Hidden Villages
Hidden Leaf

The rain continued pouring down on the roofs of Konohagakure, but also the heads of any person who decided to venture out into the rain. A single eye looked out from behind the Anbu mask at the rain which drenched the entire vi sable world, yet the beholder's current mood matched the dreariness he saw before him.

A hand reached up underneath the Anbu mask and pinched the bridge of his nose as his ears picked up the sound of Naruto arguing with the Hokage regarding the fact Jiraiya would not be staying with the young child. His arms folded across his thin frame, yet a yawn threatened to escape from between his lips.

Kakashi watched his former sensei's sensei become more and more frustrated with the boy until finally the man glanced away and pointed outside with that rather obnoxious grin of his. "Hey, look! A naked woman!"

The young Anbu watched the Hokage's jaw drop, but also watched as Naruto's head turned in the direction Jiraiya indicated. "Where! Where!"

The old pervert attempted sneaking away while Naruto was distracted. Kakashi found himself pointing at the man. "Hold on old pervert! Did you turn him into a pervert as well?"

The Hokage glared at the sage. The goofy grin remained plastered on his face, but he stopped in his attempts at sneaking away. Naruto turned towards the man. "Wait. Were you trying to sneak away?"

"No, no. I wouldn't do that to you Naruto." Jiraiya glared at Kakashi for making his attempt fail.

"Yes, you would." Kakashi piped up.

The Hokage took a deep breath. "Now, now. I told you both that was enough."

Naruto folded his arms across his small chest and his mouth formed into a pout. He looked like a miniature Minato, yet Kakashi couldn't see Minato sulking like that. Instead, he remembered Kushina reacting in that manner. He felt emotion, yet as a shinobi refused to allow himself to emote what he felt.

The perverted sage smirked. The look on the man's face meant he was up to something, but Kakashi found himself unable to react before the smoke bombs appeared between his fingers. The items were quickly dashed on the ground causing smoke to fill the room so that Jiraiya might escape without Naruto noticing.

Kakashi almost took a deep breath as his emotions regarding something bad happening to the son of the fourth Hokage almost emoting externally. Instead, he moved over towards the child and attempted covering Naruto's mouth so the child wouldn't breathe in too much of the smoke.

Something sharp cut into his shoulder where he tried pressing Naruto's face. Kakashi's teeth ground together from the pain while his mind wondered what attacked him. He saw upon the smoke clearing a blond haired child biting his shoulder. A sigh from the Hokage made Kakashi turn his head slightly.

His head didn't turn far before Kakashi realized he'd wrapped his arms protectively around the child, but he had pulled the boy into what was theoretically a hug. Kakashi didn't move or emote, yet in the back of his brain he knew he wasn't comfortable with touch of any kind. Despite this he was touching a child who'd latched his teeth into his shoulder.

His arms lowered, yet Kakashi found himself unsure of how to react. He wanted to finish turning towards the Hokage in order that he might be given an order of some kind, yet a flash of red out of the corner of his one good eye told him the man had approached him. Hiruzen lifted his pipe to his lips. "Now, isn't this a predicament? I wonder how we'll get out of this one."

Kakashi's arms hovered inches away from the boy as he continued to wonder the same thing. The Hokage turned his free hand on its side and whacked Naruto on the top of the head. He imagined the tap wasn't like the ones Minato would playfully give him - in other words gentle, because he felt Naruto's teeth dig in a bit more when the hand came down.

However, Naruto released his vice-like grip and said, "Ow!"

"Ow? Shouldn't I be saying that?" Kakashi found himself slightly amused with the situation. He watched Naruto look around for Jirayah, but his eye drifted to the bite. He let out a sigh upon seeing Naruto managed to draw blood.

"Where…"

"He's gone." Hiruzen puffed on his pipe some more. "You've been left in the care of the village."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm going to find sensei."

"He's gone."

"He's at the bathhouse doing research." Naruto piped up. Kakashi felt his mouth twitch.

"That pervert…" Kakashi's eyes started rolling into the back of his head as he attempted grabbing Naruto by the shoulders to prevent him from running off only to have his hands slapped away. Naruto turned and glared at him. This act reminded Kakashi how stubborn Kushina could be.

"Need I remind you of the fact you are quite fond of that book series of his."

"That…" Kakashi felt his cheeks heat up and he glanced away while Naruto slapped his hands away.

"Who's this weird guy in the mask?"

"He is a part of the Anbu."

"What is the Anbu?"

"The Anbu are elite shinobi who operate in shadows unseen."

Naruto's nose wrinkled up. "He's not unseen."

Kakashi found himself staring at the six-year-old child wondering how the small thing could be such a headache. He stopped attempting to grab Naruto, but he found himself hunkering down onto his hips and resting his hands on his knees. He watched the boy carefully, as if he were the enemy.

