Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto; it's owned by the amazing Masashi Kishimoto.
Warning: This may have some mild shounen-ai elements; definitely nothing explicit. This is rated T after all.
The Crying Kamui
Chapter 4
Kakashi's right eye was wide open in shock.
"He's not an Ame-nin?" Kakashi repeated slowly, trying to make sure that he heard everything correctly. Of course, he had near perfect hearing, being one of Konoha's elite, and he definitely knew what he had heard.
"No," Yamato confirmed firmly. To Kakashi, it was obvious that he was trying to hide his turbulent thoughts but Yamato was unfortunately failing at the attempt. "Haruka-san is not an Ame-nin."
Haruka wasn't an Ame-nin?
What does that mean?
A man who looked too much like the deceased Iruka – with the exception of an additional scar on his face – currently dwelled in Amegakure no Sato with a man who looked too much like the Deva Path of Pain... yet wasn't a Rain shinobi himself.
What was going on?
"He-" Kakashi refused to say 'Haruka'. "-is friends with obviously very capable shinobi – and he was with them when they aided us at the Fire Country border. They would not allow a civilian out on the field – and no shinobi village would have a foreign nin unless he or she was on a diplomatic mission."
Surprisingly, it was Lee who put forward a hypothesis before Yamato. "Haruka-san could be tolerated by the citizens of this village due to his close connections with Kaiten-san, who is the brother of the village's leader."
Like Gai, Lee was also capable of being serious when circumstances demanded it.
"This leader," Kakashi said slowly. "What can you tell me about him?"
"His name is Kaien," Yamato began explaining, easily adopting the tone of a subordinate reporting to a superior. "He was said to be the right-hand man of Konan-sama. While Konan-sama had earned the moniker 'God's Angel', Kaien-sama was titled 'the Angel's Sword'. She also seems to have passed on all of her techniques and knowledge to him. All of this we got from Haruka-san before we headed off to meet with Kaien-sama."
Haruka probably possessed a whole heap of information beyond what Yamato had said, especially if he was close to Kaien's brother. In fact, would Haruka have his own personal connections with Kaien? Could it even be possible that he had interacted with Konan?
So much mystery surrounded Haruka and Kakashi couldn't bear it because...
...Could there be a chance that Haruka was Iruka?
But how would that be possible when he was the one who sent the kind, strong and wilful Chuunin sensei to the afterlife using Kamui?
Kakashi's sharp nails dug into his palms painfully without drawing blood, which was actually quite frightening since he was already using all of his strength to fisting his hands. The fact that he didn't draw blood meant that Kakashi's grip was weak.
"Another thing that might interest you, sempai," Yamato added hesitantly. Kakashi immediately gave him his full attention as he uncurled his fingers. "I am sure you've noticed that Kaiten-san looks very much like the Deva Path of Pain. I did not fight him but I have seen photos of him after all."
Kakashi had a feeling he knew where Yamato was going.
"Kaien-sama..." The look of confusion on Yamato's face intensified.
"Kaien-sama looks exactly like the Deva Path of Pain as well."
Kaiten, brother of Amegakure no Sato's new esteemed leader, possessor of the moniker "Heaven's Slayer", and pupil of "God's Angel", Konan, looked towards the humming brunet who was carefully folding a paper crane as he waited patiently for their village leader in his private chambers. Haruka's eyes were closed yet his fingers never faltered; he had already perfected folding the paper to resemble a crane that he no longer needed his eyes to do so. The song he was humming was a familiar lullaby and Kaiten slowly took out his harmonica before playing the tune Haruka was humming. Haruka stopped and looked over at him with a gentle smile on his face – a smile that Kaiten would protect above all else...
The double doors leading to the room opened and an exact replica of Kaiten – only very slightly older looking and with longer hair that reached to his shoulders – entered with such a regal aura that Kaiten straightened and Haruka stood up and bowed.
"Kaiten," Kaien, the "Angel's Sword", greeted his younger brother by inclining his head before turning his intense blue gaze to Haruka. "Haruka."
Although Kaien's expression had not changed, there was obvious warmth in his voice when he spoke the man's name.
