A Personal Matter
R. Winters
Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto or Harry Potter franchises. I do own the ideas and circumstances characterized in this chapter and the last twenty-four. I also own my own bokken, which I will use to smack anyone who claims otherwise upon the head.
Here it is, the end to my crazy wonderings one summer. And yet, at the same time, it isn't really the end... I'd like to thank all the little people who helped me come this far (as is cliche for me to do), everyone who reviewed or added me to their favorite/alert lists, and the C2s that have decided that my humble little project is worth archiving along other great stories for interested people to easily find.
More importantly, I'd like to say a few words about the sequel. There will be at least one sequel. It will be called Sphere of Influence. You can find a summary posted in my profile. However, it won't be out for several months. I have to do a lot of work to get a good start on the story and be sure I have the plot down solid before I'll be willing to post it here, so bear with me in the meantime. I will post a kind of "preview" at the end of this story at the time that I post the sequel, that way those of you who have this on alert will be able to easily find the sequel when it goes up.
In the meantime, there are a few projects I've been working on here and there that might amuse you. Currently, I'm working on something with Itachi... maybe it'll provide me with extra insight and motivation for the sequel. That'll be short, and I'll have another Kakashi fic going up after that, as well as a variety of one-shots here and there.
That's about all I have to say at this time. I hope you enjoy the conclusion of APM, and I hope you'll send any questions/comments you have my way.
Chapter 25 – Normality
Boy-Who-Lived in Hiding
After the attack last week on the home of Harry Potter, also known as the Boy-Who-Lived, many were worried about the future of wizarding society. As days passed and no news was released on young Harry's condition, many feared the worst. Today, however, the wizarding community is urged to relax, as Harry is "quite alright" according to Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts.
When asked how Death Eaters managed to implement last Tuesday's attack, Dumbledore refused to comment on it directly, but did observe that Harry's place of living was, until then, common knowledge. This is also the problem he lays claim on to justify keeping the general populace in the dark about Harry's newest home.
"He is safe," Dumbledore said when pressed, "And that is all people need know."
Of course, there are many wizards who are outraged by this secrecy. "For all we know, Harry could be dead and Dumbledore simply stringing us along with lies and false promises," Lucious Malfoy observed with a note of vexation.
Others agree whole-heartedly with the new steps being done to protect the young Savior of the Wizarding World. "As long as Albus is confident of his safety, that's enough for me," Arthur Weasley, from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, said, "He doesn't need curious wizards poking around and invading his privacy at all hours."
Whether they support Dumbledore's vow of secrecy or not, all wizards agree that, in light of this event, the Ministry must renew its investigation for rogue Death Eaters. "If, five years after the fall of You-Know-Who, they still feel bold enough to organize an attack like this, then someone isn't doing their job," Augusta Longbottom, whose son and daughter-in-law were tortured to insanity just before You-Know-Who's fall, insisted.
Minister Cornelius Fudge assures us that the Ministry is doing everything it can to ensure all active Death Eaters are behind bars.
"Do we have to go?" Harry asked a week later as he packed everything he owned—which, admittedly, wasn't much—into a box Kakashi had brought for him.
"The apartment's in sensei's name," Kakashi muttered in reply, not really paying him much attention as he sorted his own things out and put them in a second box.
It was the first time they'd really done anything together since the attack—they'd seen each other briefly a few days before, but hadn't really talked then. And suddenly, that morning, Kakashi had arrived home with boxes and announced that they were moving.
"Oh... What about... his things?" Harry asked uncertainly.
Kakashi shrugged, "Sandaime-sama will take care of that."
Harry nodded slightly in understanding. There had been a vote—that's what Tenzou had told him, at least—and the shinobi had put the Third back into office. The council—Kakashi had told him—wanted to hold off until a suitable replacement could be found. Kakashi's exact words were that they were "power-grabbing old bastards." Harry didn't question his opinion.
It still felt weird, everything that had happened. He still half-expected to see Minato walk through the door, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and apologizing for his prolonged absence. He half-expected to see Kushina, dragging him out on another adventure or complaining about why women always had to carry the baby.
Of course, he knew that they wouldn't.
The new apartment building was only a few blocks away from the old one. Harry carried his box of things while Kakashi carried two—one with his things in it and another with things from the kitchen he'd gotten permission to take with them.
