Minato studied the paperwork in his hand. His eyes traced every word, making sure everything was correct, every space filled out, every signature completed.
"No matter how long you stare at that packet, it won't change," Kushina-chan said from her place on their couch.
"I'm just making sure it's airtight, and nothing is missing." Minato placed the packet on the dinner table and then picked it up again.
Kushina walked over to him and took the packet from his hand. "Everything is there, Minato. Kakashi is yours, and there is nothing anyone can do about it now. We should put this in a safe place."
"How do you think Kakashi will take the news of his adoption," Minato asked nervously and twisting the fabric on his pants. He would like to think Kakashi would be happy.
"He'll be pissed. Especially since you didn't ask him." Minato hung his head, knowing Kushina-chan was right. "But he'll get over it." She kissed him, and Minato smiled into it.
"He'll probably think this is all overkill," Minato sighed, thinking back to the boy still in the hospital. He wondered if maybe he should have talked to him about it first. He knew Kakashi though, Kakashi wouldn't do anything to befit himself if it put a burden on someone else. Not that Kakashi was a burden, but the boy certainly didn't believe that.
Kushina grinned, "he already told you this was all overkill, and that was before you decided to adopt him. You'll be lucky if Kakashi doesn't stab you in your sleep."
"Maybe you should sleep in my room and protect me," he suggested, hopeful. Minato expected the hand to be shoved in his face. It was a testament to how much he loved this woman that he didn't dodge it.
"Stop saying weird stuff like that. You're moving too fast."
Minato pulled Kushina's hand away and saw his favorite color had been painted on her face once again. He was so glad he could do that to her. "I have been after you since we were children. It hardly feels fast to me." He turned her hand and kissed the back of it.
Kushina's blue eyes widened, and she took several steps back. "That's not-that is not true."
"Of course, it is. I have always known what I wanted. I want to be a strong shinobi, I want to be Hokage, I want to have a family, and I want you. I will accomplish all of them," Minato said seriously. He didn't want Kushina-chan to misunderstand this as a joke. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this, but what kind of shinobi would he be if he ignored an opening. Risky or not, he was taking it.
Kushina didn't respond, so Minato filled in the silence, "You can take the time you need, but I am ready. Speaking of being ready, did we get the eggplant for dinner tonight?" Minto changed the subject, so Kushina didn't feel too pressured. Kakashi was being released today. Their team was visiting Kakashi because it would be a day or two before they could see him at home. He smiled a bit at the thought of Kakashi being home here with them.
"Yeah, we have everything. Want to head over there now? It'll give Kakashi time to sleep before dinner. That way, he'll be well-rested and can stab you when you tell him you adopted him. I will watch and laugh too," Kushina informed him mercilessly. She had a gleeful grin on her face too. She really was looking forward to Kakashi getting retribution.
Minato pouted and crossed his arms. He would like to think Kakashi would be happy about all this. Minato knew he had wanted to have a family to call his own at Kakashi's age. "If I had asked, he would have said no. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
"That is so screwed up," Kushina shook her head.
"But am I wrong?"
"I won't answer that." That was answer enough for him.
Kakashi felt himself relax as he once again had his face mask in place. He had never gone for so long without it. He felt more like himself with it back in place. Today Kakashi was getting released from the hospital, which somehow put his childhood teammates in good spirits. The two of them were talking excitedly the way Sakura and Naruto would sometimes. It was nice, but he was seriously missing his space.
He wasn't going home alone, though, so he wouldn't have personal space there either. Minato had refused to see reason. He had successfully purchased a house of all things. That was a huge investment that was necessarily terrible, but he'd have preferred Sensei didn't have him in mind when he bought it. Apparently, it had a decent yard for training and his ninken to enjoy.
Kakashi very much missed his ninken, but he wasn't sure he wanted to summon them anytime soon. They worried they wouldn't be the same ninken that he had grown up with and fought with. It would be fine to see them when they were younger, but it still made him uncomfortable.
