By: Selim
Summary: When the newlywed Iruka wants to adopt a child, he meets a discriminated boy named Naruto with a dark past. Can Iruka and Kakashi obtain a small family with the boy, or lose him back to the boys original parents..
Pairings: Kakashi x Iruka, Sasuke + Naruto
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Information of this fiction: This is a slight AU. Though it has to do with Ninjas, has Kyuubi, and both Kakashi and Iruka are at designated jobs in the manga, some things are different. Instead of 25, Iruka is only 22, and Naruto is 9 along with all the other kids he grew up with in the manga. Beware of OOCness, because there are so many characters, and the amount of manga I've read only introduced a few.
Thanks for reviewing (FF) Kativa-Chan, Inu-Kyuubi, Coldplayer, Snow887, CuriousDreamWeaver, Narasha-Leona, Tea, Kouga-luv, Chewy-Chan, Crysania Fay, Aki. (AFF) Inoku, Susan, Tastes Like Chicken, Devilsheart, and Eve.
After patting down his husband, and finding no signs of any book by the name Icha Icha Paradise, Iruka was finally pleased. Though his lover still wore his mask, covering his lips (kissable lips, Iruka called them). His usual attire, which consisted of his jounin uniform, was at least clean from mud and grime. Nodding, Iruka opened the door, readying himself to leave for work. "Please, Kakashi, I beg you to be on your best behavior." With a scowl, the man nodded, and Iruka smiled, pulling the mask down to press his lips firmly against his lover's. "Thanks." With that, he left the silver haired man alone in the room.
Glancing at the door, Kakashi turned in the direction of one of the kitchen cabinets, threw the door open and reached in. With a grin, he pulled out his latest book of the Icha Icha Paradise series, and with a poof was out of the room. His solid body made contact with the ground, and he slowly made his way to the lonely building at the edge of Konoha. A few people gave him critical looks as he walked into the building, but no one spoke of his choice. As usual, it seemed quiet around him, wherever he went. He preferred it like that. In crowded places it was harder to hear anyone approach him. War did that to peoples minds, he reminded himself.
A voice echoed across the corridor, causing the receptionist to look up from her desk and at Kakashi. She smiled, and he returned it politely. "You must be Hatake-san. Takanashi-san has been waiting for your meeting. I'll show you to the room." She began leading him through one of the doors that was the main entrance to the entire building within the mountain. A few children, mostly babies, were being carried to the nursery. A younger child seemed to be walking with a caretaker from that direction, her round violet orbs stared at Kakashi and she smiled brightly. He returned the smile.
As the little girl ran off ahead of them, the receptionist chuckled as she opened up a door to allow Kakashi to enter, only to freeze on the spot. Kakashi looked over her head, glancing at the small blonde boy he had seen on his first visit sitting at the table. The boy didn't bother looking up from his piece of paper as he continued to roughly press the crayons into his drawing.
"Naruto!" The small boy jerked in his seat, staring up with wide, terrified eyes. The kind receptionist scowled; her voice no longer full of care as it had been moments before entering the room. Instead it was laced with anger and hatred. The name rolled off her tongue as if an insult, causing the boy's wide blue eyes to fill with tears. "Don't give me that look. You should be in the playroom!"
The boy threw his hands on the table, snapping one of his crayons in half. "Don't make me go in there. The other boys were throwing balls at me, and the girls kept trying to hit me with a jump rope. I'll be good, let me stay here!" He held up both his hands, clasping them together in a begging motion. Kakashi noticed a chakra seal bracelet on his left wrist. The bracelet wasn't on his wrist the first time they met, Kakashi mused to himself. Also the alarming amount of chakra the boy had that day (Kyuubi's more than likely, the jounin added silently) was no longer there. The boy looked drained. Often his head would fall forward, looking down at his art, but Kakashi realized he was trying to stay propped up.
"Come here." The woman hissed at the boy, causing Kakashi to flinch. As if knowing he was in trouble, the boy fled towards the other door, swaying slightly. As the door slammed shut behind him, the receptionist calmed down some. "I'll inform Takanashi-san that you're here. Please take a seat." She turned to walk away, leaving the man alone. Taking a seat, Kakashi pulled his orange book out from his tunic, preparing to launch into a well-deserved reading frenzy, but his eyes fell on the picture that Naruto had been coloring.
It was a fox. Colored in red and brown, coal black eyes staring off the paper. Where had the boy seen this animal? Kakashi grumbled, wondering if he should bring this up with the hokage. Lifting up the paper, he gave a better glance down at it, staring at the green grass that surrounded the fox. It was no different than any other child's drawing, but since the content was such, Kakashi felt the need to keep it. Maybe ask Naruto when he could what the picture meant. Bending the sheet, he slipped it into his book and sat back, quickly going into his reading.
