Written for this great prompt in KakaIru Summer Fest 2014 at Livejournal: Kakashi gets hit by a jutsu and becomes a child, with all his bossy, bratty attitude from way before. He gets placed in Iruka's class.
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Iruka was lust leaving the Academy for the day when he heard he piercing cry of a hawk. He looked up and saw it circling above his head, almost as if it were there for him. He looked around for the jounin it must be here to summon, but they were either out of his sightlin or hiding. Another cry from the bird made him stop and look up, then look around again for its intended target. Whoever it was probably didn't want to be seen. Thinking that the faster he got out of here the faster the unseen ninja could respond to his or her summons, Iruka picked up his step and fairly jogged off the field. The hawk seemed to be taking umbrage at the other shinobi's reluctance to show themselves, now crying louder and circling lower, not accustomed to being ignored. Iruka cast a quick glance over his shoulder as he was about to turn the corner and saw the hawk swooping right toward him, so close he had to duck to avoid the extended talons while he clapped his hands over his ears to protect them from the birds indignant screams. When Iruka looked up, the hawk was standing on the ground in front of him, reared up to its full height, wings spread and flapping powerfully for attention. It looked pissed.
Iruka tried to step around the large bird, only to have the bird match his movements, flapping and muttering angrily. Iruka tried to step around on the other side, and the bird repeated its performance, this time adding a quick nip in the direction of Iruka's sandaled feet.
"Me?" Iruka asked, pointing to himself. "You're here for me?"
The hawk made some quiet squawking sounds in its throat and continued to stare. Iruka sighed and dropped his shoulders. "OK, but I think there's been some mistake. I'm going to remember this if the Hokage laughs me out of her office, and you're going to be in trouble for bringing the wrong ninja."Iruka said before turning and starting in the direction of the Hokage tower. A quick look back showed the great bird watching him walk off, then jumping from the ground to the top of the fence that ran along the road, following him at a short distance. When Iruka stopped, it muttered and flapped its wings in annoyance. Iruka shook his head and picked up his pace. Better to get this cleared up quickly.
As Iruka walked past the mission room, he spotted Shizune at the corner desk, reading through a thick file.
"Ah, excuse me, Shizune-san," Iruka said,hating to bother her when she seemed so caught up in her work. But thinking it was probably better than bothering the Hokage with this little mix-up.
Shizune looked up from the notes she was writing, polite smile in place.
"Hello, Iruka-sensai. How can I help you?"
"I think there's been a mistake with one of the messenger hawks. It seems to think the Hokage wants to see me." He paused for a moment. "It seems very adamant about it."
Shizune looked thoughtful for a moment, then her face suddenly lit up. "Ah, Iruka-sensei, you may be just the man we're looking for. One moment, please, while I talk to Tsunade-sama."
"Of course," Iruka replied, wondering what she could possibly mean.
A moment later the door to the mission room was flung open by Tsunade herself. "Iruka-sensai, it's about time! How long does it take a ninja to walk from the academy ot the Hokage tower?"
Iruka shuffled his feet self-consciously before replying. "Ah, Hokage-sama, my apologies. I thought there was a mistake when the hawk was sent for me. You usually just send a regular messenger when you want to see me," he added, feeling no small need to defend himself.
Tsunade grunted her acknowledgement, then called for Shizune to come into the room with them, closing the door and locking it.
"Iruka-sensei, I have a job for you. I have a very sensitive situation and I need you to take care of it."
"Of course, Hokage-sama!" Iruka replied, standing at attention even as he wondered what on earth this "sensitive situation" could be.
"One of our shinobi was captured by a band of missing-nin. The shinobi was rescued by the rest of his team, but not before his captors were able to seal his chakra. I need time to study the seal and counteract it if I can."
"I see," said Iruka, even though he really didn't.
"The shinobi in question is not himself." She hesitated a moment. "Or maybe he's more himself," she amended thoughtfully. "Either way," she continued, "until I get this figured out, he's being placed on restriction. I need to limit whom he interacts with, and how, and what parts of the village he can access."
"And where do I come in, if I may ask, Hokage_sama?"
"I'm placing this ninja in your care."
"My care? Tsunade-sama, with all due respect, I'm not sure I'm best for this job. I have no experience with seals and only basic medical jutsu. And how much time can I spend caring for him when I'm at school or the mission desk all the time."
"You'll be spending seven hours a day with him, since he'll be in your class."
"My—my class? Hokage-sama, I don't understand. You can't put a sick shinobi in a pre-genin class!"
Tsunade stood from her seat and slammed her fist into the table, leaning over to glare at Iruka. "I can do anything I want, Iruka-sensei, and you will follow my orders!"
"Yes, Hokage-Sama!" Iruka cowed, surprised at himself for talking back to his Hokage, but still wondering how he was going to watch an injured comrade while supervising twenty-seven pre-genin at the same time.
Tsunade settled back into her seat, almost as if nothing had happened. "Besides, the person in question isn't sick or injured, he's just...altered. And in his current condition you may be one of the best people to deal with him. I'm sure your expertise will be invaluable with this situation."
