Change in Plans

by AdolescentLycan

Minato just wants to go on his first real date with Kushina. Instead, he's roped into an afternoon spent watching four-year-old Kakashi. Cue a jutsu recital, pack of puppy summons, and Jiraiya's distinctly adult writing falling into the wrong hands.

Minato is armed with a thoroughly detailed ten-step plan from Jiraiya-sensei, yet he still can't shake his nervousness at the thought of attempting his toughest mission yet. Jiraiya has written out the steps for him in explicit detail, including multiple contingency plans, but all the extensive preparation does nothing to calm the butterflies in his stomach.

It had been embarrassing enough going to his sensei for advice in the first place, but Jiraiya had been all too enthusiastic to help. Immediately, he'd whipped out a piece of paper and started drafting out guidance, crooning to himself about the beauty of young love.

Jiraiya had looked up from his writing only briefly to ask, "How old are you again, kid?"

"Fifteen, Jiraiya-sensei."

Jiraiya had stared down at his instructions appraisingly for a moment, scratched out a good deal of writing towards the bottom of the page, then handed them over to Minato with a wink. "There you go. A foolproof plan to get to at least second base tonight."

It had taken Minato more than a few hours to decipher his sensei's chicken scratch and even longer to work up the courage required to set the plan into motion. Now, on a rare Saturday with no mission occupying his time, he's slowly making his way through the busy streets of Konoha to the Uzumaki residence. The last time he was there was three weeks ago – when he was returning Kushina to her parents after saving her from an attempted kidnapping.

That night, Minato had made his feelings for Kushina embarrassingly clear. He'd shown her the vibrant red hairs he'd carefully collected and said, "I saw the trail you left behind. That was smart."

Kushina had blushed at the compliment but stayed quiet, so Minato pressed forward. "I think your hair is beautiful. I – I think you're beautiful."

At that, the blush in Kushina's cheeks had deepened to a shade that rivaled her fiery red hair. She'd given him a shy smile and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad you saved me," she'd offered, the last thing she'd said to him that night before disappearing back into the safety of her home – now watched at all times by at least two Anbu members.

Minato has replayed her words in his head to the point that he can't scrutinize them anymore. Was she just thankful to be rescued or thankful that he'd been the one to save her? They've spent more time alone together on a few occasions now, but it's been three weeks since that night and he still has no idea how Kushina feels about him.

Which is why today is time for a gesture that she won't be able to ignore. He's going to ask her to spend the day with him, ending with dinner at Ichiraku Ramen – and with the way he's seen Kushina eat, he's sure it's the perfect note to end on.

"You saved her from enemy shinobi. You can do this," Minato says under his breath as he approaches the Uzumaki residence. He can't remember feeling this tense since the final round of the Chunin Exams. He's not the kind of shinobi who abandons a mission, but it's incredibly tempting to turn around now.

But then he'd have to admit his failure to Jiraiya-sensei, and that thought is humiliating enough to drive him forward into knocking on the front door.

The chakra signature he detects approaching is unfamiliar; he'd only met Kushina's parents briefly on the night he returned her home, but both of them had the Uzumaki clan's characteristic warmth and overwhelming magnitude. What he senses now is much smaller, steely and barbed.

So it's not all that unexpected when a small silver-haired child opens the door – though of course he's left wondering what this boy, clearly not any relation of the Uzumakis, is doing here. No more than four or five (the mask eclipsing the lower half of his face makes it hard to tell), the boy stares up at him with big, dark eyes.

"I, uh, was looking for Kushina?" Minato says. Nerves force the statement out as a question.

The boy lets out a disappointed little sigh. "She had to leave on a mission with my dad."

Minato waits for the boy to continue. After a long stretch of silence, he says, "I, uh – I can just come back later."

He's about to leave feeling only mildly deflated when Kushina's mother appears behind the boy. "Minato!" she says affectionately, even though this is only their second time meeting. "Are you looking for Kushina? She had to leave this morning with her sensei – some urgent mission."

