Chapter Text
(I don't own any characters etc etc)
“Wait up, Naruto!” Iruka called out, laughing as he ran after the young boy.
“Iruka! Come on!” Naruto called back. The nine year old ran around the park in front of him and Iruka shook his head as he ran to catch up.
“There’s shrines in this area, be a bit more respectful,” Iruka reminded him, flicking his forehead with a finger.
“Ow!” Naruto cried, rubbing his forehead where he had been hit. “Okay, okay, I get it. Where is it?”
“Straight ahead and down another path, but no running,” Iruka cautioned him. “Come on.”
He led the way around the park this way and that until they came to a small shrine, a bit more tucked away from the main area.
“It’s all by itself,” Naruto commented, pouting slightly. “Are you sure this is it?”
“Yep, don’t you see the dogs?” Iruka asked, steering them closer.
A small wooden structure offered shelter to a small stone altar that had writing on it, decorated by colorful dog paw prints; several statues of dogs were on either side of the altar. One was on guard duty, sitting upright. Another was lounging, head on its paws, and a third was curled up, asleep.
“But it’s by itself,” Naruto repeated. “Why? Will it still work?”
“The dogs like peace and quiet,” Iruka told him. “They’re protecting this part of the park, so they need somewhere off the beaten path to rest up. And sometimes pregnant women come here to ask for help for a safe and smooth pregnancy, as they do for some other shrines or even dog statues at shrines. So moms-to-be like peace and quiet, too.”
“But will it work?”
“Sure, if you have faith. And if you behave at home, the guardians of this shrine won’t help you if you’re a bad kid.”
Naruto solemnly nodded before stepping up, taking dog biscuits out of his pocket and leaving them on the shrine.
“My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” he yelled, before Iruka suggested he speak a bit softer. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto,” he continued in a regular tone. “And I’m turning ten next month, and I want a dog for my birthday! My parents might get me one, if you can help me convince them!”
Iruka rolled his eyes. “Tell them why you want a dog, what you’ll do to care for it.”
“Yeah! I want a new furry best friend to run around with and play with and help keep the apartment safe! I’ll walk and feed it every day and clean up after it, and I’ll let it sleep in my bed even though I don’t think Mom wants that,” he said in a whisper, making Iruka laugh. “It’ll be the most loved dog in the world, believe it!” He turned to Iruka. “Iruka! Say something too!”
Iruka smiled and moved to be next to Naruto, bowing slightly. “Hello, my name is Iruka. My parents brought me here when I was Naruto’s age, I don’t think you’d remember me though, it was a long time ago,” he said, wistfully remembering the days he had his parents. He shook his head to clear those thoughts; this wasn’t the time for that. “I wanted to share this with Naruto, as he looks for help in getting a dog. I can vouch for him that he’s a good kid and will definitely take care of it, and he’s got a loving, safe, comfortable home. His parents will be a great help in caring for the dog, but it will be Naruto’s main responsibility.”
“Thanks!” Naruto cheered. “Here’s some dog biscuits for your dogs, I’ll come back at least once a week to leave some more and make sure you remember it’s me! And when I get a dog, we’ll come by so they can meet you and leave more treats!”
Iruka smiled. “Good job, kiddo. Should we say goodbye?”
Naruto nodded and they bowed, asking for the spirits to keep watch over them and keep them safe, and patted the statues’ heads for good measure before walking away, talking more about trying to convince Naruto’s parents to get him a dog.
___
That had been at the end of the summer, when Iruka had already been two weeks into his last year of grad school and Naruto was about to go back to school himself.
Iruka had babysat Naruto for much of the summer as needed, as he often did. Iruka met the Uzumakis in undergrad, when he had connected with their business for a semester-long internship. He had stuck out a bit, as he had gotten a later start to school than his peers. He lost his parents when he was ten years old and had entered an orphanage, but not been adopted. Not that he minded, for he had no intention of replacing his parents. Instead, after a period of attempting to grieve by playing numerous pranks that got out of hand, his high school principal Mr Sarutobi sat him down, normalized his grief, and encouraged him to focus on his future.
Iruka straightened up and focused on his few trusted friends, school, and work, once he was old enough, making sure he had enough saved to rent a place with his friends once he aged out of the orphanage.
He earned some scholarships but still needed to work to fund his education, and took longer than some to complete his first degree. But it had been Mr Sarutobi, a continued support for him, who had introduced him to the Uzumaki’s so he could apply for that internship. Iruka had proved to be a great student there and while they had no openings at work, he did form a mentorship and friendship with the two, soon extended to their only child who had been quite young then.
And now, Naruto viewed Iruka as his big brother, having nearly grown up with the man’s presence around in some capacity, as Minato and Kushina viewed Iruka as family as well. So at 27, Iruka could now say that he had a family of his own again, though not one that replaced his parents.
It was nice to begin to return to the dog shrine, a place Iruka hadn’t thought of in many years until Naruto began to ask for a dog. And returning there, Iruka felt a connection to his parents he hadn’t felt for some time, though he still thought of them often.
So, as both he and Naruto focused on schoolwork and whatever else in their lives, they still made time to hang out even if babysitting wasn’t needed per se, and as promised, made regular trips to the shrine, leaving dog biscuits each time.
