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detectivestucks · 6 months

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A Jealous Hokage

18+ content, Minors do NOT interact

Pairing: Kakashi & Obito x F!Reader

Summary: You celebrate the inauguration of your secret boyfriend becoming Hokage when you meet an old friend of his who quickly decides to pursue you. Now you are caught between the two of them.

Warnings: NSFW, Dom Kink, Slight Degradation, Choking, Nipple & Anal Play, Rough Oral.

Word Count: 5k

After the ceremony you thought you’d swing by the office of the newly appointed Hokage before heading to the celebration with the rest of the village. You were hoping to give your congratulations to Kakashi without being surrounded by the entirety of Konoha. As to be expected, there were several village higher ups already gathered in Kakashi’s new office celebrating with a toast. Upon seeing you enter the room he shifted his stance, seeming to be a bit uncomfortable with the excitement he faced seeing you in the silken emerald green dress that you chose specially for this formal occasion. He welcomed you in and you offered your congratulations. “Well thank you for stopping by to welcome and congratulate me.” He said as he addressed the room. “However, If you don’t mind, there is a document I’d like Y/N to look at before heading to the celebration.”

“Typical Kakashi” said one of the village elders. “All work and no fun. You’ve only been Hokage for a few minutes. You don’t have to start working right away.”

“Well, it’s just that I came across something last night that I’d like your help with, Y/N. And since you’re here, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate your opinion before heading down to the celebration” You blushed at his request as you knew it was a ruse to get you alone without raising suspicion from any of his advisors. How tactful he was. Showing his genius even in the simplest of situations.

“Of course Lord Sixth, I don’t mind.”

“Please, stop it with the Lord-stuff” He said shyly even though coming from your lips, that very title made his pants feel tighter. “I’ll see all of you at the celebration. I won’t keep everyone waiting long.”

As the room cleared you glided over to lock the door so that no one would walk in on what was about to happen next. You had barely secured the latch before Kakashi’s strong hands grabbed your shoulders and spun you around to lay a feverish kiss upon your lips. Pulling down his mask, ravenous with excitement from both seeing you in that dress and fooling the Elders. Nothing like the danger of getting caught to bring out the more primal side of your silver-haired wolf.

Your passionate kisses moved across each other's faces, jaw line, and down to the neck. Panting small talk into each other’s ears as you came up for air. “So did you actually have something you needed to show me?” you breathily asked. “Of course I do. But we won’t worry about that tonight” You tried to giggle at the absurdity of his statement but the passion you felt made it hard to gather enough air to even laugh.

While kissing every bit of exposed skin, he lead you over to his empty desk, ready to christen it with your bodies. Not so gently, he pushed you onto the desk, immediately pulling up your silky skirt to expose your panties, happy to see they were already damp. He pulled aside the lacy fabric to get it out of his way. One hand on your breast, the other holding your inner thigh so that your legs were spread, he dove in with his tongue. Separating your lips and making his way to your bud. His tongue circling around it before sucking it hard. Your eyes shot open as a moan of surprise escaped your throat.

His lips curling with satisfaction, he climbed onto the desk, knees on either side of your bosom, unbuttoning his pants as he did so. His length now exposed, he casually stroked himself a few times before grabbing your chin to signal you to open wide.

You kissed his tip before doing so, oh so happy to celebrate your Hokage. You then opened up while looking up at him with adoring eyes, ready to receive him. Immediately you choked as he grabbed the back of your head to thrust into your mouth. You grabbed onto the only thing you could, the edge of the desk. Him kneeling over you had gravely limited your range of motion, effectively pinning you down. Pulling at your hair to face fuck you, you opened wider and wider, making gagging sounds with each thrust, gasping for air when you could. Fully wetting his entire length with your saliva. Once he was satisfied with your tear stained, slobber-covered face, he dismounted the desk and brought himself between your legs, once more pulling up your long green skirt. He grabbed you by your legs to pull you down to the desk’s edge before sliding in the entirety of himself into your slit. A small moan escaped as you were surprised at how easily it slid in and reached your cervix. This moan seemed to rile him up as he breathed out a smile of pride. He then reached under the small of your back with one arm and grabbed your throat with the other before starting a slow pace of long thrusts ensuring the entirety of his manhood came all the way out before sliding all the way back in again. While you craved for him to pick up the pace, you relished in the sensation. Ready for him to go faster, you egged him on with a few moans each time he pulled all the way out before reentering. The more you moaned, the more pressure he put on your neck. A “yes” squeaking out as he did so.

“That’s right…” he said “Be good for your Hokage”

“Yes, I will be good for my Hokage”

“You will satisfy your Hokage, won’t you?

“Yes my Lord”

“Gooood”

It was at this point in time that he picked up speed. Going faster and faster. Before your hands were clutching the forearm of the hand on your neck but now you grabbed once more at the edge of the desk to steady yourself as he railed in. Each pounding punctuated by both the slapping of his sack against your skin and a moan of euphoria from your throat. Knowing he was about to climax, he flipped you over faster than you could register what was happening. He reentered from behind one hand bearing down on the back of your neck, pushing your face into the cold desk, while the other grabbed your pelvis pulling you into him. Your mind caught up as he slid in. Even more intense pleasure washing over you. You quickly arched your back to allow him deeper. You heard him groan as you did. His hand wandered over to your clit as he began massaging you. Your legs began to shake and convulse as he kept up his unrelenting pace. “Aaahhhh, yesss… just like that”

Your eyes roll back into your head as you squeal from your climax at the exact same time that Kakashi shot his load, filling your slit with creamy goodness. He collapsed on top of you, preventing you from sliding off the desk. You both lay there. Breathily laughing.

The two of you had secretly been meeting up like this since one late night in the archives. You both had been researching a former enemy and while reaching for a scroll you began to fall, causing him to catch you in a moment full of heat. This spark, the beginning of building emotional intimacy during secret lunches and late night strolls. The slow build of sexual tension provoking you. In a fit of pent up passion, one night you charged at him, pulling down his mask and kissing him like one of the girls in his favorite books. Since that day you had secretly been hooking up whenever the both of you happened to be the last two working at headquarters late at night. Admittedly this happened quite a bit since both of you were passionate about the village and the work you did. It had been clear for quite some time that Kakashi would be the next Hokage and since you knew you were up for a promotion soon, you did not want others to credit your promotion to your lover rather than your own hard work so the two of you chose to keep your affair private.

Once you both had caught your breath, Kakashi redressed and donned his new Hokage robes once more while you fixed your hair and wiped away the mascara made runny by his cock filling your mouth moments prior.

“How do I look?” You asked, hoping you could pass as a woman innocently advising Lord Sixth on a document rather than a woman who had just been used as his fuckdoll.

“Like no one would suspect a thing” he replied.

You blushed at his response as he planted a kiss on your forehead. “Well I guess we should head to the party”

“Yes, I guess we shall, or they might come looking for us” You reply while ironing out any wrinkles in your dress with your hands.

Just as Kakashi unlocked the door and opened it to waive you through, a shinobi of similar age to Kakashi walked through the door. He was tall and despite half of his body seemingly covered in scars, he was exceedingly handsome. He had dark hair and an intense stare despite the smile he wore on his face.

“Obito!” Kakashi greeted enthusiastically.

“Kakashi! I heard you were officially appointed today and I didn’t see you at the party so I came looking for you” the man named Obito replied. “Something about getting to work five minutes after receiving your title” He continued looking around the room catching a view of you looking so stunning in your silky low cut green dress. He smiled and reached out his hand. “And who do we have here?” spoken in a tone of surprise and flattery. You knew immediately that he was taken aback by your lovely eyes and figure but felt very uncomfortable having him oogle at you in front of Kakashi like this. What was worse is that you were sure Kakashi could see you eyeing him as well. His raspy voice was so alluring and you are only human. You cannot help but notice the handsome figure before you.

“This is Y/N” Kakashi said, offering an introduction. “She is an up and coming star in the Encryption and Intelligence team”. You blushed at the way Kakashi said this with pride. A genius praising you for your intellect, how could your heart not flutter? Kakashi saw this and smiled softly, however Obito saw you blushing and took it as reassurance that he had indeed caught your eye. Realizing what he was thinking, you suddenly felt shy and decided to exit the reunion of these two friends.

“My Lord, I will leave you to catch up with your friend. Nice to meet you, Obito. I shall see you both at the party” You bow to both as you exit the room noticing the disappointment on Kakashi’s face as you abandoned him, bringing his favorite part of the night to a close. While you walked away, both men admired the way your silky skirt stretched across you fleshy behind and swished with each step.

As soon as you were out of earshot Obito groaned. “Mmmmm”

“Not her.” Kakashi growled at his friend.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Obito replied feigning innocence.

“She is not available.” K said in a firm tone.

“Why? Are the two of you dating?” Obito’s raspy voice said mockingly

“Well, uh, no” Kakashi stammed a bit caught off guard as Obito was the first person to ever inquire about the nature of Kakashi’s relationship with you.

“Well then, she’s fair game if you ask me.”

“Obito, I mean it. Not this one.”

“Fine, Fine. If you insist. But at least let the poor girl choose for herself.”

“She’s already chosen.”

“How could she have when she and I have only just met?”

“Drop it Obito. I’m warning you.” Kakashi said glaring at his old friend.

“Okay, sorry I said anything. Why don’t we get to the party? Everyone is expecting you”

The two men made their way across the village to where the celebration was taking place.

Immediately upon entering, Kakashi was showered with praise and admiration while Obito slipped past Kakashi’s many admirers looking for you. Knowing Kakashi would be distracted, he would not notice his friend trying to steal a moment or two with you; this was his opportunity.

You felt someone’s presence behind you and before you could turn around to face them you heard that raspy voice quietly speak in your ear. “Hello princess, nice to see you again” As he said this he placed his hand on the small of your back. While you did not have feelings for this newcomer, your body betrayed you and you felt a twinge of excitement between your legs at his light touch.

“Hello, Obito, was it?” you say knowing the answer without seeing his face.

“Mmm, yes” He replied, loving the way you said his name.

“You never said back in the office, how do you know Lord Sixth?” You replied, ignoring his obvious lust for you.

“Well you see, we were in the Academy together as kids and teammates during the third war.”

“Oh, I see. So you must be very close.”

“You could say we are” He says, finally facing you and stepping forward. Closing in on any personal space you had left. His sudden closeness causes you to avert your gaze so as not to look directly in his intense brown eyes. Again, feeling a wave of excitement, from the intimacy of the moment and the lust in his voice. You could not understand why he was so tempting to you and continued to blame it on the rush from your earlier romp in the Hokage’s office.

“Is everything okay over here?”

