100 Themes fics

Title: I Can't

Pairing/Characters: None / Kakashi is 8, Yondaime is 18

Rating: G

Warnings: Angst, WAFF, Oneshot, no sexual content, COMPLETE

Summary: Some things change a person so drastically they can never return to who they were before. And sometimes no matter how much we want to, we can't do anything to stop that change.

Disclaimer: Kishi's wonderful characters, my evil plot bunny with fangs



"And, as the figure drew nearer they knew... he was back for revenge..." Minato's voice trailed off in an obvious attempt to be spooky.



Kakashi only stared at him dully. "The guy just rose from the dead of his own free will?" the boy asked rolling his eyes. "It was probably just one of them using a genjutsu. You said they were all genin, except for their sensei who was asleep, so it couldn't have been a resurrection jutsu." Kakashi shook his head. "Besides, if ithad been a resurrection jutsu somebody would have had to know about their mission and you said they killed everyone."



"Okay, Mr. Skeptical, believe what you want but it was a zombie. They're real." The blonde teen shook his head.



"As real as ghost." The kids tone was down right sarcastic.



"What would you know? You're eight, I don't care if you are a chunin, eight is eight. And aren't eight-year-olds supposed to believe in things like monsters under the bed?" He smiled popping  another marshmallow in his mouth before offering one to the silver-haired kid sitting across the fire from him.



Kakashi shook his head at the pro-offered sweet. "You're eighteen, aren't adults supposed to know better than to believe in things like that? And monsters are not the same thing as zombies. Once something is dead, it's always dead."



"Unless... you use a resurrection jutsu," Minato pointed out.



They both laughed then; Minato's was loud and boisterous while the boy's was more of an amused snort.



---



Minato bit back the tears as he watched the son of the great White Fang clutching his father's coat as he begged him to wake up. He cursed fate for letting the boy be the one to find Sakumo.



"Wake-up, please just wake-up..." The plea was repeated over and over.



The sound never dulling the ache in Minato's heart at hearing them. "He's gone, Kashi-kun. You have to let him go." He pulled his young charge away and held him close.



"Bring him back! You said zombies were real, so bring him back!" Kakashi yelled trying to push him away. "Bring him back!"



"I can't Kashi-kun, I'm sorry." The blonde clutched the struggling boy, refusing to let him go.



"You can too, you just don't want to! You're like them, you don't want him to come back! I hate you!" But the boy stopped struggling against him and instead wept helplessly. It didn't matter that Kakashi knew it was hopeless, because as much as it hurt there was nothing that could keep somebody from wishing for what they truly wanted.



"I'm sorry, Kashi-kun." He wished there were words that could make the other's pain disappear but there just wasn't, never would be. "Even if I could, it wouldn't be him."



"I told you they weren't real." He saw it, even knew what he was seeing, but had no idea what he could do about it. Kakashi withdrew then, even from him, and he was helpless to stop it.