Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Little Spark: Intro to Fire Hound ❯ Welcome Home, Uncle Kakashi ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Spark: Intro to Fire Hound

Act III: Decisions

CH. 1: “Welcome Home, Uncle Kakashi”



1 year later

Kaliana sat on the front porch of her Aunt Tsume’s home, swinging her legs to and fro with much anticipation. Every few moments, she’d glance up hopefully, then sadly return her eyes to the ground. It had been an entire year since she’d seen her uncle. He’d come home from the Rock Country several months ago, but for some reason, he wouldn’t come and pick her up. Apparently, he was recovering from some kind of surgery, and this worried Kaliana. Not only that, but she and her cousins Kiba and Hana were sent away to a neighboring village because of an attack on Konoha. Kaliana was told that a fox demon had attacked the village, but everything was safe now. She hated to be left out when it came to important things, like why the kind Hokage Yondaime was killed during the vicious attack, or why her uncle was taking so long to come and get her. He had called last week and promised to pick her up next week…and today was next week, so Kaliana sat and waited patiently.

She snapped her head around when she heard the door click open. Tsume stood in the doorway, drying a glass with a rag.

“Kaliana, why don’t you come inside and wait? I made sandwiches.” Tsume tried to lure her with the thought of food, as the little girl hadn’t eaten anything that morning, and it was already afternoon.

“No thank you, Auntie Tsume, I’m not hungry.” Kaliana declined politely turning her face back towards the road. She pulled her bag of personal items closer. “He promised…” She whispered to herself.

Tsume let out a big sigh. Poor girl…

Suddenly, 4 huge dogs came bursting out of the house, causing Tsume to nearly fall over as they pushed passed her. They all surrounded Kaliana, tails wagging, tongues lolling and wet noses sniffing. Kaliana squealed and covered her face as the dogs licked her and whimpered excitedly.

“HEY! What’re you doing? Get back in the house, now!” Tsume snapped at the mongrels, which reluctantly returned to the house. Tsume closed the door behind them.

She turned back to Kaliana, who now had her knees up to her face, blushing. Tsume took a seat on the porch next to her niece.

“I’m sorry I don’t like dogs.” Kaliana whimpered, turning her face away embarrassingly.

“Well, they seem to like you!” Tsume smiled, putting her arm around Kaliana. “Besides, it’s not like you’re the only member of the Inuzuka clan who didn’t like dogs. Look at your father. He raised horses…not a single dog in his life.”

“I don’t like horses either…they’re scary.” Kaliana mumbled, recalling how big and intimidating Katavi was.

Tsume laughed and pulled her niece close to embrace her. “Come on, Kali. I’m sure there’s some kind of animal you like.”

Kaliana thought to herself for a moment, then smirked. “Squirrels.” She stated simply.

“…Squirrels? Why?”

“Squirrels are clean. They’re always washing their little faces. I like clean animals. Dogs are dirty.”

Tsume laughed to herself and shook her head. What a little oddball...

“You sure you don’t want to come in?” She pressed.

“No…I’m waiting for Uncle Kakashi…he pwomised he’d…”

“Whoa…You want to try that word again?” Tsume interrupted.

“Promised…” Kaliana corrected herself. “He promised he’d come get me today…” She finished as tears started to form.

Tsume let out another sigh. Kaliana seemed so miserable without Kakashi, and Tsume herself felt powerless when it came to comforting her.

“Kaliana…I…”

“MOM!< /b>” The door flung open as Hana poked her head out, the dogs once again pushing their way through to sniff at Kaliana. “KIBA’S EATING DOGFOOD AGAIN!”

Tsume rolled her eyes, gathered the loose dogs and entered the house, closing the door behind her. Kaliana once again found herself alone on the stoop, waiting…

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She lifted her eyes to the sky. It was beginning to get dark. She sniffled and wiped her nose as the chilly evening air was beginning to blanket Konoha. The click of the doorknob made Kaliana flinch, as she knew a demand to return to the house was eminent.

“Kaliana, come inside. It’s getting dark.” Tsume ordered.

Slowly, the toddler got to her feet, her cold hands still gripping her bag of items. She kept her head down as she slowly walked up the stairs. She placed her right foot inside the doorway. Suddenly, she retracted and whipped around, peering eagerly into the darkness. Tsume, too, looked out on the twilight horizon. There, from the shadows, approached Kakashi.

