As I read through these chapters I realized that I use commas a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Which isn't a bad thing, all the time, but I feel like they would have been better with a bit more separation in the sentences at times. So I'm trying to avoid it this time. Let me know if you all notice anything different! Or if I completely flubbed and used even more commas then usual. T-T
Holly Hoopla Batman! So many reviews! I'm weeping here; all these nice comments and insights are amazing. Thank you all so much!
BlankCanvas624:… Did you perchance change your username? If not, then I am so sorry for missing your review in the last chapter! I'll try not to let it happen again. Butterfly can be kind of an ass, but he's not as bad as some of the Naruto universe characters! (*coughcough*Sasuke*coughcough*) Thanks so much! Glad the long chapter made you happy! Also thanks for taking the time out of your day to review again. Super nice of you!
Anon: Daw, you make me blush dear human. I love the Anbu. So much! Thanks for the vote too, whatever the choice turns out to be will happen in the next chapter. Happy to see you like the group trainings, they're super fun to write! Thanks for the review friendo!
Bleedingangel95: Having so many people enjoy the training scenes makes me giddy! They're some of my favorite things to write so far. Those traps will be… interesting to say the least. Thank you so much for reviewing again dear!
CasJeanne: Thanks for the input! Mother hen Minato is best Minato. Always!
Zeroxydeous: I live to serve, and am overjoyed when my writing is enjoyed! And yeah, Obito and Rin are going to be a problem for him in so many ways. Long reviews make me just as happy as long chapters, so rambling is lovely! Thanks for the input on Minato, it helps. And thanks for taking the time to review! Super awesome of you!
Meimei: Crazy personality flavors are always best when they start out subtle, mwuahahaha! I like your input on Team Minato; you've got some valid points. After the final votes come in I'll finish up the chapter I've got waiting for next time. For Kurama, most of their conversations are done mentally but that could change later. Not sure. We'll see, haha. Thanks for the detailed review; it gave me more to think about. And thanks for bothering to write to me at all! Your review was so nice!
Guest: Aww, thank you! They're my favorites to write so far. Their dynamics are interesting to explore. Thanks for reviewing lovely human!
IronyIsMyName: love your name dear. Thanks for the vote!
BelleMorte1989: Hope the rest of the chapters are loved too! Thanks for reviewing!
Dazai-san: Dear lord, can you imagine if Panther was the one to set them off? Yeesh, that would be a nice set up for Halloween. XD Thanks for reviewing as always dear!
Smiles4Voltron: Now all Hiruzen needs to do is say "you are a sad, sad little woman," and the reference will be complete! Buzz and Woody sum up their relationship nicely too. Thanks for reviewing walrus!
SuzuWuzu: Welp… you're not wrong. Sorry it's not your cup of tea. Maybe when things start picking up more you'll like it better? I can't promise that any of the big changes you're looking for will be popping up anytime soon. Thanks for reviewing anyway!
Anbu Nightingale: True, true, Minato is awesome. Thanks for the vote! I'll add it to the tally at the bottom.
Witch of Perception: Neat username. I'm glad you like the team so much! I put a lot of thought into them so it makes me happy to see people like them. For Anbu masks I'm assuming they aren't usually made anymore unless need be, seeing as how a lot of them are recycled through the generations. For Kakashi it's taking some time because an entirely new mask needed to be made to fit his tiny size and Tiger (who makes the masks) is trying to figure out a way where they won't constantly have to deal with making a new mask every time he hits a growth spurt. She's kinda lazy. Thank you for reviewing!
Mouse-size-Dragon: …I want a mouse-sized dragon now. SpyKakashi is the best! You're talking about split training with the both of them right? I've thought about it and I like the idea. Whoever ends up being his teacher the other will inevitably follow at some point, even though their roles might be slightly different than official teacher. Whatever happens Kakashi will stay close with Minato and Kushina. He loves them too much to stay away. Thanks for the thoughts; I'll think about it! And thanks for the review too!
FollowingTheRivers: That… is horribly embarrassing. I did in fact say the fourth Hokages head was up on the mountain. Yeesh. I'll definitely fix that when I go through everything this week. Thank you for pointing that out!
WesternBird: Flattery will get you everywhere! Seriously, thanks for the kind words. Fight scenes are still something I struggle with but I think I'm getting the hang of them so having you notice them is a confidence bolster. Character development is my jam! Best parts of stories a lot of the times, for me at least. Your reviews always brighten my day!
GoldenRat: Gotta love Sarutobi. He's awesome! Thanks for the compliment; I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Blades: Be still my beating heart, your lovely detailed review makes me jump for joy! If the trainings interfering with his missions is what you're worrying about don't fret. I have a few missions lined up for him already he just needs to prove himself to Panther before she gives him one. By the by, dressing like a girl to fool people is totally going to be a thing now. Just you wait. I agree about the team placements. The Kanabi Bridge mission was practically doomed to fail because of the power level and emotional differences. War sucks. Which is why, regardless of who is his teacher, Kakashi will not be a full time member of Team Minato. He'll go on missions with them sometimes if Minato is his teacher (or if he decides to tag along to keep them safe of course) but he is in Anbu now so that's where most of his stuff will come from now. That way the whole team can grow in different ways. Your insight was awesome, thanks for sharing! And a million thanks for the fantastic review!
