"What is it that I heard from Kakashi-sensei that you were harassing his daughter in the academy?" Kiba asked his son, a day after the incident. He bumped into him in the training grounds.

"Papa, I didn't!" Inuzuka Ako insisted. "He doesn't have a daughter in my class."

"So, you didn't harrassed Haruno Hana?" he asked. And watched as his son's face burned bright red. "And you called her mother a whore?" Kiba asked.

"But Mama says she is! Mama never lie."

"Do you understand what you just did?" Kiba asked, again. "Her father is one of the best jonins in Konoha, heck he is the best. Her mother is the best medic. She is the reason you're here today, Ako. If she didn't heal me during the war, I will not be here today." Kiba admonished the kid. "You apologized to Hana and her mother." he demanded. "You apologized and do not harass the girl ever again, do you understand?"

Kiba watched the boy hung his head and nodded. "Ninjas protect their own. We don't hurt others intentionally. Especially our own and our allies. Remember that."

The next morning as she went to run to her father, Ako blocked her way. Hana eyed Ako nervously, she doesn't want to do anything with the mean boy.

"Hana." Ako said her name with shame coloring his voice. He looked at his classmate's discomfort. "I... I just want to say I'm sorry. My papa said he was saved by your mother. I'm sorry I called her a whore." After that the boy run away from her, leaving her standing like a statue.

Kakashi walked towards his daughter who looks like a viper struck her.

"Hey, Hana, are you okay?" Kakashi asked the girl who looked at him with wide eyes. "What did he say to you?"

Hana slowly turned to her father, her pink hair framing her face as she spoke. "Ako said he's sorry, Papa. He said his papa told him that Mama saved his life during the war, and he apologized for calling Mama a bad name."

Kakashi crouched down to her level, his eye crinkling in a small smile. "That's very nice of him to apologize, Hana. It's important to forgive and forget, okay? We don't hold grudges."

Hana nodded, her young face reflecting her father's wisdom. "Okay, Papa. I'll forgive him."

Kakashi ruffled her hair affectionately. "That's my girl. Now, let's get you home to your mama. She will hate me if I don't bring you home early." He said to the girl, before picking her up.

"Papa, do you love me?" Hana asked as Kakashi carry her home.

"Of course, Hana. I love you." Kakashi answered, looking at her eyes.

"Then why do you always leave?" Hana asked. "You just pick me up in the morning, and after school. Then you leave me with Mama." Her voice was laced with hurt. "Other daddies does not leave like you do. I saw Boruto having dinner with his parents every night. You never had dinner with us."

Kakashi's heart ached at his daughter's words. He had always been aware of the emotional distance he had created between himself and his family. It was a consequence of his past, the consequence of his actions, his duty as a shinobi, and the complex circumstances of their relationship.

"Hana," Kakashi began, his voice gentle and full of sincerity, "I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world. And I love your mama too. But your mama still needs time before I enter her life again. I did something really bad before, and it hurt her. I need to prove myself to her first. Until then, please forgive me for being absent in your life."

Hana's eyes brimmed with tears as she listened to her father. "But, Papa, I miss you. I want you to be with us, like other daddies."

Kakashi felt a deep pang of guilt as he looked into Hana's teary eyes. He knew that he had caused pain to both Sakura and their daughter with his past actions. He wished he could turn back time and change the choices he had made, but all he could do now was try to make amends and show them that he was committed to being a part of their lives.

"Hana, I miss you too, more than you can imagine," Kakashi admitted, his voice filled with emotion. "I promise I'm trying my best to be with you and your mama, but it might take some time. I need to show your Mama that I can be trusted and that I won't hurt her again."

Hana's lower lip quivered as she listened to her father's words. "I want you to be with us, Papa. I don't want you to leave again. Can't you try harder?"

Kakashi held Hana closer and wiped away her tears with his gloved thumb. "I will, Hana. I promise I'll try harder. Just give me a little more time. We'll be a family, I promise."

Hana nodded, her trust in her father evident in her eyes. "Okay, Papa. I believe you. I love you."

Kakashi's heart swelled with love for his daughter, and he hugged her tightly. "I love you too, Hana, more than anything in the world. And I promise I'll always be there for you."