You hear the voice of Kakashi behind you. Your eyes shot up as you turned around, gasping in surprise. Honestly, how were you ever a ninja? Constantly being caught off guard like this.

“Lord Sixth!” You say in surprise, feeling like he just caught you red handed even though you hadn’t even so much as looked at Obito. “Y-yes, everything is okay. We were just talking about how you two know each other.”

“Yes Kakashi, nothing to worry about over here” drawled Obito. Satisfied with how flustered you seemed.

Not wanting to cause a scene since all eyes were on him. Kakashi furrowed his brow as he stepped in close to Obito and whispered loud enough for the two of you to hear, “We already talked about this Obito. Leave the girl alone.” You saw a purple spark come off Kakashi’s hand as he pats Obito on the shoulder. Clearly a warning to stay away.

“Congratulations again my Lord” you say, trying to save the moment and not attract suspicion from onlookers. Kakashi thanked you and continued moving through the crowd. Trying to make his rounds to interact with everyone who had come to celebrate him. Deciding you had enough excitement for one night, you head for the door and slip out of the room before Obito notices you are missing.

Over the next several weeks you begin to notice notes being left at your desk. They were always sweet and you had originally thought they were left there by Kakashi as they were never signed. Some days you would find a rose or two laying on a pile of paperwork and blush upon discovering the gift. Even though he was busier than ever, he still found time to drop by your office and let you know that he hadn’t forgotten about you. Your office mate was very curious who your secret lover was and asked if it was the jaw-dropping scarred man at the party. You replied no, it was someone you had met several months prior. You just weren’t ready to fully commit as you are excited about the progression of your career. Your office mate drops the subject knowing that you’re not going to divulge any additional information and chuckled at how silly you were for choosing to work in a stuffy office rather than receive the undivided attention from a man thoughtful enough to sneak into the building on a near daily basis.

That night you worked particularly late, leaving you the last person in the building. Or so you thought. Suddenly, your office door opens. Startled, you grab your chest as you gasp in shock. Obito with a large bouquet of flowers walks through the door. “Good Evening, Princess” he rasped.

“Oh, good evening.” You say a bit confused by his sudden appearance. “What brings you to headquarters at this hour?”

He chuckled, looking at the floor. “I could ask you the same thing” You nervously laughed at his accurate observation. The last time you had seen Obito was at the celebration. Why had he come here despite Kakashi’s very clear warning to stay away?

“Oh, well, I-uh, I’m working on a project and I’m really close to completing it. I guess I just lost track of the day” you explain, embarrassed that you felt the need to justify your presence in your own office.

“I can see that happens to you quite a bit”

Your face, plain with confusion after this statement. He follows up “You’ve left this building late almost every day for the past two weeks”

“...but how did you…”

“What? Who did you think was leaving gifts on your desk? Did you really not know it was me? Or even better, did you really think it was Kakashi?”

You looked down realizing Kakashi had forgotten you. His new position taking your place. The disappointment on your face filled Obito with anger. “You’re not disappointed are you? And here I thought you liked me. You can’t deny the electricity between us that night.”

This last part caused you to quickly inhale and look up at him. Lips slightly apart looking up into his eyes. They were both soft and severe at the same time. “How about you come to my place and let me cook you a meal?” He cooed, stepping close to you, pushing the bouquet of flowers into your hand. How could someone be so intense and sweet at the same time? Your heart skipped a beat as you registered his offer. At this moment you noticed the room begin to glow purple, the sound of chakra filling the air. Looking over Obito’s shoulder, you saw Kakashi in a jealous state, chidori singing in his hand. You quickly pushed Obito away from you. Flustered, you babbled, “Lord Sixth, what are you doing here?”

“I could say the same for the both of you” Again with the same retort as Obito. The malice thick in his voice.

Feeling frantic you spat “Kakashi I was just working when he came in. It was nothing, I promise.”

“Enough!” He barked. “Go to my office. I’ll deal with you next”

You gulped, afraid to disobey him. Feeling teary eyed, seeing him so hurt by Obito’s gesture, you had no idea how much he cared for you.

“Yes, my Lord” You bowed your head and speed walked out of the room making a beeline for the Hokage’s office.

Once inside his quiet office, you closed the door. Recovering from what you just witnessed and bracing yourself for what will happen next. Afraid to think about what is possibly happening in your office at that very moment.

You look around the room, noticing that it is much messier than the last time you were here. Lord Sixth was normally such a tidy man. No wonder he had not been around to see you. He was clearly very busy, though you wished that he had thought to ask for your help. You would’ve gladly shared his burden but you were certain he would say the same thing about you and your workload. He never wanted to disturb you when you were working as you were so cute. He would admire you, focusing on the task at hand and completely clueless to the time of day or even your surroundings. Your mind began to wander, your finger tracing along the outline of his desk as you walked around it. Thoughts eventually leading to the last time you were here and wishing you could go back to that moment.

“Hello Princess” You jumped with fright. “Obito! You’re okay?!”

“Just a spat between friends. Don’t worry I didn’t hurt him too bad” Seeing your face fall with worry caused Obito to feel jealous. He walked up to you so quickly you staggered back against the wall. He stood extremely close. You could feel his breath in your ear. “I guess I’ll just have to find another time to get you alone” and with that he took his hand off the wall and used kamui to leave the building without a trace. You realized this must also have been how he got to the Hokage’s office before Kakashi. As you made this realization you heard the door close causing you to jump yet again. “Seriously,” you asked yourself, “how was I ever a ninja?” There was no time to ponder on that though as you saw Kakashi stride towards you with great speed. His normal calm demeanor is nowhere to be found.

“Kakashi, I..” you began to stammer. He stopped suddenly in the center of his office. The room now felt completely still, the cool collected Anbu captain suddenly in front of you.

“Care to explain to me why Obito Uchiha is bringing flowers to your office?”

“He seems to have brought them to ask me on a date.” you say sheepishly, looking down at the floor.

“And why is he asking you on a date? Have you been seeing him this past month under my nose?”

“No!” you quickly retort looking back up with a pleading look on your face. “I haven’t seen him since your celebration. Honest!”

He began walking toward you. Calm like a predator about to meet his target. “You better be being honest” he drones. A chill rolling down your spine. The jealousy painted on his face. He closes in, so close to you that you thought you would reach out your lips and kiss him but instead he grabs your ponytail, yanks it back and pulls you down to your knees. “Do you swear you are being honest?”

“Yes..” you whimper. Doe eyes looking up at him pleading with him to believe you. “I only want you”

“Is that so?” He says pulling harder. You let out a groan of pain. “Show me”

You nod as much as you can with your hair taught in his hand understanding exactly what he means. You undo his pants and pull out his manhood. You begin stroking it. “Mmm…” kissing him along the entirety of his shaft. You rise up off your heels onto your knees and plunge his length down your throat. He keeps his grasp tight on your hair while you continue to hollow your cheeks, sucking his cock while making a drooling mess. You begin to pull down his bottoms gaining access to the rest of him. You want to show him how good of a girl you can be so you lick down his cock to the base and open wide to lick his balls before putting them in your mouth. You gently suck before pulling them out of your mouth with a small pop. “Aaahhh, Gods that feels so good…my sloppy angel”

Pleased with his response you feel encouraged to keep going and lick up his length again before shoving it back down your throat Stroking the underside of his shaft with you tongue while he’s in your mouth. He remarks “You would never do this for Obito, would you Angel?” Your eyes widen in surprise at this remark. You shake your head “no” while making a whining noise since his manhood in your mouth was preventing you from speaking. “That’s right, this is only for your Hokage” he coos.

“Mhmm” you say, devouring him in your mouth. The enthusiasm igniting his inner wolf, he begins slamming your head into his hips, shoving his length deep down your throat causing you to choke on his cock. “This. is. For. you. Hokage. Yes?” He asked, punctuating each word with a thrust, pulling your ponytail back just enough for you to inhale and breath “..yes..” He shoves himself back in you again, repeating the same method of interrogation.

“And. Who. is. Your. Hokage?”

“..you are…”

“And. we. are good. For. our. Hokage. Aren’t we?”

“...I am…”

“We.Will. Never. Be. Alone. With. Obito Again. Will. We?”

“...Never…”

At this last question he pulled you back onto your feet by your hair and slammed you against the wall facing away from him. “...and if you do, I will punish you myself”

A moan escapes you as he has never been so rough or passionate with you. “Yes, my Lord” you sigh. Ripping off your clothes, he slams both of your wrists against the wall. Sliding them up above your head, grinding his length between your legs, his tip tickling your clit. You squirm with delight which makes his grip tighten. He continues to slide your wrists together, holding them both with one hand while the other pulls your pelvis out from the wall and into him. He continues to tease you. Letting your arousal cover him as his shaft rubs against your engorged bud. He then licks his finger, sliding it into your tight rear. Your eyes widen and you squeal, not expecting the sudden intrusion. He continues to finger your tiny hole while grinding against your slit. Your walls clamp down on nothing. You whine and moan, dying to feel him inside you.

“You’re so warm” he coos.” Do you want me inside of you?”

“Desperately”

“You don’t sound desperate” he egged on as his finger moved faster in your rear.

“Please, please stuff me with your cock my Lord.”

“That’s better…mmmm. But I should make you wait for all you’ve put me through with this Obito nonsense”

“I’m so sorry my Lord, I swear I’ll be good”

Kakashi continues to finger you, hitting your g spot as he does. You are driven wild from this finger play. Your nipples stiffening as he’s never touched you like this before. You squirm and squeal again, this time in a higher pitch.

“Be my good little angel and I’ll reward you…” he husked, plunging in.

You shouted in ecstasy as he plunged. He moved your arms off the wall pinning them behind your back letting your face bump against the wall with each thrust. Folding them behind you so that he could restrain you with one hand, He clamped his hand over your mouth to muffle your screams. You couldn’t help yourself. It had been weeks since your last rendezvous. You forgot how much you missed his touch and this jealousy driven fuck was turning your mind and legs to jelly. The hand covering your mouth, moved to your neck, choking you into silence. You felt the oxygen deprived blood rush to your face but you didn’t care. You were about to burst! Then Kakashi lifted your leg railing into you sideways, causing you to spray all over the floor. As your only standing leg gave out, he lowered you to the ground right into the mess you just made and kept going. One leg over his shoulder, the other between his knees. He was going to get all his frustration out of his system and give you the punishment you deserved. He watched as your chest bounced up and down at the pace of his thrusts and reached down to squeeze and pull your sensitive nipples. Squealing then whimpering, he smiled as the pain made you tighter around his girth.He slapped them next, admiring how they rippled from the force. The base of his cock was coated in your creamy cum and upon noticing this, he picked up speed. You had no clue how he could keep this up but never before had you been so grateful for his many hours of training. His muscular hands squeezing your fleshy thigh as you convulse in orgasm. Eyes rolling back, grasping at phantom sheets for stability. You were so overcome all you could do was make pathetic noises. He smiled looking down at you completely broken, helpless, and satisfied. He was proud that he was the reason for your pathetic state. This time instead of rewarding you with his cum inside your walls, he pulled out just as he was about to bust and shot his seed on your face, wiping it all over, marking you as his territory. “Now” he said as he spit on your bud and smacked your cunt with his hand causing you to yelp. “Are you EVER going to defy me again?”

