The Toughest Lesson

Aftermath

Alexis had indeed left Hunter to Naruto, so to speak. Walking out of the meeting with the attorney, Naruto looked at Kakashi. "We can't abandon Hunter." Naruto said quietly.

"Of course not." Kakashi reasoned.

"You've been awfully quiet this whole time." Naruto answered as he got in the car that Kakashi had just bought, seeing as how a motorcycle would not be beneficial to Rinni.

"There isn't much to say." Kakashi said simply, eyes on the road.

"I didn't know you knew how to drive." Naruto admitted after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, I can drive. I just had no need to do so in Japan." Kakashi stated, watching the road.

Naruto sighed heavily. He felt as if there was something else...something to be said that Kakashi wasn't saying. Suddenly, Naruto's mouth fell open as he turned to Kakashi. "You don't think that I...that I'm the father?" Naruto stated incredulously.

Kakashi glanced at Naruto, and then his eyes went back to the road. He didn't say anything, simply turning onto the street where Rinni's day care was. "That's it? You think I cheated on you?!" Naruto asked, hurt in his eyes.

Kakashi pulled over, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning to face Naruto. "No, Naruto. I don't think you cheated on me." Sighing, he rubbed his face with his hands. "Let's go get Rinni. We can discuss this at home."

Naruto frowned, following Kakashi into the daycare. As Rinni grinned and got her lunchbox, Naruto watched as Kakashi signed Rinni out. Saying nothing else, Kakashi took Rinni to the car. Buckling her in her car seat, he remained silent. Getting home, Kakashi got Rinni settled with some dolls as Naruto put Hunter down for a nap. Going into the kitchen, Kakashi made some tea. Offering a cup to Naruto, who accepted, Kakashi sat down and took a sip, staring at the cup. "Naruto, this situation is...difficult for me. It hits very close to home." He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose. Naruto sat down, watching Kakashi. Reaching out, he grabbed Kakashi's hand.

"My mother died in childbirth. A single father raised me. He was a renowned shinobi, known as the White Fang. However, when a mission went badly, the village turned on my father. He chose to save his comrades over completing the mission. Even his comrades turned on him, as the rules said a mission was to be completed no matter what. Finally, it...all of it...the taunting, the leering, the humiliation...it was too much for him, and he took his own life. I wasn't as lucky as Hunter...I had to fend for myself and live on my own." Kakashi opened his eyes and stared at the mug, not looking up at Naruto. "So, you see, I understand Hunter very well." The bottom of the cup had Kakashi entranced; he refused to look away from it.

Naruto stared at Kakashi, his throat squeezed painfully shut. Squeezing Kakashi's hand, Naruto whispered, "I'm sorry, 'Kashi...I didn't know."

Looking up at Naruto, Kakashi gave a sad smile. "How could you?" Standing up, Kakashi sighed. "I'm a bit tired tonight; I think I'll turn in early." Naruto nodded. Leaving Kakashi to get ready for bed, Naruto did up the dishes and straightened up the house before crawling in bed with Kakashi, who was already asleep. Leaning over on his elbows, he checked on Hunter, who was asleep in his crib. Naruto and Kakashi both agreed that Hunter should stay in their room for the time being, as he was still little. As Naruto laid down, Kakashi whined in his sleep...a pained sound Naruto had never heard before. Curling up to Kakashi, he held him close, hoping his proximity would comfort his love.

********

Kakashi stayed withdrawn for the next couple of days. Naruto worried incessantly; he had never seen Kakashi like this. Rinni crawled up in Naruto's lap one night after Kakashi went to bed early again. "Mommy, why is Daddy sad? Did I do something wrong?" Naruto had given up on not being called Mommy. Hugging Rinni, Naruto's eyes were sad.

"No, baby, you didn't do anything wrong. Daddy's just missing someone very, very much." Naruto kissed her forehead.

Nodding, she frowned. "Like he misseded you." Naruto frowned, confused at her words. Shrugging, he sighed.

"Come on, let's go check on Hunter." He said as he heard the baby cry. Going into the room, Kakashi was asleep as Hunter was whining. Picking Hunter up, Naruto took him out with Rinni. Rocking the baby to sleep, he sat and worried.

*******

Slowly, Kakashi pulled himself out of the depression that was threatening to take over his life. It was little things Naruto noticed at first...like Kakashi staying up later than six in the evening. As he slowly re-engaged, Naruto felt a weight lifting off his shoulders. He had worried about Kakashi and what he would do. Seeing Kakashi begin to reclaim his identity, Naruto's anxiety lessened.

*******

"You are going to do fine." Naruto reassured Kakashi, straightening his former sensei's tie as the pair looked in the mirror. Kakashi met those blue eyes he loved in that reflective glass.

"It's odd to not be wearing a mask." Kakashi said.

"Yea, well, you'd probably be fired. You'd be seen as a weirdass man if you went to your first day of work with a mask on." Naruto observed. "We are in America, not Japan. They have some weird ideas, and one of them does involve masks."

Kakashi smiled, leaning over and kissing Naruto gently. "Thank you." He whispered. Naruto wrinkled his nose.

"For what?" Blue eyes stared curiously at Kakashi.

"For loving me." Kakashi said simply. Naruto blushed and turned around.

"How come ya always gotta say sappy stuff like that, huh?" Naruto grabbed a bento box he had made especially for Kakashi's first day. Handing it to him, he frowned at the look on Kakashi's face. "What?" he whined.

"Nothing." Kakashi said, planting a soft kiss on Naruto's mouth. "See you tonight."

*********

The schools in America were vastly different from the ones in Japan. Luckily, Kakashi was able to get a job at a private school where they were pushing Japanese language due to the business in the area. Kakashi settled in quickly, and quickly became known as the hardest teacher that the school had. He also developed quite a fan following as well though, with more than a few girls and people openly ogling him. Chuckling, Kakashi could only think that only one had his heart.

He settled in rather easily and quickly became the detention teacher. It seemed that he never had a free day except for Fridays. Today was no different. Getting up after detention, he excused Sarah and Devon. Both gave him googly eyes as they left. Shaking his head, Kakashi checked the time. When he pulled out his phone, he realized that he had missed a call from the company Naruto worked for. Calling the company back his face paled at what was told of him. Visibly shaken, Kakashi's face registered shock, then disbelief. After hanging up, he sat at his desk for a few minutes to compose himself. Finally, he got ready to leave the school. It was a cool, overcast October day. Grabbing his dark gray trench coat, he slipped Naruto's scarf around his neck.

His mind was heavy with the information he just learned on the phone. He had never thought it possible of Naruto...but, then again, anything was possible. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked the few blocks home. Thoughts whirled in his head as his feet took him home. Stopping outside of their brownstone, he took a deep breath.