Kestrel and Tern gazed at their father. He lifted his gaze from the book he had been immersed in. He was aging, but still attractive in a mysterious way. He wore a mask that covered much of his face, but that did little to hide his kind smiles as he looked at his young children. Grinning, he reached a hand down and ruffled Tern's snowy hair.
"Hey! Don't do that, Daddy!" he whined, but smiled secretly. He loved the attention his father gave him but pretended otherwise. Tern Hatake had the wild snowy hair of his father, while his elder sister, Kestrel, had the same white locks, but unlike the two of them, hers hung down in soft lines around her pale face.
The twins were only three years old, and were already intelligent beyond their years. Kakashi Hatake looked at his children with pride, and they gazed back at him with red eyes. They had both been born with full Sharingans. It was unheard of in all of the Uchiha clan's history, never mind in someone that wasn't even an Uchiha. The entire village had been wary of the children at first, but with their sweet smiles and innocent nature, they had quickly gathered the love of most, if not all, of the villagers.
"You two will grow up to be very powerful someday," he murmured. "Even more powerful than me."
The sibling's eyes widened. "Really? Then could I be Hokage like daddy someday?" Kestrel asked, climbing onto her father's lap.
Kakashi chuckled. "I'm sure you could. I won't be Hokage for much longer, anyway. There are shinobi in this village that will surpass me in a matter of years. I'll have to choose a new one soon." He thought fondly of his two old students. They had grown up so quickly – now they were powerful ninjas, almost ready to fulfill their goals of becoming the Hokage.
"I don't wanna be Hokage," Tern said quietly, looking down. "I don't even wanna be a shinobi."
"That's alright, Tern," Kakashi said gently. "Everyone makes their own decisions. I'll love you no matter what path you take."
Tern was silent. "Hey, daddy?" he asked softly.
"What is it, son?"
Tern bit his lip. "Why don't we have a mommy like the other kids?"
Kestrel looked at her father. "Yeah, daddy. Where's our mommy? Do we even have one?" Kestrel was the tougher one, but even she looked teary at the mention of this subject.
Kakashi Hatake looked down at his children with a weary sadness. "Of course you have a mommy, kids. Everyone does."
"Then where is she?" Kestrel insisted.
"She – She's not here right now."
"Where is she?"
"I don't know," he whispered sadly. He thought of the one woman he had ever given his heart to, the one woman he had ever loved. Even when they were together, he had known that it couldn't last. His two beloved children were all he had to remember her by.
The two children were quiet. "Will you tell us about her, daddy?" Tern asked timidly.
Kakashi smiled, but tears filled his eyes. "Of course I will, son." He leaned back in his chair, and his children listened eagerly, perched on his lap.
"I met your mother many years ago. I was on a mission, and I found her alone in the woods near Konoha. She seemed lost and alone." He remembered when he had first laid eyes on her. She was naked and alone, her long hair tangled in the branches of a tree. Her eyes had been closed and she looked so peaceful.
"Hello, Kakashi," she had said.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" he had demanded, pulling out a kunai. "How did you find me?"
"I know everything. I am everything," she replied indifferently. "I did not find you. You found me. You sought me out."
Kakashi had been more than slightly confused. "I'm giving you a warning; get out of this place. These woods belong to Konoha." Who was this girl? She seemed harmless, but looks could be deceiving, especially in the world of a shinobi. He couldn't trust her no matter how innocent she looked.
She opened her eyes and it felt like a black void was swallowing him. Leaping back, he threw his kunai straight at the creature's heart. With two white fingers, she caught the blade in front of her chest.
"You can't kill me, Kakashi."
He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe not, but I can try."
"Don't. I'm not your enemy," she said gently. She looked at him with those dark eyes. "Will you take me to your village?"
"What did she look like, daddy?" Tern asked. "Was she pretty?"
Kakashi smiled. "She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She's passed her beauty on to you two." He sighed, remembering her wide black eyes and pale skin, her long eyelashes and dark hair. She had looked so frail, as if she were made of porcelain. Her limbs were long and slender and she was like a nymph, tiny and delicate. "She had hair that was blue-black, and big eyes. Her skin was white and her eyes were black."
