Kakashi didn't get any sleep that night, again. Even though Ibiki's alter ego said he wasn't interested in hurting him, Kakashi felt unsafe. He believed the Interrogator, but he just didn't feel like he could sleep next to him.

I'd better take care of this; he thought when the sun finally rose. He was so tired he was beginning to feel nauseous. Even a ninja's stamina had its limits, and he'd been on a strenuous mission before he came home to deal with his father's problems.

Ibiki dressed silently, and he never took off the head rag. Kakashi studied his face covertly, noting the physical differences in the expressions of Ibiki and the frightening person he'd constructed.

"I'm going to go train some," Ibiki said. "Do you want to come?"

"Do you remember talking to me last night? You told me about the Interrogator."

"I thought that was a dream," Ibiki said. He touched the scars on his face. "It felt like a dream."

"No. It was real," Kakashi said. "I wish you'd stay here and leave him behind."

"I need to become him," Ibiki said. "I have to."

"You don't," Kakashi said. "You're strong now, and you'll be strong enough with work to become a Jounin if you want. You don't have to do this to protect Konoha."

"I have to do it to protect the ones I love. I saw what the Rock Nation is capable of. I have to stop people like that, and I can't do it like this. If I was strong enough I wouldn't have been caught. Only weak ninjas get caught."

"I'll help you," Kakashi said, "but I'd rather see you around than him, and you're an annoying little shit. I feel responsible for this."

"You're not your father," Ibiki said. "I don't expect you to pay for his sins. If you want to help me then you have to help him too."

"Then you have to help him too," Ibiki said. "We're together in this, and someday he may be all that's left."

"I hope not," Kakashi said. "Your parents and friends want you back."

Kakashi looked at the book on the desk. It was open and had bookmarks and underlining. "You're serious about this Interrogator business, aren't you?" he said.

"Like I've never been serious about anything before," Ibiki said. "I'm going to do this."

"Just don't destroy yourself. I've seen people get obsessed before. It can ruin them."

"I won't," Ibiki said. "One thing I learned out there was how strong I am. If I can live through that I can live through anything. There were other ninjas with me. I was the only one who didn't break. What I saw those people do… You don't understand the power they had. One of them had the power to use his chakra to dig into a man's chest and make him feel as if worms were there."

Ibiki stopped and closed his eyes. He gulped strongly. "I can't talk about that right now, but I will say that when I learn how to interrogate prisoners I'm going to be the best. You don't have to worry about the Interrogator," he said. "He feels the same way about comrades that I do."

"I'm glad to hear that," Kakashi said. "He's very intense. It concerns me. I'm afraid he'll get you killed."

"He's going to keep me alive," Ibiki said. "I think he might even be able to keep my comrades alive."

"You don't have to fight alone," Kakashi said. "You don't have to carry the protection of Konoha on your shoulders alone. We're all here to fight beside you."

"It's time to start fighting and stop talking," Ibiki said. "I'm going to be over at the training fields if you want to spar later. I need to get ready for my next mission. I don't know when it is, but when they call me I want to be ready to go. I'm afraid that they'll think I'm not able to fight because of what happened. If everyone leaves me here it would be horrible. I need to get out there again."

Kakashi had other plans besides training in mind. He went to the library and found a book on Multiple Personality. He read until he heard the unwelcome voice of his least favorite Uchiha.

"Kakashi! What are you doing here?" Obito asked. "We should be training right now. It was hard to find you."

"It should be hard to find me," Kakashi said. "If it wasn't hard to find me I wouldn't be much of a ninja."

"What are you reading?" Obito asked. "Psychology? How is that going to help us fight? We should be more focused."

"It's just something that I need to know about," Kakashi said. "It's none of your business. I'll be done with it in a couple hours anyway. I'll spar with you and Rin then. I think you can wait that long for a good beating."

"That's a thick book," Obito said. "How are you going to finish it in a couple hours?"

"I'm smart," Kakashi read. "I read quickly. I don't have to move my lips to read like a certain un-named Uchiha with no Sharingan."

"Read your useless book then," Obito said. "I'll be on the field doing what real ninjas do. I'm going to be out there next week killing Rock ninjas. You can use Psychology on them. I'm sure that will work well."

Kakashi finished the book, and he felt like he didn't know much that was useful. He would have liked to read more about it, but Obito was right. He did need to be out there training.

I hate when he's right about things, Kakashi thought. He'll never let me live it down if he knows.

He beat Obito and Rin – of course - but his responses were slower than usual. I need to get some sleep, he thought. He'd gone up to a week without sleep on a mission, but it was a bad idea. After a few days he'd began to feel drunk, and eventually he'd begun to have hallucinations.

He couldn't sleep at the Moreno's'. Ibiki might come back, and he didn't feel safe being unconscious around him right now. He didn't think Ibiki would hurt him, but he didn't think he'd be able to sleep, even if he tried.

He thought of his own comfortable bed with longing. It was ridiculous that he had his own room and his own bed, and he was out here trying to figure out how to find a place to sleep for a few hours.

