Chapter 2

"Where is Sensei?" Sakura asked no one as Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other. The team had become accustomed to their Sensei being extraordinarily late, but this was borderline ridiculous. It was inching towards evening and they were supposed to meet in the morning!

"Maybe it's another test. He has seemed a bit more unfocused than usual this past week. How unprofessional," Sasuke mumbled, not breaking his glare with Naruto while speaking to Sakura.

"I've noticed that too," Sakura said. "Ever since we saw those two people-"

Sakura's thought was cut off when Iruka appeared in a cloud of smoke, making all three genin jump.

"Iruka Sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, excited to see his old school teacher.

"I'm filling in for Kakashi Sensei today… well tonight. He has some other business to attend to today, but will be back tomorrow, hopefully," Iruka said, trying to reveal as little as possible. All week Kakashi has made it quite clear that he didn't want his students to know about Hiroshi, which wasn't easy since he'd been busy signing papers, changing apartments, and preparing for the boy's arrival all week. It was almost strange to see the jounin show a somewhat tender side. He's been so consumed with all of this business that he forgot to report that he wouldn't be attending today, so no one knew to fill in until now. "Now, we have lots of missions today, so we better get started!" Iruka said too cheerfully as he drew them away from Kakashi's absence and towards their D rank missions.

"They should be here soon," The Hokage said to Kakashi, who was leaning back in Iruka's chair and reading his book, pretending to not be completely freaked out. The Hokage read past his aloofness but wasn't going to let him in on that. "If you would like, you can have the next week off, to make sure he gets settled."

"That's alright. I already have him signed up for school, so there would be no point in taking so much time off," he said coolly as he snapped his book shut and tapped his feet somewhat anxiously.

"If you change your mind, just let me know," The Hokage answered back, smiling as he heard footsteps followed by the door creaking open. Kakashi sat up as Akira and Hiroshi walked in. The shy boy was holding onto a small panda bear toy and had a backpack on his back filled with all the belongings he had that weren't taken by the state when his mother died.

"Hello again," Akira said somewhat sharply, looking at Kakashi. "Now, I leave Hiroshi in your care… but I will be checking in periodically for the next few months… just to make sure everything's alright." She looked down at the boy next to her. "I guess it's goodbye for now Hiroshi."

"Yes," he said quietly. That was one thing that struck Kakashi when the boy finally did talk near him, when the legal papers were being signed. His voice sounded almost identical to how Kakashi's sounded at his age. After that, there was no doubt in his mind: this is his son.

"Good day to both of you," Akira said as she turned briskly on her heel and walked out. Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the small person in front of him.

"I guess I should show you to your new home now. Would you like that?" Kakashi asked, not sure how he should talk to the boy. He could tell just by how he absorbed his surroundings that the boy was intelligent, but he didn't want to talk to him like an adult or he'll become disrespectful.

"Okay," Hiroshi said, holding the panda tighter as he followed Kakashi out of the mission station. Kakashi couldn't help but feel tense as he walked out with Hiroshi. All he could do was hope and pray he didn't run into anyone he knew-

"If it isn't my arch rival: Kakashi Hatake!" Guy's voice rang through the not so crowded road. Guy dashed over to the two, making Hiroshi even more frightened and forcing him to grab onto Kakashi's leg and hide behind him. Guy didn't even seem to notice. "I'm surprised to not see your team with you! But, it must be fate! Fate has set that we have a contest right now!"

"Don't you have your own students to worry about?" Kakashi said, gesturing to Guy's students who were coming up the road. While Guy turned around, Kakashi put a calm hand on Hiroshi's head to stop him from shaking.

"It would be a good lesson on the power of youth for them!" Guy said as he struck a pose. His students finally caught up to them and all (except for Rock Lee) looked annoyed by Kakashi's presence. "Students, my dear friend and arch rival, Kakashi Hatake, and I are about to demonstrate to you why being powerful and youthful-"

"Actually Guy, I'm busy," Kakashi said as he tried to walk away but then remembered the horrified six year old clinging to his leg.

"What?" Guy yelled, making Hiroshi let out a squeak of sorts and bringing Ten Ten's attention to him. Her face instantly lit up.

"Aw! Whose kid is that? Is that your nephew or something Kakashi Sensei?" Ten Ten asked as she cooed over Hiroshi and handed him back his panda bear that he dropped. "Poor little guy looks scared to death."

"I didn't know you had relatives Kakashi!" Guy yelled. "I bet I have more!"

"You're probably right," Kakashi said as he scooped Hiroshi up off the ground. He figured it'd be easier to carry him from here since they were so close to the apartments. "But, another day. Like I said, I'm busy."

