Papa Kakashi!
A/N: Please be reminded that Naruto's mind has effectively reversed to his mentality when he was a kid. And his childhood was crappy. Yeah. He's gonna need a lot of comfort- queue Kakashi! Also, kids cry when they injure themselves, all the dang time, it's like an automatic reaction. In my opinion, four year old Narut would be no exception.
Chapter three- Broken glass
Kakashi leant against the door as he watched Naruto put on his little boots. He smiled, it was winter so they had get the boy warm clothes. Somehow, the sight of Naruto wearing tiny fleece-lined booties was endearing. Naruto, once he finished attempting to tie his laces, jumped up and flashed his new guardian a blinding grin. He'd spent two days in the hospital, and was more than ready to be discharged. Especially since he was a kid now, he found it hard to stay still. His fidgety nature was bad enough when he was sixteen.
"I'm ready!" The blonde was excited, you could tell that much from the pitch of his sweet voice. He ran towards Kakashi and ended up tripping on one of his laces. Kakashi rolled his eyes and caught the boy.
"Maa, how did you manage that?" He stared incredulously at the mangled shoe laces. He sighed at Naruto's sheepish expression and re-did the shoelaces.
"Sorry." Naruto was smiling again with his big blue eyes. Kakashi ruffled his blonde locks.
"It's alright. Remind me to teach you when we can home." Naruto smiled brightened even more. When he was younger, in the orphanage, he'd always dreamt of someone coming in and taking him home. To him, this was like one big dream come true.
"Okay!" Naruto followed Kakashi out of the hospital. It was weird. Before the accident he'd gotten looks of appreciation and respect, but the adoring looks now were much different. He didn't understand why everyone was smiling at him like he was a puppy. Kakashi noticed however, he knew how adorable young Naruto was, and somehow it made him feel a bit proud.
Naruto resisted the urge to hold Kakashi's hand. Although he'd always wanted to hold hands with someone when he was younger, he had to remind himself that this was Kakashi, not his father, and it would just be awkward. After they started to walk down the cold, wet street, Naruto was finding it increasingly hard to keep up. His little legs were working double time trying to keep up with Kakashi's lengthy strides. He now felt quite hot through his puffy orange winter jacket and his breath came out as mist, not that you could see it through the dark blue of the evening light. Kakashi didn't notice the boy's struggle until he felt a little body stumble into his leg.
"Oops! Sorry!" Kakashi frowned at the apologetic boy. The little blonde was out of breath. He tried making sure he stepped slower and shorter, but he was still far too fast for the tot. He decided to save Naruto from extra embarrassment.
"Alright Naruto, come here." The blonde stared up at his tall sensei confusedly. He gasped in delight as he was picked up and placed on Kakashi's shoulders, his little hands gripping the Jounin's head.
"Woah, sensei! It's high up here!" Kakashi couldn't resist a chuckle at the boy's awed tone. Wow, kids are so simple. Or maybe that's just Naruto.
"Alright Naruto, how would you like some Ramen before we go home?" From the boy's amazed gasp, you could've sworn he'd bought the boy a puppy. Naruto didn't miss the fact Kakashi had said 'home' either.
"Yeah! Ichiraku ramen!" He punched the air excitably, which made quite a few ladies milling around giggle, the blonde was still oblivious however; it was most likely the result of being hated and lonely in his first childhood. He just couldn't imagine anyone thinking him as cute. In fact, it never even crossed his mind.
As soon as the neared Ichiraku ramen, Kakashi set him on his feet. Naruto began to feel a little regretful for being so excited earlier. After all, one of his deepest complexes was other people's view on him; he couldn't help but feel a little nervous as he walked into the restaurant. Are they gonna' laugh at me? No, I'm sure Teuchi wouldn't do that. Kakashi noticed the boy fiddling with his finger nervously and patted him on the head. He was surprising himself with all these gestures.
"Naruto?" The boy's blue eyes widened and he suddenly felt the urge to hide behind Kakashi's leg. He pushed the feeling down however and flashed Ayame a bright smile. "Hi, Ayame nee-chan!" He climbed onto the stool, with great difficulty. Okay, being small, not so fun!
Teuchi and Ayame were speechless. In fact, Kakashi would've sword they'd gone into shock. He guessed they didn't get the memo that the rumours were actually true. Well, this might be awkward.
