~Hey, guys! Thanks to some suggestions, I have started this side-fic for Kakashi's Kid. It should fill in some scenes, include some new points of view, explain some things that haven't come up in the main story, and most importantly, attempt to provide something to read between updates.

If you haven't read Kakashi's Kid, feel free to go check it out! This doesn't really spoil anything, so perhaps you will consider it a preview. :) Either way, I hope you read my main fic. I've been told it gets pretty fun about eleven chapters in or so.

A little explanation of the formatting: If a chapter title has parentheses and an abbreviated chapter number next to it [for instance: 2. Lunch break (Ch17)] , then the content actually happened offscreen in the main story during the indicated chapter. If there's no chapter abbreviation, the content is purely hypothetical. The labels before the shorts will repeat the same information. I'll also put spoiler warnings before corresponding shorts and let you know which chapters of the main fic you should be current on.

If you have read the first chapter of KK already, I regret to inform you that there are no spoilers today. No freebies here, folks. I've given enough of those already. Heh, heh.

Time: Prologue

Hokage's Office, Konoha. Two years after Kyūbi.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi's voice was miserable as his gaze dropped to the floor. Had those scuff marks always been there? He hadn't noticed them before. Strange.

The Hokage's awful silence continued, and all Kakashi could dwell on was how stupid and reckless and utterly mindless and irresponsible and simply completely void of forethought—

"I must thank you for bringing this matter to me," the Hokage said at last. "I admit I am surprised that such a situation would come from you of all people, but I am much more surprised by her decisions."

Kakashi shifted. "She," he offered uncomfortably, "said that there were two."

"Decisions?"

He flushed. "No, ah, twins. Children. Offspring." Were it not for the gravity of this conversation, he would almost suspect the older man was teasing him. "She listed that as her main reason."

The old man's face brightened. "Twins, eh? They're the right age to be my grandchildren. Are you hoping for girls or boys? One of both, perhaps?"

"I'm not hoping, Hokage-sama! My actions have ruined both of us! I've ruined both of our reputations and lives. What happens when my enemies realize that they have something to strike at? I've endangered the village. I've created a liability."

Hiruzen held up a hand, wrinkles deepening under his hat. "Do not think of children as liabilities, Kakashi," he said severely. "You must accept what has happened, no matter how much easier things would be if she did not care for their future. Can you deny that Konoha will be safer for your children, Kakashi?"

"No," Kakashi admitted reluctantly.

"Very well. And do you attest that, so far as can be proven, you have fathered children with the girl who wrote you that letter?"

Never again, he promised himself. I will never betray Konoha's safety again. "Yes."

"Will you deny the mother of your own children her right to surrender them to you?"

He shook his head.

"Good," declared the Hokage. "Let's get started with their safety, then. I assume you will be able to handle bringing them to the village?"

Kakashi was struck with a sudden, horrible flashback of his old genin team's occasional babysitting missions. He had never handled the kids himself, but perhaps his own . . . his own children would be tolerable? Yes, he decided, they would, because they would be his. They would take after him. "Yes."

The Hokage snorted, but continued regardless. "I can afford a few months of parental leave, but—"

"No. I won't be taken off the mission roster." He needed to be useful. He needed a way to cope and continue on. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I am one of your top ninja. I'll be useless if I spend all day changing diapers. The village needs me. Infants don't."

"If you insist," Hiruzen replied, shaking his head. "Are there any genin teams you would prefer?"

This was an easy decision. "Absolutely not. If you can spare me, you can spare other ANBU."

The Hokage, however, pressed on. "You won't consider a genin team? What about Saimaru's? He was Minato's teammate and has a solid team. You know he's competent, especially with his particular skill set. He has a good head on his shoulders."

As all of these points were valid (there was a reason Saimaru had lasted his post in the front lines for so long), Kakashi could hardly argue against this suggestion. "I'll consider his team if they're ready to be promoted. Are they ready?"

"They graduated this year, as you ought to remember from refusing to be their teacher. Saimaru is married, Kakashi. Most ANBU are not."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "I didn't ask for this."

"And yet," provided Hiruzen, "the entire village is going to see its young prodigy become a parent." There was a very strange silence as the Hiruzen stared at Kakashi, who was eyeing the floor in a new light. The older man cleared his throat. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, it would be less risky if—"

"Absolutely not. They are your children, and you will deal with them, not conceal them. Hiding them would actually raise more suspicions. Besides, staying home to look after newborns will not make you look bad. The village will see you as responsible."

"But I'm not—"

"Yes, I know. I'll keep you in rotation. However, I think you'll agree that your children's ANBU guard should be disguised as you, if only to give your children consistency. Do you have any specific guards in mind?"

"Not Root." Except Tenzō . . . but even he had been given a silencing seal.

The Hokage nodded in agreement. "Of course. Perhaps I shall ask my old friend Deer if he would be interested. His own son will be ready to join ANBU soon, so I think he would enjoy it. Weevil would be good, too, once he and his pupil return from their long-term assignment. How about your own friends?"

What friends? But come to think of it, certain distasteful images did spring to mind. "I don't want chakra to be used in front of them." He didn't want them to be influenced by anything less than perfection.

The Hokage cast him another knowing glance, which was really nothing but disconcerting. "Very well. Why don't you return home and get started on your preparations? From what you've reported, you don't have very long. You wouldn't want to disappoint their mother."

The letter had attested that it was far too late to avoid that.

It was honestly a shame they couldn't both be disappointed together.

~Hope you guys enjoyed it!

If you haven't yet, please go and read the main story, Kakashi's Kid. Otherwise, I can promise you won't enjoy the following chapters in this side-fic very much. I mean, you might. But the main story has things like character interaction and build-up, you know?

I've never really waxed eloquent about my characters or the plot, but I've always loved writing Saimaru. He's got a really dry, doleful sense of humor, and he's really quite an intelligent man. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify writing his background into KK, since Kana doesn't actually know much about him (so far). Beyond that, he's just one minor character. I hope that makes you wonder if any of the other minor characters have fleshed-out lives on my end of things, because most of them do. It's why I write about people, not stereotypical characters. :)

Another small note about Saimaru: he was on Minato's team and under Jiraiya's tutelage. It's hard not to pick some things up! It's also nice to be considered trustworthy by an eventual Hokage. Makes you cannon fodder for babysitting.

I'm absurdly pleased with myself about the summary. I think it pokes fun at everyone very well (especially me). My thanks to Like Stars in the Sky for the main concept of it.

Is there anything you want to read about? I won't be able to cater to everything (sorry—I write slowly enough already), but questions are free. Hypothetical situations are fun. Bwahahahaha. We'll see what the next one will be about, eh?

Anyway, if you have questions about anything, now's your chance!