Here's another song title, it's so fitting!

Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback

Everyone stared at him, wide-eyed. Uncharacteristically, Tetsu's mouth was dropped in shock. Chishio almost fell out of his seat at those five words; he only managed to stay upright by grasping the table until it looked like it would break under his hold. The Third Hokage, at first, was staring in astonishment. But then he smiled at Kakashi's declaration.

There was no precise emotion for Suki's expression. Her face changed from shock, to happiness, to fear, to hope… She honestly didn't really know how to feel in the first place.

"What did you say?" was all Tetsu was able to manage to say.

"I want to adopt Suki," Kakashi repeated, not hesitating one bit to get his point across.

Tetsu and Chishio gawked at the silver-haired man. "You… you're lying," Chishio managed to say.

"Why would I lie? What motives could possibly spur me to say it?" Kakashi countered.

"No! You cannot just take her away! Otherwise, Konoha will have two weapons!" Tetsu yelled.

"Weapons? I'm a weapon?" Suki asked.

All the adults looked at her again, almost as if they kept forgetting that the little girl of topic was sitting there.

Sarutobi sighed as he looked at Tetsu. "I see that she does not know."

"Know what?" the girl asked cautiously. She was looking between all four men, hoping for some answers.

"Are you sure you don't wish for her to leave the room?" the Hokage asked the leader of Kagayaku Village.

Tetsu growled. He was trapped in a corner. He didn't really know what to do. Should Suki leave the room so he could continue to argue with the Leaf shinobi? Tetsu didn't really like that idea, for he didn't trust these ninja sitting before him. But should she sit here and find out about the secret that she didn't even know about? That could prove to be dangerous.

But it was really his only option.

"Listen brat," Tetsu said as he turned to the girl from his village. "There are certain things that should be explained to you."

"You're going to tell her now?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"You stay out of this!" Tetsu snarled at the jounin. "She is of my village, and I will tell her what I want when I want!"

He turned back to the six-year-old. She was cowering in her seat as she locked eyes with the man's.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Tetsu continued. "Have you ever heard of the Guardian?"

"Y-Y-Yes," Suki stuttered. "He's supposed to protect the world from falling into war."

"Do you know Gekido, the previous Guardian?"

"Yes. He started a war because he wanted power," Suki answered.

"Well… that tattoo that you have on your wrist," Tetsu started. Suki took the chance to look at her wrapped-up wrist. "That's the sign of the Guardian."

Suki's eyes widened in shock. She looked from Tetsu, to Chishio, to the Hokage, to Kakashi. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think.

All she knew was that her terrible life was starting to make sense.

This was why her villagers hated her. She was the Guardian who had started a whole war, all in a quest for power. She was the one who unleashed the Nine-Tailed Fox on the Fire Country. She was the person who practically destroyed the world.

"I'm… I'm…" Suki started but couldn't finish.

"You're a monster is what you are," Tetsu finished for her. "And the Leaf Village is only trying to take you away from your home so you can fight for them."

"Suki is not Gekido," Kakashi interrupted. "She is not a monster. And we are only offering her a home, something that you have yet to provide for her in her six years of living!"

"How dare you accuse us of providing unfit care for her!" Chishio yelled as he stood up. He had stood up so quickly that his chair fell backwards. "You have no right to accuse our village of anything."

"Please, let us all take a deep breath," the Hokage interrupted. He glanced from Kakashi to the two Kagayaku residents. "It is important that we keep a level head."

A tense moment hung in the air as everyone stared at each other. While Sarutobi was attempting to keep peace, the other three males were sending glares at each other that could kill. Suki was staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts.

Kakashi broke the suspenseful silence with a deep sigh. "Well, regardless of Suki's past in your village, she is still an orphan. She has no family. And therefore, as a legal adult, I wish to become her adopted father."

Honestly, the young adult didn't even understand why he wanted to adopt Suki. He had never thought of himself as a family man. He never imagined he would ever have a family. He didn't even date, at least not after Rin died…

Kakashi turned his gaze to Suki, who was staring off into nothing.

So what was it about this little girl that urged him to act so impulsively? Did he want to adopt her simply because he felt bad for her? Was it because her life in her own village was so terrible that he wanted to save her and show her what true happiness felt like?

No. That definitely wasn't the answer.

That wasn't right, because Kakashi couldn't even remember the last time he had been truly happy.

It was probably when he still had his old team. With Obito, Rin, and Minato-sensei…

Then why? Why did he insist on saving this six-year-old that everyone else seemed to hate?

And then it suddenly clicked in Kakashi's head.

He wanted to help her… because they both needed each other. She needed someone to care for her, to show her how to live life without being hated. She was the orphaned Guardian. In her village's eyes, she was a monster. She just needed compassion from someone.

He needed someone to help him remember his old self. He was an ANBU member, and he had killed his emotions long ago. But when he was with this child, he felt an overwhelming wave of protective care for her. He just needed a lifeline to bring him back to the real world… to give him a reason to be himself again.

"Why?" Tetsu asked, waking Kakashi from his thoughts. The silver-haired man looked up at the leader of the other village. "Why do you wish to adopt this child when her own parents didn't want her? What makes her so special to you?"

Suki seemed to have woken up as well when her lord started talking about her parents. She looked from Tetsu to Kakashi.

The jounin thought for a moment about the question. Then he spoke with unwavering seriousness. "I want to adopt Suki because I need her as much as she needs someone to care for her. She is special… simply because she is Suki. It is not a matter of anything specific about her that interests me. I do not wish to bring her here to make her act as Konoha's weapon. In fact, that is the kind of life that I wouldn't wish on anyone. All I want is for her to be happy."

