It was a fine day in Konoha.

The sun was setting in it's last hours of daylight, the cool autumn weather was perfect for a certain masked individual, and sushi was on the house tonight. It couldn't get any better than this.

Three men split a bottle of sake while two played a game of shogi, one of them eagerly awaiting his wife's arrival. Several of Konoha's finest women would be returning from a weeks vacation in the Tanpopo Mountains at some point in the day.

"You know," Naruto hedged, poking a shogi piece until it fell off the board. "I really think it's time Kakashi had kids. What do you think, Shika?"

The Nara almost fell out of his chair he slouched so hard. "This again, Naruto? What's your deal?"

An equally lazy ninja sat across from the Hokage's assistant, debating whether or not to stab the jinchuuriki. Luckily, the older man had some self-control.

Instead of giving Naruto the rise he knew he wanted, decidedly not reacting at all, the white haired shinobi casually replaced his missing rook. For reasons unknown to Kakashi, the unruly blonde had been quite interested in his one man clan as of late. This had to have been the fifth time the subject had been broached within the last two weeks. It was beginning to grate on his usually laid back nerves.

Ignoring the pair, Kakashi gripped his chin in thought and stared a hole through Shikamaru's bishop. The shadow user favored the piece. He was sure the genius was plotting up something particularly savage with it as the main encore.

If only it would catch fire…

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Shikamaru twitch as if he were about to catch something. The Nara was attempting to pick up a sake glass using his shadow sewing technique.

"Oi! Are you hard of hearing, old man?"

"Eh, Naruto?" He must have missed the last half of the conversation. Whoops.

"I said you need to have kids! You know, babies and stuff. Like me and Hinata. We may be expecting again!" Naruto giggled as he daydreamed about who knows what.

Ah, I see now, the copy nin smirked and promptly set his horse up in a position to jump in three moves time when Shikamaru would advance with his bishop. The shadow user looked thoroughly put out for a split second before schooling his expression. The sake must be getting to him otherwise the shinobi wouldn't slip like that.

With nothing left to distract him, Kakashi's mind drift to Naruto's complaints. What if he simply didn't want kids? Kakashi was a bachelor and he liked the way things were.

Sometimes.

Teaching everyone else's kids was enough… That task was cumbersome as it was. Although, the last few nights had been quite the eye opener. To what, he wasn't sure.

Tucking his hands behind his head, the copy ninja finally fixed his former student with a mirthful stare. "Like you and Hinata, huh?"

"Yeah! You know, Shika, tell em'!"

Put on the spot, Shikamaru glanced between the two Kage's before coming to a decision. "Uh, about you and Hinata's escapades…?"

Kakashi smiled cheekily behind his mask, pleased with Shikamaru's distraction tactics. The man knew how to pick his battles, that's for sure.

"No, no, no! Tell the old fart he should spawn, damn it!" Naruto seemed to have picked up Hinata's tomato-face trait over the years. The man looked as if he would burst any minute now.

"I'm sure Kakashi-san is fully aware of his innate ability to procreate, Naruto."

If Naruto face-palmed himself a bit harder, Kakashi was positive the jinchuuriki could have knocked himself out. Personally, he wouldn't have minded. Neither would Shikamaru, by the looks of it.

"My question is why he won't. The guy is legendary. He has a lot to offer. Don't you think the Hidden Leaf needs another copy ninja?"

The mental image of Naruto literally buttering him up on a piece of bread flashed in his mind. What was his endgame?

Kakashi leaned back, mildly amused with the conversation they were having as if he wasn't in the room, sitting right next to them. "I'm right here, you know.."

Naruto waved him away without looking.

Shikamaru squint his eyes at the Hokage, confused. "I guess, although, that's not really something he can pass on.." The man smirked with sudden understanding. "However, he's currently making it possible by being Sarada's mentor."

"You know! You're completely right, Shika! Not that it actually counts in genetics, but he's basically her step-dad at this point! It's a great start. Showing that baka Sasuke how it's done by a long shot."

Kakashi choked on a gulp of sake, spilling some down his chin. "Not true," he offered weakly as he dabbed the wet spots on his mask with the back of his sleeve. "I'm only trying to help."

Naruto jerked an accusatory finger at him, eyes burning. "Yeah, sure. Like how you helped her develop a scary sharingan genjutsu! Boruto is still having nightmares about ramen. He won't eat ramen anymore, Kakashi. Ramen of all the tools she could have used! Do you have any idea how this affects my meals?! Cause I think you do!"

The white haired shinobi laughed heartily. "I would never teach a little girl how to defend herself, Naruto. That'd just be wrong. And who knows why she tortured him with Ramen.. Maybe she hates it..."

Shikamaru snickered in the background, holding a hand under his floating cup just in case it fell.

"Whatever! Just do us all a favor and have some damn kids already." Naruto crossed his arms dejectedly. Kakashi was willing to let the conversation die then and there, returning to the game. After several seconds, a glint appeared in the man's blue eyes. "It's weird, you know, I never pegged you for someone who would let their clan die out."

Kakashi finished his cup of sake with a low hum. Ouch. He's playing dirty.

"Think of it as your duty to the village, Kakashi."

Suddenly, that innocent request didn't sound like such an innocent request. Something was going on that Naruto seemed to be edging around, tittering on the verge of, unsure of how to handle. It'd been happening for weeks.

"Mah, is that an order, Hokage-sama?" The Rokudaime joked, voice light, but gray eyes hard as steel.

Naruto leaned forward over the backside of his wooden chair, peering at him with a pinched face the youngster usually reserved for disgruntled suspicion. "Should I make it one? A mission.. to make babies..? That'd be kinda silly, don't you think?"

Shikamaru smirked. "That'd be a first. You'd break another record, Kakashi."

Said ninja blinked slowly once, twice and then a third time in their stare-off before Naruto looked away, laughing nervously. "Yep, Shikamaru! It could have a huge reward too. Like.. free ramen for a year or something."

"That only sounds appetizing to you, Naruto."

Kakashi laughed through his nose sharply, nearly a scoff as he folded his arms. "I agree. You'd have to do better than that."

Naruto glanced back and forth between the shogi players, looking a tad bit uncomfortable. "I can - I can… uhh…"

And there it was.

Understanding slowly sunk into the ninja, hitting the bottom of his belly with a loud imaginary 'dong' sound.

Well then.

"Actually..." Kakashi grinned evilly behind his mask. He wasn't one to go down without a fight.