Fragile Stems
by Polka Dot

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto is Naruto's creator, not I.

"Hold your tears"
"For the day"
"When the pain is far behind"
"On your feet"
"Come with me"
"We are soliders"*

They had tracked him for days. At the time he was concerned, but it was only the natural concern of a teacher for his student's welfare. He liked Naruto. The boy had many redeeming qualities, but even if that were not the case, he wouldn't let a student's disappearance go unnoticed and if need be he'd avenge the boy. Kakashi truly hoped he wouldn't need to. He hoped the boy was still alive and hadn't suffered too greatly in his captor's hands.

That this could happen was frustrating to say the least. He of course didn't learn most of the facts until after the matter, but apparently Naruto's captor had long held a grudge for the boy. No for the fox, who was not Naruto. That was something that many of the villagers of Konoha still did not bother to comprehend. Naruto was completely innocent of the fox's crimes. He was a walking prison, though he could wield the fox's chakra at times, he was still just a vessel for the demon, nothing more.

The captor had lost everything to the fox, so many years ago. He was just a simple artesan, so he was never considered much of a threat when he'd first threatened Naruto, but apparently after the loss of his family, he had begun to learn things. Ninja skills could be learned quietly, some did them to focus the mind or body for health purposes, but the sealing techniques he had learned were something else. The Hokage was investigating how this unknown man had managed to learn such well guarded secrets. It was a baffling mystery, but one that did not interest him at the moment.

His concern was Naruto. If he was still alive, it was probably for torture purposes. This man had obviously been planning his revenge against the fox for years. He had learned the sealing techniques that kept Naruto from using any of his chakra, not just the fox's. He'd studied Naruto's behavior and slipped a slow acting knockout drug into Naruto's ramen, then followed him home, grabbing the young man when the drug kicked in. Witnesses thought that he was helping out a drunk buddy. It wasn't until Naruto missed training the next day that anyone recognized the actions as suspicious.

By the time that they figured out what had happened, precious hours had passed. Many had thought that it was too late, but of course Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 had to try. They had followed a couple of erroneous leads that cost them so much time, Kakashi had feared that any chance they had was gone.

But now as Kakashi stood outside this small cabin in the woods, listening to the horrible screams coming from inside, there was hope again. Naruto was obviously not dead. He had gone to scout ahead. He could see that both his other students were anxious to storm in, especially when the screams had started. Fortunately they had died down quickly and Kakashi was able to calm his team down and remind them that rushing in and getting captured would do Naruto no good.

He did not expect to see such cruelty. He was shocked still at first. He had seen many horrible things in his life so far, but in his mind even a terrible demon like the one trapped inside Naruto didn't deserve this. Besides the demon was not the one suffering, Naruto was. Kakashi forced his limbs into motion and crept along the wall, listening to the voices within.

"I had heard that the demon blood in your veins made you heal quickly, but this is truly amazing. I never expected you to hold out this long. I'm most pleased."

"Please just kill me already."

"Oh don't worry, you'll die eventually. Even a demon like you can't live without skin."

Naruto whimpered, then screamed. It sent the hairs on Kakashi's body standing on end. His chest felt tight and he could hear his heart pounding. He was actually afraid to look into the window, but he forced himself to anyway. Naruto was very well secured. He had chains around his wrists. He was hung naked from a light fixture in the middle of the room. His legs were broken. The knees were horribly swollen and bruised. There was blood pooling beneath him and his body was covered in streams of it. There was so much that it was hard to tell were the actual wounds were, but Kakashi noticed a very odd thing about the bloody tapestry. It originated in a nearly perfect rectangle on the right side of Naruto's chest. The skin was being stripped, in thin lines. Kakashi realized this when he saw the small pile of flesh camaflouged in the pool of blood.

The man held his bloodly knife up to Naruto's chest, ready to cut the next incision. Naruto whimpered. His glassy eyes filled with fear and he begged for mercy with a simple plea.

"Please no more."

"I recall my daughter said something similar, when you chewed her stomach out."

"That wasn't me. I wasn't even born then."

"Lies!" The man reached behind Naruto. Kakashi couldn't see what he did, but Naruto's eyes grew wide and his mouth opened with a gurgling, choking gasp. Kakashi sent the signal and blurred from the door. He moved so quickly that the man never saw him. He appeared at Naruto's side and sent his palm directly into the man's nose, breaking it swiftly, propelling the cartlidge into the man's brain. Naruto's captor collapsed backwards, hitting the wall with such force that his head snapped forward. Kakashi observed the slumped form on the floor long enough to recognize that the neck was at too sharp of an angle for the man to still be alive. Whatever skills the man had acquired, he was no match for a jounin and likely no match for Naruto, even with the chakra seals. Kakashi guessed that Naruto's legs were probably broken while the drug was still in effect. He felt even more contempt for the corpse at his feet, if that were possible.

When he turned around to view Naruto's back, he found a short sword embedded in his back. There was fresh blood streaming from the wound but he could see traces of dried blood as well, which meant that this torture was not new. Kakashi felt the lump in his throat grow thicker and his eyes water in sympathy. He softly placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'll get you down soon, but I have to do this carefully. I don't want to hurt you any more." He still couldn't bring himself to walk around and look at his pupil's face.

"Okay." It was a weak reply, barely audible. It didn't sound relieved, happy, sad, angry, just very, very tired.

Kakashi studied the sword trying to determine an angle from which he could pull the sword out without causing any more damage. He heard a gasp and squeak from the door and swore slightly. Sakura stood in the doorway, her mouth gaping open and her wide eyes filling with tears. Sasuke stood beside her, his eyes also betrayed his shock. In an unprecedented move, he actually held Sakura's elbow in an effort to comfort her and keep her on her feet, for she seemed ready to collapse.

Kakashi wanted to protect whatever dignity Naruto had left, he needed them away from here for a few more minutes. "Although it looks like he was working alone, check the rest of the house and surrounding area to make sure."

"Yes sir." Sasuke seemed grateful for the orders obviously uncomfortable with the scene in front of him, he forced Sakura along with him.

Kakashi exhaled and felt his shoulders drop when they left, though he hadn't realized he was this tense. He stared at Naurto's shoulder blades, they were either burning or numb by now, supporting all that weight. "I'm going to pull the sword out now, Naruto. I'm sorry there's no way I can do this without causing you pain."

"Just do it." The voice seemed a little louder, more alert now, slightly fearful.

Kakashi grasped the handle and pulled quickly. Naruto hissed but didn't scream. He had probably suffered worse in the last few days. Blood dripped onto the floor again and Kakashi blinked away a few tears of regret. He finally walked around and faced Naruto. The young man's eyes were shut tightly, tears leaked from the sides and he was sniffed just a little.

"I'm sorry."

Naruto's head shook slightly. "No. I'm the one... who should be."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Naruto. You didn't deserve this. You didn't kill that man's family."

"No, I..." Kakashi ran his eyes over Naruto's body. It was obvious talking was difficult for him. He didn't want to put any pressure on his pupil's shoulders, chest or knees. He didn't know how deep the sword had gone or what internal injuries Nartuto had, so his abdomen was probably sensitive as well, but he couldn't lift the boy without touching him somewhere.

"You came, but I..." Naruto whispered.

Kakashi got down on one knee and placed his shoulder into Naruto's stomach. He wrapped one arm around his student and with his kunei he reached the other hand up slashing through the chains while he stood up, allowing Naruto to collapse over his shoulder. He absently rubbed Naruto's back as he gently lowered him to the ground. "We would never leave you. I wish we could have gotten here sooner, but I'm thankful you're still alive. You're a valuable member of the team. We were all very worried about you." Kakashi looked into the dull blue eyes, that were usually so bright. "We still are."

"I knew you would come, but after a few days passed ..and.. I knew he was lying but you hadn't come, and I couldn't help believing his lies... I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have doubted you." Naruto seemed on the verge of passing out, talking at the walls, more than at Kakashi.

"It's okay, No more talking. You're forgiven. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. You need your rest now." Naruto did as he was told. Though he didn't sleep, his head lulled as he gave into the pain and simply ignored all his other senses.

"How is he?" Sasuke and Sakura stood in the doorway, faces drawn. Sakura had clearly been crying and if Kakaski looked closely he would have noticed that Sasuke eyes were a bit redder than usual.

"Not good. He's in a lot of pain and he has severe injuries. I think he probably has some internal ones that may require surgery."

"Will he live?"

"Yes, he didn't hold out this long to die now."

Sakura crept forward slightly relieved. "We found these." She held out some blankets and towels. Kakashi took one and laid it over Naruto, tucking it around him.

"I would like to make a stretcher for him. See if you can find some wood. We also need to burn this place so anything that looks flameable, put into this room. We'll leave as quickly as possible, to get Naruto to a doctor."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded and left with backward glances to their fallen teammate. Kakashi wetted a small towel with his canteen and began to dab at Naruto's face and neck. They were 2 days journey from Konaho. There would be little resting along the way, they would have to travel quickly but he couldn't jostle Naruto around too much either. The days ahead would not be easy and he would probably have to do some grief counselling for Sasuke and Sakura along the way.

It was a relief when the cabin was engulfed in flames. Naruto was wrapped in blankets and not quite concious, so when they set out, they set out without any complaints. Sasuke took the lead, pulling the stretcher with the leather rope around his waist. Kakashi kept the other end from dragging on the ground. Though Sasuke was eager to assist Naruto, he seemed happier not having to actually look at his teammate. Sakura also seemed dismayed at the view, though Naruto's gross injuries were hidden from sight, she trailed far behind and stared at the ground or at Kakashi's back.

They had to stop. It was something that he was loathe to do, but he had always known realistically that it would be necessary. Naruto needed a rest, but he also needed a doctor. Kakashi could take care of small injuries, but he had no idea how to treat Naruto's wounds. If it wasn't for the fox buried inside Naruto, then he'd have already lost his pupil.

"Kakashi sir, there's a stream ahead. The water is cool but not cold and it would probably be a good idea to clean Naruto's wounds." Sakura had said. So they had stopped, built a fire, cooked some dinner and now Kakashi and Sasuke were carefully carrying Naruto to the stream's edge. The young man had been conscious for a while now and that made their task even more difficult.

Naruto winced as they pulled the blankets away from him. The blood on his chest had dried and as they pulled the blanket away, some of the scabbing had been pulled off. Kakashi noticed that the swelling in Naruto's knees was going down, so he decided to lift the Naruto off the stretcher. Sasuke waded into the stream to determine it's depth. Fortunately it was shallow enough near the edge to lay Naruto down without drowning him, yet deep enough to let the water slide over all of the young man's body without having to turn him.

Kakashi lowered Naruto into the stream and began to rub away the blood and filth off of his stomach and arms. Sasuke rubbed at Naruto's back, careful of the deep sword wound. Kakashi stared at the red rectangle on Naruto's chest. It turned pink as the water passed over it. Clearly the skin was raw and extremely sensitive. Any pressure they caused Naruto to flinch, but Sasuke had retrieved Hinata's ointment from the bag and Kakashi knew that the wounds needed to be covered, at least to avoid infection.

After applying the balm, during which time Naruto's jaw muscles were like iron cords keeping the painful moans as quiet as possible, Kakashi wrapped his arm under Naruto's shoulders and tipped the young man towards him, so Sasuke could apply the ointment to Naruto's back. It would be best to sew the wound shut, but Kakashi had never done such a thing before, so he decided to just wrap it tightly again in bandages. He still didn't know what to do about Naruto's chest.

