Chapter Text
He is seven years old, a fully capable (not to mention deadly) chūnin, and his father still insists that he must hold his hand while walking down the street. It's the man's nature, Kakashi supposes, to act as if his only son isn't the child prodigy reality makes him out to be. The boy thinks - knows - that his father is proud of him in the same way he knows that the sky is blue and that the Earth revolves around the sun. But Kakashi is also sure that beneath the pride that his son is 'the best shinobi Konoha has produced since The Yellow Flash himself', he is also mildly terrified at the prospect of his little boy growing up too fast.
Civilian children start first grade at the age of six. Kakashi killed for the first time at the age of six.
Perhaps Sakumo is merely trying to protect the precious child his beloved wife left behind, or perhaps Kakashi truly is a naïve young boy in his eyes. Either way, Konoha's White Fang leads his son down the street by his hand and tells him in a gentle voice not to talk to strangers. Neither of them mention that any suspicious characters would find themselves with a kunai against their throat before any potentially dangerous acts could be committed. Kakashi isn't helpless by any means.
So when Kakashi spots a tiny girl, several years his junior, shuffling down the road unaccompanied, his pride takes a damaging blow and the grip on his father's hand loosens ever-so-slightly. Sakumo, ever the observer, notices the cause for his son's embarrassment and, like a gentleman, asks the little girl if she is lost.
"No," she says, and Kakashi can't help noticing the sickeningly dark circles around her eyes and the unhealthy shade of pasty white her skin is. Her tiny body is so frail and small and delicate that Kakashi fears one blow of the wind would shatter her completely. In one diminutive hand she holds a brown paper bag tucked up to her chest, filled to the brim with groceries and she lifts it up for them to inspect. "Itsuki-san is always away on important missions," she explains in a childish voice so quiet and distant that it could have been merely a whispering breeze, "so I'm shopping for food. He never has time to cook dinner for me." Her voice is bland and uncaring.
Kakashi glances at the contents of the bag and raises an eyebrow at the unbelievable amount of cakes and sweets within. It explains the malnourishment, he supposes; the girl must have one hell of a sweet tooth. Sakumo too frowns in disapproval. He places a large hand on the girl's dark blonde head and asks, "Who is Itsuki-san? Is he you father?"
"No." She pauses as if expecting that to have sufficed in answering the questions, but continues after observing their expectant expressions, "I don't have a father." Once again, her words are cold and impassive. "I have to go home now. Tama-chan will be hungry."
"Wait!" Kakashi finds himself saying, the words leaving his mouth before he even processes the thought. "What's your name?"
She stares at him with ice-cold eyes, pupiless turquoise-blue irises almost seeming to glow in the glare of the bright sunshine. She blinks her long dark eyelashes slowly, contemplating. She turns on her heel and, as if by afterthought, Kakashi hears the words whispered on the wind. "Suzuki Reika."
"Reika-chan," he mutters under his breath and Sakumo ruffles his son's silver hair knowingly before leading them both home.
The next time Kakashi sets eyes on Suzuki Reika, she is pummelling a fellow student twice her size into the ground.
Kakashi has always been short for his age but Reika is something to behold. She's not even three feet tall, four years old, and he's pretty sure she just shattered that boy's jaw. It's the first time Kakashi sees a taijutsu teacher look so horrified.
He had just been passing by the Ninja Academy on his way to the Hokage Tower to meet up with his sensei when he was delightfully surprised to spot a flash of hair the colour of golden wheat and, in a spontaneous act of curiosity, had leapt past the academy gates to get a closer look. It helps that he is still young enough to fit in with the crowds of children now surrounding the brawl.
Her fighting style is messy yet unrelenting, and her punches aren't particularly strong but they sure as hell are well executed and Reika's arrogant opponent is reduced to a stocky pile of bruises by the time the teachers flood into the playground and haul her off of the boy's quivering body. Her limbs are still flailing as two chūnin sensei attempt to heave her back into the school building. She spits at the boy spitefully as she is dragged away, and he spits out a dislodged tooth.
Kakashi is secretly impressed. His pure surprise is a little more difficult to conceal.
