A/N: These scenes are in no way canon or related to the main story; other than what I dictate. I just couldn't find a place or real reason to put them in so I didn't. They won't affect the main at all and are just for enjoyment mainly and so I can get back into writing after much writer's block. I'll probably edit them into the main story when I finish it and revise all my mistakes.

This first one is canon and takes place between chapter One and Two.

… … …

His eyes open slowly, confusion dotting his features for only a moment before he understands what has woken him from his restless 'sleep'. He wasn't really sleeping, as he was only a spiritual entity and they did not truly require sleep as humans did, though that was the closest term he could equate it with. Being on the Material Plane, the plane of physical entities, was tiring for him more so since he actually had to 'interact' with physical objects. It took more of a toll on him than if he could just pass through things normally; Kakashi actually had to combine the spiritual energy coming from his soul that gave him a 'form' and channel it into the object he wanted to touch or use. It was an innate ability so he didn't really have to think about using it much as it came naturally to him, though it still felt odd as the energy flowed through his hand into the object he wanted to use; He still hadn't gotten used to that. Nor did he get used to the fact that he was supposed to be raising an infant jinchuriki, only two days old.

It had been a while since the episode with the nurse and two Anbu, at least a couple of hours. Or maybe more than that, Kakashi wasn't really sure. If it had been longer, he was sure others would have come by to see the commotion, and check to see if the 'ghost' was really there. Looking up from his position on the washed out tiled floor near Naruto's small crib, Kakashi notices that his presence has finally caused some sort of commotion. The two Anbu were back, along with several other ninjas, a couple Hyugas and Uchiha among them. However, the most prominent among them was the former Third Hokage, his face both calm and stern as he stood in the room to the left of the doorway.

“I do feel a presence here...though maybe I am tired. If you two did say you felt something near the little one, I'm taking your word for it.”

The old man mumbles, his face shadowed and looking older than usual in the darkness of the hospital room. With barely a gesture the Hokage gives orders for the ninja with doujutsu to scan the room. Within a half-minute they all pinpoint a source of energy right where the transparent Kakashi is sitting cross legged. One of the Uchiha is surprised and stumbles a few steps back, his face pale and covered in sweat. Seeing the man's obvious distress, the two Anbu slowly creep towards where everyone in the room is looking. One of them, his eyes widening as he remembered the feeling of the spiritual energy, stops moving as his stare is glued onto that particular spot.

“it's still here, and it's most definitely the same one from before. Maybe it's resting now, as I don't think it's moving...”

After having the Uchiha and Hyuga confirm the fact that the spiritual construct was not moving, the Third moves forward towards the small crib that had been set aside for the infant Naruto. Seeing as it was only the old man, and he was only looking out for the boy, Kakashi doesn't do anything and watches as the former Third picks up the small child and cradles him for a while. Suddenly, the dead fourteen year old feels a sharp pain in his right arm, turning around to find that one of the Hyuga has jabbed it with the Gentle fist style of attack. Kakashi was actually surprised to find that it did hurt, since he figured that chakra, a mix of spiritual and physical energy, wouldn't be able to do anything to him since it was comprised of physical energy. While experimenting with his new body, the ghost child had found that only certain things could voluntarily touch him and also things that were made of only physical energy did not affect him at all.

“Oww...Interesting. Wait a minute, is this blood or...?”

Kakashi mutters, looking at the place on his right arm where he had been struck. It was oozing a white liquid, the consistency of which was about the same as blood. The fluid traveled all the way to the floor, seeping into the cracks of the gray tiles on the hospital floor. The Hyuga stepped back, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief.

“W-what is that!? I attacked the place where the energy signature came from, and it does seem that my Gentle fist did indeed hit something...”

“I can confirm that the white liquid is spiritual energy. It has a similar composition to chakra, only there is no physical energy within whatever Kohaku-san hit. It must be a ghost or demon of some kind, seeing as it only carries this type of energy in its body. Well, that and the fact we can't see it without doujutsu.”

One of the Uchiha comments, causing the Third to turn towards the small puddle on the floor, still holding Naruto in his slender arms. He signals to one of the Anbu, who quickly takes a small vial and scoops the fluid within it, making sure that their hands do not contaminate the spiritual energy within. Almost immediately after that, the Anbu quickly teleports away without leaving a cloud of smoke behind, bringing the vial to the Black Ops headquaters where their forensic team could do more tests on it. Whatever that thing is...I don't want it near Naruto. I can't trust it at all until I know exactly what it is. The Hokage thinks, his face staring blankly at the spot where Kakashi has still not moved an inch. The silver haired ninja feels a chill go up his spine as they 'lock' eyes, and feels that maybe he should leave before the situation becomes any worse.

If I could go I would...That doesn't seem to be an option right now, sadly. They are watching my every move; I guess I should stay low for now and not do anything. Besides, I can't just leave the kid I'm supposed to protect, even if he is in the Third's care right now. I'll wait for a better time to take the child into custody. Maybe when he's older...