As he held Naruto in his arms, he saw blue eyes looking dully over his shoulder. He wasn't sure how aware Naruto was of his surroundings right now. If Naruto was fully aware of what was happening to him, he would probably feel embarrassed and make some kind of comment, either insulting Sasuke or trying to joke his way out of his discomfort. The fact that he just took it all without comment or protest bothered Kakashi. He was aware enough to keep from crying out in pain, but he was not the loudmouthed ninja they were used to. Kakashi tried not to worry about things that may not come to pass, but he couldn't help wondering if that man has managed to kill a very important part of his pupil after all.

He had debated washing the other blankets, but they were so foul that he felt they may cause Naruto's newly cleaned wounds to become infected, so that only left them with one dry blanket. They dressed Naruto in Sasuke's extra clothes and wrapped the blanket they had left around Naruto before placing him back on the stretcher.

Despite the often awkward moments at the stream, Sasuke seemed to be handling their current situation much better than Sakura. Helping Naruto probably helped to relieve some of the anxiety he felt. They kept moving, using the shinobi food pills for energy. Still the mind needed rest, and having gone too long without, good company turned less so.

"I'm sure Naruto would appreciate a rest. He's been making those little noises for a while now."

"No Sakura, Naruto would make those sounds even if he was lying on the ground. It is his dreams, which disturb him now."

"Then if his wounds are healing can't we rest, just a little."

"His outside wounds are healing, but what was done on the inside can not be healed with time alone. Naruto needs a doctor, the sooner the better."

"Five minutes won't make a difference!"

"We don't know that. Perhaps it will not, but perhaps it will. So best not to take chances."

"Ah but Sasuke looks tired and if he should fall, then the stretcher will fall and Naruto will be hurt more. A rest is necessary."

"I'm not tired, neither is Kakashi and we've been the ones carrying the stretcher this whole time. So if we're not tired, you aren't either."

Sakura didn't say anything much after that, though Kakashi hadn't thought Sasuke's words were too harsh, that girl never did take Sasuke's criticisms well. In truth they were all tired, not from physical fatigue, but from stress and worry. They needed some bright cheer and though he was loathe to do it, Kakashi decided to get their minds off the moaning boy stretched out between them.

"Oi Sakura, if you are so bored, I suppose that I can relay to you the plot of Come Come Paradise vol. 17 which is much more intricate than the usual Come Come Paradise plots as this one features a turtle and a kitten..."

"Hey I don't want to hear about the sick perverted things that you read about!"

"Huh? Sick, perverted is this what you think about your teacher?"

"Yes, we all know that those books you read are only sold in adult book stores."

"And how do you know that, hmm?"

Sakura didn't answer and Kakashi didn't have to look behind him to see the unbelievably red face the girl must be wearing now.

"They say ADULTS ONLY on the cover." Sasuke noted.

"Oh you noticed. I'm glad I've managed to train you all to have such keen eyes."

"Aren't you embarrassed at all Kakashi sir, I mean after all that's not appropriate material to be reading in front of impressionable minors like us." Kakashi thought that it was good that Sakura had found her voice again, though he wished they could really find a new topic of discussion.

"Well now you won't be minors for much longer now, in fact Sasuke's birthday is just a few weeks away, perhaps I should get you Come Come Paradise vol. 1 as a gift. It's best to start at the beginning, though in truth the earlier volumes were a bit formulistic."

"We may be older now, but you've been reading that stuff in front of us since we were twelve. Besides I'm sure that Sasuke doesn't want a smutty gift like that, after all Sasuke doesn't need to read about romance in a book, he's a very tender person inside."

"Actually if you're going to get me a gift like that, I would like the current volume. I overheard that the Twins in that book are based on Naruto and his Sexy NinJitsu that he used to get Jiraiya to teach him the summoning technique. I have always been curious as to just how far he went in order to learn that."

"Curious and why is that Sasuke?"

"Because it would make excellent blackmail material, of course."

Kakashi chuckled at that, but Sakura didn't find the humor in it at all. The implication was clear, of course Naruto would recover, of course things would one day be as they were, but sadly, Kakashi didn't think it would be that easy. Naruto had always had to deal with the angry glares and hateful eyes of the villagers. Always he must've been aware of the danger and held his fears deep inside, behind the mask of brash humor. Now that his fears had been realized would he be able to wear the mask again? If he couldn't would they finally be able to see the true face of Naruto Uzamaki and would that be a good or bad thing in the end?

Kakashi had always known that the Naruto he dealt with every day was not the true Naruto. It never bothered him, after all he hid behind a very real mask himself. Yet his mask was liberating in a way. Sometimes he could be very free in his words and manners because he felt protected by the thin cloth over his face. His mask was completely practical. There were times his occupation required aninimity. Naruto's mask was also practical. The boy was an object of scorn for the other villagers and without his mask in place, his weaknesses would be exposed. Best not to let the enemy know which barbs were more painful than others, else they be used time and time again. It was depressing to think of the villagers of Konoha as enemies, but in Naruto's case, it was an accurate description. The true tragedy was that these enemies were the only sanctuary Naruto had. If he were to leave the village he would not be welcome elsewhere. Only Konoha knew of the fox that lay within his belly, but one stayed within the village one was born in. Only unusual circumstances would allow one to leave and if proper permission was not given, one could never leave. Naruto would never be allowed to leave.

Kakashi felt his thoughts were sapping his strength. The conversation and welcome distraction had died and so he endeavored to revive it. "Sakura what would you like for your 16th birthday? Although Jiraiya has never met Sasuke, there is a character in volume 5 that bears a striking resembalence to Sasuke there, perhaps that would be of interest, eh?"

"What?! Kakashi sir how can you ask me something like that? Of course I wouldn't want one of those perverted books! It would be an insult to Sasuke. And really Sasuke, Naruto was only 13 when we trained with Jiraiya, so I'm sure he didn't do anything more than pose for the dirty old man. It was really horrible that he had to do that much. You should have found some body else to train him Kakashi sir." Kakashi hid a smile, it was fun to get her riled up, even if it was wrong.

"Actually I did, but Naruto and his trainer ran into Jiraiya and of course Naruto wanted to train with Jiraiya, since he is one of the three most powerful Ninja in the world. It was quite a stroke of luck that he got Jiraiya to agree to train him. Besides I've never had the opportunity to see the Sexy Ninja Technique, so I really didn't know that Jiraiya had based any of his characters on Naruto."

"Well of course he wouldn't show that technique to you. Even Naruto has enough brains to figure out what a predicament that would create. But didn't you think it was odd that the Twins had blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker shaped scars on their cheeks?" That boy had a knack for sarcasm that could rival a seasoned veteran.

"Sasuke I'll ignore your first comment and assume that since I'm such a great jounin and you all are still lowly chunins, you are referring to how ineffective that technique would be on me. As for the similarity in the characters, you seem to have taken in more details than I have, perhaps you've already read that volume of Come Come Paradise?"

"I haven't, I just heard a discussion on it, that's all. So did I hear wrong, are there no Naruto-like Twins in the book after all?"

"Actually now that I think about it there are and at the time I read that part, I did think it was odd, but even I find incest a little over the top, so I actually skipped most of that chapter."

"Incest, you mean the characters were doing," Kakashi could just picture the blush "with each other?!" When he looked he saw that Sakura was about ten shades of red beyond healthy, but Kakashi was more surprised by the blush on Sasuke's cheeks, since it was so rare. He had finally found some way to embarrass the young man.

"Well like I said I skipped that section."

"So there's a limit to your perversion." Kakashi wasn't sure if he heard right, but he thought he heard Sasuke chuckle. "Don't get the wrong idea Sakura. When he says he skipped that section, I'm sure what he meant was that he just found more interesting porn elsewhere in the book." Of course he'd often been called a pervert and a slacker by his team. It never bothered him. Sadly they had yet to figure out that this was another mask he wore to appear more vulnerable to his pupils.

"Sasuke you're not being very respectful to your teacher right now."

"Stop it! Just stop it! Stop acting like nothing's wrong, stop acting like Naruto isn't here, lying in misery and and that, that, that man didn't do what he did and now Naruto's the way he is and you're acting like nothing's going on when maybe he isn't going to make it and..."

"You stop it Sakura! You're the one who wanted to rest. You're the one who won't even look at him." This was what he feared, the emotional stress was something you couldn't train for, but he expected Sasuke to hold up better than this.

"Sasuke quiet, you too Sakura. I'm sorry, I thought we could use a distraction. I thought we should all take our minds off of Naruto, for a moment. I didn't mean to offend anyone. I'm sorry Sakura, it's okay to want to rest, but we don't have time right now. And it's okay to get upset, but please no fighting you two. I'm the one who made a mistake, so don't be mad at each other. Naruto is hurting because of one evil man that none of us, even me, could stop in time. So there's no need to be angry with each other or with yourselves."

"I'm sorry Kakashi sir, I just can't stand it! Naruto not smiling, not laughing or making noise. I wish he'd just open his eyes for a minute, just to let us know he's still alive." Her sobs were getting lighter at least.

"Naruto's alive. He was a little responsive at the stream, but that small experience sapped a lot of his energy so he's resting now. It is hard to see him this way. It would be hard to see anyone that you care about suffering, but Naruto is stronger than you think and we are making good time. We'll get him to a doctor and he'll survive this and one day soon, I'm sure he'll be annoying us all again."

"He is annoying isn't he? I never thought I'd miss him yelling at me and trying to egg me into a fight. I never really liked the dropout, but I do feel sorry for him."

Kakashi was amazed at Sasuke's confession. He'd never thought that he would hear Sasuke talk about anything that could be considered personal. It was a sign that the young man was hurting. Sakura was hurting. Kakashi could hear the quiet sobs that were still going on.

"You shouldn't say that Sasuke, what if he can hear us talking about him? You'll hurt his feelings." Sakura sniffled. "We all want you to get better Naruto." She offered to her fallen teammate.

"I don't think he can hear us Sakura. He's probably not concious, but even if he is, I'm sure that he's more amused than offended by our conversation." Kakashi hoped that was the case.

"Do you think so? I hope he can't hear us."

"Regretting your words now, Sasuke?"

"No I just don't think that he'll be happy to find out that he's been immortalized in Come Come Paradise."

"Oh you may be right." Kakashi smiled and decided to give his pupil a reason to hold on. "Naruto if you are listening, don't be upset, the Twins are very likable characters and I am sure that your likeness being in the book is Jiraiya's way of complementing you. He must've been very impressed with his pupil. Iruka and I are always commenting to each other about what a delight it is to teach such an enthusiatic student." Fortunately Sakura caught on and decided to help too.

"Yes Naruto, no one trains as hard as you and Sasuke. I wish I had your energy, you're always ready to work hard and try your best." Unfortunately Sasuke also decided to help.

"Yeah Naruto, it never ceases to amaze me, how you continue to train and fight, even after consistently failing in even the most basic ninja skills." Though his words were not the kindest, they were perhaps the most sincere.

Kakashi was thankful for the uncomfortable silence that descended around them the rest of the night.

The next morning was bath time again. Kakashi decided Naruto's wounds were getting a bit stinky, so the bandages should be changed, but when the first wrapping came off, the smell was simply nauseating. Kakashi didn't know what this indicated on a medical level, but he felt that cleaning the wounds and thus Naruto would be the wisest thing to do. Unfortunately Naruto was more cognizant of his surroundings and less docile than the day before. This was obviously a positive sign that Naruto was getting better, but it was also a sign that the day would be complicated and tiring.

Naruto insisted his knees were fine, of course they were swollen to at least twice their normal size, but Kakashi rationalized that if they were the first injury and with the fox's healing ability, perhaps they would be alright. They weren't. Naruto waded into the shallow water slowly, but the first time his foot slipped on a rock, he couldn't regain his balance. Kakashi was there, holding the young man upright to keep him from landing on one of those knees or another wound, that would just make things worse.

