In Yamanaka Izumi's thoughts, he was omnipresent.
━━ in which Kakashi's childhood friend just can't
seem to let him go and provides him with the love he secretly craved.
KAKASHI HATAKE/OC
PRE-CLASSICS
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ten, Second Chance
trigger warning: mentions of suicide
HATAKE SAKUMO HAD COMMITED SEPPUKU. The news of his passing traveled through the village like a wildfire. All of a sudden, people began to express pity for the man, and felt somewhat sympathetic towards him. Disdain towards him was expressed less openly now, the rumors had become whispers blowing in the wind.
The funeral was not much of an event. Not many people had decided to attend and even less had cared for the young boy left behind. It was organized by the Yamanaka family in honor of their friend and a good customer, a man whom they had learned to appreciate during the time they knew him. To them, it was a no-brain decision to do so.
Kakashi meanwhile curled into himself even more than he had before. As they set his father by he stood unmoving, charcoal eyes fixated on the elegant wooden casket lowered into a hole in the ground. On top of it lay the headband Sakumo had worn as a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. The White fang, dead.
'Do me the favour, make sure Kakashi never forgets his good heart either'. Izumi froze. Did he know then that he would soon pass?
Izumi worried that the death of his father would have more of an effect on Kakashi now, that he would not completely swear on the Shinobi rules.
A comforting hand lay on his shoulder. Izumi.
It was midnight and the Yamanaka flower shop was quiet except for the heavy breathing of Miho, hands firmly placed on the counter as she stared ahead at the many flowers lighting the place up. Cerulean blue eyes were wandering around the various flowers, searching for something.
Izumi stepped closer to her mother, leaning into the side of the woman. "Can I help you somehow?" Slowly, she wrapped her right arm around the waist of the older woman, cuddling into her.
"Maybe," The blond Yamanaka hesitated in her answer, staring down at her daughter. "I'm trying to figure out the flower arrangement for Hatake-san's funeral, but ... my mind is empty."
"I think we should make the bouquet he always bought for his wife." suggested Izumi, looking up at her mother.
Miho gazed down at her daughter, at the distraught expression her child wore as she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. "That's a good idea. We should do that."
"Do you want to make it?"
The brunette shook her head immediately, eyes wide. "No!" Her voice was loud, anxious.
Miho's brow furrowed in confusion, but she chose to not press the issue present. "Okay, I will make it then."
The young Yamanaka let out a sigh of relief, body slumping a little. Her mother had turned away already to retrieve the notebook where repeating orders were written so she could make the bouquet. The most vivid aspect of the bouquet, or so Miho remembered, were the pink roses.
"Pink roses," mumbled Kakashi underneath his breath, still the brunette heard him. "I guess, when you miss someone, you usually are also thankful for them." His charcoal eyes were fixated on the pink roses of the bouquet.
Miho shuffled on her feet at his gaze, shifting the bouquet with her. "Hun?" spoke Miho softly, addressing the young boy in front of her.
Kakashi did not react to her.
"Hun, you can't stay in that house all by yourself," Miho looked down on him, cerulean eyes he found so familiar, so similar to his friend's, searching for contact with his own. She shook her head. "You can't."
His heart beat rapidly in his chest, he couldn't stay there, he wasn't ready.
"If you want, you can stay with us for a while." Miho offered him a gentle smile, the one of a mother.
Behind her, Fuji nodded, wearing a smile similar to his wife's.
Kakashi felt conflicted. One part of him urged to accept the offer, to stay with the family, to indulge himself in the comfort they were able to give him. They were a blanket of warmth to him, one that wished to surround him and make sure no coldness would ever touch him. With them, he would be loved. The other part of him disagreed with the idea. It told him to go back home, to reject the offer, reject the comfort. It felt undeserved to him. But when Kakashi saw the gentle smile of encouragement settled on his friend's face, the way her hand reached out for him, he found himself nodding.
Izumi smiled gently at him. He felt comforted, the other part of him was wrong. To disagree would be wrong. For at least a while he could stay with the Yamanaka family and maybe that would help him. Or history would repeat itself, he didn't know, but hoped it wouldn't. They were his second chance, a chance he so desperately craved.
