Disclaimer: I own nothing but the general plot and the OCs
Here's the promised Kakashi pov chapter. It's a lot longer than I thought it would be, so I'm going to write the second half as the next chapter.
I hope this chapter clears up a few things you all probably haven't actually been wondering.
First thing; I would love love love to be able to write decent fight scenes. And I can promise you if I did know how, one of the first things I would do would be to write a really kick ass Naruto story.
Unfortunately, I feel like I would be... not disrespecting... but something along those lines, the culture and the martial arts that is needed to be educated on as basic knowledge behind writing accurate fight scenes. But as it is I don't know anything about weapons- not guns, not blades, not anything, and I know very very little about good fighting. That is why until I know more, I will generally avoid putting myself in a position that I need to write detailed fight scenes.
Another thing, I don't know much about Japan as a culture or a language, and so I'm going to mostly avoid using Japanese words in this story. A couple easy translated words or concepts and one or two honorifics here or there is all you're gonna get.
Sorry for all those that just wanted a resolution to the cliffhanger of the last chapter. Also this is once more an unedited ramble. Read at your own risk.
Finally, thank you for those of you who reviewed! Let me know if what works, or doesn't work for you, or prompts for any scenes you'd like to see going's forward.
Chapter 7 - Mustering Some Tender Charm
-1 year earlier-
Kakashi leapt from branch to branch on silent feet. His team flanked him as he lead them toward the thief. He didn't let himself get distracted by thoughts about the possible ramifications of what they might find at the end of the mission. He had his orders.
His team paused, hidden in the shadows of the trees, and assessed their surroundings at the same time as keeping their chakra carefully suppressed. They were dangerously close to Kiri, and if they were caught in hostile territory, they would have no choice but to remove all witnesses to their presence, or face the consequences of having Konoha deny all existence of their mission and publicly cut ties with them.
They wore carefully scratched out headbands on the off chance that one of them was captured, so that the ramifications did not fall on their village- they would go down in the books as rogue traitors. Kiri was currently a boiling pot of self destruction, and the last thing Konoha wanted to do was poke that ants nest with a stick.
Using hand signs to communicate that the coast was clear to each other, Kakashi gave the go ahead for them to enter the run down building.
According to their sensor, there were only two targets inside, with the priority being the thief. With one member left outside to warn them of ambushes and traps, the rest swiftly entered through two different unsecured windows. He considered the thought that the lack of security might be suspicious, but when he saw how easily accessible the rest of the place was, he realised their thief had been cocky- not expecting them to be so determined and able to track what was stolen from them down.
The building was empty, despite clear signs of used equipment, and suffering of people trapped inside the place. His team efficiently cleared the rooms out, sealing documents and files relevant to their mission into scrolls. They discovered soon enough where the people had gone whose lives had been smeared across the walls and equipment in spatters of blood and filth stains.
It was a single room filled with naked women. They were all dead. They all looked emaciated and abused -many with clear signs of infected wounds that had festered away until death.
Tenzō approached from the doorway, handing over a file. Before Kakashi could say anything, the contents was summarised for him.
"They were all pregnant. The facility was stretched too thin to accommodate for their needs of an accelerated gestation period. Their funds were too low, their supplies weren't enough, the hygiene was too difficult to maintain with only two people. They knew the mortality rates would be high, so they gave up on the subjects who showed signs of weakening, and threw everything they had at the few who had a chance of surviving.
"They sourced genetic material from multiple countries. Konoha was the only infiltrated hidden village from which material was successfully stolen."
From the corner of his eye, he could see Yūgao's revulsion radiating from her tense posture, as she identified the small signs on the bodies of their pregnancies. Even Tenzō showed small giveaways of being mildly perturbed.
"Focus, Neko," he reminded her mildly, "Tenzō, does it say if there were any survivors?"
Yūgao's shoulders relaxed slightly, as she returned to focussing on her sensor abilities, ensuring that the two targets remained where they were.
