CHAPTER THREE
Kakashi was a man of vices.
Not the usual vice of booze and women, not in the usual way at least. But habits, bad ones, that he indulged in, was allowed to indulge in, no matter how self-destructive.
Wilting away in front of a blackened stone inscribed with the names of (nearly) all his loved ones, for instance.
Kakashi was a man of vices, but also a man of even more fears.
Not the usual fears, such as children have of the monsters hiding in the closet, or that adults have of the monsters that lurk behind human faces. But fears that were born from past hurts: seeing the monster in his own reflection.
Reflected in the eyes of his teammate, the sound of chirping birds shrill and haunting in his ears.
Above all, Kakashi was a lonely man and he preferred it that way. It meant less people that got hurt. That he could hurt. He wasn't alone: it's hard to be alone when you're one of your village's last remaining legends and your friends with a man like Gai.
But he was lonely nonetheless and he preferred it that way.
Which was something very unfortunate for the three Academy graduates he stood silently across from: his prospective genin. Well, if it were up to the rest of the Village, that is. Sadly for them and the would-be genin, however, it wasn't up to them. No matter how his peers and his superiors would push, cajole and (in the worst case) even threaten, it was ultimately Kakashi, and Kakashi alone, who would determine who his students would be.
A jonin was a valuable commodity to any village, a gamble to waste by sidelining them to train up prospective future killers. A legendary one such as himself even more so, especially after the loss of so many other legends that Konoha had suffered these past generations. In Kakashi's mind, only Gai really stood on his level, even among the other jonin and even the secretive ranks of the ANBU, and he knew the Hokage knew it too.
Which, unfortunately for these prospective ninja - children, really - meant that they wouldn't enter the world of shinobi this day. Not under his guidance, at least. While they wouldn't be sent back to the Academy as it had nothing more to teach them (they were nin of the Leaf after all, with the headband to prove it), they wouldn't be receiving the tutelage of a jonin.
They wouldn't receive combat instruction from the Village's most lethal combatant, wouldn't be sent out on missions across the borders of the land of Fire, wouldn't be put on display in the mock-wars that were the chuunin exams, wouldn't be promoted and forced to take on teams of their own, only to lose them one by one…
No, that 'glorious' future would end today, with his judgement. They'd be rejected from joining his world and sent back to Konoha's general forces. Genin without jonin instructors, instead fulfilling any of the myriad tasks that the Village required but never rewarded, under the leadership of a chuunin, if under any leadership at all.
A boring life.
A safe life.
And considering all the hurt that Kakashi had suffered for his Village, and all the hurt that he knew was just waiting to happen to him, the lanky jonin figured he could take solace in this little balm of his at least.
Because, by the gods, did it hurt to see the batch of this year. Bright blonde, inky black and striking pink topped the heads of his future students and he very firmly kept his attention on their unusual hair instead of their faces. Civilian-born Haruno Sakura was the least painful to look at, but the boys… just a glance at them was enough to set his stomach churning as if he had been poisoned (something that a nin of his calibre had become far too familiar with over the many years).
Sasuke resembled his brother so much, Kakashi almost expected the child to don an ANBU mask and refer to him as captain.
And Naruto… oh, Naruto. It wasn't just his resemblance to Minato and Kushina, but every time he looked at the child, the orphan, a sharp little kunai made of guilt twisted and burrowed itself just a little deeper into his heart.
He had failed Naruto, he knew, and in doing so had failed Naruto's parents, spending more time with the Memorial Stone than the child who, in a happier, better world, would've been akin to a little brother to him. Should've been family.
But the hurt was too fresh, even after all these years and Kakashi was a lonely man. He preferred it that way.
Besides, even though one of his eyes was covered by his headband and the other near-perpetually glued to his little books, that hardly meant he was blind to what happened in the village. Naruto hadn't been alone, Kakashi knew. Perhaps at first, when he had still been young - too young to be alone, he knew.
