#rayrambles

He has Sakumo of course. Sakumo cannot imagine a scenario where he would ever willingly leave his pup to flounder alone. Not unless circumstances were truly exceptionally dire.

But that, he, is all that Kakashi has.

All that Kakashi seems interested in having.

Perhaps it was the loss of his mother at far too young an age for him to be able to hold onto any real memory of her.

Or perhaps it is because of how breath-takingly brilliant Kakashi has quickly shown himself to be.

Or, and Sakumo considers this to be the far more likely option, the failure lies somewhere in Sakumo himself.

Either way and whatever the cause, Sakumo worries about how unsociable and introverted Kakashi has already shown himself to be.

Hatake have always been pack animals at heart, not ones meant to be so isolated, so cut off and alone.

Young Hatake typically adore affection and interaction, and typically seek out attention and praise.

But Kakashi, the mask he'd taken to wearing firmly in place, had bitten Jiraiya's arm clean down to the bone the last time the sannin had tried to act familiar and ruffle the two-year-old's hair.

By the time he was three, Kakashi had earned a reputation in the village at large. Even amongst other shinobi Clans, Sakumo's pup was known for his disinterest in anything and anyone outside of Sakumo himself and the shinobi arts, and his unwillingness to even think about entertaining other children around his physical age.

That and his habit of making both younger and older shinobi raised children cry.

It worried Sakumo; that aversion to others, those self-isolation tendencies that he knew would likely only grow worse as Kakashi aged.

It reminded him of the stories he'd been told when he was young, about how terrible a thing it was to be a Hatake alone in the world. The madness and depression, and eventually, inevitably, the death that would bite at the heels of any Hatake unlucky enough to find themselves adrift.

Even Sakumo, born in the twilight of the Hatake Clan and raised as he had been by an aging but viciously proud Grandsire who had spent his every waking moment yearning to reunite with his own wife, had not grown up alone.

No, Sakumo had grown up hand in hand with his sister. Had spent his childhood with a built in companion, someone to learn and grow and tussle with through his teething years.

Kuniko had been vivacious, had been all barking laughter and too sharp teeth. A force of nature in kunoichi form, she'd died blood-soaked and defiant, surrounded by the bodies of her enemies, the year before Kakashi had been conceived.

It was Sakumo's biting, aching, clawing grief for his sister that had led him to Riku, and then, shortly afterward, had granted him Kakashi.

But Sakumo has not even provided that level of companionship for his pup, has not granted him a sibling to love and bond and grow with.

Kakashi, his little scarecrow of a wolf pup, is so alone. Content to either shadow Sakumo's every step or to wander through the village trees and training grounds by himself. He'd even refused to speak human tongue instead of a mix-mash of wolf and dog until Sakumo had bribed him with extra kunai lessons.

He has no friends or companions beyond Pakkun, the pup Sakumo had been gifted by Okuri, the wolf boss summons, in order to begin Kakashi's training.

One day, when Kakashi had proven himself able to successfully care for, train, and run with a pack of dogs, he would be allowed to sign the wolf summon scroll as had every Hatake before him. His dogs would then be allowed to retire from battle and take on a more comforting role.

Beyond the pug and himself, Sakumo has never once caught his pup willingly keeping company with anyone else.

Which might be the reason Sakumo is so shocked when he tracks his pup down one sunny afternoon, only to find him latched onto someone Sakumo has never seen before.

Sakumo sees them when he breaches the tree line of Kakashi's favorite clearing. His pup, standing straight as a senbon, one hand on his hip and the other latched onto the hand of someone with a waterfall of wild golden hair wearing what looks like a kunochi battle kimono done in shades of sunset orange and ocean blue.

"You will come home with me," Kakashi's voice floats to Sakumo.

"Will I?" The voice that answers is warm and just a bit husky in a way that makes Sakumo's ears want to twitch in pleasure.

"Yes," Kakashi practically orders in what Sakumo knows is his serious business voice. "You will meet Father and Pakkun then I will brush your hair and you will brush mine."

Sakumo's brows arch high in shock.

Not only is Kakashi ordering this woman back to their home, their den, but he's practically demanding introductions and grooming?

"You are violently adorable," the woman answers, one claw-tipped hand coming up to cup Kakashi's cheek. "It's almost too much to handle. I love it."

Sakumo, who has routinely seen his pup hiss and bark at the aunties who still try to coo at him, watches in awe as Kakashi turns bashful and leans his cheek further into the woman's touch.

"But we should probably ask your dad first," the woman says. "Which is probably the guy behind me who smells like you, right?"

The woman turns.

All Sakumo sees are large, too-blue ocean eyes and dark whisker marks.

Tim, looking at the wall: would you call me your brother or sister if you were asked?

Duke, pretty sure he’s a girl, now not sure at all: sister…?