Kakashi thinks, his expression becoming determined as he watches Naruto's azure eyes start to slowly open, the infant still caught in the last vestiges of sleep. Not feeling the familiar energy signature nearby and being in a room full of tall scary people is obviously frightening to the small Naruto, his face turning red and scrunching together as he begins to wail. The old man holding the child can only sigh; He really wasn't prepared to raise a child again, having had his hands full with Asuma, the teen acting rebellious and standoffish like most teens were at that age. Holding the small bundle in his arms, the Third figures he can do it one more time, for the sake of the boy's parents...

… … …

“Huh? Is it me or do all you humans look more impressive during the summoning?”

Shinigami-sama comments, his hands folding together in front of him as his eyes sweep over his latest souls. His fingers are tapping against each other, the pale tips covering his pale mouth so he can hide his expression, his face clouded in the shadows of his silvery-white bangs. He is impressed by his latest catch; one of the former Hokage, a jinchuriki of one of his demons and half of said demon's chakra. Not many could pull out the chakra of a bijuu with his power, many humans had tried and failed, their husks laying around the Abyss somewhere due to the immense pressure it had on one's soul. They had either come back dead, soulless and with nothing to show for their efforts or worse. The blonde human in front of him was different, special even.

Glaring at the blonde straight into his blue eyes, he was somewhat surprised to find that the Fourth did not falter under his gaze. He was scared obviously, but he didn't let that show on his features, radiating a calm and powerful aura like he had once in life. Shinigami-sama could say the same for the redheaded jinchuriki, her gaze as defiant as ever.

“So, what're you gonna do with us now?”

She states, wanting the suspense to be over with. Amused by the lack of tact and fire in Kushina's question, the Purveyor of Death can do little but lean back his head and let out a hearty chuckle. He watches the two look around his 'home', his short white bangs obscuring the expressions on their faces as they took it all in.

“I haven't thought about it yet...Most likely, I'll just keep you here for a while and then...”

He trails off, raising his right hand so it is high above him, his palm open and fingers extended towards the now useless chakra of the Demon King of the Ninth Circle. The substance coils around his hand like snake, the chakra that was so deadly and poisonous to humans doing next to nothing to this entity. He feels some sense of satisfaction as he watches the stunned expressions on the human's faces, which dwindles quickly as he clears his throat and lowers his arm. He glosses over his pale fingers for a moment, pausing to think for a split second. Those pale human hands quickly change into bones, the skin on his face seeming to melt away as he changes the composition of his form. As the Shinigami, a being not bound by rules similar to Kami-sama on the Celestial Plane, he has no definite form, nor gender. He can change it at will, it is as simple as breathing is to most species on the Material Plane, along with anything else he so desires as long as he is in the Abyss. He can do it on the Material Plane as well, though it costs him some energy and effort to maintain it.

“Ah, I was wondering when you were going to show yourself. I gotta say, you don't make a bad human...”

The Fourth jibes, earning a stern look from Kushina.

“Well, I figured looking human would help a little. I don't need you humans running around like chickens with your heads cut off because you saw a scary walking, talking skeleton man. That's not the only trick I have either, hehehehe...Well, anyways I have to say I was not expecting this at all. The Nine Tails is one of my higher ranked pets; For a human to so effortlessly split his chakra in half is not a good sign. Much less the fact that the masked man you fought was so easily able to take him out of a 'container' and subdue him using the Sharingan...”

“So, he was an Uchiha...How much do you know?”

“I've been here since the beginning of time, the creation of the universe and this world you call home. So I know a helluva lot of things...Not like I would tell you, of course.”

The Reaper answers back, his bony face smirking slightly as he stares at Minato. The Fourth can only shrug, his mouth already opening to ask another question. Shinigami-sama stops him with an upraised hand, already knowing what the young man was about to ask.

“That masked man will come back; his plans are more complicated than simply taking revenge on the Leaf. He wants the whole world under his control, and will stop at nothing to do so, even his own death would not phase him. As for the Nine Tails sealed in your child, it will regain the power it lost from the split, though now that it is sealed away it will be inaccessible to any but the jinchuriki.”

“And...?”

“Riiiight, I forgot about that other one. I must be getting old, maybe I should retire, hehehe...Naruto is going to be alright as long as he learns to control the power, which should be easy due to his Uzumaki heritage and huge chakra capacity. The silver haired boy seems to be holding up well, better than I expected actually. Not too many can cope with the sealing procedure used, as it is difficult to make a being that was once comprised of both physical and spiritual energy into one that houses only one type of said energy. Basically, if you take a human and make it a spirit, it would be harder than turning a spirit into a tree or something inorganic, as organic things have both types of energy while inorganic only have one or the other. If you try to forcefully put an energy type that is not compatible inside whatever you are working with, you can damage the soul, mind and body of said object if it has them. This damage can be irreversible, possibly splitting the soul into fragments, or corrupting the mind and body of the object. If it was an animal or human, some of the personality could have been damaged or lost. Memories can be lost as well, though that's hardly a problem when compared to the other dangers; They are more easily recovered than the information encoded into the object's soul, the thing that gives all beings their blueprints.”

