Hey everyone, we are back with another installment of ADU. The response to the story so far has been a positive one so I just wanna say thank you to every one who favorited and followed.
Also shout out to maida321, and awesomecat21! Thank y'all for the encouraging reviews they made my day.
Now that thats out of the way without further delay enjoy the chapter.
"Again" Kakashi commanded as he surveyed a painted target decorated with shuriken.
It was just after eleven in the morning and the silver haired teen was out in one of the many training grounds scattered throughout Konoha watching over his current student's accuracy training.
The student in question quickly replied with a "Yes sir." as he loosed another volley of the bladed stars.
Kakashi was pleased to see that each weapon landed on or within a few inches of the target's bullseye.
He then walked over and ruffled the sunny blonde hair of his four year old son turned apprentice.
"That was a great job Naruto, that last round was almost perfect."
He watched as a grin formed underneath the black mask adorning the young boy's face, and not for the first time the man thought on how much he missed the sight of his son's whiskered cheeks. He still got to see them at home of course, but he was still adjusting to not being able to read the boys expression at all times.
He hadn't intended on continuing the family tradition with Naruto, but the boy had practically begged him for it.
The tradition wasn't even from the Hatake clan; it came from his mother's side of the family, a now extinct clan from Lightning country called the Kakusareta.
Apparently while they were once a moderately sized clan due to heavy losses in the second shinobi war their numbers had dwindled to just one household.
His mother had been the last daughter of the small family, and once her parents, his grandparents, had passed there was nothing keeping her in her home country anymore.
Shortly after their death she had left her family home and decided to travel around the Elemental Nations seeking adventure, and new experiences..
Eventually her travels brought her to Konoha where she met a young Sakumo Hatake, and the rest as they say is history.
His mother had kept her family's tradition when she had married his father, and had in turn passed it on to him. It was basically the only thing he had to remember her by seeing as she died when Kakashi was younger than Naruto was now.
The origin of the tradition itself dated back to before the hidden village system was ever created and was centered around the idea that a shinobi must never show emotion.
The mask was given to a child when he or she began their shinobi training and was used as a physical representation of the Kakusareta's vow to maintain a persona of stoicism in public, never showing any weakness or emotion.
As a child Kakashi had strictly followed that vow, but after Kanabi Bridge when he lost Obito the teen had forsaken that commitment in favor of trying to be more like his fallen friend.
The teenage jounin still believed a ninja needed to control their emotions, but to kill them completely was the worst thing a person could do.
He had seen shinobi like that during his time in ANBU. They were extremely efficient on missions but absolutely lifeless back home, basically a shell of a person.
"A machine" he thought bitterly
Kakashi would never let that be Naruto, the boy was too good for that life.
The only reason the teen still wore the mask was to honor his mother, well that and because he genuinely enjoyed how frustrated it made people that they didn't know what he looked like.
When he explained all of this to his son, the boy had immediately declared that he would wear one as well to honor his grandmother, and Kakashi himself.
"Regardless of what anybody said Kakashi would completely deny that he had teared up upon hearing that."
So on Naruto's fourth birthday, when Kakashi deemed the boy ready to begin his training the teen had given his son a mask identical to his own. Since then the boy had worn it happily each day leading up to now.
Naruto preened at his father's praise going from shinobi in training to an excited child in no time flat.
"Thanks Daddy! I almost gots all bullseyes on that last one didja see?"
The now eighteen year old chuckled at his adopted son's antics before answering.
"Yeah buddy I saw you got 7 out of ten, you've been improving a lot lately."
He paused, affection shining in his lone eye. "I'm proud of you son."
The hyperactive blonde then began jumping up and down and began chanting " SEVEN, SEVEN,SEVEN!"
He paused in his jumping chant and pointed his small finger at the silver haired teen.
"SInce I gots seven that means I get Ramen for lunch right."
The teenage father sighed mentally already regretting the deal he had made with his son a few weeks ago.
