Thank you all for reviewing! Last chapter. And, just so you know, this universe is not going to wind up with a superpowered/genius!Naruto. I hate those stories. He'll progress at the same rate that he did in the show. Just because he has a teacher now doesn't mean he's suddenly going to become ridiculously overpowered; come on, after three years with Jiraiya, Naruto had a better sense of strategy, a new type of Rasengan- he didn't come back as a god with the ability to lay Zabuza and Haku out on their asses, as I've seen happen way too many times. Well... I digress. Anyway, here we go! Last chapter, though other oneshots will be posted in this same story.

Naruto glared stubbornly as the half-formed, weak, pathetic excuse for a clone vanished and forced his hands together in the seal again. "Baka Kakashi," he muttered angrily, then closed his eyes, trying to force another clone.

When it looked even worse than the last one did, he swore loudly and slammed his fist onto the floor. "Why won't you work, stupid?!'

"You're using too much Chakra."

Naruto jumped at the sudden voice and spun around, staring at the figure perched in open window as nonchalantly as possible. He waved at him and smiled. "Yo."

Naruto stared, shocked, for a long moment before he jumped to his feet and pointed at him accusingly. "You! What the hell are you doing here?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You didn't let me explain myself earlier. Minato-sensei would be disappointed in me if I just gave up that easily."

"What… and, anyway, I have a door!"

"So?"

Naruto sighed, exasperated. "So why are you in the window?!"

Kakashi tilted his head to side in confusion. He looked around at his precarious perch in the window and glanced back at Naruto. "This is how I normally enter." Without waiting for an invitation, he slid inside and landed lightly on his feet, then leaned back against the wall, slipping his hands into his pockets.

Naruto glared as Kakashi made himself at home. It should be pretty obvious that he wasn't welcome here. "Are you just going to stand there until you get whatever it is that you want?"

"Maa, pretty much."

Naruto had to stop himself from hitting the infuriating man. He glowered at him for a moment, then crossed his arms stubbornly and looked away. "Fine, whatever, you jerk. Ask away."

"I didn't really come here to ask questions, so much as answer them."

"I don't have anything to ask you! I know everything I need to know!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Maa, you said yourself you wouldn't be too angry, before you found out that you were the kid I was talking about."

Deciding the man wasn't going to leave, Naruto stubbornly sat back on the ground and turned his back to Kakashi, forming a seal with his hands. "That was before I knew the truth. Bunshin!"

Naruto would have really preferred for a dramatic display of at least one, but preferably more, clones, ones that were perfectly functional and could show up Kakashi. So his cheeks burned when all that happened was the brief appearance of a pathetic little creature before it poofed out of existence.

"Oi, oi. You're using too much Chakra."

Naruto glared over his shoulder before returning back to his task. "What do you know," he muttered under his breath. "Iruka-sensei says I'm not using enough."

"Well, that's because he works with eight year olds all day. With people of your size and training, that most often is the problem. But you're a bit… different."

In spite of himself, Naruto glanced back at him, and he forgot to make his glare quite as hateful as before. "What are you talking about?"

Kakashi tapped his red eye, which was open now, but not quite as creepy when it wasn't spinning or trying to hypnotize him. "This is good for more than just scaring people. I can tell how much Chakra you're using to perform the technique, and it's too much. It's not in the right balance and most of it just ends up being wasted. Try and tone it down a bit. …Or a lot."

"But Iruka-sensei said-"

"Come on, trust me. Just this once, ne?"

Naruto hesitated, then turned back around and huffed, even as he put his hands together in the seal again. This time, instead of focusing on pouring all of his energy into the technique, he concentrated on only releasing a trickle.

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus, and then put the energy into use. He cracked his eyes open, hopeful, then slumped when he saw the same pathetic excuse for a clone as before.

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Okay, now you're not using enough energy. Hmm… here." He pushed himself off the wall and knelt next to him, pushing his hands together in the seal again. "Have you guys learned about sensing someone else's Chakra yet?"

Naruto looked at him like he'd just grown a second head.

"Okay, guess not. I guess you can't watch me and do by example. Well, how about this? I'm going to give you the Chakra, and all you have to do is use it to make a clone. Be careful not to draw on any of your own energy. Once you've gotten a feel for how much energy to use, you can try it yourself."

Naruto looked at him doubtfully. "I don't know… sounds kind of weird."

"Weirder than my eye?"

He had a valid point there. "I guess not."

Kakashi grinned cheerfully. "Okay. And, I'm not a medic, so I can't guarantee that it won't hurt a little. And it will definitely feel strange. But if you just use my energy to make a clone, it'll be fine. Now, close your eyes and focus."

