Ryou wants another jounin to be his sensei.

His current mood was far for pleasant, thoroughly vexed that Sakumo had the gall to wake him up at 6 in the morning and chose babysitting - of all things - as their mission for the day. His glares went ignored, and the vexing man practically pranced circles around his sleep-deprived form.

If the smug and gleeful expression on Sakumo's face wasn't enough of a tell, the address of their client made Ryou realize that something was amiss.

Completely baffled, Ryou now stands stiffly in front of a boy in Sakumo's living room. And judging by the hair color and facial structure, this was Sakumo's spawn. It wasn't a nice discovery.

"Pup, this is daddy's cute student, Nohara Ryou-kun. Cub, meet my adorable Pup, Kakashi. Kakashi is 3 this year," The shinobi Ryou was forced to call his sensei said with a beaming smile, "Normally, I would leave him in daycare whenever I have an assignment. However, I had an epiphany just the previous day! To sum it all up and not bore you with the details; you're going to babysit Kakashi here every day! And we're not breaking any rules - because technically, you're on a D-Rank mission right now. Isn't that delightful?"

Ryou deadpans. The man's response to his response was to smile broader, forcing Ryou to shield his eyes if he didn't wish to go blind by the sheer brightness exuding from the man.

"Oh, right. Before I forget-" Ryouta suddenly feels a terrible sense of foreboding brewing in his gut. "-not only will you be babysitting Kakashi until I deem you fit for missions outside the village, I have also pre-signed you for every future Tora retrieval mission that Konoha will receive. Isn't that exciting? I know you just love Tora, so the least I could do was to assign those missions to you. No need for thanks. Anything for my student."

Ryou could feel himself blanch, a tick soon forming at his temple region.

Rigidly, he clumsily signs a negative whilst hurriedly shaking his head. No, he was not happy or excited at this development, nor would he accept such utter nonsense from the man. He didn't sign up to babysit or track runaway animals when he agreed to be trained as a shinobi!

How could he possibly gain shinobi-relevant experience by doing such asinine missions?!

"Good to see you agree with me!" The carnivore bulldozes over his silent disagreement, which earned him a quiet sound of amusement from the man's spawn. Ryou turns his glare on the miniature version of his sensei at that. "I'll let the both of you get acquainted with each other while I prepare brekky - you haven't had breakfast yet, have you, Ryou-kun?"

'Obviously! Reo wasn't even awake when you kidnapped me!' Ryou wanted to snarl, but he keeps his silence, not suicidal enough to provoke the dangerous man into mauling him for his disrespect. Despite Sakumo's cheerful and carefree demeanor, they've only known each other for a week, not long enough for Ryou to really grasp if this was the man's true personality or a facade.

The jounin sighs at his lack of response but, unfortunately, wasn't deterred by it.

"You're welcome to join us for breakfast, Ryou-kun. In the meantime, have fun becoming the bestests of friends, my adorable kiddies!"

Sakumo practically bounces to the kitchen, whistling a merry tune and leaving behind his moody student to deal with his son's intense staring.

Ryou was skilled enough to hide any visible signs of a shudder that was raking down his spine, unnerved by the boy's unblinking gaze. It made his hackles rise at the potential threat to his life, the many memories of the children in his previous world coming to the forefront of his mind.

Hatake Kakashi was behaving exactly like the children from Generation Beta, always silent and assessing, weighing other humans as if they were either a commodity or a liability to their chances of survival. Ryou, a hypocrite of the highest order, doesn't mind evaluating the worth of others, but he hates it when it was done to him.

Seeing that Sakumo was only a room away, Ryou knows that he wouldn't have any chance of gouging Kakashi's abyss-like eyes out of their sockets despite the urge to cripple a potential threat at its infancy. So he wisely backs away without taking his eyes off of the silver-haired boy, until the back of his knees hit the couch and he cautiously takes a seat, body ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

He usually wouldn't have put himself in such a disadvantageous position, but Kakashi was short enough that his height wouldn't be able to loom over Ryou even if he takes a seat, so Ryou took his chances. It would be wiser of him to get as much rest as he could possibly manage before Sakumo starts their vigorous, early morning training sessions.