"I will hold you to that Kakashi Hatake! Fate will bring us together again for another challenge!" Guy yelled to Kakashi as he walked hurriedly to the apartments. With Hiroshi in one arm, he dug through his pockets for his keys, thanking the heavens above that he found them quickly and brought his new family member home, officially.

"I'm sorry about Guy…. He's odd," Kakashi said as he put Hiroshi back on the ground.

"His eyebrows…. Are frightening," Hiroshi said with wide eyes. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh.

"That's probably the best description I've ever heard of them," he said with a slight smile. "Well, this is home. I know it isn't particularly big, but that bed over there is yours."

Kakashi gestured to a small bed in the one corner of the one room apartment. Except for the bathroom, the entire house was inside a room no bigger than a large living room. Next to Hiroshi's bed was a small dresser for him to keep his clothes and belongings in. Also in the room was Kakashi's bed and dresser, a small kitchenette, a small table with three chairs, a couch, and a book shelf filled mostly with Shinobi books and scrolls.

Without saying anything else, Hiroshi started unpacking his things and organizing them, which was definitely a trait he received from Kakashi. Even though he didn't have much, he was meticulous about where things went and little things like a crease in the blankets bothered him immensely. Not wanting to make Hiroshi uncomfortable, Kakashi decided to work on the mission reports that had been piling up during the chaos of the past week.

With a sigh, Kakashi sat down with the stack of papers and several pens, mostly because he wasn't sure how many of those pens worked. As he began scribbling away at the tedious paperwork, Hiroshi gained the courage to walk over and sit across from him at the table.

"What's your favorite color?" he asked, holding a worn notebook and eight very broken crayons. Kakashi looked up from his work and then back down at it.

"I try not to choose favorites," he responded, mostly paying attention to his work because he knew Iruka would kill him if he didn't finish them by tomorrow. Hiroshi paused, staring at his father with some frustration.

"But if you had to choose a favorite, which would you choose?" Hiroshi sighed.

"Green," Kakashi answered.

"Green's alright I guess," Hiroshi said as he began coloring. "I think red is better. It's prettier."

"If you insist," Kakashi said with a laugh.

"Think about it. Green is a boring color. It's all around. Trees are green. Grass is green. Your vest is green. My socks are green. The bedspreads are green. But red is special. Hearts are red. And fire. And blood…" Hiroshi's voice faded as he dropped his crayons for a minute. "…maybe green is better."

Kakashi looked up from what he was doing, not because he was listening to what Hiroshi had been saying, but because he noticed that the chatter had stopped. The boy was just staring at his notepad and crayons with an agonized look.

"Hiroshi? Are you alright?" Kakashi got up and walked over to the boy. Instantly, he perked up a little more, but closed his notebook and left it there.

"Yes… I'm just tired," he said. "Can I go to sleep?"

"You aren't hungry?" Kakashi asked, worry starting to set in. The boy just shook his head. "Then just get a shower first."

"Okay," he responded, getting up from the table and walking into the bathroom. Kakashi let a few seconds pass until the water started running, and then opened the notebook. The first few pictures were obviously drawn by two people. Each had titles: Mommy and Hiroshi's flowers, Horses, Fishes, Ducks, Pandas, etc. There were lots of pandas.

Then, there was a distinct shift in the book. All of the animals and flowers were gone and they were just people. The first one was of what appeared to be Hiroshi and his mother in a garden. The next was Hiroshi alone. Then another of Akira and one more of his mother. The last picture was the one he had started. It looked like the beginnings of drawing Kakashi in green and himself in red, but the picture wasn't close to being finished.

Kakashi closed the book, put the crayons back in their tin, and set them all on Hiroshi's dresser. For someone who had spent most of his life coping with death, he had no idea what to do. He was around Hiroshi's age when his father had died, but he hadn't coped with it well at all. He had shut down emotionally.

Maybe he could help him? But how? It wasn't like he had any appropriate stories to tell him of his mother, and he wasn't very good at making things up on the fly. He was never really good about talking about emotional things anyways.

Kakashi was dragged from his thoughts when Hiroshi emerged from the bathroom in a pair of pajamas and practically collapsed in bed. He went back to work, knowing that he wouldn't be able to make Hiroshi feel better while he was sleeping.

"Um," Hiroshi said quietly from his bed. Kakashi looked up in response. "What should I call you? I know you're my father… but everyone calls you Kakashi."

"You can call me whatever you want," Kakashi said back.

"Okay…" he said, drifting off into sleep. "Goodnight… Dad."