Kestrel frowned. "She doesn't sound pretty."
Kakashi laughed. "She had a unique kind of beauty. Anyhow, I fell in love with her." He fondly recalled their times together. Everyone, himself included, had been wary of her, but somehow she had made her way into his heart. It was foolish of him, he knew, but he couldn't help it – just as she couldn't help not being human.
"I am the Huldra," she had said, when he asked her.
"What is that?"
"I am the Guardian of all living things," she said. "Don't look at me that way," she laughed, ruffling Kakashi's hair. "I'm not a god. I can die too, you know. This form is just one of thousands I can take."
"Why did you come here?"
"Because you summoned me. Shh – don't interrupt. You summoned me with your loneliness."
Tern tugged on his father's hair. "Tell us more, please?" Kakashi smiled and relented.
"She was very powerful. She was even stronger than me."
"Did she have big muscles?"
"No, no," he laughed. "You don't need big muscles to be powerful." She had been stronger than any of the villagers could have fathomed. It hadn't been until the Great Ninja War that she had shown even a glimpse of her abilities.
She could increase in size to a giant, or split into a flock of birds. Cutting her didn't deter her in the slightest; her cuts instantly healed and her limbs grew back.
"I am composed of atoms," she had explained. "Everything is. When you look at a sponge and a chunk of gold, they may be the same size but the gold will be heavier because it has more atoms. I can manipulate the atoms that form me into different formations."
"I don't understand how," he had murmured.
"I don't need to eat food for energy. I survive by absorbing living molecules that add to my life energy." She sighed. "That's why I can't eat anything that's dead." What she said was certainly true. The only things she ate were fish that still wriggled or plants pulled from the ground. "That diet won't last me very long," she said.
"Well, what do you usually eat?"
She smiled darkly, baring her sharp teeth. "Humans."
"What was mommy's name?" the two children asked.
Kakashi sighed. "She didn't have one. But when we were together, she told me to call her Siren."
"Siren…That's pretty," Kestrel said.
"Did you show her your face, daddy?" Kestrel asked, tugging on his mask. With a gentle hand, Kakashi pulled her arm away.
"Yes, I did. I eventually trusted her. She showed me her real face too."
He could still remember the first time they kissed. It had been on a rainy day, and she had stood outside, arms outstretched and mouth wide open, laughing in the deluge. His heart had softened as he saw her smile so innocently. It was then that he began to open his heart.
He had stepped out with an umbrella, and held it over her head. "Get out of the rain," he had told her.
"Why?" She said petulantly. "I don't feel the cold. Not in the way humans feel it." She grinned at the heavens. "This is just another sensation for me."
Kakashi sighed. "The people of the village already think you're strange. Don't give them more reason."
"Concerned for me? Or embarrassed for yourself?" she teased.
He smiled under his mask, and suddenly realized how close they were. He wanted to touch her and hold her close. He had never felt like this around anyone besides Rin. He knew this attraction was part of her power, but he couldn't help himself.
Her slim fingers traced the edge of his mask. "Show me your face, Kakashi-san," she whispered. She looked so lonely with her wide eyes and her damp hair sticking to her face. He realized how alone she must feel, watching humans die one after the other like butterflies. She wasn't as emotionless as she said she was.
He reached up, and put his hand on hers. Slowly, he pulled down his mask. She smiled slightly, but still seemed sad.
"You're beautiful, Kakashi. I wish I was too."
"You are," he replied instantly. She was beautiful to him, even if others found her odd.
She shook her head. "I have no true form. Therefore, I have nothing that makes me beautiful. The only real form I have is…well, hideous."
"Will you show me?" he asked gently. He placed a hand on her cheek. She sighed, and nodded.
"You won't want to come near me after this," she muttered.
With the sound of ripping flesh and cracking bones, her body shifted. Her eyes changed until they were completely black, and her body became emaciated, bones jutting through white skin. Her jaw ripped open, tearing her cheeks apart and revealing long needle-like fangs. Her limbs lengthened, making her look like she was some kind of over-sized spiderh.
