The Way Things Are

Summary: Life has been unkind to Kakashi, and itcontinues being unkind. Will Kakashi ever find the light? IruKaka, multi-chaptered.

Genre: Romance/Angst

Rating: M: violence, language, yaoi, rape.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, only the plot of this story does. Please do not steal it.

1. When Somebody Loved Me

It was hard to remember a time when Kakashi was loved. Or felt loved. Or was remotely loved. Was he even loved? He couldn't exactly remember. There must have been a time when someone loved him, right?

Why the heck was he thinking about this now, anyway?

Oh, yeah… that's why he was thinking about such things.

Kakashi had recently found his life going down the toilet, to put it lightly.

Sure, Naruto had returned from training with Jiraiya, the perverted Ero-Sennin. With his help, Kakashi had managed to drag Sasuke's stubborn carcass back to Konoha. That was surely a good thing. Even Sakura began spending more time with the "team" (if it could still be called a team) instead of constantly training with Tsunade.

Yet, even though things were returning to normal, well, as normal as they could be, Kakashi's team had no interest in him. In fact, they had become even more disrespectful and spiteful towards him than they ever had been before. On top of this, his heart was breaking due to one tan-skinned, pony-tailed, mothering hen of a teacher Chunnin.

Iruka; Kakashi's beautiful Dolphin of the Sea.

Kakashi had loved Iruka for a long time, ever since he was a child. But it was clear that Iruka did not feel the same way. It was especially clear when Kakashi nominated Cell 7 for the Chunnin Exams. Iruka was furious.

After the incident, Iruka revealed that he hated Kakashi, and that he had hated him for a long time.

Kakashi; Iruka's Pain-in-the-Ass… a broken, perverted Scarecrow.

Kakashi certainly loved. He loved Naruto and Sakura. He even loved the brooding Sasuke. He loved them as if they were his own. He loved Iruka with all his heart and soul. Kakashi would die for him. He loved Konoha, he defended it. He still loved his former teammates and Sensei. He hoped to see then again one day, if he ever made it to Heaven.

Though Kakashi loved, he was not loved by the people he loved. Kakashi often tried to fool himself by telling his heart that he was loved… by someone… somewhere… maybe.

The heart is an easy thing to fool when it is broken.

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Next Chapter: Kohaku, the Grim Reaper. Kakashi receives a letter from a long lost friend saying that she is coming back to Konoha to visit Kakashi. Chaos ensues when he tries to polish up Team 7 to show her how "wonderful" his life is.

Hi, it's me again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been so busy with work. They've been running me around like a dog.

This chapter is more like a prologue. I'm also going to introduce an OC of mine to help the story flow better and reveal stories of Kakashi's life to Team 7 and Iruka. Don't worry; she's not romantically involved with any of the characters, she just acts as Kakashi's best friend and supporter.

The story will have good dialogue and a good plot, I promise. Oh, and if any of you have any advise or requests, tell me! I'm working on a request right now.

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear them. And if you have criticism, please only give me the constructive type. I'll update soon! Thank you! I love you all!

Always,

Zombie Head