As always, asking Obito and Rin was out of the question. It wasn't that Obito wouldn't help him, but then he'd owe the shithead. He had enough trouble with him without that. And the Uchihas were an outspoken group. He'd probably have to deal with someone in the Uchiha compound wanting to tell him their opinions about his father.

He'd been in Rin's house once. Her room was pink, with pink stuffed animals, and pink decorations. There was no way he could sleep in a giant cotton candy room.

He actually thought about just sneaking in through his own window, but he was sure he would been caught. His father was so in tune with his dog summons that he'd developed extremely sensitive hearing and smell.

Gai would let him crash at his place, but Kakashi didn't want to do that unless he had to. He didn't want to get Gai in trouble with his father. He was in the same boat with Kurenai. His friends might stand by him, but their family just saw him as Sakumo's son.

He could ask Asuma, but the Hokage was uncommonly smart, and if he found out that staying with Ibiki was hurting Kakashi's health he'd probably make him move in with Jiraiya.

I've killed more people than most Chunins, Kakashi thought, and they still treat me like a little kid.

That only left Anko. It wasn't that he couldn't depend on her; he'd fought beside her before. She was dependable. There was something about Anko that was a little intimidating. She was like a wild dog in the village, and he was used to more tame canines. Still, he'd always found wolves interesting.

But she had a bed – he assumed – and that was all that mattered at the moment.

She was home. "What?" she asked. "I'm working. This had better be good."

"I just need a place to sleep for a few hours," Kakashi said.

"Sure, but don't bother me. I'm teaching my snakes new tricks."

"Why do you bother with those?" Kakashi asked. "You could probably summon ninja snakes. You're strong enough to subdue them."

"They submit to Orochimaru," Anko said. "I had to resort to mortal snakes. I like them. They scare people, and these are really smart. I've been working on jutsus with them, and in about 10 generations they will be a new tribe of ninja snakes."

"Impressive," Kakashi said. "If you keep this up you'll be called the Snake Ninja."

She grinned. "I like that. A small albino habu crawled toward her face, wrapping itself around her arm. Its tongue flickered out and touched her mouth.

"Who loves his mommy?" Anko crooned, and she stuck her own tongue out at it.

Kakashi found himself staring, and for some reason his cheeks felt hot. He didn't know why, but he really thought Anko was interesting when she did weird things like that. He remembered the time she painted the Hokage monument pink. He'd shared his lunch with her for a week.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

"I like watching you with the snakes," he said. "Do that again."

"What? This?" she asked, and she stuck her tongue out at the snake again.

He realized why he was suddenly feeling a bit tight in the pants. He was looking at her mouth, thinking of the times he'd seen his father and uncle kiss women.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"You're kind of cute when you do that," he said.

"Me? Cute?" she asked, and Kakashi immediately regretted saying it when she scowled at him.

"I'm not cute," she said. "I'm deadly."

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he said.

She looked smug. Girls are so weird, he thought.

Anko pointed toward the bed, which was covered in books, clothes, and other things.

"Clear off a spot and sleep if you need to. Is it too weird at Ibiki's or something? Why can't you sleep there?"

"It's weird," Kakashi said. "I just can't sleep there."

He moved her things aside, feeling embarrassed when he had to move some black panties.

He was almost immediately asleep, feeling safe in the presence of a tried-and-true comrade. He was so tired he had begun to feel sick, and when Anko crawled into bed beside him he only woke enough to know that she was there.

"I'll take a nap with you," she said. This wasn't unusual, but for some reason it seemed significant today."

He didn't remember when he had slept so well. Anko woke him later. "It's after 10," she said. "Don't you have a curfew there?"

"What?" he asked. "I only wanted to sleep a few hours. I had things I needed to do."

"I couldn't wake you," she said. "I tried. You must have really needed the sleep."

He sat up and rubbed his head, still exhausted.

Anko giggled. "Your hair is everywhere," she said. "Worse than usual."

He tried to pat it down, but he knew his hair did what it wanted to.

"Let me," Anko said, and she messed with his hair, trying to control it.

She stopped and looked into his face with her hands still entangled in his hair. Their faces were close, and he saw the flush on her cheeks and how wide her eyes were.

"Kakashi, has a girl ever kissed you?" she asked.

"No," he whispered. He was afraid. He didn't know what happened after the kissing part, but he'd heard stories that it was important. The older ninjas always cut those stories short when they knew he was around, but from what he understood what happened when men and women did certain mysterious things together was one of the most important things in life.

She pressed her mouth against his, and he could feel her warm lips through the mask. He had no idea what to do now. Anko pulled away from him, leaving a wet impression on his mask. "I never kissed a boy before," she said.

He did the most natural thing for a ten year old boy could do. He ran.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXx

AN: Before anyone comments on this – yes, I know that extreme physical development at an early age delays puberty. I just think that since ninjas develop physically, emotionally, and mentally so much faster they might develop faster in other ways. I wanted an adorable little Anko/Kaka romance.

Don't worry, it won't get weird. I just wanted an adorable little Kaka/Anko romance. Stays innocent.

Also, the word habu is not a misspelling. It's specifically poisonous snakes, not just snakes in general.