"Now Naruto, there's no need to do this on your own. Sasuke and I helped you yesterday, we don't mind doing it again." The wounds smelled worse up close. Kakashi had a difficult time putting on a cheerful guise for the boy.

"Speak for yourself." Oh yes and he was about ready to kill Sasuke too. It was uncomfortable enough holding his naked pupil in his arms, he didn't need comments from a smart-mouthed audience.

"I don't want you bathing me. You may only have one eye, but it wanders just like Jiraiya's eyes always did."

"Well Naruto unless you perform your Sexy Ninja technique, and I doubt you have the chakra for that right now, you simply don't have the right stuff to interest me. So just relax and let me get these bandages off." There was no real need to placate his charge any further, Naruto was fading fast. His sharp tongue disappeared when his eyes glazed over in fatigue. Naruto was snapped back to the moment however when Kakashi began pulling at the bandages around his chest.

Sasuke was at least willing to dish out medical supplies from the shore. Kakashi sat Naruto on his knee and began to douse the chest bandages with water, hoping that it would make tearing them off less painful.

"Well that's a relief to hear. Naruto and I were both fairly certainly that you swung both ways, if you weren't totally gay." Sasuke handed over the antibodic and Kakashi took it with an uncaring eye. If they boys were debating his sexuality, that really didn't bother him at all. It did peak his curiousity though.

"Why exactly did you think that I might be gay?"

"well you and Iruka fight like an old married couple and the way you read those porn books, well you know what they say about..."

Naruto gasped in a gurgling, gutteral cry of pain that immediately drew both men's attention.

Kakashi looked down and flinched. He may not be gay, but he noted Naruto still had a youngish, somewhat feminine face. Lying naked in Kakashi's arms, with his head off to the side baring his neck and arching his back, Naruto posed quite the provacative picture, especially with his fists clenched tightly around his teacher's vest. Kakashi searched for the source of his pupil's discomfort and found it was his own hand which had slipped from around Naruto's shoulders to the deep sword wound on his lower back.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Naruto!" Kakashi quickly moved his hand back and began to rub Naruto's back, between his shoulder blades. "Sasuke come here and help me!" He snapped, he didn't mean to but he was angry. More at himself than Sasuke. He engaged in conversation with the young man to keep his mind off of what he was doing on purpose. That was stupid and he did it anyway, because truth be told it was getting to him. The lack of sleep, the worry, the uncomfortable silences and the stress of the situation was wearing down on him and he didn't want to think about the nasty smell of Naruto's wounds or the pain he was surely putting the young man through. He didn't want to concentrate on the scabs or the fresh blood that told him they weren't moving fast enough. So he distracted himself for just a minute by talking with Sasuke, who was distracting himself by talking with his teacher and he'd ended up making the situation worse.

As Sasuke helped him turn Naruto they saw the fresh blood seeping through the bandages and as they carefully pulled the bandages away, ignoring the gasps and whimpers of their injured teammate, they saw that the stitches that Sakura, after long minutes of pleading with her to make, were pulled out. This was bad. She'd been so squeamish the first time she put them in that Kakashi was reluctant to ask her to do it again. Speaking of squeamish, Naruto chose that moment to heave his guts out.

Sasuke almost dropped his teammate into the stream, fortunately Kakashi's grip proved stronger. Most of the vomit went into the water, what little his Kakashi and Sasuke could easily be washed off, but this was yet again another sign that things were getting worse. Firstly, Naruto would need as much strength as he could get to make the trip home, if he couldn't keep food down that would slow his healing. Secondly, Kakashi feared that infection was most likely the cause of Naruto's queasiness.

Kakashi decided not to change the bandages after all. They dried Naruto off as best they could and dressed him before wrapping him in the blanket.

The next few hours were hell. They moved as quickly as they could without losing their sense of caution and jostled Naruto quite a bit along the way. He whimpered and groaned quite a lot, which wasn't helping their stealth any, but worst of all it meant that Naruto wasn't aware of his surroundings. He would never endanger the team like that. No, he was not returning to the improved state that he was in this morning. He had had a relapse and Kakashi worried greatly. He'd heard stories of shinobi badly injured who had one clear moment from the pain before they eventually passed on. He prayed this morning wasn't Naruto's moment.

Kakashi also worried about Sakura. She was clearly becoming paranoid. Of course as ninjas, it was important to be aware of their surrroundings, but Sakura's eyes darted around at every noise, every shadow. She should be familar enough with the sounds of the forest not to be spooked by the normal sounds of leaves rustling and what not. A paranoid ninja was almost as bad as one that was unable to sense his or her surroundings. Sakura was walking very close to Naruto now, though she looked everywhere except at him.

The stretcher was cumbersome and if Naruto's knees healed soon then he might be able to carry the young man on his back. That would be an improvement. If he didn't need Sasuke's help then he could get Naruto to Konoha faster on his own and he could leave his most accomplished pupil to keep Sakura's nerves in check. Kakashi decided that that was definitely the best course of action and he mentioned it to Sasuke over their brief respite that night. Sasuke didn't say much one way or the other. He would follow orders though, that was for sure.

As the day wore on, Naruto gave him no problems, but Sakura began to radiate an aura of paranoia. It was attracting attention to them that Kakashi didn't need. Normally they were the top of the food chain and travelling as a group in the forest, there only fear was other humans, but one of them was wounded and another was afraid. Animals could sense weakness, it would not be enough to make them attack, but it could attract ninjas from further away. He didn't understand the cause of Sakura's increasing paranoia, she was fine yesterday. Perhaps she sensed the approach of death on her teammate, but should that really cause her to because fearful for her own life?

Sasuke was alwasys so cold to Sakura and though it was unkind, it was not unwarranted. If Sasuke were to treat Sakura a little more nicely, there was no doubt the girl would be all over him like white on rice. He knew that he could trust Sasuke to protect his teammate and he also knew that whatever scenarios were playing through Sakura's head right now, they would either fade in time or could be dealt with properly when they got back to Konoha, but right now her unease was seeping into their group.

He had thought that Sakura and Sasuke had been only managed to get a glimpse of Naruto's wounds. He also knew that neither knew of why Naruto had been targeted by such a madman. Of course they were aware that Naruto was disliked throughout Konoha, but in their innocent minds, it was a result of the boy's grandiose pranks and indignant personality. Sakura was probably thinking that if something so horrible happened to Naruto, then it could happen to anyone. In a way that was true, there were some truly sick, insane people in the world, but on the other hand Naruto was targeted for a reason, even if it was unjustified.

Naruto naturally healed very quickly, perhaps she was disturbed that her teammate had not yet recovered enough to remain conscious for more than a few hours. Sakura was very smart, she knew a lot of things, but knowing is not necessarily the same as understanding. Sakura, Sasuke and all genins knew that they could be killed. It was a danger in every mission and exam. But it was no longer academic for them. They had all had close calls before, but now death was stalking one of them and it had to be playing on her mind and Sasuke's.

What was Sasuke thinking? Sasuke was the greater danger to them. The cursed seal had broken more than once. He did not have the control over his emotions that a jounin needed. He was strong and powerful but also over-confident and very proud. If he was disturbed, overstressed or any way hurting, he would not tell his teammates and that made him a liablity at times.

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of wolves. There howling was a quite a bit off into the distance, but being ninjas all three heard the howls.

"what should be do?" Sakura whispered, clearly fearing the beasts. It was interesting how some people thought. In Kakashi's mind, wolves were far preferrable to deal with than humans, at least in his line of work.

"Don't worry Sakura, we're a bigger threat to them then they are to us. We are Konoha ninjas after all."

"They smell Naruto's blood. Won't that attract them?" Sasuke asked, with no hint of fear in his voice whatsoever.

Normally the answer to his question would be yes, but Naruto was a special case. His blood smelled of demon, Paakun had told him so. No animal would dare attack them. They were safer with this wounded man in their midst, his scent warding off danger, even as his life ebbed away.

"No, I don't think we have to worry about that. Listen, there howls are not coming any closer." It was true and it reassured his young companions, but Sakura still looked wary. At least he wouldn't have any difficulty convincing her to walk through the night. He was sure she didn't feel like camping down right now.

Eventually they did camp down though. Naruto's color had turned ashen and Kakashi had feared that he was about to lose his young charge, if he didn't allow the young man to rest in relative calm. Sakura was in the tree above them keeping a close watch. He didn't touch the bandages this time.

He didn't have the chance.

"There's someone coming." Sasuke's voice was calm. Sakura's and Kakashi's heada snapped looking in the same direction as Sasuke's. Neither saw anything, until Kakashi exposed his sharigan, then he was what Sasuke saw: faint hints of chakra moving forward seeping through tiny holes in a wall. He recognized the chakra and then recognized their guest. The wall was sand.

"I could smell Naruto's blood from over a mile away." Gaara said as though he were commenting on the weather.

Kakashi was not sure what to make of their new visitor. Gaara was supposedly not a threat to Konoha or it's ninjas anymore, but Kakashi was not so sure that he could trust the young demon carrier, especially after a statement like that.


**********************************************
"No one knows what it's like"
"To be the bad man"
"To be the sad man"
"Behind blue eyes"

"No one knows what it's like"
"To be hated"
"To be fated"
"To telling only lies"

"No one bites back as hard"
"On their anger"
"None of my pain and woe"
"Can show through"**

*******************************************

Sasuke seemed happy that Gaara had shown up. Well actually he seemed happy that he would have a training partner once they got back to Konoha and admitted Naruto into the hospital.

Gaara neither confirmed not denied any plans for a lengthy stay in Konoha once they arrived. He merely stated that he would travel with them and that was it.

He didn't slow them down, nor did he help them move more quickly by offering to relieve either Sasuke or Kakashi. He did keep a close eye on Naruto. In fact he had managed to get under Sakura's skin by visually obscuring her sight of Naruto. In fact when Sakura moved, Gaara seemed to move as well, always getting between the two, though it was very subtle.

Sakura's fear of Gaara was almost palpable. However now that her paranoia had a focus, the aura of discomfort lifted a little. It was a tense atmosphere, but Kakashi was used to those by now.

Small shifts between the two of them spoke volumes. Gaara had obviously pegged Sakura as the weak link in their group. Why he would want to keep her from checking on Naruto was beyond Kakashi's understanding but it seemed as though Gaara was playing a game with her.

It worried Kakashi because he didn't want Gaara to get in the way of his plan. As they had rested, he checked Naruto's knees and felt that they would be stable enough for him to carry Naruto that day. Naruto's color was still bad and his wounds were stinking. They were definitely infected. He still wanted to leave Sasuke with Sakura and take off with Naruto as soon as the swelling went down. Now with Gaara here, he felt that was too reckless.

Sakura quickly became frustrated with Gaara's little game and when she became frustrated, she had a bad tendency to whine. It seemed that even though Naruto's situation became more dire with each passing hour, his teammates grew less conscientious of it. Really that was to be expected. They were growing used to the tense atmosphere. Even Gaara's appearance didn't seem to rattle them as much as it should.

Such lapses in concentration were often the most fatal mistake a ninja could make. Of course he couldn't blame them, but it was important to always be alert. When a ninja relaxed or became comfortable, that's often when a ninja's guard is let down and an attack is launched. He really should lecture them a little.

Kakashi was mentally preparing a very lengthy lecture o, the importance of awareness at all times when on a mission, when he noticed Naruto's eyes crack open and the young man took a deep breath before wiggling around on the stretcher, learning what areas were still tender and which were bearable.

