Chapter Two – Boys Only
Sakumo stepped inside the house, locking the door again behind him and turning to face the interior –
…And promptly dropped his bag out of sheer shock.
He had just gotten back from a three-day mission, leaving a genin team camping out in his living room to look after the boys – he'd even had it classed as a C-ranked mission to take into account the length of time and the sneakiness of the children that needed babysitting. It was his first longer-than-one-day mission since Masa had died, the Hokage trying to take his home situation into account when assigning missions. It was awfully hard to care for his sons without their mother there to help.
Point in case: the house was in chaos.
Furniture was overturned, papers and feathers were scattered everywhere, torn pillow cases lying here and there betraying where the down had come from, crayon drawings on the walls, food splattered along the floor, pink paint on the ceiling…
How had they gotten paint up there?
No, scratch that, how had they gotten pink paint?
…Or paint in the first place?
Okay, first things first: find the genin. He automatically made to toe off his sandals, but upon deliberation decided it would be safer to keep them on. Walking into the mess that had seventy-two hours ago been his house, he cast his senses out, looking for the chakra signatures of the genin he had employed.
He found them, huddling together in the cupboard under the stairs, and made his way over to them. When he pulled open the door, he blinked to see the trio – the girl, who had started with long green hair, now had short black hair which looked rather like it had been set on fire at some point. One of the boys was sporting a bleeding lip and torn shirt that displayed splattered toddler-food smeared into his chest, while the other looked like some kind of demented arts and crafts project gone wrong, with texta and paint all over him.
"What happened?" tumbled out of Sakumo's mouth before he could stop it. The genin stopped gawking at him and reacted.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here, White Fang-sama!" the girl said, sounding vaguely hysterical.
"Demon children!" one of the boys stuttered. "Clever, evil, slippery children…"
"Mission from hell," the third one concluded. Sakumo sighed.
"Oh, dear," he said. "Come on, out of there. Yes, out you come. Come on." He helped them out of the cupboard until they were standing, clutching at each other, in the middle of his trashed living room. Sakumo raised his voice. "Kakashi! Obito! Come here!"
There was a thump upstairs, and then a shout of "Daddy's home!" before little feet pounded on the stairs and two innocent-looking (if completely filthy) boys appeared.
They raced downstairs, but stopped when they saw the way Sakumo was standing.
"Daddy?" Obito said hesitantly.
"Front and centre, you two," the father said sternly. The boys stepped into line obediently. "Did you two have fun while I was gone?" Two heads bobbed enthusiastically. Sakumo hummed. "No doubt. Now, I want you to apologise for mentally scarring the genin team I sent to watch over you."
"We're sorry," they chorused, almost in time. Sakumo nodded.
"Good. Now, go to the bathroom. It's bath time. Genin," he turned to address the gobsmacked children as his sons left for the bathroom, perfect angels. "Good job surviving these last few days. I have a new D-rank for you – please set my house to order before you leave, and I will add it to the bill. Where is your teacher?"
"He… left. Said we'd be fine," mumbled one of the boys after a pause.
"Clearly he was wrong. No matter – I'll hire chuunin next time," Sakumo said lightly. He stepped over a shattered lamp on his way to the stairs.
This does it, he thought, I'm enrolling them in the Academy. I don't care if Obito's only just turned five, it's time I channel this destructive power into something legal.
"Keep up, boys!"
Two little boys hurried through the crowd, each trotting to keep pace with their daddy's long legs. Sakumo glanced back periodically, making sure they were right on his heels as he pushed through the 'first day throng' of parents, new enrolments, younger siblings and existing students outside the Academy.
"Hitokushi-sensei!" he called, finally catching sight of the man. Hitokushi turned, and smiled, his round face friendly and polite.
"Hatake-san," he replied in greeting – he always made it a point to address all parents with '-san', as they were all on even footing as parents of children in the Academy. "Good morning. Are these your boys?" He bent a little to smile at the four and five year old. Obito smiled back, one hand curling into Sakumo's combat pant leg, but Kakashi appeared to be overcome with shyness and hid behind his brother and father, eventually settling for hugging Sakumo's other leg and hiding his face.