Please enjoy!
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Chapter 11: Bakeries are Cool: Choices are Not
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"I didn't think I would need an escort for this," Kakashi looked up at the woman walking next to him.
Panther kept her eyes forward. "You will always need an escort."
He tucked his hands into his pocket. "I guess. But it's not usually you."
Her head tilted towards him. "Is that a problem?"
"No," he shrugged. "Just kind of odd."
His medical check up was today and instead of having it in Headquarters she was taking him to the actual hospital. Which was weird, but not weird enough to make him care.
When they reached the edges of the village Panther tapped his shoulder.
"No detours," she signed. "Do you know how to get to the hospital?"
"I think I remember the way." It was hard keeping the sarcasm out of his voice for that one. He often spent more time confined to a medical bed than in his old apartment.
Panther must have picked up on something in his voice, regardless of how he tried to hide it, because she pulled him to a halt and stared down at him. She seemed to be thinking about something and who was he to interrupt? The longer they stayed here the shorter his appointment would be (because he was ducking out of that the second his designated time was up regardless of if the doctor was done or not).
"I will rejoin you for your checkup," she finally moved. Kakashi blinked in surprise. "After that you will have two hours to do whatever you need to in the village. That is all the time I can spare to be away."
He wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Sometimes Panther would suddenly become as much of a worrywart as Bear was. Or had been. The large man was far more laid back at this point in his life and while the worry for others was still there he was far more willing to sit back and let people figure it out themselves.
There had been a particularly notable moment where the Anbu Snake (not the one he knew, but what must be their predecessor) had come back from a mission gone horribly awry and was snapping at everything and everyone around him. The Bear he knew would have warded off anyone attempting to approach the hostile man, bringing along some baked goods as a peace offering, and sit there until Snake had gotten all of his negative emotions out in the open. Advice, a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, or a sparring partner; whatever role he had to take to help.
This Bear… was different. He still warned others away from approaching their volatile friend and baked him some of his favorite cookies, but that was it. Then Panther had come in, ordered Snake to follow her, and when the man reappeared four hours later (bruised and battered but light footed) he apologized to those he had snapped at and hesitantly rejoined his companions.
Perhaps Bear was content to step back more because he wasn't in charge. There was someone else that would come in to stop people from spiraling down with different, but just as effective, methods. Kakashi was torn on how to feel about that. Happy that the man he had always looked up to was so relaxed and content when he used to be exhausted and weighed down by a sadness Kakashi had never understood (although he was starting to now) or mournful over the loss of one of his greatest supports in life.
It was something he was still struggling to come to terms with. How his loved ones laughed and lived right in front of him, yet they were still gone forever. He didn't like to think about it.
Panther snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. When he looked up at her she didn't do anything but he got the distinct feeling that she was trying to look straight into his soul.
"Sorry, I was just thinking," he scratched the back of his head. "Do you think I could get a pet?"
Panther crossed her arms slowly.
"Not a big one or anything," he shrugged lazily. "Just a small one. To start."
"To start," Panther almost did not want to ask.
Kakashi nodded sagely. "Of course. You can't just get one pet. You need a whole group of them to be truly successful. My Dad said so."
She didn't seem to know what to do with that.
"…Are you talking about your father's summons?"
"Of course!" he chirped, beaming up at her.
Panther shook her head, cutting him off before he could go into a surprisingly lengthy explanation of the Hatake summons. "Stop. We will discuss this after your appointment. Get moving."
Tch. So much for stalling.
Panther nudged him to get his feet moving again; disappearing into the shadows once he entered the village. He didn't think she would appreciate him taking the long route so he decided to head straight to the hospital.
Naruto and Sakura would have had a fit if they had ever seen him appear on time for something. As would most everyone that knew him, now that he thought about it. Except maybe Gai. Out of all the things Gai would remark on about him, lateness was not usually one of them.
It only took ten minutes to get to the open doors of the 'healthiest place in all of Konoha'. It was a dumb slogan, in his opinion. It couldn't be the healthiest place if you only ever went there when you were anything but.
His mood went from amusedly uncomfortable to irritably uncomfortable when he realized the front desk was too tall for him to look over.
"Uh, excuse me?" he called up.
The nurse on staff leaned over to peer down at him with light grey eyes, her softening expression only making him more irritated.
"Aww, hi there," she smiled warmly. She was wearing the standard white medic outfit with her dark black hair pulled up into a short ponytail. "Can I help you?"
"I'm here for an appointment," he sighed. Yet another item to tack onto the list of things he couldn't get used to. Being treated and viewed as a child.
"Oh I see," her voice was almost sickeningly sweet. "Well what's your name sweetheart?"
Ugh.
"Hatake Kakashi."
If she noticed his robotic tone she didn't say anything. Her expression had shifted a bit at hearing his name, but the smile was back in place in seconds.
"Ah, here you are. You'll be in room 203. Just up these stairs and to the right," she explained. "Do you want someone to show you the way?"