"None of the pregnant women survived. However, there are inconsistencies in the reports about what happened two sets of genetic material; one from a female from Yugakure, and another from Konoha."
"Thank you, Tenzō. Does it specify who?" Kakashi didn't admit, even to himself, that he uttered a silent prayer that it was either from the Nara or Inuzuka clan member, of the three samples that were stolen from their hospital.
"No."
"Let's handle the targets, then. Neko?"
"They haven't moved. No sign that they know we're here."
On Kakashi's go ahead, the team approached the one door that they had left alone for now, thanks to the effective, if crude, fuuinjustsu traps around the frame. At a closer look, he saw that they were older than he had at first thought, having more recently been tampered with by an amateur who barely knew what they were doing.
The newer touch to the seals frankly made the things closer to a bomb waiting to go off than a barrier. Of course, that didn't make it any less dangerous, and had Kakashi not been on the team, they could very well have been stumped by it, and been forced to wait for the targets to exit the room.
As it was, despite being nowhere near a master at seals, it was relatively easy for Kakashi to find the weak point in them, and unravel the whole thing. They didn't waste any time entering, and before the occupants could react, the one assistant was dead by a blade to his throat.
The young man toppled over unceremoniously, where he lay face down on the floor with blood rapidly pooling underneath him. Hōzuki Kasumi, their main target, was engaging Tenzō, and doing a surprisingly good job at holding up against him, considering she was supposed to be a B rank shinobi, and mostly for her ability with chemicals and poisons. Clearly she'd improved since then.
She wielded her poison tantos with an impressive speed, using the loose material of her clothes to help disguise and confuse her movements. Unfortunately for her, they weren't there for a drawn out match of skills. Their priority was speed and efficiency.
When it was clear that Tenzō and Hōzuki were too closely matched, he used wood release to block her strike, and kicked her back, allowing Kakashi to take over.
She fought with a relentless tenacity that Kakashi could respect, but although she had the slightest edge on speed over him, he clearly held the superior skill overall. Within less than a minute, it was obvious what the outcome would be to both shinobi. Kakashi took advantage of the smallest holes in her defence, and even some that most would claim didn't exist, wearing her down one strike at a time, until she faltered. He went in for the kill without hesitation, his blade piercing her side in a sweeping curve, her eyes widened and she froze. Quicker than the average eye could follow, his left hand grasped a kunai from his belt, and slammed it through her eye socket, into her brain.
He sealed the body, and wiped his blade and kunai clean, leaving his hand soaked in cooling blood, then released a steady breath, "Neko?"
"There are no shinobi left, but I can sense a small chakra presence at the back of the room. About the size of most civilians. It hasn't moved." Kakashi could practically hear the rebuke she had for herself in her voice, that she hadn't noticed the small signature earlier, but he didn't bother saying anything. She would learn from her mistake and do better next time.
Leaving Tenzō behind to continue sorting through and sealing the files in the room, Kakashi followed Yūgao to where she sensed the chakra coming from. In the back of his mind, he already knew what they would find- the results of the unaccounted for stolen material.
They came across a door hidden in the back of the room, once more without seals or traps, and opened it. It lead to a small room, cleaner than any of the others, with little in it beyond an empty vat of viscous liquid and medical equipment that was being used to monitor the one living being in the room.
Yūgao inhaled sharply at the sight, and even Kakashi froze for a brief second. Lying in a small bed, hooked up to wires and a various drips, was a baby. There was a moment of silence as they stared, before Kakashi's orders resurfaced in his mind.
"Neko, go through whatever notes you can find. Figure out if the experiment can be moved safely," he commanded, already starting on some documents he had spotted on one side of the room.
"Captain?" She asked, already following through on his orders.
"We were tasked with destroying anything Hōzuki stole, and eliminating those who could have found out about any clan secrets through said stolen genetic material, as our first priority. Our second priority was to retrieve any results from potential experiments using what she stole. That looks a lot like the results of an experiment to me."
There was a pause, "yes, Captain."
