A/N Ah, another chapter that I really love. Finally some more plot! Cute dad moments too but, plot! Let me know what you think of this turn!

Part 2 Chapter 7

Kakashi

Day one-thousand one-hundred without her

"Hmm. Where could my sneaky little ninja be?" Kakashi grinned as he exaggeratedly peeked beneath the dinner table. "Not there. What about…" He slammed open one of the kitchen cabinets. There was nothing but pots and pans, but excited giggles echoed from across the apartment.

"Gee, I may never find him at this rate. Better check the linen closet." Crossing the main room, he slipped through the already open hallway door and checked the closet. "No... Hmm. In the bathtub?" When he peeked into the bathroom, glancing into the tub, more giggles and shrieks of "not there, Daddy!" came from his bedroom.

Chuckling, Kakashi walked down the hall and slid the door open, looking around. There was a trembling, giggling lump right in the middle of his bed under the blankets. Folding his arms, he leaned against the door frame and watched the lump that was his son wriggle with excitement. "Definitely the sneakiest ninja I've ever encountered. Where could he be?"

Bending over, he looked under the bed, gripping the bed frame and shaking slightly as he did so. "Not under the bed." He walked around the bed, pushing noisily at the drapes. "Not hiding on the balcony. Hmm… where else?"

Kazuki's giggles intensified as Kakashi knelt on the edge of the bed. "What is with this pillow? It's so giggly and ticklish!" Attacking the lump, Kakashi laughed and reached for the edge of the blanket to reveal his shrieking, red faced little boy.

"Found me, Daddy!"

"I did!" He scooped the freshly-three-year-old up into his arms, and blew raspberries on his round little cheeks.

"Daddy! Daddy, no!" More giggling shrieks filled their apartment as he carried Kazuki back down the hall and through to the dining table.

"Since I found you, now you have to eat your breakfast." Plopping him into his seat, Kakashi ruffled his hair and crossed to the kitchen to get their food, rice and scrambled eggs. Setting the dishes in front of his son, Kakashi tried not to grimace over the pathetic state of his eggs. He had never managed to get them right—they were always either burned or runny. At least they weren't living off cup noodles and burned rice. It wasn't easy doing this without Sakura, but they were okay. Kazuki was growing, and thriving and—despite everything—a happy little boy.

"Sprinkles, Daddy!"

Laughing softly, Kakashi reached for the furikake, shaking some out over their rice and eggs. "There you go, buddy. Now eat up. Baba-chan is taking you to the park today. You can't play very long if you're hungry."

A smile lit up Kazuki's face. "Park!"

"Yes, park. After breakfast."

He giggled again but dug into his food, managing to spoon more than half actually into his mouth for a change. Once they were finished, and all the dishes were cleaned up, Kakashi took off Sakura's floral apron—shaking it off and hanging it in its spot.

Son dressed and packed for a few days with Sakura's parents, Kakashi all prepared for his mission, they headed out. From his spot on Kakashi's shoulders, Kazuki waved at Hatsue as they passed his restaurant. The older man smiled happily at the pair, waving them over.

"Good morning, little Kazuki-chan, Kakashi. Leaving on another mission today?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Hopefully just a couple of days this time."

Hatsue beamed at them. "Wait here, let me send you off to the Haruno's with a little something special that my son brought me this morning." He shuffled quickly into his restaurant, appearing a moment later with a wrapped parcel in a sack.

"Fish!" Kazuki shouted excitedly.

"Yes, fish! A lovely tuna, just pulled from the sea yesterday. Here, here, it is Kizashi-san's favorite."

A little stunned, Kakashi tried to refuse. "That's too generous, Hatsue-san. Let me pay you for it at least—"

The older man held up his hands and shook his head. "No. I owe Kizashi for uh… well." He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "Well, he knows. Anyway, come home in one piece, Kakashi. Bring your son by for dinner when you get back, eh?"

Sighing, Kakashi accepted the fish and promised they'd be by. As they walked, Kazuki gently patted the top of his head. Eventually, as they got closer to the Haruno's house, he seemed to sag on his shoulders. "How long you gonna be gone, Daddy?"

Kakashi sighed, shifting him slightly. "Just a few days. When I get back we'll visit Hatsue-san and maybe get dango."

"Promise?"

The uncharacteristic anxiousness in his son's voice made something in Kakashi's gut twist. "You know I always come home as fast as I can, Kazuki. Sometimes I get held up, but I'll always come home."

The pink-haired little boy sighed, hugging Kakashi's head. "OK. Can we take puppies for a run too? I miss my puppies."

