"Who are you, ANBU-san?"

Naruto's huge, blue eyes stared out from above whiskered cheeks, unblinkingly fixed on the masked man in front of him. When Jiji had called the boy to his office yesterday, Naruto had been ecstatic to hear that there was an ANBU agent who was going to spend today playing with the blond. It was the first time that anyone aside from Jiji had asked to spend time with him. As such, the nervous boy had barely slept last night. He had awoken this morning to a lanky individual in a full-length tan cloak clambering through his window. Pulling off his sleeping cap, Naruto was struck with the impression that the man in front of him seemed, at the same time, relaxed and scared.

While this apparent emotional contradiction was interesting, the boy didn't really bother devoting too much thought to the matter. Instead, Naruto contented himself with inspecting this visitor-for-a-day. The man was tall, but not huge. Some of the ANBU who regularly watched Jiji towered over everyone, even the other ANBU, but this man had thinner shoulders than Kuma and Tora. The mask was not one Naruto recognized, either. Everything beyond general body-size was hidden by the agent's tan cloak.

"You can call me Inu." The masked figure regarded Naruto; head tilted to the side like his namesake. After several seconds of rubbing tired eyes, Inu could almost see a shock of energy run through the boy's system. Naruto's hands fell to his sides and blue eyes brightened with enthusiasm. Springing from his bed, he rushed toward the man in the window only to be stopped by a package thrust into his hands. "I got you something."

Naruto looked at the box in his hands for several seconds before he turned curious eyes to the masked face above him. "What's this, Inu-san?"

"Hasn't Hokage-sama given you gifts for your birthday, Naruto-kun?" Kakashi wasn't sure what to make of the blond's reaction. The old man doted on Naruto as much as his position allowed, and Kakashi had heard reports around the ANBU barracks of the Sandaime sequestering Naruto during his birthday several months ago. Those who had been part of the Hokage's guard detail that day had mentioned that it had taken significant effort to distract the boy, especially since he had been forcefully brought into the tower. It was almost inconceivable that the old man wouldn't have given a gift to his favorite blond as part of that effort. "I know it's a bit late, but I decided to get you something to celebrate anyway."

"Oh, that's what this is." Naruto's face brightened significantly as he made the connection. "Jiji gave me my hat for my birthday." A huge grin split the whiskered face as the boy reached back to his bed and grabbed the walrus-esque sleeping cap. Fitting it onto his head, the boy's grin grew until blue eyes were forced closed. "It feels like Jiji, 'ttebayo."

Behind his porcelain mask, Kakashi raised his eyebrows, impressed despite himself. If Naruto could sense the residual chakra from the Sandaime handling the cap, it spoke highly of the blond's innate potential as a sensor. Making a mental note to incorporate some basic chakra sensing exercises into the day's activities, the teen gestured at the wrapped package. "Well, I hope that you'll like this as well."

Eagerly the boy started tearing the paper off the thin package. After several seconds, blue eyes widened as he inspected the pair of green goggles. Grinning happily, Naruto strapped them on his head, replacing the sleeping cap on the bed. "Wow, thanks Inu-san! They're really cool, dattebayo!"

Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled despite himself. The blond's enthusiasm was contagious. "How do they feel?"

Naruto's face screwed up as he considered the question. "They make my hair feel a little tingly, but they aren't too tight. I like them a lot, 'ttebayo. Thanks, Inu-san!"

"Well, I'm glad you like them. Why don't you get dressed while I make breakfast?"

Naruto whooped and turned to his closet, tearing off his pajama top and throwing it into a basket on the floor as he reached in and grabbed the first shirt in his closet. Kakashi smiled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. Opening the cupboard doors, the cloaked agent began familiarizing himself with the cooking equipment available to the four-year-old. By the time Kakashi had inspected Naruto's collection of cooking apparel and pulled out the pots and pans he wanted, Naruto had returned to the kitchen, pulling on his pants as he hopped back into the small apartment's main room.

"What'cha making, Inu-san?" Seeing that the masked man was making no move toward his refrigerator, Naruto pulled a chair from his table. Climbing on it, the blond pressed as close as he could to the strange man, curiosity etched onto his face.

"I was thinking that we'd have some sardines with rice and a side of sliced vegetables. How does that sound, Naruto-kun?" Naruto pouted at the proposed menu and opened his mouth to argue with the masked figure in front of him. He was, however stopped short by the ANBU agent's quip. "Hokage-sama informed me of a promise you made to him regarding your vegetables. You wouldn't want me to have to inform him that you broke that promise, would you?"