"Up the stairs and to the right," Kakashi forced a more cheerful note into his voice. "Easy to remember."
The woman waved him goodbye. "Okay dear. If you get lost just come back down stairs and I'll help you."
The assistance of a beautiful lady was once a welcome gesture. Now it was just demeaning.
Hurrying away from the main area he followed the directions. No one else was really walking around besides a few of the staff (who all gave him the same smiles as the desk woman damn it). Once he found the room he was surprised to see the door closed. Most of the rooms in the hospital always had their doors open even if there was an examination going on. With all Konoha's ninja forces coming here when they were severely injured it was a safety measure to make sure no one was being assassinated behind a closed door (which did not happen often, to be fair, but was likely enough to warrant the precaution).
The weird paranoid feeling was back, but now it was strong enough for him to care. Still, Panther had said she would join them. That might be why it was closed.
Knocking on the wood he leaned back on his heels and stuffed his hands back in his pockets. Fiddling with the senbon he had resting in them he frowned when a soft voice called out from the other side.
"Come in Kakashi-kun."
That… couldn't be right. He recognized that voice, although distantly. Twisting the handle he pushed the door open just enough for him to get a peek inside. Once he saw who was waiting for him he slipped in quickly and shut the door behind him.
"Sarutobi-sama," he bowed his head respectfully.
"What nice manners," Sarutobi Biwako commented from where she sat near the small hospital bed in the room. She was wearing a simple light blue kimono, her light brown hair held up in its usual ponytail. He was so used to seeing her with a steady but contemplative frown that the softened lines around her amused eyes took him aback. "But you may call me Biwako, or Biwako-san when others are around. After all, you are far more deserving of respect than I."
He looked up at her with a wide, confused eye. "Uh…"
She smiled at him and motioned towards the stool that was next to her. "Come sit down Kakashi-kun and we can get started. My husband asked me to look you over to make sure you were okay."
With stilted steps he hobbled over and lifted himself onto the stool. His feet dangled uselessly over the side.
"What exactly did the Hokage tell you?" he was hesitant to ask.
Ah, there was the frown.
"Enough to know how to help you," she replied easily. "And it is rude to eavesdrop Panther."
Kakashi glanced at the far corner of the room as Panther seemed to suddenly materialize out of thin air.
"Not eavesdropping Biwako-sama. Simply following orders."
Biwako scoffed when the General saluted her gracefully. "Your own orders, I'm sure. Well, if you're going to stay here then you may as well make yourself useful. Grab my bag over there."
Kakashi watched with mirth as the stoic General was ordered around. The tall woman was taking it graciously, following every simple order the Hokage's wife gave. Biwako was going over the basic check up routine; measuring his heart rate, listening to his lungs, recording his reflexes, and weighing him on the scale in the corner of the room.
Once she moved on to getting his temperature she ran out of things for Panther to help with.
"Thank you Panther," she nodded towards the other woman. "Now if you wouldn't mind, Asuma needs to be picked up from the Academy and Kohana is with Taji-chan. There is no need to take them home, I promised to go shopping with them today so you can just bring them here."
Panther sighed softly through her nose.
"I am afraid I can not leave Biwako-sama. I am Hatake's designated escort for his time outside Headquarters."
Biwako hummed once the thermometer beeped and Kakashi relinquished it as he quietly observed the scene. "Yes, and you've escorted him here just fine. There are a few personal questions I would like to ask him and, General or not, patient confidentiality is still upheld."
Writing something down on the papers in her hands she turned to stare at Panther with an unimpressed glare.
Panther tapped the side of her leg, scowling heavily behind her mask. Finally, after a long stare down between the two women, she nodded. Pulling a piece of paper out of the pocket on her left side she placed it on the wall and sent a shock of chakra through it. It glowed before disappearing.
"I will return shortly. I request that you do not leave this room."
Biwako agreed and Panther disappeared out the window. Kakashi was still staring at the spot the paper had been. At least that explained where Crane had learned sealing. He wondered if the rest of the team also had at least basic sealing abilities. It wouldn't be surprising.
"Alright," Biwako twisted to face him once again. "Let's take a look at that eye now shall we?"
He hesitated but moved to comply. Her words from earlier implied that the Sandaime had told her just about everything but even the Hokage didn't know about the 'loss of existence' thing. Just that morning he had checked the cracks along his eye and while they had definitely faded a bit they were still there. The occasional painful throb wasn't gone either but he found that easier to ignore.
"My, my," Biwako tilted his face to the side to get a better look at the intricate seal spiraling around his eye. "This is astounding work. Whoever made this is exceptionally skilled."
Kakashi thought about it and decided to take a risk. "Do you know who made it?"
Biwako leaned back. Placing a finger over her lips she motioned towards the wall Panther had placed a seal on before she left.
"No, but I believe they are looking into that," she said even as she nodded her head to contradict her words. "Don't be afraid child, the Anbu will protect you until the culprit is found."
"…Okay."
When Naruto had first broached the topic of time travel (and after he convinced Kakashi he wasn't finally losing what little sanity he had left) they had created a list of people that could or needed to know what was happening. Naruto had told him that he could change the list however he saw fit when he went back, but Kakashi wanted to stick to their original plan for as long as possible. Too many variables would just be a pain in the ass.
