Chapter Text
Kakashi was dismayed. Of course, he knew every nook and cranny of Konoha's myths and legends. He had been bombarded with patriotic information for his 13 years of life. However, he could distinguish when a legend was exaggerated or when a myth was just that, a myth. He had no explanation for some recent events. He thought of everything - a spy, a genjutsu, anything! But there was no explanation, no evidence at all. When he tried to write a report, he realized it sounded like any classic tale, but he was sure of what had happened. Well, actually, he wasn't that sure.
A few days ago, Kakashi needed Minato, but it was his day off. In situations like these, he spent his time in the Uzumaki domain of Konoha. It was normal. His girlfriend couldn't leave certain places in Konoha without authorization. Although it made sense, the young chunin wasn't thrilled about having to go with Kushina to find his teacher. She was quite clingy and would spend the whole day at the Uzumaki estate doing whatever she felt like doing. In any case, he couldn't avoid it.
"Wow, brat! You know, Minato was just talking about how you didn't land a single hit in training."
"No, no, I didn't say that. I just meant there was a lack of foresight..."
"Sensei... I'm not really going to do anything to you, there's no lie."
"No, Kakashi, I started using the Hiraishin. It's normal when you know your opponent's movements."
The conversation flowed naturally, just as he thought. Kushina caught him, took him into her home, offered food, and some recreational activity. Minato didn't seem like he wanted to let him go either. Kakashi knew his teacher also wanted some alone time with his girlfriend. Sometimes, he felt like an intruder when the three of them were together. As soon as he had the chance, he slipped away to the lush garden to catch a breather.
Kakashi walked, and his thoughts gradually surfaced. It hadn't been a bad day; he was enjoying the familiar feeling. Everything seemed calm and pleasant, and Kushina and Minato were very kind. However, he still felt anxious. Maybe they just felt sorry for him. He was an intruder in their free time, someone they had to look after. His teacher had always been there like an older brother, or maybe a father... No, if Kakashi was honest, there wasn't much of an age difference between them to play babysitter or compare them to a fatherly figure. Or so he thought. Kakashi sometimes preferred to spend time with his own people. It must be the same for Minato, right?
"Ha... I shouldn't keep thinking like this."
The best way not to think was, of course, to listen to Kushina's shouts. He turned around to go back, but there was no path now. He was confused. He had gone in a straight line, following the dirt road. There was no way he could get lost like this. Kakashi was starting to panic. He was going in circles, and he could smell his own scent no matter how much he moved forward, but he couldn't visually recognize the place.
"Kid! Are you lost?"
A cheerful shout took him by surprise, and he immediately assumed a defensive stance. He searched for the source of the voice. Right behind him, there was an adult woman, blonde, with blue eyes and two pigtails. Her features had a certain familiarity.
"Hey, hey, don't be scared! I just want to help. You know, this place is private property..."
Looking closely, the woman's clothing resembled Kushina's traditional attire, and her features and scent indicated she was an Uzumaki. However, her hair color didn't quite match what Kakashi knew about Uzumaki from Kushina.
"The main estate..."
"Oh, Princess Kushina's estate? Are you one of her guests? Come with me."
Without waiting for confirmation, she started walking, and Kakashi followed her a bit behind.
"Be careful in the Uzumaki forest, kid. We have to protect our temples well. There are dangerous things here, so we don't let people get there."
"So the cyclical forest..."
"Fuinjutsu, of course. My personal work. If I may say so, I'm quite good at it, right?"
"It's an incredible technique."
"Of course, Uzumaki are very skilled in fuinjutsu. It's our specialty. Although my own specialty is gardening, I don't have authorization, but I've made this forest look very nice. No one has complained, so I keep doing it."
Having a reasonable explanation eased Kakashi's heart. The stranger was friendly and had a personality similar to Kushina's, albeit a bit bubblier. He would never admit it to anyone, but she was definitely the most beautiful person he had ever seen. If Kushina was already high on the list of "Konoha beauties," the resemblance to Minato's blond hair added extra points in Kakashi's mind. That, and the scars. He had always thought that Kushina looked quite like a fox, and the assistant's scars made her look even more like one.
"And so, if you fertilize near the plant's roots, you can kill it. You have to be careful with that."
"... Sorry, didn't we just pass by here?"
"Huh? No, no... actually... I was trying to ignore it, but I think it's the third time."
"..."
"I... I swear I know what I'm doing!"
The woman was very nervous, and Kakashi was already irritated. This adult seemed to have gotten lost in her own maze. Any confidence he had in her vanished when he saw her incompetence. He had no choice but to continue with her.
"Ugh, forget it, we're wasting too much time. I'll send you on your own."
Kakashi had a deep frown between his eyebrows, but before he could react, the woman's thumb was on his forehead. He tried to see her face, but now her blue eyes had turned golden, and there were nine flashes of yellow light behind them. Even... ears? He felt strange, as if his body were being absorbed, and he could only close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was right in the main garden of the estate.
"...What... was I doing?"
"Ha! Kakashi Hatake, you're not getting away from me! You dare not eat the tempura? Of course, I was going to find out."
"Kushina, stop it. He never liked it, and I asked about eating his tempura , to besides, he ate the rest.”
"That's not an excuse!"
It was only in the days that followed that Kakashi began to have flashes of awareness that something had happened. His first thought was an intruder, so he quickly prepared a report. But when he read it... it sounded like a romantic tale of a child being helped by a kitsune in the forest.