It's quiet over the next few days since Sasuke is out getting in order the things he needs to do to purchase the land and get Naruto in that house and settled as fast as possible.
Naruto, on the other hand, is thankfully distracted by all the baby books Sasuke had borrowed from the library for him. He's not letting Sasuke peek into his notebook of names, with their kanji, hiragana, and meaning. Whatever name he picks if it's not a stupid name, Sasuke's sure he'll like it.
When there's a knock on the door, Naruto heaves himself up from the dining table where he's reading the baby books Sasuke got for him, and peeks at the peephole.
"Sensei!" Naruto opens the door with a wide, bright grin.
"Hello, Naruto," Kakashi, dressed in the standard issue jounin uniform, with his hitai-ate on, greets him, and welcomes the hug the boy gives. "May I?"
"Of course!" Naruto leads him in, seating him at the dining table.
"Ojamashimasu," says the silver haired shinobi, still standing as he watches Naruto in rummage through the cupboard and the fridge.
"What brings you here?" the blond asks, serving Kakashi with a glass of cold, unsweetened tea.
"There's something I would like to speak with you with, that Iruka and I discussed for a while at length," Kakashi helps Naruto back down on the seat like he saw Sasuke do before taking the seat next to the boy.
"Hm?" Naruto closes the notebook full of names.
"What do you think of becoming my heir?" he pulls the mask down to take a gulp of the tea.
"Heir?" Naruto repeats, confusion evident in his eyes. "Like… Sasuke?"
"Well, Sasuke used to be an heir presumptive after Itachi, and is now a clan head, like I am. Sasuke has an heir in your child when," he doesn't use if, "he registers the child under his family and clan registry. But I don't have a child. However, I can declare an heir, and I'd like it to be you,"
"What does that mean?"
"It means in essence, that I adopt you,"
"…adopt?" Naruto stares at him. "But… only children get adopted,"
"No, they don't," Kakashi grins at him. "That way, Iruka and I can officially be your kaa-chan and tou-chan!"
The boy gasps, eyes welling with tears. "Really? You mean it?"
"Of course I mean it, Naruto,"
He's not doing only doing this because he wants to make Sasuke work for it, but also because he wants to him and Iruka to legally be Naruto's emergency contacts, the very first ones to know about anything, and because he's announcing to the village and the rest of the world that Naruto and his children are now under his protection as Hokage when he starts his reign.
Kakashi realizes, he should have done this a long time ago, but then that would mean Naruto wouldn't have made his own name first. Then again… if they do this, if Naruto decides to accept the leadership from him in the future, he'll be the second Hatake to take office and somehow that makes Kakashi as a clan head proud.
"But I have to explain to you what this adoption entails," continues Kakashi.
"What it… entails?"
"Doing this means I'll enter your name into my family and clan registry, and you'll take my name. You will legally be part of my clan, and so will all your children. They will be my descendants as well as descendants of the Uchiha clan,"
"My baby will be sensei's descendant?" Naruto repeats carefully. "Even if we're not related by blood?"
"Yes," Kakashi nods. "I will officially, legally be your father and family alpha, Naruto. That means I'm responsible for you as your family head and alpha, until you legally have one of your own. And everything I own, should something happen to me, will go to you, and your children when they grow older,"
Kakashi doesn't say that when Naruto gets married, he and Iruka will be the ones to give him away (and they will even if he didn't adopt him). It seems so soon, Naruto receiving his name, only to replace it in a few short months. Naruto will be unifying the Hatake and Uchiha clans.
"Sensei," Naruto sniffles. "My baby is going to have you and Iruka-sensei as jii-chan and baa-chan,"
Very Naruto to not care about Kakashi mentioning being financially stable and set for life. They are all so lucky to have Naruto in their lives. "So, would you like to be adopted?"
"Yes!" Naruto cries, unable to help his tears of joy.
"Tadaima," Sasuke says as he comes in, leaving his sandals at the genkan.
