The Proudest, Luckiest Mother in the World

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Harī had known, known from the start when she settled down in Konoha, when she had thrown up all of her barriers and thrown herself into research. She'd known and taken measures, locked herself away from the outside world, from this world that she'd retreated to.

She'd left the Wizarding World, left Earth, behind, because it would be no help to her.

All it did was demand more of her, more of her time, more of her energy and Harī was tired of giving. Tired of standing up and offering all that she had just so those that had turned their backs upon her could go on to live a happy life, not even bothering to offer their thanks.

She was tired of being the martyr, so perhaps that was why she fled the second she found that book in the Black Library.

She had found a way out, a way to escape and one that they could never follow her to. To just throw herself into the time stream, into the axis of dimensions and build her life anew where ever she popped out.

No more would she be tied down by obligations, no more would she be cursed in the street by those hidden in the shadows, supporters of the Dark who failed to drum up the courage to her face her head on.

All Harī had ever wanted in her life since learning of her legend, the legend of The-Girl-Who-Lived, was to become normal. To be another face in the crowd, for all the eyes watching her to just disappear and leave her alone. But they never did.

So Hariel Lillian Potter left the eyes and their heavy stares behind, she became just Harī. As she had always wanted.

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Adjusting to a new Dimension was difficult at first. The language was different, the culture was different, the faces were different. Harī, with her English features, stood out so very much around these people that looked as if they could have fit right in had she been standing in Japan.

No, she was currently located in the 'Elemental Countries', Fire Country to be exact.

It was only after a month of observation that Harī realized this place had no witches or wizards, just ninja. Only ninja.

Reading a few minds, she gathered her background knowledge, learnt the language. Even if she still held a thick British accent as she spoke, it was apparently very nice to listen to. Or so the people who manned the food stalls said. Harī wouldn't know, only aware that she had to focus a little bit harder to hear the words spoke to her, to pick out the meaning from the heavy tone of voice. She got by though, that was all that mattered.

She settled down in the little village close to where she'd landed, selling healing potions as 'home-remedy tonics', in order to make a living. It was a simple life, but that was what she'd been after. Harī wasn't upset, wasn't sad or depressed. She liked her new life.

Even if it did lack excitement, even if sometimes it did feel like the walls were closing in on her. If the mark of the Deathly Hallows that sat on the nape of her neck burned on occasion.

Harī ignored those problems and just lived.

She was torn from this village when raiders hit, taking advantage of the lack of patrolling ninja, what with the Second Shinobi War that was ravaging through the land, they were few left to man the tower nearby that stood and protected their village.

Thirteen civilians were killed that day before Harī lost her temper, before the mark on the back of Harī's neck flare and burned and a green wave of energy pulsed out from her body and killed very last raider that dared to harm the village.

She packed up quickly before anyone could come to their senses and left. Headed for the only other place she knew of in this world.

Konoha.

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A refugee of war, a civilian refugee of war that had money. Konoha were more than happy to accept her into their ranks, the war over three days before she arrived.

She breezed through the mandatory mental health check, using Occlumency to construct a fake identity of Harī the orphan, picked on for her funny looks as a child but now eyes followed her strange features everywhere. They had never encountered something such as Occlumency before, and they let her into the village without much of a comment after that.

Harī set up a small store once again, selling basic remedies, the only ones she could create with the ingredients in this world. Wound cleanser, burn-healing paste and dreamless sleep potion. The latter was the most in demand among the shinobi, though that wasn't much of a surprise to her, considering they were just coming out of a war.

She'd had to substitute a few ingredients that couldn't be found in this world, but those three potions worked perfectly fine. She was still experimenting with the others, but it seemed nothing could be done.

Still, she wouldn't give up, hopefully one day she'd be able to make more potions to help the people here. The Leaf Village saw those three as more than enough, contracting her to make the wound cleanser and burn-healing paste for the hospital.

And so she went about her life as just Harī, happy and content.

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At the age of twenty one, two years into her stay in Konoha, it all went downhill. A man with long white hair walked into her shop, dark eyes scanning the shelves. It had been three days since she'd figured out how to recreate a working Essence of Dittany here, and finally had enough to start stocking the shelves with.

It was only a matter of days before it flew off, she knew that much. One shinobi would alert the Hokage, the Hokage would come and badger her until she agree to make it for the hospital and that was that.

He'd asked that she take on students before, and Harī had. But none had been able to re-create her potions. They'd followed her perfectly through all the steps, but they didn't have a drop of magic in them. And so the potions were nothing more than a collection of different ingredients stewed together.

