"Kakashi..."
"Minato-sensei?"
"Kakashi..if we don't.."
"Don't say that! No. You are going to make it out alive. You will!"
"Kakashi. If Kushina and I..if we don't make it.."
"I want you to take care of Naruto."
"Minato-sensei.."
"Please? Promise me."
"I...I promise.."
::
Kakashi sighed, gazing at the picture of his late sensei and his wife, thinking back to the promise he had made years ago.
He wanted to. He desperately wished to provide a home and loving family to the person who deserved it most.
His sensei's son.
But he was 20 years old and knew nothing of parenting.
He was the literal definition of "disaster gay."
He could barely take care of himself, let alone a small child.
But he had the funds to support them both..
And he'd love the chance to care for someone..
To have a reason to come home after every mission...
Kakashi fought with himself all day until he finally made his decision.
::
Naruto would be turning 4 soon.
He frowned, kicking the pebble and listening to the crunch of gravel under his feet.
October 10 is the one day of the year where everyone seemed to hate him even more. They'd beat him up, break his leg, and yell insults the entire time.
The fox.
He unconsciously held a hand up to his stomach.
Naruto wasn't stupid. When playing outside meant the judgment and vulnerability to others, he spent his time inside, reading.
The library provided tons of books on sealing at his disposal, and it wasn't hard to get his hands on foreign books on Biju.
Especially when Miki-chan the librarian was so nice.
He flinched, shaking himself out of his thoughts and clutching the book in his hands tighter as he hurried away from the library and back into the orphanage.
Immediately, he bumped into one of the meanest boys in the orphanage: Leroy.
He was new to the orphanage, but had quickly asserted dominance with his mean look, posse, tall figure, and the tendency to punch everyone.
He plucked the green book out of the shaking hands of Naruto, turning it over with a bored stare.
"The Art of Sealing, by Haizo Min" he read.
Leroy tossed it to the side, Naruto watching as it skidded across the dirt and finally stopped. Naruto felt his heart drop.
Naruto looked up, shaking. "Y-you..."
Leroy smirked, his goons coming in from the nearby alleyway. He leant down, crouching until he was eye level with the blonde.
"What'chu gonna do about it, Fox?"
Naruto raised his fist and clocked him in the face, sending the boy flying into the mud and left his hand stinging.
::
Kakashi woke up at exactly 6:15, determination set within his bones.
He left his house at 7:00, staring straight ahead, his stride wide.
"Kakashi! My rival! Shall we engage in a manly-"
"Not now Gai." Kakashi shot back, picking up the pace with a destination in mind.
Gai faltered, his arm lowering back to his side. What? He was used to Kakashi evading the challenge, or disappearing at his presence, or making an excuse about ANBU duties.
But this?
His eyes were steely, fists clenching a short stack of papers in his right hand. He was shaking with...excitement? For what?
Gai shook his head, turning around and walking away.
::
"I cannot believe you! Hitting another! You won't be let out easy for this, Naruto." Tina, the woman who ran the orphanage, warned.
"He hits me all tha' time and gets let off.." Naruto muttered, holding his red hand.
Tina's eyes blazed. "That's different! You're-" She stopped herself, wishing not to get in trouble, unaware that the boy in front of her already knew the reason behind her bias.
"Listen, Naruto. There's someone coming in looking for someone to adopt later today, and I want everyone to look presentable."
Not me. Naruto thought. I'm always shoved to the back anyways, since no one would want me.
"He'll look presentable with a black eye and a bruise on his cheek." Naruto replied, turning to look at the crying boy in the corner, getting comforted and smothered by the volunteers.
Tina sighed as Naruto fiddled with the book in his hands, wiping away any leftover dirt.
"Then I guess I'm done with you." She stood up and walked deeper into the building, checking on some other kid.
Naruto rolled his eyes and rushed off to a single couch chair in the corner of the "Meeting Room," the room where potential adopters would meet all the kids and decide who to adopt.
Naruto sighed and snuggled further into the red cushions, opening the book to the first page.
::
"I'd like to adopt Naruto Uzumaki."
The two people he scheduled the meeting with shared an uneasy look.
