We Don't own Naruto, it belongs to their respective owner.
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Months were passing and summer was now coming to an end leading into the season of autumn, the once warm breeze was growing cold everyday and every second that stole time away from the falling sun each day. The Fourth Hokage trained his students fewer hours as time started drawing close for when Kushina would be expecting her first child, their child.
It also had been a few months since he had lost one of his students during the Third Great Shinobi War, there wasn't a day that didn't go by that he didn't blame himself for the youngest of the groups death. Had he been there Obito would have been spared and Rin wouldn't have been abducted by the Iwagkure forces. If he had been there both Rin and Kakashi wouldn't have to of witnessed the death of their comrade or carry some sort of symbol that marked the teens death.
Minato stood on the porch stretching back as his fiery cape flew forward then back as he leapt to the ground below stepping toward the two Kakashi still training while Rin sat under a tree studying away on techniques she could use next time incase of any emergency were to take place again.
His hand came to rest on the shoulder of the eldest of the group members. "Kakashi, you don't have to strain yourself so much."
Obito's death weighted heavily on Kakashi's young shoulders, causing him to re-think everything he'd considered important. Though the change was gradual, it was still perceptible. He no longer lost his patience with Rin, or hinted that her only value to the team was that of a medical ninja. He co-operated willingly with others, actually watching their backs instead of just his own. There wasn't a day that passed when he didn't review the circumstances surrounding Obito's death and silently berate himself for not handling things any differently than he did. The way Kakashi saw it, the whole thing could have been prevented if only he'd opened his eyes sooner. He listened carefully to Minato's instruction, and though the command would have annoyed him six months ago, he was now more willing to listen – more open to new ideas. The young jounin's mind was no longer shut to everyone and everything. However, the reason for his excessive, almost compulsive training was a good one – it helped distract him from the fact that Minato was engaged in a relationship Kakashi felt the older male has no business being in. Jealous had lead him to invent all sorts of reasons why Minato and Kushina shouldn't be together, but he kept his reasons to himself. Vocalizing his protests was simply not an option, from a logical stand-point. The weight of the blonde's hand on his shoulder caused him to tense momentarily, unaccustomed to physical contact, relaxing only gradually. Kakashi turned his head, gazing intently at the blond, "You worry too much, sensei."
"And you train too much." He chuckled out moving his hand from the teen's shoulder and rubbing it through his silver hair roughly. "Come on you two I'll feed you some dinner at the local stand closes to here." His smile was warm and comforting as he spoke to his students his blonde spiky hair glittering in the fading sunlight.
Rin looked up from her studies folding the book closed as she stood brushing any forest debris from her clothing. Her expression was different now she still held that spark of life, but everything she did weighed heavily on what had happened in the past to her follow friend. She still had idea that the other had loved her and had a crush on her that would seem childish to many. "This is a change, I'm mostly use to you running off to that young woman you've been seeing from the Whirlpool village." She winked causing their teacher to look away.
"Yeah, but she's been resting a lot longer, I want to give her space so I don't wake her." He smiled, "Besides you two have earned it with everything you two have been doing to get closer to being leaders of your own someday." Minato looked back to Kakashi placing his hands on his hips showing how slender his build really was to the other. "Isn't that right Kakashi?"
The ruffling of his hair caused Kakashi to gaze at the blond with visible annoyance, pulling away from the hand. He never had liked it when anyone did that, and that was one thing that wasn't about to change any time soon. Not even his father had been able to get away with it without a grunt or a glare. As much as he wanted to spend time with Minato, and as enticing as the offer of a free meal (and extra time spent with the man whom he so greatly admired, and so seldom saw these days) was, Kakashi didn't think he could take having to listen to the blond Hokage go on any more about Kushina. The name along was enough to invoke a surge of irritation. As Minato posed with his hands on his hips the young pale-haired male looked away, fighting to find a viable excuse. Whether it was any good or not didn't matter – he simply needed to get out of this somehow. "Take Rin, Minato-sensei," Kakashi declared, progressing to a nearby tree, withdrawing a kunai from its trunk, tucking it into the confines of his weapons' pouch, "I need to head home."
Minato frowned at the young teen's words as he shook his head not really wanting to say the words he needed. "…. Kakashi no one is home anymore for you… I still don't understand why you don't come stay with me and Kushina you know we wouldn't mind you being there even if you just want to stay a few days out of the week." His voice was laced with concern for the other's wellbeing.
