Change

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Takes place about 6 days after CH5.

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Kakashi ends up living with Sensei and Kushina.

It wasn't the small, 2DK apartment they had before but a larger 4LDK house that was two floors. His room, like all the bedrooms, is on the second floor but his is at the far end of the hall to theirs- Naruto's beside the master bedroom, though it couldn't be called it's own room as Kushina had knocked down the wall separating the two.

He is far away enough, has taken measures, that Naruto's screaming at night doesn't bother him. And he is vindictive enough to feel small curls of satisfaction at his Sensei's haggard state when they have breakfast. Though his rest-filled nights meant that he watches Naruto a few hours during the day so the Kushina (or, on rare occasions, Sensei) can take a nap before they take over.

Naruto grew fast, as shinobi children tended to, and while he was just beyond a month old, a civilian would likely insist that he were three bordering on four months old.

(Part of him thought of that.

Thought of how many shinobi lived by the 'Live: fast, hard, wild- just show that you lived' mentality. Thought how quickly they grew up, he might have been the youngest but the war had made soldiers out of many children. Thought of how deeply they loved, a dangerous and possessive kind of love that scared civilians many times- a kind of hurried passion born of the thought that they may die the next day. Thought of how early they died, how he didn't even expect to live to see twenty-five. He thought of rabbits; little rodents whom bred quickly and often, whose offspring grew swiftly to do the same because they died so easily.

And Kakashi wondered, what makes us human if we live like that?)

Already, even though the boy is yet to stand, Kushina is making noises of Kakashi becoming a Jōnin-sensei, of Naruto just happening to be one of his students. He is both flattered that she trust him enough to take care of and teach her first born and terrified at how persistent she is- that he may actually be in charge of little genin without anyone there to tell him if he's not doing it right.

He was a genin for less then a year and, by the time Naruto's around that age, it would have been around two decades ago- he has absolutely no idea what to do with genin.

Through it all, there is a ninken following him and watching him- always, always watching.