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Chapter Text

(there will be an author's note at the end of the chapter if you are interested in my thoughts and inspirations)

The first Hokage Kakashi swore fealty to was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. He was a good leader during war, cold hearted when needed, warm flame when the times turned dark. His orders broke Kakashi so many times he felt more like scars than human, and even still, the Hokage expected him to be a perfect child soldier.

(Plus, he always wore the stain of not helping Kakashi’s dear father.)

The second Hokage Kakashi served under was Namikaze Minato, who didn’t have enough time to show people how good of a leader he could be (or would be). However, to Kakashi, he would always be the messy, fumbling sensei who had a heart of gold. His fatal flaw, the thing that killed him. Kakashi used to hope he would be his last leader, last guiding light to soothe his soul, but sensei’s death broke him even further.

His third loyalty promise was given once again to Sarutobi Hiruzen, this time without the hope and honesty young Kakashi felt at the ripe age of five. The second tenure of the old man was outside of war, and Hiruzen did not thrive in the same way as the Professor did during bloodshed. He was visibly tired, lacked the heart needed in peace time, lacked the drive to push his village to become better, stronger. His fire burned out. Kakashi’s third oath broke him the most, until he was on the verge of begging for a suicide mission that would finally quiet the suffering. By that time, Kakashi was too tired and wished to never have to swear his loyalty to another again.

His wishes were ignored, as they often were.

The third Hokage ruling during Kakashi’s life was Senju Tsunade, granddaughter of the founder of the village. She wasn’t a natural leader like her predecessors, but she was a good leader for majority of shinobi - spirited, demanding, but at the end of the day, kind. She was a healer, and besides healing bodies, she healed some of the glaring wounds her sensei left behind. Kakashi was too damaged, in his humble opinion, to be fixed by her healing chakra, and he never felt the burning devotion he felt after his first two promises of undying loyalty, but she was good enough. It helped how much she loved his precious students, one like a granddaughter and the other as a student. She was good enough in his eyes, and what more could a damaged shinobi want?

Then came war, and she was suddenly not enough. She lacked the cold heart to send her soldiers to die for the cause, she wanted to be among them to heal them, and that brought about her end. She cared too much, and her care took away their Hokage who gave away her life to save less important ones.

Even before she died, Kakashi offered his loyalty to a girl who never demanded it, who took it with a kind smile and tucked it close to her chest. And this girl, who never wanted undying devotion, became his leader. Kakashi was determined she would be the last, as he couldn’t think of a better one - kind, but rational enough to know when to bark out a demand. Strong enough to protect them, but smart enough to know when to let others lead, because she knew she was far more useful alive than dead (something her predecessor did not understand, together with Naruto’s father).

Tsunade picked her successor with her dying breath, which was almost disregarded. The Konoha elders wanted to pick Kakashi (who was too tired to think for himself half of the time). He could maybe lead a pack, but not a whole army. The other Kage were willing to support Kakashi as a new war-time leader as they respected him enough. But Kakashi promised his last oath and would never take it from his one true leader. Thankfully, his friends (mainly fellow jounin and ANBU that survived the war up to that point) were on his side, when they bellowed: Our one and only Hokage is Uzumaki Naruto! (And the Kage supported them – although they respected Kakashi enough, they adored Naruto).

Despite the loud support, Kakashi was the first one to fall to his knees and give the oath he already swore weeks ago.

Of course many did not accept her, tried to look to Kakashi or Nara Shikaku for leadership, but the two supported their Sixth Hokage full heartedly. The disbelieving rest followed soon after. Naruto showed her leadership skills and prowess on the battlefield every day, supporting her soldiers with her immense pools of chakra, fighting on their side - and not only the Konoha shinobi, but all the shinobi of the Allied Forces could also depend on her support (as long as they followed her orders). 

As the war went on, they lost more and more people to the always regenerating army of Uchiha Madara and the Rabbit Goddess. Although the allied forces gained several strong supporters like Uchiha Sasuke and the Nine Tailed Fox, the losses were far greater. And those who lived, grew darker - even Kakashi’s Sun, his hope for better tomorrow, the leader he believed wouldn’t break him more than the previous ones managed, started to dim. Gradually, Kakashi tried to give her more and more support instead of advice, leaning away from her side, to stand behind in the shadow that grew every day, to hopefully contain some of the shadows his beacon of hope created.

Instead of trying to be Naruto’s equal, he became her most loyal shadow, melting behind the larger-than-life figure (even though he still had a quite a few centimeters over Naruto). When Shikaku died, the positions of advisors were taken up by the younger generation, the Konoha 12 that went together to their first chunin exam. It felt like centuries since those lovely days, before the first tragedy stroked in form of a black seal on a pale neck.

The Alliance battled and then trained in the moments of respite to become better, stronger. Kakashi tried to teach Naruto some seals, hoping for a potential (hoping for that drop of creativity that might reverse the tides of the Fourth Shinobi War) - and found oceans of it, so much that he couldn’t keep up. The sealed fox Naruto managed to befriend helped for a bit longer, but the chaotic blond surpassed any expectations by leaps and bounds - cementing people’s belief in her, as she created barriers and protection seals, making everybody safer without self-sacrifice.

(Kakashi was glad that leadership took that tendency out of his Hokage.)

They began to burn their dead too late (so they couldn’t be resurrected later), they learned too slow, they were losing even though they were better - the army of undead was winning due to numbers, for the most parts. Also, thanks to being resurrected by their immortal leaders when they fell.

The Allied Forces army became a large group of the most powerful shinobi in the world – ironically, as their numbers fell, was when the tides started to shift, as Naruto became able to seal the undead soldiers with previously unseen speed and efficiency, and most surviving shinobi created ways to disintegrate those living dead.

While they destroyed hundreds, they still lost most of their friends, though. Their taijutsu specialists died out the quickest, as they often served as distractions - Gai, Lee, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Chouji. But first, the controlled masses targeted Ino, to cut off their long-distance communication channel. The same day, Sakura created a technique to make chakra implode on itself, completely destroying the ability to cast the re-animation technique on a body.

Slowly, the rest went to the Pure Lands to follow their loved ones - Shino, Shikamaru, Tenten, Sai, Tenzo, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara. Naruto might have shed tears even for the people from outside of their group, but Kakashi’s heart broke only for his people, for his packmates. He was selfish like that.

The same selfishness was sobbing in relief that his team was still standing - the original Team Seven. And they, him and the three barely-adults, after three years of losing battles, won the war. Or did they? Nothing else survived the battle, the country desolate, all shinobi dead and civilians who managed to hide were slowly dying from starvation.

“What are we supposed to do now,” their Kage looked lifelessly on the horizon full of dark dust clouds.

“I live for you, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi hummed the often-repeated reassurance. He was probably the only one who could live happily by just being with his precious pack, even in the land that would slowly bring them only sweet release of death (let nobody tell you that Kakashi fully defeated his suicidal tendencies, even though he was in a much better place while in his Hokage’s shadow).

“We could try to find survivors,” Sakura offered, the heart of a healer always ready to help.

“There are almost none,” Naruto reached a hand to comfort her. During their genin days, Sakura would rather throttle Naruto than accept such gesture, but now she took it with an adoring smile. “I can’t feel anyone for miles and miles, only with nature chakra can I sense any life. Even the dirt is dead and dry, unable to sustain life.”

