Disclaimer:I do NOT own Naruto; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto! Much of the scenes in this chapter are from the manga (chapters 420-425) – and the anime as well (episodes 158-159). So if you haven't read/watched up to this point, then BACK AWAY because there will be spoilers galore ahead for you!

Kamui: the word that describes a spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology; similar to the Japanese kami. There are numerous kamui: the Kamui of Death, the Kamui of the Sky, the Kamui of the Earth, etc.

Therefore, the title of this fanfic sort-of means "The Crying God".

The Crying Kamui

Prologue

"Why are you looking at me like that? I am your soldier. Go ahead and do it!"

A lone figure stood in front of the Konoha Memorial Stone despite the great downpour of rain from the heavens. If anyone were to walk by, they would immediately notice the slouched figure and the bowed head – body language that was screaming of an inconsolable grief and anguish. Yet the figure radiated such an untouchable aura that one can only watch helplessly as bittersweet and tragic memories ruthlessly pounded the shadow of a man.

But it was not just the aura that would cause one to stay away.

It was also who the enigma was.

Son of the Konoha White Fang, student of the heroic Yondaime Hokage, legendary wielder of the Sharingan, infamous and feared Copy Ninja...

...Hatake Kakashi.

"Will you sacrifice Konoha for one man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"

The surface of the Memorial Stone was more than familiar to his fingertips. Every day since the name of Uchiha Obito had been carved on the Stone, he would run his fingers through the names of his dead but never forgotten comrades. So many lost comrades yet he still remained.

It was his curse to live.

"If... If you don't do it, I-I'll... I'll hate you! We're running out of time! ...So please!"

Then, three years ago, a name that he had never expected to ever be written on the Stone before his own death was forever engraved on the heroes' memorial. The name belonged to a man who Kakashi expected to die in old age surrounded by his countless grandchildren. One day three years ago cruelly taught Kakashi that predicting the future was best left to the gods.

His fingers trembled as they hovered above the one name that never failed to amplify the agonizing and paradoxical combination of emptiness and despair that filled him...

Umino Iruka.

A soft curling of the lips... A tender smile... Then...

"Thank you, Kakashi."

3 years ago...

It was getting worse. The destruction around him continued to increase in magnitude as the members of a group called Akatsuki barraged the village unceasingly from every direction with their great and diverse range of powers. Iruka knew he had to get to the frontline as soon as possible but an unmoving figure quickly caught his attention. His direction changed in mid-air and he landed next to a pitifully moaning fellow Leaf Nin.

"Are you all right?" he demanded as his gaze roamed over his comrade, searching for any fatal injuries.

A shadow fell over him.

Iruka immediately tensed and looked over his shoulder. A man stood over him wearing a black cloak decorated with a red cloud pattern. He had bright orange hair with multiple piercings on his face, including three bars through his nose, two through his lower lip, and six studs and a metal bar on each of his ears. His hitai-ate bore the insignia of Amegakure but with a horizontal slash through it. But what caught Iruka's complete attention were the Akatsuki member's eyes...

Each of his eyes possessed a greyish-violet iris and sclera. Unlike the Sharingan, which had tomoe swirling around the pupils, this man's eyes had a number of concentric circles that framed his pupils. Despite their oddity, the eyes still did what normal human eyes do.

They showed the emotion – or in this case, the lack of emotion – of the possessor of the eyes.

"Where is the Kyuubi's vessel?" the man questioned, his voice deep. "If you don't tell me, I will kill you."

The words were said with the calmness of a person who has taken numerous lives without losing any sleep. Here he was, destroying the village Iruka grew up in and loved above all else with the exception of Naruto, and he was easily threatening Iruka's life in an almost bored tone.

"Tell me," the man commanded and Iruka's eyes narrowed in defiance.

"You'll never hear the answer to that question from me," Iruka declared, knowing that by doing so, he had just sealed his fate.

"I see... Then die."

Iruka didn't see it. One second he knew that he was about to be stabbed by something and then in the next, a tall figure partly obstructed his view of the Akatsuki member while the tip of a chrome-coloured pole was mere centimetres away from touching the space between his eyes.

"So that was just a distraction so that you could search without notice."