“Never my Lord”

He then grabbed your face, “That’s right my Angel, and if you do, I’ll relish in your punishment” he sneered in your ear. You moaned at the thought. He kissed your cum covered check tenderly before slapping your rear barking at you to clean up your mess on the floor. He didn’t want any of the elders coming into his office in the morning and slipping on your arousal. You nodded and used your soiled clothes to soak up the puddle you made before nakedly running off to the restroom to clean yourself up and regain what was left of your dignity. When you got back, still naked as your clothes were ruined, Kakashi gave you a spare pair of sweatpants he had in his office along with the tank top off his back, opting to wear just his fishnet shirt and jonin jacket. You blushed at his sudden kindness as he pulled you in tight to lovingly kiss you, deeply and properly. You left together under the cover of night to head back to his place where round 2 was most certainly awaiting you.

Part 2 Masterlist

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karume-everything-else · 6 months

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Flufftober 2023

Day 28: "You're the love of my life, of course I came." [Reader x Kakashi Hatake] {Naruto/ Shippuden}

Mission after mission after mission, it felt like it would never end. You knew it likely wouldn't end, though you didn't know how much longer you could keep up with this break-neck pace. Yes, the Village needed the money these jobs were bringing in, but you were starting to get severely burnt out and it was showing with how little control you had over your chakra.

Which was how you wound up captured by a group roaming nin. You weren't sure what they wanted you for, you weren't even sure if they could ransom you in any form. What you did know was that this was some serious trouble and all you could do was wait for an opening.

And hope you could escape...

You were waiting for the embers of their campfire to die down, cloak you with just enough shadow that you could loosen the rope tying your wrists back. Enough wiggling should get you out of here without having to worry.

But before you could start wiggling, you felt a presence behind you. A person cloaked in nearly complete shadow, kneeling behind you to avoid the dying glow of the fire. Based solely on the feel of the chakra, you knew they were friendly... but that was all you could tell. Whoever it was seemed to have mastered lowering their chakra to something nearly indistinguishable from a small dog.

"Just stay still until they fall asleep." That was a voice you recognized so well, it took all your restraint not to relax or squeal a little, "I already poisoned their drinks with something to speed up the process, just give it a minute."

You couldn't nod or give any real indication that you understood. But good gracious were you relieved Kakashi had come for you. Not that the two of you were traveling together at the time you'd been captured, but you were supposed to rendezvous with him for the last half of his mission. It meant so much that he'd come for you... especially since he usually didn't wait around when you were late like this.

But as the roaming nin started to drop like flies, you scooted back. Getting far enough away that standing wouldn't wake them. As you entered a small glade, there he stood. Silver hair glinting in the light of the moon sickle, looking just as nonplused as ever. And yet, there was something about the way he was standing that made you think he had been so worried about you.

"You came for me this time."

"You're the love of my life [Name]," Kakashi sighed, "Of course I came looking for you. Not that we should let our personal lives dictate how we act in the field, but I knew that something had to be wrong when I didn't see you a few minutes late."

You stopped short of hugging him, "You mean to tell me that you can see me coming and you just keep going without waiting for me to catch up!?"

"Yes, but only because I know you will catch up." He only felt comfortable taking your hand at the moment, leading you onward to the next mission, "Though, you seem to be wearing yourself far too thin to be caught by a group like this. Is everything okay?"

"Yes and no." You were just able to fall in step with Kakashi, "Lord Third has had me going back out on missions as soon as I return to the Village, if he doesn't just assign me to a second or third mission right after I wrap up one in the field. I get why, and I'm by no means complaining about it. I'm just getting a little tired is all."

"Well, I'm going to complain about it." Kakashi muttered a little darkly, "There really isn't any reason you should be running double and triple missions while Anko and Genma are sitting around doing nothing."

"Kashi, you really don't have to kick up a fuss." You tried tugging his arm to persuade him, "I'll be fine."

"You're not going to win me over with puppy eyes this time. My mind is made up." He huffed, "And you clearly aren't fine if you're being captured by the likes of those idiots. You need rest and I will lock you in your house if I have to."

Kakashi was glad his mask covered most of his face, the way you giggled at him. He would always be a little overprotective, even if it was like pulling teeth to get him to admit to it out loud.

#x reader #naruto shippuden #naruto kakashi #naruto shippuden x reader #kakashi x you #kakashi x reader #hatake kakashi #kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi sensei #flufftober 2023

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wind-becomes-lightning · 2 years

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Tenzo. 10.8

Kakayama week :) But unfortunately I can't take part all week, I'm way too busy with other things (I'm sad but what can I do!). I will do 3 days tho, and this is the first one :)

Hatake Kakashi & Yamato | Tenzo (this is very platonic really, so I don't think it needs the shiptag)

2993 words

Ao3 link [x]

warning: one mention of underage drinking, as in Tenzo had one cup of sake to try it and nothing else.

for @kakayamaweek2022 Day 1: Birthdays & You deserved it.

Kakashi introduces Tenzo to many things after he has left Root. One such thing is the concept of a birthday party.

Because he had no recollections or records of his birth, Tenzo did not know when his birthday was. Not that he cared. For the first six years of his life he was stuck in either research facilities or tubes and that was already horror enough, imagining the passing of time by “celebrating” birthdays would have probably been too much.

From there he neatly went into the Foundation. Some kids there remembered their previous families or the clans they used to live in. Some remembered their birthdays and would tell you about them at random times if they felt like it. Those kids never survived long in the Foundation. Danzo-sama hated weakness and being excited about your own day of birth was one of such weaknesses. Tenzo did not have a birthday either when he was in Root.

Naturally, the entire concept seemed strange to him. Who wanted to celebrate their own day of birth, he’d ask himself. Maybe it was his harsh upbringing, the absence of love and support in his very early years, but he didn’t see birth as something that needed to be remembered every year. He knew he was growing, he could see it in mirrors and hear it when he spoke, but he didn’t need a dango or a cake to remind him of it. Who cares if he was 15 exactly or 14 and a half or older or younger. He was just who he was.

On top of all of that was that Tenzo was nothing but a vessel to be used. Birthdays were for humans, for people with families and personalities and existences that mattered. He didn’t matter beyond the scope of his abilities, beyond the fact that he had been in a freak accident that should have probably died young. No, Tenzo was not special enough to know or celebrate his birthday, so he didn’t even waste any thought to it.

Once he left Root many things stayed the same for a good while. He was still sent on dangerous ANBU missions that could be gruesome and leave him with nightmares. He was still expected to do his job flawlessly, even though the punishments were less severe. HIs skills were very much needed and often used. He was a vessel to be used, even if it was by a different master now and with a different captain.

That was the biggest change in the first place. Hatake Kakashi, the boy, who was almost a young man now, had been instrumental in not only showing Tenzo that there was a future for him outside of Root, that he deserved more than he already got, but that had also pulled the strings to get him out of the Foundation. Kakashi was his squad leader, he was his friend, he was his mentor, and Tenzo admired him more than any other person he’d ever met.

Gruesome missions and nightmares were so much easier to take with a person standing right next to you making sure you were ok. Kakashi showed Tenzo how to cook, Kakashi helped Tenzo with his fist laundry alone, Kakashi brought food and sweets and other Jounin into Tenzo’s life. He had gained so many new things just by being allowed to be part of Kakashi’s life. It was an immeasurable gift.

One day at a birthday party for a different squad member, Tenzo felt tipsy for the first time. He was almost sixteen and it was not like they had given him much alcohol to drink, just one cup of sake, but it had hit him like a truck immediately. Right there, shoulder to shoulder with his captain he mentioned off handedly that he technically did not have a birthday. At least not that they knew of.

“You don’t know your birthday?” Kakashi- senpai said over the noise, turning his head and looking at the younger man with his usual soft, grey eyes. It made Tenzo blush when Kakashi looked so fondly over him in this kind of way that he couldn’t quite describe. Kakashi had always had this magic over him, ever since they had met for the first time two years ago.

“No. I - I don’t think experiments get such a thing”, Tenzo replied shyly. Kakashi frowned as he always did when Tenzo made himself look like he wasn’t a real human worth of dignity.

“Nonsense,” he said back immediately, “Every human on earth has a birthday. It's your choice whether or not you want to celebrate it.”

Tenzo didn’t know how he could reiterate that he technically did not have one, or at least one he was aware of, so he just averted his eyes. It was once again Kakashi who spoke. “Don’t worry, the next birthday we will celebrate will be yours.”

It sounded like a promise, but Tenzo didn’t dare hope.

Kakashi was a good person, way too good of a person for what Tenzo deserved. He was a busy person too, someone who knew many people in many places and got solo missions to do even without his anbu squad. Then there were also the periods in which he would just disappear without a word, spent nights and strangers' houses or out of the village, the times in which Tenzo didn’t dare ask where he went or where had come from. So all things considered, Kakashi was busy and his mind full with his own worries, so Tenzo did not think anything would come of the half promise.

He decided to just forget about it.

But with so many things in life, when it came to Kakashi-senpai, Tenzo was completely wrong about everything. Maybe two days had passed when there was a knock on his door suddenly. Since leaving Root, Tenzo had moved into this small ANBU apartment that was provided to him. He didn’t own anything, so Kakashi had helped with that too. It was the height of summer, which meant that his little place warmed up more than a hot spring could and he was laying flat on his back in his bedroom, a summed up branch of leaves fanning air into his face, when someone was on the door.

Tenzo at first didn’t even think of the promise, at least not when he opened the door and Kakashi was there, a bag stuffed under his arm. “Senpai,” Tenzo said in surprise, “Have you said you’d come over? “

It could be a mission, or it could be that Kakashi hat just decided to show Tenzo another recipe to cook, especially considering that he had apparently brought a box of groceries. The silver haired man took off his shoes wordlessly and only after moving passt Tenzo into the apartment did he finally turn around: “Well, yes you should have expected me, don’t you think?”

