Summary: Soulmates were the best given in the world. When one had no one else to live for, there was still the hope in meeting their other half and for the world to get better once they found them. How could something as wonderful as a soulmate ever possibly bring problems?

Pairings: Sakumo/Might Dai

(Implied) Kakashi/Kisame (but shh!- iz a secret!)

Warnings: Kind of dark story telling. Sakumo gets pretty creepy. And the characters might be a tad bit OOC, seeing how this is the first time I've written them for more than just a blurb.

~..~..~

I

The love for his son was not enough to keep him from slipping into the deep, dark, terrifying, and soul crushing abyss that loomed below him.

He had failed his Village.

He was a coward.

He didn't deserve to live.

Kakashi was young, but he was mature. It pained Sakumo to think of extremes, but he knew that if anything were to happen to him, his young child would only prosper into an amazing shinobi. His true fear, though, was that Kakashi's ascension in the shinobi ranks would be stunted because of the cowardice his father had showed their whole Village.

Some nights, he found himself truly contemplating about the pros and cons of him just ceasing to live; how good or how bad his only child's life might be if he wasn't around to be a source of ridicule for him.

He didn't want to think this way. But it was hard when all that his mind truly offered him to think about were these depressing themes.

Darkness surrounded him and nothing brought him joy. Not even greeting Kakashi from another day spent in the Academy brought him even the slightest twinge of pride… Before, he would only puff up when he found his son returning to him… Now, he felt nothing good.

Numb would not be a word to describe his state, though. If anything, he was much too sensitive. Everything pained him. Everything that happened around his life gave him a brand new reason to despise himself over the greatest, most damning mistake he had ever been foolish enough to try and justify. Every single thing he saw, tasted, smelled reminded him of that terrible, horrible day. And a Hatake that couldn't stand a smell was a Hatake whose existence was so useless it should not be allowed to continue.

"It would be so easy… You should just end it."

The words came from his mouth. But they didn't feel like they were his own. They were whispered; yet he could hear them crashing into his ears like a thunder clap. They were hissed; but they felt as if they were growled by the most hate filled beast that had ever been allowed to live. They left his own mouth; yet they felt as if they were screamed from every single angle around him, coming from even the smallest nook within his house's walls.

It would be easy.

Why didn't he just go through with it?

His hands trembled, but they didn't feel like his own. They couldn't have been his. His hands were strong, firm. These hands were weak and pale. These hands shook as if there was no strength to keep them steady. These were not the hands of a Hatake. They couldn't be.

Nothing felt like his own anymore. He had no right to ever even want to claim ownership. He had no right to anything. Not after what he had done.

This was no way to live.

Death may just be the only true answer.

"Yo, dad, I brought some kids with me. We're working on a project together."

Sakumo's heart twisted and his stomach dropped as soon as he heard his son's voice calling from the front of the house.

He didn't answer the boy. But Kakashi already knew that his lack of an answer was enough of an answer: All right.

Nothing was right, though, was it?

~/~

As he walked towards the Hatake residence, Dai couldn't help but feel pride for his only son. The boy had a hard time making friends. Yet he'd somehow managed to make some within a month of being in the Academy.

That morning had started off as normally as any other. He had woken up before even the roosters could have begun to crow so he could train. Because of his rigorous exercises, his whole body had become somewhat numbed and he'd dragged himself back into his small apartment so he could wake up his only son. And they had then eaten their breakfast, Dai proud yet in pain as Gai munched quietly.

It was when Dai asked his son if he wanted to be picked up at the Academy's gates or somewhere farther out that the day had taken a turn for the best. (Not the worst, never the worst. Optimism went hand in hand with greatness!)

"Kakashi Hatake's house, actually… We're going to work on a project there… It's about Konoha's history and he's got the biggest library."

Dai had hugged his son and immediately began to congratulate him on taking the first steps to ensure a long-lasting, wonderful, tremendous friendship with the young Hatake. Gai had groaned and rolled his eyes, but the small smile on his lips could not remain hidden from his father for too long.

The rest of his day had been overwhelmingly pleasant. Not one single thing went wrong as he completed his missions. And he had even managed to snag a free meal from the wonderful young girl he had helped by finding her wily cat and returning it to her.

There was nothing wrong with this day. It was just wonderful.

And it would only get better once he heard from Gai all the wonderful things he had learned in the Academy. Oh! And it'd be even better once he was able to find out everything that happened within the Hatake house, just what their project was on, and how far along they were in completing their task!

"Today truly is a magically youthful day!"

To most, he may have looked like a fool.

But Might Dai was much too happy over how perfectly the pieces of his life had fallen into place.

He wasn't able to wipe off the smile on his face. Not even when he stepped up the steps to the Hatake home and rang the doorbell.

He couldn't wait to hear everything Gai would tell him about his day!

~/~

When the door rang, Sakumo waited for Kakashi to answer it.