Naruto's mouth quickly flipped shut. Screwing his eyes up for a brief second, the whiskered boy came up with an alternative approach to avoid the unwanted addition to his breakfast. "I don't have any vegetables Inu-san. And I'm hungry right now, so I don't want to wait for you to go get them from the market, 'ttebayo." Suddenly, blue eyes lit up in excitement. "Let's just eat ramen! I've got plenty of ramen, and I can share with you, dattebayo! Have you tried ramen, Inu-san? It's my favorite. It-"

Naruto's rambling proposal was cut off by Inu's wry chuckle. Warily, the young boy watched the cloaked figure reach inside the folds of his robe. Slowly, Inu withdrew a scroll and Naruto relaxed. For some reason, this caused Inu's chuckle to intensify, and Naruto's apprehension returned with renewed intensity. Calming himself, the ANBU agent rolled the long paper out over the countertop. Cautiously, Naruto inched his chair even closer to inspect the strange markings scribbled all over the surface of the scroll. With his voice just above a whisper, Naruto asked apprehensively: "What does it say, Inu-san?"

Inu's masked face turned toward Naruto, and even though the blond couldn't see any part of the older boy's face, he could feel the grin etched there. "This, Naruto-kun, is an example of fūinjutsu. It is the ninja art of sealing and it allows me …" At this, the masked figure channeled a bit of chakra. With a poof of smoke, the surface of the scroll was filled with a diverse collection of fresh vegetables, along with a dozen sardines and a bag of rice. "… to store the ingredients for our breakfast in a small, easy-to-hold package."

Naruto stared, torn between amazement at this new trick and indignation at the unwanted addition to his meal that had come from it. Not waiting for the boy to make up his mind, Inu turned and began preparing breakfast on the stove. Eventually, Naruto decided that he would choose to be glad for the man and the time he was spending with him. Leaning close, he began peppering Inu with questions about the trick the ANBU agent had just shown.

Kakashi smiled beneath his masks and allowed himself to enjoy the attention, responding to Naruto's questions while deftly attending to their meal. Within minutes, two heaping plates were on the table and with a hearty "Itadakimasu!" Naruto dug in. After several seconds, he looked up with bulging cheeks, only to have his eyes follow suit as he observed the empty plate sitting in front of Inu. "How'd you eat it so fast, Inu-san? I haven't even eaten half of mine."

When his companion simply sat there, Naruto pouted. "Is it another ninja trick? What'd Jiji call them? Um, jutsu! That's what it was." Naruto smiled up at the older man in front of him. "Jiji's teaching me how to be a great ninja. You must be a really good ninja too, Inu-san. You get to wear the ANBU mask. Nezumi-san said that you gots to be super strong to wear those, 'ttebayo. The ANBU work for Jiji and keep him safe."

Tilting his head to the side, Inu regarded Naruto for a second before he responded. "ANBU identities are secret, so we wear the mask to hide who we are. Have you ever seen an ANBU's face, Naruto-kun?" The boy shook his head and the masked figure continued. "I eat very quickly so that no one sees my face, even when I'm not wearing the ANBU mask. In fact, no one in the village has seen it." The last comment was made with a subtle touch of pride. Kakashi was quite aware of the bounty several of the less… respectful individuals within the village had offered for pictures of him without his mask, but even the nurses at the hospital had been thwarted by the preemptive measures he had set up.

Naruto's face screwed up at Inu's declaration, possibly trying to decide if the older boy was being truthful before the small brow furrowed in determination and he leveled a challenging finger at Inu. "Well, I'm gonna see your face one day, Inu-san. I'll be the first person to see it, 'ttebayo."

The two sat, frozen in their face-off for several seconds before Naruto returned to his breakfast as though nothing had happened. Kakashi blinked behind his mask, not sure what to make of the boy's sudden change in mannerisms. "Just how do you propose to go about doing that, Naruto-kun?"

The boy grinned widely with bulging cheeks. He started to answer, but the sheer amount of food in his cheeks caused him to start coughing violently. It took several seconds before the coughing quieted. Eventually though, with the help of several gulps of milk, the blond's breathing returned to normal. "You're gonna show me." Naruto's answer was so unexpected and spoken with such conviction that Kakashi had to work for several embarrassingly long seconds to realize that the statement must be an answer to his question.

He stared at the boy, who had returned to his breakfast with a determination that the silver-haired young man found quite amusing. It hurt to see reminders of the man he had loved so dearly in this boy, but it was also invigorating to see the four-year-old's energy. "Maa, Naruto-kun," The boy looked over bulging cheeks, eyes curious. "After you've swallowed that bite, would you tell me why you think I'll show you my face?"

