Lemme start with this nice disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then I wouldn't be writing this. Or, maybe I would, but I would have it made into an animation, too. Since I have no rights to do that, I obviously don't own Naruto. And that applies for the rest of the story and not just this one chapter.

This is obviously AU…events will be different. I originally intended it to be a 'taking care of Naruto' fic, but it sort of evolved into a plot as I continued to write it.

One more note…I know that a two year old can talk better than I have Naruto speaking in the fic. It just didn't work to have Naruto with the ability for a two-year old's speech capabilities. I also have Naruto talking in Japanese, since they have better idioms and sounds that just worked better for a young child's speech.

Japanese words in this chapter:

Kinjutsu – Forbidden technique

Yondaime – Fourth Hokage

Sensei – Teacher

'Ai' – Naruto's word for 'wai' (which means 'yay') or 'hai' (which means 'yes')

Ossan – literally 'uncle', but in the context in this fic, it means 'old man'

-chan – attached to the end of the name for young children, usually to express affection

On with the story since nobody reads the notes at the beginning, anyways!

Will of Fire

Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, thought that his job as Hokage was over when Minato Namikaze took over as the Fourth Hokage. Yes, Hiruzen still stayed on the council, mostly since Minato would need some friendly faces in the lion's den that was the council, but he wasn't the Hokage any longer.

Though, maybe he was just destined to be a Hokage, since he ended up back in office once again.

A year had passed since Minato handled the coup d'etat of the Uchiha clan, which left only a few Uchiha children left since the rest of the clan was involved. Minato had even handled the orphans left over very well, Uchiha or not.

That was the year the Yondaime had a son, though nobody but Hiruzen, Jiraiya, the wife, and Tsunade knew about the birth. It was partially because Minato feared for the boy's safety, and partially because of who the wife was.

The wife's name was Kuzunoha, and she had been the 'golden fox'…the great Nine-tailed Fox that had dwelled in the forests around Konoha and protected it. In human form, she was a woman with long red-orange hair and matching eyes.

Since they weren't officially married, when they had their first child, they agreed that the boy would carry the last name of Minato's deceased cousin, Uzumaki Kushina.

When Uzumaki Naruto was two years old, disaster struck.

Nobody knew quite what happened. All they did know was that the 'protector' of their village suddenly turned on them.

The only option was to kill the Nine-tailed Fox. There was only one way to kill a creature as powerful as Kuzunoha, and that was with a Kinjutsu that would also claim the life of the user…a last resort, and a double edged sword.

Yet, Minato performed it.

Minato had asked a few things before he charged to his death.

The most important one at the moment was that Naruto would be cared for, and raised however Hiruzen thought was best. In fact, the late Yondaime even recommended one particular teen for the job…

Kakashi Hatake was young, and at 16, was already part of the ANBU squad. He had risen the ranks quickly, graduating at five years of age, and then climbed quickly to Chuunin rank and then again to Jounin. He was cool, aloof, often seen as apathetic, nonchalant, and the famous 'Copy Ninja' due to having a Sharingan eye as his left eye…which he kept covered with his hitai-ate unless he had to use it.

He had far surpassed the 'babysitting' missions stage, which were often D-Rank missions assigned to Genin fresh out of the academy, and was thus greatly shocked when he was given such a task.

Especially so soon after his teacher, Minato-sensei, had died fighting the Kyuubi. Yet another name added to the memorial stone he frequented to since his best friend and teammate, Obito, died. The only thing Kakashi was grateful for was that Obito died on a mission, loyal to Konoha, and not in the Uchiha coup d'etat a year later.

Still, there were places Kakashi would have rather been than at the Hokage Tower because his sensei had requested him, specifically, for babysitting duty.

What a thing to put in a will…Kakashi cursed his teacher's sense of humor. Though, he wasn't dense…if the man wanted him to watch some kid, due to the fact that Kakashi was horrible with children and that he hadn't done a babysitting job since he was only a couple years older than the kids he 'sat for, it meant the kid was important.

However, if Kakashi accepted the job for more than the requested week, it would probably mean he would have to quit ANBU and move back down to being a Jounin. Not that he minded…he had been in the ANBU squad for a year, and hated it already.

"…shi? Kakashi?"

Kakashi blinked as he tore himself out of his thoughts, and looked at the Sandaime.

"You spaced out?" Hiruzen chuckled around his pipe.

"Ah…guess so."