“The water too is rancid,” jogged Sasuke to them from his, obviously fruitless, task to find fresh water.

“I can gather some from the air, if you help me Hokage-sama,” Kakashi offered, his throat suddenly feeling extremely parched.  “It won’t be the cleanest, but it might be drinkable.” It was a technique he copied from a Suna ninja during the Third Shinobi War - it was a demanding technique for anyone without water affinity, but Kakashi always powered through. Besides, none of his students had suiton as their primary nor secondary affinity.

With a chakra boost provided by the Kage, there was enough water for each to take five sips from their shared canteen. It tasted like ash, but when checked by Sakura, it wasn’t poisonous (unlike the river).

“What can be our plan, besides saving people?” Sakura asked after they chewed on a piece of dried meat of suspicious origins. All of them were looking worse for wear, clothing ripped and even previously worn threadbare. The last shinobi were tired and dirty (and, in Sasuke’s opinion, too stinky to be around other people). The area around them wasn’t doing much better, craters creating a wholly new landscape to the previously grassy fields and gentle hills housing small animals, insects, and other precious life.

Their last goal was to kill the two immortal beings that killed almost everyone they loved. What could they do now? Where could they search for hope? For a will to survive?

All of them turned to their Hokage, unshakable loyalty shining in their scarred faces.

“I think you put too much trust in me,” she gave them a shaky grin, but melted into the loose hug from her most loyal Shadow.

“We should look for food and a source of water,” Sasuke leaned on the pair from one side, touching with only shoulder and arm, but that was an equivalent of a rib-breaking hug from the last Uchiha. From their other side. Sakura loosely put an arm around Naruto and rested her head on Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Then we can find a new purpose, Naruto-sama,” Sakura smiled into her sensei’s sleeve.

“Why do you refuse to let go of the sama nonsense?” The blond groaned, but now with that characteristic lightness coloring her tones.

“You never argue with sensei,” Sasuke grumbled.

“HE is a lost cause,” Naruto finally gave them her famous grin. Kakashi huffed into the sweaty, dirty blond hair that he kept nuzzling happily. The two advisors just knew he would purr if he could.

“At least we tend to drop Hokage,” Sasuke offered a consolidation, amusement in his features visible only to his friends.

“Let’s move then,” Naruto sighed, inclining her head so she could nuzzle with her Shadow back. “We can follow the river up stream and see if the source is any better. Sakura, Sasuke, follow me and Kakashi, there are no perceivable dangers, but you will be our support if anything happens. Shadow, alert me if you can smell something suspicious but focus on clean water. I’ll look for healthy soil. All clear?”

“Yes, Hokage-sama!”

For some time, their purpose was just that – to survive. The source of the nearby river was a day of travel away (by ninja standards, that is), tucked away near a top of a rocky mountain range mostly untouched by war. Naruto felt the ground had some life in it, although it lacked the vivacity of more fertile lands – and the lack of sunlight wasn’t giving them much hope. But, alas, it was the best place for them to recover. Especially since their hopes for clean water were fulfilled (they still worried about the future, as the water cycle might bring more impurities into the underground waters).

Gathering edible plants got their shrunken stomachs enough food to survive, water cleaned most of the dirt that accumulated over the weeks, and Team Seven collapsed into a puppy pile for a 24-hour nap session. None of them could call it deep sleep, as nightmares plagued their minds – none the less, the proximity of living, breathing bodies made them fall back into the lands of rest again. For Kakashi, it would be the best sleep he would have for the next several weeks that they spent there.

The first week was like water in cupped hands – it trickled away without his knowledge or will. Team Seven was in mourning for that time, symbolically burying their loved ones and creating a small shrine for them out of cut wood and sticks, that Sakura and  Naruto decorated with flowers. Like the memorial stone, it became a place where Kakashi spent his sleepless hours, often with one or more of his ex-students. Besides mourning, they gathered edible plants and once hunted an older rabbit as a treat. They were scared to kill too much, as there was no way to know if the small family of rabbits wasn’t the last in the world.

“Who would have guessed that D-ranks were actually useful?” Sakura marveled. “Without it, we might have the hope to grow something!” she giggled madly. “As if anything could, in this.”

“D-ranks are used to create a sense of comradery and help the villagers to see ninja as something more than simple weapons of destruction. Especially when they are kids,” Kakashi gave her a sarcastic eye-smile. “But your dedication to them warms your old sensei’s heart, Sakura-chan.”

“Nice to see you in such high spirits,” Naruto grinned, strolling to her teammates with a toothy grin. It sat crookedly on her sunken cheeks, fakeness radiating from it like sweetness used to in her early teens.

“Did your clones find anything, Naruto-sama?” Sakura asked. Kakashi moved to his leader’s shadow, offering his comforting presence which Naruto took with an appreciative sigh, leaning into him.

“Desolate land, several shallow graves, and a hut – well, barely that, ttebayo – with a dead family inside,” her blue eyes stayed ice cold, a state Kakashi got used to even before Ino’s death. It was one of the signs of her growing darkness and became far more menacing than Kurama’s red-eyed rage. Although it was long since Naruto wore her heart on her sleeve, there used to be times when her icy gaze melted – that stopped with the death of her former classmate. “Two of my clones are coming back with scraps of preserved food they found, but I doubt there is much hope in long-term survival.”

“Even far away from the worst damage?” Sakura asked.

“The dust clouds are killing everything that the War left behind. It is only natural we would be part of that life cycle,” Naruto gave her a helpless smile. Then it turned teasing. “Not even yours and Sasuke’s attempts to repopulate will help.”

“NARUTO-SAMA!” she yelled, huffing, but not attacking (partly because she swore to protect her Hokage-sama, but mostly out of fear that Kakashi would fry her into a sparkly crisp). The aforementioned overprotective bastard giggled, slinging an arm around his beacon of hope.

“Hokage-sama, do not tease the poor children. They are in the part of their cycle when they cannot share a tent.”

“Again?” Naruto grinned as her Shadow used her head as a chinrest.

“You are all over each other all the time!” the pink-haired kunoichi whined. “How can YOU tease me about having sex?”

“We are not like that,” Kakashi rolled his eyes before squeezing them into an eye-smile.

“Have you ever heard about platonic love?” Naruto teased further. “Or is you cuddling me like a plushy suddenly sexually charged?” She made a faux-disgusted face. “If yes, I might switch with Kakashi. I’m sure Sasuke would never have such dirty thoughts.”

“Since when is Kakashi not THE pervert of our group?” The Uchiha appeared out of thin air.

“Report,” Naruto automatically ordered.

“No signs of life, Hokage-sama,” the black-haired man fell to one knee with the same learned automation.

“Sasuke, no need to kneel,” the blond huffed irritably. “Any resources?”

Sasuke made a face but followed her order and stood up. “I got some clothing in our size from a ruined building, and a can of bean sprouts. And-” he stopped and fished out a glass bottle out of nowhere: “mysterious alcohol.”

He had two boxes of it sealed together with the rest of the resources, in fact – and it became a dear companion for him and Sakura, together with shared touch. Their Kage was a bit jealous as Kurama burned away all poisons, even those she wanted to keep. Kakashi was on the other hand happy to stand guard over their attempted marry-making, disliking the taste and smell of strong spirits. Besides, he had a duty to his Hokage.

