A/N: So there has been some confusion about Ran's mother's age. She was 18 when she moved to the village and didn't meet Kakashi for several years after that. Putting her in her early 20's when she had Ran. Hope that helps!

On the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers sits a small farming village only a day's walk or so from the ocean. Due to its location, the little village is majorly isolated from the rest of the world. A small fishing village a day's away being the only one to be in constant contact with them. As such, the village often seems to be untouched by time. All but the oldest homes have running water, but very few homes have the luxury of electricity. The citizens of this village are rather close-nit, to the point where outsiders are not trusted and unwelcome. Shinobi doubly so. Elders still plagued by the memories of their sons and daughters being slaughtered and their houses set ablaze due to wars they had no part in.

Nowadays, since the wars have passed, and the world seems to be at a time of peace, children run barefoot through the dirt streets. Chasing one another in some sort of game only they understand, often dripping wet from playing in the creek that resides in the forest. The young and healthy toll away in the fields, not worried about their young getting into trouble. The children know better than to come home after the sun sets lest they face their parent's wrath. The elderly sit on verandas watching those still blessed with their youth work the earth or play without a care in the world, wrinkled faces smiling as children dart past their homes.

Today there are no children running in the streets, their laughter bouncing off every surface, no hunched over figures in the fields as they complete a hard day's work, and those wisened by their years do not sit on their verandas ready to lend an ear to the troubles of the young. No, today the village's occupants are gathered to mourn the loss of one of their own. A young woman who hadn't lived in the village her whole life, having moved to the village at the young age of 18. Despite her short tenure the village was mourning just as much as they would for someone who had lived out their whole life within the village walls. But perhaps the one who was mourning the most was the woman's five year old daughter. Now without a mother, and having never known her father, the little girl had no one to turn to. The village leader was planning on taking the child in, that is, until he read her mother's will and learned the identity of the child's father. It turned out that her final wish was for her daughter to live with her father. And so, with a heavy heart, the village leader took the little girl to her father, and the small village lost another member.

"Jii-chan… where are we going?" A little girl asked the village leader as they rode on the back of a cart amongst the many bushels of produce.

"We're going to where your papa lives, Ran-chan, Konoha," Saito, the village leader, answered. Saito had been the village leader for over 30 years. He had been there for the births of many of the villagers, and the births of their grandchildren, in several cases. He viewed his village as a large family, seeing the villagers as his children. It would most certainly be hard for Ran to adjust in a village far away full of people she didn't know. It would be difficult on Saito and those who had grown close with the child during her short life, but her mother believed that her living with her father would be for the best. Yes it hurt, but who was he to deny the final wish of a dead woman, the final wish of one of his children?

"Konoha…?" Ran asked slowly, breaking him out of his musings, trying out the name on her tongue. "The village is called Leaf?" She scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Konohagakure no Sato is the full name," Saito explained with a chuckle.

"Why's it hidden in leaves?"

"Well, that's kinda a long story… hmmm, you know what a shinobi is, right?"Those damnable shinobi! And I'm sending her to live amongst them! Sweet little Ran-!Saito's hatred for shinobi ran deep, but he didn't let any of it show on his face or voice. He wouldn't want to confuse the child even more. Lord knew this whole situation was confusing enough as is.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, shinobi don't necessarily like it when everyone knows where their base is, so they make their homes hidden," Saito attempted to explain, not that he really knew the actual reason the village was referred to as 'hidden', but a little lie wouldn't hurt the child. Better to give the girl a false story than have to deal with a long string of 'why' and 'how comes' until they reached the village.

"So its location is a secret?" Ran continued, not ready to let the matter drop.

"Yeah…"

"So does that make us super special since we know where it is?"

"S-sure…Oh, look, Ran-chan! You can see the village gates!" Saito exclaimed, hoping the towering gates would distract the girl from her questions.

"That doesn't look very hidden…" Ran muttered to herself, "no secret entrances, nothin' but a big gate opened wide to let anyone in…! Bet they don't even use passwords."

The young man driving the cart let out a laugh at her comments as they passed the towering gates, "I'll drop the two of you off here to deal with whatever business needs to be attended about the squirt while I go drop off these here crops," the young man said as he slowed the cart to a stop in front of the desk two shinobi currently resided. He offered them a wave before helping Saito and Ran out of the back.