Gaara noticed Naruto as well. "You stink."

Naruto looked over at the new addition. "What are you doing here?"

"You stink. Your smell led me to you."

"But why did you come?" Naruto asked. Kakashi had been wondering that himself, but didn't bother to ask. He knew Gaara wouldn't answer. Naruto's voice was quiet, each word was measured carefully before spoken. Or perhaps the sentences just wouldn't form in his foggy brain. Gaara didn't seem to notice. His tone was almost conversational.

"I was curious, but I can see, you're not in control here."

"You had to come here to figure that out? Couldn't your nose tell you, I am practically dying here?"

"I thought they would leave you, out of pity or something."

"What the hell are you talking about? You thought we'd leave Naruto to die? I think that would be the opposite of pity!" Sakura had probably been looking to yell at Gaara for a while now. She made an effort to get into his face, without actually getting near enough to be a threat. Even if Gaara would not strike out, his sand would.

Kakashi was more confused than offended at Gaara's words. Would it be kinder to let Naruto die alone in some cabin as opposed to dragging him along with them? The stretcher was probably not comfortable, but Naruto had always had a strong spirit to live. He was sure Gaara knew that. After all Gaara put his own survival ahead of all others.

"It was a villager who did this to you, out of hatred."

"Yes."

"And now you are being carried back to that village, filled with like-minded villagers. Don't you think they'll try to take advantage of you in your weakened state?" Gaara explained rather patiently.

Kakashi frowned, but didn't interrupt, though he might have to soon. He wondered if Gaara knew about the nine-tailed demon. No one outside of Konoha should know, but he knew about what was inside Gaara and he figured if anyone could guess at Naruto's unique composition, it was Gaara. He had never been around when the two boys had 'conversed' in the past. He'd only heard bits and pieces of what they said to each other.

If Gaara did know, his words made sense. Jounin of the sand had tried and failed to kill Gaara. If Gaara was ever injured his home would be the most dangerous place for him to heal. He would naturally assume that the situation was the same for Naruto, it might not be far from the truth.

Naruto didn't answer and Kakashi saw that the young man was actually thinking seriously about what Gaara had said. He doubted that there would be any kind of action like the kind suggested by Gaara, but whatever intentions awaited didn't matter. There was no way that he'd allow any of the villagers to harm Naruto again. He thought Naruto would realize that, but considering what his pupil had just been though, Kakashi also realized how frightening it must be for Naruto.

"Gaara, Naruto is safe in Konoha. The villager who did this is dead, by my hand and any who try to follow suit will follow. Naruto knows that. Besides once we get back to Konoha, I'm sure the Hokage will see to Naruto's care herself. This will reinforce to everyone how important Naruto is to Konoha."

"The more powerful he is the more important he is and the more powerful he becomes, the more important he becomes. But if he is too powerful, then they fear him too much and their fear leads to hatred and Naruto is powerful, but he is hated and it grows. Nothing good will come of returning him there."

"Don't pretend like I'm not here." Naruto said. Kakashi felt guilty for a moment. He didn't mean to talk about the young man as if he weren't there, it's just that he was usually unconscious and they had gotten used to speaking of him, instead of with him.

"I'm saying this all for your benefit. These others can't understand."

"Then explain it to us." Sasuke saw this as an opportunity. He'd asked Kakashi in the past about Naruto's strange chakra. He'd even did a little research and pointedly asked Kakashi if Naruto's two separate distinct and highly powerful chakras were related to Naruto's birthday. He had learned that his rival's birthday coincided with the day that the demon fox nearly destroyed Konoha. Kakashi had made sure that all the necessary records were sealed after that. He told Sasuke that he didn't know. Since Naruto's parents died in the attack, his lineage was unknown and therefore it could be a bloodline limit. Sasuke didn't say anything, but Kakashi could tell the boy was unconvinced.

"I don't understand either." Sakura quietly began to speak. "I know there are some sick people in the world, but that man went after Naruto specifically. He hated him so much, lots of people do. I noticed that after I was assigned to team 7 some of the villagers who used to treat me decently, avoid me or look at me differently. Sometimes people will offer me sympathy because I was put on the same team as Naruto. I remember that when we were young nobody liked Naruto. I just figured it was because he was a troublemaker, but when we first started tracking Naruto down, I remembered that right before my first year at the ninja academy, my mother was yelling in the kitchen. I was upstairs hiding in my room but I heard her saying 'Why was she put in the same class as that boy? He shouldn't be allowed in school at all. He's dangerous.' or stuff like that. Dad was trying to calm her down saying that the teachers were all chunin level ninjas and wouldn't let anything happen to me. I remember being terrified because I thought I was going to school with a monster or something. The first day of classes, right outside the school, mom pointed Naruto out to me. She told me that I had to stay away from him. All the other students avoided Naruto as well, so I figured he must be a bad kid."

Kakashi wanted to stop her but he couldn't. He felt that she needed to say this, even if it wasn't what they needed to hear. He noticed that Naruto's eyes were dull again, like the pain had gotten worse suddenly.

"I never thought about it, I guess. I just always hated Naruto until I was forced to work with him on Team 7. Everybody did, kids are mean that way, but a lot of my friends were told the same thing by their parents. It's obvious that the villagers treat Naruto differently. Why would adults hate a little kid? What could he have done?"

Sasuke snorted. "You mean you didn't notice all this until Naruto was kidnapped? He's always been treated like crap."

"Don't be condescending Sasuke, you never treated Naruto any better than the rest of us!"

"I never treated Naruto any differently than I treat anyone else."

"Yeah, Sasuke treats everyone like crap." Naruto smiled. "That always pissed me off. I treated everyone decently and got treated like dirt in return, but Sasuke was just an asshole all through school and you girls drooled over him like he was some tasty bowl of ramen. It's so pathetic how you all just trailed after him all the time. "

Kakashi was relieved that the conversation was being steered in a different direction. Naruto was clearly not comfortable with their topic either. In fact it must really be bothering him, for him to make so much effort. Talking was an effort for him right now. Of that there was no doubt.

Before Sakura could compose her indignant reply, Kakashi said, "Naruto since you're up, you should eat another food pill to keep your strength up. Your body needs the nutrients." Kakashi managed to grab a pill from his chest pocket and toss it at his charge without letting go of the stretcher for any perceptible amount of time.

Unfortunately his charge was not able to catch it. Before the pill could roll off the stretcher onto the ground, a wisp of sand corraled it, then carried it directly above Naruto's mouth. The young man hesitantly opened his mouth and the sand scattered.

Naruto's swallowing gulp resounded in the silence around them.

"Sakura why don't you bring Naruto some water to wash that down with." Kakashi suggested.

"Alright." Sakura jotted a few paces forward, and then stopped. Gaara was still between her and Naruto. She skirted around him, keeping some distance, but trying to make it look like she wasn't going out of her way at all just because Gaara was there. It would have been amusing if they all weren't so uncomfortable at that particular moment. Sakura kept her composure and valiently ignored the eyes that were boring into her back. Kakashi watched Gaara carefully, only because he was watching Sakura carefully and she could feel it. She accidently dribbled a bit of water on Naruto's cheek and her shoulders tensed for a moment, but Gaara seemed not to notice. Which was impossible, since he never stopped watching the two.

When Naruto began to hack a little and cause Sakura to jump back, dousing him with water, Gaara watched still. His mouth didn't curve in either humor or annoyance.

Kakashi realized that he had to make his decision now. Naruto was responsive enough for him to attempt taking off with the young man. They would reach Konoha tonight, possibly before dark if the trip had no obstacles. Gaara did not seem like a threat at the moment, but it was an awful chance to take. He could run now and save one pupil but he may leave two to their deaths. Sasuke was not strong enough to beat Gaara. Kakashi might not be strong enough to beat Gaara. He was only human after all.

If Gaara could keep up with him, then he'd take the Sand ninja with him and leave Sasuke and Sakura to follow at their own pace, but if Gaara couldn't, he'd have to slow down to keep an eye on the Sand Ninja and that would defeat the whole purpose of taking Naruto ahead with him.

"Naruto do you think you can travel on my back. I can move faster that way." The young man nodded his consent. "Sasuke, Sakura, you've both worked very hard. Stay together but don't attempt to keep up with me. Go at your own pace. Gaara I don't know how far you travelled to meet us or how difficult the journey was, but I expect you to keep up with me. You won't be allowed into Konoha without a jounin to accompany you."

"So you plan to take him back there? Despite whether Naruto wants to go or not?"

"Of course he wants to go back! Konoha is his home. Iruka and the hokage are waiting for him." Sakura projected an aura of fear again. Kakashi knew that she didn't want to be left behind, even if it was alone with Sasuke.

"Really, I think you would be safer elsewhere." Gaara addressed Naruto as Kakashi and Sasuke carefully lowered the stretcher.

"I'll be alright Gaara. It doesn't concern you anyway." Naruto grunted, but managed not to cry out or groan in pain as Sasuke lifted him onto Kakashi's back.

"Lock your fingers Naruto." Kakashi stood up ready to take off, when he felt Naruto was secure.

"Wait! I need a minute." Naruto buried his face in Kakashi neck for a moment, swallowing and taking deep breaths. Kakashi hoped that he wasn't feeling nauseous.

"Are you ready Gaara?"

"I'm ready. I'll come."

"You don't have to." Naruto mumbled from somewhere in Kakashi's collar.

"I'll come."

It was long into their journey when Kakashi realized how futile taking off had been. Gaara was slowing him down and he didn't know if it was on purpose or if the young man just couldn't keep up. As they moved, Gaara showed no signs of fatigue, but when Kakashi tried to increase his pace, Gaara fell behind. Gaara as usual didn't comment one way or the other. Kakashi was becoming very frustrated. Then they had to stop when Naruto pleaded for a moment.

Naruto didn't look good and just as Kakashi was setting him down, he turned his face away and heaved bile. There was little to nothing in his stomach, which was to be expected, but even after the bile, Naruto continued to heave. It was obviously painful and when Kakashi reached out a hand to comfort Naruto, he found the other boy's skin to be clammy. Naruto was sweating and his eyes wouldn't focus. At first Kakashi feared poison, but if that were the case, he would've noticed something already. Then the light bulb went off in Kakashi's mind and he just wanted to bash his head into a rock.

Naruto was dehydrated. They all carried flasks of water with them and replenished themselved as they moved. Sakura had given him some water when he ate the foodpill, but she got more water on him than in him. Before that Naruto had drank a little the last time they rested, but that was it. Kakashi hadn't thought about it before because Naruto wasn't exerting himself, but he was wrapped in blankets, being carried in the hot sun and his body was fighting infection which probably used up whatever reserves he had on tap.

Kakashi couldn't believe he had forgotten something so basic. The hokage would be furious with him, but he was more furious with himself. If Naruto didn't make, if this was what tipped the balance against him, he knew he'd never forgive himself. Kakashi unstopped his flask and leaned Naruto in his arms so he could pour the water down the young man's throat.

"Drink it all, small sips." Even when Naruto wanted to stop, Kakashi forced him to continue. Dehydration could be undone, it was not the worst mistake to make, but it was still frustrating.

They had only stopped for about ten minutes, but apparently that was long enough. Kakashi felt two more chakras bearing down on him. Sasuke and Sakura were obviously determined to make it back to Konoha as quickly as possible. Sakura looked very happy to meet up with them, but Sasuke did not. He knew that Kakashi was not running at his full pace and he knew why. He sent a cold glare towards Gaara, but as usual the other boy either didn't notice, or chose to ignore him.

"Are you alright now?"

Naruto nodded. Kakashi turned to pull him back onto his back.