But two years ago, that had suddenly, and noticeably changed.
Kakashi didn't know Inuzuka Hamaru, but he knew of him. The Inuzuka's very own legend, as well as their greatest shame. A hero and criminal in one and none knew where the one ended, and the other began. A man who had murdered his own teammate. Yet who had done so in order to protect the Village as a whole from an even worse traitor in the form of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin.
Kakashi had only ever seen the beastly man from a distance: like the Copy Nin himself, Hamaru seemed to frequent Konoha's graveyard often as well. Though he didn't approach the Memorial Stone, and he never stayed long. He always came with flowers, placed them at one of the graves, and kept a silent vigil until someone came to rouse him and take him away, take him back home.
Often it was a woman.
Never was it a ninken and Kakashi could relate to such a loss at least. To the Inuzuka, it must have been like losing a loved one and a limb in one, and ever since that fateful day, Kakashi would never forget how that could hurt.
Sometimes it was one of three boys, their children, the gossip of Konoha insisted, though they varied wildly in appearance. A large, ginger teen, or a lithe, cold-faced boy with hair as white as snow, or a timid boy with startlingly pink-purple eyes.
Sometimes it was the man's own nephew, who was probably engaged in his own jonin-test right now as well.
And sometimes… sometimes it was Naruto.
In his darkest moments, Kakashi begrudged Hamaru. Saddened that there was nobody (save, occasionally, Gai) who'd come and claim him. But then he would shake off the feeling and remind himself that Hatake Kakashi was a lonely man and that he preferred it that way.
Though once he had seen Naruto drag the man away with loud complaints for Ichiraku ramen (too loud and he was far too obvious in the way he glanced at the enormous Inuzuka, but the beastly man kindly let the blonde's distractions wash over him), Kakashi had of course investigated the former missing nin.
Inuzuka were great in tracking, second to none, but Kakashi was no slouch himself, and Naruto was doing his best to be very distracting, so the Copy Nin successfully stalked them back towards the large house that the Inuzuka had claimed for his strange little family (after the required detour past Ichiraku's of course for several bowls of take-away).
He wasn't living at the Inuzuka compound, but considering his history that made sense, at least.
What hadn't made sense was why the enormous house was still seemingly filled to the brim.
It wasn't just Naruto, who entered through the door with a loud shout of "we're home!" as if he had lived there since forever. But there were other children as well, classmates of Naruto. Despite the fact that Inuzuka Hamaru was unofficially still ostracized by his own clan, the heir of nearly every other clan in Konoha seemed to be goofing off in his house, either congregating in the kitchen or spread across the spacious backyard.
There was the Akimichi heir raiding the fridge, having a loud and heated argument with the large ginger son of Hamaru.
"Animals are not food! They are friends!" the large teen shouted.
"Animals eat animals and is man not just another animal?" the Akimichi heir shot back.
Then, to Kakashi's shock, one of the ginger's eyes transformed suddenly, gaining a black sclera as his left arm morphed as well, the skin turning an earth-brown and gaining muscles and bony protrusions.
"They never asked to be eaten by us!" the enormous teen roared in a voice that had suddenly become a lot deeper and gravely as he let a monstrous fist fly towards the Akimichi child.
Kakashi had almost used a sunshin to block the punch when the young heir whirled around, his own arm suddenly ballooning as well and two gargantuan fists clashed with an enormous thud and the whirl of displaced air as he matched the other child's blow.
"They really should've thought of that before being made of food!" the child roared back.
Any further violence was avoided by Naruto entering the kitchen like a ray of sunshine heralding the dawn, carrying with him a whole stack of ramen bowls.
"Hey guys, we got Ichiraku's!"
"Awesome, I was getting hungry."
"You are always hungry."
"Of course, I still need to grow, don't I?"
"Sideways, mostly."
Former animosity seemingly forgotten, both boys released their transformation, settling around the enormous kitchen table (which Kakashi's keen gaze recognized as in fact being several tables that had been joined together without nails or screws, but which showed very suspiciously fused woodgrains).