"Thank you, Kenji-kun, I'm sure we'll be able to handle things from here on out," Saito said while taking Ran's hand before waving the younger man off. Kenji was a man in his early 20s and made this trip to Konoha twice a month to deliver the crops their village sold. He had been more than happy to give the two of them a ride to the village on the back of his cart pulled by a pair of oxen. "Come on, Ran-chan," he smiled down at the girl before leading her over to the two ninja.

"Welcome to Konoha," greeted a chipper Kotetsu. How he managed to be so chipper to the many people who visited their desk on a daily basis was beyond his partner, Izumo.

"Is there something you need?" Asked a far more subdued Izumo.

"Yes," Saito said with a far colder expression than the one he just gave Ran, "it's about this child." The two ninja were taken aback briefly by the old man's expression, but quickly crained their necks to look over the desk.

"Ah, well… I don't know if we're currently taking in orphans…" Kotetsu cut off the elderly man with a nervous scratch of the back of his neck.

"She isn't an orphan!" Saito snapped, causing Kotetsu and Izumo to flinch back slightly, "I was getting to that before you so rudely interrupted me! Do the youth of today have no respect for their elders? This child has far better manners than the two of you!" He ranted while pinning the two with a glare.

"A-ahh, we're terribly sorry," Izumo tried to placate the man, "you were saying… about the girl…?"

Saito let out a huff before he continued, "yes, as I was saying, she still has a father. He is supposedly one of your shinobi," spitting out the word 'shinobi' like a swear. That got the ninja's attention, illegitimate children of shinobi could cause kekkai genkai and other village secrets to fall into enemy hands. Punishment for the so called 'mission babies' could range from fines and slaps on the wrists for those with no hereditary skills, all the way to serious demotions and even jail time for those who could pass on village secrets to their children. Most of the children were discovered by other shinobi, not brought willingly into the village like this, although.

"I'll inform Tsunade-sama," Izumo said to his partner before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"Oi! Where'd he go?" Saito exclaimed.Do none of these 'people' have manners?!

"If what you say is true then this is a very serious matter, my colleague went to inform the Hokage," Kotetsu explained, his joking and laid back demeanor disappearing. Now, Saito might not have known much about Shinobi and their ways, but one thing he did know was that the Hokage was the village's leader and considered the strongest within said village. His hand unconsciously tightened around Ran's as he thought of what that could mean for the child. Said child looked up at him curiously, not really understanding what was going on. The three awaited the return of the bandana'd shinobi, Ran shifting her weight from foot to foot and occasionally kicking the little pebbles that lingered on the road, Saito silently worrying, and Kotetsu stealing glances at Ran every so often.

It wasn't long before Izumo returned with another chuunin in tow. "I'll be escorting the two of you to the Hokage tower, if you'll follow me," the new comer stated before gesturing for Ran and Saito to follow him. The elderly man quietly pulled Ran through the streets as she looked up in wonder at the tall buildings that surrounded them.

"Whose kid do you think she is?" Izumo asked his friend as they watched the trio walking farther into the village.

"No idea, but she did feel vaguely familiar…"

Tsunade was not having a good day. It had started with an incredibly frustrating meeting with the clan heads, followed closely by a 'meeting' with the elders that was really just them using the meeting for an excuse to nag her for some reason or another. As soon as she had returned to her office, Shizune had buried her alive in paperwork. Now there was a possible mission baby to top things off.

She needed a drink.

But lo and behold Shizune had raided her stash and left her without so much a sake cup. Sometimes she really hated her assistant.

"Tsunade-sama," said assistant poked her head into her office, "the child and her current guardian are here…"

"Thank you, Shizune, send him in."

"And the girl?" Damn. She hadn't thought of that, what would she do with the brat during the meeting? "I can stay with her while you meet with her guardian," Shizune offered after seeing Tsunade's contemplative expression.

"That would probably be best." A few moments later a knock sounded on the hard wood of the office door and an elderly man in his late 60's, early 70's, stepped through the threshold after being given permission. Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she examined the old man. His skin was incredibly wrinkled, and his hair had long since been turned white. Only a few hairs remained on his head while a bushy mustache obscured almost all of his mouth. Despite his hunched back and bones obviously weary from a life full of hard work, he didn't use a cane. No, he had far too much pride for that.

"So, you're the leader of this village?" Saito asked with a cold calculating glance at Tsunade.

