Viewing the Wheel from the Spokes

by phoenixyfriend

There's a pair of married kunoichi in town, new and strange and adopting Naruto like it's nothing. One's an Uzumaki by blood, and the other by marriage, and Kakashi's swept up into their wake with only a token complaint. They give him an excuse to visit Naruto, and if that means turning a blind eye to the things they do that nobody understands, then Kakashi's fine with that.

4. The Pattern is More Humans

A/N: Warnings for: references to Root-typical emotional conditioning and violence, references to Sakumo's suicide, and 'how to deal with traumatized children' stuff

---

When Kakashi swings by the Uzumaki house for the weekly dinner that Sakura insists he come to, he is… technically early. This is only because Sakura has a lunch scheduled before it, and Kakashi is late to that, which ends up meaning he's early for the dinner. In Kakashi's defense, he's fully aware of the manipulation, and he likes having an excuse to technically be late without having to miss out on warm food. Showing up when he does also means he gets to bother the kids, which neither Uzumaki woman begrudges him for. They all know Naruto was, at least initially, the only reason Kakashi even bothered to visit. There's more to it now—he thinks he's made that friendship with Sakura real, and Kanna's decent, and Kakashi's not going to be mean to Karin—but all three adults know that Naruto's the favorite.

The thing is, Kakashi enters the house and passes through those blood-activated wards, and finds himself staring down at an unfamiliar child.

Black eyes. Black hair. Pale skin. Not Uchiha Sasuke, for all that Kakashi's seen the boy staring balefully at Kanna in a way that suggests he's trying to decide if he should talk to her or not. This kid isn't in any of Naruto or Karin's classes, and Kakashi's come along with Sakura to pick them up often enough—and yes, stalked Naruto—enough to know their classmates on sight.

"Hello," the child says, and sticks out a hand that's stained faintly grey. "I am Sai."

Kakashi blinks down at him, and delicately shakes the hand. "Hi. I'm Kakashi. Er… are you… a friend of Naruto's? Or Karin's?"

Sai frowns. "I am… new."

Cool. That's definitely helpful. Not.

"So…" Kakashi says, floundering. "Uh. Are Sakura or Kanna here, or…?"

"Sakura-san is in the backyard," Sai states. "She is... picking flowers."

Kakashi furrows his brow. "She hasn't mentioned flowers before…"

"They are for poisons. And medicines." Sai blinks at Kakashi with too-big eyes. Kids, on the average, have really big eyes and the proportions are just odd to Kakashi. "Do you want to go see her? I can take you there."

"Sure," Kakashi says, and lets Sai gingerly take his hand and lead him to the back patio, from where Kakashi can see Sakura on her knees in a small garden he's never paid much attention to. "Hello, Sakura-kohai!"

"Don't call me that!" she yells back, standing up and clapping her hands together until the gardening gloves are relatively free of loose dirt, and just left with the caked-in dust they'll never be rid of. She strips them off, and looks up. "Oh! You met Sai."

"Yep," Kakashi says, glancing down at Sai for a moment before he looks back up at Sakura. "Sure did."

Sakura seems to realize something in that moment, and smiles in a way that looks more brittle than anything. "Sai, honey, can you go put some water on the stove? We'll be inside in a moment."

"Hai," Sai says, and turns and wanders back inside.

Kakashi waits until Sakura's within easy speaking distance to say it. "Bit of an odd kid."

She winces. "Former Root."

Ah. Shit.

"So… just staying with you, or…?"

She shrugs. "Depends on what he decides, but for now, yes. I guess you could say we're fostering."

"So you're a mom of three, now," Kakashi can't help but joke.

"I'm not a mom," Sakura huffs. "And four, actually."

"…what?"

She grins at him, just a tad sheepish. "Sai and Shin were a package deal, already considered each other brothers, so we couldn't very well take one and not the other, right? We were only planning on taking in Sai, but Shin insisted on sticking together, and we have the room anyway…"

"Naruto and Karin?"

Sakura snorts. "They've decided to get as invested as possible in helping Sai and Shin 'figure out how to be people, dattebayo!' It's kind of cute. Naruto complained that he has to be the littlest brother, though. Said it wasn't fair that he's still the youngest."

"Sounds like him," Kakashi said. "Er… before we go in…"

"Hm?"

"The way Sai talks… Root, or something else? Like, do I need to adjust how I talk, or…?"

"Talk the way you would to Karin," Sakura says after a moment. "They both prefer being taken a little more seriously, and Sai's about half a year older than her, so that should all be fine. He doesn't seem to have any issues with processing words or writing, just with putting together sentences when speaking. We'll adjust as we go along and work past the Root conditioning. If it turns out there's another factor at play, we'll go from there."

