I do not own Naruto.

Chapter Two

He felt the grip on his shoulder tighten ever so briefly.

"How did you know my name?" Kakashi asked as he continued to lead him through the streets in the general direction of the Sarutobi compound. "I don't recall telling you."

"I… I don't know," Minato said. "Sorry, shinobi-san. I didn't mean to."

"Maa, it's fine," Kakashi waved it off. "But you know my name, and yet you haven't told me yours."

"It's Minato, shinobi-san," the boy said.

Kakashi 'hm-ed', then asked, "Do you have your parent's family name? Or are you officially a Sarutobi?"

"…Sarutobi," Minato admitted. "Hakuku-oji and Hokage-jiisan haven't told me what my family's name is."

"Oh? And why is that?" Kakashi asked.

Minato just shrugged. "I think there's a lot they're not telling me," he admitted a few moments later. "I mean, they won't tell me about my family, and they wouldn't even let me join the Academy. Toru got to go, but I wasn't allowed to! I've got a tutor instead, as well as Hakuku-oji. But…!"

Minato stopped suddenly, realising that he was getting worked up with a perfect stranger. He knew he had some issues with the fact that he'd never attended the Academy, but airing them out to someone he'd never met before…

…noting the small child on the chair just outside. He looked familiar, then he realised that it was Sakumo's kid, Kakashi…

He shook his head, forcing that strange not/memory back.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to get worked up."

"Don't fret, kid," Kakashi said. "You're still going to be a ninja, right?"

Minato nodded. "I'm taking the test at the Academy at the end of the week," he said. "Hakuku-oji's taking me there for the day."

Kakashi 'hm-ed.'

They were walking through the streets now, and Kakashi had let his shoulder go, allowing Minato to just follow beside him. The way they were going… he wondered if they were going to end up going through the marketplace. He could sense Chiasa-oba's chakra there. He wondered if they were going to run into her, and wasn't sure exactly how that would go for him.

Right before they reached the marketplace, Kakashi paused briefly, and let out a sigh. Another one of those things where no one else would have noticed, but Minato strangely did. Kakashi kept going, however, and Minato didn't have long to wait to find out why he'd paused.

"Kakashi, my Rival!" a man in green spandex practically leapt out of seemingly nowhere to intercept them. "It's time I challenge you to another competition! We are tied in score right now, with no clear winner in sight. That must be remedied!"

"Maa, I'm a bit busy right now, Gai," Kakashi said. "I'll have to take a rain-check on that."

"Hm?" Gai looked over, then down, spotting Minato. "And why do you have a small child with you, my Rival?"

"He's lost, I'm taking him home," Kakashi said.

Gai bent down to peer at him, eyes squinted as he scrutinised him. Minato felt he was being judged, and he stood straighter, leaning back a bit because Gai was rather a bit too close. Then, the man stood up straight, scratched his chin thoughtfully, then stepped over to Kakashi to whisper in his ear. Though he wasn't very subtle, or as quiet about it, as he might have thought he was.

"You know…" he said. "That kid, he kinda looks like him, doesn't he?"

"Oh?" was all Kakashi said.

Gai nodded seriously and crossed his arms. "There was no mention of another… child… was there?"

"Can't say that there was," was Kakashi's response.

What on earth were they talking about?

"So…" Gai was eyeing Minato off speculatively. "You're taking him home? Where would that be?"

"The Sarutobi compound," Kakashi said. "Listen, Gai, could we catch up later? I'll be meeting up with the Hokage after this."

Gai nodded understandingly, then grinned, teeth glinting white as he gave a thumbs up. "Go, my valiant Rival!" he declared. "I'll issue my challenge tomorrow, then!"

Minato was sure that Gai was going to simply rush off (though he didn't know how he was sure), but then the man lay a hand briefly on his head, before he did. As green blurred away, a sharp stab itched behind Minato's eye, and he brought his hand up to his head as he had another… vision.

"Rival!" Minato looked up in amusement as his student's self-proclaimed Eternal Rival Gai burst onto the training field. "I'm here to issue a challenge! You and me, twenty laps around the village!"

"I'm busy," Kakashi said as he steadfastly went through his katas.

