A Personal Matter
R. Winters
Disclaimer: my cats think I own everything good in the world. Unfortunately, they are mistaken. I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.
Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! My schedule changed a little, so I was able to update today, after all. (Everyone cheers!) Not much to say this chapter. Buru is the name of Kakashi's bull dog summon, according to leafninja dot com. No warnings except for angst... A lot of that in this chapter. And flashbacks! Yes, I was inspired by your reviews to add flashbacks to this chapter, so hopefully you enjoy them. In the original version there were no flashbacks, but it works a lot better with them.
There're pieces near the end that might be a bit confusing. Let me know if they are and I'll add some extra explanation... Enjoy!
Chapter 10 – Family Matters
James stared at the figure in shock and horror, millions of thoughts racing through his head. This wasn't supposed to be happening! Harry wasn't the one—why couldn't he see that? Harry wasn't even his son!
His eyes narrowed as fearful and hateful thoughts were replaced by memories of the little boy he'd been raising for the last year. The way Harry smiled and laughed and called him daddy. Even if he wasn't the father, biologically, Harry was still his son. Never in a million years would he let this monster at his son.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded in a growl, "Get out of here! Harry isn't the one you're looking for!"
"Out of my way, Potter," the pale man hissed, wand pointed straight at the younger man.
"I won't let you touch him," James said.
The other man's lips twisted into a cruel smirk, "I won't need to. Avada Kedavra!"
He saw the green light as though it was coming at him in slow motion. He willed his body to move, to jump to the side and throw a return spell, like he'd been trained to do, but his muscles wouldn't respond. His feet remained rooted to the spot and his heart thudded loudly in his ears.
And then it hit. The last thing he knew was the darkest wizard since Grindelwald crossing the threshold of his doorway.
It had been six days since his student had left and Minato finally approached the Hokage's Tower, Harry in tow as always. He hardly expected the mission—whatever it was—to be over, but at least they might have received word by now.
He nodded in polite greeting to the Chuunin at the desk before heading upstairs to ask the Hokage personally if he'd heard from the group. He only stopped to look around the hallway in bemusement when he reached the doors.
There were four or five shinobi loitering in the halls, obviously waiting to speak with the Hokage, themselves, with varying degrees of impatience. Minato frowned—Sarutobi was usually more timely than this.
"What's going on?" He asked, hoping that one of them would know something.
"Mission report," one of the men said, nodding to the door, "He's been in there for almost two hours now."
Minato frowned, "That's unusual." Usually, a mission report was handed in on paper, and the shinobi was called in for questioning only after the Hokage had reviewed the report if he found himself to have further concerns over the events of the mission. He couldn't remember ever giving a two hour long report to the Hokage.
"Whoever it is," a kunoichi added, "Their mission obviously didn't go well." Minato looked at her curiously and she continued, "Hokage-sama had two med-nin called in within the first ten minutes. They didn't even come out for another half an hour."
Minato's eyes widened slightly—that was even more unusual. Normally, if a shinobi was as injured as that, he would have been sent to the hospital first, and recalled for a report later.
All eyes turned to the door when it finally opened and an exhausted figure stepped out. Minato's eyes widened in shock and his hand automatically gripped Harry's shoulder when the boy took a step forward.
Kakashi didn't seem to have noticed them yet, ignoring the eyes on him as he made his way to the staircase, head bowed slightly just because he was too tired to keep it up.
"Kakashi," Minato finally said when the boy had nearly passed him.
The boy paused, blinking tiredly, then looked up. His skin was pale and face weathered from days without sleep, and his uniform was stained with blood. Through the jagged cuts in his uniform, Minato could see clean bandages, which was a good sign, the medics had obviously done their work well. The Jounin turned, keeping step with the tired boy as he began to move on.
"I take it you ran into a little trouble," Minato said carefully, keeping his voice low.
"... You could say that," Kakashi agreed tiredly.