Kakashi watched in shock. He felt frightened for the first time in his life. Then he looked at her face. Despite the frightening jaw, her features stayed the same. Her delicate nose and cheekbones did not change, and her face was still beautiful. She was a beautiful monster, he mused. He looked closer, and with surprise he saw tears streaming from her black eyes. She was crying.
He put a hand on her stick-like arm. "You are still beautiful," he whispered. She sobbed and closed her jaw, letting her bones and teeth shrink back.
"Why aren't you afraid?" she asked. "I'm a monster."
"I am afraid. But what man isn't afraid of a woman?" he said. He leaned close, and touched his lips to hers. He felt her smile against him. She wrapped her thin arms around him, as he deepened the kiss, tasting her and pressing her against his chest.
The umbrella dropped to the ground, forgotten, and the two of them embraced while the rain poured down.
"Was she a shinobi like you?" Kestrel asked.
"No. She was very different from us." He smiled faintly. "Some people would call her a monster," he said gently.
"Is she scary?" Tern asked fearfully. "She sounds scary."
"She could be if she wanted to. But she was kind to me. I don't know if she loved me back; I hope she did." He closed his eyes, remembering her sweet smell, her tinkling laugh.
"I've grown fond of you," she had murmured in his ear one day as they lay together in bed. "You're an interesting human."
"Um, thank you?" he said. That was probably as close to an "I love you," as he was going to get. She was an ancient being that seduced lonely humans in return for blood and their bodies when they neared death. He was only one of those humans. He could summon her and ask her for power, but he couldn't ask her to love him back.
"I'm going to do you a favor, Kakashi," she whispered. She smiled eerily, baring her teeth. Her eyes were dark orbs that glinted faintly, and though he found her beautiful, he could see why the villagers feared her. If only they knew what she really was. "I will give you children."
"What?!" he said in surprise. Children were the last thing on his mind. "I'm not father material," he protested.
"I know what you want, even if it's hidden deep down," she said. She patted her belly lightly. "They are growing inside me."
"They?"
"A boy and a girl. Are you excited?"
"Well, uh, I guess so," he said, still in a state of shock. This was insane. She wasn't even human, and had conceived kids? This was crazy.
"Don't worry, you'll love them," she laughed. "I know you will." He didn't even bother protesting. There was no point.
"Why did mommy leave?" Tern asked softly. "Did she hate us?"
"No. She loved you as much as someone like her could love. She left because she said I didn't need her anymore."
"You don't?"
Kakashi sighed. "I loved her, and that was a mistake. She and I are too different. But I am thankful for you two. That was the greatest gift she gave me."
The two of them were silent. "Will mommy ever come back?" Kestrel asked.
"Not unless I summon her. And I won't." He closed his eyes, feeling very old and weary. "We have already said our goodbyes. If I see her again, I won't be able to let her go."
"But we want to see her!"
He patted Kestrel gently. "You will. She will come for me when I die. That is the contract we made." He ruffled his children's hair and sighed. "She will be happy to see how much you have grown. No matter what she is, she is still your mother."
He thought back to when she had left.
"Why are you leaving? I can't raise two children on my own!"
"They won't give you any trouble," she said monotonously with her back to him. "They are different from other children."
He had always known that she would leave. It's for the best, he told himself. A relationship like this can't last. Still, it felt like a fist was squeezing his heart.
"Doesn't it hurt you? Even a little?" he asked quietly.
She was silent. "Humans are like butterflies. You are born, you live, and you die, all within the blink of an eye. My heart is like a stone, Kakashi. You know that."
"That isn't true," he said. "You've proven to me otherwise."
She sighed. "If I let my heart break every time, I wouldn't have a piece left to break." She began walking away. "But…this time, I think my heart of stone cracked just a little bit." She turned slightly, and he could see a solitary tear streaking down her cheek.
He reached towards her, but she raised her arms and suddenly she disintegrated into a flock of black butterflies that flew up, up, up, until they disappeared into the skies. A single butterfly perched on his hand for a second, then flew away to join the others.
"Do you still love her, daddy?"
Kakashi looked at the window, and saw a single butterfly fluttering at the pane. He hugged his children close.
"Yes. I still do."