“UNCLE KAKASHI!” Kaliana exclaimed as she leapt off the porch and ran towards him.

Kakashi stopped and lifted his head upon hearing his nieces’ voice. He smiled beneath his mask…it was the only time he’d smiled since he said goodbye to her at the Child Welfare Center. He slowly got down on one knee, holding his arms wide open while Kaliana leapt into them, throwing her own arms around his neck and hugging tightly. Kakashi returned the embrace.

“Kaliana…I’ve missed you so much…”

“I missed you too, Uncle Kakashi! I knew you’d come get me today! I just knew it! Auntie Tsume didn’t think so, but I knew you would!” She looked into his face, but it was too dark to see much of anything, with the exception of the general shape of his head and hair.

Tsume sighed in relief and leaned against the doorway, very pleased to see her niece so happy after being depressed for an entire year.

“Hey, Kakashi!” She called from the door. “Welcome back! Would you like to come in for some coffee?”

“Well, sure I’d love…” His sentence was cut short when Kaliana pulled eagerly at his collar, mumbling the word ‘no’ and shaking her head vigorously. “On second thought…” He continued. “I think I’d better just take her home.”

“Well, alright!” Tsume called back. “Goodbye, Kaliana!”

“Buh-bye, Auntie Tsume! Thanks for everything!” Kaliana waved, watching her aunt disappear behind the door. She returned her attention to her uncle. “I’m starving! Let go home and eat!”

“Why are you talking funny?” Kakashi asked as he positioned his niece atop his shoulders. “Where’s your speech impediment?” He inquired, noticing her correct pronunciation of the words ‘for’, ‘starving’ and ‘everything’.

“Auntie Tsume helped me talk better.” Kaliana gleamed proudly.

“Well, I don’t like it.” Kakashi half-joked. “Go back to talking cute again.”

“No!” Kaliana snapped playfully. “I like sounding smart!” A thought suddenly entered her mind, causing a dramatic change in subject. “Uncle Kakashi, what happened a few months ago?”

“What do you mean?”

“Auntie Tsume brought me, Hana and Kiba to another village with a buncha other kids. They said something about a fox demon…”

“Oh…that…” Kakashi lowered his head, saddened by the memory of losing his Sensei. “You don’t need to know about that until you’re much older.”

“But, I talk good now!” She pressed. “Doesn’t that count?”

Kakashi gave a low chuckle. “No, it doesn’t.”

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They approached the front door of his apartment. Kakashi knelt down to allow Kaliana to slide off his shoulders. They both entered the domicile, Kaliana flipping on the light switch. She was shocked to see that half of her uncle’s face was bandaged.

“Uncle Kakashi! What happened?” She asked, running over to him and looking closely at his face.

“An accident.” He answered simply. He proceeded to unravel the bandage, revealing more and more of his face with each moment.

Kaliana now noticed that the bandage wasn’t for his face at all, but for his right eye. She squinted and stepped closer as the bandage fell to the ground.

“Wha…what is that?” She asked, not being able to tear herself from her uncle’s new crimson eye, complete with a tiny scar both above and beneath it.

“It’s called the Sharingan. It’s exclusive to the Uchiha Clan, and can copy almost any form of jutsu.”

“Well…why do YOU have it then? You’re not from the Uchiha clan…” Kaliana suddenly recalled that Kakashi’s teammate, Obito was an Uchiha. She shuddered, knowing that there was only way for her uncle to obtain such a thing. “UGH! You cut out someone else’s eye and put it in your head? That’s so nasty!”

“He gave it to me as a gift.” Kakashi said with a shrug. “So, I took it.”

“Yeah, but…it’s still gross.” Kaliana said with distaste. “ I mean…it’s not a medallion, or a watch, like what normal dying soldiers give to their teammates…it’s a frickin’ eyeball. That’s downright macabre…”

“Well, fine.” Kakashi tilted his hand band so that it covered his right eye, leaving only his left eye visable. He turned to his niece. “There. Is that better?”

Kaliana giggled. “Now, you look funny.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Uh-huh!”

