Chapter Text
As much as he hates to admit it, Kakashi has grown very attached to his little Genin. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing, if they’re training or on a mission, there’s always some nagging part of him worrying.
It’s how he got himself in this predicament in the first place. It started off as a few comments here and there. Things that had concerned Kakashi at the time but nothing the Jonin had thought to press about at the time…
But then this morning happened, and it left Kakashi with a pit in his stomach.
“Kakashi Sensei?” Naruto’s quiet, shy it was the first indication that something was up.
Kakashi hums in acknowledgment, “what is it, Naruto?”
Now that he has his sensei’s attention his ears go red, and Naruto finds a sudden interest in his shoes. “Could I- uh,” his voice is even quieter, if that was even possible. “Borrow some money?”
Kakashi frowns, “what for?” Not that he wouldn’t give it to the boy, but he was curious as to what his money was needed for.
Kakashi isn’t quite sure why the question left Naruto a sputtering, flustered mess before the boy started to backtrack completely. “You know what? Never mind! I shouldn’t have asked it was-“
“Naruto, relax.” Kakashi glances at his other students, finding them preoccupied with their training exercise. Good, if Naruto got so embarrassed when he asked imagine if his teammates saw Kakashi give him money. “How much do you need?”
After that conversation this morning it was safe to say that Kakashi was concerned to say the least. And as their training went on and he’d watched the three Genin Kakashi thought back to every time Naruto’s made an offhanded comment that Kakashi had brushed off at the time.
There were times when Naruto mentioned that his lights or his water wasn’t working, or when the kid’s lunch was sparse (or sometimes non existent) and he claimed he just hadn’t had time to go to the store. Not to mention the constant pushing for higher ranked missions. Now Kakashi is jumping to conclusions, and the conclusions he’s jumped to don’t paint a pretty picture.
Kakashi is hoping he’s wrong, he really is, but just to be sure he’s decided to follow Naruto for the day.
Kakashi watches Naruto stroll through the village. He’s not sure where they’re headed, but Naruto is humming to himself like he’s in a good mood, surely that’s a good sign.
Naruto turns into the grocery store and out of Kakashi’s sight. Great, it’ll be harder to hide in such a small space like that. He better transform to disguise himself before entering.
So, he turns himself into the most unsuspecting thing he can think of, an old lady before walking into the store.
With a quick scan he finds Naruto in the produce. The kid is inspecting different vegetables carefully before putting them in the basket.
This goes on for quite some time, Kakashi follows him around the store watching as he picks up a few items. There’s some cereal, milk, a box of granola bars and, of course instant ramen.
Kakashi frowns as Naruto heads to the cashier instead of continuing to shop. If this is what the money was for then Naruto only needed half of what he’d asked for.
“What!?” Kakashi’s attention is brought back to Naruto at the sound of his yell. “That’s even more than it was last time!”
The shop owner shrugs, “different shipment, kid. You don’t like it then take you business to the other side of the village!”
“But that place charges me even more! This isn’t fair!”
“Life’s not fair, brat!”
Kakashi can’t get angry, it would blow his cover. But how dare this man talk to Naruto like that.
“Listen, I made sure I got the exact amount I needed. It’s always been the same price!”
“Not my problem kid. The total is four hundred fifty. Either pay up or don’t buy so much.”
“Excuse me,” to hell with his cover. This man was severely overcharging his student, and he wasn’t about to sit idly by. “This boy’s food shouldn’t cost nearly that much.”
“Mind your business, lady.”
“I’m just confused as to how you can charge him three times what it is worth.”
“That’s how much it’s worth when he’s buying!”
“Perhaps you’d like for me to go to the Hokage? I’m sure he’d love to hear about your business practices.” Kakashi keeps his voice calm and sweet, though there’s nothing he’d like to do more than punch this guys teeth out.
The man stares at Kakashi, clearly trying to figure out wether he’s lying or not. Eventually, he must come to a conclusion because he sighs, “fine, a hundred fifty then.”
Naruto’s day was pretty good. Training went well, and he was able to finally get all his groceries!
The day was even better because that nice lady had helped him out at the grocery store. Usually, he just has to pay the unfair price they charge him, but luck was on his side today!
Now he’s making dinner. The moonlight shines into the open window and lets the cool air in. Summer is coming to an end in Konaha, the nights are getting colder.
Naruto likes when the weather is like this. The cool weather leaves his apartment the perfect temperature.
Naruto works on cutting his vegetables. It’s hard when the only source of light you have is a small candle on the table. Hopefully they start getting more missions so he can pay his electric bill soon.
Until then this’ll have to do. Naruto hums as he sets the vegetables aside. Kakashi Sensei is always hounding him about eating right and about the importance of eating things like fruits and vegetables. He’s right, of course, but it’s hard when things like dreads fruits and veggies are so expensive. So, Naruto buys a small amount of vegetables each week and uses them to dress up his ramen. It’s not ideal, and he’s had to increase his grocery budget quite a bit, but it’s all he can manage.
Naruto moves to get the kettle. Thank goodness his stove is gas powered or else he wouldn’t be having dinner.
He just has to fill up the kettle and—
Naruto curses as his sink decides to suddenly attack him. Water sprays everywhere but the kettle.
Naruto ducks down to look at the pipes, only to find those have burst as well. Seems as if the tape he’d put there has worn out.
Throughly panicked, the blond wraps his hands around the pipe, figuring that must be the answer.
