Just in case anyone's forgotten, Nawaki and Yamato are Dan and Tsunade's boys. And... Yamato has Tenzo-sensei's exact chakra - or that's what Natsumi believes, anyway.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from the Naruto universe. This Natsumi is mine, though. So is Ichika! And little Haruka. And….

Thinking (+ flashbacks, "Natsumi speaking to Kurama in her mindscape," etc.)

Emphasis

Bijuu, etc. speaking

Bijuu, etc. thinking

"Maa, I've decided I don't want to be a ninja."

"Kakashi, I think this a… rash decision," Sakumo said, his eyes darting to his beautiful wife who, somehow didn't seem bothered in the least, although she did look thoughtful, he guessed. "What is it you want to do?"

"Hmm. I'll work with Okaa-san at the bar."

"No, no, no," Natsumi said after a beat. "You're way too smart to be working at The Broken Bar, young man."

"Natsu," Sakumo whined. What was he going to do with Kakashi if he wasn't a ninja? Kakashi's his heir! "He SAID he doesn't want to be a ninja!" Natsumi shrugged and he covered his face with his hands in exasperation. "Kakashi-kun is so strong and talented: I can almost imagine him Becoming. Hokage. Someday." He may have been gritting his teeth.

Natsumi said that Kakashi-kun DID become her Hokage, for God's sake.

"Maa. I am pretty awesome," Kakashi said good-naturedly. His mother began giggling and he preened. "Plus Okaa-san's smart and she works at the bar, right?"

Natsumi waved her hand. "Meh…"

"I'm bettah than you, baka," Ichika reminded her twin brother, preparing herself to rumble with him. Haruka actually agreed to play with dolls today although, as usual, she was cross-dressing them so they looked like boys. Ichika didn't care unless she cut their hair. Dolls were stupid anyway. "Maa, Hatakes awe wawwiows."

"Hatakes are warriors," Sakumo agreed.

Natsumi gasped. "You can be a warrior for justice! For peace!" Sakumo cursed her under his breath - but Natsu heard. He was getting either pranked or not laid for that. "Or a scientist!"

"I could be a scientist," Kakashi agreed. He liked science and Orochimaru-oji was always doing cool stuff.

"You can be a scientist AND a ninja," Sakumo advised. "Plus, son: you can't just quit after you get your headband. You're considered a soldier and… it's not easy to get out of that."

"When oji becomes Hokage, he'll let me out." Which uncle became Hokage was up for debate, Kakashi knew. It didn't matter. From what he'd heard his for-real uncle talking about with Shikaku-san, his father, Uncle Dan, and Uncle Orochimaru all said they didn't want to be Hokage, at least right now, which was a big surprise to Hokage-sama. Even Tsunade-oba had been asked about being the Hokage's apprentice, something he heard from his mother who thought it was "hilariously fitting" for some reason.

When they talked more about it, he discovered that his mother WANTED Tsunade-oba to be the Hokage which, to Kakashi, was just crazy. His mother would make a far better Hokage by far one day, surely.

Only Minato-oji and Kushina-oba still wanted to be Hokage whether that was tomorrow or in 10 years.

- Any of his aunts or uncles would allow him to retire or whatever, right?

Sakumo sighed and looked at his wife who just shrugged. "You have to be able to fight, son. This world is… unforgiving." And you look just like me and I have so many damned enemies.

"I can fight."

"Not well enough," Sakumo groaned.

"Sakumo," Natsumi scolded. "Kakashi-kun is an excellent little fighter…"

"I'm not little." Kakashi was not pouting.

"I know for your age, you're not, sweetie." Kakashi was still tall and lanky (she would've said "long" instead when he was a baby,) just the way he'd been born and Natsumi remembered him as an adult in another time. "But in the grand scheme of things, you are still a chibi." Kakashi growled at her and she glared at him, making him stop. Puppies: what am I going to do with all these canine/people puppies?

"You're even contracted to the dogs, Kakashi," Sakumo tried to reason.

Kakashi shrugged, making Natsumi internally wince. More than anything, the dogs loved to protect (and track anything: mainly her children right now) but they also loved to fight. Before she had the newest additions to the pack, they'd been eager to hunt for Madara and Zetsu. And their battle-lust is nothing compared to the wolves. "Did you talk to your sensei about this?"

"Minato-oji's being a butt."

"Oji ish a butt," Ichika grinned. Haruka nodded. "Maa, maa. He'sh gonna move in wid Kushina-senshei."

"WHAT?" Natsumi freaked out, all thoughts of Kakashi not becoming a ninja flying from her thoughts for now. "That little brat!"

"Natsumi calm down."

"No way! He's just a kid! He can't move in with a girl!"

"They're both Jonins, sweetheart, and have been for a while."

"What a bunch of crap," Natsumi exclaimed, trying to pull her hair back down. She was really pissed off. What if Kushina and Minato… Ugh. What if they… What if they had her and Naruto and, and… From what she understood, she and Naruto were born when they were both 22. They weren't even twenty yet! "Fffffuck!"

"NATSU," Sakumo scolded, grinning and trying not to laugh. The puppies were now rolling on the floor, giggling their heads off.

"You said Fuck!"

Both parents gasped. "HARUKA-CHAN: NO!"

.

"Kakashi-senpai, you have to be a ninja," Yamato said quietly after listening to the silver-haired Genin tell his older brother that he was quitting.

"Why do you think so, Yamato-chan?" Nawaki asked. Anything to get him to talk! His younger brother, Yamato, was always so quiet unless Kakashi's little sister, Haruka-chan, was around.

"Don't call me that!" Yamato had the strangest sense of what his mother called "deja vu." It happened to him a lot but he didn't know why.

