Author's Notes: Just pure fluff between sensei and student when Kakashi's baby teeth were falling out… and of course, Kushina rushes to save the day! ;) Read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!
Tooth
Minato sighed when his charge stopped for the fifth time that day while touching his cheek. He, again, considered calling the small boy over to see what the problem was. However, as always, he decided against it. He knew how the newly titled Chuunin hated being babied. After long years of experience, he learned that asking him if he was alright was, apparently, babying him. He watched the silver-haired boy attempt to throw the kunai before losing his focus and dropping it, his hand shooting to his cheek instead. Minato, then, left his perch in the shadow of a tree and marched towards his student.
"Everything okay, 'Kashi?" he asked gently as he ruffled his student's silver locks. He waited for the dismissal, but was surprised when he got something more.
"It's moving…" Kakashi muttered under his breath that his sensei had to lean in to hear him.
"What's moving?" Minato questioned confusion coloring his face and voice. Instead of giving him a verbal answer, Kakashi opened his mouth wide and pointed at one of his teeth. Oh, Minato thought amusedly when he saw the baby tooth. He couldn't believe that Kakashi still had baby teeth… but then again, his pupil was only six. He grimaced. Times and war have forced all the Hidden Villages to send out inexperienced children to the land outside their wall, away from the protection of the village… to fight and die for their respective Hidden Villages when they should have been playing and being carefree… just being kids. Minato shook his head to clear it of these thoughts. Now was not the time for them, after all. He was pretty sure that Kakashi was feeling slightly worried about his tooth… if the way he looked at him like he was about to die was any indication.
"Ah…" he began as he scratched his head, "It's nothing to worry about, 'Kashi," He was glad to note that his student seemed that much more relieve after hearing him say that. But then, Kakashi's face scrunched up in concentration, eyes inquisitive and hand scratching his chin thoughtfully. Uh oh… Kakashi was in full question mode.
"Why is it moving, Sensei?" Good, we're starting with the easy questions, Minato thought as he displayed a huge smile.
"Well, it's ready to come out, now… you know, it's going to fall off sometime soon," Minato replied as he nodded, satisfied with his answer. Nevertheless, his interrogator clearly wasn't nearly as satisfied as he.
"Why is it going to fall out?"
"Because it needs to come out in order to make space for your permanent tooth to grow," he answered easily.
"Why do I need other teeth? These work perfectly fine," Kakashi said as he pointed at his teeth. They really could bite down on anything and they help him just fine when eating food. So why did they need to be replaced? The blond scratched the back of his neck in thought.
"Because you're growing up, and a lot of things, including your teeth, need to change," Kakashi hummed in acceptance. And just when Minato thought questioning time was over, the boy opened his mouth again.
"If they're going to come out anyways, why do I have baby teeth at all?"
"Well…" Minato scrambled for an answer before he mentally shrugged and told him the first thing that came to mind, "Your permanent teeth are going to be larger and stronger than your baby teeth… There's simply not enough space in our jaws to grow the permanent teeth directly…" Kakashi nodded, clearly –finally- satisfied… before he started walking briskly away and out of the training field.
"Wh-Where are you going?"
"You said it needs to come out," Kakashi explained slowly as if talking to a dim child, "We're going to help it fall out," the kid nodded with finality as he continued his march. When his teacher didn't make any move to follow him, Kakashi returned back to the training grounds, grabbed the older man's hand and pulled as hard as he could.
"Well, hurry up now," he grumbled loudly. What was wrong with his Sensei? He glared at him for good measure. Was he trying not to laugh? His glare intensified. What was so funny?
"Right, let's go," Minato said with a cheerful grin as he walked beside his little student.
-oOo-
"Which tooth did you say it was, 'Kashi?" Kakashi pointed at his lower left center tooth. Minato searched around his apartment for a moment. The silver-haired ninja waited for whatever his sensei's plan was patiently.
"I have a couple of ways to get it out, if you're willing to try, and it won't hurt a bit," Minato said with a smile to which Kakashi responded with a nod.
"Great… Aha! There it is!" Minato exclaimed as he shut the drawer he opened to get out ninja wire.
"What are you going to do with that?" Minato told him to open his mouth and leave the rest to him. Minato tied a knot with the wire on his student's loose tooth. He grabbed the small boy and positioned him in front of an open door and tied a knot there as well using the same wire.
"Ready?" He only got a confused, trusting glance from his student in reply, "Alright keep your mouth open and take half a step back…" Kakashi quickly obliged, "Here we go," The blond slammed the door as hard as he could… and the kid got pulled off of his feet with the force of the blow. Kakashi slammed against the now closed door. Hard.
"Well, did it come out?" Minato prodded as he helped his student. Kakashi cradled his jaw with tears in his eyes. Tears he stubbornly wiped away. Kakashi took out the wire from his mouth and felt for his tooth.
"No, it didn't work," Kakashi said as he continued massaging his jaw, "But it did hurt," he whispered. The sensei laughed weakly.
"Well, I've got more ways, if you're willing to try," he said. Kakashi gave him a pained look but agreed –albeit hesitantly. Minato grabbed the wire again and motioned for Kakashi to follow him. The boy swallowed audibly before trailing after the older nin. Minato also took a bow and arrow with him before heading to the training field. Once again, he tied the wire to his student's tooth and made a knot on the arrow.
"Alright, keep your mouth open," the blond said as he readied his bow. He pulled the string and let go. The arrow soared through the air and the Yellow Flash heard a loud 'snap' sound. He turned with a large grin on his face as he looked towards his pupil, and he almost pulled his hair out in frustration. The ninja wire… snapped in half. Kakashi watched his sensei's face change from glad when he first turned around, then to frustration and finally to determination all in one second. He calmly removed the wire from his mouth as he waited for the next plan of action.
