"Well, that should be the last of them."

Kakashi glanced around the living room of his new home, the first one in as long as he could remember, which was currently filled to the ceiling with boxes that still had to be sorted out. To his right both couches were shoved into a corner against the pale green walls, and to his left various kitchen appliances sat out on the counters where he'd started unpacking earlier that day. He'd tried to start unpacking the bedroom stuff first, but Iruka had quickly shut him down by explaining that sleeping in a bed with sheets was far less important than being able to make coffee and food to get through the rest of the unpacking. He hadn't been able to argue any further.

Everyone had left about an hour ago, and now that he'd finished carting in boxes from his old apartment, he finally had a moment to stop and close his eyes, basking in the silence that he'd been missing all day. He loved his friends, he really did, but there were only so many times he could listen to Genma teasing Iruka about his budding relationship with the new female teacher at the academy. After the tenth time, the jokes had started getting stale and Kakashi had resorted to throwing packing peanuts at the back of Genma's head.

A gentle breeze started flowing in through the back door, which Kakashi assumed had been left open to let some fresh air into the dusty house. The backyard was closed off by a tall fence, and they were smack in the middle of two civilian households so it wasn't like they had to worry about any neighbors climbing the fence with chakra to walk right into the house. It was a beautiful day outside, and Kakashi suddenly felt the urge to relax in the perfect weather with a good book. After all, he'd already finished bringing all of the boxes inside and he deserved a break.

After a quick rummage through his box marked 'Important Things', Kakashi grabbed a copy of Icha Icha Violence and let himself wander outside, his eyes squinting as they adjusted to the sudden change in brightness. The back yard was really quite spacious and even had its own large tree that he would undoubtedly use to spend lazy days hiding from people once he was officially inaugurated as Hokage. It still baffled him that Tsunade had chosen him as her successor, but Naruto wasn't ready to take the helm yet and she'd made the argument that no one else would be better suited for being Hokage during times of peace, given his relaxed (albeit lazy) nature.

Kakashi let his eyes wander around the yard as they finally adjusted to the sunlight, scanning through the patches of green and brown until they landed on the shade of pink he always seemed to seek out. His feet started guiding him to where Sakura sat under the large tree with a book in her hands before he even thought about it, pulling his mask down to breathe in the crisp autumn air.

They had spent a good six months going back and forth between their apartments until finally deciding to get a place together when he had started the training process to one day lead the village. The only place they'd been able to find at a reasonable price between the Hokage tower and the hospital had been this house, and although Kakashi still thought that it was a little excessive (what did they even need three bedrooms for, anyway?) he'd given in when he saw the way Sakura's eyes had sparkled.

"Why are you reading a book on frogs?"

Sakura looked up, a soft smile on her lips as if she'd hear him approach before he'd even spoken. Not for the first time, he had a moment of disbelief as he wondered how he'd managed to get so lucky. Here was this beautiful woman with a smile that could melt even the iciest of hearts, and she had chosen him to spent the rest of her life with. The ring on her left hand sparkled in the sunlight at that exact moment, as if mocking his disbelief.

"Kankurou managed to weasel some poisons out of Moyagakure and wants to make antidotes for them. Apparently they behave similarly to the venom of a few species of amphibians and reptiles in that area and he asked for our help, so I'm looking for information on the amphibians while Shizune takes care of the reptiles," Sakura replied, letting her eyes linger on his just a moment longer before returning to her book.

Kakashi hummed softly as he plopped down beside her, letting their shoulders touch and smiling when she immediately leaned her head against him. He opened Icha Icha with one hand while he let the other rest on her thigh, running small circles absently over the fabric of her pants with his thumb as he began to read.

They sat there together quietly, both of them absorbed in their own books. Occasionally he would kiss the top of her head and sometimes she would lace their fingers together until she needed to turn the page in her book, but for the most part they just let themselves relax in each other's presence.

"Why don't you summon them? Show them their new home?" Sakura asked cautiously, her voice breaking the silence as she bridged the topic they'd been avoiding ever since he'd gotten his hearing back.