They were never told what to do if this happened.
The man, who Kakashi hadn't bothered to remember the name of, spoke up reluctantly.
"Naruto Uzumaki....is a..special case, as you know." He began, eyeing Kakashi's jounin vest.
"I highly recommend you abandon any belief as to why you should adopt him. He's highly problematic and is known for hurting his peers-"
"I'm sure he has a good reason." Kakashi shot back.
The man squirmed under his steely gaze, but slowly nodded. "G-good can be subjective.."
The woman, who had stayed silent the entire time, piped up. "And all that paperwork to even meet him, that would take hours to fill—"
Kakashi slammed the filled out stack of papers on her desk, sharingan blazing in one eye.
The woman spluttered and shrunk back, eyeing the stack of papers nervously.
"W-we'll send you up to our superiors.."
::
After many meetings, arguments, intimidation stare-offs, and sharingan flares, Kakashi was finally approved enough to go up to the Hokage with his case.
By then his spirits had lifted and his hopes were soaring: Hokage-sama would understand. He trained Minato-sensei, and would surely understand the urgency of fulfilling a promise to him. He was kind hearted, and an old soul who had a soft spot for Naruto.
He had practically adopted him already!
So with a smile on his face, he waltzed into the office and took a seat, smiling at the old man before him.
"You seem happy, Kakashi." Hiruzen murmured before he took a long drag of his pipe. Slowly, a smile of his own crawled onto his face.
"Of course I am." Kakashi hummed, beginning to unpack the stacks of folders and papers required.
"I have a good chance of adopting Naruto." He explained, missing the way his Hokage's eyes crinkled as he beamed down at him.
"I'm glad."
They sat there for exactly 2 hours, talking about Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki.
The entire time, both men had a smile on their face.
::
"Hurry, hurry!"
"Kero, is that gum in your hair?"
"Milan put it!"
"No I didn't!"
"Where's my hairbrush?"
"Tina-chan, Tina-chan! Rendin snuck a cat in!"
"Meow.."
"Ooh kitty!"
"Everyone, gET OWEN AWAY FROM THE CAT, I DONT WANT TO TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL AGAIN!"
"Where are my shoes?"
"On your head, idiot!"
"Stupid!"
"Those are just synonyms!"
"Shut up Mia!"
Naruto sighed.
Meeting Day was the worst day to try and read, but he stubbornly attempted to.
But no matter how many times his eyes swept through the words of "The Art of Sealing," his brain refused to register it.
With an irritated sigh, he closed his green book and walked up to one of the workers.
"Nina-san." He called softly, drowned out by the chaos surrounding him.
"Nina-san." He tried louder.
"Nina-san!" She still couldn't hear.
He reached up and tugged on the sleeve of her jacket. That immediately drew her attention, but as soon as she realized who it was she recoiled with disgust. As quickly as it came, her face was blank, staring down at the boy.
Naruto flinched.
"Yes, Naruto?"
"Do I have to stay here?" He murmured, looking down, as Nina strained her ears to ever hear the slightest whisper.
She sighed. "Yes Naruto. Protocol requires every child to be present for Meeting Day. Who knows, you might be adopted." Although her words were kind, her voice and expression were bored and lacked emotion.
Before Naruto could speak up, Nina turned around and began attending to poor Owen, who was still hacking his lungs out from the cat Rendin brought.
Naruto turned and sat back in his chair, opening his book and blocking his face as he tried to read once more.
"Everyone, hush! He's coming through the front door!" Tina squealed, a light pink blush adorning her pale face as she gazed through the window.
As the kids scrambled to get up and peer through it as well, she gave them a warning glare that sent all of them right back onto the floor.
The kids quieted down but continued to whisper among themselves, some complaining that they wanted a mom, not a dad. As if they were practically adopted already.
Pam, the nice receptionist, began to greet the mystery man, but before more than a word could be said Tina slid in, blocking Pam and talking loudly.
"I'll take you over to the children now! Such darlings, it'll be hard to see any of them go. Y'know, I see them all as my own children. Everyone tells me I would make a great mom." She flirted, moving closer to the man.
