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. Also, this is being beta'd now – just for y'all to know.
Thanks for reviewing (FF) Chewy-Chan, Alaskantiger, IceNight009, Anonymous, Flaming Beauty, Silver Fox aka Vash, Lil Saiyan, Buried Fairy Tale, Kitsune203, Nesssachiel, BlackMoon13, FireieGurl, Baka Angel Neko(AFF) Inuyashaismine, Inoku, Gonrie, Briryan, sapphirexkat2, Zarina, and Deathangel666
The wonderful smell of the ocean breeze was always relaxing after a rough night. Of course, Konoha was nowhere near the beach so finding this relaxing smell was even harder. So when Iruka woke up to the bed sinking in during the middle of the night, he sunk closer towards Kakashi's warm body, enjoying the extract of salty sweat and the wonderful smell of the jounin's hair that seemed close to that tantalizing ocean breeze. "Iruka-san…" The teacher pulled closer to his husband's protective embrace.
"Iruka-san…" The voice whispered and Kakashi's breathing faltered in shock. Like lightning, Iruka felt himself being pushed off the bed and a small blonde blur being tossed in the air and against the door with a hallow thump.
Kakashi jumped off the bed. "Shit," he hissed. Joining his husband to comfort the small, crying boy who was sitting down, holding his head before a scream escaped his lips as tears fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry, Naruto!" He reached to check the boy's head, but the child swayed away from his hand and into Iruka's arms (who was dressed in a robe). "You shouldn't jump on me like that, Naruto," Kakashi advised sternly. "When I don't know what's going on by suddenness, I'll feel threatened and attack even if I'm still sleeping." He explained, hoping the child would understand.
The boy didn't verbally answer, instead choosing to nod his head as Iruka checked his head for large wounds before lifting him up. "Kakashi, get some ice and a rag. He hit the doorknob." Naruto's arms wrapped around the Chuunin's neck, holding close to the man. "What on earth did you need, Naruto?" Iruka whispered, taking the ice that Kakashi was holding out to him and placing it against Naruto's head as the kitchen's lights flickered on so he could identify the wound more closely. The small wound seemed to have healed (Work from the demon? Iruka frowned) leaving traces of blood where it had bleed.
"I had a nightmare." The boy sniffled, rubbing his eyes.
With a passing glare to the whistling Jounin, dressed in a pair of pants thankfully, Iruka leaned forward to hug the boy comfortingly. "What happened?" He whispered. "Maybe Kakashi and I can help you." He whispered, his husband's name used as a curse. He knew this was going to happen! All that ice cream, ramen, juice, and god knows what ruined a perfectly good night sleep.
"It was so scary!" Naruto whispered, taking the ice from Iruka's hand, absently saying he didn't hurt anymore. "Everything was on fire. There was laughter and screaming. I was standing in the center of the fire and people were going to kill me. Kakashi-san was going to kill me. Iruka-san was going to kill me. I didn't mean what happened…" His eyes watered as he began to cry again. On instinct, Iruka comforted the boy again. Kyuubi's memories, he realized.
"Iruka and I would never kill you Naruto." Kakashi spoke evenly. Deciding his words. "And you'll never do that type of damage. I know you wouldn't…couldn't. Come on; let's get you to bed again. Go to bed, Iruka. It's one in the morning." Kakashi reached forward, about to take Naruto into his arms. As before, the boy moved away and further into Iruka's robe. "I said I was sorry…" Kakashi spoke, defensively, when Iruka glared at him. Reaching over, he clasped Naruto into his arms and walked towards the back rooms to put Naruto back in bed, carefully, Iruka followed behind.
Kakashi was probably aware that Iruka had leaned up against Naruto's bedroom door but he didn't visibly show it as he laid the boy in the bed and reached under it to collect the blankets and plush toys. "Can't I stay with you and Iruka-san for tonight?" Naruto whispered as he was tucked into the bed, the foxes next to him.
