A/N: Naruto and its characters don't belong to me, they all belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

The moon shone down onto the empty streets of Konaha, lighting the multi-colored buildings with a ghostly glow. All of the buildings were dark, all of them except one. The Swirling Leaves tavern, a popular choice amongst the village citizens and off duty shinobi, was like a glowing beacon in the shadowed village. Laughter and the sound of clinking glasses echoed out of the bar and poured out to the street. A group of frequent visitors stumbled out of the bar, giggling drunkenly and holding onto each other for support.

"Oi, Hoka! Watch where you're going!" Raizen slurred, glaring at the man who clutched at his arm.

"Shut up," the man responded, punching the other's arm weakly.

"Would you two shut it?" the third party member growled, taking a shaky step down the street. Raizen followed, supporting his friend as they moved down the deserted road. They joked and howled with laughter, joined only by the moon and cicadas. They shuffled passed an alleyway, barely hearing the muffled whimpering.

"Did ya' hear that?" Raizen asked, forcing the group to stop.

"It came from the alley," Hoka mumbled. The leader, also the most drunk of the group, wobbled to the alley's entrance and shouted, "Who's there!" A squeak, not one of a mouse or any kind of animal, sounded and was accompanied by the crash of a tin can. Raizen jumped, causing Hoka to lose his balance and fall forward, crashing into the leader, Hikoro, and send both of them sprawling into the alley.

"Hey!" Hikoro growled, shoving Hoka off of him.

"What's that?" Raizen asked, pointing into the darkness. At the end of the alley, there was a six foot tall brick wall and against that wall, there was what appeared to be a child. The youngster could have been mistaken for a part of the wall, his dirt caked skin and petite frame creating a camouflage. Hikoro lifted himself to his feet, eyes squinting as he tried to see who it was. However, Hoka beat him to it.

"It's that damned Kyuubi brat!" he shouted, causing the child that cowered at the dead end to flinch and curl tighter into himself. Raizen stepped into the alley, bending low and lifting a shattered bottle, face twisted in rage.

"You bastard! You killed her you little monster!" he shrieked. Raizen advanced into the alley, bottle raised above his head. The sound of a solid object connecting with skin and bone echoed through the alley. Naruto cried out in pain, hands coming up to shield his face. Hikoro and Hoka stepped forward, similar looks of disgust coloring their features. The second blow landed on Naruto's side, ribs cracking beneath the force. The young child sobbed, whimpers and pleas for mercy tumbling from his dry lips. "You killed my little girl!" Raizen cried, tears streaming down his cheeks as he lifted the bottle once more and brought it down sloppily.

Blood poured from the impact zone as the sharp edge of the bottle cut across Naruto's arm, leaving a jagged line traveling from elbow to shoulder. The group was relentless with their assault, raining punches, kicks, and jabs down on the quivering body. Water began to pour down from the sky, making it even harder to see. Naruto screamed as a blind kick shattered his nose.

The drunken group was so engrossed in making the one they believed to be a monster suffer, that they didn't notice the shadowy figure that crept up silently behind them. Moonlight reflected off of deadly silver and the shadow crept forward, one dark eye completely focused on Raizen, who had the bottle clenched tightly in his raised fist. The silhouette made no sound as he glided forward, crouched and tensed. The bottle clattered to the ground and the attack was abruptly stopped.

"What-" Hoka turned and came face to face with a porcelain dog mask. Before he could scream or yell for Hikoro to run, his lifeless body had joined Raizen's on the damp ground.

"N-no, please!" Hikoro begged as he fell to his knees. The masked man stepped forward, silver hair glowing like millions of threads of moonlight. The figure didn't hesitate to dive his blade into the drunk's chest, twisting it savagely before tugging it out of the dead man's body. Naruto watched with wide, panicking eyes as the masked figure stepped toward him. He tried to sit up, but the pain of his shattered ribs sent him gasping to the ground. The silver haired killer crouched beside the struggling five year old and reached forward. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the pain. When the pain didn't come, he cautiously opened one eye and jumped as his soaked hair was ruffled. When the ruffling hadn't turned into tugging or yanking, he opened his other eye to gaze with open curiosity at his savior.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked softly. The man just shook his head and shifted, sliding a hand beneath Naruto's head and the other beneath his knees, gingerly lifting the blonde child. Tears sprang to Naruto's eyes as his side was jostled. The man held him to his chest and turned, striding out of the alley. Naruto clung to the man's tan vest and tucked his head into the crook of the shinobi's neck. The embrace as warm and he felt safe with this mysterious man. He had saved him from the villagers and treated him kindly. Naruto just hoped it would last.

The man, who Naruto had decided to call 'Dog Man', had an average apartment, but to Naruto, who had only known Konaha's shabby orphanage and the streets, it was a mansion. Dog Man had taken the orphan into the tiled bathroom, setting him down on the vanity counter with a gentleness that was completely foreign to the blonde. After that, he had helped Naruto out of his ripped up and dirtied clothes, being very cautious when peeling off the parts where fabric stuck to tender skin.