Anxiety seemingly gone, Kakashi patted his son's leg and chuckled.

"Definitely."

Mebuki

Day one-thousand one-hundred thirty-three without her

"I'm home from school, Mom!" Sakura came into the kitchen, immediately rounding the table to ruffle Kazuki's pink hair and kiss his cheeks. "Have you heard anything about Kakashi-san today?"

Mebuki held back the worried sigh that wanted to escape, hanging her head over the sink. "No, not today sweetheart. I'm sure he's just fine. Why don't you take Kazuki to the park down the street, ok? Now that you're home, I have an errand to run."

Picking Kazuki up, Sakura eyed her mother quizzically. "Sure, Mom. Is everything ok?"

Forcing a smile on her face, Mebuki laid her apron over the back of one of the chairs and followed them to the door. "Of course. I'll come by the park when I'm done, ok?"

Her daughter perked up as she helped Kazuki with his shoes. "Okay Mom. See you later!"

As soon as her daughter and a moody Kazuki were on their way, the forced smile fell from her face. Dread that had been sitting like a weight in her stomach since receiving the summons that morning threatened to boil over. But she couldn't let it. Not yet. Not until she knew for sure.

Slipping into her shoes, Mebuki marched up the street towards the Hokage's tower. Once there, she was shown in and up and down several long halls until she reached the Hokage's office. Entering, she bowed deeply at the Hokage, who stood in front of his desk. Another older man she did not recognize who was dressed in the robes of the council stood beside him. There was a thick tension in the air between them.

Holding her head high, Mebuki addressed them both. "Has there been any news as to the whereabouts of Hatake Kakashi and his team, Hokage-sama?"

The man looked exhausted, and clearly irritated by the unknown councilman. "No. As you know, his team has been officially missing for two weeks. There are… those on the council that believe it is time to officially declare them dead."

Mebuki's whole body tensed. "Dead? Is there… any evidence for that?"

The councilman opened his mouth before the Hokage had the chance. "They left for what should have been a simple three day mission nearly a month ago. We've had no contact for over three weeks. What more do you need? There are certain things that need to be dealt with, the sooner the better."

Her teeth ground. She knew exactly what he meant by that. Kakashi had warned her about this when he'd started taking missions again. Partly due to a grudge against Hana-san—but mostly out of a desire to exploit Kazuki's potential as early as possible, as they had with his father—the council wanted custodial control of the boy in the event Kakashi did not come home.

Glaring the strange man down, Mebuki spoke clearly. "According to Kakashi's will, Kazuki is to be raised by his next of kin. That is my husband and myself. His mother was my husband's first cousin. We are the only family he has, and more importantly, it is what his father wishes." Crossing her arms, she met the Hokage's heavy gaze. "Personally, I am not ready to write Kakashi off, so I see no reason why things can't continue as they have. They wouldn't need to if he were truly dead, so it makes no difference."

The Hokage sighed heavily. Clearly this had been a circular and ongoing argument. From what Kakashi had said, the Hokage saw no reason to deviate from this will or encourage underage graduates. For some reason, certain elements within the council disagreed. There were things he couldn't tell her about from his ANBU days that were at play, but the dark look he always wore told her all she needed to know.

"There are those that do not believe you are in fact family." There was something in the Hokage's face, something guarded and nervous. It was as if he knew something she did not. "They believe they would be able to raise the boy… properly." He said the word with no small amount of disdain. "Fortunately, proving blood relation is easy to do." Oh, he was definitely hiding something. It was clear in his dark eyes.

"Fine. I will take Kazuki to the hospital for the required tests immediately." She glared at the councilman. "Then there will be no more need for such discussions?"

The councilman glared back, but the Hokage answered in the affirmative. Mebuki bowed deeply to the Hokage and left immediately.

Day one-thousand one-hundred thirty-six without her

Two days later, Mebuki and Kizashi sat in a familiar medics office. Kazuki playing with a wooden kunai on the floor beside them.

Onasho Aiko had been a friend of Hana, and often helped with Kazuki too. In fact, her long-time boyfriend was on Kakashi's team, and was also missing. She looked as if she'd been sleeping about as well as they had.

"I have the test results." She looked anxiously down at the file on her desk, chewing on her lip as if uncertain if she should show them. "Before I show you these, I have to ask that they remain confidential. I have already sent a slightly modified version to the council." Releasing a heavy sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. "I probably should have given you the modified version but… but—"

Choking up, the medic took a calming breath before managing to continue. "Since it seems like… maybe Kakashi won't be returning, I thought you needed to know the truth." She sniffled. "Like I said. Confidential."