Minato suddenly arrived with his usual flare. Kakashi's memory of Minato-sensei must have been washed with time because he doesn't remember him being so pushy or showy.
"Sensei," he greeted first. His teammates offered their own happy greetings as well.
"Hello, Kashi-kun," Minato greeted him cheerfully. Kakashi let out a halfhearted sigh at the nickname. He would rather be called Bakashi.
"I just need to fill out some paperwork, and then we can be on our way. I already spoke to Kogetsu-sensei on the phone," Minato-sensei explained. Then he left as suddenly as he appeared. Kakashi had to wonder why Minato-sensei hadn't filled out the paperwork first and then came to see him. He clearly had seals in other parts of the hospital. Kakashi wondering if the hospital staff were aware of it or if Sensei just placed them there without permission.
"We're going to give you a few days to get used to living with Sensei before we visit you again," Rin was gathering her few items.
"Yeah, we both have missions while Team Minato is on hiatus. Rin is going to be doing more in the hospital, and I," Obito hooked his thumb to his chest, "am going to help a couple of the new genin teams."
Kakashi nodded. Obito being asked to assist in training other teams wasn't all that odd. Sure, he gave the boy a lot of grief growing up, but Obito was a good ninja for his age. He graduated at 9, which was younger than his students. He was placed on Minato-sensei's team because he had potential. Honestly, Obito would have received a lot more praise if he hadn't been stuck on a team with his dumbass. It must have shot his confidence trying to catch up to a kid so much younger than him. It would have nullified the fact he was already ahead of his own age group. Obito really had no luck.
"I'm sure they will learn a lot from you," Kakashi said honestly.
"Whoa, really," Obito straightened up in surprise.
Damn, Kakashi was such an ass as a kid. Of course, he hadn't understood why others didn't think and experience things the same way he did. It took Kakashi years to grasp that and another set of years to appreciate it. No wonder Obito ended up so screwed up, and Rin assumed there was no hope. He was the toxicity in their group.
"Yeah, I mean those who can't do, teach, right?" Okay, Kakashi was still an ass.
Obito howled in rage, but Rin quickly shushed him. Obito rudely pointed his finger at Kakashi while his other hand was fisted. "I'll have you know Bakashi, I will surpass you one day. You'll see, I'll be Hokage, and you will be bowing to me."
Kakashi yawned. It was a genuine yawn. He was tired, but Obito took it as an insult and stormed out of the room. Rin looked torn between chasing after her friend and staying with Kakashi.
"I'll be fine. I'm just waiting for Sensei," Kakashi waved her off. Rin nodded and gathered Obito's things before leaving.
Finally, Kakashi was surrounded by relative quiet. He should have pissed off Obito sooner. He laid back on the bed and yawned again. His body felt heavy and dull. Kakashi began drifting off when he saw something dark pass over him. He jerked upright and looked around. The room looked undisturbed. He couldn't see anyone, but that didn't mean someone wasn't here. There weren't a lot of places for someone to hide, though. Kakashi rescanned the room before a plume of darkness emerged to his left. Instincts screamed at him and threw his arm up to protect his face and neck. A kunai bit through his clothes down into his skin.
Kakashi launched himself out of bed towards the exit. He was in no position to be fighting anything. He had no weapons, no real protection, and he couldn't use his chakra. His best bet was to find help. Why was something attacking him anyway?
Again, the plume of darkness appeared. Kakashi realized belatedly it was a black cloak. He caught a pale hand aiming a kunai to his stomach. Kakashi twisted the arm, so the kunai was no longer positioned to gut him. He brought his shoulder into the torso of the enemy. When he leaned in to throw him over his shoulder, the enemy was suddenly not there. Kakashi stumbled and turned on his foot. He didn't like not having a visual of his enemy.
The phantom appeared again, and Kakashi took a second to examine his chakra. Like a quick sniff to see if the scent told him anything about his enemy. The chakra was a startling mixture of his chakra and another like chocolate and vanilla swirl, distinct but together.