When someone began to knock on the door, Sakumo still waited for Kakashi to open and answer them.

His room was dark, just like he liked it. It was stale and filled with dust for he had not cleaned up in a long time. It was the perfect prison for an unworthy, sniveling, detestable, despicable rat like himself.

When the knocking became persistent and somewhat alarming, Sakumo groaned and forced his body into motion.

Their library was on the opposite side of the home when compared to the front door. Kakashi should have heard the knock and sensed the chakra that stood on the other side of the door, though, being a prodigy that excelled in everything required of a ninja. But if he was actually enjoying his time with his fellow students, then he was most probably playing the fool so that their time together would not have to end yet.

He didn't want to open the door. He didn't want to leave his room and face the world outside.

But he was sure that if he didn't, the person on the other side would destroy it from all of their insistent knocking.

Wrapping himself up in his darkest and thickest cloak, Sakumo made his way towards the door. With a heavy sigh, he opened it. And with a dark glare, he made sure the person there understood how truly displeased he was over being forced to open his door.

The glare didn't last long.

The man before him wasn't beautiful. He wasn't handsome, either. He was just a man.

So… if he was just some man… why did the world around Sakumo suddenly regain the color it had lost?

Shocking hues of green and red blossomed from the man's body. His dark eyes shined like onyxes being illuminated upon by the sun, wide and bright.

And the smells… Sakumo had not believed he would ever be able to enjoy another's scent ever again.

But this man's smell of sweat, earth, pride, and just a hint of meat was the sweetest, most intoxicating smell that had ever penetrated through his senses.

Without a single thought about what he was doing, Sakumo took one step forward and wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist. He forced his head into the crook of his neck, inhaling as deeply as he could. Like a man that had just broken free from drowning, Sakumo gulped in as many breaths of the wonderful scent as he could. And, like a terrified child clung to its mother, he dug his nails into the man's green clothes to keep him from moving away.

He didn't want to let go.

The world was filled with colors and smells again. But they didn't hurt him… Bright and obnoxious as they were, they were wonderful.

He didn't let go.

~/~

This day truly had been filled with the beauty of energetic youth!

Not only had Gai been able to spend times with friends and work on his project, Dai had finally found the soulmate he had eagerly been awaiting his whole life!

He couldn't believe it, but he had managed to forget the date in which he would finally meet his other half. It was a happy surprise, though, to meet him in such a manner!

Soulmates were wonderful givens in the life one lived. Everyone was born with half a soul. And their quest throughout life was to find the second half that they had lost upon their birth. The indicators as to who one's soulmate would be came in the form of an image anywhere on their body. But whenever two soulmates met, the effects were immediate and so overwhelming that they could not be explained away by anything other than finally meeting the half they had lost of their soul when they had been born.

Dai's heart had never soared as high as it did when his soulmate's arms wrapped around him. And the happiness within him had never swelled to such great proportions before.

He could not believe it; Sakumo Hatake was his soulmate. The White Fang was the other half that would complete his whole!

Dai had never been the kind to stand still for too long. He had always enjoyed enthusiastic movements to help release the youthful energy he held within.

But with his soulmate's hands clutching at the back of his shirt and his nose bumping against his collarbone and neck, Dai could not help but feel that there was no other way he would like to spend his time with the man. Standing still had never been something he had enjoyed… But with his soulmate, it felt like the only thing that was right to do.

Closing his eyes, Dai allowed himself to melt even deeper into the tight embrace. He raised his arms and lightly wrapped them around the taller man's waist.

He had never been one for small, quiet movements… But he had never had a soulmate before. So he was terrified of making the wrong move. Even though he would have loved nothing more than to wrap his arms tightly around the Hatake's neck, he didn't know if that would be proper.

He was content, though, to keep his arms wrapped loosely around the man's back.

All was peaceful.

All was perfect.

Then he heard the children.

"Uh… Dad?"

"Dad, what're you doing with Dai?"

"Huh… Didn't know your dads were dating."

Dai opened his eyes to find three curious boys staring back at him. Two more children were walking towards their friends, but their eyes were also filled with confusion as they looked at the men.

"Our dads aren't dating!" Sakumo's boy, Kakashi he reminded himself, growled at the brown haired boy with the toothpick in his mouth.

"Then why are they hugging like that?" The girl that had been walking down Sakumo's hallway questioned, "Maybe they're soulmates."

Kakashi huffed. Gai grunted. And Sakumo breathed in deeply once again.

The breath tickled Dai's collarbone in a way that made him smile like an idiot as red began to bleed onto his cheeks.

Dai offered a small smile towards the children, opening his mouth to explain to them that, yes, they were soulmates but, no, they were not dating. But before he could even say a single thing, Sakumo was pulling away from him and answering.

"We're soulmates." The man informed the children, although his eyes were locked wholly on his son. "Go back to the library. Finish your homework. I would like to speak with my soulmate… Privately."

