Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
An: Takes place during Shippoudan. I decided to rewrite this story. I wasn't completely happy with the first version.
Warning: Bad grammar, since English is not my first language. I will try to catch as many as I can.
Summary: Kakashi's journey into fatherhood...it's a strange one.
Mid-day Waltz
Chapter 1
Kakashi felt old. Old and tired. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't felt one or the other or a combination of both, but for some reason he felt it especially keen tonight.
Maybe it was the girl he was with.
She was young. She was attractive. When she bent over to retrieve her clothes, long strawberry blond hair fell around one pale shoulder. She had skin that was at that point in her life where no blemishes or age marks have touched it and light blue eyes looked out from a round, bright face. In the dim motel light, she suddenly reminded him of Sakura (in term of age, not looks, because that would be rather creepy) and he felt the urge to pray that the girl had told him the truth when she said she was over eighteen. He couldn't recall if she ever told him what her exact age was.
Three or four bottles of alcohol at a nondescript bar, maybe a few minutes of light conversation, and they were already checking into the nearest motel room. They had fallen into bed and all common sense had fled him, taking second place to his baser instincts.
He was old and tired, but he was still a man.
Now that everything was over, Kakashi hated this part. The one where he and his partner for that night exchange awkward, sober looks.
She asked him something.
"Hm?"
"I wanted to know if you want to meet again," she said. She had a strand of hair twirled around a finger playfully and Kakashi inwardly winched at the child-like gesture.
"No." Kakashi has had years of practice on being blunt. If he wasn't, he found that girls often misunderstood his intentions. Those years of experiences has also taught Kakashi to prepared himself when her face turned red in anger.
"You're the worst!"
A harsh slap against his cheek and the girl (whose name he couldn't remember) stormed away. When she left, the loud bang of the door rattled the entire room, nearly knocking the fake water-colored pictures off the walls. The sheets pooled around Kakashi's waist as he sat up. His hand rubbed his temple.
'Pain again?' Rin mummers. 'You should see a medic nin.'
Her voice was soft and kind, echoing in his head.
'She's right. Your insomnia's getting really out of hand,' Obito agreed.
Kakashi ignored their concern. He had more pressing matters to tend to. Like Anko who was at his windowsill.
"Another one?" Anko asked. His headache doubled in intensity with the slight smirk Anko sent his way.
"Is there a reason why you're bothering me at two in the morning?" he asked wearily.
"The Hokage wants to see you," she grinned. She gave him a wink and vanished as Kakashi got up to dress. He slipped some money onto the dresser and he leaped out of the room and onto the rooftops.
The building was void of life when he arrived at Tsunade's office. There was no one around, but still as a precaution, the doors and windows were completely sealed and Kakashi was fully awake now, curiosity piped by all the secrecy.
The Hokage leaned back in her chair with a frown.
"Listen, brat. I'm giving you an unofficial mission."
There was a small rustling sound and stepping out from behind the Hokage's chair was a child.
The chubby little thing standing in the middle of the room was cute...in a homicidal, I will kill you and I will enjoy it sort of way. Kakashi's eye took in the crossed arms, the big stoic green eyes, the messy blond hair, and a petulant mouth. There was something oddly familiar about the child that he couldn't place.
Tsunade pulled up the child's sleeve to reveal an ugly cursed mark.
"...not sure how long it was going to last...not safe in Suna...several assassination attempts already..."
In the mist of the briefing, the one thing Kakashi really latched onto was the fact that he now had a ward, one that would be living with him for an unforeseen amount of time in the future.
"I'm not sure I'm right for this mission," he finally said. "I don't mix well with children."
"You took care of your genin team," Tsunade pointed out.
Yes. Look how well that turned out. Sasuke's bitter, angry face was still etched in his mind.
"I don't do well with younger children," he tried again. On occasion, he had been known to try and strangle Konohamaru.
"She looks five, but mentally she's eighteen. She's a smart, reasonable girl. You shouldn't have a problem," Tsunade quirked an eyebrow. "In any case, she's bound to be a lot less trouble then Naruto."
She gave him a withering look.
"Would you rather have her under Anko's care?"
Kakashi wouldn't have wished that on anyone.
His shoulders slumped in resignation and he nodded his head in surrender. When the little girl bothered to spare him a glance, all Kakashi could really think of to do was to greet her with two fingers raised in a peace sign.
"Yo."
He got a deadpan stare in return.
"No one outside this room is to know anything about this," Tsunade warned. "She's a neighbor's child that you're caring for."
She waved them off.
The next thing Kakashi knew, he was standing outside a closed door with the child by his side.
'I think you just got roped into babysitting duty,' Obito told him.
Kakashi inwardly cringed.
She was quiet, following dutifully behind him, the rest of the way to his apartment.
"This is home," he said.
Kakashi watched as she studied the living room.
"Do you want anything to eat?" he asked.
He wondered if he had anything beyond the occasional box of crackers and ramen in the cupboards.
"I'm tired," she said.
"Second door on the left." Kakashi pointed to the hall. He followed her small form into the bedroom. Before he could stop her, she slumped into the spare cot by the bed that Naruto often used. She deliberately turned her back to him.
"Take the bed."
The Hokage would kill him if she found out he allowed the Kazekage's sister to sleep on the floor.
"I'm fine," she waved him off irritably.
It seems like she was too proud to accept his help beyond what she needed. It was an admirable trait, but Kakashi would have preferred it if she was more like Sakura or even Naruto. Unfortunately for the both of them, she didn't have Sakura's charm or Naruto's exuberance. From what he remembered about her, she seemed closer to Sasuke in terms of personality. They were both moody, detached, and had an attitude problem. His gut feeling told him that she was probably going to be difficult.
He took a seat on the window ledge so that he could watch over her as she slept. When he closed his eyes, Obito's cheerful voice rang out.
'It's a good thing your hair is already gray, huh?'
In his thoughts, Rin berated Obito.