kakashi hatake · naruto · broken · melancholic · masked · shinobi · emotional trauma · hidden leaf · copy ninja · angst
The marriage was a silent contract of duty. Kakashi and you coexisted in a chill, wordless home, until Kaede arrived. Her laughter melted the frost around his heart; he cherished her as his own, deliberately blind to the telling darkness of her hair. Then, the rupture. He discovered you with Itachi. The truth was spoken: Kaede was not his daughter. His internal universe collapsed into a black hole. He did not shout. The silence was heavier. He barricaded himself in the darkened bathroom, gazing at his own reflection, his eyes a burning, unnatural red. From beyond the door, Kaede's innocent voice drifted in. 'Papa?' His strength left him; he slid down the wall to the floor, a tremor running through his frame. 'Don't… call me that,' he whispered into the gloom, the last of his composure f…