"You are indeed hip and cool," Gai said, "but this is the fifth time in a row you have refused my challenge! No! I won't leave until you agree!"

Kakashi looked over to Minato, his eyes begging for help, but Minato just shook his head. "It would be good for building your stamina and chakra reserves," he offered unhelpfully.

A tearful Gai was now thanking him profusely for loaning him his 'most precious student', as the boy put it. He dragged Kakashi off, who was glaring at his sensei with a look of utter betrayal. Minato knew Kakashi wouldn't hold it against him for too long. He never had before…

"Are you alright?"

Kakashi's voice pulled him out of the vision, and Minato stared up at him. "Who are you?" he whispered harshly. "Why am I seeing…?"

He cut off, his head aching.

"What are you seeing?" Kakashi asked, bending down to be on level with him. "Kid, what's wrong? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

Minato shook his head, then decided that he needed to find Chiasa-oba in the marketplace, no matter that he was going to get in trouble for sneaking out. "Can we go to the marketplace?" he said. "Oba-san is there."

Kakashi sighed and stood. "Alright," he said, and started walking once more.

They walked in silence until they reached the marketplace, and once there, Minato looked around for Chiasa-oba. He found her at a cloth vendor, and tugged on Kakashi's arm, pointing.

"There she is," he said. "It's fine from here, thank you for seeing me here, shinobi-san."

"Maa, it was no problem," Kakashi said. "Still, I want to make sure you actually get to your aunt. C'mon, kid."

Minato sighed, but led Kakashi over to her. "Chiasa-oba!" he called to get her attention, and she turned, shock on her face as she spotted him.

"Minato-kun!" she said. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"…I snuck out, oba-san," Minato guiltily admitted, and his aunt sighed.

"What was it this time?" she asked with a long suffering sigh.

"…I was following a chakra signature," Minato told her, then defended, "I was just curious!"

Chiasa-oba sighed. "You do realise that Hakuku won't be happy with you when he gets back from his mission, right?"

Minato nodded contritely.

"So you're a sensor then?" Kakashi said, Minato having forgotten for a moment that he was even there.

Chiasa-oba lit up at the sight of him. "Hatake-san!" she greeted. "Did you find this naughty boy wandering through the streets? Thank you so much for finding him and bringing him here. How could I ever repay you?"

…Minato felt incredibly grossed out when he realised his aunt was flirting. Bleurgh!

"Oh, it was no problem, Sarutobi-san," Kakashi said. "Oh, would you look at the time! Got to go. Can't be late meeting with the Hokage now. Bye, kid!"

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Minato made a face when Chiasa-oba pouted.

Then she sighed. "Oh well, there's always next time." she turned to him. "As for you, young man… Well, I still have plenty left to do here, so you can help me with carrying things. And when we get home…"

Minato sighed. It almost wasn't worth it after all. Almost.

OoOoO

Kakashi hadn't gone far when he left the kid, Minato, with his aunt. From atop the roof of a nearby building, he watched Sarutobi-san drag the boy through the marketplace, making him carry most of her purchases. He felt a wince of sympathy for him, but the boy had snuck out, apparently, so it was on his own head then.

He looked so much like sensei, Kakashi was understandably confused. Had sensei and Kushina-nee had another child? Surely they would have told him…? Was he Naruto's fraternal twin? But Kushina-nee's chakra sonogram had only shown one fetus (sensei had been proudly showing it off to him). So… Who was this kid? Kakashi knew Naruto was Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee's kid, he'd been one of the ones to arrive first on the scenes after… the incident. Only the Sandaime and a couple of his personal ANBU had been there beforehand.

Kakashi was starting to smell a conspiracy. He gave the kid and his aunt one last glance, before he shunshined to the Hokage office. The secretary let him know that the Hokage wasn't busy at the moment, so he walked into his commander's office, his posture in its usual slouch.

"Kakashi," Sarutobi Hiruzen greeted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Just wanted to have a chat, Hokage-sama," he said, then powered on before the Hokage could say anything, "I met a rather interesting person today. A brat. Blond, blue eyes, kinda reminded me of someone I knew once."