It had been shortly after Naruto's fourth birthday that Kakashi decided the boy was old enough to begin shuriken training.
They spent the entire first week just going over how to hold the sharp projectiles and the second on the correct throwing motion. Everything since then had been all about accuracy.
Kakashi knew first hand how important a well placed shuriken could be. While most ninja scoffed at them as a non threat there was a reason they were still a staple weapon of the shinobi lifestyle.
The only problem was, though Kakashi hated to admit it, Naruto simply had no talent for it.
He didn't even come close to hitting the target for another week, and when he finally did manage to connect it was a glancing blow that didn't stick.
Kakashi had seen the young boy's frustration at his failures and offered him a deal.
He told him that every time he landed at least seven bullseyes in one throw he would take the boy out for an all you can eat ramen lunch at his favorite restaurant, Ichirakus.
At the prospect of an all you can eat buffet of his favorite food, the boy's determination skyrocketed. He spent hours everyday practicing his throws, even after his normal lessons were over he just kept on going.
Kakashi was proud of his kid's work ethic, questionable motivation aside the boy simply refused to give up.
After a month all of his hard work had finally paid off as evidenced by the little happy dance the boy was currently doing, and the simultaneous crying of the older Hatake's wallet..
The boy's celebration was brought to an end by his father's next statement.
"Yes Naruto we will be having Ramen for lunch"
He was interrupted by the blonde's scream of "YES!" before he continued.
"But we still have an hour of lessons on chakra theory before lunch."
The boy's mask covered grin immediately dropped and he began to protest.
"But Daddy I hate the lessons, they're sooooo boring, I just wanna do the cool ninja stuff like you."
The former anbu sighed at his son's impatience before getting an idea.
"So you only wanna do the cool stuff huh?" At his sons fervent nod he continued
"Cool stuff like this?" he questions as he blurred through hand signs before calling out.
"Earth Style, Earth Shattering Spears"
Naruto's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as giant lances of stone erupted up from the ground all around him.
He then turned to his father with stars in his eyes and exclaimed "Yes, yes, yes! Cool like that!"
Kakashi smirked beneath his mask knowing he had the boy right where he wanted before smugly replying.
"If you want to do cool stuff like that you have to first learn all the boring theory."
The four year old obviously wasn't pleased by that response as evidenced by the pout he had hidden beneath his mask.
But his desire for "cool ninja stuff" eventually outweighed his distaste for all things boring, and he sat down and pulled his notes out of his backpack.
Naruto, despite his hatred of scholastic education, was quite gifted academically thanks to his adoptive father's patient teachings.
He could already read and write, and was currently learning mathematics along with the basics of chakra theory.
His daddy always told him "A dumb shinobi is a dead shinobi." But Naruto wasn't sure that was completely true.
He couldn't help but think of that loud man in green whom his dad introduced him to on his birthday. That man didn't seem very smart at all but he was still alive.
Shaking himself of his distracting thoughts, the masked jinchuriki settled himself in for what he was sure was going to be a terribly boring lesson.
"Ughh Daddy I don't feel so good." Naruto groaned as he laid on the couch in their apartment's living room holding his stomach.
True to his word after Naruto's lessons were done the elder Hatake had taken the triumphant blonde by ichirakus on the way home. The boy had ordered enough food for a small army, and upon arriving at home with their takeout had proceeded to devour all of it.
Kakashi couldn't bring himself to feel too bad for the boy as he had literally just inhaled eight bowls of miso ramen with extra pork, even though the jounin had warned him not to overdo it.
But eventually his fatherly instincts took over and he couldn't help but walk over and lift the small boy into his arms and rub his back in an attempt to comfort him.
It was crazy for the teen to think that just two years ago such a thing would have been awkward and forced, but now it was as easy as breathing.
He had truly grown to love the boy.
He was his child now and not just because he signed some papers, but because he chose him as his son.