Shinigami-sama pauses for a moment,wondering if his explanation is actually making sense to the two mortals. Minato's face is scrunched up in thought, his hand on his chin as he takes in all that had been said. Kushina is nodding, walking over to her husband to pat him on the shoulder. She begins explaining the general concept of what Shinigami-sama was talking about, Minato's face lighting up in understanding as she goes on. Interesting...It seems that the 'genius' ninja does have trouble with some things. Though I bet it's because of her jinchuriki heritage; Mito probably explained these things to her, along with the demon trapped inside her. That damn Nine Tails can be helpful when it sees something it can get out of it, cunning son of a bitch... Shinigami-sama thinks, waiting until Kushina has finished explaining the entire process to her husband. Cracking his knuckle bones, their whiteness in stark contrast with the dark throne on which he was sitting, the Reaper continues his speech.

“Of course, DNA and RNA and mitochondria are important; but they are just the builders of the human body. The soul is where it all starts, but that too has to be matured like the embryo itself. Without a strong soul, the body will die before it is fully built, the mind will go insane before it is fully grown. It takes a while for the soul to grow, at least around five or six years of human life, and then it is only partially stable. The rest is supplied by the human itself, it's experiences in life and how it deals with said situations. This can deal with anything ranging from the death of a loved one, to something as simple as being pushed off the swing by a bully. Those are poor examples, but I think you get my point. Now say for example, if said child that was pushed off of the swing retaliates by hitting the older child. This would cause the soul to comprehend that if someone hurts you, you are allowed to hurt them back. Obviously, acting out of anger just this one time not will imprint it on the soul completely, but it will help reinforce said notion until it becomes part of one's soul. Said child who was bullied against will become what he hates; a bully. This could in turn, lead to their death as an adult or even a teenager because they picked on the wrong person. Now what if everyone acted like that?”

He stops here, the black holes that were his 'eyes' narrowing as he waits for an answer.

“Total hell would break loose, duh. Isn't that obvious?”

Kushina answers bluntly, her arms now crossed around her chest as she stares at Shinigami-sama who nods with approval.

“Yes, that would be what could happen. Luckily not all living things act in that way when confronted with something they see as a problem. This balances the flow of the world, and makes it harder for demons and divine beings to pass through to the human plane of existence; the Material Plane. The more chaos you have in the world, the easier it is for demons to pass through and vice versa. My duty is to make sure that none of them come through uninvited, some do slip away though. This also does not hold for demons who are summoned using rituals, jutsu or other summoning devices...”

“Wait a minute...I'm getting confused. What does this have to do with Naruto or Kakashi?”

Minato mutters, his expression puzzled as he tries to sort everything out. Shinigami-sama can only stare blankly at the young man, his expression unreadable for a few moments. Suddenly, a hint of recognition dawns on the Death God's features, his fingers snapping together as he recalls the original conversation.

“Oh...I get sidetracked too often nowadays. When you're a couple millennium old, things start to go on you. I need someone to watch over this place for me...but demons aren't all that trustworthy. I would ask for some divine beings from Kami-sama, since we're on pretty good terms and that whole “Good and Evil in Eternal Struggle” is just a load of hogwash. Demons don't take too kindly to being ruled over by divine beings, as you would have obviously guessed. Maybe I'll go make something out of the ether...Ah! Got sidetracked again, sorry. What I meant is that Kakashi child has a strong soul, probably because he's been able to endure all the crappy cards Life has given him. He seems intact as far as personality and memory go...Plus, this process has made his soul stronger than it was before. He'll be alright, I'm sure of it!”

“That's good...I was worried that I did something wrong. I really don't want to cause poor Kakashi any more suffering; he's been through so much already...”

Minato comments, a relieved look on his pale face. Kushina can only stare at her husband, her face slowly brightening into a smile. He really is amazing...I was the one that did Kakashi's sealing though; Minato just asked for help and supplied the chakra. Still, I can't think of many who'd do something like this. When I said I'd seal the demon back up, he flatly declined and did the job on his own, leaving chakra images of us inside Naruto and turning Kakashi into a spiritual being with his chakra.

“Still, I fear that the troubles Naruto may have ahead will be difficult, even with Kakashi's help. He may be a great shinobi, but his people skills are lacking and he would have no idea how to take care of a child even if he was alive.”

Kushina mutters, inadvertently speaking her thoughts aloud. Minato turns to her, his expression full of confidence as he put his arm around her shoulder.

“I'm sure they'll do fine. Well, not fine...but Kakashi can do it. He's my student after all!”