Hi! This is my first story, so I apologize for any errors. This is obviously AU, but it should follow most of the canon plot line, with Wave, the Chunin Exams, etc. I hope you all enjoy!

Edits 3/5/14: Just some minor plot tweaks and lengthening the chapter a bit.

Hatake Kakashi was no child.

Kakashi was a prodigy, graduation the Academy at the age of six. He was Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy-nin, copier of a thousand jutsu. He was an ANBU commander, probably one of the youngest ever in history. He was feared and idolized throughout the Hidden Villages, and his name in every bingo book.

Then why the hell was Sarutobi berating him like a four-year-old child!?

"Kakashi," Sarutobi said sternly, "This is the third time this month I've had to personally summon you about one of your missions-gone-wrong."

Kakashi internally rolled his eyes.

"Under no circumstances are you allowed to flood an entire town with water jutsus just to wipe out THREE ENEMY NINJA!"

Kakashi winced. "Hokage-sama..."

Sarutobi sighed. "Kakashi, I truly expected better of you. You are an extremely powerful ANBU, one of the best in our village, but this time you've gone too far." Kakashi was NOT liking the sound of this. "Therefor, I have no choice but to take you off active duty until I see that you can control your impulses for destruction."

Kakashi froze. No. Freaking. Way.

"What!? But Hokage-sama, it was an accide-"

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, his pipe smoking. "Kakashi, this is not the first time I have heard that excuse. My decision is final."

"Hokage-sama..." Kakashi pleaded.

"No buts, Kakashi. You are dismissed." Sarutobi ordered, his voice like steel.

Kakashi sighed. When Lord Hokage used that tone, there was no changing his mind. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

The now former-ANBU flew through a series of hand signs, and with a swirl of leaves Hatake Kakashi disappeared.

Sarutobi rubbed his temples. What am I going to do with you, Kakashi...

Kakashi wandered the twilight streets of Konoha, grumbling about the injustice of it all. The cool, crisp air did nothing to calm the raging storm rapidly building inside him.

Why the hell did the old geezer take me off active duty!? That was practically stripping me of my ANBU rank! I was one of the Hokage's best ninja!

He looked towards the sky, glaring fiercely at a cloud that looked suspiciously like his ANBU mask.

Now, he was nothing but a jounin. A jounin. How pathetic is that!?

Growling under his breath, he decided to get something to eat and cool his head. Heading to the dango stand sounded like a pretty good idea right now...

Putting his hands in his pockets, he stormed across the streets of nighttime Konoha in search of the dango shop.

The streets seemed pretty much totally deserted, a few citizens taking late-night walks and some parents returning from work. Kakashi identified 4 ninja, probably a jounin and his genin team, leaping across the rooftops, nothing but quick shadows.

Kakashi gave another low growl. Not only was he confined to A-Rank missions, it was officially his responsibility to take on a team of brats straight out of the Academy, probably with no experience or talent whatsoever.

Pfft. Like he'd ever pass a team, much less take one on in the first place!

Reaching the stand, he pulled out his wallet and looked at the dango hungrily, feeling much better than before.

"U-um, excuse m-me, ninja-san?" He felt a timid voice call, and felt a tug on his uniform.

He looked down to see two big, bright emerald eyes. It was a young girl, probably about the age of four.

The first thing he noticed right off the bat was her unusually colored hair. It was a bubblegum pink, a color that shouldn't even be natural, and Kakashi was pretty sure a four year old couldn't dye her own hair or get permission to do so. Her hair was tied up with a tattered red ribbon, making her look rather cute.

She wore a dirty red dress, with mud splotched near the bottom hem and the edges of the dress frayed and worn. The dress certainly looked like it had seen better days.

And frankly, the girl did too. She had a filthy face smeared with soot, and her feet were bare and covered with mud. An orphan, from the looks of it.

Her petite figure was shaking, and Kakashi could see her rib age through her dress. Just how long had it been since she had last eaten...?

Twisting her hands together, she nervously said, "W-would you mind walking m-me home tonight, n-ninja-san? I'm lost a-and my brothers must b-be worried sick..." Her voice trailed off timidly.

Kakashi felt pity for the girl. No one else was in sight, and from the way she said home it sounded like somewhere on the streets. He gave her one of his famous eye-smiles. "Sure thing, kid. Where is your house near?"

"It's c-close to the Inuzuka compound, b-but it's so dark I c-can't see where t-to go-" She was cut off by Kakashi grabbing her hand. "W-what are you d-doing?"