He then felt that familiar twinge of guilt just as he always did when he thought like that. Kakashi was just a poor replacement for Naruto's true father, and the man in question had left shoes that were almost too big to fill.
But Kakashi would be damned if he didn't try his very best to fill them.
The teen had already explained to Naruto that they weren't blood hadn't intended to tell him so early, but one day the boy asked why he didn't have a mommy and it all just kind of came spilling out.
He told him of how he adopted him and that his biological parents had been strong ninja of the hidden leaf.
He of course couldn't reveal their identities as Naruto was much too young, but he did explain that he knew them and that they had loved the boy very much.
Naruto took it well. He had cried a bit at first for the parents he would never meet, but then he said something that Kakashi honestly thought was much too profound for a child of four to say, he said "That Kakashi must have really loved him if he chose to be his daddy even when he didn't have to, and that he was really glad that he was his daddy, and not someone else."
Kakashi would fully admit to crying at that point.
The teen was brought back to the present as he recognized a familiar chakra signature approaching his front door.
After pulling his mask back up from where he had lowered it for lunch he stepped over to the door. With Naruto still in his arms he managed to open it just as the person outside reached for the knob.
"Hello Cat, what brings you to our humble abode today?" he greeted lazily as he looked into the feline painted mask of a Purple haired ANBU operative.
If the woman was startled that he knew of her arrival she didn't show it as she quickly responded to his inquiry.
"Captain, your immediate presence has been requested by the Hokage."
The silver haired teen sighed, and gestured for her to come in before responding.
"First of all Cat I'm retired. I'm no longer your captain, I'm just a rank and file Jounin now so you can call me Kakashi." He shut the door behind her before continuing.
"Second of all could you please enlighten me as to what makes my presence so important to our esteemed leader?"
The purple haired teen ignored the first half of his statement entirely choosing instead to focus on the second part.
"The Daimyo has decided to take his wife on an impromptu trip to Hot Springs country and has personally requested you as one of his escorts for the journey there."
She paused taking in his annoyed expression before continuing.
"They will have alternate protection for the duration of their stay and for the return trip, so barring any unforeseen mishaps you should be back to the village by the day after tomorrow."
Kakashi sighed again this time in frustration,
"Damn politicians, it's crap like this that makes me hate being so well known." He thought to himself
It was at that moment that Naruto decided to remind everyone of his presence by groaning from his resting place on his father's shoulder.
Kakashi knew he couldn't refuse a request from the Daimyo, but he really didn't want to leave Naruto while he wasn't feeling well. He knew it was only a stomach ache but still, what if his son needed him.
The teen's practical side squashed his pointless worries. It didn't matter what Kakashi wanted, he had no choice. He had been requested by the ruler of Fire Country, that wasn't something a shinobi could ignore.
He turned back to Cat.
"I just have to pack Naruto a bag and drop him off at the Sarutobi Clan compound. The Third's son and daughter in-law watch Naruto for me when I get called away on missions."
The girl's next statement stopped him as he turned to go to his son's bedroom.
"Actually that won't be necessary Captain. The Hokage foresaw this and informed me that his children are currently at the hospital awaiting the birth of his grandson."
"Shit." Kakashi said in frustration before realizing who he was with, he then looked at the masked blonde leaning on his shoulder.
"Don't repeat that."
The blonde just groaned again in response.
Looking back to the ANBU agent he said "Well without a babysitter I'm kind of screwed."
The girl once again seemed to have an answer
"There is no need to worry Captain, as I said Hokage-Sama foresaw this being an issue and has instructed me to look after your son while you are gone."
The silver haired jounin just stared at her blankly for a moment while he contemplated what she said.
He didn't really know much about the Cat masked ANBU agent other than that her name Yugao Uzuki, and that her specialty was kenjustu.
But if the Hokage was willing to trust her to watch Naruto then that spoke volumes of her character.
That being said past events had proven that the old Sarutobi was not infallible, he was human and could make mistakes just like everyone else.
Knowing he was on a time limit he squashed his indecisiveness.