Kakashi takes a moment to process this, and before Sakura can open the door and go back inside, he asks, "Is that why he's not at school with the rest of them?"

Sakura can't quite hide the flinch. "Sai is… bad with people. Same thing as the words. Shin knows how to socialize, kind of, but Sai is still just… we don't know. I want to help him, we all do, but we don't even know how much is Root and what needs helping…"

He can't believe what he's saying, but, "You already know that I was in Root. Not for very long, but I know what a lot of their training is like."

Sakura blinks at him. "Eh?"

"I could, uh, help? Maybe?" Kakashi rubs the back of his head. "Pay you back for dinner and for… you know. The other stuff."

"Oh," Sakura says, and blinks at him for another moment. "Um. That's not necessary, but thank you. You could talk to Sai now, if you want? Maybe he'll listen to you."

"That works," Kakashi says, like he's not suffering from the sudden panic of having a traumatized ten-year-old's emotional wellbeing dependent on his own emotional competence. It's a lot of pressure, and it's pressure that Kakashi volunteered for, so he can't even blame anyone.

(Is Sai ten? Probably, Karin is ten now, and Kakashi thinks they look about the same age.)

Is it too late to go get Tenzō? It probably is. Kakashi immediately regrets anything that led to this responsibility.

Sai has already made some tea by the time the adults make it in. Sakura washes her hands, and manages to give off a menacing enough aura that Kakashi finds himself taking off his fingerless gloves and washing his hands as well, despite not having been involved in the gardening. Sai has apparently already gone through the hand-washing process; there are still greyish stains, but Kakashi's pretty sure those are semi-permanent now that he's had a chance to look closer.

"Sai, do you know Kakashi already?" Sakura asks, settling onto a loveseat on her lonesome. Kakashi grabs the bigger armchair, and Sai chooses to sit on the floor.

"Hatake Kakashi is an A-rank shinobi, current Jounin and ANBU, former Root, former student of the Yondaime Hokage, and has no outstanding suspicions cast on his loyalty to the village. One transplanted Sharingan, a faulty left tendon in the ankle due to an old injury, and a weakness against wind techniques," Sai recites.

Yeah, no, Root fucked this kid up bad.

"Do you want to meet my summons?" Kakashi asks, because kids like dogs, right? Almost all kids love dogs, and most of Kakashi's dogs love kids.

Sai blinks at him, and then hesitantly looks at Sakura. "Am I to be learning summoning…?"

"No," Sakura says, and her voice is patient. Calm. She's probably been trying to navigate raising a traumatized Root kid for the better part of a week, now. She's got 'talking to an abused minor who doesn't take well to being condescended' voice down pat. "Kakashi's summons are rather intelligent, and they like to play with kids. Naruto and Karin play with them pretty often; if you talk to them now, then you won't be behind later, because you'll know all their names and the best way they like their bellies rubbed."

Sai looks dubious at this, but nods. "Okay, Sakura-san. Thank you, Hatake-san."

"You can call me Nee-chan," Sakura says, again in that firm, calm voice. "Or Onee-san, if that's more comfortable?"

"No thank you, Sakura-san," Sai says, refusing to meet Sakura's eyes.

Kakashi decides that this is more than awkward enough, and it's time for dogs.

The first meeting goes like this:

Pakkun looks around, spots the kid, and raises a paw. "Yo."

Sai folds his hands in his lap, adjusts to face Pakkun, and says. "Hello. I am Sai. I look forward to getting to know you. Please take care of me."

And then he bows, and holds it for a few seconds longer than most people would when met with Pakkun, and sits up and looks at Kakashi for instructions.

"I like you!" Pakkun declares. "You're polite. I'll let you touch my paw. It's super soft."

Sai looks at Kakashi and Sakura, and finding no comment from them, takes Pakkun's paw in hand and rubs the toe beans. Solemnly, he agrees. "It is very soft."

Pakkun grins his doggy grin and nods. "Right! Let's get you introduced to the pack!"

Kakashi relaxes minutely as Sai seems to decide this is some kind of test and focuses entirely on meeting, greeting, and learning about Kakashi's ninken.

Sakura's grin is a grateful one, and when she pats the spot next to her, Kakashi only hesitates a little before joining her. It'll be easier to have a conversation without disturbing the kid if they're near each other. It's not a particularly stimulating conversation, granted, but 'which country has had the best mochi/biscuits/dango' is always a good way to pass the time.

And then Kanna comes home.

