During the morning, Minato arrived at Kakashi's hospital room to see his two chuunins chatting while Kakashi slept. Rin smiled brightly at his arrival and reached over to shake Kakashi awake. "Ah, Rin, you don't need to do that-" Minato tried to stop her. Kogetsu-sensei insisted that Kakashi sleep as much as possible. She had warned Minato not to wake him up.

"He asked us to. He was awake earlier, and before he went back to sleep, he asked us to wake him up when you came."

Minato wondered if this was a good thing or not. So far, Kakashi has done little more than glare at him. But the fact that Kakashi could be woken up was a good thing. Minato looked forward to when Kakashi's chakra pathways were recovered enough that they could accelerate his healing. This slow 'normal' process was nerve-wracking. Kakashi had lost so much weight through it too.

Kakashi sat up and stifled a yawn. Minato smiled when Kakashi's hair flopped over and into his eyes. It was nice to see his exposed face so often now too. The oxygen tube in his nose blocked off enough of his hyper senses that going without his mask wasn't too much of a problem.

"Good morning, Kashi-kun," Minato greeted his exhausted student. Rin and Obito snickered at the childish nickname. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him but muttered a greeting in return. Minato had dropped the old moniker when their team had expanded per Kakashi's request.

Obito was pushing a glass of water into Kakashi's hand. "Drink that, and then you need to finish your miso from last night."

"Can't I have warm miso," Kakashi complained?

"Oh! I can go get some," Rin offered and skipped out to get the miso. Minato was a bit surprised by the turnaround of things. He had expected Rin to be the one playing nurse, not doing the fetching.

Minato found a seat and pulled it up close as he watched the boys interact. Kakashi certainly didn't act like he wanted to murder Obito. Perhaps Kushina had been right in her interpretation, or maybe Kakashi had recovered and no longer believed the artificial world he created for himself. Minato felt he could not ask that straight out, though. His other students didn't seem to be aware of Kakashi's delusions.

When Obito had finished fussing with the pillows, he took the glass of water back when Kakashi had finished it off. Minato decided to try and talk to Kakashi. "How are you feeling today?"

Kakashi shrugged. It was an unhelpful response, and Minato's hopes sunk a bit. "Well, I can't stay for too long. I have an appointment this morning to see a new apartment," Minato announced.

"You're moving, Sensei?" Obito asked. It probably seemed like an odd time to choose to move to them.

Minato smiled, "Yes, I need a larger space since Kashi-kun is moving in with me," and Kushina-chan, but he could reveal that later. He was a bit giddy about it all.

Kakashi's brows furrowed, and his lips pursed for a moment. "Why does everyone want me to move in with them?"

"Huh?" It was Minato's turn to be confused. He saw Obito blushing, and his heart swelled with pride. Obito had put aside his rivalry with Kakashi and offered to help his teammate! He would sing his praises on top of the Hokage mountain if it was socially acceptable.

"I'm not living with you either, Sensei."

Minato raised his brows at Kakashi's tone. He hoped Kakashi hadn't been this rude to Obito too. "I didn't say you were getting an option. One, I am ordering you as your jounin commander. Two, you are not the age of majority, and I am your guardian; I am forcing you. The only option I am giving you is what color you would like your room to be?"

He wanted to giggle at Kakashi's face. With no mask, he could see his mouth drop in agape. "I'm not-" he seemed to choke on his words. A strangled noise, and then he continued quieter, "I'm not a child."

Grey eyes implored him to understand. Minato could read them. When had Kakashi's gaze become so readable? "Kakashi," Minato kept his voice measured with no leeway, "I already told you this wasn't up for debate."

Kakashi frowned and shook his head. "No, this isn't- You didn't do this the first time. Why would you do this now?"

Minato thought back to after Sakumo's death. "I should have forced you to stay the first time. I won't make that mistake again," he promised. Kakashi didn't seem at all reassured by this. Minato pulled his smile back on. "I should have everything settled by the time Kogetsu-Sensei is ready to release you. So, what color would you like?"

