Inari said the high school looked like it had to be bigger than the White House as they walked through the parking lot. They were ten minutes late, but Kakashi found no need to hurry yet. He laughed and said, "I don't think so. But maybe."

"There must be a lot of kids that go here." Inari munched thoughtfully on the muffin Kakashi had gotten him. He'd taken the boy out to a diner for breakfast.

"Yep."

"Maybe Naruto goes here!"

That was interesting. "Naruto?" Kakashi repeated, more than a little surprised. Inari skipped beside him, nodding. The early October chill put a pink flush in his cheeks, and with his jacket unzipped and hanging off his small frame, arms outstretched, Inari looked like he could suddenly take flight with the next breeze. Kakashi smiled.

"He's a ninja," Inari said, as if this explained everything, skipping over the cracks in the asphalt and weaving between the cars. "And I promised him I would only use the powers he gave me for good and not evil."

Kakashi raised a brow.

"And don't tell," rambled Inari, looking serious, "But I told that big fat bully, Joey, from my class, that if he was ever mean to me again I knew karate and could dropkick him," he paused, seeming thoughtful. "That's not evil is it?"

"Maybe you shouldn't dropkick him," Kakashi advised. Inari mulled this over.

"Maybe. But, I mean, even Naruto had to use his ninja powers. Once."

Kakashi thought about this and suddenly found himself feeling pained. "Well," he said, patting Inari on the head, "Luckily for you, you have two strong guardians to protect you." He considered saying dads, but technically, Inari's adoption was far from being finalized, and the word strangely caught in Kakashi's throat.

"What about my mom?"

Kakashi didn't say anything to that. Instead, he distracted Inari by pointing out the football field. Inside the school, Kakashi ran into Gai, who exuberantly went on about the power and magic of fatherhood with predictable tears in his eyes.

"IF ONLY I HAD A SON!" Gai wailed, and Kakashi kept himself from saying, then maybe you should look into Rock Lee's paternity. Wouldn't be surprised there. The Junior was an uncanny carbon copy of Gai, who seemed to be obvlivious to this odd coincidence.

Inari tugged on Kakashi's sleeve, and he noticed Naruto then, lounging outside of the office, one earbud in his left ear, quietly talking to, surprise! Sasuke Uchiha. It was odd, nice even, to see Sasuke so off guard, like a regular teen. Nice to see they have a friend in each other. Then it struck Kakashi suddenly. The way the two seemed to gravitate towards the other as they spoke, silent laughs on their lips, eyes drawn away from the crowd of passing students as if they didn't exist. Inari ran to them, tearing away from Kakashi's hold.

"Inari-"

"NARUTO! NARUTO! GUESS WHAT, I CAN DO THE KICK JUST LIKE YOU SHOWED ME!"

He seemed to startle the boys, who took a step away from each other to peer at him. Naruto gave the kid a high-five, looking surprised, and when Inari pointed at Sasuke and demanded to know who he was, Sasuke only laughed a little and waved, walking off to disappear into the sea of students before the first bell.

"Inari! What are you doing here-?" Naruto chuckled as Inari jumped to try and give him another high-five. He pulled his hand back teasingly, and the little boy wrinkled his nose and dared Naruto to do it again...if he didn't want to be dropkicked.

"He's here with me," Kakashi said, unlocking his office door. Inari bounced around Naruto, babbling on, and Naruto fixed Kakashi with an irritated look.

"You're ten minutes late!" He was swinging Inari on his arm as he complained, and somehow, this completely canceled out the angry look he was trying to pull off that might have made Kakashi feel a little remorse.

"Well, you see, on the way to school, Inari and I found this adorable and sadly abandoned kitten on the side of the road-"

"Never mind," Naruto cut in, laughing. They slipped inside the office, which Inari proceeded to have figured out in a matter of minutes, as he pulled Make Out Paradise (clevery disgused as an encyclopedia. After Gai's insistence of a battle of words, Kakashi had decided the P.E. teacher would be less enthusiastic about Geography...or European monarchs) off the book shelf and attempted to sound out the first sentence he saw. This resulted in a mini wrestling match, a moritifed Kakashi, a howling Naruto, and a snapping Inari.