Kakashi playfully grabbed his niece, flung her over his shoulder, and brought her into his bedroom, throwing her on the bed. She bounced, laughing with joy. Kakashi plopped himself on the bed next to her, leaned over the side and pulled a book out from under the bed. He handed it to her.

“What’s this?” She asked curiously as she rubbed her hands over the tattered cover.

“It’s a book about Kekei GenKai techniques. Your dad gave it to me when I graduated as a Jounin.”

“He did? Wow… Well, what’s a Kekei…whatever?”

“Kekei GenKai.” He repeated. “Bloodline limitation techniques…they’re jutsus that can only be performed by a certain Clan, like the Sharingan in the Uchiha Clan. It has a handseal guide and everything. It will teach you all about exclusive jutsus, so in case you ever come to battle someone with a Kekei GenKai, and they start to perform the handseals for it, you’ll know to avoid it.”

“But, I’m five. I can’t read yet.”

“I’ll teach you. I have time.”

“Really?”

“Yup…after this last mission, I’m kind of on vacation.”

Kaliana couldn’t help but smile. Finally, after so long, she had her uncle all to herself, if only for a brief time.

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2 years later


Kaliana came bursting through the door of Kakashi’s apartment. She peered around the living room. When she didn’t see him, she looked out the window to the back of the house. Kakashi was sitting on a rock reading his book. Kaliana smiled slyly and crept outside.

Kakashi picked up his head and looked behind him. No one was there. He brought his head back down to his book. Suddenly, he felt something touch his knee. He lifted the book and a bright red, half-covered face lunged at him.

“Hi, Uncle Kakashi!” Kaliana shouted happily, her emerald green eyes sparkling with mischievous intent.

Surprised, Kakashi flew backwards and fell off the rock. Kaliana giggled while her uncle, who was still trying to regain his composure, stood up and brushed himself off.

“Kaliana, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“I didn’t sneak.” She snickered. “Guess what?”

“What?” Kakashi asked sleepily.

“Guess!” Kaliana insisted.

“I don’t know. Umm…you didn’t get caught sneaking out of your Kunoichi class?”

Kaliana shook her head. “Of course I got caught. I always get caught. But that’s not it! Try again!”

Kakashi sighed. “Uh…you finally perfected the Shadow Possession Jutsu Shikamaru has been teaching you?”

“Not yet. One more try.” She leaned over, bouncing eagerly with anticipation.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, already beginning to tire of this game. “Did you set your little cousin, Kiba, on fire again?”

“It’s not real fire…” She trailed. “It’s just my Mimicry Jutsu…And that’s not it either. Do ya give up?”

“Yes.” Kakashi answered tiredly.

Kaliana reached into her pocket and pulled out a headband. She pushed it in her Uncle’s face. “Take a look at this!”

Kakashi scratched his head with bewilderment. “A shinobi headband? Where did you get this?”

Kaliana rolled her eyes at the question. “I stole it from some guy after I cut his head off…where do you think I got it? I graduated, of course!”

“You graduated? They actually made you a Genin? Kaliana, you’re 7! And not only are you 7, you never take orders, you never call your teachers ‘Sensei’ and you refuse to battle the other students! Why on earth would they pass you? Did you really cut some guys’ head off and steal the headband?”

Kaliana started at her uncle for a few moments before speaking. “Yes, you caught me. I cut off Iruka’s head and stole his headband.” She tied the headband tight around her forehead then thrust her wrists at her uncle. “Take me in and throw away the key…seriously, it’ll be more fun to escape from prison without it.”

“Don’t be a smarty pants.” Kakashi snapped. “Exactly who was it that passed you? Couldn’t have been Ms. Haseichi…”

“Ms. Haseichi is retiring...they’re finally letting that old cow out to pasture.” Kaliana grunted. “No, even better…the Old Man himself passed me!” She held her head up proudly.

Kakashi moaned. “Oh, boy…sometimes I think Sarutobi is getting too old for this job…” He turned and began to walk away.

“Where ya goin’?” Kaliana inquired.

“To talk to the Hokage and ask him why in the name of everything holy would he pass a little monster like you.”

“Maybe I threatened him at knife point.” Kaliana teased.

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Kakashi mumbled to himself “Kaliana, go play with Shikamaru. I’m gonna straighten this out.”

Kaliana shrugged and left the yard to visit with her Shadow-bending friend.

