Updated 05/2020

Kakashi View:

As much as I wanted to put everything on hold to help Aurora through all of this, I still had something very important to do. Of course she was also a priority, but she hadn't delared to destroy all of the villages and reshape the shinobi world. The other Kage had been reluctant to even consider what Naruto and I had to say about him, but relented when they learned that without him, the world would have been lost.

Aurora wasn't happy I wasn't telling her where we were going, still not trusting thatI was the real me. She still tried, annoyingly so. Maybe she should be kept away from Naruto, she was picking up his annoying habit of asking too much.

"Where are we going?" Aurora asked again, tugging my hand to get me to answer her, forcing me to drag her along. I told her it was a surprise, but she kept proding. "Why wouldn't you tell me? You promised no more secrets." She might make a good interrogator one day…

"We're here." The prison was already an intimidating building, but the dark brick was not helping it in the slightest. Aurora stopped pulling on my sleeve and stood closer to me, possibly thinking she did something wrong. "Maa, there's someone here I want you to meet. He's an old friend of ours."

Aurora's View:

I kept trying to figure out what father meant by an old friend. I don't remember if anyone I knew went to jail. Was he confusing me with someone else?

Inside was even scarier than the outside. It felt damp, but there didn't seem to be any leaks and looked relatively new. The dark walls and low lighting made it a lot creepier than it should be. I took a hold of my father's sleeve and followed him through the halls. Were the people in here just as scary?

A guard stopped us, making sure father and I weren't here to try anything funny, before leading into a locked area. What could be funny about a jail?

Father and the guard stopped in the middle of a larger room, talking about the cell around the corner. I listened to them as I tried to get a peak at who it was. Father was distracted with something, allowing me to slip towards the cell.

The person was looking out the window, seals all around his body and one wrapped around his forehead. He was shrouded in the shadows so I couldn't tell what he looked like, but knew it was a man. I leaned against the bars to get a better look, which made the man stiffen a bit. He turned his head, letting the light hit his face a little more and revealed his eyes were covered with a seal too.

"Maa, you shouldn't wander off in a place like this." I felt father put his hand on my head. "I see you've found him. It's been a while since you two have seen each other. Do you remember him?" He looked very much like he did in my dream, but his hair was different.

"S-Sasuke-nii?" The look Sasuke gave me, it was like something in him broke. "Nii-san? You're back!" I smiled, happy he was home finally. "But…"

"Aurora…" Sasuke looked away, hiding in the shadows again. "You grew since I last saw you."

"But...your eyes are covered. How do you see me?" Sasuke looked back up, a shadow of a smirk on his face. "Where did you go?" No one really told me much about where he was, but Naruto promised he was ok.

"I...got lost."

"Well, since we're here, I figure I'll tell you what's going to happen." Father said, cutting off my questions. "I'll be honest with you, someone like you should be imprisoned for the rest of your life. However, due to your role in the fourth shinobi, you will be pardoned. Though, my becoming Hokage and the wishes of Naruto helped."

Sasuke seemed relieved, but still on edge. I looked between them, not understanding what was going on.

"Why are you in prison?" I had heard he killed Danzo, but was that really a bad thing?

"I've caused a lot of trouble for the Leaf and others. I'm not the person I was...but I know I can never make up for what I've done."

"Hm, I hope that's true. Anything you do from here on falls on my shoulders." I wasn't sure if father was being sincere or not. I didn't want to see Sasuke in here forever.

"I'm guessing I won't be released until everyone agrees? I want to know how this world looks to the current me. I want to see if there are things I once overlooked…" I think he was looking towards me, but it was hard to tell. What did he mean by that?

"I'll see what I can do, but as long as you don't cause trouble, I see no problem with it. Aurora, I need you to step out for a bit. There's something I need to talk to him about."

Seeing Sasuke wasn't the happy moment I thought it would be. He had changed, no longer the Sasuke that would play with me, but...broken was the word that came to my mind. His chakra even felt weird, dark and scary, but still had a calmness to it. I only felt it after the seal was removed from his forehead. Hopefully he wouldn't be sad for very long.

Sasuke's View:

I was surprised when Kakashi offered to let me stay at his place for the night. I had thought I was to stay in prison until tomorrow morning.