"Kaien-sama," Haruka greeted in return with a huge smile and the air around them instantly became relaxed. "How was your meeting with the village council?"
Kaien merely closed his eyes before walking towards the couch and gracefully sinking down on it. "Tiring as usual, especially with all their roundabout way of talking. It takes twenty minutes to get a single point across when all that's really needed is a minute or two."
Kaiten scoffed and shook his head. "Well, if you would just let me cull some of them-"
Kaien's intense blue eyes pinned his brother. "The last thing we need in this war is to be killing off our own people. Learn to have patience, Kaiten."
"Kaiten's just been on edge for today, Kaien-sama," Haruka said soothingly as he poured tea for the leader of Amegakure before handing it to him. He turned to the younger of the two. "Now, Kaiten, what's wrong?"
Kaiten's eyes narrowed. "I don't like the way those Konoha nin look at you."
Haruka rolled his eyes. "We've been through this. I just happen to look like one of their comrades. Caution in a shinobi is a valuable trait – but paranoia can endanger those around you!"
Kaien straightened up from his graceful slouch on the sofa. "Haruka is right, Kaiten. It has to be more than that."
Kaiten was quiet for a moment. Then, "That man..."
"'Man'?" Haruka echoed.
Kaiten's gaze was filled with raw emotion. "Hatake Kakashi. He looked at you as though he wanted to take you away."
Haruka's eyes widened before a small, weak smile touched his lips. "Oh, Kaiten..."
He approached the fiery redhead so that he could place a hand gently on Kaiten's cheek.
"I promised you, didn't I?" Haruka said in a low but firm tone. "As long as you need me, I will be right by your side." Then Haruka added, "And Kaien-sama's side although Kaien-sama has never had any need for me." He gave Kaiten a grin, inviting him to share his joke, before smiling shyly at Kaien, who just gave him a small smile in return. Haruka then turned back to Kaiten.
"So stop worrying so much, Kaiten," Haruka continued softly. "Unless you push me towards him, he won't be able to take me away." Kaiten gave him a disbelieving look but Haruka merely shrugged. "I don't think you have to worry about that anyway. I don't think Kakashi-sama wants me. I just remind him of someone, that's all."
Kaiten still looked unconvinced. "Haruka..."
Haruka crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Kaiten. "I still think you're being overly paranoid but I stated my promise again to make you feel better. If you think I'm going to spoil you any more than that, you have another thing coming, mister!" He reached up and grabbed Kaiten's ear as though he was an errant child. The Heaven's Slayer immediately began yelling and protesting. "We have to buy supplies for your mission! Excuse us, Kaien-sama."
Haruka began yanking Kaiten, still shouting his protests and pain, by the ear towards the double doors. But before he could even touch the knob, Kaien's voice stopped him.
"Haruka."
The brunet immediately stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the Angel's Sword. They stared at one another as Kaiten watched them with a blank expression.
They're always like this, Kaiten thought, feeling as though he suddenly didn't exist. They have a weird connection in which words are never needed.
Haruka suddenly smiled widely before nodding to Kaien and then yanking Kaiten once more.
"Let's go!"
Kaiten looked back at his brother. If he were anyone else, he would have thought that Kaien looked as expressionless as ever. But since this was his brother, he could see the sorrow in Kaien's eyes.
The double doors closed behind him as he pondered at that untouchable relationship between Kaien and Haruka.
Kaiten's eyes narrowed and flashed.
I don't like it.
"Yosh! Now I see why you are a taijutsu Tokubetsu Jounin, Lee!"
"Your youthfully generous compliments humbles me, oh mighty Ameko-san! Such praise from an elite shinobi such as yourself truly makes me want to further persevere and improve on my blooming techniques!"
Ameko and Lee were throwing praises and gleeful laughter at one another as they went through quite an intense bout of taijutsu sparring. Despite the complicated moves and the strength behind each blow, each side seemed to be having the time of their lives.
It was quite a nice thing to watch but also quite odd.
"They're getting along extremely well, aren't they?" Yamato said with a smile at Kakashi. The Copy Nin just glanced up from his Icha Icha Violence, gave a "Hn" then looked back down at his book.