The children didn't seem like they wanted to go. Gai and Kakashi both looked as if they were ready to attack someone- just who, though, Dai wasn't sure. While they glared, the brown haired boy with the lazy eyes looked at them with this disinterested intrigue that certainly was an interesting thing to see- rather oxymoronic, actually- and the girl looked at them with wide, happy eyes. The last of the boys, one with black hair and dark skin, merely shrugged and turned around so he could return to where he had just come from.

It took a while, but all of the children eventually turned around and trekked back towards the library.

As soon as they were gone, Sakumo turned back to him.

The look in his dark eyes forced Dai's heart to skip a beat.

Mine.

Without saying a single word, the taller man grabbed Dai by his wrist and began to lead him into his home. The door shut behind them with a sudden slam, causing the youthful male to jump slightly. But with the warmth that bled into his body from the single touch from his soulmate, he couldn't help but calm down in almost no time.

He was taken to a small garden. It was inside of the house and had a large, paned window as a roof- most probably so sunlight could hit the flowers directly. The plants were of assorted kinds; Dai could tell that some were the poisonous kinds that were used to coat weapons while others were perfectly harmless.

Once they reached the center of the garden, Sakumo sat himself down on a cushion on the ground. Dai was prepared to sit beside him, but found that this wasn't an option. He was pulled into Sakumo's lap before he had even begun to lower himself to the ground.

The small blush that had threatened to take over him became a full blown alarming red as he was suddenly forced to sit on the taller man's lap. But he smiled proudly, fighting through the sudden bout of embarrassment that came over him.

His soulmate… Finally.

~/~

Popular opinion had it that the Hatake were dangerous soulmates.

Sakumo had never believed this idea until today.

Supposedly, Hatake were affected unlike others when they found their soulmates. Their instincts were wired in such a manner that, as soon as they met their soulmates, they would form an unbreakable bond. And because of their inclination towards wolf-like traditions, they would protect their soulmates from any harm that may befall them.

Just as they would become protective, they would become possessive.

Sakumo had thought that this was all some sort of exaggeration created to ensure Hatake never tried to stray from their soulmates. Most of his old clansmen had exclusively married their soulmates, unless special circumstances asked them to do otherwise. Many Clan Heads had married and reproduced with their soulmates. Some, like himself, though, had either not met their soulmates on time or had been faced with the unfortunate circumstance that their soulmates were of their same gender, so there was no way they would ever be able to have children without resorting to means that came from someone other than their soulmate.

He had been allowed the good fortune of not having met his soulmate before he had gotten married.

The Clan was rather lenient when it came to deciding on the validity of a Clan Heir becoming the Clan Head. Because one was not able to choose their soulmate, nor were soulmates of the same sex able to reproduce, the Hatake Clan had just one rule for Clan Heads to follow: There must have been a Clan Heir by the second year of someone's term as Clan head. It did not matter if the child was half Hatake; as long as the Clan Head's blood ran through their veins, they were allowed to continue the line. As long as the child grew up as a Hatake, half of their parentage was able to be ignored and forgotten.

His marriage had been arranged- he'd married the daughter of one of the Clan's greatest warriors- and he had lived with his wife for a couple of years in domestic numbness. Nothing was wrong, but nothing had ever been right, either. Kakashi had been born, his wife had died, and Sakumo had felt grief, yes, for she had been a good friend. But his love had never been too great for her.

The one that washed over him now, though, as he held his soulmate, was almost too much to bear.

This man would never leave him. Sakumo would never allow it. They were bound now, soulmates until they died. Their souls were finally whole; he didn't want them to ever be separated.

These thoughts were dangerous, he knew. But he could not stop them. He could not stop the incessant promises of mine that his mind growled, nor could he stop himself from basking in the warmth that came from his soulmate's body.

Mine.

It was difficult to even begin to think of what he wanted to say. Much more so when he forced his thoughts to give him something other than promises of violent retribution if anyone ever even dared touch his soulmate.

Eventually, though, he was able to find something that would (hopefully) not scare his soulmate into running away from him.

Admittedly, it took him too long to find these unthreatening thoughts.

"I'm Saumo Hatake. And if you'd have me, I would like to form a life with you."

He wanted more than that. He wanted an eternity with his soulmate. He wanted to never leave his side. He wanted to make him happy and he wanted to hurt those that would ever even think about hurting his soulmate. He wanted everything the man could give and, in turn, he wanted to give everything he was to the man.

No longer were his thoughts filled with longing for the end of his life. Now he was thinking of longevity and a never ending life beside his soulmate. Now he wanted nothing more than to live every single day to the fullest by making his soulmate the happiest, proudest, most well taken care of soulmate to ever have lived.

He didn't ever want to die. Not as long as he could keep his soulmate near him.

"Great! I'm Might Dai and I would love to create a wonderful life beside my soulmate!"

From anybody else, Sakumo was sure the loudness of the words would have caused his ears to ache. But from his soulmate, they were mere whispers of promise.

