I'm here! And it's actually not been several months! Wow! Anyway, here, have a well-deserved new chapter. This is flashbacks/older scenes. I'm exploring Yuri/Lily and Kakashi's relationship further through these scenes. Anyway- here you go!

Kakashi hummed to himself, cross-legged on his bed, glancing between his two copies of Icha Icha Paradise, trying to decide which one to read first.

He finally decided on the left copy, and began to read it, trying to distract himself from the painful memories that entered his thoughts every time he was alone.

He bit the inside of cheek, trying to focus on his book instead of memories he'd rather forget. And he sighed, closing it. It never really worked when he was in the mood he was in now.

"Mama!"

The high pitched wailing interrupted his thoughts. Highly confused, he turned to see a baby sobbing on his bed.

"…What." He deadpanned. Was this someone's idea of a joke? A baby? Why was a baby suddenly occupying his bed space?

But, he couldn't exactly leave it there. He tentatively approached it. He was way out of his depth with this one. As he grew closer, he noticed the baby's hair colour properly.

It was exactly the same shade as his own.

A sneaking suspicion rose in his throat, put he pushed It away. There was no way, right? Yuri was most likely dead now, anyway.

But as he glanced down and the tear-filled eyes of the baby, he almost had a heart attack.

Tear-filled eyes which were the exact shade as Yuri's.

"Kuso." He cursed to the previously empty room.

The baby looked up in curiosity at the new voice.

"Mama? Mama? Mama!" He babbled sadly, making grabby hands towards Kakashi, Yuri's eyes took in his appearance like they had so many years ago, only this time as a stranger.

"Kuso." He cursed again.

'Dear Kakashi,

If you're reading this, I am dead. I'm sorry for everything, and especially for dying. I have a lot to explain. And I'm sorry for everything.

Just know that I love you, okay? Don't doubt that. Never doubt that. If you doubt anything about me, just please never doubt that.

It feels strange writing this. Hopefully, you will never read this. But if you are, then I need to explain for you.

First of all, I'm sure you know about my father's death. It was sad for me, but devastating for my mother. She began to hate every aspect about ninja life, so left me by myself to travel to where she called 'The Outside'.

I was invited to join her with every letter she sent me, but I stayed. For you, Kakashi. I'm sure you remember the night we shared. I couldn't help but feel lonely after then. You never really talked to me after then, and I suppose I thought you thought I was a mistake. I'm sorry for thinking that now. I know what you were going through.

I was confused about my feelings, as well as sad, so I accepted my mother's request the next time she asked me. I'm sorry for not telling you. I truly am.

I joined my mother to find she had started a completely new life, with a new husband and daughter. They gladly welcomed me, for which I am grateful.

My chakra always acted differently in this new world, so Petunia, who was my mother's new daughter, never really liked me, I suppose. I guess she was always jealous of the power she didn't have.

Anyway, I'm going off track.

There are also people in The Outside who have powers similar to Chakra, yet they call it magic instead. I was enrolled into a school for this magic school, and had a really great time. It's so different there, 'Kashi, but it's beautiful, too.

I, of course, made friends, and, I'm sorry to write this down, but also a lover. His name is James Potter, and he is truly a kind man, but sometimes I felt like there was something missing. And sometimes I still do.

Maybe the feeling I have for him was more of a friendship? I'm not sure. I wish I could explain everything, 'Kashi, but I'm afraid no one can. I'm sure you'd be able to, though. You were always the clever one.

But I confessed to my mother about my regrets concerning you, and she told me a way of going back. I knew that I had to go back, despite my life in The Outside.

I needed to see you, Kakashi. So I went. I'm sure you remember our time together. I'm truly sorry I could not stay longer.

But, 'Kashi, the next thing I knew was that I was pregnant, with your child.

His name is Haruchiki, Haru for short. James calls him Harry.

He's a perfect child. Perfect like you. Sometimes I wish he could have happened back at home, with none of The Outside's interference, but I don't know anymore.

I feel like I don't know anything anymore.

I [Here the words are obscured by stray tear marks and smudged ink] –orry.

But, here, there is a man, who calls himself Voldemort. Currently he is waging war on most of The Outside's population, and unfortunately I myself am a specific target.

Due to Haru. There is a man called Dumbledore, who was a teacher of mine, and a very powerful man. He tells me there is a prophesy, which caused Voldemort to want to kill Haru, so James, Haru and I have gone into hiding.

I would love to tell you that we are perfectly fine, yet if you are reading this I must not be. But it will also mean our son is alive, which I can only be thankful for.

Kakashi, I don't care if you hate me after this, but please do not hate your son. He reminds me so much of you.