Rin looked up noticing the change in tone remember once back when Minato had first brought it up after Kakashi's father had killed himself. Minato was always looking out for the two now especially after loosing Obito. She could tell something was different though about the young teen especially dodging anything to do with Minato's partner Kushina. "Kakashi it'll be fun it'll be like old times again, Minato's paying so we can eat as much as we want and whatever we want." She spoke up finally forcing a smile through as she held her medical book to her chest.
Minato looked back to the other tilting his head to the side. "Would you prefer Kushina make us dinner or perhaps lunches?" He spoke softly as he moved closer to the young male. "You've become quieter Kakashi and it's worrying me…. If you keep this up I might not allow you to go on any missions." He regretted that sentence, but he had to say it to him he needed to know how much his teacher was worried about him and Rin. "What if you locked down your feelings and something happens?"
In no mood to go through this right now, Kakashi sighed heavily, cringing inwardly at the mention of Kushina making them dinner. "No, thanks," he responded to the offer, trying to keep the edge out of his voice and sound as polite as possible. As Minato approached him and began expressing his concerns, Kakashi sighed heavily, staring down at the ground, unable even to meet the blonde's gaze. He knew Minato had a point – he had grown quieter, and where he would have previously lashed out at others he simply elected to hold his tongue, keeping his thoughts to himself. "Sensei ... There's nothing wrong with me, and I'm perfectly capable of performing my duties. There's no need to punish me by keeping me home." Looking up at the older male slowly, he attempted to appear stern and assertive. "Nothing is going to happen to me just because I'm not going out for dinner with you guys. Besides, I have some weeding to do." The last part was at least partially true, as his vegetable garden was overgrown and could use the attention." Turning away from the others, he pocketed his hands as he headed off in the direction of him, "I'll see you two later."
Before Kakashi could make it away from the others, Minato moved in front of the other with his lightning speed, hence the name the yellow flash. "After I take Rin to my home and have her stay with Kushina for dinner how about we have a guy's night. I'll help you out around you're house ok?" Minato spoke in a kind tone watching the other now. "How about it Kakashi?"
Rin looked over at the two before walking over to the others now. "I don't mind having dinner with Kushina tonight and help her to so it'll equal out, Kakashi you really need to have someone to be able to relax with…. You can't just keep hiding away in you're house like a hermit…" She spoke with a concerned tone.
The temptation to spend some time alone with Minato was overwhelming to the point where Kakashi found himself actually considering the offer. He couldn't even think of the last time he'd actually had more than ten minutes alone with the blond Hokage, but at the same time he wondered if he'd be able to withstand hearing Minato go on about Kushina without reacting badly ... Yet he knew that Minato would only continue to hound him, and it would make him look even worse if he continued to decline. "I'm not a hermit," he declared with a sigh, falling silent for a moment. "Fine ... Sensei, why don't you take Rin to your place and come by to see me afterward? Go ahead and eat something, if you want." Kakashi himself didn't have much of an appetite these days. Even when he did get hungry, sooner or later he'd start thinking about Minato, and discover he wasn't near as hungry as he thought. Consequently, he'd lost a bit of weight, but hadn't noticed.
"How about we go out later you're old enough to go to the older shops." He smirked some to where he would be the only one to hear the blonde. Rin tilted her head to the side in hopes to find out what the others were talking about. "They have the best ramen shops." Minato spoke softly enough for Rin to hear and assume they were just going out to eat somewhere in town.
"I'm sure Kushina-chan can teach me a few things to Minato-san I'm sure she needs help to getting ready for the baby, have you guys decided on a name for it yet or what the baby's going to be?" Rin spoke looking to the other who looked back to the other.
".... It's going to be a boy and Kushina picked out the name Naruto from one my Sensei's books." He smiled happily.
Kakashi nodded silently in agreement, a cold feeling taking root in his spine and plunging into the depths of his stomach as he listened to Minato talk about the child they were expecting. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets, turning to leave again. "See you later, sensei. Bye, Rin." Once again he set out for home, trying to focus on anything but the blond. By the time he got home he'd managed to clear his mind, showering and getting changed in expectation of his sensei's arrival, looking forward to spending time with the other male, his thoughts inevitably wandering back to him. In order to avoid pacing as he waited for Minato to show up, he took a seat on the couch, reviewing one of his taijutsu manuals, a small pale-colored dog resting in his lap.
Minato had moved to his home where Kushina was cooking up a small meal thinking it was only going to be her and Minato for tonight. Rin smiled as she ran over to the other woman feeling a bit of comfort from her like a mother figure. "Hello Rin have you come to visit with me?" She spoke softly smiling cheerfully at the young teen before her placing her hand to her cheek.