Sarutobi Biwako had not been on that list.
While being an outstanding medic and sharp minded individual she had very little to do with the events they needed to change. The only main concern involving her was Naruto's birth and her death but that was changed easily by letting the Sandaime know. There was no reason to involve her.
He was pretty sure that particular part of the plan had been shared in the memories he showed the Hokage, and yet…
"Tell me about these headaches you have been having," Biwako spoke after going over his eye and making sure the scars were healing properly.
He supposed he couldn't blame the man. Kakashi rarely if ever actually saw Biwako in his life, and certainly never really spoke to her, but her death had taken a toll on the Sandaime. Kakashi wouldn't be showing her any of Naruto's memories but he couldn't begrudge the man for trusting his wife. It wasn't like they were leaving her out because she couldn't be trusted. It just hadn't been necessary.
"They come and go sometimes," Kakashi explained, brushing a finger over the now revealed skin of his eye. "Usually when I use chakra. Sometimes randomly but I think that's mostly from the pain."
"And how bad is the pain? Do you feel it often?"
"Not too bad. A three out of ten most of the time. They've gotten better since it's healing."
Biwako nodded, writing it down. "I don't think its anything to worry about right now. Headaches from using chakra are to be expected with how vastly your spiritual chakra has increased. The imbalance is affecting your body but the more you work to even it out with your physical chakra the easier it will be on your reserves. As for the pain I would still like to prescribe you a painkiller but only to be used if it becomes unbearable."
He would definitely not use them, regardless of the pain, but he nodded anyway. She gave him a knowing look.
"You will take them if the pain reaches a six at least Kakashi-kun. It can affect your thinking and your ability to control your own chakra. I don't want to hear that your own chakra hurt you because you were too stubborn to take your medicine."
Sakura would have liked her.
"Hai, hai," he sighed.
"As for your eye," she suddenly started digging through her bag and pulled out a small round container, "use this on it every night and it should help with the dry skin. Keeping it bandaged and covered is fine but the dryness will start to affect the recovery rate if it is not taken care of."
Dry skin? The cracks were small, sure, but not that small. Unless… perhaps Biwako knowing, or even just meeting with her, had helped?
He'd have to check when he got back.
"Would you mind opening your eye for me?"
Biwako waited patiently as he processed the question. Now that she knew the truth it wasn't really a problem to show her but opening his eye risked waking his mental roommate before he was ready to get up. Although it had been almost a month since he got here.
Slowly he opened his left eye. A ruby red, slitted eye glared at the elderly woman across from him.
"Quickly please," he requested when he felt something stir in the back of his mind.
If she was bothered by the sight of the demon eye she didn't show it. Instead she got right to work making sure none of the lines of the seal had damaged his eye and that his vision was uninhibited. Once she was done he quickly closed his eye again. There was a rumbling sound echoing in his head but it tapered off quickly enough and he relaxed once he knew Kurama wasn't awake.
"That should cover it," Biwako finished her last line and tucked the documents into her bag. "Not much can be done until your chakras are leveled out more but once you have reached a more balanced center we can see if the headaches are tied to anything else."
"Thank you," he bowed his head. Two fingers curled under his chin and lifted his head up.
"No Kakashi-kun," her eyes were warm as she bowed to him. "Thank you."
"Uh," he stared. Blatantly.
But before he could say anything to that the door burst open and a blob of brown was flinging itself at Biwako.
The woman sighed but caught the babbling three-year-old girl that had interrupted them.
"Kohana, you know better than that," she scolded.
The young girl looked down but did not release her hug. "Sowwy mama. I knock nex' time."
Kakashi looked at the girl with interest. Her curly brown hair was held up in pigtails, though that did little to tame the wild mess. Her eyes were a deep black and took up nearly half her face, the other half conquered by a wide gap-toothed grin. He had never met Sarutobi Kohana and yet…
She seemed familiar. And not just in the way that her excitable chatter was reminiscent of her future son.
"It's 'sorry' and 'next' chibi. I know you can talk right, don't try to fool mom just to get out of trouble," an even more familiar voice drawled. Asuma strolled into the room with his hands on his waist. "Kakashi?"
"Yo," he waved back. He could handle this. Asuma's death had been long enough ago that he could process and come to terms with it. It stung to see him and remember his funeral (Kurenai had never quite been the same after that, but she tried her best) but seeing him here and knowing he had a chance to see his daughter grow up in the future took a lot of the edge off.
Thank Kami he was sitting with his right side facing the door. The only one that might have seen the seal was Kohana but her attention was fully focused on her mother. Taking the chance he snagged the bandages off the bed next to them and rewrapped them around his head.
Asuma looked at him worriedly. They didn't know each other very well, their relationship only reaching classmates at this point, but that didn't mean he wanted to see the withdrawn boy in pain.
"You're hurt? Are you okay?"
Kakashi was a bit miffed to realize that the other boy was taller than him. So what if Asuma was a year older, it still wasn't fair.
"I was cooking ramen the other day and the pot exploded in my face."