That's all he wanted. To make his soulmate happy was the only thing he could think about. It was the only thing he wanted to think about.

His arms tightened around the smaller man and he allowed his chin to fall onto the man's left shoulder.

His soulmate was perfect.

His soulmate was perfect.

~/~

Dai wasn't sure just how he had gotten lucky enough to wind up with Sakumo Hatake as his soulmate. He didn't know what gods he had managed to please in a past life to get this wonderful reward. But he wasn't about to complain.

Sakumo was a wonderful man, a great warrior, and a loyal ally. They would never be able to be sent on missions- Konoha made a point of keeping soulmates as far as possible when it came to missions out of fear of one of them not being able to complete their objective because of worry over their other half. Aside from that, though, there was also the fact that Dai was the Eternal Genin and Sakumo was one of the strongest jounin to ever come from Konoha- The White Fang himself. But that was okay. Because even though they would never be able to work together, that sure wouldn't stop them from training together.

Training with Sakumo must be one of the greatest things anyone could ever experience!

Excitement filled him up just from the thought of being able to spend time and learn from the White Fang himself.

Both men remained quiet for a moment, merely rejoicing in the feeling of being with each other without saying a single thing.

It was such an odd feeling for Dai… Actually enjoying sitting still and not moving… He'd never been the kind to not do anything. But there, with his soulmate behind him, while inside of this beautiful garden, all he could think about was how perfect the moment was.

II

"Your dad is evil."

Kakashi glared at the petulant boy in front of him.

"Take that back before I make you regret ever having been born."

Gai's fist tightened, his arms tensed, and Kakashi knew he was preparing himself for a fight.

He, in turn, loosened his body just enough to be able to lunge out of the way when the little jerk tried to strike him.

Kurenai stepping in between them managed to defuse the escalating tension by only a margin.

"Would you two please stop fighting?" She huffed in exasperation, red eyes glaring at Kakashi for a second before they turned on Gai. "Every day you two do this!"

"This has nothing to do with you, Kurenai!"

Kakashi glared at the dark haired idiot.

Shiranui stepped forward, tongue lazily rolling his toothpick around his lips for a moment before he spoke up, "And it's got nothing to do with you two either… I thought your dads were soulmates. What's up with the animosity?"

"His dad stole my dad!"

Asuma walked up behind Gai and whistled to grab his attention, "What? Like, kidnapped?"

Gai's lips twisted up into a sneer and he crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "Of course not!" But he soon sighed and looked down at the floor as his right foot kicked up some dirt, "He never leaves my dad alone. I can't even talk to my dad without seeing Sakumo's ugly mug lurking around."

Kakashi hissed at the small insult, "Their soulmates, of course they'd want to be together."

"That's not normal soulmate behavior, Hatake!" Gai yelled back, "Sakumo won't even let my dad go out on out of village missions anymore!"

Because your dad's too weak to take care of himself and my dad doesn't want to lose him because of his own incompetence. Duh.

A sharp glare from Kurenai had the words dying in Kakashi's throat.

He may not have liked Gai at the moment, but he was still kind of one of the only friends he had… And he was sure that if he said such a thing, he would be able to say he certainly was a loser with only three friends.

This would be a huge step down from being a loser with only four friends.

"Have you tried telling your dad how you feel?" The girl asked Gai, even though her sharp eyes remained glaring deeply at Kakashi.

The young Hatake huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as well.

He couldn't believe it. Why was he being treated like the bad guy here? Gai had been the jerk to start all of this!

"Yeah. I thought your old man was always hassling you to talk about your 'youthful energies' or whatever." Genma's eyes were soft and it was clear to see he was worried over his friend.

Kakashi would never admit to it… But he felt kind of jealous.

Gai wasn't the only one to have problems with their father's relationship! The green clad jerk wasn't the only one down a dad! And he certainly wasn't the only one being ignored by his father because of stupid soulmates.

He never wanted a soulmate. Not if it would make him into what his dad had become.

Soulmates were supposed to make everything better. Soulmates were supposed to the best thing in the world- they were supposed to be the person that brought perfection to an otherwise chaotic and pretty shitty world. Soulmates were supposed to be the greatest thing that could ever happen to a person and they were the only thing in the world that was guaranteed to not suck.

His father finding his soulmate was not what Kakashi had expected.

Yes, he wasn't a shut-in anymore. He didn't stay locked up in his room, wallowing and brooding.

But what he did now didn't seem like much of an improvement. If anything, it felt like an even bigger step back than doing nothing.

Sakumo Hatake refused to leave his soulmate alone. He followed Might Dai around every second of every day. There was not a single moment that Kakashi had witnessed in which those two had been more than a couple of feet away from each other. And it pissed him off.

The only times his father actually left Dai alone were when he was needed to go on missions. Other than that, his father never let his soulmate out of his sight.

