The Greatest Gift

Kabuto had long-since shut himself away back in the Hidden Sound Village, or what remained of it. Here, he stayed with one or two surviving former subordinates of Orochimaru. 'Friends', he willingly called them and anyone else who strayed close enough to be accepted by one of their kind. Every now and then, one of the men would bring home a girl from another village and something would click. Essentially the village of Sound was now a safe haven for rogues, separate from the laws of the other villages. Missing-nin who now wanted nothing more than to settle down and live normal lives, their dark sides long since abolished. Some had even had children now. Misumi was practically parading his new son around the village like he was a prince.

It was hardly a perfect place. It was a stupid little place with a population of about 12 adults and a bunch of kids who followed one guy round like he had candy stuck to his arse. Still, it was home. Dysfunctional, poor as dirt home. At least they were led by a level-headed and intelligent man instead of one of the crazies, and he was just about able to keep everyone alive. Kabuto had been out for lunch, taking the time to hold a brief conversation with some of the men he knew. All in all he must have spent about three hours out, and as he approached his house, he had the strange feeling someone was watching him. Someone was hiding by his house, and as the front door came into view, it became a bit obvious why.

Upon the doorstep lay a Moses basket. He approached it warily, as though it might be a trap, gently tugging aside the blankets to peer inside.

Naturally, all the blankets covered were a letter held closed with a hairpin and a newborn infant. He could only be a couple of days old and was fast asleep. He picked the basket up uncertainly and slipped inside. Kabuto served as the village's doctor, so at least there was no-one better to leave the child with.

He gently lifted him out of the basket and placed the letter to the side, deciding to check the child over before reading that, although really it would give him some important information, undoubtedly. The most important thing was to ensure the child wasn't about to die.

Definitely male. Blood type, A, 6.4 pounds, heel to crown just under 50 cm. Smaller than average, a thin fluff of plum-coloured hair atop his scalp. A little bit early, not properly insulated against the cold when he was outside, but Kabuto could warm him up in a second. Didn't look like he'd been fed since birth, so a trip to the shops could be necessary. For now he could fill a pipette with some milk and feed the child with that, once he woke up. His eyes slid over to the letter.

Kabuto

It was for him. Whoever had left him there knew exactly what she was doing. He tugged the clip off the paper and unfolded the note, running his dark eyes over the words before him.

Kabuto. You have undoubtedly received my little gift. His birthday is the 8th of March. I assume you'll need some further explanation, but the best I can do at this moment is to tell you he is your son. I'm sure you remember last year, where we ended up...together. It was just the one night, but I fell pregnant. I can assure you he is yours, you're the only one I slept with around that time.

I'll leave the rest to you. The name, the education, the raising, everything. The way I am, I am simply not fit to care for him. I hope you can do what's best for him.

Anko

In all honesty, he felt like he was going to be sick. He ran out to the porch again, looking around. The presence previously there was gone. Anko had stolen away as soon as she was sure her baby boy would be cared for. Bitch. He didn't have anything to look after children with! "Anko!" He yelled at the trees, empty but for the odd startled bird. Fists clenched, he stomped back inside and watched the baby-his baby-sleep.

How long had be been sitting there, just watching his boy sleep?

Huh. Strange. He'd already gotten used to calling him his boy. He hadn't even named him yet. Perhaps he should start looking into names, he mused. He knew Fumio meant something along the lines of 'genius child', and Doku meant 'venom', so they were certainly contenders. He also liked Hitoshi and Isamu, and Jun was one of his favourite names...

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the cries of the boy. He was awake, and very hungry. Kabuto stared a moment in shock before rushing into the kitchen. No bottles to feed him with, so he would have to make do. He had IV drips and tubes, pipettes and syringes, all sorts of things, but no damn baby bottles. Jeez, she could have at least given some warning before dumping the kid on him. He could rig it up like a straw deal, putting a sterile tube in his boy's mouth, the other end in the milk bottle. It would be pretty cold though. Maybe he could ask Misumi for help. That guy had a son, he would know what to do. Kabuto would know what to do exactly if he had the things, and god, if that kid decided to go to the toilet before he'd gotten any nappies, he would scream. He was so not ready for this.

Half an hour later, he was out of the house again, the basket on his arm with his baby boy nestled snugly inside. He seemed curious about the world outside, but he couldn't exactly see much beyond the blankets. He had dark, curious eyes, and stayed curled over, unsure about this man before him. The most he seemed to know about this man was he had given him food, and he was big and looked grumpy.

Kabuto approached another door and raised his fist to knock, not sure whether to do this or not. Misumi was his friend, so what exactly was the problem? Was it fair to lump another baby on him, even if it was just so he could get some supplies? Who was he kidding? He didn't have the money to look after a kid anyway. Scowling, he hammered on the door and waited for his friend to answer.
"Ah, Kabuto-san-"
"I need to borrow a bottle." He managed through a tight throat. He saw his friend's eyes travel down to the basket and a frown cross his face. "Dumped." He explained quickly. "His mother doesn't want him. I might need a little help until I've got everything I need to look after him."
"I'm busy, but-"
"I just want to borrow a bottle. I have to buy some clothes for him, nappies, toys, formula..." He closed his eyes as he listed it off from memory. "It's expensive..."
"...What's his name?"
Damn it. "I..." Purple hair, reminding him of poison, the snake-like parents, the perfect name..."Doku. Yakushi Doku."
"You named him on the spot, didn't you?"
The medical-nin sighed. "Yes. Give me a break, I've had him for an hour and a half. I've been busy making sure he's healthy. Doku's staying, though. Not like he has much else."

It looked like Kabuto was stuck with this child. On the one hand, he wasn't ready, he wasn't prepared, he hadn't even known for the past nine months that Anko had been pregnant. He was angry and frustrated, and he felt betrayed, even though it had never been anything more than a one night stand, he felt. If it had been more, they'd have talked since. On the other hand, though he didn't want to admit it, being in the Sound, surrounded by rogues and missing-nins, things had felt...wrong. He'd felt out of place and low and...lonely. He'd been lonely as hell, and here he had been given the gift of family, a companion he would have for the rest of his life, tied by blood. He had something to live for, to stick around for. He had Doku...