It wasn't long before Kakashi found what he was looking for, and told Yūgao, "it's sedated. We should be fine to move it, as long as we make our way back as fast as possible before it wakes up. Remove any wires attached, wrap it up, and give it to Kō to protect. I'll seal the remaining files."
The rest of the mission continued with little fuss, and Yūgao had the baby wrapped up in a blanket within a few minutes. Tenzō and Kakashi swept the area clear of any of any information about the experiments that could be found, before Kakashi signalled to take their leave.
"Should we do something about the bodies, Captain? Some of them were women from villages in Hi no Kuni, we could take them back to be identified."
"No," he replied unemotionally, "the foetuses within their bodies potentially contain sensitive information. There are too many of them to take back to Konoha, and so they are outside of our mission parameters. They'll burn alongside the facility."
Tenzō nodded once, and they moved on. The rest of the mission was thankfully filled with no shocks or surprises. They burnt the building to the ground, and raced back to Konoha, with Kō carrying the child.
They made it back within a record time, tired, but more than willing to push themselves if it meant someone else had hold of the baby before it woke up.
The team reported straight to the Hokage, thanks to the remarkable lack of injuries, and debriefed, whilst the Hokage showed his fantastic poker face when presented with an infant alongside the sealed scrolls containing all of the information that could be found at the facility.
"Thank you Inu, if you could hand in the report directly to me tomorrow. Team Rō, well done. You are all examples of what our shinobi should aspire to be. Inu remain, the rest are dismissed for the evening."
The two waited until the room had cleared out, before Sarutobi took a deep breath, and peered at Kakashi with his too discerning eyes.
"Do you know who's genes went into making this child?"
"A woman from Yugakure was where the egg came from, I don't know who. One of our shinobi made up the other half."
"If you knew for certain I'm sure you would have included it in the initial debrief, Inu. I'm asking you to make an educated guess."
Kakashi paused, before reluctantly continuing, "there were references in the files about a woman from Yugakure, but we know that none of the other hidden villages were successfully stolen from, unless the information regarding that has changed..."
"No, Hōzuki is still being dealt with by Anko, but I believe we've gotten everything from him that we can. He was Hōzuki Kasumi's only living relative, and she reached out to him when she discovered he was an orphan in Konoha, working in our hospital. It was a fortuitous set of circumstances that she successfully took advantage of."
"Aa, then, we have two contradicting facts. That Yugakure was stolen from, and that it wasn't. Unless it was somewhere near to Yugakure. However, I don't think it was a village nearby, because the documents made it very clear that the sample was chosen for it's superior potential."
"Yes? Continue on Inu, I'm merely asking for a guess. There's no need to be certain of your answer."
"Well, the only place near Yugakure that comes to mind is Jigogudani... but..."
"But the Chinoike clan is considered long dead. Well, we shall see. And the Konoha shinobi?"
"I couldn't say Hokage-sama," Kakashi stubbornly replied.
"Hmm, thank you Inu, I'll see you tomorrow before noon, with your report."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Kakashi tried to put the nagging thoughts that plagued him to the back of his mind, but that night he got little sleep, and not even Icha Icha could distract him for long. He hoped, despite the pit in his stomach, that a new child would seamlessly appear amongst the Inuzuka or Nara children, and that would be that.
The next day, donning his Anbu gear once more, Kakashi appeared in the Hokage office with his report. Sarutobi was behind his desk, as usual working his way through thick piles of paperwork and making dissatisfied noises deep in his throat.
"Ah, thank you Inu. Place that over there. You won't be needing your Anbu gear or mask for this."
A knot stuck in Kakashi's throat, as he asked, "you wish me to wear my Jōnin uniform Hokage-sama?"
"Yes, if you would."
Behind his blank face, Kakashi tried to come up with any reason why Sarutobi would need him to be present as Hatake Kakashi, rather than Inu, other than the one thing he fervently hoped it wasn't about.
"Alright," he intoned without emotion, and quickly made his way to his apartment to change and back, within less than ten minutes.
He reappeared in the Sandaime's office, this time through the door, with his book in his hand and his well known casual slouch in place.