"They are," Sakumo confirmed, one hand reaching to pet Kakashi's messy grey hair and the other stuck loosely in his pocket. "Kakashi and Obito. Obito's older by a little over half a year."
"Oh, yes," the aging shinobi before him said, looking down at the two boys again. "Masa and Kita's sons. I heard about your marriages – both of them – and the girls' deaths. Sad business, very sad." Hitokushi-sensei had taught Kita's little brother, beginning his career at the Academy two years after Sakumo graduated. He'd grown to know Masa when she'd done a teaching stint at the Academy herself in her late teens. Sakumo forced a polite smile and changed the subject.
"I hoped I might speak with you about the boys," he said succinctly. Hitokushi-sensei looked at him for a moment as if waiting for him to begin talking, before realising what the jounin was waiting for and turning, calling out to one of his aides. "Gin-sensei! Please come here for a moment!"
The teenaged chuunin rushed over, colouring when she realised she was being stared down by the White Fang himself. Hitokushi-sensei spoke quickly. "Gin-sensei, could you please take Obito-chan and Kakashi-chan and settle them in their spot ready for the initiation ceremony? I need to speak with Hatake-san for a moment."
Sakumo hid a smile at Kakashi's irritated frown at being called '-chan'. Poor kid couldn't stand the name, despite being all of four-and-five-months-old-which-is-plenty-grown-up-thank-you-very-much-daddy.
The boys were led away without much fuss, though Obito did look quite disconcerted at the idea of being taken away from his father. Hitokushi-sensei turned back to the eldest of the family. "Now, what is worrying you, Hatake-san?"
Sakumo hesitated a beat. "You understand that Obito is my son, legally speaking?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply, he moved on, "I need to be clear with you that neither of my sons are to be allowed to leave with people other than me or someone I specify to you can collect them, even if a person bearing Obito's surname should appear to take him 'home'."
Hitokushi accepted this with a simple nod. He wasn't privy to the details of whatever had happened with Masa-kun and her child, but gossip abounded to the point that he had some idea of the silent tug-o-war that was taking place over Obito.
"Also," Sakumo was saying, "Kakashi is… special. I get the feeling he won't be in bottom form for very long. Be gentle when you advance him, for Obito's sake, but wherever you decide he needs to be, just move him. He's downright evil, not to mention uncontrollable, when bored. Fair warning."
Hitokushi-sensei smiled thinly. "I am sure we'll be fine," he said simply.
Kakashi chewed his lower lip, totally unaware that the motion was devastatingly cute. The teacher's aide in fourth form was nearly convulsing from the sheer, overwhelming kawaii that was this little boy.
Kakashi, unaware of the scrutiny, looked back towards the Academy, where his brother's class was in the room with the big window pointing this way. If he squinted, he could just catch a glimpse of Obito's bright jacket through the glass.
The rest of his class, the youngest of whom was eight and the eldest of whom was eleven, were paired up, sparring. They were a scant two years from their scheduled graduation, though with the war brewing, it was entirely possible that the graduation standard age could be bumped back from twelve to as low as eight or nine.
"Kakashi-chan, you're going to be sparring with Keiko-kun. Do you think you're up to it?" the aide (what was his name again? Eh. The last two months had shown Kakashi that it was barely worth the effort to learn the names of his teachers, as he'd be shuffled to a new class almost as soon as he did so) asked Kakashi carefully. Kakashi looked up at the nine/ten-ish year old girl ready to face him. A girl! He huffed.
The girl looked about as excited at the idea of facing off against Kakashi as Kakashi was at the idea of fighting her. "Sensei," she began at a whine.
"No, Keiko!" the aide broke in snappishly. "We've been over this!"
Whatever they'd 'been over', the teacher did not reiterate, just glared until Keiko, scowling, fell silent. "Kakashi-chan?" The aide's voice gentled noticeably. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, Sensei," Kakashi said simply.
"Begin."
Keiko was moving before Sensei got the word completely out, forgoing tact and taijutsu and opting to just grab for the little brat.