"I'LL TELL IRUKA!' the little boy raged.

"Oh God, please don't!"

It took another three minutes of bartering, to which Kakashi agreed to buying Inari one bag of twizzlers and a toy in exchange for silence, before he could give his undivided attention to Naruto, who was still cackling.

"He gets it from the best of course," said Naruto, giving the little boy another high five and a wink.

"Mr. Hatake," Naruto playfully scolded, waggling a finger, "You better hope we don't tell your husband on you!" He and Inari snickered.

"Yeah, we'll tell on you!" Inari echoed, too absorbed in the LeapFrog Learning Tablet he'd found in Kakashi's bag. After it had quieted down some, and Inari was curled up on the little leather couch in the back of the room playing, and before Kakashi could begin, Naruto asked a question.

"Do I really need to come here every other week?"

Kakashi paused, wondering if Naruto was beginning to fall victim to the Guidance Counselor's office-equals-embarrassing card. It irritated him slightly. "Well, it's just to make sure you're adjusted-"

"I am." Naruto cut in, throwing another glance back at Inari, who was beginning to fall asleep. He'd been woken up earlier than usual, Kakashi supposed. "Just fine. Besides, I'm already going to family therapy sessions with my parents. Do I really need this too?" The words were drawn out, as if the kid was chewing on each one before spitting it out.

Kakashi stifled a yawn. "How's that going?"

"Fine. My parents are making progess." Kakashi noticed his gaze wander as he said it, a faraway look that suggested he was somewhere else in his thoughts. Disconnected.

Kakashi raised a brow. "Well that's good, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm happy for them. I want them to be together. They're just really into their therapy right now, it's kinda annoying," he chuckled.
"You know, the other day, my mom suggested everyone keep a feelings journal that we share every week." He made a face, like it was the worst idea in the world. "She just wants to stay connected with everyone, but I think that's kind of ridiculous." There was a pause.

"How's Grandma Mito?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Alright, but...on my case a lot."

"Why is that?"

Naruto shook his head. "Just because. I have antics, you know," he joked feebly. Kakashi stared at him a moment, while Naruto picked at a hangnail.

"Antics?"

"Well, I walk around with my shirt off in the morning. I swear sometimes and don't go the Church and don't eat my vegetables. And, you know, I'm a guy."

Kakashi chuckled softly. "I see."

"She thinks I have the wrong friends."

"She doesn't like Kiba?" Kakashi was surprised; he found Kiba very likeable.

"Not him," Naruto said, sighing. "I'm seeing someone." he said suddenly. He paused for a while, seeming torn about something before looking up. "No really knows about. 'Cept you, of course, and Kiba. And Grandma. Sorta."

"I see..." Kakashi thought of Sasuke. He thought of Naruto saying look at what happened the last time I liked someone.

"Everything's going well?"

Naruto smiled a little. "Yeah. You know, after Jon..." he trailed, as if he'd trapped his thoughts before they could escape. Kakashi thought he looked ill for a second, but then Naruto shook his head. "It's going okay."

Kakashi nodded. Good, good, but,"Do you really need to keep it a secret from your family?"

Naruto snorted. "They think he's a bad influence."

"Why?"

Naruto grinned, then stuck out his tongue, revealing his blue stud. Kakashi blinked. Ah, well, now it was obvious. He thought of Inari, who was now snoring, and of himself when he was younger. In college, with a to-hell-with-the-world attitude. Days that smelled like coffee and freshly printed paper and sex. When he'd first met Iruka, and got off on the wrong foot due to a misunderstanding. When he'd made a bad impression on Iruka's mother that later stuck despite his best efforts. "Is he?" he asked. Naruto frowned, but shrugged.

"He's got his own shit," Naruto admitted. "But who doesn't?"

"That's true," Kakashi conceded. After another pause he asked, "So how are things with Kiba?" He knew this to be an especially sore topic with Naruto.

Naruto frowned, his face clouding with a mixture of sadness and irritation. "I mean, he's there, but, he's being all prissy because he doesn't like Sasuke. Love him, but I wish he'd let up a little."