Kizashi frowned at the medic and glanced at his wife before reaching for the file. He opened it up and held it out so she could see it too.

Subject: Hatake Kazuki

Genetic test against: Haruno Kizashi : For blood relation status

Result: Hatake Kazuki

Combined Parentage Index indicates the subject is the matrilineal grandchild of Haruno Kizashi.

It took much longer than it should have to understand. It was impossible. "Does this… this says that Kazuki is… our grandson?"

Aiko nodded solemnly. "Yes."

Mebuki shook her head. "But… how is that possible? Our daughter is only eleven years old! And he's nearly three. She was eight when he was born. There has to have been a mistake!"

"There is no mistake, Haruno-san."

Mebuki scoffed. "I think I'd remember if my eight-year-old daughter had been pregnant!"

"Mebuki." Kizashi was frowning intently at the medic, arms crossed and serious. "Why is this information so confidential, and why did you send an altered version to the council? My wife is right, this seems impossible."

The poor exhausted medic held up a hand and sighed. "I can explain. In approximately nine years, your daughter, Sakura, is going to be sent back in time." She waved her hand as if to stem any disagreement, but there was none. They were too shocked. "I know it sounds crazy, believe me. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't witnessed the end… We were never clear on what happened. She was kidnapped on a mission by someone experimenting with time travel jutsu. That is all we know."

Something clicked in Mebuki's memory. "In the past…she went by a fake name."

"Hana…" Aiko nodded and continued speaking to them but Mebuki didn't hear it. She was remembering the first time they had met Hana. They had nearly run into her on the street. She'd looked up at them, familiar green eyes wide with panic. It had been Kakashi who gave them the story about her being a cousin. But when she had looked into her eyes, something in Mebuki had known who she really was.

"So, you can see why this needs to be kept confidential. The Hokage does not want anyone interfering. The same elements that would rather you not gain custody of her son may seek to interfere in her traveling at all."

This was too much. It was impossible. It was obvious.

"We won't tell anyone." Mebuki stood and gathered Kazuki into her arms… her grandson. "Can we go, Kizashi?"

He stood too, nodding in thanks to the medic. "Yes. We appreciate you sharing this with us, but it is a lot to take in. We'll go. And…" He took her hand in both of his. "I hope you haven't given up on them yet. We haven't."

Aiko sniffed hard and shook her head. "No I… I haven't."

Day one-thousand one-hundred thirty-nine without her

For the next several days, both Mebuki and Kizashi watched their daughter with confusion and anxiety. As far as they knew, Kazuki's mother had died in childbirth. They had nine years left with their little girl, and then she would go back in time and die there.

Because of course she would. If they tried to interfere, there would be no Kazuki. Now, knowing he was their grandson, how could they possibly stop her? Especially when she must have made the decision to have him knowing what it would cost. It was gut wrenching.

They also watched their grandson. Now that they knew, it felt like the most obvious thing in the world. He looked so much like Sakura. The hair, the eyes, they even had the same smile. While he would have his father's general look, he was undeniably Sakura's son.

Now, when he called Mebuki 'Baba-chan'—something he had started doing as a baby when she had tried to teach him to say 'Oba'—it made her want to cry. She really was his Baba. He was her grandson. Did it change anything? They had always loved him, and Kakashi. If anything, this revelation explained the easy bond.

As for their erstwhile son-in-law, there was no question of anything inappropriate. In fact, the way he always seemed to interact with their younger Sakura as little as possible suddenly made sense. He was polite, and responded when she would address him, but he never went out of his way to talk to her. Seeing his beloved, dead wife, alive and yet not—a mere child—must have been awkward at best, extremely painful at worst. It would be much easier to avoid all of them entirely, but for his son's sake, he endured it.

With each passing day, as they waited—contemplating all of this and watching the children closely—they worried for Kakashi even more. Their grandson had already lost his mother. He couldn't lose his father too. And they, having already grown to love him without knowing who he really was to them—their only connection to their adult daughter, their son—couldn't bear to lose him either. The waiting was stressful for all of them.

Especially for Kazuki. The poor thing missed his Daddy terribly.

She was in the middle of rocking the tearful little boy to sleep when there was a frantic knock at the door. Opening the door, she was greeted by an unusually serious looking Maito Gai. "Can I help you?"

The green clad shinobi inclined his head. "It's Kakashi, Haruno-san. He and his team have finally returned. They're at the hospital, all of them were wounded to varying degrees. He asked me to let you know."

"Let us… Can we see him? Is he alright?"

He looked unsure. "I am not sure that he would want his son to see him as he is."

"Is he conscious?"