The boy nodded vigorously and swallowed his mouthful, taking several more gulps from his glass before smiling up at the masked figure in front of him. "Well, Inu-san, I'm going to be the Hokage one day, 'ttebayo."

Kakashi nodded but failed to see how that linked to showing the boy his face. Instead of asking, though, he waited, content with the idea that Naruto would explain eventually. When no answer was forthcoming and Naruto had turned back towards his breakfast, Kakashi realized that Naruto expected that to explain his thought process. "Why does you becoming the Hokage mean that I'll show you my face, Naruto-kun?"

Blue eyes lit up with excitement as the boy turned to regard the man in front of him. "Jiji told me that the Hokage has the entire village as his family. That means that one day you're gonna be part of my family, 'ttebayo. I'll protect you and keep you safe, and one day you'll want to show me your face."

Inu sat, unmoving, so Naruto returned to his breakfast. The boy didn't, couldn't, know how deeply those words had cut. It was astounding how much of a yearning Kakashi saw in those bright, blue eyes. The Sandaime's words came back, haunting the young ANBU captain: "He wants to be Hokage so that he can have a family. One that loves and supports him and makes him feel valued." He couldn't risk it, could he? But every time Kakashi worked up the nerve to say something, bright blue eyes flashed in his mind, reminding him of Naruto's longing and the isolation he experienced regularly.

After several minutes, Naruto finished his breakfast and got up to wash the dishes. Inu-san hadn't moved for several minutes, and Naruto was starting to worry. After he had washed the dishes, the blond boy clambered back onto his chair and scooted it over towards the cloaked figure. Carefully, he reached out and touched Inu-san's shoulder. With a shudder, the ANBU turned his head so that the empty eye sockets of his mask were locked with Naruto's bright blues. "Are you okay, Inu-san?" Naruto whispered.

Shaking his head to clear it and return to the present, Kakashi regarded the boy on the chair in front of him. "I'm alright Naruto-kun. You just reminded me of someone I once knew." Standing abruptly, the ANBU agent gestured to the boy leaning from a kitchen chair. "If you get ready to go outside, we can go play in the park, Naruto-kun."

The boy whooped and leapt to the ground, running into his bedroom to prepare for an adventure in the frozen world outside. It didn't escape the young ANBU agent's notice how Naruto slowed in his hurry to don his new goggles with a care that approached reverence. After inspecting himself in the mirror, bright blue eyes found the holes in a porcelain mask and Naruto nodded and grinned to show that he was ready to go outside. Beneath the stoic face painted on his mask, Kakashi had to wonder to himself if he really had the willpower to resist the charm of this orphaned ray of sunshine for an entire day.

"So, what'cha wanna do today, Inu-san?"

Naruto bounced out of the apartment, collecting two large handfuls of snow and tossing them high overhead so that they could fall, glistening in the sunlight. Inu came onto the street at a more sedate pace and watched the boy continue to toss handfuls of snow overhead. When Naruto returned his attention to the tan-cloaked individual, Kakashi squatted down until he was at eye level with the grinning blond. "I was thinking we could play hide-and-seek. Does that sound like fun to you, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's brow screwed up in thought. "I think… I think I've heard the kids on the playground say that name. How do you play, Inu-san?"

Kakashi was baffled. "You've never played hide-and-seek, Naruto-kun? What games do you play with your friends?"

It was instantly clear that this was the wrong thing to ask, as the warmth faded from Naruto's eyes and he quickly looked down at shuffling feet. The boy mumbled to himself, but Kakashi could still make out the pained response: "I don't have any friends. No one lets me play with them."

Kakashi was instantly assaulted with a flood of self-recriminating thoughts, both for forgetting Naruto's isolation and for his part in causing it. Pushing the guilt to the deepest part of his mind, the older boy addressed his blond companion. "Well, let's teach you then. But first, we need to get to a good place to practice." Gloved hands reached out and grabbed Naruto's cold fingers as Inu stood from the snow. "Hold on tight," came the whisper before the pair disappeared from the streets in a swirling cloud of snow.