Kakashi merely smirked. "Hold on tight." Using a seal-less transportation jutsu, with a whirl of leaves they could see the glowing lights of the Inuzuka compound, along with the barking of the Inuzuka hounds and the clan head, Tsume, screaming at her children. So, all in all, a typical night there.

The girl gasped. "Wha...h-how did you d-do that?"

Kakashi gave her another eye-smile. "That's a secret. Oh, what's your name kid?"

She mumbled something under her breath. "What?"

"Sakura" she breathed.

He smiled and ruffled Sakura's hair. "That's a fitting name for ya, Pinky."

She giggled cutely in the way only four year old girls can pull off.

Looking around, the Copy-nin asked, "Hey Pinky, where's your home from here?"

She examined her surroundings, and pointe towards an alleyway. "O-over there, I think."

Taking his hand with a visible bit of confidence, she tugged on his arm. "W-would you like to see our h-home?" She blushed. "I-it's not very pretty, s-so if you don't w-want to I understand..."

"Sure Pinky, just lead the way." He shrugged.

Sakura seemed to brighten with just that simple sentence. "O-ok."

She lead him down an alleyway and right into another, twisting and turning down more and more. Kakashi was sure they were lost until finally, they reached a dead end with a large cardboard box. There was no one in sight, the cracked grey walls with random metal bars sticking out of them and the slight light from the moon gave it an altogether eerie feel. Kakashi had been to the Inuzuka compound many times, but this was his first time ever being in this area. He supposed this was why Sakura had chosen to stay near here. "H-here we are..." She told him softly.

Kakashi felt his heart clench a little. "The box is your house?" He almost shouted in disbelief.

Her eyes widened in surprise out his outburst, until realization dawned on her and she let loose a cute little giggle. "Oh, n-no, Mr. Ninja, that's just how we g-get to our house. It's k-kinda our...step stool, I suppose."

Sakura jumped onto the box, which groaned under her slight weight but held fast, and from there to a ledge Kakashi hadn't noticed before. It was well camouflaged and was about one by two feet. She then grabbed a metal rod stuck into the wall in a U shape, and gracefully hoisted herself up onto a small balcony. The balcony had rusty iron bars surrounding it except for a single part, and was bent into place.

Kakashi had to admire the agility and grace this young girl had. She would be a fine kunoichi...but if she's an orphan, it's unlikely she'll be accepted into the Academy.

Sakura pushed aside a large sheet of rusted metal, which he assumed was their makeshift door, and poked her head inside. She called out softly, "Naruto-nii, Sasuke-nii, I'm back."

It seemed like the words had barely left Sakura's mouth before two blurs tackled the younger girl. "Imouto! Where have you been!? Me 'n aniki were worried sick!" The first one cried. It was a young boy, about Sakura's age. He had spiky blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, but that was about all Kakashi could see at the time. He wore a ragged orange jumpsuit that was in about as bad condition as Sakura's dress, except with a few extra tears here and there. Like Sakura, he had no shoes. "Man, don't go scarin' us like that again, you hear, Kura-chan?"

"Yeah, 'Kura, what happened? Are you hurt?" The second boy demanded. Like the others, he seemed to be about 4, though he seemed to be the oldest of the trio. He had spiky black hair, and was currently checking the girl's arms for injuries. He wore a turn blue shirt and black shorts, and like the other two, was barefoot.

Kakashi had to wonder: what was with the boys and their spiky hair?

Sakura smiled. "S-sorry to worry you, Aniki, I'm alright though. I got lost while foraging, but -"

The blonde interrupted by screaming. "Ahhhhhh! Someone's here!" He yelled, pointing at Kakashi. Kakashi could finally get a good view of his features. He had clear cerulean eyes and three strange whisker markings on each of his cheeks - Scars? Birthmarks? Tatoos? But now that he was facing Kakashi, the man realized he was a carbon copy of the Fourth Hokage.

The second boy (he didn't know if it was Naruto or Sasuke) turned around and his onyx eyes hardened. "Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked coldly. The boy then turned towards the blonde and signaled something with his hand. It must've been some kind of secret language, because immediately the blonde boy disappeared, taking Sakura with him.

The blonde boy returned in an instant, holding something in his hands. A piece of pape- OH CRAP.

An explosive tag.

Where the hell did these kids get an explosive tag?

He realized he had to stop this before this got out out of hand. Kakashi held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. I just came to make sure Sakura got home safe."

The black haired boy's eyes narrowed. "How do you know our sister?" He inquired suspiciously.

Kakashi shrugged. "She was lost, so I offered to bring her home. She did mention two brothers...that's you guys, right?"

The Minato-lookalike still looked wary. "So you know Sakura, huh? Well then, what color are her shoes?"