If this is what soulmates were supposed to be- two people that couldn't survive without each other near- then he never wanted to meet his soulmate.

The shark poised along his left forearm had always seemed cool. It was a dangerous predator- only a fitting image for whoever was to be his soulmate, he had once hoped. But now that he had seen his father change because he had found his soulmate, Kakashi never wanted to meet his own.

If he would become a spineless drone that could not live without his other half, then he would much rather just never meet that other half.

Gai frowned at his friends, "My dad listens when he wants to. Whenever I tell him, he promises me he'll try and talk with that bastard's father. But nothing ever changes- Sakumo never leaves my father alone!"

The implication was clear in Gai's voice. And it took all of Kakashi's willpower to not slug him directly in the jaw.

His father may have been obsessed with Gai's father, but that did not mean that it was all Sakumo's fault. If Dai really wanted to spend time with his son, then he would have actually tried to make time! Maybe he didn't try all that hard because he didn't want to spend time with the boring failure that was his only child!

"That doesn't mean you have to take it out on Kakashi!" Kurenai finally huffed out in annoyance, "His dad does what his dad does. Kakashi can't tell him what to do!"

"It's still his stupid father that's taken my dad hostage!"

"Who're you calling stupid?"

"That worthless disgrace you call a-"

"Kakashi don't!"

It was too late. Kakashi had jumped Gai and proceeded to make him regret ever having been born.

III

Having the White Fang as his soulmate made sense. The beautifully intricate albino-like wolf he had sported on his whole back for his whole life had always exuded power and control. As a child, it had scared him a little bit. Power was great to have, but it could corrupt. But now that he knew the face that wolf truly belonged to, it could only make complete sense to Dai to feel protected and cared for... Yes, power could corrupt, but his soulmate was too great to lose himself… He hoped…

Still, he had to admit, he was pretty proud of the tiger that Sakumo sported on his own chest. It was consumed by the flames of youth and proved to be the perfect design for someone like himself. Confidence rolled off of the tiger, a mirror image to the greatness that Dai held within himself.

Honestly, he could only hope young Kakashi and Gai were able to find as much love within their soulmates as Dai had found within his own. Because, even though there were some very tiny, minute, extremely minuscule things that bothered him, Dai honestly believed Sakumo Hatake to be one of the most perfect people in this world.

Yes, it might be nice to be able to wake up one day and not have to answer every single question he was asked about his plans for the day. Okay, it would also be nice to not have to explain his every single decision to the man before he actually took it. And, sure, he kind of missed running around the Village completing all of his missions, but Sakumo made more than enough money to be able to sustain their little family unit of four so he didn't have to worry over completing those missions. And, of course, maybe it would also be nice to spend some time alone with his son without Sakumo holding onto him and not really letting him speak with his pride and joy… But everything the man did, he did out of love.

His soulmate was perfect. How could he ever possibly want him to change? They had spoken about their relationships before; both with each other and with their own sons; and they had always come to agreements. Arguments did not occur between them. What Sakumo decided, Dai agreed on. If the White Fang said it, then it must have truly been the best course of action.

No, he couldn't want to change anything about Sakumo. Soulmates were given one another for a reason. They were perfect as they were when they met. To try and change a soulmate was tantamount to telling the universe it was wrong. You just didn't do that. Nope. Not at all. The universe was perfect; it never made mistakes when creating souls.

Dai reminded himself of this cardinal law as he quietly (even with all of the pain that filled his heart) watched Sakumo, Kakashi, and Gai entrenched in a three-way argument that neither of them seemed to be winning.

"I don't like Gai. I don't like Dai. I want it to be just us like it was before!" Kakashi was just a son looking for his father's attention. Dai couldn't fault him for this.

"You never leave him alone! I can't even have a minute with my own dad because you refuse to leave your stupid soulmate alone!" He had known Gai was affected by his and Sakumo's relationship. He knew that his son missed spending time with just him. But he had no idea that he'd ever feel so strongly about his disdain for the Hatake half of their family.

"When you find your own soulmates, pups, you will understand the need to keep them near." Sakumo hissed at the children, his dark eyes narrowed into annoyed slits.

The morning had started as a rather good one… But Dai had been forced to answer his home's door when a disgruntled Academy teacher brought disheveled and roughened up children with tense promises of harsh retribution if they didn't straighten out. And now they were locked in an argument that never seemed to end that brought up too many dysfunctions within their family to try and ignore.

He had thought their family was happy… Where in the world had this all come from?

Dai didn't want to admit it… But he knew. He had always known things were not perfect with the kids. He… He had just always agreed with Sakumo's words... How could he argue against the White Fang when he was so perfect in everything he did?

"Well, what if I just want to spend time with my father and not some guy that was forced into my life?!"

"He is my soulmate, pup. You will do your best to respect him!"

"I hate him!"

"Watch your tone!" Sakumo growled in a manner that was filled with so much anger that suddenly Gai didn't feel safe within his own home.