"Can you feel the baby kick yet Kushina-san!" She spoke happily and excitedly. Kushina gave a faint nod moving the young teens hand to her stomach a few kicks being felt.
"Naruto is saying hello." Kushina smiled kindly as Minato stood in the doorway smiling before letting it fade away.
"Kushina I'm going to be with Kakashi tonight he's acting a little weird again and need to be there for him, I might be gone all night if that's the case Rin will stay here with you." His voice was soft as he moved over to the young woman before him placing a small kiss on her forehead and a hand to her stomach.
"He still refuses to come stay with us doesn't he?" She whispered out sadly tilting her head to the side as Minato gave a faint nod.
"Yes, but I'm going to try taking him out a little more to make sure he knows I really care about him... I know Rin does know..." He spoke softly as Rin looked up nodding to the other. "I'm still trying to get him to move in here with us and it might be helpful to maybe having a baby around will bring him around to being more open with people." He gave her one last kiss this time on the lips. "I might be back tonight might be back late tomorrow."
Kushina nodded lightly. "Have fun tonight Minato." She spoke softly as he moved from the room taking off to the young teen's residence. Within a few minutes he had arrived at the young teens place looking around and frowning at how the place started to look without the care of Kakashi's father around. He moved up the steps knocking on the door before sliding it open. "Kakashi you ready to head out?"
Looking over at the older male, Kakashi gave a slight nod, "Yeah, I'm ready." He set his book down, giving the pup on his lap a final pet before lowering the canine to the floor. Even with his father gone Kakashi tried hard to make everything look as good as new, and he kept the whole house much cleaner than other boys his age were capable of keeping their own rooms, but there was still things which never occurred to him to look after, or things he simply didn't know how to fix (and refused to ask anyone for assistance on the matter). He absently brushed the dog hair off the leg off his pants, rising to his feet. "How's Kushina?" he asked casually, not wanting to seem suspicious by refraining from mentioning the woman entirely, despite how much it pained him to do so.
"She's well I told her that I was going to be out with you for the night." He spoke softly his head tilting to the side. "She was wondering why you didn't come to see her.... She misses you and wants you around when the baby finally arrives.... She thinks you'll have fun living with us in the baby." He spoke softly.
"I'm fine where I am," Kakashi replied quickly. A little too quickly, maybe, but there was no taking the words back once they were out. He backed up a bit mentally, trying to justify his reaction. "Besides, I'm not very good with babies ... I don't have your patience when it comes to things like that." And I already have trouble sleeping at night, he thought, leaving that part out.
".... You've never really been around anyone that young Kakashi, I know I haven't its going to be a real experience for me, I know I'm going to need the help, I'm not going to be a bachelor anymore I'm going to be an old guy." He chuckled out always trying to look on the bright side of things. "Come on we should get going to if we want to see the ladies." He smirked winking at him placing a hand around his shoulder.
"You have Kushina to help you," Kakashi stated, fighting to keep any detectable trace of bitterness from invading his tone. "Rin, too," he added quietly, pocketing his hands – something Obito had always done, and in the months following the Uchiha's death it was something Kakashi had found himself doing increasingly frequently. "Where are we going?" he asked, staring up at the blond, trying not to dwell too much on the fact that Minato was touching his shoulder.
"Were going to a strip joint, something that most father's take their son to when they've reached that placed in life." Minato spoke softly as he looked to him walking out of the young teens home. "Tomorrow if were not to drunk or full will try fixing up your home a bit. I want to make sure your house has a sturdy roof for the winter."
Though he struggled valiantly against it, a hint of crimson rose to greet the usually pale contours of Kakashi's cheeks. He felt the warmth invading his face in response to the mention of the strip club – something he'd never actually seen before. The flush faded quickly as his mismatched eyes adopted a narrowed stance, arms folding across the expanse of his chest. "The roof is fine, sensei. It doesn't even leak."
"I just want to make sure my student is taken care of, you know I worry about you sometimes and I only want what's best for you." His voice soft this time as he looked ahead with the other. "Before Kushina came you, Obito, and Rin were like my children, but now with the loss of one child, but gaining another with Kushina, I don't want to lose my bonds with you or Rin." Minato looked down to the other as they came closer to town and toward the red light district. "I know you losing a father and a friend is hard, but I want you to know I'm here for you and so is Kushina. She really does care about you Kakashi."
