As a lurching sensation took over his body, Jay felt his sense of balance going all over the place, almost like he was inside a washing machine working full tilt while in zero gravity … the sensation lasted only for a moment but was enough for Jay to miss a step when he was ungraciously dropped into the ground as the chakra-smoke cleared … Like a drunk trying to regain balance, Jay looked around trying to fix his eyes into something that didn’t feel like it was moving …

  Around Jay, there was a small ish but quaint clearing, pillars of wood carved into dogs of different breeds, water fountains just at the right height for a dog to drink the fresh spring water sprinkling out of them … a small stream that ended into a pond with a few ducks taking a bath in them …

  There was an enormous three in the middle of it all with bite and claw marks all over and there was a smell in the air, almost like Jay was passing through the Inuzuka kennel, not quite pungent but definitively noticeable …

  And of course, the dogs … multiple dogs, different breeds, sizes and ages. Puppies and old looking ones … all of them stopped what they were doing to look at them …

  [Jay] - Did you just teleport us into a … Dog temple ? … He he he … -

  ***

  Kakashi took a breath of the comforting scent of his young years … the Hatake’s pack, passed to Kakashi by his father …

  Kakashi shook his head at the small bout of nostalgia when he heard Jay’s question and subsequent laughter …

  [Kakashi] - What’s so funny about a dog temple ? -

  Kakashi asked with a little bit more harshness than he intended, but those dogs were his like his family and he would not have any other brat disrespecting them …

  [Jay] - You brought me to a dog temple to have some tea and talk … -

  Kakashi slightly inclined his head, trying and failing to understand what Jay meant by it …

  [Kakashi] - … And ? -

  Jay smiled even further.

  [Jay] - Don’t you see ? You brought me to a Dog Cafe … -

  Kakashi didn’t know if he were to groan or give a small laugh … it wasn’t quite a joke, it wasn’t quite a pun … it was just bad comedy that somehow left you confused on what you should feel …

  And having this level of self awareness this early was not something Kakashi wanted for his day, so Kakashi did what any ninja a few years into the profession learned how to do … he ignored it.

  [Kakashi] - So … let’s introduce you to Pakkun and have our tea, don’t mind them, they don’t see many new faces around here after all … -

  Jay noticed that as soon as Kakashi said that, the other dogs were back doing their own things, with some of them trying to take a smell out of Jay …

  [Jay] - Hello there fellas, Jay is the name, what are you all called ? -

  A few of the dogs looked at him surprised with one eager puppy answering immediately.

  [Bollo] - I’m Bollo, with two whole L, which makes it better than my older brother Bolo, it means I’ll grow twice as much, isn’t that cool ? Mama was so smart when she gave me this name … -

  The pup was eagerly waiting for a response as were the rest of the dogs in close proximity …

  [Jay] - Well, aren’t you a lovely chatty thing, but your mother only did half the work of getting you to be big and strong, you know what the other half is ? -

  The put eyes widened as all of his attention was now on Jay …

  [Bollo] - What ? What ? WHAT ?! -

  The pup was almost vibrating into place waiting for Jay to answer …

  [Jay] - You need to eat a whole lot, a whole, whole lot, and you need to also exercise lots and lots … -

  Bollo’s tail wagged enough to make a small wind.

  [Bollo] - I already do that !! -

  [Jay] - But you need to do even more, if you’re not full then you should be tired and if you’re tired then you should be full … Are you tired ? -

  Bollo’s tail slowly stopped wagging …

  [Bollo] - … No … -

  [Jay] - Are you full ? -

  Bollo’s tail was now completely still …

  [Bollo] - … No … -

  [Jay] - Then you should run around until you are very very tired and then eat lots and lots until you are very very full, that’s how you become big and strong -

  Bollo was now nodding his head fiercely before immediately sprinting out to run around the lake chasing the birds while yelling.

  [Bollo] - TIRED AND FULL, TIRED AND FULL … -

  Jay did a small chuckle as the other dogs shook their heads at the overeager youngling … Jay saw that one of the dogs that was surprisingly wearing sunglasses was giving Jay a look.