"Okaeri!" Naruto calls from the dining area. "Sasuke, hurry! Come look!"
"Hmm?" Sasuke hangs his coat up and makes his way to Naruto.
"Kakashi-sensei dropped off some groceries!" he grins at his mate, "For lunch we could make some stir fried beef with garlic, broccoli, mushrooms, and chili! Would you like that? I already got the rice and the miso going,"
"Sure," he says, noticing a folder on the coffee table, but goes for the counter where all the produce is laid out on.
"Oh, and I want to bring some over to Baa-chan, too! Do you think ANBU-san will be okay with bringing Baa-chan some food?"
"You're the one who said it'd be an abuse of power if the ANBU is used as a courier service," Sasuke teaches for the wok and sets it down an unlit hotplate.
"Eh, you're right," Naruto starts putting away the groceries and leaves out the necessary amount of ingredients for their lunch. "How was your trip today?"
Sasuke starts washing the mushrooms and the broccoli in the sink. "I was able to talk to the landowner who used to live there, and I think he's been wanting to sell that land for a while but hasn't found anyone who would buy it. Those who wanted to buy only a cut, but he wants to sell the entire lot,"
"Oh, that's a shame," says Naruto, "How big was the land?"
"About seven hectares?" (*)
Naruto almost drops the bag of meat he's about to put in the freezer. "SEVEN HECTARES!"
"It was both bigger and smaller than I was expecting," Sasukes hums thoughtfully, turning off the water and drains the vegetables with the colander.
"What would you even do with seven hectares?"
Sasuke shrugs. "Big house, take up farming and be sustainable. Rent the land out to civilians to farm, produce crop for the village,"
"What, like a lord?"
He shrugs again. "More like, a compound. Build houses for our children when they grow up and have families of their own. That way, they're always close to us," he doesn't tell Naruto that he plans on acquiring even more land.
Naruto moves to hug Sasuke from the side. "We'll rebuild your clan," Naruto whispers into Sasuke's neck, nosing his gland and presses his lips against it. "Not too fast, though,"
Can he give Sasuke that clan? He wouldn't blame Sasuke if he went to others to get children if Naruto's body can't take it. Sasuke just has to come home to him. Why does he feel like this? When just recently, he'd ripped the clothes off Sasuke when he smelt Sakura on him.
Sasuke senses Naruto's mood sour slightly. He leaves the produce in the sink, dries his hand on his pants, and pulls Naruto into the living area, on the sofa. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"If… I can't give you back your clan…" Naruto's shoulder drops. "If you go to others for children..."
"No." Sasuke says immediately. "You said it yourself, I'm yours and yours alone. Nobody else can have me. If we're only meant to have one child, then we'll have to put the future of our clan in the hands of our grandchildren,"
Relief lightens Naruto's heavy heart, and he collapses onto Sasuke's chest. The littlest thing makes him cry these days.
Kakashi visits one afternoon after spending most of the morning with Tsunade.
"Sensei!" Naruto chirps as Sasuke lets him in. He's on the sofa busy with another one of the baby books he and Sasuke seem to have competition going on who gets to absorb the most.
Kakashi holds up a folder. "Got through the bureaucracy just fine. I was interrogated on why I hadn't done it sooner," he says, pulling down the mask as he sits next to Naruto and hands him the documents. "I have no answer to that,"
Of course he has answer to that. He wants Naruto to finally belong to a family emotionally, physically, legally, and to a living koseki. He wants him and Iruka to give Naruto away on his wedding. He wants to make Sasuke a living hell by legally being Naruto's father. He wants someone to take care of his name, his house, and his money when he passes. He wants all of Naruto's children to be declared his descendants and entered into the clan registry. He wants to put both Naruto and Sasuke, and all their children, under his protection as hokage. He wants all their children to learn his jutsus. (5)
Naruto opens the folder and sees a copy of the Hatake Clan Koseki, and Kakashi's Koseki. He reads the entry into Kakashi's koseki carefully. (6)
FAMILY REGISTRY – αM HATAKE KAKASHI
Amendment #1
[DATE] XXX [MARRIAGE]
[Name] ΩM IRUKA
[Date of Birth] 26 MAY
[Father] αM UMINO IKKAKU
[Mother] ΩF UMINO KOHARI
[Date of Marriage] XXX
[Date of Notification] XXX
Amendment #2
[DATE] XXX [ADOPTION]
[Name] ΩM NARUTO
[Date of Birth] 10 OCTOBER
[BIRTH Father] αM NAMIKAZE MINATO
[BIRTH Mother] ΩF UZUMAKI KUSHINA
[Date of Adoption] XXX
THROUGH ADOPTION, THE CHILD UZUMAKI NARUTO, SHALL HENCEFORTH BE KNOWN AS HATAKE NARUTO.