Here's a thing that Kakashi has learned: Kanna is never mean to her kids. She can be harsh or stern, but she draws a strict line before she gets to mean. Kakashi has seen her, on more than one occasion, get so frustrated or angry about something that she has to leave the room, but she always makes sure that she does leave until her emotions cool back down into something that doesn't the people around her. Kanna's temper is volatile and, in Kakashi's opinion, probably just as much a result of trauma as Kakashi's own issues. She is a grumpy person on a good day, and a terrifying bitch on a bad one, but she does her damnedest to not let it touch the kids.

Kanna's temper is shorter than most, and burns brighter, but there's a certain terror there. She makes sure the kids know it's nothing they're responsible for. Kakashi's even seen her take Naruto aside, on one occasion, and explain to him that her emotions were her own problem, and that her having to leave for a bit to calm down was not Naruto's fault. It's a lot more consideration and nuance than anyone else has shown Naruto, and Kakashi still wishes he'd had a camera to snap a picture of the way Naruto had started crying and thrown himself into a hug after Kanna got through to him that she wasn't mad at him.

All this to say, Kakashi doesn't hear Kanna in anything approaching a 'rage mode' very often.

Kanna has a one of those portable phones that gets handed out to higher-ups in the departments that tend to stay a little closer to home. R&D is definitely on that list, and Kanna's more than made a name for herself there. She isn't on it very often, but the work does occasionally demand it.

This time, Kanna comes home already in the middle of a conversation on the phone, and she is not quiet about it.

"—EVEN THINK ABOUT SKIPPING THE FUME HOOD AGAIN, I'M GOING TO RIP OUT YOUR GODDAMN LIVER AND FEED IT TO YOU! NO, THERE IS NO FUCKING EXCUSE, YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT, YOU ARE WORKING WITH HIGHLY VOLATILE CHEMICALS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE YOU GO BLIND IF YOU DON'T TAKE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS, YOU ARE GOING TO—DO NOT CUT ME OFF, DAICHI."

Kanna drops some of her stuff off on the island in the kitchen, covers the microphone on the cellular device, and takes a deep breath. "Sakura, honey, I'm going to finish this up in the bedroom. I'll use the privacy seals. Please don't try to let anyone in, it's really not worth troubling anyone over."

"That bad?" Sakura asks sympathetically.

"Remember that time the new recruit at the hospital was mixing up the AB and A blood? Yeah," Kanna says. "Kakashi, hi. Sai-kun, I'm sorry about all the yelling, I promise this is specifically about a work issue and has no bearing on you. Pups, you know the rules, but hi to you to. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go yell at someone who signed paperwork stating that they know how lab safety works."

She leaves the room, and the yelling starts up again before abruptly shutting off behind the privacy seals.

Kakashi turns to Sakura. "What happened with the blood?"

"He's not with the hospital anymore," Sakura says, voice almost serene as she takes a sip of her tea.

Ah. Well then.

#

Kakashi meets Shin a few hours later, and…

Hm.

Shin is definitely a lot more personable than Sai is. Shin has nearly-white hair, and a soft, polite smile that goes well with how soft-spoken he is. He calls Kakashi 'nii-san' after Sakura tells him it's okay, and manages to convince Sai to edge at least as far as 'Kakashi-san' instead of 'Hatake-san,' which is a win in Kakashi's book. Shin is currently in his last year of the academy; though his skills are enough to put him with a genin team, Sakura and Kanna had argued to the Hokage that a year with other, less traumatized kids his own age would be beneficial.

Sai, as Kakashi finds out, is going to be in Karin's year when post-Root adjustment hits the right stage. Technically, Sai should be a year up, as he's half a year or so older than Karin, but it's a bit more of the whole 'it would be beneficial' thing. More time with children to develop his social skills, and a foster sister that will no doubt be smacking skulls together if anyone tries to mess with him. Kakashi's already heard reports of Karin fighting people for trying to bully Naruto for his poor test scores, and he's sure that the potential damage would only go up for someone she's actually around all the time.

There's going to be a lot of crying bullies, he can already tell. Karin bites.

Karin tries to go over basic sealing techniques with Sai, and while Sai is apparently very good at calligraphy, actual fuuinjutsu theory apparently hasn't been covered yet. Shin is glued to Sai's side, making helpful comments and picking up what he can, but Karin is clearly focused on passing on the basics to Sai in particular. Naruto is playing with the ninken, because Kanna drilled this theory into his head weeks ago—Kakashi had even been there and tried to help, and failed to help, but he'd been decent moral support—and thus the ongoing conversation can't hold his attention for more than a few minutes.

When Kanna finally exits the bedroom, she comes over to the loveseat and flops into Sakura's lap.

"I hate lab assistants."

"No, you don't," Sakura says, pressing a kiss to Kanna's forehead, and then she looks at Kakashi like 'can you see what I have to deal with?'

"You could always take more out-of-village missions," Kakashi suggests.