  [Akino] - Yer all right pup, the name’s Akino, now go on, Kakashi is waiting fer ya, come on dogs, leave the pup alone you head Kakashi, they will get some tea with Pakkun … -

  With that, the dog tipped his head slightly, revealing his eyes to Jay, to which he winked before shooing the other dogs and moving on …

  Jay walked over to Kakashi, who was looking at him with a mortified look on his face …

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  [Kakashi] - Did you just do a Maito Guy with one of my pups ? … -

  Jay just smiled at him.

  [Jay] - Youth … -

  [Kakashi] - Very funny, you’re very much a jokester aren’t you ? Now let’s just get inside before you corrupt more of my pups … -

  ***

  Kakashi was waiting for Jay’s reaction to his family dog summons, but instead of a surprised face at a talking dog, Kakashi got literally nothing … not even a hint of surprise out of Jay …

  [Kakashi] “ Did he already learn about summons ? … He is learning about fuinjutsu, but this isn’t supposed to be something left out in the open for him to see, summoning with no contract can be quite dangerous after all … “

  Kakashi filled that out as another thing they would have to talk about … Jay’s words were quite something back in the training grounds …

  [Kakashi] “ … Depends on who is asking and if the conversation is actually private … What do you know kid ? … “

  Kakashi couldn’t help but have a little pride in his supposed little brother for being as precocious as Kakashi himself was …

  *** *** ***

  Jay entered the temple and walked to a tasteful room with fluffy pelts piled on the ground as chairs, a small wooden table was in the middle of said room and in there, there was a small brown pug with a bored face laid into the pelts …

  [Kakashi] - Pakkun … -

  [Pakkun] - Kakashi … -

  The dog's voice was that of a bored old man who smoked for a living …

  They both nodded at each other before the dog looked at Jay.

  [Pakkun] - So … is that the kid ? Naruto was it ? -

  Pakkun said, taking a swig of a flask he had on his collar.

  Before Kakashi could answer, Jay took the lead.

  [Jay] - I actually go by Jay now, I don’t like Naruto all that much, who calls their kid a Ramen topping anyway ? -

  Jay shakes his head slightly.

  [Pakkun] - And you decided ‘Jay’ was better ? -

  The dog with an old smoker’s voice asked with a slight sarcasm.

  [Jay] - Well, it’s short, easy to write, sounds nice and it’s kind of unique, so yeah, I like the name I chose for myself a bit more … -

  Jay Shrugged.

  [Pakkun] - So … choosing your own name hm ? What about the people who knew you before ? -

  [Jay] - What about them ? I didn’t get many complaints besides Hokage Hiruzen complaining about paperwork -

  Pakkun narrowed his eyes slightly before turning to Kakashi with a stern look before turning back to Jay.

  [Pakkun] - No one complained hm ? … -

  [Jay] - It was just a name, my handlers couldn’t care less what they called me, and if anyone that knew me before had anything to say about my name change, they stayed very quiet … can’t blame then, I was very odd before this whole ‘people’ thing clicked for me -

  Jay said with a small shrug.

  Pakkun took another swig of his flask before another dog came to the room balancing a tea set in his head, to which Kakashi took and placed on the table, still silently leaving the conversation to Jay and Pakkun, taking note of how Pakkun was trying to give him a leg up by asking the questions Kakashi didn’t feel comfortable asking …

  Kakashi was simply serving as a co-host for this part of the conversation, after all, Pakkun was the host and he was engaged in conversation with the guest, it was only proper to wait …

  [Jay] - Not really, Naruto, Jay, I’m still me no matter what I’m called, so why not choose something that sounds nice ? -

  Pakkun narrowed his eyes, sniffing the air slightly for any hint of a lie or any emotion going on in the Kid in front of him … but he was getting nothing …

  [Pakkun] “ I can smell Kakashi’s insecurities, anxieties and the small hint of jealousy just fine, so my nose works just fine … this kid really does not care about anything he is saying ? … “

