Kakashi-sensei has a SISTER?! (title by Naruto)

Note: I have made a small change to the timeline: the Wave mission finished about three weeks before the Chuunin Exams. Besides that assume that the events have unfolded similarly to canon. Oh, and Kakashi wears the Hatake clan symbol in white on one of his sleeves – the other is the red spiral.

"We're going to visit my sister today!"

His eye was creased into a smile, as always, as if he didn't anticipate the chaos.

"EHHHH?! You have a SISTER?"

"Obviously, dobe."

It had been two days since Wave.

"Where does she live? Is she as strange as you? Does she read Icha Icha? What does she look like? What's her name? What rank is she? – "

Kakashi ignored the torrent of questions.

In fact, he had been surprised when Akari had requested that he bring his team over by letter. She really didn't contact him that often; she prefered to stay far away from the shinobi world.

They had never been close mostly because they had never understood each other. Though they were twins, and rather alike in temperament (at least at first), they had completely contrasting mindsets. She was a civilian, the Head of their dead clan, and he was a shinobi, the Hokage's dog.

(And then there was their father…)

(But she was still pack.)

"We're here!" he chirped, hiding his faint apprehension.

They arrived at a fairly large house (giant for a house but rather small for a clan compound). Kakashi opened the door to the rather traditional house.

Akari was waiting for them, the tea on the low set, traditional tables.

"Kakashi." Her voice held the hint of apathy that she had always had, and Kakashi marveled at how she really hadn't changed.

"Akari~~ this is my genin team!" He forced the smile onto his face.

"I gathered."

His cute genin stumbled over themselves to introduce themselves. Akari always did have that effect; she anticipated without actually seeming to anticipate, and people answered her unasked questions.

"Sit."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sasuke sitting in a perfect seiza form, and Sakura hissing at Naruto instructions on how to conduct himself.

Akari began cleaning the tea utensils with precise motions.

Kakashi sat down, straight-backed and attentive. His sister had always seemed to expect more of him, and simply being in their childhood home was making his neck prickle. He had the urge to escape, to run away, but brutally smashed that idea.

He didn't want to disappoint Akari (had never wanted to disappoint her) and didn't want her after his blood (not that she would be that rash; no… she'd just make his life hell).

She placed the utensils down in their exact positions, and then began to prepare the thick tea. The silence was palpable, and Naruto was fidgeting with occasional jabs from Sakura. Sasuke was a statue.

When she finished, she handed the bowl to Kakashi, who rotated the bowl and drank, never taking his eyes off of his last surviving family. Then he cleaned the rim and passed it to Sasuke who did the same. Then Sakura and finally Naruto, who's attempts to emulate their motions were painfully obvious. He handed the bowl to Akari and looked unsure.

Akari took the bowl without judgement and left the room.

Unexpectedly, it was Sakura who spoke up.

"Kakashi-sensei, why are we here?"

He looked morosely at the table.

"She was the one who asked to see you. And as the Clan Head – and as my elder by twenty minutes – she had every right to see my wards."

"Wards?"

This was Sasuke, incredulous and disbelieving.

"Apparently. Jonin-sensei have partial responsibility over their genin. Remember before Wave when I told Iruka-san that you were my soldiers? It's true in a legal sense. I am responsible for you."

The genin were silent; Kakashi-sensei was being oddly serious.

Akari came back with the tabako-bon and higashi and served them the thin tea.

"So, tell me about yourselves." Her gaze landed on Naruto first.

*I*I*

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen and pranking people, and my dream is to be Hokage!"

His voice might have wavered a little (unsure and uncomfortable in the highly formal situation), but no one would notice, right?

Naruto stared at Kakashi-sensei's sister. She looked almost exactly like Kakashi did – her build was a little more feminine, and her hair was straight and sleek, but besides that they seemed like… twins.

She had Kakashi-sensei's height, his face, and his fingers. (His eyes were had been drawn to her hands when she methodically cleaned the bowl, spoon, and that other thing. Why had she done that? They looked plenty clean…) Akari-san was wearing a formal grey kimono…. She also had round, delicate glasses – the kind that no shinobi would wear – and she wasn't wearing a hitai-ate.

So he blurted out, without thinking, into the awkward silence:

"Hey Lady, are you a shinobi?"

Sakura glared at him for his question and Sasuke-teme looked more constipated than he usually did.

"No."

The answer was curt, but not mean, and wow, Naruto hadn't know that that was possible.

And then he realized what bothered him about the woman.

Because she looked so much like Kakashi-sensei, he had sorta expected her to act like him; maybe a little distant, but also joking, laid-back, and kinda crazy. But she hadn't. She had Kakashi's uncaring feel, but also seemed really intense. And unlike Sensei, she was paying attention to them.

Paying attention to them a little too much.