"Just a couple more minutes. My stomach feels wobbly right now."

Kakashi looked into the man's eyes and saw more clearity than he had a few minutes ago. "Naruto we must hurry."

"I know but..." Sasuke cut his rival off.

"What's the point? You're not saving any time this way. We should just put him back on the stretcher..."

"Which we no longer have." Kakashi pointed out.

"Or you should move ahead with just Naruto. We can stay with Gaara at the gate, until you have time get to the hokage and she has a jounin sent to escort him." Sasuke finished. His hidden message was clear. He was not afraid to be left alone with Gaara.

"I can't do that." Kakashi didn't need this right now. Sasuke was not being realistic about his abilities. It was a matter of pride and it was not something that they could afford to debate, especially not with Gaara present.

"We were doing alright." That was a lie. "We just had to stop. Naruto needed to rest." And he needed to vomit, but the evidence of that was present, so why point out what was painfully obvious? Sasuke knew better than to argue with him about this now. There would be other times. Gaara didn't seem to be going anywhere. He recognized that his voice had a sharp tone to it. Naruto was taking deep breaths in and out, measured, testing breaths to gauge his strength or lack of strength. Suddenly Kakashi wished that Gai were here. Gai was the fastest Jounin in Konoha, if he was here, Kakashi could hand Naruto over to him, keep an eye on Gaara and not worry anymore.

That was a measure of his desperation to wish for something so unrealistic. When he realized how desperate he was, he became even more depressed. He had lost teammates before. It was traumatizing, devastating. He had made a promise to himself that it wouldn't happen again. Distracting thoughts were not going to help the situation. Having them made him realize that he had already given up on the situation in some way. He didn't think that Gaara was slowing him down on purpose. The young man was the same age as his pupils, with probably less training and more natural talent. He had already accepted that he wouldn't be able to make the trip to Konoha quickly with Gaara and he had already accepted that he couldn't leave Gaara alone, so they would have to make the best time they could and hope Naruto could hold out a little longer.

Naruto was more conscious and aware today. It was a good sign. Maybe the fox caged within him was capable of healing such gross injuries after all. Perhaps Kakashi was too used to death to see hope when it blossomed.

"You think I'll kill them?" Gaara startled Kakashi with his question.

"What?"

"You left them to take Naruto to Konoha as quickly as possible, but now you aren't doing that anymore. You think I will kill them if you leave."

"Yes."

"I won't."

"I wish I could believe that."

"Will you dump him in the river now?"

Kakashi was gaping. It was apparent even with the mask that his jaw was literally hanging in shock. Sakura looked horrified and Sasuke even showed mild surprise. How Gaara's mind worked was a complete and total mystery. One they didn't have time to unravel right now.

"No." He replied, then turned to the blonde who was still breathing deeply, conscientiously. "Are you ready now?" He wished that they hadn't thrown away the stretcher. It would be easier on Naruto now that they were back to their previous travelling pace, he could provide his injured student with neither speed nor comfort.

Naruto nodded and Sasuke helped to lift Naruto onto Kakashi's back. They took off. It wasn't long before the long rays of the sun were slipping over the horizon. It was more dangerous to approach Konoha at night. The guards were always alert and thorough for the night brought out unsavory elements and therefore more scrutiny from the guards on the gate.

They would have made it before midnight but Naruto had difficulty with the journey and they stopped whenever he felt his stomach grow queasy. The front of Naruto's shirt was sporting a larger and larger patch of blood as the day wore on and Kakashi's vest rubbed against Naruto's wounds. By late evening the entire right side of the shirt was soaked in blood and it was impossible to tell if all the blood was from Naruto's chest or his the wound in his back had opened as well. By around midnight they were finally outside the gates of Konoha. Naruto was slumbering in a sort of unconscious haze, until Sakura brought him out of it with her unbridled enthusiam.

Kakashi had never seen the girl so happy. It was a hysteria of relief that enveloped her as she began to chatter away on everything and nothing to everyone and no one. They were close enough to Konoha that they had already been spotted. Kakashi assumed that there were ninjas coming out to meet them, or more importantly to meet Gaara, their unexpected guest. At last thier travelling companion would finally come in handy, he could send Naruto on ahead once they got here. Normally Konoha ninjas would not come out to meet their own.

Still they had lost hours and Naruto was fidgetting on his back. Kakashi grew impatient as their destination grew near.

"We need to stop."

"We're almost there Naruto. I thought your stomach had settled down already. Can't you wait just a little longer?"

"No. We have to stop." Naruto's fists clenched weakly in Kakashi's collar and against his better judgment he did stop and let the young man slide off his back, into a boneless heap. Naruto didn't start to heave or even do his deep breathing exercises. He just hunched over staring at the ground.

When Naruto finally looked up, it wasn't to nod at Kakashi. He looked at Gaara who stared back with empty eyes. "I'm not afraid of them."

"I am not afraid of my village either. They are afraid of me."

"But if you were weak like I am now?"

"I would not walk into the hands of my enemy."

"Naruto, I won't let anyone hurt you. You're safe here and you know it. Now come on, the hokage is waiting." Kakashi tried to nudge his pupil back onto his back.

"Are you going to let him take you to your death?"

"Shut up Gaara!" Kakashi had relax his muscles which had been drawn taut by years of training. He would not attack the sand ninja now, not when they were so close.

"I know that there are a lot of people on the other side of that gate who wish I wouldn't come back." Naruto struggled with every word, but he seemed determined to say his peace. "But there's at least one person who doesn't feel that way. He's probably the only one in there who really knows me, so he's the only one who counts."

"More important people of yours?"

"Yes."

Kakashi didn't know if the conversation was over or stopped short but much to his relief, the Konoha ninjas he was expecting finally showed up. He pointed to Naruto.

"The hokage is waiting for him." One of them nodded and pulled the young man up, causing Naruto to cry out in pain. He hauled Naruto up a little more gently and took off.

The others stayed in a circle around Gaara. They were escorted through the gate and made to wait while Tsunade tended Naruto. It was several hours of Sakura whining and Sasuke throwing tired, annoyed glares Gaara's way until they were granted an audience. Naruto was alive, not well, but going to live. As expected all his physical wounds would heal. Sasuke and Sakura were dismissed.

"How long do you plan to stay Gaara?"

"You smell of blood but not death." Gaara's comment caused the hokage to visibly flinch, but she was not deterred so easily.

"I'm very tired as is Kakashi, so please just answer the question."

"I have no plans to stay."

"Then why did you come?"

"To see if you would kill him."

"I see. Well if you don't plan to stay, I'll have the guards escort you out." Tsunade waved her hand and two guards showed up beside Gaara.

"I really am tired right now Kakashi. Don't worry about the mission report, get it to me after you get some rest."

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, but he's still unconscious."

Kakashi nodded. He was exhausted, but he had to reassure himself that Naruto was indeed breathing. Gaara's pessimistic attitude was almost as lethal as the man himself. Kakashi had tried reading his book to pass the time, but was unable to make any sense of the words. Of course his brain was awfully tired as well, maybe it wasn't their guest's fault. Gaara was strange, but with his upbringing that was probably unavoidable. Maybe Gaara looked at Naruto as some kind of kindred spirit. He was not present but he had heard that Naruto had told Gaara they were the same, when Gaara told him of Shikaku. Perhaps he was looking out for Naruto in some way. Perhaps he truly was just curious.

Kakashi didn't want to think about these things now with his sleep deprived brain. He looked into the room the nurse directed him to and recognized the scruffy ponytail that was clearly the back of Iruka's head. Naruto was asleep on the bed, obviously tanked up on pain killers. His face looked peaceful and soft. It was a visage that Kakashi had forgotten after days of looking at a countenance wrought in agony.

Kakashi leaned in the doorframe, feeling his fatigue settle deeper. He would have to go home soon or at this rate, he'd slump to a pathetic heap in the street on the way there.

"Thank you." Iruka said. Kakashi wasn't sure when that man had turned around to look at him.

"I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."

"So am I. But you got there in time. That's all that matters."

Kakashi nodded but he didn't agree. There were so many false leads in the beginning. How much time had they lost, a day or possibly even two? How much agony could Naruto have been spared in that time? Even as these thoughts drifted through his head, he found himself outside his apartment door. He stayed on autopilot the rest of the way through the door and into his room. He thought about brushing his teeth and taking off his shoes and vest. With his face down in the pillow he couldn't remember if he had actually done any of these things. And then he passed out to relive that last few hellish days in his nightmares.
*******************************************

"They cry in the dark so you can't see their tears."
"They hide in the light so you can't see their fears."***

Sakura missed training again. It was perplexing. When she was there, she was completely focused, but she had become very unreliable in the last two weeks. Naruto was still in the hospital. He came down with a very bad fever due to an infection less than 24 hours after being admitted, but the scare didn't last long. It was his gross injuries that were still healing that left team 7 undermanned. There would be no missions and therefore no pay for a while, but that wasn't a big deal. Ninja work was sporadic so one had to budget well. If his team hadn't learned that by now, it was a good lesson.

At first, Kakashi figured that the lack of work prospects was what was responsible for Sakura's frequent abscenses. Now he knew that he was partially to blame. Intially Sasuke was disappointed that Gaara had left. He didn't have anyone at his own skill level to practice against so Kakashi was coaxed into a few sparring matches while Sakura sat idly by on the sidelines. In the past, she would have just gazed adoringly at Sasuke and it wouldn't have been an issue, but she'd become more focused after they returned to Konoha. When Kakashi and Sasuke became engrossed in their sparring matches, Sakura began to wander, first mentally and then literally. She began to seek out other instructors, specifically female instructors.

Honestly that didn't bother Kakashi. He felt that training with other jounin would allow his students to learn more techniques than he alone knew. Naruto's time with Jiraiya was invaluable. However Kakashi learned that Sakura was picking up more than just techniques from her instructors. She was gathering war stories.

This also might not be so bad. He didn't want his students to have any illusions about just how difficult their missions and their lives would be. If it helped motivate Sakura to become more focused and train more, than it was a positive improvement. She had obviously begun to think about what she would do if she was ever in a situation like Naruto's and though it was a difficult thing to think about, being realistic about life's possiblities meant that if ever such a time came, she would not be completely off her guard. In such a situation, a keen mind was the best weapon and Sakura definitely had that.

He also suspected that Sakura was learning about rape. It was not a subject that he had ever brought up, because he knew that it was discussed in the ninja academy, when the girls and boys were placed into separate classes. Honestly he didn't know much about it. In their job violence was the norm and all types of violence were possible. There were various interrogation techniques that were meant not just to cause pain but to cause humiliation and prolonged suffering. He always felt the best way to avoid such unpleasant possiblities was to avoid being caught by your enemies, but of course that simply wasn't always possible. Naruto had proven that.

Kakashi felt it was best to be well-informed. So should he broach the subject with his student? It was his place after all, then again Sakura may feel more comfortable going to female instructors about such an unpleasant subject. Sakura was a very intelligent young woman. She would notice his discomfort and become uncomfortable herself if he was unable to keep the discussion completely detached and professional. Ninjas were not known for their communication skills. Silence was a key weapon and so Kakashi really didn't have any experience with lectures or in depth discussions on feelings. He could discuss weapons and techniques or porn.

Kakashi mused a little more on just what he might say to his pupil, when he spotted her in the crowded street. She however hadn't spotted him. She was waving to someone else.

Kakashi was familiar with all the jounin of Konoha, even if he didn't know them personally. He knew of Genma, though not much beyond the man's ability. Genma was perhaps his age, probably a year or two younger. He was not aware of the fact that Genma knew Sakura and so he was surprised when they beelined for each other and embraced in a warm greeting that was easy to interpret.