"Where are the others?" Minato asked, looking over his shoulder at the door to the Hokage's office, expecting to see at least some of the boy's teammates following him out—there was no one, other than the shinobi currently arguing about who would go in next.
"..." Kakashi didn't answer for a long moment. Then, quietly, he replied with a single word, "Dead."
Minato didn't say anything else and Harry picked up on the tense atmosphere enough to keep his mouth shut. They went straight back to the apartment, and Kakashi immediately collapsed in his room, barely pausing long enough to roll out his futon.
Minato waited until he was sure the young teen was asleep before reluctantly taking Harry off to meet with the rest of his team.
When Kakashi woke up a small ray of sun had found its way through the bedroom curtains. He continued to lay there, half awake but still clinging tiredly to sleep, for several minutes, staring at the line of light on his wall.
Finally the boy shifted into a sitting position, dully taking in the rest of the room. Harry's futon was empty, folded up as it normally was when he wasn't using it, and the room was as bare as usual.
It took a few more minutes for the teen to drag his sore body out of bed. He grabbed a clean set of clothes from the dresser and only then realized he'd been changed out of his bloody uniform. That fact was only slightly annoying when he realized he must have slept through the entire thing.
He made his way to the door and slid it open, staring at the rest of the apartment blankly for several more minutes before walking across to the bathroom. The apartment was empty—Harry and his teacher must be out somewhere. Probably training or something with the others.
Everything seemed surreal as he fell into his usual morning routine with an odd sense of disconnection. In the wake of so much high pressure activity, the mundane activities of everyday life seemed fake and forced. He wasn't able to push the feeling aside like he usually did.
Once he was showered and dressed in fresh clothes, Kakashi felt marginally better. He collapsed on the couch with his paper work and tediously began to fill out the forms for his report. After all, it was best to get this done with while everything was fresh in his mind.
"You're going to hurt your back like that."
Kakashi blearily opened an eye to realize that he'd fallen asleep again on the couch. He frowned up at his teacher's amused face, then reluctantly disentangled himself from his paperwork. The pages seemed to be irreparably wrinkled, and the ink smudged.
"I thought you were training," the teen muttered, glancing at the window just to make sure too much time hadn't passed.
His teacher smiled and slid down onto the couch next to him, "I came back," he pointed out with a shrug.
Kakashi looked around again, eyebrows drawing together slightly, "Where's Harii-san?"
"He stayed out with Obito and Rin," Minato answered, "I think they went to lunch or something."
At the mention of food, the boy's stomach growled loudly. He pretended not to hear and sorted through his paperwork again, smoothing it out in the hopes that his already poor writing was still legible, "Hmm."
"Kakashi..." Minato started slowly, after watching the boy work for several minutes, "Are you... okay?"
Kakashi glanced up, face emotionless, "I'm fine, sensei," he assured the man, "The injuries I sustained were minor. I should be able to return to active duty in a day or two."
Minato smiled slightly and rubbed the back of his head, "That's not exactly what I meant, Kashi-kun." His smile faded and he added, seriously, "It's hard to lose teammates, even if you haven't been with them for long. Are you sure you're alright?"
The boy's face was still unreadable, "We all did our duty, sensei," he said blankly, "The mission seems to have been a success, that's the important thing."
The Jounin sighed but let the subject pass. Dealing with the death of comrades wasn't something that could be explained or taught. Kakashi would learn his own way, eventually.
"I know!" Obito exclaimed suddenly, "We should take Harii-kun to see the new Taiyaki-Taichou movie!"
Rin raised an eyebrow, "You want to see Taiyaki-Taichou?" She asked incredulously.
The boy flushed, "Not me!" He insisted, "I just think Harii-kun would like it."
Frowning, Harry interrupted, "What does kun mean?"
"What do you need, Harii-kun?" Rin asked in confusion.
"What does kun mean?" Harry repeated—it was something he'd been wondering for a while. "Like Harry-kun and Kakashi-kun and Obito-kun..."