"Right. Do you know when-"

"This is Hatake Kakashi," she continues, smile beginning to show only the slightest hint of strain as she smooths the boy's messy hair, earning a scowl and something muttered under Kakashi's breath too low for either of them to hear. "He's staying with us until his father gets back. They had to leave in a hurry and, well, he's too young to be left alone. Kushina insisted we keep a close eye on him."

Kushina has mentioned in passing that the legendary White Fang is her sensei. It's a clever strategy. Pair one of the strongest shinobi in the village with the jinchuriki. Mold her into a strong kunoichi while also keeping a close eye on her. Kushina has never mentioned her sensei having a young son, though.

Minato once again tries to excuse himself, but he doesn't get a word out before Kushina's mother is pressing forward. "I'm sure he's already tired of us though. He'd probably like someone else to play with."

The last thing Minato would like to do with his free afternoon is babysit a child, especially one who looks increasingly irked to be talked about like he isn't there. Minato would much rather find Jiraiya-sensei and see if they can cook up a plan better than him taking Kushina out for ramen.

"I kind of-" he starts, but predictably isn't able to finish.

"You know you'll probably have your own squad soon. It'll be good practice for you!" Kushina's mother adds. There's a slightly pleading look in her violet eyes, eyes that remind him of Kushina's – and how he's only tied up in this situation because he wanted to finally ask her out on a real date.

But what if Kushina comes home exhausted from her mission and the first thing she hears about is how Minato wouldn't help her parents? Minato realizes that if Kushina insisted her parents had to watch Kakashi, she might be impressed to find out that Minato stepped in to help them out.

Besides, Kushina's mother is starting to exhibit a distinctly frazzled look, and if she's anything like her daughter, Minato doesn't want her to get to the point of snapping. For all of their sakes.

So rather reluctantly, Minato agrees.

Since the Uzumakis live on the edge of the village, their backyard is larger than most. It's full of overgrown spiraling plants bordered by massive trees. One of the far corners is dominated by a lush garden with all kinds of herbs, vegetables, and giant sunflowers that seem to be at least ten feet tall. Minato wonders if the plants can't sense all the chakra inside the home and feed off it.

It's quiet except for the faint sound of wind rustling through the trees. A beautiful day – the kind that would have been perfect for a long walk around Konoha with Kushina.

The young boy he's found himself paired with instead, little Hatake Kakashi, gives Minato a critical look, clearly sizing him up. "My dad is the White Fang," he announces, watching closely for what Minato assumes is some kind of recognition.

Minato tries his best to look thoroughly impressed. "I've heard of him."

"Everyone has," Kakashi replies bluntly. "I haven't heard of you." Before Minato can reflect on whether or not he's just been insulted by a child, Kakashi is speaking up again. "I'll show you my jutsu now. Are you paying attention?"

Minato isn't ready for what comes next, because nothing could have prepared him for the demonstrations Kakashi cycles through, moving quickly from one to the next. Tree walking to the top of the largest oak, then doing chakra-infused jumps from one branch to another. Kunai and shuriken throwing at imaginary targets. Even creating a few clones.

As Kakashi moves on to his taijutsu, Minato's mind starts to drift back to Kushina. A shinobi is never truly off duty, but to be called out on a mission on a Saturday morning means that it's something urgent. He knows she's capable – that the only reason she was captured a few weeks ago was because she was alone and outnumbered – but he can't help but worry about her.

The sound of a blade rushing through the air pulls him from his thoughts, and he jumps only a moment before a kunai impales the ground right where he was standing.

Kakashi is standing upside down on a tree branch about thirty feet up in the air, glaring at Minato. Even though he watched Kakashi climb much higher before, Minato's heart still leaps up into his throat at the thought of the boy falling. Fortunately, Kakashi jumps down, flipping around mid-air to easily land on his feet. "You weren't paying attention," he accuses.

"I was," Minato protests halfheartedly. "You know those knives are sharp, right? You could actually hurt someone." The blade had definitely been thrown hard enough to do some damage, especially given that Minato isn't wearing his flak jacket.