"No, because you're capable of sleeping in your own bed – nightmares or no." He picked up one of the toys and glared at it before looking at Naruto. With a quick tilt of his fingers, the fox's head tilted. "'Naruto, I don't wanna sleep in the same room as Iruka and Kakashi,'" Kakashi whined out in a childish voice, trying to imitate the fox (of some sort). "'Iruka kicks in his sleep, and clings.'" Kakashi smiled, rubbing the toys button nose against Naruto's. "See Saiai-"
"That's not Saiai! That's Yoshino!" Naruto giggled, grasping hold of the other toy fox – Saiai - that was tucked in his bedding.
"Fine." Kakashi ground his teeth. "Yoshino wants to stay in here with Naruto – in the bed – because she doesn't like Iruka and I."
In shock, Naruto reached over, grabbing his fox and protecting it from Kakashi. "That's not true. Yoshino likes him, Conscience-sama named her because he likes you guys. He said that Yoshino means he trusts you – whatever that means."
Iruka blinked, listening to all this. Naruto stared up at him followed by Kakashi. With a yawn, Iruka walked into the room, sitting on the bed. Hesitantly, Naruto laid in Iruka's lap, allowing Iruka to brush his hair down in a loving manner. "Kakashi and I will stay in here until you go to bed. To chase the nightmares away because your conscience trusts us to do that." With a nod, Naruto yawned and closed his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Iruka… you have work in the morning, you're going to be stiff and grouchy – no one should be near you then." Kakashi whispered, tucking Yoshino under Naruto's arm. The boy held tight onto Iruka, trying to go back to sleep.
"If I can't survive a sleepless night, then I have no right to be called a shinobi." Iruka hissed back, continuing to run his fingers in Naruto's spiky blonde hair. As if mocking the teacher, Kakashi raised a finger to his unmasked face before Iruka's eyes widened. "Kakashi! Your hatai-ate isn't even on your face."
"He didn't ask any questions, so I'm not too worried right now." A trademark grin took over Kakashi's face as he sat completely on the bed, his red eye scanning down Iruka's robe. "My, my. You're looking very sexy in that outfit. Wear it tomorrow."
"N-no." Iruka blushed.
"For me?" Kakashi whined, looking hurt.
With a huff, Iruka turned his head. "Haven't you had enough for today?"
"One romp isn't enough to sate me. I'm a young man meaning I can go a few more times. Only question is can you keep up with me." The jounin leaned over Naruto, grasping Iruka's ear in his mouth and nibbled on it. With a growl, Iruka pulled away. "I think he's asleep, you're up, I'm horny. We can solve this back in the bedroom."
"You're always horny!" Iruka cried out before calming down as Naruto clenched Iruka's robe. "Just go to the bedroom, I'll be in there later. Not to have sex!" Iruka hissed as Kakashi's face broke into a grin. "Just go back to the bedroom, I'll be there when Naruto's completely settled into his bed for the first time." Iruka relaxed against the headboard with his eyes closed. It wasn't long before he felt himself being pulled up and a pillow placed behind his back.
"You'll hurt yourself just sitting like that." Kakashi explained, pecking his husband's lips. "If you stay here, I'll wake you when it's time to get up." With another kiss for promise, Kakashi left the room, leaving his small family in there.
"Hello! You must be Hatake Naruto! It's so nice to meet you for this semester of school! I'll be your teacher Ayami Hikari, but just call me Hikari-sensei." Hikari smiled down at the boy next to Iruka. Naruto clutched onto Iruka's pant leg, eyes wide. His book bag, a knapsack with a fox sewn on it (a gift from the orphanage for finally being adopted), was filled with supplies the nine-to-ten year old pre-genin class would need, but also two foxes heads hanging out from the side.
Before they had packed to leave for school, Naruto began asking about his last name, if he would have the same last name as Iruka and Kakashi. With a grin, Kakashi had said the boy had taken his last name the minute they adopted him (though neither parent mentioned the adoption had yet to be finalized, as far as they were concerned, Naruto was theirs). The whole walk to the academy, Naruto sung, excitedly, his name was Hatake Naruto. Now, when the name was being used, he didn't know how to answer.
