Chapter Four - Adjusting

Kakashi's eyes snapped open. For a long moment, he wondered why exactly he was feeling so stressed, and why there was a sick feeling coiling in the pit of his stomach so soon after waking.

I haven't even woken up yet and already I know this day's a migraine waiting to happen, he mused. Now, why would it… Naruto!

He was out of bed like a shot and dodged into the hallway, pulling open the door to Naruto's room with a sharp jerk.

The boy was already awake – even though Kakashi had overslept, it was still earlier than most kids his age woke – and was standing, hands and nose pressed to the window, stretching up on his tiptoes as if straining to see something.

"Is anything wrong?" Kakashi asked, his voice automatically morphing from his usual lackadaisical tone to something more gentle and caring.

Even so, Naruto started violently and backed away from the window as if burnt, spinning to stare at the jounin with wide, frightened eyes.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted. "I wasn't trying to escape, honest! I just wanted to see what kind of day it is Outside! Sorry, Kakashi-sir!" He cringed, one hand snaking up to grip his collar.

Kakashi blinked. It took approximately four seconds for him to realise that the blonde was frightened that he would decide Naruto was trying to escape, and activate his collar to punish him, or something equally horrible.

"It's okay, I believe you," he said soothingly. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, spotting Naruto sneaking curious glances at him. "What?" he asked cluelessly.

"Your face…" Naruto mumbled, averting his eyes. Kakashi drew in a sharp breath, his hand flying up to touch his uncovered face. Of course: last night, he'd just fallen into bed without bothering to fully redress. And he had come bursting into Naruto's room without even thinking, clad only in a set of comfortable pants he'd worn to bed.

Kakashi shook his head – this kid, he's making me slip – but felt a smile begin as he watched Naruto struggle between curiosity and fear.

"Yes: I'm not wearing my mask right now," he agreed pleasantly. Naruto nodded at his toes, and Kakashi turned to leave the room. "…I'm going to go get ready," Kakashi said slowly. "Today we're going to see the Hokage, so you should…" What could he tell the kid to do? He didn't know how to wash, didn't have a change of clothes to change into, certainly couldn't make his own breakfast… "Be ready to go," he eventually settled on.

Naruto nodded and watched Kakashi-sir leave. A few moments later, the sound of running water reached him, and he knew his Handler was in that weird glass box – shower – presumably going about his morning rituals. Naruto knew that humans had a great many, including at least daily bathing and the application of various chemicals to various areas.

The blonde suspected it was a matter of religion. He didn't know any other reason they'd consent to be dipped daily, sometimes twice a day. Although, judging from the 'shower' he'd had yesterday, Naruto supposed it might not be so bad for them.

So what was he supposed to do? After some deliberation, Naruto walked to sit about a foot inside the still-open door, crossing his legs and tugging at his clothes, ready to wait for the human.

Self-consciously, he combed a hand through his own blonde hair, tugging out some of the bigger knots. Normally, Yugito would do this for him, but she wasn't here, and Naruto had no idea if he was expected to be groomed or not.

The sunbeam peaking in the window had spread to cover two and a fraction of the thin wooden floorboards by the time Kakashi-sir reappeared, dressed once again as he was the day before. He paused when he saw Naruto sitting there quietly, and for a moment Naruto was sure he'd done something wrong, but Kakashi-sir just gestured for him to follow.

"Are you hungry?" the tall man asked as Naruto obediently stood and padded after him. Naruto hesitated. He could feel his stomach clenching, asking to be fed, but knew that it was his own fault for throwing up everything he'd eaten the night before. And Kakashi-sir could well be testing him, testing his obedience and level of training.

"…I'm always hungry, sir," he said eventually. "But you fed me last night."

Kakashi-sir looked at him sharply.

"I fed you… Naruto, exactly how often, how much and what are you fed at ho… where you normally live?" he demanded. Naruto chewed his lip, lowering his eyes and resiting the urge to drop to his knees to report – he couldn't do that and follow his Handler, after all.

"Once a day – usually in the mornings – our feed is placed in our communal bowl in our cage," he said in the monotone he usually used to relay messages and facts to Handlers. "It's usually raw bran or oats. And we get some fruit or something if we've been good. And 'bout once a week Master will send us a treat."

Kakashi-sir had stopped, probably because they'd reached the kitchen-room. Now he was staring at his charge, his visible eye wide.

