Chapter Text
When Kakashi first saw the files of the children who would act as his new Genin team, maybe his eyes should’ve been drawn to Sasuke.
Last Uchiha, a prodigy, aced the academy; it was only natural he’d be the priority.
But that’s not who Kakashi’s eyes focused on initially.
Instead, his attention was on a certain blonde-haired shinobi, the son of his old sensei. Naruto Uzumaki, host of the Nine-Tailed fox.
“I don’t understand…” Kakashi muttered out. “Why now?”
It made no sense to Kakashi. For the last twelve years he’d been forced to keep his distance from the child. To pretend like he didn’t know him or his parents. To pretend like he wasn’t practically family in Kakashi’s eyes. To pretend like he hadn’t already loved him.
Because he’d watched over a pregnant Kushina. And their unborn child was already in Kakashi’s pack from the moment he’d heard about the pregnancy.
It’d been traumatic enough, getting the news that Minato and Kushina died. But then to be told it was too dangerous, too risky to let Kakashi look after their offspring.
Granted, Kakashi had only been sixteen when Naruto was born, but that didn’t matter. To this day, twelve years later, Kakashi firmly believes he would’ve figured it out. He would’ve made it work. It would’ve been better than Naruto being sent off to an orphanage and then ultimately living alone with no one to care for him.
But Hiruzen refused to not look at the bigger picture. Refused to be biased, as he put it.
I have a whole village to think about, Kakashi. Those had been his words. The council has decided, Naruto cannot be under guardianship of a single person; it’s too risky. From now on, he’ll be under my jurisdiction.
Kakashi vaguely remembered acting very unlike himself that day. Going off on the Hokage as if he was just some average civilian. Screaming at him over the injustice of it all.
But no matter how much he pleaded, made his case, or shouted, it didn’t change anything. Kakashi wasn’t Naruto’s relative by blood; he was powerless.
And even worse, bound by an S-Rank law, forbidding him from sharing anything about Naruto’s parents. Hiruzen claimed it was for Naruto’s own safety, but Kakashi knew that was bullshit.
It was for the village’s safety.
And what’s one boy compared to an entire village?
Hiruzen sighed, having expected Kakashi’s question. “It wasn’t the original plan. Naruto wasn’t supposed to have passed, but there was…special circumstances.”
Kakashi’s eye narrowed. “Special circumstances?”
“He knows now, of the Nine-Tailed fox inside of him.”
Kakashi nearly fell over when Hiruzen dropped that bomb on him. He…He knew? Naruto knew now? Since when!? Was he okay? Kakashi couldn’t even imagine how much that was to process for a twelve-year-old kid.
Hiruzen clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on his desk. “With him and Sasuke Uchiha graduating at the same time…the council thought it best if they were put on the same team, with you as their sensei.”
Those words caused a pit in Kakashi’s stomach. Ah. So that’s how it was.
It didn’t take long for Kakashi to piece it all together, and it just made him angrier when he did. “I see. Sasuke’s on my team because I have a Sharingan, and the council wants to make sure the Nine-Tailed fox is…properly secured. Did I get all that right?” He couldn’t help the bitter tone in his words.
Hiruzen nodded, knowing there was no point in sugar coating it. “The Sharingan can be used to stop the Nine-Tails, should it rampage. I see no reason Sasuke won’t develop the Sharingan as he matures. It’s good sense to have him on the same team as Naruto.”
Good sense. A team, designed with keeping the Nine-Tails down in mind, and not anything else.
“Who’s the third member?” Kakashi questioned, if only to keep himself calm.
Hiruzen opened the third file to show a picture of a young girl, Sakura Haruno.
Kakashi skimmed her file, and scowled behind his mask. “She’s from a civilian family. She has no special abilities. How is she supposed to keep up with them?”
Hiruzen eyed him plainly. “She probably won’t.”
She probably won’t.
Kakashi would never cuss out the Hokage (at least, not as a grown adult), but his internal thoughts sure were colorful. “This team is doomed to fail, you can’t seriously expect me to take them on.”
Hiruzen’s gaze grew stern. “Naruto must be put under supervision, Kakashi. Otherwise the council will push for solitary confinement, or worse. I don’t want that to happen, but this is the only alternative.”
Suddenly, Kakashi felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It wasn’t fair. Why was this being put on him? Naruto’s entire future would be determined based on whether or not Kakashi passed the team?
If he passed them, they were probably doomed to fail anyways. A team designed purely for the village’s selfish reasons instead of what would make an optimal team…
But if he didn’t… what would become of them?
