Title: Trials of Bonds
Author: Serpent in the Shadows
Rating: M/R
Pairing: Harry/Kakashi
Warnings: Slash, cross pairing, immortal creature Harry, AD/AU for both Naruto and Harry Potter
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter, just the plot...oh, and the Spirit Wolves.
Summary: "You two need to learn not to live in the past. Let it help shape you, let
it teach you, but not define you."
Beta: Pysche

AN: Ok, I couldn't find an age for Kakashi when his father died, so I'm saying he was six. I also couldn't find anything to tell me if Sakumo's teammates lived or not, so I'm going to have at least one of them dead. And thanks to everyone who continues to review!


Daylight turned into dark as huge, threatening storm clouds causally rolled across the sky, not yet ready to release their rain. The wind was lazy, barely noticeable except for an occasional shuddering of leaves as it went through the tree branches.

But all of this went unnoticed by the small child standing quietly in front of a rather small stone that sat just inches in front of him. The stoic gaze of dark eyes took in the marks that signaled the person whose body it was representing, a silent guardian to a loved one's remains.

Six year old Kakashi never moved from his spot that he had found his body automatically had carried him to. He had no desire to be here, yet he couldn't seem to turn away from the unadorned stone. 'Husband, Father, Hero' it said but the child could find no comfort in these simple words.

Husband; that word had been lost long ago when his wife had died, leaving him alone to raise a their child.

Father; Sakumo had been a good one. Always there for him when he needed him with patience in abundance. Kakashi had always looked up to the one the villagers and shinobi alike had called the White Fang. And like any child, he wanted to be just like his father, wanted to make him proud. He studied, he strived to be the best he could be just to see that pleased, proud look that only a father could bestow their child. And he did just that - already at age six, he was set to graduate the academy in just a few weeks. But his father wasn't there to see him, to grant him that smile, to tell him that he was a fine son.

Hero; that, he was definitely not. No hero of the village would have turned his back on a mission just to save a bunch of team mates. The White Fang was a disgrace to all shinobi everywhere and Kakashi knew this even at his young age.

The academy taught each of their students the rules and one was to complete the mission at all costs. His father was a smart man, had been in the ranks of the Leaf Village long enough to have memorized this backwards and forwards and yet, he turned his back on the very thing that makes up the shinobi way of life and because of this, the war had started.

Sakumo was shunned by both the civilians and his fellow comrades because of his faulty decision and in turn, Kakashi too was turned away from. The boy could not forgive his father for such an stupid, worthless mistake.

But he could outdo his father, show the villagers what it really meant to be a Hatake. He would take his father's mistake and turn it into a lesson.

His father had found friends in his teammates, had allowed himself to form bonds to people that should have only been there for fighting support and nothing else. Kakashi would not do the same.

He could not do the same.

Hatake would stand for something again, he would make sure of that. His teammates would be there just for the sake of the mission and if they fell along the way, well then, that would be their fault for not being good enough - he would not let others bring him down.

A snap of a twig had Kakashi whipping around in a defensive position, having already drawn out one of his kunai. He paused as he took in the area around him, wondering who would have dared to venture into the private graveyard of his family. Dark eyes darted around, coming to rest on an odd shape sitting in the shadow of a large oak tree.

He scowled beneath his mask and narrowed his eyes. He knew exactly what was watching him even though he had never once seen laid eyes on it before - he had not even seen his father as the legendary White Fang since his father had told him that it had moved on to him the moment he had been born. But that didn't matter, he knew what black eyes on a wolf meant.

Angry and frightened, Kakashi turned his back on the creature and gazed once more at the small stone. He knew the creature couldn't and wouldn't hurt him, so it didn't matter that he had turned his back to it, but it also helped because he wasn't ready for this.

He should have remembered that the Black Fang would have come to him now, when his father wasn't around to still take up charges. That fell to him now, but he would be damned if he did something like looking after other people - not when he had just vowed to keep others out of his life.

Of course, if he was truthful with himself, he would admit that that was only part of the reason. He had no desire to see the souls of the dead - possibly his own father - right now, if ever. They would hold too many reminders.

Kakashi stiffened when he felt soft fur brush his arms. Jaw clenched, Kakashi struggled to keep himself from turning to look at the wolf he had only read and heard stories about. He was curious, that was true, but he forcefully kept the childish feeling away.

There was a shift in the air beside him and the feeling of being watched doubled, raising the tiny hairs on the back of his neck. His hand tightened on the kunai he hadn't put away yet as his eyes narrowed.

"I am sorry."

Kakashi scowled again, not caring if it went unseen behind his blue mask. He refused to answer the other male's soft words. He didn't even acknowledge it with a nod of his head, because really, he didn't care, nor want to hear them.