"How much do they give you of each of these things every day?" he asked carefully. Naruto blinked, confusion and uncertainty showing in his blue-red eyes.

"…It's only ever one or two of those things," he mumbled. "They vary it, so we don't get bored. An' it's whatever fits in the bucket they use. They mix it all up with hot water so it turns into a kind of mush, so it's easier for us to eat."

"How many of you are there?" the Hatake demanded. Naruto flinched: he sounded like he was getting mad.

"Three," he said, very quietly.

"And are you active for much of the day?" Kakashi-sir asked. The blonde shrugged slowly, sinking to his knees as it seemed they weren't moving anywhere for a while.

"Mostly. Sometimes we're left in the cage, though."

"Cage?" Kakashi-sir sounded outraged – inexplicably. "Wait, and all they give you is a bucket of… muck… between three of you?"

"Sometimes we get slops from the kitchen," Naruto offered. "As a treat."

"Slops! That's… sick!" Something snapped, and Naruto jumped, looking up to see Kakashi-sir had squeezed the edge of the table until a corner had broken off. The teenager's heart began to beat faster: a Handler angry was bad! It meant they were more likely to hit him! "Tell me you at least had water!"

Naruto nodded. "Yup-yup!" he said, glad he could agree with his Handler on something. "We have a big trough in our cage that gets filled up every morning, even though it's never empty by then, and if we want a drink when we're out, we're allowed to drink from the tap. The tap tastes better'n the trough-water, 'cause they put powders in the trough to keep us healthy, and they taste bad." Naruto stuck out his tongue and screwed up his face as if to demonstrate. The other man's angry fire seemed to be ebbing away, leaving a kind of hopelessness behind.

"Some kind of vitamin and protein supplement," Kakashi-sir said quietly, obviously to himself, staring at Naruto with an eye slightly misted. "Hell… Sensei…"

"Sir? Are you… okay?" Naruto ventured after a few long moments' silence. Kakashi blinked and shook his head, coming down to earth rapidly.

"Uh… yeah, Naruto. Well, here, you'll eat at least three times a day, okay? Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, the human meals. You need them, if you're going to grow strong and healthy. I don't know what your 'master' is thinking, feeding you slops…" The rest of what he said dissolved into dark mutterings, and Naruto decided it would be prudent to just sit at the table where he was directed and obediently eat what was placed before him.

No further conversation occurred until they left.

Naruto trotted obediently behind Kakashi-sir, exactly one and a half paces back, swivelling his head to try and take in everything about his surroundings. They had been to see Hokage-sama, and Naruto had stood patiently just inside the door while the Handler and Master spoke.

To Naruto's surprise, Hokage-sama didn't seem at all perturbed by the way Kakashi-sir had treated him, offering him human food and letting him sleep inside – rather, he looked concerned when Kakashi-sir reported that Naruto hadn't actually slept on the provided bed.

Or, Naruto thought it was concern. Maybe he was mistaken. Humans were weird.

Anyway, the old human had ordered the Handler to take Naruto with him to 'training'. Naruto could only assume that this meant he was going to be put to work in this village until the whole mess with his ownership could be sorted out, and had tamely followed his silver-haired guide back out of the big red building where Hokage-sama seemed to live.

He didn't mind. He was trained to obey unquestioningly, and also to accept whatever task was put before him to complete. He had done his fair share of hard labour in his life, and wasn't going to kick up a fuss at the prospect of a little more.

Now, they had navigated the bustling streets with an ease that astounded Naruto (how did Kakashi-sir know where to turn? Didn't he get lost? How could anywhere have so many paths and buildings?) and were walking down a road hedged by what appeared to be fields, though they were clearly not used for farming or livestock. Naruto thought they looked rather like the training grounds just outside Master's home, where he and the others of his pack were taught how to fight, hunt, track and work, but he didn't think this place had many like him to train, so they couldn't be… right?

"Naruto." Kakashi-sir jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Yessir?"

"Don't call me sir," Kakashi-sir stressed. Naruto bit his lip, not reacting one way or another to the order. It was a ludicrous concept, so he just brushed it away. Kakashi-sir had half-turned and was speaking over his shoulder, still leading the way to their destination.

