Kakashi Hatake

Time passed quickly amid training and the shadow of war. During this time, however, Hatake Sakumo returned more and more frequently.

After the day's training ended, Hatake Sakumo suddenly appeared at the training ground. Instead of offering his usual critiques and guidance, he said when Bai Ye sheathed his blade, "Come to my house tomorrow."

Bai Ye looked up. "What is it?"

"Something."

"What?"

"You'll know when you get there."

Bai Ye thought it over but did not press further. He had known Hatake Sakumo for nearly two years and knew that if the man did not want to talk about something, asking was useless. Sakumo was not the sort to deliberately keep people in suspense.

Early the next morning, Bai Ye followed the address Sakumo had given him and found the Hatake Clan home.

The Hatake Clan house was far more ordinary than Bai Ye had imagined. The name Konoha's White Fang had already begun spreading throughout the shinobi world, yet this renowned ninja lived in nothing more than an inconspicuous two-story house. Two pine trees stood by the entrance, and the yard was spotless.

Bai Ye stood at the door, checked the house number, then knocked.

Hatake Sakumo opened the door.

His silver-white hair was a little messier than usual, and several faint water stains marked his dark loungewear. The expression on his face... it was the first time Bai Ye had seen such a hard-to-describe look on this man's face—a complicated look that said, "I don't know how to explain this to you, but you'll understand once you come inside."

"Come in."

Bai Ye took off his shoes and entered the living room.

Then he heard a sound.

It was faint and tiny, like a kitten meowing, yet not quite a kitten's meow.

The sound came from a wooden cradle in the corner of the living room. The cradle was new, its wood grain still clean and fresh, its edges sanded smooth and round. It was obviously handmade. Pale cotton cloth lined the inside, its corners carefully tucked in without a single wrinkle.

Bai Ye approached the cradle and looked down.

A baby.

Very small, perhaps only as long as his arm. Its skin was wrinkled and carried the unique rosy hue of a newborn. A layer of incredibly fine silver fuzz covered its head, exactly the same color as Hatake Sakumo's hair. Its eyes were closed, and its tiny hands were clenched into fists beside its head.

Bai Ye looked down at the baby.

The baby was looking at him too. More precisely, its eyes had not opened yet, but its face was turned in Bai Ye's direction. Those tiny clenched fists waved faintly in the air, as though declaring its own existence.

Bai Ye was silent for a long time.

"Your son?" he asked.

"Mm."

"When was he born?"

"The day before yesterday."

Bai Ye fell silent again for a while.

"What's his name?"

"Kakashi."

Bai Ye looked down at the baby in the cradle. Kakashi... he repeated the name in his heart, then realized it sounded the same as "scarecrow."

Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang.

His son's name was "scarecrow."

Bai Ye felt that this naming style was very Hatake. It looked casual on the surface, but the more he considered it, the more fitting it seemed—a scarecrow stood in a field, inconspicuous at first glance, yet birds dared not approach. Silent, but useful.

"You called me here just to see him?"

"Mm."

"Why?"

Sakumo thought for a moment. "You're his senior brother."

Bai Ye froze.

"I'm your disciple," he said.

"Right."

"He's your son."

"Right."

"So he's my junior brother."

"Right."

Bai Ye looked down at Kakashi in the cradle, then back up at Sakumo. "He's only two days old."

"You'll have to meet sooner or later."

Bai Ye said nothing more. He knew Hatake Sakumo was not the kind of person who would say, "I wanted you to see my son." This man had never expressed his feelings directly. Instead, he would wrap one thing in another, then let you discover it for yourself.

Just like now.

He said, "You're his senior brother," but what he meant was, "You're my disciple, he's my son, and you're family."

Bai Ye kept those words in his heart and said nothing.

"Want to hold him?" Sakumo suddenly asked.

Bai Ye's body stiffened for a moment.

"...Hold him?"

"Mm."

Bai Ye looked down at the baby in the cradle. He was so tiny and soft, like a lump of tofu wrapped in cotton cloth. Bai Ye had never held a baby before. His aunt's family had no children, and there had been no children younger than him in the Uchiha Clan compound for him to hold.

"Won't he fall?"