I know you won't want to read a truly long letter, and despite me hoping this will never reach your eyes, that is the sole purpose of me writing it.

So, please take care, Kakashi, and take care of your son. I wish I could see him grow up, and I hope I will get to, but living in this moment now is enough.

All I can do is hope Voldemort will be defeated. We should be safe, the only one who knows our exact location is one of James's close friends, Peter Pettigrew. He's a sweet boy, but I've always preferred Sirius and Remus, for some reason. But he's the last person Voldemort would expect to be our secret keeper.

I still practise jutsus from time to time. And, yes, I still can't get the Dragon Flame Bomb right. Maybe you were wrong. But maybe I will get it one day. It doesn't help that every time I try it, I am reminded of you.

I hope you are doing well.

I'm not really sure what to write here. I've never really been good with goodbyes, as I'm sure you've picked up from experience.

It's just, writing this seems final. I don't want it to be. I want to see you again, but I guess we were never meant to be.

Sometimes I think about what life would be like with you, and sometimes it almost feels like it's real, but I know it's not. You will do fine as your own shinobi.

I think of our time together, from time to time, and it seems that all I can feel through the nostalgia is the sad tinted happiness that you always did take my advice.

And I'm happy too. I said I'd always love you, and you were all I'd ever need, and maybe that's still true. Maybe the pain has never really faded, yet do I know I am happy too. And I hope you are.

Maybe with this, we can both be happy, if only in a small aspect of our universe, but who cares, right? It's our happiness; our life. We can be happy if we want to be.

I miss you.

Please, do whatever you must to look after your son. Our son. Just know I still love you, if only as a faraway promise.

Yours, always,

Yuri xxx

[There is a small hand-dawn sketch of a Lily lying on it's side next to the signature. It is splattered with a mixture of tears, ink, and blood]

"Your nee-san is crazy," Hiroto whispered to Haru, almost scared, the day after. Haru could only laugh in response.

"I guess. She loves dango. Like me."

Hiroto shivered. "…Yeah. And Gai! I've heard about him, but he's far worse in real life." Haru could only agree with this one.

"Yeah. He's mad. I feel sorry for otou-san, to have to be his 'eternal rival'. Must be scary."

"I'm just glad he didn't seem to notice me."

"How do you think I felt? I had his undivided attention! And Otou-san was no help! He just kept laughing."

Hiroto snickered at this, to which Haru elbowed him playfully. At this moment, Aki burst through the bushes.

"Haru! I think I've found her! And you've found Hiroto." He barked, tail standing up in acknowledgment to his presence.

"Yeah. C'mon then, Aki, let's go!"

They followed Aki into a patch of tall trees, luscious with green leaves.

"Up there." Aki whispered, pointing with his muzzle. Haru nodded, and put a finger over his lips, before beginning to climb the tree pointed out.

About half the way up, he spotted Nozomi's dangling leg, facing away from him. He quietly climbed to the same level as her, and began to silently sneak up behind her, using Aki and his father's advice on how to sneak up unnoticed.

He crossed the last few inches with speed, grabbing Nozomi's shoulder, causing her to tense and whip around to face him, eyes flashing in the light. She saw it was Haru and relaxed, laughing.

She held up her hands in defeat. "You found me! Have you found Hiroto yet?" She asked, already starting to climb down the tree.

Haru nodded, following her down. "Yeah. He helped me find you." She nodded, before looking down to see where to put her foot down.

She jumped to the floor before reaching the bottom, startling Hiroto, and causing Haru to grin at his reaction and Aki to bark.

Haru followed her a second late, chuckling. They decided to play a few more rounds, before stopping and just sat in a circle, Aki curled up in Haru's lap.

"We should be a ninja team together," Haru yawned, exploiting two nods from his friends.

"Yeah." Nozomi answered. "What ninja weapon is your favourite?" She added in question.

Surprisingly, Hiroto was the first to answer. "I-I like Kusarigamas and Kamas." To which Haru and Nozomi looked around at him in pleasant surprise.

"That's so cool!" Haru gaped, to which Nozomi nodded in agreement, causing Hiroto to blush slightly in embarrassment, looking down at the floor.

"U-Uh, thanks. W-what about you two?" he inquired, stutter seeping back into his words.

"Well, Anko-nee-san taught me how to use senbon needles, and I quite like them. I like the sai, shuriken, kunai and tantos too." Haru commented, before looking over at Nozomi expectantly.

She blushed a bright red, "I-I'm not really sure, I-I mean, I've never really used any before."

Haru grinned, telling her comfortingly, "That's fine. It just gives you more time to find out what your good at!" before patting her on the shoulder.