In the end he just had to trust that the Hokage knew what he was doing, and if he was wrong and something happened to Naruto then he knew exactly which person to gut first.
"Are you willing to remove your mask? I'd rather my son have a face to talk to for the next two days instead of a creepy mask" the jounin asked, in a way that suggested heavily that it would be wise for her to say yes.
The teen nodded and reached up and removed her mask before placing it securely onto her belt.
She was pretty, in a plain sort of way. Brown eyes fair complexion, a face easily lost in the crowd.
Perfect for ANBU.
She offered him a smile while he set Naruto back down on the couch and began explaining the situation.
"Alright buddy I know you're hurting, but Daddy's gotta go on a mission."
The boy cut him off with a distressed whine.
"I know it's rough, but it'll only be a couple of days. Now the Sarutobis can't watch you this time so you get a special babysitter."
He then gestured for Yugao to come closer.
"This is Yugao. She is an ANBU just like I used to be so she should be able to show you all kinds of cool stuff during your training tomorrow. Isn't that right Yugao?
She noticed the boy looking at her with a combination of apprehension and excitement so she put on her best smile and said " Absolutely, I'd love to help you train tomorrow Naruto. I can even teach you a secret Anbu training exercise if you'd like."
The child perked up a bit at that, excited at the prospect of a cool new technique.
Seeing that his son was more at ease he placed a kiss on his forehead and whispered a quick goodbye before motioning the purple haired teen to follow him as he walked to the kitchen.
"I've got a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it so listen."
He took a breath before continuing.
"Bedtime is at 8 no matter what he says. There is plenty of food in the fridge more than enough for a few days, but if something happens there is a loose floorboard in my room that has a few thousand ryo stashed under it."
He looked to make sure she was paying attention before continuing.
He can not have ANY ramen while I'm gone, and make sure he brushes his teeth. He likes to lie about it."
He paused before continuing in a quieter tone so the boy in the other room couldn't hear.
"If anyone, and I mean anyone beside myself or the Hokage come here asking for Naruto you take him and head straight for the Lord Third."
She nodded having absorbed and committed everything to memory before responding verbally.
"I will not let you down Captain."
Kakashi turned back just as he was walking out the door and in a tone that was much too cheery he said. "I know you won't, because if you do I'll kill you and make it look like an accident"
He then walked out but not before calling out to his son over his shoulder
"Have fun Buddy, I love you."
Naruto quickly hollered back that he loved him too just before the jounin closed the door.
Yugao watched as the door shut, the obvious threat from the man who had just left ringing in her ears as she turned to the small blonde boy curled up on the couch.
The boy seemed to be taking a break from his pained groaning to stare curiously at the purple haired kunoichi.
"Is that a sword" Naruto asked as he pointed at the handle sticking up above her left shoulder.
She nodded in response before elaborating.
"Yes it is, good eye Naruto." She praised hoping to get in the boys good graces early
"I am a specialist in kenjustu so I always have my trusty katana with me everywhere I go."
The visible part of the boy's face lit up and her response, he then sat up straighter, tilted his head to the side a bit and in the sweetest most innocent voice he could muster he asked. "Can I hold it?"
The logical part of Yugao's brain knew that it would be very unwise to let a four year old wield a sword, but the aura of pure cuteness the boy was exuding right now made it impossible to refuse him outright.
"I'll make you a deal, how about you go take a bath while I clean up the kitchen and after we are both done I can take you outside and show you a few moves."
The child pumped the air with his fist and practically jumped off the couch, all prior signs of sickness gone.
He then took off down the hall while shouting back over his shoulder a joyous "Thank you Kitty Lady."
Yugao just shook her head at the reference to her mask as the boy ran off.
As she cleaned up the leftovers from the Hatake's lunch she found her thoughts circling around the silver haired man that had just left.
She couldn't help but be surprised at how different the Captain was now from how he had been back in the corps.
The Kakashi she knew had been cold and distant, but the man she saw today was anything but.