"He's your friend. He cares about you."

"I know." Naruto sighed wearily, running a hand through his sun-bright hair. He crossed his arms, opened his mouth, closed it. The warning bell rang. Naruto fidgeted, but made no move to leave his seat.

"I gotta go."

"If you need, I can write you a pass." Kakashi could sense there was something, but Naruto was having a hard time saying it. Naruto seemed to consider. He was red again, face pinched. Like he wanted to divulge a secret to Kakashi, but couldn't pluck up the courage.

"Is there something you want to talk about?"

Naruto coughed, sputtered, then mumbled, "Nursesofficesgivesoutcondoms ...right?"

Kakashi scratched his chin, trying to make sense of the jumble of words. "I'm sorry?"

Naruto made an exasperated noise, looking over at Inari, who'd fallen asleep on the couch. His expression softened, just a little. "Condoms," he ground out finally, "The nurses office has some?" He was still looking at Inari.

Oh. Oh. This was new, sensitive territory. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Yes. You just have to tell the nurse you want to ask about birth control. We aren't allowed to show we have the condoms or put them anywhere the students can see them. You need to ask for them to receive some from the back." He didn't say, are you sure you're ready? He didn't say that sex, in his experience, was raw and emotional and messy even when you didn't want it to be. No. He wasn't Naruto's parent, or uncle, or teacher. He was only here to listen, not offer his own experiences as advice. So he said nothing more than was needed. It was a time of experimentation, and it was bound to happen eventually, one way or the other, in these delicate years. It was something Naruto would need to learn for himself.

Naruto sighed, rolling his eyes. "That's stupid."

"Maybe. Maybe not. At least you're protecting yourself..." Kakashi paused. "You are taking the necessary precautions?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Naruto looked at the clock again, annoyed and embarrassed.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record but-"

"I know how sex works, where babies come from, and how you get STDs and STIs. I'm not an idiot." There was a bitter edge to his voice.

Kakashi winced. "Well, Naruto, not everyone plans for accidents to happen, which is why you should do your best to ensure-" In the back of his mind, he tried to remember how many times he'd given this talk, this same spiel to so many young faces. So many young faces who squirmed, blushed, glared. Didn't want to hear it. They knew. They'd taken Health. Don't need to tell them. Of course they knew. Just tell them where to get the condoms. Hope they were prepared. He thought of Sakura, and wondered how she was doing.

"I got it, okay?" Naruto grabbed his bag, standing up. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, throwing Kakashi an apologetic smile. It was an uncomfortable topic, and Naruto wasn't the first to bring it up, try to escape, and become terse. "But, er, thanks." He looked at the door before saying, "Do I have to come back next week?"

Kakashi watched him closely before sighing. "Not if you don't want to. But I hope you decide to check in."

Naruto nodded. "Tell Inari I'll see him, later, okay? And to work on his dropkick." He chuckled, waved, and left the office, leaving Kakashi hoping that when Inari was old enough, talking about sex wouldn't be this awkward or mortifying for him.

Kakashi put his face in his hands and sighed. He pulled out Make Out paradise.

Sasuke was late, predictably.

Inari was growing restless, and had begun to complain. But Kakashi had told Tsunade he would come in for at least a couple of hours, and it had only been one. "But I wanna go. Isn't Iruka better yet?"

"No," said Kakashi, swiveling around his chair and reading Make Out Paradise from behind a TIME magazine. He wondered if he should give Iruka a call...

"I wanna leeaaavvee. Can we just go home? All you do is read and that's boring."

"We'll go home in a bit." He was nose-deep in a raunchy sex scene. The protagonist had just discovered her love interest, the dashing hero/entrepenuer she'd met in France, was the little boy from her childhood who she had once made a promise with after the death of her father-

"So are you my dad now?"

Kakashi stopped reading to peer over his magazine. Inari trying to use a few thick encyclopedias as a step stool to get a better look at the little potted cactus on the bookshelf. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you."

Inari's hand froze, mere centimeters from the pot. "I won't poke myself."