"You could say that," she responded, "why don't we get down to business? That girl you had with you, she's the daughter of one of my shinobi? Or so you claim… " The Hokage continued, her hard eyes narrowing over her interlaced fingers that rested in front of her face.

"I can assure you that this is no lie," Saito spat, "I have the late mother's will with me. Everything is explained within," reaching into his kimono, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and unceremoniously tossed it onto the Hokage's desk. Tsunade let out a huff at the elderly man's rudeness before unfolding the will. She mostly skimmed over it until she came to the relevant portion:

In the event of my death, I wish for my daughter: Koizumi Ran to move to Konohagakure no Sato in order to live with her father, one… Tsunade's eyes widened in shock as she read the name before she promptly pinched to bridge of her nose. If this were true, it would cause her quite the headache. "How certain was she of her daughter's paternity?" The woman asked after a few moments.

"She had confided in me that there wasn't anyone before or after him for quite some time," Saito answered, "she was absolutely certain."

Tsunade let out a sigh after setting her forehead on her intertwined fingers, "we will need to confirm this ourselves, of course, before anything can be decided," Tsunade said after she raised her head.

"Of course," Saito said with a slight nod of his head before exiting the office, not even waiting for a dismissal.

"Rude old man…!" Tsunade growled as she glared daggers at the door Saito had just closed.This really is a problem… The Hokage thought as she looked down at the name on the will again,Hatake Kakashi.

She really needed a drink.

Tsunade needed a lot of drinks.

They had run the DNA test three times and every time it had come back positive.

Hatake Kakashi was without a doubt Koizumi Ran's father.

"Shizune!" Tsunade ordered, causing the younger woman to squeak in fear.

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Have Kakashi brought in to see me immediately!"
"Y-yes!"
"And bring me a bottle of sake!"

"A-are you sure that's a good idea Tsu-"

"Now, Shizune!"

"Y-yes ma'am!"

Now, usually, 'immediately' in Kakashi time meant a least an hour, but when the porn reading jonin was confronted with a rather frazzled and terrified looking Shizune, he really had no option but to follow behind the woman as they headed towards the Hokage tower. Noticing the large jug of sake Shizune was carrying, Kakashi became worried for his health. Tsunade was certainly not in a good mood. He started to frantically think back to all the possible things he had done to possibly make her this mad. He couldn't remember anything, so maybe this wasn't related to him? A man could only hope. And there were those looks Shizune kept sending him when she thought he wasn't looking. That certainly couldn't be good…

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama, I've brought Kakashi-san…" Tsunade's assistant nervously said as she opened the door to her office without bothering to knock first. Another bad sign. Shizune quickly put the sake bottle on her mentor's desk before all but fleeing out the door. Oh, he was totally dead.

Tsunade didn't even glance at him before broke open the sake, serving herself several dishes in quick succession. "Why do you always cause me problems?" She grumbled nastily between cupfulls.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked in what he hoped was a placating manner.

"Shut it!" The Hokage exclaimed as she tossed the empty cup at his head, luckily, Kakashi managed to dodge it. Now he was just hoping they would find his body. Tsunade took a few calming breaths as she massaged her temples before she said, "you've really done it this time, Kakashi."

"Ah… what exactly have I done…?"

The Hokage was quiet for a few moments, seemingly gathering her thoughts, "there is a small farming village on the borders of Fire and River countries, close to the ocean. You would have had a mission there about five years ago."

Kakashi scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion as he thought back, "I have vague memories of such a place, but what does that have to do with this?"

"There was a woman there," Tsunade continued, causing Kakashi's eye to widen substantially, "Koizumi Hitomi."

"Wh-what does she have to do with this?" Kakashi felt his throat going dry. Truthfully, he did not remember the woman's name, just that the two of them had had a one night stand the night before he was to leave the village. The mission, a simple check in, had been successful. There was no harm. He had left before she had even woken up. The town's people had such a grudge against shinobi that no one had let him rent a room. He was prepared to set up camp just outside of the village, but she had offered to let him spend the night in her home. She had said that she didn't hate shinobi like most of the others since she had only lived there for a few years. Nothing was meant to happen, but one thing led to another… and well…

"She died two weeks ago," Tsunade cut through his thoughts.

"Ah, well… that's unfortunate… but what does that have to do with me…?"

"She had a child. A daughter, to be specific." Kakashi could feel his heart stop beating in his chest. "She's yours, you're a father, Kakashi."