"Wow. Well, hi there Naruto!" Teuchi rubbed his neck and laughed awkwardly. He was coping pretty well for the shock of a lifetime. Much better than Naruto, the blonde had spent an hour intermittently bawling his eyes out. Then again, he wasn't the one who miraculously turned into a four year old. "Well, what can I get ya'?" Whilst Kakashi asked for soy, Naruto seemed to contemplate this for a moment.
"Miso, please!" Teuchi's eyes crinkled at young Naruto. He shrugged. Well, you gotta' admit, he's a cutie. He turned towards his daughter to ask her to prepare the noodles and sweat dropped. There was hearts in her eyes. Really, he could see them.
"Naru-chan!" The blonde visibly flinched at the nickname and Kakashi resisted a chuckle. Then the young boy shrugged. Eh, better then demon, I guess. "Eat as many bowls as you like, it's on the house!" Teuchi groaned at his daughter. Sure, Naruto was now probably the cutest kid he'd ever seen, but still, there were going to go bankrupt. Kakashi was mentally rejoicing, he'd been worrying about the state of his wallet. He wasn't about to abuse the allowance Tsunade had given him, that was for necessities.
The three adults watched in morbid fascination as the tiny four year old somehow managed to plough his way through three bowls. Sure, on a normal day he could eat anything from six to eight, but that was when he was an averagely built teen. As a kid, Naruto was always small. Teuchi just shook his head. The blonde just never ceased to amaze.
"Where does it all go?" He conspicuously whispered to his daughter. She just giggled; it seems Naruto can still be cute when he's being a glutton.
"Woah, that was great! Thanks Teuchi!" The old man smiled warmly at the boy's bright grin. Phew, thank kami it was only three bowls! Naruto climbed off his stool and waved, Kakashi went to follow him.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Ayame glared at the jounin, her arms crossed her chest disapprovingly. He raised an eyebrow.
"Maa, I thought this was on the house?" He smiled at the ramen girl and Teuchi groaned. Hearts appeared in her eyes once more. It seems like Naruto and Kakashi were quite the deadly pair.
"Uh, of course! Just kidding!" She chuckled awkwardly and opened her eyes to find herself talking to an empty space. "Hey!"
As the neared Kakashi's apartment, the pair's conversation dwindled as Naruto's thoughts ran wild. He didn't want to bother Kakashi with his worries, but he needed someone to confide in.
"Uh, sensei?" Kakashi looked down at the boy and frowned. He was twiddling with his fingers in a rather Hyuuga-like fashion. It didn't look right on the normally bright, brash boy.
"Hm? What is it?" Naruto peered up at his sensei through his blonde bangs, his big eyes held slivers of anxiety.
"What about my friends?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"What about them?" Naruto bit his lip and blushed.
"Well, I mean, I'm small now. It's going to be weird, isn't it?" Kakashi hesitated, not knowing whether to lie or be honest. Don't tell him about Sakura.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. They were all very relieved you were okay." Naruto looked happier at this.
"They were? Were they worried?" He asked eagerly, Kakashi nodded.
"Yes, very. They had to be forced to leave." Naruto whooped and giggled. He felt immensely happy. Sure, he felt bad for worrying them, but the fact they cared a lot about his well-fare made him feel all warm and tingly.
When they eventually reached their new home, Naruto couldn't help but stare in awe. When Pein had attacked Kohona, both his and Kakashi's apartments were completely destroyed. Whilst Naruto moved into another old apartment- the only one he could afford- it seems Kakashi took residence in one of the new buildings. It was so attractive and the quality was so high, he couldn't help but draw comparisons to his dream home. He whirled around to stare at Kakashi in bewilderment. Surely this isn't it? He followed Kakashi up the stair case, his hands trailing over the expensive wood.
"Uh, sensei?" He called out timidly. He felt so out of place.
"Hm?" Kakashi peered back a he boy. What could possibly be wrong now?
"Uh, nothing, never mind!" He scratched the back of his head and grinned awkwardly. He didn't want to sound lame if this really was the place. The chances this was the place steadily increased as they reached the top floor; especially when Kakashi inserted his keys into a door and unlocked it. Either his sensei was robbing someone, and had pick pocketed their keys, or he really did live here. He blinked in surprise. I never knew sensei was rich!
When Kakashi opened to door to his apartment, Naruto couldn't help but groan. Considering this was the guy who showed up three hours late to every meeting, he was unnaturally neat. Unnaturally as in, the books in his shelf were alphabetically ordered...unless they were Icha Icha; in that case, they had their own shelf. He shivered, disturbing. But still, the place was impressive!