"Do blue," Obito grinned wide as Rin walked in with a sealed cup of warm miso.

"Blue what," Rin asked curiously.

"Kakashi is moving in with me, and I asked what color he wanted his room," Minato caught her up.

"Oh!" She handed the cup to Kakashi, who accepted it while looking more exhausted than before. "That's great! I offered to let him stay with my family too, but I think this is an even better idea."

"Everyone is crazy," Kakashi opened the sealed container.

"No, Kakashi, we're a team. Teams look out for each other." Minato knew this was likely a new concept for Kakashi. He never understood that he needed to rely on his teammates.

"What about a warm cream color? It'll look nice in the morning," Rin supplied helpfully.

Kakashi swirled the soup in his cup. "I really don't think this matters. Why does it even have to be a different color?"

"It doesn't. I just want to make sure you are comfortable." Minato hoped Kakashi could see how sincere he was, but the boy was pouting. It wasn't something he often saw, especially without a mask. It was a resigned look with a slight mouth pucker.

"Anyways, I'm glad you are doing better. I should get going. I'll stop by again later." Minato stood to his feet and grinned at his young team.

"Sensei," Kakashi's voice sounded very exasperated, and it caused his grin to brighten just a bit more. "It's overkill to move and pay more in rent just to give me a place to recover. What would you do with space afterward?"

"After? You have a few years left before you turn 12, Kakashi. I'm not that concerned. Even then, there would be no reason for you to move out."

Minato had to swallow his laugh when Kakashi stared at him, horrified. Obito was cackling, and Rin was giggling behind her hand. Minato decided to make his escape before Kakashi's mouth started working again. He winked and shushined out of the room. Once he was in the hall, he allowed himself to laugh. It wasn't often he could have such a laugh at Kakashi's expense.

Minato had a bounce in his step as he made his way down the hall. Today was going to be a great day as he goes apartment hunting with his girlfriend (though she wasn't acknowledging their relationship yet) and future wife. Kakashi was healing and has possibly overcome that weird coping skill. Things were looking up.

Minato heard Kushina before he caught sight of her. It was a relief to hear her happy chatter because it meant she wasn't backing out of moving in with him. The thought sent a giddy shiver up his spine and pulled a smile on his face. He rounded the corner and saw his girlfriend's bright red hair flaring in the bright sun. She was chatting animatedly with who he assumed was the realtor. What he didn't expect was to see Jiraiya-sensei with them.

As Minato approached the group, his heart sputtered to a stop when Kushina noticed him and stop mid-sentence to smile at him. Kushina had stopped talking to greet him. He didn't get the chance to relish in that radiant smile because Jiraiya-sensei threw his arm around his shoulders, demanding Minato's attention.

"How's your boy doing," Jiraiya-sensei asked.

Minato looked from his sensei to Kushina. "He seems to be in good spirits. We can wake him from sleep now, which is a huge step in the right direction. Hopefully, his chakra pathways will be able to tolerate healing chakra soon."

"Your son is in the hospital," the realtor asked gently.

"Umm, no-"

"Yes," Minato quickly cut Kushina off. It was better to get the rumor out there, so everyone would know if you messed with Kakashi, you mess with Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. "Our son, Kakashi, was injured recently. He is in the hospital right now. We hope to pick a new place quickly and have everything settled before his release."

Minato ignored Kushina gaping at him. He supposed he had never run this Kushina, but she had agreed to raise Kakashi with him.

"I suppose we have no time to spare," the realtor said and went to lead them to the first location. Minato and Jiraiya hung back, talking quietly.

"I haven't found any leads here on the jutsu used, even among Sensei's archives, " Jiraiya admitted.

Minato frowned, but he hadn't found anything either, even among theories. "We have to keep looking or capture this guy."