As the boys took their place, Naruto slid a bowl their way.
"One Vegan Victory ramen and one Meat-Lover's Supreme ramen, coming right up!"
Meanwhile, Hamaru had been rounding up the rest of the household. As the Akimichi was here, Kakashi had already expected the presence of the Nara and Yamanaka heirs as well. The Nara kid was immediately recognizable as Shikaku's son, being a near-perfect copy, especially with that pineapple-like hairstyle, and was sitting opposite Hamaru's white-haired son as the two were bent over a shogi board.
The pieces were… off, somehow though. Looking more like finger-bones rather than actual game pieces.
The two children were so engrossed in their game (and from a glance Kakashi understood why, as the techniques the two were using were rather complicated for players of their age) they didn't even look up when the massive shadow of Hamaru fell over them.
"You know, I will never understand why you don't play with hanafuda instead, Shikamaru." The large man rumbled, amused.
"Please, as if I need another reminder of the 'legendary' Ino-Shika-Cho combination. Besides, too much luck. You don't know you're going to win like with Shogi." The Nara heir muttered, though the remark drew a raised eyebrow from his opponent, which was accentuated by the twin red dots on his forehead.
"Who said anything about you winning at Shogi either?" the teen said icily, before clacking one of his pieces forwards, eliciting a string of muttered curses from Shikamaru while Hamaru chuffed in amusement.
"C'mon, leave it for now. Naruto and I did some shopping: food's ready. Better hurry up or Choji and Jugo will have finished it all."
Even with the threat to their lunch, both boys seemed to seriously consider whether or not it was a worthy sacrifice in order to complete their match, until the large Inuzuka did a grab into his little shopping bag, comically small in his clawed paws.
"Got a little treat for you Shikamaru. Side of mackerel, just how you like it." The large criminal turned hero rumbled, which was finally enough to persuade the Nara heir to get up off his butt and hurry towards the kitchen with his prize, already calling out to Choji to not stuff his face so much.
The other child rose with a sigh as well, but was halted from following his opponent by his father, who kept digging into his bag, before extending a little bottle of pills towards the teenager. From his far-off vantage point, Kakashi couldn't make out what type of medicine the pills were, but judging by the minute grimace the teen displayed, they were of the sort whose effectiveness was measured by how disgusting it was.
The enormous Inuzuka had spotted the brief glance of distaste as well, his voice kind as he encouraged his son.
"I know you don't like 'em, but they're good for you. Better to prevent-"
"-than to cure. I know, I'll take them. I do not mind the medicine, merely the taste." The child replied blandly, taking the bottle from his father's extended claws.
The exiled Inuzuka was silent for a moment as he watched the white-haired teen shake out a few pills on his hand, wordlessly taking a carton of milk from the bag and extending it as well.
As the child downed both with a gulp and grimace, a deep sigh escaped the large nin, who sunk to a knee to glance his son in the eye. The words were soft, but heartfelt and even from his distance on a nearby rooftop, Kakashi could almost feel the earnestness in the man's voice.
"I'm sorry for all this, Kimi. I wish I could give you a more definitive cure, but-"
"Hanamaru-san. Please. What you and Guren-san have done for me. It is far more than I would have ever dare ask for. I thank you for all you have given me: do not trouble yourself with that which you cannot grant." The child said in a surprisingly mature voice.
The entire scene could've been powerful, emotional, dignified even. That is until comically large tears nearly exploded from the man's face as he lunged towards his son, tackling him in a powerful embrace, lifting the teen clear off the ground.
"OH MY SON! EVEN WHEN YOU'RE BEING SO HEARTFELT, YOU STILL CALL ME HAMARU-SAN! PLEASE, CALL ME TOU-SAN! GO ON, I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT! I'LL EVEN TAKE A HAMARU-CHAN!"
"GERROFF ME YOU CRAZY OLD MAN!"