"Woah, sensei! I never knew you had such a nice place!" Naruto discarded his new coat and shoes at the door and ran into the apartment. Kakashi would never show it openly, but he was pretty proud of his new apartment, it was nice. He was also pretty glad Naruto liked it, because under no circumstances was he taking Naruto to that house. He put his and Naruto's coat on the rack and followed the boy in.
"Naruto? Come here, your room is this way." The blonde boy blinked and nodded. It was strange, having all the rooms separated to doors. He'd only had one room in his whole life.
Naruto felt a rush of gratitude towards his sensei. The room was really nice and clean, with a big comfy bed. It was the view out of the window, however, that made him smile the most; the Hokage Mountain was practically faced purposely towards the apartment. He ran up to the window and placed his small hand of the cool glass.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi smiled at Naruto's excitement. He knew the kid would love this room. The blonde grinned cheekily. "My face is gonna' be up there soon!"
"I'm sure it is." Maybe not as soon as I thought, but you'll definitely get there, Naruto. His faith in his student was solid. He would become Hokage; there was just the little problem of when, especially now Kohona's hero was a child.
Kakashi yawned and realized he could barely keep his eyes open. "Well, alright, you get yourself settled in. There's food in the kitchen if you need it." He walked out the room, sparing the boy a last glance before he went to take a nap. It was strange, but he felt... comforted by the fact his student was living with him. He'd been living by himself for so long; he'd forgotten the feeling of companionship. He felt the torrent of depression ready the crash and forcibly pushed it down. He didn't go a day without thinking about his father. Although he knew it wasn't necessarily his fault, he father, in his opinion, took the coward's way out. And left me alone. Kakashi hadn't taken a step in his former house since. Shaking away his thought, he grabbed the Icha Icha book Naruto gave him as a present and read only a chapter before falling asleep.
Two hours later
"Okay, this was cool at first, but now I'm bored!" Naruto sat on his new bed, cross legged and pouting. It was pitch dark out, so he had resorted to reading scrolls in the dim light of his lamp. Kakashi had been asleep for two hours, and Naruto was in no way or form tired. He'd been sleeping for almost four days straight; he couldn't possible have any more energy. He'd even circled his room in his boredom, only to find it severely empty. He decided to rectify that when they went shopping tomorrow. A furious blush crossed his face when he realized he really, really wanted a stuffed animal. And toys. And sweets. He groaned and shook his head. "Damn, what's wrong with me?" He scowled. It looked out of place on the boy's innocent features. Okay, I get it; I'm a kid now, but seriously, a teddy? His scowl grew when an amused chuckle reverberated through his consciousness. Kurama. "Che! Stupid fox! This ain't funny!" There was no reply. It just made him angrier.
Not being able to take his boredom any longer, Naruto cautiously opened the door to the main room. He tip-toed across to the kitchen and froze when he heard a light snoring. He grinned to himself when he saw Kakashi sprawled across the sofa, his book balanced delicately on his face. His eyes trailed down to his mask and he smirked. Time for that later! His throat was dry and he found it hard to swallow, he recognised the feeling to be thirst. Realizing that he really badly needed a drink, Naruto padded his way to the kitchen and shut the door behind him. "Okay, cups, cups." Looking through the cupboards as quietly as he could, Naruto frowned. He couldn't see any cups. He bit his lip. Should I ask Kakashi? He shook his head at his own question. A part of him, a part which still believed all his bonds hung precariously in the balance, wanted to make sure he was as little of a nuisance as possible. As he was about to give up, he looked towards to top shelf. The blonde mentally cheered. Cups! On the top shelf, far out of his reach, was five glass cups.
Kakashi was roughly pulled back into consciousness as the sound of a crash and broken glass. He flew into a wild panic. He ran to the boy's room, only to find it empty. He immediately thought the worst, his chakra fluctuated wildly,
"Naruto? Naruto?" His breath caught in his throat when he heard sniffling emanating from the kitchen. He couldn't move fast enough, he ripped the door open, tearing the top hinge. Kakashi could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest. In the dark room, in a crumpled heap, lay Naruto. He sighed in relief as the formerly unmoving form let out a stifled sob and sat up. Then he got angry. "What the hell are you doing?"He was angry the boy made him worry so intensely. Sure, he was constantly worried about his students, especially Naruto, but he'd been terrified Naruto had been kidnapped or killed. The emotion was so strong; he didn't even access the situation or feel for chakra before he flew into a panic. It was weird.