The classroom door was open, letting several pairs of eyes stare out at him with confusion or curiosity. Obsidian, emerald, pale. Various eyes that seemed to stare Naruto through and through, causing him to fear the first day of school more than his tour of the class before. "Go in there in sit while I speak with Iruka-sensei." The teacher smiled, earning a grin from the blonde. When he was out of earshot, Hikari turned to face Iruka with a frown.
"You're class doesn't seem as packed, Hikari-sensei." Iruka stared into the class, remembering the large class she supported before.
"When I sent out the roster for this semester, many of the parents took their child out of the class, changing the child's teacher. I hate to say this, Iruka-sensei, but I can only assume that it's the introduction of your son that has caused this sudden drop. It's mostly the bigger clans that left their child in my class, but they've given warning about…the demon child." She stared back at Naruto. "I'm not native to Konoha so I don't fully understand what's so wrong with such bright blue eyes. But, in the last few days this classroom has received threats that anyone who is near that child will suffer. Hokage-sama is placing Jounin outside the doors and windows, but I'm wondering if maybe you should wait and teach him yourself when he's in yours – or Mizuki-sensei's – class."
"That's two years, his eleventh birthday." Iruka whispered, staring into the room to see Naruto surrounded by all the children, doing introductions. "I'd prefer if he moves along with other students now. No one will be hurt. Hokage-sama wouldn't allow it. It's a traitorous act to even attack the academy. I know they're empty threats." With a quick glance at the clock, he smiled politely. "I have to go to class. When school's over, keep Naruto with you, I'll come by to make sure everything went well." With a short bow, Iruka turned to leave the quiet teacher in the hall, the sound of childish laughter floating around.
"Kakashi, I know you're there." Leaning back in his chair, the Hokage lit his pipe with a gleam of happiness in his eyes. With a push of the windows, Kakashi stepped in the room, rubbing the back of his head. "Our meeting ended two hours ago, Kakashi. What's the excuse this time – dolphin drowned your alarm clock?"
"Oh no!' Kakashi grinned behind his mask. "Had to feed my dolphin. Only the finest." The jounin pulled up a seat near the desk and settled in the seat. "Did I miss anything important?"
Sarutobi shook his head, his fingers rubbing his temples. "Takanashi-san decided to go talk to Iruka instead; at least he'd listen better than you. Would you like to know what's so important though?" Kakashi looked hesitant before nodding. Taking the pipe out of his mouth, the Hokage blew smoke from his lungs. "Well. You're aware Naruto's not an orphaned child, nor a newly adopted Hatake."
"Yes I'm aware."
"Good, that makes explaining this easier." The Hokage stuck the pipe back into his mouth and glanced down at the desk. "Naruto's parents have denied the adoption of their only son. They refused to disclose their reasoning, but they've decided to take Naruto back." Suratobi stared up again to meet an empty chair. "Kakashi…" He whispered, looking out the window where the jounin's chakra signature was. "I wish he'd stay here so I could explain the whole situation. Send a message to the Hatake family that I'd like to speak with them at their earliest convenience," he glanced at the guard at the door, who saluted before leaving the room.
Iruka felt his head begin to throb as he stared over the group of students. In his years of teaching (though not that long) he knew that children this age had a short attention span, but this was ridiculous. When they exited the school to spend time at the training ground near the school for hands-on-training, Iruka was surprised to see a fellow Chuunin teacher, Mizuki, with his students, halfway through the course. Shoving two classes of students together became disastrous in no time.
Many had resorted back to being children, playing rather than paying attention. Iruka had never been so tempted to throw a kunai at them just to see reflex. Instead, he calmed himself carefully and walked towards the largest group of his students. "Pop quiz!" He yelled out suddenly, earning groans from a good portion of the students. "Line up!" He ordered, and the students formed together.
"H-Hatake-san!" A voice echoed through the training grounds, causing Iruka to tense and turn. Takanashi-san approached him with his hand waved. His walking was in quick strides, moving as quickly as his pressed business suit would move. "Your husband missed my meeting this morning, so I thought I'd come to you instead."
"Um…" Iruka looked over the curious eyes staring at him. "Mizuki-san!" He yelled for the other chuunin's attention. The silver haired young man turned to face him, smiling brightly. "Torture my students into submission!" He smiled, earning wide laughter from the other teacher, then a mock salute. "Let's go somewhere else to talk then, sir. I'm sorry about Kakashi's lateness; he's always like this. He missed our wedding by six hours."
