Righteous Side of Hell

Kakashi had been home for a full week without a mission. He spent his days waking up early enough to cook Naruto breakfast, walking the kid to classes and then lazing around reading or strolling through the village and surrounding woods as he felt like it. By the time Naruto got out of school Kakashi would pick him up and they would hang out. Either messing around at a park or taking Naruto to training fields and showing him simple tricks and chakra control methods like his father had when Kakashi was growing up. It was those moments when Naruto learned something new or discovered something about Kakashi he didn’t know before when the child’s eyes lit up and he shot a million-wat smile at Kakashi that the older cherished the most.

It made him wonder if this was how his father felt, or Minato-sensei when they watched Kakashi grow up.

When it got closer to dinner the brothers would either eat out or head home to throw something together. Naruto always insisting to help out when it came to cooking dinner and knowing how bad the kid was originally when it came to cooking and feeding himself Kakashi never denied him. Then after homework, and a little individual study Kakashi would pull out the spare futon and set it up for bed.

It had already been close to a year since Naruto had expressed his want for his own bed but since Kakashi had still been running around outside of the village he hadn’t gotten around to finding a bigger space for them. Not wanting to ignore the boundaries Naruto wanted to set though Kakashi had acquired the futon and they switched off everyday who slept on the bed and who slept on the futon since Naruto would argue if Kakashi tried to take the futon every night. Since he got back Naruto had only asked to sleep with Kakashi once, and it was after a nightmare so Kakashi easily accepted.

Now it was Sunday after the Monday he had returned home and Kakashi knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. He followed the usual routine of making breakfast and gently waking Naruto up. They ate in silence until most of Naruto’s food was cleared away and then Kakashi cleared his throat to gain the youngers attention.

“So this morning I was thinking about heading over to the housing committee to see about us getting a new home.”

Naruto perked his drowsy head up like an excited small animal.

“Really?”

“Since I’ll be home more I think it’s about time we have a real place to live and not just the shinobi dorms we’ve been staying in.”

Nartuo blinked in confusion and Kakashi silently encouraged him to ask whatever question was sitting on the tip of his tongue.

“We live in dorms? I always thought this was our apartment.”

His voice was as confused sounding as his face looked and Kakashi smiled in amusement.

“Well yes, this is our apartment and home. It has been since you were born, but this whole building is for shinobi who don’t have anywhere else to live.”

Naruto picked at the small amount of food left on his plate apparently deep in thought if the little furrowed brows were anything to go off of.

“Nowhere else to go?”

He finally voiced the question and Kakashi rested one elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm.

“Many people, civilians and shinobi alike don’t have families. That usually means it’s hard to find somewhere to live and shinobi like myself are often on missions for months at a time making it hard to maintain renting, which is something more confusing I’ll tell you about later.”

Kakashi could usually tell when he hit a term or word Naruto didn’t understand the full meaning of and always made a note to himself to go further in detail on those things with the kid.

“Since we’re a family they let you live here with me, but normally the people who live in this building are shinobi with no family members.”

Naruto nodded seriously to indicate he was understanding.

“Like Iruka-sensei. He lives downstairs but I heard one of the other teachers saying he didn’t have a mom and dad anymore.”

Small shoulders shrugged as Naruto turned to look out the window instead of facing Kakashi.

“When some of the kids in class found out I live here they started asking me about why my mom and dad don’t pick me up like theirs do. I didn’t know it was because people with no families lived here.”

His admission was said in such a small voice it pulled at Kakashi’s heart. Children could be so cruel for no reason sometimes, but most of the kids around Naruto would be poorly influenced by their hateful parents when it came to Naruto too.

“Gai has pictures of you when you two were kids Kakashi-ni, and we have pictures of me and both of us but you’ve never shown me pictures of our parents, or talked about them really.”

Another quiet confession made over their breakfast table so delicate Kakashi knew he had to tread carefully or risk hurting his little brother.

“Ah that’s a long story. Maybe we should pick up breakfast first and start making our way to the housing committee and I’ll try to tell you everything on our way there.”

“Okay!”

Naruto shouted excitedly as he rushed to pick up the table by himself and then started getting presentable for society. Kakashi chuckled a bit to himself at the hyper kid even with the looming conversation he was about to have with Naruto still worried him. He had thought about how he would approach this subject someday with the child and even seven years later he wasn’t sure he wouldn’t screw up somehow. Kakashi didn’t have the best track record when it came to communicating, especially in his previous timeline but this was a big deal so he had to try. As Naruto zoomed through the apartment, getting dressed, brushing his teeth and hair Kakashi gathered his documents, and wallet to wait for Naruto. Once he was ready the pair started the slow walk to the hokage tower.

“So what are they like? Are they awesome ninja like you Kakashi-ni? Are they on a super secret mission like you’ve been all these years? Will they come home like you did?”

Naruto was bouncing next to Kakashi as more questions and theories were spit fired out of his mouth.

“Our parents were shinobi, yes. But I’m sorry Naruto they died a long time ago and won’t be coming home to us.”