"That's what she said." Kakashi bit back a sly grin as he pointed to the Twilight hoodie draped across the couch. A student had forgotten it there on Friday. Kakashi had yet to do anything about it. "Poked her finger so bad, she shriveled up."

Inari reflexively moved away from the cactus, but his eyes had narrowed. "That sounds stupid. Are you joking-?"

Sasuke chose that moment to appear.

"Yo," he said, unhappily striding into the office with an averted gaze. He was watching Inari, who was pointing at him ("Hey you're Naruto's friend!"). Sasuke blinked, as if he had no idea how to respond.

"One time, Mrs. Jennings, my social worker, told me if I kept making faces like that, that my face would get stuck that way and-"

Kakashi almost choked on the laugh he tried to reign in. "Hi, Sasuke, why don't you take a seat?"

Sasuke grunted, unconvinced, slouching in his little plastic seat with an arm draped languidly over the back. "Couldn't find a babysitter?"

Classic Sasuke, Kakashi thought. Turn the conversation before it could even begin. "We're here to talk about you, not me-"

"Can you teach me how to get my hair to spike like that?"

"Inari," Kakashi warned, gently. The little boy wandered off, fruitlessly attempting to spike his hair by running his fingers through it and scowling for effect.

Great. Kakashi sighed wearily. "Would it kill you to look happy for once when you're in here?"

Sasuke smirked, making himself more comfortable in his plastic chair.

"That's better."

"Hn."

"So how's anger management going?"

As he expected, Sasuke rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before waving off the question with a short, "Fine."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Kakashi went on, wondering how long this would take.

Sasuke paused. Kakashi looked at the clock, and smiled at Inari, who had given up trying to spike his hair and was once again absorbed with the Leap Frog pad.

"Saw my brother yesterday," said Sasuke quietly, looking thoughftul.

"Oh?"

"Sister-in-law's pregnant."

"That's great! Congratulations, you're going to be an uncle!"

"Yep, just what I need, another Itachi." Sasuke chuckled, and Kakashi found himself feeling relieved. Is this what he's like when he's not in my office? Kind of normal.

"I think my parents are divorcing."

"Sorry to hear."

"Nah, it's cool." Sasuke lapsed into silence. His phone began to go off, vibrating in his pocket, and Kakashi shot him an annoyed look as it buzzed.

"I could confiscate that, you know. How's soccer?" Kakashi pressed, trying to keep the rare words going.

"We won our game over the weekend. So, you gonna keep pestering me with questions until you put my mother's interrogating skills to shame?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm only trying-"

"To what? Poke and prod until you're sure I'm not some angry freak?" Sasuke deadpanned.

"That, right there, is why you're here," Kakashi observed. Sasuke frowned, but only shook his head and tapped his foot impatiently.

"We done?" Sasuke glanced at the door.

"Do you think we are?"

"Does it look like I'm gonna cry on your shoulder and reveal my tortured soul?" Sasuke asked, sarcastic, but he grinned. Kakashi drummed his fingers on his desk, brow furrowed. So, it was going to be one of those sessions. Two could play at that game.

"No, but maybe there is someone out there you'll talk to." He fixed him with an analytical stare. Sasuke tapped his foot more quickly.

"So?"

"So, maybe if you have a hard time talking to me, remember there are always others close to you willing to listen. Is there anyone you talk to?"

Sasuke paused. "Yeah, actually." His features softened, just a little. Maybe he was thinking about whoever it was he normally ran off to blow steam at.

Kakashi waited a moment before venturing into dangerous territory, "Are you still trying to deal with Sakura?" The question angered Sasuke, who scowled.

"Why are you always asking me about Sakura?" he hissed.

"Isn't it obvious?" It was only the reason Sasuke was here, wasn't it? Relationships could get messy, and Sasuke's teen romance had been no exception.

Sasuke sighed. "I told her I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to know whatever the hell happened."

Kakashi kept an eye on him. How much has this bothered Sasuke? he wondered.

"Are you afraid to know?"

Sasuke looked up sharply. Bingo. "No."

"If it bothers you-"

"It doesn't."

Kakashi held up his hands as if in surrender. "Alright, it doesn't."