"Yes, but—"

She cut him off, feeling almost hysterical. "Then who cares what he thinks. He's been gone over a month and presumed dead. His son needs to know his father is home."

Practically dragging Kakashi's friend into the house, she yelled for Kizashi. Both her husband and their daughter came racing down the stairs at her shouts. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"Kakashi is home." They both sagged with relief, tears gathering in Sakura's eyes. "But he is injured. He's in the hospital. I am taking Kazuki and going to see him right now."

"I want to come, Mom!"

"No." She slipped into her shoes and held Kazuki's feet up for Gai-san to do the same as she spoke to her family. "Not today, sweetheart. We won't stay long, but Kazuki needs to see him."

Kakashi

He felt terrible. The mission had been an utter disaster. At least they'd all made it home… barely.

He missed his son.

He missed Sakura.

Was Kazuki okay? Of course he was. Mebuki and Kizashi would have taken good care of him. He hoped they hadn't given up on him.

Aiko had been in briefly but all she had said was that the council had tried to have them all declared dead. It had seemed like she wanted to say more, but he was stable and she was needed elsewhere.

Would Gai bring Kazuki to see him? He wasn't sure if he wanted him to. His son didn't need to see him like this, covered in bandages and hooked up to a blood bag and an IV.

But he missed him terribly. He felt like the worst father for having been away so long. For almost not coming home at all. He'd promised he would be home soon.

At least he'd made it back. For a while, it had seemed like that wasn't going to happen. All of them were hurt, and trapped. For weeks they'd had to make do with their medic kits, stretch their rations past the limits and suppress their chakra as much as they could.

If they'd been caught, none of them would have been in any shape to fight. The group they'd been surrounded by were all S ranked Bingo Book rogue nin. If not for Kakashi's mud wall and a nearby cave system, they would have been killed.

Laying in the cave, hurt and hungry, he couldn't help but remember the last time he'd been injured and trapped in a cave. Unfortunately, his wife wasn't coming to save him this time. He had hazy visions of her when he drifted in and out of consciousness.

Once she had been heavily pregnant. Sitting beside him she had told him all about their son—a strange amalgam of real conversations they'd had and his own memories of Kazuki. Another time she was naked and she had climbed on top of him and moved as she did so often in his dreams. Several times she'd been furious, accusing him of breaking his promise.

Finally, a tracker team sent from Konoha that had refused to stop looking found them. They had called for backup and managed to get them all out.

Now that he was home, it felt like some kind of miracle. The medics were shocked they'd survived at all. Living on soldier pills and ration packs for weeks, they were all malnourished. But they were alive.

The door to his room slid open. Glancing to the side, he sighed—with resignation and relief—to see Mebuki carrying his son. "Kakashi." She hefted Kazuki to one hip so she could wipe her face. "We were so worried."

"Daddy!" Kazuki's little face was twisted with exhaustion and covered with tears and snot. He reached for him from Mebuki's arms and she set him carefully down on the edge of the bed.

"Be careful sweetheart, he's been hurt."

Kakashi didn't care about his injuries. Now that he was here, all he wanted was to hold his son. Kazuki crawled into his open arms, sobbing into his bandaged-covered chest. Holding him as tightly as he could manage, Kakashi felt himself lose the battle against his own tears.

Fuck he had missed his son. He had almost died. He almost didn't come home. He almost had broken his promise. The whole time he'd been out there, he had clung to Sakura's memories of the future. He would be fine because he still had to be her shitty sensei, and smoke on her parents' roof, and eat all her way too sweet rakugan.

But it had been so close.

Ripping down his mask, he kissed his son, muttering comforting nonsense until they both calmed.

Eventually, Kazuki fell asleep in his arms. Kissing his temple one last time, he shifted him enough so that he could see Mebuki. She was sitting in the chair beside the bed, her hands folded in her lap and her eyes downcast. She had been crying quietly.

"Mebuki…"

She looked up, startled.

"I'm sorry I worried you. Thank you for taking care of my son."

She shook her head. "Kakashi, we worry about you every time you leave. Don't you ever…" Her voice broke and she blinked at the ceiling. After a moment, she looked back at him, her gaze steady. "You don't need to thank me for looking after him. He is my grandson and we will always be here for both of you."

Kakashi went rigid, his arms tightening around his son as if her knowledge was somehow a threat. It's okay. She isn't going to tell anyone. She isn't going to take him from you.

"Who told you?"

She shrugged and wiped at her eyes. "The council wanted to declare you dead. They wanted Kazuki. There was a man with the Hokage I didn't recognize when I was summoned. He wore council robes…" She gestured at her face. "Half of his face was covered."