"Oh!" The girl lit up with understanding, "Kun is just a suffix, Harii," she explained, "Anô... You add it on to the end of a name, usually for other people around your age or younger than you."
Harry stared at her blankly.
Rin looked at Obito for help.
Obito scratched the back of his head, "Anô... like Rin said, it's just something you add onto the end of a name... like san or chan..."
Harry frowned, "What does san mean?"
"Well... it's like kun," Rin supplied, "Only... it's more formal... We usually use it for people older or shinobi with higher ranks than us, or someone you don't know."
"And chan is more familiar," Obito added, "Usually for little kids or girls you know really well."
Harry frowned thoughtfully, trying to make sense of what the two teens were telling him. He was kind of starting to get it, but he didn't really understand most of what they were saying. It was a bit frustrating. After a moment he decided to pursue this line of thought a little further and looked up again, "What does niisan mean?"
The two teens exchanged looks of surprise. Obito stared at the younger boy and Rin asked uncertainly, "You don't know what niisan means, Harii-kun?"
"You mean he's been calling Kakashi niisan all this time and doesn't even know what it means?" Obito added incredulously, "Does he even know that they're brothers?"
"Of course he does," Rin retorted, even though she was beginning to wonder, herself, "Harii, niisan is what you call your older brother."
"Aniki...?" Harry repeated in confusion—he really wished he could understand the language better already.
"You know..." Rin struggled to find some way to explain the familial relationship, "You and Kakashi-kun have the same o-tousan," she explained carefully, "So... so you're brothers."
"O-tousan?" Harry repeated.
Obito looked at the boy incredulously, "You don't even know that? Your o-tousan! You live with him, don't you? You must have seen him before!"
Harry's brow wrinkled in a confused frown as he tried to make sense of everything, "O-tousan... is sensei?"
The two teen's exchanged disbelieving looks.
"No!" Rin said, "No, no, O-tousan is... is Hatake-san!" She said, "You know... he's your and Kakashi's oyaji."
"Hatake-san..." Harry repeated thoughtfully. Kakashi's name was Hatake—Hatake Kakashi, but Rin and Obito never called him that. And he'd been called that before, too—Hatake Harry—even though his name was Potter.
Thinking it over carefully, Harry's eyes suddenly widened. He looked up in surprise, eyes wide, and blurted in English, "Kakashi-niisan is my brother?!"
Obito and Rin looked at each other in wary bemusement.
Harry's mind raced—but they couldn't actually be brothers, could they? The Dursleys had never mentioned any family besides his parents—who they obviously thought poorly of. Surely someone would have at least mentioned it if he had a brother.
All of a sudden he recalled that old man with the long beard saying something about a brother to him. He hadn't been paying too much attention at the time, still in shock over what had happened to his family, and as much as he tried he couldn't remember what he'd said. Had he said something about his brother or Harry's?
Of course he'd been aware that he and Kakashi looked similar to each other, but he'd assumed it was a coincidence. After all, even the family he was related to didn't look anything like him. That, and white wasn't his natural hair color—the Dursleys' irritated comments on his hair and their multiple attempts to dye it back to black had made that obvious—so it didn't make much sense to assume someone else with white hair would be related to him.
And none of it explained the older boy's cool behavior towards him. If he was his brother, then surely Kakashi must know, and why would anyone treat their own brother like some random stranger? He knew if he had a brother, he would want to get to know him as much as he could, but Kakashi certainly didn't act like he wanted to get to know him at all.
The boy frowned—he must have misunderstood. They couldn't possibly mean that he and Kakashi were brothers, it was too absurd a thought.
Still, the seed had been planted and he was already beginning to see the older boy in a different light. There were small things—like when Kakashi had let him sleep next to him, or how Kakashi left Ryou-kun to stay with him when he and sensei went on missions. And Kakashi acted coolly towards everyone, even sensei and Obito and Rin who he spent so much time with. Maybe Kakashi didn't know how to act with a brother anymore than Harry did.
"Harii-kun?" Rin asked uncertainly.