Sakumo comes home one day, bloodied and dirty and exhausted from the war, to find Kakashi serving Reika a portion of miso soup with eggplant (the boy's favourite food) over a candlelit dinner. He thinks it strange at first, to see children dining in such a way, before Kakashi explains that the southern part of the city is in blackout and he couldn't find a torch. The white haired man proceeds to forget about his previous enquiries when he is blessed to witness the hilarious montage of expressions Reika pulls after tasting a rather large piece of hideously cooked eggplant.
Konoha's White Fang joins the two children for dinner and is thoroughly questioned by both of them as to what his day consisted of. He mostly sugar-coats it, and excludes all the parts he doubts he will ever be able to retell, leaving for a mostly uninteresting tale, but they listen intently nonetheless. Their eyes light up in wonder and awe, and Sakumo is momentarily astounded that these two children, now so innocent, will grow up to be vicious killers.
Reika almost spits out her soup in laughter when Kakashi executes a surprise tickle attack beneath the tabletop. Sakumo doesn't think he's ever seen Kakashi act so much like a child, and feels his chest swell with some kind of gratitude and relief.
The Hatake family doesn't seem to notice when they begin to set three places at the dinner table instead of two in the weeks to come. One day, though, a small black cat is seen trotting around the house and the spare bedroom is most definitely occupied if the mess of tomboyish clothing spread across the carpet isn't a big enough clue. An extra pair of miniature sandals settles next to the other two at the doorway, and the television is abruptly hijacked by kung-fu movies and VHS box sets.
Kakashi is suddenly very glad she isn't the typical kind of girl who likes romantic comedies and gross stuff like that.
Christmas is a time for families.
So when Reika is sat with the two Hatake males, eating Christmas cake (Kakashi decided it was too sweet and resulted to a bowl of noodles), she begins to wonder if she has been accepted as a makeshift member of their little broken family. When she finds a present with her name on it beneath the small evergreen tree she gains a smidgen of hope and when Sakumo tucks her in bed at night she lets herself wonder if this is what having a father is like.
During New Years, while eating osechi together as they listen to the bells ringing from the centre of the village, Reika can almost forget that there is a war going on; can almost forget that Sakumo will have to leave them for days, weeks, months at a time and that Kakashi has to go on missions at the borders, and that she has to go to the academy and work towards her dream of becoming a shinobi, and that maybe not all three of them will make it through this war.
Reika is sitting on the garden veranda, brushing her small fingertips across the smooth glass of a photo frame. This is how Sakumo finds her, with her dark flaxen tresses fluttering in the winter breeze. Konoha has never had particularly freezing winters, but he drapes his coat over her shoulders nevertheless before he settles down beside her.
He is surprised to find one of his own photos in-between Reika's small palms, the image of his beautiful wife smiling up at him. Her long dark hair is collected over a slim sun-kissed shoulder, her gentle hand placed over her swollen belly tenderly. Her green eyes shimmer brightly in the intensity of the sunlight. Sakumo traces his own larger fingers over the glass-encased image and sighs sadly.
"She died when Kakashi was born," he says, so quiet and so absolutely heartbreaking that Reika feels a lump form in her throat. "He never knew her."
There is a long pause in which they both just admire the woman's beauty and Sakumo traces her facial features with his thumb in longing, memories flitting across his mind like the romantic movies Reika hates so much.
"That happened to otou-san, I think." Reika frowns sadly and wraps an undersized hand around Sakumo's index finger. She doesn't even need to mention what happened to her mother, as news travels fast in Konoha and nobody gossips like a bunch of ninja. The little girl rubs at her bright blue eyes, which are downcast and tearful. "Okaa-chan didn't like talking about it. It always made her sad." As if by realisation, Reika spins to stare up into Sakumo's eyes, searching.
He smiles forlornly and rustles her shoulder-length hair, illogically appreciative of her presence and oh-so-grateful to her for just being there. He sends her inside to put the photo frame back with a tap on the back and she wipes her eyes on her sleeve as she goes. Sakumo turns to glance up at the sky, grey winter clouds floating by without a care, and a single anguished tear falls from his eye.
Inside, Reika shuffles through the living room and tiptoes precariously on top of several phone books to carefully place the photo back in its rightful place atop the windowsill, shining the glass with the edge of her sleeve before stepping back to appreciate her work. She adjusts the picture a little to the left and, once satisfied, bows politely to it. All the while, Kakashi watches her from the doorway, an unreadable emotion in his dark eyes.