"Wh-what…? Are you certain…?"

"We ran the test three times."

Kakashi stared down at his hands, he couldn't be a father. He just couldn't! Minato-sensei was the kind of man who was supposed to be a father, not him! Hell, even Asuma would be a better father than him. He was just not the right kind of person to be raising children. Look at what had happened with his genin team: Sasuke left the village, Naruto left to train with Jiraiya, and Sakura became Tsunade's pupil. What kind of damage would he do to a child who was, what? Five? No, no, he would just do more damage to the poor child if he were in her life.

"What's going to happen to her?" Kakashi asked, his voice hoarse, not noticing that his hands had started to shake.

"Hitomi's will states that in the event of her death that Ran should come to live with you," Tsunade said surprisingly gently before Kakashi cut her off.

"Ran…? Her name is Ran?" His voice small.

"Yes… the village leader brought her here, said that he wouldn't deny a dead woman's final wish and said that he wouldn't take her back…"

"Won't take her back…?"

"He was rather adamant that being with her father would be better than remaining in a village that she holds no ties to," Tsunade said with a small sigh.

"Doesn't she have any other family…?"

"Apparently Hitomi was an only child whose parents died when she was young and her grandparents died not long before Ran was born."

"So I'm all she has left, then…?"

Tsunade was quiet for a moment before responding, "yes."

Kakashi was quiet for several minutes while he seemed to waging an internal war with himself before he said, "alright. I'll do it, I'll take her in." Tsunade seemed surprised by proclamation for a few seconds before she smiled.

"I'm glad," she said sincerely, "but the matter of your punishment still stands." That statement caused Kakashi to flinch briefly. "Since you are an elite jounin, we can't just ignore this, but you are also the last member of the Hatake clan. You never expressed an interest of continuing the line, but now there is a child who has most likely inherited the clan's traits. Ran could be considered an asset to the village, even more since you are the one raising her," Tsunade paused as she contemplated a suitable punishment, "first I expect you to forfeit the equivalent to five A-ranks as a fine, as well as completing a D-rank every day for the next month." She smirked as the visible part of his face paled, "and no using shadow clones or your dogs to complete them!" Kakashi made a vague choking sound, but he couldn't help feeling grateful to Tsunade. She really could have made it far worse, and would probably get some heat from the elders, but had opted to let him off with a slap on the wrist.

"I understand, Tsunade-sama," he paused for a moment before adding, "thank you."

Tsunade smiled genuinely before saying, "would you like to meet her?"

Kakashi started before shakily nodding his head.This is really happening then… I'm going to be a father… He thought as Tsunade called Shizune in and told her to bring Ran in. Time seemed to slow down as Shizune left to retrieve his daughter. God, hisdaughter. A little girl. Oh man, what was he getting himself into? He had no idea how to raise a little girl! Maybe a little boy, but definitely not a little girl! He was snapped out of his musings as the door clicked open and he was suddenly staring at eyes so much like his own. She was looking up at him curiously, a slight frown set in her round face. She barely came up to his hips and had incredibly thick hair the color of rose gold that came down to her shoulders. Adorned in a short sleeveless white yukata that mostly covered her rolled up blue shorts, showing that the underside of the fabric was white. A spring green sash was tied in a loose bow on her side, the loose parts of the bow hanging down past her mid-thigh.

"Who're you?" Ran asked, half hiding behind shizune. As soon as she opened her mouth, Kakashi spotted the four very prominent canine teeth all members of the Hatake clan possessed.

"This is your father, Ran-chan," Shizune thankfully answered the girl. Ran looked from Shizune to Kakashi back to Shizune before back to Kakashi, staring blankly at him, not really sure what to do.

Crouching so that he was eye to eye with Ran, "hello, Ran-chan, I'm Kakashi and I'm your father." The little girl shifted nervously, causing Kakashi to notice that she wasn't wearing the usual ninja scandals, but wooden ones with soles a good inch or two thick with a bright red strap that ran horizontally across her feet. When he looked back up, he notice that she was looking at something slightly above his eye-his headband. She slowly reached up a hand and touched the metal before flinching back at the coolness of it. "what's it mean?" Ran asked.

"Ah, this says I'm a shinobi of Konoha," Kakashi explained, pointing at the leaf smack dab in the center. "Do you know what a shinobi is?" Ran nodded vigorously, "such a clever girl!" He exclaimed, giving her an eye smile.