As the door opened again, Kakashi diverted his attention to the councilor who walked in, then down at his book again. The man wasn't reason enough to put his book away. Hell, the Hokage wasn't reason enough to when he just got to such a good part. The man cleared his throat, and Kakashi glanced back up, noting the flushed look that had overcome the usual calm demeanor. "Hatake-san…if I may ask for you not to read that book around this building?" He seemed confused on the fact that a man interested in adopting a child would be reading such material with children in the vicinity.
Shrugging his shoulders, Kakashi closed his book and placed it in his lap. "Let's get this over with then." He made a hand gesture, and the councilor looked down at his notebook he'd brought in with him.
"Um. I'm sure your husband told you a few of my questions." Kakashi nodded. "Well, why don't we start answering the basics by telling me about yourself, your past, and such."
Frowning, Kakashi leaned back in his chair. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes! My dreams for the future are none of your business…but anyway, I have lots of hobbies." It was the same phrase he told all his students the day he met them. The same day he would fail them as well. They needn't worry about learning much about him unless they'd be a permanent fix. So far, only Iruka would be permanent in his life.
"I…see." Takahashi-san muttered, his voice unsure. "You are aware if you go through with an adoption, this child will need for you to open up a lot. Not only will you need to understand how the child thinks, but also he or she will want to know how you think. Moving along. Would you care to tell me about your parents?"
Kakashi leaned forward again, shrugging his shoulders. "I had a normal life." He was reluctant to continue, but the look the councilor gave him told him to continue. "My parents worked weeks on end, both ANBU, so I didn't see them often." He put a finishing tone in to get the point out he'd rather not talk about his family or his friends.
"It was Hatake Iruka's idea to adopt a child, wasn't it?" The man asked, taking down some notes. Kakashi nodded. "Do you want a child?" He asked smoothly.
Kakashi was thrown off by the question, but he kept his facial features calm and impassive. His mind began yelling at him to answer the man honestly, but he also wanted to lie. The part wanting to make Iruka happy won and he looked right into the man's eyes. "At first, I hated the idea. I know what type of life this child will live, since only Iruka can spend the proper amount of time with him. However, the thought of having children makes Iruka happy thus it makes me happy."
"You avoided the question. Do you want this child you're adopting?"
"If you mean Naruto, then no. However, Iruka is as stubborn as a mule. He made up his mind, and I must follow his choice. Like I said, he'd probably be with the kid more than I will be. But, yes. Yes I do want a child with Iruka, even if it's not our own creation."
Takanashi looked displeased with Kakashi's choice of words, glancing down at his notepad then back up at the Jounin, who had grown bored with the questions and was once more reading from him orange book. The man seemed startled by this, but Kakashi ignored him, glancing over the words, line by line – waiting for more questions on his personal life. Hands slamming into the table made him glance up. "Hatake-san, I must demand you put that book away, it's inappropriate at the moment. Would you read such…material in front of Hokage-sama?" He demanded.
Smirking behind his mask, Kakashi nodded. "I've done so before. He's learned not to be flustered about it. I listen while I read. Multitasking is wonderful training." He lowered his eyes to the book, completely ignoring the stuttering escaping the councilor. Without another word, the councilor threw his hands up in the air and left the room. Kakashi chuckled. That was easier than he'd thought.
It wasn't that he planned on ruining their chances of having children. He knew that they could adopt any child in this area at any time they so wished, having earned enough respect from the Hokage to do such an act. Kakashi stood up, but his eyes strayed back to the door that Takanashi had just left from. Suddenly, he wanted too learn much more about what was happening behind the scenes of this quaint adoption agency, especially since he'd seen Naruto in such a state of fear. Putting his book in his vest, Kakashi summoned the proper amount of chakra to act out the jutsu he had planned. With the movement of his fingers and the summoning of his voice, his body disappeared in smoke, becoming smaller and much more childlike.
He ran his hands over his bare eyes, getting use to the light before fixing the overly sized hat on his head so it covered his silver hair better. His seven-year-old form would have to work to get around here. He nodded, knowing he could hold this up for a while – long enough to get information.
Grasping the door (standing on his toes, Kakashi realized just how short he had become); he slid it open, staring out for anyone who'd grab him suddenly. It was empty. The pattering of feet a distance away told him that the hall led back awhile until connecting with other spiraling paths. Possibly, all entered the same place – the play yard in the center of the mountain. Nodding, Kakashi smirked. Perfectly understandable.
Continuing to walk down the path, Kakashi stopped at the first door and opened it, his eyes narrowed. A broom closet. The same was behind two other doors that he came in contact with, and after what seemed forever; he started finding closets full of linen, pillows, and other items for bedrooms. Kakashi noted he must have been getting close to the living quarters. He froze.