Hiruzen nodded, and beckoned for the teen to follow him down the hallway. "I suppose you want to know more about the child you're watching?"

"That would be nice…"

"Don't sound so glum…" Hiruzen smiled. It had been a month since Minato's death, but the impact still hit the village hard. Yet, as the new/old Hokage, Hiruzen had to be strong for everyone.

Kakashi shrugged indifferently.

Hiruzen just chuckled. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much about his background until you accept the job fully…if you decide to, that is. I'm sworn to secrecy on it, so don't even ask or try to pry. You won't win."

Kakashi pouted under his mask. He didn't seem eager, but he loved a good mystery.

"For now, know that the child's name is Uzumaki Naruto…" Hiruzen opened a particular door in the tower.

Kakashi gaped.

The room was…well, common for a baby's room. The walls were painted a light blue, and there was a mobile with stars on the ends that spun around slowly from the ceiling. Off near the wall was a child's bed with guard rails. The floor was littered with a few plush toys and soft building blocks that were primary colors. A bookshelf full of picture books was against another wall, and a little dresser was next to that. On the far end was a changing table.

Upon closer inspection, Kakashi realized that there was a small body on the bed.

The boy was very young, and had unruly blond hair that stuck out in all directions. He wore a pair of blue jean overalls, with a pale orange t-shirt underneath. White socks covered his feet to keep them warm, and his eyes were closed. The strangest thing about the child were the three whisker like marks on each cheek.

"…and he's two years old." Hiruzen smiled tenderly at the napping boy.

Kakashi groaned. Not only babysitting a child…but a toddler.

"He's at the tail end of his nap…he should be awake soon," Hiruzen spoke quietly as he showed Kakashi around the moderately sized room. "I wanted to wait a little longer before I summoned you with Minato's request, but duties are piling up, and I can't spend as much time with him as I'd like to."

Kakashi stared from the boy to the Hokage. Him babysitting a two year old kid on his own…it couldn't get any worse.

"Don't worry." Hiruzen seemed to be able to read the fear in the teen's eyes. "You won't be alone. There is a Genin I'm worried about that might benefit from spending time with a young child…I'll be asking for his help as well. You'll be alone at the initial get-go, but then you'll receive help."

Kakashi nearly bashed his head against the wall. It's worse. That meant he'd have to deal with a wet-behind-the-ears, most likely stuck up, snot-nosed Genin. And a troubled one, at that, if he heard correctly.

Hiruzen patted Kakashi on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine. The boy is no trouble, but then again, he still misses his parents, so I can't say for sure once he breaks out of that phase…"

Kakashi glared at the old man. Not reassuring…

Hiruzen chuckled again, not even a tad phased by the glare. "You'll love him."

Before Kakashi could protest or attempt to wiggle his way out of it, the small body on the bed squirmed and sat up with a yawn.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-chan. Feel better after your nap?" Hiruzen knelt down by the bed with a warm smile.

Naruto looked around the room with teary eyes, then sniffled. "Mama? Papa?"

Hiruzen scooped the boy into his arms. "Sorry, little one…"

Then, a sound that Kakashi hated all but shredded his ears.

Crying.

"Shh…hey, Naruto-chan…a new playmate has come to see you. Want to say hi to your new friend?" Hiruzen rubbed the toddler's back as he rocked the boy. He spoke only when the wailing had stopped.

Naruto rubbed his eyes with a chubby fist, then blinked and saw Kakashi for the first time.

Kakashi half expected the child to try to run away or duck. So, he was surprised when Naruto reached out with one hand.

"Ai!" Naruto babbled with a smile. He recognized that face! It was the face in a lot of the pictures his papa showed him! And his Papa said that this person was his 'student', and he loved him as a student…

Kakashi found himself reaching back out, and tentatively offered a hand to the boy. I think my body is moving without my permission…why isn't this kid scared? Most kids are afraid of me between my mask and just knowing that I have blood-tainted hands…

"Ai!" Naruto babbled and grabbed Kakashi's finger. He grinned, showing all of the little teeth that he had.

It was, dare Kakashi even think it, cute.

"Naruto, this is Hatake Kakashi." Hiruzen was proud of the ninja in front of him. He was a little worried at first…but soon realized that Kakashi, like the Genin he often thought of, could benefit from being around an innocent toddler.

"Can he talk?" Kakashi questioned, and stared intently at Naruto.

Naruto was just content to play with Kakashi's finger.