The Council of the village couldn't understand it, but Harī just shrugged it off and got on with her life. True there were moments of paranoia when she wondered if perhaps they'd figured out she had a bloodline, but she pushed on past it. Continued onwards with her new life. If they did, she'd just fix their memories and send them on their way.

Even if using the mark on her neck as a focal made her cringe slightly. She missed her wand.

"These are new," the male in her shop was staring at the multitude of contains that held the Essence of Dittany, silver eyebrow raised in surprise as he turned back around to look at her with amused disbelief.

"Regrow skin over a wound? Sounds like medical ninjutsu to me."

Bristling slightly at the accusation, though she wasn't quite sure what the accusation was, Harī picked up her thin potions knife and drew it slowly across her finger. Deep enough so that the wound would remain open, but not enough to bleed everywhere.

Ignoring the look that the ninja was giving her, she uncapped one of the contains she kept on the front desk -the amount of times she'd had to prove her potions worked to these people was almost unbelievable- she smeared the cream over the wound. Instantly it began sizzling, sealed shut with new skin in less than five seconds.

"It's not instant healing, it can't heal torn muscles, but it'll stop infection and stop you bleeding to death." Shrugging, Harī raised a brow at the man instantly picked up as much of the stuff as he could carry, grinning wildly as he did so.

"I'll take it."

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His name was Hatake Sakumo, though he insisted that she call him by his given name. She never indulge him, always addressing him as Hatake-san. In hopes that he'd get the hint and stop showing up. Stop trying to be so friendly towards her.

But it wasn't working.

Every day he wasn't out on a mission he'd stop by, grinning wildly with his hair looking ruffled from one of those rooftop dashes only ninja could manage.

He learnt she was twenty one years old, she learnt he was twenty five. She learnt he was the last of his clan after his parents had been taken by disease ten years ago, he learnt she had witnessed the death of every family member close to her. She learnt he had a tendency to get under your skin, just as he learnt that her favourite flower were red lilies.

If he happened to show up with a handful after his next mission, clearly plucked straight from the ground with absolutely no finesse to them, then Harī supposed she could feel a little touched by it, regardless of her insistence she not get close to anyone here in this new life.

But then a year passed and he didn't stop coming at all and then he showed up with a picnic basket and a smile.

She caved.

She shouldn't have done, it would never end well, things never did when she was happy, but that didn't stop her.

It made her hesitate, but then Hatake stopped in the streets, cocking head back and asking if she were okay. Before she could contemplate it, her feet were moving forwards and she was walking beside him, thin pale fingers reaching out the wrap around the strong, scarred hand that hung by Hatake's side.

There was no definite plan, it just happened.

Hatake slowly became Sakumo, then slowly became husband. She'd stopped trying to fight it when she started smiling into his kiss.

When she told him why she had tried to push him away, Sakumo had looked sad, but said he loved her, and didn't regret it in any way.

"Nee Nee, Kakashi-sensei! Who's this!"

Thrusting the picture under Kakashi's nose, Naruto grinned up at him with huge blue eyes and the last Hatake slowly rolled his own, looking down at the little picture that'd been pulled out from the attic of the Hatake household. It'd been the first time he'd come back since Minato-sensei took him in.

"She's super pretty!" Naruto crooned as Sasuke and Sakura made their way over.

He wasn't sure why he'd brought them here, and now he wished he hadn't.

Looking down into the photo he'd never seen before, the only photo he'd ever seen of her before, Kakashi felt like the breath had just been knocked out of him, like he'd gone ten rounds with Gai and lost every last one of them.

"I think it's my mother," he spoke, throat and mouth dry as he did so. The three genin exchanged a look above his head, but he paid them no attention.

Photographs had been rare years back, only ever used for ninja purposes. Not a luxury anyone below a Daimyo could afford.

But there had been one right here, hidden in the attic, in the box of his father's things that he'd not dared to look through until now. His father had a picture of his mother, the mother he couldn't remember anything of. And there was a small book, a journal wrote in a hand that wasn't his father's.

He knew where he got his narrow jawline from now, looking at the young woman in the picture. She couldn't be any older than twenty three, possibly twenty four. He had the shape of her eyes as well, though none of the colouring. Bright green eyes and fiery red hair, not the crimson of the Uzumaki but true fire red that came down in a whirl of half curls.

She looked happy, her body curved into Sakumo's side, into his father's side, and holding a small bundle of blankets close to her chest. He couldn't see the face, but the spiky, light silver hair poking out from the blue folds let him know exactly what baby she was holding.