"What?!"
"Whoaaaaa!"
The Sarutobi siblings were staring at him with horror (Asuma) and awe (Kohana). Biwako huffed out a laugh.
"Biwako-san had to reattach my eyeball after it popped out. I didn't think I'd be able to see again but she says it should heal eventually. Maybe."
Asuma was looking a bit green around the edges but Kohana seemed to be excited about the thought.
"I-it jus' popped out?" she asked, leaning forward as though she could peer right under the bandages.
"And landed in my noodles. It's a good thing I was paying attention. If I wasn't I might have eaten it."
"Ewwy!" Kohana giggled, drawing back into Biwako's arms.
"Hey, wait a minute," Asuma scowled. "How'd it land in your noodles if the whole pot exploded?"
Kakashi looked him straight in the eye, keeping his voice level. "It landed in my other bowl of noodles. I eat at least fifteen bowls a day to keep up my strength."
Asuma undoubtedly wanted to call him out on his bullshit but the Kakashi he knew was a serious stick in the mud that never made jokes.
"…You really eat fifteen bowls?"
"Yes."
"Every day?"
"I just said that."
"And your eye just, what, popped out like it was nothing?!"
Kakashi put on his best petulant glare. It was like wearing an old yet familiar mask. "Do I really need to repeat myself?"
Asuma gapped at him and he almost laughed. He would have to be careful how he teased his friends for a while. This was a rare time where they would actually believe his lies and he wanted it to last for as long as it could.
"While it is good to see you boys getting along I believe we should start heading to the market. Kakashi-kun would you like to join us?" Biwako offered.
Huh. Shopping with the Hokage's family wasn't usually on his list of things he liked to do (both Minato and Naruto were magnets for trouble for even the smallest of things) but it would help in changing things up. And it wasn't a bad idea to do so with someone that knew about him. If something, or someone, showed up that… negatively affected him then they would be valuable back up.
"I would be honored Biwako-san," he said politely, aware of Asuma's eyes still boring into the side of his head. "Although I can only join you for a couple of hours."
"Of course," she agreed. "Panther has many things to do after all."
"Mom," Asuma hissed.
She waved him off. "It is fine Asuma. Kakashi-kun and Panther already know each other."
A shift from the corner of the room drew all of their attention as said General touched the far wall once more. Her hand sparked and when she drew it back a blank piece of paper was held between her thumb and index finger.
"Panter!" Kohana cheered, struggling to escape her mother's hold. Biwako let her go willingly and Kakashi was treated to the image of a three-year-old climbing the tall woman like a tree.
"Panther," she signed each letter slowly, pausing on the 'h' for emphasis.
"P-," Kohana's nose scrunched up with concentration. "Panter."
"Work on it," she shook her head before finally moving her arms to hold the small girl securely against her side.
"Hi Panther," Asuma greeted her with a beaming grin. "Are you going shopping with us?"
She nodded. "For a time."
"Yay!" the siblings cheered.
"Then I recommend we stop talking about going shopping and actually leave to do so," Biwako grabbed her bag and tucked the straps over her shoulder. "Kohana come hold my hand."
"Yes mom," Kohana pouted heavily, patting Panther firmly on the mask before climbing down once more. Kakashi was amused that the tall woman seemed to refuse to actually pick up or set down the kid and would just allow herself to be treated like a jungle gym.
Biwako wrapped her long fingers around her daughter's small ones and motioned for the boys to head out the door first. "Give us a sign when you need to leave if you wouldn't mind Panther."
"Of course."
When she disappeared through the window Kakashi spread out his senses to see if he could tell where she went. Her chakra seemed to almost vanish. He would probably be able to sense her better once his own chakra was more aligned but it was still impressive.
"So did you graduate?" Asuma slowed his pace so they were walking side by side. "I haven't seen you around for weeks."
He really should try for a bit of honesty here. He didn't want to spoil his friend's naïve belief so soon but the temptations were too great.
"I quit actually," he yawned and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Asuma's face twisted with disbelief. "You… quit? Being a ninja?"
"Yup," he shrugged. "It was too boring. I decided to start up my own bakery instead."
Asuma would start catching flies soon if he didn't close his mouth.
"I don't know what to start with though," Kakashi continued the story. "Cakes are pretty popular but I want a good foot through the door before tackling that big of a challenge. Dumplings are easy enough and I can make a lot at once but they're so small. I would need to pair something with them to make it a decent business investment."
"You can't be serious," Asuma threw his hands in the air expressively. "A bakery?!"
Kakashi pulled out his favorite deadpan expression. "Well I couldn't get a flower shop. I'm not ready for that level yet, I have to get more experience before I can even think about trying my hand at something so difficult."
That part wasn't a lie. He had seen the Yamanaka flower shop and while Ino had never talked to him specifically about the place she had brought it up a lot with Sakura when he was in the vicinity. The only plant he could keep alive was a cactus and even that was a struggle at times. Ino and her family were impressive people to manage an entire shop full of the things while also becoming skilled ninjas.
"I like pies," Kohana chirped in helpfully, her hand stretching out almost subconsciously to grab his.
