"No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness."

Aristotle

Hatake Sakumo waited for Hiruzen to finish signing documents before he dared to ask a question. There were many things that bothered him. Earlier, they checked the seal's condition and traveled to Konoha's outskirts for the Hokage to personally see its state. They also visited the orphanage in passing, where Hiruzen exhibited an unusual attitude. The Hokage appeared to be interested in a particular child who was the same age as his Kakashi.

Closing a few folders, Hiruzen finally turned his attention to the standing silver-haired Jōnin before him. "Do you want to ask anything?"

"Are you interested in the girl?" Sakumo could not help but ask. He was good at judging people, and from what he saw, the child with the purple hair would be someone who would greatly contribute to Konoha in the future.

As a reply, the Hokage smiled, the lines beside his eyes started to become apparent. "She reminded me of someone," he said and dismissed the White Fang.

The Hokage's eyes drifted to the worn out walls. His figure appeared like a lone shadow inside a room abundant in light. Hiruzen leaned in his chair and removed his customary red hat. The silver-haired Jōnin instantly understood that he should not inquire anymore.

Sakumo departed, not bothering to look back on the Hokage's office. He slowly walked down the stairs and contemplated. The child must be a Kurosawa, but he couldn't exactly tell because of the cloth covering everything below her eyes. A year and a half ago his team had been sent to an Iwagakure for an assassination. As luck would have it, the Hokage placed Sakumo on the same team with the Kurosawa couple. On the way back they did not notice they were followed and the Iwa-nin intercepted them after they entered the borders.

They were not exactly in the best state; each one of them had suffered an injury while inside enemy territory. The Kurosawa couple were quick to make a decision and sacrificed their lives for the sake of others – an action that made Sakumo admire their courage. In truth, he was guilty. He was their team leader and was entrusted with the lives of his members, and he could not do anything for the pair. Even their dead bodies were left in a rush to send their members to the hospital.

If possible, he wanted to help their child to repay the couple's kindness.

Sighing in lamentation, the White Fang adjusted his forehead protector and proceeded to where his son was playing. He was absent for many days, and Kakashi must feel lonely without his father to accompany him. Kakashi's mother died when he was very young. Now he was the only family Kakashi have, and he would do his best to care for the child.

Arriving where Kakashi was, the silver-haired Jōnin saw a group of children playing ninja. Most of them were running around and laughing hard while the minority were huffing and puffing due to tiredness. There was dust everywhere, and Sakumo had to blink several times to clearly see his surroundings. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see a familiar silver fluff that was standing not that far from the noisy crowd. The Jōnin slowly made his way over as the figure of a child wearing a mask became clearer.

"Otou-san," the boy greeted him, eyes shining. His hair was a mess and was sticking everywhere. Sakumo ruffled his silver hair further and smiled.

"Everything good?" he asked while he studied his child.

Kakashi was not even five yet, but his mind was advancing by leaps and bounds. Maybe it was because he idolized his father that he strived to be the best, but Sakumo could never really tell. People had even called him a genius for he always did things impossible for his age. For example, he had just given Kakashi the shinobi manual on a whim, to give him something to think about. In a matter of days, the boy started to recite passages from the book and would lecture other children.

For the first time in his life, the White Fang was dumbfounded. And it was because of his son.

Kakashi nodded eagerly, his silver hair swaying back and forth unhindered. "Nami-san made Hiro-kun accompany me outside to play," he replied, recalling what happened previously.

Being a Jōnin and an ANBU, Hatake Sakumo could not watch over his child 24/7 so he decided to entrust his child to his wife's best friend, Yamamoto Nami. Every time he would leave Konohagure for his missions he would request for Nami to take care of his Kakashi temporarily. And seeing Kakashi as her own son, Nami did it willingly.

As the White Fang, the demand for his appearance was higher than before the Second Shinobi World War. Many had started to hire him for missions outside of the village, even he, the White Fang, was not exempt from being recruited to do menial tasks from delivering packages to cleaning houses. The masses must not have understood that Genins were the one needed to those duties and Jōnin s were required to do A-rank missions.

Kakashi had probably seen that he was deep in thought so he decided not to bother his father for a while. When Sakumo gathered his bearings, his child was sitting on the dirt, watching his peers play. An image flashed before his eyes, a familiar purple-haired child was standing alone under the tree, apart from the crowd of screaming children. The White Fang slowly shook his head to clear the image and thought that he should've requested the Hokage for the rights to take care of the Kurosawa child. It might not be a problem since from what he recalled, Kurosawas were like the Hatakes: a clan which slowly declined because of the incessant wars.

No one could bother to take care of the orphaned child.

Placing both his hands in his pocket, Sakumo smiled down at Kakashi. "Let's go home."

