Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for your encouragement from the main story Ethereal Embers; more is on the way! I appreciate you all!
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto or any of its ideas. I own only Katarina and the plot line of this story.
Sakumo Hatake's P.O.V
It was safe to say that the first time Sakumo saw Kakashi floating, grinning toothlessly at whatever invisible being currently seemed to be twirling his son about in the air, he had thought he had been put in a genjutsu.
He closed his eyes and put his hands into the ram seal.
"Kai,"
He muttered fiercely, but when he blinked his eyes open, his son remained suspended above his crib.
Sakumo stumbled back a step in shock, before a fierce surge of panic forced him into motion.
He slammed the nursery door all the way open, but his stumble had disrupted whatever had been happening.
Kakashi started bawling from the confines of his crib, startled by the door slam and the frantic parent that scooped him up.
He checked his son over, but aside from his entry upsetting Kakashi, the silver-haired baby was unharmed.
The jounin eyed the room warily, resolving to draw up more security seals after he finished calming his child down.
Sakumo frowned, waiting for the water to broil so he could warm Kakashi's breakfast, his gaze fixed on the door to his son's room with a calculating gleam in his eyes.
A sharp wail pierced the air and the Jounin winced, straightening automatically, but he forced himself to stay in place when another cry shattered the quiet.
Suspicion held the recent father in place, though his jaw clenched when his baby screamed, fighting every instinct he possessed in order to stay in place.
Right when he thought his self-control would snap, Kakashi's woes quieted to whimpers, and after a moment of tense silence, a small but much more joyful sound emitted from the room.
Muscles tensed like coils the experienced ninja's footsteps were completely silent when he moved to the nursery, dark eyes narrowed and hand poised over his weapons pouch, he peered through the crack in the door.
Sakumo had to restrain from tensing worse than he already was when he spied Kakashi sitting on the floor as opposed to the cradle where he had left him, teething enthusiastically on the arm of a stuffed bear that the ninja was sure had been on the dresser at the other side of the room, big dark grey eyes fixated in awe at the… Wall? Ceiling? With movements too controlled and patterned to be coincidence.
A loud hiss distracted the Jounin, and Sakumo's head snapped around to the pot of water that was broiling over into the fire.
He lunged for the pot with a yelp, armed with an oven mitt and a bottle of baby formula.
When he returned to the nursery with a prepared bottle Kakashi was back in his cradle, innocent dark eyes focusing up at his face as opposed to the stuffed bear that was currently being squeezed.
Sakumo stared at the gummy smile he received when he picked up his son, running a quick glance over the intact seal that secured the only window.
He mentally frowned, running a tally of similar instances in his head while he fed and burped Kakashi.
No harm no foul, he supposed warily; but one day, he was going to figure out just what the hell was going on.
He got the most peculiar feeling that, somewhere, he was being laughed at.
The jounin bounced the toddler on his knee, hiding his curiosity and wariness behind a big, over-enthusiastic grin.
"Kakashi, say 'dad-dy'!"
He prompted, testing this new development for all its worth.
The three-year-old beamed up at him.
"Katarina."
Kakashi stated while pointing at his shoulder, smiling brightly.
Sakumo chuckled, shaking his head.
"Daddy' Kakashi! Say 'Otou-san'!"
The toddled puffed his cheeks out indignantly, flipping his hand in a gesture motion.
"Kat-a-rina!"
The toddler insisted, pronouncing it out more carefully as he let his hand fall back to his side, looking satisfied to the world.
Sakumo pouted, playing it up to his young but very advanced son.
"But I want to be called otou-san!"
The jounin blinked when an uncoordinated baby-hand slapped his cheek in a supposedly clumsy pat.
"No, otou-san; Katarina-nee behind you!"
The jounin felt an unwarranted chill creep up his suddenly very rigid spine.
His eye twitched, refusing to turn around, and instead just stared at Kakashi's overly happy expression.
"Hi nee-chan!"
Later that day the silver-haired ninja kneeled, fingers reverently tracing over the engraved letters of a headstone, dark eyes bright with sorrow belying the gentle smile on his face.
"So it wasn't you,"
He murmured softly, thinking back to the strange happenings.
His eyes softened.
"I've decided to let them keep watch over our son, not that I could do much about it anyways. I'd like to think that you're with us, but whoever is looking after Kakashi will keep him safe… I can feel that much."
A gentle breeze stirred his wild silver hair, and his eyes closed.
"I'll make sure our son grows up strong, I promise."