Despite not being able to get drunk, Naruto managed to get rowdy through marinating in the drunk energy of her two best friends and advisors, re-sparking her old hyperactive ways – and while Sakura was loud and Sasuke affectionate, their leader got weirdly into seal experimentation to the point of obsession, talking off any ear that lingered around.

“…and if you reverse the space-time seal on dad’s Hiraishin, while adding supports for body and time while taking away the space and movement accelerator, it should create a time-traveling seal, dattebayo!” Naruto pumped a fist into the air, ignoring that one of her listeners was mouthing at Sakura’s neck, whispering something to the medic-nin who looked far gone. “Of course, the amount of chakra would be diabolical, even for me. But I already lowered the chakra drain of the original Hiraishin, so, there might be a possibility? Still, who knows how far it might take the user, right? Like, it might throw me to the last week, to the middle of the war… I cannot find a way to really specify the distance, as there is not an anchor in the past I could aim for.”

“What about the original Hiraishin?” Kakashi asked, the only one who was paying attention. He was capable of theorizing and understood most of the theory – but the practical puzzle-solving of complex seals was beyond his capabilities. Genius he might be, but that title never came with an active imagination. “Could that work as an anchor?”

“Hm,” the last Kage scratched her cheek in thought. Then her hands flew into motion, pulling out her journal and a pencil. “If I reverse the original but keep dad’s seal signature, then it should… well, also here, I’d need to add another seal tied to blood and chakra, so the signature wouldn’t overpower the body seal…” the blond muttered, scratching with lightning speed a design after design, then scratching it, and moving to a new page. “Also, there is Tobirama’s Hiraishin…”

Kakashi liked seeing her like this. He used to see her as a reflection of her father – louder and stupider, but with that big heart, bright smile and blond hair. When she came back after her training trip with Jiraiya, Kushina-nee’s features got more pronounced with Naruto’s newly grown-out hair. Nowadays, those features are lost to Kakashi, Naruto-sama overshadowed any memory of her parents – bar for those moments of excitement over seals, that she inherited from both Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee.

“It would still need a lot of chakra, dattebayo” his leader muttered as she chewed on the end of her pencil.

“Are you making explosives?” Sasuke leaned on the blonde’s shoulder, curious gaze seeing only squiggles.

“No, dattebayo,” Naruto rolled her eyes but smiled at her drunk friend. “Not all seals are explosives.”

“Only some of them,” Kakashi added.

“Only the best of them,” Sasuke corrected with a smug grin. “So, what does it do?”

“Just an idea,” his Hokage grinned. “Probably won’t work.”

“Secretive bastard,” the black-haired man huffed and changed his resting place from one shoulder to another.

“Hokage-sama?” Kakashi asked into Naruto’s ear.

“I don’t want to give them hope. You all believe in me too much.”

“If anyone can create a time traveling seal, it would be the most unpredictable ninja, if you ask me.”

“Well, if my Shadow believes me, who am I to argue?” Naruto grinned.

Between her, Kurama and Kakashi (who was doing the important job of a moral support), they worked on the seal for three tiring months. As expected, the food resources were growing thinner, the small family of rabbits was devoured by hungry ninja, and their water supply was slowly getting poisoned through the water cycle. It attacked them from within, and soon, only chakra could sustain them. Kakashi, as the person with smallest reserves out of the group fell ill as the first, weakly curling around his Hokage, exchanging ideas about the seal with her with quiet voice. Sasuke was next as Sakura managed to stave off the environmental poison with her semi-automated healing.

When Naruto told them about the time traveling seal, her best friend and most loyal ninja looked ready for the Pure Lands, while their leader was still standing strong. Sakura was keeping them alive with chakra from her Strength of a Hundred Seal, but she was also growing increasingly weak – however, Naruto needed all the chakra she could get for their last-ditch effort to survive.

The pink-haired medic held her male teammates as her Hokage drew large seal on the ground, each line fed with chakra and blood. The medic-nin had some understanding of seals used in her field, but she could hardly keep up with the dancing blond, whose explanations ranged from too complex to abstract. Not that she needed to know – it was all theoretical and not even the inventor could tell if it would work, how it would work, and if it worked, how far they might go. Would they stay in their current bodies? Would they merge with their younger selves? Was it a loop or would they create a new future?

“Sakura-chan, drag Sasuke here, and be careful of the lines, dattebayo,” the blond woman instructed as she went for Kakashi. “Cut his finger, so there is blood on this seal,” she then further helped the medic with preparations.

“On the blood seal?”

“Yeah. That is all you need to do for him, go to your circle and do the same.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama!”

“All of you – I know this is asking much, but if you have any chakra left, as long as it won’t kill you out right, siphon it into the ground underneath you. This is going to take us to some point in time, when the Hiraishin existed – so we might be able to go as far as the early days of Konoha, which is approximately when the Second Hokage created the first test seal. Whatever happens, there will be a chakra spike, so if we appear in different places, there should be a clear indicator where the others are. Do all of you remember your phrases?”

“Hai, Hokage-sama!” came three answers.

“Good. See you on the other side!” She gave them her widest, fakest grin. “NOW!”

author's note:

It’s been a long time since I wrote a fanfic I wanted to post, and during my hiatus, my brain was consumed with academics – now, it feels the need to reference everything, to explain every thought and inspiration… trust me, I often hate me. I use loose academic quotation during everyday speech. You can treat this as a reading list or skip if you don’t care.

(note: I read everything on AO3 and if not specified, it’s male/male ship)

So, my inspirations – obviously, other Naruto/Kakashi works. Excellent author is return_to_the_ocean, who is one of my favorites when it comes to the ship, especially accidental relationship acquisition (I read it at least three times this year, even as someone who hates re-reading). I like soft romances with banter and non-sexual closeness, which the fic fulfills pretty well (there is sex scene at the end, but what can you do).

A big inspiration was Prince of Konoha by AKAwestruck, specifically Kakashi’s devotion to a future Hokage and their style of intimacy (physical, but asexual as implied in the tags). Status is “complete”, but my heart yearned for more (written snippet-style, scenes rather than complex storytelling, open ended). From different fandom, the author also wrote Best Friends, of course – a Harry/Severus friendship/asexual relationship that I described in my completely-sane excel as “violently asexual” and that is probably the best way to describe it. The basis of their relationship is groaning about people who think “romance is important.” Glorious.

Another good author is LadyR_Kingmaker. I love her Kakashi, to put it simply – there is something about powerful untouchable men (canonically) who are turned into traumatized messes, that compels me. Also, love bottom Kakashi. My favourite from the author it Touch the Sun, even enjoyed the sex scenes, actually (completed work, for those who care). Protective Naruto, devoted Kakashi, they communicate (which is nowadays almost a kink for me tbh), Kakashi-centric goodness. Note – if you love Tsunade, you won’t like LadyR_Kingmaker. Favourite quote from Touch the Sun: "He had been trained his whole life to obey the commands of the village without question, regardless of what he wanted, regardless of what was right. But it seemed that Kakashi had a new master now. And he wasn’t sure he could disobey him even if he wanted to." I think you can spot the similarities with my Kakashi. Also, the author is really funny, I shared snippets with a friend, and she was dying laughing.