Sarutobi was waiting for Kakashi when he returned, with a small file in hand. They both knew that Kakashi was smart enough to figure out what was inside the file, but Sarutobi wasn't allowing him any chance at pretending to be oblivious. He handed it to Kakashi, and waited for him to read it.
The information inside was succinct, and although it didn't take him long to understand it, Kakashi avoided looking up, as though he could deny reality if he just kept staring at the paper in front of him.
"She's yours," Sarutobi prompted.
"It's not mine," Kakashi immediately rebutted. Of course he understood that he had contributed half of what made up the baby, but that didn't make it his.
"You're her only known relative. As far as the medics can tell, she's mostly a completely normal human being."
"Mostly?" He asked, ignoring the first part.
"Hōzuki intended for the child to become an elite weapon. I believe she hoped that by using parents that had at least one blood limit, she could repeat her success to help bolster the forces of the rebels in Kiri's civil war. From what we know of her now extinct clan, they were bitter about the fact that they weren't considered amongst the highest caste in Kiri, due to politics during the village's inception."
"If her contributions became an instrumental reason for the rebels' success she'd be guaranteed a position of respect when she restarted her clan," Kakashi finished, the dots connecting in his mind, "she was being funded by the rebels?"
"Yes, it's why the funds were so limited."
"Do you intend to use this as a reason to get Konoha involved?" If Konoha became the deciding factor over the winning side, it could ensure Kiri became firmly under Konoha's thumb for decades to come, and prevent the notoriously aggressive country from seeking war once it stabilised. Additionally, with Kiri as an ally, it would further consolidate Konoha's position as the most powerful hidden village, and prevent other countries from seeking war with them.
"No," Sarutobi replied, "the countries have all agreed not to get involved, least it look like we intend to begin asserting power over other countries with the intention of invading. If we get involved, we can guarantee Kumo will feel threatened and support the opposing side. We still haven't recovered from the Kyūbi attack, and I have no intention of throwing the lives of our shinobi away for a fight that isn't ours."
"So you'll do nothing?" Kakashi carefully kept his disapproval from his voice.
"I didn't say that," the Sandaime eyed Kakashi knowingly, "from what we could tell, from the information team Rō provided, the leadership of the rebels is being run almost solely by an old Kiri Anbu commander. Upon further inspection, I've found him to be traditional in his command."
"You mean old fashioned."
"I mean ineffective. There are many rebel recruits under his leadership with excellent potential and a fresh perspective. I believe it's time they are given a chance to take their rebellion in the direction they desire. Additionally, perhaps it's time for their morale to be given a boost, with both a martyr and a hero that they can rally behind."
Kakashi didn't need it to be spelled out for him- he was being told this, not only because as always, the Sandaime Hokage had hopes of one day being able to step down and pass the hat onto Kakashi, but also because Kakashi was going to be sent back into Kiri with his team, in order to perform an assassination and frame Kiri for it's murder of the rebel leader, at the same time as arranging the situation to allow whoever Sarutobi had chosen to come out looking heroic and powerful enough that they could use their popularity to take over the rebellion.
"In the mean time, I'm going to need you to retire from Anbu, Kakashi," Sarutobi interrupted Kakashi's thoughts with a completely unexpected curveball.
"W-what? But Sandaime..."
He raised his hand up to stop Kakashi from speaking, and assured him, "you've done nothing wrong, Kakashi. But as long as the current rebel leader is in charge, there is always a chance that he knew more than the documents suggested, and will try to collect the child. She has your genes, she belongs to Konoha, but he may not see it that way. She needs someone to protect her. As her father you are the best person to do so, and this way she can also gain legal protection from those who may seek to use her from inside the village."
At the final point, Kakashi's arguments died in his throat. Despite his name not being mentioned, both knew that Hiruzen was referring to Danzō, who would likely jump on the opportunity to train a child with Hatake blood from childhood, using his brutal methods to remove any 'emotional weakness' from her.