Naruto hesitantly acquiesced, then wondered a split second later why he had. If anyone else in the village had asked him to close his eyes, he probably would've been met with a fist to the face a moment later. He flinched, almost expecting the pain, and when it came, he nearly tore himself away from Kakashi's hands.

But it didn't feel like he'd been hit. It felt like pins and needles, except under his flesh. Like Kakashi had somehow wormed his way under his skin and started poking him with a tiny sword, but with the uncomfortable sensation came a rush of unfamiliar energy. He almost put it to use right away, but Kakashi's voice stopped him.

"Don't use it yet. Remember, focus on how much I'm using, so you can replicate it yourself."

Surprised, Naruto nodded and kept his eyes closed, focusing on the amount of the energy. He had never actually thought about it before; just tried to make himself use more. But now that he concentrated on it… it was certainly less than he had been using. In fact, it barely felt like a fraction of what he'd been trying to use.

"This isn't that much!" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Right? Now, use it."

"Oh, yeah, that part. Okay." He focused and, a moment later, felt the energy vanish as it went into making the clone. He cracked an eye open to stare at the fruits of his labor, then grinned broadly.

Before him stood another Kakashi, along with the one who still crouched beside him. It was a perfect clone in every detail, and it gave a little wave before vanishing with a poof, much to Naruto's disappointment. "Hey! Why did it look like you? And why did it vanish?"

Kakashi chuckled. "It looked like me because it was my Chakra, not yours. And I dispelled it. Think you got it? Try on your own, now?"

Naruto nodded emphatically and formed the seal, closing his eyes again. "Yeah! I'll show you; I can do it!"

Kakashi said nothing, allowing him to focus on the clone. He tried to replicate the amount of energy Kakashi had used and it was surprisingly hard; it felt like he wasn't using anywhere near enough and kept having to stop himself from using more. Finally, convinced he had gotten it right, he released the technique and hesitantly opened his eyes again.

In front of him was a perfectly formed, perfectly functional, Naruto clone.

Naruto gasped in delight. "Hey… hey! I got it! Cooooool!" He jumped to his feet and hurried forward, inspecting the clone for any flaws and was even further shocked when he found one. "Oh my god! I never gotten it before! This is so cool! Ha! Wait till Sakura-chan sees! Now I'm better than Sasuke-teme!"

Kakashi grinned lazily and shrugged. "Maa, you just needed a little direction."

Naruto clapped his hands together and almost jumped in excitement. "Wait until Iruka-sensei sees! He'll be so surprised! And Sakura-chan will be impressed and no one will care about Sasuke-teme anymore; I'll be the popular one! Thanks, Kakashi-niisa-"

Naruto cut himself off when he realized the honorific he'd been about to use, and Kakashi's single grey eye widened in surprise. Naruto coughed, lowering his head and scratching the back at his hair in embarrassment. "Um… well, I…"

Kakashi sighed quietly once the shock had worn off and crossed his legs, resting his elbows on his knees. "Well… I guess we're back to where we started, huh?"

Naruto remembered his earlier anger and tried to call it back, but found it difficult. Not after he'd so cheerfully helped him make a clone for the first time in his life… Was this what it was like for the other kids in his class? When they practiced techniques, did they have parents watching them and correcting their mistakes? Was that why he was the last one in his class to master the clone technique?

Naruto glanced up cautiously to see Kakashi watching him, calm as ever, an expectant look in his eye. The man seemed to be waiting for him to speak, and finally, Naruto decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had been so nice and… if it weren't for the secret revealed at the hospital, Naruto almost felt like he could trust him.

"Okay. You seem nice, which is why I'm not just going to throw you out. So… all right. Why didn't you come see me when you first back to the village? You know, after that six-year long mission you told me about?"

Kakashi chuckled ruefully, a distant look in his eye. "Wasn't allowed. Our team didn't have any contact with the general population; we saw doctors and shrinks for the first week, and that was it. Then the ANBU commander."

"Shrinks?"

Kakashi shook his head and rolled his visible eye skyward. "When you're a shinobi, you'll meet your fair share of them. And a psych eval is required after torture."

"Wha- torture?!"

"Maa, yes." Kakashi scratched his chin and popped his neck, seeming lost in thought. "I spent my eighteenth birthday in a Iwa prison cell, courtesy of their head interrogator. My nineteenth, in some abandoned house on the border as our team recovered after we escaped." He shrugged again before his eye brightened. "My, aren't those depressing stories. Point is, we weren't allowed back into the general populous until we cleared the psych eval. In ANBU, that means you can function in battle again and won't freeze up or panic; however you cope; well, that's your business. So, the moment we cleared the shrinks, we were given another mission. I honestly didn't have time to do more than wave at you."

