Call Me Dad

21. C-Rank

Holy shit you guys!! Call Me Dad made it to second place in Naruto LGBTQ in the Naruto Wattys!! Thank you so much! To celebrate I cranked this out faster than I probably would have 😅

quick addition—this is how signed stuff will now be:

[Your hair is so soft!]

Also, I don't know if it's for all or most sign languages, but ASL tends to be wicked blunt, but I'm basically romanticizing it all because fAnfiC LogiC so yeah. For Neji x Naruto (Naruji??) I'm going for the oblivious love dynamic ;-; though for any other ships,,, we'll see 😶

::

A puff of smoke rose in the air, dissipating as the old man sighed.

Naruto always bugged him about his smoking habit, but life was simply too overbearing, and his pipe managed to calm the shaking in his hands and ache in his heart.

Families weren't supposed to be on teams together. Missions were sometimes permitted, such as a full Hyuga cell or Inuzuka tracking unit, but that was only allowed due to their unique clan techniques.

Hiruzen always hated it. It was hard enough losing a teammate, but a brother, a sister, or a father—

"Dad!" Blue, bright eyes looked up to meet Kakashi's gaze, a pout on his lips as a gloved hand reached down to ruffle his hair.

It would be fine. It would all be fine.

Kakashi poured his heart and soul into caring for his kids and ensuring they'd be capable shinobi. They were far too advanced, far too skilled, for Hiruzen to worry about them going on a C-Rank.

His wrinkled, aged hands lifted the pipe to his lips.

Everything would be perfectly fine.

::

Iruka smiled—it was rather strained, Hiruzen noted, as it usually was in the presence of the Hatakes. It wasn't because he didn't like them, he loved them, especially Naruto, though perhaps that love was the issue. Nevertheless, it's not his business.

The Umino shuffled his mission papers, averting his gaze from Kakashi's soft stare. "Um, alright, so today you've been scheduled for—I—th-the farms right outside of the village need extra laborers, and uh—there's a simple delivery within the village. Tora's also, lost again. And—"

"Iruka, it's alright." Hiruzen held up a hand, successfully silencing the stammering chunin. The young man's face only darkened with a particularly red hue, and he looked to the side. "Team 7."

The genin straightened, eyes alert—they were such wonderful shinobi. Unknown of the terrible tragedies of true field work, but attendant and realistic, focused and practiced, respectable and skilled. They had such potential. It would be a gift, a privilege, to watch them grow up.

"You have completed every D-Rank given successfully and with no complaint from either party," Hiruzen pretended to not notice Naruto avert his eyes sadly. There would always be opposition, no matter the name change and no matter who he became, but it was a fact he had come to terms with a long time ago. "I believe you can be trusted with a C-Rank."

Several things happened: Iruka's head snapped up in surprise, Kakashi smiled though his shoulders tensed ever so slightly, Sasuke's calm and elegant exterior slipped away for him to utter a confused, "What?" Sakura choked, and Naruto slipped out a curse word in surprise.

"I trust you four to accomplish this with the same excellence you have in every mission previously. It'll take place in a foreign country with an unknown amount of time, at the very most four months. Sasuke," the boy looked up, and Hiruzen smiled warmly. "Naruto's been telling me about your lessons in deduction. Would you like to try to figure it out from your client?"