Iruka knew that voice and a mixture of relief and worry flooded through him – relief because he was granted a bit more time to live and worry because now, Hatake Kakashi had to face an undoubtedly powerful and strong opponent.

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka exclaimed as he got up from his squatting position.

Keeping his eye on the enemy, Kakashi commanded, "Take that injured man out of here and leave this to me."

"Yes," Iruka instantly replied before gathering the injured shinobi and slinging his arm around the man's waist to have a better hold of him. "Good luck, Kakashi-san."

Iruka immediately jumped away and headed for the hospital as fast as he could.

He sincerely prayed that Kakashi would win...

...If not, at least survive.

Kakashi gripped the chrome-coloured pole then twisted, causing it to break. Then the orange-head Akatsuki suddenly threw a kick aimed at Kakashi's head. As he ducked to dodge it, his fingers swiftly formed the seals needed for his first jutsu in the battle before he slammed his palms on the ground.

"Doton: Doryuheki!"

A wall composed of earth sprung up from the ground behind the Akatsuki. A new chrome pole formed from within the Akatsuki's sleeves before it impaled Kakashi's left shoulder. Taking advantage of the nearness of his opponent, Kakashi performed his signature jutsu.

"Raikiri!"

Kakashi's heartbeat suddenly quickened as his gaze was caught by his opponent's eyes. The Rinnegan was considered the most ancient of any dojutsu and before Kakashi knew what was happening, the Akatsuki moved his head out of the way of his Raikiri despite the speed of his attack.

The earth wall cracked at the force of the Raikiri. Kakashi's eyes widened in confusion at what had just transpired.

What was that? He thought in alarm. But before he could think of anything else, the man spoke.

"Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi. I am honoured to meet you."

Kakashi couldn't say the same and he jumped away, out of reach.

"Where is the Kyuubi?"

"That's a stupid question," Kakashi retorted as his right palm lit with a bluish-white light as he reignited his Raikiri.

He leaped back towards his opponent, his right arm ready to push forward to deal a fatal blow.

Again, his opponent's eyes widened fractionally for a second and suddenly, Kakashi was forcefully thrown back while the earth wall collapsed behind the black-clad man. Kakashi cried out as pain thundered through his whole body.

He could already tell that he might not survive.

The hospital was in chaos as the wounded, the heavily injured and the dying were constantly entering through the front doors. Nurses frantically ran around, trying to accommodate all the new arrivals while the doctors hastily yelled out orders and shifted from patient to patient. Iruka handed the injured man he carried to a trainee nurse who had been in the very first class he taught in. She gave Iruka a brief but strained smile as she helped him lay the man down on a mat on the floor. The beds were already filled before he even arrived.

"Please take care of him," Iruka told his former student. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Are you going back out there?" the young woman asked, her eyes showing her worry. Iruka gave her a small smile that probably did little to reassure her.

"I have to," he told her quietly. The image of Kakashi's back as he blocked the attack that would surely have killed Iruka flashed through his mind.

"Please take care," his former student pleaded before she began giving first-aid treatment to the man Iruka brought.

Iruka then quickly ran out of the hospital and headed towards the direction he came from.

Kakashi pushed away the wooden boards resting on his head and extracted himself from the rubble he had been buried under, slightly breathless. He immediately faced his opponent, who stood calmly right at the centre of the destroyed buildings.

What was that jutsu? Kakashi thought, bewildered. It wasn't a shock wave. Everything around him was blasted away with him at the centre and being the source of it.

He leaped down from the rubble to the clear ground to get better footing as his left hand grasped his right wrist and a crackling sound began filling the air as his right palm lit up.

Then let's see how you'll deal with this!

The lightning in his palm formed into the shape of a wolf. With a growl, the lightning wolf charged at the Akatsuki member. Unfortunately, it dissipated before it even made contact with the enemy. Kakashi's left eye widened.

He can not only repel physical attacks but ninjutsu as well? Impressive, he thought begrudgingly. What shall I do?

Before he could finish that thought, he heard a loud *BOOM* from behind him. Spinning around, he saw that there was another black-cloaked monster of a man with six spikes protruding from the top of his bald head. Two bars protruded from each cheek while a horizontal bar pierced through his nose; there was a seventh bar jutting out from his chin. The man lips were curled in a disturbing smile.