"He won't."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

Bai Ye took a deep breath, bent down, and reached into the cradle.

His movements were slow—so slow that it was like dismantling an explosive tag that could go off at any moment. His left hand supported the baby's head, while his right supported his back and bottom. He spread his fingers wide, trying to distribute the weight across as much area as possible.

Kakashi was lighter than he looked.

So light that Bai Ye felt he was not holding a living creature, but a bundle of cotton warmed by body heat. The baby's body was unbelievably soft, every inch of skin carrying a newborn's distinctive warmth, transmitted through the cloth into Bai Ye's palms.

He slowly lifted Kakashi against his chest. The baby's head rested on his shoulder, and that layer of silver fuzz brushed his neck, ticklish, like a feather that had landed in the wrong place.

Kakashi moved.

It was only a tiny movement. His two clenched fists rubbed against Bai Ye's chest, as though checking what kind of material was holding him. Then he turned his face toward Bai Ye and slightly opened his mouth, letting out an incredibly soft, faint murmur.

Bai Ye stood utterly still, as though he had been hit by a paralysis technique.

He held Kakashi in the middle of the living room, his posture rigid as a wooden stake driven into the ground.

"Will he fall?"

"He won't."

"He moved."

"All babies move."

"He moved."

Sakumo watched Bai Ye's stiff back, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. He had known Bai Ye for nearly two years, and this was the first time he had seen such a helpless expression on the boy's face.

Then—

A warm flow.

It came from his chest.

Warm, wet, and unceasing.

Bai Ye looked down.

He was wearing a dark short robe that day, and the fabric over his chest had already been deep in color. But now, that patch was growing darker—the kind of darkness that only appeared when liquid soaked through cloth. It spread outward from his chest, covering more and more area.

Kakashi had peed.

On him.

Bai Ye looked down at his wet clothes, expressionless.

Hatake Sakumo stood beside him without saying a word.

The living room was quiet for about three seconds.

Then Bai Ye spoke.

"Master."

"Mm."

"This child is a Water Release genius."

Hatake Sakumo fell silent for a moment.

Then he laughed. The sound rolled from his throat, low and short, carrying a hint of hoarseness. When Hatake Sakumo laughed, his silver-white hair swayed slightly, and his shoulders rose and fell with it. He pressed a fist to his mouth in an attempt to hide it, but the laughter still leaked through his fingers.

Bai Ye stood in place holding Kakashi, expressionless. The wet patch on his chest continued to spread, its warmth turning from warm to cool, the fabric clinging to his skin becoming more and more noticeable. Kakashi seemed satisfied after relieving himself. His little fists loosened, then clenched again, and he made a muffled babbling sound before continuing to sleep.

"You can put him back in the cradle," Sakumo said, laughter still lingering in his voice.

Bai Ye put Kakashi back into the cradle even more slowly and carefully than he had picked him up. His left hand supported the back of the baby's head, his right hand supported his back and bottom. Leaning forward slightly, he lowered the baby steadily onto the cotton cloth. The entire process was like taking a fragile object down from a height and setting it back, every movement precisely calculated.

Bai Ye straightened up and looked down at the dark wet patch on his chest.

It was larger than he had expected.

"Your clothes are wet. Go back and change."

"Mm."

Bai Ye turned and headed for the door. After taking two steps, he stopped again.

He looked back.

At Kakashi in the cradle.

Silver fuzz, wrinkled skin, tiny clenched fists, steady breathing.

Bai Ye watched for several seconds.

"When can he talk?"

Sakumo thought for a moment. "Probably when he's over a year old."

"Over a year old."

"Mm."

Bai Ye nodded and remembered the time.

Then he walked out through the Hatake Clan's front gate. The early autumn sunlight fell over him, and the wind blowing across the wet patch on his chest made it feel chilly.

Hatake Sakumo stood at the door, watching that small figure disappear at the end of the alley.

He lowered his head and looked at Kakashi in the cradle.

The baby slept soundly, his little fists clenched, the corner of his mouth curved in a faint, inexplicable smile. He clearly had no memory whatsoever of having peed all over Bai Ye, nor did he intend to take any responsibility for it.