"Is that so?" Hiruzen mused, and Kakashi had the suspicion that the Hokage knew who he was talking about.

"Mm-hm," he sounded. "An interesting kid. Said his name was Minato, of all things, and that he didn't know who his parents were. Odd, huh?"

"Indeed," Hiruzen said, then sighed. He signalled an ANBU down, and ordered him to seal the room, before dismissing him. "What are your suspicions?" he started with.

Kakashi shrugged. "At first I thought maybe he was Naruto's brother," he said. "But I know, there's no way that sensei would have kept the child's existence from me. Now I'm wondering if he might be like Tenzou…"

He watched the Hokage carefully for his reaction. The old man sighed, then leaned back in his chair, looking tired. "The only thing that Minato has in common with your friend is that he is male, human, and a citizen of Konoha," he said. "Kakashi… what I'm about to tell you, not many know. Mostly only select members of my family, two of my loyal guard, and unfortunately, Danzou."

Kakashi inwardly winced at the mention of the shadowy old councillor. "And what would that be?" he asked.

Hiruzen levelled him with a look. "Twelve years ago, I and two of my loyal ANBU were the first to the scene," he said. "This you know. What you don't know, is that when we arrived, there was one corpse, and two infants. Kushina had only given birth to one of them, the other…"

He fell silent a moment, long enough for Kakashi to speak up and ask, "Who is he?"

Hiruzen gave him a long, searching, look.

"He is Namikaze Minato, regressed in age somehow, and with all of his memories lost."

Kakashi felt as if his stomach had just plummeted to the deep, underground catacombs beneath the village. That kid was sensei?

"H-how?"

"We… do not know," Hiruzen admitted. "The seal he used… it should have sent his spirit straight into the belly of the shinigami. Yet he is here, a child with no knowledge of the fact that he is the one that saved the village all those years ago."

"Were you ever planning on telling him?" Kakashi asked. "Or telling me?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Honestly… no," he admitted. "Not Minato, at least. As I said, he doesn't remember, and has shown no signs of it over the years."

Kakashi was remembering then, the way… Minato… had clutched at his head earlier.

"Who are you? Why am I seeing…?"

Why was he seeing… what? He had to know.

"Why did you deny his entrance into the Academy?" he asked instead.

Hiruzen sighed. "Because Danzou found out about him, and demanded I hand him over," he said.

A chill went up Kakashi's spine as he understood. "You kept him out to protect him," he guessed, and the Hokage nodded.

"He was only four at the time," he said, "and my nephew had already legally adopted him."

"But he is going to be a shinobi?" Kakashi asked.

"Of course," Hiruzen said. "I would never deny him that dream. He will take the test alongside everyone else at the Academy in two days, and will be placed on a team with an Inuzuka girl, and a branch Hyuuga, should all three pass."

"Who will his sensei be?" Kakashi asked, and Hiruzen must have seen something in his gaze, because his answer cut through all the bullshit in his asking of that question.

"It won't be you," he said rather bluntly. "You will be taking on Naruto-kun, if he passes, and Uchiha Sasuke, along with the top scoring kunoichi. No, Kakashi. The decision is already made, and is final. My grand nephew, Akio-kun, will be their sensei."

They were silent a moment as Kakashi took all of that in. "If I wanted to interact with him, would you stop me?" he asked.

Hiruzen gave a long sigh. "No," he finally admitted. "I'd already decided long ago that if you found out, I would accommodate you. But you need to accept that he doesn't remember…"

"I'm not so sure about that," Kakashi interrupted, then explained what had happened.

"This… is an interesting turn of events," Hiruzen mused. "Perhaps it would indeed be good for him to get to know you. Though introducing you to him properly, well… I'm sure we'll figure something out. In the meantime, I suggest you prepare for the gennin you'll be receiving soon. You're dismissed."

The Hokage removed the wards, and Kakashi left, his insides a turmoil as he headed out into the village.

Just want to point out, Minato's having the flashbacks, because his chakra is reacting to the 'familiar' chakra of first Kakashi, then Gai. It doesn't happen with Hiruzen, because they don't actually interact a whole lot. And, it's because he's a sensor.

Thanks for reading!