CHAPTER 10

Best Left Forgotten

Hatake Kakashi was sitting in a bar late Friday night. Actually, it was more like morning, about an hour 'til last call. I would tell you how he was drinking with his mask still on, but he'd said that he would kill me if I did. He was nearing the end of his weekly ritual of drowning past sins. He set his now empty glass across from him and waited.

The bartender brought out a now near-empty bottle of scotch. "The usual?"

"Actually, can I have some water?" The bar was getting emptier by the minute. He was going to down a few glasses of water before giving Ayame a call per usual.

"Hey! I didn't know you partied!" Anko howled, shaking his shoulder violently. "How are ya?"

"Not drunk enough," he mumbled.

"Yeah, it was getting lonely back home. The boa doesn't party, it turns out. Hey, barkeep! Who's leg you have to molest to get a martini around here? Actually, scratch that. Got any beer?"

"We're closing in half an hour," the bartender replied, handing her a cold beer.

"That's cool. Wanna come to my place and play jenga or something?"

"I got to be somewhere tomorrow."

"Wanna ride home?"

"Ayame will pick me up."

"At 1:45 in the morning?"

"Usually does." Kakashi sent out a text.

"School's that rough? Maybe I can help ya out on Monday?"

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder. "It looks like she's here."

"No wonder you were late texting," Ayame sighed. "Hey, Anko. Sorry to ruin your fun but I have to drag him home."

"Gotta tend to the cats anyway, Anko relented.

"I didn't know you have cats."

"They're for the snake." Ayame deadpanned. "I'm kidding, but I do have a snake. See you two on Monday."

"Does she really have a snake?"

"She's had it ever since she graduated college. Thought it would be funny to strangle me with it. Can you help me to the car?"

Around noon the next day Kakashi made his way to the same tombstone he visits every Saturday. "Hey, what's up? Class has been a real handful this past week. Hope you're doing fine, Obito."

"Hey, Kakashi, the night is still young! Onto the next club!" Obito was practically marching down the street.

"We already got thrown out of two of them," Rin stated tentatively. "Let's go home. We're not even supposed to be in this part of the city."

"Bah! Old wives' tales! Kakashi and I will protect ya!"

"We could've caught a bus if somebody wasn't late," Kakashi reminded aggravatingly.

"I was helping an old lady cross the street," Obito defended. "You can't fault a man for helping out the elderly, can you?"

"Liar," Kakashi sneered, eliciting a chuckle from Rin.

After that Kakashi didn't remember much. What he did remember was being violently thrown out the back door because the bouncer had caught onto their real age. Something must've happened because Obito decided to pick a fight with a hobo.

"Obito, it's time to go home," Kakashi demanded.

"That faggot said something about my mother!"

"He doesn't even know you. Come on, let's go."

Next thing they knew the hobo lunged at Obito with a knife. After a few minutes of struggling and Rin screaming the hobo limped off, leaving a scar above Kakashi's eye and a deeper one on his soul. An hour later Kakashi and Rin were in the hospital and waited until Minato, then principal of the school, drove them home. They never did catch the attacker.

Kakashi didn't ever forget that night. He stopped partying but started being drunk and depressed. Rin must've got fed up with him because about a few months later she moved. He eventually shaped up and joined the police force at 19, but those were dark times that resurface every week since.

Ayame showed up at his side and pulled his arm close to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Kakashi sighed. "Just have to make peace again." He glanced over at Minato's grave and noticed a blue carnation right below the tombstone. "Every so often I notice that type of flower on his grave. I wonder who's been leaving it."

"I think it's weird you keep a record," Ayame joshed. "Come on. Let's go out to a restaurant or something."

"Happy ending?"

"Don't press your luck."

"You sure she's even around?" I asked. Sakura, Ino, and I were at Tenten's house.

"If she's sick we need to know," Sakura justified. "If she won't answer we can just pick the lock."

"I swear, you being—oh," Tentan began, until she noticed us. "Why are you here?"

"You weren't in school," Sakura began.

"And then you get transferred," Ino continued.

"We want to know what's up," Sakura said mischievously, then pushed past Tenten towards her room.

"I didn't say you can barge in!" Tenten gave chase. Ino and I followed them to Tenten's room.

Tenten was leaning against the wall with her hands over her face and Ino was picking up random baby clothes off the floor. "Aww, these are sooo cute! I didn't know your mom was pregnant."

"She isn't." All six eyes fell on Tenten. After a minute of awkward silence Ino threw her arms around Tenten's and hugged her tightly. "My neck, my neck!"

"Who's the daddy?" Ino asked, jumping off her.

"Itachi," Tenten said without missing a beat. Ino deadpanned. "Who do you think?"

"Just because you sleep around doesn't mean we all do," Sakura jeered.

"Sai and I are kindred spirits," Ino flouted.

"Just one question: does Sai do the guy or do you?" With that Ino threw Sakura into a headlock and started giving her noogies. "Alright, uncle! I give up!"

It took Tenten about half an hour to get used to the idea of us knowing about her pregnancy. We settled down on the floor of her room tearing off those bloody stapled on price tags off the clothes. "Is this why you transferred?" I asked.

"Well, that's what my mom thought at first," Tenten said, having a particularly hard time with one staple off the sleeve of a onesie. "But your dad said that since I'm practically family now I'll need a good education and he pulled some strings for me to get to a good private school. After that people will be lining up to hire me."