"After this," Harry started, looking awkwardly around his folded up futon which sat on top of his box, "Can we go to the hospital?"
Kakashi shot him a strange look, "What for?"
Harry shrugged awkwardly and almost dropped his load, "To see Naruto-chan. He's getting lots bigger, already, and you haven't even seen him since he was born. He's already two weeks old—and he's so cute!"
Kakashi grunted.
Harry frowned, "I bet he'd like another visitor," he told him, "Tenzou said they aren't letting many people in to see him. He said that when he tried to visit, they wouldn't let him in. They always let me in, though, so I don't know what Tenzou did..."
"That's because of the Kyuubi," Kakashi explained, "They're taking extra cautionary measures."
Harry blinked in confusion, "What? Why?"
"That 'swirly thing' on his stomach... it's a seal containing the Nine-Tailed Fox," Kakashi supplied, "Everyone's talking about it—you must have heard."
"Er..." Harry flushed a little, "I think Tenzou said something about a seal... but I didn't really get it." He frowned, "What does that mean, anyway? How can something alive be sealed inside something else alive?"
"You wouldn't understand," Kakashi assured him—Harry scowled a bit, but the older boy continued, "Sandaime-sama says that the demon is completely sealed and the baby is harmless... but the council claims that as long as the baby is alive, so is the Kyuubi, and there's always the chance that it'll get loose and go on a rampage again."
He sighed, shifting his boxes so he could pull out the keys to their new apartment—he'd have to fix the lock to respond to chakra later. "Basically," he concluded, "It means that no one's quite sure whether the baby's going to go Kyuubi and kill us all or not. A lot of people are worried about it."
Harry frowned thoughtfully—the idea of that monster breaking loose in the village again was enough to give him nightmares for the rest of his life, he thought. But... Naruto was Kushina and sensei's baby...
"What do you think?" He asked his brother as the teen led the way into the apartment, awkwardly holding the door open long enough for Harry to get inside.
"Sensei wouldn't have made a mistake like that," Kakashi said confidently, "If the Kyuubi were still a danger, he wouldn't have said he wasn't."
Harry smiled in relief, "So Naruto's okay, then."
Kakashi shrugged and nodded to the room on the right, "That one's yours," he announced, "Go and put your stuff away."
Harry hesitated, looking back at him, "We're... not going to share...?"
The older boy scoffed, "Why would we get a two-room apartment if we weren't going to use both rooms? We aren't going to share."
Flushing a little, Harry nodded and quickly ducked into his new room, dropping his box on the barren floor. It was tiny—even smaller than the room he'd shared with Kakashi—but there was plenty of room for one person. The walls were painted an unfriendly off-white and there was a tiny closet next to the door. Harry snickered a little at the thought of getting up in the middle of the night and forgetting which door led to the rest of the apartment and which led to the closet.
He set his futon on the half of the room that was closest to the door, as he was used to, and pushed his box into the closet—it just fit. He'd unpack the stuff later.
"Can we go now?" He asked, returning to the main room—which was considerably smaller and more worn than their old one had been.
Kakashi was emptying things onto the counter from one of the boxes, "You can go, if you want."
Harry sighed dramatically, "But we never do anything together," he complained.
"... We'll go out to lunch when you get back," Kakashi offered reluctantly—they didn't have any food here yet, anyway.
Harry looked hopeful, "Really? Can we go now?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Did you unpack your things?"
"After I unpack?" Harry offered.
Kakashi shrugged.
Harry grinned—taking it as a yes—and ran back into his room to finish unpacking.
He didn't get around to visiting Naruto again until the next day. The guard posted outside the infant's room at the hospital let him through without a hassle—as usual.
Harry liked to think the baby was happy to see him as he leaned over the edge of his crib, standing on his tip-toes. Roused from a light dose, the baby gurgled at him and tiny, chubby arms flailed through the air.
The seven-year-old grinned and picked up the baby obligingly, "Hello, Naruto-chan," he greeted warmly—because even if Kakashi didn't like him very much, this was still sensei and Kushina's baby and that made him like family.
The baby stared contentedly at his face. Harry wondered how long it would take for him to get bigger—so they could really start to play together. He didn't really know much about babies, although he was getting better at holding this one.
After a little while a nurse came in with a bottle and asked him if he'd like to feed the baby. Harry, never having done that before, agreed quickly and soon had the infant suckling greedily at his lunch.
