A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing, favoriting, following etc. I would love to answer reviews individually, but I'm afraid I'd start something that someday I wouldn't be able to keep up with. But that doesn't mean you can't still review… :-)

I really should be working on my finals, studying and such, but eh…fanfiction has won out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I'm just borrowing the characters for fun.

Shikaku was sitting on the steps of his front porch, watching the sunset, when his son and his new sensei showed up. Shikaku took in his son's disheveled appearance and annoyed look, and he nearly chuckled but managed to choke it back. He had known ahead of time, of course, that the Hokage had convinced Hatake to train his son, and he had decided not to warn Shikamaru just so that he could see his reaction.

Sometimes he wondered if he was a terrible father…

Hiding his smile at the completely exhausted air around his son, Shikaku rose and greeted them.

"Hatake-san, Shikamaru. How was the first day of training?"

Shikamaru glared up at him with a look that clearly spelled out "traitor." Shikaku fought the urge to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

Kakashi gave an eye smile. "Your son is somewhat unmotivated, but I think I can fix that. We had fun getting to know each other though," he said, patting Shikamaru's head. The boy swatted the offending hand away and glared at his new sensei.

"Maa, so mean."

Shikaku didn't hold the chuckle back this time.

"Shikamaru, you might like to go clean up before your mother sees the state you're in…"

Shikamaru looked down at his muddied clothes and a look of panic crossed his features.

"Hai," he said, and as an afterthought, he bowed towards Kakashi, and then took off at a run.

Shikaku smiled fondly and shook his head. "The only thing that seems to ever motivate him-fear of his mother."

Kakashi "hmm-ed" and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Turning serious, Shikaku turn to observe the silver haired ninja. l

"I'm sure you know, Hatake-san, that I requested you personally as my son's sensei."

Kakashi, seeming to sense the new air of seriousness, stood a little straighter.

"I have known for some time that my son is smarter than most. It came as a bit of a shock though just how smart he was. I know my wife and I have provided him with a loving environment, and even as clan heir, I would never pressure him into doing things that he didn't want to do."

They both knew that he was referring to Itachi, and to an extent, Kakashi himself.

"I chose you, mainly because I wanted you to challenge my son. That being said, I also to wanted you to challenge yourself."

Kakashi blinked and a puzzled look crossed his features.

"Now perhaps this is just the concerned rambling of an old man now. But Shikamaru is only seven. I know he is technically a legal adult now that he's earned the title shinobi, but I can't see him that way yet." Shikaku took a deep breath and stared intently into the visible eye on the rather startled Hatake's face. "I am entrusting you with my child, Kakashi." His abandonment of any honorific surprised them both.

"Nara-san," Kakashi started, but Shikaku held up his hand.

"I am trusting you, Kakashi. Don't screw this up."

Shikamaru's new teacher was insane.

"Let's get to know each other a bit," Kakashi said.

Shikamru raised an eyebrow. "You first," he said, crossing his arms.

Kakashi glared at him with his visible eye, and then it curled into an ark. Shikamaru wondered just how fake the expression was. It was really hard to tell through the ridiculous mask.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'm a jounin, and I'm twenty-two years old. My likes and dislikes, as well as my dream, are none of your business.

Shikamaru stared at him. "You didn't tell me anything that I couldn't have figured out on my own!"

Kakashi crossed his arms. "So?"

"Fine," Shikamaru huffed. "My name is Shikamaru Nara. I'm a genin, and I'm seven years old. My likes and dislikes, as well as my dream, are none of your business."

Kakashi stared at him.

The moment of triumph he had felt at throwing the same stupid spiel right back at the silver-haired man was soon gone.

"Usually, I would put a genin team through a test about teamwork, but you can't really do that because you don't have any team mates. So, instead, we're going to spar."

"Um," Shikamaru started. "Isn't that a bit unfair?" He was inwardly panicking.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't use anything but taijutsu."

Shikamaru had grimaced. "Well, that's probably my worst area. I only know the basics of taijutsu."

Kakashi waited. "And?"

Shikamaru blinked.

"Your only objective is to take this bell," he held up a small bell for Shikamaru to see, "from me by six o' clock. I don't care what you do. Just show me what you can do."

What had followed was a nightmare. The only thing in Shikamaru's favor was his size, which meant he had less chakra, which in turn made it really easy to mask his chakra and hide.

But he could only hide so long.

Kakashi had dumped him in the lake. And he'd also knocked him out of a tree. And he'd tripped him, and then watched while he struggled to get out of deep mud on the edge of said lake. And then he'd tossed him in the lake again.