"He's probably going to push for you to work at one of his offices or something,"

"Can't complain there. I'd always figured he'd offer me a job after college. Just didn't think it'd be this early. Oh, by the way you're all welcome to my shotgun wedding after that."

With that I imagined Dad sitting down at the wedding with his hands on a loaded shotgun. I had to stifle a laugh.

"If he gets to be controlling my mom said he'd castrate him. She think he has an unholy interest since he's only Neji's uncle."

"But he is Neji's guardian," Ino interjected.

"That still doesn't explain everything. He insisted on buying brand-new clothes, but I told him that I wanted to buy them. I'm worried about what will happen when the baby's born."

"You'll be fine," Sakura replied.

There was a knock on the door and Neji poked his head out. "There's my baby maker!"

Neji furrowed his brow. "You ready to go?"

"We should probably go," Sakura said, yanking a t-shirt from a disappointed Ino.

"You can come to my place," I suggested. Ino and Sakura thought that was a good idea.

"I can give you a ride," Neji offered.

"That's so sweet," Sakura jeered.

"Well, it's just that it's raining cats and dogs."

Tenten pinched Neji's cheek. "I still think it's sweet."

"Fuuuuu-!" Naruto yelled, holding up a wet newspaper over his head.

He continued walking down until he heard a car honk and an SUV pulled up. "Wanna ride?"

Naruto thought about it for a minute, because it was Anko driving. However he did not have the power to stop the rain so he got in.

"We can call Jiraiya and have him pick you up at my place. Besides you need dry clothes."

At Anko's house she was busy digging through what she had that would be appropriate for a teenage boy. "Throw these on in the bathroom and I'll throw your clothes in the dryer."

"But this shirt is pink!" Naruto objected.

"That or you could go naked."

"I'll take the shirt." Then he ran into the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom and a flash went off in his face. When he came to, Anko was smiling with a camera in her hand.

"What the hell?" he cried, rubbing his eyes. "What was that for?"

"Black mail," Anko said, placing her camera on the kitchen counter. "By the way your clothes should be done in about twenty minutes."

A few minutes later he sat himself on her sofa.

"Here ya go," Anko said, holding a can of beer to him. "Oh, wait, you can't have this. I'm sorry. I usually don't have kids at my place. Jiraiya said that I could drop you home. Isn't that fun?"

Naruto grimaced. "Who's this guy with the long hair and glasses?" he asked, looking at an old picture in a frame starring a younger Anko with the aforementioned man.

"Ozzy Osbourne," she replied, giving him a Mountain Dew. She plopped down on a la-z-boy and took a swig out of a beer. "Remind me to take you clubbing when you're twenty. This reminds me of when your dad picked me up during the rain."

"You knew my dad?"

"Sure. He was the principal of the school when I went. I was...well, never mind how old I was. Back then I was a little hell-raiser. One time I ditched school in the middle of the opening ceremony and gave your dad the finger in front of the whole school."

"Really?"

"Pfft, yeah. Well, Tiger—that's what I called your dad, by the way—never gave up on me going to school. He gave me more chances than most people did. Foster care demolished whatever trust I had in authority figures. Orochimaru was a bit better, but not by much. At least the agency let me get a job at one of his pet stores."

"How did my dad help you?"

"Well, will you look at that? Your clothes should be finished by now." She ran to the dryer and pulled out his clothes. "You know what to do."

"Will you take a picture this time?" He begrudgingly took his clothes back.

"I don't diddle kids. Don't get your hopes up." She ruffled up his hair.

About ten minutes later Anko dropped him off at Jiraiya's place. "He looks a lot like you, Tiger."

"Fuck off," a wet teenage Anko said, riding shotgun in Minato's car.

"Suit yourself," Minato shrugged. "I just figured you could use some money." This perked her interest, even though she tried to hide it. "Just a few nights a week or so. After school, of course. The missis doesn't get home until after five, and the daycare starts closing down at around three. My job keeps me busy until odd times. Just pick up Naruto and watch him for a few hours. Fifty bucks a week. Pay increase every month or so if your attendance and grades are up."

"I could get more by selling smack. I don't sell smack." she said, feeling Minato's disapproving glance.

"Well, let me know. You remember where my office is?" Anko huffed.

"Come in," Minato said, looking through his pics. "Aw, Anko. Now telling me before spray painting graffiti on the wall?"

"Were you serious about the money?"

"Are you serious about going to school?"

Anko scowled for a minute. "Sure."

"Well, Kushina won't be going back to work for a couple more weeks, but meet up with her and she'll show you the ropes."

In the oncoming months Anko began to regard schoolwork and Minato with more respect. At first it was all about making quick cash without dealing with the police or selling herself, but she regarded Minato and Kushina more as elder siblings. She even began calling Minato "Tiger," much to Kushina's chagrin.

"Hey, Cub," Anko said one day, picking Naruto from daycare. Minato and Kushina planned to leave early to visit Kushina's parents, so Anko volunteered to pick Naruto up.

About twenty minutes later she arrived at Minato and Kushino's house, and the door was unlocked. Inside was what police later described as a "senseless bloodbath." To this day it remains a cold case. Naruto at least had the fortune to be raised by Jiraiya instead of foster care.

"Be good, Cub," Anko said, before driving away. "God, that was corny."

A/N: I may have gotten Kakashi's and Anko's ages wrong, but who really cares? I took that liberty to help flesh out their character development. I'll be focusing more on other characters in the next chapter, but let me know how I did.