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "I also have to return to my own mission. You need to be careful, Minato. Sakumo was my friend, and I was the one that originally paired you and Kakashi. But at the time, I didn't know what was going to happen. Taking Kakashi in and claiming him, as you are, is painting a target on your back. We don't even understand this guy's attack. With the war going on-Minato we can't afford to lose you too. You're making a name for yourself out there. If you didn't already have guardianship over Kakashi, you wouldn't be able to get it now. But that doesn't mean the council won't take it away if they get wind of this. We have been trying to keep this quiet, but it is hard knowing there might be an intruder in Konoha."

Minato frowned as he absorbed what Jiraiya said. He hadn't considered his growing fame would cause the council to strip him of his guardianship. The council may even emancipate Kakashi and send him straight to the front line. There would be nothing Minato could say to that. "I'll adopt him."

"Minato," Jiraiya snapped.

Minato glared at his teacher. "I'll adopt Kakashi, and then the council can't say anything. I'm an orphan, and Kakashi is the last of a disgraced clan. There is no clan honor at stake here. What shame could there be with a clanless man taking in a clanless child?"

"The council won't approve," Jiraiya argued.

"Then it's a good thing adoption doesn't go through the council," Minato pointed out.

"Kakashi is a shinobi, so the Hokage will still have to approve."

"Then you have until you return to your mission to convince Hokage-sama."

The two men had stopped to have their heated discussion forcing Kushina and the realtor to backtrack to them. Jiraiya relented first, "you're playing a dangerous game Minato. You'll make a lot of enemies this way, and enemies at home are not what you want in a war."

Kushina frowned, "Minato, what are you scheming about now?"

"I am adopting Kakashi. Some information was brought to my attention, and it seems to me that this would be the best route." It really wasn't. Minato knew the smart thing was to continue as he had been, helping Kakashi from a distance. If Minato brought Kakashi home and then sent him away after he recovered, no one would bat an eye. But taking in the disgraced Hatake child was bound to piss people off that blamed Sakumo for the war. With Sakumo gone, Kakashi had to shoulder the blame for the war. Minato was running a risk politically just associating with Kakashi. Going further than helping was like stabbing himself in the foot. Yet, Minato was willing to risk it. How could he ever hope to be Hokage if he can't even take care of his precious student?

"Wow," Kushina's eyes widened, "really? Why? Not that I'm against it, ya know."

"Sensei thinks the council will remove Kakashi from my guardianship. If he is adopted-"

"Then it strips what hold the council has over him for the next few years," Kushina finished for Minato. "You really think they would do that?"

"It's hard to tell sometimes what the council will do. They may just ignore the whole thing, but if they feel that Minato is being distracted or that Kakashi is becoming a liability," Jiraiya left it hanging. They could all see where it was going.

"Should I be a part of this then? If you and Kakashi are going to be a real family, then I don't want to intrude, ya know," Kushina said, unsure.

Minato sighed. He loved Kushina, but sometimes she could be slow. "Kushina-chan, you'll be a great mom to Kakashi. You knew what he needed before either of us did. So, how can we be a family if you are not there?"

Oh, Kushina's face went as red as her hair again. She turned on her heel with a "whatever" and dragged along the poor realtor. Minato was going to have to get the paperwork done quickly before the council gets wind of it.

"Guess I'll talk to Sensei," Jiraiya-sensei's voice was still tense.

"Thank you," Minato nodded, knowing Jiraiya disagreed with this but was willing to help Minato anyway.

"Just be careful, Kid." Jiraiya left, and Minato went to chase after his future wife. Minato may be going about things a little backward, but they'd make it work. He knew what he wanted.

Minato moves at his own speed, and he can be really pushy about things when he wants to be. Don't mind him, he's just a man that takes what he wants. Regarding adoption and orphans, Japan doesn't have a strong history of adoption. There's a stigma attached to adoption there. Also, Kakashi is currently shouldering the blame for his father regarding the third shinobi war. So Minato is really putting himself in a bad position with all this. Just thought I'd explain that a bit.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Tell me about a time when you did something that someone warned you not to do. Did it turn out in your favor or should you have listened?