#9)
Requested by: SimplyTurquoise
Characters: young Naruto and Kakashi
Situation: Their first meeting. They didn't meet in the classroom for the first time, Naruto was just too young to remember their first meeting.
Requirement: Piggyback.
Pairings: No Pairings.
A/N: I had a lot of fun with this one, so I hope you like it :) And fanfiction dot net is working again, thank God!
Hatake Kakashi would never know what had compelled him to approach the crying boy who was no older than five. After all, what was he to say? He wasn't too good with kids, and this was easily seen based on the fact that he'd never once had a Genin team.
Maybe it was how physically and mentally hurt the boy looked. Maybe it was the way all the other villagers were just walking around him. But no. Deep down, it was because he knew who this child was, and demon or not, no one had the right to treat him like this.
"Hey." The blond boy—whose name he knew to be Uzumaki Naruto—looked up at him. Kakashi smiled, although the boy couldn't tell since he was wearing his mask, but his one visible eye curved happily.
"Hi." Naruto replied uncertainly, wiping the back of his hand across his nose.
Kakashi bent down to look at the reason Naruto was crying. The front of his pants were ripped and Kakashi could clearly see the skinned knee. Any other five year old would've had their mother almost panicking. Instead, this boy was just ignored. Kakashi frowned angrily. That wasn't right.
"That looks like a nasty scratch, there. Did you fall down?" Kakashi asked in as friendly a voice he could muster. Sniffing and running the back of his hand across his nose again, Naruto nodded. "Well that's not good, is it? We should get that cleaned up."
Kakashi helped Naruto stand, the boy hopping on one foot, as if worried putting weight on his injured leg would cause it to hurt more.
"Where do you live?"
Naruto hesitated. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." the boy said in a purely innocent tone. Kakashi had to smile.
"That there, Naruto, is sound advice. Who told you that?"
"Iruka-sensei." Naruto sniffed.
"Well, this Iruka-sensei is a smart man. My name is Kakashi."
"I'm Naruto." The boy smiled, completely having missed the fact that Kakashi had said his name not five seconds ago.
"Well, I'm pleased to meet you, Naruto. Now what Iruka-sensei said is very true, you shouldn't talk to strangers. But now, you know my name, and I know yours. We're more like acquaintances, now."
"What's an in-can-tense?" Naruto asked with a frown. Kakashi just chuckled as he ruffled the blond hair.
"It's like almost-friends. I'll bring you home and patch up your knee, how does that sound?"
Naruto just smiled and nodded excitedly. Kakashi smiled back—again, unseen because of his mask. He turned around and motioned for the blond to jump on his back. Naruto let out a childish squeal—which would make sense, because he was, after all, a child—and climbed on, Kakashi looping his arms under the blond's legs.
The Jounin walked down the street with the young boy on his back. He received many shocked and confused looks, as well as a few glares, but he didn't care. Let the villagers think what they want, it wasn't any of his concern. Right now, there was a five year old with a skinned knee that needed to be comforted, and even if he didn't know how to do that, he was going to learn, dammit!
He'd never gone out of his way to help Naruto, and after the scene he'd just seen, he felt bad. Those who ignored the demon vessel were just as bad as those who glared at him or cursed him. The child didn't even know why he was hated, and Kakashi was disgusted with the fact that he hadn't made it a part of his life to care about the boy. He decided he would leave money in Naruto's mailbox every week until the blond grew up and made his own money.
Kakashi knew the Third Hokage kept him well off and provided him with everything he needed, but it wasn't like he could give him everything he wanted. Just what was necessary. Kakashi was willing to sacrifice some of his own money in order to let Naruto do what he wanted. (1) He would've considered visiting the boy instead of just giving him the money, but he was really no good with kids.
Kakashi prompted the boy for directions every once in a while, and he slowed down considerably as he realized that the reason Naruto sounded so dejected each time he gave them was because it meant his piggyback was going to end. Naruto wasn't heavy, so Kakashi could endure it for a little while longer.
Once they reached Naruto's apartment, Kakashi walked up the side wall instead of using the stairs, just to give Naruto a little bit of a ride before dropping him off. The blond got a real kick out of it, squealing loudly and asking if Kakashi had super-powers. The Jounin just laughed as he walked into Naruto's apartment through the open window in the living room.
"Why don't you sit down while I go get something to clean your wound with?" Kakashi said as he motioned the kitchen table before wandering off down the corridor to the bathroom. Since Naruto had talked about this 'Iruka-sensei' person, he assumed that the man at least came over on occasion and bought a few things with him. His suspicions were confirmed when he found alcohol in the medicine cabinet on the top shelf, well out of little Naruto's reach. He took the bottle in his hand, grabbed a box of band-aids, and then picked up a box of tissues before making his way back to Naruto.
The blond was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, looking out the window while swinging his short legs happily. He seemed pleased that someone was in his home with him, and it made Kakashi a little sad that he was an important person to the blond when Naruto didn't even know him.
"Want to roll up your pants, there?" Kakashi asked, motioning Naruto's torn pants before unscrewing the cap on the alcohol bottle and pouring a small amount on some tissues. Naruto complied and Kakashi told him to take a deep breath before cleaning up his wound with the alcohol, Naruto being surprisingly silent. After it was clean, Kakashi put a band-aid on it before smiling at Naruto.
"There. All done."
"Thanks, mister." Naruto beamed.
Kakashi was stunned at the smile he saw. It was a smile filled with happiness and love. The Jounin hadn't known the young boy was capable of such a smile, considering everything he went through.
It was then and there that he decided he would tell Naruto what would probably become the most important thing he'd ever told anyone.
"Naruto, I'm going to tell you something, all right?" Kakashi set the bottle of alcohol aside as he sat down beside the blond. "Your ability to smile is the most important thing in the world. If you can smile through anything that happens to you, then you'll always find happiness in your life. Sometimes, it's hard, and I know it's hard, but in the end, a smile can make all the difference. So don't ever stop smiling, okay?"
"But what if I hurt myself again?" Naruto asked, confused.
"It's okay to cry, too." Kakashi reassured. "All I'm saying, is that I hope to see that smile on your face more often. Can you do that?"
Naruto smiled again, nodding. "Yup!"
"Promise?" Kakashi teased.
"Promise, mister!"
A few years later.
Kakashi walked down the long corridor that would lead to the classroom that held his new Genin team-to-be. He had high hopes for this team, mainly because of a certain blond-haired boy who was on it.
He slid open the door and poked his head in, only to have a blackboard eraser fall on him before hitting the floor. In front of him, Naruto pointed as he laughed hysterically.
"I got him! I got him, he totally fell for it!"
"I'm sorry sensei, I told him not to do it!" a pink-haired girl exclaimed as she held both hands against her chest. "I'd never do that!"
Kakashi calmly bent down to pick up the eraser, looking at it briefly before glancing around the room for his third student. He couldn't help but smile.
"Let me see. My first impression of this group—you're a bunch of idiots."
All three students stared at him in shock, and somewhat insulted. Kakashi himself just smiled under his mask. Even though you don't seem to remember me, Naruto—it's good to see you again. And I'm glad that you're still smiling.
END.
(1) Sorry, had to add this in as how Naruto started eating ramen. Where else would he get the money before he became a ninja? Iruka starts treating him only after Naruto spends too much of the money :P