All sense of decorum was lost as father and son engaged in a mock-wrestling match that reminded Kakashi uncomfortably of Gai during their youth.
'Oh… oh no. Now there's two of them?' the copy nin thought to himself as a shudder travelled down his spine.
"What's going on here?" a woman's shout put a halt to the mock-battle, as Kimimaro straightened his previously immaculate appearance with a huff.
The woman who spoke had indigo hair, put up in a spiky style oddly reminiscent of the Nara. Much like with her husband, Kakashi didn't know the woman, but he did know of her: Guren, no family name. Not even Inuzuka, considering it was still somewhat debatable whether or not Hamaru himself was allowed to still wear the name.
None in the clan had outright stopped him from doing so, but considering the rumours surrounding the beastly ex-traitor, Kakashi supposed even the elders of Konoha's most rambunctious clan would think twice about telling a man like Hamaru what he is and isn't allowed to call himself.
And Guren was supposedly his equal in strength, considering that she was supposed to have some very powerful kekkei genkai, though the exact nature of it was kept tightly under wraps for now. The same could be said for the rest of Hamaru's new family, which made sense if he chose them from amongst Orochimaru's elite forces.
Among them was his third son, who stuck close by Guren's side, literally as the woman had slung an arm around his slim shoulders. His most notable feature were his oddly coloured eyes, as well as what was known about him: nothing.
Not even Kakashi, with his own skills and former ANBU clearance, knew what the boy's abilities were. Hamaru's own skills, as well as the kekkei genkai his wife and two sons possessed, were closely guarded secrets, with access to such information strictly regulated by the Hokage and his closest survivors.
As the family would become more well-established, parts of it would naturally become more exposed over the course of their careers, and the security limits would become little more than a formality. It was comparable to how his own stunt in ANBU was a bit of an open secret, even to shinobi outside of Konoha.
After all, how many Chidori-wielding, Sharingan-having ninja did Konoha still have after the Massacre?
But such was not case with the small boy at Guren's side. The rest of the unusual family was shrouded in secrecy. The boy wasn't shrouded at all, because there was nothing there. No records, nothing that had even been redacted, there had been nothing on the child at all, save his name (not even a description) and a warning from the Hokage himself, when less than a handful of the village's most powerful jonin had secretly been briefed about the family's arrival to Konoha.
"That boy is stronger than either of his parents, and they are strong enough to stand as equals among you. In fact, he is stronger than all of you, combined. If he were to unleash his full power, he would be stronger than me." Hiruzen Sarutobi had said in his aged, gravelly voice, and had it been anyone else, Kakashi would've dismissed it as fear mongering instead.
But when the God of Shinobi spoke, you listened and so Kakashi was forced to take his leader's words at face value.
Looking at the boy now, he still didn't understand the Hokage's warning, but it put him on edge. Tenzo had been shadowing the family for a while now (the oddly large kitchen table suddenly came to mind) and when Kakashi had recently cornered his former kohai, the Wood user had admitted that this Yukimaru had been unusually friendly with Naruto.
That sent all sorts of alarm bells blaring in Kakashi's honed mined and already one explanation after the other rose and was equally swiftly dismissed, but seeing as speculation would get him nowhere and confrontation was unwise (not to mention, expressly forbidden by the Hokage himself), the Copy Nin decided to wait and observe instead.
For now, at least.
"Naruto and I are back and we brought food. It's waiting in the kitchen." Hamaru said, his demeanour returned to his earlier calm, though a large smile sat firmly on his face as he talked with his woman.
"Wait, food? What did you bring?" came a shout from behind Guren, and Kakashi was surprised to see three young kunoichi running up towards the pair, Kimimaro having already gone inside after exchanging a brotherly nod with Yukimaru.
The Yamanaka was less of a surprise, considering the Nara and Akimichi heirs were here as well. The pinkette was a complete unknown (which made her presence among such high-profile and powerful shinobi all the more surprising) and Kakashi only recognized the bun-haired girl because as of last year, she had become a genin under the tutelage of Kakashi's very own self-declared 'Eternal Rival'.