The water pushes its way past his fingers. This isn’t good, oh his water bill is going to be so high if he doesn’t fix this right now!
Maybe his landlord will be able to help. The man hasn’t been willing to help before but Naruto’s confident that if he uses the Hokage Card this time he can get him to cooperate.
So, Naruto runs out of the apartment and turns the corner, running smack into a tall figure.
Said figure steadies him before Naruto can fall. “Woah, everything alright, Naruto?”
Naruto looks up at his savior, “Kakashi Sensei!”
“You’re all wet,” Naruto can hear the confusion in his statement, but he pays it no mind. Kakashi Sensei knows how to do everything, surely he can fix his sink.
“Do you know how to fix a sink?”
Kakashi lets Naruto lead him through his apartment and to the sink that was currently flooding his kitchen.
Truth be told, Kakashi knows nothing about plumbing, but his Genin seemed so panicked that Kakashi was willing to give it a try.
Kakashi can see why Naruto was all wet, the water jetted out from all directions, and there was even water spilling from the pipes. Yep, this was way above his level of expertise. If he had to guess, the first course of action would be to turn the sink off.
So, he turns off the water, effectively stopping anymore water from flooding poor Naruto’s home.
“I- I didn’t think of that.” Naruto sounds almost embarrassed.
Now that the threat that was causing his student stress is gone, Kakashi really looks at his surroundings. “Naruto, why are all the lights off?”
“Oh, well, you see,” he’s sputtering again, clearly flustered by the question. “It’s not a big deal, honest! It’s just, we’ve been focusing a lot on training, and we haven’t been able to go on missions. Which is fine! You’re right, we should be focusing on getting stronger! And it’s only temporary! Once we start getting missions again I’ll fix it! Believe it!”
Kakashi frowns, he didn’t realize that Naruto was so reliant on the money they got from missions. Now wonder Naruto needed to borrow money, it’s been weeks since they’ve gone on a mission. “Naruto-“
“So, did you fix it? I kinda need the sink to make ramen, y’know!”
Kakashi acts like he’s not phased by the topic change. He’s going to circle back to Naruto’s financial situation eventually anyway. “I’m sorry, Naruto but I don’t know how to fix it. You’re going to need a plumber, or maybe your landlord.”
Kakashi watches as Naruto’s expression crumbles. Suddenly, Kakashi wishes he’d became a plumber instead of a ninja.
“That’s alright, Sensei! Thanks for doing what you could! Why don’t you stay for dinner? It’s late.”
When Kakashi doesn’t respond Naruto moves to grab another cup of ramen. “I’ll just fill the kettle in the bathroom! You just make yourself at home!”
Kakashi waits for Naruto to leave the room before sneaking around the apartment.
Now, Kakashi has seen Naruto’s living conditions before, but this is the first time he’s seeing them since becoming the boy’s Sensei. And it’s like seeing the boy’s apartment for the very first time. The place is a mess. The paint on the walls is peeling and the kitchen, god the kitchen. Half the cabinets didn’t have doors and there were cracks in the countertops, not to mention the sink that was being held together with duct tape before it decided to flood everything.
This is how Naruto was living? How did Kakashi let this go on for so long?
“I’m back!” Kakashi turns to see Naruto, holding the kettle up proudly. “Sorry it took so long, I had to jiggle the sink handle in there to get it to work! Heating it up will just take a few minutes!”
“Naruto, you live like this?” It wasn’t what Kakashi meant to say, but he was so shocked that it left his mouth.
Naruto frowns, “I mean I know it’s not the nicest, but it’s still home.”
Kakashi shakes his head, no way was he letting his Genin live like this anymore. “No, this is unacceptable. Pack your things, you’re staying with me.”
Kakashi expected the resistance, and even the embarrassment. But he couldn’t shake how Naruto didn’t seem to see much issue with the way he was living. Naruto tried to ensure him that it was fine, that he was perfectly happy and comfortable.
Despite all that resistance, he still followed Kakashi home anyway. Naruto didn’t pack his things like Kakashi had said. In the middle of Naruto’s protests he’d decided to just start walking and see if the blonde would follow. He’d have to get his student’s things tomorrow.
“There are leftovers in the fridge. I’ll get you something dry you can borrow.” After the mishap with the sink Kakashi had gotten a little wet, and if he’d gotten cold walking the streets of Konaha, the Naruto had to be freezing.
“You really don’t have to-“
“I know, but I wasn’t about to let my student live like that any more.” Kakashi smiles at Naruto, “it’s late. Let’s get some rest and we’ll finalize everything in the morning.”
“I’ll be back. You can have some leftovers from the fridge.” Kakashi goes into his room and finds the first dry shirt and shorts he can find.
When he walks back in he finds Naruto staring into the fridge with a look that Kakashi can’t quite place. “What is it?”
“There’s so— you have a lot of food.”
Kakashi frowns at Naruto’s tiny admission. Kakashi never kept his fridge very stocked, instead opting to buy only a few days worth at a time. It was more convenient that way, since he’s off on missions. “Here, put these on. I’ll heat something up.”
Kakashi points Naruto where to go before piling a little bit of everything on a plate.
Naruto comes back shortly after, and Kakashi doesn’t think the kid’s ever looked so small.
Kakashi puts Naruto’s food down.
Naruto’s eyes go wide. Kakashi ignores how it makes Kakashi’s chest tighten. How did he not realize sooner that his student needed him?
“Dig in.”