"Can I go now?" Sasuke bit out, already shouldering his messenger bag.

Kakashi locked eyes with him, and for a moment, just wished Sasuke wouldn't clam up so tight. He nodded.

"Go on."

Inari called after Sasuke, barely pausing to look up from his Leap Frog game. "When you see Naruto, do you think you could tell him I mastered that kick?"

Surprisingly, Sasuke smiled. "Sure, kid."

"Inari, please, I need to grab something from the principal's office." Kakashi was locking his office door, ready to go back to sleep, while Inari tugged on his sleeve and asked if they could go to McDonald's, right now.

"But we've been here foreveeerrrr."

"it's only been two hours. And McDonald's is bad for you." He stuffed the key in his pocket and threw on his jacket.

"But it's called a Happy Meal!" Inari huffed.

Kakashi laughed. Well, who could argue with that? He led the boy a little further down the hall, and Inari began to talk about his best friend, a boy named Konohamaru, when Kakashi noticed a familiar face sitting sulkily in the principal's office, waiting to be seen.

Kiba's head was down, shoulder's hunched, a few fingertips stained black. He was bobbing his knee and glaring at the hideous brown carpet Kakashi hated so much and wished Tsunade would replace.

Really. It looked like-

"-defacing school propety! First it was the desks, and then I caught him in the bathroom-" an angry teacher, Mr. Brooks the English teacher by the sounds of it, could be heard from behind Tsunade's school door.

Kakashi accepted his mail from the receptionist and wandered on over, tugging Inari along.

"Kiba?"

The boy looked up. "Oh, hey." He was tense, his face twisted in a stormy expression.

"What brings you to the principal's office?" Kakashi asked, still staring at Kiba's black fingertips. Inari was busy unwrapping the Dum Dum lollipop Sarah, the receptionist, had given him. Kiba shrugged.

"For 'defacing school property' I guess," he grumbled, then cursed under his breath.

"Mr. Brooks is a little high strung. Kids sketch on the desks and draw on the stalls all the time-"

"That's not it." Kiba growled lowly. Kakashi threw a sidelong glance at him.

"Oh?"

Kiba took a deep breath. "I was...I was crossing things out. Coloring them in. So people couldn't read what it said."

Kakashi raised a brow. "What did it say?"

Kiba looked fierce. "Nothing," he muttered. From behind the door, Kakashi could hear the low drone of Tsunade's voice. Inari was at his side now, showing Kakashi his lollipop. Kakashi smiled and patted the boy on the head.

"Well if you say nothing, you can bet she'll dish out more than an order to clean the desks and stalls."

Kiba scoffed and swept an angry gaze across the room. He said nothing.

"Inuzuka!" Tsunade barked, causing nearly everyone in the office jump out of their skins. Inari clung to Kakashi's side.

Kakashi watched Kiba rise, hands stuffed in his pockets, and march into the office without looking back. He felt a pang. Sadness? He thought about Iruka, and hoped he wasn't too sick for a hug, a cuddle, skin on skin. Inari's fingers were intertwined with his, and the kid was swinging their hands.

"Are you done? Kakashi? Kakashi? Kakashi?...Dad?"

Kakashi blinked. "Hmm?"

"Can we go?"

He offered the boy a thin, but genuine, smile. "Yes, yes, we can go."

And he walked Inari to the car, singing 'Old MacDonald', and skipping over cracks, wondering how long he had until Inari was too big for songs and jumping over cracks and believing that cacti could make him shrivel up.

A/N: And here we go again. I like Kakashi's chapters, and as a faithful reviewer pointed out, they're a nice breath of fresh air that everyone needs (although the end of it got a little serious) spaced between the trials of high school and other problems. Hope you enjoyed the rest of Kakashi's chapter and Inari's cuteness.

Next update: We get a firsthand look at what's been going on, touching on almost all the important revelations in this chapter in some way through PoVs such as Kiba, Sakura, and Naruto. Soon, Part 1 of this story will be finished, and we'll be on to Part 2. Yes, this story will transcend senior year of high school. Again wanna say thanks to all who faithfully read or review. Your support for this is awesome.