Talking about powerful men being a mess – the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom turned me into enjoyer of the tags simp and whipped? I do not enjoy heterosexual romances, but those tags worked on me well enough to want to write fem!Naruto… so those tags are to blame for the devotion aspect too, besides mentioned influences. So, mark “Simp Gojo Satoru” tag down as another reference.

Then my latest influence, Fuglife, who writes mainly in the Harry Potter fandom. I have been enjoying Harry/Severus works from them. A lot of them are sex-heavy, but I Will Burn Down a World Without You (completed) is more focused on Harry catering to Severus’s needs. So, this one somewhat inspired the relationship between Naruto and Kakashi and how much they take care of each other’s needs – and how being the provider of comfort can be calming and therapeutic.

If you read the tag “Female Naruto Uzumaki” when she is shipped with Kakashi, you might have happened upon Hers by OchiMochiMochi… I loved the start of it, dipped out at the first sex scene. It turned out a bit too dark for my tastes, not really a strong inspiration, but I wanted to mention it, as I was thinking about it during my decision to make Naruto female. Note: The author’s new work called 21” (get your mind out of the gutter, it’s their height difference) is surprisingly really sweet, and this Kakashi is adorable. Evidence? the tag: “Cozy Gamer Hatake Kakashi.” It might change of course, so far there are four chapters, but I have been enjoying it up to this point.

I also enjoyed Kakashi in the works of Purrfect_timing, mainly Marry first, love later (there is one main work, then shorter ones under a series of the same name, but the main one is completed) – there is, for my tastes, too much miscommunication, third-act breakups and just stupidity (like, they reassure each other they love each other so often, but it feels like in every part of the following stories in the series they forget that???)… but besides that, Kakashi is a delightful bundle of trauma and affection. Also, bottom Kakashi. Did I mention I like bottom Kakashi?

A great traumatized Kakashi (that sound horrible) is in The Cry of the Cicada by dawnstruck – fem!Naruto, Kakashi-centric, slow burn in arranged marriage. In comparison to I swear it feels fair, when you take my hand by Velocity_Owl87  (same concept of arranged marriage), it takes their budding romance slowly, and only after they fall for each other do they have sex.

So, that should be all? In this essay… Joking. If I find another inspiration, I will probably mention it at the end of following chapters.

So, why did I write this? Firstly, I got inspired, as lengthily mentioned above. Also, I wanted a strong female Naruto, needed more bottom Kakashi vibes, the tag Kakashi-centric is not as popular as I need and even in my non-fanfiction writing, I have been playing with asexual romances. And I wanted to write an unhealthily devoted character. Fun fact, Chapters 2-5 were written in a 3-day window with minimal sleep and food, so, that might show you how hyper fixated I got with this idea.

P.S.: I’m bad with answering comments, it stresses me out for some reason, but I will try. Additions to this chaotic reading list will be appreciated.

(hopefully working) links:

accidental relationship acquisition: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/57716773/chapters/146886511

Prince of Konoha: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/57716773/chapters/146886511

Best Friends, of course: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/10631694#main

Touch the Sun: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/61688821/chapters/157697041#workskin

I Will Burn Down a World Without You: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/62715040/chapters/160551286#main

21": https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/69494966/chapters/180232651#workskin

Marry first, love later: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/14914361/chapters/34546652

The Cry of the Cicada: https://ao3-rd-8.onrender.com/works/66727153/chapters/173381689#workskin

Chapter Text

It was a normal mission for Team Ro. Find target, eliminate, go back to village. No injuries, no issues, minor chakra exhaustion – a clean mission as usual. That was why it was so surprising when their team captain suddenly slipped on a tree branch (something unthinkable for a ninja from Konoha), body slamming into it afterward before getting caught by his subordinates.

“Captain!” Tiger laid Kakashi down while Cat used basic scanning medic-ninjutsu on him. Pale green glow moved around their leader like two hummingbirds, erratically looking for a reason behind Kakashi’s fainting spell.

“He is not under genjutsu,” Weasel fidgeted, Sharingan glowing in the eyeholes of his mask. “And there was no altercation, so what could it be?” There was a clear tendency to fret around the older man in his body language, but Itachi forced himself not to succumb to his, as Shisui called them, ‘mother henning tendencies.’

Hound twitched and all three jumped back, well acquittanced with their captain’s tendency to attack when waking up. Silver hair swiveled from side to side as the young man scanned his surroundings, chakra pulsing weakly.

“Captain?” Tenzo asked softly, crawling closer. “Were you hurt?”

“Hm?” came out of the confused-looking man, scanning over his teammates coldly. “Lack of sleep and chakra exhaustion catching up to me,” he shrugged and stood on wobbly legs, leaning on a tree. A trembling hand pulled out a soldier pill. “Was I knocked out for long?”

“No,” Yugao inched closer, sensing aggression in the tilt of his shoulders. “Just a minute or so, captain. Wouldn’t it be better to rest, if you are unwell?” She reached out a cautious hand.

Itachi nodded, standing just behind her shoulder.

“No. Let’s go,” answered the silver-haired ANBU around a mouthful of soldier pill and jumped back into the branches, speeding off (and ducking the attempted touch from Yugao). The rest of his team scrambled to follow suddenly plenty energetic ANBU captain who ran towards Konoha with unusual focus.

Zipping through the green leaves, Kakashi was ecstatic that their plan worked (even more because his Hokage showcased her genius, although there was no one he could brag about it to). After years of living on a dying continent, the number of smells, chakra and color disoriented him, but he soldiered through, running to his beacon of hope. No matter if his knees wobbled, forehead grew sticky with feverish sweat, or his vision swam. The feeling of his old team at his back made him paranoid – they were familiar, but not his pack, not anymore, not after he was retired from ANBU by Hiruzen. All of them died so early in the war – Itachi as the first.

Not anymore, though.

Kakashi smiled at the thought of an excited Sasuke, when he sees his older brother. Judging by having the young ANBU on his team, they should have at least a year before the Uchiha Massacre. The Massacre took place a month after Itachi gained the title of captain, when the too-young shinobi was only thirteen years old – that meant Team 7 was about six years old. Possibly five, with how unsure Itachi was acting.

Shadow wondered what the plan would be now – his Hokage-sama only planned their meetings, with passwords to make sure everybody came with them. Kakashi couldn’t even fathom a reality where his beacon of hope stayed behind in lands without life, slowly dying of hunger and poisoning, as her chakra stores depleted. He shivered and sped up, gaining more space between himself and his teammates.

They tore through the distance and arrived in Konoha in record time. Kakashi’s whole world swayed as the soldier pill’s effects dimmed, and Team Ro tried to catch their breath without looking like they were dying. Kakashi’s keen senses heard a light wheeze in Itachi’s breathing – was his illness settling in so soon, or was it just a sign of weaker respiratory system? Sakura was talked into looking into the Uchiha heir’s case by Sasuke before they departed to the old-new timeline, although she wasn’t sure she could help – nobody knew the exact illness Itachi carried in his chest. There was the possibility that nothing could keep him alive, as long as he stayed an active-duty shinobi.

“I’ll give the Commander our report,” Kakashi swayed visibly towards the direction of their commander’s office. “You can go; there shouldn’t be any mission for at least three days.” The easy reasoning for it was his chakra exhaustion – that was what he would tell the Commander. As if that ever stopped the twenty-year-old Hound, who used missions as some ninja used different types of drugs to deal with their trauma (he wondered how Sasuke and Sakura, who both grew fond of drinking, would manage now).