"Well? Unless you want to sleep here one more night." I deserved too… "It would include staying with Aurora."

"What's the catch?"

"I just told you." Why was he treating me this way?

"Why? Why do you care about me?"

"You really haven't learned anything have you? Maybe you should stay to think some more…" Kakashi put his hands back into his pockets. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from telling him off; he was offering to let me out early, I couldn't look that gift horse in the mouth…

"Fine."

"Good. The guard will hold on to the note with my address. Come by when they let you out."

Of course Kakashi made sure I had to go to his place, to make wouldn't just leave in the night. He took all of my weapons, somehow getting the guards to give them up, taking them with him to his home. Damn him…guess he was using all the perks of becoming the Hokage.

He had also moved, my guess having to after Pain attacked, but hadn't told me it was out of the way from everything. The stress of thinking I'd still have to watch my back while in his house went down a little, since there was no chance of an attack from rooftops here.

I stayed outside of the door for a moment, listening to Kakashi telling Aurora to stop doing something. Someone else spoke, sounding more strict and oddly familiar. Did Kakashi have someone else over tonight?

Before I could knock, Kakashi opened the door, giving me his usual eye smile.

"You going to just stand out there all night?" He motioned for me to come in. "Come on, dinner is almost rea…"

"Sasuke-nii!" I was caught off guard when Aurora launched herself onto me. "You came over?!" Apparently he didn't tell her anything, or the other person in the house by the gasp I heard from the kitchen.

"Did you forget to tell me something?" I looked up to see Iruka, wondering what the hell he was doing here. "Guess now I know why you asked me to double everything." He was finishing up whatever they were cooking. I got the feeling he didn't really want me here…

Dinner was awkward, but Aurora kept everything light. She was excited to see me, telling me all about what she and everyone had done while I was gone. I didn't have to talk, which was nice, she was just happy that I listened.

After dinner, Aurora had to get ready to go to bed, the buffer between Kakashi and Iruka was taken away. Both of them left for a moment to attend to her, leaving me to think of what to say and explore what their connection was. There were pictures lined up on a windowsill, one of them being of team seven when we first became a team. I regret leaving, the photo only reminding me what I had done. Other photos showed Aurora and how much she had grown. She had been so small when I left...now she comes up to my waist. The guilt got worse as I continued on.

The one with all three of them clued me in to what Kakashi and Iruka were. Aurora had her nose pressed into Iruka's, both of them smiling while Kakashi held them close. The three of them are a family. The last photo hurt the most thought. Naruto joined them in this picture, holding Aurora, who looked annoyed he was holding her in his lap while resting his head on the top hers. Iruka had his arm around the blonde's shoulders, grinning just like Naruto; Kakashi obviously was the one who took it. I think I got what Kakashi meant now, what I still needed to learn; they could have been my family too. I could have been in this moment with them if I hadn't been so blind to what I had.

"Iruka, please…" Kakashi said from around the corner. I turned to see Iruka standing behind me, hands on his waist, irritation written all over him. He didn't say a word, but I knew what he wanted to say.

"I know what I've done is unforgivable, there's a lot I need to make up for." I was aware how much I hurt everyone and wanted a chance to prove I had changed. Iruka could be the first to convince, which would help in the long run if I wanted to be part of their lives.

"Then you know how hard it was watching the ones I loved chase after you, to give their all to bring you home." He was scolding me like a child. "You didn't just hurt Naruto and your friends, you hurt the ones close to them too." Like a virus...that's what I was. Iruka's scolding didn't stop just there, he berate dme about my choices, but the entire time I wondered why he bothered. "Just promise me one thing. Don't hurt them like that again."

"Yeah." I smiled a bit, understanding that he only cared about Naruto's wellbeing.

"Maa...I think he's had enough for now." Kakashi finally intervened. "Just understand that we do care about you." Iruka's face softened, looking almost...motherly at me. I see, he does care...

Aurora's View:

Sasuke had stayed one last night, like he promised, but I thought he had been convinced to stay in the village. I guess staying over last night didn't go as well as I thought. Dinner with us seemed to go fine, but I wondered if he and father had talked after I went to bed. I know dad hadn't been as happy about him staying, maybe Sasuke-nii picked up on that and didn't want to stay anymore.