He made it sound like it was the most obvious thing that could have ever happened, but Tenzo’s face was just a big question mark. “Hm? Did you mention -”

“Because you spend birthdays with friends”, Kakashi cut him off, “And today is your birthday, so you should have known i'm coming over.”

Tenzo’s face fell a little and he didn’t know what to say in response to that. The promise came back into his mind “Today?” Tenzo said,voice a little shaky.

“Today,” Kakashi nodded. “August the 10th. Happy 16th birthday, kouhai.” He handed Tenzo the package he had been holding, and when the boy opened it he noticed that it was a round chocolate cake.

Not often was Tenzo thankful for his rigorous training in Root, that kept him from showing emotions too much, but right now, when his entire body wanted to fall over like a house of cards and sob, he was clad that he could push it away. “This is.. the nicest thing someone has ever done for me.. '' Tenzo articulated his thoughts out loud and was proud that he still did not burst into tears, even when he felt like doing so. “Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. “It’s just what you deserve, Tenzo, after all the hard work you’ve done in the past year.”

Tenzo took the cake and walked over to his kitchenette to put it down. His hands were shaking, but he was still successfully fighting off the tears. No matter what his senpai was saying, he didn’t feel like he particularly deserved this more than any other person, this attention Kakashi had been paying him ever since they had met. He knew that his Senpai had lived through some tough times before they met, that he was maybe hellbent on making sure they wouldn’t repeat themselves, but still, this was too much.

“There are others coming” Kakashi said casually and sat himself down at one of the only chairs that the tiny room had to offer. “They’ll bring some more things to eat and then we will have a proper party.”

“N-Nonsense, Kakashi-senpai, you did not have to do that at all.” Tenzo’s mind was racing with happiness and embarrassment. Had his complaining about not having a birthday led to this? He hadn’t really tried to force Kakashi’s hand, he wasn’t the type of guy that complained about stuff. If they hadn’t given him that one sake cup, maybe he would not have even thought about it. IN his mind Tenzo swore to never drink alcohol ever again.

The other man looked over and raised a brow. “You’ve never had a birthday, as you said” Kakashi tapped his fingers on the table. “I looked into your ANBU records, the ones that exist anyway, and it seems that you have not been lying about not having a recorded birthdate. So I thought, Let's just do it tomorrow.”

He stopped for a second, then: “And I invited other people, who all agreed to come immediately by the way, because you’ve never had one. Technically, there are 15 birthdays to make up for in only one and I don’t think I can provide that, but I can at least make your first one memorable.”

Tenzo leaned against the counter, eyes looking everywhere but Kakashi. He could not deal with compliments very well, the root training too ingrained into his mind, but he could especially not deal with Kakashi compliments very well. There was something about Kakashi that just made them extra special, as if a compliment done by his Senpai was worth ten compliments from someone else.

“Tenzo”, Kakashi got up and walked over to the other. Tenzo tried to go further back, escape his towering presence a little, but only hit the counter behind him. “The whole squad thinks you are doing a great job working with us, and we all like you, as a person, not a vessel. It was easy to convince the others to come, because they like seeing you happy.” A pause as if he was considering his next words. “I like seeing you happy.”

He could feel the warmth on his cheeks burning, but Tenzo’S heart felt so full and excited and happy in a way it rarely had before this. Every day Kakashi was showing him new things and taking him by his hand into this new world. One day maybe he would be able to repay that gift.

“Alright”; Tenzo said and his eyes moved into a smile, “Thank you for surprising me for my birthday. I like the 10th of August, square middle of summer. I am a summer child.” He went through it in his head. The idea that the only memory of his mother that he held onto like a lifeline was maybe a summer memory, when it was hot out and the cicadas were screaming in the background like a large orchestra.

“Sure, summer child. That is why you are always so upbeat and excited” Kakashi said a little sarcastically. “It’s almost like you are the most outgoing person in ANBU.” Tenzo punched him into the shoulder.

The rest of the squad arrived about half an hour later, by then Tenzo had thoroughly collected himself and adjusted into what he assumed was adequate for his birthday. Team Ro was not small, around 6 or 7 people led by Kakashi, but they were a constant revolving door as far as Tenzo could tell. People died all the time. So birthdays were celebrated bigger than maybe other squads did. Another year survived!

They brought more food, another cake, and sake for themselves. Kakashi looked with his stern captain's eyes at Crane who lifted the bottle out of the bag and said: “This is the birthday party for someone underage, put that away.” And if Kakashi said something in his Captain's voice, nobody objected. So this was surely not another afternoon in which Tenzo would try out alcohol.

What they also brought along was another stable of birthday celebrations: presents. Tenzo hadn’t even spared a thought about them, maybe because he had really never gotten one, other than the cake Kakashi had brought earlier, but when they started handing him things and patting on his back in friendship, he had to put all his willpower in not to cry again.

Most had bought things he could use on missions, bandages, special kunai, someone brought him wood works that he could have probably carved himself, someone else just bought him a plant for his apartment. Tenzo took all these presents gladly and placed them in front of him on his coffee table, admiring them like he had just found the treasure of a lifetime.

The best gift however, was given to him by Kakashi himself. Not that Kakashi would have needed to give Tenzo a gift, as he had already given him so much, but of course he did anyway, because that was just the kind of person Kakashi-senpai was. It was wrapped in paper sheets that looked like Kakashi had found it at any regular craft store in the civilian area of the village. When Tenzo what it was out of the paper he couldn’t hold a gasp back.

A new happuri, adjusted to his changed head and face. Lately he’d had a growth spurt and more and more had trouble with it not fitting quite right anymore. He’d loudly considered where he could go and get a new one, but then had never done it. Navigating the normal village world was still a little nerve wracking to him. But now here it was, a little big, but beautiful and shiny and a gift by his senpai.

Tenzo turned it in his hand speechless and then noticed that on the other side, the one that would link to the left side of his face, there was an engraving. Three little symbols and a date. Tenzo. 10.8. He rubbed his finger over it as if he couldn't believe it was there. Kakashi had engraved his name, his new name, and his new birthday. Seeing them both side by side on metal almost made it seem real. As if he was a real person that had always existed with this name and this birthdate.

They exchanged a look. Tenzo could feel the tears burn in his heart even if they did not burn in his eyes and Kakashi nodded slowly and then smiled. There wasn’t a word exchanged between them, because their faces said everything that needed to be said. Kakashi could see that Tenzo was touched and that was what mattered.

For the rest of the afternoon Tenzo’s eyes always went over to the happuri again, laying on the top of the gift pile. He didn’t know how long it would take him to grow out of this one, or if it would even survive that long. Even metal things could break on missions or get badly scratched, but still, it filled him with excitement to know he’d carry something Kakashi had picked for him from now on everyday.

It took a while for the first people to leave. Everyone was just too happy to sit around and eat cake and other sweets. Tenzo sat in the middle of his squad, all of them older than him, and listened to their stories, let them tease him and joke with him. He wondered if birthdays were always like that, happy and carefree and wonderful and how his life would have been if that fateful day he had not met Kakashi how his life would be now.

The sun had already set when the others left one by one. Tenzo was stuffed full with food and in a good mood, whistling like a child when he cleaned up the dishes they had used. Kakashi helped out with tidying up wordlessly, letting Tenzo whistle away in his own little world. Everytime Tenzo caught him in the corner of his eye he was smiling, which in turn made Tenzo smile even wider.

“I will go now too”, Kakashi said eventually, putting on his sandals at the door.

Tenzo walked him the two steps to the door as if he wouldn’t find his own way out. “Thank you for everything-'' he began, but was cut off immediately.

“I told you not to thank me. What I did today is nothing special and something every person deserves, especially if they are as hardworking as you are. I hope you enjoyed yourself, that is what matters.” Kakashi put his chin forward in a motion that showed he wouldn’t accept any discussion about this.

“I did”, Tenzo then said and opened the door for his Senpai. “I really, really loved it.”

Kakashi smiled. Even if you could not see his mouth he always looked good when he smiled. “Goodnight, kouhai.”

“Goodnight, senpai.”

Before he left Kakashi stood at the door and turned around one more time: “And oh, don’t expect me to come up with such a good gift every year from now on Tenzo. I’m a terrible gift giver, better get used to it.” Then he left.

#fanfiction things #kakayamaweek2022 #kakayama week 2022 #kakayama #hatake kakashi #yamato tenzo #oh ill just make this a quick 2k story she said #and writes 3k #askhdfdlksf anyway #au: ikigai

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cyhyr · 11 months

Text

There's Happiness Here, Chapter Three

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: Not Rated

Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/OFM, Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

WC: ~8935

Warnings: Choose Not to Warn (Because I don’t know yet what I will need to warn for)

Additional Tags: One Night Stands, Accidental Pregnancy, Identity Issues, Miscommunication, Panic Attacks, Unrequited Crush, Co-Parenting, Hatake Kakashi is Not Okay, but he’s doing his best, Cheating, Minor Character Death, Endgame KakaIru, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Hatake Kakashi-centric, One-Sided Relationship

A/N: I'm Alive! It only took mentally checking out of my job and deciding that work is the ideal place to write to get me to finish this chapter lol I didn't achieve everything I wanted to cover in this chapter, but it was already getting so long so I decided to stop and save it for the next one. Hopefully Chapter Four won't take (checks when I last updated) seven months to finish.

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Kakashi paces around the nursery, bouncing his son gently in his arms and patting his back. Ren grizzles tiredly, but Kakashi shushes him and tries some more to get the little boy to settle. He glances at the clock; just about one o’clock in the morning. Kakashi’s no stranger to sleep deprivation, but there’s something different about this kind of situation, of knowing that there’s every chance that Ren could sleep for only ten or twenty minutes before waking up again.

That’s what the books say, at least. It hasn’t happened yet. Actually, Ren has been very good about sleeping between two and three hours at a time, which is what the doctor said was right on target for a three-week-old infant.

Ren finally closes his eyes and gives one last sleepy whimper, and then Kakashi feels his body go lax in his arms. He doesn’t stop pacing for another five minutes or so, before going over to the crib and gently laying the baby down. He stays leaning against the crib rail for a few moments longer, watching his son sleep in the deep hours of the night.

Getting to experience this little miracle is worth the sleeplessness. He only wishes Minato, Rin, Obito, or even his father could be here with him.

“Kakashi-kun?”

“Yes?”

“Ren needs his diapers washed. I’ll fold and put them away, but could you…?”

Kakashi nods. “Does he have any clean ones left? Is it an emergency?”

Shizukana hums. “I think he’s down to four clean ones.”

He goes and gets started right away. If Ren does one thing well at nearly two months old, it’s soil his diapers. They go through clean ones so quickly, Kakashi has almost considered purchasing more for the changing table. Shizukana tells him not to, though, that he won’t need as many changes as he gets older and so the extra diapers will be a waste.

