Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own any product/character/song/book/movie/etc. that may appear in this fan fiction story.


"Isn't there a D- rank mission I could do here in the village instead? Maybe a cat stuck in a tree, needing rescuing perhaps?"

All three of them looked at the Copy Ninja unsure if they heard him correctly. Tsunade looked at Shizunne but the dark haired woman was just as confused as she was. Iruka was the first to recover. Setting aside the A-rank mission scroll, he dug through another pile normally reserved for Genin.

"I have a mission to find a missing dog named Mr. Pumpernickels. He was last seen…"

"Great I'll take it." Kakashi had the scroll and was shutting the door behind him before Iruka could finish his sentence.

Tsunade finally came out of her shock. "Did Hatake Kakashi just swap an A for a D-rank? What the hell has gotten into that boy?"


Kakashi walked down the hallway to a waiting area where Rumi sat waiting for him with Pakkun. Kotetsu and Izumo had abandoned their desks and paperwork in favor of telling her stories of amazing battles they had been in and faraway places they'd been. Rumi laughed as they reenacted some of their feats with dramatic poises and silly voices.

"Hey squirt let's get going." Kakashi called as made his way to them.

Rumi, Kotetsu, and Izumo groaned sadly. Pakkun sighed in relief, Izumo and Kotetsu could charm a three year old but they were annoying him to no end.

"Well Hatake you had better keep an eye on this one." Izumo warned

"Yeah she is going to be a knock out when she's older. You will have to beat off boys for Asuma." Kotetsu added with mock thoughtfulness.

"Yeah thanks guys you two are sooo much help." Kakashi replied rolling his visible eye.

"Hey we know potential when we see it." Kotetsu said

"Or did you forget when we warned you about Sakura?" Izumo asked with a sly grin

Kakashi was already pulling Rumi down the hall with one hand. His other hand tossed them a rude gesture over his shoulder. The duo laughed before heading back to their paperwork.


To say Rumi was excited about going on a mission with Kakashi was an understatement, especially when she found out the mission was to find a missing puppy. The little girl had squealed in glee. Her high pitched cry of delight caused people on the street to cover their ears and got the neighborhood dogs in an uproar. It had made their mission easier though when Mr. Pumpernickels when running for home with a wine. Kakashi caught up to the giant Rottweiler easily and returned him to his owner. The large beefy woman had taken to Rumi instantly before shyly asking Kakashi if he was a single dad and if he needed someone to take care of him. He announced politely that he was happily married before grabbing Rumi and making a quick retreat.


Sakura laughed out loud. They had met up at Ichiraku for lunch and Kakashi had just finished telling her about their interesting morning.

"It's not that funny." He grumbled as Sakura shook with more laughter.

"Oh honey please don't tell me you brought me out here just to tell me you are leaving me for that woman. Do I not please you anymore?" she asked with mirth in her eyes.

Sakura couldn't keep a straight face with the look he gave her and promptly burst into another fit of giggles.

"ha ha ha you are so funny." He said in a perfect monotone voice.

"Okay I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it; you should have seen your face."

"Hn. So have you heard anything from Kurenai or team tent? Eight? Kakashi asked

It was Wednesday. Kurenai had left Rumi with them last Friday at the beginning of Kakashi's three day vacation with a promise that Shikamaru and team ten would be back that evening. Neither Kurenai nor team Asuma had made an appearance yet. Now in the middle of a new week, the Hatake couple was scrambling to rearrange their schedules so that one of them could always stay with Rumi. Sakura had swapped for some unwanted shifts at the hospital and Kakashi had forgone training, and switched his high paying A-rank missions for D-ranks and guard duty.

"Nothing yet on ten or Kurenai. Eight made it home this morning but Hinata left again for some important Hyuga clan business. So that leaves Kiba or Shino." Sakura stated

"No."

"You're right Kiba is a bachelor, he wouldn't know a thing about taking care of a little girl. What about Shino?"

"No."

"Bugs aside, Shino is a nice guy. Quiet and weird but nice." Sakura said defending the bug user.

Her husband raised a silver eyebrow.

"Well then we are out of options. Let's just keep her with us." Sakura huffed.

"Okay."

Sakura studied Kakashi for a moment. He had agreed to keep Rumi with them rather quickly. It was almost as if… Sakura smiled knowingly. He was pretending to be indifferent to it but Sakura was positive he was secretly happy they would have Rumi a while longer.


The rest of the week passed filled with play dates in the park with the ninken, coloring, playing dress up, coloring, tea time, and more coloring. Friday evening found the Sakura, Kakashi, and Rumi sitting down for dinner. Rumi had insisted on mac and cheese so that was what they had. There was a knock at the door. Kakashi got up to answer it. Kurenai Yuhi stood at the door.