"You should know," the tall man said, "That I have a team of kids – they're chuunin now, fifteen – that I still train. We're going to join them and I'm going to teach them a few things, okay? We'll figure out what to do with you when we get there. In the mean time… just… thought I'd give you a heads up."

Naruto nodded, thoroughly mystified. What in Master's name was a kid? Or a chuunin? Or a heads up? And why would Kakashi-sir feel the need to give him one such item?

Was Kakashi-sir trying to tell him he was already in the middle of teaching a fresh batch of jinchuuriki? Maybe. But if that were so, why were they already out in the place of learning? Wouldn't they need to go fetch the other jinchuuriki from their cage first? Or did Kakashi-sir have a partner who was bringing them?

Either way, Naruto was looking forward to meeting some others like him, even if his hackles did rise a bit at the thought of the inevitable dominance-determining battles that would take place – maybe not during this session itself, but the moment the Handlers' backs were turned.

When they got to what was apparently their destination (an even field ringed with trees with short, neatly-trimmed grass) Naruto was surprised to find not a single other jinchuuriki or Handler in sight. Instead, three almost-grown human young ones were waiting. Two males and a female, sitting dotted around on the grass.

These were certainly not Handlers. They were not even full-grown, and would never be able to handle a strong-willed animal like a jinchuuriki, much less train one. They simple lacked the commanding presence and size required, even if through some miracle they had the skill.

Even Naruto, well-trained as he was, found himself sizing them up and mentally deciding he could win in a battle of wills or strength should he ever be pitted against them.

The thought was put aside as the three spotted the Handler and called, more or less in unison, "Sensei! You're late!"

Kakashi-sir's posture, as Naruto could see it from behind, suggested he was grinning. "Am I? Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. I do hope it doesn't become a habit!"

With a good-naturedly frustrated shriek, the girl and one of the boys launched themselves at the adult, and together the three of them tumbled to the grassy ground in a friendly wrestling match.

Naruto watched, fascinated. He didn't know humans did this sort of thing too.

Then he caught a whiff of something and raised his head, sniffing. A frown creased his forehead. All three of these young human ones had the scent of Kakashi-sir ingrained in them, ground into their clothing, hanging about their flesh. It was clear he spent much time in their presence, and had for a long while. Now Naruto focused, he could catch snatches of the three individual scents of the trio of young humans on Kakashi-sir as well.

Were these… ?

Naruto's eyes widened as a thought sent a jolt of electricity all through him. Were these Kakashi-sir's kits?

It would make sense, especially considering the mock-brawl going on which now encompassed all four humans and a great deal of mud. He was playing with his offspring.

This in mind, Naruto was on edge. He really didn't want his Handler thinking he was a threat to the Handler's own kits! No, no, no, bad idea. The blonde jinchuuriki felt his muscles tensing with the sudden added pressure and the beginnings of a headache tugged at his mind already. Of all the high-stress situations he could imagine, this one ranked in the top three.

Easily.

"Hey, Sensei," said the girl, losing focus and consequently receiving a large glob of mud to the face via one of the boys, "Who's your friend?"

Kakashi winced, sitting up abruptly. Okay, now what was he planning to tell the brats…?

"Hey, it's that kid Neji and I picked up a few days' back!" Toshi exclaimed, dropping his totally ineffectual stranglehold on his teacher. "What's up with that?"

"Sensei, who is he and why is he here?" Sasuke asked with that patented Uchiha I'm-serious-and-dark-and-not-to-be-messed-with tone, as though he wasn't part-way through the motion of grinding mud into Toshi's hair.

"Okay, kiddies, listen up!" he said firmly. "This is Naruto. He is part of Konoha, but he is classified. That means no asking question about or from him, no talking about him, no gossiping, no spreading rumours, no looking at him funny… I want no prying from any of you, got it?"

He took his time to glare at them all in turn, focusing on the boys in particular.

"Yes, Sensei," they all agreed eventually.

"Okay!" he said brightly. "Naruto, This is Sasuke, Toshi and Sakura. Why don't you just watch us today, okay?" Naruto nodded, eyes down and hands twisting in front of his chest anxiously. Kakashi chose to disregard the motion. "Right! The rest of you, I'm going to… oh, damn. I forgot… Sakura, come help me set up the targets, will you? Looks like the bloody vandals on squad four tore them down again. Boys, you go see if they managed to pull apart the ones over that way, and watch out for traps. Damn hooligans…"

Muttering darkly, Kakashi-sir moved away towards the end of the field behind the boys, the girl following along after him. Naruto curiously and slightly defensively watched the two male kits – Sasuke and Toshi. The kits looked back at him, and Naruto tensed even further at the tension that crackled between them. He did his best to make himself look small and unthreatening, while still watching them to make sure he had warning if they attacked.