Another one? Kakashi mentally cursed.

The newcomer's arm suddenly moved up and the lower quarter of his arm, including his hand, detached from the rest of the arm, allowing multiple grey poles to emerge. Each one fired a missile-like projectile. Kakashi quickly dodged, causing the missiles to hit the ground and scatter dust in the air. With his Raikiri crackling once more, he materialized behind the second Akatsuki and aimed his blow at the back of his second opponent's head.

Got you!

But to Kakashi's shock, the man leaned forward, making Kakashi completely miss.

What? But he was facing forward!

He then realized that the first Akatsuki he had been fighting was looking straight at him. Kakashi then remembered the advice Fukasaku-sama had given him.

"Their eyes are linked so they have a shared field of vision. Therefore, you must fight them only one at a time. Each one has their own power so find out what it is if you want any chance of winning against them."

I don't exactly have a choice with the number of opponents, Kakashi thought sardonically. Yet Jiraiya-sama took on six of them at once. He really is something else. Just who is this Pain?

The second Pain suddenly grasped his cloak as two more faces emerged at the side of its face. One had an angry expression while the other hand a blank look. He suddenly ripped his cloak from his body and Kakashi's eyes widened in shock at the sight of six arms and a broad yet flat saw-like metal tail.

That was when the first Pain lifted his arm and Kakashi felt a tremendous pull.

No matter how much he tried to fight it, he couldn't prevent himself from flying towards the two Pains.

I get it! That's his power!

Kakashi quickly reached into his pouch and took out a weight-tipped chain. He threw it behind him so that it wrapped around a piece of a destroyed building. He clutched onto the chain as firmly as he could.

I can't defeat them on my own. I need to hold on and wait for reinforcements. I'll just have to do as much as I can before help arrives so I can let them know what his power is!

The pulling force intensified and Kakashi grunted as he was yanked from the chain to fly towards the bladed tail of the second Pain.

He was impaled on the tail and blood sprouted from the wound. But his body suddenly transformed into light and the second Pain was electrocuted by the lightning shadow clone.

There was suddenly a loud whistle in the air and the first Pain quickly jumped out of the path of an explosive-tagged kunai.

The second Pain did not dodge in time.

A figure fell from the sky before skidding on hands and feet to face the fallen Pain.

"One to go," Umino Iruka whispered.

Kakashi extracted his true body from the rubble he had been thrown into earlier. He gave Iruka a disbelieving look.

"Why the hell did you come back?" he demanded of the Chuunin.

Iruka kept his eyes on the remaining Pain as he answered his superior. "I couldn't just leave you to face them alone, Kakashi-san. What would I tell Naruto?"

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "That you were smart and obeyed a superior."

Iruka finally allowed himself to look at Kakashi. To the Jounin's surprise, the Chuunin was smirking.

"'Those who don't follow the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'"

With those two sentences, Kakashi knew that he had been bested by this Chuunin for the very first time.

"Don't use my quotes against me," Kakashi retorted with a scowl. Iruka just chuckled before facing the younger-looking Pain.

Then to both the Konoha shinobi's dismay, the other Pain began slowly rising to its feet. Its skin looked a bit singed but that was it. The exploding tag didn't cause any lasting damage or fatal injury.

"What a monster," Iruka cursed.

"Want to quote me again?" Kakashi asked wryly as he bent his knees in a fighter's stance.

"I'll stick by your side, Kakashi-san," Iruka replied as his hands quickly formed the seals for Naruto's signature jutsu. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones of Iruka emerged.

It made sense that Naruto would teach his beloved sensei how to do a shadow clone.

The four clones scattered while the real Iruka stayed with Kakashi. One clone threw a series of kunai rigged with explosive tags while another clone threw a dozen of shuriken which multiplied in number. The third clone performed Suiton: Taihoudan. The last clone threw a punch to the ground and to Kakashi's great surprise, earthy spikes blossomed from the ground towards the Pains.

But each attack, including each of the clones, was only pushed away, resulting in the clones puffing out of existence. As a bit of the debris cleared, Iruka threw four kunai towards the younger-looking Pain who was running straight towards them.

That was when Kakashi noticed that, instead of using that strange power once more, Pain dodged the kunai instead.