His immediate thought was that Genma was robbing the cradle and should chase women his own age. Then he thought that he should mind his own business. It didn't matter if Sakura was dating someone, whether it was an older or younger(though that would be slightly illegal) man it was not an issue. Let Sakura's parents broach that subject, it wasn't his place. He was surprised that Sakura went for an older man. Genma wasn't scarred up, yet he wasn't particularly handsome and after watching her chase after Sasuke for years, he assumed that looks were very important to Sakura.

He was also surprised that he hadn't heard of this relationship. Had Sakura met Gemna while searching out other instructors? He thought she had been seeking out female instructors.

Since Sakura was currently occupied, Kakashi decided to focus elsewhere. He had been asked by the Hokage to speak with Sasuke. Apparently Asuma had overheard Sasuke grilling Shikamaru about Naruto. Specifically Asuma heard something along the lines: 'I know you must've figured out the truth by now, so tell me.'

Asuma was of course asked to find out just how much his pupil had figured out. Kakashi had the much more difficult task of trying to convince Sasuke to stop asking questions and stop investigating Naruto's past. In a way Sasuke and Naruto reminded him of himself and Gai. If somebody showed hatred toward Gai without good reason(and he didn't feel Gai's insane fashion sense was a good reason to hate him; avoid him and give him strange looks, yes, but hate him, no) he would want to find out why.

He could understand why Sasuke wanted to know the truth, especially after witnessing the end product of such unwarranted hatred. The village was full of men just like the one who had kidnapped and tortured Naruto. They never even attempted to hide their hatred, so Sasuke probably felt inclined to protect Naruto. He just wanted to know what he was trying to protect his teammate from. That made sense to Kakashi and he felt that Sasuke could handle the truth. He didn't think Sasuke would change his attitude towards Naruto at all. After all Sasuke was far too young to remember the attack of the demon fox. He hadn't lost any loved ones that way. No all of Sasuke's focus was on Itachi.

In fact, Kakashi even felt that Sakura should be told the truth. They both knew Naruto on a personal level and therefore they would not be blinded by prejudice, but of course he was forbidden from telling them. So he was not really sure what he should say to Sasuke. He thought about lying. It would have to be a carefully fabricated lie that not only convinced the young man but would be thorough enough that Sasuke would not go to Naruto and attempt to verify whatever Kakashi told him. Kakashi was not actually a skillful liar. Furthermore he didn't like doing it, which was why he was probably so bad at it.

The best lies were always those that had some kernel of truth within them. Truth could be looked at from many different angles and therefore interpreted many different ways. Sasuke already knew that there existed some connection between the day Naruto was born and the nine-tailed fox demon. He tried to think of possible scenarios. Perhaps the fox demon's attack being directed at one of Naruto's family members. Then Naruto could remain blameless in his youthful innocence, but still the focus of the village's prosecution for lack of the real target. A lie very close to the truth at least as far as consequences go. But Sasuke would want to know more. He would want details and that was where Kakashi would falter. He could simply say he didn't know, but the idea was to stop Sasuke's investigation cold and such a lie would not do that.

No, a lie would not work. He could clearly see Sasuke livid in righteous indignation and Sasuke, though normally a quiet boy, would not hesitate to defend Naruto if things came to a head. That is where everything fell apart. A lie would not work here. The second option was to distract Sasuke, but that was a temporary fix at best. He had several techniques that he could teach Sasuke, but it would be impossible to keep his pupil distracted during all of his waking hours. He could not lie, which left nothing but the truth and he was not allowed to tell the truth. At least not the truth that Sasuke wanted to hear.

It was that last thought that made Kakashi beeline for the training ground where he was sure to find his student. He knew now what to tell Sasuke and he hoped it would be enough to satisfy the young man.

The air crackled with a feeling of oppressive friction. Kakashi clothes seemed restrictive and even engendered a sense of claustrophobia. Sasuke was creating a field of highly ionized molecules. It was the precursor to at least four different techniques Kakashi could think of. He wasn't interested in which one Sasuke was getting ready to practice.

"Yo Sasuke. Take a break. I want to talk to you."

The field died. Sasuke stared. Most people would be insulted by the lack of greeting or respect, Kakashi knew not to expect such a thing.

"Have you seen Naruto?"

"I checked on him. He's taken care of for now."

Kakashi wasn't quite sure how to interpret that, but he didn't ask. So Sasuke had bothered to look in on Naruto himself. Kakashi knew Sakura was keeping Sasuke updated on Naruto, whether he wanted her to or not, since she visited regularly. Kakashi wouldn't have been surprised if Sasuke contented himself on second hand descriptions of Naruto's conditon. He was glad that wasn't that case. It showed a level of compassion that Kakashi wasn't always sure the young man possessed.

"We won't have any missions for awhile and I think that Sakura may be distracted from training for a while."

Sasuke nodded. "She and Homura should take advantage of the downtime."

Kakashi frowned. "You mean Gemna?"

"Genma, the old jounin with the toothpick?"

"He's not that old."

"He's your age. Why would you think she was with him?"

"I saw her with him."

Sasuke looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well I suppose they only went out a couple of times. That doesn't make them a couple."

"I don't know of anyone named Homura."

"You should. He was two grades above us. He passed the chunin exam in the water country a couple of years ago, but he really began advancing quickly after that. Neji looks up to him. He was a slow starter I guess, like Naruto."

This put them back on topic, though Kakashi was now curious about what Sakura was doing. Was she dating more than one man at a time or merely playing the field? She was young and with all the missions before Naruto's kidnapping, there wasn't a lot of time for her to socialize. Perhaps she was taking advantage of the downtime to find a boyfriend. That was perfectly normal, he supposed. Really he had no clue. He wasn't much of a dating man. Most people thought that masked men were untrustworthy. They were right.

"I will certainly take note if I hear his name in the future, but I wish to speak to you about Naruto."

"What about him?" Sasuke was curious, possibly even concerned.

"His past is his burden, just as your is your own. You should not have questioned Shikamaru on it. He doesn't know."

"Actually he does, but he wouldn't tell me."

Kakashi didn't like the sound of that, not one bit. "What makes you think that?"

"I told him what I knew. I told him what I guessed. He said I had the facts right but my assumption was too simplistic. He said not everyone would fall for such an obvious lie. When I thought about it some more, I realized he was right, but he won't tell me what he figured out." Sasuke's tone didn't disguise his frustration or anger. "I know you've said to leave it alone. You said you didn't know and I believe that's a lie. It seems like you know, the hokage knows, everyone in this damn village knows expect for those of us who know Naruto."

"It is not quite the conspiracy that you are making it out to be. Naruto may not deserve the fate that he's been handed, but it has made him strong. I would think that you could appreciate something like that."

Sasuke's eyes seemed to flash for a brief moment, but he didn't comment.

"So Shikamaru told you that you were wrong. What makes you so sure he's right?"

"Oh come on. When has he ever been wrong?"

Kakashi couldn't answer that. He was told by Asuma that Shikamaru was extremely bright, but terribly lazy. Then again, Sasuke had just told him that he had informed Shikamura of all he knew. So what did he know? And now Kakashi was disturbed about Sakura. Time to reverse subjects again, Kakashi thought.

"I suppose it's a big relief for you that Sakura has decided to stop persuing you."

"That was never serious. She was much more interested in you. With your choice in reading material, I'm really surprised that you didn't go for it. After all I'd figure underage girls were your thing." Kakashi didn't find the smirk or the comment amusing.

"Don't forget you're still my student. I can kill you."

"Give it a try." Okay Sasuke was looking for another sparring match. Kakashi didn't need to be goaded into one, so what the hell was Sasuke talking about? Her crush on Sasuke was so obvious, if she had one on him, he'd have to be blind not to notice it.

"You're mistaken about Sakura. She can't be foolish enough to think I look like you under here." Kakashi pointed to his mask.

"Sakura's not into looks, you'd know that if you'd seen Homura. He's nice enough, but even Lee is handsome by comparison." Sasuke began raising his chakra field again. He obviously had had enough of conversation.

Kakashi pressed further. "So she's attracted to older men?"

Sasuke shrugged. "That's not it."

"Then what?"

"Why do some of the villagers hate Naruto?" So he wasn't the only one trying to change the subject to his advantage. Sasuke had used his own trick on him. He was pleased and annoyed at the same time. Of course he wouldn't fall for it. They stopped their verbal spar and moved on to a more physical altercation. Kakashi of course won, but Sasuke was getting faster. He'd have to be more careful in the future, and more watchful.

When he left the training grounds, he saw Sakura again in the grocery store. This time she was flirting with Mizuki Kibano. He only knew of him because the new ANBU squad was introduced recently and that man was on it. Even without all the pieces in place, Kakashi could see the big picture and his heart sank a little. Tomorrow he'd definitely take Sakura out for some personal training.
***********************************************************************************************************************

"I used to feed the fire"
"But the fire is almost out"
"Half my life I've been here"
"Half my life in flames"
"Using all I ever had"
"To keep the fire ablaze"
"But there's nothing left to burn"****

He hit her again, and again and again and she kept coming. Kakashi was pleasantly surprised. He hadn't seen such determination from Sakura before. Of course she hadn't laid a hand on him yet, but he was dodging enough to break a sweat. It was definitely an improvement. Not enough of one, not yet, but an improvement nonetheless.

He had a dream the night before, thanks in part to Sasuke's comments. It made the discussion he wanted to have with her, even more difficult, because he could hit a woman that he had dreamed passionately about, but he couldn't look her in the eye and make small talk. Not that that he had any desire for Sakura. Only now he admitted that she was a sexy young woman and a roll in the hay with her wouldn't be such an unpleasant thing, entirely unethical but not unpleasant.

From the corner of his eye, Kakashi watched Sakura make a replacement. He waited for it to attack and then sent a handful of sharikuns towards the tree she was hiding behind. When she darted out to avoid them, he conked her on the back of her head and decided to call off training for the rest of the afternoon.

"Sakura, I'm very happy to see that you've focused your attention away from Sasuke. You've already wasted so much time on that crush." Kakashi waited for the near hysterical reaction that Sasuke's name usually inspired in his female pupil. He was surprisingly disappointed.

Sakura's shoulders slumped and her frown was directed towards the ground. "I know that, sir. In fact I realized quite a while ago that Sasuke wouldn't return my affections, at least not until after Itachi was defeated and I knew I didn't want to wait that long, but we were always on missions so there was no one else to focus on. I guess it just became a habit. Sasuke was very kind to put up with my advances for so long."

Now Kakashi was the one who was frowning. Mature words that he was sure he wouldn't have heard from her a month ago, were nothing to be upset about, but he felt as if Sakura had grown up much too quickly in the last month. It was as though her personality had changed. It did strengthen his theory, however.

"So you are taking this time to play the field. There's an issue or two of Icha Icha Paradise that I can lend you, if ..."

"No thank you, Instructor Kakashi. I have only been on a handful of first dates and I assure that I'm not that kind of girl. And even if I were in a meaningful relationship and contemplating taking such a step, I wouldn't use those rags you read for anything except lining my cat's litter pan."

Kakashi threw his hands up in mock defense. "Now, now sakura, I just thought that you were mature enough to appreciate them now. It's a complement, I assure you."

"Then I can live without your compliments."

"Oh don't say that. I am also pleased with your new intense focus on training." He thought those words would cheer her up, but he was surprised when she again looked dejectedly at the ground.

