I'm dedicating this chapter to a certain character who died in chapter 328. If you know who he is (which most people do), please do not spoil it in the reviews for the people who don't. I myself cried at the end of that chapter.

Anyhoo, sorry for taking such an uber-long time to update. I recently got a few reviews and they reminded me that there are people who have expressed interest in this story and have told me that they want me to continue with it. Thanks a million, guys.

Sakura winced. Did he really have to say it like that…?

"YOU'RE A DIRTY MAN, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto repeated, pointing an accusing finger at Kakashi, whose one visible eye was wide with surprise.

"Naruto—"

"JUST HOW OLD ARE YOU?" Naruto shouted, his voice drowning out Kakashi's attempt to override him.

Kakashi sounded as if he was trying to say something, but his words were buried underneath Gai's continuous sobbing. "I never thought I'd see the day!" he wailed, shaking his head vigorously from side to side. "Kakashi, a—" (he almost choked on the last word) "—father!"

Sasuke's eyes were wide and almost comical. "No… way…" he whispered, staring at Kakashi as though he had never seen him properly before.

Kakashi coughed once more, then said loudly, "Don't you have a mission for your squad today, Gai?"

Gai's sobs stopped abruptly. "Mission?" he croaked. "My only mission was to confirm the rumors that have been floating about!" He sniffled wildly. "Besides, Lee had his own mission, and I felt the need to supervise it."

Before Kakashi got a chance to respond to that, Naruto coughed audibly. "Aren't we forgetting something here?" he asked, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "Is Kakashi-sensei Sakura's fa-fa-fath—"

Kakashi coughed, interrupting the question that Naruto already knew the answer to. "Gai," he said darkly, "if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to my team alone."

Gai waved his hand in agreement, still blowing his nose on his sleeve. "Of course, Kakashi, of course," he muttered, taking Lee by the shoulder and leading him away. "Another time, Lee, another time."

"But, Gai-sensei—"

"Quiet, Lee, or else it's 700 laps around the school!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!"

The sounds of Lee's praises and Gai's sobs eventually faded. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, nagging at all of them. Finally, Naruto broke it, bursting out, "Kakashi-sensei, are you REALLY Sakura's—" he took a deep breath "—father?"

Sasuke held his breath, waiting for an answer but not daring to show that he cared. After all, it was a big deal, your sensei turning out to be the father of one of his pupils. Sakura's lip was shaking, but she thought she ought to leave Kakashi to reveal their little secret.

Kakashi himself took a deep breath, bracing himself for Naruto's reaction. Oh, sure, Naruto had already done a fair bit of shouting, but that was just the teaser. Once the news had been confirmed, he would be bandaging his ears because of all of the accusations and insults.

"…Yes, Naruto, I am."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "But, how is that possible?"

Kakashi sighed, carefully weighing what Naruto needed to know and what was just excess information. "Is there a way it could be impossible?" he asked, stalling while he still tried to figure out exactly what to say.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but his voice faltered when his brain did not supply him with an immediate answer. He struggled for several moments, finally releasing his breath and mumbling, "I guess it's possible…"

A sudden thought struck Naruto, and before Kakashi had a chance to say anything, he asked, "Has Sakura been living with you?" He looked rather frightened at the prospect.

"No, no," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "She—"

"I just found out," Sakura spoke up. Kakashi noticed that her voice was a tad shaky. "I've been living with foster parents."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, saying nothing. Naruto, on the other hand, blurted out, "Why?"

"That's none of your business, Naruto," Kakashi said quickly, folding his arms across his chest. "Now, if we could move on to—"

"Wait wait wait wait wait," Naruto said, waving his hands around frantically. "This doesn't make any sense! How old are you, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi debated answering, but decided he might as well. "Not that it's any of your business, Naruto, but I'm 29. And the answer to your next question is 16 years old."

Naruto's mouth opened and closed soundlessly several times before he gathered his wits and said, "Is Sakura going to live with you now?"