He was there for almost an hour before he finally left, only to find Tenzou waiting for him right outside the building.
"You're late," the older boy commented.
Harry's eyebrows tilted together, "I didn't know we were meeting today."
Tenzou shrugged, "We weren't, but you usually don't take that long."
Harry shrugged—Tenzou was just weird sometimes. They fell in step with each other on a wandering path towards the village gates where the worst of the damage had occurred and was still being repaired.
"I found out why they're not letting anyone in," Tenzou said.
"Because he has the Kyuubi sealed," Harry supplied.
Tenzou shook his head, "Three days ago," he supplied, "Some medic tried to kill him. Now they're only letting people in if they're on the Sandaime's list."
Harry stared at him with wide eyes, not sure if he really believed it, "Someone tried to kill a baby?" He demanded dubiously.
Tenzou nodded, "The guard heard him scream—I guess it was just luck that the guard was someone from Kakashi-senpai's old team. He went in to investigate and managed to stop her."
"A baby?" Harry repeated incredulously—because who in their right mind would actually try to kill a baby?
"I guess the Kyuubi killed her only child," Tenzou shrugged, "And she's a widow, too, so she didn't have any other family. She just wanted to see it dead." He shrugged.
"But Naruto's not—" Harry started.
"The Sandaime's going to make an announcement today," Tenzou interrupted, "About the baby."
"Naruto," Harry corrected grumpily.
"Sure, Naruto," Tenzou agreed, "I thought I'd tell you 'cause you probably didn't know."
"Thanks," Harry conceded, idly wondering how Tenzou found out about all of this stuff.
That afternoon, the two boys found each other again as they waited in the courtyard with hordes of others to hear the Hokage's announcement. Harry thought he'd caught sight of Kakashi at one time, but when he looked again the teen was gone—if he'd been there to begin with.
Harry, who was on fairly friendly terms with the Sandaime, was surprised to hear him sound so angry as he chastised the people of the village for their actions regarding Naruto. He was surprised again at the strict rule the man set out—no one was to mention the fact that Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed in him ever again. It seemed excessive to Harry, but he thought he understood why it was set.
Neither of those surprises matched his surprise when he turned with Tenzou to leave only to find a man in a white mask and tan cloak standing suddenly in front of him—he almost walked right into the man, who grabbed his arm before he could back away.
"What—" Harry started.
The man interrupted, impersonal voice issuing from behind the mask, "The Hokage wants to talk to you."
Still bemused, Harry let himself be led against the flow of the crowd. The masked figure seemed to have an easy time of it—like he knew exactly where every break in the crowd was going to be even before it broke open.
He was still confused as he was ushered into the Hokage's office, minutes later. His escort disappeared without another word.
"Good afternoon, Harii-kun," the man greeted him with a tired smile, "How are you doing?"
"Er," Harry was a little caught off guard by how sincere the man sounded—surely he hadn't had him escorted up here just to catch up on how he was doing? "I'm... okay," he started carefully. When the man gave no sign of speaking, he continued.
"I don't know... everything's been changing so fast—we moved into a new apartment yesterday, and I have my own room now, which is kind of weird..." He frowned thoughtfully, "Kakashi-niisan hasn't been around much, though... is he busy with something?"
"He hasn't told you?" Sarutobi asked.
Harry shook his head.
"Kakashi is now part of the ANBU," the man frowned at him, "Do you know what that is, Harii?"
Slowly, Harry nodded, "I think so. They're the guys that are always wearing those weird masks." He glanced towards the door self-consciously, half expecting to see his escort standing there.
A small smile twitched at the Hokage's lips, "Quite," he agreed, "This will be the only time you'll hear about it—unless something happens to your brother. The identities of ANBU members are a tightly kept secret, so you are not to repeat this news to anyone. To do so would be to compromise his safety."
Harry nodded again, "I understand."
"Good," Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, "I want to talk to you about Naruto."
"Oh," Harry perked up slightly, "I've been visiting him—is that okay?"
"You are more than welcome to visit him," the Sandaime assured the boy, "In fact, I highly encourage it. He'll need some support in his life, Harii-kun, and I'm afraid if things continue the way they've been going, he may not get as much as a growing boy needs."
Harry nodded somberly.