He knew Hatake were fierce warriors. He knew they took on attributes of the wolves they partnered with. He knew they could be outright savages in the battlefield.

He had just never known Sakumo would ever look so incredibly… Terrifying.

The large wolf on his back suddenly appeared in his mind- no longer did he offer protection and safety… Now it just threatened and sneered.

"I hate you! I hate all of you!"

"Gai…" Dai looked on in despair as his son turned a hateful glare on him. His heart panged immediately, a feeling of despair unlike any other he'd before suddenly crippling his soul.

~/~

Whatever sharp retort Sakumo was about to give his son died on his tongue when he suddenly felt his heart snap.

He did not have to look at his soulmate to know why this was.

With a deathly glare and killer intent wafting off of him, he growled out, "Get out of my sight. Both of you."

Neither boy made to move. They were frozen in their place, undoubtedly noticing just how far they had driven him and Dai.

"Now!"

They ran off as soon as they heard his shout.

Seconds of heavy silence reigned over them after the children had fled. Sakumo's heart felt unbelievably burdened with a weight that didn't come from his own. The grief that had washed over him was nothing like the one he had once experienced in his lowest moments of life. Somehow, it felt even worse.

"Love…"

"I've failed my son."

The broken whisper sent a spike straight through his heart.

"Not at all." Sakumo rushed to stand beside his soulmate, immediately gathering him into his arms to offer him whatever physical comfort he could give. "You have not failed anyone. You are much too perfect to ever possibly fail. No, if anyone has failed here, it has been-"

"You better not try and say the children, Sakumo."

Dai was not the kind to ever get angry. One of the many reasons why Sakumo loved him was because of his always pleasant disposition. His optimism made even the darkest of days shine as if he had his own personal sun near him at all times. But now… Now he sounded jaded, scared, and much less hopeful than he should ever sound.

Glancing down at his kitchen's floor, Sakumo could not help but question just what in the world was going wrong in his life.

Everything had once been perfect. After he had found Dai, all of the pieces of the puzzle he called life had just fallen into place. Bliss and happiness had made their way into his once hopeless heart. Nothing had been wrong in his life after he had found Dai.

Why, then, was everything suddenly feeling so wrong?

"Kakashi and Gai fought because we don't spend enough time with them. Sakumo, I barely ever see my own son."

"You see him every day."

Sakumo could not understand what Dai was trying to tell him. They spent plenty of time with both boys. Family training was something they always made sure to have on, at least, a weekly basis. Their breakfast was always spent eating together and they would have dinner together a couple of times during the week.

"Sakumo… I think… I think we should spend some time apart."

Sakumo's whole world shattered once again.

"You can't leave me." Fear gripped at his heart, causing him to lose his cool in a manner nobody but Dai could ever invoke in him. "We're soulmates. We're supposed to be together!"

"Sakumo." Dai extracted himself from Sakumo's arms and turned to him. His dark eyes were uncharacteristically dark, looking at him with a cold face that had no right to be Dai's expression. "I believe we spend too much time together."

"Of course we do!" Sakumo held onto the other man's hands as if they were lifeline… They were his lifeline. "We're soulmates. We live together, eat together-"

"We do everything together, Sakumo." Dai whispered, the thumbs of both his hands rubbing soothing circles into his hands.

When had they begun to shake?

"I have thought this for a while… But I told myself I was being unreasonable. Soulmates are supposed to want to be around each other at all times." Now he smiled sadly, as if he was about to finish breaking Sakumo's fragile heart. "Maybe we need to spend less time together and more time with our children."

Mine.

My soulmates wants to leave.

Not mine?

No. That couldn't be it. Dai was his! His soulmate. His love. His partner. His.

"You… Dai… I…" Sakumo was at a complete loss for words. How could his soulmate ever possibly not want to be with him?

"It won't be forever, Love."

"Do you promise?"

"Of course I promise." Dai smiled softly now and passed his hand through Sakumo's long hair, offering even further comfort that Sakumo had no need to deny. "We are soulmates, are we not? But… Our children."

The children… They were what mattered, weren't they?

… Then why did Sakumo just want to spend the rest of his life curled around his soulmate and never let him go?

"We'll still see each other. But maybe it's for the best for us to spend more time with our own son."

Sakumo could understand this. He could.

"Will that make you happy?"

"Yes."

He couldn't understand.

But he would try. To make his soulmate happy. Then, once the children had finally gotten their heads out of their selfish asses, he would be able to continue living with his soulmate.

He sincerely hoped they would not have to remain separated for too long. Because right now, in this moment, it felt as if a whole eternity would pass in pain and despair if he would find himself separated from his soulmate for too long.

IV

"This is all your fault."

"Shut up. It's clearly your fault!"