They arrived at their destination amid another swirl of snowflakes. It took Naruto a second for his senses to re-orient after the quick travel of the Shunshin no Jutsu, but when he finally started to take stock of his surroundings, Naruto realized that he and Inu-san were no longer on the street in front of his house. Instead, they were in a large clearing with a frozen river running along the northern edge. The only other landmarks were the three large wooden posts mounted in the ground and a moderately sized stone slab situated next to the path that those without an awesome ninja to bring them would need to take to get to this training ground. The roof of the Hokage tower peaked over the edge of the trees, so Naruto knew they weren't that far from the center of the village.

Naruto turned to Inu in time to see the masked agent reach into his satchel and remove a kunai knife. Whatever the blond was about to say was quickly forgotten as he watched the older boy cut the thumb of his left hand and form five hand signs so quickly that Naruto couldn't follow. Inu-san slammed the bleeding appendage down onto the ground, and there was a puff of smoke. After a second of coughing, the smoke cleared to reveal a small tan pug sitting in the snow with a decidedly bored expression on his face. He wore a Leaf ninja headband on his forehead and a blue vest with a stylized face printed on the back. Naruto turned to Inu with his mouth wide open.

"Yo, Inu. What did you call me for?" The small dog spoke with a surprisingly gruff voice. Looking around, beady black eyes quickly landed on the stunned blond. "Do you have a protection detail? I thought we agreed that I was only going to help if they got kidnapped. I know I'm cute and all, but I can only handle so much attention."

"As I recall, Pakkun, you proposed that, but I never agreed to your terms. And you know you love being cuddled." Inu's amusement was evident, even to Naruto. The older teen gestured to the blond whose eyes were trying their best to escape their sockets. "This is Uzumaki Naruto-kun, the boy Hokage-sama suggested we meet. I was wondering if you could help me teach him how to play hide-and-seek."

"Your dog talked! And he came from the smoke, 'ttebayo! How'd you do that, Inu-san?" Naruto came unstuck from whatever shock had held him captive and seemed determined to make up for his silence up to this point. "Is that another jutsu, like the other one we did? The one to get us here. Can you teach me those jutsu, Inu-san? I learn really fast. Jiji said so, dattebayo. He said I'm doing really good at making the leaf stick to my face. I bet I could learn how to do those jutsu, if you taught me-". Naruto's rambling was cut short when the small dog walked over and lightly nipped the boy's fingertips.

"My name's Pakkun, pup. Inu and I work together as ninja for the village. There's no way you're ready to take on either Kuchiyose or Shunshin no Jutsu with your current skill set. That's okay, though. We can work on other ninja skills that are just as valuable." Naruto pouted briefly, but another nip from Pakkun quickly ended the intended sulk. "Don't think you can pull that on me, kid. Tell you what. If you listen well and work hard at this, I'll let you feel my paws. They're super soft." At this, the small pug raised a paw to show the pad, as if to persuade Naruto of his claim with a visual inspection.

Naruto looked at the paw for several seconds before shifting his focus to stare into small black eyes. "Okay, Pakkun-sensei. What do we need to do?"

The dog turned a wide grin on the suddenly frozen ANBU agent. "Well, how do you like that, Inu? I get to be Pakkun-sensei. Guess the fact that I'm cute means he likes me more than you."

"It's 'cause he's using his name, Inu-san." Naruto spoke around the dog toward his human playmate. "I got's to be 'spectful to the ANBU, but you're not using your real name. Don't worry. When I'm Hokage and you show me your face, you can be sensei too, dattebayo."

Kakashi unfroze himself with some effort. This boy really didn't realize the impact he had with simple statements like that. Following the trend of the rest of the morning and stuffing those thoughts away to never be considered again, he addressed the smiling blond: "We'll see what the future holds, Naruto-kun. In the meantime, how about we explain how to play hide-and-seek?" Kakashi brushed some snow off the top of one of the posts and lifted Naruto to sit on it. Pakkun hoped up onto the blond's lap and settled there. Small fingers started absently petting the brown ears and small black eyes rolled up into the pug's head, a stupid grin working its way onto the wrinkled face. Kakashi snorted silently behind his porcelain mask. Doesn't like the attention, indeed.

"To play hide-and-seek, you need at least two people. More is better, but for the first time, it will just be you, Pakkun, and I. One person is the seeker and everyone else is the hider. The seeker has to close their eyes and count to one hundred." Naruto's eyes grew wide at the number. Seeing the response, Kakashi decided to amend the count, "Okay, we'll count to ten instead. While the seeker is counting, the hiders all try to hide away so that the seeker can't find them. After the seeker finishes counting, he looks around and tries to find everyone who's hiding. The last person to be found wins and gets to be the seeker next time."