No one ever said that.
As they turned the corner, and Nina could now see them, she turned to the kids with wide eyes.
"He's a shinobi!" She whisper shouted.
Whispers once again broke out among the children.
Naruto sunk further into the cushions, hiding behind his book. Ninjas hated him more, and were far more dangerous with their knives and swords than a drunken civilian with a broken beer bottle.
His view now obscured by the book, he relayed completely on sound and hearing, having given up on reading.
As Tina-chan and the man entered the room, gasps and louder whispers echoed through the room, pointing out his features they found cool or interesting.
"Look at his hair! Is that natural, or is he just old?"
"Whoa, look at that mask! I wonder why he wears it!"
"See! Look at all those weapons, yeah! They're so cool!"
Naruto flinched. From his peers description, he didn't seem the normal or soft and caring type. Although, that was almost all shinobi, as far as Naruto could see.
As the man began to interact with the other children, he tried his best to hide further with his book and and pillows.
He did not want to talk to a shinobi.
::
Kakashi beamed as he followed the address on his papers to the orphanage. Before passing through the chipped and old fence, he took a look at the building. It was painted white, but probably many years ago as the paint was old and chipped. Vines grew overgrown on all four sides, and it was relatively small. After a moment, he opened the gate and passed through, noticing the weeds that filled the front garden.
Kakashi gazed at the old blue door and turned the knob. He was greeted by a friendly receptionist.
Before he could even open his mouth to return the greeting, a woman came running in. She had long brown hair that was messily put to attempt the current trendy style, wearing a tight neon pink crop top and shorts that he found too short.
Kakashi didn't let the frown on his face linger for too long.
He just smiled and nodded along to her greeting, and let himself be led by the woman— Tia, was it?
As he turned the corner, he was a bit shocked at the amount of children. With such a small building, he had expected a smaller group.
Still, he smiled. Today he would meet Naruto.
His eyes quickly scanned over their heads, searching for a head of hair that matched Minato's shade.
Kakashi was slightly confused when he couldn't find anyone. Sure, there were tons of blonde boys, but none that matched.
Still, he smiled. Maybe he was just in the bathroom.
Together, the kids scrambled to a stand and chorused:
"Welcome!"
Which was followed by giggles and peals of laughter.
Then, he began to talk to the kids, trying to at least seem friendly and hopefully learn about Naruto some more.
"Hiya! I'm Zotu! This is my friend Mia."
A boy with green hair grinned, pulling who he was assumed Mia over.
She had brown hair and black rimmed glasses, a scowl on her face. "I'm not your friend."
The boy laughed. "She's just joking."
"I'm not. I don't have friends."
"Except for that bastard Naruto!" An older boy with raven hair hollered from the side, holding an ice pack up to his black eye.
The other children gasped, turning to look at him.
He glared in reply. "What?"
"You said a bad word!" A girl screeched.
Kakashi decided he found children quite amusing.
"It's true." The boy mumbled.
"Naruto-san and I are barely acquaintances, due to our mutual like of reading." Mia replied coolly.
Kakashi just nodded along, hiding how happy he was to learn something about Naruto well.
"Well it was very nice talking to you, Mia." He smiled.
"I'd say likewise, but you haven't said much and just nodded."
Kakashi just smiled and greeted another kid.
"I'm James, and I like lions!"
"My name is Sarah and I'm legit shit but I'm cool. I like straw hats I guess." A black haired girl shrugged.
"Um, hi I well, um my name is Peter I guess. I never knew my parents, but I used to have an uncle."
"Rito. Word of advice, don't talk to Leroy."
"My name is Owen! I like cats, although when I'm near one I usually need to go to the hospital.."
Kakashi fearfully eyed the ginger cat purring softly by the window.
"Th-that's nice.." He stammered.
"It really isn't!" The sandy haired boy grinned.
Finally, he made his way to the boy that first talked about Naruto. The one who called him a bastard. The one with a black eye. The one that Rito warned him against.
Leroy.
"Hello. Leroy, right?"
"Yep."
"May I ask why you have a black eye?" Kakashi tried to keep his voice relatively low, sitting down on the floor in front of him.
