Unplanned Paternity

1

Sarutobi sighed heavily, leaning back in his worn padded chair. He loved the old thing. He'd chosen it especially when he'd first made Hokage as a teenager, back when he was too short for his feet to touch the floor if he sat back in the cushy, fluffy thing. In this chair, he'd faced many troublemakers and passed many laws. Here he'd cuddled his three children and one grandson, and played both aggravator and peacekeeper. From here, he'd ruled a kingdom.

Today, his faithful chair was the place he had chosen to sit as he rocked the plaintively crying infant in his arms gently, trying to soothe it.

The boy was barely three months old, but he already had vivid blonde hair and a wide smile. Of course, he wasn't smiling now. No, he was screaming, sobbing, his blue eyes clenched tightly closed against the world.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, little one," Sarutobi said calmly, unruffled by the loud noises. "You're safe now. Hush."

Eventually, the baby's wailing ebbed, until he was snuffling slightly against Sarutobi's chest, face buried in the old man's neck, breath catching in a sob occasionally.

Sarutobi waited patiently, rocking the infant to sleep, some distant part of him amused to see the ANBU who had brought him here still standing stiff and unmoving at attention in the middle of his office, and wondered vaguely how long he could keep it up...

"Dog," the Sandaime said eventually, shifting the now-sleeping baby to lie in his arms the conventional way instead of propped up against his chest in a hug. "Tell me what happened."

The ANBU bowed his head and began to speak in a brisk, clipped tone. "A group of intoxicated civilians broke into the house the boy has been inhabiting, and proceeded to attack as he lay on a rug on the living room floor," he said formally. "I intercepted and apprehended them, and with the help of my partner, Owl, subdued and arrested them. The infant was highly distressed but appeared unhurt."

Sarutobi nodded, tracing the little boy's soft cheek. "And what of Aya-san?" he asked. "Was she injured?"

Dog hesitated a beat before saying tonelessly, "The child's guardian was not present. She had left the house several hours before the attack."

The old man's hand clenched, gripping the soft blanket Dog had thought to wrap the child in before he'd brought him here. Aya, the woman he had charged with caring for the baby, had abandoned him, and then a group of drunken villagers attacked him.

"How much longer can hatred for this innocent child fester in my village?" he said sadly, almost to himself. The ANBU shifted slightly.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" he asked. Sarutobi nodded once and waved his hand, gesturing Dog to continue. "This is getting ridiculous!" he burst forth. "Every other day, someone attacks him! The village wants him dead, Hokage-sama! It... he needs to be protected better than this," the masked man finished lamely.

The Hokage shook his head.

"I understand you, Dog, I really do," he said to the rather short ANBU standing before him. "But the problem is, what do we do with him? I can find no better way to deal with this situation than to leave things as is and hope and pray the villagers will grow to accept him."

Dog snorted derisively. "That's never going to happen," he said flatly. "People are far too good at holding grudges."

"Do you have a solution to offer?" Sarutobi questioned, sincerely curious and with a sneaking suspicion that the entire purpose of Dog's visit was to tell him one such solution.

As expected, Dog nodded. "I do, sir," he said. "I propose the child is taken into ANBU custody. There are sects that specialise in the raising and training of children. He could disappear into ANBU, at least until he is strong enough to defend himself from angry drunks."