"I'm not it's father," he finally replied weakly, "and I don't need to be removed from Anbu, I have enough money to hire a retired shinobi to look after her."
Sarutobi watched Kakashi as he attempted to find more excuses, with an impassive and yet keen gaze, and Kakashi knew he was going to dislike whatever he was about to say.
"I won't lie to you Kakashi, I was looking to remove you from Anbu either way. This merely sped up the process. You are an excellent shinobi, and when I gave you permission to join Anbu, I hoped that it would direct your focus and prevent you from becoming too mired in grief after deaths of Minato and Kushina. However, since Uchiha Itachi's recent massacre of his clan, as the other famous child genius of Konoha, eyes have been on you, looking for signs of instability.
"I don't doubt you would be able and willing to serve in Anbu for many years to come, but I can see what it is doing to you, Kakashi. You have become cold, and emotionally removed, even outside of Anbu. I believe I would be doing both Minato and you a great disservice if I allowed Anbu to strip you of everything too."
"But-"
"Additionally, I need your face back out there more often, amongst Konoha's Jōnin. We are still having difficulty not showing the struggle we faced after the Kyūbi attack, and your increased presence would go a long way to boost our reputation."
Kakashi sighed and slumped, recognising when he was beaten. He could hardly fathom it, being a normal Jōnin again after so many years. On top of that, he was being given a child to look after. He had no idea what to do with a child! He didn't know the first thing about parenting.
"Regarding the child, there are a few things you should know," Hiruzen continued, a touch less sternly.
"What is it?" Kakashi asked wearily.
"Something happened to her brain as a result of the accelerated gestation period. It's altered the growth in ways that our medics haven't seen before. They don't know what sort of effect this will have on her development, but you should be aware that it could well be entirely different from other children."
Great, Kakashi thought to himself, not only do I have no idea how to raise a normal child, but I get given one who will probably make any advice useless.
"Aa, of course," Kakashi sighed, "How am I supposed to look after a child, and be an active presence as a Jōnin on missions?"
Hiruzen had the gall to smirk at Kakashi, "use the first year or so to get yourself back out there, and take advantage of Konoha's child care support system, set up specifically for our shinobi who need to continue working and don't have a clan to rely on."
"That exists?" Kakashi asked weakly.
"Yes, Kakashi. After that, I'll pull some strings to allow you to stay in village as much as you need, to look after her. Look at the bright side, Kakashi. If you wait a few years until it's safe, you can finally announce that you have an heir, and quiet the voices that are constantly pushing you to choose a wife and start a family."
"Maa maa, I could have held them off for decades. They're not that difficult to distract."
"Mm," Hiruzen grumbled, "speak for yourself. Well, I'd suggest you spend the rest of the day, before the child is predicted to awaken, buying yourself some much needed equipment, and asking the medic in charge of her how to go about looking after a newborn baby."
Kakashi nodded once, reluctance coming across in every micro movement of his body, "yes, Sandaime," and then he paused, "did you discover anything about the kid's mother?"
Sarutobi frowned briefly, "we don't know anything more about the girl's biological mother. Only that she had a blood limit. However, the woman who carried her died at the equivalent of four months- she lasted the longest. They used a sort of incubation chamber to continue the child's growth after that. She was only out of the incubator for a few hours when Team Rō found the facility. To discover anything further would require more invasive procedures that I didn't deem necessary."
Kakashi considered that information, bowed, and left.
Hours later, pumped full with knowledge about the Konoha approved child rearing techniques, and so far outside of his comfort zone, Kakashi practically didn't know what to do with himself, he eyed the intimidating bundle in his arms, that in a fit of desperation, he had named Subaru.
Kami, he hadn't known he'd have to name the baby. It was obvious that that was what parents did, but then he didn't really consider himself the child's parent. Naming it, though. That was like accepting ownership and responsibility over it- which granted, he had, but... he wasn't ready.
The very few times he'd ever given parenting any consideration, it had always been with the assumption that there would be a mother in the picture, who knew what she was doing. He was a shinobi, not a parent. He'd been a shinobi since almost before he could really remember, and it was all he knew.