"Of course it isn't! If your stupid father hadn't-"

Kakashi's shout was cut off when Kurenai suddenly slammed her fist into his head, causing him to yelp out and grasp at his newest injury. Gai was allowed a second of humor, overjoyed at seeing the Hatake hellspawn in pain, but that was soon disrupted by Kurenai's other fist making its way onto his own head.

"You two are idiots." The young girl told them simply, "It's your fault your fathers are depressed."

Gai glared at the girl, but didn't bother trying to tell her she was wrong.

He knew she was right. He knew that it had been his fault that his father had made them pack their things and move into a hotel. He knew that it had been him to drive two soulmates apart.

He just didn't want to admit to it out loud.

Kakashi glared at the dark haired girl but didn't bother saying anything either. Gai guessed that it was because he decided to swallow his pride for once and not try to fight back.

"You two sure have made a mess of your family." Asuma sighed softly as he pulled his lollipop out of his mouth, looking them over with lazy eyes that annoyed Gai. Couldn't he at least try and seem a little bit interested in their lives? "You broke them apart. Can't you just bring them together again?"

They both remained quiet.

Gai… Well… He didn't know what he wanted. Not anymore.

When his father had told him they would be leaving the Hatake household for a few weeks, he'd been elated. He would finally be able to spend time with only his father again! They could finally go back to their normal lives and not have to worry about an overbearing Hatake trying to tell them what to do anymore!

As soon as they had entered the room they would call home for the next few weeks, though, Gai's hopes had been crushed. Instead of promising him to train the following morning, Dai had simply walked over to one of the two beds, dropped his bag of clothes, and allowed himself to fall into the bed.

Gai had never heard his father cry before.

That night, though, at midnight, his father had cried. He'd undoubtedly thought that Gai had been asleep. Because Gai was sure that he would never actually cry when he was awake.

No child should ever have to hear their father crying. It could literally break someone.

After that, they'd fallen into an uneasy routine. Every day they would wake up, train, eat, then Gai would go to school and return once he was finished so they could eat dinner together. His father would go on his usual missions around the Village and cook up their dinner.

But training didn't feel right- his father's energy levels weren't the same. The food he would make didn't have as much flavor as it had once had. And he would always cry himself to sleep once he thought Gai himself was sleeping.

He had never thought it possible… But he wished Sakumo was around. At least then his father wouldn't have a reason to cry.

"Well… What if I don't want them together?"

A sharp glare made its way onto his features as soon as the words left the idiot's mouth. "How could you possibly say that? My dad's miserable!"

"Mine is too!" Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away from his friends, only to mumbled out, "But at least he's spending time with me…"

Silence hung heavy over the group of friends after this.

The rest of their class spent their recess running around, playing games, and having fun like kids were supposed to do. They, though, would take refuge in the darkest area of the forest clearing they used for their playground and talked about their problems and ways to fix them.

"You'd rather your father be miserable just because he spends time with you?" Genma finally broke their silence with a breathless whisper, then shook his head and grunted, "And I thought that my sister was heartless…"

"I have a heart!" The Hatake hissed, "But I'm used to my dad being like this… He's alienated himself from the world before; I can take it…" Now he glared at Gai, making the other boy glare right back. "I just can't stand him being so obsessed with that man. He gets so possessive and dependant. It's sad."

"That's on your father, Kakashi." Gai hissed right back, "He's the one that acts like an animal. My father just tries to keep him from falling apart like the disgrace he is!"

He saw the punch coming. He just wasn't able to dodge it in time.

V

Sakumo was not expecting to see his soulmate ever again.

The rejection had hit him hard. But he could force himself to stay away from Dai. If his soulmate didn't want to be near, then he could make him happy by doing as he was told. Even though life without Dai felt like no life at all, he could force himself to keep his soulmate happy by staying away.

The days after Dai had left with Gai had been the worst of his life. The only thing that had stopped him from doing anything drastic had been having Kakashi around. With his son as his anchor, Sakumo had been able to keep himself busy. And what time Kakashi spent in the Academy and away from him, Sakumo would spend working on missions to stop himself from thinking too much and how badly he had screwed up with his other half.

He must have screwed up. He must have been the world's worst soulmate to have driven Dai away from him. There was no other explanation other than that.

He didn't know what he had done. He just knew he had done something really wrong.

When Dai had knocked on his door, Sakumo had been busy tending to his inner garden. As soon as he had smelled his soulmate's scent near, his instincts had screamed at him to run to the front door and wrap his arms around the shorter man. But he had squashed those feelings, telling himself that he had just been imagining his mate's scent in his loneliness.

But then he had heard the knock on his door. And he had moved faster than he had ever done in his life.

He froze as soon as he opened the door.

His mate's scent hit him suddenly, crashing into him and inundating his senses like a violent yet completely welcome tsunami.

The only reason why he did not move to hug him and never let him go was because of the tense frown the man wore on his lips.

"What's wrong?"

Panic filled him immediately. Was his soulmate hurt? Was he in danger? Every single scenario his mind came up with was tragic and caused his heart to squeeze uncomfortably.