She nodded at him thankfully, still red. "When do you think we'll start using weapons?" She asked.

Haru shrugged, but Hiroto decided to speak up at this.

"Otou-sama said we won't use them for ages, we need to work on our stamina and chakra first. It'll be maybe even years before we can use proper weapons."

Haru groaned in disappointment, a pout on his face, "That's annoying! I bet Otou-san will let me practise before that, though."

"Mine will too, no doubt," Hiroto nodded in agreement, before seeming to consider Nozomi.

"I-I mean, you could train with us, too, if you want." He shyly said, causing Nozomi to smile gratefully.

"That'd be awesome! It'd be even cooler if I can decide what weapon I like then. Thanks." She beamed at him.

He shrugged, but had a smile on his face, looking at the floor again.

"And me?!" Haru exclaimed, causing Aki to jump and glare at him, before snuggling closer in his lap.

Hiroto and Nozomi chuckled, before Hiroto nodded. "Yeah. All of us."

-3 months later-

"Otou-san? Can my friends come round? And train?"

Kakashi turned to glance down at his son.

"Sure? The Hyuuga and the red-haired girl?"

Haru sighed, but nodded.

"Yeah. We always go to the Hyuuga compound or over to Nozomi's house, but we've never come here."

"You can bring them here tonight, then. I'll keep an eye on you."

"Yeah, um, please don't be, uh, I mean, you're the hokage! And they'll be nervous, so please don't, um,"

Kakashi grinned through his mask. His cute son.

"Don't be like what? Do you not like me? Or am I going to embarrass you in front of your girlfriend?" He said, mock hurt in his voice.

Haru flushed in anger and embarrassment. "Otou-san! First of all, we're too young to have relationships! And I wouldn't even want to be Nozomi's girlfriend. And I don't like you when you're annoying my friends."

"My own son hates me!" He whined, enjoying the look on Haru's face. He straightened up, and ruffled Haru's hair, before nodding.

"I expect some introductions to these friends of yours! Invite them over for dinner, too."

"Okay! Thanks, Otou-san, you're the best," Haru smiled, changing demeanour in seconds.

Kakashi smiled fondly as he watched him leave for the academy.

Nozomi was laughing at a joke Hiroto had just told her, sitting on a table next to him, legs swinging carelessly, a grin on her face.

Hiroto was smiling, writing down answers on a sheet of homework while absent-mindedly talking to Nozomi, who had done the homework the day before.

"Guys!" Haru's voice sounded as he entered the room, a smirk on his face, followed by a padding Aki.

They both turned to look at him questioningly.

"Otou-san said you need to come and stay for dinner at our house tonight!"

Nozomi and Hiroto exchanged equally nervous looks, causing Haru to walk over to them, shaking his head in exasperation.

"It's just like when I go over to yours'. It'll be fine. We can train there, too, okay? Otou-san's got loads of weapons, too, so you can use a kama or whatever, and you can try a few out!"

At this, they both perked up slightly.

"Otou-sama won't mind, so I guess I'll come."

"I'll come too. Okaa-san won't care if I go to a friend's house, so I just won't tell her it's at the hokage's house." Nozomi added.

"Great! It'll be fun, don't worry."

Hiroto snorted. "That's what I'm worried about."

Nozomi laughed.

"Do we… knock?" Nozomi whispered to Hiroto, looking at the door to Haru's house apprehensively.

"I don't know," he whispered back, "Maybe we should go back?"

Nozomi considered this option before decisively shaking her head. "No, he asked us to come, I don't want him to feel like we forgot or anything."

Hiroto nodded in agreement, "Yeah. But, uh, should we knock?"

Nozomi hesitantly nodded, and grabbed his arm, "C'mon, if I'm gonna do it, you're coming with me."

He complied and followed her until she knocked on the door three times. And then they stood waiting in silence.

And waiting.

And waiting.

Just as Nozomi was about to speak again, the door flew open and a ball of grey fur flung itself at the pair. Nozomi immediately let out a laugh in surprise, immediately beginning to pet Aki, while Hiroto looked up to see a smiling Haru.

"You came!" He exclaimed happily.

Nozomi and Hiroto exchanged an amused glance.

"Of course we came!" Hiroto said, Nozomi nodding along as best she could crouched at eye level with an exited nin-dog pup.

"Come on! I'll show you our weapon stash."

The four of them made their way inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Here! Look, Hiroto, we have like 5 kamas, and I think there's another kusarigama around here somewhere-"

"Thank you!" Hiroto gushed, immediately making his way to a shiny black kama, one of the smaller ones, but also one of the sharpest ones.