Ayame glanced at the title of the book she was holding and threw it behind her. She could not be concerned with those bijuu stories anymore. Most of the children's books inside the shelter's library were about the Rikudō Sennin, most commonly known as The Sage of the Six Paths. The people held great importance to the Rikudō Sennin since he was the one who founded the Ninshū or the Shinobi Sect. It started the era of shinobi and chakra, clans and wars, and finally, life and death.

The girl merely snorted. It was a given that when there was power, there would people who would want to covet it. After all, greed was part of the human nature; without it, it would be like stripping the humanity of its skin. Ayame raised her head to look at the higher part of the shelves. She guessed there was bound to be an interesting book out of this pile of children's stories. If she guessed wrong, then she would have to deal with her boredom another way.

The orphanage's library was neither small nor large. Its room contained rows of bookshelves where books and hand-outs of different sizes could be seen. The ceiling of the library was not that high. In Ayame's estimation, a man with the height of 5'5 could probably raise his hand and touched the ceiling without standing on his heel. The walls were rundown and the condition of their sleeping quarters was the same. The girl could not help but disagree with the children's circumstances; they would have a distorted sense of being 'well-off ' and it might affect their future accomplishments.

Ayame grabbed a chair and placed it in front of the third shelf. She stood on it and tried to reach for the row of books near the top of the bookshelf. Failing to touch the books, the girl was not disheartened. Instead, she was prepared to use her chakra to climb on the shelf to reach the top slowly. She guided her chakra to her hands, like how she did when she was practicing in the woods.

Ayame practiced her chakra control by tree climbing. It took her a while before she could do it but she succeeded nonetheless. The chakra in her hand pulsated, and she adjusted the amount. Too much chakra would repel her from the shelf and too little would make her fall. Even if the shelves were too high for her, Ayame would still take her chances,

"Ayame-chan? What are you doing?" A voice interrupted her from her thoughts. When she turned her head to take a look, she saw a brown-haired boy.

The girl regretted not getting the book at atop the shelf sooner. Now she would need to deal with the persistent child. "I was trying to get the book, third row. You need anything Toshiyuki-kun?" she replied casually, her eyes gaze at the boy's hand.

He was holding a parcel, tied with brown string. Toshiyuki noticed her eyes on the package and replied with a smile, "Ah, I would like to give this to you since I'm leaving for the Academy tomorrow." His eyes were filled with sadness, and Ayame wondered why. She and Toshiyuki did not have many interactions, and even if there was one, she would try to find an excuse to leave.

Jumping off the chair, she ran her hand through her purple hair and faced the boy. "Thank you, Toshiyuki-kun—" the boy blushed which made Ayame cringe in discomfort, "—but the truth, you don't have to do this."

Toshiyuki blinked, not absorbing the meaning of her words. "Why?"

"Going to the Academy with you tomorrow," she answered and turned her heels. Ayame's eye landed on the pile of books in between the two bookshelves. Thinking back on how she haphazardly threw every book behind her, she realized she needed to clean them later. She better return those books to their proper places before created another pile.

"With us? Tomorrow?" Toshiyuki was in a daze. His mind halted working, and his eyes blankly gaze in space.

Ayame knew what he was thinking about. Konohagakure strictly abided its rules; they would never sit idle over someone unlawful. However, exceptions were a given. Hatake Kakashi was hailed as a genius: he entered the academy at the age of four and graduated at the age of five. She was a similar case. The staff in the orphanage probably threw countless praises that made the administration consider her. Finally, she could enter the Academy at only four years old.

As a former businesswoman, it was relatively easy to be on the good side of the caretakers and the nuns in the shelter. She was used to negotiating and using fancy words. Those skills were needed to survive in the industry. She was so accustomed to doing it that it was like breathing.

Grabbing another book from the shelves, Ayame looked at its title. Seeing the words "Tales of the Nine Bijuu," she was ready to throw it behind her when a loud booming voice echoed inside the room. She saw Toshiyuki trembled and fell weakly on the floor, his eyes no longer blank. Ayame faintly raised her eyebrow when the voice incessantly called someone's name.

"TOSHIYUKI-KUUUUN! TOSHIYUKI-KUN! ANIKI NEEDS YOUR HEEEELP!"

The boy on the floor scrambled to get the package on the floor before he stood up and hastily left the room. Ayame shifted her gaze back on the book and shoved it behind her. She heard a loud thud as another book joined the pile. Unexpectedly, dust scattered around the room and she was forced to cover her nose with the back of her hand.

Cursing for a moment, she was about to jump down to organize the mountain of children's book on the dirty floor when she heard another shout.

"AYAME-CHAAAAAAN! AYAME-CHAAN! ANIKI ALSO WANTS TO SEE YOUUU!"