There was a life in his eyes that hadn't been there before, and the young woman would bet her paycheck it was all because of that boy.
When she had heard that the captain would be retiring to raise a child at sixteen she had been shocked to say the least.
In all the time she had worked with him he had never shown even an ounce of interest towards anything but the mission he was on and those filthy books he would carry around.
Of all the people she knew Kakashi Hatake had been the last person she would peg as a domestic type, yet here she was in the apartment he shared with his son putting their leftovers in a refrigerator covered in crayon drawings. It was almost surreal.
Her thoughts were then drawn to the younger of the Hatake as she heard the bathtub's water turn on from down the hall.
The Fox child.
Out of all the children in the village why would the captain choose him.
Personally she held no ill will towards the boy. She was intelligent enough to know the difference between a kunai and the scroll it was sealed in, but that was not the case for most of the populace of Konoha. She didn't understand why he would suddenly decide to take in the village pariah.
To the best of her knowledge there were no prior connections between the two, so why him. For that matter why any child at all. It just didn't make sense, or maybe she just didn't know the man as well as she thought.
They had never been particularly close, with him being so distant and her being a fresh face in the corps and not wanting to rock the boat, they hardly ever spoke.
Come to think of it even though she had been on his squad for over a year the conversation they had today was the longest they had ever had.
She paused in her musings as she was greeted by the sight of the masked blonde standing in the doorway fully clothed with still dripping hair.
"I'm ready to go Kitty Lady," he said as he shook his head a bit, scattering water droplets over everything around him, including Yugao.
The purple haired teen mentally sighed as she wiped the water off of her face before verbally responding.
"Alright Naruto, I'm almost done here so why don't you head downstairs and I'll meet you there in a moment."
The blonde nodded vigorously and replied with a hasty "Okie dokie" before running out the front door.
Yugao shook her head at his exuberance, unable to stop the small smile the sight had brought to her lips.
While she didn't know why Kakashi had chosen to adopt a child, she did know that he seemed to have chosen an excitable one.
Naruto had only been waiting a minute when his temporary guardian appeared beside him in a swirl of leaves.
The older woman enjoyed his look of awe at her sudden appearance for a moment, before walking in the direction of the nearest training ground with the small blonde in tow.
Upon arriving at training ground seventeen the pair took a moment to observe their surroundings.
It was a large clearing with mostly open fields and a few trees sparsely planted throughout.
"Perfect for a kenjustu demonstration." the purple haired kunoichi thought with satisfaction.
She turned backed to the blonde and seeing his expectant look decided to start the "lesson"
"The first thing you need to know about kenjutsu is that there are many different types of swords, and different styles that can be used with each one."
She paused as she unsheathed the blade from her back and held it out in front of her for the boy to see.
"Mine is a katana, you can tell by the single bladed edge and the longer handle that allows for a two handed grip."
At seeing the boys nod as he studied the sword she continued.
"The long single bladed edge is razor sharp making it a great weapon for quick slices , while the two handed grip allows the wielder to put more power behind their strikes."
Naruto could no longer keep silent as he exclaimed.
"WOW, it's so cool!" he paused while reaching his arms out from the sides of his body.
"It's even longer than me." he continued in awe of the beautiful weapon.
Yugao chuckled before responding.
"Yes it is, which is why I don't think you're going to be able to try it out today, maybe when you're older. As it is now the sword is just too big for you." she said with an apologetic look on her face.
The young Hatake frowned for a moment before nodding in understanding.
"Yeah, you're right" He kicked the ground while pouting "I hate being little."
Yugao found the whole reaction adorable and quickly thought of a way to cheer him up.
"While you can't hold the sword yourself, that doesn't mean I can't show you a few moves."
The boys frown lessened at that, and he nodded quickly while saying "Yes, please"
She smiled at him, nodding once before motioning for him to step back.
Once the blonde was clear she began the basic Katas for the sword style she had learned from her best friend Hayate, Dance of the Crescent Moon.