Naruto bit his lip. On one hand, he could hardly imagine that a shinobi could really be so busy that he wouldn't have been able to take a night and come over and visit. But, on the other… he thought back to how Kakashi had appeared in the woods before he'd collapsed. Blank white mask and armor stained in blood, katana hanging off his back… intimidating and powerful, almost a sight to fear.

While he couldn't imagine this Kakashi being the ninja he was describing, that man, with the animal mask and the blood and the katana… he could.

"Oooookay," he said at length, drawing the word out. "So… after then? Let me guess, it's the same story?"

"More or less. The village was in a bad situation for a while, after the Kyuubi attack. Yondaime-sama died, as you know, and many other high-ranking shinobi were killed, not to mention much of the village was destroyed. It wasn't exactly the kind of situation where Sandaime would let an ANBU captain resign. Not to mention the council had ordered me to stay away and wasn't exactly keen on letting us have any contact. Whenever I had a spare second of free time, they would give me another mission... and the punishments were severe if I tried to visit you."

"But why?! What did I ever do to them?! Why do they hate me?! ...Why the hell does everyone hate me?"

Kakashi's gaze softened. "They're ignorant. That's just all there is to it, Naruto. They don't know what they're talking about. And don't listen to the council. Trust me, no self-respecting jounin does."

Naruto grimaced. He wanted to still be angry at Kakahsi, he did… but the man wasn't making it very easy. "So, what happened? I mean… even if you weren't in the village a lot… I mean, it's been ten years! Surely, in ten years, you've had the time to at least pop by and explain yourself!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head awkwardly and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I did. Honestly, the situation cooled down two years ago, when you were eight, when this kid who could use Wood Style entered ANBU. Word spread that Konoha had a new prodigy like the First, and then all the missions came pouring back while other countries stopped hovering on the verge of war to take advantage of our weakened situation. I've had a bit more free time since then."

His anger rising, Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly, now fighting to keep his voice steady. "So?! Why didn't you say anything then?! That still leaves two years when you just kept silent!"

Kakashi looked away, his shoulders slumping in somber defeat. "As I said before, I was still under orders to keep my distance, and the council wasn't above punishing you if I went against them. But, beside that... Naruto, you were already eight. You were in the Academy… I saw you eating ramen with your sensei. You looked happy. I knew if I just intruded in on that, it would only cause you more pain."

"What?"

He shrugged tiredly. "There's a reason ANBU don't have many friends. We're not easy to be friends with. Constantly on missions… coming back to the village half dead… I once almost cut a friend's throat when he snuck up behind me. If he hadn't been a ninja, he would've died. You didn't need that. Sandaime told me some stories about you, and, well… you'd suffered enough. Minato-sensei never would've wanted me to just cause you more pain."

Naruto stared at the man, dumbfounded. He literally had no idea what to say. He was still reeling over the fact that here was this man who'd known his father, who'd tried to take care of him when he was born but just hadn't been able to. And he was more than a little mad that Kakashi had been able to contact him for at least two years, but hadn't… and his explanation didn't make sense. Yes, he had Iruka, but… Iruka wasn't there all the time.

Naruto looked away and bit his lip. This conversation was abruptly feeling very, very familiar…

"Why don't you just adopt him, Iruka?"

Iruka laughed lightly and scratched the base of his ponytail, even as Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "Hokage-sama, he's lived on his own for eight years. He doesn't need a guardian to just show up now, after all this time, like he can't take care of himself."

"…Perhaps. But that's not why I suggested it."

"Hmm?"

"Naruto doesn't need a legal guardian, Iruka. But he's still a child, and every child could use someone to come home to, and he doesn't have anyone else…"

Iruka looked away while Naruto watched on in disbelief. He suddenly felt almost wrong about eavesdropping, like this wasn't a conversation he was supposed to hear. But now he wanted to know the answer to Iruka's question. He had never thought about Iruka adopting him before… but he wasn't honestly opposed to the idea. He certainly didn't need a legal guardian; he could take care of himself.

But it would be so nice to come home to someone at night.

Iruka's voice was careful and quiet when he spoke again. "I care for Naruto a lot, Hokage-sama. But, to be honest… I think he would be better off, staying on his own."