All this talking about Kushina was beginning to give Kakashi a headache, but he kept his head down, sighing softly as he listened to the older male drone on. "She has more important things to worry about, sensei – especially with a baby on the way. You don't need me around." He wasn't looking for sympathy, simply stating the reality of things as they were, or at least how he saw them – also Kakashi recognized there was no way that he would be able to handle being around Minato and Kushina all the time, with them being as in-love as they obviously were.
"Kakashi..." Minato whispered out under his breath as he moved in front of the young teen placing both hands on the teens shoulders. "Do you think I'll forget about you like that?" He looked to the other sadly feeling hurt his blue orbs closing half way. "There's no way I would forget about you or treat you any different then I do now.... Do you think it's changed since Kushina came to this village with me?" He was trying his best to find out why the other was trying to avoid the other now and his new companion.
"No, sensei," he replied mechanically, reading the blond male as best he could, telling him what he figured the older male would most likely want to hear. "I know you're not going to forget me, but you have other responsibilities now, and I respect that. It's natural for things to change ... but change doesn't mean we forget the people we care about the most." He offered the blond a faint, reassuring smile.
Minato sighed as he turned around rubbing his forehead. "Kakashi please don't live me in the house with two hormonal women and a crying infant." He spoke looking back to the other. "You being there will rescue me that I was once a man before I'm wiped by Kushina and Rin." He started moving into the red light district, "I'm sure this will be one of the few trips I get to do here with you."
Kakashi frowned faintly, thinking that this would be one of the last times he was able to spend time alone with Minato before everything changed – before Minato had a son of his own, and proceeded to forget all about Kakashi. The young jounin figured it was inevitable. "You don't need me to remind you that you're a man." He stared up at the blond for a moment with obvious admiration. "You're the Hokage." He quickly lowered his head again, continuing to walk toward their destination.
"Come now I still need help with Naruto when he's born I bet you'll be a great teacher to him...." He smiled patting the boy on the back. "I still want my student to be my student, and my student to be just like my son." Minato looked to the other sadly. "I don't want you to fade away from me Kakashi."
"Oi, don't go dumping your offspring off on me," Kakashi stated. "You can teach your own son." It was difficult not to react each time Minato touched him, to keep his desire for the other male entirely to himself, to refrain from touching him in response. "I'm not going anywhere, so quit worrying about me, and start thinking about how many diapers you're going to have to change."
"I know, I'm hoping it won't be to overwhelming when the baby comes." He spoke out placing his finger to his bottom lip thinking things over in how he accidently became a father in the first place. "Kakashi." He spoke out looking ahead coming to a stop outside the strip joint. "Don't have sex ok."
The flush returned to the young jounin's cheeks and he stared up at the older male with a combination of confusion and curiosity. He didn't want to look like an idiot by demonstrating a lack of knowledge in something he clearly should have known, yet he was unsure exactly what the blond Hokage might be referring to. "With who?" he finally asked quietly.
"With anyone especially women." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't want to say it was a mistake that I accidently got Kushina pregnant because right now it's one of the greatest things I really have that will always be there. You and Rin will be growing up soon and leaving to become medics and teachers. I know you'll make a fine teacher and can see Rin gong and become a nurse or even a doctor. Once you two are gone I will feel alone..... But with Kushina here I feel loved, but I don't want you to have sex at a young age like I did, at least wait till you know the girl a year before you act upon urges." He rubbed the back of his head once more before allowing it to rest on his hip. ".... Things happen for a reason and I feel like I'm overwhelming you at this moment."
Kakashi sighed lightly, trying not to look half as awkward as he felt as he continued to stare at the older male, trying his best to put on a brave, mature face. "Last I heard, having sex with a girl doesn't necessarily mean getting her pregnant. I mean, there's certain things you can do to ... Why are we having this conversation?" He kept his focus on Minato, even though it wasn't easy, the faint flush on his cheeks making him want to pull away, to look away, and preferably crawl into a dark hole somewhere.
"Think you needed one of those father son conversations." He chuckled finally seeing the look on the others face before wrapping an arm around the young teens shoulder. "Lets go buzz in and learn about the beautiful dancing birds shall we?" Minato was trying his best to always be clever whenever around his students.
"Yeah, yeah." Kakashi acted as though he couldn't have cared less where they were or what they were about to do, but the teenage boy part of him was excited, having never seen anything quite like this before. He followed Minato's lead, wondering exactly how many times the blond had come to this place before he'd gotten involved with Kushina, and what he'd done while he was here.