He hated to do it and was scared Naruto might start crying at the news but the confession just seemed to take a little steam out of Naruto.

“That’s okay cause you take care of me Kakashi-ni and I can take care of you too so we don’t need a mom and dad.”

Naruto sounded so sure of himself, little face serious and eyes burning with dedication directed at Kakashi.

“You take very good care of me Naruto, you always have, so thank you. I’ll keep doing my best for you too.”

Naruto held his little fist up to Kakashi causing the older to laugh a little.

“Gai said this is how you make a man’s promise.”

Naruto informed his brother, who was very aware of where the gesture might have originated but so surprised at Naruto’s familiar way of expressing himself. In the original timeline Naruto would fist bump new friends, or someone he was trying to protect to show he cared and this gesture coming from his Naruto. Kakashi younger brother Naruto and not his teenage student so different yet exactly the same made Kakashi ridiculously happy. He tapped his fist to his brothers and felt a little better about the rest of the story he was about to tell.

“When I was growing up I had a father. He took care of me and I loved him a lot, but some bad things happened and he died when I was a little younger than you. The village was at war and a lot of people died and my father just happened to be one of them.”

Naruto took Kakashi’s hand in his own without looking at the older man as they walked.

“Oh, so we have different dads? I know some kids with different dads or moms.”

Squeezing the oh so tiny hand in his Kakashi pushed through the hardest part of what he had to say to Naruto this morning.

“I only ever had a father, my mother died when I was born just like yours.”

“I have a different mom too Kakashi-ni?”

The question was asked with huge eyes and so much shock Kakashi couldn’t help feeling bad for that bomb.

“Yes. I met your mom and dad when I was nine, and like my father they loved and took care of me. Your dad taught me how to be a shinobi, and along the way we became family.”

“Kakashi-ni?”

Looking down at Naruto who seemed nervous to ask whatever he was thinking about Kakashi hummed inquisitively to encourage the younger to speak.

“If we have a different mom and dad does that mean we’re not brothers?”

Kakashi pulled them to a stop and kneeled in front of Naruto so they were eye level before saying what he needed to. He rested his hands on Naruto’s small shoulders, thinking briefly he needed to make the kid eat more than ramen with how skinny he felt.

“We Naruto. Me and you have and will always be brothers. I promise you nothing about our parents makes you less than my little brother. I have known you since before you were born. When Kushina your mom found out she was going to have you she told me before Minato-sensei your dad. I knew then I would always be here for you little brother.”

Naruto’s eyes held unshed tears as he met Kakashi’s eye. The younger gave Kakashi a watery smile and sniffled hard once before blinking the tears away.

“She told you first?”

Kakashi nodded.

“Yes. She was so excited to have you and to tell me I was going to be a big brother soon she couldn’t contain it.”

Naruto wiped his face off with the back of his sleeve and nodded his head to himself.

“Good, you’re the best big brother and mom picked you.”

“That’s right, they both picked me to be your big brother and I agreed. Jiraiya-sama, when you meet him will tell you the same thing. He’s your godfather and loves you just as much as I do. He even named you.”

“No way.”

Naruto whispered in awe as they started walking once more.

“Okay, okay. So your dad was an awesome ninja, and my dad taught you how to be ninja so he had to be crazy cool too.”

Kakashi hummed in agreement.

“The coolest.”

“I knew it.”

Naruto did a little hop skip in excitement.

“And old man Jiraiya named me and you’ve always said he knows even better jutsus than you do.”

Nodding Kakashi elaborated.

“He is known as the great toad sage. One of the three strongest shinobi to ever come from our village.”

“Right!”

Naruto jumped again.

“You told me that too. Was my mom also a ninja or did she do something else super cool? Like Ino’s mom has a flower shop. Or Sasuke’s mom takes care of her whole clan. Something like that right?”

The rapid fire questions were back and the moment of sadness seemed to have been left far far behind.

“Kushina, your mom was a super cool Kunoichi. She even controlled the nine-tailed fox for years. There was no one but her who could do that.”

Eyes shining with stars Naruto shook with the news, smiling and spitting more questions too fast for Kakashi to try and keep up with.

“Breathe kid, breathe or you’ll pass out.”

Kakashi laughed at the overly excited kid.

“They were all so awesome Kakashi-ni. And then they picked you to be my big brother, because you’re the best brother ever no matter what Sasuke says.”

“Hey, what does Sasuke say?”

Kakashi interrupted Naruto who didn’t respond and just waved his question off with a simple.

“Sasuke’s a jerk-face.”

The older agreed completely and would have to remind himself to train the little jerk harder when they went over the chidori in a couple of years as revenge.

“That must mean I am going to be like the greatest ninja ever. My parents and your dad, old man Jiraiya and you are all really famous awesome ninja so there is no way I won’t be too. And then I’ll become Hokage and show everyone how awesome I am.”

Naruto’s laughter was a bit maniacal but Kakashi decided to let that slide as they finally reached the hokage tower.