Kakashi pulled his eyes away from his book to look up, only now noticing that the sky around them had started to darken. He hadn't summoned his ninken once in the last six months, not since he'd been warned by Tsunade that there might be some lingering effects from the jutsu that could keep him from being able to hear them ever again. It had scared him enough that he hadn't been able to find the courage to summon them.

When he'd first lost his hearing almost a year ago, he'd had a hard time getting used to it. Feeling vibrations through the floor had helped, but it had been almost impossible to truly relax when he was alone. Years of training had forced him into the habit of always listening for danger, but once that had been taken away, he'd been left feeling vulnerable and exposed.

Even so, losing his hearing hadn't been the worst part of it - losing the ability to hear his ninken had been. Finding himself feeling so defenseless and being unable to hear his most trusted companions, the ones who helped keep him sane throughout some of the hardest years of his life, had been devastating.

"I'm sure it'll be okay," Sakura whispered, pulling him from his thoughts. It was then that Kakashi realized that Sakura had put her book down to wrap both of her hands around the one he still had resting on her thigh. "I was able to smell Katsuyu-sama just fine, and no one else had their links with their summons affected once the jutsu was broken."

"I know," Kakashi sighed, shutting Icha Icha and letting his head fall back against the tree. He knew that he should look at things logically and keep himself from thinking irrationally. It was something he was usually good at, but there was still a part of him that was unable to be rational when it came to the fear of losing his ninken. Sure, he could just have people translate for the rest of his life, but it wouldn't be the same.

His ninken were probably worried about him by now - it had been six months, after all. He knew they would be able to feel that their link wasn't broken, so they were aware that he was alive at the very least, but Bisuke was probably a nervous wreck by now.

Kakashi glanced around the large back yard, and for an instant he imagined them running around in front of him while he read by the tree. His chest ached at the pictures floating around in his mind; he knew that they would love this yard. They had always hated his tiny apartment, and the lower level of the house itself had more than enough space for all of them to live together comfortably.

Sakura squeezed his hand gently, and he felt a breath he hadn't known he was holding expel all at once. She was right, of course. Out of everyone who had ever been affected by the jutsu, not a single person had ever had their link with their summons permanently affected, and it was very unlikely that he would be the first.

After placing one last kiss on top of Sakura's head, Kakashi finally stood again. He stretched his arms above his head to work out the kinks in his muscles as he walked toward the center of the yard, feeling his breaths become shorter as his nerves made their presence known. This was it.

Before he had a chance to think it over too much more, Kakashi knelt down on one knee and bit down on his thumb before making the hand signs and pressing his palm into the ground. He watched as all eight ninken appeared in a puff of smoke, Akino taking the front with Bull directly behind him. The others were on either side of them, except for Pakkun who was perched on top of Bull's head, his eyes staring directly ahead. Kakashi waited with bated breath, his heart hammering in his chest as he watched Pakkun tilt his head to the side before opening his jaws.

"What took you so long, Boss?"

With that one sentence Kakashi felt every ounce of tension flee his body, leaving him feeling exhausted and boneless as he fought to keep the tears from forming in his eyes. He was an adult, damn it. He would not cry because of this.

The ninken seemed to immediately understand his current emotional state, because before he could fully grasp what was going on, they had all charged toward him and knocked him over, drowning him a sea of fur. Somewhere to the side Sakura was laughing, drawing the attention of some of his ninken as the fur around him lessened. The rest of them stayed above him, Bull pinning him to the ground as they licked him relentlessly. He was far too relieved at being able to hear them again to care about the slobber he would have to clean off of him later.

"Hey, Boss! Why does Sakura-chan smell funny?"

Kakashi opened his eyes wearily, wiping the slobber from his face as Bull finally allowed him to sit up. He watched as all of his ninken slowly surrounded Sakura, apparently interested in whatever Akino had asked about.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, running a hand through his hair and grimacing at the thick slobber that seemed to coat every strand. Yeah, he would definitely need a long shower after this.