Later that day, he glances at the platinum-haired, hazel-eyed beauty framed on Reika's bedside table and frowns sadly.
April 4th comes around quickly and Kakashi remembers her birthday before she does.
The young boy kicks open her bedroom door – ignoring the fact that she is sprawled precariously over the edge of her bed in nothing but an oversized t-shirt which he is pretty sure she stole from him – a tray of her favourite breakfast (homemade pancakes with lemon juice and sugar) held in his arms. Sakumo follows in afterwards, a few compromisingly wrapped presents in hand. The two males have never been particularly talented at decorating gifts, but Kakashi hopes the homemade card will make up for it.
The scent of food stirs her from slumber, as does Lord Tamamaru Ren Ren the First leaping up onto the covers, landing directly on her stomach and causing her to sit up abruptly and almost bump heads with Kakashi, who has perched himself on her bedside. They stare into each other's shocked eyes for a moment before Sakumo bursts into laughter and they both blush and demand him to stop immediately.
Still flushed from embarrassment, Kakashi settles the breakfast tray on Reika's lap and she digs in as if she hasn't eaten for days. Her appetite never fails to disappoint. Kakashi takes the time to discern the healthier tone of her still pale skin compared to the very first time they met, and is happy to note the black bags beneath her eyes are long gone. Although still short and slender, her body is now sturdier and strong; Kakashi feels a surge of relief that she is no longer as ill and frail as she once was.
Licking the grains of lemony sugar from around her mouth, she thanks them both for the awesome breakfast and a grin as bright as the sun sweeps across her features. Kakashi mumbles an incoherent reply and thrusts an envelope into her hands, eyes darting around to look at anything but her. Sakumo smiles tenderly. Tama-chan takes on the responsibility of a dishwasher and proceeds to lick the breakfast plate clean.
The card is made of two pieces of different coloured paper stuck together and folded neatly in half. The outside is black – her favourite colour – and covered in a disarray of gold and orange sequins, with a large red five glued messily in the centre. The words "Happy Birthday" are scrawled in Kakashi's distinctively neat handwriting in silver gel pen across the top of the page. There is a doodle of Tama-chan in the lower right corner and a spiky grey-and-white splatter, which she assumes is Sakumo, in the left. She opens it up and is greeted with bright lime-green card and a cascade of shiny confetti that falls out onto the bed covers, her birthday message scribbled in purple felt tip pen.
To Reika
Happy Birthday!
Hope you have the best birthday ever
and don't forget your birthday wish
Love from your best friend,
Kakashi
P.S. Thanks for everything
Reika's eyes linger briefly on the words just before his name and smiles, a warm feeling flooding her heart. She then proceeds to fling herself at him, startling the cat, and wraps her short arms around his neck tightly. She squeezes her eyes shut while Kakashi's widen in utter surprise and she doesn't even bother wondering what he was thanking her for anyway.
Her nightmares come back in the summer.
Kakashi hears her first scream and is there in an instant, a deadly sharp kunai ready to rid of any and all threats that may try to harm her. He is relieved to find her room empty but worry sets in again when he spots her, huddled vulnerably beneath the covers, silent tears falling from her eyes. He strides over, places the kunai on the bedside table – still within reach just in case – and wraps his arms around her. Surprisingly, she reaches out for him too.
Neither of them are sure how long they sit like that, her head resting against his shoulder as she struggles to stop the tears from falling, but they eventually fall asleep from the exhaustion of haunting nightmares and heroic acts.
Sakumo stumbles his way indoors after a week away from his children (he isn't sure when it went from being just Kakashi to Kakashi and Reika) and, before binding his twisted ankle, decides to check up on the two of them. He peeks his head through the already-open door of Reika's room and smiles contentedly when he spots the two children intertwined underneath the blankets, clinging to one another like their lives depend on it.
Kakashi's eighth birthday whizzes past in a blur of salt-broiled saury, practising kunai, new t-shirts, and old confetti which Reika finds under the couch and stuck to her cheek and inside one of her shoes. She bakes him a fruit cake and makes it as un-sweet as possible, without tasting disgusting of course, and he eats at least one piece to please her. The card she makes him is huge and has to sit on the floor rather than the windowsill because it is far too big to put anywhere else. She is strangely proud of this fact.
