Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, Kakashi, or any other of the characters. If I didn’t I’d be uber rich and I’m not ;p
“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.”
― Lemony Snicket
Chapter 1
Dog walked into the Hokage’s office an hour past the time of his appointment. However the Hokage merely smiled, and waved him to a chair as he finished the last piece of paperwork in front of him. As Dog sat he took in his surroundings, noting the two ANBU on guard and the aid that was standing next to the Hokage’s desk waiting patiently to carry the paperwork away.
“That will be all for now,” the Hokage said, sighing and putting the scroll on top of a stack over a foot tall. “Rabbit and Boar, you two may go as well. Come back in half an hour or so.”
The aide scurried out and the two ANBU guards followed after giving a sharp salute. Behind his own mask Dog raised an eyebrow in surprise but said nothing. As the door closed, the Hokage sighed again.
“Remove your mask please,” Sarutobi said. “I’d rather have this conversation with Kakashi, not Dog.”
“Yes sir,” Kakashi said, removing his ANBU mask, and tucking it into his pouch. His white hair hung haphazardly over his face, covering part of the scar that ran down the left side of his face. He closed his left eye out of habit and then gave the Hokage an inquisitive look with his remaining eye.
“I have two things we need to discuss, so I will start with the easier of the two,” Sarutobi said, giving him a small smile. “I want you to take over as head of ANBU. As you are aware, ANBU traditionally reports directly to the Hokage. However I am concerned about the actions of Danzo’s Root division and about the loyalties of some of the other ANBU members. I want you to restructure its members and eliminate any threats. I trust you to use your best judgment on how to handle each situation.”
“Hnn,” Kakashi said as he tilted his head in thought.
“I will not order you to do this,” Sarutobi added, “however you are my first choice for the job, so I hope you will accept.”
“Hai, Hai, I’ll do it,” Kakashi replied nonchalantly. “Any particular way you’d like it restructured?”
“I want those who you trust reporting directly to you until it is finished. I will not be able to speak to you much about it, given the nature of the mission. But for now you will go back to being Hatake Kakashi, and Dog will be permanently on a mission elsewhere,” Sarutobi said.
“Alright.”
“Good, now for my second request. Again, I will not order you to do this, but I hope you will consider what I am asking you to do,” Sarutobi began, and Kakashi’s ears pricked a little at the hesitation in the Hokage’s voice. “I am searching for a guardian for Uzumaki Naruto. I realize you are quite young yourself, but the boy needs someone to look after him. Someone that will hopefully spend more time making sure he is safe instead of allowing harm to come to him.”
Now Kakashi understood, and he merely stared at the Hokage as he thought over what he knew of the boy. The Kyuubi was sealed within him, and he had no living family. As far as Kakashi knew, he was fostered with some villager or another. The few times Kakashi had seen the boy, he had been wandering about the village by himself. The Hokage ignored his blank stare and continued on.
“He is your sensei’s son, so I had hoped maybe you would be able to look past the monster sealed inside him to see the Yondaime’s legacy.”
“Why?” Kakashi couldn’t help but ask.
“As I said, he is Minato’s son, and whoever looks after him needs to be strong enough to protect him. He has already been hospitalized at least three times in the last six months from various attacks on him by the villagers. If it isn’t stopped now, the next time he may not get off with just a collection of bruises and a broken bone,” Sarutobi said sadly. He considered it his greatest failure that he had been unable to do as the Yondaime has wished. Instead of the villagers seeing Naruto as a hero, they saw him as the scum of the earth, not worth their protection or aid. In fact many actively sought to harm the small child. “He is four years old and mostly keeps to himself, so you should not find him too difficult to care for.”
“Hokage-sama, I don’t know how to be a father,” Kakashi said with a grimace. “I didn’t exactly have a sterling example myself.”
“I understand that you feel unprepared, however all new parents feel that way. And you must realize that Naruto is not an ordinary child, so anything you might have known would probably be useless anyway,” Sarutobi said with a laugh before his face sobered up again. “There is also the chance that you will truly be more of a guardian than a parent.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Naruto doesn’t trust most adults, so he is unlikely to call you father or automatically accept you as family, even if that was what you wanted. If you define your relationship with him as the person who provides food and shelter, he may merely accept that as the status quo and not seek any further contact with you,” the Hokage explained, his shoulders falling under the weight of his self accepted guilt. “He is very lonely Kakashi, and things will only become more difficult as he gets older.”
“I understand,” Kakashi said softly after another minute. “I’ll take him in, though I still don’t think I’m the best choice.”
“Thank you Kakashi.”
Kakashi nodded in response and stood, pulling his mask out and sliding it back on.
“I’ll see to the paperwork, and you can pick him up from the hospital tomorrow after you move into your new home.”
Kakashi nodded again and slipped out the window as Rabbit and Boar returned, the time limit up.