He was packing his things in our spare room, his back to the door, not hearing me when I stepped in.

"Why do you have to go?" I asked him again, but I expected him to give me the same silence he gave me last night.

"I can't stay here right now. There are things...things I need to make up for." He didn't turn to look at me, just kept talking to me over his shoulder. "Maybe one day I'll come back, but for now I must be alone." He made a point to zip his backpack up in a harsh manner to let me know he was done talking.

I stepped out of the way as he walked towards the bedroom door, keeping my eyes down, hurt that he wouldn't tell me why he had to go alone. Instead of brushing past me, he turned to kneel in front of me, putting his hand on my head.

"You shouldn't be involved with my past, so you don't need to know why I have to leave." He made me look him in the eye, his hair covering his weird purple eye. He was being cryptic, as dad put it, again, but at least he wasn't mad at me.

"Then..." I sighed, defeated by his chastising look. "Promise you'll be safe?"

"Tsh..." I think I got him to laugh. "If it makes you stop asking, I promise." He smiled and poked my forehead. "Come on, I need to get going." He stood up, brushing past me out of the room. So much for being a better big brother!

Father had to lead Sasuke-nii out of the village, so he wasn't able to run from me just yet. There was still a chance he might change his mind on the way to the gate and I was going to try my best to convince him on the way.

"Ma, Aurora, where are you going?" I turned around to see they were going a different way, which would go around the village, not through it. "We're going this way." Wait, that ruins my plans! Apparently we wanted to avoid people, no visit them. I guess that makes sense...but it did ruin what I had planned, I knew some of his old friends were in town and had thought that would convince him to stay.

"I don't want to say goodbye to anyone. It's better this way." Sasuke said as he led the way. So much for that.

"Understandable. Which is why you chose dawn as well. Not very many people are up at this time either." Father seemed to agree with Sasuke, which was the opposite of what I wanted. "So, where are you planning on going first?"

I was busy trying to think of another plan, but listened to them talk.

"I see where she gets it..." Sasuke sighed as father kept asking him things.

"Hm? Well, I'm guessing yesterday's pestering didn't convince you to stay here, so I'm obligated to ask where you're going." I could feel the irritation coming off of Sasuke.

"Does it really matter that much..." they both stopped as we approached the gate. I looked around father to see why they stopped walking. Sakura was at the gate, but she had yet to see us. "Tsh..." Sasuke walked past us, but only just past the gates.

"Well, as you know, under normal circumstances you would be locked away in prison. The only reason your wishes are being granted and your actions up until now are pardoned is mostly from the support of Naruto, and myself as the Sixth Hokage. Make sure you keep that in mind. Cause this time, my ass is on the line." Father made it all sound like a threat.

"Yeah..." Sasuke sounded guilty, but I had yet to hear his entire story. He and father were vague about things when I asked.

"Are you really going to leave? Tsunade-sama has nearly finished creating your artificial arm..." Sakura was acting strange around Sasuke. I knew he'd been injured like Naruto-nii, only he lost his left arm instead. I wondered why he didn't want a new arm like Naruto though.

"I need to see the ninja world for myself...I feel like I'll finally be able to see everything I once overlooked. If I don't seize this opportunity to use this clarity, I might miss my chance to use it." He told Sakura the same thing he said to me.

"Well...what if...I asked you...to take me with you." Sakura was acting weird still and even blushed when she asked. Sasuke told her basically the same thing he told me, only that she had nothing to do with his sins.

She took it as that he wanted nothing to do with her, but it wasn't that way. Then he moved closer and poked her forehead, telling her he'd see her when he came back and whispered something that made her blush again.

He walked away, leaving without saying anything to me. I wouldn't let him do it, not again. I ran to him, grabbing his coat.

"Aurora..."

"You didn't say goodbye..." I felt the tears burning my eyes.

"Guess I didn't." He turned to look over his shoulder at me, the same smirk from earlier was back on his face. "I have a mission for you. In the village lives a blonde woman with a small boy. Look after that boy for me."

"Wh.."