Harry looked up, a small frown on his lips. Their explanations had left him even more confused, if anything.
"Would you like to see the movie, Harii-kun?" The girl asked.
Harry continued to stare at her blankly.
"Or... would you like to go to the park?" Rin added.
Harry frowned and made his decision, "Kakashi-niisan."
Rin blinked, frowning in confusion, and asked uncertainly, "You... want to see Kakashi-kun?"
The little boy nodded.
Rin looked as though she might argue for a moment, then she relented with a nod and turned to her teammate, "Obito, go ahead and see if Kakashi-kun minds if we come back early."
The boy groaned in distaste but reluctantly did as she said, jumping to the rooftops and racing off.
Smiling, Rin held out her hand to Harry, "Okay," she said, "We'll go see him now."
Minato frowned slightly, glancing back at the despondent teen still working on his report. He stepped out into the hall and shut the door behind him, "You're bringing him back already?"
Obito shifted nervously, looking anywhere but at his teacher, "Well... he said he wanted to come back and see Kakashi..."
Minato sighed, thinking. He'd really wanted more time to try and get through to Kakashi, but his student would never admit to anything if other people were around. The rare times when the boy had confided in him had always been when the two were alone.
"Sensei..." Obito started hesitantly, still not looking at the man.
Minato looked towards him again, frowning at the serious look on the young Uchiha's face.
"Sensei..." Obito started again, finally looking up with confused, black eyes, "Harii-kun... he doesn't know..." He hesitated, not sure how to word his concerns, "Kakashi and Harii... don't live with their parents, do they?"
Minato shifted awkwardly, and it was his turn to avoid his student's eyes, "Maa... I don't think this is the best time to talk about it, Obito-kun."
The boy frowned, eyes hardening with determination, "Harii doesn't even know what a father is!" He exclaimed, "What's going on? Why don't they live with their parents? Sensei!"
Minato frowned, "That's enough, Obito," he said sharply, surprising the boy. His expression softened a little at Obito's shocked look, "I know you mean well, Obito-kun," he added somberly, "But if Kakashi wanted you to know, he would tell you."
Obito stared up at him for a long moment, confusion and uncertainty playing on his face. At last he quietly asked, "Are... are they dead?"
Minato didn't reply, but his student took it as confirmation. He could hardly believe it—that his teammate was hiding something like that from them. Of course, he'd never talked about his parents, or his family at all, they'd just assumed he couldn't be that different from them.
Obito was still staring at his teacher in silent shock when Kakashi and Rin arrived. Rin looked between the two shinobi, a small frown of confusion on her lips, and gripped Harry's hand a little tighter.
"Sensei," she started carefully, "What's going on?"
The man looked up and his serious look was quickly covered by a bright smile, "It's nothing," he assured the girl. Looking at Harry, his smile widened a little, "Hello, Harii-kun! How was your lunch?"
"... Un," the boy said after thinking for a long moment.
Minato chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, "Well, I wasn't expecting you three to come back so soon," he admitted, "Come on inside," he offered, steering the boy towards the door and extending the invitation to his other two students, "Obito, Rin."
Obito was still standing where he had been, the silent look of shock still on his face. As her teacher and Harry disappeared inside the apartment, Rin approached Obito, looking at him strangely.
"Obito...?" She asked uncertainly, "What's wrong?"
As though his brain had suddenly caught up with the last five minutes, the boy shook himself out of his stupor. His face still had a strange expression on it, and Rin wasn't quite sure what it meant, but he shrugged off her concern—albeit, a little unconvincingly.
"No... It's nothing," he said, repeating his teacher's earlier words. He turned away from the apartment, "I'm going home."
Rin blinked after him as he ran towards the end of the hall, "Obito...?" She wondered in confusion—this wasn't anything like how the Uchiha usually acted. What could have happened between him and their teacher? Obito didn't respond to her call and had soon disappeared around the corner.