She had met Shikamaru a few years ago during the Kyuubi attack on the Village. The boy was only 2 years old, but like her, he was very smart for his age. Ever since they had met at the holding facility, they had become as close as brother and sister.

Kakashi, meanwhile, shuffled down the road towards the Academy to seek out the Hokage himself…

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A little boy, about 5, lay on his stomach waving his arm back and forth. A dandelion 2 feet away from him matched the movements of his arm. The boy’s concentration broke when he heard a twig snap. He sat up and looked around cautiously. He didn’t see anyone. He leaned back to stretch, but found that something was in his way. He looked up and came face to face with Kaliana’s bright, red mask.

“Hi, Shikamaru!” She jeered.

Shikamaru leaped forward and whipped around. Kaliana stood, probably smirking, with her hands innocently behind her back.

“Dang it, Kaliana, don’t sneak up on me!” Shika shouted.

Kaliana shrugged. “Why does everybody think I’m sneaky?”

Shikamaru sat down across from his friend.

“Maybe it’s because you are.” He scoffed. He looked at Kaliana’s head and noticed the shine of the symbol of the Leaf Village. He sat forward eagerly. “Is that a shinobi headband?”

Kaliana nodded. “Sure is! I graduated!”

“In your second year?” Shika lowered his head sadly. “I get to go to the ninja academy next year. I was hoping you’d still be there.” He blushed and twiddled his thumbs. “I was hoping…we could graduate together.”

Kaliana sat down near Shikamaru, who blushed even more.

“Don’t worry, Shika. It’s not like I’m moving or anything. We’ll still see each other and practice our Jutsus together!”

Shikamaru got to his feet. “That reminds me. How’s your Shadow Possession jutsu coming along?”

Kaliana blushed and rubbed the back of her head. “It…uh, still needs work.”

“…You still can’t do it, can you?”

“I…um…hey, check out all my fun new toys!” She abruptly changed the subject and emptied her pockets on the ground. The contents consisted of 5 shuriken, 3 kunai knives and a few tag bombs. “I got these for graduation…except for this one…” She picked one of the kunai. It looked older then the others. “I got this one from my Uncle Kakashi when I turned 4.” She twirled on her finger.

“Lucky…my dad won’t even let me look at his ninja stuff.” Shikamaru sighed.

Suddenly, the kunai knife slipped. The blade ran across Kaliana’s cheek, creating a clean slice into her flesh.

“Ow!” She shouted, dropping the knife and touching her face. She brought her hand away and looked at the blood on her fingers. “Oops.”

“Kaliana, are you okay?” Shika asked worriedly.

“Yeah.” She replied wiping the blood on the grass. “It’s just a scratch. It’s not deep at all.”

Shika sighed in relief. Kaliana scooted towards him.

“Why? Were you worried about me, Shika?”

Shika blushed and turned away. “N-no. I just don’t want blood where I practice my jutsu. That’s all.”

“Liar.” Kaliana grunted.

Shika smiled bashfully. “Well, maybe I was a little worried…”

Kaliana giggled. The kids lifted their heads when they heard Yoshino’s voice.

“Shikamaru! Lunch time! In the house!” Her words were brief, but crystal clear.

Kaliana and Shikamaru got up and brushed dirt off their knees.

“Wanna stay for lunch?” Shikamaru asked.

“What’re you guys having?”

“What do you think?” Shikamaru laughed.

“Venison.” They both said simultaneously with a chuckle.

“Sure.” Kaliana grinned. She loved meat.

As they approached the door, they were greeted by Yoshino Nara.

“Oh, hello, Kaliana!” Yoshino smiled warmly.

“Hello, Mrs. Nara! Can I stay for lunch?”

“You sure can!” She turned her head towards the kitchen. “SHIKAKU!” Her voice screeched, causing both kids to jump and shudder. “KALIANA’S STAYING FOR LUNCH! SET UP ANOTHER SPOT AT THE TABLE, NOW!”

Kaliana dug her finger in her ear and shook her head. Even Shikamaru rubbed his temples, trying to massage the pain away.

“You think my dad heard her?” Shika asked.

Kaliana shrugged. “As long as he isn’t piss-drunk in a corner somewhere.”

“Oh, man…”Shikamaru winced. “Then I think we might want to plug our ears…”