"He's...important. Promise me, and I promise you I'll be safe. Deal?" I nodded, promising to do my best. I heard my father call to me, telling me it was time to go home. "Go on, find her for me and watch over them until I return." Sasuke walked away again, but I didn't run after him, even though he still didn't say goodbye.

The woman he was talking about...it had to be Nina, but why would her baby be important to Sasuke-nii?

"Father, do you know Nina-chan?" I asked as we started back into the village.

"Eh...yes, how do you know her?" He seemed shocked to hear I knew her.

"Well...Sasuke said her son was important to him. Why would he be important to him?" Father stopped walking and brought me closer.

"I'll explain that later, but for now I need you to understand that you cannot talk about her or her son's connection to Sasuke out in the open." The serious tone he took made me realize Nina might not be a good person. Was she part of the past Sasuke was talking about?

"O-ok..." I was scared I had done something wrong just by talking to her.

"Maa...how about I take you to work with me today, eh?" He gave me an eye smile, which was off putting with how fast he changed from being serious to seemingly happy. "You can see all the duties a Hokage has to do." He wrapped his arm around me, practically dragging me through town as he told me all about how much he had to do now.

"...And this is the office." We finally finished his long, and boring, tour of the Hokage tower.

"Yay..." I tried to be enthusiastic, but I had been here before, it was just Tsunade's old office.

"What? Aren't you proud to be part of this?" He picked up the Hokage hat off of the hat rack and put it on. "One day, maybe you'll become the Hokage as well." He winked as he sat at his desk. I wasn't sure I wanted that yet, but it was a possibility.

"What if I don't become the Hokage?" I asked as I sat on his desk, crossing my legs under me.

"Well, then you can do other things. You don't have to become the Hokage if you don't want to."

Kakashi's View:

Later in the afternoon, Tsunade dropped off all of the paperwork for becoming her successor...I had no idea it was going to be stacks of papers and not just pieces.

"Congratulations on becoming the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi." She smiled, happy for me, but I wasn't so sure.

"Thanks. I just wonder if I can actually do this…"

"You'll manage. After all, I did." Yeah...big shoes to fill. I was glad Shizune and Shikamaru interrupted.

"Ah, status report?" I suspected people from around the world wanted to see Naruto. Maybe it was a good thing Sasuke left first.

"The Kazekage and the Raikage's entourage have arrived. May I escort them to Naruto?"

"You may." Both Tsunade and I replied. Guess it would take time to beat that out of her.

"I have a request." Shikamaru bowed his head. "I wish to help the village in any way I can. I ask to be your assistant, to become the advisor of the Hokage."

"Maa, I see. Well, how can I say no." I smiled. There was no one else better suited for that job, if he hadn't asked I would have asked him.

"Why is everyone coming to see Naruto?" Aurora asked, shocking everyone. Apparently they hadn't seen her making paper cranes in the corner.

"Maa...guess he's mister popular now."

"After saving the world, who can blame them for wanting to meet him." Tsunade agreed. "Speaking of him, how shall we proceed with his status? He can't stay a Genin if he wants to be Hokage."

"Hm...I think I know someone who can help me with that." I gave her an eye smile. "Leave that to me."

Aurora and I left after our meeting to head to the academy. The plan was for Shikamaru to bring Naruto here for a surprise. Iruka was waiting for us in his classroom, hopefully ready for Naruto's arrival.

"So...why are we leading Naruto-nii here?" She asked as we entered Iruka's class room.

"If you don't spoil it, I will tell you." Iruka said, putting a stack of books on his desk. "As you know, Naruto is still technically a Genin. He can't stay that way if he wants to become the Hokage. So, Kakashi and I have come up with a lesson plan to help him." As he spoke, we heard Shikamaru outside the door. "Now, keep it quiet for now." he whispered, walking a little closer to the door to block the view of the desk as they entered.

"Huh? Iruka-sensei...Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto was confused as to what was going on.

"It's Lord Hokage now." Shikamaru grinned, making Naruto step back.

"W-when did that happen?!"

"You haven't seen the messages that have come in?" Shikamaru sighed. Eventually he gave up, seeing the blonde knew nothing about what was going on.

"So, what do I call you? Kakashi Hokage? Hokage Kakashi-sensei?"

