts just a bit, and Iruka flips the lights back off before he sprawls across Kakashi, tangling their legs together. Kakashi wraps him up and rolls him to the side until Iruka’s pressed between the back of the sofa and Kakashi’s front. They don’t say a word, even as the night passes between them, silent and dark.

Naruto’s been gone for nearly five months when Iruka falls into the booth beside Kakashi, making the table rattle. He easily joins the conversation that Kakashi was ignoring, like water flowing into the ocean, laughing along with everyone else. But he’s a warm line along Kakashi’s side, pressed thigh to thigh, their elbows bumping comfortably together.

When the bartender yells for the last call, Iruka hooks his arm with Kakashi’s and drags him outside.

“Sensei,” Kakashi starts as they leave the bustle of nightlife behind them. They walk with their steps synced, their arms around each other. He thinks they would look like a couple if he could see them outside himself, so in love they can’t be separated even to walk home together. “Isn’t it a school night?”

“Actually, I have tomorrow off,” Iruka says. Kakashi turns his head enough to glance the smile on his face. “Are you free?”

“For you,” Kakashi says. “Always.”

Iruka snorts inelegantly. Kakashi loves that about him. “Then, would you like to go on a date?”

Kakashi straightens his spine from his slouch, jostling Iruka beside him. “I thought this was a date!” He shouts, indignant, to cover his shock and Iruka’s laughter.

“Dates end in kisses,” Iruka chuckles. By now, they’ve made it to Kakashi’s front door and he finally realizes that Iruka’s walked him home. “Though I guess, since you’re my soulmate,” he says, like an afterthought as he turns to stand in front of him. “I’ll make an exception.”

He pulls Kakashi’s mask down and kisses Kakashi. For years and years, Kakashi has felt on edge, teetering on his toes, but kissing Iruka is like finding solid ground again. He chases that warmth when Iruka shies away, and whimpers when Iruka meets him again, open-mouthed and wanting. Kakashi wonders if this is what being whole feels like.

“There,” Iruka says, a little breathless, his lips cherry red and shining. He’s looking at Kakashi with smiling eyes, and it feels like standing in the summer sun.

“Marry me,” Kakashi croaks, and it’s worth the embarrassment to watch Iruka laugh.

“Maybe later,” Iruka says against his lips, smiling.

#naruto #naruto fanfic #kakairu #kkir #kakairu fanfic #kkir zine #my fic #shush mal #uwu

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