Regardless, he is pre-washing shit off of the dirty diapers in the bathroom when he hears Ren wake up crying in the nursery. He nearly drops what he’s doing and goes to his son when he hears Shizukana coming up the stairs, saying, “I’ve got him!”

He relaxes and goes back to the pile of diapers.

Shizukana told him to go and take some time out of the house, and so Kakashi is sitting on a tree branch in the park waiting for the three hours that she asked for to pass so he can go home and play with Ren again. He’s finally getting to the point where he can interact with toys and books, albeit slowly, and Kakashi finds himself delighted by each new discovery his son makes.

He’s been staring at the same page in his book for almost half an hour when Iruka happens to wander by and slump down onto the bench just below his branch. What a happy coincidence—

Except, Iruka doesn’t look particularly happy at all.

“Yo, Sensei,” Kakashi says, hopping down to stand in front of Iruka. Somehow, he manages to startle Iruka, making him jump just the tiniest bit before sighing.

“Kakashi-san, I didn’t see you,” he says. “I’m sorry. Are you having some baby-free time?”

Kakashi chuckles and shrugs. “At the demands of my co-parent, yes. She said I was hovering, that she wanted some time with just her and Ren.”

Iruka cracks a smile. “Somehow, I can see you being the hovering type.”

“I will take that as a compliment,” Kakashi grins. He watches as Iruka’s smile slowly fades and he becomes more thoughtful, staring at the ground between them. “Is something troubling you, Iruka?”

“Oh! No, nothing you need to concern yourself with!” Iruka waves his hands frantically. “I’m just thinking, and it’s a bit heavy, but really, I’ll figure it out.”

Kakashi hums. “If your thoughts are heavy, it’s best to let someone else help with them. If you feel like talking, I’ll listen.” He sits beside Iruka and stretches his arm out along the back of the bench, and if that happens to put his hand within reach of Iruka’s nape, well… that certainly wasn’t his intention. He sits there and waits until Iruka decides whether or not to say anything.

And eventually, he lets it all out.

Gods, has it really been that long? Is Naruto already eight years old, that Iruka would have him in his Academy class? Minato and Kushina have really been gone for eight years.

And Iruka doesn’t want to teach the jinchūriki. He’s having a hard time separating the boy from the Fox. He’s trying, he’s trying so hard, to look at his student and see anything other than the creature that killed his parents, among so many others…

“I don’t think I can do it,” Iruka sighs. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a teacher after all. Mizuki was right—”

“I think, of everyone in this Village, if anyone can reach Naruto, it’s you.” Kakashi sighs, wishing things were different, that Yondaime hadn’t died, that Kushina hadn’t lost control of the Kyūbi, that Sandaime hadn’t put a taboo on speaking about the circumstances of Naruto’s birth. “Actually, if anyone’s to reach Naruto, I really, truly hope that it’s you.”

“What—Why?!”

“Because you’re kind. And, gods, does he need that kindness, after the hate the Village has raised him with.”

Iruka turns to face him, slack-jawed and incredulous, and Kakashi gives him a soft smile in return.

“You would be good for each other, I think.” Kakashi feels a wave of melancholy as he continues, “if he’s anything like his parents, I think you could truly help him in so many ways. And don’t think I don’t notice that you need someone to dote upon.”

Iruka scoffs, but it turns into a laugh. “‘Dote’? Really? I have Mizuki, y’know—”

Kakashi shrugs. “And yet, my point stands.”

They sit together quietly for a little while, until Iruka sighs and stands up. “Thanks, Kakashi. I… I still don’t feel particularly ready to teach him, or to be around him, but I will do my best to try.”

“By even trying, you’re already doing better than the majority of the Village,” Kakashi murmurs. “I need to get home. My three hours away are almost up.”

Ren’s favorite place to fall asleep is on Shizukana’s chest, specifically when she’s rocking him in the nursery with the curtains closed. After the first feed of the day, some tummy time—as Shizukana calls it—and a chance to stop and slowly move through a board book so that Ren can truly take in and look at the pictures, she and Ren tend to rock and rock and rock. One of Kakashi’s favorite places is the doorway of the nursery, just to watch her and Ren rocking. He leans on the doorframe and smiles as she sings to him, some kind of lullaby that he doesn’t recognize.

Then again, Sakumo wasn’t the type to sing to Kakashi, nor was Kakashi the type to sit still and let himself be lulled in such a way.

She smiles back at him from across the room and pauses in her song. She wouldn’t do that if Ren weren’t already asleep. Kakashi watches her shuffle him in her arms so that her hand is free to sign, “Need rest. Can you take a watch?”

Kakashi nods and signs back, “Want me to take him?”

Shizukana shakes her head, and stands up, moving to lay Ren down in the crib. He continues to watch them both while she strokes his face a little bit to get him to settle back down, and then moves aside so that she can leave the room and close the door behind her. Kakashi stops it from fully closing, so that he can better hear when Ren wakes up.

She whispers, “He’s been up since three-thirty this morning.”

Kakashi winces. Infants shouldn’t be awake for more than six hours, let alone closer to ten. “I’m sorry,” he matches her volume. “I’ll wake you for dinner?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Kakashi-kun,” she says, and leans up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

He lets her, doesn’t flinch away. It doesn’t bother him like it would have a few months ago.

The summer ends and Kakashi has to return to active duty. He spends his last night off-duty holding and rocking Ren as much as possible; Shizukana smiles at them from the door whenever she passes by, and doesn’t once stop him from doting on his son or ask him to let her hold him instead. Kakashi passes him off only a couple times throughout the day, either to eat or use the restroom, but other than that he spends the whole day with Ren, memorizing his weight and his giggle. He reads story after story, plays with each and every rattle and twisting toy they have.

It’s not enough.

Four months is not enough time to have with his son.

The summons come early the next morning, before dawn, and Kakashi is pleased that the operative taps lightly on the window of the nursery, where he is standing over his son’s crib watching him sleep. He waves the operative inside, and they carefully lift the window and creep in to stand beside him. Weasel slowly takes off his mask and smiles down at Ren.

Kakashi whispers, “Do you like children, Itachi-kun?”

Itachi nods. “I remember when my brother was this small, taichou. I hope, someday, I can also have a son as sweet as yours.”

He preens inwardly, and then steps back from the crib. “You have orders?”

“Yes,” Itachi puts his mask back on, and Weasel continues. “A Meet and Greet with Ishigakure. We’re to meet atop the Hokage Tower at 0600 for further instruction.”

Kakashi hums his understanding. “Let me gear up and let Shizukana know I’ll be gone. Do we have a time estimate?”

“No, taichou.”

Ah, well. Kakashi waves Weasel away, back out the window, and goes to put on his ANBU armor. He peeks in on Shizukana, sleeping peacefully in her own room, and decides to instead leave her a note on her nightstand.

And before he leaves, he leans over the side of the crib and pulls down his mask, giving Ren a quick kiss on his little forehead. “Be good for your mother, please,” he whispers, and then he steps out through the window and runs to the Tower to meet his team.

For the first time since entering ANBU, Kakashi proceeds through the mission with a healthy measure of caution. Of course he looks out for his subordinate, but this time he also doesn’t take any unnecessary risks himself.

Anytime he thinks about doing something remotely reckless, he remembers his son waiting for him at home, and it quells the urge immediately.

The mission is completed, and he and Weasel head home.

He enters back into mission rotation, retains a team he hand-selects who all work well together. When he’s in the Village, he trains with his team on twelve-hour shifts, and the rest of the time he spends at home watching Ren grow.

When he’s in the field, Hound takes charge of the team and commands them with a firm hand. After three months back in rotation, not one single person from Team Hound has suffered a major injury. Minor scrapes and bruises are healed easily with standard-issue balms and chakra-infused bandages, and only once did Owl get hurt badly enough to warrant a night’s rest on the trail home, but she was fine by morning with Otter’s medical expertise.

Kakashi reminds his team, every time they go out into the field, to remain vigilant; that just because they’ve had a good streak, doesn’t mean their luck won’t spontaneously run out. They all understand how serious he is about this, and the only one who will even slightly joke about being reckless is Otter.

Cat is very quick to nudge Otter with his elbow to have them be quiet, to save their jokes for the trail.

The first flurries of winter have dusted the ground outside when Kakashi comes home from another mission. He slides in through his own bedroom window, removes his armor and locks away his weaponry, and then grabs a towel to go and shower off the grime of travel. Normally he would do this at the ANBU barracks, but today he’s just sweaty, as his mission had been simple reconnaissance and he hadn’t battled anyone at all.

He barely makes it to the bathroom, though, before hearing Shizukana call out to him from the nursery. “Kakashi-kun? Are you home?”

He sighs. “Yes, I’m going to shower and then I’ll check in with Ren.”

She squeals, and the door flings open. She lights up when she sees him, and his stomach drops to notice it; but she goes on and says, “Come here first, please! It’s important, I promise, and you don’t wanna miss it!”

Kakashi follows her back into the nursery, feeling like she might be overreacting—

Ren is sitting on the floor beside the crib, kicking at a small pile of toys around him and blowing bubbles. He looks up when Shizukana and Kakashi enter the room and smiles like the sun is out, then turns around and grabs onto the crib, pulls himself up onto his feet, and then tries to take an independent step towards them both.

Shizukana cries and coos, “Oh! His first steps! I just wanted to show you that he was beginning to cruise!”

Kakashi watches his son take one step, then two, and then fall forward flat on his face. Neither he nor Shizukana are close enough to catch him, nor do they react in time to stop it from happening. Ren lifts his little head and wails, and Shizukana immediately goes to pick him up and comfort him, rubbing his nose and face and making shushing noises to try and calm him down. Kakashi, instead, remains still.

His son just walked. At… eight months? It feels too early. His son was born only eight months ago. Surely he’s still too little to be walking, yet!

“Kakashi-kun!”

“Yes?”

Shizukana sighs. “He took a hard fall. I have to take him to the hospital to get checked over. Could you hold him for a minute while I get changed?”

Kakashi takes his son, and then says, “No need.” He steps over to the window, opens it, and makes Otter’s call whistle. He steps back a bit, just in time for Otter to flicker into place at their windowsill. Shizukana gasps, startled, but Kakashi gives her little attention and motions for Otter to come inside.

“Aww,” Otter says, slipping through the window. “Is this little Ren? He’s got a pair of lungs on him, huh?”

“He took a tumble and landed on his face. Could you give him a once-over, please?”