"Screw that," Kanna hisses. "I've done my time roughing it for the sake of a mission. No, thank you. I'm sticking to my nice, sterile, air-conditioned labs."

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Juugo."

"That's a special case," Kanna snaps. "Rude. All of you."

"Who's Juugo?" Kakashi asks.

The kunoichi share a glance, and then Kanna grimaces. "It's complicated. He's related to a friend of mine who died. I'm supposed to take care of him, but we're pretty sure he's with…"

She glances down at the kids, makes sure that Sai and Shin are facing away from them, and then flashes a few quick handsigns.

Snake nukenin.

Only one person that could be.

"I can see why that might entail having to leave the village," Kakashi says, after a few long moments. "Would it be too forward to ask why the kid is there?"

"Trying to get help for a medical issue," Kanna says, voice short. "I don't expect the di—as—jerk in charge is going to actually help him, but desperate kids are gullible. Or at least… good at denial."

She says it like it's something she has personal experience with. Kakashi doesn't press further, just hums a vague agreement and watches the kids.

Instead, he asks, "So we're looking at five kids once you get that one."

"Fu—screw you," Kanna says, and there's no heat to it.

"Six if Karin manages to talk little Uchiha Sasuke into bothering to connect with another human being."

"Shut up," Kanna huffs. Sakura's giggling, though, mouth hidden behind her hand, so Kakashi's not in trouble.

"Probably more, if the pattern holds," Kakashi finishes. "Are there any I'm missing?"

"Tempted to say you count as one of the kids, seeing as you act like one," Kanna snips at him.

"I've been middle-aged since I was born," Kakashi counters. He pats his hair. "See? I've already gone grey."

"I'm going to rip out your spleen and feed it to you," Kanna tells him. "Maybe not today, maybe not this week, maybe not even this year, but mark my words: I will do it."

"Okay, Kanna-chan. You need better threats, by the way, you use that one all the—hey!"

She smacks him with a throw pillow.

#

It takes a few weeks, maybe months, for Sai to start going to the Academy. Kakashi isn't entirely sure, because he was out-of-village hunting a B-rank nukenin at the time, and the mission took long enough that the possible range is just… somewhere in there. He doesn't bother asking for the specific dates, just asks Sai how school is going.

Sai blinks at him, and then glances at Karin. His voice and expression are level and mostly empty when he turns back to Kakashi, but not completely; there's a little glint of something in those eyes. "My grades are higher than the average. Karin-senpai has been very insistent on making sure I can keep up in the subjects that Root did not bother with."

Senpai, huh? Kakashi looks at Karin, and she smirks. It's a child's smirk, of course, which means it's really more of a grin with eyebrows that are trying to be intimidating, but she sure is trying.

"Make any friends?" Kakashi tries.

Sai blinks again, and then says. "I fought Hyūga Neji in Taijutsu, and I beat him. Afterwards, he told me I was not fated to be as talentless as the rest of the class. TenTen-san said that from him, that is almost a declaration of eternal friendship."

Karin's smirk turns a little more vicious.

"Really, now," Kakashi says. "And what did Hyūga-san say after this?"

Sai shrugs. "He asked that I partner with him for our geography assignment. The teacher said we needed partners, and according to him, I am more quiet and less annoying than our classmates."

Kakashi turns to Karin. "Did you do something?"

"Not to Neji," Karin says, and somehow, that's worse. Kakashi doesn't know much about children's social politics in the first place, but from what he understands, Karin is doing something at the Academy that someone should be worried about. Not Kakashi, of course, because he's already told the Uzumaki family that he's allergic to excess amounts of their weirdness, but someone, probably.

"Well," Kakashi says, and pats Sai on the head. "I'm glad you're making friends. That's better than I managed at your age."

Sai nods, grave as a cemetery. "Thank you, Kakashi-san."

#

For all that Kakashi spends time with the Uzumaki kids, going so far as to babysit when both the kunoichi are busy, or picking them up from the Academy when he's bored, he's not accustomed to any of them seeking him out. Naruto because he isn't good enough at tracking, Karin because she doesn't care to, and Sai… doesn't go anywhere other than the Academy and the Uzumaki house.

Shin is the most distant of the kids. He's more independent than the others, because he's freshly thirteen and has already done real, proper missions for Root. He doesn't talk much to Kakashi, and Kakashi doesn't do much to reach out, either. He made a few token attempts, but talking to Shin feels a lot like talking to a foreign Jounin in a tea shop, one from a neutral or allied country and no conflicting mission objectives. It's… polite and rote and generally empty. Not like Sai is empty, but just… boring. They have plenty in common, but the way they talk just doesn't mesh, and Shin doesn't respond the way the others do, so Kakashi gives up. Some things just aren't meant to be.