Sasuke was special, important to the village. They won’t want to waste time.
God forbid Root gets their hands on him…
The idea sent chills up Kakashi’s spine.
Sakura would probably go to another Genin team, or be forced back into the academy if there were no available team members or sensei’s. She was already at a disadvantage with her background, and being held back an entire year would greatly damage any possible ninja career she might have.
And Naruto…
Kakashi knew how the council felt about him. They were just waiting for an excuse to lock him up. He’d be treated like some secret weapon should Konoha ever go to war again. He’d exist to be used and abused, never knowing a life outside of being a tool.
If Minato and Kushina were around…if they knew…
They’d rip the entire village to shreds for putting their little boy in this position.
There was no winning in this situation. Not really. But there was a very obvious less of two evils.
Kakashi swallowed thickly, unable to believe the decision he was making.
“I…I accept.”
Not that he had much choice.
At least, that’s how it felt.
Kakashi didn’t know anything about teaching children.
There’s a reason he’d failed every other Genin team he’d been assigned previously. Partially because he’d been a bitter twenty-two-year-old with nothing to lose and if he was gonna be forced off ANBU and made an instructor, he was going to make it clear what a mistake that was.
But it was also partially because he had no idea what he was doing.
Growing up, it’s not like Kakashi had many parental figures to lean on, at least not for very long. His mother died giving birth to him, his father killed himself when he was five, and then Minato and Kushina died when he was sixteen.
What’s a boy to do without anyone to guide him and teach him? The closest experience he had to teaching was being an ANBU captain, and that was a completely different ball game.
He couldn’t strong arm these children into being what he needed them to be, they were twelve and in a time of peace, at least compared to when Kakashi was their age.
‘What would you do, Obito?’ Kakashi couldn’t help asking internally as he stood in front of the memorial stone.
If Obito were still around, he’d probably laugh his ass of at the idea of Kakashi teaching.
Bakashi? A teacher? Yeah right, he’s just gonna traumatize them!
And Rin would defend him, because she was just that kind, even though internally she’d be agreeing with Obito.
Now, now…I’m sure Kakashi will do just fine…he’ll just need a little help. And we’ll be there to give it.
Except that they weren’t. Kakashi was on his own. And for the first time since he was five years old, that scared him more than anything.
Kakashi took a deep breath, trying to calm the internal panic building up in his chest. Now was not the time to freak out. He only had a week or so before he’d meet his new team, he could panic later.
‘Minato-sensei, what would you tell me if you were still alive?’ Kakashi wondered as he walked home.
He’d probably say something vague and wise, like, I can’t tell you how to handle this, Kakashi. You need to figure out for yourself what works.
But Kakashi didn’t know what worked. What if nothing worked?
Was he making a mistake? Would these children be better off if Kakashi didn’t get involved?
‘No, I can’t think like that,’ Kakashi decided firmly as he arrived at his house. ‘There’s no scenario where refusing to take them in would be the better alternative. I’m the only chance they’ve got.’
The weight on his shoulders grew heavier.
“You don’t look well.” Pakkun said bluntly as he approached Kakashi. The rest of his ninken lazed about his house.
“Thanks for noticing.” Kakashi deadpanned, going over to the couch and collapsing down on it.
Pakkun hopped up onto his chest, ignoring Kakashi’s small ‘oof’. “So, what’s the damage? Is this because of your new team? Just fail them like the rest.”
“It’s more complicated than that this time.” Kakashi murmured. “This isn’t just any time. It’s Minato-sensei’s kid, as well as Sasuke Uchiha.”
Pakkun let out a kind of hiss noise, as if he’d been burned. “Yikes. All the more reason to fail them.”
Kakashi shook his head, and found himself explaining in more detail the weight of the situation. How his hands were essentially being tied, forced with a burden he had no business carrying.
When he was done, Pakkun looked troubled, deep in thought.
“Any advice?” Kakashi asked, only half-joking. Hell, he’d take any advice he could get at this point.
Pakkun took a deep breath.
“Pick up some parenting books, you’re gonna need them.”
Though he knew Pakkun had been joking, Kakashi actually thought it wasn’t the worst idea.
Sure, he wasn’t going to be these kids’ parent or anything, but being a teacher was kind of like being a parent extension. He was still in charge of them, still helping them to learn and grow.
And dammit, Kakashi was desperate.
So, here he was, in the Konoha library, skimming through the parenting section.