"We can decide that later…Naruto. You never got to take the Chunin Exams, right?" I made him focus on the task at hand. Of course I knew he hadn't, but he had to tell me for legal reasons. "Naruto Uzumaki! I, the Sixth Hokage, grant you…" I paused, watching him and Aurora hold their breaths. "The rank of Jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village." That got everyone in the room to look at me like I had lost it, except for Naruto. "Is what I would like to say." The defeat on his face was perfect. "There is something you must complete before that."

Konohamaru and his team entered, carrying more books and scrolls for Iruka. Guess he really had all of the bases covered… Naruto looked scared of it all, but it was nothing compared to the stacks on my desk right now.

"Here's the educational materials you'll need." Iruka was oddly happy about this.

"You mean…" Naruto worried.

"Yes, you have to study. See, school is very important." I looked towards Aurora, hoping she was getting this. By the look on her face, she got it loud and clear.

"No way! I'll stay a Genin if it means I have to study!" Naruto panicked, going for the window.

"Hey! There's no shortcuts to becoming the Hokage. Got it?" Konohamaru was the one to reprimand him.

"I know your skill is far beyond anything I have seen before, but if you want to become the Hokage, you have to learn to stand above others and lead them." I told him. " It took more convincing from Konahamaru, even Aurora scolded him for being a baby, but he finally caved. He swore to be the best student and learn everything as fast as he could.

Aurora wanted to stay, but there was a very good chance Iruka was going to go overboard and study all night with Naruto. She would learn all of what he was learning throughout her time in the academy and missions, there was plenty of time for her.

"How come Naruto didn't finish the exams?"

"Well, the first one, as you know, was cut short. He was out with Jiraiya during the second rounds of exams."

"Oh. Wouldn't helping win the war make him more than ready to be Hokage?"

"Eh, not really. It takes more than just winning to become the Hokage. You have to lead people, which means sometimes you have to make the hard decisions for them. A leader also has to listen, they can't just do anything they want to."

"So you can't change it?"

"No." I think her concept of being the Hokage was a little skewed. "There's still rules against me doing anything like that. One day, you'll understand what I mean." Morals might not be something she could wrap her head around yet.

"So...what does the Hokage do?"

"Hm...well, the Hokage makes sure the village is safe, which means taking care of every aspect of it. Now, I can't really do all of that on my own of course, so I delegate things to different departments if I need to."

"What does that mean?" Right...six year old, can't use big words.

"It means it takes more than one person to run a village. Daddy just has to figure out which team is the best for each problem."

"So it's not up to you what happens in the village?"

"Not always, but I can have the final say." I ruffled her hair. "Ma, your hair is getting longer. Should we cut it again?" Politics were advanced for her, so there was no need to explain them in depth right now.

"No way!" She pulled away, putting her hands over her hair. "I like it long!" Which was fine, but the way it had been cut made it very choppy. The right side had her bangs growing past her chin, but the left was still only just below her ear. It was cute, but needed to be evened out.

"Hokage gets final say." I teased, making her pout. "Maa, maa I'm kidding." I put my hands up non defensively. "May I at least help make it prettier?" That convinced her to let me help when we got home.

As I predicted, Iruka came home late, long after Aurora went to bed. He didn't get the chance to see how cute her new hair cut was, but he could see it tomorrow.

"Have a fun time studying?" I asked when he came into our room. I was still up reading, waiting to see what time he'd come home.

"Yeah." But he seemed a little out of it.

"Something happen?" I set my book down, giving him my full attention.

"Naruto...he told me if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be here." He was just overwhelmed with his feelings. "Heh...do you really think I'm all that great?" He looked at me, tears still in his eyes. "I mean...I'm not anyone…"

"But you are." I pulled him close, letting him tuck his head under my chin. "There's a lot of things you've done, even if you don't realize them, that make you that way."

"Tsk, like what?" I guess to him, he just did what he did because it's what his heart told him to do.

"Besides saving Naruto from becoming isolated, you saved me. You taught me what it's like to have a family, and what it takes to keep one together." I felt him start to shake, tears staining my night shirt. "You've taught countless children to believe in themselves, so don't tell me you're nothing. Because to me, you're everything." He really didn't know how much he had meant to everyone in the village, what he meant to me.

"Kashi…thank you."