Endurance

Chapter 2 – Impressions: Biwako

Sarutobi Biwako was shocked at the sight of the young boy who answered the door. He was as thin as a rake, and had such dark shadows beneath his eyes that she could barely tell where his ever-present face mask ended and his skin began.

Looking at this blatantly malnourished child she initially feared for the health of the baby, but when she tore her eyes away from the bedraggled young shinobi who had gone to make the tea, she noticed that the tiny apartment was entirely spotless. There wasn't a speck of dust or a scrap of dirt anywhere to be seen, and not a thing was out of place. If he was this fastidious, surely the baby would be fine.

She was still anxious to find out however, and was relieved when her husband seemed to be thinking the same thing, and asked where Naruto was.

The boy look around, seemingly not recognising the name at first, then it clicked and he said "Oh, you mean the Baby?" before leading them with his assassin's stealth into the flat's only bedroom where the baby was sleeping peacefully in a slightly battered, but scrupulously clean, cot.

To Biwako's relief, Naruto looked perfectly healthy. His legs were drawn up to his body beneath the soft yellow blanket, and his little hands clenched and unclenched as he moved in his sleep. She smiled. He really was a beautiful-looking baby, and those whisker marks on his face were irresistibly adorable. She put her finger into the baby's miniature palm, and the fingers closed around it by reflex. His skin was wonderfully soft, and he looked to be happy and well-fed and cared for.

Gently, she withdrew her finger from the baby and as they left the room to let him sleep in peace, she couldn't help but notice how stiffly little Kakashi seemed to move, and how his body language screamed utter and complete exhaustion.

The gentle woman felt tears pricking at her eyes at the sight of him. He was only a child himself, this was so unfair on him. He obviously needed support but he and the baby had simply been forgotten in the aftermath of the Attack. Hiruzen had woken up that morning, only about an hour before their visit to Kakashi, and had suddenly remembered the kid was looking after the Yondaime's baby, and that he had not seen the boy in goodness knew how long, and neither had he seen any requests for financial help coming across his desk. He had totally forgotten to ask his wife to check in on the pair, and his heart had been in his mouth as he wondered whether they were all right.

Biwako had insisted they go straight round, fully expecting to find a disorganised mess and a neglected baby, but she had been wrong. She had been so wrong, and she mentally kicked herself for it.

Kakashi must have done everything possible for the baby at the expense of neglecting himself, and the poor brave boy really didn't look as though he would last much longer.

"Kakashi-san?" she waited for his response before continuing. He carried a beautiful antique tea set and knelt at the table to pour the tea for his guests, replying in a quiet, strained voice "Yes, Sarutobi-sama?" passing her a cup of rich-smelling tea.

She smiled and thanked him before getting down to business.

"When was the last time you ate a proper meal?"

He responded blankly to all her questions, and she discovered that he had so little money he couldn't afford to eat more than once every few days, and then it was only rice and maybe a few vegetables. He looked forlorn at this, and said that he usually liked to eat a balanced diet, and that he loved to cook but just couldn't afford it any more.

At this Biwako couldn't help but take the child in her arms and hold him close. His maturity was astounding. Her own son Asuma was a little older than Kakashi, but he acted like a teenager, and she couldn't imagine him ever being able to do what this child was doing. It was heart-breaking, and as she held Kakashi's stiff body in her arms, and she felt every bone on his skinny, far too small frame under her fingers, she couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and sobbed onto the boy's shoulder.

He patted her back, awkwardly trying to offer whatever comfort he could. This made it worse; he shouldn't be comforting her.

She let him go and apologised, wiping her eyes while he avoided looking at her face, obviously uncomfortable around such a display of emotion.

"Kakashi-san, why didn't you come to me for money?" Hiruzen asked the boy softly. "I haven't seen any requests from you for financial aid. I'm so sorry that I neglected you, it's inexcusable, but you should have said something."

The boy's soft reply stunned both the elder people into silence.

"The receptionist wouldn't let me see you. She tried to give me the forms but I can't read or write so I had to use my savings."

The boy looked and sounded so tired and ill that Biwako realised with horror that if her husband hadn't remembered that morning, by complete chance, he probably wouldn't have lasted much longer. He was enduring, but barely, and his quiet resignation said it all. He was close to death and he knew it but still he would not give up. He would fight with everything he had to protect the baby, and even if he nothing he would give Naruto his love.

This was a truly extraordinary young man. Although Kakashi was small for his age and so painfully young, she couldn't see him as a child. No child could do this. No child could endure this, and no child, she was sure, could quietly and lovingly sacrifice himself slowly for the sake of a heartfelt promise.

There was no choice. She would take both of them in. Kakashi's stiff posture when she had hugged him told her that he was totally starved of love, and she wondered if he had ever even been hugged before.

She looked to her husband and knew he shared her thoughts when he gave her a small conspiratorial nod and smiled at Kakashi.

"Hatake Kakashi. I order you to report to the Sarutobi Residence in one hour's time with Uzumaki Naruto and anything you might need for an overnight stay. We will come back tomorrow for everything else we need for the baby. You are moving in with us for the time being."

Kakashi looked utterly stunned, as though he had been waiting for this moment his whole life and now it had finally come he couldn't comprehend that it was real.

"Do you mean that, Hokage-sama?" his dark eye widened a little, though Biwako noticed with concern that he kept the other eye firmly closed.

Hiruzen smiled warmly. "Yes, Kakashi. I mean it. I'm so sorry you've had to suffer like this, but I won't let you or Naruto have to put up with this again. I will take care of you both. Do you accept, shinobi of Konoha?"

"Hai" Kakashi said sharply, straightening up abruptly and bowing like the ANBU agent he was. If it wasn't for that damnable mask making it so hard to read him, Biwako could almost have sworn that he was grinning, and when he turned that now bright eye onto her she found herself utterly charmed