He glanced in a few of them, but the problem was most of them were for advice on babies, or much younger children then twelve-year-olds.
Kakashi did find one book more dedicated to advice on kids their age, but when he flipped it open all it took was seeing the word puberty for him to put it back and rethink all of his life choices.
‘This is hopeless.’ He decided. ‘I’m going to screw these kids up so badly, I might as well fail them. Let Konoha do what they will.’
He sounded so cruel, and made Kakashi’s insides feel hollow. But he didn’t know what else to do.
He turned the corner to exit out of the aisle, only to run into someone.
“Ah!” It was a young woman. She had long brown hair and red marks on her cheeks. Hana Inuzuka, Kakashi’s mind supplied. She dropped some of her books when they collided.
“Sorry, my bad.” Kakashi told her apologetically, kneeling down and picking up her books. He paused, seeing they were books some specific dog breeds; far more difficult to train breeds.
Hana smiled sheepishly as she took the books from him. “No worries. It happens.” She noticed his gaze was stuck on the books, and answered his silent question. “Ah, we found an injured, abandoned Rottweiler and he’s awfully aggressive; we think maybe he was abused. I don’t have much experience with that breed so I wanted some reference guides.”
“Reference guides…” Kakashi murmured thoughtfully. Difficult dog breeds, huh?
Hana blinked, tilting her head. “Is everything okay, Kakashi?”
Kakashi snapped out of it. “Oh, um, yes. Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now. If you don’t mind me asking, what section of the library did you get those from?”
After getting the aisle number from Hana, and saying a few polite parting words, Kakashi made a beeline for the dog training section.
Okay, some might look at this and think it’s rude to think of twelve-year-old children as dogs, and prepare to train them as such. However, Kakashi was raise partially like a dog; as was the way of the Hatake.
If it was good enough for him, it was good enough for them.
‘But the question in…what kinds of tricks have these pups already been taught?’ Kakashi mused as he scanned the different book options.
It was time to gather some information.
Maybe it would’ve been less intrusive to give a notice, or to show up when someone was home, but if Kakashi was going to get the dirt on his new team, he needed to investigate when there’d be nobody around to sweep things under the rug and bury the bodies.
He started with Sasuke’s house. It felt like the easiest. It’s not like he’d have to worry about anyone wandering around outside and catching him in the act of snooping.
After the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke had been given the choice on his living situation. Which was crazy, considering he’d been a freshly traumatized seven-year-old, but Hiruzen wanted to make sure he was comfortable.
So, Sasuke opted to move back into his house after it was cleaned up. Kakashi couldn’t judge too strongly, given that he still lives in the same house where he’d found his father’s corpse 23 years ago.
But still, there was some difference. Kakashi’s house was still a part of the village, even if it was more on the outskirts. Sasuke’s house was deep in the Uchiha compound, empty and isolated. It wasn’t healthy.
Kakashi made it to Sasuke’s house, and found the front door unlocked. Well, he supposed Sasuke didn’t see much point in a lock, given the emptiness of the compound. The only people who’d break in are the ones who could do it whether there was a lock or not.
The house was incredibly clean, that’s the first thing Kakashi noticed when he stepped inside. Not a speck of dust in the living room or kitchen areas. He never pegged Sasuke for a clean freak, but it didn’t surprise him.
Kakashi spent many hours scrubbing his hands raw, trying to erase blood that he knew deep down wasn’t there anymore.
He went down the hall to the bedrooms and stepped into the closest one. It was obviously Sasuke’s room, given the ninja tools on the desk.
But, if it weren’t for those tools, Kakashi might’ve had a harder time telling if it was Sasuke’s room. He noticed a severe lack of personal items.
‘I guess when your entire family is slaughtered, you might not see much point in clinging to material items.’ Kakashi thought to himself.
Sasuke was very detached. He was already isolated due to his family’s massacre, but little things like this were only making it worse.
‘Hmm…okay, prepare items of emotional attachment for this pup.’ He’d need to get Sasuke items that he could latch onto. It would be a good step to getting him used to those feelings, and hopefully with time he’d be able to transfer those feelings of attachment to his teammates.
Though they had never been close, Kakashi knew enough about how Uchiha’s operated. With Obito having been his teammate, and then working with Itachi in the ANBU, he was bound to pick up on some of their mannerisms and behaviors.
And the one thing Kakashi had picked up on more than anything was this: Uchiha’s feel a lot.
When Kakashi read Sasuke’s file, it described him as being aloof, reserved, and not very sociable. And maybe that was true to an extent.
