It's not my birthday, but I'd really like a Kakashi if I may.
The Story of the Tiny Mole (and the Mask that Hid It)
Hatake Kakashi was two and a half years young the first time his mole appeared. It was a small dark dot under his lips, barely noticeable by the toddler who could not be bothered to comb his hair each morning, much less look in the mirror to check his face.
Four months later, however, people started to notice. And it became the second thing they remarked after gushing about how adorable baby Kakashi was.
"Kakashi-chan, going out with Tou-san, I see." A middle-aged woman said, after greeting Sakumo who had Kakashi firmly in his hold.
Toddler Kakashi offered a shy smile, not really remembering the old lady's name but knew she was friend with his Tou-san.
"Oh," the lady exclaimed, "what's that you have on your chin, Kashi-chan?" Her hand held out, she rub at the dark mole with her thumb.
His Tou-san laughed while Kakashi scrunched his face, rather annoyed but trying to not show it because it's rude and Tou-san had taught him to not be rude, especially to the ladies.
"It's a mole, Haruka-san." Sakumo explained.
Haruka-san smiled as if in delight, pinched his cheek lightly. "Isn't it just cute!"
And so, everyone who'd seen Kakashi and his new visible beauty mark could not stop themselves from commenting on it.
"Kashi-chan, you've got something on your chin." An obligatory dab to his chin. "Oh, no, it's a mole, isn't it?"
"Look at that tiny mole, Kakashi-kun has just gotten more adorable, aren't you?"
"He will break so many hearts when he's older."
"Hm, I have a granddaughter in the capital, a bit younger than you, Kashi-kun. A playdate would be fun, no?"
"Ah, there's Kakashi-chan, getting some toy kunai, hm?" Of course, the shop owner ruffled his hair, just barely keeping from mentioning the mole.
A week before his third birthday, little Hatake Kakashi came out of his room at six-thirty as usual, dressed and ready for the day. His Oji-san was visiting and his Tou-san was going to cook a big breakfast.
In the hallway, he could hear the two men talking in the kitchen.
"What is it I hear about Kakashi's mole? I passed by some pretty ladies who talked about it for half an hour."
Sakumo sighed. While he agreed with them, the tiny beauty mark was cute and fit his son's face adorably, but he noticed the little boy was not that happy with all the attention it had given him.
"It showed up a few months ago, I think, and people think it's food or dirt and keep wa..."
A shuffle at the door stopped Sakumo's words. His boy was up, at last.
"Good morning, Kakashi-kun." He greeted, standing up to get his son's milk.
"Good morning, Tou-san, Oji-san."
"Heh, what's that on your face, Kakashi?" Jiraiya asked, frowning as he watched the boy taking a seat across from him on the low table.
Sakumo resisted another sigh. He was going to tell his friend to refrain from mentioning it so early in the morning. He looked up from pouring the milk and kept from dropping the glass milk bottle only due to his jounin reflex.
There was his son, sitting on his extra-padded cushion, wearing… was that his old scarf? Yes, it was… the deep red clothing was put around his neck up, and up to his nose, covering half his face.
A few seconds passed in silence. Sakumo barely stopped pouring before the milk spilled, the glass full to its brim.
"Did you catch the cold, Kakashi?" Sakumo promptly went to his son's side, putting down the glass milk beside his still empty plate. He touched the boy's forehead for the temperature.
But Kakashi shook his head. "M'fine, Tou-san."
At a closer look, the young boy had also worn his dark plain undershirt. What's the brat's up to, Sakumo wondered.
"Did you run out of clean clothes?" He asked, rather certain the boy still had clean outfits for at least a week.
Another headshake. "Then, what is it?" His hands was about to tug down the cloth, so it wouldn't hinder his son's breathing, when his smaller hands stop him.
"Tou-san," the one word came out sounding almost like a whine. And Hatake Kakashi, practically baby or not, did not do whining. Good little shinobi did not whine.
That's when Sakumo's head put two and two together. He would have laughed if not for the chance it'd hurt Kakashi's feelings.
But, his sorry excuse of a friend, Jiraiya, did not have the same thought and let out an amused chuckle. "You hiding the new mole from your oji-san, Kakashi?"
Sakumo was certain his son was pouting under the cover of the crimson cloth. He sent a glare at Jiraiya, telling him to shut up with his stare.
"You don't have to cover it, Kakashi," he began, trying to sound calm and understanding, "there's nothing wrong with having a little beauty mark on your face."
"Don't wanna it." Kakashi mumbled, barely audible enough for the adult's ear. "Shinobi are not s'posed to be cute."
Oh, Kami. Sakumo tried very hard to not laugh, but his lips curved up in a smile nonetheless, a mix of fondness and exasperation.
"But, you're not a shinobi yet." Not any time soon, if he could have a say. But in war time, innocent childhood was too much of a luxury nobody could afford. They'd lowered the academy entrance age to five. Five.
Sakumo prayed the gods would be so forgiving of them for teaching children how to kill before they even hit puberty.
"But I wanna train b'fore coming to the academy, Tou-san. You promised."
When did he promise such a thing, he honestly could not remember.
Not deeming it an appropriate topic before breakfast, he moved to take his seat. "Alright, why don't we have breakfast first and discuss it later."
Warily, Kakashi eyed his Oji-san.
"It's okay, I won't look." Jiraiya told the boy, grabbing his chopstick to start eating. "Promise."
Sakumo pretended to take a sip of his tea, but he watched his son reached for his milk and tugged down the scarf to reveal his face, bringing the glass to his tiny lips and drinking half of it in one go.
Maybe he could ask Tsunade about medical procedure or herbs to remove facial moles.
Yet another goddamn why-the-mask story... I know. I can't help myself that it's the month of Kakashi's birth and my muse feels like being let out to play. Hope you enjoy this anyway. There's another piece, a bit angsty, maybe, that I'll share later.
Happy Birthday, dear Rokudaime-sama! And have a great day, everyone!