Naruto Hatake

Naruto's Birthday

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Kakashi made it home later over a week later than he had left, he had just came from the hospital and he felt like hell. The mission had been bad, he lost people, people got hurt, they got the missing nins but the price was high. He had a small stab wound that had been patched up, and a cut on his leg that he knew would be giving him problems for a few days at least. He walked inside and found himself in the living room.

He landed on the couch putting his wolf mask on the table and sighed, feeling like his body was nothing but lead weights. He closed his eyes just happy to be home.

'I can't keep doing this, it's killing me...' He thought to himself, 'I think it's time to quit ANBU, if I keep on doing this it will ruin me. I miss the life of a Jonin, sure ANBU is great status but I don't think I can keep this up much longer. I don't want to be just an empty shell for Naruto later on in life I want to enjoy his life.'

He had seen how some people who had cut out all emotion just to keep sane sometimes and he didn't want that. He knew that this was it, this was the last mission as an ANBU. He just wanted to sleep but the blood and screams came out of the darkness and wouldn't leave him alone. He suddenly felt a presence behind him and he jumped up and spun pulling out a kunai.

"Whoa there easy One-Eye," Anko said to him.

He relaxed seeing her, "Sorry."

"Hey it's okay we've all been there," She said seeing him jumpy like that she guessed he was still wound up from a mission. That was one of the risks with high level missions, sometimes you can be jumpy for hours, days or even a week after it. She sat down across from him taking in a look, he had cuts on his uniform, dirt and blood. Lots of blood and from the looks of it not all of it was his.

"You look like hell," she said with a forced small smile.

"I feel like hell," He sighed.

"How bad?"

"Very bad, lost two people, a few more wounded...one lost his leg, his career as a ninja is over."

Anko winced at that, there was only one thing worse for a ninja then death and that was not being a ninja. To get wounded like that was the worst thing that could happen, you spend your life doing something and then in a moment it's taken from you.

"I'm through..."

"What?" She asked surprised.

"I'm going back to being a Jonin, this was it for me I'm tired of the life. I want to be there for Naruto and being a Jonin will let me do that," he looked at her now, "So how was he?"

Anko smiled a bit, "Well we got off to a rocky start...but the brat is okay as long as you know how to handle him. I have no idea where he gets the energy," she sighed feeling drained.

"You gave him lots of sugar today didn't you?" He smirked seeing her tired nod, "I told you not to do that, he's got enough energy as it is. You add in a sugar rush and it's like ten times worse, you wouldn't believe what I had to go through the first time it happened."

"Oh trust me I would, how the hell can a kid be that hyperactive?" She asked him and he only gave out a laugh. It was good to laugh after all of this and he felt a bit better for it. Anko just smirked at him knowing that he needed to do that as well. "Besides that I actually had some fun with the little whirlwind of chaos, that Hyuga girl came by a few times and they played too. Never knew he was friends with one of them."