Neither Kakashi nor Sakura answered immediately. Sakura's previously downcast eyes widened as she looked first at Naruto, and then at Kakashi. Similarly, Kakashi was temporarily lost for words. He blinked once or twice, trying to figure out how to best answer that question. Finally, he said, "There are lots of details that still need to be smoothed out, Naruto." When Naruto did not immediately respond, he said, "Now, I don't want any more questions. We've got a mission today, and I want everyone to be focused. Understand?"

The others nodded in agreement. Without another word, the four of them left for the mission site.

As promised, no one mentioned Sakura and Kakashi's relationship during the mission. They stood assembled outside of Konoha's gates afterward, the setting sun casting elongated shadows.

"See you tomorrow," Sakura said, walking through the gates towards her house. No one said anything as she left; they just watched her walk away until she turned a corner and was out of sight. Her departure was followed by more uncomfortable silence, until Naruto dared to break it.

"Kakashi-sensei?" he asked timidly.

"What?" Kakashi responded, more sharply than usual.

"Who is Sakura's mother?"

Kakashi did not look at Naruto as he was gathering his thoughts, deciding how to answer. His eye was locked firmly on the inky characters decorating the gates, but he was not really seeing them. "Her name was Rin Hanano," he said slowly.

Naruto hesitated, then resolved to see the inquiry the whole way through.

"Is she…?"

He didn't need to finish his question. Kakashi did not move, still staring at the shadowy gates as if he could burn a hole through the faded wood. Finally, he said quietly, "They say she died during childbirth. She was on a mission, so no one knows for sure."

"She was on a mission? When she was pregnant?" Naruto pestered, unable to stop himself. "Why?"

Kakashi turned his head sharply. "How am I supposed to know?" he snapped. "How am I supposed to know what was going through the Fourth Hokage's mind when he sent Rin out into hostile territory when she was over seven months pregnant?"

Naruto blinked, taking a step back. Sasuke hovered moodily in the background, silently watching the scene unfold.

"I'm—I'm sorry," Naruto mumbled, looking at his feet. He regretted ever bringing up Sakura's mother.

Kakashi held his position for a moment, then shook his head. "Don't apologize," he muttered, inwardly cursing himself for snapping at Naruto like that. Turning his head back to gaze aimlessly at the gate, he repeated, "Don't apologize."

Uncomfortable silence enveloped them again. As the sun slowly sank over the canopy of trees surrounding Konoha, Naruto felt a droplet of rain on his hair. He looked up, squinting to see the billowing clouds that had amassed over the village. The others soon followed suit, glancing upwards to see the source of rain.

"It was raining the day she died."

Kakashi blinked, looking around for the source of the voice. Naruto and Sasuke had mysteriously disappeared, but someone else was there, someone who Kakashi's brain knew couldn't be. She was standing alone about twenty feet from where Kakashi stood, gripping one arm with the other.

"Kakashi," she choked, tears running down her face. She was not looking him in the eye; rather, her gaze was fixed on the ground beside her. "What have you done? What have you done to our daughter?"

Kakashi blinked again. Rin?

"You and sensei, Kakashi," Rin said, shaking her head back and forth, biting her lower lip. "You and sensei killed me, Kakashi. You killed me, but you hid it from our daughter. What have you done to her, Kakashi? What have you done?"

Kakashi could not speak. She's dead, Kakashi, a small voice in the deep recesses of his mind was telling him. She's dead, and there's no way she can be standing in front of you. Kakashi was ignoring this voice, though— He was too bewildered by the appearance of Rin to say anything.

"You and sensei, Kakashi," she kept repeating. "Sensei and Kakashi, Kakashi and sensei, sensei Kakashi, Kakashi sensei…"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The image of Rin was shattered as Naruto's voice pierced Kakashi's mind like a sharp dagger. Naruto and Sasuke replaced her, Sasuke looking mildly concerned and Naruto looking genuinely worried. "Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi blinked yet again, still trying to erase the phantom image of Rin from his mind's eye. It was the rain, he told himself. The rain made me think of her. This wasn't the first time he had imagined seeing Rin, but she had never replaced his surroundings like that. He had to be more careful in the future…

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto repeated. "Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?"

It was then that Kakashi realized that his face was wet. He shakily lifted a hand to his cheek, feeling a tear or two. I was crying?

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Sliding his hand into his pocket, Kakashi said, "I'm fine, Naruto, I'm fine."