Kakashi ducked under the first arm, dancing around behind the girl who was nearly twice as tall as he was. The textbook said to kick, but he wasn't tall enough, so he just put a hand on the back of each of Keiko's knees and pushed, hoping he wouldn't get marked down for it. It worked, sort of: Keiko wobbled, off balance, but he hadn't put enough strength into the shove for her to fall over and she recovered quickly, spinning around, though by then Kakashi was well out of reach and jigging to the side on his toes to keep behind her.
After spinning a full three-sixty and not catching sight of her companion, Keiko half-paused for just an instant, just long enough for Kakashi to launch himself at her back, ending up in a piggy-back position. His little arms locked in a deadly chokehold, left hand holding right elbow, even as his legs automatically wrapped themselves around her waist as if he was a little kid she was giving a ride to.
The impact was, fortunately, enough to knock Keiko over onto her belly on the ground, so Kakashi didn't have to attempt to strangle her or reposition to try something else. He only just got his arms out of the way in time before they were trapped under her and instantly grabbed the back of her head by her hair with one sure little fist. His left hand moved around and grabbed her chin, yanking her head around in a parody of a much more deadly manoeuvre.
Grey eyes met purple as he stared up at the teacher's aide, not seeming to notice the way everyone else in the Academy training field had stopped to watch him with open mouths.
"Manoeuvre two-four-oh in the deadly assault textbook," he said simply as Keiko lay limply underneath him – a quick (slightly worried) check revealed she just wasn't fighting, not that she had no choice but to lie there. "Technique forty-four of the unarmed hand-to-hand combat section. Deadly blow. Used to silence enemy sentries without alerting other foe." Having stated everything about the movement he had utilised, he fell silent.
The teacher's lips pressed together into a very thin line as he surveyed the four year and seven month old boy thoughtfully, purple eyes narrowed. Kakashi let Keiko's hair go and sighed. He knew that look.
Monday was going to mean a new classroom.
Obito gave a sleepy sound of protest and rolled over as the curtains were pulled back with an abrupt squeal, splashing light through the bedroom. It figured that the summer sun got up as early as his little brother.
"'Kashi…" he whined, his hand reaching next to him (the last place he'd known the boy to be) in order to swat him for his actions. Instead, the five year old found the soft white fur that swathed Hime, lying as she had been ordered on the bed between the two boys so as to prevent the bickering that had broken out well after bedtime last night. With a mumble, he buried his face in her soft pelt, hearing her amused rumbling.
Kakashi's sharp voice cut through his sleepy haze, cross as only a busy five year old could be. "I told you, Obito, I have to get up early to train. And you should, too! Then maybe you'd be in top grade like me, instead of with the babies in second form!"
Obito rolled over and rubbed at his eyes, waking up despite himself. "Be quiet," he mumbled, snuggling down into the blankets. "School's not f'hours. I don' hafta be up yet! M'sleepy."
He heard Kakashi scoff as well as any grown-up and, and heard quiet footsteps approach, before the door cracked open.
"'Kashi?" Dad's soft voice called. "Are you ready to go?" There was a rustle, before Kakashi replied, "Yep. 'Bito's whining again."
There was a sigh, and a quiet laugh as a weight made the bed's mattress sink. "Is that so? I'm sorry, Obito. 'Kashi, try not to wake your brother up in the future, okay?" As he'd said yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that… A warm hand began to pet Obito's hair, and the Uchiha moved a little, cracking his eyes open to see Dad's face hovering above him. "Hey there," Sakumo chuckled. "Since you're up, would you like to come with us?"
Obito considered. Bed was tempting, but blowing up stuff with 'Kashi and Dad never got old.
"Okay," he said, dragging himself out of the warm blankets and shivering as his bare feet hit the wooden floor. "I'll come."
Why break routine?
"Daddy!"
Sakumo looked up from his paperwork (mission reports sucked – how had Jiraiya suckered him into writing it this time…? Damn the art of the k-thanx) as the front door slammed open and the sound of pattering feet reached him.