Namikaze Minato, Kakashi's sensei, pops in to visit for half an hour and Reika spends the entirety of that time staring up at his bright, bright yellow hair, so much more colourful than her plain dark blonde locks, and she gapes in awe at him throughout. Kakashi nudges her in amused embarrassment and she snaps her mouth shut, eyes falling to the floor. Minato-sensei chuckles at them both and hands his student a new weapons pouch which Kakashi puts on immediately, Reika staring in mild jealousy.
Minato-sensei spares the gigantic birthday card a glance on his way out and Reika grins, feeling accomplished for the recognition of her artistic endeavours. Once he is gone, Kakashi insists that the small family head to one of the training grounds to test out his new weapons. Having never been to the training grounds before, Reika agrees instantaneously.
She sits in front of Sakumo, tucked between his legs in the lush grass, and his large calloused hands brush gently through her silky hair, the two of them watching the eight year old boy's deadly aim strike the bullseye every single time. When he misses the centre for the first time in an hour, Sakumo berates him playfully. "Stop trying to impress Reika-chan and focus on what you're doing." Kakashi blushes profusely and Reika looks on, obliviously unaware.
He eventually invites his younger friend over to teach her how to throw the kunai and – after her half-hearted attempt at explaining that they have just begun learning about weapons in the academy – he stands behind her and whispers the instructions in her ear as he demonstrates what she should do, and she nods at each tip, determined.
It takes seven tries before she hits the target and it gets easier from there. By the end of the day, she can hit near enough the bullseye too.
Sakumo returns after several war-torn months to a village of bitter pessimists and both Kakashi and Reika begin to notice the dark shadows under his eyes and the sadness in his voice. Reika holds his hand a little tighter as they walk through the village streets, and Kakashi hangs his head in confused shame.
Sakumo doesn't smile in remembrance anymore when Reika plucks a star-shaped confetti piece from his forearm and he doesn't laugh when she and Kakashi start another fight about the potential deliciousness and/or vulgarity of eggplant and he doesn't chuckle the next time Reika leaps happily at Kakashi, their heads crashing together clumsily. He looks suspiciously like Itsuki-san did after her mother's death and Reika begins to wonder if he'll start taking on dangerously suicidal missions too.
Reika doesn't notice the angry and vulgar letters that keep being posted through the letterbox but Kakashi does and he reads every single one before shredding them with his old kunai and throwing them in the trash. Reika doesn't notice the furious stares of the villagers, but Kakashi does and he feels a strange disgrace fall on his shoulders with every one.
So Kakashi isn't surprised when he finds Sakumo's body lying inert across the living room floor, but that doesn't mean to say that he isn't horrified. The man that raised him, loved him, is now dead by his own bloody hand. Kakashi wants to turn around, tell Reika to stay where she is but he can't because he's glued to the spot and his mouth is dry and it's too late and she's rushed into the room after him and she freezes, her bright blue eyes casting over. Kakashi feels bile rise in his throat and tears leak from his eyes.
She has run from the room before she can even think about anything else and she is shaking and stumbling but it's not the first body of a loved one that she's seen so she grabs the phone book and can hardly turn the pages or dial the numbers anymore but she has to try. She is sobbing even before Minato-sensei picks up the phone.
"Please, Minato-sensei," she cries, hiccupping, and she feels lightheaded and her knees start wobbling, "please help us."
Minato's heart almost breaks at the sound of the little girl's terrified sobbing and he tells her he is on his way and he shouts out something scrambled and nonsensical when Kushina asks him where he's going in such a hurry. He greatly regrets not having a seal anywhere near the Hatake household that he can use his jutsu to teleport to, so he results to dashing across the rooftops at a breakneck pace – even without his jutsu, he is still the fastest ninja in the village.
When he reaches the house, he hurtles through the front door, panicked and distressed. He rounds the corner and his eyes dart to the little girl collapsed on the floor, curled in on herself as she sobs heavily, her head in her hands. The phone lays discarded beside her.
He moves forwards, and it is then that he notices the red liquid pooling around a body, and the little boy standing there, just standing there, and it is at this moment that Minato remembers that despite being a capable, not to mention deadly, chūnin, Kakashi is still only eight years old.
And his father is dead.
It is as they stand in the unrelentingly heavy rain, dressed entirely in a sombre shade of Reika's favourite colour, that she realises they're now both in the same boat.