"My expertise?" Iruka repeated, now thoroughly confused.
Tsunade sighed and rested her elbows on the table in front of her. "The shinobi in question has been retuned to a child-like state. Actually, as far as we can tell, he's become a child physically as well as mentally"
Iruka took a moment to ponder this. "So, you mean-"
"What I mean," Tsunade interrupted, "is that my shinobi who left on this mission a week ago as a twenty-eight year old man has returned to me as an eight year old child who is a little over four feet tall, weighs about sixty-five pounds, and is prone to pouting as well as a possible temper tantrum when he doesn't get enough sleep at night."
Tsunade sighed and rubbed her forehead before continuing. "As for his mental state, he seems to retain all his memories, knowledge, and personality quirks that he had at age eight, but none after that. By cross-referencing his current height and weight with his medical chart, as well as comparing his memories with his service record and historical events, we've but his age at eight years and two months. As far as he is concerned, everything that's happened since he was that age is in the future. He remembers Konoha as it was before the Kyuubi attack, thinks we're on the brink of the third Shinobi War, and doesn't remember anyone who was born after that time."
Iruka shifted his weight as he absorbed this information. He did have a lot of experience with children this age, and it would be fairly easy to blend him into the class as a new student, hiding him in plain sight, as it were, while Tsunade studied the seal.
"A few questions, if I may, Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade templed her hands beneath her chin and motioned for him to continue.
"Why did someone apply this seal? It sounds like it would take a lot of time and energy, and doing that in the field seems impractical."
"We think this was an opportunistic attack. The ninja in question would make a very, very valuable hostage but would also be risky to hang on to at full power. We think that they applied this seal with the intention of removing it once they had gotten him someplace more secure, or transported him to whoever would have use of him and would be willing to pay for it."
"I see. If I may ask, why enroll him in the academy? Why not sequester him somewhere safe until the seal is broken?"
"Because we don't know yet that we will be able to break this seal," Tsunade admitted. "The seal is strong and looks stable. We have one of the jounin from the party in custody, but we aren't yet sure if he was he caster or how much he knows about the seal. The seal resembles nothing we've seen before, so it may take us some time to research it. In the eventuality that the seal remains intact then it will be easier to integrate him into the present day Konoha if he's been exposed to it at least a little bit."
"One last question, please. Who is the affected shinobi?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, watching him intently, as she told him.
"Hatake Kakashi"
Iruka did his best to keep his face expressionless, especially with the critical glare of the Hokage on him. Hatake Kakashi. Yes, he would be a valuable hostage for many reasons: his knowledge of village secrets, his Sharingan eye, his attachment to Naruto.
Shizune stepped forward with a rustling of papers. "I've put together a file on little Kakashi-kun, based on what we know so far. His talents, abilities, health record..."
Iruka wasn't listening. "Kakashi-kun?" he thought. This is really happening, isn't it?
"Iruka-sensei?"
Iruka was sartled to see Shizune standing in front of him, a slim folder held out in front of her.
"Ah, excuse me. It's just... a lot to take in at once."
"It's ok, Iruka-sensei, I understand. However, there are somethings that we really should go over. As you know, Kakashi was a prodigy and had already been a chunin for over a year by the time he was eight, so it may be hard to hold his interest in class. We would like to see if the seal has affected his ability to use chakra or to acquire new memories, so if you could pay particular attention to these issues we would greatly appreciate it. Now, as for the Sharingan, the eye regressed in age along with the rest of him and is currently dormant. Please alert us should the sharingan activate."
Shizune paused to take a breath, her business like demeanor falling away. "as for Kakashi's personal state," she began, then stopped, searching for words. She sighed and started again. "You may be aware that Kakashi was orphaned at a young age. His mother died while he was very small and his father...his father committed seppuku when Kakashi was seven. It was, of course, very traumatic for little Kakashi. It took a long time for him to come to terms with that. But now, with this seal..."
Tsunade interrupted when Shizune hesitated to finish her sentence. "According to Kakashi, his father committed suicide six months ago."
"That must have been a very difficult age for him." Iruka said thoughtfully, thinking of other emotionally traumatized children he had taught.
Tsunade waved her hand. "All of Kakashi's ages were difficult. This may actually work in your favor as Kakashi after his father's death was very different from the Kakashi we know today. He became obsessed with rules and duty and being an exemplary Konoha shinobi."
Iruka stiffened. "I wouldn't want to take advantage of his emotional vulnerabilities, Hokage-sama."
"Hmmph," Tsunade snorted, "then you don't know Kakashi very well. I appreciate your ethics, it's one of the reasons why I chose you for this mission, but you're going to need all the advantage you can get."
"Ah, that's another thing, Hokage-sama. I don't know Kakashi-san very well, but, um, I'm not sure that he likes me very much."
"It's OK, Iruka-sensei, he doesn't remember you now. You have a new chance to make a first impression. I suggest you don't blow it. Now, are you ready to meet your new student?"