That's...

Wanting to make sure, Kakashi threw another kunai with a smoke bomb attached. This time, Pain used the pushing force once more but the smoke bomb allowed him and Iruka to hide for the mean time.

"Did you notice where the other one went?" Kakashi asked as they tried to catch their breaths.

"He stayed behind when that Akatsuki rushed us," Iruka replied. "Did you figure out their power?"

Kakashi nodded grimly. "With him as the epicentre, he can pull and push objects and jutsu towards and away from him. However, it seems he cannot use that power consecutively. There is an interval between each use, which we have to determine."

"So we can't get close," Iruka murmured in frustration. "And we can't forget about the other one."

"The interval between each use is short," Kakashi stated as his eye narrowed as he contemplated. "But I have a plan and I need your help."

Iruka nodded. "Just ask."

He just hoped that what Kakashi asked for would be something he could give since his chakra was being steadily depleted.

The Deva Path walked through the smoke caused by the earlier smoke bomb launched by Kakashi. The Asura Path followed him at a safe enough distance to prevent it from getting caught in the Shinra Tensei should the Deva Path require the use of it.

The ground before him suddenly rumbled and Kakashi exploded from the ground, a kunai aimed at the Deva Path's throat.

"Shinra Tensei."

Kakashi was pushed away from the Deva Path and slammed against the ground. Kakashi cried out as he bounced on the ground and landed on his side. The Deva Path approached calmly approached him.

"You move quite well," Pain complimented. "And you have a vast arsenal of jutsu at your disposal. If I don't kill you now, I will only cause avoidable problems for myself in the future." With that, another chrome rod formed from his sleeve.

Now! Kakashi thought.

Two humungous blocks of earth flew towards the Deva Path to sandwich it while water from a Suiton jutsu engulfed the Asura Path to prevent it from rushing to the Deva Path's aid.

"Too slow!" The Deva Path announced as he held his palms out and both slabs were thrown away.

Then spikes of earth launched from the ground to cage the Deva Path as Iruka emerged behind him.

Hatake Kakashi's presence earlier in the ground hid the other one's presence! Pain thought in surprise.

"Kakashi, hurry!" Iruka yelled as he staggered slightly due to intense fatigue. His chakra supply was nearly gone.

Kakashi's palms lit up with lightning once more as he ran to Pain. "Raikiri!"

But just as his attack was about to make contact, the disturbingly grinning Asura Path suddenly materialized in front of the Deva Path and received the attack instead.

Iruka gasped as he realized too late that the Asura Path had escaped his Suiton jutsu.

"Make it in time!" Kakashi yelled.

But it was futile. A couple of seconds later, the almighty pushing force that had become so familiar hit Kakashi with such merciless impact that he thought he would die from it.

Blood dripped from his mouth as most of his body was trapped in rubble once more. But unlike before, he could barely move even a finger. His breathing was intensely laboured but he fought to raise his head and look up to locate Iruka.

But the sight that greeted him was that of the Deva Path of Pain – unharmed, uninjured and untouched.

I didn't make it.

Despair for his village began filling Kakashi. He did little to contribute to the protection of Konoha. He and Iruka had been able to bring down one Pain but five more remained... Five more monsters that were hell-bent on destroying Konoha until they found Naruto.

"Your inability to move doesn't seem faked," Pain commented as he looked down on Kakashi. "It also seems that you are the real thing, not just a clone. Now, you will die here but just in case, I shall keep my distance."

A nail embedded in a piece of wood lying in front of him came loose then went flying between the Deva Path's fingers. He aimed the tip of the nail towards Kakashi's forehead.

Scoffing, the Deva Path said, "Know pain."

The needle flew through the air and the Copy Nin's head was viciously thrown back...

The Deva Path then leaped away from the carnage to continue searching for the Kyuubi's vessel.

Kakashi slowly opened his left eye, cautiously relieved that his Kamui was able to stop the needle in time. He had to find some way to tell Tsunade what the Deva Path was capable of.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

With great effort, Kakashi looked up to see Iruka kneeling on the ground a few feet away from him beyond the body of the Asura Path. The Chuunin's breathing was irregular and breathing in seemed to cause him pain. A weasel stood in attention as Iruka quietly spoke to it. Iruka's summon gave him an affectionate lick on the face.

