legacy | hatake kakashi

[ thirteen ] rain.

            RAIN WAS rare in Konoha. But on the morning of Kiyoko's 10th birthday, you would think that the rain was a constant occurrence. Kiyoko should have known how the day would go just by looking at the rain and feeling the stir of nature energy that clawed at her; desperately trying to tell her something, but she was in too good of a mood.

"Mama, it's time to get up!" Kiyoko sang, pushing the door open on her mothers sleeping figure, who didn't stir at her voice, "mama?"

The woman looked peaceful as she laid on her side, facing the large window that revealed the vast nature of their backyard. Her chest looked like it was rising and falling, but that could have just been Kiyoko's wishful thinking.

Kiyoko took a tentative step forward, her hand shaking as she touched the cold shoulder of her mother, turning her onto her back. The young girl didn't even know she was screaming until Natsumi burst into the room, taking one glance at the small figure of Kiyoko as she collapsed onto her knees, desperately clutching the cold, grey hand of her mother.

"Get out! Get out, get out!" Kiyoko heard her own voice scream as she covered her mother the best she could.

Natsumi took a step forward, "Kiyoko..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say. Kiyoko couldn't hear her. All she could hear was a loud ringing.

"Get out, you can't see her like this!" Her voice was still screaming between broken sobs, getting up and pushing Natsumi out of the room, the older girl not protesting. Kiyoko slammed the door shut, the sliding door's hinges shaking at the force.

Kiyoko crawled back to her mother, who was now covered by a sheet, her hand still poking out and hanging limply by the beds side.

"Mama, please wake up," Kiyoko begged, desperation bleeding into her voice, "mama, I'm not ready, please wake up, please mama!"

Kiyoko stayed by her mother's side for hours, pleading sorrowfully for her mother to wake up. The tears never stopped flowing, and Natsumi didn't come back to check on her, but sat with her back to the door as she listened to Kiyoko's heart shatter.

Rain was rare in Konoha, but perhaps nature was crying with Kiyoko as she mourned her the too soon death of her mother, Yamada Yue.

--

The funeral had been larger than Kiyoko would have liked. The clan heads even showed up, expressing their condolences and their expectations of Kiyoko once the war was over. Kiyoko on the other hand, just wanted them out of her house. She held onto a rose clipping, waiting for a moment of solitude. The rain hadn't stopped for the three days while Kiyoko prepared the funeral.

She even saw Namikaze Minato, the sight of him barely registering in her mind. Everyone's words sounded muffled in her ears. Kakashi was with him, strangely enough. They made eye contact for the longest time, his sharingan now covered by his headband, until he wordlessly placed a hand on her shoulder before disappearing with Minato. At least Obito wouldn't see the dark bags that lingered under her eyes.

He never saw my mother like she wanted before she died.

"Kiyoko-chan, are you okay?" came Rin's voice, breaking her out of her thoughts. Her voice sounded clearer now, as Kiyoko tried to focus back on reality. The rain continued to pour down on her, the drops hitting her black umbrella as she looked up at Rin.

The young girl just put on the polite smile she had been wearing all day and nodded, "yes, my mother lived a long life and prepared me well for her departure." It was a lie. Yue didn't prepare her well at all, and saying death made it feel too real.