Kakashi only tilts his head to the side at Ryou's action, still unblinking.

"You are a genin."

Kakashi states more than asks, eyes flicking to the hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead and back again. Ryou didn't react and continues to keep a blank face. What Ryou hates more than questions were stupid questions.

"How? You look about the same age as me, maybe a year or two older, yet why are you allowed to become a shinobi while dad still hasn't consented for me to attend the Academy early? What's the difference between us? I doubt you are as good or advanced as I am."

Ryou immediately reevaluates Kakashi.

The boy wasn't the silent, violent type like those children from Generation Beta, who'd rather attack first ask never. He was more petulant, only silent because of want rather than need. The childish behavior was enough to lessen the tension in Ryou's shoulders a little.

Honestly, Ryou should have learned by now to stop comparing the populace of this world to that dystopian one. He finds it aggravating that he has trouble adapting after his reincarnation. Never before has he had this problem when he had been Liam, as not having the flexibility to adapt could result in the person's demise.

(... Although perhaps it might have something to do with how he was aware of how uncoordinated, young, and clumsy this body was compared to Liam's athletic and graceful one. Everything just feels more... threatening in a child's perspective.)

Perhaps he has been unresponsive for too long, for Kakashi lets out a sound of frustration and strides forward angrily with balled fists. He comes to a stop just shy from touching Ryou's knees, his bottom lip jutted out in an unintentional pout, a far cry from the seemingly stoic persona just moments before.

"Well? Answer me!" Sakumo's spawn demanded.

Ryou levels an unimpressed look at the silver-haired boy.

He decides there and then to demote Kakashi from a possible-omnivore (only because he had assumed Sakumo had sharpened the boy's fangs) to a herbivore. Once the boy matures a little, maybe Ryou would find the time to deem him fit enough for a reevaluation. For now, however, Ryou dearly wishes for Sakumo to hurry the hell up. Dangerous carnivore he may be, but the man's company was preferable to this brat who looked to be on the verge of throwing a huge tantrum.

He has witnessed plenty of his twin's temper tantrums over the years, and damn it if he wants to spectate another brat bawling their eyes out for no apparent reason than to make themselves a nuisance to others.

In spite of the fact that he finds blood and viscera to be comforting, snot and saliva was another matter altogether. They disgust him. Just the thoughts of those fluids making contact with his skin were enough to make him debate on the prospect of a boiling hot shower.

Cue shudder.

Ryou's lips were pressed into a thin line as he rudely curls his legs nearer to his body, wanting them to be as physically far away as possible from Kakashi and the probable waterworks.

His actions seem to make Kakashi pause, a collection of amusing facial expressions playing across his boyish features before finally, they settled on indignant fury. Ryou suddenly has this peculiar urge to poke Kakashi's puffed out, soft-looking, pinkish, cherubic cheeks.

He didn't know what had brought about this incentive or where it had come from, but he recoils violently from those thoughts as if they had physically burnt him.

"Y-You...! You just thought I'm a kid and too young to think about anything other than playing ninja, didn't you?!" Kakashi all but snarls, a trembling finger pointed at Ryou's nose. "Well guess what? I'm not! Dad praised my shurikenjutsu and chakra control and taijutsu and... and... I'm better than you are so you can just go away! Dad doesn't need to waste precious time on losers like you when he could be training me!"

Ryou raises a brow curiously, unsure of where this was going. It was a harmless gesture, but it seems to have offended the boy further in the form of increased blinking and shaky fists - tells that Kakashi was filled with stressful anger. Cluelessly, he wonders what, exactly, he did to make Kakashi so angry in the first place.

Other than the feelings of bewilderment, Ryou's pair of onyx eyes had sharpened at the first sign of aggression from Sakumo's spawn. Flared nostrils was a non-verbal language that indicates a person taking in more air into their system in order to oxygenate their blood in preparation to attack.

Ryou became eerily still.

In any other situation, if a herbivore were to have thoughts of bitting him, he would have eliminated the pest before they could so much as threaten his life. However, in this situation, he would retreat as soon as Kakashi pounces. Sakumo was too much of a hazard for Ryou to retaliate in kind.