"Go, Yukari," Iruka commanded weakly. The weasel raced off.

"How persistent."

Kakashi and Iruka froze at the voice and to their horror, the Asura Path stood up. Both arms detached from his broad shoulders and a multitude of missiles were revealed... They were aimed at the fleeing weasel.

With a defiant yell, Iruka got up and gathered all his chakra and strength before slamming his fist down on the ground. The spikes formed once more to act as a cage to the Asura Path. Some spikes pierced through the missiles, causing them to detonate on the spot while other spikes pushed at the missiles, forcing them to point at different directions away from the weasel.

Then Kakashi watched helplessly as chains sprouted from the broken tail of the Asura Path and grabbed at Iruka. Iruka cried out as the chains dug into his skin, drawing blood. He was dragged to the Asura Path until they were face-to-face. The chains squeezed tighter and tighter.

"S-Sui-t-ton-" Iruka attempted to say.

"I doubt you have any chakra left to form water," Pain replied. "And there is no nearby water source."

Despite the pain in the Chuunin's eyes, his lips were able to curl into a smirk.

"Th-Think again, bastard."

The blood from Iruka's wounds gathered and formed dagger-like shapes. They then launched and embedded themselves on the Asura Path's chest.

"Kakashi!" Iruka yelled out weakly. "Hurry! Your Kamui!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Iruka was trying to get him to do.

"No..." He whispered.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I am your soldier. Go ahead and do it!"

"They are no longer your students. They are my soldiers."

Those were the words he threw at Iruka when the Chuunin had protested against Kakashi nominating Team 7 for the Chuunin exam.

He never before thought about how cruel those words were.

How could he use Kamui on the Asura Path when it held Iruka hostage? Iruka was too close! If Kakashi used Kamui, Iruka would surely get sucked into his dojutsu as well!

How could Iruka expect him to take that risk?

"Will you sacrifice Konoha for one man? DO IT, Hatake Kakashi! NOW before it kills me anyway!"

Iruka was right. The Asura Path was already attempting to aim his missiles towards Iruka. Fortunately, Iruka's blood daggers seemed to be doing enough damage that Pain was having difficulty in directing the missiles' target.

"If... If you don't do it, I-I'll... I'll hate you! We're running out of time! ...So please!"

How could Iruka be begging Kakashi to kill him? He could more than understand Iruka's reasoning and plea. Iruka hate him? He would rather risk that than kill a comrade.

It was at that moment that Kakashi truly understood why his father, the White Fang, had chosen the path that had ultimately led to his destruction all those years ago. How could he allow a fellow Konoha shinobi to die?

And Iruka... Iruka was precious to Naruto. How would he be able to face Naruto if he killed Iruka?

But if he didn't destroy the Asura Path, there was a chance that it could revive later and help capture Naruto and the Kyuubi...

...Then all of Konoha's citizens would die.

So the best thing he can do for Konoha...

He stared intensely at Iruka. His vision was slightly blurry as his mind made a choice that his heart cried against. He thought that he had lost the ability to cry long ago but now, as his Mangekyo Sharingan was activated, he learned that there really was no limit to how many tears one can shed.

Although his dojutsu encompassed both the Asura Path and the Chuunin, Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the brown orbs that stared back at him.

A soft curling of the lips... A tender smile... Then...

"Thank you, Kakashi."

Something in him shattered when the Kamui was complete. He always thought that death might be painful...

But as his eyes closed for the final time...

He never thought that it wouldn't be his own death that would cause the greatest agony of all.

A/N: I was going to keep on going but then I thought that might be a nice place to end it... I know I missed a lot of things from the original such as (in the manga) Iruka informing Tsunade of Akatsuki's attack and of Iruka's encounter with Sakura (both in the anime and in the manga). Not to mention the whole re-writing of Chouza, Chouji and company's arrival as well as the chain of events concerning the Deva and Asura Paths. But I'm taking advantage of the fact that this is fanfiction, therefore, there you go!

This is the longest prologue for anything that I've ever written! In fact, it might be the longest chapter I've ever written... I'd be thrilled to receive reviews so please drop a comment or two please!

Thanks for reading!

Ceil Scheherazade