Closing his eyes, he mentally counted down from three. He reached one, and opened them again to see the door to his study edging open, a set of big eyes peeking into the forbidden room.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here, Obito," Sakumo replied, still feeling a childish thrill of victory at the address – Obito called him 'Daddy', regardless of who had sired him. Take that, Uchiha clan.
Obito's dark eyes lit up and his pushed the door open fully, but he didn't take a single step inside the threshold. Sakumo watched him raise himself up on his toes, bouncing in his apparent excitement, pleased that he didn't enter. It was one of the only iron rules in the Hatake household – the study was out of bounds without an express invitation to enter from Sakumo, and even then the father had to be present at all times. The reason was that he kept his weapons stored in this room, as well as important documents like mission orders and passports which he really didn't want to get turned into paper doll cut-outs or paper planes to be tested out in the park, but it had the secondary advantage of teaching the kids obedience and restraint.
"Take off your shoes and you can come in, son," he said, and Obito instantly dropped to the ground, tearing off his sandals, which he had obviously either forgotten to or been too excited to take off at the front door, and Sakumo braced himself as the six year old launched himself at his adoptive father, ending up on the silver-haired man's lap.
"Daddy, Daddy, you'll never guess what happened!" he chattered excitedly. "It's so cool – guess! C'mon, guess!"
"Obito!" A new voice called through the house before Sakumo could answer. "Where did you go? I want to tell Daddy!"
"Then come and tell him!" Obito shouted back. "Hurry up, 'Kashi!"
"I'm coming!" More running sounds. Sakumo sighed at the din two children could make. Did they have to converse from opposite ends of the house?
The five and a half year old miniature Sakumo appeared quickly, barefooted and interestingly flushed with the same sort of excitement as Obito – unusual. Sakumo's interest was piqued, despite the fact that he had a good idea what had his boys so worked up.
"Come in, Kakashi," he said when the youngest Hatake hesitated obediently at the door. When Kakashi had joined his brother on Sakumo's lap, the adult leaned back and said, "Okay. Now, someone tell me what's so exciting."
Obito lit up, but a look from Kakashi made him bite his lip in an effort not to say anything, letting his brother talk. When he did so, Kakashi's voice had gone quiet and composed.
"Father?" he said carefully. Sakumo inclined his head, careful not to smile. "I was promoted to genin today."
"Were you?" Sakumo was still valiantly Not Smiling. He knew it. He'd had the notice for months now that Kakashi was very nearly ready to graduate – in fact, he'd received his first one barely twelve weeks after he had enrolled his youngest son in the Academy to begin with. And of course he'd known that Kakashi was taking the final graduation test today – not only had his sons (both of them) reminded him of it at varying volumes and frequencies throughout the past week, but he had had to sign a form saying he allowed the early graduation of his son, should Kakashi happen to pass the test. He had thought long and hard about whether or not to add his signature to that paper, teetering between yes and no.
He had no problems with early graduation, but right now the little boy in his arms looked awfully young to be thrust into the world of the shinobi, especially as said world seemed to be growing uglier every day. It was times like this he wished Kita or Masa were still around, to give him some good stern advice.
"Yes, Father," Kakashi said, his eyes lowered in a failed attempt to hide his pleased expression. "See? I have a hitai-ate."
Sakumo accepted the headband thrust towards him as proof, examining it in his hands, a thrill of pride at the thought that his son was a shinobi rushing through him. It was far too big to ever fit Kakashi, even if they bent it – he could just about use the thing as a belt, he was so little. "I see," he said. Then, after a pause, "I am very proud of you. Well done."
Kakashi's little face lit up with the delight he'd been trying to control, and he broke into a wide grin. Obito, patience spent, burst forth with a babble, "It's so cool, Daddy – he answered all the questions and stuff and Sensei came and spoke to him in lunch time and told him he had passed it and had to take the next bit of the test and 'Kashi went and did his bunshin and kawarimi just like we practiced in the yard and then walked up the wall when they asked if there was anythin' else he wanted to show 'em and they passed him! It's so cool!"
Sakumo was finally allowed to smile now the formal air had been shattered and he did so widely. "Did he?" he said, ruffling Kakashi's silver hair proudly. "Good job, son."