"What I am more concerned about right now," the man continued seriously, "Is the matter of Naruto's parentage."
Harry frowned in confusion, "What do you mean? Sensei and Kushina-san are his parents."
"There are only a few people that know that," the Hokage continued, "You're the only one I haven't talked to about it, yet. Naruto has been given the name Uzumaki. His father's name will be kept a secret."
"What?" Harry asked in confusion, "Why?"
"We don't have the resources right now to protect him from his own enemies here as well as those enemies of Minato's, particularly foreigners that hold grudges against him from the wars," Sarutobi said heavily, "Until he is strong enough to protect himself, his parentage must be kept a secret."
Harry frowned, "That's not fair," he argued. Speaking as an orphan himself, he knew that he would want to know who his parents were—no matter what risk it meant. Especially if he had to live around people who disliked him.
"Harii," the man said, "It is for his own protection. Try to understand."
"But everyone should get to know who their parents are," Harry argued, "Can't we at least tell him and not tell anyone else?"
"He will know who his parents are," the Hokage insisted, "When he is ready to handle the knowledge responsibly. When he is able to defend himself should a slip of mouth occur."
It sounded reasonable, but Harry still didn't like it. Reluctantly, he nodded, "So... when he's a Genin?"
"When he's a Chuunin," Sarutobi corrected, "By then he should have enough experience to defend himself in most cases." He hoped.
"... Okay," Harry agreed reluctantly. It still didn't sound fair, but he wanted the baby to be safe.
Harry ran into the kitchen to find it in flames, and stared, rigid, as a creature wreathed in fire stepped forward. He was shrinking—or maybe the fiery beast was growing larger. Either way, a second later he found himself staring up into the snarling face of a gigantic nine-tailed fox with a feral snarl and malice in its eyes, its red fur made of licking flames.
Harry tried to move, but found his limbs were all suddenly tied, and the slight movement sent him off balance and collapsing to the floor. The fox lifted a fiercely clawed limb, evil eyes glaring hungrily down at him.
"You're in the way," the boy watched in horror as Kakashi jumped over his body to attack the fox, stabbing his sword into the fiery gut, only for the image to change a second later and it was Kakashi's gut the sword was shoved into with the fox standing between them.
The teen's mismatched eyes rose, his right dark and his left shining red, black dots spinning around the dilated pupil. Harry tried to call his name, but he was surrounded by ice, his magic protecting him—only him—from the burning house all around them.
The flames leapt suddenly, huge and engulfing and consuming everything—Kakashi's body and the Dursleys and everyone.
The screaming was deafening, rising up from thousands of tortured throats.
"Wake up!"
Harry jolted awake in his futon, hair damp with sweat, breathing heavy, and heart thudding loudly in his chest. He jerked away from the hands on his arms, only to force his eyes open a second later and find himself looking up at the frown on his brother's face. His throat hurt and his eyes were watery—he rubbed the water away before it could fall and looked up at his brother again.
The older boy was dressed strangely. He wasn't wearing his night clothes or his usual uniform. Instead he was wearing gray armor—a chest plate and arm protectors—with all black clothing underneath. The shirt was sleeveless, showing off a tattoo on his bicep that Harry was sure hadn't been there before. His mask was black, as well, but that was pushed down around his neck.
"I could hear you even outside the apartment," Kakashi grumbled.
"I... was screaming?" Harry guessed, cringing as his voice broke and scratched at his throat.
The older boy nodded and shifted to stand, "You should go back to sleep."
Harry started with alarm, "Where are you going?" He asked, shooting upright on his futon.
Kakashi glanced at him, the eyebrow over his uncovered eye raised, "To bed," he stated as if it were obvious, "I just got back."
"Can't you..." Harry trailed off. He wanted his brother to sleep with him—in the same room, like they used to—but it seemed like too immature a thing to ask for. Instead he lowered his eyes and nodded.
The teen crossed to the door, "Good night."
"... Good night," Harry replied quietly, laying back down.
He didn't go back to sleep.
Another two weeks passed in much the same manner and in mid-November classes started up at the Academy again. They had a few new teachers, but no one mentioned what had happened to the old ones. They all knew.
They also started a new subject—with their lectures revolving around Lightning Elemental Jutsu and the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Harry wasn't sure why, but Tenzou confidently told them they were going to war with them. Harry was sick of wars and hoped his friend was wrong this time.