Except then Shin tracks him down on a day off and asks if they can talk.

Kakashi's mind races for a few moments, wondering if maybe someone is dead, or Shin has gotten a scary idea in his head that Kakashi is a threat to his new family, or maybe it's girl problems? Kakashi is useless for girl problems, but at least that's less trouble than the other options.

Kakashi does not show this on his face. Kakashi nods slowly, and asks Shin if he'd like to get some ice cream while they talk. Shin agrees, and they do just that. Kakashi's mind continues to shove panicked assumptions about what's going on into his head until they sit down on a bench in the park. It takes a few minutes for Shin to work up the energy and thoughts to actually ask his question.

"How does one go about being a good older brother?"

Oh.

"You seem to be doing a pretty good job with Sai already," Kakashi says, as neutrally as he can. "That kid adores you, and Naruto thinks you're, and I quote, 'a total badass.' Karin is… I don't know what's going through her head, honestly, but if she's anything like her sister, then I'm not sure I want to."

Shin cracks a small smile at that, looking down at the ground. "She takes good care of Sai when I'm not there. I'm grateful for her presence in our lives."

Kakashi nods, but doesn't say anything for a few seconds. He doubts this is the core of it, though. Shin probably isn't just looking for shallow affirmations or support. "What exactly is your worry? Sai is your most precious person, and I think you've done well at being an older brother, especially given the circumstances."

"That's just it," Shin says, pursing his lips into a thin line. "I did well for when we were in Root. But we're not in Root anymore. We are… we're being asked to enter the world at large, to make friends and learn how to interact with people and have emotions, and everything is different. I know how to be a good brother in Root. I do not know how to be an actual good older brother. I do not need to protect Sai from our training instructors or volunteer for missions that are too dangerous for him, now. I just… I can teach him, but that's no different from an Academy sensei."

"Ah," Kakashi says. He has no idea what to say here. "Have you spoken with Sakura or Kanna about this?"

Shin glares at the ground. It's not a very powerful glare—Root had trained the emotion out, so it's really more of a stare—but it's enough for Kakashi to give him the time he needs to gather his thoughts again. "They are… not entirely helpful. They are older, much older, and they said that they were more like aunts than actual sisters, because they're a decade and a half older than the other children. When I asked Sakura, she just told me that she was sure I was doing a great job, and to not worry so much, and that's… not enough. I need to know. I need—I need books, or instructions, or someone to watch and interpret. You're older, too, but… I thought you might be able to tell me something they couldn't, or… that you might understand. Why it's different. Why Root is…"

"Aa, I understand," Kakashi says. He's sure Sakura was doing her best, but Shin is… not a lot like Kakashi, necessarily, but maybe like Itachi was, before everything. He's young and capable and serious, but a little broken, and entirely devoted to a younger sibling that means the world. Add in Root, and it's no surprise that what Sakura said might not have been the best option. "I have never been an older brother, but I know what it's like to exit Root and… try to navigate these bonds."

Kakashi doesn't know that many shinobi with siblings. Asuma has an older sister, but Katsumi's never been a huge fan of Kakashi's, and with Asuma out with the other Guardians, it's not worth bothering her. Itachi… no. Obviously. Maybe if this had happened a year ago, but not now. Obviously. No matter how well Itachi and Shin probably would have gotten on. Ibiki would probably throw a kunai at anyone who even hinted at the Idate situation, so that was right out. The Hyūga—nope. Nope nope nope, nobody from that tangle of dysfunction. Who e—

Oh hey. That was an option.

"How about I introduce you to someone that I know is very mentally and emotionally stable, and that I know for a fact is a great older sister, with a younger sibling that's just about Naruto's age. The age difference is a bit bigger than what you have with Sai, but I think she'd be happy to talk to you about what you're going through."

"How big of an age difference?" Shin asked.

"Er… five years, I think?" He tried to remember, but he'd never actually been close with her, mostly just knew her from Itachi's stories. "But her clan is incredibly family-oriented, so she'd probably be happy to help you talk to someone who's got a closer sibling, if that's what you need. And I can stick with you while you talk if you want someone to, er, play 'normal to Root' translator."

Shin frowns at the ground again. He scuffs one of his sandals in the dust, and then nods. "Okay, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi can't help it. He ruffles the boy's hair, earning himself a startled, slightly offended yelp. "Alright! Let's get going. I think she's in town today, so hopefully we can catch her by the clan compound."

"Which compound?"

"You'll see."

