Naruto woke the next morning and went off to train in the woods for a while before meeting the Hokage. Walking into the clearing to practice his taijutsu, he heard a soft giggle. Looking up into the trees he saw his perverted and terminally late sensei waiting for him.

"Kakashi-sensei! You came to help me train!"

Kakashi barely glanced away from his book and simply grunted in response. He was not about to tell Naruto that he was there on orders from the Hokage to make sure Naruto learnt to meditate properly. If the boy thought he was there willingly, that much the better. Naruto created a Kage - Bunshin and began to spar; not realizing that sparing with himself was really not helping him get better as far as technique was concerned. Kakashi watched Naruto engage his bunshin in some basic blocks and punches before jumping down and braining the bunshin, effectively dispelling it. Before Naruto could protest however, he spoke.

"Naruto, Sandaime asked you to meditate everyday, did he not?"

"Yea but I tried it yesterday and it was boorrrinngg!"

Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. He should have known better than to answer the Kage's call on a day off.

"Sit with me Naruto."

They sat down together and Kakashi instructed Naruto on the most effective way to enter a meditative trance. As Kakashi spoke, Naruto voiced a thought that had been bothering him since he had seen Kakashi.

"Sensei, why are you here?"

Kakashi was taken aback though he would never let it show. He tried to put the question into context and failed.

"I don't have the answers to life's more profound questions Naruto. But you surprise me by thinking so philosophically."

"Dammit sensei! That's not what I meant! I meant why are you here? Training…me…"

This was not what Kakashi had been prepared for at all. Did the boy not call him 'Sensei'? Why should he not train him?

"What do you mean Naruto?"

"I…thought…because of the demon fox…"

And there it was. Kakashi was very rarely in a position as uncomfortable as this one. He knew he needed to show the boy that it didn't matter to him but he couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards the demon for the life of his own sensei. Coupled with the fact that the boy looked like the splitting image of Yondaime, he was hard put to not ignore the boy outright.

"Naruto, the Fourth was my sensei did you know?"

"Wha…really? Wow! He must have been amazing…" And that's when Naruto realized that the Fourth had died…sealing the fox. He looked up at Kakashi with regret in his eyes. Kakashi's one visible eye watched the young boy's expressive eyes fill up with sadness and felt shame burst up inside him at the thought of focusing his anger on an innocent. Naruto reminded him so much of his sensei and Obito in the way he looked and acted. It was amazing in fact just how much he looked like the Fourth. In fact…staring into those blue eyes, Kakashi realized he had some questions he needed to ask Sandaime and wondered why he was called a genius ninja if he couldn't figure out the reason for such a strong resemblance between the Fourth and his legacy. For now however he needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Naruto, you are my student. That means that I will teach you. Besides, without me, did you really think you could become Hokage?"

The smile that lit upon Naruto's face was infectious and Kakashi found himself beaming under his mask. He decided to leave it there for the day but once he had his answers from The Third, he expected to be spending a lot more time with the blonde.

The following day, Kakashi walked lazily into Third's office, his face buried in his favorite book all the while.

"I was wondering, Hokage-sama, if yellow - blonde hair was very common in Leaf."

The Third was actually surprised that the man had not noticed the resemblance earlier and wondered how he would react to the confirmation he was about to receive.

"I would have expected this much earlier from you Kakashi. But you are right in your deductions."

Kakashi, needing no explanation as to why the Fourth's son was kept a secret, nodded his head and turned on his heel to leave. He needed time to think and to prepare. A thought struck him however and he turned over his shoulder to ask with a slight scowl.

"Who else knows?"

"Kakashi, Jiraiya and Tsunade had both left Konoha before Naruto's birth."

"You never told them? Didn't Jiraiya at least deserve to know?"

"The council of elders decided long ago to keep Naruto in Konoha. I support this decision. Jiraiya would undoubtedly have attempted to take him away from here but he must stay within the village. Naruto is not yet even capable of being a chunin and you know that one is not allowed to leave their village with anything short of jonin rank."

"Who was the mother?"

"I suspect that someday Naruto will be strong enough to know his lineage. Until then I wouldn't want to endanger him."

The dismissal was all Kakashi knew he would get out of the Third. He walked out leaving the Third to once again ponder his choices and wonder if he made the correct ones.