"So," drawled the stockier one, Toshi. "Who're you, then?"

"I'm Naruto," he replied softly. Toshi's eyes flashed.

"Don't be a smartass!" he shouted, taking a threatening step forwards. Naruto quailed, but stood his ground. He was not to run: it was one of Master's most ingrained rules.

Sasuke reached out and touched Toshi's arm, checking the quick-tempered boy.

"He's just curious, Naruto," the dark-haired human teen said in a low, almost sensual voice. "Why don't you tell us why you're here."

Naruto hesitated. It was a direct question from a human, which demanded a prompt and honest answer, but… "Kakashi-sir told you not to ask me anything," he pointed out, looking away.

"You always listen to what your boss tells you to do?" scoffed Toshi. Naruto frowned – what kind of a question was that? Wait, these kits didn't know him. They were questioning his level of training.

"Yes," he said firmly, frowning at the grass.

Toshi was getting mad. He'd had a really bad morning: his mum was sick, and there'd been a debt collector at the door demanding entrance when he'd woken up, making him late to meet his team, making Sasu-princess rile on him even though he was there before stupid Kakashi-sensei! That brief play-fight had risen his spirits a bit, but this blonde mystery was doing a good job of putting him right back in his previous bad mood. He felt his blood beginning to boil at the stranger's clipped, arrogant answers, and the way he averted his gaze – as if he couldn't stand to look at the people he was talking to – ended up being the last straw.

So he overreacted.

"Why won't you look at me?" he shouted, stepping forwards to grab the front of the blonde's shirt in his fist. "What? Is it that some half-breed chuunin isn't good enough to be talking to you? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Naruto was frightened. He honestly had no idea how, but he had managed to offend the Toshi-kit. The Handler's son was currently shaking him by the front of the shirt, shouting, and Naruto didn't know what to do. He daren't attack, or even defend properly, and so just allowed himself to be shaken, trying desperately to shove down the rising dark force inside him.

I should kill the insignificant gnat! his darkness roared, and Naruto felt it control his arms, shoving Toshi hard enough to send him reeling backwards, still clutching a torn scrap of Naruto's shirt.

A second too late, Naruto managed to control the dark anger and looked in horror as Toshi stumbled twice and fell against his brother. Sasuke caught and rightened him, beginning to look defensively angry himself, and Naruto shrank as he saw the two male human young gearing up for a fight.

He wasn't entirely sure which one threw the first punch, but he knew the white flare of pain on his cheekbone hurt. He yowled and his dark side snarled but he couldn't hurt that Handler's kits, no no no bad – he ducked the next blow, fighting not to lash out in response as he backed away.

Between the struggle with his dark side and trying to escape the unexpected attack, it was no wonder one of the two managed to pounce him, and Naruto choked as an arm locked tight around his throat, pinching his collar painfully against the skin and cutting off his air.

Instantly his fear spiked, and he grabbed at the stranglehold wildly, fighting to get loose and letting out a breathless cry of pain as the Sasuke-kit caught him full in the stomach. Desperately struggling to get free, he twisted and thrashed against the choking hold, his dark side rising in a wave of dark fury as his blurry view of the clearing started to spot with black.

Panicked and airless, it wasn't until he tasted blood that he realised he'd sunk his fangs into the arm holding him, and he jerked back and let go instantly, appalled and terrified. He'd bitten the Handler's kit! Sucking in air, the jinchuuriki belatedly realised he'd been released, the Toshi-kit lurching away with a howl of shocked pain, and –

Kakashi-sir reappeared in his field of vision, and the blonde instantly crumpled to the ground, forehead pressed to the ground in a show of subservience. The Handler was furious, black rage in his face, and Naruto could only crouch, trembling, and hope the man didn't kill him.

Toshi gripped his forearm tightly, eyes shocked and incredulous. The bastard had bitten him, hard enough to bleed! His attention was diverted, unsurprisingly, when a broad hand seized the back of his neck and swung him, forcefully cracking his and Sasuke's skulls together, lights exploding in his eyes with a resounding THWACK as his sensei dropped the two on the ground disgustedly.