Naruto cries.
Kakashi brings him to the sofa. "Come here," he says, bringing Naruto's wrist up to his neck.
Naruto can't take it. He launches himself onto his newly legal alpha and father, and sobs.
It's the first time Kakashi does a parent-child scenting session. When Naruto was younger, it hadn't been this intimate and desperate—just enough to let everyone know Hatake Kakashi is looking after this child. Iruka hadn't been so guarded, scenting Naruto as much as he could. The alpha parent presses the omega child as close to himself as he can, Naruto's forehead pressed against Kakashi's neck, Kakashi's nose and lips in Naruto's long, blond hair.
"Tou-chan," Naruto hiccups, overwhelmed by the feelings and the scent of his sensei mixing so thoroughly with his own, and the realization that he finally legally belongs to a koseki, to a family. He's always treated Kakashi and Iruka like family, but to actually belong to them is what makes Naruto sob with joy.
Sasuke leaves the apartment to give them privacy and decides to hang out in the hallway outside.
"I think your sensei has it out for me," Sasuke says as they clean up the tea and snacks they had with Kakashi.
"My sensei? He was our sensei, teme, don't be disrespectful," Naruto puts the glasses in the sink.
"That was a long time ago, though," he says, lathering the sponge with soap. "And I did tell it to his face that I'm not his student. Seems kinda awkward to still call him sensei when I renounced him,"
"What do you call him though?"
"Hatake-dono?"
"What!" Naruto stares at him. "You make it seem like he's a lord,"
"I can't call Iruka-san sensei either, that seems weird. I can't call them both Hatake-san,"
"Still. Hatake-dono seems too formal," Naruto shrugs. "I still don't think he's out for you or anything,"
Sasuke wants to insist that Kakashi is, but that would mean admitting to Naruto that he'd already asked for his hand in marriage, and Kakashi rejected him. And it's not like Kakashi was subtle. Of course Sasuke had gotten the inkling that Kakashi adopted Naruto to make it harder for him to ask for his hand. "So what am I gonna call you?" Sasuke looks at him. "Hatake-kun?"
"Oh my god," Naruto groans. "Can you imagine the formality when sensei takes office? I'd be surrounded by ANBU! He better not!"
"He would,"
"If he does, I'm going to be very pissed," he says huffily.
(*) 7 hectares is about 17.2 acres for those who use the other measuring system.
(5) A koseki is a family registry, usually named after/in/by the head of the household: the husband; in this case, the family alpha/head. I've sort of ran away with that idea and invented the Clan Registry, which of course, records all information regarding (what used to and will again be) a big clan like the Uchiha, and indicated in a family registry (like Sasuke's) that they belong to a Clan registry, which will be amended with their additions.
(6) There are no hyphenations when it comes to surnames in Japan. If a household registers an adoption or marriage into their koseki, the person registered into the koseki will receive the surname of the head of the household. In this case, Naruto will receive Kakashi's surname, but his registration will include the name of his birth parents will which allow tracing back to Kushina or Minato's own registry if they had applied for it, or to the Namikaze or Uzumaki grandparents' registry if Kushina or Minato had none. In Japan, adopting adults is also a way to declare heirs for men/heads of households who have no children.