But Kakashi could tell from the moment he read the file that whoever wrote it obviously had almost no experience actually being around and communicating with Uchiha’s.
Hopefully, his past connections would give him an edge.
‘And if they don’t…this is going to be such a pain in the ass.’ He thought, already feeling exhausted.
Honestly, Kakashi had no clue what he was going to do about Sakura.
The girl was from a civilian family, had no special skills to her name and…well, she was female.
Don’t misunderstand, Kakashi knew women could be incredibly strong. There was kunoichi’s out there that could probably kick his ass.
But that wasn’t the issue. The issue was the academy had different expectations for boys and girls.
While boys were being taught how to throw shuriken properly, girls got put in flower arranging.
Flower arranging. How in the hell was that supposed to help girls become kunoichi’s?
Not only that, but they were also taught a lot more about seduction missions, harvest skills; things that, while important to know, should not have been the entirety of their education.
Sakura was taught the bare minimum of combat during her time, and it was going to take a lot of work to get her anywhere near the boys’ levels.
Sure, there was always the option of training Sakura to be a medic. That had been Rin’s path and she’d been an incredible asset. God knows how many times he and Obito would’ve died without her.
But becoming a medical ninja was a decision for the future. When Sakura was a Chunin at least, and she had time to experiment and decide what kind of ninja she wanted to be. The only reason Rin had become a medical ninja so early was because they had been at war. The moment Rin showed promise in the field, her path had been set for her by adults.
Kakashi wasn’t going to let that happen again. Not in a time of peace.
He slid open the sliding glass door of Sakura’s balcony, and stepped inside to get a glimpse of her room.
It was fairly large, but much like Sasuke, Sakura didn’t seem to hold many personal items. She had a desk with supplies for studying, a very large mirror, a properly made bed…and a robe on a mannequin that had fighting spirit written on the back. Her wardrobe was filled with bright pink, cutesy clothes that were definitely not suited for ninja work.
‘Given the clothes and the mirror, it’s obvious her attention is mostly on her looks…’ Kakashi dreaded the knowledge. This was going to be so much harder if Sakura’s attention was on such trivial matters.
Just then, Kakashi heard footsteps. He expertly hid away in Sakura’s closet, not making a single sound.
He watched as an older woman entered. Sakura’s mother, he assumed.
The woman grabbed dirty laundry from a basket, putting it into the basket she was carrying. Kakashi figured she’d just grab the clothes and go and that would be that.
But to his confusion, he watched as the woman hesitated, and then set the basket down. And then she started…looking around?
For a split second, Kakashi wondered if she sensed he was in the room.
But there was no way. This woman was a civilian, she’d need a miracle to be able to sense him.
He watched as the woman walked around, and started opening drawers. It was a confusing sight for Kakashi.
But it finally all made sense when the woman peeked under Sakura’s pillow and pulled out a soft, baby pink diary. It was covered in red, sparkly hearts and had a pen holder.
‘Oh great. A complete lack of boundaries in this house.’ Kakashi grumbled internally, watching with annoyance as Sakura’s mother flipped through the pages.
She landed on what Kakashi assumed was the latest entry, and then gasped and squealed. “On the same team with her crush? Oh this is so exciting.” She quickly hid the diary back under the pillow, grabbed the basket of laundry and headed out.
Kakashi didn’t even have to debate which of the boys Sakura might be crushing on. He’d bet his Sharingan eye on it being Sasuke.
And that was a problem. A big one.
A romantic attraction would be a huge distraction, and could cause a disbalance in the team.
It was easier with Rin. She’d cared about him and Obito equally. She was the peacemaker.
‘But this girl isn’t Rin.’ His mind bitterly reminded him. It would be unfair to compare them.
Still, the point is, this crush would have to be addressed and quickly. Along with everything else.
Kakashi stepped out of the closet, and was about to leave through the balcony, when something caught his eye.
A stack of notebooks under Sakura’s bed.
Normally, Kakashi would’ve just ignored it. But the concept of books under the bed felt strange to him. Sakura had plenty of space in her room for notebooks.
The only explanation Kakashi could think of…was that these were notebooks people weren’t supposed to see.
He snagged one, looking it over. It was a soft baby blue. Could it be another diary? But it wasn’t very thick, or personalized in any way. It looked more like something someone might use for studying purposes.
Screw it. He came here for information.
Kakashi opened the notebook, and choked out a gasp.
It was numbers. Lots of numbers. And next to those numbers…were foods?
‘Are these…calories?’ Kakashi flipped through the pages.