Tetsu and Chishio both stared at the masked man. Their expressions both showed confusion, then doubt, and then finally surprise. No one had ever actually thought about adopting Suki in their home village. So the fact that someone like this man actually truly wanted to adopt the girl was very shocking. Tetsu stared hard at Kakashi, trying to find some hint of lying or hidden purpose in his words.

There was none, and Tetsu knew it.

The Hokage smiled at the ninja. When Rin had died, Kakashi had turned to ANBU. He thought that by killing his emotions, his pain would subside, and he wouldn't have to feel it ever again. But in actuality, the ANBU training had only made him a stiff and emotionless zombie. Sarutobi missed the old Kakashi, the one who had had fun with his team. Hiruzen knew that having something in his life to bring him joy would be beneficial to his well-being.

"So then, Lord Tetsu, do you have an issue with Kakashi Hatake adopting Suki Kurohoshi?" Sarutobi asked.

Tetsu Yama, for the first time in his life, stuttered. "Y-Y-Yes, I do! He kidnapped the child from our village! He committed a felony! What makes him suitable to be the father of that child?"

"I assure you, certain consequences will be held for Kakashi," the Hokage said. "But besides that mishap, he is a very reliable and responsible ninja. There is no doubt in my mind that he will take good care of Suki. And, of course, compensation will be paid to Kagayaku Village for the crime and for Suki's adoption."

Tetsu seemed to mull all this over in his head. He didn't really know what else to say. The Hokage was coming up with a lot of reasonable terms that would be beneficial to Kagayaku; money and the fact that there wouldn't be any more complaints about the fact that the Guardian was alive and residing in the village. Yes, the villagers were constantly whining about that little fact. They had often wondered why the lord didn't just simply kill the child when she was born.

No matter what anyone said about Tetsu Yama, he would never ever kill a baby, or let anyone kill an infant either. He was merciless, and it was often said that he had no heart. But he would never stoop so low as to take the life of an innocent.

After a long and hard debate with his inner self, Tetsu took in a deep breath. "Fine," he mumbled. "But I expect a large payment for the crime committed on my village as well as for the adoption."

"Of course," Hiruzen replied. "I will get right on that."

Tetsu turned to glance at Suki, who was so stunned she didn't know how she was supposed to feel. "There is no sense in bringing the child back to Kagayaku. We will send copies of her birth certificate and other important documents back here as soon as possible."

"That is fine," Sarutobi said. "Shall we go to my office to sign some other papers as well?" And with that, the four adults stood up and headed toward the Hokage's office.

Suki stood outside the office, waiting. She stared at the wall in confusion, trying to decipher what the heck was going on. She couldn't even fully contemplate what had happened in the conference room.

After about ten minutes, the office door opened. Tetsu and Chishio walked briskly out of the room. The lord of her old village looked down at her before he spoke to her. "Don't make me regret my decision about leaving you here," he said roughly. Then he huffed and turned on his heel, walking proudly down the hallway.

The man with the blood red eyes looked at Suki as well. "Don't forget what the lord has done for you. It is because of him that you are still alive. Be grateful in the decisions he has made for you." And then he too walked away, leaving Konoha.

Remember what the lord did for her? Like what?

Beat her? Whip her? Leave her in some dirty smelly orphanage? Yeah, that all definitely seemed like it was for her own good…

It wouldn't be until she was older that Suki realized all that Tetsu really did for her. Keeping her alive… that was actually a feat in itself, considering there were many people out to kill her.

A hand gently clamping down on her shoulder suddenly snapped Suki out of her thoughts. She looked up to see the Hokage's kind old face smiling down at her.

"Congratulations, Suki. You're a citizen of the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Sarutobi smiled at her. "And you are also now the daughter of Kakashi."

It was way too much to take in at that moment.

The Hokage, this nice old man, was her new leader.

The beautiful village of Konoha was now her new home.

And Kakashi… that man who had saved her from her frightening old villagers, brought her to a safe place to be healed, had looked out for ever since he saw her stumble into his camp… was her new father.

The minute Kakashi walked out of the Hokage's office, Suki tackled him. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, crying tears of joy into his leg.

"Thank… you…" was all she was able to manage as she sobbed in gratitude.

After getting over his initial shock at her tackling him, he smiled. He leaned down so that he was eye level with her.

"Suki… stop thanking me," Kakashi said with a slight chuckle.

"B-B-But you're s-s-so n-n-nice to m-me!" Suki cried as she looked at him.

"Did you ever think that maybe you deserved it?" Kakashi asked softly. Suki faltered at his words. "You deserve all the kindness I have ever given you. And now… now you have me to always look out for you. I'll always be there, whenever you need me. I'll always protect you."

Hiruzen smiled as he watched the scene before him. He quietly slipped back into his office, leaving the two new family members to head off to home.

Kakashi gently picked Suki up so that he was carrying her; her arms wrapped around his neck, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. As the man exited the building and walked into the street, Suki couldn't help but wonder what life had in store for her now. It seemed that life was starting to look up now.

She grinned at the thought of what other surprises awaited her future. "Thank you… Daddy."

She had never thought that she would ever use that word. Yet, it sounded so nice to say it for the first time. She didn't care if she never got used to saying it. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that that word would always bring joy to her heart whenever she said it.

Kakashi, at first, hesitated at the name. He had never thought he would hear someone call him that. And yet, it sounded sort of nice to hear it. He wondered if he would ever really get used to it… All he did know was that life was already starting to brighten that black hole that he had been living in for who knows how long.

He smiled. "You're welcome, Suki."