"No problem," Haru spoke, pleased with himself. He then turned to Nozomi, who was still carrying a pleased Aki and absent-mindedly petting him, but completely focussed on the wide array of weaponry in front of her.

"D'ya wanna have a look? You can try some if you want; pick them up to feel the weight and stuff."

She lifted her head up to meet her eyes with his. They were practically shining. "Thank you!" She told him in excitement, a similar tone to Hiroto's, who was now testing the feel of the kama he had picked up.

She gave Aki one last pet before he licked her hand and jumped beside Haru. Nozomi glanced across the varied weapons before hesitantly picking up a pair of Tekko, and then turning to look at Haru in egar enthusiasm.

"These are so cool! What are they called?"

Haru grinned. "Tekkō. I thought you might like them. I have longer ones, if you want to look at them. They're more like claws than these."

Nozomi nodded rapidly, almost bouncing.

He showed her the pair, made with a shining silver metal, sharpened to a point.

"Can I try them?" She asked quickly, taking them in her hands in awe.

He nodded, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"Hiroto!" He called to his friend, causing him to look around in question from where he was now handling a kusarigama carefully.

"D'ya wanna test them out with us?" He asked, already knowing the answer, and sure enough, Hiroro nodded and immediately joined them.

Haru led them through a door which led the trio into what Nozomi could only describe as a large training room.

"Use whatever you like," Haru said, already leaning against one of the walls in anticipation.

Nozomi and Hiroto nodded and shared an excited grin between them, before moving to identical training dummies on either side of the large room.

Nozomi fastened the Tekkō to her hands while Hiroto gripped the kama in his hand tightly.

Before he could blink, Nozomi had stabbed the area where the heart would be, immediately tearing the fabric, almost all the way through the body.

At the same time, Hiroto had flung the kama at the neck of the dummy, and watched, mouth slightly open, as the head toppled to the ground.

They turned to look at Haru, who laughed.

"That was good! I can make them move, though. It might be harder for you."

They watched him curiously as he walked over, first to Hiroto, leading him to an untouched one close to him, and fiddled with something at the back, humming.

"Otou-san made them. They've got his chakra in them, so they're like people kinda? You'll see what I mean in a sec."

He then moved over to Nozomi's and did the same, before standing back.

The dummies began to shake, before the deep gashes Nozomi had made in hers began to stitch themselves together, and all of a sudden, it began to move.

Nozomi looked towards him, eyes wide and a grin on her face. Hiroto made a noise in the back of his throat, hand gripping the kama tighter.

Nozomi swiped for the dummy like before, except this time the dummy dodged out of the way of the glinting metal.

Hiroto had found a similar thing had happened to him, the kama meeting empty air. They glanced towards each other and nodded with a smirk.

Nozomi slashed again, and as the dummy dodged, she twirled around and managed to clip its side with her other hand.

Hiroto aimed towards its right shoulder, before swinging for its left side as it dodged from his shoulder strike.

He caught it the first time, a tear appearing, before it darted back, standing still.

Haru called out, "They're on the lowest level. They don't attack on that one. Only on Level 3 upwards."

"There are levels to these?" Nozomi inquired, looking towards him curiously.

"Yeah. They gain armour and stuff, too. But Otou-san has to be there to do that. It's 'too dangerous'."

Hiroto giggled. "He does have a point."

Haru flushed slightly. "I guess. Anyway, go on!"

At this both of them nodded and focused on the still figures.

Nozomi quickly slashed forwards, agile like a cat, and caught its chest slightly, ripping it.

Hiroto tried his last tactic again, on the opposite side. It didn't work.

He swiped for its neck, watching it dodge like he expected, but before spinning around quickly, similar to how Nozomi had spun earlier, and caught the other side of the neck with the kama.

Another dummy head hit the floor.

Nozomi glanced at him with a pleased look, before slashing at the dummy in rapid succession, in quick calculated swipes.

She stood back and watched as the dummy staggered back, numerous deep gashed across its whole body.

It fell to the floor.

There was a slow clap. Hiroto and Nozomi turned round with a joint grin, thinking it was Haru. But Haru had also turned around.

And there in the doorway stood a Kakashi Hatake.

Haru sighed, glancing it his friends in a, 'Can you believe this guy?' way.

"Yo," The Hokage waved, causing Nozomi and Hiroto to gaze at him in slight horror, before looking up at Kakashi nervously.

"That was pretty good, for Academy brats. I have to admit, I'm impressed." He admitted, taking a step further into the room.