Shikamaru hadn't been able to get the bell.

Cursing his luck at getting this particular jounin sensei, Shikamaru was finally able to peel the last piece of muddy clothing off. Just getting the sodden clothes off had been a chore.

"How troublesome," he muttered.

"Meet me at the bridge, tomorrow morning, at 5:00 AM sharp."

So much for sleeping in.

Kakashi was once again standing in front of the Memorial Stone.

"So…I'm really a jounin sensei. Yeah, Obito, laugh it up. I suppose it could be worse. I could be dealing with three students instead of just one. The only reason he has any chakra control is because he's so…little. And fighting him was different because of how little he was, but I could have flicked him away like a bug."

Kakashi sighed.

Was I really that tiny once?

Shikamaru looked so…fragile.

It kinda scared him.

And Shikaku…

"I'm entrusting you with my child, Kakashi."

The weight of his responsibility had settled on him then, and Kakashi had felt…

…protective?

It was somewhat a foreign feeling. The only time he had ever felt really protective, was of his nin-dogs, and only when they were puppies. They had a mutual agreement to never mention those younger days, and Kakashi was perfectly fine with that.

And wasn't it a little weird to compare Shikamaru Nara with a bunch of puppies?

Kakashi sighed.

"I really wish you were here, Sensei. You would know what to do so much better than me."

Shikamaru had almost slept in. Really. He had almost gotten away with it. But then his mother showed up…with a glass of ice-cold water.

It was a really rude awakening.

"You're a shinobi now, so start acting like it!" she had stated, literally dragging him out of his bed. And then she had teared up, and had refused to stop hugging him.

"Mom," he had finally been able to breath out. "I'm going to be late."

So, he was actually on time.

Kakashi was not.

Remembering Iruka's statement that had made him guess that Kakashi was usually tardy, Shikamaru groaned.

When Kakashi finally showed up three hours later, he was slightly amused to find his new cute student, curled up in a ball, sound asleep on the bridge.

Smirking, Kakashi reached out with his foot and shoved Shikamaru off the bridge and into the water.

Shikamaru woke up instantly, the shock of the cold water making him freeze for a moment. Instinctively, he inhaled with a gasp, and then convulsed as he suddenly realized he was completely surrounded by water and had just inhaled a bunch of it. His lungs burned, and he tried to cough, but it made it that much worse. There were stars flashing behind his tightly closed eyelids, and he knew he should be swimming, but he couldn't remember which way was up, and why was he in the water in the first place? and oh kami, he was going to die-

There was suddenly a hand grabbing his shirt, and Shikamaru didn't care who it was, he just reached out and latched onto it, and then there was air and he couldn't stop coughing, and his lungs hurt, and he was crying too.

Shinobi shouldn't cry, he thought, but dammit, it hurt, and he was still seven, and technically a kid, so he was allowed to cry, and he couldn't stop crying.

After shoving Shikamaru into the water, he had expected the seven-year-old to surface, spluttering insults at him, and then Kakashi would smile and pull him out, and they would start their day of training and D ranked missions.

But when Shikamaru didn't surface, and there were suddenly air bubbles floating to the surface of the water, Kakashi had frozen.

Kami, he hadn't been a teacher for a full day, and he had already killed his student. Shikaku was going to kill him.

Kakashi didn't think as he jumped over the railing to the bridge, staying on the surface of the water with chakra and reaching under to grab the kid. He was somewhat mollified when Shikamaru showed he was still alive by reaching back and grabbing Kakashi's hand with his two small ones.

…he was so tiny!

And then Kakashi had Shikamaru in his arms and he was making his way to shore.

Shikamaru was coughing and spluttering, and god forbid, he was actually sobbing.

What the hell was Kakashi supposed to do with a sobbing seven-year-old?

Kakashi tried to put Shikamaru down, but the boy was stubbornly holding onto his flak jacket and wouldn't let go. The sobs were only getting worse, and it was making the choking and coughing sound absolutely terrible.

It's your own fault, idiot. You shoved a sleeping seven-year-old into the water. It was different when he was wide-awake yesterday, and he was prepared for it.

Kakashi really didn't need Obito's condescending voice in his head right now.

"Hey, Shikamaru. It's okay. I'm sorry. That was so stupid of me. Don't tell your dad, please?"

Oh yeah, Shikaku was really going to kill him.

Shikamaru's sobbing was turning into hiccups, and he was now leaning his head onto Kakashi's chest. His small hands were still grasping at Kakashi's vest, showing no signs of letting up. Kakashi awkwardly pulled the boy closer and patted his back.