The seven-year-old waited impatiently for the weekend, and first thing on Sunday morning he went straight to the hospital, to the room he was growing very familiar with. Only to find it very unfamiliar. And very empty.
"Hey!" He stopped one of the medics walking by, "What's going on? Where's Naruto?"
The woman glanced at the door he was pointing, too, then scowled, "Oh, you mean him."
Harry frowned in disapproval but didn't interrupt.
"Sandaime-sama found someone to take him in," the woman supplied, looking somewhat mystified about the situation herself, "I don't know who would want... that in their home, but I guess someone must have agreed."
"He's not here?" Harry asked in surprise, "Where is he?"
"I said I don't know," the medic repeated with irritation, "You might ask at the front desk. They'll have to have signed some paperwork to get him released, so they probably have his new address there."
"Okay, thanks," Harry said quickly before hurrying back to the front desk and repeating his question.
It took him half an hour to find the house Naruto was staying at and he stared nervously up at it for another ten minutes before he worked up his courage to knock on the door. Someone started crying—Naruto, Harry guessed—and there was a bit of shouting before the door was pulled open by a haggard looking woman.
She scowled down at him, "What do you want?"
Harry shuffled uncertainly and hesitated again before speaking, "I, um, want to see Naruto... please... if you don't mind."
The woman simply stared at him for at least a minute, as though unable to fathom what he was saying. If he didn't know better, Harry would have thought he'd been speaking English.
"Um..." He started again, unsure as to whether he should repeat himself.
"Fine," the woman interrupted sharply, opening the door and watching him suspiciously as he entered.
Harry hesitated in the doorway—remembering the time he'd been to Rin's house. "Should I—" he started uncertainly, glancing around for shoes or slippers by the door.
"It's fine," the woman waved him on, "You don't need to take off your shoes or anything. He's in the back room—I'll show you."
Harry followed her quietly, wondering why this family had taken Naruto in. The woman, at least, didn't sound very nice.
"My husband used to be on the same team as Uzumaki Kushina," the woman said, as if reading his mind, "We knew her quite well, before... I don't know if Kushina knew what they used her son for, but it's the least we can do to see him out of diapers."
"I knew her, too," Harry said quietly, "Kushina-san was... very nice. I think she'd be happy to know someone she trusted was taking care of Naruto."
The woman glanced at him, longer this time, then abruptly opened the door to a room in front of him, "In here," she ushered him through—as Harry had predicted, the crying sound suddenly became louder. The woman shot the infant a scowl, "It's about time for his feeding," she grumbled, "See if you can't quiet him down while I get a bottle."
Harry nodded in acquiesce and approached the baby's crib with a small smile. He leaned over the edge and peered inside. Naruto's scarred cheeks were red and wet from crying, and his watery eyes took a moment to find Harry. His crying knocked down a notch almost immediately, and chubby arms reached for the air in response to the familiar face.
Harry's smile widened as he reached down and picked the baby up, "Sorry I haven't visited in a while, Naruto-chan," he apologized, "Classes started again and I have a lot of homework." He made a face, "Tenzou thinks we're going to war with the Cloud now, and that's why we have to do so much extra work on Lightning chakra, and stuff."
The woman entered again a minute later and seemed surprised that Naruto's crying had dulled to a quiet whine. She frowned at the pair and Harry got the distinct impression of disapproval. He fidgeted nervously, causing the baby to whine a little more.
The woman held out her arms, "Give him to me—I've got to feed him now."
"... I can do it," Harry offered uncertainly, "If you want..."
The woman raised an eyebrow and gave no sign of giving in to his request. Reluctantly, Harry handed the infant over.
"Um..." he started again uncertainly as Naruto began sucking greedily at his bottle.
"You can go now," the woman said crisply.
"Oh... okay," Harry agreed awkwardly, looking back at Naruto once more before taking his leave.
He sighed as he closed the door behind him, safe outside of the oppressive atmosphere of that house. He made a face—how could any of Kushina's friends really be that crabby? Had they really been friends? Or maybe it was really only her husband that was friends with Kushina, he reasoned, since they were on the same team.
With a slight shake of his head, Harry headed home—he still had a lot of reading he needed to do before Monday. He'd been excited, because with the month they'd had off, and all the chaos and destruction caused by the attack, they were no longer required to turn in their old homework, so he was suddenly caught up. The new teachers had been quick to pile new homework on, though, so even with that slight relief, he was already struggling to keep up.