  Pakkun’s mind tried to think of the next set of questions to get a read on the Kid when his nose picked up on a spark of interest after the tea set was put into the table …

  [Jay] - So, I think it’s my turn to ask questions … let’s get the important ones out of the way … -

  Kakashi and Pakkun leaned over slightly on the table, both expectant as to what Jay would ask … His past ? Kakashi’s relation to him ? How to get a summons for himself ? …

  [Jay] - How did you guys do anything without opposable thumbs ? -

  Kakashi looked down at the table dejected while Pakkun almost bashed his snout at the inane question …

  [Pakkun] - What … What kind of question is that ? Where did this come from ? -

  Pakkun tried his best to be subtle but apparently, his nose was telling him to go straight to the juggular if he wanted to understand this kid …

  [Jay] - Well … that other dog brought the tea set and tea for us right ? -

  [Pakkun] “ Where is this kid going with this ? … “

  [Pakkun] - Yes, what’s your point ? -

  Pakkun asked with a little grunt trying to push a reaction out of the kid … still nothing …

  [Jay] - My point is … How ? How did he put the set there ? It makes sense he balanced that on his head, but someone had to fill the pot, boil the water and make the tea, someone had to put it on his head … or did he toss everything into the air and then catch it with his head ? That feels like a lot of work … and to top it all off, I didn’t see any servants in this temple, only dogs … dogs with gear and equipment, there was one out there using sunglasses of all things … So you guys can do things on your own, I’m just trying to figure out how and if that’s a skill I could learn … -

  ***

  Kakashi passed a hand over his head as Pakkun’s jaw was hanging open.

  [Kakashi] - Couldn’t you have asked something simpler ? … -

  Kakashi asked, exasperated with Jay as Pakkun was still trying to reboot … Jay only scoffed at the notion …

  [Jay] - And ask what ? Why did you bring me here ? what your relation to those dogs are or what my relation with you is ? … those questions are boring, I can answer them myself … here, let me break it down for you … -

  Jay paused slightly, lifting a finger before starting a rant …

  [Jay] - You brought me here so we could talk privately, this was implicated in what we talked in the training grounds … that means this is outside of Konoha and from the looks of it, probably far from heavy settlements, you brought me here with a jutsu that required blood, those are rare … -

  Jay started counting.

  [Jay] - … you also didn’t deny when I said you teletransported us here, so this is probably a summons residency, the temple implies this is a heavier spiritual place and all of the dogs looking this comfortable around you means that they have constant contact with you and you look quite relaxed, so this is a safe place for you … That means you did a reverse summoning to bring me to your summons residency, something that would be very hard to be tracked … How am I going so far ? -

  [Kakashi] - A bit overly complicated in some steps, you could tone down the showing off how smart you are … -

  Kakashi said with slight sarcasm.

  [Jay] - Everyone’s a critic, anyway, as to my relation with you, as far as I know, none, but as far as you feel like, you probably think of me as a little brother or something, being Minato’s last surviving student and basically his adopted child … -

  Kakashi's breath stopped slightly …

  [Kakashi] - And you know that because ? … -

  [Jay] - I’m apprenticing under Itachi who is currently doing an internship on the Hokage business before Hiruzen steps down in his favor to keep the Uchiha and everyone else happy … -

  [Kakashi] - And ? -

  [Jay] - And I can read … -

  Jay rolled his eyes at the obvious answer.

  [Jay] - There is a lot of non-redacted information on pretty much every person of interest in the village and most of them I can read about, I did a glancing look at the jounins just to see what to expect, but Kakashi Hatake popped up as linked to one Minato Namikase, so I kept reading and that’s how I know what I know … -

  Jay shrugged and Kakashi didn’t know what to say to that, only for Pakkun to break out of his stupor and bail Kakashi out by redirecting the subject …

  [Pakkun] - So you like reading, hm ? Well, to answer your question about how we do things, chakra is the answer you’re looking for, chakra threads to be more specific -

  [Jay] - … Hm, that makes sense, that way you guys sidestep the need for hands entirely … -

  [Pakkun] - That’s right kid, and if you want to learn how to do that, we do have a teacher if you don’t mind leaning with the pups … -

  Pakkun could smell how the kid’s humor brightened at the possibility of learning the skill …

  [Jay] - I don’t mind it at all Pakkun-san -

  Jay did a small bow of thanks.