The test cost Kakashi an attack of opportunity. The enemy still had a kunai, but Kakashi's body was still heavy and clumsy. He needed to escape. Kakashi dodged another attack getting further from his goal; the phantom seemed to know he was trying to leave. Kakashi bared his teeth even if the enemy nin could see it.
The man looked like someone had forgotten to color him in. He had white hair, translucent eyes, and pale skin, and the black clock accented him sharply. Kakashi watched those Hyuuga like eyes trying to predict his next attack without his sharingan. The phantom charged straight at him, and Kakashi dove between his legs, something he hadn't been able to get away with doing since he was a child.
"You can't escape me.," the phantom yelled as Kakashi threw the door open and bolted down the hall. "I'm always there."
Kakashi's heart hammered and sputtered in his chest like it would give out, but he pushed forward anyway. He ran past nurses and doctors, not even sure where he was running to. All he wanted to do was put distance between him and the phantom. Kakashi rounded the corner and found he couldn't continue further. He gasped for air and fell onto his knees as dizziness swamped his head. He felt something touch him, and he blindly swung his fist.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the difference in voice caused him to pause. There were several people now crowding around him. Kakashi was still trying to suck in air as he searched each of their faces looking for the assassin among them.
"How did this happen," The medic in front of him muttered. The medic put pressure on Kakashi's bleeding arm. He then got uncomfortably close to Kakashi's face and stared into his eyes. Kakashi swallowed thickly and considered shoving the medic out of his face. But he figured the man was just checking his pupil dilation. At least, that's what the Sakura in his head was telling him. "You'd probably breathe better without the mask. Do you want it off?"
"No," he rasped.
"Kakashi?" Kakashi heard sensei's voice and turned to see him jogging down the hall.
That's right; he forgot the yellow flash was there. Kakashi probably should have gone the opposite way towards the registration desk. It seemed the assassin hadn't followed him, anyway.
"What happened?" Some of the medics moved out of the way for Minato-sensei. He crouched down in front of Kakashi, his eyes zeroing in on the one injury he sustained. The medic had a gauze against his wound, but it was becoming increasingly red.
Kakashi's heart was finally slowing down enough for him to talk, but it was still punctuated with gasps for air. "Unknown nin, wearing a dark cloak, long white hair tied back. He used only one kunai as a weapon. Remained invisible to the eye and senses but solidified as he attacked." As Kakashi reported, the look of concern on Minato's face tightened to something more severe. His jaw flexed as he bit down hard.
"Where," Minato demanded.
"The hospital room. Just after Obito and Rin left," Kakashi promptly answered. His eyes widened as Minato's lips curled in rage.
"They left you?"
Kakashi hadn't expected such an angry reaction. Even he was intimidated by it, so Kakashi quickly tacked on, "I sent them away. You were in the building anyways."
"That doesn't mean they get to leave their post," Minato hissed.
"Post. They were guarding me. Has this happened before?" Kakashi had thought his team just wanted to be there with him. He should have realized it was a mission. Now that Kakashi was being released from the hospital, the team's mission ended, so they were reassigned.
Minato-sensei ignored Kakashi's questions. He stood to his feet and cast a look around the room. Zeroing in on someone, he commanded, "room 220 has security cameras. I want the tapes brought to me."
Sensei was keeping things from him. It was a startling realization. Kakashi supposed it shouldn't be if he gave it an honest thought. This trip through time was passing him uncomfortable insights on the people he perfected in his memories.
"How bad is his injury?" Minato-sensei demanded from the medic that still had ahold of his arm.
"A shinobi medic can have it cleared up in no time. Has anyone looked at his heart recently?" The medic asked.
"He is under Kogetsu-sensei's care. His chakra pathways were damaged. She'll be starting on chakra enhanced healing soon to deal with the internal damages. She said his pathways had mostly stabilized. Can his arm be healed then?"