Tearing her eyes away from the empty hall, Rin entered the apartment. Harry was standing awkwardly beside Kakashi, who was ignoring him in favor of writing something down. Minato stood off to the side by the wall, watching with a small frown. Rin joined the man.
"Kakashi-niisan," Harry started at last, voice soft but determined. He was definitely going to figure this out once and for all.
The older boy didn't acknowledge him, but Harry pressed bravely on. He took a deep breath and asked what was on his mind, "What does niisan mean?"
Kakashi didn't so much as look up, although his eyebrows did draw together in a frown.
Harry frowned as he was ignored, "Kakashi-niisan?"
The older boy let out an exasperated sigh and crumpled the paper he'd been writing on. He looked up, right past Harry, half-lidded eyes meeting his teacher's, "I messed up," he said simply.
Minato raised an eyebrow, "You could have just crossed it out," he pointed out, "People do that all the time."
Kakashi looked down at the crumpled form, "... I'll get another."
The Jounin smiled, "No problem," he said before the teen could get up, "Rin and I will get it for you." He slung an arm around the girl's shoulders and grinned at her, "Won't we, Rin-chan?"
Rin looked from her teacher to the two boys and quickly agreed, "Right! We'll be right back, Kakashi-kun."
"You stay here and rest up, Kakashi," Minato told the boy as he and Rin made their way back to the door, "Rin and I will get those papers for you."
Kakashi watched them leave with a slightly bemused expression. He scowled as the door closed behind them and leaned back on the couch, "They didn't even ask what paper I needed," he grumbled.
"Kakashi-niisan," Harry said again.
Finally, the older boy looked at him, expression blank, "What?"
Harry frowned unhappily, "What does niisan mean?" He asked testily, not at all liking being ignored.
Kakashi frowned at him, "Niisan?"
The boy nodded, frowning right back.
Kakashi shrugged, "It just means that."
Harry frowned—this was getting nowhere. "What does o-tousan mean?"
Kakashi's muscles tensed instinctively, then relaxed again. He shrugged, "I don't know."
Harry's frown deepened, "What does it mean?"
Kakashi didn't answer.
"Kakashi-niisan!" Harry pressed again, irritated.
The shinobi stood abruptly, eyes flashing in anger. He glared down at the boy, "I told you," he said harshly, "I don't know. It doesn't matter, anyway, just forget about it, Harii."
Harry stared at the older boy in shock as he crossed swiftly to the door of the apartment and left. Surprise, anger, fear, and confusion swirled inside of him as he struggled to make sense of what was happening.
He'd upset Kakashi, but how could he not know what those things meant? Kakashi was the one who told him to call him that! The boy frowned indignantly—it wasn't fair! How could he get mad at him just for asking questions? That was supposed to be something the Dursleys did, not these new people he lived with now. How was he supposed to learn things if he didn't ask?
He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, shock keeping him in place as his thoughts raced each other around in circles, but eventually Minato and Rin returned. Minato frowned slightly as he noticed Harry standing there by himself. He handed the papers he'd been carrying to Rin and approached the boy.
"Harii-kun," the man said softly, crouching beside him, "Are you okay? Where did Kakashi go?"
All of a sudden the boy's cold words seemed to sink in and tears sprang to the boy's eyes as the concerned face hovered in front of him. Minato's frown deepened slightly with worry.
"Harii?" He asked again, smoothing back the boy's untidy hair, "Are you okay?"
Sniffing a little, Harry nodded.
"Where's Kakashi?" Minato repeated.
Harry shrugged, then pointed to the door.
Minato sighed, torn between finding his wayward student and comforting the little boy in front of him. Eventually, the latter won out and he scooped the boy up, seating both of them on the couch with his arms around Harry.
The boy didn't actually cry, but he did bury his face in the protective chest beside him, taking comfort from the warm hands that rubbed him gently. He'd seen his aunt hold Dudley like this, sometimes, when he cried, but he'd never been on the receiving side of such comfort. Vaguely, he recalled the time he'd been in the woods, but that seemed like ages ago, when he'd first arrived. He'd understood even less then.