Hiruzen watched carefully before glancing towards the open area of the meeting room. Another Anbu landed on the floor and took a bow. Said Anbu wore a mask, yet attached at the back of the mask was a hairpiece preventing the Anbu's hair from showing. The animal featured on the mask was a fox. They spoke in a manner which disguised their voice. "Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen's facial features relaxed. "Ah. You're here to take Naruto home?"

"My home is with sensei."

The third Hokage took a deep breath. "Your home is here in Konohagakure."

"I don't want to…"

The other Anbu stood and poked the pressure points on the boy's back lightly. Naruto's small body relaxed and the Anbu's hands reached under the child's armpits and lifted him up. He spoke in the same disguised voice. "Bedtime for Naruto."

"I don't wanna!"

Kakashi felt a frown spread across his face as he watched the man leave with the small child. "Who…"

"That Anbu is the main bodyguard for Uzumaki Naruto."

"Wh…" Kakashi felt his eyes widened. "But…"

"Why aren't you the boy's bodyguard?" The third Hokage let a puff of smoke escape from between his lips. He watched the smoke float up towards the ceiling and dissipate. "It isn't that I don't think you could handle it, but is that the relationship you would wish to have with your former sensei's child?"

"I…"

"As for you stepping in as a parental figure to the boy, Jiraiya honestly wasn't far off."

"Lord Hokage?" Kakashi felt his throat catch slightly.

"Don't take this the wrong way Hatake." The Kazekage tapped his pipe to knock the ashes out. "While you have matured into an amazing shinobi, you've not yet matured as a person. He was right in saying you'd struggle with changing a diaper, but the issue isn't limited to that."

"Naruto is my family, my only family." Kakashi finally let emotion get the better of him. The young Anbu found himself rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen paused as if contemplating what Kakashi said. "Except you in fact do have blood relations in the village."

The young Anbu let his mouth tighten slightly behind his mask, but his arms crossed his chest. "My blood relations. I'm not exactly close to them for reasons you already know of."

"Yet those reasons changed, did they not."

"It's not…" Kakashi found himself taking a deep breath knowing full well the Hokage would not let him argue the point farther.

"I think you should think long and hard Kakashi about whether or not you wish to saddle yourself down taking care of a child. You are still quite young." The man waved his hand. "Take your leave. Rest up for the entrance ceremony."

"Yes sir, Lord Hokage." Kakashi made a quick bow before taking off. The young Anbu arrived at his small apartment and found silence greeting him. He removed his Anbu mask from his face and letting the clinking sound when he set the mask on the table break the quiet sound which accosted his senses.

He placed a hand on his shoulder where Naruto bit him before heading over to his bedroom. He flopped unceremoniously onto the bed and closed his eyes allowing every sight to disappear. He soon drifted asleep.

… Yet, something made him wake. Reflexively he reached for his kunai to attack only to find himself flipped over onto his stomach and his arm pinned behind his back. A female voice with a gravely tone spoke. "Cool it runt. I'm simply checking in on you."

"I don't need to be checked in on." Kakashi felt the person let him go, yet didn't proceed to attack. Instead he pushed himself up while his hand reached for the light. He looked over at the brown-haired female intruding upon his bedroom before standing up and walking out of the room. He plopped down into one of the chairs in unceremoniously before pushing his finger into the mask making it rock back and forth making a rattling sound.

He then turned so he might look her in the eye. "Pray tell what brings the head of the Inuzuka clan to my humble abode."

Tsume's fist game down onto the top of his head knuckles first while her mouth twisted into a rather stern look. "The Hokage let me know my favorite runt managed to get himself bit and I found myself wondering how someone so skilled with ninken managed to get himself bit by one."

Kakashi simply glared at the woman before poking his finger at his mask making it rock back and forth again making a rattling sound.

Tsume folded her arms across her chest. "Look, do you have to be so stubborn?"

Kakashi looked away, but let his lips push together in frustration. He continued playing with the mask. "I get the fact my mother was a member of the Inuzuka clan, but you honestly don't have to bother."

The woman glared at him before heading over to the cupboard where Kakashi kept his first aid supplies. The mask continued rattling as he attempted ignoring her only for her slamming the kit down onto the table to make the mask rattle without him touching it.

"I said you don't have to bother."

"Because the clan couldn't bother back then?" Tsume lifted his arm up and examined the bite. "Hey, this isn't a dog bite." Kakashi remained silent as she got out the anesthetic. "Seriously… you're the village genius yet things like this happen."

Eventually she finished cleaning and bandaging the wound, but left Kakashi on his own in the silent apartment.

Note – One of the inconsistencies in the series are the ages of the characters. Minato for example should be younger than Nagato but the age given makes him older. This inconsistency gave me a bit of freedom regarding the ages of some, but not all of the canon characters. Two of the characters with different ages than given in canon are Tsume and Hana Inuzuka, but I'll go into more detail later on.