Shattered |Kakashi x OC|

Chapter 22: Midnight Lullabies

"Can we see him..." She said, hoarsely yet softer than the two had ever heard her speak, "...please?"

Hiruzen hesitated, looking at that held back sorrow, that weight, that plead....His soft sigh interrupted the heavy silence as he finally closed his eyes.

Then there was silence.

The stillness that followed was deafening until Hiruzen's hoarse, low murmur broke through, "There is a nurse shift at the nursery at two am." His eyes were still closed as he spoke, his voice barely audible as he made sure the teens were the only ones that could hear him.

Their faces flickered into shock...and then relief as a certain shine of gratefulness appeared in their softening eyes.

Hiruzen opened his eyes, landing on the two with a piercing, heavy gaze that made no one doubt his post as Hokage, "...Don't let anyone see you."

The two teens nodded as they composed themselves, their faces matching in seriousness as they whispered back, "Hai."

The latch on the window opened silently as the two figures dropped into the hospital hallway, their Anbu boots falling soundlessly on the marble floor.

Moonlight poured in from the courtyard, bathing the place in hues of blues and long shadows as Ahsoka and Kakashi glanced at each other, then at the glass panel across the hallway.

Past their reflections, they were met with aisles of lined up cribs. Orphans, all of them, some of the many left without parents by the Kyuubi- one of them being their sensei's son.

Not wasting any time, Kakashi quickly signaled Ahsoka to the door to his left, "Come on, this way." He whispered.

Small, sharp, clicking sounds broke the silence as Kakashi finished picking the lock and opened the door, carefully keeping the creaking to a minimum as they finally stepped inside.

They were met with the shadowy nursery as their eyes were quick to adjust. The blue hues spilling from the hallway and in through the glass being the only source of light in the room.

Ahsoka took soundless steps as she went for a closer look, Kakashi joining her side...He had to be here- the child- somewhere.

Ahsoka scanned the many rows of cribs until she sucked in a breath, her eyes falling on a head of familiar blonde hair.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he too spotted it...hair so gold it stood out in the darkness...a color that he knew too well...that they both knew too well.

Ahsoka could barely register her slow steps as she walked towards the crib, focusing only on the child as she approached- slowly and carefully.

The aisles of cribs passed by, until Ahsoka was right in front of the one she had been looking for.

Kakashi's throat bobbed, but he too took hesitant steps towards the crib until the two were side by side, peering down at the small, sleeping child.

Pudgy, reddened cheeks, closed eyes, and three whisker marks decorated the tiny, rounded features of the baby's face. Wrapped in a soft, pale yellow blanket, his body was no more than a tight bundle sleeping soundly into the night.

The Third hadn't lied when he said that the child took after their sensei. The golden hair was a dead give away, but there was something in his features...something that was just so Kushina like...

And all of it, all of it...made their hearts drop.

'Naruto...'

Suprisngly, it was Kakashi who moved first,  lowering his hand as he gently caressed a knuckle through the blonde's soft cheek as if he himself were in a daze.