"Anô..." Rin stepped forward uncertainly, feeling like she was intruding. "Sensei," she started awkwardly, "Harii-kun doesn't understand that Kakashi-kun is his brother. Anô... I don't think he understands about a lot of stuff."
Minato sighed, still rubbing the boy's arm comfortingly. It was strange how the two boys could be so alike and so different at the same time. For as long as he'd known Kakashi, he'd never been very expressive of his emotions. He and Harry were both quiet, but in different ways, and Harry was a hundred times more vulnerable than Kakashi had ever been—or seemed, at any rate.
"He's still learning," he told Rin softly, "They both are... with time, they'll work it out."
Rin frowned skeptically, "But at least Kakashi-kun knows," she pointed out, "Isn't there some way we can explain it to Harii-kun?"
Minato thought for a moment, then shook his head, "The only way he can learn is by seeing it," he said, "It's hard to explain abstract things like family to someone who has nothing to base that understanding off of; whether they've never had a family or friends, or whether they just don't understand the language you're speaking. It isn't something that can be explained."
Rin frowned in thought, then brightened, "Maybe we can take him to the Uchiha compound," she suggested, "Obito has a big family, maybe if he saw some other families, he'd start to understand. And I'm sure kaasan wouldn't mind if we had dinner at my house one night—he could meet my brothers, too." She frowned slightly, "Of course, we'll have to find sometime when they're both home."
Minato smiled, "That's a great idea!" He agreed eagerly. He nudged Harry a little, "What do you think, Harii-kun? Wouldn't you like to meet Rin's brothers?"
"Rin's o-niisan...?" Harry asked, frowning slightly in confusion.
The man grinned cheerfully, "It's settled then!" He announced, "Rin, you'll have to find out when we can meet them. I'll talk to Obito later about maybe meeting his family, too."
Rin nodded.
Minato slowly began pulling away from Harry, "In the meantime," he said, "I should really go find Kakashi."
Rin nodded again, "I'll stay here with Harii-kun, sensei."
The Jounin flashed her a grateful smile before disappearing out the door again.
Rin rolled her eyes—everyone was disappearing today, it seemed.
Kakashi lay on his back in the middle of the training clearing, staring at the small patch of open sky between the branches far overhead. He'd barely been training for half an hour and he was already exhausted.
His training hadn't been as relaxing as he'd hoped. Images of Masaru-san, slumped half dead against the cavern wall haunted him, and the last moments he'd shared with Sayuri taunted at his mind, pointing out things he should have done.
"I'm not... going to make it." The woman collapsed to the ground for what seemed like the hundredth time since they started, arm curled around her bloodied side.
Kakashi had been annoyed. They didn't know if they were being followed, and even though they were once more in Fire Country territory, they were far enough out that they hadn't reached the border patrol, yet, "I'll carry you," he offered, even though it was hard enough just keeping himself upright.
Sayuri laughed breathlessly, "I'll tell you a secret, kid, I'm not as light as I look."
Kakashi hadn't thought she looked particularly light, but decided not to point it out. "There's a town six kilometers from here." He could make it that far, with a little chakra.
The woman was silent at his announcement, presumably thinking of their position and the town Kakashi had mentioned. She struggled to her feet and shook her head, "It's too far out of the way. We need to get news back to Konoha as soon as possible." Plus, they were probably followed. Most of Rock's forces had been underground, but it seemed unlikely that they'd all been in the tunnels.
"You said you won't make it," Kakashi pointed out, "There's no reason for you to push yourself." Except that if they were being followed, the Rock-nin were bound to catch up soon and then they'd be in real trouble.
"You're right..." The woman had agreed, eyes glossy and unfocused, "We'll split up. You go ahead to Konoha, I'll make my way east to the town."
Kakashi looked at the woman doubtfully. Could she even make it ten kilometers? They were barely six from the mountains and she was already having trouble.