Somehow managing to give a perfect report (without mentioning his short loss of consciousness – thank Kami for his perfect memory), Kakashi skipped changing into his jounin uniform and went straight for Naruto-sama’s apartment.

There were ANBU guards stationed around it, ruining his hope for an easy way in. Shadow thought about using genjutsu, but there was always the option of one of the guards being a user of the illusionary arts. The other option was a seal created by his Hokage-sama, an ingenious little swirl that put people to sleep – but with this many ANBU, it would be difficult not to raise alarm.

Aggravated, Kakashi sighed and looked into the bedroom window. It was wide open, almost invitingly. Potted flowers decorated the delipidated windowsill, basking in the afternoon sun – and a paper windmill toy whirled prettily between two yellow flowers. A spiral was drawn in the middle, the movement almost hypnotic…

Kakashi blinked, shook his head, and looked again, now using his Sharingan. A seal hid in the swirl that became the basis of most seals Naruto-sama created, covered by minor illusion and the movement itself. The paper had to be covered in seals before becoming a little orange windmill to decorate a window of the de-aged Sealing Master.

Now that he got out of the sealing-based genjutsu, Kakashi could see a blond head bobbing to a silent music, drawing something on a piece of paper. He yearned to barrel into her flat and hide in the shadow of his Sun, but he had to wait. There wasn’t Reverse Hiraishin seal on either of them, so he couldn’t be summoned to her side with barely any chakra on his part (and wasn’t that sweet, that his Hokage made it just for his paranoia? …and small chakra reserves). No, he had to wait for a good moment, as he doubted there wasn’t a seal to forbid anyone to Shunshin into her apartment.

Did she know he was near? Naruto-sama was a great sensor after she unlocked Sage Mode, but did she keep the ability, or was it based on advanced chakra control she had to achieve during her training? Or did she need to sign a contract with the toads again? He could give her a sound signal, but their system was based on the ANBU system, so that wouldn’t help.

Chakra exhaustion dulled his restlessness as he waited for the opportune moment, waiting for that brief second of inattention. There was always one, and as Shadow, Kakashi became even better at finding it. It became second nature to hide behind the chakra powerhouse called Uzumaki Naruto, strike quick and deadly, then hide again. Sometimes, his students would cast even bigger shadow, and he would support all of them – like in their last fight, where Kakashi managed to deliver the second-to-last blow to Kaguya, which disoriented her long enough for Naruto-sama and Sasuke to seal her.

He was so proud of all of them – two of them even called him sensei still, though the only lesson he managed to impart on his cute little genin was teamwork (and basic chakra control, but they could have learn that anywhere, plus they perfected it with other people). But their teamwork, that he could call his biggest achievement as a teacher. It was what let them survive the grueling years of the Fourth Shinobi War. Otherwise, he was a horrible sensei.

Would he get his team back, or would they choose to graduate early?

“Overthinking again, Kakashi?” he could hear the often-repeated sentence as he finally sensed his moment. Memory of her giggle followed his chakra-powered jump right into the invitingly open window, landing into textbook-perfect roll.

“Took you long enough, Shadow,” little blond girl grinned at him from her position on the floor, surrounded by seals he mostly recognized. Something in his brain tingled with pleasure as he saw the Reverse Hiraishin.

“Hokage-sama,” he sighed happily on one knee, leaning into the patting hand in his hair. He was towering over her even as he bent his back to give her better angle. “When did you arrive?”

“Around twelve, you?”

“I would guess around the same time.” His ribs remembered well and reminded him. “I slipped on a tree branch,” he pouted just to make her giggle. Small hands removed his ANBU mask and fluffed up his fringe, before settling on sweaty brow.

“Chakra exhaustion?” she touched the visible part of his cheeks, frowning in worry.

“Yes, but not from the time travel. I just finished a mission, Hokage-sama.”

“Go take shower, I’ll see if I can filter some chakra into your system afterwards. Which instant ramen flavor do you prefer?”

“The food one, without mold,” Kakashi raised to his swaying feet.

“How demanding, dear Shadow,” Naruto made grabby hands at him, so he helped her up.

“You weight nothing, Naruto-sama,” he frowned.

“You are a bit small too,” she poked a hip bone.

“Bulked up in my late twenties,” Kakashi shrugged and went into her small bathroom. The shower had either cold water, or freezing cold water, so his shower-time was quick even as he scrubbed the dirt out of his hair. Of all places Team Ro could lay him down, they just had to pick a soft, muddy spot.

He finished before the kettle started to wheeze, waltzing into the kitchen wrapped only in a towel.

An unsealed spare uniform was laid out for him on the low table separating Naruto’s kitchen from her bedroom. The blond stubbornly looked at the kettle.

“Am I that predictable?” Kakashi sighed.

“Coming from bathing without a mask on was your third try, dattebayo,” his leader threw a middle finger over her shoulder. “Do you really think so little of your Hokage, Kakashi?”

“I still do not know what my prize will be, but I’m sure I’ll win,” he stuck his tongue out at her and added a sound, so she’d realize what was going on behind her. If any of his friends could see him now – everybody wanted to see his face, and the only person who could, refused to go down without a fight. Or in this case, a bet. It was before Naruto-sama became an official Kage, but Kakashi already promised his loyalty to her, when he offered. It was instigated by a comment by Ino, who wailed as he once again tricked them with a mask Genjutsu hidden underneath the physical one.

“I bet you would rather die than to show it to anyone,” the Yamanaka heiress groaned. “Do you have, like, a seal that will stick it to you after death? Or burn it all off, as a last moment of trolling?” Everybody laughed at that, Sakura adding how even medic-ninja were afraid to take of his mask – what if it triggered something? They were sure he had some contingency plan for a forced unmasking, and everybody tried to figure out what it could be. It gave him ideas, sure, but mostly he just wondered if they really thought that Kakashi thought that hard about it. Should he care if after his death, someone might see his face?

The mystery was fun, and the scent-dulling ability of the mask was always a helpful relief. And he was used to it, the soft fabric against his cheeks and lips comforting. It stopped his habit of chewing on his hands when nervous or thinking, so that was another plus. But would he really mind if someone saw him? Would there be a reaction? This intrigue gnawed at him for several days, so he asked the only person he could think of.

“Would you like to see my face, Naruto-chan?” he asked as they were getting ready in their tent.

“Huh?” she blinked, clearly surprised. “Like, right now?”

“Sure,” he shrugged to appear nonchalant. But he was nervous, couldn’t really face her. So, maybe he did mind?

“Do you take me for a sore loser, dattebayo?!” she jumped up out of nowhere, pumping a fist into the air. Now it was Kakashi’s time to blink in shock. “I won’t just take it without a fight – and you surprise me that you would just… give it away?!” (The rest of the camp was unsure what happened in their tent, but Sakura gleefully told him about the rumor that he was apparently virgin and Naruto was defending his honor. Seriously, what?)

“And what if I just want to?” he raised a combative eyebrow. Kakashi was used to raising to any challenge when he heard one, a Pavlovian response taught to him by Gai.

“I won’t look,” the blond teenager closed her eyes to demonstrate.