Kakashi blinked down at her, brain formulating the best way to get her to let go without hurting her feelings.
Biwako saved him the effort by reaching over and untangling them herself. "Do not touch people without permission Kohana."
"Oh," she looked down before smiling sheepishly at him. "Sorry."
"It's okay," he assured but made no move to get closer. Kohana, instead of seeming disheartened by the rejection, just tucked her thumb between her teeth.
Biwako tapped her head warningly and she quickly removed the digit and wiped it on the front of her shirt.
Asuma grimaced with disgust when she reached out for him instead but surprisingly didn't fight it. He shivered when their hands connected and Kohana giggled.
Kakashi couldn't quite stop the warm smile forming underneath his mask. He would need to figure out why Kohana was so familiar to him. In all the records Naruto and he had searched through nothing detailed what happened to her and her husband. But if he was subconsciously recognizing her then perhaps he knew what happened and could prevent it easier. The older she got the more likely he would recognize her, so he would just have to be patient.
"Well, where is your bakery going to be?" Asuma dug, searching for any flaw in the story.
Kakashi tapped his chin. "I have a few places in mind, all I need to do is narrow it down."
"You've got to be joking," he muttered to himself.
Kakashi smirked.
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A bakery. Really. What a little brat.
Panther crouched down along the tiles of the roof across from the store the small family (and friend) were shopping in. Biwako was sifting through a stack of books near the counter while the three children poured over what appeared to be a cookbook. Hatake and Kohana were chatting animatedly as they browsed the photos while Asuma watched on in wide-eyed disbelief.
Perhaps it was Bear's influence. If Hatake did end up becoming interested in baking (pranks aside he always seemed happier after spending time with Bear in the kitchen) then she would speak to her second in command about designating a time for the two to work together. It would get the kid out of his room for more than just training and Bear would enjoy the company.
Triple checking where the family was (it didn't seem like they would be leaving any time soon) she scanned over the area she could see. They were just on the outskirts of the market, which meant she was able to see a few blocks of residential homes as well. In fact, from this location she should be able to see Hatake's home
Ah yes. There were the two halves of a door sticking out of the bushes Turtle had told her about.
Her shoulders rose with tension when she noticed the new door that had been installed was wide open.
Judging by the sun Chameleon's squad should be passing by shortly on their patrol. Splitting her attention between her charges and the house she waited.
When Chameleon, Snake, Bird, and Badger landed on the roof she stood up.
Bird was the only one that did not recognize her right away. He had his standard issue tanto out and to the ready almost immediately. Chameleon, Snake, and Badger pin wheeled their arms and hopped away from her as quickly as they could, leaving Bird at the forefront. Once the boy processed her mask he audibly gulped and hastily lowered his weapon.
"The Hokage's family as well as Hatake are right across the street," she motioned towards the bookstore. "Guard them until I return."
They barely had time to salute before she jumped away to the next roof. Taking a deep breath she breathed out slowly. At the same time her chakra level dipped until only a trickle was left. Just enough to keep her alive and breathing while being nearly impossible to detect.
The door was unmarred but the lock showed clear signs of being picked. Whoever broke in was either unskilled or they wanted people to know they had been there. Placing one of her seals on the door she closed it behind her as she ventured in.
"No, that piece goes over here," a high-pitched, muffled voice echoed through a closed door on her left. Panther crouched next to it, increasing the flow of her chakra and directing it to her hands.
"But the edges fit better here," a different voice whined.
Panther paused, the sparks that had started trickling along her skin fading.
"Here son, let me see."
Panther closed her eyes and tilted her head, willing the tightness in her shoulders to go away. Once she was back to a baseline emotional level she stood and slid the door open.
Maito Dai, his son, and two young girls were sitting criss cross around a collection of broken shards that, from the looks of it, came from four different sources. When the door hit the end with a sharp slam they all jumped and all but one of the girls let out a shriek.
"A-anbu-san," Dai clutched at his chest weakly. "Your sneaking abilities are truly a marvel, but please do not scare us like that!"
So this was the man Bear was always telling her about. He was more… green than she thought he would be.
"Why are you in Hatake Kakashi's home?" she signed calmly. The children looked confused (though the one with purple marks along her cheeks seemed to catch a few words) but Dai understood just fine.
He motioned towards the pile of broken things they were working on gluing back together. "The last time we came to visit young Kakashi-kun my son and I were overzealous in our attempts to look for him! In our careless state we knocked over these precious family heirlooms and it is our duty to see them brought back to their former glory!"
There really wasn't any need for him to be yelling. At least it explained why him and his son were here. Not the girls though. When she turned her head so that they knew who she was looking at it was the son that answered her unspoken question.
"These two are from the academy!" he shouted just as loudly as his father. "Rin-san wanted to check on Kakashi and Kurenai-san was bored!"
The girl, Kurenai, blushed angrily. "N-not just that!" she insisted.
"This is the second time you have broken into this home," Panther pointed out.
Dai blinked. Panther withheld a sigh when the blood drained from his face.
"We are not intruders!" he promised, shooting to his feet with his hands held up in surrender. "We mean young Kakashi-kun no harm!"
