It All Started With A Smell

Knowing

Kakashi's POV:

He already hated being Hokage and he hadn't even officially been given the title. Firstly, Guy had challenged him to a race through the village that had naturally escalated to them dodging around people and throwing random objects at each other. When the race had finished he had barely been able to catch his breath before he was strong armed by an old, rather cranky, man into letting him get the measurements of his face. Kakashi certainly hoped this was the official stone carver of the village and not some random man. When the man had tried to rip off his mask, Kakashi had ran. He didn't want a carving of himself hovering over the village, especially without his mask on. Every time he saw it he would see his father and that thought was too heavy to hold.

He had spotted Yamato and Aaliyah talking outside one of the food tents and had quickly darked around them, spitting out a quick 'you didn't see me' before hiding inside. The two laughed but at least they passed on his lie when the sculptor's assistant came asking about him. Unfortunately that meant he had to deal with the amused expressions on two of his ex-subordinates. He longed for the days that he could order them to do boring tasks as punishment for being smart with him. Though, since Aaliyah had been assigned to his team to monitor his mental state she rarely reacted to his 'punishments', instead choosing to smile at him and pat his head as though he was a good dog.

"Are you going to tell us why you're hiding from a kid?" Yamato asked, a smirk twitching on his lips.

"I wasn't hiding from the kid, I was hiding from his grandfather." After he said that he realised how it sounded. He scoffed at their laugher.

"I have so much faith in our new Hokage," Yamato went on, "Don't you, Aaliyah?"

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about him wondering what colour my underwear is," Aaliyah retorted, patting Yamato's chest sadly before walking over to one of the tables.

"I wasn't," The dark haired man yelped, blushing dark.

"I don't know, Aaliyah can tell what people are thinking and feeling quite easily," Kakashi teased, "I'm liable to believe her. Though if you ask her nicely, she might tell you what colour they are, Tenzo."

"I don't want to know and don't call me that!" Yamato huffed, sitting next to a sniggering Aaliyah. He waited for the other two to calm down before turning to Kakashi. The look on his face told the older man what topic they were about to discuss. "I talked to Shikamaru. Naruto has eaten and is resting but she is still shaken. Oh-" He looked at Aaliyah who raised an eyebrow. "You already knew about Naruto's gender, didn't you?"

"No," Aaliyah drawled, "Because I am horrible at the skills that got me into the anbu! It's not like it's my job to be able to read people's secrets off their faces and such, a woman who doesn't want to hide is the hardest to read."

"Well, if you've had a chance to get a read off Naruto, what do you think is getting to her so badly? Do you know how to fix it?" Kakashi asked, studying the woman in front of him.

"She is scared, and confused, and feels like she has to keep making people happy so they won't turn on her again. There's more going on, but that's the read I was able to get off her. I only met her a month ago, and her issues run too deep for me to assess without her trust. As for how to help her... she's right there, just ask." Aaliyah pointed outside the tent were the three could see Naruto off in the distance, vaguely holding conversation with two civilians.

Kakashi called Naruto over. She waved off the civilians and slowly walked towards them. Her steps were unbalanced, her skin paled, her eyes dull, and somehow her hair was also limp and dry. Naruto always radiated an energy that neither of her parents had had. She was vibrant, colourful, loud, and optimistic. Now, however, it looked like every step she took, every breath she breathed was taking more energy than she had to give. When she reached them she gave them a weak smile, sitting down heavily as though her legs couldn't carry her any longer.