“But Naru-chan,” he crooned, slipping a teasing finger next to his nose. “You wanted to see for so long, why not succumb to your own wishes?”

“Wanna bet?” she grinned, eyes still closed.

“On what?”

“Wager: you win if you reveal your face to me, but! In a crowd. Like, more than ten people, dattebayo. No matter if they see, if I see your whole face, you win. But I automatically lose, if you show me your face in private and I cannot stop it. No physical force may be used, tho. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“How much is a whole face?”

“Hm…” she thumbed her chin. “Do you have, like, scars or something? Like, identifying marks. If I see all or most of them, I lose.“

“Sure. However, there is no way for you to win, Naruto-chan.”

“True,” she huffed in surprise.

Kakashi’s smile softened – his leader may have claimed to do this for herself, but she was obviously thinking about him and his comfort, more than she wanted to win. “How about, if I accidentally reveal my face somewhere that doesn’t count as a crowd, you’d win?”

“Let’s say Team Seven doesn’t count,” she nodded. “Nor does Gai-sensei, because he is your best friend.”

“How about adding that I cannot use Genjutsu on the other people, so they wouldn’t see but you would.”

“Wow, you are stabbing yourself there with your own kunai, sensei!” Naruto laughed. “I think distractions would be fine. You do that to eat, so I would have an idea of what is coming, unlike with illusions. What marks should I look for?”

Kakashi thought about it. “Let’s say four things at least, six at most. That seems pretty fair to me.”

“Sure,” blond curls bounced as she nodded.

“So, there is something unusual with my teeth,” he ignored whispered ‘buckteeth’ and continued. “Then I was born with a skin mark on my face, so you should know where it is. And the other four are scars. So, if you know their location, you get points.”

“Skin mark?” her head tilted like curious puppy’s.

“Like a freckle, or a mole, or a birthmark.”

“Oooh,” she nodded in understanding.

“Want to shake on it?” Kakashi gave her his typical eye-smile.

“I do only pinky promises, Kakashi-sensei, dattebayo!” she leaned towards him with a raised finger. With a fake sigh of irritation, Kakashi hooked his pinky with hers, sealing their bet. Then he pulled down his mask as fast as he could, but his attempt was thwarted by equally fast Naruto, who not only closed her eyes, but also blocked them with her forearm.

It became their little game, a way to cheer up his Hokage-sama when his Sun dimmed more than he liked. In the following two years, she only ever saw a scar that sat pretty close to the edge of his mask.

“Overthinking again, Kakashi?” Naruto called back, still stubbornly facing her stove, so Kakashi crumpled and put on clothes.

“I would never, Hokage-sama,” he sighed theatrically and flopped onto the ground, leaning back into his arms. His daydream completely overpowered the sound of the kettle, so the little blond brought him already steaming cup ramen. “Your hair is still long,” he noted curiously. In the original timeline, Kakashi steered clear of his sensei’s child, so he only knew her as his short-haired, baggy-clothed genin. Returning from her training trip with Jiraiya, the long hair shocked most of Konoha. She would put it into space buns, ponytail, messy bun, sometimes wore it loose, and if Sakura was in a good mood, it would end up in a braid swinging on Naruto’s back.

“I cut it a week before Academy, so I must be younger than six.”

“My guess was similar. Itachi is still on my ANBU team.”

“KAKASHI!” she squealed out of nowhere, almost toppling her ramen.

All of Kakashi’s muscles tensed up, and chakra feebly flared, trying to sense danger.

“We forgot our phrases!”

His face thunked against the low table. “Hokage-sama,” he groaned. “You have a seal on your windowsill… and I found myself in the apartment I used to avoid like the plague.”

“But we have them, so...” she pouted, giving him deadly look.

Kakashi sighed, once again going for dramatic rather than genuinely irritated. He did break her planned protocol, after all. “My plant is dying – do you have any idea why?”

“Well,” Naruto-sama struck a thinking pose, with theatrically pouty lips. “If it gets enough water and sunlight…” Kakashi nodded obediently. “Then… you need to talk to it, give it name! Mr. Ukki is really cute, isn’t it?” She gave him her biggest smile.

“You only speak the truth, Naruto-sama,” he huffed, activated his genjutsu mask, and dug into his food after a quick itadakimasu. Both hungrily slurped their noodles, enjoying the taste after not being able to eat anything for so long – their bodies weren’t starving, but their minds still felt the phantom aches of it.

“Not as good as Sasuke’s cooking,” Naruto rubbed her stomach happily. “Oh, and now I crave Ichiraku,” she groaned.

“Don’t you always, Hokage-sama?” Kakashi rested his clothed chin on a hand, leaning into it. The warmth in his stomach was a pleasant feeling.

“Do you want to take a nap, or do we go straight to business, Kakashi?” His beacon of hope asked gently, taking the disposable cups to throw out. Her loyal shinobi hummed sleepily. “You can take the bed,” Naruto-sama tugged at his elbow to get him up, but Kakashi refused by simply falling onto the ground, cuddling into the old seating cushion he was just resting on. “Shadow,” her tone sharpened.

“Not good enough for Hokage-sama’s bed,” he sleepily answered. His ribs protested against the hard wooden floor, but Kakashi was used to worse even at his body’s age.

“Kami,” the de-aged Kage sighed, but knew she wasn’t strong enough to drag him there. There was always the option to give him an order, Naruto was fully aware she had the power to make him do anything, but she didn’t like to force him. Instead, she brought her pillow and blanket to her most loyal Shadow, tucking him in. Leaning against his back, she summoned three Shadow Clones – one brought over her sealing work, one took Kakashi’s dirty uniform to clean it, and the last went outside to buy food after applying a Henge on herself.

Kakashi settled into the thin blanket, feeling the gentle warmth of his Hokage behind him. For the first time in weeks, he felt peace – it may be a fleeting state, but he decided to enjoy it, nonetheless. Tomorrow, they would start the real work – but tonight, they would relax in a bubble of comfort.

Chapter Text

The apartment smelled of freshly brewed coffee and eggs, when Naruto patted Kakashi’s cheek to check how deep he was in his exhausted slumber. Her answer was bone-breaking pressure on one small wrist. Confused eye scanned his surroundings, cataloguing where the hell he fell asleep.

“Naruto-sama?” he frowned with confusion, looking at the painfully young face in front of his.

“Morning brain?” she grinned and nudged a bowl filled with a black sludge into the hand that wasn’t actively grinding her bones.

“Hm,” he groaned, tugged down his mask and downed the burning hot coffee as if it wasn’t strong enough to kill a weak-hearted adult.

“Are you hungry, or would you like to get to work?” Naruto-sama smiled with closed eyes.

“Oh, sorry,” her loyal Shadow let go of the tan arm, watching with his Sharingan as her chakra healed the broken bones as he pulled his mask up. “What’s with it?” he frowned, still sluggish. “Chakra. Weird.”

“I wondered when you would take note of it, dear Shadow,” his Hokage laughed, but it rang false. “Kurama is gone,” her smile wobbled.

“Oh,” Kakashi blinked, reaching for the small blond who almost bowled him over as she burrowed her head into his bruised ribs. “What?”