"Sorry, Yamato-KUN."

"That's better. And he can't quit because he's a strong ninja. It would be wrong for senpai to abandon his teammates."

"I don't have teammates, chibi-chan," Kakashi reminded the brat. It was nice that Yamato thought he was strong, though.

"Yes, you do! You've got your idiot twin sister and my idiot brother."

"Hey!"

"Yeah, but we're not technically a team, Yamato-chan," Kakashi reminded him. Why was he having a serious discussion with a preschooler again? Oh right: Nawaki was determined to make his little brother more outgoing.

Kakashi wasn't "outgoing." What was wrong with being an introvert? Absolutely nothing. Outgoing people were exhausting, in fact.

Yamato following HIM around, always calling him "senpai" and saying Kakashi was strong was not part of Nawaki's plan, though: Kakashi was sure. Kakashi was afraid his best friend might get a little jealous. Worse still, Haruka-chan was all ticked off at him for taking away her best friend: "making Yamato idozize yo. –Yo hypnosized him o' some'in, Kashi. Fo' shame!"

He needed to nip this in the bud. And speaking of buds…

"I can't believe you said that um… de- um, that you denied your teammates, senpai," Yamato cried - more to himself.

He was so angry with Kakashi, he dug his little hands into the earth he was playing in and pushed and pushed until a sapling popped up.

"Uh oh," they all said as one.

"KAA-CHAN!" Nawaki howled. Oh crap: not another Mokuton user! Nawaki was proud that his brother could do what he did but knew his parents were going to freak out!

.

Minato covered his head with his arms as his big sister attacked him with her chains. Never again would he tell his sometimes bossy sister to "Buzz off; it's my life, not yours." Oh, the shame! He felt terrible about everything else he'd said, too, really. He'd made Natsumi - his closest blood-related family - almost cry (before she got mad and started wailing on him.) "I yield! I want you in my life, Aneue: I promise! I just… I just really love Kushina!"

Natsumi retracted her chains and pouted, feeling bad now. Minato had said some really hurtful things when she had - she'd like to think - come to him, carefully voicing her concerns over him moving in with Kushina. Not only that, she'd rumbled with her father/little brother (who was bigger than her now) right in front of her infants.

Both (the finally named) Katsumi and Keitaro were still sitting in their stroller, side by side, and sucking their thumbs with big, excited, sparkling blue-gray eyes.

"Oh no. I think they like jutsus." Natsumi couldn't help but grin, though.

"Of course, they do," Minato smiled even brighter. He squatted down and began cooing at them before explaining to them exactly what they'd seen.

Natsumi smiled softly. Minato had analyzed every little thing about their fight, technically, but was explaining it all in a way that you would to a child. "You're adorable," Natsumi admitted, ruffling his wild blonde hair.

"Nee-chan," Minato scolded. "Not in front of Keitaro-chan and Katsumi-chan! I don't want them to think their strong, awesome uncle is adorable!"

Minato was pouting at her, making him even more adorable! "What happened to calling me Aneue: your honored elder sister, eh?" she teased. Minato gave her a look that told her he'd never call her that again. "Hurtful," she muttered to herself. "Oh, Minato. I just worry about you so much. You're growing up too fast."

"I'm grown up already," Minato said petulantly. He really was!

"You're not an adult - meaning 20 yet and the human brain doesn't fully develop until you're 25 or something like that, anyway."

"You know weird stuff, nee-chan."

"That is definitely true. Anyway… You and Kushina will be careful and um… You know." Don't get Kushina pregnant, you still-teenage boy!

"Don't worry. We're roommates!" Natsumi gave him a dry, deadpan look but Minato was totally serious. "I've got my own room!" He blushed all over himself and tried to hide it from his older sister but then realized both twins were smirking at him. What little brats you already are: just like your siblings. "Doh, I love you two so much!" He tickled the twins and then bounced up, grinning zanily at his older sister. "Guess what! I entered the team into the Chunin Exams!"

"You WHAT? Holy shi- er, scotch on the rocks, Minato! They're babies and Kakashi just decided he wanted to quit being a ninja!"

Minato crossed his arms over his chest. "No. They're ready and you'll see: Kakashi, Nawaki, and Ichika are going to wipe out the competition. It's only Konoha Genins competing this year so it's safe. It's a good time for them to compete."

"Is it in the Forest of Death?"

"Uhhhhhhh… The second stage of the exam was held there when I was a Genin. I won the whole thing; it was right before I met you that first time."

"I wish I'd seen you in it," Natsumi said truthfully. In his exams, Minato had taken on a bunch of kids from different villages that were older than him and wiped the floor with them. She sighed and stretched her back. It had been fun "sparring" with her brother but she was still out of shape. "The pups have to agree to participate in the exams, don't they?"

"Of course. It's not like I would assign it as a mission."

Although if Kakashi-kun really wants to quit - ha: Minato couldn't imagine his nephew quitting, considering how much Kakashi wanted to learn and loved to fight - I might do that.

He only wanted to ensure the kiddos' safety; having them compete in exams outside the village was something he wasn't willing to do, and couldn't imagine allowing for years to come.

"I guess it's their decision," Natsumi said worriedly. She bit her lip and wondered what she could do to ensure their safety. Natsumi probably would've been more worried if Kakashi hadn't just said he wanted to quit.

That was worrisome, too: she'd had a feeling Kakashi wanted to stay by her side after what had happened when the twins were born.
Would she be ruining his future - or protecting him? "Who's proctoring?"

"I don't know yet," Minato said. "Your husband probably knows."

"You're right! Let's find Sakumo!"