As expected, Kakashi was the one who made the first move, but it wasn't a move that Ryou had predicted. The boy took a huge step back - abrupt enough to throw Ryou off his momentum when the mini Hatake removes himself from Ryou's personal space - and bodily composes himself by leveling his breathing. Even his angry expression has been erased, replaced by a stoic demeanor.

Ryou, in turn, took an equally deep breath in, having not realized he had stopped breathing entirely as he waited for an attack that never came. He had fallen back into his survive-at-all-cost mentality; holding onto his breath, staying completely still, and looking for an exit in the face of a horde of zombies.

The two practically jumped when a loud and reverberating clap all but sliced through the palpable tension that had settled over the room. A glance to the kitchen entrance revealed Sakumo with his hands together, leaning heavily on the door frame.

"It warms my heart to see my Pup and Cub getting along marvelously well," The infuriating man chirps with a smile, easily ignoring the twin expressions of disdain. "Alas, you'll temporarily have to endure this old man getting in the way of your delightful conversation. You kiddies can continue later - it's time for breakfast!"

Kakashi's snort was telling of what he thinks about his father describing their battle of wills as a 'delightful conversation'. Ryou suddenly feels some sort of sympathy for the young Hatake - to have to deal with an overactive, sadistic spartan of a father every day was... pitiful.

Thank goodness Reo didn't behave like Sakumo. Ryou would've contemplated patricide if that were the case. Oh, wait. He already does that on a day to day basis (just not as much as of late).

Ryou's musings were cut short when the two children were swiftly ushered into the dining area of the kitchen by a hand on their shoulder and then forced to sit facing the other whilst breakfast was being served.

Ryou was a person with a generally poor appetite - especially in the mornings - and prefers to snack around the clock. Hence, it wasn't a surprise that he left a third of his plate untouched, much to his sensei apparent disapproval.

"Finish the plate, Ryou-kun. Training will commence soon and I can't have you fainting on me," Sakumo picks up the discarded fork and places them into Ryou's palm, making sure to physically curl his thicker fingers around his student's smaller ones when it looked like Ryou would simply drop them again.

Using the hand not held by Sakumo, Ryou pushes away his plate rather than telling the man that he was full. He loathes to waste precious resources. However, he would be violently ill if he continues eating such a heavy meal. Besides, he technically wasn't throwing away the consumables as fridges and freezers still work in this world.

Reo has accommodated to Ryou's dietary habits, and if Sakumo wishes to take over his caretaker's job of fixing him breakfast, Sakumo would have to become accustomed to it too.

Sakumo gives a disgruntled huff and pushes the plate to its original place in front of Ryou. Without looking at the man, he again pushes it away from him. The plate went back and forth across the table, with Sakumo grumbling about 'stubborn boys' and Ryou glaring at his sensei in displeasure.

He just wants training to start already. Was that so difficult to understand?

"This is shameful and childish behavior, Nohara," A child's voice called out, causing the two shinobi to pause and turn to the younger Hatake, all three of their expressions blank. "Shinobi Rule #03: A shinobi must follow their commander's instructions. What kind of genin are you if you cannot even follow simple directions?"

Ryou loses all color in his face at the reminder.

With trembling lips, he turns away from the only civilian in this house and yanks his hand out from Sakumo's now slack hold. Silently, he stabs his fork into the food and forces himself to eat. He pretends that his gag reflex wasn't fighting him at every swallow, pretends that his stomach wasn't clenching from pain, and pretends that he was a good soldier that would follow all commands.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Kakashi was right; his behavior had been unacceptable.

If Sakumo, his superior officer, orders him to jump off a cliff, Ryou was obliged to jump off a cliff without asking any questions. If he had acted with such childishness in front of other more strict jounin, it was within their rights to execute him on grounds of mutiny, from what the Academy taught them.

He was currently living inside a military base- community, that was on the brink of war. And he was only one of their many cannon fodders. A disobedient tool wouldn't be useful, it would only cause problems and should thus be promptly discarded. How could Ryou have forgotten?

Ah, right.