Naruto watched in awe of the grace with which the woman moved. It was almost like she was dancing as she flowed form stance to stance darting around an invisible opponent.
After a few minutes of stances the woman stopped and turned to the boy before questioning.
"Well what do you think?"
The boy immediately jumped up from his spot on the ground and yelled "That was awesome."
"You were all like, whoosh. Then you were all like, shing, and then with that spinny thing, it was soo cool!" the boy said punctuating each line with an exaggerated mimicry of her actions.
The teen smiled, happy to have impressed the boy before gesturing to a small branch at the base of a nearby tree.
"Why don't you grab that and I can show you how to do a couple of the easier moves?"
Naruto quickly ran over and snatched up the stick before racing back to the ANBU agent.
"Let's do it."
And do it they did. Yugao instructed him on the first few basic kata of the Crescent Moon style, critiquing each one while at the same time offering plenty of encouragement.
After a few hours Yugao could honestly say she was impressed.
While the boy was nowhere near perfect in what he had been learning he seemed to be a natural. His footwork was precise and he was able to almost perfectly mimic Yugao's movements.
Though if she was being honest she didn't think her style, or a katana was right for him. He didn't have the fluidity or natural grace that the long sweeping motions of the style required.
With his smaller body and quick movements he would be more suited for a tanto, or a shorter ninjato.
She would be sure to mention all of this to the Captain once he returned, natural talent like this needed to be nurtured so it could grow properly, and she knew that while it wasn't his preferred method, Kakashi was no slouch at Kenjutsu himself.
With the sun now setting on the horizon, the teen congratulated Naruto on his hard work and the two made their way back to the Hatake apartment.
It would be a quick dinner and then off to bed for the blonde boy while Yugao ran home to grab some clothes for that night and the next day. Her apartment wasn't far from theirs so she could make it there and back in less than fifteen minutes.
As long as she made sure the boy was asleep before she left the teen didn't foresee any issues leaving him alone for a moment.
After a small dinner of rice and grilled fish, the young Naruto mumbled a tired g'night as he ambled towards his room at the end of the hall.
After about twenty minutes the young woman silently walked to the back of the house and peeked in on the small boy and was alarmed by what she found.
The boy was curled up in a ball on the bed whimpering, small whines escaping him as tears poured down his unmasked whiskered cheeks.
She would have found the sight of the markings adorable were it not for the circumstances.
Yugao then immediately rushed over to ascertain what had happened, and after a closer inspection she noted that he seemed to be sleeping.
The teen was unsure of how to proceed .
She didn't want to wake the boy, but he was obviously miserable trapped in whatever dream he was currently having.
She was brought out of her thoughts by his small voice.
"Daddy." he whined, reaching out blindly for the man who unfortunately for them both wasn't there..
Not knowing what else to do the purple haired woman tentatively reached out and grasped his outstretched hand.
The boy's hand clamped like a vice as he sought any source of comfort.
Yugao debated for a moment before sighing and sitting down on the bed next to the boy.
While still holding his hand she reached with her free hand and began to gently rub the boy's back in calming circles..
After a few minutes of soothing the boy's breath evened out and the tears dried up and he began sleeping peacefully once more.
The only problem was he had maneuvered himself partially into Yugao's lap leaving her unable to move without risking waking the young boy up.
"So much for changing clothes." she thought wistfully as she leaned back on the bed carrying the blonde with her in the motion.
Now laying down fully the unmasked Hatake adjusted so that he was snuggled up to the side of the teen with his head on her chest. Thankfully she had already taken off her chestplate in preparation for bed.
As she settled in for the night she couldn't help, but notice that he didn't hate the position she had found herself in. It definitely wasn't how she thought the assignment was going to go, but she was happy she had taken it nonetheless.
She smiled in the dark as she closed her eyes while thinking, "maybe the domestic life wouldn't be so bad" before she joined the boy next to her in dreamland.