____
Kakashi yawned and stretched as he woke, reaching for the book on his chest. The dog perched underneath also stretched, having been woken by him.
“Sorry, Bisuke,” Kakashi apologized, rubbing the dog’s head before gently picking him up as he stood, putting the dog back down on the hammock he had just left.
Grabbing his book, Kakashi smoothed down his dark blue kimono as he walked towards the house, running a hand through his grey hair, then over his face.
“Are you finally up?” a male voice called out as soon as Kakashi slid open the door.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, dad,” he called out. “What do you need?”
Sakumo rolled his own eyes as Kakashi entered the room he was in. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”
“What? ‘Dad’?” Kakashi asked as he sat down, joining his father for tea. “It’s what people say these days, what they’ve been saying for years. ‘Father’ feels too formal now.”
“We’re hundreds of years old, we can afford to be formal,” Sakumo sighed. He was in his own kimono, a light blue one with the Hatake family symbol on it in various spots and a red obi.
“We’re hundreds of years old, we can afford to be formal,” Kakashi said in a mocking voice, and Sakumo sighed again as he reached over to pet one of their largest dogs, who had just wandered into the room.
“You’re far too old to be such a brat,” Sakumo told his son.
“Probably, but what else have I got to do?” Kakashi sighed. “I do all my chores here, the house and garden are safe, dogs are cared for. We aren’t in need of anything, fortunately. I’m grateful I have so much time to just rest, relax, and read.”
“Anything new?” his father asked as he sipped tea.
“A few books I picked up when I went mortal-watching last time, including some free ones some libraries were getting rid of. They’re not bad, I may have to see if I can get more of a few of the authors.”
“Then it’s a good thing I have something for you to do!” Sakumo cheered. Kakashi, on the other hand, knew his father well enough to be suspicious.
“What is it now?” Kakashi sighed.
“We’ve been getting regular visitors at our shrine,” Sakumo announced, and Kakashi had to admit he was surprised.
“Really?” he asked, and Sakumo nodded. “Oh, let me guess, some pregnant women? Just send Akino or Shiba.”
“Not just them –”
“No, tell me it’s not another newly single person praying at every shrine they come across for their ex to come back? I can’t take that again!”
“For someone who reads so many romance stories, I find that hard to believe,” Sakumo mused.
“If life was a romance story, or even half as much as what I read, it would be different,” Kakashi dreamily sighed.
“Anyway,” his father continued. “It’s two visitors who always come together. I want you to start keeping an eye on them. A young guy, and a kid.”
Kakashi groaned and ran a hand over his face again as he dramatically flopped on the floor. “Dad! Send Bull, okay?” he asked, looking at the very dog his father was petting.
“It’s not the just dogs’ jobs to watch over whoever pays respect to us,” Sakumo reminded him in a firm tone.
“Sure, but he can do preliminary work,” Kakashi suggested, still laying on the floor.
“I thought you like visiting mortals? You were just talking about their books.”
“Meh, I don’t feel like it right now,” Kakashi sighed. “It’s getting colder there.”
“Kakashi.”
“Bull, back me up!”
Bull shrugged. “I could check it out first,” he agreed in a deep voice, and Kakashi smiled.
“Thank you, Bull,” he said in a singsong voice. “Now if that’s all, I’ve got some fish to feed.”
Sakumo shook his head at his antics. “Sometimes I don’t think you take this job seriously.”
“I take it very seriously,” Kakashi said in a firm voice. “But it’s monotonous more often than not, especially compared to what we used to do. And I need some way to pass the time.” He stood to begin to leave the room.
“One day you’ll have more purpose to this part of your life,” Sakumo called out. “Perhaps meet a nice partner, settle down? Just like I did with your mother…”
“And that worked out so well, didn’t it?” Kakashi sighed.
“It’s not her fault we were killed in battle,” Sakumo reminded him. “She remarried, and that broke the connection we would have had here, not that we knew that before. At least we know she lived a happy life.”
“She did, and we got the role of the Hatake shrine guardian, relieving the last guardians of the shrine,” Kakashi recalled in a weary drawl. “And since it’s just us, the Hatake clan died out and we’re here for eternity.”
“I know you’re restless sometimes, that this wasn’t how your life was to have turned out,” Sakumo said in a soft voice. “As your father I wanted you to have a fulfilling life when the area found peace again. To travel, marry, have a business, a farm, whatever you wanted. But we always knew, you and I, that this was going to be part of our life as well. It just came far sooner than we thought, and it's just us.”
“I know, Father,” Kakashi agreed, falling back into traditional terms. “But look at me, I’m a spirit guardian, meeting someone is out of the question, has been for years. That doesn’t happen with us. And I’m grateful to at least be here with you, and all of the pack,” he said, glancing around at where other dogs milled about. “It’s more than I deserve, with some of the things I did on the battlefield.”
“You were a brave soldier, and fought well,” his father reminded him. “Don’t forget that you saved countless lives, too.”
“Sure,” Kakashi sighed, clearly eager to leave and end the conversation.
Sakumo gave him a small smile. “Just promise you’ll check on our visitors if Bull has anything to report, okay?” His son nodded, and Sakumo smiled again. “Good. Now go on, I’ll see you later.”
And with that, Kakashi left, both men reflecting on their lives from so many years ago.