"Today will be your last warning. Finish what you came here to do and lock the door when you leave."
She couldn't have this being a common occurrence, especially if it was kids that were coming by. This house would be a prime target for the enemies targeting Hatake and they would either get caught up and possibly killed or they would deter anyone from making a move on the house. How was she going to catch them in the act if they were not under the illusion that they could move freely?
"Understood!" Dai saluted sharply and the children scrambled to follow suit. "As punishment for our misdeeds we will do one hundred laps around Konoha!"
"Yosh!" Gai cheered.
"What?!" The girls cried in horror.
Panther held back a huff of laughter. "You do that."
Before any of them could reply she stepped back and disappeared from view. Now that that was taken care of she could get back to her original plan for the day.
As she peeled off the seal she had placed on the door and returned it to its rightful place she hesitated. Turning on her heel she ducked into another room for a minute before returning to the market.
Chameleon's squad was a few rooftops away from where she had left them. They were watching a food stall avidly, and she wasn't sure if all of their attention was focused on the group eating there or on the food itself.
They startled when she appeared next to them, scrambling to salute her.
"You may return to you patrol. There is a group of one adult and three children in Hatake's house. Leave them be but report anything suspicious to me immediately."
"Yes," they bowed their heads and took off.
Panther settled in to wait. There was about half an hour left in the time she had given Hatake to spend outside. If he wanted to go out later he would have to find someone else to take him.
Kohana nearly fell off her stool when she twisted around in it. The cookbook from earlier (she wondered if it had been Biwako or Kakashi who had bought it) was being held in the air.
Panther leaned forwards with interest. The picture showed a Kolache (round bread rolls with various types of stuffing in them) that had what looked like barbeque chicken in it. She pulled out a scrap piece of paper and wrote out her approval before folding it and throwing it towards the booth.
It landed lightly on the girl's head, making her giggle. Unfolding it her face brightened and she showed it to the two boys sitting next to her.
Panther shook her head fondly.
-00-
"Later," Kakashi waved lazily at the retreating Sarutobi family. Once they were gone he jumped up onto the roofs so he could make his way back to Headquarters. As he grew closer to the Hokage Mountain Panther joined him.
"Stop at the top," she signed, slowing her pace to match his.
He would really rather not, but he doubted she was going to take 'no' for an answer. The monument looked weird with only three faces carved into its side. Unbidden, the realization that he had never gotten to see the finished addition of Naruto's face came to mind. He forcibly unraveled the knot that appeared in his stomach and sped up.
Panther patiently waited for him to catch his breath once they were overlooking the village. When he straightened up she pulled out a scroll from one of her side pouches and opened it. Kakashi recognized the storage space seal a second before it was activated.
There was a puff of smoke and all of the sudden his family's summoning scroll was being held in front of him.
Kakashi looked from it, to Panther, and back with shock. Panther tucked it under one arm to leave her hands free.
"You are not ready to summon, not with the way your chakra is now. However, if you can manage to balance it to a level I find acceptable I will allow you to try summoning. Until then, I will hold onto it for safe keeping."
'And so you don't try anything risky' were the unsigned words drifting between them.
"Thank you," Kakashi saluted gratefully. "I will do my best."
"I should hope so. Keep in mind that I expect your answer from our earlier conversation tomorrow morning. You will also be getting a roommate later today. I may assign more to your room if the time comes."
That was a lot of changes to process, but the promise of seeing his Ninken again drowned out any worries.
"Understood."
Panther sealed the scroll away once more, motioning for him to take the lead.
He needed to start meditating right away. The sooner he could measure out his chakra appropriately the sooner he could see the others again.
They were going to be puppies at this point, weren't they?
Kakashi grinned.
-00-
"I will be your roommate for the foreseeable future," Crane informed him, dropping a small duffle bag on the bed adjacent to his.
Kakashi blinked up at him from his seated position under the window. "Don't you already have a room?"
"Not anymore." Crane pulled out a heavy leather bound book, stretched out across the bed, and started reading.
Kakashi waited for a moment but it seemed as though that was all the man was planning on saying.
At least it wasn't Butterfly. Or, Kami forbid, Bee.
Shaking off the sudden chill that shot down his spine he went back to meditating. It was difficult to measure out his chakra at this point but if he focused enough he would be able to gather enough to summon properly.
Ah.
"How do you feel about dogs?" Kakashi looked up at his new roommate.
Crane lowered his book slowly, grey eyes visibly narrowed through the holes in his mask.
"…Why?"
Kakashi grinned brightly, his visible eye curving tellingly. "Just curious."
Crane did not believe that for a second. "If you are planning to bring in another wolf pup, teammate or not, I will not save you from Panther's retribution."
"That's not a no," Kakashi pointed out.
Crane sighed. "I do not mind dogs as long as they are trained. I prefer birds though, if you are looking for a pet."
"Not a big fan of birds," Kakashi shrugged.
The tall man gave a disinterested hum before returning to his book.
Kakashi shrugged and closed his eyes once more. So far things were progressing nicely. Nothing major had changed yet which meant he knew everything that was going to happen for the foreseeable future, but he had managed to change enough to keep his existence in check. If that was how that actually worked. Kurama had been rather vague about the whole thing.
