DISCLAIMER: I own nothing from the Naruto universe but I do have an imagination of my own. PLEASE REVIEW MY CHAPTERS! I will take advice and suggestions from my readers, (I can always add some fun, especially,) while continuing my story.

Thinking

Biju, etc. speaking

Biju, etc. thinking

Emphasis

Deep in the serpent's lair, there was a child! Kakashi tried to get the child to come to him, only to see the child shaking and scared, cowering more closely into the corner. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," he said gently. For the first time in his life, the Hatake felt the need to lift his masks - both his ANBU Hound mask as well as the cloth mask that had covered his face ever since he could remember. "Come, little one."

When the child looked up at him with those huge oh-so-familiar blue eyes he nearly cried. "Naruto-chan?"

I'm... flying?! In someplace that's not the cave, and there's a scared man with things on his face and hard stuff on his body holding me… She had a desperate need to hold on because down is so scary and far away. Will the scared man drop me if I accidentally let go? The girl found it hard to hold on: she was so very tired. The man kept jumping from these big brown and green things, she noticed: what are they called? Could they be "trees?" The boy with eyes he couldn't see out of before going away forever used to whisper stories about his home and he mentioned tree things a lot.

.

It's really her! Sensei, I've got her back, and I won't let her go again, Kakashi promised as he swept through the trees holding his sensei's child as his group moved at top speed back toward the Hokage Tower and hospital. He was followed by Genma Shirunai who held an unconscious older boy that had been in one of those wretched tanks of water. That child had nearly been dead when they found him. They had arrived in the nick of time, as the boy's oxygen had been cut off - whether from the snake himself or because of whatever had caused Orochimaru's base to explode. Other ANBU were left behind to detail findings of the lab and prison cells, as well as to seal the bodies of the dozens of children and three adults that didn't make it. Kakashi put the sickness he felt at what he had seen - the worst of his career - behind him in order to move the survivors quickly to Konoha. The two men and their charges were surrounded by a group of his fellow ANBU in case the snake or one of his lackeys tried to attack.

Arriving at the Tower via ANBU entrance, Hound quickly sunshinned straight into the Hokage's office. As expected, he was met with initial resistance who backed off once seeing the ANBU Captain. "Where's the Hokage?"

"Taicho, the Hokage was summoned to the hospital. His daughter-in-law went into labor and was having a difficult…" was more than the silver-haired ANBU needed to hear before further sunshinning to his leader.

Pulsing his chakra, he was able to enter next to the village leader, "Hokage-sama! We've found the target and one other survivor," he began, startling the Hokage who was pacing in a highly-secured hospital hallway. Turning over the now-unconscious bundle he carried in his arms, the two men ran to the next room to place her on the bed. "Where's Tsunade-hime?"

"With my daughter-in-law who is fighting for her and her son's life," the Hokage responded gravely. Kakashi's chakra was spiking erratically until Shizune-chan ran into the room and took over.

"Kami-sama, is it really her? She looks…" horrible, the Sandaime thought.

"I'd recognize her anywhere, Hokage-sama: look at her cheeks. And when her eyes were open," Kakashi began to giggle somewhat hysterically. The Sandaime placed his hand on the teen's shoulder as Shizune looked up at the ANBU in concern, while still pumping chakra into the tiny girl. Indeed, the child's cheeks had a fingermark running through the dirt on her face - little doubt that was Kakashi's doing - and three tiny whisker marks could be identified. "...they were so blue! Just like sensei's. Just like I remember. She's just filthy..."

"Kakashi-kun, it's more than that. Don't freak out on me: she'll make it, but she'll need long-term assistance," Shizune began.

"Then that will be from me," he responded seriously. "I'll be staying with her and taking her home with me as soon as she's better, and I don't give a damn what…"

"Kakashi-kun slow down," the Hokage warned softly.

Kakashi slowly turned in his leader's direction, leaking Killing Intent and looking every bit the predator he's well known to be. "I promised, Sandaime-sama. I promised sensei. And I made a further promise to him and Kushina-nee while I was on my way here. I will not go against that oath and no one can force me out of my responsibility to my last remaining family."

The Sandaime chose to ignore the near-insubordination of the young man who was one of his finest ANBU captains - at least until later. Kakashi-kun had come far since the death of one team member after another and had even kept it together after the deaths of Kushina-chan and the Yondaime. That was only because he was forced to see her by close companions of Minato and Kushina. After only one visit, the Hatake had latched on to the little heiress and watched over her whenever he wasn't on a mission. Feeding the little girl, reading to her, holding and singing to her: the re-appointed Hokage had been incredibly moved by the boy's turn to the light of the very small child now laying on the table.