Of course he knew the most basic things about looking after a baby, like the fact that it needed milk for a while, and that it needed a diaper to be changed for it, to keep it away from sharp objects, and to handle it relatively carefully because babies were fragile and could break easily and what the hell was he doing accepting responsibility over such a tiny helpless thing?!
He courted violence and death on a daily basis, not soft little squawky things that needed... other stuff.
He couldn't believe that this was his child. It simply wouldn't click in his mind. He hadn't had months to come to terms with the possibility. It had simply happened, and then landed in his lap.
Before he could panic, Kakashi reminded himself that as a single parent and Jōnin of importance, he was on the top of the waiting list for access to Konoha's day care that catered to shinobi. The wait was only estimated to be one to two days for him, and as women who dealt with children almost everyday, they were far more qualified than he was, to know what to do with Subaru that wouldn't completely screw up her development.
He only had to hold out for two days maximum. She would survive until then, right?
Landing back in his one room apartment, and lying the wrinkly looking thing on her back on his mattress, not on or under the covers, as the medic had told him- and ensuring he was between her and the window and door, so anyone looking to hurt her would have to get past him first- , he paused uncertainly.
He felt like there should have been something more to mark the significance of his child- Kami, his child- being introduced to his home. But he was exhausted, and he just wanted to sleep while he could, if the suggested feeding schedule was any indication of his imminent insomnia.
So he undressed until he was in his sleeveless top, that kept his face covered, changed into some slightly more comfortable pants, that would still allow for freedom of movement if he was attacked, and slipped under the covers.
He couldn't look away from her though. She was so tiny. It was impossible to imagine her growing up and becoming a normal sized human being. Kami, that would take years. He was going to have to look after her for years.
How was she going to survive that long? What if she died? On a practical level, that would be more convenient for him... but Kakashi already was frightened by the idea, and the fact that such a tiny thing, which couldn't even speak, could hold such a strong grip on his emotions so quickly disturbed him.
She looked so breakable. He wondered if she felt breakable when he touched her. He reached out a slow hand, and as gently as he could, touched her hand. Kami, her skin was so soft and delicate. There wasn't a single mar on her skin. It was smoother than the hands of the most pampered highborn ladies, who hadn't been asked to do a days work in their lives, and avoided the sun during the summer to keep their skin milky pale. And he was in charge of this vulnerable thing's life.
He retracted his hand as though he was damaging her with his touch, and lay on his back- the enormity of the task before him made him feel like he was drowning.
"Shit," he muttered to himself. Just two days, maximum, he reminded himself. He could make it until then.
Right from the start, Subaru established herself as a strange baby, and revealed the differences between her intelligence and others. Kakashi had been warned that she would likely cry a lot in the first two months, before it toned down a bit. But that for some babies it continued on for longer, and sometimes it was for no reason he'd be able to discern at all.
From the very first night, she let him know when she was hungry with a two consistent noises, rather than crying in order to wake him up. Whilst he quickly became as exhausted as he had predicted, it wasn't the worst he had ever been, and so he could handle it.
Of course, they had a hiccup when he first needed to change her, when she produced some sort of horrific blackish substance that stuck to her and wouldn't come off, vomited all over herself, and screamed so hard and long that he was genuinely worried she'd damage her vocal chords- and that she was traumatised already- and he was doing everything wrong. However, they moved past that, and even in that scenario she showed her intelligence by creating the same set up she had for feeding, with a single consistent noise.
The chance that it gave him to rush her to the "shared" bathroom was a relief, and made up for the fact that he was forced to get far closer to what a human body was capable of producing on a daily basis than he ever wanted to.
Beyond the fact that for the first day or so she cried after each time she had to defecate, she was an incredibly quiet child. Kakashi had been told some horror stories about babies that wouldn't stop crying for multiple inane reasons, and the term colicky had been thrown around, which he still didn't understand, but had quickly learnt to fear.