"Sakura-chan smells like Sakura-chan, but also not like Sakura-chan," Akino said slowly, sniffing at Sakura more intently as the other ninken let out sounds of agreement. "She smells like you Boss, but it's not just on the outside. She smells like you inside, too."

Kakashi glanced at Sakura to see if she had any idea what they were talking about, his curiosity instantly becoming piqued when he realized that she was refusing to look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the book she had reopened, her face stubbornly calm despite the tension rippling through her. Pakkun was the last one to join the group, sniffing at Sakura's stomach for only a few seconds before sitting back on his haunches and snorting in a way that reminded Kakashi of the fact that he was, in fact, a pug.

"Don't ask dumb questions, Akino. It's obviously because she's carrying his pup."

It took Kakashi longer than he was willing to admit to understand what Pakkun was implying, and even when he started to understand it didn't fully register in his mind. He kept his eyes on Sakura, watching the way her eyes shifted around the page nervously. Her shoulders were stubbornly squared as she tried to pretend she wasn't paying attention even as his ninken surrounded her and sniffed relentlessly.

"Sakura," Kakashi began, his words catching in his throat even as his body stood and instinctively started moving toward her. She kept her eyes fixed on her book, which Kakashi noticed was now upside down, but her teeth were chewing on her lower lip and he was suddenly hit with the realization that Pakkun was right.

Finally, Sakura let her eyes rise slowly to rest on his face. She looked scared, like she was about to cry. Kakashi returned to his previous position beside her, reaching out to take the book from her hands and gently place it on the ground. A shaky breath left his lungs as he gathered his courage to ask, "How long?"

"I don't know, maybe a month. I just found out," Sakura replied, her words breaking in her throat. She was nervous. Kakashi watched her for a moment with a sense of wonder, one hand rising to cup her cheek. Sakura inhaled sharply, leaning into his touch as if on instinct, and Kakashi felt his heart rise in his chest as it swelled. "You're not angry?"

He had expected Sakura to say or ask any number of things, but that question definitely hadn't been one of them. It surprised him enough that he froze, letting his eyes wander across her face. Sure, it was something they had never really discussed except in passing, but he had never been particularly against the idea. Now, as he watched the nerves flash through Sakura's eyes, he found himself again stunned by how beautiful she was even when she was on the verge of tears. He wanted to be with Sakura for the rest of his life, and he knew that as surely as he knew his own name. The idea of having a child with her had never really occurred to him, but now that it was there in his mind, he found himself loving the idea more and more with each passing second.

A grin burst from his lips as he pulled Sakura forward into an embrace, wrapping his arms tight around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head gently. He could feel a shuddered breath leave her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tight enough to be painful, but he paid it no mind. This was the woman he loved, the woman who would soon be his wife and the mother of his child, something he had never known he would grow to want so much. He could deal with a few bruises, especially since he knew that she would just heal them later.

"I'm definitely not angry," Kakashi whispered into her ear, his words drawing out a choked sob from the woman in his arms. Somewhere to his side, he heard his ninken running around the yard, and suddenly he was filled with the realization that for the first time in his life, he felt complete. This was where he was meant to be, and where he wanted to be for the rest of his life - surrounded by family, by his family. It had taken him a long time to find them, but now that he had, he never wanted to let go.

*****
One Year, Six Months Later
*****

"Are you ready?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to say that no, he really wasn't, but Tsunade quickly cut him off with a grin and held up her hand, as if she knew what he was going to say. Before he could protest or question why she'd bothered asking in the first place, she turned on her heel and walked toward the edge of the roof to address the people who had gathered below the Hokage tower.

Kakashi sighed, shifting where he stood as he let his eyes roam over the crowd. He knew that people tended to go crazy when a new Hokage was inaugurated, but having this many people show up was absurd. There were a fair number of people he recognized, some distinctly and others vaguely, but there were so many people that he swore he'd never seen in his life that it made his head spin.

