A/N: Bit of a longer wait on this chapter. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto shouted again.

"Hi," said Kakashi tensely.

"I wanted to ask—" Naruto stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that Kakashi was holding a writhing toddler.

"Umm…is that…is that…who I think it is?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed a breath of relief that Naruto had held his tongue.

"Yes," Kakashi breathed exasperatedly, "I'm going to meet up with someone, but as you can see Iruka-kun here does not want to go." The last bit was said a bit too sweetly.

Naruto was already talking to Iruka though.

"Hi Iruka-kun. My name is Naruto!"

Iruka giggled.

"I hear you're going to meet someone. Who is it?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know…Kakashi-san didn't tell me!" Iruka said grumpily.

"Oh, how mean of him!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We're going to see Jiraiya," Kakashi told Naruto. He sighed. Now that Naruto was here he was two against one.

"Ah...Ero—uh I mean Jiraiya-sama! How fun!" Naruto shouted.

He looked directly at Iruka and whispered, "I'll race you there!"

Before Kakashi knew it Iruka had slipped out of his arms and was running down the street with Naruto. Kakashi shook his head and blinked. He had no idea Naruto was so good with kids.

'Although it makes sense...' Kakashi thought 'Naruto is just one big kid.'

Kakashi followed after the two.

Jiraiya sunk into the steaming water of the sauna.

"Ahh how relaxing. Now all I have to do is wait for the pretty women! Hehehe!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Ero-…I mean Jiraiya-sama!" called Naruto.

Jiraiya furrowed his brows. Naruto rarely called him Jiraiya and never called him Jiraiya-sama.

Naruto ran up to Jiraiya followed by a panting Iruka. Jiraiya could see Kakashi in the distance.

"What's going on?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well…actually I'm not really sure," Naruto admitted and rubbed the back of his head.

"Hi!" Iruka yelled. "I'm Iruka. What's your name?"

Jiraiya stared at the adorably innocent child that stood in place of the man he knew.

He laughed.

"Hi Iruka-kun. My name is Jiraiya!" he told Iruka and ruffled his hair.

Kakashi approached the sauna.

"Jiraiya."

"Kakashi."

"Let's talk," Kakashi said. "Alone."

Jiraiya frowned.

"Iruka-kun can you play with Naruto for a while?" Kakashi asked.

"Yay!" Iruka shouted. Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

The two ran off, laughing in unison.

Jiraiya looked Kakashi in the eyes and Kakashi explained the situation.

"I don't know," Jiraiya began, "what Jutsu Iruka used. But it's effects should not be permanent. The most it should last is a month. That much I can tell."

Kakashi nodded.

"Kakashi!" Jiraiya barked.

Kakashi took a step back at Jiraiya's sudden aggression.

"Take good care of him."

Kakashi turned around without a response and began walking away. Jiraiya's face turned somber as he watched Kakashi's figure fade into the distance.

Naruto and Iruka tumbled in the grass of the park. They both laughed excitedly.

"Naruto-san! Naruto-san! Push me on the swings please!" Iruka begged.

Naruto agreed to push Iruka. The sun began to set and the sky was streaked with orange and pink.

"I wonder where Kakashi-san is…it's kinda dark…" Iruka shivered.

Naruto raised his eyebrows. He wrapped Iruka in his orange sweatshirt.

"Let's go find him, Iruka-kun," Naruto said.

They walked the cobblestone paths of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The first stars began to appear, but Kakashi did not.

"I wonder," sniffed Iruka, "if Kakashi-san forgot me…"

Naruto sensed Iruka's sadness.

"Don't worry Iruka-kun! Kakashi is my Sensei and he's always late to everything!" Naruto smiled in the hopes of cheering the young boy up.

They arrived at Kakashi's place and knocked on the door. Naruto rapped on the door three times. Kakashi answered the door to find Iruka asleep in Naruto's arms, bundled up in an orange sweatshirt far too big for him.

"Kakashi Sensei—" Naruto started, but Kakashi had already gathered Iruka up in his arms. Kakashi looked at Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Kakashi said.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Naruto said, looking pointedly at Iruka.

"I know."

"Kakashi Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"Where were you?"

"Good night, Naruto."

"...Good night, Sensei."

Naruto closed the door gently behind him. Iruka stirred slightly, but his eyes stayed closed. Kakashi carried him to his bedroom. He laid him down in his bed and covered him in his blankets. Kakashi was walking out of the room when he heard Iruka's voice ask:

"Kakashi-san…will you sing me song?"

Again, Kakashi felt like the floor beneath him had vanished. His heart fluttered wildly like a butterfly desperately beating inside a cocoon. He took a deep breath. Kakashi felt dizzy. He remembered his father coming in after a long day and sitting beside him. He remembered the soothing tones his father used to read to him, how when he sang he hit every note perfectly. He thought of all the songs his father sang to him; all the little stories. So many little things that he remembered about his father. But that was long gone.

"No."

"Please, Kakashi-san?" The last word was a whimper.

"No. Go to sleep."

Kakashi could hear gentle sniffling, but still walked out of the room and to his bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face and stared at his reflection.

'I need help,' he thought, 'I can't do this. Why did Tsunade choose me for this? I can't do this.'

Kakashi peeked into Iruka's bedroom. Iruka was now sound asleep, sucking gently on his own thumb. Kakashi felt like his neck was on fire. Iruka looked so calm, so innocent. It was a strange sight to see the traumas of the past gone. Kakashi perched in the windowsill for a moment. He cast one last cursory glance at Iruka, and jumped out of the window.

"Hokage-sama"

"Hatake, what are you doing here?!" A Kunai flew through the air, stabbing the wall behind Kakashi. Tsunade's hair was disheveled and it was clear that she had been sleeping on her pile of books.

"I need…help," Kakashi admitted.

"Where's Iruka?!" Tsunade demanded to know.

Kakashi held his hands up as if in surrender.

"He's sleeping."

"You still shouldn't just leave him! What if he wakes up?!" Tsunade was still shouting.

"Tsunade-sama…I am not a good fit for this mission," Kakashi stared Tsunade down, his eye daring her to argue.

"Kakashi, you are the best-suited for this mission. We have agreed on it."

"But why?! What makes you think I could take care of a toddler?"

"It can't be that hard, Kakashi. Just think about your own childhood.

That made Kakashi snort.

"Do you want me to kill him?!"

"For fuck's sake Kakashi, do as I say! You are going to be taking care of Iruka, even if you don't want to be. You agreed to it."

"But—"

"Hatake! No more." Tsunade pointed at the door, indicating that Kakashi had overstayed his welcome.

Kakashi felt like screaming. He could not do this! He was going to ruin Iruka, poor, sweet, innocent Iruka because he was incompetent when it came to toddlers. Kakashi crawled into bed, so distracted by thought that he did not notice the small bundled up toddler in his bed.

He jumped and drew a Shuriken, but then took a step back. Iruka was gently snoring. Kakashi sighed and attempted to scoop Iruka up into his arms.

"No….wanna stay with daddy," Iruka mumbled.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.

He tried to pick Iruka up again, but Iruka resisted.

"Wanna stay here with you, daddy," Iruka murmured.

Kakashi's heart was beating like a drum line. He stared at the small body on his bed. He took a few deep breaths to ease his nerves.

A small hand reached out and clamped around his wrist.

"Stay..."