"Gai and Kakashi got into yet another fight."

As soon as his mate spoke, Sakumo noticed the boys that were on either of his side.

"Why?" Was the only question he could come up with that did not deal with his soulmate.

He knew that the other man was not here for him. He was here for his son. And he had to control himself in order to give his soulmate something to be happy about.

"Because of us."

"What?" Sakumo blinked in confusion and turned to look down at his son, "Why would you possibly be fighting over my soulmate?"

"Because you never want to be around me when he's around!"

Kakashi's anger lashed his heart. It was a stinging pain that hit him hard… Although not as hard as his own soulmate rejecting him. Sakumo highly doubted there was a pain greater than a soulmate's rejection in the world.

"You're always hanging onto each other… You never have time for anybody but yourselves." Dai's son elaborated, and Dai suddenly looked much sadder than Sakumo would have ever wanted. "It's like you don't care about anybody else…"

Sakumo loved Dai like no other.

That did not mean he did not have a place in his heart for anyone else.

"That's not true." He swallowed thickly and offered a small smile to both boys, trying to show… Well, he wasn't sure. But he didn't feel that scolding them would be the right course of action, seeing how sad his soulmate looked. "I love you, Kakashi. You too, Gai. Dai is my soulmate, though, so-"

"So you never have time for anyone other than him. I get it, dad." Kakashi interrupted him with a roll of his eyes, and anger rose up within Sakumo, making him squash it down before he said anything he might have regretted.

Soulmates were not something to take lightly. It seemed he needed to remind Kakashi of this.

Now, though, was not the right time to do such a thing.

"I don't care about that." Gai suddenly blurted out, "Be together. I don't care. Just don't be sad anymore… I can't stand my father being sad…"

Dai looked down at his son with a fond look filled with so much sadness Sakumo's arms twitched to wrap around him.

He stopped himself, though.

"I feel…" Dai breathed in, only to look Sakumo directly in the eyes with a breathtaking smile that made the Hatake suddenly forget how to work his lungs, "I think we should sit down together. All of us. And talk through this. We can't possibly be a family if we can't communicate."

"I…" Sakumo's voice came out breathless, so he cleared his throat. "I agree." He stepped into his home and opened the door wider, motioning for them all to enter. "No better time than the present, don't you think?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes and groaned. Gai nodded with a bit of hesitation. And Dai smiled softly at him.

Once both boys had entered the Hatake home, Dai took a few steps until he was right in front of Sakumo.

All of his breath left his body as soon as his soulmate's perfect lips molded against his own.

~/~

Dai knew that there was a lot they would have to discuss before they could properly come together as a family. He also knew that there were a few things he would have to tell Sakumo he would have to do so they could have a healthy relationship together.

But he would be a liar if he tried to say that, upon seeing his soulmate for the first time since he had left with Gai, he had thought of something other than kissing him.

They had gotten off to a somewhat rocky start.

Dai knew, though, that he and Gai could come together and make a real family with Sakumo and Kakashi. They just needed to work at it.

He was willing to put in the work. And he just knew that Sakumo would help him in making an actual family.

The future looked bright with the endless possibilities ahead of them.

..~..~..

Sakumo is a strong guy. Don't think that this characterization of him takes that way. No, what is going on in this story is a headcanon I have for Hatake and Inuzuka when it comes to soulmates.

Now, my headcanon goes like this: Soulmates are the greatest thing in the world. So, take people that are more in tune with their animal sides- like the Hatake- and really contemplate what that might mean. And, for me, that meant possession. I like the idea that, in this universe, these Clans are known for becoming much more possessive of their soulmates than other, normal, less in tune with animals, members of society. That innate need of keeping soulmates near at all times paired with a depressed Sakumo with nothing left to live for only made a cocktail of angst.

So he's not weak. He's just broken and highly dependent on Dai. He's still a capable warrior… But, in this story, Sakumo Hatake is a possessive individual that finds his saving grace in Might Dai. And, while that could be good to some degree, it can become rather deadly. In one version of this story, he kind of went insane with "No soulmate of mine leaves me! You're mine!", but I thought that was a bit too dark for the story. So he, instead of becoming violent, became depressed when Dai had to leave for the boys' sake.

Hey, soulmates may be cute and all, but no relationship is perfect. And possessiveness and need to keep near had to show up in at least one of my stories about soulmates.

And Dai strikes me as the adorable mother figure that wants to keep everyone happy. And, just like with Sakumo's need to possess, this can be a great virtue as well as a huge flaw.

It's got a bit of angst, a bit of funny, romance, and anything in between. I really like this story, especially because it gives yet another view of how soulmates can be seen in a world where they exist. Our world isn't all rainbows and sunshine, so it only makes sense that a world with soulmates could be filled with just as many different characterizations and takes on just what could happen when someone finds their soulmates.

Please review and tell me what you thought!