There was a small sigh and then some rustling and Kakashi had to keep himself from jumping back as he suddenly found himself face to face with a man he had been taught about. This time though, he couldn't keep his childish curiosity away. Silently, he took in the long black hair, slightly tanned skin that was covered by a black t-shirt, standard shinobi pants and what looked like a black trench coat.

But it was the bright green eyes that attracted his attention the most. There was a lot of emotion behind them - but surprisingly, no pity - just remorse but if it was for his father or him, he didn't know, nor cared to ask.

"My name is Harry," the green eyed male offered, but Kakashi just crossed his arms and looked away. "Okay, if that's the way you want to be, then I'll just get on with the reason me coming here."

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi watched as the man stood up, towering over his much shorter form. Those green eyes by then had turned totally black and Kakashi found himself wanting to stare into them just to see if he could see the stars that lingered in them, just as the legends told.

"Hatake, Kakashi, carrier of the Spirit of the White Fang, it is time for you to take up your position as White Fang, due to your father's death."

As the man, Harry, said these words, Kakashi could feel something unknown build up in his chest. It felt as if it was a living thing, like it was sliding beneath his skin, trying to find its way out. He gasped, his unoccupied hand going to his chest, rubbing the exact spot that he knew held the mark of the Black Fang. In that moment, he understood what this man's words were trying to invoke and Kakashi growled out a 'no'.

His body shook at his word, and the thing in his chest stilled suddenly as if startled that he had denied it. Harry must have been shocked too because the male's body stood stiff and so still that he looked as if he wasn't real and made of stone.

"My father was the White Fang," Kakashi said through gritted teeth, "And that name and everything that it stood for died with him. He chose to die a coward's death, I will not fall to his same fate."

Black eyes narrowed and there was a snarl on the man's lips as he leaned over, making sure his face was closer to Kakashi's own. "That man was far from a coward. He did what every single carrier had done before him. And I too would have chosen to kill myself if I had failed to protect one of my own charges!"

Kakashi stilled, his heart speeding up, his dark eyes going wide. "What? Charges?"

"You didn't know? Sakumo's charge was one of his teammates. He failed to complete the mission because he had to save the life of someone who was destined to be vital to the world. To lose a charge means we failed to do what we were made for, what we are destined for, what we live for!"

Harry's breathing came out in harsh pants, and his eyes seemed to swirl like some endless black hole - sucking in all the light. Kakashi couldn't help but take a step back from the man and the impressive aura the he was radiating at the moment. There was a dangerous, feral and otherworldly feeling to it and it sent all of the six year old's 'warning' senses screaming.

"But...what about me?"

Harry stiffened before he slowly exhaled - letting his eyes soften slightly. "Don't ever think he didn't love you or wasn't proud of you because he was and probably more than you'll ever know. But you have to understand, when a host accepts the Spirit they become one and suddenly you aren't human anymore and everything you do is dictated by the gods.

"They gave life to us, they rule us and punish us and the punishment for losing a charge - a person that they picked to carry out their plans - is death of the host. They don't give us a choice - Sakumo didn't have a choice."

Kakashi couldn't believe this, couldn't believe that they - he - didn't have a choice, that his life and death were ruled by something that he had never seen. "You're wrong," he said with a shake of his head, "He didn't have to become a host - I don't have to become one."

There was a small fleeting smile on Harry's lips and green and white began to seep back into those eyes making them look even more gentle as the man kneeled down in the soft grass, making them both the same height. A tanned hand reached out and Kakashi was determined not to flinch away, but his grip on his kunai became bruising, as it came and rested on his chest.

"You are correct that in the end, you have a choice for now, after all, you haven't allowed the Spirit inside you to meld yet. But in the end you won't be able to hold out forever. We each have our own destiny, some are more important than others, and that includes you and me." Something pulsed from Harry's hand, and Kakashi found his own 'pulse' responding back, coming from the black mark that lay in the middle of chest.

"The Spirits of both the White Fang and Black Fang will be together again. Maybe not now, maybe not a month or year from now, but we will be side by side like we were before the White Fang left us."

Shaking his head again, Kakashi stepped back, bringing his kunai back up in front of him, the deadly sharp end pointing at the kneeling male. "I refuse. I refuse to be my father, I refuse to be a host and most of all, I refuse to be with you."

Without turning his back on the man, Kakashi took a bounding leap away, using chakra to make sure he got the required distance to make it to the woods. Landing softly, Kakashi watched for a second - seeing the great black wolf now sitting in the man's place watching him intently - before he turned his back to it and disappeared into the woods.