"Speaking of shinobi," Tsunade interrupted, "don't you have a meeting with your team?"

"Oh… haha… there was one at ten AM…" Kakashi said nervously while rubbing the back of his head.

"It's already two…" Tsunade stated.

"I think I have left them waiting long enough, then! Would you like to meet my students and co-worker, Ran-chan?" Hoping to avoid Tsunade's wrath over his tardiness by bringing her attention to the child in the room. She wouldn't punch him through a wall with a child present, much less his daughter, right…?

Said daughter turned to Shizune and said, "my backpack…"

"Oh I'm sure you're tired of carrying that around, right? I'm sure we can it delivered to Kakashi-san's apartment." Shizune reassured the girl with a bright smile. "Now, you really should go meet your team, Kakashi-san!" She scolded as she herded the two out of the office.

The walk to training ground seven was a quiet affair. Kakashi heldIcha Icha Tactics to his face while he subtly observed the little girl who was his daughter. God,that felt so strange to think. Him, a father…! Obito must be laughing incredibly hard in the afterlife. Minato-sensei and Rin would probably be happy for him, but Obito was definitely laughing. And there was his father… what would he think of all this? Would he play the doting grandfather and spoil her rotten? Would he be proud of Kakashi…? Most likely not… A child born of a one night stand, and on a mission no less. To make matters worse, he wasn't there for the first five years of her life, only meeting her because her mother had died.

He glanced down at Ran, noticing how she was close enough to him to not get separated or lost, but not close enough for him to touch her.Rather cautious… Kakashi thought, not really sure if it was a good or bad thing.What have I gotten myself into, Minato-sensei…? He thought as he turned to gaze at the Hokage monument. His daughter turned to stare at him with an unwavering gaze. "Yes?" He asked with a slight incline of his head. Ran only shook her head before running ahead a bit, despite not knowing where they were going, and Kakashi couldn't help but heave a sigh. It appeared that this was going to take some time…

Fortunately for them, more for Kakashi than Ran, the pair didn't run into anyone he knew. But that might have more to do with the fact that he took more back roads than usual, but whatever. Before long they had reached the training grounds and the clacking of Ran's wooden shoes on the stone streets softened as she padded onto the soft grass. At which time, she promptly stepped out of her scandals and dug her toes into the grass. Her previously blank expression changed into one of joy as the two crossed the many training grounds before ground seven as she carried her shoes, one in each hand.Well, there shouldn't be any harm in letting her go barefoot. Hopefully… Kakashi hoped there weren't any lingering makibishi left behind by any less than diligent ninja. Her getting hurt within the first hour of being in his custody certainly wouldn't look good.

It didn't take Kakashi and Ran too long before they came upon training ground seven and the current members of Team Seven. Naruto was currently lounging in the grass, Sai sat against a tree sketching on a pad of paper, Sakura was diligently sharpening her tools, and Tenzou was half dozing against a tree. It appeared Sai was the first to notice their arrival, but made no outward signs of it besides for a small flick of his eyes towards their direction. Tenzou snapped out of his dozing with a low mutter of "finally…!" This got the attention of the two original members of Team Seven, who promptly leapt to their feet and yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!" in unison. Their shout made Ran flinch back a few steps, but it didn't seem as though the two had noticed her presence yet.

"Mah, mah, I was going to be here earlier, don't give me that look, but some flowers were delivered to me and I had to attend to them," Kakashi teased, and hey, it was technically the truth. The pun was just a bonus.

"LIAR-wait, what? That doesn't make sense…" Naruto exclaimed, ready to start ranting, but Kakashi's excuse made him narrow his eyes in confusion. "Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei, who's the kid? Is she a client? Is she a princess we've been tasked with guarding?" It seemed as though he had finally noticed Ran, but Kakashi held up his hand to halt his questions. Naruto always jumped to the most ridiculous conclusions when it came to mission clients.

"Well, Naruto-kun," he paused for moment, "it appears that she's my daughter."

A beat.

A second beat.

And then all hell proceeded to break loose.

A/N: Well, here's the first chapter! There is probably going to a lot of shifting between humorous and more serious scenes until more of Ran's personality starts to shine through. Also, I am going to be taking some creative liberties with the Hatake clan since so little is known about them in canon.

Hoped you liked it~!