Ayame pursed her lips and realized how troublesome the voice was. She was about to clean, and now it was disrupted. The owner of the loud voice was Ryo, a ten-year-old boy. She heard he was supposed to be sent to the central of Konoha three years ago but declined because he wanted to help this Aniki, a praiseworthy figure inside the orphanage. In her opinion, she disagreed with how these people admired Aniki. They told her he was a kind and gentle man with good prospects.

Aniki's actual name was Seiji - an orphan who was sent to a civilian's school and graduated there. For some reason, he went back to the orphanage to serve with the excuse of trying to pay back the goodwill of the staff. Ayame could not care less, but the disappearance of the children once in a while bothered her. Once Seiji cornered a child, the next day that particular child would disappear. In addition to that, he was very careful with his movements so that none of the adults noticed anything amiss.

As for the disappearance of the children, Seiji told them that they had probably run away from the shelter.

Ayame knew a liar when she saw one. She dropped the idea of organizing the books and temporarily noted the chore in mind. She would have to clean the book tonight or else she would surely leave a bad impression on the staff of the orphanage. The child headed straight to where she remembered Seiji often stayed. The hallways were oddly quiet. The only child she bumped into was the loud-mouthed Ryo.

It did not take long for her to arrive in front of a wooden door. She carefully pushed it open. The inside was the same as it was the last time she was called. Bookshelves were placed in every corner of the medium-sized room. There was a table in the middle of the room and a chair behind it. Lastly, two chairs were placed in front of the table.

A man aged 24 was seated behind the desk. His hair was skilfully combed back but his most prominent feature was his cheekbones. He glanced at the girl who entered his office and pleasantly smiled. Ayame only gave him a glance before she proceeded to sit on the wooden chair.

"Ayame-chan, I've heard they recommended you to the Academy along with Toshiyuki-kun this year." Seiji's tone was amiable as he continued to smile in front of the girl. "But you know you're too young. Don't you want to stay in the orphanage and play for a little longer?"

She could not help but slightly furrow her eyebrows. She immediately cleared her facial expression. Seiji didn't notice any difference, so he continued to speak. "You need to understand the Academy is a harsh place. You should tell the other staff that you're not ready yet!"

Seiji was so focused on his speech that he did not notice the mirth in the girl's eyes. Ayame patiently waited for him to finish. Her gaze travelled around the room and landed on the bookshelf in the right corner. She squinted her eyes to read the titles of the books and realized most of them were for shinobis. The girl suddenly regretted not sneaking inside the room and seizing some books for herself.

"—consider the situation, child."

Ayame frowned absentmindedly at the person before her. The man unconsciously flinched under her stare and avoided her eyes. She leaned back on the chair to study the man carefully. Her eyes widened in amusement as she remembered her co-worker's words, "You can see in other's eyes if they harbor ill intentions."

They were talking about sealing some business deals and had accidentally strayed off the topic, ending up discussing about people with malicious intents instead. Ayame had to give her secretary some credit – not all people could read someone just by looking at their eyes. There was only one major flaw in the statement though. Some individuals have the ability to con people without batting an eyelash. It was their natural talent; even if you try to look in their eyes you would see nothing.

On the other hand, the person before her was far from having that talent.

"Thank you, Aniki, but Hokage-sama visited the orphanage," she replied with a small smile. Even with her lack of vocabulary she tried to express her opinions using short sentences about the matter at hand. "Told me he looked forward to seeing young talents like me. Could not disappoint him."

A complete lie.

Hiruzen never mentioned anything about looking forward to it. That day, she believed the Hokage was just passing by and her weird attitude piqued his curiosity. After she had asked what they needed, the old man only smiled and nodded. He proceeded to visit the other groups of children. After the short visit, he immediately departed with the two Jōnin s – one of which was Hatake Sakumo, a person she recognized right after seeing the silver hair.

The conversation ended after she spoke. Seiji dismissed her, his forehead crinkled obviously as she glanced at him for the last time. Anyone would feel guilty after using the Hokage's name like that, but Ayame was not concerned. From her point of view, she only borrowed his name for a little while. The penalty should not be harsh for a child.

Night descended and thoughts about the White Fang occupied Ayame's mind. The man was still alive. However, it might not be long before he dies. There were still no rumours about him failing a mission, and people still valued him as their hero.

She did not dare to train outside for the meantime. She did not want to take her chance and be seen the day before her departure.

"You should take the room beside Kakashi's." The silver-haired Jōnin ushered her while he removed his shoes on the front door. Ayame felt things had turned out weirdly.

She never expected to be adopted by the White Fang.