Kakashi swelled with pride. "It was easy," he boasted. "Even the written test."
Obito giggled. "Yeah, but you were real nervous!" he accused. "You were all pale and stuff before they called you, and you kept making me practice with you!"
"Was not!" the five year old instantly protested.
"Were too!" the six year old insisted.
"Was not!"
"Were too!"
"Nii-san!"
Sakumo winced as the boys rolled off his lap, wrestling, and lifted a forgotten cup of tea off the desk a second too late as they bumped into one of the desk's legs, splashing the cold liquid all over the papers he had been labouring over. In truth, he didn't mind as much as one might think.
He was hugely relieved with the way Obito had taken this new distinction between himself and his brother. Though Kakashi was younger than the Uchiha, he had been bumped up to the top form in school within weeks of his enrolment, while Obito had stayed in a much more age-appropriate class. It had been necessary – Kakashi was indisputably a genius, and had needed the more advanced material to prevent him from going insane and burning the school to the ground in an attempt to relieve his boredom. Kami knew he'd been a diabolical toddler when he'd gotten bored, and Sakumo shuddered to think what he'd be capable of now if left unattended and unoccupied for any length of time.
On the same token, Sakumo worried that it was damaging to Obito to watch his younger brother race ahead of him in leaps and bounds. It was a real concern that the dark-haired child might begin to resent Kakashi for his abilities, and Sakumo could even see him come to the conclusion that Kakashi was the favourite son, especially as Kakashi was the only one who held the Hatake name, and Obito didn't yet fully understand why he was left out.
Despite all this, it seemed that reality was nothing like Sakumo had feared. Obito just seemed to accept that 'Kashi's real smart', and just expected him to be able to do all sorts of things the Uchiha could not do himself. Whenever he spoke of the difference between them, it was always in much the same tone as he might use to say, "Oh, look at that. The sun rose this morning."
"I think this calls for celebration," Sakumo said over the noise of the two boys' fight. "Why don't we go out for dinner tonight? Kakashi, you choose where we go."
Kakashi looked a little uncertain, and looked to his brother for assistance. Obito chewed his lower lip.
"Dango?" he suggested, picking a food he knew both he and Kakashi enjoyed. Kakashi nodded instantly.
"Yeah," he agreed. Sakumo grinned, standing up and setting his tea down on the table again, looking at his ruined paperwork and deciding to just tell Jiraiya to write his own damn report.
"Dango it is, then," he said, grabbing Obito's arm and lifting him easily to place him on his left hip before grasping the back of Kakashi's shirt and pulling him up onto his father's right hip. The two little boys clung to him, hanging on like little monkeys, and both shrieked with delighted laughter as Sakumo swung them around before giving them a ride downstairs to get ready to go out.
"Oi! Puppy-kun!"
"Get out!" Sakumo hollered through his house, conveniently forgetting the way he scolded his sons for doing just that. "Hime, get him out." The white dog gave him an amused look that clearly conveyed 'Oh, I think not, Hatake-san' and stood, stretching casually and jumping up onto the sofa in the living room to curl and sleep. Sakumo watched her sourly. "Traitor," he said.
A shaggy white head poked in through the kitchen door. "Oh, there you are, 'Kumo," it said.
"Hello, Jiraiya," Sakumo sighed. Jiraiya huffed.
"Well, is that any way to greet your best friend in the whole wide world?"
"What happened to Kai?" he asked dryly. Jiraiya entered the kitchen without invitation and hit him upside the head.
"What about Kai?" he sniffed. "He didn't do nearly as much for you as I, your wonderful friend the Legendary Jiraiya, have done for you! My blood, sweat and tears that I have invested in Konoha's youth now turn to aid the fruit of your loins in reaching his full potential-"
"Jiraiya, I thought we agreed never to talk about my loins again," Sakumo said sternly. "Honestly, man, are you completely unable to say anything without mentioning reproductive organs?"
Jiraiya looked miffed at having his speech interrupted. "I was trying to be poetic, you know," he said, crossing his arms and huffing. Sakumo sighed and finally set aside his morning paper, looking up from his seat at the kitchen table.