*I*I*

Sakura almost hit Naruto for his comment (though Inner had also been curious) because they were clearly in a semi-formal situation, and Naruto just stank of uncouth behavior.

(Of course, Sasuke-kun was perfect as always.)

She would never have expected Kakashi-sensei's sister to be so aristocratic. (A part of her wished that she was more like her, Sasuke-kun would like formal ladies, right?) And the fact that she was a civilian had honestly never occurred to her; Sensei basically breathed the shinobi lifestyle, for her to not be…

And yet she was the Clan Head. Sakura was pretty impressed (and shaking in her feet – as her shoes were outside the room).

"My name is Haruno Sakura…"

Oh god, she refused to introduce herself like she had done on the rooftop when they had met Sensei. That would be so embarrassing in front of this elegant woman.

"I like syrup-covered anmitsu, reading, and knowing interesting facts about random things… My dream is to become a strong kunoichi and get to jonin."

Akari nodded at her and then turned to Sasuke.

(Inner crowed in triumph; they had succeeded in not embarrassing their self!)

She suddenly realized that Kakashi-sensei hadn't been late to the meeting. How important was his sister? He was late the mission desk – and was even late to the Wave mission briefing, which had been overseen by the Hokage!

Sakura looked at Sensei's sister with a newfound admiration.

*I*I*

Sasuke could honestly say that he was surprised to hear Sakura's response. He had cringed, waiting for the same introduction that she had given when they'd become a team, and was shocked when he heard something totally different.

Her voice was different too, more serious and mature. (Sasuke hadn't known that Sakura had thoughts beyond attraction to him and dislike towards Naruto.)

But it was… nice, in a way, that she had chosen to introduce herself and not her obsession.

"Hajimemashite. My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he said, his voice clear and formal (the way his mother had taught – nodon'tthinkaboutthatDON'TTHINK – )

"I have few things that I enjoy. I hate fangirls" and betrayal "I don't have a dream, but I do have an ambition: to revive my clan and kill a certain person. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Akari simply looked at him, assessing, and he fought a shiver and straightened.

(She felt like that man, had the same light in her eyes that he had had that night and he wanted to run, wanted to get out.)

He wasn't surprised that Kakashi hadn't told them about his sister – he knew that Sensei was extremely secretive about his personal life, like most shinobi. But he was surprised that Sensei even had a sister – he seemed to be alone and the fact that one of the first places he had shown them was the Memorial Stone said quite a lot.

He was even more surprised that Sensei's sister was a civilian, because his instincts were screaming danger.

*I*I*

"Hajimemashite."

Akari was being too formal – usually she disliked pleasantries (except for tea, of course) – but today had been oddly stifling.

"I am Hatake Akari, Head of the Hatake Clan and your Sensei's older twin."

When had he seen her last? Was it a year ago? Perhaps more? It had been a short visit, of that he was sure.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Why had he agreed to come again?

"As I'm sure my brother had explained to you," and here she glanced at him, as if she knew he had only explained this a few moments ago, "you are partially his wards, and therefore I am partially your Clan Head. I wanted to meet those that my brother took under his wing, which is why I called you here."

Oh, he had a bad feeling about this…

"Starting next week, you will meet me twice a week, provided you are not on an overnight mission, to learn your responsibilities as wards of the Hatake Clan and its representatives. I will talk to Kakashi about the specific times. Sasuke – I will also teach you about clan leadership and management – I doubt that anyone has taught you" She almost spat the words while her face remained scarily blank, the ever-present apathy still showing, and Kakashi had a moment to curse in his head. "and you must know as the Head of the Uchiha Clan."

And there it was. His preminitions were always right.

"Naruto – we will be discussing how your status as an orphan changes your legal position and the choices you have as a ward of the Hatake clan."

Akari had always had an eerily even voice, and Kakashi would say that she could probably conceal her emotions better than ANBU when she wanted to. (She wasn't even trying today and he could barely read her.)

"Sakura, as your guardians remain your parents, though you are considered to be a legal adult in many ways, we will be considering how far you want to take this association with the Hatake Clan."

(The higashi was almost all gone – Kakashi could have sworn that he saw Naruto eat at least half the plate.)

His genin team looked both solemn and rather excited.

Kakashi sighed.

This could only lead to chaos and more chaos.

A/N: "Hajimemashite," which is "Nice to meet you," and "Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu," which is "Please take care of me," are part of formal Japanese greetings. I felt that I needed them to show the difference between the three genin. Sasuke, who had been brought up in an almost aristocracy, knows exactly what to do and how to talk in this kind of situation. Sakura is at least polite and can easily adapt. And Naruto… has no idea what's going on because he's never been taught manners or etiquette.

Also please tell me how I'm doing; constructive criticism is always welcomed :)