"I-U-Uh, thanks?" Nozomi stuttered, sweat dripping down her forehead, but not from the exertion of fighting the dummy. She elbowed Hiroto to encourage him to speak up as well.

He squeaked, as if broken from a stupor. "I- yeah! Uh- thanks! Hokage-sama!"

Haru didn't know whether to laugh or facepalm. He decided to stay silent.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was highly amused.

"A Hyuuga? And a… girl? Well, I don't mind, they're fine by me. Nice work with the kamas. I didn't think Hyuuga's really used them."

"I-T-They don't usually, b-but I-I I like them!" Hiroto seemed to gain a boost of confidence.

"They're easiest to use. And I like kusarigama's too."

Kakashi nodded in approval. Hiroto was proving an interesting companion for his son, but that wasn't a bad thing. He turned his gaze to the anomaly.

"I see you have taken a liking to the Tekkō. You like cats, right?"

Nozomi nodded, moving from foot to foot. "Yeah. I-well, yeah. These are nice to use. And cats are the best."

"I don't like cats. I like dogs." Kakashi said bluntly, trying to hide his grin, which was quite easy to do, considering his mask.

Nozomi began to fidget, silenced. The silence dragged on, the atmosphere tense.

'This was a bad idea' Nozomi and Hiroto were both frantically thinking, kama and tekkō both forgotten, until the silence was shattered by Kakashi laughing.

"I'm joking." He deadpanned again, before gesturing for the three kids to follow him out of the room.

"C'mon, you brats. I hope you're not actually that scared of me. What has Haru been telling you about me?" He teased, causing Nozomi and Hiroto to relax slightly, still confused, whereas Haru was silently praying he wouldn't get any more embarrassing than he already was being currently.

The next thing they knew they were seated around a dinner table, Aki was asleep in the corner, wrapped in a blanket, and Kakashi was humming while serving food.

Haru glanced at his friends apologetically, but they were too busy watching Kakashi in a cross between awe and confusion.

He sat down next to Haru, who picked up his fork with resignation, prompting his friends to follow, albeit hesitantly.

They both were curiously watching Kakashi at the same time, wondering if he was going to take his mask off, or if he wasn't how he would eat all.

He just seemed to be smiling invitingly, so they began to eat their food, but as soon as they looked back up there was a portion of the food missing, and Kakashi still sported the same face as moments ago.

Haru grinned at his friend's faces, he was used to his father's behaviour by now, but it was funny to see others react to his habits.

It was only after they had finished eating, and the trio were sitting next to each other, a tired dog spread across their laps, that Kakashi commented,

"Please feel free to come here whenever you want, you two. I trust Haru's judgment. Don't be worried about me, okay?"

Haru nodded at his father's words.

"Yeah! He's just a big teddy bear," He grinned up at his father, laughing. Kakashi chuckled and ruffled his son's hair.

"Shush, you brat. But yeah. If you need anything, ask. I'll be upstairs, uh, reading. Yeah. Reading."

And then he left the three and the dog alone.

"See? He's fine," Haru said, yawning.

Nozomi shrugged. "He's, um, not what I was expecting."

"Yeah. Me neither." Hiroto agreed.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

They just laughed. "I'm not sure yet." Nozomi admitted, leaning her head against Hiroto's shoulder, feeling tired, just like the dog on her lap.

"Give him time. He's awesome, you'll see."

She just gave a noncommittal hum of agreement, eyes closing. Hiroto looked at her, grinning. Haru was falling asleep on his other side too, and now he thought about it, he could fall asleep too.

"'Night, guys." He muttered, leaning his head back against the wall behind him.

"'Night," Haru yawned back, stretching slightly before leaning on Hiroto's other, unoccupied shoulder.

"'Night." Nozomi mumbled, muffled voice barely audible.

They all slipped away into the gentle grasp of sleep.

The next morning, Kakashi looked at the four of them, a fond grin on his face, taking a photo of them, a mess of tangled limbs and drooling mouths, youths barely ready to embrace the world they were born into.

He chuckled, heading to the kitchen, waiting for them to wake up.

So Chapter 3 done. Phew. I felt a burst of productiveness and need to write this, so thank you writing gods. I needed it. And once again thanks to those who read, followed, faved and reviewed. Reviews make me so happy, so thank you so much! Anyway- the chapter. There are gonna be several timeskips in the next few chapters, just to move the story on a bit. This chapter is basically just character bonding, and I hope you're getting to know my OC's. More plot will come soon, don't you worry. I like developing my characters first, so weapons felt like a good way to do this. As you can probably tell, I'm bad at chapter names, so I'm not opposed to suggestions. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks again for reading!

~Yuri Out~