  [Pakkun] - Well then, why don’t you go out there in the back, just follow the corridor and you will find the pups leaning, I will catch up with Kakashi in the meanwhile … -

  [Jay] - Of course, if you excuse me … Pakkun-san, Kakashi-sensei … -

  Jay did a small bow to both and went on his way, closing the sliding door behind him …

  ***

  Pakkun waited a few moments as the footsteps sounded fainter and fainter before turning to Kakashi.

  [Pakkun] - Who the fuck is that kid Kakashi ? I knew many brats, hells, I knew you since you were a little brat, and you were a little monster, but not even you had this much of a head on your shoulders … -

  Pakkun shook his head, taking another swig out of his now emptying flask …

  [Pakkun] - There was nothing there Kakashi, the kid don’t give a shred of a fuck about his name, his origins, his past connections, the lack of said connections or how you said he was raised … the kid smells like he is just fine about it, like he is talking about the weather … -

  Kakashi released a small sight.

  [Kakashi] - What will you have me do Pakkun ? The only thing I can relate with him is both of us being precocious geniuses, but that’s just about it, I know nothing of him, there is nothing to know of him, his life is documented and yet no one can draw a picture of him … -

  The small dog grumbled, releasing a sigh, Pakkun could smell the hint of desperation waffing of Kakashi, the almost imperceptible crack in the voice that almost pleaded for a solution to a problem that didn’t even exist …

  Pakkun looked at the pup he helped raise, the same one that he saw breaking, the same Kakashi that Pakkun could barely help put back together …

  With a softer voice that broke through Kakashi’s anxiety, Pakkun offered a simple solution …

  [Pakkun] - There are no traps Pup, I just gave you confirmation that the boy does not care, there are no traps for you to navigate around, no surprises, no tricks … -

  Kakashi looked at Pakkun like the god had gone mad …

  [Pakkun] - … He is not you Pup, the boy is not like you, he won’t push you away out of some trauma you imagine he has, just try talking with him … normally … -

  Kakashi released a sigh …

  [Kakashi] - … Are you sure about this ? -

  [Pakkun] - When has my nose steered you wrong ? -

  Kakashi gave his oldest companion a scratch between the ears before getting up and going after his student and hopefully little brother …

  ***

  So … as you can see I’m having a bit of a challenge writing Kakashi up … his persona is quite a bit ‘traumatized’ by his past all the while Cannon Naruto basically sets the guy up as an older brother with all the family relations and all that shit that gets basically nowhere.

  As I’m trying to depict characters with the ‘levels of skill’ the Cannon Naruto says they have … things are taking somewhat of a turn …

  Hiruzen can’t commit half of the mistakes he did, cause he is stated to be fucking smart and competent … the Uchiha can’t just be dog pilled like trash because they are part of the founding clans of Konoha with likely allies in other clans (and also the whole genocide probably giving the other clans a fucking massive red flag) … and … again, Fugaku Uchiha was one of the choices for a Fourth Hokage, Minato dying and Hiruzen taking over again immediately is one thing, emergency and all that, but what reason could there be for him to NOT take over for Hiruzen after ? … I’ll be exploring that as soon as I switch the POV back to Sasuke and explore a bit of his life in there …

  You can probably see that I’m trying to keep POV’s mostly focused on the set cast of people, as the anime Cannon basically almost never gives any amount of focus to secondary characters at all … I can’t do that amount of disregard but the lack of something to base myself against also makes it so that I have to CREATE said secondary characters … and that’s some extra extra work so … Yeah, I’m trying hahahaha.