Tim, loud buzzer sound: ahh! Incorrect, brother

Duke: ok cool

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Girl: didn’t there used to be someone called Tabitha in this class?

Steph: nope

Tim: don’t think so?

Girl: I swear your name was Tabitha

Tim, making up a random name on the spot: no? Are you thinking of Tabitha Lloyd?

Girl: must be damn

Steph, the one true enabler: pretty sure you are

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Dick: and She-

Tim, playing a puzzle game on his phone: he

Dick:

Dick: did I miss a chapter??

Tim: still he.

Dick:

Dick, doesn’t care enough to ask: and he called Jason a bitch and that’s why-

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Cass: I’m gonna go to the bathroom one sec

Tim, following her in: yeah me to

Cass: you can’t be in here

Tim: unless I randomly grew a dick I’m pretty sure I can?

Cass:

Cass, did not know and was not told: what?

__

Babs, stalking Tim online:

Babs, sees he/him pronouns in bio: ?

Babs: should I ask?

Tim, sat directly next to her: no

Babs: cool

__

That and I also think he has the strangest questions constantly thrown at him since he just doesn’t care

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Jason: so yknow when you get dick surgery?

Tim: yeah?

Jason: can you like.. get different skin grafts and make it a gradient?

Tim:

Tim: can I???

Jason: or get it like a chess board

Tim: I need to google something

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Duke: so.. when you get your tits chopped off what are you gonna do with them

Tim: they let you keep body parts of yours they cut off, so I’m gonna cook them

Duke: what.

Tim: the chest, hands and feet are the nicest parts of the human body to eat, so I’m gonna cook them

Duke: god I’m friends with you. Like willingly.

__

Bernard: hey is it straight or gay if I ask to hold your tits for you?

Tim: gay. Very gay.

Bernard: oh

Bernard:

Bernard: can I though?

Minato had grown even fonder of him when he was placed alongside Obito and Rin, his little pack of genin who had, somewhere along the way, became his.

But now?

After all that had befallen his team? After the loses had piled up so very high?

Of course Minato had pulled the boy closer, had tucked Kakashi further into the protection of his shadow in an effort to keep the boy from dying as quickly as Minato was sure he would have if left unattended.

Because now more than ever before, Kakashi is brilliant and broken and too much of one to reach the full potential provided by the other.

Minato had intended to stitch him back together, to take the time to personally recraft Kakashi into something not destined to shatter at the next hard blow.

It's just ,,,

Well.

Minato's priorities have recently shifted.

Because Kushina, Minato's wild fire-lily, is pregnant.

Minato is going to be a father.

Soon, in a little under a year, there is going to be someone in this world who is the perfect mix of him and his precious wife.

Minato already loves them deeply, desperately.

Obsessively.

It was only Kushina's willingness to allow Minato to place a monitoring seal on her that had convinced him to leave her side once he'd found out.

This child, this windborn, ocean touched miracle, already owns Minato in a way he had not thought it was possible to be owned.

He knows now that there is nothing he would not do, no one he would not destroy, in order to protect his child.

Kushina, Minato knows, feels much the same.

Kushina, an orphan both familially and culturally in so many ways, would rend any and everything who threatened their child to pieces with her teeth if necessary.

And Minato would only love every blood drenched inch of her all the harder for it.

They do, after all, match each other so very well on so many different levels.

So when Kushina, a hand resting protectively over the still flat plane of her stomach, had made a passing comment about aquiring a ninken or some other companion for extra protection for their little bud or blossom?

It was hardly Minato's fault that his mind instantly made the connection to Kakashi and his cobbled together pack of summons.

But it was Minato's own mind that had taken that associatin a step further.

Had moved the thought from "a ninken like Kakashi's" to something along the lines of "a ninken like Kakashi".

Now it is all Minato can think about.

That (in)famous Hatake loyalty turned from the village and even Minato himself and instead pared down to a single brilliant focus point.

Kakashi, skilled and brilliant and broken Kakashi, properly trained and then leashed to Minato and Kushina's precious child.

The appeal, the temptation, is indescribable.

Minato could take Kakashi further in hand, could mold him, carve him, and train him properly.

With the right programing, the right guidance, Kakashi is still young enough that he could become everything Minato's child might ever need or want.

Protector and weapon and all things in between.

Minato could craft the perfect protection for his child.

Could ensure their safety and happiness in all ways.

Kakashi would benefit as well. He would no longer be drifting aimlessly, not with Minato's steady guiding hand on the back of his neck.

Not with a new goal, a new drive, placed directly in front of him.

And one day, if he progresses correctly, if he remains as true and focused as Minato is sure that he will, Kakashi could even be rewarded by making him a part of Minato's family in truth.

Because who else would be worthy of marrying Minato's precious child than the boy, the man, he hand picked and hand trained for them?

The ultimate gift and proof of Minato's love and devotion as a father.