"I just can't help thinking about what happened to Naruto. I know that I always put him down, but I do know how strong he is and he's really not that stupid. I mean he does a lot of stupid things but well I don't think that he could have prevented what happened, because he always eats takeout ramen and well who would think to check for something like that? And it just should have never happened but it did and even if we are ninjas we can't be looking over our shoulders every minute of the day. Konoha is supposed to be our safe haven, but for him it wasn't. And if something like that can happen here..." She had managed to work herself up enough that her voice was hitching and Kakashi felt an aura of paranoia begin to rise in the air.

"Sakura wait. It shouldn't have happened, but Naruto is a special case." That he shouldn't have said, but it was true and if it reassured her some, then it was worth saysing, and then denying later. But he knew he couldn't take it back. He prayed she wouldn't read too much into it, but she was always the bright one who picked on slips like that.

"Special? If that's what you want to call it fine, but the demon inside Naruto isn't his fault, so why is he the one who has to be punished for it?"

Kakashi didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. He should have talked with Asuma. He should have found out if Shikamura had figured out the truth like Sasuke said. If Shikamura could figure it out, then Sakura would be able to as well. She was bright, he knew that. He should have seen this coming. He really should have, but he didn't. If Sasuke told Shikamura than why wouldn't he tell Sakura? Of course he would, he probably went to her first. So "Does Sasuke know as well?"

She wasn't listening or hadn't stopped. "I mean it's so petty and that's why I won't be caught unaware because if Naruto can become a target for something like that than really any of us can. I mean we are ninjas. One day we'll be required to assasinate people or steal from them. Whatever, it's our jobs but some people won't see it that way. I realize that now. I always knew we'd be targets for revenge outside of this village, but now I know that we're targets here as well."

"Sakura! Does Sasuke know?" Kakashi kept the edge of panic out of his voice. Sakura knowing was bad, but he was sure that he could convince her to keep her mouth shut. Sasuke, the self-appointed avenger, was a completely different story. Sasuke let his actions speak for him and that was entirely too dangerous. Furthermore he had been ordered to make sure that Sasuke stopped asking questions and didn't find out. So if Sasuke knew then he had failed to carry out the hokage's orders. Personal failure was not something he was familiar with. It always left a bitter taste.

"Well of course I told him, I mean he was the one who asked. I should have figured it out a lot sooner, based on what Gaara said. When I found out Naruto's birthday it was so obvious. I bet Naruto's never celebrated his birthday. I always figured Iruka took care of stuff like that, but that was the day his parents died so probably not. Poor Naruto, I look forward to my birthday every year, I can't imagine how he must feel. We're definitely throwing him a huge party this year. We'll understand if you and Iruka and the other people in your age group don't want to show up."

"The other people in our age group?" Kakashi couldn't resist taking the bait. "Like your boyfriends?"

"I told you before. I don't have any boyfriends. I've been out on like 5 dates, that's all. Only one of which was a second date and that hardly makes him a boyfriend and so what if I've gone out with one or two older men. It's not like I'm about to marry some guy who'll be desicating in the grave before our kid hits puberty. I swear you and my mother are blowing everything completely out of proportion. Which I expect from my mother, but when the hell did my social life become such a huge interest to you?"

Kakashi stopped and processed all the chatter/ranting that he had just endured. He didn't know why he was still standing her talking with Sakura when he should be searching for his other non-hospitalized pupil. Except it was sort of fun watching her get all bent out of shape. He lowered himself to one knee and placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Now Sakura, I know you have good intentions, but you must keep Naruto's secret to yourself."

"What secret? The entire village already knows, that's why they have all treated him like dirt, or haven't you noticed?"

Kakashi sighed. "It is a secret to all of you who were born after that day or who were too young to remember. If it wasn't, Naruto wouldn't have the few friends he has now and if you tell everyone, then he may lost them. No birthday parties!"

"I don't care, neither does Shikamaru or Sasuke or Ino. Naruto's Naruto. We've known him our whole lives and now that he's earned our respect, we're not going to turn our backs on him." Kakashi noted all of those names and inwardly cringed. That list was probably even longer now.

"That's very admirable Sakura, but I don't think others will follow your lead in this. Though the 3rd hokage could protect Naruto from the villagers desire for vengence, he could not change people's hearts. They focused all thier malevolance upon him and that prevented you and the others from seeing the real Naruto for years. Gaara faces his own villagers' hatred openly and you can see how much pain it has caused him."

"Exactly, so why shouldn't those of us who care about Naruto, stand up and defend him and show everyone that he's a good person and not a demon?"

Kakashi sighed. This was going to take a while. He doubted he could win an argument with Sakura and he really should be tracking down Sasuke, so the best approach was to huddle them all together and explain it all at once.

Such a plan was doomed to failure. At least that's what Kakashi thought. He didn't think Sakura would spend the whole time swooning over Sasuke like in the past. However he was fairly certain that Sasuke would spend the entire time arguing with him, because if Sasuke couldn't fight physically then he'd fight verbally, at least with Kakashi. That was something he should be proud of, after all Sasuke only bothers to speak with people he feels very close to.

Kakashi was at a bit of a loss. It was a feeling that he wasn't used to and didn't care for. He felt like he had failed a mission and wasn't looking forward to informing the hokage of his discovery. That thought was all it took to clear away his confusion. He needed to inform the hokage immediately and await instructions. If he was ordered to lie to his students or plead and argue with them, then he wouldn't have any hesitation.

Kakashi arrived at the hokage's door just moments after excusing himself from Sakura. The hokage was in a very bad mood and looking at her neck, Kakashi had a bad feeling that he was about to add to it. The necklace that Naruto had won from her in a bet a long time ago, hung around her neck once more. It glinted in the sunlight as the hokage walked in and out of shadow pacing across the floor.

"Hokage-sama, you visited my pupil in the hospital today. How is his recovery going?" Kakashi asked, politely. He figured there was no point in beating around the bush.

"His health is remarkable for someone who has endured what he has. I've sent him home."

"That's good to hear." Kakashi waited for her to continue, but Tsunade resumed pacing without another word. Kakashi scowled. He wondered if she was about to make him wait on her, like he always did with his students.

"There's a reason you came?"

"Yes, Sasuke knows the real reason for Naruto's abduction. He found out from Sakura who figured it out on her own. Unfortunately they've already spread the word to others."

"We can't have that, but Asuma told me that he suspected others knew, since Shikamura had figured out the truth, it was inevitable that others would learn the truth as well."

"I see. I was planning on talking with Sasuke and Sakura."

"Don't. I've asked Iruka to speak to them all as a group." She didn't explain why, but Kakashi recognized the logic behind it. Iruka was respected by all his past students. He loved Naruto more than anyone else and he lost his parents the night the demon fox attacked. He was the best choice to speak on Konoha's behalf. "I do want to speak to Naruto though. Neither Iruka nor I could convince him to change his mind."

"Change his mind on what?"

"Did Naruto ever talk about this necklace with you?" She asked as she fingered the long crystal.

Kakashi shrugged. "A little, I know he won it from you off a bet. He said it belonged to the first hokage."

"That's all true, but I wouldn't just give it away over a bet. I gave this to Naruto because I expected him to become the sixth hokage."

Kakashi's expression didn't change at all. He knew that most people would be shocked to hear her say such a thing, but having witnessed Naruto's growth, he believed that the one day Naruto could be the best ninja in Konoha. He certainly had the desire.

"Naruto gave it back to me today, because he no longer wants to be hokage. He says he can't love the people of Konoha anymore, so he can't become the next hokage. He gave me the necklace and told me to find someone else. He even recommended you."

*******************************************************Part 5**************************************************************

"Dream On, Dream On, Dream On"
"Dream until your Dream comes true."*****

A single day out of the hospital and Naruto was already neglecting his diet. He didn't have to ask to know that Iruka had stocked Naruto's fridge with fresh milk, fruits, vegetables, and probably cooked steak and chicken for the young man to incorporate into his bowls of ramen. Yet when he came by that morning, the bowl of ramen Naruto was slurping up was devoid of anything that could be considered nutrious. He pointed this out to Naruto and when the young man responded, he next pointed out that the twist of lemon in the Pespi didn't count since it probably didn't even come from a real lemon.

They started with small talk. Kakashi asked about his wounds. He asked when Naruto planned to resume missions with team 7. He asked if Iruka was smothering him. That lead to an interesting side discussion on Iruka's virtues, quirks and somewhat anal retentive, domestic, perfectionistic, housekeeping habits that kept Naruto neat enough not to send his beloved former instructor and mentor into a nervous breakdown every time he ventured over to Naruto's apartment. Then they talked about Sakura and Sasuke, because Kakashi wanted Naruto to have a heads up before he became bombarded with questions about his inner demon from his overly inquisitive friends.

That's when Kakashi realized he was too late yet again. At this rate he probably was getting old. Naruto had talked with Sakura last night. She brought him flowers. Two white lilies sat pathetically in an empty sprite can on the windowsill.

Naruto's spirits seemed high, he seemed to be back to his old self, but looks can be deceiving.

"I don't care that they know. Everyone else knows so they deserve to, actually I'm kinda glad that it's out in the open. I haven't talked to Sasuke yet, but he's probably happy to know that Itachi isn't really after me at all, just the demon's chakra. Sakura said that Sasuke was on my side, whatever the hell that means. She said that her and Ino and Sasuke and Shikamura and Chouji and Neji and Lee and Hinata and...Is something wrong?"

Kakashi just leaned on his hand harder, opening his fist and wiping his palm across his exposed eye. It was what?, less than 24 hours since he'd seen Sakura and the number of participants to Iruka's 'Why we have to keep this a secret' lecture had at least doubled. "I'm fine Naruto, please go on."

"Well the thing is she kept saying stuff like 'don't worry we'll stand up for you', 'we'll support you' and 'we're on your side'. But I don't have a side. I mean it's not really an issue for me. This is the way my life's always been. Although I am looking forward to my birthday party." The smile Naruto flashed was absolute joy. It was a Naruto signature smile that Kakashi found himself returning, even as he gritted his teeth. He couldn't be angry with Sakura though, she really had good intentions and in hindsight he had tuned out about half of what she'd said, so he really couldn't be upset with her if she'd done the same.

Still after what Sasuke said, he thought maybe she was hanging on his every word. "You'll be eighteen this year, would you like me to hire a stripper?"

"Would you?" Naruto's grin just doubled.

Kakashi nodded. "Why not? Icha Icha Paradise is good for the basics, but nothing beats a live demonstration."

"That would be great. I bet Iruka will faint, or maybe he'll just turn super red. He'll probably lecture everyone and then send the stripper home covered with a blanket."

"You know Naruto, Iruka might not come, it's a hard day for him personally, because of what the demon fox did to his parents."

"Yeah I know, but he'll come. He usually drops the flowers for his parents off at the memorial stone in the morning and then after classes are out, he takes me out for ramen and gives me a box of cupcakes."

Kakashi felt a little bit of relief, knowing that maybe Naruto's past wasn't as terrible as he'd imagined. He'd always had a picture of the boy sitting in a corner of the apartment crying his eyes out on what should have been his special day, but that was silly. Naruto probably just never took notice of it at all, until Iruka came into his life and made it a day that was just a little bit better than the rest.

"Maybe for your birthday, you can ask Sakura for a kiss."

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura may finally be over Sasuke and she and I get along well, but that doesn't mean that she likes me in that way. We're just friends, besides I'm not her type."

"Really? What is her type? I've been trying to figure that out."

"Oh really Kakashi, sir. Does that mean you're interested? Because Sakura's birthday is only a couple months after mine. She'll be legal then." Naruto's smile was definitely teasing, even so Kakashi quickly threw up his hands in protest.