"Go," the woman insisted, "The Hokage needs to be told."
Kakashi had agreed and started running, leaving Sayuri to fend for herself. He still didn't know if she'd made it or not.
"You shouldn't push yourself, Kakashi," his teacher's voice broke him out of his thoughts, amused and disapproving at the same time, "The medics expected you to be out for at least two or three days, take it easy."
Kakashi didn't move, "That explains why I feel like I've been run over by Buru-san," he grumbled, not really thinking of dogs at all.
He'd run into an ambush shortly after they'd split up. He never would have made it through with Sayuri slowing him down. He barely made it through at all, but the border patrol had been unusually close and had managed to make it in time to offer assistance.
Minato snickered—he'd had the unfortunate pleasure of being trampled by that summon before, he'd also had the fortunate pleasure of watching others be on the receiving end of Buru-san's massive weight.
"Well," he said a moment later, a grin still on his face, "That's what happens when you push yourself to exhaustion on a mission."
"Hmm," Kakashi mused distractedly. He didn't know what happened to the border patrol, either, having been waved on when they initiated contact with the enemy. He wouldn't have been much help, anyway.
Minato stepped out of the trees and sat down next to the boy. He was silent for several minutes until Kakashi finally worked up the energy to sit up as well.
"You got Harii-kun pretty upset," the man commented at last, not looking at the boy.
Kakashi grunted, "He's too emotional." He wondered what Harry would think if he knew what had happened. He'd probably be terrified.
"He's a kid," Minato said wryly, "That's how kids are supposed to be."
Kakashi didn't respond—he couldn't remember a time when he'd still been able to be terrified.
Minato looked across at him and added, "You're a kid, too, you know."
The thirteen-year-old sent him a dubious look, "I'm a shinobi. I'm up for Jounin." Sayuri had called him a kid, too, but he wasn't the one who'd got himself killed.
"You can be both," Minato said.
Kakashi shot him a disbelieving look and didn't respond, wondering how anyone could be considered a kid after they'd caused as much death as he had.
Minato sighed and they fell silent again.
"Kakashi..." The man started tiredly at length, "Are you sure you don't want to talk?"
The boy raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, forcing thoughts of his mission down, "About what?"
"About your mission," Minato supplied. He frowned, "You've been under a lot of stress lately with the Jounin exams and it all came to a head on that mission. Believe it or not, it's okay to show emotions occasionally."
Again, Kakashi didn't respond. Part of him—perhaps that bit that sensei still referred to as a child—desperately wanted to tell his teacher everything that happened. But he wasn't sure what would happen if he did, he wasn't sure he'd be able to control himself. It had been bad enough reciting the entire thing to the Hokage, he wasn't sure he could take a second retelling.
Minato sighed again and stood up. He held a hand down over Kakashi, "Come on, let's get back. You've got a report to finish, and I'm sure it'll be more comfortable to sleep inside than out here."
Kakashi stared at him for a moment before taking the hand, allowing his teacher to heave him back to his feet.
"Ready to go?" Minato asked Harry with a smile.
The boy nodded and confirmed with a quiet, "Hai."
"Great, let's hurry," Minato said. He frowned slightly as they left, "I hope Obito won't be late."
"Where?" Harry asked, still rubbing his eyes tiredly. He'd been a little surprised to wake up that morning only to find Kakashi had already slipped out, but he hadn't had any time to dwell on it, though, since he was shortly dragged out of bed, dressed, fed a quick breakfast, and dragged outside.
"We're going to the Hokage's Tower," Minato said cheerfully.
Harry shot him an odd look, "Why?" He recognized the name.
"Hmm... You'll see," the man replied happily.
Harry frowned but resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't about to get answers. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't understand them.
Rin was waiting for them at the doors to the Hokage's office. She smiled in relief when she saw them, "Oh, good, you're finally here, sensei."
The man raised an eyebrow, "I take it Obito isn't here yet?"
The girl shook her head, "No, but there's a bunch of... weird people in there, sensei."