"What do you want, then? Just say it plainly, without talking about sex. Please."
"You're no fun anymore, 'Kumo," Jiraiya whined, helping himself to a cup of tea from the pot before Sakumo and flinging himself into another chair. Sakumo looked mournfully at his paper – he had precious little time to himself, and Thursday morning when the boys were at school was one of the precious few quiet times he had. Oh, well.
"I was never fun," he said tolerantly to his friend. Jiraiya broke into a grin and conceded the point.
"Okay, I pretty much just came to gloat," he admitted quickly. Sakumo raised one silver eyebrow. "My genin-turned-chuunin-turned-jounin (time really gets away on you, doesn't it – yesterday he was this big and now he's eighteen) is going to apprentice your son."
The other eyebrow joined the first. "The blonde one?" he said, remembering seeing the bright little boy with vividly blonde hair trotting after Jiraiya. Sakumo had only seen him every now and again – mostly when he'd interrupted training to yell at Jiraiya for spying on Kita, Masa or Ryuu in the bath again – but he'd heard all about him in great detail from Jiraiya's proud (and sometimes drunk) boasting.
Apparently, he was the greatest thing since sharp kunai.
"Uh-huh!" Jiraiya was saying. "Namikaze Minato. He'll be a good brat for your brat, brat."
"You need to think up some new nicknames for people, 'Raiya. Minato, apprenticing Kakashi, though? Isn't he a little young?" Sakumo asked, concerned. He'd prefer to have Kakashi held back a few years than given to a rookie jounin too green to teach – that was one way to get them both killed.
Jiraiya scoffed. "Hokage doesn't think so. Minato's very talented, 'Kumo, and old for his age. He'll look after your kid – I'd stake my life on it."
"You already have," Sakumo said mildly. "Because if anything happens to Kakashi, it's you I'll blame. Don't look at me like that, I know you set this whole thing up."
There was exactly two minutes and fourteen seconds of silence before the pair made a unanimous decision to go out to the nearest training ground and attempt to dismember one another until it was time to pick the children up from school.
Kakashi stared up at the man before him. Way up there, blonde hair scraping the sky, the man stared back as they walked along the street.
After a few moments, the man reached up to rub the back of his head. "Maa, so why don't you tell me a bit about yourself, Kakashi-kun?"
At least he didn't call me Kakashi-chan, the young Hatake thought dully.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi," he said. "I am five years and seven months old." The adult tilted his head.
"I already knew that, Kakashi-kun," he said patiently. "You are the son of the White Fang, aren't you?"
Kakashi nodded. "He's the best ninja in the world," he said stoutly. "He even beats Jiraiya-jiji when he comes over!"
The man had begun to grin. "Sensei didn't mention that," he murmured, before saying louder, "What's your favourite colour?"
"Black," Kakashi replied obliquely. "Who are you?"
"Maa, sorry, Kakashi-kun, I thought you knew. I'm Namikaze Minato, your new teacher!" The blonde smiled so widely Kakashi wondered how his face didn't crack.
"Oh. Namikaze-sensei, where are we going?"
"Just call me Minato-sensei, Kakashi-kun. I'm going to buy you some ramen, to celebrate the fact that we became a team today!" Kakashi idly thought that this man sure had a lot of energy, bouncing around like that.
"Tousan says that ramen's bad for you – too many carbohydrates and saturated fats, with no protein, vitamins or minerals."
"What are you doing, knowing all those words?" Minato-sensei dodged the statement easily. "You're far too young to know or care about protein and vitamins." Kakashi felt a tick of annoyance.
"I'm a shinobi, Minato-sensei," he pointed out, fingering the hitai-ate tied loosely around his neck – until he grew into it, Daddy had said. Minato grinned.
"So you are. And I'm your teacher, as of today. And to celebrate, we're having ramen!"
"This has become a circular conversation, Sensei."
"And that's another big word you shouldn't know."
"…Are you sure you're a jounin?"
"Oi!"
Sakumo was waiting by the garden gate, his arms folded over his chest, watching the sun sink slowly.