He brushed careful fingers over surface wounds and noticed that they, along with the blonde's ribs and nose, were healing at a swift rate. The silver haired shinobi turned, leaning forward switch the faucet of the bathtub on, feeling the temperature and adjusting it. It had taken three refills of water and one bottle of soap to completely rid the child of dirt and blood, both fresh and dried. As Dog Man was drying the child and wrapping his wounds, the orphan decided to ask again, "Who are you?" The man looked up, halting his movements.

Naruto lifted his thin hands, hesitated, and took the edges of the mask into his hands and pulled upward. The string holding the mask to the man's face lifted and allowed Naruto to completely pull the porcelain away. The man's face was smooth and flawless, save for the pink scar that traveled over his left eye. The scarred eye was blood red and tiny black tomoe swirled around the pupil. The other eye was a deep black that reflected Naruto's image and the light of the room.

"A friend," the duel eye colored man finally responded.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you my friend?" The man quirked one silver brow.

"What kind of question is that?" Naruto shrugged and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, no one else wants to be my friend. They say I'm a monster," azure eyes

saddened, "they say they don't want to be friends with a monster." Tears streamed down

Naruto's whiskered cheeks. "You're lying, aren't you? You're gonna beat me up too." The shinobi sat back in slight shock. He had known Naruto's situation as bad, but for a child to live in this constant fear of the people who should honor him as a hero? It was worse than he had thought.

"Of course not. I just want to help."

"Why?" Naruto asks, suspicious and unsure of his savior's motives. The shinobi hesitated slightly, before saying, "Someone very important to me would have wanted me to." Naruto grew confused, but before he could ask another question, he was scooped up and carried into the bedroom across the hall. Dog Man set him on the bed and turned toward a simple dresser on the other side of the room, rummaging through it in the search for clothes he could use to cover Naruto. "This will have to do," he muttered to himself, pulling out a black shirt that he had out outgrown a few months ago. He strode back to the bed and slipped the shirt over the blonde's head, chuckling as the shirt practically drowned his charge.

"It's big," Naruto huffed, struggling to free his arms.

"It's the best we can do for now. We can get clothes tomorrow," he laughed, lifting the

child into his arms. "Are you hungry?" His response was large, sky blue eyes and a gaping mouth. "Dinner it is, then." The kitchen was tinier than average, but was still large enough for the silver haired shinobi to move around easily. Naruto sat on the counter opposite of the stove, legs swinging as he watched his...friend?...pull delicious looking food from his miniature white refrigerator.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Kakashi Hatake," he responded, turning the stove on and retrieving a bowl to put the ingredients in. A wide grin flooded Naruto's features.

"Kaka-nii-san," the blonde giggled. Kakashi sputtered, almost dropping the bowl. Naruto laughed again, the sound like tinkling bells. Kakashi, ruffled from being laughed at, refocused on making a meal for the starving child sitting on the counter and himself. "Ne, Kaka-nee-san, why did you wear that dog mask?"

"It's part of my uniform," he responded, pouring the mixture in the bowl into the heated pan on the stove.

"Your ninja uniform?" Naruto asked excitedly. Kakashi nodded.

"I'm part of a special team of shinobi that do special missions for the Hokage."

"Really?" Another nod. "Did you know that I'm gonna be the next Hokage?" Kakashi raised a brow, though the blonde couldn't see.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah! I wanna be just like the Fourth!" A smile graced the ANBU agent's lips. Kakashi reached up, pulling plates out of a small cupboard and setting them on the counter to be filled. He lifted the pan and loaded both plates with a steaming stir fry, making sure that Naruto's portion wasn't too large. Naruto's mouth watered as he watched the elder fill the plates, his eyes glowing with a hungry light. Kakashi set one plate beside Naruto and leaned against the counter, absently pulling two pairs of chopsticks out of a drawer and handing one to the child. The blonde, after thanking him, inhaled the food, prompting Kakashi to warn him to eat slower multiple times. After they had both finished, Kakashi took the plates and cleaned them off while Naruto watched with drooping eyes. Kakashi dried his hands off and gently lifted the blonde off of the counter.

"I think it's time for some sleep," he commented as Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned. He carried the light child into the bedroom, setting him down on the bed and muttering a 'stay put' before grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a loose shirt and padding off to the bathroom. When he returned to the room, Naruto had curled up amongst the covers and was fast asleep, chest moving with every deep breath. Kakashi slid onto the bed carefully, pulling up the blankets to cover them. The blonde shifted, unconsciously moving closer to the person beside him. Kakashi watched him, determination sparkling in his eyes. I promise no one will ever hurt your son again, Minato.

A/N: My heart broke a bit writing this. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this story. It will be the first of a trilogy of one-shots centering around the people who will always be there to protect Naruto.

Reviews are always appreciated and smothered with love! I will see you guys in the next story! BYE :D