A sudden rush of anger burned through Kakashi, his arms tightening again reflexively. "Danzo…" He knew Tenzō wasn't the only shinobi to be raised, rather brutally, in ROOT. Kakashi swore he'd burn the village down before he let that man get ahold of his son. He wouldn't let him hurt his son like he'd hurt Tenzō and who knew how many other unfortunate orphans.

"I never asked his name. But he doubted whether or not we were truly blood-family. So we had genetic testing done to prove it. The medic we saw, Aiko, gave us accurate results. She said we deserved to know in case you really didn't come back." When he tensed at the idea of the truth getting out, she held up a pacifying hand. "Don't worry. She sent a modified version to the council. But…"

She sighed and hung her head, the tears starting again. "Kakashi… was my… was my daughter happy? With you? With her life in the past? Did she… did she—" Emotional but clearly needing the answer to her question, Mebuki swallowed hard and tried again. "Did she suffer, in the end?"

Sighing, Kakashi relaxed back against his pillow. Was Sakura happy? Even though she knew what was coming, he knew the answer to that. "She was happy. She was happy with me, I know she was… knowing what was going to happen probably made the last nine months fairly miserable, but she did her best to hide it. She only showed me the happiness, the joy at becoming a mother—" He hated to think about it so much, with an audience. It still hurt too much.

"I knew too, or, I guessed fairly accurately based on little things she said… before we even got together. I chose this and I was happy, Mebuki. She made me so happy, even knowing she was going to leave me, leave us. So I know she was, too." He cleared his throat and scrubbed his eyes. "She didn't… she's not dead."

Mebuki sniffled hard and sat up, glaring at him. "What do you mean? You said she died when Kazuki was—"

"I know what I said. It was a lie to keep us safe."

He waited for more argument, but she gave none, deflating in her seat. "If she's not dead then… What happened to her?"

Kakashi sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell them this. He hadn't wanted to give them hope. There was no way to know what was going to happen. "She didn't disappear because of her labor, Aiko had to take Kazuki because of what was happening. Her seal—the diamond on her forehead—activated and she said her body was failing…" Trying to remember the worst day of his life, something he'd tried to block out, hurt his head. "Her body was a clone, sent back in time somehow. I could see her chakra draining away from the seal… She couldn't stabilize her body. It lasted long enough for Kazuki to come, for her to hold him for a while, to say goodbye…"

I love you… my Kazuki…

Kakashi swiped at his eyes again. "She handed him to me and said… a few last things and then..." He waved a hand. "She disappeared. Like a shadow clone. Poof. The same way she appeared two years before."

"What? How could she have been a clone? That makes no sense."

He ran a hand through his hair, kissing Kazuki again. It was hard to explain something he didn't understand himself. "Whatever sent her to the past, sent a clone. She said—and the Hokage agreed with her—that her actual body might still be in the future, waiting for the clone to fail to wake up."

He could see the hope start to bloom on her face and it hurt more than it should. "So, she's coming back?"

"I don't know. We don't know anything else about what sent her to the past. She might just really be gone… Forever." Kazuki shifted and Kakashi held him tighter. "He can't know. I don't want him to look at her any different." He hoped the look on his face conveyed how serious he was. "Your Sakura isn't his mother, she isn't my wife. She is my wife's little cousin. That's how I see her and how I want him to see her. I don't want…"

He suddenly found he couldn't continue, but Mebuki nodded, understanding. "You don't want to give him hope he'll get his mother back if she's really gone."

"No."

They were both quiet for a while, lost to their thoughts. Kakashi hoped that knowing the truth wouldn't change the way Kizashi and Mebuki saw either of them.

"Kakashi… you're not going to be able to let her go, are you?"

There was far more pity in her voice than he could take and he looked away from her, hiding the hurt her words dredged up.

"Oh, Kakashi… I always knew you missed her terribly, but I guess I always thought someday… maybe you'd find someone else. You deserve to be happy again, Kakashi."

"I can't…" His throat was too tight for words. "I can't let her go… Not if there's a chance she'll come back to me, Mebuki."

He heard her sniffle and sigh, and then her hands were covering his on Kazuki's back. "I know I don't know what my adult daughter would want… but I think she would understand if you moved on. Twelve years is a long time, Kakashi."

"You're right. But… I just can't. I…" He hated being this vulnerable in front of others. He hadn't even pulled his mask back up. But he trusted Mebuki. "I love her too much. Believing she'll come back to me is all that gets me through the bad days."

"And if she doesn't?"

He answered honestly. "I can't think about that."