Yamato knew that his sempai wasn't really reading the flowery words written on the pages. He was most likely thinking of Haruka or Iruka – or both.
Yamato had also been shocked when he first laid eyes on Haruka. His first thought was that he had died without realizing it; then he thought it odd that Iruka would be the first one to greet him in the afterlife. So then he thought he was seeing a ghost or had been trapped in a genjutsu. But when he learned that the man wasn't Iruka, Yamato still found it extremely hard to believe that someone who could look so much like Iruka – and have Iruka's personality – yet wasn't Iruka could exist in this world.
"That was an awesome match!" Ameko declared as she and Lee slowly walked back towards the traditional house, their breathing heavy from the physical exertion. "We should do it every day while you're here and maybe when we get to Konoha."
"It would be an honour to spar with you, oh youthful Ameko-san!"
Ameko just laughed at Lee's exuberant tone before turning to Yamato and Kakashi.
"Haruka and Kaiten should be back soon," she informed them. "I don't think Kaien-sama wanted Haruka for too long. Then I have to get going to get some last minute stuff done before our departure."
Ah, the discussion Kakashi wanted to have.
"Do you have an idea of when that would be, Ameko-san?" Kakashi questioned, his voice light. Yamato, however, had a feeling that his sempai wasn't as calm underneath as he seemed on the surface.
Does he want to get as far away from Haruka as possible? Or does he want to stay here with Haruka for as long as possible?
Ameko just shrugged. "Well, obviously, we can't leave without you recovering even just a bit. That's fine since we're not urgently needed in Konoha anyway. Todou gave me a rough estimation before he left for the hospital and he guessed a week at the absolute minimum." A smirk bloomed on Ameko's face. "If it comes to that, he can easily carry you on his back."
They definitely didn't have a hard time believing that.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Ameko's face as she tilted her head to the side. She regarded Kakashi carefully and just when the Copy Nin was about to open his mouth to ask her about it, Ameko announced her intention.
"It might be good for you to talk a walk Kakashi-san," she declared. "You need to exercise your muscles or they'll become stiff. Don't worry, we'll walk at your pace and not go far – just a little bit more into the village. We'll meet Haruka and Kaiten on the way."
If he were anybody else, Kakashi would have hugged Ameko after hearing her suggestion. With help from Yamato, Kakashi began rising from the futon while Ameko wandered off to find him some comfortable clothes that a foreign shinobi would wear in an ally village. No matter how numb and uncooperative his muscles were, it was no excuse to walk around without at least a few kunai and shuriken on his person.
Finally dressed in black pants with numerous pockets, a navy blue long-sleeved shirt, black sandals and a weapons pouch – with his mask and hitai-ate on of course – the four nin left the warm house.
Although he was a bit stiff and slow, Kakashi was able to walk by himself without too much trouble. Yamato stood by his left side, opposite from his dominant hand and his only visible eye. It was the mixture of Yamato's small and big considerations that made Kakashi value him as a friend and ally. It also helped that his kouhai was always able to easily read his moods and his train of thought.
"We're lucky it's not raining," Yamato commented as he looked up at the dark and heavy sky, which seemed to never change for Amegakure.
Ameko smirked. "The civilians would say, 'Either the sky is calm or the Angel's Sword is happy'."
"What does that mean, oh youthful Ameko-san?" Lee asked boisterously in curiosity.
Ameko's smirk widened. "The civilians believe that Kaien-sama's chakra is so great that his mood affects the weather. Of course, great as his chakra is, he won't change the weather just to suit his mood." She shook her head as though in disbelief that anyone would think their leader could be so selfish. "That would just be a complete and utter waste of chakra!"
Still, she did not refute that his chakra was great enough to influence the weather. It was an absolutely terrifying thought. It was definitely a good thing that Amegakure was an ally of Konoha.
As they entered the village centre, which seemed more and more like a highly industrialized city, the patches of sky that they could see became smaller and smaller as the tall sky scrapers seemed to aim to pierce the heavens. Kakashi had to close his eye for a moment as he remembered a similar image – only with earth instead of metal... The earth jutsu that Iruka performed in the last moments of his life in order to trap the Asura Path of Pain.
"Sempai?"