"I just got in. Tsunade said you've had Rumi all week! I'm so sorry…I thought" the Kunoichi was cut off from a shriek across the room.

"MOMMY!" Rumi bolted from her chair and flung herself at her mother.

Kakashi stepped aside to let Kurenai in. Rumi hung on the woman chatting to her excitedly.

"Okay Okay honey, settle down. I need to talk to Kakashi and Sakura."

"Kay." Rumi nodded and went back to her dinner but kept looking at Kurenai as if she'd disappear if she looked away too long.

"I am sorry Kakashi, Sakura. I had no idea Shikamaru's mission got extended. I should have had a backup in place. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." Kurenai said.

Kakashi shook his head. "It's been no trouble at all Kurenai."

"Yes, we were happy to do it. And you can always ask us to take her whenever you need." Sakura added and her husband nodded in agreement.

"That's kind of you; I know she can be a bit of a handful."

"She was fun. We very much enjoyed her company." Sakura said sincerely.

Kurenai nodded pulling a healthy sum of money out her wallet to hand it to them Kakashi stopped her.

"Put it away Kurenai." He warned

"Kakashi, I know how expensive little girls are. Please take the money, I'd feel bad if you didn't"

"We'd feel bad if we did. We're your friends Kurenai, that's what friends are for. Besides we told you it was no trouble." Sakura interjected.

Kurenai relented "fine but when you have kids of your own; I get them for a week."

"Deal." Kakashi said not bothering to correct her statement from 'when' to 'if'.

Rumi walked up to them at that moment and Kurenai bent down to scoope the girl up.

"Well Rumi, are you ready to go? Say good bye to Sakura and Kakashi."

Rumi suddenly realized what was going on. Tears welt up in her eyes and she shook her head.

"NO! wanna stay!" She cried.

"Rumi don't you want to come home with me? You can visit them later."

"NO! KASHI!" Rumi cried reaching out for the Copy Nin.

Kakashi took her from Kurenai and held her for a minute. "Shh it's okay Kiddo. Your mom has been gone a while and she missed you. It's okay; maybe you can visit us Sunday. I'll get the boys together and we can go to the park. How does that sound?"

Rumi hiccupped but nodded against his shoulder. Kakashi handed her back to a surprised Kurenai who exchanged looks with Sakura.

"What?" he asked

"Nothing it's just that she never gives up on tantrums that easily. You have a gift Kakashi you will make a great dad. Sakura you married a good man." Kurenai said impressed

Sakura smiled "I know." Kakashi blushed under his mask.

"It's not that big of a deal." He mumbled embarrassed

They had to put all the new outfits and toys in a summoning scroll in order for Kurenai to carry it all. She was flabbergasted at all the new things Rumi had acquired in the span of a week but Sakura was so excited when telling her about finding great deals that the older woman just smiled at her. Thanking them once again Kurenai and Rumi headed home.


Sakura and Kakashi cleaned up after dinner together. It was a quiet affair. While the quiet had never bothered Sakura before, the silence brought on by Rumi's departure was suddenly stifling. Sakura discreetly wiped at a few tears in the corner of her eyes as she washed dishes in the sink. Kakashi pretended not to notice as he dried.

There was an extra bag of uncooked macaroni noodles on the counter. Kakashi moved to put them away in the pantry. Opening the door his attention drifted to the bottom shelf set aside for Rumi. The Fruit Ninja 'O' s, and pop tarts sat alongside chips and other sugary snacks they'd never eat. Kakashi placed the macaroni with the other pastas and shut the door with a firm click.


Sakura stood in their bathroom at the sink brushing her teeth. The door was open and she could see her husband stretched out on their bed reading icha icha like he normally did. However tonight he was flipping thought the pages Rumi had colored in. She rinsed and put her toothpaste away before reaching into her medicine cabinet. Sakura stared at the booklet of pills, birth control, one for each day of the month. She looked at Kakashi then back at the pills. Their main reasons behind their decision to not have kids was because they didn't feel that they would be good parents and that they could not dedicate the time needed for raising a family. Sakura looked at Kakashi again. Hadn't they just shot both those excuses down within a week? They had proven that they were parent material and they had managed to work around each other's schedules and make time for a little girl as well as each other. Sakura knew that they didn't have any marital problems yet she felt that their relationship had only been strengthened in the past week. They loved each other deeply yet after taking care of Rumi, Sakura realized she loved her husband even more. She wanted a family with him and she knew him well enough to know that he wanted it too. Coming to a decision she put the pills in her make up bag and tossed them under the sink before shutting off the bathroom light.

A/N: review please