It's hard to read Kakashi's half-hidden face, but Minato is fairly certain he looks let down by this reaction. He watches as the boy walks over to the kunai knife and tugs it out of the ground. "Hey, careful!" he says as Kakashi makes a shallow cut on his palm, bright red blood immediately bursting forth.

For his concern, all he gets in reply is an annoyed look as Kakashi rapidly makes a few intricate hand signs, then slams his bloody palm into the ground. "Summoning jutsu!"

Eight tiny ninken materialize in a cloud of smoke. They're only puppies, but the fact that Kakashi even has a summons – never mind eight of them at once – leaves Minato with no doubt that the strange, hard-to-read child in front of him is a prodigy.

The ninken are a mess of gangly limbs as they rush over each other to jump on Kakashi, yipping and licking him in a furry frenzy. The boy looks genuinely happy as he greets and pets each one of them in turn, but that enthusiasm is all but wiped clean when he turns back to Minato. "I read how to do this special jutsu," he explains, scooping up the smallest pup, a wrinkled brown pug with a darker snout. "This is Pakkun. I'm teaching him how to talk, then he's going to teach the others for me. He's the smartest."

Minato is at a complete loss for words, but fortunately the ninken have again temporarily seized Kakashi's attention. He sets Pakkun back on the ground and gives all the puppies the same critical look he first gave Minato. "Go practice your running and whoever's the fastest can have treats when I say you're done," he instructs.

The ninken scatter off in several directions, yapping at each other as they run circles around the yard, leaving Kakashi to turn the full weight of his attention back to Minato. "Now you show me your jutsu," he commands.

It's not that Minato doesn't have plenty of things he could show Kakashi. He reached chunin status quickly, and smart money is on him becoming a jonin any day. It's more that his mind goes blank when he tries to think of anything he could possibly demonstrate that would impress the child in front of him, so he stalls. "Do you know how long your dad and Kushina are going to be gone?" he asks.

Kakashi shrugs and lets out a gusty sigh. The mask makes it hard to be sure, but Minato is fairly certain he's pouting. "At least a few days."

"It's nice that Kushina's parents are watching you."

At that moment, Pakkun runs up to Kakashi and scratches at his leg. There's a folded piece of paper in his mouth. Kakashi crouches down and takes it from him, unfolding it and reading the title out loud. "Jiraiya-sensei's expert instructions for wooing women, complete with a list of the best make-out spots in Konoha and a thorough guide to-"

Minato panics. The note must have fallen out of the pocket of his zip-up jacket and been carried off by the wind. Nothing on that piece of paper is appropriate for a child to read, and the content only gets more explicit from the title onward. "I can teach you about seals," he blurts out. It's the first thing that comes to his mind.

Kakashi's dark eyes continue scanning the piece of paper, no longer reading out loud. He seems hopelessly entranced. "I can read about seals. My dad has lots of books about them. Hey, what's second base mean?" he asks without once looking up.

Minato quickly wracks his brain for something that'll be more interesting than Jiraiya's writing. "I'll show you the new jutsu I'm working on," he tries.

At that, Kakashi looks up briefly, a flicker of interest on his face. "A new jutsu?"

"And it's one you can't read about either, since I'm the one creating it."

Kakashi carefully folds the sheet of paper and puts it in his pocket before looking up at Minato expectantly. Minato has the feeling the White Fang has been on the receiving end of this same look countless times.

And of course Minato is about to show Kakashi a jutsu that has never completely worked; realistically, he only has something to show for his effort about a quarter of the time. Trying not to let those odds get in his head, he cups his hands and focuses on channeling his chakra into the space between them. "Rasengan!" he declares as the ball of chakra energy forms, no more than the size of a marble. It flickers briefly, then disappears despite his best effort to sustain it for more than a few seconds.