"I'm fine," Kakashi said lightly as he opened his eye once more and began walking with his usual slouch as though nothing had happened but...
Everything. Absolutely everything in Amegakure no Sato reminded him of his fallen comrade. When he was first assigned this mission – to enter the village he currently hated the most – he knew that it would be painful... But he never expected it to be agonizing. The buildings, the hitai-ate worn by half of the people he passed by, the man who looked like the Deva Path of Pain and then...
Haruka...
Haruka with his dark hair and dark eyes. Haruka with the scar over his nose. Haruka with his warm concern and his kind smile. Haruka who was just like Iruka that it was killing Kakashi – and at the same time, giving him such a cruel yet lifting hope that he could not resist...
It was unfair to Haruka, to Iruka and especially to him. Why did things turn out like this? Why couldn't everything just stop and end and maybe he could die-
No. Too many people died for his sake for him to choose the coward's way out. How would he be able to face those on the other side if he wasted all their sacrifice just because he couldn't handle the consequences of his choices, decisions and actions?
He already told himself a long time ago that if he ever died, it would be for someone else's sake, not for his.
"Ah! Jounin-sama!"
Kakashi blinked and then focused his eye on the sight in front of him. Haruka was smiling widely from where he stood a few feet away as Kaiten scowled next to him. Kakashi blinked again and he realized that they were already well within the village and that he had been deeply lost in thought the whole way.
He turned his gaze to Yamato and the younger man slowly shifted his gaze to the left; it was the subtle signal to look around.
That was when Kakashi noticed it. A number of the villagers were quiet and watching them warily. Kakashi, however, was shocked to notice that it wasn't them they were looking at with such cautious eyes but...
...Kaiten?
No...
Haruka!
"Haruka-san is not an Ame nin."
It didn't make sense! Wouldn't the villagers of Ame be more wary of the shinobi from Konoha than someone who has been living among them?
Yet here they were, their eyes on a seemingly oblivious Haruka, while the Konoha shinobi were ignored as though they were no threat.
It was absolutely mind boggling.
"It's good to see you up and about, Kakashi-sama," Haruka said cheerfully as he approached them. It was only when Haruka approached them that Kakashi noticed the villagers' eyes finally settle on the Konoha nin.
"Maa," Kakashi said, his single eye the only visible hint of his false smile, as he reached up to scratch his head. He winced when his upper muscles protested at the action and he slowly lowered his arm. "I'm not too slow when it comes to healing." It comes with being injured all the time.
"That's good," Haruka said warmly before he turned his attention to Lee and Yamato. "You look a bit flushed, Lee-san."
Lee grinned and did a thumbs-up with his 'good guy' pose. "I had a spar with the lovely Ameko-san!"
Haruka's eyes widened in wonder and Lee's grin widened. "You must be really good to be able to spar with Ameko. I'd like to watch you one day, Lee-san."
"It will be my pleasure, oh kind and youthful Haruka-san!"
"I hope you haven't been bored, Yamato-sama," Haruka said sheepishly.
Yamato shook his head and smiled. "I was watching Ameko-san and Lee spar so I was not bored at all. Also, Ameko-san was kind enough to show us around your village."
"Yeah, Haruka!" Ameko exclaimed indignantly. "How could anyone be bored with me around?"
Kaiten scoffed. "Well, all your yelling and nagging and violence gets old after just a couple of times of seeing it."
Ameko's eyes instantly darkened as Haruka sighed and stepped away from Kaiten. The foolish Deva Path look-alike was instantly tackled to the ground by the fuming kunoichi.
"Just fer that, you useless git, I'll take ye with me to finish our preparations just so ye'd have more time in the presence of my esteemed self!"
With a violent hit to Kaiten's head, the fiery kunoichi dragged the protesting Kaiten off.
"Ameko-" Haruka tried to call out in an almost frantic voice, which made Kakashi and Yamato look sharply at him.
Ameko, however, didn't seem to hear Haruka – or just basically ignored him – as she kept yelling insults to Kaiten while dragging him off.