#

The first thing they see, upon reaching the compound, is Inuzuka Hana gleefully holding her little brother up by his ankles, and shaking him while he hollers that he's 'never gonna give in, not ever!' Hana cackles and moves on to spinning a few times, and then he finally cries uncle. Kakashi puts a hand on Shin's shoulder, holds him back, and they watch. Hana drops her brother to the ground with little ceremony, and he rolls to his feet easily. The brat whines a bit, but then someone calls his name from across the compound. With one last yell of 'you're the worst, nee-chan!' he runs off to what looks like the kennels, and Kakashi waves.

"Hatake!" Hana crows, jogging over with three small-but-growing pups at her heels. "You son of a gun, I haven't seen you in ages!"

She grabs him in a hug and thumps his back, and Kakashi rolls his eyes. Hana is only thirteen, a year older than Shin, but she's got the kind of swagger that Kakashi knows she learned from her mother. The greeting was directly from Tsume's playbook, too. Kakashi pats her on the shoulder, and then spins her to face Shin. "Introductions."

Hana glances up at him, clearly unimpressed. Shin also looks up at him, but his expression is dubious. It's well-disguised, of course, but Kakashi goes through life with a good eighty percent of his face covered up completely, and has spent the better part of a decade in ANBU. He can read a thirteen-year-old.

Unsurprisingly, Hana makes the first move. "Hi!" She sticks her hand out, the other propped on a hip, and looks at Shin like he's the biggest challenge of her little genin career. "I'm Inuzuka Hana! I'm gonna be a medic and a kickass kunoichi! Nice to meet you!"

"…I am Shin," the boy says, cautiously shaking Hana's hand, like he's not entirely sure what to make of it. Root was big on traditional shows of deference and politeness, where it mattered, which means that Shin probably only knows about handshakes in theory instead of practice. It's a very Northern thing, more common in Kumo and Iwa, but the Inuzuka adopted it long before they came to Konoha. It's one of the ways they keep other people off-balance. After all, a hand stuck in your personal space is much more aggressive than a bow, and when it's as uncommon as it is in Konoha, even that simple greeting has the element of surprise.

Kakashi notices the annoyance that flashes across Hana's face, and elbows Shin in the shoulder. "She told you her goals."

Shin presses his lips together again, but lifts his chin and says, "I am formerly of Root. I would like to serve Konoha as a shinobi, and repair what damage my previous missions may have caused. I currently live with Uzumaki Kanna and Sakura. It is good to meet you as well."

Good enough.

"You busy, Hana-chan?" Kakashi asks.

"I'm not five, Kakashi," Hana grouses. The pout is adorable. "You don't have to call me that anymore."

"But I can, so I shall, because you're still a puppy," Kakashi teases. "Seriously, though, does your mom need you? Or your genin team?"

"Mom might want me back soon, but I think she'd be cool with it if you told her you needed me," Hana says with a shrug. "I'm supposed to help out at the kennels later."

"Mm," Kakashi hums, rolling the thought around for a moment. "Alright. You two stay here while I go talk to Tsume. Shin's in his last year at the Academy, so you shouldn't be too far apart in that. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Kakashi is gone before Shin's betrayed face properly registers, but when it does, he can't help but laugh to himself a bit. It's good to see some degree of emotion on the Root kids, even if Shin was already doing better on that front. Tsume's apparently in her kitchen, and Kakashi's lucky enough that there's a side-door in that he can knock on. She looks up, raises brow, and motions him in.

"You flea-bitten bastard, where've you been?" Tsume demands, grinning wide enough to show off her fangs. "Haven't seen you in a blue moon!"

"Around," Kakashi says. "You know. Fixing messes. Helping raise kids that aren't actually mine."

Tsume scoffs. "Ah, the Uzumaki house. Heard about that. Naruto's there, right?"

Kakashi nods, and the knowledge hangs unspoken between them. They can't say it, but they both know it.

The Inuzuka clan have some of the only noses in Konoha that can rival Kakashi's own, and Tsume is among the best. Parentage is an easy thing to sniff out, after all. She knows why he goes there, why he ever considered doing anything so mundane as babysitting some Academy brats when he doesn't have to.

"Here for another pup?" she asks, and the tension is gone, just like that. "Didn't think you'd be expanding the pack this soon, but—"

"No," Kakashi says, and then winces at the growled reprimand. "Sorry, no, I—I actually need to borrow Hana for a bit. If that's alright?"

Tsume sits up a bit straighter, eyes him up and down, and then sniffs. She sits back, and Kakashi knows what she's found.

"How old?"

"Thirteen, barely, and asking me how to be a good brother," Kakashi says. "Thinks I'm the best reference since I…"

Tsume tilts her head. Kakashi doesn't know if she ever figured out he was part of Root. There aren't any distinctive smells to it, beyond Danzō himself. Whatever Tsume's looking for, though, she finds it. She nods sharply and waves him away. "Have her back by eight, don't let her get kidnapped or stabbed."