Kakashi, however, does not share his disappointment. "What was that? How did you do it? Show me how," he demands. Minato knows he should be grateful that at least Jiraiya-sensei's instructions are no longer gripping the boy's attention, then realizes he's somehow going to have to get them back from Kakashi.

"I told you it's not finished yet, but I can try and teach you once it's done," he says.

The sullen look he gets in response reminds Minato that he's working with a child – a child that no matter how gifted (or maybe because of his talent) is clearly used to getting his way.

"But I can show you something else," he offers, quickly doing a mental inventory of everything he has on hand. His jacket might not have as much storage space as his flak vest, but there are still plenty of hidden pockets. "The Rasengan is a change in chakra form, but there are a lot of other jutsu that require a change in chakra nature. Do you know yours?"

Kakashi shakes his head, spiky silver bangs bouncing down into his eyes. The boy pushes them back with an annoyed huff, and Minato remembers the countless times he had the same problem before Jiraiya-sensei helped him figure out the right way to tie his forehead protector.

Minato crouches down so they're at eye level before continuing. It feels natural, but it seems to irk Kakashi. "Well there are five-"

"I already know this part," Kakashi interrupts. He looks away briefly to survey his pack of ninken scattered across the yard. "Akino, you're not practicing," he scolds.

Minato doesn't envy the boy's future sensei. "Okay, okay," he says. "Well every shinobi has a natural affinity for one type. This paper can show you what yours is." He reaches into one of his inner pockets and presents Kakashi with a small piece of paper. "It'll interact with your-" Before he can continue, Kakashi reaches out and grabs it from him.

The paper crinkles. Kakashi stares down at it curiously before looking to Minato for an explanation.

"Well there you have it. Yours is lightning. I thought it might be – you have a spiky little chakra signature." Clearly Kakashi takes offense to the word little, so Minato quickly backtracks. "It's pretty impressive that you have a chakra signature at all! How old are you?"

"Four." The word sounds like a challenge, and Minato has to take a second to process that the elaborate jutsu demonstrations he's just seen are all from someone who's likely never set foot in the academy.

"There you go. Your chakra signature is small because your reserves are still developing," he explains.

Kakashi seems pacified by that. He turns away from Minato and lets out a sharp whistle. In a scramble of fur and racing limbs, his pack of ninken quickly run back to him. "Who was the fastest?" he asks, surveying them with dark eyes as they all begin barking at once.

"Yeah, okay. You were all pretty fast. Everyone can have treats!" Kakashi declares. He reaches into a pocket and produces a heaping handful of kibble. Once every dog's been given several treats and licked the boy's face several times in thanks, he says "Release!" and the pack disappears in a puff of smoke.

"You really taught yourself how to summon them? You're sure your dad didn't help you?" Minato asks.

Kakashi shakes his head stubbornly. "He said I had to wait until I was older to try a summoning jutsu because I don't have enough chakra yet."

"So you decided to prove him wrong and summon eight of them?" Minato asks. He knows the White Fang only through reputation, but he has a hard time imagining anyone, especially his own son, defying his explicit instructions.

Kakashi just shrugs. "That's how many showed up when I followed the steps on the scroll." He pauses, then adds, "And I'm not going to teach you how until you figure out the Rasengan and teach me."

"That's okay. I already have-" Minato starts to explain his toad summons, but Kakashi is already grabbing his hand and tugging him along.

"Let's practice now. Like my dad does with his students. Since you're older, you have to keep your eyes closed and only fight with one hand."

"That's what the White Fang does?"

Kakashi nods. "Otherwise his students complain that it's impossible. I watch sometimes and give advice, and then they do better. Now can we start?"

The fact that sunset is quickly approaching is what saves Minato from what would probably be a lengthy tactical exercise. "It's getting late. I really do have to go," he says gently.

Disappointment flashes briefly across Kakashi's face, and Minato finds that he can't help but feel bad for the kid who's been shuffled from his dad to the Uzumakis, and now to him for a few hours.

"But if Kushina's parents say it's okay, we can go and get a bowl of ramen and I'll try to explain the Rasengan, okay?" he offers.