They sat like that for a while, Kakashi silently berating himself for being an idiot and realizing that it was going to totally be in Shikaku's rights if he wanted to kill Kakashi. Because Shikamaru was still a child. And Kakashi had almost drowned him.

"You're the most awful sensei ever."

Kakashi jumped at the wavering voice, and he looked down. Shikamaru still had noticeable tear tracks on his face, and he literally looked like a drowned puppy.

He really needed to stop comparing Shikamaru to his dogs.

His dogs!

That was it!

What better thing to comfort a traumatized child than a bunch of dogs?

Finally getting Shikamaru to let go of his flak jacket, Kakashi nicked his finger on a kunai and quickly did the hand signs for the summoning. Shikamaru was watching him warily, and his eyes grew huge as a pile of nin-dogs showed up.

"What is it now, pup?"

The look on Shikamaru's face was priceless.

"Um, I have a mission for you," he stated.

Pakkun gave him the "uh huh," look.

"You see, I may have accidently almost drowned my new student," Shikamaru gave a half scoff, half cough at this, "and I was thinking that maybe you guys could cheer him up, because if he goes home crying to his dad, I am so dead."

Pakkun just stared at him.

"Sometimes I really wonder how I got you as my summoner."

Pakkun turned around and studied Shikamaru. The boy was shivering from the water, and his eyes were rimmed red from crying. The occasional cough shook his tiny frame, and Kakashi was once again reminded that Shikamaru was tiny, and fragile, and he was such an idiot-

"You're an idiot," Pakkun said. And then he trotted forward, and climbed into Shikamaru's lap. Shikamaru looked bemused, unsure of what to do.

"You can pet me, you know."

Shikamaru looked like he wasn't sure to laugh at the situation or cry some more.

"Shikamaru," Kakashi started.

The boy, who had just reached up to tentatively pet Pakkun's head, looked up at Kakashi.

"I really am sorry for doing that. I wasn't thinking, and I'm sorry."

"You really are an awful sensei," the dark-haired boy replied, but Kakashi felt a little better as the rest of his dogs started to approach Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked worried at first, but then he smiled a little when Bull leaned forward and licked the side of his face.

"Yuck, that's gross," he whined, but he now had a full-on grin.

"Are you…going to tell your dad?"

Shikamaru paused in his petting, and glared at Kakashi.

"I won't tell, on a few conditions."

Kakashi was worried about that.

"Don't you ever say you're going to be here at a certain time, and then show up late again. I don't care if you do it to other people, but never again me. I'll just stay home if that is the case, and you'll have to come get me."

Okay, Kakashi could do that.

"Then, you are never allowed to toss me into the water again, unless we're sparring for real."

Fair enough.

"And instead of calling you Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to call you Kashi-sensei, because it's easier. And you have to let me see your face."

By the time Shikamaru was finished, Kakashi's mouth was wide open, and Pakkun was snickering.

"If you don't adhere to those conditions, then I'll tell dad that you almost drowned me."

Pakkun full out laughed.

Kakashi just stared in disbelief.

Show Shikamaru his face? But only Minato and Kushina, and Jaraiya and his father had ever seen it.

But then again…

Dead by Shikaku, or show my face?

He figured that showing Shikamaru his face was the lesser of two evils.

Sighing, Kakashi pulled his mask down.

"There, happy?"

Shikamaru looked surprised, as if he didn't actually think that Kakashi would do it. And then he looked confused.

"Why do you wear it? You look normal enough to me…"

Kakashi shrugged, and tugged the mask back up. "Maybe I'll tell you someday."

Shikamaru nodded, and went back to petting Pakkun.

"Okay, Kashi-sensei."

Kakashi wasn't sure what to think of the now shortened version of his name. Minato had called him Kashi-chan before, which had mightily annoyed him with he was younger, but coming from Shikamaru, "Kashi-sensei", it was actually really really endearing.

Oh, Kami. I knew being a teacher was a really bad idea.

Shikamaru sneezed, and Kakashi realized that if his student didn't get dried off soon, he'd end up catching cold, and then it would only be a matter of Shikaku doing some investigating to find out what happened.

"Right, so, you want some hot chocolate?"

So, the second part of this chapter was supposed to be funny, with Shikamaru in the water yelling at Kakashi for dumping him in there again, but my muse ran away with a more angsty version of the event.

Also, how did you like the nin dogs? I didn't have a lot of them in here, but I plan on using them a lot more later. And whereas in canon, Shikamaru has an interesting relationship with Pakkun, I wanted to make this one nicer. :-)

Please Review!

Edited 9/6/21