Kakashi blinked in surprise. "She wasn't wearing any."

The boy out down the tag. "Ok, old man, I believe you for now, but if Sakura says she doesn't know you I won't hold back, dattebayo!" 'Believe it'? And old man, really?

He disappeared again, and returned with the pinkette. "Imouto, do you know this guy?"

Sakura nodded. "H-he was the one who helped me get back home."

The blonde immediately brightened. "Well then, ojiisan, sorry about that, dattebayo! Since you helped Kura-chan, we should be thanking you!" He offered him a grin.

Kakashi's visible eyebrow twitched in irritation. "I'm NOT an old man!"

The black haired one grunted. "Thanks for bringing her back." Not the friendly type, is he? Reminds me of myself when I was kid...and that's NOT a good thing.

Sakura bowed to the silver-haired man. "Arigato, ninja-san!" Awkward silence followed.

Kakashi scratched his head. "So...what are you guys' names?"

"Naruto's the name, dattebayo!" The blonde chirped. Jeez, how many time does he say 'dattebayo'?!

"Sasuke." The black haired one muttered. He turned to his "Imouto" and asked, "Did you find anything to eat?"

The pinkette shook her head sadly. Sasuke's shoulders slumped. "B-but I did get you guys some stuff!" Naruto's eyes lit up like fireworks.

First, she walked over to Naruto. "Check this out!" She held out two kunai. "These are n-ninja knives, I think. One for you and one for Sasuke." She dropped one into each of their outstretched hands.

Naruto looked ecstatic. "This is awesome, Kura-chan! Thanks so much!"

For once, Sasuke smiled. "Thanks Sakura." He said with gratitude in his voice. Wow, these kids really care for one another... Kakashi smiled sadly. They remind me so much of my old team...

Naruto looked at Sakura with confusion. "Wait, Kura-chan, what'd you get yourself?"

"Oh!" She giggled. "Check this out!" She pulled out a scroll.

Naruto gave her a deadpan look. "Well...what does it do?"

Sasuke smacked the blonde on the head. Lightly, of course. "It's a summoning scroll, dummy. Look at the seals." He pointed to the black circles of intricate writing etched into the paper. Why the heck did someone throw away a summoning scroll!?

She pointed to the seals. "From what I know, this is a scroll for medical supplies. S-so if anyone gets injured we have a way to treat it this time..." She trailed off, the implied meaning obvious.

Naruto shuddered. "Pleeeaaase don't remind me of that." He shuddered. "That was beyond nasty."

Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded furiously.

Kakashi opened his mouth to ask, but closed it again with the thought that he really didn't want to know.

Suddenly, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke's stomachs growled in unison. Sakura and Naruto blushed, while the only clue Sasuke was embarrassed was the redness of his ears.

Kakashi didn't know whether to laugh about their in-synch stomach growl or be horribly saddened by the fact that these kids were starving. Possibly starving their entire lives. I may be a cold shinobi, but I will NOT leave three kids starving on the streets. Besides, if Minato-sensei saw me do that, he'd eternally damn me for sure, my sensei or not.

"Why don't you guys come over to my place for some food?" He asked casually.

The three kids' eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh thanks so much ojiisan you are the nicest person I've ever met and now I'll be able to finally eat some good food that isn't from the dump - that stuff tastes nasty anyways - and imouto and aniki can have lots of food too and OH MY GOSH I'M SO HAPPY!" The boy clung to Kakashi's leg, stars in his eyes as he grinned in awe, and the ninja in question sweat-dropped.

Sakura had a face-splitting grin, and even Sasuke had a big smile on his face.

"Well alright then. Hold hands kiddos." He held out both hands.

He could hear Sakura whispering to her brothers, "Do it. He did this w-weird teleport thing with me." and with that, the three kids, hand in hand, came into a full circle, Sakura in between Naruto and Sasuke.

And with leaves swirling as the jutsu took place, Kakashi couldn't help but think these kids were special.

They seemed...different.

There was something unique, powerful, strange about them.

Just like that feeling he got from the precious people that were in his life - Minato, Rin, Obito...

They were special.

And with that thought, Kakashi made a resolution to himself.

These kids won't live on the streets and be neglected anymore. I'll make sure of it.

And that's the first chapter. I really love Team 7 bonding, so I threw in some sibling love here and there. If you catch any mistakes with the Japanese terms please tell me, and I'll be happy to correct it. I did my best to keep it accurate, but if I made any mistakes I mean no offense.

Next up: bonding, their stories, and a LOT of munching.

Thanks for reading! Review!

HawaiianSunsets