His father was looking at her, but his mother's gaze was directed elsewhere, looking down at the small baby she held with such open affection, such powerful love, that it took Kakashi a moment to remember where he was.

Tucking the picture into the journal and pocketing that, the silver haired man locked down on all the emotions running through him. Just until he got home, he only needed to make it to the end of the day.

Hi Kakashi, I'm pregnant right now, so I figured I'd write everything down here for you. I don't know how long I'll get, how much time we'll have together, so I figured it was best to be prepared. Like I am with your name, I hope you like it. I haven't told Sakumo I've already picked one out yet, but he'll agree with me. He always does, and you seem like a Kakashi.

My little Kakashi.

I can't believe I'm going to be having a child. Sakumo says it's still too early to tell if you'll be a boy or a girl, but I'm sure. You're gonna be a boy, I know it like I know I have five fingers, like I know my eyes are green. You are my little Kakashi, and I can't wait until I meet you.

I think that you, out of all the other people in the village, should have the right to know my past, even if I've kept it secret from everyone but your father. Even if I know Sakumo's probably going to end up reading this to you once you're done with it and find out I may have embellished a few details. Just so he wouldn't worry of course. I was pretty clear when I said he's not to read this until you have.

So here we go, let me start you on a little bit of my history, about a baby, a madman, and an attack that can kill with just one hit….

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We went on a picnic today, your father and I. I'm five months pregnant right now, and you're still giving me terrible morning sickness. And the back pain, I could really do without the back pain puppy.

I don't think I've really spoken about my godfather yet, have I? Aside to cover how we met in Third Year. I promise I'll get to the rest of my story later on.

Anyway, he was called Sirius Black and I loved him. He was the only true parental figure I had in my life. The Weasleys were nice, but Sirius was the one my parents wanted to look after me. As you know, that didn't happen, but he tried. Dear Merlin did he try.

He could turn into a dog you know? Not that henge business your father's shown me, but literally change every aspect of his biology and turn into a dog. It's a very highly prized skill from my homeland and very difficult to learn. He used to call me pup all the time, so I hope you don't mind if I use puppy as a little endearment for you. I've got a feeling you'll attract as much trouble as I do.

But I'll always love you anyway. Probably more than I already do….

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I got to hold you in my arms for the first time today. You look so gorgeous. Just like your father, though he insists that you'll still have a little bit of me in you somewhere.

I don't mind if you don't, I am the spitting image of my mother after all, the only thing I got from my father was my affinity to attracting trouble. And I'd rather you not get that, though it does seem to run in the Potter family. I can just hope your father's genes somehow manage to beat it back.

I just can't get over how lovely you are Kakashi. Your father's got a hold of you right now, holding you for the first time and already I want to snatch you back and never let you go.

I don't know if my magic will ever show up in you, all the tests I've done so far seemed to indicate that chakra will end up overpowering magic. Still though, if anything ever happens, don't worry. It'll be a little part of me trying to keep you alive.

My mother sacrificed herself to keep her daughter safe, and in death she provided me with the strongest kinds of protection. That kind of thing runs in the blood sweetheart, once I die, my magic will do everything it can to keep you alive until you're ready to accept your own death.

It's a powerful and mysterious thing magic, but I know it will protect you, and that is all I could ever ask of it….

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I'm sorry Kakashi.

I knew when I came to this world I wouldn't have long to live, that I probably wouldn't even managed a decade. I got cursed, back home.

After the war was over, someone hit me with something, and I was given five years to live. Of course, I've actually made it past that expectation, it's closing in on eight years since I got hit with that curse.

I tried to keep everyone at an arm's length when I moved here, but your father was just so persistent. He just kept coming by, with these stupid smiles and those stupid flowers and I gave up fighting. It was the only battle I ever gave up, but I am glad I did.

Even though I only got a year with you, I wouldn't trade it for the world. It has been the greatest year of my life, spent here with you and Sakumo. You're toddling around now, constantly badgering the both of us with 'Mama' this and 'Dada' that.

God I love you.

I wish I didn't have to go. I'm sorry I do. I've been hanging on as long as I can, fighting it down, trying to stop it from taking me away from you. Just in case I don't get to write in this again, before I do go remember;

I love you Kakashi. Never, ever forget that.

The proudest, luckiest mother in the world,

Harī

To counteract my overly soppy Oneshot posted earlier. The diary bits are only little snippets by the way, not the whole thing.

God, I do and don't know why I wrote this. I mean, we don't see anything of Kakashi's mum and the opportunity was there, but, still. I just wrote that. Why did I write that?

Off to write something a bit happier,

Tsume
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