Kakashi sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Why, why did Sasuke cry so much?

"Shush, come on, Sasuke, go to sleep," he pleaded, bouncing Sasuke gently. The baby stared at him with wide, dark eyes. "Please?"

Sasuke clapped his tiny hands happily, pulling at Kakashi's mask. Kakashi sighed again, happily this time, and carefully pulled Sasuke's hands away from his face. The baby immediately burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs, and Kakashi almost started crying himself. How did parents deal with this?

"Sasuke, no, please, don't cry, calm down," Kakashi murmured. "Please, please, go to sleep."

Itachi looked up from where he was playing quietly by himself. "Food?" he asked softly.

You have got to be kidding me, Kakashi thought. Aloud, he said, "Are you hungry, Itachi?"

The little boy nodded. Kakashi wanted to scream in frustration. What was he supposed to feed Itachi? He didn't have any food in the apartment; he was always on missions, and when he was home, he always went out.

"Okay," Kakashi said as Sasuke resumed playing with his mask, finally quiet. "Let's go visit the Hokage."

/\/\

Minato stared as his former student burst into his office.

"Sensei, you have to help me!" Kakashi cried. "I have no idea what I'm doing, Itachi's hungry, Sasuke is a non-stop crying machine, and I would rather be on a mission with no chance of surviving than trying to figure out how to be a parent!"

Kakashi panted, hard, resisting the urge to just drop Sasuke in the Hokage's lap and run, run as fast as he could.

Sasuke started crying again from Kakashi's shouts, and the gray-haired ninja screamed in pure terror, and Minato just barely caught the baby as his former student dropped the Uchiha. Kakashi fell to his knees and covered his ears, whining and whimpering.

Minato sighed, stood up, and looked over at Iruka, who was standing in front of the desk, frozen in disbelief.

"Here," Minato said, handing Sasuke to the brunette. "Quiet him down, please."

Minato crouched down next to Kakashi, smiling softly at Itachi, standing behind the Jonin. "Itachi, why don't you go over to Iruka and help him with your brother?"

Itachi moved away with a nod, and Minato turned his attention to Kakashi. The Jonin had quieted down, and was now rocking back and forth quietly. "Kakashi," Minato said softly. "It's okay. I guess that was a lot to dump on you, especially with you limited knowledge of kids—"

"You think?" Kakashi stated sarcastically, raising his head to glare at the blonde. Minato glared right back, but a smile was tugging at his lips.

"But you have to calm down." Minato continued. "There's a reason I gave the kids to you and not one of their relatives. Do you want to know that reason?"

"…I guess."

"Fugaku and Mikoto requested it."

Kakashi was pretty sure he stopped breathing at that statement.

"What do you mean, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha requested it?"

Minato let out a sigh. "When Fugaku and Mikoto died, they passed the guardianship of Itachi and Sasuke to you."

"But . . . why?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think—from her will—Mikoto was good friends with Obito. When he died, she heard about what had happened to you on that mission. She felt bad, especially considering you were his best—and I use the term loosely—friend."

Minato stood up and walked over to the window, looking over the village almost sadly. "She knew you blamed yourself, I guess, and when she wrote her will, she must have decided that you were the best person to care for her children."

Kakashi looked over at Iruka, holding Sasuke, now silent except for a happy giggle every now and then; at Itachi, standing quietly next to the brunette. He smiled a little.

"I can do it," he decided. "But I will need help."

Iruka looked over at the Hokage, utterly befuddled as to what the heck had just happened. First, Kakashi was having a breakdown, now he was making life-changing decisions in less than thirty seconds?

"Iruka," Minato announced. "Help him."

"Huh?" Iruka said.

"Help him," Minato repeated. "Teach him what he has to do, and make sure he doesn't accidentally kill the kids."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "That does sound like something I would do." He chuckled.

Minato rolled his eyes."Think of it as a mission if you have to; just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Iruka sighed. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

Kakashi jumped up. "Okay! Let's get moving before Sasuke decides to cry again."

He grabbed Iruka's shirt before he could argue, and Iruka was just barely able to snatch Itachi's hand before he was dragged out of the room.

"Good luck!" Minato called after them.

"First lesson," Iruka said minutes later, standing next to Kakashi in the street. "Always make sure you have both the kids before you leave the building."

"Got it."

Itachi tugged on Iruka's hand. "Yes, Itachi?"

"Food?" the toddler asked hopefully.

Iruka looked over at Kakashi. "Have you fed them at all since yesterday?"

"Sorry?" Kakashi said. "I don't have any food at home."

Iruka decided that he would yell at the clueless man later. "At least we know why Sasuke was crying; he was hungry. Come on; we're going grocery shopping."