“He put a lot of chakra into the seal, it wouldn’t have worked without him. You know how I told you there would be a need for a diabolical amount of chakra – well, it took all of mine, his, and what the three of you could offer. Well, it would work, but we wouldn’t be here so early without the fluffy bastard, dattebayo.” The future-past Kage rushed through the explanation, hugging him painfully but not even a tear escaped her freezing blue eyes. “As far as evidence suggests, I absorbed his soul and the leftovers of his chakra.”

“Evidence?” Kakashi tried to encapsulate her in his long limbs, laying his head on her blond waves. She was so warm he shivered.

“I’ll show you, after I put your seals on you. It’s harder to control my chakra in the other form.”

Other form? Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

“So, breakfast or seals first?” the bundle in the cage of Kakashi’s limbs started to wiggle energetically, so he let her out.

“Breakfast, would fall asleep otherwise,” the ANBU yawned. “Low chakra.”

“Do you think coming back drained some of it?”

“Already exhausted, then scanned,” he groaned, half-laying on the low table he slept next to. “Stupid.”

“Oi, no one can talk like that about my Shadow!” Naruto threw a chopstick at him, dramatic frown scrunching her whole face. He let it hit him, noticing how much weaker her throw was.

“Hokage-sama,” he huffed. “I need the other one to eat.”

So, she threw the other one at him, now giggling. “After breakfast, I put the Reverse Hiraishin on you, together with the seal-based mask, location seal, storage seals… but your chakra backup seal needs to be postponed, as my control is abysmal at the moment. Did I forget something?” She put a plate with fried egg rice on the table, then sat with her back to him.

“Would it be possible to draw out Hiruzen’s chakra from my ANBU seal?” the silver-haired shinobi took down his mask once again and shoveled in his breakfast. He had only two modes of eating – as fast as possible, or chewing one bite for several minutes, and there was no time for that. Also, he lacked a good book to make him languid enough for the slow approach.

“I’m not sure if it wouldn’t be sensed, Shadow,” she tutted, well aware what his angle was. “Won’t it be enough to have the other ones? Especially the Reverse Hiraishin, which is after all a better ANBU seal.” The seal on every special-op’s shoulder was tied to the Hokage, so they could summon them as fast as possible – it would heat up when activated by the leader of the village. Naruto-sama’s seal was better, as she would power up the teleportation seal, which in turn activated Kakashi’s seal – he only needed to nudge it with the smallest amount of chakra to be transported to her side.

Low, grumpy growl revibrated Kakashi’s chest.

“I can put more chakra into the mask seal,” Naruto huffed amusedly. “Afterward, we should hunt down my advisors. We can’t let them terrorize the first bar they can find,” she joked, mirroring Kakashi’s worries about the duo’s coping mechanisms. He started to chew on the chopsticks absent-mindedly. “We should first focus on Danzo and the Uchiha clan nonsense, so we need Sasuke and Sakura to help us with planning. Also, check how bad our everything is at the moment, plan accordingly. I can already tell my control is better than when I was a kid, but that doesn’t say much. I have my sensing ability, probably thanks to Kurama-“ her voice broke for a precious second, before she gathered herself. “Also, my senses have sharpened and with my second form, there might be more changes I haven’t discovered yet.”

There it was still, the second form that Kakashi was so curious about. “I’m finished,” he pulled the chopsticks out of his mouth, bitemarks making the ends brittle. Fortunately, they were of the disposable kind. That, and Kakashi didn’t mind buying his Sun a new pair. Together with mugs, because drinking out of a chipped bowl wasn’t fitting for a Hokage during peace time.

“Lay down, cover your face with the blanket,” his Hokage-sama ordered, gathering sealing supplies with her back still turned to him.

“Should I take my shirt off?”

“Good point, Shadow. Yes, do that.”

She waited for his hum of confirmation that he was prepared for her, only then turning to look at the unmasked Kakashi. Not that there was much to see, as he had everything, but his jawline, cowered – as she ordered.

“I’ll have to sit on you, you are a bit too big for me to reach around comfortably,” Naruto warned her most loyal ninja. He nodded and thanks to her warning didn’t even twitch at the gentle weight on his chest. “I’ll start with the mask seals, so toughen up – this is going to tickle.”

Kakashi remembered, and it was just as horrible the second time – he had to keep completely still for Naruto-sama while his whole body wanted to twitch away from the tingle of soft brush and wet ink. It helped to have her weight on him, even though in reality he could have thrown her off without sweating. It reminded him that he was ordered to be still. It didn’t stop several high-pitched keens from escaping his throat. Counting every intake of breath also helped.

“Oh, Shadow, I know,” the blond cooed calmingly, patting his soft silver hair. “I am done with the neck, you hate the neck the most, don’t you?” he wanted to press into her hand, but refrained. “Now the bottom of your jaw,” she warned him and held onto his hair, as he inevitably shivered. That part felt better, but he was still sensitive there. “You know, this would be so much easier if either of us finally won the bet,” she noted, pressing a hand against the blanket to keep his face covered, while she uncovered the sharp edge of Kakashi’s jawline.

He couldn’t answer her, so he just hummed.

“You’re doing so good, Kakashi, so obedient, so loyal,” she tried to soothe him as her brush bristles twirled underneath his ear, the soft wet touch triggering another shudder. “I know it’s horrible but think of it this way – you might have Jiji’s seal on you, but now your whole neck is going to be covered in my seal work, my chakra. If you took your mask off, everybody would see how loyal you are to the last Uzumaki,” she momentarily pushed at the hollow of his throat, where he knew a large spiral dwelled. “And out bet is going to be so much fun, with so many crowds, and the seals will make it easier for you to flash your smile at me, won’t it?”

He hummed, flexing expectingly as she tickled the same place on the other side of his face. He wanted to claw on himself or curl his fingers into tight fists, marking his naked palms with half-moons, but Naruto-sama forbid him from willingly hurting himself years ago.

“Now just the bottom edges of your cheeks and your chin, you are doing so well Shadow,” she cooed again, small hand holding his face and the blanket, thumb soothingly brushing a covered cheek. It was a small pressure, but it helped. “Now that I’m thinking about it, we should move Hiraishin to someplace else than your wrist, people would notice and we have no good reason why you are suddenly covered in highly personalized seal work,” the Seal Master finished the last strokes on Kakashi’s chin. “Would it make you happy to add another point to our bet?”

“Hm?”

“This scar,” small fingers touched the side of his chin. “It must have mostly disappeared when I gave these seals to you last time.”

“Probably. It wasn’t a deep cut, but at the moment it is quite recent,” Kakashi finally spoke. Then he hesitated, realizing what she said before the comment about one of his many scars.

“Kakashi, sweetheart, you can tell me, you were being such a good Shadow, holding still for me,” Naruto hugged his head, nuzzling his hair. Even through the blanket, he could feel her heat. It also strengthened her smell that already filled his nose thanks to the barrier between them. It was different to the sickly, war-torn smell of the last months, but the basis was the same. For as long as she offered the tight pressure of smushing herself into his face, he held. It would have been difficult to talk anyway. “So?” she asked, after releasing him.

“I like seeing it,” he offered one pale wrist, covered in thin, silver scars. “I don’t care what people say, Hokage-sama.”