Kakashi winced when he found his finger in the boy's mouth. "Don't do that…you don't know where my finger has been…"

Hiruzen laughed, then spoke up after getting Naruto to relinquish Kakashi's finger. "I haven't heard him say any complete words besides 'mama' and 'papa'. To my knowledge, they're the only words in his vocabulary. Besides nicknames and half-babbled words, of course."

"Late bloomer…?" Kakashi wondered aloud as he wiped off his finger.

Naruto, now that he didn't have Kakashi's finger, stuck his own finger in his mouth.

"I'll show you how to make his lunch…he's starting to be able to eat semi-solid foods, and though he sometimes likes drinking from a bottle, can use a sippy cup…"

Kakashi didn't know why, but he followed Hiruzen out of the room to learn about taking care of a toddler.

Kakashi figured he could be in a poorer mood as he went to the memorial stone that contained his friends and sensei's names. The afternoon with Naruto and Hiruzen wasn't as bad as he had thought…Naruto was fairly tame.

Then again, like Hiruzen said, the kid was still sulking since his parents were both killed during the battle against the Kyuubi.

The silver-haired teen didn't often cross paths with people…as far as he knew, he was the only one in the village that spent an unhealthy amount of time at the memorial stone. Most people only went on the anniversary of their deceased one's death…or the occasional nutcase that came during a holiday or on the deceased's earthly birthday…which made no sense to Kakashi, but he didn't question it.

He also didn't usually go at night…he typically went in the morning when most people were still asleep or headed towards a job or training grounds…or a mission.

So, he was somewhat surprised and somewhat not to see a young boy at the stone.

The kid looked fresh out of the academy, but Kakashi pegged on an extra year since those sort of assumptions could get one killed in a mission, and that lesson had been drilled into him so much that he applied it to even allies.

The boy was of average height, with brown hair pulled into a loose topknot, and brown eyes. He had a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose, and the hitai-ate tied around his forehead indicated that he was, indeed, a Genin at the least. He wore a white quarter-sleeve shirt that was probably over a fishnet shirt since said fishnet covered what wasn't covered by the shirt…from forearm to wrist. His pants, too, where white, and again, there was a trail of fishnet that led into his blue standard sandals. There was a kunai pouch on his thy, and another on his belt at his back. There was a symbol in red on the kid's shirt, but it wasn't a clan symbol, so it was probably just a family seal.

Kakashi had two options…wait until morning, or ignore the kid. Since he really wanted to visit the stone to mutter to his dead sensei, he decided on the latter. Though, he would have to keep the muttering under his breath.

The Genin looked up, startled, when someone approached. But, he said nothing and looked back to the stone with a frown.

Kakashi was grateful for that much, at least. He didn't want to face any questions by some curious Genin.

The two were silent for some time until the Genin spoke in a soft, quiet voice.

"Pardon my asking, but…have you lost anyone really important to you? I mean, really important?"

"You're asking me if I've lost any family," Kakashi translated, slightly irked that the kid had spoken, and even more so at the question.

A slightly nervous shift told Kakashi he hit the nail on the head, though it was still curious behavior, since the boy looked slightly abashed at how straightforward Kakashi had worded it.

Kakashi sighed, and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yes."

"Sorry…but maybe you can answer my question, then…does it ever stop hurting?"

Kakashi swept his visible eye over the kid, then looked back at the stone. "Not in this line of work. Time and death always come to take someone else."

A considering hum was the answer, then the boy seemed to nod. "But, you can make more precious friends…and protect them…"

"That's just being disillusioned. On the battlefield, one is barely able to protect themselves, let alone someone else. Naïve…" Kakashi scoffed.

The kid scowled at him. "It's true! I'll protect my important people…!"

"That's what I said right before another name I knew was added to this stone. Being a ninja isn't glamorous or glorious. It's bloody and brutal. What you speak of is only what they tell to children in order to raise more soldiers for this country."

A look of anger passed over the boy's face. "Maybe in your time, but there's always hope, and I won't lose it! You can give up if you want, ossan, but I know that one day, it'll be true!"

Kakashi's eye twitched. 'Ossan'…? I'm not even twenty, yet!

The Genin looked back at the stone, then turned around and walked off without another word to Kakashi.

Kakashi watched the kid go, then sighed and rolled his eye skyward. "Sensei…my life sucks…I'm running into children left and right! Ungh…I bet you're laughing with Obito up there…no, I know you are laughing with him up there…thanks a lot, sensei…"

TO BE CONTINUED…