Being his friend's student, the Copy Nin was vaguely aware of her specialization in bukijutsu, as well as her idolization of Tsunade (though then again, which kunoichi didn't? She was iconic even in the other villages) but not much else. Supposedly, Guren was a master in her own right with bladed and thrown weaponry, so that explained why the girl would seek her tutelage (not that Gai was bad in that field, but taijutsu was his real and only love after all). It didn't explain why the foreign woman would freely give that tutelage.
"What did you bring?" Inoichi's girl asked in excitement, though the pinkette placed her hands on her hips with a sigh.
"Naruto helped with shopping. It's going to be Ichiraku's." she stated with confidence.
"What, again?" Gai's student whined, as all three girls looked towards Hamaru with questioning eyes.
When he nodded with a grin, the Yamanaka heiress and Gai's student groaned in defeat, while the pinkette simply nodded at her own prediction.
"Oh, don't be so smug Sakura, we all know you're smart enough to make Shika jealous." Inoichi's daughter said with a roll of her pupilless eyes, though it was said with the banter of old friendship and lacked any true heat.
The now-named Sakura didn't seem to take any real offence at least, merely shrugging her shoulders.
"It's Naruto." She stated again, as if it explained everything, and Kakashi supposed that to the children, it must've, because the girls shared a glance, before running full tilt towards the kitchen as well, a sense of urgency in their movement.
'So the civilian is friends with both the Yamanaka heiress and even Naruto? Or familiar enough with him, at the very least. That's some impressive political manoeuvring.' Kakashi thought silently to himself.
As the girls left to join the boys in the kitchen (the sounds of conversation, consumption and even combat were floating from that direction of the house now), Guren, Yukimaru and Hamaru stayed behind, the woman shaking her head.
"You really shouldn't indulge the boy so much, Hamaru."
"It's a small thing, but means a lot to him. It's fine."
"He can't live off just ramen, dear."
"We both know he can." Hamaru retorted, and there was something dark in his voice, a frustration that Kakashi knew all too well.
After all, no matter how it may resent being caged, the Fox would always ensure his jailer's good health.
"Just because he can, doesn't mean he should." Guren said softly, with a surprising amount of understanding.
Even the young boy at her side nodded with a solemn look of comprehension on his face!
'Do they know? Hamaru could've told them, but it's an S-Rank secret, it's illegal on pain of death to reveal Naruto's status to another and an outsider at that! … then again, so is murdering your own teammate…' Kakashi's thoughts tumbled, but as he sought no confrontation (at least not today), he kept them to himself and flattened himself further against the roof of his vantagepoint.
"We're already helping him with that. Between Juugo and Choji, the kid will be stuffed so full of vegetables and proteins he'll be resembling a Christmas dinner if we're not careful." Hamaru waved off Guren's concerns with a smile in his voice and his woman just shook her head in defeat.
"Fine. Just don't blame me when the kid remains a short little runt." She said her piece with a sense of finality in her tone.
"Do you guys want me to try and talk to Kurama again? Isobu says that underneath his harsh exterior there's… well, he says that there's another harsh interior underneath that, but underneath that underneath is a good person. Somewhere, supposedly." Yukimaru spoke up, and Hamaru scratched at the scruff on his chin in thought.
'Who are Isobu and Kurama? More of their allies? They weren't mentioned in the brief and supposedly they are only with four. Are they in contact with forces outside Konoha? I should relay this to the Hokage.' Kakashi thought to himself with rising suspicion.
Whoever Isobu and Kurama were, Hamaru clearly decided against involving the two of them for now, shaking his head in the negative.
"It's a nice offer Yuki, but we should leave it be for now. Prodding Kurama will only cause him to retreat further into his shell, something I think Isobu knows a thing or two about, hm?" Guren explained to her son, seeing her husband's reaction and Hamaru nodded with a smile, while Yukimaru shrugged in agreement.