Footsteps echoed inside the quiet traditional Japanese-styled house. The questions that were occupying her mind earlier were answered in an instant. Ayame was wondering why Seiji did not pursue the matter about her prolonging her stay in the orphanage. Now that she knew of the situation, the solution was simple after all.

The staff instructed the orphans earlier that morning to prepare their things. After departing, Ayame realized that they were not bringing her to an apartment along with the other children. Children who reached the age of six would be brought in their own respective apartments — a place where they would live while they were studying at the Academy.

Instead, she was brought here. Hatake Sakumo, whom she first saw in the shelter, made a sudden appearance and welcomed her with enthusiasm. After the staff that were meant to accompany left, the silver-haired Jōnin told her everything that she needed to know.

Hatake Sakumo had decided to adopt her. Ayame was surprised at the unexpected revelation.

The White Fang, from what he told her, was one of her parent's friends. Contrary to Ayame's belief, both of her parents were well-acquainted with almost half of the Jōnin population. She expected the both of them to be more of the silent type since they rarely spoke when they were with her. The couple spent their time drinking tea and enjoying the silence when they were alive.

Sakumo could not tell her about the details of their ANBU mission; the only thing that he could share was that the two Kurosawas had saved his life. As expected, they were killed by Iwa-nin on the borders and sacrificed themselves to save the group. Ayame decided to stay silent even after the Jōnin narrated his story. She was a little disorientated after hearing the piece of information and recovered right after.

Ayame, knowing why Seiji did not dare to persuade her, understood that Sakumo saved her this time even if he was not aware.

If the Jōnin did not adopt her, Seiji would take drastic measures to make her stay inside the shelter. Ayame still had no idea about his motives, but she started to suspect something. The girl narrowed her eyes and decided to throw the matter to the back of her mind.

On the other hand, adopting her was no small matter. With the identity of Hatake Sakumo being the White Fang and her being the sole Kurosawa in the Leaf, she wondered how the silver-haired man pulled it off.

From what she remembered, a famous figure like the White Fang needed to inform the Hokage of his every decision. Every movement should be reported since Sakumo was part of ANBU – a team leader of an ANBU group at that. Ayame had thought it was invasion of the other party's privacy, but considering the state of Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War, each shinobi should be open to each other or else one would be suspected of being a spy.

That means the Hokage had approved Sakumo's request of adopting her with the condition that she would retain her family name. Ayame glanced around the house, her eyes darting from the ceiling to the walls. The erected wooden columns on top of a flat foundation greatly piqued her curiosity. It gave some sort of elegance she had only seen on television in the past. In her previous life, she had traveled all over the world because of her business and had stayed in some hotels that were styled similarly to the house.

Ayame was glad to live inside a genuine traditional house.

The girl glanced back at the figure before her. The White Fang was dressed in a standard Konoha-nin uniform with a pair of gloves. The Jōnin flak jacket and the bandages on his right arm were conspicuous with the addition of the distinctive short white sleeve which had red edges and the standard crest of Uzushiogakure on it. The spiky silver hair added charm to his persona which made Ayame nod in satisfaction.

She could not deny that this man had an aura of a hero.

While deep in thought, Ayame heard soft footsteps coming their way. Without hesitation, she raised her head and found a carbon copy of Sakumo albeit the copy was much smaller. The boy had the same striking silver hair as his counterpart and was wearing a mask that covers the lower part of his face. A green scarf was encircled on his neck while his black top and black pants made Ayame doubt the boy's fashion sense.

The boy nodded as a greeting and immediately removed his gray eyes from studying her. Ayame noticed his gaze and concluded that it must have been because of the cloth covering half of her face. She did not want to overthink it, but she and the boy appeared to be chuunibyous at first glance. With desperation, she tried to stop herself from grinning ridiculously but failed. Luckily a cloth was covering her face or the pair of father and son would think she was insane.

Sakumo directed an awkward smile to her, and she instantly understood that he was apologetic at his son's behaviour. "Ayame-chan, this is Kakashi, my son," he introduced, glancing at his mini version beside him. "Kakashi, this is your new sibling: Kurosawa Ayame."

Ayame felt rather awkward at the exchange (or if it was an exchange at all, since Sakumo was the only one talking) but nodded as a reply. Consequently, after everything was said and done, Sakumo showed her the room where she would stay. The room was spacious, and the floor was made of tatami mats that accentuated the thin door. The door, a room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood, was called shoji, if her memory served her right.

A thick mattress was cleanly placed on the floor along with a couple of white fluffy pillows. She put her small baggage on the side and stood there for a long time to admire the spotless room. Ayame sympathized with the two silver-haired individuals. They had learned to do the chores on their own since Sakumo's wife died when Kakashi was young. The girl doubted the White Fang had relatives that would help him take care of his child since from what she recalled; Kakashi became an orphan after his death.