Kakashi wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but the fast pace of assassinations and murders he was assigned wasn't exactly what he'd imagined.
He'd known the kind of work ANBU does, and he'd known that with a shortage of numbers he'd probably be very busy for quite some time. What he hadn't expected was how different it felt to assassinate unsuspecting targets as compared to killing an enemy in the midst of battle.
Even after his first kill, he'd never felt guilty before. It had always been them or him. His enemies had been shinobi who knew exactly what they were getting into.
He wasn't sure if it could be called guilt, what he was feeling now, as he sluggishly headed home after another kill, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling. The last thing he saw when he killed a target was their eyes—staring at him as they slowly glazed over.
Kakashi thought that maybe he should make sure not to look at their eyes anymore, and maybe that would get rid of the strange feeling.
He let himself into his apartment and could only blink at the excited voice that greeted him.
"Kakashi-niisan!" Harry exclaimed, scrambling up from a pile of books and papers, hopeful eyes turned towards them.
The guilt—if that's what it was—only increased at the sight of him. Harry probably wouldn't approve if he knew what he was doing. Not that he needed the approval of a seven-year-old. He was only doing it because this is what the village needed.
He wasn't really aware of his feet leading him across the room to collapse on a well-worn couch. He was aware of Harry's eyes following him the entire way, though, and when Harry joined him on the couch a few seconds later.
"Kakashi-niisan...?" The boy's voice had turned uncertain.
"Hey," Kakashi grunted in reply—he'd stuffed his mask in his pouch while he'd been at the Memorial Stone, and doubted his brother knew what his new uniform stood for.
"... Are you okay?" Harry asked carefully.
"... Yes," Kakashi replied eventually. He wasn't sure if he was, but he wasn't going to tell Harry anything else, either.
"Oh," Harry said meekly, glancing suspiciously at the older boy out of the corner of his eye.
Kakashi ignored the look and glanced down at Harry's books, instead, "What are you working on?"
Harry followed his gaze and sighed, "We've been learning about counters to Lightning Jutsu," he supplied, "Tenzou says it's because we're going to war with the Cloud, and there's a lot of Lightning types there."
Kakashi wondered where Tenzou got his information, because he was sure the border skirmishes weren't common knowledge, yet.
When the older boy didn't respond, Harry changed the subject, "Tenzou has his own apartment, you know," he told him, "Sandaime pays for it and it's only one room, but it's so cool! He's got a little kitchen place with a sink and a little fridge, and he's got his bed in the same room so if he gets hungry in the middle of the night, his food's right there with him."
Kakashi stared at the seven-year-old as he talked, wondering why that tight ball of emotion that had been growing inside of him ever since his first assassination felt like it was shrinking.
Harry, oblivious to the older boy's thoughts, continued, "Naruto moved, too," he explained, "But I think Noriko-san is kind of creepy... She says that she knew Kushina-san from before, but I don't think they were really friends, because Noriko-san isn't very nice... Well, she takes care of Naruto, so I guess she's a little nice," he amended, "But she always looks at me strangely when I go to visit him."
Something about the light chatter made the events of the last few weeks seem very far away. Kakashi knew it didn't make any sense, but he began to relax in a way he hadn't since before the attack—almost two months ago, now.
"Hey," Kakashi started when the boy stopped talking.
Harry looked up at him quickly, a curious expression on his face.
Kakashi hesitated uncertainly, trying to think of something to say, "... Want to go to the training grounds?" He asked before he could stop himself. He cringed slightly beneath his fabric mask—what a lame thing to ask.
Harry continued to stare at him and Kakashi tried not to fidget under his gaze.
"You can show me how much you improved," the older boy offered, "And I'll teach you that 360-throw like I promised."
The seven-year-old looked reluctantly at his books before turning back to him with a grin. "Yeah!" He exclaimed, "Let's go! I'll go get my stuff!"
Kakashi smiled slightly at the boy's exuberance, and headed into his own room to get changed.
Harry couldn't keep from grinning to himself as he tied on his weapon pouch, because Kakashi wanted to do something with him. Like real brothers. He wasn't sure if they'd ever be a normal family, but he decided that was okay, because this was the only family he had.