"Now, I suggest we go in there and make sure that they don't break my kitchen. Again. Hopefully they left some food for us." The formidable kunoichi continued, though she shot her man an aside glance.
"Speaking of leaving food, should we leave out some for uninvited guests?"
Ice-cold water seemingly rushed along Kakashi's nerves, freezing his muscles in place as Guren pitched the last part of her sentence louder, casting out her voice.
'How did she-… impossible!'
But it was very clearly possible, as now Hamaru slowly turned around at his wife's question, heavy-set gaze landing squarely on the rooftop where Kakashi had been hiding. Slowly, a lazy grin stretched over the man's beast-like face, showing of glinting, pointed teeth and Kakashi recalled his earlier observation: Inuzuka are the best trackers in the world, second to none.
Clearly, that extended to when they were the ones being tracked as well.
Any faint hopes Kakashi had at maintaining anonymity where dashed when Hamaru responded to Guren's question.
"Nah, don't bother. Scarecrows don't eat, after all."
And with an infuriatingly and insultingly nonchalant wave, Hamaru turned his back on Kakashi and joined his family inside the kitchen.
Kakashi had kept his distance since that day, though he had not let up his surveillance. At first he had thought that he had finally been successful in evading Guren's senses and Hamaru's nose, until he began finding little straw-filled dolls in his usual hiding places.
Still, despite the blow to his ego, Kakashi didn't relent, and slowly the puzzle of the three children across from him, his three prospective students, fell into place. Sakura had been brought into Hamaru's fold through her friendship with Ino Yamanaka, though speaking to some of the Academy teachers had revealed that friendship had been strained when they had been younger, though apparently it was thanks to Guren's intervention that the two girls had made amends a few years ago.
The Yamanaka girl had boldly invited herself into Hamaru's home once she had become curious enough to see where her future teammates constantly disappeared off to, and Hamaru had let her in with some amount of good-natured amusement. Apparently, Shikaku's son had developed a fierce (in the purely intellectual sense, because, well, Nara) rivalry with Kimimaro, while the Akimichi heir had struck up a culinary rivalry with the apparently vegan son of Hamaru.
Kakashi still didn't know what kekkei genkai Kimimaro (or Guren herself, for that matter) possessed, but Jugo seemed to have some sort of transformative capabilities and could talk to animals.
Which wouldn't be that surprising (Kakashi himself talked to his own ninken often, after all) if it weren't for the fact that Jugo also seemed to be able to hold a conversation with animals that couldn't speak.
Kakashi had never heard of such a thing, but the transformative abilities meant that Jugo and Choji often clashed with huge fists or even foreheads over all manner of recipes and ingredients, though those disputes always seemed to end with the two sitting down to share a serene meal together.
A strong contrast to the more violent side that seemed to emerge in Jugo alongside the spikes and darkened skin.
Tenten had come to the Hamaru household on her own, much like Ino had, apparently sent by Gai himself, after the man had met the massive Inuzuka during one of his workouts. Kakashi felt slightly ashamed he wasn't even aware of whom his only real friend was hanging out with these days whenever the self-proclaimed 'Blue Beast' wasn't chasing him down for some ridiculous challenge.
Though the reason why he hadn't noticed was because said ridiculous challenges had lessened in number recently, and apparently it was because Hamaru was completely, objectively, verifiably and utterly insane: he had agreed to become Gai's work-out and sparring partner.
Kakashi had some difficulty squashing the ugly flash of jealousy that unexpectedly raised its head within his chest when he briefly considered whether or not he was being replaced, before he destroyed that emotion utterly.
After all, why should he care? It would only work to the benefit of all if he was.
Hatake Kakashi was a lonely man after all, and he preferred it that way.
… so what if the next challenge in their silly contest had been issued by him for the first time in its history? He'd forever deny it and Gai inevitably kept bursting into a sobbing mess whenever he thought back on it so he'd never tell anyways.