"But—"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Kakashi said again, a hint of steel in his tone. "I just wasn't thinking, that's all."

The worried frown did not leave Naruto's face. "Like I said, I'm sorry for—"

Kakashi cut him off, shaking his head. "It's nothing, Naruto. Really," he added sternly. Naruto looked as if he were going to say more, but Sasuke threw him a scathing look and Naruto let out a rather forced, "Ok. See you tomorrow." He walked silently past Kakashi, purposely averting his eyes. Sasuke did the same, although it did not feel as strange, it did not feel as if Sasuke were alienating himself from Kakashi because Sasuke always acted like that. Still, there was some coldness there, some brisk indifference in the way he returned to the village. Kakashi let them walk past him in silence, not daring to say anything more.

The rain continued to pelt down around him, drenching him in its sinful purity. The image of Rin kept appearing in his mind, the ghost of her image still appearing now and then in front of her eyes. Other images passed in front of his mismatched eyes as well; images of Obito, of Yondaime, and a range of other people… including his father. Sakumo's face kept fading in and out of view, his tall form silhouetted against the moon as Kakashi looked up to the stormy night sky. Apparently, exceptional fatherhood doesn't run in this family, he thought bitterly. His father had screwed up too; of course, Sakumo had sometimes paid too much attention to his son, whereas Kakashi had tried his best not to pay any attention to Sakura for the better part of thirteen years.

"What would you say?" Kakashi asked the cold breeze softly as it whistled past him, sending shivers down his spine. "If you saw that this family is more messed up than ours was, what would you say?" The wind provided no answer in Sakumo's deep, commanding voice, but it did gust past Kakashi rather fiercely. Tilting his head backwards so that his chin was sticking up and his face was almost parallel with the billowing black clouds, he said quietly, "I didn't think you'd approve."

Kakashi stood there for the longest time, unaware of the passage of time or the steady rainfall. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he did not notice anyone approaching him until she was standing right behind him.

"Kakashi?"

Kakashi's head snapped to the side, both of his eyes widened in shock. He had removed his headband what could have been hours earlier, and now both of his eyes came to rest on those of the purple-haired kunoichi hovering behind him.

"Anko?" Kakashi said, turning his body around fully so that he could properly face her. "What are you—"

"That's what I should be asking you," Anko retorted, folding her arms across her chest. "You've been standing out here for hours, Asuma thought someone ought to check on you or you'd catch your death of cold."

Shoving his hands nonchalantly into his pockets, Kakashi said, "Asuma knows that I've survived in colder rain for longer than this." He slipped his forehead protector over his Sharingan and added, "Chances are he just wanted to make a fool of me by sending you to fetch me in the rain."

Anko cocked her head to one side, her tongue sticking out slightly. She was carefully scrutinizing Kakashi, taking in his sopping wet appearance. Finally, a grin stretched across her face and she declared, "Come and dry off at the bar, why don't you? Asuma and Gai and everybody else are already there, and we've been gossiping about you, of course, but after awhile we realized that it's no fun unless you're there to hear it."

Kakashi blinked once, then smirked and said, "No thanks, I think I'll pass." Repressing a violent shiver, he added, "Besides, I've got to lay off on the late nights at the bar from now on."

At first Anko didn't really comprehend, but then a knowing smile crept onto her face that was much more mature than the playful grin she usually wore. "Of course, you've got to set a good example," she said, her tone about as serious as Kakashi ever heard it with just a hint of sarcasm. "Now that you're a father."

"I've been a father for thirteen years, Anko," Kakashi said bitterly, walking towards the gates of Konoha. "It's now that I actually take responsibility."

The edges of Anko's smile drooped down a tad, but she patted Kakashi sympathetically on the back and said, "Nah, don't be so hard on yourself." She paused, then laughed, "Still, I don't envy the girl, having to live in that dump!"

Even though the joke was an insult directed at him, Kakashi couldn't help but smiling just a little bit.

Hope you liked it! Sorry if it seemed too angsty, or if you don't like the whole "Kakashi sometimes hallucinates about his past" angle. I'm trying to keep the angst to a dull roar. ::wink::