The one day that he was forced to look after her was thankfully not as arduous as he'd expected. He was stuck inside, with nothing to do but read Icha Icha, which made him restless, but it wasn't any worse than when he was stuck in bed from an injury, and he knew it wouldn't last too long.
She didn't require excessive coddling, or man handling or attention, and mostly left him be, which he was thankful for, because he had no idea how what he would have done if she had needed it.
He would have liked to have said that she was so quiet he could forget she was there at all, but that would have been a lie. She was a glaring presence in the corner of eye, and no matter how much he avoided looking at her or touching her or acknowledging her, it didn't make the fact that she existed and was right next to him any less of a heavy, weighted burden that sat on his mind and chest, and reminded him constantly of the feeling that he was drowning.
He barely managed to read more than a few pages throughout the entire first day, as conflicting thoughts and emotions spun through his head, and made him desire the simplicity of a kunai in his hand, and orders in his mind. The burdens of Anbu may have felt equally as heavy, but at least they were familiar.
During the early hours of his second morning as someone responsible for a child, he received a message from a hawk that his paperwork was ready, and that he could put Subaru into daycare that day. Having collected and looked through the paperwork, he realised with a great sense of relief, that none of it was in his real name. He hadn't even given too much of a thought of going out of his way to hide the fact that Subaru was connected to the notorious Hatake name, which was an evident sign of how much her unexpected presence had thrown him off his game.
It also explained why a hawk had been used to go to his apartment room, rather than a Chūnin or someone from the Genin corps. Never one to throw away an advantage if he could help it, Kakashi dressed in a disguise that morning, rather than going as himself.
As early as possible Kakashi picked up Subaru, and some baby items in the bag he had bought, in case they were needed, and made his way to the day care with the required paperwork. Everything checked out thankfully, and he was escorted to the room that he was told they looked after the youngest children in.
Entering the room, was a little bit like entering hell when he saw just how many babies and children were there. He almost developed a twitch just looking at them all. However, he summoned his focus, and made sure to question exactly what sort of security they employed in the place, in the case of attacks or kidnappers.
After a few minutes of intense questioning, in which he was fairly sure he gave the women the impression that he was overprotective and paranoid- which he was not, it wasn't paranoia when people might actually be out to get Subaru- he was then given a brief summary of the sorts of responsibilities the women would take care of and what Subaru would be learning in the the first two years.
He managed to barter some barrier and protective seals around the building, in exchange for them taking just a few more responsibilities on in terms of looking after her- such as buying her bigger clothes when she grew out of them, if he supplied the ryo, washing her, as well keeping an eye out for any strange or early development and supporting her in what she needed.
Finally, he handed Subaru over to the woman who said she would be looking after the kid for the day, surprised at how conflicted he suddenly felt over leaving her, as she stared up at him in what his irrationally guilty mind was attempting to convince him was betrayal.
Nevertheless, he brushed those feelings off and went back to his apartment to change out of his disguise, and then went straight to the missions desk in order to ensure he 'showed his face' as soon as possible, as had been asked of him. The only concession he made, in response to the nagging guilt in the back of his mind, was to promise himself that he would only take missions he could complete within the day.
Whilst he was fairly certain that Subaru wouldn't know any better in the future, if he spent weeks at a time on missions for the next year... he remembered being a young child, worrying and waiting for days for his father to come home, trying to put on a mature untroubled face.
He more than understood why it had had to be that way, but he didn't want to repeat his childhood. In that, at least, he could do better.
There we go. I actually really didn't expect how much I enjoyed writing in Kakashi's perspective, and I hope you didn't think it was a wildly inaccurate interpretation.
Apologies once more that you're all still being left with the cliff hanger of the last chapter. By the next chapter there will be a resolution to that.
I hope going back over events that have already happened from the pov of someone else wasn't repetitive and boring, and that it gave some genuine insight into why Kakashi is the way he is toward Subaru so far. Let me know if you'd rather I didn't do that, and I'll avoid it in the future, taking a bit of time instead to weave his POV as it's happening if I want to include it.