Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Chapter 1: Small Mercies

Months ago

A month of difficult travels ends here when they see the familiar gates of Konoha in the distance. Kakashi was tense beside him, trying to seem as harmless as possible if not as most not like himself as possible. They were weatherworn and exhausted having cut the travel time in half since they had after all been gone from home long enough.

To say Kakashi wasn't surprised to be surrounded by ANBU the moment he was within sight of the guards was an understatement. He expected to be attacked first if not bound and gagged and immobilized. He raised his hands and wiggled off all visible weapon pouches, Iruka had put his staff down on the ground as well. It was a good idea that they left the dogs a few miles away just in case their presence would be seen as more of a threat, especially with Shinjiru shadowing them.

He couldn't blame them if they weren't recognized after being thought dead for so long, that and Iruka down to his mannerisms (aside from his midback long hair) have changed greatly.

"Antelope, Zebra take these two impostors to interrogation—" the largest out of the six that surrounded them

"Lion stand down." A voice called from the gate, two more ANBU entered the scene.

There was a noise of annoyance but the command was heeded. "Hai. Fox-san."

The newcomers regarded the two travelers silently. "Hatake Kakashi? Umino Iruka?" it was said in a monotone accustomed to all ANBU but Iruka was first to react.

The tan man smiled. "Naruto-kun, it been a while."

Needless to stay the rest of the ANBU aside from the man that arrived with Fox was surprised to see him launch himself into this potential threat's arms.

It was going to take a long time to convince the council and the Hokage but Naruto wouldn't think of that for now because right now his two most important people were home.

Today

The Hatake household was more noisy than usual with the dogs in the yard and all the residents complete, Sasuke and Naruto just arrived from a particularly long mission the night and their weird clan of four dogs and fifteen dogs were complete.

Kakashi had grown into foregoing his mask when he was at home but it took the younger residents longer to get used to the sight. He ate with a deliberate slowness and those at the table seemed to slow down as well to wait for him. The miso soup was cold by the time Naruto and Sasuke wordlessly began cleaning up the dishes.

"We need to talk. All of us." Kakashi cleared his throat in the same way he tried to clear the atmosphere, the dogs were shuffling in or listening in from the open sliding door that connected the yard and the kitchen. Aya perched up on Naruto's shoulder and nuzzled her face into his neck in greeting.

The two boys sat across Iruka and Kakashi, the chunnin's hand rested on Kakashi's loosely clenched fist on the table. "Tsunade has informed me that I'll be the next Hokage of the Leaf Village, in a year's time." He took a moment to look at the faces around the table. "But that's not the point. What I'm saying is, you'll be in more danger now than you ever were since you decided to involve your lives with me please. Just please be careful." The last part was muttered, his shoulders fell, it's been a long time since he's cared for other people that weren't dead. To think Iruka was just one person and he couldn't even protect his husband every since moment, what about everyone at his table now?

Naruto's large grin spoiled the grave atmosphere "Ah, you don't have to worry about us Kakashi-sensei. We're a family now right? We protect our own… dad." The blonde flushed pink at the last word, used so sparingly it felt so surreal to hear it. Sasuke blushed a little as well, looking away from the scene to something of interest outside the window.

Kakashi smiled. It was official just a few weeks ago, where the two boys in front of him became part of his clan's registry together with Iruka. The chunnin shared his smile and nudged his side playful, calling him a silly duckling for worrying so much about nothing, they weren't watching over genin after all but full grown ninja.

The atmosphere cleared after that, all of them returning to the pace of their lives before the next mission scroll came to their door.

"Hello Daughter."

It felt like a daze, nausea overtaking her sense as layers of dust and light were shed from the surface of the forest, her shepherd, she had to find her shepherd. But as she pulled on the snare around her ankle, slowly the urgency also began to fall away and ahead of her the source of the voice was a clumped bunch of the shining dust. The dust caught against the light of the rising sun like the stalagmites that hung from trees in the first days of spring, it formed what look like a large wolf.

It spoke in an echo of voices, the voices of all her fathers before her that lived in this ancestral land.

"Father." She dipped her head, old manners ingrained in her blood surfaced.

"Would you take this gift Daughter? The life of these lands?" the echo was soft, like a flock of chirping birds.

"As my Father wishes." She kept her gaze down, sensing the joy in the entity before her but as quickly as it appeared, a breeze blew the dust towards her and it faded all to nothing.

In the distance she hears the voice of her Sun and Moon and pack and she runs to them.

Aya wakes with a start, coming to her sense and feeling the warmth surrounding her and the kick of pups in her belly, small for now but they would grow. Naruto is still asleep and she stays curled up against his warm belly but she feels a hand stroke her head. She's woken Sasuke. They meet each other's gaze and the hand falls away and mutually they both close their eyes again. He was after all sharing one bed with Naruto purely against his will because she insisted and since they all knew so little on the practices of her kind and her needs during this delicate time they decided to indulge in her whims as long as they were within reasonable bounds. Those whims just included sleeping in the company of other chakra emitting beings.

Aya yawns and curls around herself tighter, a breeze seems to have come in from the window.

"Are you sure those are the same dogs?"

"They wouldn't require the highest clearance if it wasn't and may I say the file was so easy to overlook."

A/N: hmm I know it's short and the next chapter might take a while (DGD will be updated in between so don't worry!) but let me know how things are going so far