"Thank you, Tsume-san," Kakashi says, and leaves the building with the quietest click of a lock that he can.

(Tsume was… is… a very important person to Kakashi. She wasn't like sensei or Kushina, but there were things about being a Hatake that were lost with Sakumo's death. The Inuzuka weren't related to them in blood, but they are the closest in spirit. When Kakashi had been adrift, tired and lost and trying to find anything at all to tie himself to what was left of his decimated clan, Minato had brought him here, and asked if any of the Inuzuka clan techniques overlapped enough with the Hatake to be shared. Tsume's father had been on Sakumo's team at one point, and had dropped Kakashi in her lap.)

(He'd been ten, and she was twenty, and she bullied him like hell. She also taught him everything she could, and he will never stop being grateful to her for it.)

(Kakashi still isn't sure that all of the techniques Tsume shared were things he'd have learned as a Hatake, but he keeps them cradled to his chest anyway. The skills are gifts, the knowledge is precious, and he may not be an Inuzuka, but they invite him to all but their most insular celebrations. He's not quite an honorary clan member, but he's as close as Tsume could get him without stripping him of his name.)

Kakashi uses a shunshin to get back to the teenyboppers, who are mostly just standing and staring, because Shin is apparently like that with everyone.

Polite. Friendly. Can't carry a conversation worth a damn.

He lands with a hand on each shoulder. "I got permission from Tsume-san. Let's go to, hm… the Yakiniku place!"

"We just had ice cream, Kakashi-san," Shin says. Is that irritation in his voice? Kakashi's so proud, truly.

"Well I can't just treat you to food and not Hana-chan, especially when we're asking for her help," Kakashi tells him. "It's only polite."

"I could go for ice cream," Hana pipes up.

Kakashi turns his eye to the sky as if looking for answers. None present themselves, so he sighs like he's disappointed and turns to the gate. "Alright. Back to the ice cream place. No variety, children."

"Hatake, you once told me you ate nothing but ration bars for two weeks straight. While in the village."

"Hana-chan, you shut your mouth."

"Make me."

#

"So, do I get to know what this is all about now?" Hana asks, with two puppies in her lap and the last investigating Shin. Shin is, by this point, pretty used to Kakashi's dogs, and has some idea of how to interact with canines. Kakashi keeps an eye on the whole situation anyway, just in case. The Haimaru triplets are pretty young, and not nearly as self-possessed as Kakashi's pack.

All of them are sitting on the grass in a park, and Hana is attempting to lick a stray run of ice cream that's melting down her knuckles.

Kakashi looks at Shin until the boy drops his head and says, "Kakashi-san thinks you can help me with something I am having trouble with."

"Yeah?" Hana prompts.

Shin opens his mouth. Closes it. Shakes his head. Looks to Kakashi.

"You can do it," Kakashi says, and is a little surprised by just how soft his voice comes out. Huh. Maybe he's been spending more time with kids than he thought.

"I am… from Root," Shin finally says, eyes focused on the ground. His free hand rips up grass as he speaks, and Kakashi isn't entirely certain that he knows he's doing it. "I was raised there. We were taught to remove all emotions and cut all connections. I formed a bond with a younger student nonetheless, and we grew to consider each other brothers. Had—had we not been rescued, Danzō-sama would have had us fight each other to the death to prove our loyalty and kill our remaining emotions and bonds."

Hana looks stricken. Disgusted. Panicked, honestly. She looks at Kakashi with an expression that clearly says 'and what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?'

Kakashi puts a finger to his lips and nods at Shin.

Shin takes a few more seconds to gather himself, and then says, "I know how to be a brother in Root. I knew what I needed to do there. I had to protect Sai, and show him I cared. I could share sweets that I gathered from missions to the outside world, or show him a better way to throw a kunai. But—but I don't need to protect him now. The teachers at the Academy are kinder, and our guardians provide for us all we could need or want, and… I don't… I don't know how to be a good brother. Not in this… not in this safer world. Not outside of Root. Everything I know, all my habits, they were specific to the situation, but the situation has changed, and I don't know what to do."

Hana's looking at him differently now, and Kakashi doesn't know what she's reading into the cheeks flushed red with anger or the resentment in his tone. Shin wants what's best for Sai, and Kakashi's not sure there's ever been a time that he hasn't.

"Have you asked him?"

Shin looks up, meeting Hana's eyes for the first time since he started talking. "What?"

Hana shrugs, and doesn't meet Shin's eyes. Her hands are lightly fisted in the thick fur of a Haimaru triplet; tight enough to ground herself, and loose enough to not hurt. "Well, you care about Sai a lot, right? You said that that's the most important thing. So I guess the question then is, have you asked him what he wants from you?"