“It would be fine with the ANBU uniform, but you like to roll your sleeves in jounin uniform,” he could hear the thinking frown on her face. “Maybe we could put it onto your palm? Most people probably never saw your palms, with how much you like gloves,” she inspected the skin carefully. “But that would be covered by gloves, what am I thinking? Besides, that might be dangerous while using jutsu. Maybe higher then? So, when you want to see, you’ll just pull up your sleeve?”

“Hokage-sama, please,” Kakashi whined. “I am used to it, please, I need to see it there-“

“Oh, Shadow, sorry, I’ll give it to you onto the wrist, no worry, you were so good for me,” her hand traveled back into the silver locks, stroking and lightly tugging to calm him down. “I didn’t realize you got into your headspace, shhh, Kakashi, anything you ask for, you were so patient and obedient for me,” she continued her verbal soothing but got to work on the Reverse Hiraishin seal, that sat just above the thinnest skin on his wrist, showing the complex network of blue veins. The body underneath her turned boneless, previously rapid breathing slowing down, gently moving her up and down. “Count your breaths, Shadow,” she hummed, moving to his chest. “Storage seal was on which side?”

“Left,” Kakashi forced himself to answer, displeased that her warmth moved onto his waist. Storage seals were put just under his left collarbone, easy to reach if he moves a collar of his uniform to the side. Location seal goes on the other side, another easy to reach location if Kakashi needs to trigger the connection to the mirrored seal on her. Naruto-sama crawled off him, and another storage seal went onto his right hip, above the edge where his pants hanged off. It was bigger than the one on his chest, capable of carrying around big objects. The last one went on the back of his right ankle, where Kakashi liked to store a few kunai and senbon, together with a lock-pick.

The Chakra Backup Seal, as Naruto-sama inelegantly named it, was supposed to stretch across his back, as the design and way it functioned was too complex for anything smaller than the whole span of Kakashi’s shoulders. He didn’t mind waiting for that one too much – it was out of sight, and therefore out of mind.

“I will make everything permanent now, Shadow – would you like to hold onto me, as I do it?” His beacon of hope stroked his hair again, and Kakashi leaned into it happily. He gave her a low hum of affirmation.

“I will sit on your stomach again to help you stay still, so you can grab onto my legs. If it’s really unpleasant, do not worry about me, I can heal myself. Squeeze as much as you need, dear Shadow. Understand?”

Another hum, followed by reaching hands. Large palms settled just above her knees, fingers circling her thighs alarmingly easily. Kakashi whined, displeased.

“Sealing Art: Indelible Mark,” his Sun muttered, making the ox hand seal before channeling chakra into her Shadow. Kakashi was prepared for the worst part of the whole ordeal, but nothing could ever make it manageable – not even the comforting weight of Naruto-sama, or her permission to squeeze her to alleviate some of the discomfort. It felt like hundreds of bristles tickling all over the marked skin, the ones on his neck and jawline driving him up the wall.

Desperate whines, gasps, and guttural moans tore out of him. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably. Naruto-sama’s toothpick legs were squeezed with brutal strength. Overwhelmed tears dripping down his cheeks, into silver hair.

His Hokage was saying something, but he couldn’t comprehend her words – only reacted to the coos, to the gentle petting. As he managed to calm down, he registered how she kept wiping his cheeks dry, as she knew how much he hated feeling dampness against his skin. She also moved to sit on his chest, where it grounded him much better that on his belly.

“Are you with me, Shadow?” Instead of an edge of her blanket poorly hiding his face, it now warmed the bottom half and covered his bruised, pale torso. “It was more intense than last time, wasn’t it?” His Sun was frowning.

“Relaxed, more now,” Kakashi answered with dazed eyes, very much out of it. “Also. One at a time. Before.”

“Oh,” she hummed, scratching his scalp, turning his huffs into soft moans. “Forgot about that. We should delay our hunt for my beloved advisors; you should take another nap. I refuse to share when you are adorable like this,” she giggled at his happy chirp. “Maybe I should send disguised clones?” she thought out loud, scratching Kakashi into submission. If he could, he would purr.

Gradually, Naruto slipped to his side, and laid down, head resting underneath his chin. “May I trigger the mask seals, Kakashi?”

He hummed in confirmation and then gave another pleased chirp as Naruto-sama’s warm chakra covered his neck and face, so she could pull down the blanket covering his cheeks.

“There you go,” her hand never stopped stroking the gravity-defying strands, but stopped scratching, to wind Kakashi down. His breathing deepened, tension melting as he rolled to his side, curling around his Hokage. Without his cloth mask, every smell tripled in intensity, but the unrestrained smell of Naruto-sama was comforting. He nosed at her hair, burying the covered yet uncovered face into it. His erratic heartbeat calmed down, slow enough that he stopped hearing it bouncing inside of his skull. “All done, my dearest Shadow,” she cooed once more. “All nicely marked by my seals, with my signature.”

“Your work,” Kakashi forced out.

“Oh, Shadow, but you were so strong, staying so still, and now – I have nothing to do with how well you wear them. It’s almost tempting me to create another beautiful brand to put on you,” she tickled his bruised ribs teasingly, making him whine. “What a cruel Hokage you follow,” Naruto sighed self-deprecatingly. “Can you tell me what I promised to do next?”

After a several throat clicks, Kakashi managed to say: “Second form.”

Naruto cringed. “Oh yeah, that. Do you remember my theory about absorbing Kurama?”

Kakashi nodded.

“Do not startle, ok?” Naruto leaned back a bit, so he could see her face change. Her cute whisker marks deepened, the area around her eyes darkened and pupils became slitted. Instead of freezing cold blue, they warmed up into royal purple. Blond fox ears perked up from golden waves, and long, curling tails spread behind his Hokage-sama like luxurious fur train. The kitsune in front of him gave him a nervous smile, revealing pointy teeth.

“Pet?” Kakashi felt his fingers twitch where they previously loosely cupped Naruto–sama’s back. His reaction startled her, pushing a surprised barking laugh out of her small frame.

“Oh, Shadow,” she snickered. “You know how to treat a lady,” she teased, but took his hand and plopped it on her own head. “Hm,” she sniffed. “It’s even stronger in this form,” she sniffed at the air again.

Kakashi gently touched the twitching ears – when his leader gave no sound of protest, he rubbed the base of one. It was addictingly soft underneath his tough fingertips. The appreciative purrs from the girl in his arms were additional benefit, but the softness was what captivated him. Hokage-sama let him explore both ears and even allowed him to pet one of her nine shiny tails.

“I have a great brush for long fur,” the ANBU finally found his tongue after internally debating if defecting from the village would be worth always having the curling tails available for petting. It cleared up the fog clouding his mind, while keeping him pleasantly relaxed.

“Do you think Pakkun’s shampoo would make these shine even more?”

The thought of even softer fur broke something in Kakashi’s brain.

“As his personal groomer, I am sure I can arrange that, Hokage-sama.”

“I might also need one,” she showed him long claws elongating small fingers. They shone pearly white, turning partially translucent at the ends. It reminded him of cloudy ice gradually turning clear. The nail base was thicker than the average human nail, probably making them sturdied.

“Shadow turned loyal kitsune groomer?” Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, laughing as she slapped his blanketed chest with playful irritation.

“Watch it, or I’ll tell Pakkun you are cheating on him!”

Kakashi’s laughter rumbled deep in his chest and pulled her closer, tangling together to share body heat and gentle petting, that lead to a short nap.