Otter nods. “Sure, sure. Babies aren’t my thing, usually, but anything for this little one.” Otter hovers a glowing green palm over Ren’s face and throat, using their other hand to lift up their mask so that Ren can see their face. They grin down at the baby, and ask Kakashi, “How’d he fall?”

“He was trying to walk and tripped.”

“Oh? Walking doesn’t usually start until eleven months. I thought the Hatake baby was about eight or nine…?”

“Eight. And yes, that’s what I thought as well.”

“Well, he is certainly Hatake,” Otter chuckles. Ren’s cries die down until he is only barely sniffling, and then Otter says, “There you go, Ren-kun! All better! You did so well!”

“Any breaks?”

“Nah, just a little bump on his nose,” Otter says, poking Ren on the very tip of his nose and making the little boy giggle through his drying tears. “It likely just startled him more than anything. Although, seriously, with babies you can never be too careful. If he had fallen backwards, definitely call any medic on duty, not just me, okay? That can get real serious real quick. But this time, his little tiny hands likely slowed his fall just enough that he didn’t get injured,” Otter finishes, reaching for and lightly grabbing Ren’s hands and waving them in time as they spoke. Ren giggles some more.

Otter steps back with a smile. “I gotta get back on my patrol. See ya, taichou.”

Kakashi nods. “Thank you, Otter.”

They replace the mask over their face and slide back out into the Village.

Shizukana, at the door, seems to finally unclench. “What the fuck was that?!”

Kakashi blinks at her and asks, “What was what?”

“That—you—you can’t just—!” She groans and stomps across the room and takes Ren from his arms, fussing over him and curling herself around him. “Does that ANBU even know how to treat children? Does she—”

“They,” Kakashi instantly corrects her.

“—have any experience with children?! How can we trust her diagnosis and—”

“Their.”

Shizukana scowls. “Stop interrupting me!”

“Stop misgendering them,” Kakashi says firmly. “Otter—Awaki Rakko is their name—is a medic on my team. They’re one of the most accomplished medics of our generation, and yes, they do have experience with children, as they have three much younger siblings. You have knowingly trusted them with my life for months now, I should think that we can trust them with Ren’s face in a moment such as this.”

Shizukana’s scowl deepens. “You can’t make those kinds of decisions unilaterally without discussing them with me first,” she says lowly. “This is my son, and I—”

“He is our son,” Kakashi corrects her again, “and I have just as much say in his healthcare as you do. I trust Otter inexplicably, and I should hope that you could extend that trust to me if not to them.”

Ren sucks on his thumb, leaning on Shizukana’s shoulder. Kakashi waits for the tension to ease, secure in his stance that he did the right thing for Ren.

She eventually sighs. “She—Sorry, they just startled me, I think. And… I’m sorry, Kakashi-kun, but I grew up very sheltered. Rakko-chan is a friend of yours?”

He frowns. “In a sense, yes. Rakko is a trusted ally. Any of the ANBU are, but particularly those on my own squad have a loyalty to me, personally. I’ve worked with Rakko for a couple of years now, and I would trust them not only with my own life—which I have, on multiple occasions—but with yours and Ren’s lives as well.”

“Then… okay. I’ll… I’ll try to do better by th-them. For you, Kakashi-kun.”

Kakashi nods. As long as she can try, for Ren’s sake, he’ll accept it. He ruffles Ren’s hair as he passes them to go and finally take his shower.

Kakashi stops counting the months as part of the year, but as pieces of Ren’s life that have passed. Ren is nine months old, and that means it’s almost March. He’s so small, and yet he manages to get into everything that isn’t locked away or put up high. Kakashi consults with Shikaku on what to do to stop Ren from getting at something that could hurt him, but the older man just chuckles.

“Kakashi, if a baby wants to get something, only their height and physicality will stop them. You can’t reason with a baby. Save that sort of thing for when he’s two or three and can understand the concept of no.”

He spends a weekend with Shizukana Ren-proofing their house, particularly the living room, nursery, and kitchen, where Ren spends the majority of his time. He’s fairly certain it’s not perfect, but he gets down on his hands and knees and crawls around at Ren’s height to see what else they could do to prevent their son from getting into trouble once he decides to try walking again.

Shizukana is happy with their work, and makes a nice dinner for them to share. They trade off turns feeding Ren, back and forth until more rice is in his stomach than is in his hair. Kakashi offers to clean up from dinner if Shizukana would like to give Ren a bath and get him ready for bed.

“Thank you, Kakashi-kun,” she smiles. “Would you like to join us for a story in a little while?”

He hesitates. Listening to a children’s story sounds awful, to be honest, but if it gives him more time with Ren… “That sounds fine. I’ll be upstairs in fifteen minutes.” “Perfect!” She gathers the sticky, rice-covered baby, and leans up to kiss Kakashi on the cheek. He lets her, again, but doesn’t let her linger like she clearly wants to.

He makes quick work of the kitchen and dishes, sweeps and mops the floor underneath Ren’s chair, all the while listening to Ren’s sweet laughter echoing from the bathroom just above him. Gods, he loves this boy with everything he is, but he just… he can’t find that same affection for Shizukana.

He’s not stupid. He knows that she’s infatuated with him, that their living together fulfills a fantasy in her mind. At some point he needs to sit down with her and reiterate that they are co-parents and roommates, nothing more. And this talk needs to happen sooner rather than later, before she forces his hand in such a way that ends up with her hurt. He likes having her here; the company is, strangely, nice, and it’s much easier to protect both his son and his son’s mother when they live in the same house as Kakashi.

He turns the water off and puts the last dish on the rack to dry, and is heading upstairs just as Shizukana is calling down to him that they’re ready for storytime.

Kakashi turns into the nursery and grins as Ren crawls over to him and uses his trousers to pull himself up to standing. He uses one hand to hold on and with the other makes a grabbing motion upwards and a giggle-grunt-cry. Kakashi leans down and picks Ren up, sighing as his son snuggles into his neck and coos at him. He sits down on the floor in front of Shizukana’s rocking chair, and places Ren on his lap so they can both listen to the story.

Ren is very good at sitting still for stories, especially when he lets Ren hold onto one of his fingers and chew on another. He’s starting to cut teeth, which is good for his development but must be hell on Shizukana’s attempts to continue to breastfeed him. How long does a baby need breastmilk, anyway? He’s already eating solids and drinking watered down juice with meals.

Shizukana makes odd sounds that have Ren giggling, moves the book around from side to side and up and down to have him follow it, all the while reading the book upside-down and backwards so that Ren can see the pictures the whole time. Kakashi does his best to follow her lead and also interact with him in the same way, leaning him to each side and bouncing him in his lap in time to the rhythm of the words. Ren seems to enjoy his efforts, and Shizukana grins at him from above the book.

“The end! Okay Little Man, time for bed!”

Ren flops around and giggles as he tries to “hide” under Kakashi’s arm. He and Shizukana play peek-a-boo around Kakashi’s limb for a minute or so until she scoops him up out of Kakashi’s lap and nuzzles him. Kakashi stands up and waits for her to place Ren in his crib, and then he leans over and runs his fingers through his son’s hair.

“Good night, Ren,” he says softly.

Ren babbles back at him. There are no discernable words yet, but it can’t be long, now… right?

Kakashi blinks at his assignment for the day, and looks up at Hawk for clarification. “What is this about?”

Hawk shrugs. “The jinchūriki has a new adult he’s latched onto, and Umino doesn’t seem to mind. Hell, from what I’ve seen, he’s encouraging it.”

“And we don’t trust Umino to keep himself safe?”

“Umino’s a chūnin,” he scoffs. “And not even an active duty one at that. Heard he was too soft for missions.”

Kakashi frowns. Iruka has his faults, but Sandaime has since entrusted a class of students to him, and the Village’s children are its prized possession. Sure, the Academy is staffed with chūnin, but they’re all very skilled chūnin; a few in particular he’s run missions with as ANBU alternates. The chūnin of the Academy are those who could test for tokujō or jōnin, but refuse to do so; either because they enjoy teaching or because Sandaime knows that if they were to rank up the Village would place them in the field, away from where they are most useful.

He leaves his gear and mask in his locker and heads out in his jōnin uniform. There’s every chance that Iruka already knows that he has a revolving guard, but if Kakashi has to spend the next twelve hours around him, he’d rather Iruka be fully aware of it. He makes his way across the Village quickly, landing silently on Iruka’s balcony at precisely 0630 for the hand-off. Kakashi nods and waves to Cobra up in the trees overlooking the building, and then walks around to the front door and knocks.

Through the door, he hears some grumbling and stumbling, and a very faint, “Naruto, stop leaving your stuff in the hall!” He can’t help the grin that comes with the understanding behind that statement, and is still smiling faintly when Iruka opens the door.

“Oh, Kakashi-san,” he says, startled. “It’s a bit early for a visit.”

Kakashi’s smile falters. “Is your heat not working?”

“Huh?” Iruka fiddles with the sleeves on his shirt. “Oh, no, it’s fine. I haven’t changed yet, actually, and I just like to sleep warmly. Is there something I can help you with?”

Kakashi shrugs. “I’m actually your guard for today.”

Iruka sighs. “Ah.” He steps aside to let Kakashi in, and more quietly continues, “the other ANBU are really good at what they do, truly, I just—”

“You’ve been vigilant,” Kakashi says. “It’s perfectly fine. We don’t tend to hide inside the Village, so that the citizens know what we look like and can tell the difference between an enemy and friendly ANBU.” Iruka’s apartment is cozy, lived-in and slightly chaotic in a way that suggests a child lives here.

“Right. Um, do you need anything from me today, or just…?”

“You can go about your normal routine,” Kakashi says. “I just felt odd tailing a friend for twelve hours without at least telling you that I’ll be doing so. If you’d rather I leave you alone, I can absolutely do that instead—”

“Oh, it’s fine! Whatever works best for you!” Iruka grins. “Ah, make yourself comfortable, I need to finish getting ready. And getting Naruto ready,” he adds as an afterthought, walking down the hallway to the bedrooms. He gives the second bedroom door a knock as he passes it, and then disappears into the main bedroom.

Kakashi takes the chance to look around a bit more. There’s a bookshelf of old scrolls and texts along one wall, and beside it another bookshelf of casual reading books and fiction novels, some of which he recognizes. He takes one of the scrolls off of the shelf and tries to unroll it, but it’s sealed tight and keyed to a specific chakra flow. Curious, he thinks, as he sets it back in its place.

The casual books are of a wider variety, ranging from simplistic children’s stories at the bottom of the shelf, to a small collection of non-fiction cooking and gardening books around waist-height, and at the very top Kakashi finds two pristine adult novels—Icha Icha Innocence, and the other of a similar genre, but from a different author. Kakashi flicks through Icha Icha Innocence, but the spine is stiff and the pages are still thick and stick together a bit. Iruka has never read it, which is fine because he really should read the other two in the series first.