Kakashi leaves him hanging for a painful few seconds, leaving Minato to wonder if he's really going to be stood up by a four-year-old. Then the boy nods, and Minato thinks he sees the trace of a smile underneath his mask.

"Maybe you'll be able to help me figure out what I'm missing, huh?" Minato says warmly.

Kakashi nods up at him. "Or maybe I'll figure out how to do it first."

---

Ichiraku Ramen is located near the center of the village. It's a long walk by any measure, and Minato keeps covertly peeking down at Kakashi to make sure the four-year-old is doing alright. He gets away with it only a few times before Kakashi catches him and snaps, "I'm not tired."

"I never said you were, but it's a long walk."

"I run with my ninken every day. I'm not tired," Kakashi insists.

Minato lets it go without a fight and makes sure to be more furtive when glancing down at Kakashi. The walk itself might not be tiring him out, but Minato assumes that his bedtime has to be looming.

When they finally arrive at Ichiraku Ramen, Minato immediately knows something's wrong. The normally bustling shop looks empty, and his first thought is that they've closed early for the evening.

Then he realizes what's actually happening, and it's much worse.

The lighting inside the restaurant has been dimmed. There are delicate pale pink flower petals scattered on the countertop. Soft music – from where in the tiny shop, Minato can't tell – is playing.

"This is weird," Kakashi says bluntly. "Is it always like this at night?"

Minato lets out a forced laugh. "Yeah – um, every night." This has to be Jiraiya-sensei's doing.

Earth-style swallow-me-whole jutsu, Minato thinks to himself.

When Teuchi comes to take their orders, he shoots Minato a confused look, and Minato's reply is a quick shake of his head. He hopes Kakashi doesn't notice but is sure the observant little boy hasn't missed a thing.

After they order (Teuchi winks at Minato and lets him know Jiraiya has already picked up the tab), Kakashi peers up at Minato. "Is Kushina your girlfriend?" he asks.

Minato ducks his head to hide the embarrassed flush. "Not quite."

"So you just want to go to second base with her? At one of the make-out spots?"

Minato chooses his next words quickly but carefully. "Kushina is my friend, but I would like to be more than friends with her. Does that make sense?"

Kakashi shrugs. "Like best friends?"

"Yeah. You have a best friend, right?"

"Pakkun, I guess."

"No one your age?"

Kakashi shrugs again. "They're all weird."

Minato decides to find success in once again diverting Kakashi's attention from Jiraiya's instructions. "So is your mom on a mission too?" he asks, figuring it will be a neutral question that'll get their conversation further away from his relationship with Kushina.

Kakashi shakes his head. "No." There's silence for a few moments. He looks up at Minato. "She's dead."

Minato almost wishes Kakashi would bring up Jiraiya's writing again. Anything would be preferable to the stiff silence between the two of them.

"She got sick when I was a baby. So I didn't know her," Kakashi adds. The words sound rehearsed, like he's been in this exact conversation before and knows the fastest way to get out of it. There's no real emotion in his voice.

Two steaming hot bowls of ramen arrive, saving Minato from having to come up with a reply. He stares at Kakashi curiously, waiting for the boy to take his mask off to eat.

"It's too hot to eat it right away," Kakashi says, seeming to know exactly what Minato's waiting for. "Were you going to take Kushina out here for dinner?"

Minato nods and twirls up a bite full of noodles. "Yeah," he admits.

"Well if you want to be best friends with her, you should take her somewhere cooler than a ramen shop. Now teach me how to do the Rasengan."

Minato slowly chews a bite of ramen, working through what he's figured out from his attempts so far to come up with the easiest way to explain it. "It's meant to be a spinning ball of concentrated chakra energy," he starts.

"It was. I saw it."

"Right, but it should be bigger – and I want it to last more than a few seconds."

"So why doesn't it?" Kakashi picks up his chopsticks and starts twirling around his ramen.