"Fuck you." Kakashi bit the inside of his lip hard enough to draw blood, hunching over so his bangs his the open part of his face. "You're just too dimwitted to understand anything past your puny mortal brain."
'Is blinding pain a hand in hand deal whenever you speak?' he thought irritably. 'I wouldn't mind if you never talked again, if that is the case.'
"Wimp. Just get in here."
Kakashi spared a glance towards Crane, who was still deeply invested in his book. Lowering his head once more he took a deep, steadying breath before delving into his mind.
Once he appeared in the mental image of Training Ground Seven he stretched his arms happily. It was good to be back in his adult body, even if it was all just in his head.
"Well done on not killing both of us off," Kurama snorted, stretching his paws out in front of him and digging his nails into the dirt.
"Don't mess up my mental space," Kakashi replied blandly, sitting across from the fox demon. "Did you get more orange since last time? I thought you were red."
"Shut up," Kurama growled, flopping down and resting his head on his forelegs. "How long have I been asleep?"
"About a month. I'm assuming you're going to go back to sleep when we're done here?"
A large yawn was his only answer.
"Right," he scratched the back of his head tiredly. "Why did you bring me here exactly?"
Kurama's eyes were half open, fatigue still clear in his face but not as prominent as it had been last time. "I need to know what you're planning on doing about that son of a bitch Minato."
Kakashi scowled. "I'm not going to answer any of your questions if you talk about him like that."
The fox rolled his eyes. "Deal with it. I still hate that bastard. What are you going to tell the old guy with the hat?"
"The Hokage?"
"Only one human holds that title that I actually give a damn about. The old ant with the unnatural hat isn't that person. Stop avoiding the question."
Kakashi ran his fingers through the long strands of grass, twisting them between his fingers only to release them before they could break.
"I'm not sure yet," he answered truthfully. "Before you had told me about the loss of self deal I would have jumped at the chance. I would stay close to the original timeline for longer, like we planned, and get the chance to be his student again. Now though," he moved the palms of his hands behind them so he could rest on them and look up at the sky. "I don't know."
"Well you better figure it out quick. In another month or two I will be able to start training you to harness my chakra but you need to get yours more under control before that. Most of the energy I've been able to store up is being used to keep your own chakra from killing you."
"I'll work on it," Kakashi promised. "Do you have enough energy to answer a few questions?"
Kurama side eyed him. "One question."
How did Naruto deal with this thing? "Will summoning negatively affect my chakra in any way?"
"No," Kurama's tails swished across the grass behind him. "But it won't turn out the way you're expecting it to."
"What do you mean?"
The fox shifted so that his back was facing Kakashi. "I answered your question, the rest can wait. Summoning might actually help with your chakra, so give it a shot."
Kakashi flicked a rock at the spirit but it burst into small flames before it could even get close. A few seconds later the familiar sound of echoing snores filled the clearing.
So much for answers. Was there even really a point to being brought here? Perhaps the feared Nine-Tails was just lonely.
A warning growl started up from the pile of fur across from him, signaling that it was time to go.
Leaving his mindscape behind he opened his eye in the real world. Crane was sitting up in his bed, wrists resting on his knees, and book forgotten to the side of him. Kakashi blinked at the calculating stare being directed his way.
"Can I help you?" he questioned breezily.
Crane was silent for a long moment, gaze piercing through the small child across from him.
"No," he finally answered. "How often do you meditate?"
"At least once a day," Kakashi answered honestly. "Why? Is something wrong with that?"
"Not usually," Crane hummed. "You may want to increase your daily workout routine if you want to match your spiritual chakra. Meditating more often than exercising right now will only exacerbate the problem."
It was Kakashi's turn to narrow his eye suspiciously. "How did you know about my chakra?"
"You gave me quite a few hints during training. It wasn't all that hard to put the pieces together. I apologize for interrupting you."
Having said his piece Crane grabbed his book and picked up where he left off.
Kakashi tapped at the inside of his leg thoughtfully. Having a roommate was going to make some things more difficult but it was doable.
Crane aside; he needed to focus on the problem at hand. Panther expected his answer soon. No more stalling, he needed to come to a decision.
-00-
The choice is murky water clear at the moment. I've got plans both ways but this is the last chance for anyone to vote about whether Minato becomes his teacher or not. I've also gotten a few votes for Kushina to be his teacher, which is interesting.
Here are the stats so far-
Yes for Minato: 7
No for Minato: 5
Yes for Kushina: 2
Other (if you like out of nowhere surprises): 2
Let me know what your guys think.
Would you like a gift?! I'm taking on one-shot prompt requests from pretty much anyone who reads my stuff and likes it as a huge old thank you for pushing me to improve to be a better writer. The details are at the bottom of my profile page. Just about anything goes, from any fandom!
Chapter food: Kolaches. These things are amazing ladies, gents, and other forms of being. Had some today and I'm pleased as punch. Besides the bakery there isn't even a feasible way to tie this to the story (that I can think of right now). I just love Kolaches.
Thank you all so much for reading!