His sharp ears picked up a quickening echo of feet, Kakashi counted the thumbs, the chakras and such before coming to the assumption that there were eight people just down that corridor. His assumptions were correct as four little boys and an equal amount of girls, all around the age of thirteen, came running down the corridor at full force, laughing behind them at whomever they were leaving behind. Moving out of the way, Kakashi watched them pass. Soon, their beating feet were gone, and silence overcame Kakashi's senses. Interesting.
Continuing down the winding corridor, Kakashi stopped at a break in what seemed like a never-ending straight path. His eyes glanced over in halls, looking at the Room Numbers hanging above each door. Six pink numbers on one side, six blue numbers on the left. Nodding, Kakashi opened the first door, entering in slowly.
A bedroom, just as he expected. For the first room, it was less than packed. There were a lot of orphans in the place and forty-five beds in one room, Kakashi counted. Beds that were in use had names above the headboard in crayon, as well as other drawings. Personal items lined on pillows. In front of the beds, each one had a trunk. Ones in use were locked. All the way in the back of the room was a single, unmade bed. The white sheets were old and tattered, spots of black etched into the old covers. Dried blood, Kakashi frowned. He knew that color very well. He walked towards that bed, studying how everything was thrown about.
Most of the beds in the room were made, this one only accompanied sheets, and the blanket and pillow seemed to be under the bed, in a mischief cocoon. Both splattered with the same near black color of crimson, the rest was an old tattered white sheets with yellow stains showing its age. Glancing up, Kakashi noted whom this bed belonged to.
Green letters, flimsily written by a child, cried out the name Naruto. Around the face were black markers scribbling out something, looking closely, Kakashi could make out the figure of foxes drawn in random places. On the walls, spare paper, notebooks. One was stained with blood, sending chills up Kakashi's spine. There was much not right about the boy and his fascination with foxes, almost as if he knew. Knew of the Kyuubi, and the secrets wrapped around it. Instead of dreading it, the boy seemed to embrace it.
But all that was only an assumption based on the drawings. Kakashi couldn't verify until he actually knew Naruto better than he already did.
The patter of feet caught his attention suddenly, his sharp ears picking up the heavy breathing of whoever was running. It was getting closer, and Kakashi stepped back, in defense. In a flash, a blonde head ran into the room, looking behind his back at whoever was following him. He didn't notice the jounin-made-child standing before him as he made a dive under the bed, concealing himself with the blankets. Kakashi watched as the door opened and a red faced woman walked in, gazing angrily around the room. "You!" She seethed.
"Hm?" Kakashi looked up. She was a tall woman, her brown hair hanging around her ears, the rest tied back in a messy bun.
"Have you seen a small blonde, around the age of nine? Stupid scars on his cheeks, resembling cat whiskers?" She asked, her hands on her hips. Kakashi shook his head 'no', and smiled brightly, politely. Nodding her head, the woman turned to leave, her voice echoing over her shoulder. "You should run along to your math class, now. Don't want to go see Takanashi-san due to bad behavior, do you?"
As she left the room and was a good distance away, Kakashi fell to his knees near the bed, staring under it questioningly. "Naruto?" He asked, unsure, the ruffling under the blanket tensed and froze, as if suddenly feeling unsafe again. "Hm. My name's Hatake Kakashi." He introduced himself, keeping his voice level and calm. The blanket lowered some, blue eyes shined brightly from behind it.
"I've heard of you. You're gonna adopt me, aren't you? …But, aren't you older than this?" Naruto raised a fine golden brow.
A nervous look crossed the jounin's usually impassive face as he scratched his chin. "Er, well. I couldn't get in here being in my adult height. Don't worry, this is just a disguise until I leave unnoticed. Can you do me a favor though?" He reached into his tunic as the small boy nodded. Pulling out the small sheet of paper the boy had left on the table at the beginning of the meeting with Takanashi-san. Straightening the drawing out, he slid the paper under the bed. "If you have a crayon, could you write a note on this drawing?" The boy nodded again, and ruffled around under his bed.
"What do you want written?" The child whispered, his voice squeaking in uncertainly.
"Something for my husband, Iruka. He's really set on adopting you, and I'm sure he'll probably sneak in here and kidnap you if he was denied." He earned a giggle. "Why's your bedding so … dirty?" He asked, staring at the dried blood, the boy froze, stopping any and all moving. Even breathing. "Never mind." Kakashi whispered. The boy's response was enough to explain everything. The movement started again before the paper slid out from under the bed.
Thank you, Iruka-san. Naruto-kun, 9
Kakashi glanced over the messy words, some words trying to write in Kanji to seem much older than he really was. The child stilled again, and Kakashi stared up, trying to find out why, since he said nothing. Footsteps were approaching the room. "Go away," Naruto hissed, covering himself with the blanket. Standing up, the copy-nin walked towards the door just in time for Takanashi-san to enter the room, panting heavily.