Breakfast has always been a meal eaten with Reo as his sole company, causing Ryou to loosen his guards on grounds that he was safe. It had become a habit. This was definitely a mistake he would not be repeating, that was for sure. Not until he was strong enough that he could choose which order to obey, at least.

Leaders tend to be lenient to the strong.

"Enough, Ryou-kun. Enough."

At Sakumo's solemn tone of voice, Ryou looks up from his plate (half of the food now gone), practically green in the face as he swallows down the bile and undigested food that was steadily rising defiantly up his oesophagus. With as much control as he could muster, he places a hand on the lower half of his face and responded in a small voice, practically inaudible to civilian ears.

"Yes, sir."

Sakumo's eyes widen for a split second before he cracks a small, apologetic smile.

"Forgive me. It hadn't been my intention to make you sick," Despite Sakumo's gentle tone and harmless body language, Ryou still flinches when he feels a large palm ruffle his hair.

Although he was uncomfortable, Ryou made no move to dislodge the appendage, knowing that one wrong move could potentially set Sakumo off and easily break his face against the tabletop. Liam had had his nose broken and his teeth fall out so many times he lost count; the memories of people grabbing him by the hair to knee him in the face or smash his mug on the nearest surface were plenty.

"Kakashi. Although rules are made to be followed, it shouldn't be followed blindly. It does not own us. It is there to guide us. Shinobi are humans too, pup. It is important that we not forget that."

"Hmph, if you say so, dad. I still think rules shouldn't be broken, however," Kakashi sulkily sets his fork aside and crosses his arms. "It's easier when you just follow orders."

"You are entitled to your own opinion, son," Sakumo chuckles, his eyes soft. "One day, you'll come to understand the meaning behind my words. But that's enough philosophy for now. Are you done or would you like seconds?"

"I'm full," Kakashi shakes his head.

When Sakumo turns to Ryou, he too follows Kakashi's example.

"Alrighty! Ryou-kun, why don't you run along and bring Kakashi to our training area while I clean the table?" With one last hair ruffle to both Ryou and Kakashi, Sakumo shoos them out of his kitchen.

Silently, Ryou slips on a pair of fingerless mittens over his hands and grabs ahold of Kakashi's dangling wrist. Without waiting for the boy to react, he all but drags his Sakumo's herbivorous spawn to the training area at the back.

The job of a babysitter was to basically keep their charge from dying, right? In Ryou's mind, keeping someone safe meant keeping them glued to his side. Despite how he dislikes children in general, Ryou would complete his mission at all cost. Even if that meant he would have to endure Kakashi's bratty personality, insufferable whining, and temper tantrums.

As soon as he begins his warm-up (after tying Kakashi to one of the three stumps in the middle of the training area, of course), he could already feel his eyebrows pinch at the sensation of his stomach doing somersaults in his gut.

The high pitched complaints started not even a minute into his set of stretches, but Ryou tries to block them out to the best of his abilities. The headache he was getting because of Kakashi's whining makes him wish sorely for there to be zombies in this world, just so he could toss the brat into a pit full of those ravenous bastards.

Ah, the things he has to endure and do for the purpose of getting stronger was degrading.

A/N:

Wew. What a chapter! It had been a battle and a half to write toddler!Kakashi instead of a thirty-year old troll!Kakashi. Apologies for the long wait (´ж｀;). Sometimes it takes a while to steer my Plot Bunnies into the right direction. But! Your encouragements and constructive feedbacks motivate me to try harder! So thank you guys for your absolutely thrilling comments!

I'm seriously happy to see that many of you love Reo and his antics, and are intrigued by Ryou and his perspective of normal. I admit that I may have channeled Hibari Kyoya too much in the past chapters, but I assure you that I'm working on his character development ( •̀u• ́)ﻭ✧! He'll meet more and more people and they'll have an effect on him. Whether or not he likes the changes in him, we can only know in the future!

Anyway, I do hope you've enjoyed the read? Please, I would love to hear your thoughts (＾ω＾)!

P.S. In my headcanon, 3-year-old Kakashi is an insufferable brat with a daddy complex and hasn't yet discovered the beauty of wearing a mask (・ωｰ)