Whatever possessed Hamaru to subject himself to the torture that was Gai's past time, it was apparently enough for the enormous Inuzuka to convince Konoha's Blue Beast that Guren was a much better suited teacher to develop Tenten's specialization and so the girl found herself getting bukijutsu lessons on the side in the strange not-Inuzuka household.
But the strangest person there was Naruto.
All the other children were guests: they came and went and sometimes didn't visit for days at a time and when they did, they always went home come nightfall. Not Naruto. While his official address was still the former house of Minato-sensei and Kushina, he practically lived at Hamaru's mansion. That realization, the knowledge that the house of his mentor now stood empty and cold, had hurt Kakashi, but he was also mature enough to admit he had hardly helped Naruto see that house as a home.
If he was happier living with Hamaru's family, than living alone, then who was Kakashi to begrudge him that?
And Naruto was happier, visibly and noticeably so (but only after Kakashi had begun looking for and noticing him, he guiltily thought to himself). He was just as loud as before, his mouth a waterfall of words and thoughts just as before, but… more, in a way.
More real, somehow.
Because for once, when Naruto was shouting to the world, there was someone who was listening. All his tales, Hamaru listened to the very end. All his boasts, Hamaru would agree to without hesitation.
Guren cared for him, pushing and correcting him when needed. Kimimaro challenged him. Jugo was always willing to help him. And Yukimaru almost seemed like a brother to him, the two boys never far from each other's side, and understanding that simply went deeper than anyone else save a few select people could ever hope to understand.
Kakashi didn't know what secret bound them so tightly, as their personalities were so wildly different from each other, but the Village had quickly learned these past two years that, wherever Naruto was shouting or getting into trouble, you would only need to look behind him to see the apologetic smile of Yukimaru.
The child almost seemed to emit the opposite of Killing Intent: just some soft words from him were enough for Naruto to calm down from his antics and some smiles and bows were usually enough to smooth the ruffled feathers of whatever civilian had been victim to Naruto's latest prank.
They seemed almost like perfectly fitting opposites and Kakashi found himself more often than not comparing the two like water and fire.
If it hadn't been for Hamaru's and Yukimaru's influence and guidance, Naruto never would've found the words to one day sit silently beside a troubled and hurt Sasuke by the waterfront, offering him the same companionship that he himself never knew he had desperately been looking for until he had freely received it.
Kakashi didn't know if Sasuke would admit to Naruto being his friend (uncomfortably being reminded of himself and Gai), but the two were worthy rivals if nothing else by all accounts from the Academy (which he, being a jonin, had of course perused at his leisure).
Sasuke was definitely the better shinobi. Diligent. Talented. Yet broken. Aloof to his peers and distrustful of his betters.
The parallels kept stacking higher and higher and Kakashi had swiftly switched his attention to Naruto.
Naruto was definitely the worse ninja. Bad attitude and attendance in class. Easily distracted. Yet also very engaging and outgoing. Tempered by Yukimaru, Naruto's blaring enthusiasm gradually transformed into a bubbling exuberance, and considering he kept interacting with several of his classmates even outside of school, Kakashi could already see the future bonds that were being forged here in their youth.
Not to mention that, as academically dismal as his performance was, Naruto's physical aptitude showed that he was somewhat of a battle genius, if guided properly.
Of all injustices, how could it be that his sensei's son would turn out more like Gai than Kakashi!?
Because, for all their academic and personal differences, it was clear that Naruto was Sasuke's rival in every meaningful way. They often sparred and the results were always close, even though people claimed Sasuke was a natural prodigy.
Sasuke didn't come by the Hamaru household as often as some of the other children, but when he did, it was to spar with either Naruto or Kimimaro, who himself was hailed as a genius to rival his own year's legend, Hyuuga Neji.