"I still have one last way… but I have to wash my hands first," Minato said as he marched back to his apartment. Kakashi blinked at his teacher's retreating back before sighing audibly and following after him.
Not a second after they got back to the apartment, Minato headed straight to the kitchen sink and cleaned his hands thoroughly. He cracked his knuckles as he approached his student, who was now in the living room, as if he was approaching an enemy from the Stone.
"Open up," he ordered when he finally reached Kakashi.
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll pull it with my hands… it'll be easy and painless… I promise!" Minato exclaimed. Kakashi would have believed him… if it weren't for his sensei's attempt at a smile which looked more like a twisted snarl at the moment, and the way his fingers were twitching as if he wanted to kill someone. All in all, Kakashi thought that the blond looked like a mad doctor. He shook his head and his hands shot out to his mouth. He covered his mouth with both his hands and took a number of steps back. His sensei crossed the distance quickly, but Kakashi kept going until he reached the wall.
"I promise, 'Kashi, it won't hurt a bit… and it will only take a second," Eyes wide and hands still on his mouth, Kakashi used his smaller stature to his advantage and passed under Minato's legs. There was no way he was letting him put anything else in his mouth!
"Come on, 'Kashi, it will be easy!"
-oOo-
Kushina hummed softly as she made her way to her and Minato's apartment after a long day of shopping. She felt especially glad today, but she didn't have the slightest idea why. She just felt that today was going to be a great day. She smiled cheerfully when she reached the door. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion when she heard the sound of footsteps and furniture turning over. She leaned closer to the door and pressed her ear against it whilst adjusting her hold on the many bags she held. She sighed when she heard the noise more clearly. Who was causing all this ruckus in her house? She nodded determinedly before setting the bags down and fingering her hidden kunai. She opened the door slowly until the space was enough for her to squeeze through. She watched her surroundings intently before heading towards the place she could hear all the noise coming from. She crept silently until she reached the entrance leading to the living room. From her place, she could see that most of the couches were turned over. The coffee table was also upside down. Taking a deep breath, Kushina entered the room with a battle cry.
Both occupants of the room froze. The blond blinked at her and she felt her cheeks flushing. She didn't have to go and make herself look stupid in front of her boyfriend now did she? The silver-haired one, however, wasted no time. He had a chance to escape! He rushed past Kushina muttering a thank you before heading to the door. He couldn't get near it though since someone grabbed him by the arm.
"What's going on here?!" The redhead demanded glaring at both sensei and student in turn.
"Erm… well… you see…"
"Out with it!" she prodded with a raised eyebrow and a deadly look.
"Kakashi has a loose tooth… and, well, um, I'm trying to help him out," Minato nodded as if to confirm that.
"If getting out a loose tooth was your goal… then, why do I have a disaster of a living room?" Kushina asked, false cheer coating her voice. She didn't give Minato any time to respond before she continued, "Let's see how quickly you can get this place back to its former glory, Mr. Yellow Flash," Her boyfriend did not need to be told twice, he immediately set to work. Her glare shifted to the younger male when she heard his barely stifled snickers.
"And you, young man," she addressed calmly, "Open that mouth of yours so I can see what we're dealing with," Kakashi instantly obeyed. He did not want to be the subject of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero's wrath if he could help it. He pointed at the accursed tooth. Kushina knitted her brows as she studied the six-year-old's tooth. She nodded to herself and grabbed it quickly. With one strong pull, the tooth was out.
"There, all done," Kushina remarked contentedly, "I didn't need to destroy a whole living room to get it out," she said with a roll of her eyes. She brought a tissue and helped the boy clean the blood off, "And here you go," she said as she handed him a tissue containing his tooth.
"What do I need it for?" Kakashi asked when she handed him the tissue.
"For the Tooth Fairy, of course!" Kushina exclaimed, "Just put it under your pillow and she will come at night when you're asleep to replace it with money!"
"Does that really work?" the six-year-old asked disbelievingly.
"Wouldn't hurt to try, don't you think?" Minato said, having finally finished righting up everything in the living room.
"I guess…" With a thoughtful look on his face, Kakashi bid the couple farewell after thanking them and set off back home. That night, Tooth Fairy Minato crept silently to his student's window. He took extra care as to not set off any traps and entered the bedroom. He felt around for a tissue under the pillow and allowed a small smile to tug at his lips when he found it. He took it out slowly and replaced it with money, just like Kushina said. He got out just as noiselessly as he went in and closed the window behind him.
The next morning, he let out a small chuckle when his student smiled as he showed off his newly acquired money.
"And it really worked, Sensei!" Kakashi commented for the umpteenth time, a smile missing a tooth adorning his face. Minato snickered again. He wished Kakashi could always behave like a kid. And then suddenly, the smile was gone and full question mode was activated.
"Why are you laughing, Sensei?"
"Oh, no reason at all," the teacher said with a smirk.
"Sensei…" his young student whined, "It's my missing tooth, isn't it?" Without waiting for a reply, the boy bounded off to his house. Minato shook his head in amusement when his student returned ten minutes later with a white surgical mask on.
"That way people won't know I have a missing tooth," Kakashi told him, but he seemed to be trying to convince himself more than Minato.
"Okay, 'Kashi, whatever you say,"
-oOo-
Years later, after the sensei and his wife had been long gone and had left a small baby with his father's features and his mother's personality behind; Kakashi thought it was payback time.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, look it's moving!" his overly-enthusiastic eight-year-old student exclaimed cheerfully.
"Ah… is it Naruto?" he smiled underneath his mask, "I have a couple of ways to get it out, if you're willing to try, and it won't hurt a bit," Naruto responded with a nod.
Author's Notes: I hope everyone enjoyed this one-shot! Please read and review! Thanks for reading ;)