Shin's brow furrows, and he looks down. "Is that what you do?"

"Sometimes," Hana says. "Usually about specifics, like I'll ask Kiba if he wants me to read over his homework for kanji mistakes or bad math. Sometimes he just runs up to me and starts wrestling, and that's always pretty clear. Like… every kid is different, you know? Some kids hate being helped, because they think they're being made fun of, and some don't need help, but want it anyway because it's a sign that someone cares. You shouldn't act with your siblings the way I do with Kiba, because they aren't Kiba. He's a rough-and-tumble brat who can't lie unless his life depends on it, and sometimes not even then. He's not great at theory but he loves Taijutsu. His favorite chore is helping out with the new litters in the kennel, but he's happy to do almost anything with the dogs, and likes it even more if I'm there to talk to him while he does it. What does Sai like?"

Kakashi waits, and thinks to himself that this was probably a good idea. Maybe not the best idea, but he's not good enough at people to know what the best idea would have been. This one's pretty solid, though, so he's going to count his winnings.

"Painting," Shin says. "He was turning it into a jutsu, actually, but he enjoyed it just for the art, too. Mostly sumi-e."

"That's great!" Hana says, with the kind of encouraging smile that is too bright to be anything but genuine. "What else?"

"He enjoyed tantō training," Shin says, pouting a little as he thinks. "One time he made a comment about how he would like to be the one to design the future ANBU masks."

"Favorite foods?"

Shin hesitated. "We're still… experimenting. There wasn't much variety with Root."

That's fair.

"Does he have a birthday coming up?" Hana presses.

"Er, yes, he's turning eleven in November," Shin says.

Kakashi rewinds time in his head, does the math, and realizes that yes, it is in fact almost the end of September, and Sai is turning eleven. Which means Naruto is almost nine. Which means Kakashi needs to figure out a gift, pronto.

Time flies when everything is ANBU missions.

"Are there any supplies or books he'd enjoy?" Hana asks. "On sumi-e, or maybe a travel journal, or a cool weapon? A type of fashion?"

"I don't want to buy his love," Shin says.

"That's not what I meant," Hana scolds. She's not even six months older than Shin, but she acts like it's years. "Gifts on holidays have a lot of meaning. If you make it clear that you thought about what someone wants, and put effort into finding or making something they'd love, then they know you care about them, because you know them well enough to make the right choice. You can spend time doing something together, like going out to try new sweets shops, since you said you're trying to experiment with new flavors after this Root thing. Heck, just sparring is good for some kids. I know Ita… um. Anyway."

She sags. "Listen, man, I don't have all the answers, but I can tell you that the fact that you're this worried about it is already a good sign. You care enough to look for advice, care enough to try. And if you and Sai have been together for this long, then I'm sure he can sense that."

Shin frowns at the ground, which seems to be a theme today. "He's making friends. He might realize that I'm not that—hey!"

Hana pulls back from where she just flicked him in the forehead, something that sounded rather a lot like it stung. Kakashi's glad his mask hides his face. The affront on Shin's face is honestly funny, and Kakashi's pretty sure that laughing would be inappropriate. Mean, even.

"Do not stop people from having friends unless those friends are bad for them," Hana says firmly. "You aren't a friend, you're family. That's a whole 'nother level, okay? Nothing ever tops family, unless the family in question is shit, and you're definitely not shit."

"Language," Kakashi says mildly. Hana shoots him a disgusted look, which he knows is at least in part due to the fact that Tsume definitely lets her curse.

"Besides," Hana says regally, drawing herself up straight, to emphasize what little height she has while seated and covered in puppies. She is evidently ignoring Kakashi, which is delightfully cute. He wants to pat her on the head again, even if she'll probably take a swipe at him for it. "You have a friend, too."

The pursed lips are getting familiar. "Not really. Nobody at the Academy dislikes me, but—"

"Me, you dummy," Hana says, punching him in the shoulder. Shin rubs at it, and stares at her. She rolls her eyes. "Come on, we just, like, bared our hearts to each other. That's something friends do. You're stuck with me now!"

Kakashi can't stifle the laugh completely.

At least Shin doesn't look betrayed. He just looks… surprised.

"Okay," he says, and his eyes drop to the ground again. This time, however, there's the ghost of a smile on his face. "Friends. Thank you, Inuzuka-san."

"Nope! Call me Hana! And skip the whole honorifics thing, we're buddies now."

"Er… I can call you Hana-san?"

"No! Come on, at least do what Kakashi does and go with -chan, okay, we're friends, there is no place for -san when you're friends."

"I see, Hana-san."

"Shin!"

Okay, yeah. This was a great idea.

---

A/N: You can find me on tumblr or AO3 as phoenixyfriend