With Sakura a frequent guest at Hamaru's as well, considering she near-idolized Guren, looked up to Tenten and was close friends with Ino Yamanaka, and Kakashi was only somewhat surprised to see the three children not falling apart while he kept them waiting in the classroom.
Apparently, the pinkette indeed was smart enough to rival a Nara, since right after they were left alone, Naruto and Sasuke turned to her as one for information. Imagine Kakashi's surprise when she gave a fairly accurate, if very broad-strokes biography about him, all from memory as well. There was nothing classified there, mostly standard intel that could be found in any Bingo Book updated within the last ten years, but still. Even though the girl's parents were shinobi themselves, they were career genin, meaning they had some of the lowest security clearance in the Leaf's military structure and as such, knew much less about him than he did about them. The fact that the pinkette still managed to divulge some more obscure facts (such as how he favorited both lightning and earth release jutsu) clearly indicated she had used the connections at the not-Inuzuka mansion to her benefit.
'For a girl of her age and means, that's some decent intelligence-gathering' Kakashi had mused silently to himself.
The knowledge that their sensei was one of Konoha's elites had visibly pleased Sasuke and Naruto, though that had quickly transformed into frustration when he had kept them waiting a few hours.
He had expected Naruto to blow his top. What had surprised him was that both Sasuke and even Sakura went along with his idea to prank him in revenge without putting up much of a fuss.
Sakura really only mentioned once that attacking their future sensei might not be the wisest thing to do, to which Sasuke had rightfully pointed out that if they, fresh Academy graduates, could successfully attack Hatake Kakashi of all people, they clearly didn't need him as a sensei anyways.
The trap had been simple: an eraser filled with itching powder placed above the door, glue spread across both the door handle and over the floor to immobilize him once he entered and a simple flashbang across the door opening to blind him and distract him from the true trap that would then land on his head.
So, of course, he had come in through the window instead, set off the flashbang, blinding them instead, threw Sasuke on the glue covering the floor and Sakura into the glue lining the door and then plucked the eraser off the top of the door and slipped it into Naruto's jacket.
Then, just for good measure, he put a water-filled bucket on each of their heads as well. Hey, it was a classic companion to any door-related prank, it wasn't his fault they hadn't thought of it.
Naturally, that had set the kids in a foul mood for their meeting on the rooftop afterwards. The boys' answers were as expected: both filled with ambition, though Sasuke's was of course a lot darker. What he hadn't expected was for Naruto to give the last Uchiha a long and considering nod, clearly well aware of Sasuke's background but apparently still a bit unsure as to how to respond to such deeply internalised pain and hatred.
As he had no expectations for the pinkette, he wasn't really surprised: aside from her clear (and obviously, unrequited) crush on her Uchiha teammate, she wanted to become a strong kunoichi despite her clanless background, to show the world that hard work could beat genetic lottery, her contact with Gai's student clearly shining through.
An admirable dream, though she wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last to try and prove that.
And so now here they stood, the kids glaring at them, he lost in his own reminiscing.
"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura roared accusingly, and at their side, Sasuke crossed his arms in disapproval.
"You ate." Kakashi lazily shot back, though to his surprise the children didn't blanch at getting caught.
"No, we didn't." Sasuke simply stated, seemingly completely unbothered with such a blatant lie.
A good shinobi skill to have.
"You said we shouldn't eat before coming here. We didn't. But after we arrived here, you didn't show up, so we ate the food we brought with us. You didn't say we weren't allowed to do that." Sakura cleverly pointed out, and Kakashi sent her his signature eye-smile on full blast.
That cowed all three children, as did his next words.
"Your funeral." He said blithely, before his hand dipped into his pocket, retrieving to silvery objects.
"Now, these are two bells…"
//
AN: A lot of exposition, but considering there's a two year time skip I wanted to show the snowball effect of Hamaru staying in the village and taking Naruto under his wing. Next chapter will be the bell test itself and hopefully shed a bit more light on how the kids have changed in that time period now that they have regularly hung out together for the past two years.