"Right," came the harsh, icy voice of an angry ex-ANBU captain. "Change of plans. We're going to spar today, you two against me. Ready? Tough! Go!"

Sakura ignored the all-too-frequent sight of her teacher beating the spit out of her teammates and turned her attention to the blonde teenager Toshi had had pinned a moment ago. He'd collapsed the second the boy had let go, and she could already see the beginnings of several nasty bruises.

"Hey," she said, touching his back gently and feeling him flinch. "It's okay: don't be frightened. Sensei'll beat some sense into the idiots." She paused, taking a moment to observe her teacher chewing out the boys while clobbering them senseless. "Huh. I didn't know Sensei could turn that colour."

Later that evening, Kakashi-sir was still stewing when he handed Naruto a bowl of noodles and sat down at the table. Naruto tried to sink onto the floor – ingrained habits die hard – but the Handler snapped for him to take a chair, and so he perched nervously on the wooden frame, fidgeting and more than a little frightened of the human's inevitable explosion.

If he had punished his own offspring so harshly, what would he do to the animal that had nearly savaged his sons?

Finally, Naruto screwed up his courage, not able to wait any longer.

"Um… Kakashi-sir?" he said tentatively. He seemed to jolt the silver-haired human out of his dark contemplations.

"Oh… yes, Naruto?" he said.

Naruto bit his lip and ducked his head, heart pounding frantically. But his voice only held a small waver as he said, "I was wondering… what will my punishment be?"

There was a pause.

"Punishment?" Kakashi-sir sounded like he was struggling with something. "Naruto… why do you think you are going to be punished?"

Naruto was used to this question. Master always made sure he was aware of why he was being punished: he didn't like to inflict pain on the animals without them knowing why he was doing so. That was also why he always carried out a punishment immediately, before the jinchuuriki could forget an error. He would never wait as long as Kakashi-sir had.

"I entered a fight and injured your two male kits," Naruto said promptly. "I know it was wrong. I acted out on instincts that I have been taught to control, and I am sorry. I await your punishment."

He could sense Kakashi-sir staring at him, and cringed just slightly as the human placed his cup on the table with a clink, no doubt gearing up to begin. Despite his formally spoken words, Naruto was terrified.

"Naruto," Kakashi-sir said incredulously, "The boys attacked you, not the other way around. They injured you. You only struggled as a last resort, and just barely even scratched them. With the possible exception of that bite on Toshi's wrist, they'll be fine by tomorrow."

Naruto winced. "I didn't mean to bite him, sir!" he yelped, beginning to panic. "I swear! Really, I don't usually bite, but I just…"

"Naruto," Kakashi-sir cut him off, "You bit because Toshi had cut off your air. It was normal. Hell, I'd have torn the kid's arm clean off if he dared do that to me."

"But…" Naruto trailed helplessly, trying to figure out what the Handler was saying, why punishment hadn't started yet.

"Naruto," Kakashi-sir said firmly, "You are not going to be punished. You did nothing wrong. Do you understand me?"

Naruto's face was creased, portraying his confusion and fear. "But – but I-" he stuttered.

"You did nothing wrong," Kakashi-sir repeated. "The boys were in the wrong. I punished them. The matter is closed."

"But don't you want to discipline the animal who hurt your kits?" Naruto cried, desperate to understand.

Kakashi-sir paused.

"My what?" he asked, distracted.

"Your kits," Naruto repeated. "Um, your… young ones. The ones we met today. Do they live with their mother? Your… offspring… or… I don't know! Your kits! The kits I attacked!"

"You think that…" Kakashi-sir began to laugh. "Naruto, those brats aren't my kids. My sons and daughter, I mean."

"…They're… not?" Naruto said uncertainly. Kakashi-sir shook his head.

"Nah, they're just my students. I teach them things, see? They learn from me."

"Learn?" Naruto repeated. Kakashi nodded, seeing that Naruto had been sidetracked from his previous topic, and leant forwards to continue.

"Yeah, see, children need to be taught how to do things, and sometimes their parents don't have the required skills to teach them, and so they are divided up and taught by people not their parents. Like me."

"Oh." Naruto considered this, but eventually sighed and, as Kakashi-sir turned back to his meal, gave up trying to understand.

Humans are so weird.