"Sure, I guess.." Leroy reluctantly began his story.
"Well the damn nerd, his name is Naruto, is a real loser. Never plays games or sports with the others, spending his time inside reading."
He didn't mention that he never played outside because every time he did, Naruto was beaten up by a passing civilian.
Leroy picked his following words carefully.
"I wanted to..see his book. To see what he was reading."
Kakashi nodded, although his eyes began to narrow as he disliked this lying boy more and more.
"And then I dropped it. It was raining yesterday, so there was a muddy puddle that it fell in. I said sorry and was about to pick it up for him when he punched me, pushing me into the mud."
Leroy frowned.
"He's a real piece of shit."
Kakashi just shook his head, standing up.
"And where can I find Naruto?" He inquired softly.
Leroy scrunched up his nose in disgust, but dutifully pointed to the opposite side of the room, when a green book was held by tan, scarred fingers.
A head of blonde hair peeled out from behind the book, and Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath.
It was the same as Minato's.
Barely containing his excitement, Kakashi strode toward Naruto, kneeling in front of him.
The book was lowered, and Kakashi got a good look at Naruto Uzumaki.
His skin was tanned, with scars adorning his cheeks, forehead, arms, and pretty much everywhere. His bright blue eyes gazed at him curiously, and whisker marks on his cheeks stood out from the rest.
"Hello Naruto." Kakashi hummed, beaming down at the boy.
"Hello...shinobi-san.." Naruto greeted slowly, closing his book, clearly confused as to why he was approached.
"My name is Kakashi. How was your day?"
"Honestly, not so well." Naruto grumbled. "My new book was thrown into the mud and I had to punch someone."
Kakashi nodded understandingly. "And was that someone..Leroy?"
"Yeah."
"I can see where you were coming from. Do you like to read?"
Naruto's eyes lit up as he began to talk about sealing, a topic of reading he had taken recent interest in.
The entire time, Kakashi beamed down at him.
Naruto's rambling finally slowed to an end. The other kids had ran off to their bedrooms and visitor hours would end soon. Naruto grinned, at ease near Kakashi.
"Naruto," Kakashi murmured.
"Yeah?"
"What would you think, about me adopting you?"
Naruto blinked. He hadn't really expected that.
"I..uh.."
He glanced down at the green book in his hands.
"I'd really like that." Naruto admitted.
Kakashi stood up, stretching. "Then let me go get the paperwork set through. Would you like to come with me?"
Naruto nodded, still trying to comprehend what was happening.
He clutched the man's hand as they made their way through the hall to the front desk.
"Here's all the paperwork and adoption forms, already filled out." He smiled, looking down at Naruto.
His son.
Pam blinked, adjusting her glasses and checking for each signature and bright red stamp of approval.
She turned her swivel chair around and began to type, and not a minute later did a paper of official documentation and Naruto's file popped out of the machine.
Handing it over the counter, Pam gazed down at Naruto, smiling softly.
"I hope you have an amazing rest of your life, Naruto. You deserve a family more than anyone here."
Naruto nodded with a smile on his face. I'm his hands was a small red backpack with his belongings.
"Is that all?" Kakashi questioned.
"Y-yeah. I don't want to bring much from the orphanage."
"We'll go shopping tomorrow then! I'll buy whatever you need or want." Kakashi smiled down at him.
As they exited the building, hand in hand, Naruto stopped in the middle of the front yard.
"Hm? What is it, Naruto?"
"Thank you..Kakashi-san. For giving me a home and family to call my own. Thank you."
Kakashi hummed, beaming.
"Call me Dad."
::
Aww I found that adorable and shit but it's probably just me. This is gonna be really wholesome and cute the entire way through hopefully. It's all lighthearted. This is the longest chapter I have ever written, at 3189 words. Yep. I know, I'm pathetic. I love this story I feel so happy just writing it and thinking of art to draw for it and I feel so inspired! Err I hope you guys liked it as much as I did because with positive feedback, that means even more updates that are hopefully as long as these or more..
Okay that's all.
Thank you strawhat_pirate so much for making the cover!
🍥