Naruto had grown visibly more excited as Kakashi's description had shifted from counting towards the more active parts of the game, and he was now nodding his head enthusiastically, small fingers still working to rub their way through Pakkun's brainpan. "I get it, Inu-san. You and Pakkun-sensei and me's all gonna play together. Who gets to be the seeker first?" The boy had managed to maneuver Pakkun off his lap and placed the still grinning pug onto the post beside him. Rotating himself, the small blond began clambering off the top of the post, moving with surprising dexterity for one so small, to get himself to the ground. When he had successfully made his way to the ground, expectant blue eyes turned up to the masked face.

Slightly uncomfortable with the happy acceptance that shone in Naruto's eyes, Kakashi escaped by reaching to the top of the post and pushing Pakkun off. The pug landed in a large drift at the base of the post and shook himself clean, glaring at the tan cloaked ANBU agent the entire time. Turning to Naruto, who was struggling valiantly to hold his giggle behind two clasped hands, Pakkun responded to the boy's question. "I think that Inu should be seeker. You and I will team up for the first rounds so I can help you figure out how to hide."

The boy turned expectant eyes to Inu who nodded, grateful that Pakkun was taking the lead for now. He could use the first "ten" seconds to regain his bearings. He had not spent two hours in Naruto's presence, and he was already exhausted. Those ANBU agents who had claimed this was the easiest assignment you could receive had clearly not spent any time interacting with their hyperactive charge. Once again, Kakashi ignored the anger that thought caused in favor of putting his hands over his mask and slowly starting to count. Naruto immediately began running south to the entrance of the training ground, giggling all the way. Kakashi was thankful to hear Pakkun gruffly reminding the boy that "Inu can hear us, so we have to be quiet."

The following hours were a blur to all three participants in the small game. Naruto had never had so much fun. He was getting ninja training from a real ninja! And best of all, neither Pakkun-sensei nor Inu-san made the blond boy feel unwanted in the slightest. Kakashi, for his part, could not believe how much energy the small boy had. Even as he was hiding, the boy could barely sit still, and he showed a quick and active mind when choosing his hiding spots. Pakkun was simply glad that Kakashi seemed to be losing himself in the game. Naruto had already worked his way into the ANBU's conscious, and Inu would be hard-pressed to abandon the boy at the end of the day.

Once, after several rounds hiding with Pakkun and several seeking the deliberate clues Inu left out, Kakashi found that he was disappointed at how poorly Naruto had hidden himself behind a bush. The boy's orange jacket was sticking out the back, and he was barely holding in giggles, a behavior that Pakkun had already corrected. The young man approached to reprimand the boy on his mistake and was forced to jump back a second later as a huge pile of snow fell off one of the overhanging branches and revealed a smugly grinning Pakkun. Naruto instantly leapt from his hiding place, laughing loudly as he turned to the small dog. "Did we get him, Pakkun-sensei?"

"Nah, pup. He's too quick for that," was the solemn reply.

Naruto pouted for a minute before Inu came over and tagged him lightly on the shoulder. "I found you, Naruto-kun. Whose idea was it to douse me in the snow?"

"It was mine, 'ttebayo!" Naruto puffed his chest out proudly. "Pakkun-sensei told me that if I made lots of noise, you'd find us, so I thought we should make a trick for you. I sat and laughed, and Pakkun-sensei hid up in the tree to surprise you."

"Your plan was a good one. If I were even a bit slower, I'd be covered in snow right now." Naruto practically glowed at Inu's praise, and Kakashi smiled to himself. "Why don't we play one more time, and then we'll go in for lunch?" Naruto cheered loudly at the suggestion and Kakashi smiled behind his mask as he continued. "I think you've learned enough from Pakkun and I that you can hide on your own this time. We'll expand the search area. Pakkun and I will give you a big head start and then come to find you. You can go anywhere in this training field, but don't go beyond that. We have to keep you safe, and without one of us watching you, we need to know where you are."

Naruto nodded and rushed into the woods as soon as both of his playmates had their eyes covered. The pair sat until they could tell that Naruto was far out of hearing range and then Pakkun spoke up. "He's a good pup. Eager and quick to learn."

The tone was conversational and Kakashi took several seconds to consider and respond, just as calmly. "He is. I imagine he'll be a fine shinobi. The academy will be torture for him, though. Has he sat still for more than a minute at a time the entire morning?"

"No, he hasn't. Probably a combination of being an Uzumaki and the other thing. Kakashi, are you still going to…?" Pakkun's rough voice trailed off, his point clear even if he didn't verbalize it.