Minato laughed, "Ah... Well, let's go in now, if we wait for Obito we'll probably miss half the ceremony."
Rin stuck close to her teacher as they went inside.
The Hokage's office was more crowded than usual. Most of the Jounin currently in the village were there, milling around as they waited for the ceremony to start. Minato spotted Kakashi conversing in low tones with the Hokage—the other Jounin gave them a wide berth.
"This is so exciting," Rin whispered, eyes shining, "I can't believe Kakashi's actually going to be a Jounin!"
The Hokage cleared his throat and the room went silent, shinobi everywhere turning towards their leader attentively. The old man nodded approvingly, face set in a serious mask.
"Jounin of Konoha, you have come here today to welcome a new comrade among you," Kakashi stood stoically at his side, face expressionless. "Hatake Kakashi, stand before me, please."
The thirteen-year-old dutifully stepped forward, turning to face the Hokage.
"In accordance with article 13, paragraphs 1-26 of the Konoha Shinobi Code, you are hereby granted the rank of Jounin. Do you accept the responsibilities granted to you by this position?" His piercing, aged eyes locked onto the boy's.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi confirmed with a forced confidence.
"Then it is my privilege to bestow upon you the rank of Jounin," the Hokage declared. Finally, his lips turned up in a small smile, "Congratulations, Hatake-san."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, bowing to the man.
The Hokage nodded and motioned for him to straighten again.
The whole ceremony hadn't taken more than ten minutes, but time in a shinobi country, especially when it was at war, was hard to come by and all ceremonies were kept short as a rule. Kakashi joined his teacher on the way out of the office.
Minato grinned at his student, "So, you finally made it," he commented pleasantly.
Kakashi didn't smile back, his mind replaying what the Hokage had told him earlier. "Hai."
"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, Kakashi..."
"Well, let's see it," the man prodded excitedly.
"See what?" Rin wondered.
Kakashi pulled out a small scroll, a red label decorating it with the sign of the Fire Nation on the front. He unrolled it mechanically and the three shinobi admired the official documentation of his rank.
"She didn't make it... did she?"
"You see that, Harii-kun?" Minato asked, looking down at the little boy, "Your big brother's finally made Jounin, what do you think of that?"
The boy looked at him blankly for a moment, then turned his eyes back to the scroll.
Minato chuckled and Kakashi rolled his scroll back up. The man turned to his student, "Well, I guess I shouldn't call you Kashi-kun, anymore," he commented wistfully, "We're the same rank now..."
"I guess not, sensei," Kakashi agreed, not really paying attention to the light banter his teacher was trying to pull him into.
"It's true that she made it as far as Mosusogou."
The man laughed again, "I'll think about easing out of it," he decided.
Looking around, Rin frowned, "Looks like Obito didn't make it."
Minato sighed, "I'll have a talk with him later."
"Don't bother," Kakashi muttered, "Why would I want that loser here in the first place?"
"Because he's your teammate," Minato said coolly, "And teammates should be there for each other, ne?"
Kakashi didn't respond, the beginnings of guilt being swiftly pushed down. Even the Hokage had told him he was right in what he'd done.
"You did the best that you could, Kakashi."
"I've got a great idea!" Minato announced suddenly.
The three children looked up at him—Harry with a small frown of confusion, Rin with curiosity, and Kakashi with resignation.
"Mosusogou doesn't have the same level of health care that we have here."
"Let's get ramen for lunch," the blonde continued happily. He shot a grin at Kakashi, "And, to celebrate his promotion, Kakashi's buying!"
The boy frowned slightly, "Shouldn't that be the other way, sensei?"
"Sayuri-san..."
"Sensei, it isn't even lunch time," Rin added.
"We just had breakfast an hour ago," Kakashi agreed. He really wasn't in the mood for food.
"She passed away, Kakashi... The day before yesterday."
"It's never too early for ramen," Minato declared assuredly, and struck out for the ramen stand with the other three in tow.