A short drabble I wrote; I know it's not much. My thoughts on what should have happened after the Uchiha Massacre; not leaving a kid to suffer alone. Also, I adore a Parental relationship between Kakashi and Sasuke.

OBVIOUS DISCLAIMER; Naruto and it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me!

It was going to be a simple mission really; how hard could it be to keep an eye on one seven-year-old boy? It would be so simple.

Oh how wrong he was.

The massacre of the Uchiha clan had only occurred last night, but the Hokage's reaction had been swift. Every single body had been searched for any sign of life. But only one had survived; Kakashi knew of Sasuke from working with Itachi in the ANBU. He had always spoken of his little brother with pride and certain gentleness. It made perfect sense to Kakashi that Sasuke was alive; Itachi cared for him too much to kill him. What didn't make sense was why such a great ninja with so much potential, had killed his clan and run away.

The Third assigned him to keep watch over Sasuke, but he was under strict instruction that Sasuke wasn't to know that he was even there. That didn't make much sense to him either. Right now the child needed someone to care for him, didn't he? It seemed cruel to leave him to himself. The boy was only seven, barely even into the academy yet. How was he going to take care of himself? But Kakashi had accepted the task.

It was late the next evening by the time the young Uchiha had woken up. Kakashi was impressed at how he'd slipped passed every doctor and nurse until he'd made it out of the hospital. Kakashi of course followed, keeping a distance but not letting Sasuke out of his sight. It was no surprise when he went back to the Uchiha compound; back to his family. Kakashi gave a gentle sigh. The bodies hadn't been cleared away yet. It seemed like they were still hoping for more survivors, but by now he knew they were all definitely dead. Sasuke knew it too.

He followed him through the streets, cringing past every body. How was such a young boy walking through here? Perhaps he was simply numb, Kakashi couldn't be certain. Either way, Sasuke made it to the forest that was out the back of the compound, which had been used as the Uchiha's training grounds. Kakashi could only watch as Sasuke fell to his knees, but was confused when he began dragging his hands through the dirt. At first he believed that Sasuke was looking for something previously buried. It took over an hour to realize what he was really doing.

This child was trying to dig a grave.

Kakashi felt his heart skip a beat. In the throws of pain, suffering and misery… this seven-year-old boy was trying to bury his family. He could hear his sobs even from the roof of what had probably been Sasuke's home. Kakashi could only compare it to helping lower his team mate Rin's body into her grave. It had been horrible, and his emotions had been uncontrollable. His sensei had to take him away. How was he supposed to stand by and watch this? Even after an hour, the boy hadn't been able to dig even one grave; was he expecting to bury his entire family tonight? How was he expecting to move all these adults? But regardless, the child seemed firmly determined. This should have been done already, long before he could get back to them.

He couldn't stand by and watch this suffering. It was too cruel, and it was his duty as a comrade… as an adult, to help this boy. He jumped down from the roof, and walked over to Sasuke calmly, making sure to tread loudly so as not to frighten him. Sasuke didn't even look at him. He knelt down beside him, and gently laid a hand on Sasuke's quivering back. Only then did his hands finally stop. The tears continued. The sobs probably wouldn't end for days. Kakashi gently reached out to take hold of Sasuke's wrists and looked at his hands. He had made them bloody and raw trying to get through hard ground and stones.

Sasuke made no protest. He let go of him, and turned to observe all the ground space. He formed hand signs and gently laid his hands on the ground. It took a lot of chakra, but he was able to collapse parts of the ground into graves. Sasuke merely watched, either too exhausted or too numb to react. Kakashi laid his hand on his shoulder. "Come on… you shouldn't be here" He explained in a quiet tone. He could already feel the presence of ANBU within the trees; here to lay the clan to rest. He could sense the Third's presence too. He didn't care that he'd so easily disobeyed and made himself known to Sasuke. He didn't deserve to do this alone.

When Sasuke made no protest, Kakashi gently took him into his arms and lifted him up. He'd expected him to fight; to demand to lay his own family to rest. But Sasuke let him take him away. Sasuke let him turn his face to hide it in Kakashi's masked neck, so that he didn't need to see their death again. By the time Kakashi had made it to the apartment the Third had already provided for Sasuke, he was already asleep; his breathing soft, but hitched by his tears.

He laid him down on his bed to let his small, worn out body rest. He gently cleaned the wounds to his hands, and cleaned the dirt and grime off his bare feet. He changed the bandage that hid the single wound he'd received from his bother. He covered him with soft blankets and then left him there. He would stay on the roof over the road to watch him for the night. He would watch over him in the weeks that followed as he went back to see the graves. When he went through his family home and came out only with a photo of his family, which was hidden away in his desk once he brought it to his new home. He would watch over him at every opportunity, and even soothe the boy's nightmares by sneaking into his room and letting his own chakra gently flow into Sasuke.

Even five years later, he would watch over him while he trained; he would watch with pride as Sasuke graduated the academy with ease. He would even smile softly behind his mask when the boy watched him with suspicion during their first meeting. Sasuke didn't even remember the man who had been there for him that first lonely night; but he could tell Sasuke felt a comfortable familiarity around him.

Kakashi would always watch over Sasuke; because it wasn't fair to let him be alone. Even if Sasuke didn't realise it yet, Kakashi would always be his guardian.

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