Yellow Shadows

YELLOW SHADOWS 04 - Queen Sara

Sitting still and waiting for something to happen isn't Naruto's idea of a good time. Kakashi-sensei never seems to mind this part of missions; Little Kakashi is trying so hard to be good at it that it's pretty adorable. Everything he does has that childish charm to it, even the attitude. He would probably push Naruto off the bridge himself this time if he could read minds. Kakashi-sensei probably can. Maybe it's a skill that comes with being a jōnin-sensei.

It must be cool having the Fourth Hokage as a sensei - or the future Fourth, Naruto supposes. He wonders what Minato's like as a sensei; Little Kakashi adores him, Naruto knows, remembering Chōza's words.

"Hey. Why don'tcha tell me about your sensei?"

Little Kakashi glances over, which is the biggest acknowledgment Naruto's received all morning. Success.

"Shinobi shouldn't gossip on missions," Little Kakashi replies, but the spark in his eyes tells a different story. He doesn't say anything further, though, remaining still and alert and the pinnacle of restraint, except the thing is he's a kid and he shouldn't have to be.

"He must be a pretty good sensei, huh?" Naruto prompts. "Is he super strict or like - chill? I bet he's strict. I bet he teaches you all day and sets you a load of homework."

"I don't mind," Little Kakashi says. Naruto could cheer. "It's better than the Academy. Minato-sensei doesn't mind it if I go off-topic. He can talk a lot, too, especially about ninjutsu, but he lets me take notes."

People have often told Naruto that he rambles a lot too. He grins, wracking his brain for more questions, eager to know more. He doesn't know what sort of things people ask about their parents so he tries to imagine Minato as a sensei instead.

"Did he have to do a bunch of D-ranks with you? Can he do that super cool thunder step thing-y yet? How fast is he? I bet you can't get anything past him! Is he always so happy at home, too? Does he never get angry?"

"He's never shouted at me. It's nice, I guess." Wide-eyed at all the questions, Little Kakashi side-eyes Naruto as though unsure how much to reveal. "The villagers don't like me much."

Naruto's stomach drops. That's a familiar confession and he dreads where this may lead. He hadn't meant to pry into Kakashi-sensei's childhood, even if he is sitting here talking to his literal child-self. Animosity from the village is a feeling that Naruto knows all too well - but he wasn't expecting to hear his own feelings of anger and resignation echoing back at him from Kakashi-sensei, of all people.

He tries to laugh it off. "You pull pranks or something?"

Little Kakashi's face twists, offended by the idea. "No. They just don't like my father."

"That's bullshit," Naruto says; not, in fact, able to laugh it off. He barely holds back a what the fuck??? No-one should be made to feel how he felt growing up with the village. No-one. "Who cares who your father is? What's that got to do with anything you've done?"

Little Kakashi scoffs but, for once, it doesn't feel like his heart is completely in it. "They're right to hate him. He was a traitor and a coward. The Hatake name is dirt because of him."

A traitor and a what now?

"There's no way that's true!" Naruto cries. That he's never heard of Kakashi-sensei's father, never heard anyone even mention him, is beside the point. The point is that anyone with a son as awesome and loyal as Kakashi-sensei can only be twice as so! And the Hatake name being dirt - that's rubbish! "Everyone likes you!"