"How do you mean?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as his sensei gave a morose shrug. "People aren't really happy that I'm Naruto's friend. They take it out on him. And I don't mean my other students; I mean other adults. I don't know if Naruto's noticed, but I have. They glare at him just a little bit more when I'm with him, push him away just a little bit harder… I don't want to think about what would happen if I actually legally adopted him. People are cruel enough to him as is, Hokage-sama. I don't want to see it get worse, and certainly not because of me."

Naruto had to fight very hard to stay still and unnoticeable at that, not budging from his hiding place in the tree. What was Iruka talking about? People had always hated him… just because Iruka was his friend now didn't change that. …Right?

"Oi, Naruto."

Naruto jumped. Kakashi's voice had been a sudden intrusion on his memories, memories he had almost forgotten about when the discussion had never occurred again. He blinked and looked over at the jounin, who was frowning in worry. "You've been doing out for almost two minutes," he said as a way of an explanation.

Naruto shifted awkwardly and looked away, now unable to stop himself from comparing Kakashi to Iruka. Both had said they refrained from getting closer to him because they didn't want to hurt him… Naruto thought that was thick-headed and, well, stupid, but he couldn't hate Iruka, not after hearing how earnestly he had spoken about hot wanting him to be hurt. And Kakashi seemed to just throw a bland smile at everything and shrug, but it seemed like he had been just as wary of hurting him as Iruka.

Naruto hesitated and scratched his hair, finding it a bit difficult to look the man in the eye again.

He wanted to say that Kakashi was a complete idiot for staying away because he didn't want to hurt him. He also wanted to say that was really nice of him and that it reminded him a lot of Iruka, but that he still thought it was stupid that Kakashi hadn't approached years ago… but that he could forgive him.

Naruto couldn't figure out how to say all that, though.

"Um… so, um," he said, oh so eloquently.

"Yes?"

Naruto chuckled uncertainly. "Ah… Kakashi-niisan?"

Kakashi's grey eye widened at the honorific, especially when it became clear that it hadn't slipped out on accident, not like before. He seemed to have left him almost speechless. Naruto watched, almost slightly amused, as the man stammered and sputtered for a few seconds before he finally let the suffix pass and gestured for him to continue. "Yes, Naruto?"

"How did my dad die?"

Kakashi's open eye narrowed, and he sighed, leaning back against the wall with a surprisingly somber expression. He opened his scarred red as well and slowly glanced up to look at Naruto, and was he imagining it, or did it spin for just a second…?

But then the moment was over, and Kakashi spoke simply and succinctly, with a far off look in his eyes as if he were reliving the day himself. "For Konoha. He died on the same day as many fine shinobi, to protect the village. During the Kyuubi attack. Both he and your mother gave their lives to keep the village safe."

Naruto lowered his head at that, unable to stop a tiny, proud smile from playing across his lips. His parents had been shinobi. They had both died for the village.

What were those bullies who made fun of him now going to say? He'd tell them that he was just the same as them, that his parents had been just as honorable as Iruka and and every other shinobi in the village! Just wait until he told them…

If only he could remember his father's name… and what had he looked like again?

"Um, Kakashi-niisan?" he asked in confusion, realizing he had forgotten someone else. "How did you know my dad? I can't remember."

Kakashi's eye just crinkled up in what was becoming a familiar smile. "Maa, I know everyone," he said evasively.

Naruto would never know, Kakashi reasoned, that it had just taken a little bit of fiddling with his Sharingan to remove the details of Minato from Naruto's mind. The council hated Naruto and wasn't very fond of him. Knowing his father's name and appearance, it wouldn't take very much for Naruto to discover that Minato was the Fourth Hokage. If he found that much out, there would be no keeping him quiet, and the council would assume that Kakashi would tell him about Kyuubi, as well, and he doubted he'd even be allowed to have contact with Naruto after that.

Even though Naruto had every right to know about the demon fox sealed inside him, every right to know about his own parents…

Kakashi wasn't willing to let Naruto suffer more than he already had.

Naruto would probably be furious with him when this deception fell through, and it would fall through.

But he would like to be Niisan for at least a little while longer. Minato would've wanted to let him take care of his son for as long as he could. If Naruto knew the truth…

The council had as good as told him two years ago that if told Naruto the truth, about anything, then he could kiss Konoha goodbye and welcome a long term mission to Mist with open arms. Kakashi wouldn't really care, by this point; that wouldn't exactly be a punishment. For him, anyway. But, for Naruto, who'd already lost everyone…

Kakashi looked down at the boy who was smiling awkwardly, his legs crossed, looked the most relaxed that Kakashi had ever seen him. He found himself unable to stop smiling himself.

Minato would be very happy indeed with what his son looked like right now.

And, as for Kakashi… he liked the idea of being Kakashi-niisan. Quite a lot.