His eyes stopped scanning the crowd as he finally found the familiar pink hair he'd been looking for, a soft smile tugging at his lips underneath the mask as she immediately noticed him watching her. Sakura beamed up at him, waving one arm excitedly in the air. He nodded his head and watched as she moved her arm back down to cradle the bundle in her arms, the small tuft of silver hair pulling the smile further across his lips. They'd given her the name Mayu.

Sakura had been disappointed at first that their daughter hadn't been born with her pink hair, but Kakashi had promised that if Mayu ever wanted to dye her hair pink when she grew older, he wouldn't fight it. Tsunade had just told her to make another one if she wanted the pink hair so much, causing Sakura to blush and look away from both of them. She hadn't mentioned it again.

His attention was drawn to an inky black movement in the crowd from just a bit in front of Sakura. His eyes narrowed as he watched Akahito begin walking toward Sakura, a determined set in his shoulders and a cocky smirk on his lips. Even from atop the Hokage tower, Kakashi could tell that Sakura's ex was not planning on approaching her with good intentions.

Fortunately, Mayu seemed to have been born with Kakashi's natural instincts when it came to danger. Even at ten months, her forest green eyes turned almost immediately to look at the man who was now just a few steps away from them to watch him curiously. She had her fist in her mouth and was slobbering all over it. Sakura had tried to stop her from doing that for about a week before giving up after realizing there were better things to focus on.

Akahito closed the distance between him and Sakura, who was too caught up in a conversation with their neighbor who was standing behind her to notice his approach. Kakashi watched curiously as Mayu took her hand out of her mouth and reached out with her tiny fingers still balled in a fist, smearing her slobber all over Akahito's fancy overcoat. Sakura chose that moment to turn back around, her eyes widening when she saw what Mayu had done until she realized whose coat it was. Her emerald eyes narrowed on him as she replied to whatever he'd said, the twitch in her eyebrow making Kakashi hope that he wouldn't have to defend his wife punching a civilian on his first day in office. He really didn't want to have to deal with all of that paperwork.

Luckily, Akahito seemed to realize how dangerous the situation was because he turned sharply on his heel and stalked off through the crowd. Kakashi watched him for a moment before turning his eyes back to Sakura and Mayu, to his family, the smile returning to his lips as he watched the way Sakura spoke softly to their daughter with a proud grin. Of course, not every parent could say that their infant somehow knew how to punch their exes, so her pride was understandable.

Kakashi's vision went black suddenly as something was placed onto his head, his arms immediately moving to attack the foreign object before realizing that Tsunade had plopped the Hokage hat onto his head sideways. He let out a sigh as he turned the hat around and finally tuned back in to Tsunade's speech, knowing that at any moment he would have to step forward and do a little wave for the crowd. There was no way he was making a speech, though.

"Allow me to introduce to you all your new Hokage, Hatake Kakashi!"

Tsunade turned to smile at him, gesturing toward him with her arms even as she mouthed the words 'Good luck'. If it had been any of the other previous Hokage, he would have considered them words of encouragement, but he knew better coming from Tsunade. It was a warning of how annoying his life was about to become.

With a small inaudible sigh, Kakashi stepped forward the last few steps until he reached the railing. The excited roaring of the crowd made him want to turn back around and disappear, but when his eyes found Sakura again he paused. Her eyes were shining with pride, her teeth gleaming in the sunlight with a bright smile that he knew was saved for rare occasions. From where Sakura stood, he caught glimpses of his friends and companions in the crowd, every single one of them smiling. Naruto was bouncing and cheering, standing next to Gai who looked like he was about to start drowning in a pool of his own tears.

It was then that he realized that Sakura and Mayu were not his only family anymore. They would always be the most important to him of course, but he now had a responsibility to look after every person in this village, the village that he loved with all of his heart.

With one final step forward and a wave of his hand, Kakashi was officially inaugurated as the Rokudaime Hokage. He knew that leading the village wouldn't be an easy task, but he had his friends and family by his side. Everything would be okay.

*****
THE (ACTUAL) END
*****