"I'll call Kogetsu-sensei and get her recommendation on the matter. We'll have him taken to a different room in case he needs suturing instead."
Minato sensei agreed, and the pair were led into a smaller room with an examination table. Kakashi was so tired he considered just sleeping on it. Before he could try and get onto it, he was lifted by his armpits and placed on it. It happened quickly, so Kakashi didn't have time to react to it. It was disorienting to be picked up off the ground like that. Minato was instructed on how to hold Kakashi's wound before the medic left.
"You didn't tell me Rin and Obito were guarding me," Kakashi said, looking at Minato's hand wrapped around his forearm. It made Kakashi feel a lot smaller and a cold ball twisted in his stomach at that.
"Your job was to heal, Kakashi," Minato murmured as he watched the door.
"I should have been told," Kakashi argued, wishing Minato would at least look at him.
"You needed to rest. Not worry about your safety, and it still is," Minato said firmly, his eyes finally meeting Kakashi's.
"Is that why you are pushing me to stay with you? Sensei, you can't be there all the time. You have to go on missions. I have to go on missions," Kakashi challenged. It was utterly ridiculous this level of protection. He had always been fine on his own, and he didn't know why that suddenly changed. This was hardly the first attempt on his life. Most shots were by foreign shinobi while outside the village. Still, it had happened inside the village or by Konoha shinobis before. But maybe he had never told Minato-sensei about them? He kept many things to himself at this age, not wanting to burden others with his problems. A good shinobi was an asset and didn't cause his village problem would have been his line of thinking.
"You will not be going on missions for a long time. Not until you are 100%, and that includes-" Minato stopped himself, but Kakashi knew what he was referring to.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes and said the word that Minato-sensei didn't dare to use. "I'm not crazy."
"I didn't say you were. It's a coping skill. You went through a lot," Sensei's voice softened just a bit.
The sheer audacity of that comment had Kakashi mentally snarling. His sensei didn't know even half of it.
Two doctors came in, shutting them up for the moment. They explained, Kogetsu-sensei recommended they go ahead and try chakra enhanced healing. She wanted them to go slowly in case his pathways are still too weak. Kakashi gave the shinobi medic his arm and watched as the green glow emanated from her hand. He mentally cringed as it felt like sandpaper under the skin. Kakashi refused to show any discomfort lest they stop and give him stitches instead.
Kakashi's arm was made new. He moved it and felt the new skin pull and stretch. "Thank you."
Another man came into the room and handed a tape off to Minato-sensei. Sensei thanked the man and stood to his feet. "I'll finish the paperwork on the way out. I'll be keeping him with me this time," Minato declared.
Kakashi was beyond irritated with his sensei. It wasn't that Minato was making bad decisions. Far from it. Kakashi just didn't like not being included in them. Never has Kakashi been left so far out of the loop of his own wellbeing.
Minato urged him to get up and leave with him, but Kakashi just huffed and refused to get up. It may be childish, but Minato-sensei needed to understand he wouldn't be treated like this. Being ordered around was fine, but he was being treated like someone incapable.
Minato-sensei let out a sigh. Then for no reason at all, Minato went to pick him up. Kakashi shoved Minato, even putting some chakra in it. Minato released him but was clearly done with Kakashi's antics. "If you don't want to be carried, then use your own legs and walk."
Kakashi had no choice. There was no way in hell sensei was carrying him. So, Kakashi got on his feet and followed after Minato looking every bit a bratty child.
Kakashi stood beside Minato in the lobby as he finished filling out the paperwork. Everything was crashing in on him. He didn't care anymore. He walked away and stretched out on the chairs to sleep. If that assassin asshole stabbed him in his sleep, maybe it would be for the best.
Kakashi realizes that Minato isn't entirely honest with him all the time. You and I know Minato keeps Kakashi out of the loop on a lot more than Kakashi realizes. A lot is going on in this small group of people. The team is getting split up, Minato is adopting Kakashi, and Kakashi has his first conscious encounter with the assassin.