"SHUT UP, Kaiten! And Haruka," she barked sharply with eyes narrowed so darkly at the long-haired man that Haruka flinched. "Stay here and keep our guests company!" She then shook Kaiten like a terrier would its prey to try to quell his struggles as she dragged him with her.
"Oi Ameko, you unattractive bitch- OW! STOP IT! I don't want to leave Haruka alone- OW! WILL YOU CUT THAT OUT?"
Haruka sighed deeply once more as the two disappeared while Kaiten's protests faded in the distance. He turned to the Konoha nin and offered them a weak smile.
"I'm not sure what exactly Ameko is planning by leaving me here with you," he said hesitantly. "But since we're already here, would you like to see the market? You might find something you'd like."
But the atmosphere had changed. Without the presence of Ameko and Kaiten, the villagers' stares became more hostile and damning.
Haruka was obviously uncomfortable as he fidgeted very slightly. Kakashi instantly realized that he had not been unaware of the wary glances earlier. He had been ignoring them for Kakashi's and the others' sake so that they wouldn't sense that something was amiss. But now that the two Ame nin were gone, the heaviness in the air could no longer be masked.
Something is definitely wrong, Kakashi thought as he watched the villagers around them carefully. Out loud, he said, "It's all right Haruka-san. I think we've seen enough-"
Childish laughter caught Kakashi's attention as a group of four children came out from an alley a few metres away from Haruka's left and were obviously playing tag. The one in front had been looking behind her instead of in front and she slammed against Haruka, who had been too nervous and agitated to notice the child in time.
The girl, who looked to be about seven, bounced off the young man and fell on her behind on the half-cement, half-muddy ground. She was dazed for a moment before she looked up to see who she had bumped into. As soon as recognition dawned on her face, her eyes widened, her lips trembled and tears began forming in her eyes.
Haruka immediately knelt in front of her in concern as the children behind the girl gasped.
"Are you all right, little one?" he asked worriedly as he reached for her.
But before he could even touch her, there was a loud SMACK as a fistful of mud, pebbles and sticks that had been picked off the ground hit Haruka on the right side of his head. Haruka's right eye instantly shut as mud and debris entered his eye. He hissed in pain and tried to wipe the mess off his eye.
"Don't touch her you filth!" the biggest of the boys, the one who threw the muck at Haruka, yelled in rage. "You're dirty!That's what you get, you filth!"
The two other boys in the group copied him and started throwing mud at him. Kakashi and Yamato quickly grabbed Haruka and hoisted him up before he could get gunk in his left eye as well while Lee moved in front of them to shield Haruka from further onslaught.
The boys suddenly seemed to realize that they were dealing with shinobi. Fear entered their eyes but before anyone else can do anything, a tall, bulky Ame villager approached them.
"Get out of here," he ordered the boys and a woman came up and took the crying girl away. The boys followed her but kept on shooting glances back at the shinobi.
"You're guests here so you don't know," the man said gruffly before pointing at Haruka. "But he's not allowed in the village unless he's with Kaiten-sama or one of the other two. So it would be best that you leave already so that no one else would take a shot at him."
Kakashi's eye was blank. "Thank you for the warning."
The man inclined his head before walking away.
"Can you walk, Haruka-san?" Kakashi asked Haruka gently.
"I can," Haruka said quietly as he kept his head bowed. "I'm so very sorry that you had to see that. They're actually good people. They're just scared."
The villagers avoided Kakashi's gaze as they walked out of the village towards Haruka's house at the outskirts. So he didn't actually live out here, where it was the most dangerous, by choice.
Why? Kakashi thought fiercely. Why do they hate him so much?
But he already knew. He saw it behind all the anger in the villagers' eyes.
They feared Haruka.
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to magostar117, my first reviewer for the previous chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! =)
Woah! I actually NEED to run off (I'm LATE!) to my job but I was just desperate to post this! I'll probably add more comments in this chapter later on when I get home tonight! (I finish at 9PM! NOOOOOOOO! Gonna be dead tired! ='( ) So patience please! Expect more comments (and probably a bit more editing since I rushed this) later! =D
Please tell me what you think! I took a long time to get this chapter out, not just because I'm insanely busy, but also because it was a bit difficult to write! So comments would be nice! =)
Ceil Scheherazade