“Iruka-sensei says those books aren’t for company.”

He turns and blinks hard. Gods, but Naruto looks so much like Minato, and yet he has that sweetness to his face that Kushina always had. The boy stands at the cusp of the hallway and the living room, scowling with his hands on his hips; in this way, he almost looks like Iruka, trying to be stern. Kakashi has to remind himself not to laugh.

The book goes back up on the shelf. “Certainly not for children,” Kakashi agrees.

“Who’re you?” Naruto asks.

“A friend of your sensei’s.”

“Why are you here so early?”

“Visiting with a friend and making plans for the day.”

He narrows his eyes. “Why do you smell like dog?”

Kakashi chuckles. “You can smell me from across the room? I’m impressed.”

Naruto opens his mouth to ask something else, but from down the hall Iruka calls, “Naruto, stop bothering Kakashi and go make yourself breakfast.” He grumbles a bit, but trudges off to the kitchen anyway. Iruka emerges from his bedroom, and Kakashi catches a glimpse of another figure rummaging around in the room before the door closes behind him.

Ah, yes; the boyfriend. Tanaka Mizuki. There are some… interesting theories, within the daily guard reports, regarding Iruka’s long-term boyfriend. Kakashi’s in no position to speculate, today, though.

Iruka grins as he passes, still tying up his hair as he walks to the kitchen. “Would you like breakfast as well, Kakashi-san?”

“No, thank you. I have to remain alert in case of emergency,” he explains quietly, so as not to disturb Naruto. Although, with the gusto and decibel that Naruto eats, it’s unlikely he would hear anything unless it’s shouted directly into his ears. He stands guard by the window while Iruka grabs himself something to eat, and stiffens when he hears footsteps coming down the hallway from the bedroom—

And then he remembers to relax, that he’s to respond to threats from outside the home, threats that could ultimately harm Naruto. Unless Mizuki makes a move against the jinchūriki, or Iruka makes a formal report, he’s well within his rights to do whatever he’d like behind closed doors.

Mizuki stops in the doorway of the kitchen and gives Kakashi a nasty look—curled lip, narrowed eyes, twitched hands and stiffened shoulders. He makes his way over to Iruka and wraps his arms around his waist from behind. Kakashi picks up the whisper Mizuki hisses into Iruka’s ear with a little bit of chakra flow to enhance his own hearing; “What the fuck is Hatake doing here?”

Iruka answers back softly, “Naruto needs a guard. Please don’t do anything rash.”

“I’ll do what I like,” Mizuki murmurs, and nips Iruka’s ear. Kakashi groans inwardly and turns aside, turning his gaze back to Naruto.

Iruka weaves his way out of Mizuki’s arms and asks Naruto, “Are you ready to go?”

Naruto nods and runs off down the hall, and comes back quickly with a small backpack on his shoulders. “Ready!”

Mizuki spins Iruka around and kisses him, and Kakashi herds Naruto out of the room and shoos him to the genkan to put his sandals on. He stays just outside the kitchen so he can still respond to any emergencies, but his stomach turns to hear Mizuki and Iruka making out less than three meters away. It’s awful, but it’s part of the job. Maybe something will attack and Kakashi can get Iruka and Naruto out and leave Mizuki to it.

They eventually leave, and Kakashi walks beside Iruka as Naruto runs ahead through the streets happily. He says nothing else to Iruka the whole way to the Academy, but cannot help his smile whenever Iruka calls out, “Naruto, too far,” or, “Naruto, back here please.” It’s how he imagines Minato would have spoken to the boy, and he’s glad that Iruka managed to open his heart in this way.

Kakashi can’t help but notice how well Ren cruises around his nursery, walking on steady, firm feet and strong legs. And yet, his son refuses to try to walk on his own again.

He’ll cry and reach for his parents, begging to be carried everywhere. Shizukana coddles him, of course; Kakashi is certain she doesn’t notice that Ren is perfectly able to walk, he just seems to not want to. Not that Kakashi himself is complaining, either.

Anything to give him an excuse to cuddle his son is a good thing. He might find himself concerned with Ren’s development if this persists, but the way that Ren gives him sloppy kisses on his cheek and neck after he picks him up can’t be a bad thing for now.

Kakashi is asleep in the nursery, his arm hanging over the side of Ren’s crib and his hand laying atop his son’s tiny back. He’s been drooling on his arm for some time, his mask pooled around his throat with his face turned away from the window. It’s certainly not a comfortable position to sleep in, but better than not sleeping at all due to a screaming, crying baby.

He snaps to instant alertness at the warming of his ANBU tattoo on his arm. A quick glance out the window shows shadows leaping across the rooftops in the barest light of early morning; hell, most people would still consider this nighttime. All of them are heading towards the same place—the Uchiha Compound.

Kakashi’s not allowed there. The Uchiha were gracious enough to let him keep Obito’s eye, but refused further contact or training in its usage.

The tattoo begins to burn, and the Village’s chakra alarms trigger. Konoha is locked down.

Kakashi scoops up Ren as carefully as he can, swaddling him as he walks down the hall to Shizukana’s room. She’s awake now and mostly alert, woken by the chakra alarms. “Kakashi—”

He places Ren into her arms. “Downstairs, now.”

“What’s going on?”

“I have to go, and you need to stay,” Kakashi says as he makes hand-seals and summons his pack. The dogs appear alert and ready for orders, immediately reading Kakashi’s emotional state and how agitated his chakra is. He sends Urushi and Guruko upstairs to gather his gear, Akino and Shiba to go ahead and report in for him, and Uhei and Bull outside to patrol the fenceline.

“Pakkun, Bisuke, you two will stay with Shizukana and keep her and Ren safe,” Kakashi says, lifting up a trapdoor in the kitchen. Bisuke hops down first and sniffs around, and Kakashi looks at her expectantly.

She shakes her head. “When did you have that installed?”

“Not important right now,” he says. “Please, something attacked a clan tonight. I have to go. Go down there, stay hidden and stay safe, until I come back or I send someone to collect you.”

“I could just go to my parent’s!”

“Shizukana,” Kakashi snaps. “This is not a time to argue. Ren is a clan child. A clan was attacked. I will explain anything you wish to ask of me, later. But please, for now, I need you to simply do as I say and protect our child.”

She hangs her head and noses at Ren’s hair. The baby is still sleeping. “How.. will I know it is you? Or someone you’ve sent?”

Kakashi thinks, and then whispers in her ear, barely speaking at all, “The password is Whirlpool.”

Shizukana nods, kisses his cheek, and then carefully hops down into the hole, using chakra to cushion her landing so that Ren wouldn’t wake. Pakkun nods to him, and then follows her down. Kakashi waits until they have a lamp turned on, and then closes the trapdoor and covers it with the mats. Turning around, Urushi and Guruko stand at attention in the doorway to the kitchen with all of his ANBU gear, and he’s quick to change and equip himself properly, rote and habit pushing him through where his hands want to stop and shake.

He doesn’t want to leave Ren.

Ren is as well-protected as he can be.

And yet, he doesn’t want to leave Ren.

But he has a duty to the Village.

“Ready, Boss?” Guruko asks.

Kakashi hesitates once more. “Urushi, stay behind and guard the house with Bull and Uhei. Guruko, with me.”

Then, he bolts off into the dawn to learn what happened to the Uchiha.

The Village remains quiet and on lockdown for almost a month following the Massacre, with only select teams being allowed to leave and come back. Kakashi’s squad is on Bunk, as Itachi was part of his squad, and so his whole squad is under investigation while each member is individually vetted and cleared for duty. Kakashi volunteers to undergo Yamanaka interference first, as the squad Captain, and ends up bedridden for the following day and a half to recover from the interrogation.

Inoichi is good at what he does, but he’s certainly not gentle.

It’s while he’s resting and recovering, and stuck at home for the month, that Shizukana decides to put Ren on more and more solids and to supplement with formula and milk instead of breastfeeding. Kakashi asks her once, and she blushes and says, “Well, I know that breastfeeding is supposed to help you… y’know, lose the baby weight, but I need to be able to start getting back into fighting shape! And I can’t do that with, um,” she grabs her chest and shrugs, giggling lightly.

Kakashi then blushes lightly, nods, and leaves her to it. Ren is close to a year old now, and it’s almost time that he’s weaned anyway.

The Hokage calls for him one day, and he sighs and contemplates getting geared up in ANBU armor before going if only so he doesn’t have to come home before leaving again. In the end, though, he simply leaves in his regular jōnin uniform, because he wants the excuse to return home and see Ren again before going out.

Sandaime is on the roof of the Tower when he gets there, smoking his pipe and looking out over the Village. “Come, beside me, Kakashi.”

Kakashi comes to stand almost beside him, although he does maintain a respectful distance and a step behind. But Sandaime waves him forward, “Closer, closer. This talk is nothing bad, I assure you.”

He clamps down on his chakra, ready to spike in his anxiety, and steps forward to stand beside Sandaime.

“I’ve been Hokage for a long time now, Kakashi. And I’ve seen many things, heard many different pleas from friends and family members of my ninja. Yet, what I was asked today is something different from much of what I’ve experienced.”

Kakashi stands still, waiting for the old man to go on, because he knows he will, eventually. Indeed, he needed to only stop for a puff of his pipe before he continues, “My son, Asuma, and two of his friends, Gai and Kurenai, came before me today, on your behalf. They have pleaded with me to remove you from ANBU.”

Silently, Kakashi berates his friends for getting involved. What could they say to Sandaime to convince him that Kakashi himself couldn’t—?

“They say that, if Itachi couldn’t make it in ANBU for a year without breaking, what’s to stop you from breaking soon, too? Gai reminded me that you’ve been a part of ANBU for almost ten years now. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Sandaime.”

“A decade of experience within the Ops, that cannot just be thrown away,” he says. Another pause to smoke. “I have reconvened with the other Elders on my council. They also agree that removing you from your post would be a detriment to our Village.”

“I understand.”

“And yet, there is an Uchiha boy who lives. The jinchūriki will need guidance and control. And you are our only active shinobi who still has the sharingan.”

“I… no longer understand,” Kakashi says slowly.

“Naruto and Sasuke are eight years old now. In four years, they will likely be genin.” Sandaime turns to look at him. “In four years, the council has agreed that you will take the two of them, plus whichever third student will fit best on their team, and become their jōnin sensei. Until then, you will continue to serve in ANBU. The last year before you leave the Ops, you will take teaching classes to learn to be an effective teacher.”

Kakashi’s mouth goes dry. A… teacher? Him?

Four Years?!