This wasn’t a diary, and it wasn’t for studying either.
It was a food log. Of everything Sakura ate, day to day, with her weight at the bottom.
Kakashi felt a drop in his stomach as he saw Sakura’s weight dropping with every page turn. The number of foods listed seemed to get smaller and smaller.
Until there were days when the only thing listed was water.
Suddenly, Kakashi felt like an asshole. He’d been so judgy when he saw the large mirror in Sakura’s room. Figured she was just another girl who only cared about looks.
But it was so much more than that.
‘Obsessive dieting…possibly an eating disorder.’ That’s another thing he’d have to address. No wonder stamina was listed as Sakura’s weakest trait in her file; she was running on empty.
Did her parents know? Was he supposed to report this? Probably.
But he wouldn’t until he had the chance to speak to her directly and find out more. Her mother had been snooping around her room for a diary and didn’t bat an eye to those books, meaning she was either oblivious…or she already knew what they were.
Kakashi sincerely hoped it was the first thing.
‘This pup will need lots of treats…’
Admittedly, Kakashi had been avoiding going to Naruto’s apartment.
Maybe it was the guilt. The idea of facing the reality Naruto was forced into. Of knowing that, even though Kakashi had tried to do what he could, he’d been another person to let Naruto down.
Realistically, Kakashi knew there wasn’t anything he could’ve done, not legally anyways. And he’d been a kid too. So maybe, just maybe…
Minato and Kushina wouldn’t be disgusted with him.
The door, worn and dented, nearly broke off the hinges when Kakashi entered. It was so damaged, as if villagers had tried to break it down before.
That thought alone was troubling to say the least.
As for the rest of the apartment…
Moldy, beaten down, mostly empty, possibly some sort of insect nest in the corner… it felt like something out of a thriller novel.
In all fairness, it wasn’t just Naruto’s apartment. The entire area left something to be desired.
To put it frankly, the people who lived around here were either inches away from being homeless, or probably involved in some kind of criminal activity.
Naruto’s fridge was broken. Practically just a storage box. It seemed Naruto started to treat it that way as well, it was jammed packed with cup ramen.
‘No other foods, or condiments…’ Kakashi thought as he checked the cabinets. ‘But is it by choice…or because things really are just that bad?’
As much as Kakashi would’ve liked to believe Naruto just loved ramen that much, no reasonable person would live like this if they didn’t have to.
He checked the bathroom, and nearly gagged from the smell of mold. His sensitive nose did not like this place one bit. How had Naruto not been getting sick?
‘Probably from the Nine-Tailed fox’s healing powers…’ His mind answered. That did not make him feel better.
He tried the faucet, and there was running water. But the water wasn’t clear, it was murky and had this greyish tint to it.
Anyone else would’ve been killed from water like this. Naruto could only manage because of the fox.
This went beyond neglectful, this was a crime. Kakashi felt a white flash of fury directed at Hiruzen.
Did he know how bad it was? Wasn’t he the one who got Naruto an apartment in the first place? Why didn’t he ever check on him? Repair things? Why?
Why? Why? Why!?
Kakashi could stew on the whys all day, but it wouldn’t help anything.
The point is, Naruto’s place was a health hazard. He couldn’t stay here.
‘I could push for him to live with me… but would Lord Hokage ever approve?’ Hiruzen didn’t even like the idea of Kakashi being Naruto’s sensei, but it’s what the Elders deemed to be the safest option.
But there’s no way. Was there? And even if he could, Naruto had no reason to agree. He didn’t know Kakashi. He didn’t know anything.
None of these kids knew anything, and that was the problem.
Kakashi gnawed on his lip under his mask as he left Naruto’s apartment, a million thoughts and plans in his mind, trying to work out what he should do and what he could do.
‘Discipline and scolding won’t get anywhere with a pup that’s been hurt like this. Positive reinforcement is the way to go.’
Kakashi was tired.
It had been a long week of researching and planning, but no matter how much he planned and prepared, he did not feel ready.
A couple times he still second guessed himself. Wondered if it would be better to fail the team and let whatever happens to them happen.
But every time he saw the photo of his old team, he remembered why he couldn’t.
He couldn’t let that happen to them. This system had already screwed them over. The people who were supposed to care for them had done the opposite.
Kakashi wasn’t going to be another adult who let these kids, these pups, down.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. And maybe I’ll only make things worse…” Kakashi murmured softly to the framed photo at his bedside. “…But I have to try.”
He had too. Or these pups were as good as dead.