Kakashi sat and pondered for several seconds before he began to hesitantly answer the question. "I- "

"Stop it!" Naruto's shout broke through the somber mood. His voice was sharp and panicked, with none of the enthusiasm from the morning. Inu and Pakkun shared a look before sprinting in the direction of the cry.

Within several seconds, they had arrived at a small clearing on the eastern side of the training ground. Naruto stood with tears streaking his face, yelling defiantly at a pair of smirking boys. They were several years older than Naruto and towered over the small blond. Kakashi leapt to a tree branch before entering the clearing so that he would be able to understand the situation before intervening.

"- pathetic. I bet he's playing by himself because no one else will." The first boy had dark hair frizzing in all directions from underneath a haphazardly tied bandana and a hard face. His grin grew as Naruto shrunk under the verbal blow.

"No, I'm not! I'm playing with Inu-san and Pakkun-sensei, dattebayo. We're playing hide-and-seek. Now stop being mean and leave me alone." Naruto's lip trembled as he spoke, betraying his distress.

"Well, there you go." The second boy joined in now, brown beetle eyes glittering over a bulbous, swollen nose. "Inu must be one of the ANBU that Hokage-sama assigns to keep us safe from you. He must have felt sorry for you and ordered this 'Inu' to keep the little monster busy for a day."

Kakashi had heard enough. He used the Shunshin to appear in the space between Naruto and the two troublemakers, tan cloak flaring in a subtle wind. Pakkun was right next to him, hackles raised as he growled at the delinquents. The two academy-age boys started as they recognized the porcelain mask, fleeing into the woods in the next instant.

Kakashi dismissed them as irrelevant and turned back to Naruto who had collapsed to his knees with the absence of the young antagonists. Kneeling, the teenaged boy tenderly reached out to his blue-eyed charge. When Naruto didn't pull away, Kakashi picked the boy up and sat in the snow, cradling the shivering frame in his lap. Pakkun came over and pushed his nose through the boy's arms until they opened enough for the pug to crawl into a tight hug. The three sat in that position for several minutes until Naruto moved and mumbled something into Pakkun's fur.

"What did you say, Naruto-kun?" Kakashi was dangerously close to having a panic attack at Naruto's distress and idly regretted not following up on dealing with the truant boys. Ah well, he remembered their faces, so he ought to be able to inquire at the academy later.

"Did Jiji make you do it?" Naruto's question was not muffled anymore, but it didn't help Kakashi's understanding. As he was preparing to ask what Naruto meant, blue eyes turned up to look at his mask, silently pleading for Inu to make the hurt go away. "Did Jiji make you come play with me today? They said that- "

"I heard them Naruto-kun." Kakashi's voice was soft as he considered his options. Truthfully, he had come today at the Hokage's command. However, to tell that to Naruto was unthinkable. He could not hurt the boy that way. Coming to a decision, he gently lifted Naruto off his lap and stood the boy facing him in the snow. "I am going to answer your question, but I need Hokage-sama's permission to answer it the way I want." Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew the same kunai knife that had summoned Pakkun earlier that morning. Cutting his finger, he flashed through the hand signs and slammed a bloody palm on the ground. This time, the fog cleared to reveal a red-coated greyhound with a white snout and the same jacket and headband combo that Pakkun wore.

Naruto started at the second summon, but Kakashi cut in before he could lose his nerve, "Ūhei, I need you to deliver several messages for me. First, head to Hokage-sama's office and ask permission for an Open Scroll. Then, head to HQ and have them set up a level one privacy zone in Uzumaki Naruto's apartment. Report back when you're done."

Ūhei nodded and took off at top speed, leaving a cloud of snow in the air and Kakashi with the task of distracting the miserable four-year-old until he could explain things to his liking. Not knowing what to say, the masked teenager sat, watching Naruto cling to Pakkun for dear life until, mercifully quickly, Ūhei returned. "Hokage-sama says you're cleared for the Open Scroll, Inu." The dog looked curiously between the parties gathered in the clearing. "He wants you to do it in his office, though, so I'd hurry up."

"Thanks, Ūhei," Kakashi responded quietly. "You can go now." With a nod, the greyhound disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi looked at Naruto and held out his hand. "Well, Naruto-kun, your Jiji is waiting. Let's go get this whole mess sorted out."

Naruto looked long and hard at Inu's masked face before slowly extending his right hand, the left still holding Pakkun tightly to his chest. Feeling ridiculously grateful for the small act of trust, Kakashi took Naruto's hand and the trio vanished from the clearing in a swirl of snow.