“This is your new mission. Do you accept it, as part of your duty to Konohagakure?”

Ren will be five years old. How much will he miss by then? But then… Ren will only be five years old. He’ll have so much more time—as a jōnin sensei, he can stay in the Village for much longer, training his team. Teaching them. He will be home with Ren to watch him grow up. It… it’s what he’d initially wanted.

But not for Four Years.

“I accept. Thank you, Sandaime.”

Step-Push, Step-Push, the wind glides past his ears and stings, bright and cold, against his open eye. He can hear Cat, Owl, and Otter in formation behind him, following his steps to minimize footprints. They may not be able to trick the best chakra sensors out there, but they can at least keep mundane methods of tracking from working so well.

They’re so far north, there’s still snow on the branches in early May.

And gods, it’s May. Kakashi has mere weeks to finish this mission and return home or else he’ll miss his son’s first birthday. He wasn’t stupid enough to promise Shizukana that he’d be back for it, but he wants to see his son spit all over his cake, make a mess of himself trying to eat it, run around with a silly hat on or maybe a sweet onesie that declares him the birthday boy.

He stops. His squad stops in the trees behind him. Cat comes to his right side.

“Our mark is in that village,” Kakashi murmurs. “Orders are to take him alive. Scroll-seal as needed, he’ll live through transit.”

Cat nods and signs back to Owl and Otter, and then leads Owl off to one side of the village while Kakashi and Otter go the other way. They both maintain their distance from the building where their mark supposedly frequents, where Owl and Cat went to, and keep watch from there.

Of course, no watch with Otter is complete without a horribly invasive question. They nudge him lightly and ask, “Did she get the shot like she said she would?”

Kakashi feels his face flush under his mask. “She takes a pill every morning. I checked the package, and it is signed and legitimate.”

Otter tsks. “Shots are better, especially if she plans on going back on active duty.”

“I’m not sure if she does,” Kakashi muses. Owl swoops into the top-most window, and Cat follows. “At least not until he’s older.”

“That’s fair, I guess. Personally, I like the shot. But I also don’t want kids,” they say much quieter, barely a whisper. “Not that I’ll have to worry about it, but… shit happens.”

Kakashi tilts his head aside a little at Otter, hoping for a further explanation, but they’re not forthcoming on any more details. And he won’t push. They’ll tell him if they feel ready. They both go back to studying the village’s rooftops, waiting for Owl’s and Cat’s silhouettes to grace the skyline. It’s an anxious few minutes, made worse by Otter nearly vibrating in place beside him, but he recognizes Cat’s spiky hair pop up, followed by Owl’s flowing ponytail, and they both begin to flicker over to the rendezvous point. Kakashi taps Otter’s elbow to signal that they’re leaving, too, and they all clear out of this cold village.

Cat confirms that they got the mark. Otter fusses over whether either of them need healing, which both Cat and Owl deny.

“Owl took a kunai to the shoulder, but her armor blocked most of the blow,” Cat explains. “We’re fine, and should get going. It took us nearly a week to get up here, and if we’re lucky, a week to get back.”

Owl nods. “This way, Hound won’t miss his little boy’s birthday!”

Kakashi winces. “Not here, and not too loud outside the Village.” He continues, signing, Secret.

Owl signs back an apology, and the squad takes to the trees once more. Kakashi lets Cat take the lead for now, and instead follows up at the rear until they leave the snow and cold.

Kakashi enters the house through his bedroom window, as is his routine. He will do whatever it takes to avoid having Ren ever seeing him in his ANBU gear, for the rest of his time in the Ops. That sort of fear is not something he ever wants to see on his own son’s face, and certainly not directed at himself. After he’s showered and changed and feels human again, he slinks out into the house and down the stairs where he can hear Shizukana and her parents chatting in the living room.

He’s still not exactly on great terms with Kame Kousuke and his wife, Nao. But they visit at least once a week, he knows, and Ren adores them. He has to develop some sort of relationship with them eventually. They are, afterall, his child’s only grandparents.

“Oh! Kakashi-kun! You’re home early,” Shizukana gasps with a smile, standing up and leaving the kotatsu to come to the doorway and greet him. “I thought your mission was—”

“S-rank, Shizu-san,” Kakashi reminds her. “The details of which are still not to be discussed around those without the proper clearance. Yes, even a timeline.” He bows respectfully to both Kousuke and Nao, and greets them individually. They only give him a frown and a nod of acknowledgement back, but it’s more than he was honestly expecting.

“Sorry, Kakashi-kun,” Shizukana says. “But really, it’s just my parents. They would never—”

He holds up his hand. “You have no idea the kinds of things people will say when under torture, and I pray to each of the gods that Ren’s grandparents never have to find out their own limits. There is nothing else to discuss, S-rank details are confidential for a reason and I’m sure O-jiisan can appreciate that.”

He glances over to the two parents, and sees, for the first time, the barest hint of a smile in Kousuke’s eyes, even if it doesn’t show on his mouth. Shizukana, however, crosses her arms and huffs. Kakashi sighs and pulls her in for a hug to placate her.

“Where’s Ren?”

“Oh,” she smiles, leaning into his side and pulling him around the kotatsu. “Come here, right there, that’s it.”

Around the other side, playing with blocks at Nao’s side, Ren was just hidden by his grandmother’s profile. Shizukana gets their son’s attention. She turns him around and points to Kakashi, and Ren’s face lights up in a bright grin.

And then he stands.

And he walks. Confidently, strong legs and arms up for balance, feet tap-tap-tapping on the mats as he giggles across the length of the room. Kakashi feels like this moment goes on forever before he crouches down in time to pick up his son and swing him into the air, spinning and cooing.

“What a big, strong boy! Look at you go, how long has he been walking like that?” Kakashi exclaims.

Shizukana giggles. “He’s been practicing for about a month, but I think he wanted to wait until he was sure of himself before he really tried again. He walked over to greet my parents this morning when they came over, and so I was really hoping that he’d do it again for you.”

“A month?” Kakashi asks, his happiness scattering a bit. He’s only been on this mission for two weeks. And before that, his Squad was still on lockdown. How did he miss this?

Nao nods. “You have a strong son there, Hatake. Yearlings don’t tend to walk so confidently, not in my experience.”

“He has another trick up his tiny sleeve that he’s been working on,” Shizukana says excitedly. She holds out her arms and Kakashi passes Ren over to her. They sit back down at the kotatsu, and Shizukana holds up a piece of fruit for Ren to take. “Ren, what is it?”

“Foo!!”

Kousuke chuckles, “He’ll need to work on his diction, but he certainly has the spirit.”

Kakashi looks on in wonder. “Talking, too? What other words does he know?”

Shizukana grins so wide and takes Ren’s hand. “Ren, who’s that?” she asks, pointing across the table.

Ren looks up from his fruit, smiles at Nao, and says, “Baa!”

All four adults coo and sigh. Shizukana points to Kousuke next and asks, “Who’s that?”

“Jii!”

Kousuke chuckles. “That’s Jii-chan to you, mister.”

Shizukana then turns Ren around and Ren’s smile grows ever bigger. He’s caught onto the game and leans forward to plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek, and says, “Mama!”

“That’s right, sweetie! So smart, Ren!”

Kakashi can’t help but feel left out, but he doesn’t want to push it. If Ren doesn’t have a word for him yet, it’s his own fault for not being here. But Ren turns to Kakashi, crawls across Shizukana’s lap and into his own, and bounces on his thighs while giggling for a moment and then puts his tiny palm on Kakashi’s cheek.

“Kaka!”

His heart drops. He’s away so much that his son knows him only by his name.

The joyous mood in the room sours, to the point where Kakashi himself can feel it. He keeps playing with Ren while Kousuke and Nao make their excuses to leave and Shizukana sees them to the door. He can hear them whispering harshly to each other, and if he would bother to enhance his hearing with a bit of chakra he could probably make out what’s being said. But they wouldn’t be whispering if they wanted Kakashi to hear them, and so he’ll give them their privacy.

Shizukana eventually comes back into the living room and sits down beside him, and he lets her take Ren and put him back with his toys for a while.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “I didn’t realize that he had picked up on my calling you Kakashi all the time.”

He sighs. “I’m sorry I’m not home more often to correct the situation.”

Her face crumples and she crosses her arms like she’s about to say something that’s going to make Kakashi feel worse about this situation, and he doesn’t need that right now, not after coming off a mission.

“I need you to try and curb this quickly, before Ren calls me that in public. Please.”

“If you could just get a village-bound—”

“Shizukana,” Kakashi stops her, “I told you already. I have four years, and then I will be mostly homebound. Until then, the Hokage will not let me leave ANBU. Stop asking me to abandon my duty to our Village.” He sighs and continues, “Regardless, we both know that it will mean more coming from you than from me. You’re his mother, and he’ll take his cues from you. Please, I need your help with this.”

Still pouting, she turns her face away from him. He can see her shoulders draw up to her ears, one of her tells that she’s upset. He tried to soften the snap with a compliment on her role as Ren’s mother, because she is a fantastic parent to their son, but she has to drop this issue about him getting a different assignment. Four years.

He tries a different approach. “Please,” he asks quietly. “Imagine if he’d called you Shizu instead of Mama.”

She stiffens and turns halfway back to look at him through her bangs. “That does sound awful,” she whispers.

He nods. “If it had happened, I would have called you mama, for him, every day for the rest of our lives if that’s what it took for him to change his language. Please, can you give me the same grace?”

She leans up against his shoulder, and Kakashi wraps his arms around her. Another one of her tells—this one, however, is a sort of apology. “There’s no guarantee,” she says. “Oftentimes, when a baby decides a word means something, getting them to change it is like moving a mountain.”

Kakashi sighs against her temple and says, “That you’ll try and give it your best attempt is all I ask.”

Ren sees his parents snuggling together beside the kotatsu and toddles over to them, falling into Shizukana’s lap and snuggling, too. Kakashi gathers them both in his arms and sighs, because if having Ren means having Shizukana, then he can admit it’s not a terrible package. He certainly wouldn’t have been able to do this parenting thing on his own. Ren would have been taken as a ward of the Village, and Kakashi would have been lucky to see him once a month.

This arrangement comes with its own challenges, of course. Shizukana is infatuated with him and he still doesn’t get to see Ren as often as he’d like. And then, of course, there’s the hopeless crush he’s nursing on a certain sensei…

But here, with Ren giggling in Shizukana’s arms, getting raspberries blown on his cheeks, and Shizukana’s own warm weight against his side… he could be happy here anyway.

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Tips appreciated 💛

#my writing #hatake kakashi #kakashi/ofc #kakairu #umino iruka #kid fic

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