The next morning.
"I'm heading out."
Kakashi snatched a slice of bread from the table, wolfed it down in a few quick bites, and called out toward the living room.
"Got it. Come back early," Hikari answered lazily from the sofa.
She was curled up cross-legged, barefoot, flipping through a volume of manga. Last night's events had been silently filed under "never happened" by mutual, unspoken agreement.
Even so, a hand suddenly descended on her head and ruffled her silver hair with shameless familiarity.
Hikari's fingers froze on the page she'd been about to turn.
She watched the perpetrator stroll out the door as if nothing had happened, then huffed under her breath.
"Tch. Perverted dog."
…
Because Hikari had tweaked her knee the night before, she stayed home while Kakashi went alone to buy winter clothes for Naruto. The streets of Konoha were still buzzing with the afterglow of yesterday's victory celebration; the festive mood hadn't faded overnight. Civilians and shinobi alike greeted him warmly as he passed.
Kakashi answered each with the same relaxed, eye-crinkling smile.
He knew the route by heart. A few minutes later he was at Naruto's apartment, knocking on the door.
No answer.
With a helpless sigh, Kakashi vaulted lightly onto the windowsill and slipped inside. Through the glass he'd already seen the disaster zone that passed for Naruto's bedroom.
Calling it a child's room felt generous.
Empty snack bags carpeted the floor. Seven or eight stacked instant-noodle cups teetered beside the bed like a leaning tower of shame. The bookshelf had long since surrendered; its contents lay in chaotic heaps.
And right in the middle of it all, the blond troublemaker himself was sprawled across the mattress, dead to the world.
Kakashi didn't bother with niceties. One window pane wasn't going to stop him. He slid the window open and stepped inside, then reached down and hoisted Naruto up by the back of his jacket with a single hand.
"Mmgh… who…?"
Naruto rubbed his eyes blearily and squinted up at his assailant.
"White… white-haired doggie…?"
Kakashi's mouth twitched. Without a word he pinched Naruto's ear and twisted.
"Ow—!"
"Ow ow ow ow!"
"Kakashi-nii-san!!"
"Let go, let go already!"
Instantly wide awake, Naruto flailed and grabbed Kakashi's wrist with both hands.
"Do you have any idea what time it is? Still sleeping?"
"Look at this pigsty you call a room!"
"You can't even be bothered to pick up after yourself."
"I've only been gone two months—less than two months—and you turn the place into a landfill?"
"How am I supposed to trust you living alone like this?"
Kakashi's tone was stern, but the corners of his eyes softened as he lectured the boy dangling from his grip.
Naruto puffed out his cheeks, thoroughly offended. "I am alone, and Kakashi-nii-san still comes to see me anyway…"
"Hm?"
Kakashi's eye narrowed dangerously.
Naruto's survival instincts finally kicked in. "It really is filthy! I'll clean it right now, I swear!"
A beat.
"Good," Kakashi said, satisfied. "Finish cleaning, then I'll treat you to breakfast."
He set Naruto down on the floor.
"Eh—really?! Yahoo!"
The promise of food flipped a switch; Naruto's eyes sparkled with new life.
Kakashi watched the kid scamper off on his stubby legs and felt a helpless smile tug at his lips.
This brat really didn't take after Minato-sensei at all—except for the hair and those ridiculous blue eyes.
He glanced at Naruto huffing and puffing as he gathered trash in the living room, then stepped forward, plucked the bag from the boy's hands, and said:
"You handle the bedroom. I'll take care of this."
Naruto blinked up at him, stunned. "Kakashi-nii-san… did something good happen to you?"
Kakashi arched a brow. "Do I seem different from usual?"
Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek, thinking hard, then lit up like he'd just solved a great mystery.
"Today you feel… super nice! Like, really approachable!"
"Before this you were always so cool and distant!"
Kakashi paused, then lightly cuffed the back of Naruto's head. "Less talking, more cleaning. Don't overthink things, kid."
In the end, Naruto's "cleaning" mostly consisted of moral support while Kakashi did the heavy lifting. But once the floor was visible again and sunlight could actually reach the window, Naruto planted his hands on his hips and beamed.
"As expected of the future number-one ninja, Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the best at everything!"
From the sidelines, Kakashi rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't fall out. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go wash your face. Time to eat."
At the word eat, Naruto bolted for the bathroom with a victory whoop.
Kakashi dropped into a chair, watching the blond tornado disappear around the corner.
Kids really were simple. One promised meal and the world was sunshine again.
He glanced out the window at the lazy clouds drifting overhead, his thoughts wandering.
Kumogakure had withdrawn their forces. The Third Great Ninja War was effectively in its final act; all that remained were the formal negotiations between Konoha and Kumo. Once those concluded, the longest war in shinobi history would finally be over.
But with a thousand Cloud prisoners sitting in Konoha's cells, peace wouldn't come cheap.
Either the Fourth Raikage would be forced to step down, or Kumogakure would have to accept terms so brutal they'd need twenty—maybe thirty—years just to claw their way back to pre-war strength.
Kakashi wondered what sort of price the Third Hokage intended to exact.
"Kakashi-nii-san! Let's goooo!"
Naruto came barreling back, face scrubbed pink and grinning ear to ear.
Kakashi stood, ruffling the spiky blond hair one more time. "Alright, alright. Let's go."
Breakfast was quick—dumplings from the stand next door.
The real adventure came when they hit the clothing store for winter gear.
"Kakashi-nii-saaan…"
A sneaky whisper tugged Kakashi's sleeve while he compared two nearly identical orange jackets.
"What now?"
"Look over there," Naruto hissed, ducking behind a rack of coats and pointing with all the subtlety of a firework.
Kakashi followed the finger.
A young couple was browsing children's clothes a few aisles over, their daughter between them—a little girl with soft pink hair cut just above her shoulders.
Just an ordinary family shopping in Konoha.
…Is that Sakura?
"That girl is super cute…" Naruto's cheeks flushed bright red.
Kakashi felt the world tilt slightly. This kid was way too precocious.
…Fine. He takes after his old man after all.
And in this particular department, the student had already surpassed the master.
————
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