Hiruzen groaned. They could deal with Naru-chan's status and who would raise her at an appropriate time. For now, his sweet daughter-in-law was in the throws of labor in the next room. Little Konohamaru would be here at any time. He just prayed the sweet woman would make it. She had been having difficulty with her pregnancy ever since her husband, Hiruzen's oldest son, had died during a mission. Six months of stress and now an illness on top of it... Thank Kami Tsunade-chan came back. He was sure that his daughter-in-law would have perished, had it not been for Tsunade and Shizune-chan's care. The Sandaime Hokage offered an explanation to the med-nin and ANBU, and after patting little Naruto's dirty head, remembered one key thing. "Jiraiya-kun will need to be informed of her return. He is her godfather, after all."

Kakashi began to speak, but Hiruzen stopped him with a wave of his hand. The elder quickly walked out of the room to return to his family. The Sandaime steeled his resolve and entered their room. His wife Biwako had never allowed him to see a birth, saying that the Professor's constitution couldn't handle it. He smiled sadly at that memory of his fiery wife, shaking his head.

"I thought he'd never leave," Kakashi said darkly. Shizune gave him a tight grin.

"She's doing well, considering everything." Kakashi waited for Tsunade's apprentice to continue. "I've healed everything that I can for now. We'll need to do a lot of long-term work to help her get stronger. She's so malnourished…" She saw Kakashi's footing falter. "Kakashi-san, why don't you take a break? I'm going to give her a sponge bath and wash her hair..."

"I can do that," the teenager she had always considered so aloof said firmly. "I used to do it when she was a baby."

Well, that's surprising. Shizune bit her lips nervously. "I suppose I can use your help if you're really feeling up to it." That way we also don't need to alert more medics and nurses to the little heiress' reappearance. If only Tsunade-sama wasn't needed so much with Sarutobi-sama, plus there was a little boy who came in immediately after Uzumaki-Namikaze-chan...

Shizune didn't know that at that moment, her shisho was in the boy's room in order to save him, having left Sarutobi-sama with other medics. She'd had no choice, really. The medical staff at the hospital could handle even a difficult birth, but this unknown brown-haired child that had been damaged by Orochimaru for who knows how long? No, Tsunade felt like she owed it to the near-fatally injured boy to make up for everything her former teammate had done to him. Evil bastard! Should have killed him when I had the chance, all those years ago. I'll find him and do it this time, I swear! She believed that after The Pervert found out his goddaughter had been with the snake all this time, he would help her, too. Surely, right? she wondered. Prior to this at least, Jiraiya had always been so forgiving of her traitorous former teammate.

Hours later things had calmed down. Kakashi was currently sitting in little Naruto's hospital bed, cuddling the girl into him as she continued to sleep. "She looks more like a doll than a 3-year-old girl," he began.

"That she does," Shizune agreed from a chair across the room she had just sat down in. "So, so small..." She shook her head. "You'll be glad to know that the other child is recovering slowly. He has a lot to deal with in the days ahead, too." She sighed as she looked out the window. "There wasn't a blood match in the village system for the poor little guy. Oh, and Konohomaru Sarutobi-chan was successfully delivered, but his mother is in a coma."

Kakashi closed his eyes in pain. What a day it had been. He felt terrible for everyone dealing with this mess. But he had Naru-chan back, and things would get better. He would make things better for her. He then prayed for the Sandaime's daughter-in-law. He hadn't known her until she became Naru-chan's nursemaid after the woman had lost her first child. He would be eternally grateful to her for her helping the little blonde baby, especially after word had leaked that the Kyuubi had been sealed into the girl. Kakashi couldn't be sure, but it would be dumb not to include Danzo on the list of those who may not only have disclosed that SS-ranked information, but also whipped-up the public and civilian council into thinking poorly of the babe. That's putting it mildly. There had been assassination attempts at the orphanage! If he ever found individuals responsible in any way, he would kill them where they stood, no matter who it was.

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Tsunade entered the room. "So there's the little darling," she said softly as she gazed upon the little blonde girl. Her little - no, tiny - distant relative reacted to her entrance by putting her thumb in her mouth and beginning to suck on it as she continued sleeping. Tsunade smiled, grateful that this blessing was bestowed among them on this horrible day.

"Oh, we'll have to do something about that," Shizune said quietly. "She's too old to be sucking her thumb…" Seeing Tsunade-sama and Kakashi-san giving her an ominous look simultaneously, she modified her wording. "I wouldn't want her to damage her teeth and smile, ne? We'll have time for that later, though, of course."

"I'll take the time to help her with that," Kakashi stated firmly.

Tsunade considered the brat. If I look up "possessive" in the dictionary, no doubt it would reference Hatakes. Probably will even have one of their pictures, she thought with some amusement. She could only imagine the sparks that would fly between Minato's teenage brat and her own perverted teammate, Jiraiya. They would just have to work things out in regards to Naru-chan. Tsunade stroked the little girl's soft but spiky hair, which had grown in the back to the middle of her back. Shizune-chan had done a good job of cleaning the girl up. She noted how although the girl had the Yondaime's exact coloring, her baby-fatted little face was all Kushina. Maybe she had her daddy's nose, too: it was hard to tell with her fist in her face, sucking her thumb. Tsunade let out a contented sound. It had been a terrible day, but so far her four most important patients from it were surviving. For once, it was good to be home.