Naruto's eyes stared at the floor in front of him, unseeing. He couldn't stop the torrent of painful sobs and the violent shaking. He ignored the pain from the gash in his forehead that made him cry with shock in the first place, Kakashi was angry with him, and that was so much worse. The irrational fear that Kakashi was going to kick him out had always been in his mind since the situation was announced. It seemed inevitable to him. He'd been kicked out of the orphanage, three of his former apartments, hell, even Iruka had never once asked Naruto if he'd like to live with him. It wasn't like Naruto expected it, but it had been one of his most prominent daydreams, especially when Iruka was his only precious person. Now the person he practically idolised was angry with him for being so damn clumsy, and he couldn't do anything but curl up on the floor and pathetically sob.
"Naruto?" Kakashi gaped wide-eyed at the sobbing boy before him. He almost hit himself for sounding so intimidating. Somehow, he knew the boy was already an emotional wreck; of course, he just put it down to the recent transformation. The origin of Naruto's insecurities was unknown to him. Unsure on how to handle the boy, he flicked the light switch on. He felt slightly sick at the sight; a copious amount of blood was dripping from Naruto's head, his little hand was clutching the wound. "Oh boy." He didn't know what else to say. He quickly grabbed a medical pack from the top drawer and scooped up the boy from the floor. He sat him down in his lap and pressed a cloth to the wound, trying to stop the blood flow. "What were you trying to do?"
Naruto sniffled. He was surprised however, Kakashi didn't seem as mad. Or he was really mad and just wasn't showing it. He wasn't sure which one he preferred.
"I fell." He stated, Kakashi rolled his eyes at the obviousness of it. He felt around for the disinfectant and smiled slightly when he found it.
"Yes, but how?" Naruto averted his eyes at the question. It was so stupid; a ninja like him shouldn't fall so easily. But then, he was used to his former body, he overcompensated the distance and ended up falling from the counter.
"Um... I tried reaching the cups, but I'm too short. So I climbed up on the counter and tried to reach 'em, but I got wobbly and I fell." He sobbed when he looked at the broken cups. "I broke em! I'm so, so sorry!" Kakashi frowned at how profusely the boy was apologizing. They were just cups; it wasn't that big of a deal.
"It's alright Naruto." The boy sniffled miserably.
"It is?" Kakashi nodded and Naruto let out a small smile, still unsure.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" He dabbed the alcohol on Naruto's wound and the boy yelped.
"I didn't wanna bother you." He mumbled. "'m really sorry." Kakashi sighed. He didn't understand why Naruto was acting to timidly, it was so unlike him. Did he do something? When Kakashi didn't answer, Naruto grew anxious. He started to cry again and rubbed the tears away with the back of his hand, unwittingly smearing blood across his face.
"Are you gonna' kick me out?" Kakashi froze and stared at the boy, horrified. "'cause that's alright, I dun' mind." By the tone of his voice, it was quite obvious he did mind.
"Eh? Why on earth would I kick you out?" Kakashi was beyond confused. He didn't understand why Naruto was so upset, not at all.
"Because I broke your cups!" Naruto practically screamed and pushed Kakashi's hand away. In instinct, Kakashi gripped the boy's wrist and pulled his close. He was hugging him.
"Naruto, I don't care about the cups. Next time you need something, you ask me okay?" Dumbfounded, the boy managed a nod. "As for kicking you out, don't be ridiculous, you're not going anywhere." Naruto's heart was beating wildly. He could scarcely believe his ears. He snuggled into Kakashi's hug and squeezed him back.
"Okay! Thank you ''kashi!" Kakashi froze at the new nickname but then smiled fondly. He put the blood soaked rag down and smoothed down the boy's hair. He didn't know why Naruto had been so upset, but he'd find out. He couldn't fathom why Naruto would think he'd kick him out for hurting himself. If anything, it was Kakashi's fault for leaving him unsupervised for hours, especially not even leaving the cups in a accessible place. He hadn't even shown his around properly, he'd just assumed the blonde would be alright and left him. Damn! He felt ridiculously stupid, not even a day and he'd managed to wound the boy and reduce him to tears. He also realized that it wouldn't be like housing a teenager. He was effectively playing the part of a parent. And he was messing up, badly. He felt terrible. He was also quite disturbed and Naruto's change in personality. He was still Naruto, still the bright sun he knew, but he was also vulnerable, skittish, apologetic. And he was sad. Hugging the boy tighter, he realized he didn't want the boy to be sad. Unused to these kinds of protective feelings, he shrugged. I'll figure it out later.