"If I knew that, it'd be easier to fix. No one's done this before, so I have to figure it out myself," Minato explains. "Are you going to eat your ramen now? It should be cooled down."

Kakashi ignores the question. "If you can start it but not finish it, you're going too fast," he declares. "You need to start over and do it right this time."

"But it's not that simple. I don't know how to do it right – or if it's even possible to do."

"Well just try it different and see if it works then."

"You make it sound pretty easy."

Kakashi just shrugs. Minato can't help but notice that his eyelids are starting to droop. It's definitely getting to be bedtime, and it's a long walk home. At least it won't be hard to carry him when it inevitably comes to that.

"Minato!"

Minato pushes the noren aside to look out into the street, though he'd recognize that voice anywhere. It's Kushina and her sensei quickly approaching them. Her long hair is tied back, and her jacket is slightly dusty – though that could just be from travel. Minato feels a flood of relief to see her unharmed – and maybe even excited to see him. When their eyes meet, she rushes ahead of her sensei to greet him.

"My parents said we'd find you and Kakashi here. What's all of this?" Kushina asks, violet eyes looking around curiously at the soft lighting and flower petals scattered on the counter. At least the music had been turned off shortly after Minato arrived with Kakashi.

He shrugs. "I don't know – guess they're trying something new," he lies with a nervous smile. He looks over at Kakashi to see if the kid is going to correct him and blinks in surprise when he sees a completely empty bowl in front of him. Kakashi gives him a look that's equal parts knowing and satisfied with his own cunning.

When the White Fang arrives a moment later, Kakashi's face lights up even more than it did for his ninken. "Dad, you're back!" he says, leaping up and out of his seat.

Sakumo easily scoops up his young son and pushes back Kakashi's hair so it's out of his eyes. "Well it looks like you still have ten fingers and ten toes so you can't have gotten into too much trouble. And you made a new friend, did you?"

Kakashi looks over at Minato with eyes that he's clearly struggling to keep open and gives a little shrug in answer.

"Kakashi showed me all his jutsu. It looks like he's more than ready for the academy," Minato offers.

At that, Kakashi finds enough energy to protest. "I didn't show them all."

"Of course not. That would have taken all day and part of tomorrow," Sakumo obliges his son. "You'll have to forgive me. It's been a long day and we should be getting home," he says to Minato and Kushina. "You did well today, Kushina."

Then the full weight of his gaze turns to Minato, who suddenly can't help but remember that he's inadvertently exposed the White Fang's son to material most definitely not suitable for his age. "And Minato, thank you for keeping an eye on my boy," he says before excusing the two of them. Kakashi is half asleep, but he gives Minato a little wave goodbye.

Minato watches them walk off. Before they've even made it down the street, Kakashi has maneuvered his way up onto his father's back for the journey home.

Kushina nudges Minato and gives him a shy smile. "My mom told me you showed up this afternoon looking for me," she says.

"Yeah, I – I did." The fact that Kushina's still dressed in her flak vest and he's wearing street clothes leaves him feeling even more vulnerable.

"Well?" Kushina prompts. "What did you want?"

Minato gestures vaguely to their surroundings. "To spend the day with you and take you out for ramen."

Kushina laughs. "So when I wasn't home, you decided to replace me with a little boy?" Before Minato can protest, she goes on. "Luckily for you, I'm starving. We rushed home so sensei would be able to put Kakashi to bed."

They settle in next to each other at the counter, Minato with a half-full bowl of cooling ramen and Kushina's first order on the way. Her face lights up as she tells him about the mission she's been on, and she laughs when he tells her about the jutsu recital Kakashi put on for him.

Through the noren, Minato can hear the street clear out as the night stretches on. Kushina orders bowl after bowl of ramen with no indication of any rush to get home. None of Jiraiya's contingency plans covered this situation – if he's going to press forward, he'll have to trust his instincts.

"Kushina," he says. "Do you think you'll be free tomorrow?"

The beaming smile he gets in return makes Minato think that maybe, just maybe, today's change in plans hasn't been so bad after all.