"Who are you?" Takanashi frowned, glaring down at the boy. Kakashi smiled at his luck.
"My friends came this way, I've been here awhile. Obviously they're not here, so I'll look elsewhere." He walked past the man, ignoring the glare. His hands, flimsily, holding the picture. Finally he approached the exit, and as he entered the conference room he had started in, his disguise gave out. . His adult form stretched, getting use to the height difference. Muscles ached and bones cracked, but he felt better. With his book in his vest and Naruto's drawing folded in his hand, he left the building.
The cool mountain wind felt nice, the Jounin took in a deep breath. It relaxed him further. Now he had plans for his evening, maybe even get laid. That would make his day. The copy-nin smirked under his mask. Yes, that'd be great, but Iruka didn't give out easily. He'd been on edge recently based on the adoption, so intercourse (besides verbal) hadn't been on Iruka's list of things to do. Also, Genin Finals were coming up, and Iruka was on his toes getting his students ready, last minute advice, strain.
Stopping at a florist, Kakashi picked up a single pink rose. Paying for it, he quickly stalked towards the Ninja Academy. His only eye that was showing was a crescent of happiness; people walking near him wondered how he knew where he was going. Hell, Kakashi was in such a good mood he felt like singing as he entered the tall building, walking through hallways until he reached the Iruka's classroom.
He could hear Iruka's stern voice speaking throughout the class before giggles followed, laughter from the boys all the way in the back. Many times the copy-nin had just sat in the classroom as Iruka taught, claiming he was 'visiting' his childhood when he had sat in one of those chairs. He would note that girls tended to sit up front, one or two flirting with Iruka for a grade; others sat near the boys, flirting with them. One or two would actually be interested in learning. The boys, at this age, were full of spunk. Made comments that got Iruka flustered up, to the point that he was stuttering as he tried to control the blood rushing to his face.
Sliding the door open, Kakashi held up his hand, the other hiding the pink rose and drawing behind his back. "Yo! Sorry I'm late for class, Iruka-sensei!" He put a cheerful deposition over his face as he walked towards one of the seats, propping his feet on the table as if he was preparing for a nap rather than a lecture. Without anyone noticing, he placed the rose and picture comfortably on his lap, hidden by his feet. Iruka's face darkened as he tossed his chalkboard eraser at the class distraction.
"Get out of here, Kakashi!" The eraser was a direct hit with Kakashi's forehead.
Sure, Kakashi could have caught it, no questions asked, but he wanted to be lazy. An eraser wasn't going to kill him, no point to waste energy and catch it. "Ja." He waved his hand indifferently. "You're holding up the class, Iruka-sensei. Teach! Teach!" He earned laughter from the back of the room; the young girl next to him snickered behind her hand.
"Um…" Iruka stared around as his class became out of control, Kakashi mentally patted himself on the back. Still had it in him. He removed his orange book from his vest. Girls' faces broke out red, reading the cover of the book. "Kakashi!" Iruka yelled, his embarrassment disappearing into anger. "Class dismissed, study for a test tomorrow." His eyes never left his husband, but the copy-nin decided not to notice.
As the last student left, Iruka let out a startling yell, causing Kakashi to stare up. "I told you not to take that book with you! Where did it come from?" He seethed, reaching over to grab the book. Kakashi held it out of reach. Grabbing the rose, he held it up to the reaching Chuunin, who became startled with the action. "What the-?" He whispered, taking the flower.
Kakashi smiled. "My interview went well enough."
"You didn't read the book in front of Takanashi-san, did you?" Iruka whispered, fumbling with the petals.
"He was boring me."
"Kakashi!" Iruka threw the rose on the table. "I told you to be on your best behavior! Now we'll probably never get a child because they know you're a pervert!" The younger male crumpled to the ground, about ready to cry. "I really, really wanted Naruto."
Getting completely up off the table, the copy-nin approached his lover, sitting beside him. "I talked to Naruto today too." He whispered, catching the dolphin's attention. Holding out the folded paper, Kakashi handed it to his husband. "This is for you."
Opening it, Iruka's eyes lit up, a smile tugging on his lips as he jumped his lover. "Thank you, Kakashi!" He pulled himself on his feet and ran to his desk, looking for tape so he could put the art near his chalkboard. Kakashi watched as the Chuunin fluttered around, his emotions doing a complete one-eighty.
"Does this mean I get sex?" Kakashi asked, hopefully.
"Nope." Iruka said, taping the picture on the wall. "You took your Icha Icha Paradise book to that interview when I said not to."
"We'll see." Kakashi stared up, smirking to himself. He was going to have dolphin tonight. He licked his lips, anticipating how to get it.