It was getting late for Kakashi to be home – Obito had come home from the Academy all by himself more than an hour ago and was sleeping peacefully with Hime on his bed in what had started as a wrestle and ended as an afternoon nap.
A pair of people – one tall, one short – appeared at the end of the lane, and Sakumo refused to show his relief.
"You don't have to walk me home, Sensei, I'm not a baby," Kakashi was saying, irritable in the way he only was when he was overdue for sleep – not that either of Sakumo's sons would admit to still needing a daily afternoon nap.
"I know that, Kakashi-kun, but I wanted to," the boy's blonde companion replied: Sakumo took a moment to notice how tall the kid had gotten, and the patience in his voice that hadn't worn a bit in the hours he'd been in the boy's company.
Sakumo reached out and pushed the gate open. "Welcome home, Kakashi," he said gruffly, looking down at the boy.
"Good afternoon, Father," Kakashi replied politely, if a little coldly from his irritation.
"Go inside to your room," Sakumo ordered, not needing to add a command to sleep – he would act gruff and chillingly shinobi in youthful public, but he wasn't going to embarrass his son unduly. Kakashi nodded.
"Yes, Father," he answered, shooting him a grateful look. "Goodbye, Minato-sensei."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kakashi-kun," Minato replied. Well, at least he doesn't call him Kakashi-chan, Sakumo thought dryly. Kakashi nodded and left, entering the cool house with a sigh of relief that Sakumo's canine-esque ears just caught.
"So," he said quietly, weighing the blonde teen before him with his eyes. "You are the teacher chosen for my son."
"Yes, sir," Minato said. "It is a pleasure to meet you properly, Hatake-sama." He bowed low from the waist, and Sakumo was pleased with his manners. "I look forward to the opportunity to teach your son," Minato continued, straightening. "After spending the afternoon with him, I have found that he is a very bright and intelligent boy."
"He insulted you, didn't he?" Sakumo asked dryly. Minato blinked.
"No… not exactly," he said, looking suddenly awkward and nervous – Sakumo suspected that he was worried how Kakashi would be punished if he was truthful about the extent of Kakashi's rudeness.
"What did he say?" Sakumo pressed. Minato looked put upon, and sighed.
"Maa," he stalled, rubbing at his own blonde locks, "He questioned whether I was a real jounin, and later we got into an animated discussion about whether dogs or toads were better summons. He had some rather forceful opinions on the matter."
Sakumo gave a barking laugh. "Well, he would," he said, amused. "Good day, Minato-san. I must be going now. Perhaps we will see each other again some time."
"I look forward to it, Hatake-sama," Minato said, bowing briefly again in farewell. "Have a pleasant evening."
Walking back inside, Sakumo toed off his sandals on autopilot, his mind revolving around the conversation he'd just had. Maybe this Minato boy wouldn't be such a bad teacher for 'Kashi, then…
He paused outside his sons' bedroom where he heard the sleepy voices talking inside.
"What's he like?" Obito was asking. His answer was a yawn, before Kakashi replied, his grammar severely damaged by his fatigue, "A bit idiotic, really. Kept on talkin' about ramen an' clouds an' some story 'bout a cricket an'-" Another yawn, "-an' stuff. An' askin' me stuff like 'Kakashi-kun, what's your fav'rite colour' and 'Kakashi-kun, what's your fav'rite thing to do at the park' an' stuff."
"Well," Obito replied, and Sakumo knew from the sound of his voice that he was nearly asleep again despite the excitement of Kakashi meeting his jounin instructor, "At least he didn't call you K'kashi-chan…"
Sakumo's low laugh joined the boys' sleepy giggles.
Twin1: Mmkay, so this took longer than anticipated…
Twin2: (muttered) Just because someone decided she was gonna change the timbre halfway through and forget where she was in the timeline…
Twin1: Shut up! No comments from the peanut gallery! Anyway, the next chapter may take an unfortunate amount of time as well. This story is, well…
Twin2: The cutesiest she's got in circulation, and letting her muse at it whilst in the Dogtags mindset is just a really, really bad idea. There've been enough deaths as it is…
Twin1: On a totally unrelated note: review? (puppy eyes of doom!)
