Chapter 1: Ultimate Betrayal
Kakashi:6 Iruka: 5
It rained that night. Iruka knew it would because of the clouds that gathered during shurikan practice. The young boy enjoyed the rain, enjoyed the sound of it on his window as his parents tucked him in. Enjoyed the smell of new life after it stopped the next morning. And he especially enjoyed the puddles on the walk to the academy. His parents liked the rain, because it reminded them of their home back in Mist. All in all, the Umino family enjoyed the rain very much. And Iruka, snuggling down into his blankets, couldn't help but look out the window and wonder what Kakashi thought of the rain.
On the other side of the village, the last thing on Kakashi's mind was the rain. He stared in detached horror at the still figure of his father, lying on the floor of their small kitchen. The blood was what held the small boy's attention. There was so much, and all his fathers. He'd seen his father covered in blood before, but it was always someone else's. No, this was not right at all. The young chuunin knew what had happened. It was obvious. But what he didn't know was why. Why had his father, Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha, abandoned him? It didn't make any sense. Even to the small genius.
Around him the silence became tangible. It frightened the small silver-haired boy, even more than his father's action. It was very final, and it scared him. Kakashi wasn't sure what to do. Under normal circumstances he would have gone to the Hokage, but these were not normal conditions. He had only one, coherent thought: Umino-san will know what to do. And with that, Kakashi flew out the door, toward the only sanctuary he could think of: Iruka's house.
Uminos Isuri and Salen, Iruka's mother, were working on their mission reports when they heard a furious banging on their door. Exchanging looks of surprise (surely there was not another mission, having both just returned), Isuri opened it. There stood a tear stained, bloody Kakashi, soaked to the bone and shivering. Not to mention weeping and trying not to show it.
" 'Kashi-kun, what…What happened?" The man's voice was startled as he knelt down to face the boy. Immediately Kakashi flung his small arms around the jounin's neck and sobbed into his shoulder. Between the small sobs, the two shinobi could distinguish two words: father and seppuku.
Salen had to dash tears of her own away, while Isuri blinked them back. He'd known that the failure of the mission had had struck Sakumo hard, but to abandon his only son…? Isuri wrapped strong arms around the boy, giving him what little comfort he could. Kakashi clung to him, the only bit of hope he had left. Salen knelt down as well, taking Kakashi in her arms as Isuri went to find the hokage.
"I know, sweet, I know." She murmured, stroking the sobbing boy's back. This was so terrible a blow for a boy so young. No parents now, nor siblings. Where would he go now? What did a Hidden Village do with abandoned son's of fallen heroes. Salen wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that.
Once Kakashi had calmed down as much as he was going to, Salen gently picked him up and carried him to the bathroom. She was able to get most of the blood out of Kakashi's hair, and the rest would come out with a proper bath. Then she found him a clean, dry shirt and lead him to Irula's room.
Once Kakashi was tucked in safely next to his friend, Salen crept out. She had her own tears to cry and her own plans to make. She would make sure that Kakashi would be able to recover from this blow in a loving environment, no matter what.
The funeral was quiet, and small. Outside of Kakashi, the only people there were the Uminos, Lord Hokage, and a few shinobi that came for Kakashi's sake. No close friends of Sakumo; they had fled long ago. Few words were spoken. The Hokage's eulogy seemed strangely out of place, in the empty area. Kakashi did not weep, though it was a hard thing. He stood in full uniform, now wearing one of his fathers masks, and held to his honor. He would not show his emotion in public.
The Hokage had agreed that it was a good idea for Kakashi to be surrounded by those he saw as a second family, and granted Isuri and Salen temporary custody. Though he warned them that once he had finally emotionally stabilized, Kakashi would go live with his Sensei, Uzumaki Arashi. The man spoke with both Uminos, learning what little he didn't already know about his 6 month student. There was more than he thought. Arashi fully agreed that Kakashi should stay with the Uminos until he was ready to do otherwise.
After 4 months Kakashi moved in with his sensei, but he stayed close to the Uminos. Isuri would often catch Kakashi walking Iruka home from the academy. He knew that the younger boy understood that Kakashi was hurting, but that he didn't want to talk about it. And besides, who else had a chuunin walk with them at least twice a week?
Yes, Hatake Sakumo had betrayed his son's trust in him. And yes, Kakashi would never be the same afterwards. But with the help of Iruka and his parents, he was on the right path to happiness.