Kakashi opened Sakura's apartment door and entered, lowering down the girl. He saw Sakura in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"Sakura, can I talk to you?" Kakashi called the woman.

Sakura looked at him with apprehension in her eyes but nodded, he beckoned him to enter, and he did. When Kakashi approached the table, Sakura wiped her hand in the apron.

"What do you want to talk about?"

The coldness in Sakura's eyes unnerved him. When she finally introduced him to Hana, he thought he can win her back. But it seems like Sakura is deflecting all his efforts, not wanting to do anything with him again.

"Sakura, I... I am the last living Hatake." he started. "And Hana... she is mine." he looked at her eyes, and he can feel the coldness that it reflected.

"And?"

"I... well, she... her name." Kakashi never stutter. But in front of the woman he hurt long ago, he felt like an insecure child again. "I want her to be Hatake. Its her birthright."

Sakura's expression remained stoic as she listened to Kakashi's words. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions, and the wounds of the past were still fresh in her heart. Kakashi's request to have Hana carry the Hatake name stirred up a complex mix of feelings.

"Hatake," Sakura repeated the name softly, her gaze turning distant. "It's a powerful name, and I know what it means to you. But you left, Kakashi. You left me alone, and you left Hana without a father for years."

Kakashi lowered his head, acknowledging the truth of Sakura's words. "I know I made mistakes, Sakura. I can't change the past, but I want to be a part of Hana's life now. I want to make amends."

Sakura's emerald eyes bore into Kakashi's single visible eye. "Kakashi, you can't just walk back into our lives and expect everything to be as it was. Hana knows you as her father, and that's enough. If I allow you to change her name, you are going to take her away from me next." Sakura said. "I made a name for myself. She doesn't need yours."

Kakashi understood the depth of Sakura's pain and her fear of losing Hana. He couldn't deny that he had caused their family a great deal of suffering through his past actions. He also knew that regaining Sakura's trust would take time and effort, but he was determined to do whatever it took to be a part of their lives.

"Sakura, I don't want to take Hana away from you," Kakashi said, his voice filled with sincerity. "I know I hurt you in the past, and I can't change that. But I want to be there for her now. I want to be a father to her and support her in every way I can. The name is just a symbol of the family we could be. Please, let me be there for both of you."

Sakura remained silent; her eyes locked onto Kakashi's. The tension in the room was palpable, as they both grappled with their past and the possibility of a future together as a family.

"Kakashi," she said, after a long pause. Her face is a mask of indifference. "I'm willing to give you the chance and the time and opportunity to be her father. But that's it. I will tolerate your presence because she needs you, but I don't. I don't need you anymore. And the family that you're dreaming about? You can have it, but not with me, not anymore."

Kakashi's heart ached as he absorbed Sakura's words. He understood her pain and the wounds he had inflicted upon her. Her willingness to let him be a part of Hana's life, even if not her own, was a small but significant step forward. He had to respect her boundaries and the time it would take to rebuild their relationship, if that was even possible.

"Sakura, I understand," Kakashi said, his voice soft and filled with understanding. "I will do whatever it takes to be the father that Hana needs. I won't push you, but I hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Don't bother trying, Kakashi. To be hurt by you is the most painful thing that I experienced. I almost lost her because I was too busy nursing my broken heart, I didn't even know she existed until I bleed after a fight." Sakura said. "But its no longer relevant. Just be her father, and never hurt her. You hurt me shame on you; you hurt her; I'll hunt you down." She threatened. "I don't care if you're ANBU or you're the oh so powerful, Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan, or you are all over other nation's bingo book. You hurt her; you will have to answer to me."

"I won't hurt her, Sakura," Kakashi promised, his voice filled with sincerity. "I'll protect her with my life, and I'll be the father she deserves. But Sakura, can't you find it in yourself to give me a chance?"

"No." Sakura simply answered. She looked at him. "And you will not change her name. She's my daughter and she will remain as Haruno."

Kakashi nodded, his gaze filled with a mixture of acceptance and determination. He knew that rebuilding Sakura's trust and their relationship would be a long and difficult journey, but he was willing to take that path for the sake of his daughter. He respected Sakura's decision regarding Hana's name and would abide by it.

"I understand." Kakashi said, lowly. "I'll see myself out."