Downpour (DISCONTINUED)

Mother Dearest

Authors Note: For this story, Kakashi's mother is my own OC. 

Kakashi sat in stunned silence, staring wide eyed at Naruto. Naruto didn't say anything, simply fiddled with his hands and stared at the floor as if it had suddenly become very interesting. 

"What did you say?" Kakashi whispered. Naruto remained silent. 

Kakashi leaned back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to process this new information. His mother came to see him in the hospital, she wanted to speak to him. 

This was a lot to process. Kakashi let his eyes slide shut, thinking back to those weeks after the accident, he had been only fourteen years old, Naruto was four at the time, though Kakashi didn't know him yet. 

He remembered sitting in the social workers office, in a small upholstered desk chair. In his lap sat Obito's jacket, he was clutching it so tightly his fingers had gone numb. It was the only thing he'd taken from the house that wasn't his. The thick, dark material still smelled like his brother, a strange mix of cologne and something familiar and soothing. 

The social worker was typing away at her desk, she was in a tight fitting pencil skirt and suit, her stringy, plain brown hair was pinned in a neat, professional looking bun on the back of her head. 

At last, she sighed, turning to a silent Kakashi with a smile. 

"I've got your mother's number here, let's give her a call shall we?" Kakashi had been indifferent as the social worker, Jane she called herself, punched in a number and waited with the phone to her ear, tapping her nails on the desk. 

"Hello? Mrs. Hatake? Oh- yes I'm sorry. Miss Yatsutoki." Jane maintained a formal politeness as she spoke, holding a fake smile on her strange, plastic face. "Well, you see, your son, Kakashi Hatake, is without a legal guardian, and we were wondering- ah- oh. Yes, well-" 

She kept trying to speak, but was continually cut off. Kakashi remained silent, and clutched Obito's jacket a little tighter. 

"Yes, I see. Sorry to bother you." Jane hung up the phone, sighing. Kakashi could clearly recall how she'd looked at him after that, there was so much pity in her eyes it was almost palpable. It made Kakashi sick. 

Kakashi shook his head, opening his eyes to stare back at Naruto. He hadn't seen, really seen, his mother since he was about nine years old. The concept of her coming to him, well it was unthinkable. Naruto finally turned his head to glance sideways at Kakashi.  

"She gave me up." Naruto whispered. "When I was six. She put me up for adoption. Koshina adopted me a few years later." Kakashi nodded. Naruto's adoptive parents had been a blessing to this earth. Koshina and Minato. They'd been kind to Kakashi as well, when he met them, they'd treated him like there own son. 

Kakashi still thought fondly of them. 

Naruto's real father was an unknown, their mother had slept with many people after all, Naruto was just another accident to add to the list. At least for Kakashi, his real father had taken him in. Naruto didn't have that privilege. 

"But when I spoke to her..." Naruto continued, breaking Kakashi's thoughts. "She said she was sorry. She said she regretted giving me up, and wanted to get to know me." Kakashi swallowed hard. 

"What did you say?" He whispered. 

"That I'd think about it." Naruto continued fiddling with his hands. "Do you want to talk to her?" Kakashi thought silently for a moment. 

She didn't want me, after the accident she left me hanging, didn't even want to speak to me. 

"Send her in, will you?" Naruto stood up, nodding. He briefly touched Kakashi's arm, meeting his eyes before slipping quietly out the door. 

Kakashi was left alone with his thoughts. 

What will I say?

Kakashi could think of a few things he'd like to say to his mother. "Why didn't you want me?", "Why did you leave Dad?", "Why are you such a cold hearted bitch?" 

At that exact moment, the door swung open, and there stood Kakashi's mother. Harumi Yatsutoki. 

She looked different than Kakashi remembered her. Thinner, more pale and bony. Like a starved bird. Kakashi's memories held a soft woman with swinging black hair that flowed like a waterfall down her shoulders. The woman before him had thin black hair, with a few grey strands adorning the mess. Her eyes were tired, sunken almost, the deep black of her irises reflected despair, and desperation.

But there was something so incredibly familiar about how she stood, with her hands clasped in front of her, shoulders hanging low. The smile was the same, tired yet genuine. Kakashi swallowed a few times. keenly aware of her eyes raking over his masked face. 

"I see your disease has forced you to wear a mask." She murmured. Even her voice was the same, familiar, tired, smooth. Home. 

Kakashi nodded, raising a hand to finger the tight strings that held the cloth to his face. 

"May I... See your face?" She whispered. Her eyes were desperate almost, pleading with him in a way that Kakashi simply couldn't resist. He brought his hands to the sides of his face, pulling the strings down from around his ears, then over his head. He held the mask in place for a moment longer before finally pulling it down.

His mother gasped quietly, covering her mouth. 

"Oh, Kakashi. My sweet Kakashi." She whispered. "You've grown up." She smiled with tears in her eyes, laughing a little. Kakashi allowed himself to smile, chuckling through the tears welling up in his eyes. 

My mother, my mother is here. She wants to see me, she wants me again.

Kakashi wiped the smile from his face, and quickly replaced the mask. It wasn't safe to sit there without it on, not after recently having an episode that put him in the hospital. 

"So." Kakashi began quietly. "Why are you here?" Harumi nodded briskly, closing her eyes and walking closer to Kakashi's bedside. 

"May I sit?" She asked politely. Kakashi nodded slowly. 

She sat down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands tightly into her lap, as if she didn't trust herself not to touch Kakashi. Kakashi had sat up completely, and now forced himself to lie back, easing the pressure on his ribs. 

"I wanted to see you and Naruto, Kakashi, because, well..." She dropped off, laughing. "It's almost funny, you know. After all these years, this is why I come back to see my two, beautiful sons." Kakashi sat silently, watching Harumi expectantly. He wasn't going to go easy on her because she complimented him. 

"You see, Kakashi, I'm dying."