"That must have been awful!" Takanashi yelled, his eyes wide. Iruka broke out into laughter.
"I wouldn't have married him if I didn't know what to expect. Though the wedding was suppose to be at eight that morning, no one showed up until one and we only waited an hour for him to show up."
The councilor nodded, understanding. "Well, we asked him a few days ago when he was with the Hokage to come visit today at seven. He never came, and our meeting was very important. I thought I'd come to you than let him tell him – he doesn't seem very reliable."
"Important?" Iruka whispered. "What could be so important that you needed to speak to one of us?"
"We wanted to speak with both of you, but Hokage-sama suggested that I tell Kakashi first since no one knew how you'd handle this problem." When Iruka's eyes widened, Takanashi ran a hand over his forehead, brushing sweat from his brow. "I told you when you first took Naruto home with you that we had to tell his parents? Well, they came to my door not long after, the next day to take Naruto home with them. They said they would like to take care of their only son then leave him in a place where…two guys will adopt him."
Iruka's body slumped tiredly as he fell to the ground. "So what? Naruto's not our child anymore?"
Waving his hands quickly in a dismissing motion, Takanashi explained himself. "Hardly. Cases like this, where the child was abandoned isn't considered adoption, but the parents are considered unfit. The only thing that doesn't make Naruto an orphan is that his parents are still in charge of him, though he's under our care. As is we were a never-ending day care that the state pays for rather than the parents."
"You're not reassuring me. Tell me, Takanashi-san! Is Naruto still our child or did you come here to take Naruto away from us?" Iruka's eyes moistened. Please don't take Naruto; he grew attached to the boy in a little over a week. The thought of his life continuing without a son to take care of was daunting.
"No, Iruka-san. The last thing I plan to do is bring Naruto back to our agency!" Takanashi spoke harshly. "I just thought I'd tell you that at this point any error on your half could add up to Naruto being taken away from you. His biological parents aren't on the best of terms to be taking care of children; this is a big plus for you. This means that if you fault, they could have a higher chance of receiving him in the end since they want him back. The Hokage has decided that there will be an intermediate trail to decide if Naruto should go visit his parents for a certain amount of time per month or if all parental rights have been removed from the parents. But, a case has already been brought to our attention against the Hatake family."
Iruka felt his heart stop the further Takanashi spoke, his breathing slowing as he fought from crying. "An unknown source has brought it to our attention that you have left Naruto unsupervised and lost him."
"I asked him to sit outside the classroom while I dropped off some papers and he became distracted by another class!" Iruka explained.
"Hm." Takanashi nodded. "I'm not the one to tell that to. I just thought I'd give you an example of what you'll be dealing with and explaining at the intermediate trail. I'm sorry Iruka, but I have other places I need to be right now. I hope you and Kakashi can sort these problems out." He nodded, leaving.
With a silent cry, Iruka lowered his head, trying to push tears from his eyes before a firm hand pressed against his back, rubbing tension from it. "Kakashi…" He stared up, looking at the jounin. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"A social worker approached me when you took Naruto to the academy. Just to introduce herself, but…her words said otherwise. Kept asking me if I knew Naruto wasn't an orphan. If I knew what was in him. The trouble he'd cause for my family honor. I ignored her though, and left. Didn't think too much of it until the Hokage brought it up at our meeting this morning. But don't worry, Iruka. We won't lose him." He wrapped his arms around Iruka as the lunch bell rang. "Did you give Naruto his bento box?"
"N-no." Iruka whispered.
"Then let's go feed him! Because we're still a family and if he starves, we'll never hear the end of it when he comes home." Kakashi rose to his feet, stretching supposedly stiff muscles.
Iruka glanced up, surprised. "So what? We act like nothing happened? Leave him in the dark?"
"Just keep this quiet. Let him enjoy the relaxing life of being a child, and when we become too deep, we'll tell him everything. Right now, we're doing great." Kakashi walked into the academy, leaving Iruka in the waves of moving children.