"No, no. Even if Sasuke is correct and she has a crush on me, it would be unethical for me to persue a relationship with one of my students. Besides I like a more experienced woman myself."

Naruto started giggling, which made him seem like he was twelve again. "Sakura has a crush on Instructor Kakashi. How is that possible? I mean you could have like a huge hairy mole under that mask or something. I can't picture Sakura with some sort of moleman."

"I am not a moleman. I'm merely trying to figure out Sakura, because I thought I had her pretty well figured out and now it seems like I didn't have clue."

"No, you're just a little behind, but that's understandable. Sakura's moving pretty quickly these days. I don't think Sasuke meant to say that Sakura has a crush on you. More like you were on the top of the list of what she wants. But then again so is Instructor Gai, and just about every other jounin in the village."

"I don't get you. Do you mean to say she's only interested in jounins? I thought Homura was just a chunin."

"Yeah, that's why he didn't get a second date. She's decided there's no point in waiting for someone to reach the next level when there's plenty of single guys that are already there. But I think she's calmed down a bit since we got back. She's getting a bit more pickier than before. That's why you've probably been crossed off the list already. You may not be a moleman, but you're definitely a perv. Sakura's better off with Instructor Gai."

"Naruto, you're not being very kind to your teacher today. First you call me a moleman and now a perv. And here I thought that you thought highly of me. After all you did recommend me to because the sixth hokage, did you not?"

"Yeah technically but Tsunade put me on the spot. Your name was the first one that popped into my head. Not that you couldn't do it, cause I'm sure you can. I mean you are a decent ninja and you do seem to care about the people of Konoha. Although it would look pretty stupid to chisel someone's face in a rock, when all you can ever see is his left eye."

"So you really don't want to be hokage anymore?" Kakashi asked, turning the conversation serious and solemn almost instantly.

"No. I don't."

"Naruto, are you really going to give up on your dream, just because of one bad incident?"

The corner of Naruto's mouth curved up just slightly and Kakashi wondered if he had not chosen his words carefully enough. It was not his intention to belittle the experience.

"My life has been a series of bad incidents. You and Iruka have both said that getting anything through my thick skull takes a mallet." Naruto's voice was very quiet, which was very unusual and therefore very unnerving for Kakashi. "I think this last 'bad incident' was that mallet blow. I mean I finally get it. If I had any remaining delusions of the villagers forgiveness and my acceptance, I don't anymore."

"Naruto, there are some of use who've come around. Not just Iruka and myself, but when you last participated in the chunin exam, there were several Konoha ninjas who were paying close attention to your match. You've begun to earn respect and that does change people's minds."

"Professional respect is fine. I mean I'm happy about that, cause I'll take what I can get. But there will always be some people that I'll never get through to."

"So what? There's always going to be people like that. There are still plenty of people who aren't happy about Tsunade's appointment. Forget about them, they're not important."

"As hokage, I wouldn't be able to forget about them. Each villager is important. Even the ones that want to see me miserable and dead. That's what being hokage is all about. It's not just being the strongest ninja, but you have to love the people of Konoha and be willing to sacrifice anything for them, your life, your dreams, even your only child."

Kakashi paled, visibly so. "How did you find out?"

"Jiraiya let it slip when he was drunk and trying to get some girl half his age to spend the night with him. He actually told her that I was the fourth's son. I figured he was just desperate to get laid and so did just about everyone else. But a couple of people starting looking at me really hard and you could hear these gasps and people saying stuff like 'Oh my God, he does look just like the fourth' and 'it must be true if one of the three masters says so'. And I still thought it was total crap, but when I looked at Jiraiya, he looked like he'd just let the biggest secret that no one was ever supposed to tell slip out, and I knew it was true."

"Naruto, your father..."

"Was your instructor. I know. That's why I think you'd be a candidate for when Tsunade decides to step down. You're a skilled ninja, you refuse to leave a teammate behind and despite your total disregard for puncuality, you always are where you say you'll be, eventually. So I guess you're reliable."

"That's very kind of you Naruto. But what I wanted to say was that your father was a very compassionate human being. He looked at the demon fox vessel as the village's savior. He wanted others to see you that way. I have often wondered if he would still love this village, if he could see how they've treated you."

"Is that why you were made my instructor?"

"There were several reasons actually. But it is" Kakashi sighed, having difficulty finding words for what he wanted to say, "well it gives me some small peace to know that I can watch over you on his behalf."

"Huh. I wasn't expecting you to say that."

"Naruto, I don't want to be hokage. The job should go to someone who wants it with all their heart. Someone who's dreamed about it and worked for it everyday. I know you've been thinking about this for several weeks now, but I want you to think about this some more. Not now, you need to step back from this situation and let time pass. Just don't commit to anything right now. Give yourself time." Kakashi could see his words were not getting through to the young man, who sat passively on the couch with a look of tired resignation. He decided to try a different tactic. "If you don't continue to persue being hokage, then Konohamaru may not work so hard to compete against you."

"Don't worry Kakashi, sir. I will still train as hard as always. I still want to kick Sasuke's ass, even if it isn't to impress Sakura. He's just such a smart ass. Besides, I know I let my guard down."

That wasn't exactly what Kakashi wanted to hear, but for now he'd take it. "Naruto we'll begin training on Monday morning at 7 a.m. I expect you to be prepared, which means eating a proper diet."

"Yes sir." Naruto perked up instantly.

"And Naruto?"

"Yes."

"Don't tell anyone I asked, but just what the heck is Sakura looking for?"

"Well duh, she just wants a guy who can take care of her and protect her and make her feel safe. I mean isn't that what all girls want?"

Epilouge

"Nobody knows who I really am"
"I never felt this empty before"
"And if I ever need someone to come along"
"Who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong?"******

Kakashi knew he should be used to Asuma's smoking, but it bothered him more and more in recent years. How did the man manage to complete a mission with lungs filled up with tar? Kakashi's own missions were getting harder. An overextended knee that never seemed to heal was hurting again and he hadn't been offered an S class mission in over two years. It wasn't that he had really wanted to become hokage, he just thought that maybe he could hold the position until a certain former student of his cracked.

They had all been working on Naruto lately. Looking for the boy who used to be. Honestly he felt a bit sorry for his former student. He knew he had to stop thinking of them that way. They were all adults, capable ninja who were probably more mentally well-adjusted than he had ever been. Despite traumas in the past and present, they were all functioning human beings and that was enough right?

Everyone still expected Naruto to resume his quest to be hokage, but that was something that Naruto never waivered on. He said that he let that go years ago, but now that Tsunade was looking to step down, others were pressing Naruto once again. Especially Shikamura, because he was the most likely candidate and the least enthusiastic. The thing was Naruto still wanted to be hokage. He was sure of it, because with each new candidate's name, Naruto found fault. Clearly Naruto thought of himself as the best choice, but wouldn't say so. He just noted Shikamura's laziness, Kakashi's waning strength (never to his face), Sasuke's priority to his clan, Kurenai's failure against Itachi and Kisame in the last attack and so on and so forth and not that it ever came up, but Kakashi suspected that Naruto would even find fault with Iruka, if that name were suggested. It was amusing in a way because it reminded him of the old Naruto. The loud-mouth braggard who could never see his own faults and constantly challenged ninja far outside his level. But Naruto always managed to win his battles and now there were no ninja outside his level, because he was at the top. He still wasn't the brightest person Kakashi had ever come across, but the hokage was surrounded by intelligent people he or she could consult. Most of all Naruto was a hard worker. He'd be a good hokage. He was most ninja’s secret choice. The one no one voiced because he'd said no a long time ago. But they all were working on him. Dropping suggestions and just putting the idea back in his head, as if it had ever left.

Sakura would be a good choice to advise Naruto. Sakura had grown up strong and beautiful but her brain was still her greatest asset. Of course it was terribly bothersome when Sasuke had pointed her maturity out to Kakashi, all those years ago. It was not good for an instructor to look at his students as anything more than students. When Sasuke assumed, quite erroneously, that Kakashi was Sakura's true crush, Kakashi had found himself becoming overprotective of the young woman that he thought was growing up too quickly. Sakura's on again off again relationship with Genma ended with Genma's death. Sadly Genma and Kakashi's professional relationship suffered in the meantime. He knew it was not his place to comment on others personal affairs but he often felt Genma took advantage of Sakura's naivete and felt it was impossible to hold his tongue after sighting his former student in tears over some tiff or another.

Now he was butting in on another former student's personal territory. Why he was getting hit up with this task over Iruka was beyond his reasoning. Iruka seemed a better choice to him, since he was still the closest person to Naruto. But Iruka insisted that time and experience had changed Naruto's opinions at least in the professional arena. He said that Naruto recognized Kakashi as the better ninja and thus better advisor in professional matters. Iruka insisted Kakashi was the image Naruto looked up to not him. Kakashi thought that was a cop-out. Children never truly let go of their idols. They hold on to those guilded images long past the years when tarnish wore away at the golden surface. But Iruka insisted and thus Kakashi was outside Naruto's apartment, waiting for the young man to emerge and make his way down to his favorite bar, which he always frequented the night after returning from a mission.

Many ninja chose to dull the memories of a mission with alcohol. Kakashi had other vices. Porn may earn him a funny look or two from the other villagers, but it was better than a bleeding liver.

The evening started off very relaxed. Naruto was happy to have company and even bought the first round. Of course they didn't discuss the mission, that was taboo for all ninja but it was obvious that it had been an unpleasant one. Naruto was drinking more heavily, than Kakashi was accustomed to seeing.

"They still haven't picked a successor for Tsunade."

"Yeah, poor granny's getting anxious too. Despite her facade, she's old, real old.

Her poor bones are creaking." "Naruto, I didn't know that you got mean when you get this drunk."

Naruto waved his hand in the air, whether he was signaling for more drinks or just waving off what Kakashi said, was hard to tell. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant, I can hear it when she moves. As you get older the cartlidge between your joints wears out and your bones actually creak."

"Okay, I am surprised that you knew that, but even so, it's impossible to actually hear such a thing."

Naruto frowned, quite deeply. Alcohol seemed to be exaggerating all of his features and reactions. "Hey I listen, even though Sakura tends to rattle on forever on all that gross nin-medic stuff. I listen. It'd be rude not to, especially when she pays for my ramen."

"You managed to get Sakura to buy you ramen? Did she win the lottery and forget to tell me?"

"Nah, she offered." Naruto scowled, deepening his frown even more. "She was pushing about me being hokage. I don't know why people keep bringing that up."

"Oh I see." Now Kakashi frowned. He had a feeling he was about to ruin Naruto's night. "I take it you weren't receptive to her."

Naruto waved again. This time it was clear that he wanted more alcohol. "Of course I wasn't. I haven't been interested in being hokage for a long time. You know that. Why isn't anyone taking me seriously? You understand don't you Kakashi sir. You were there, you remember?"

Kakashi nodded, soberly. Of course he remembered. It was something he could not forget, even after all these years. Even after seeing things that would turn an old warrior's stomach, that memory stood out in his mind. It was because he cared so much for those kids. That's how he saw them back then, they were so young, his first sucessful genin team. They suffered so much, Naruto most of all. He remembered, but "I still don't understand. You suffered because of a villager who hated the nine-tailed demon and you couldn't see yourself fighting for these villagers who treated you with hatred and anger. But you of all people have always talked about how you fight and never give up because of your precious people. All of those people are here in this village are they not? Sakura, Sasuke, Iruka, Tsunade, Hinata and so many others, they are part of this village as well and they are the ones that you would be protecting if you were hokage."

Naruto shook his head, looking sad. "It's not that simple. If I were hokage, I would tied to this village, but I can't be tied to any one place. I have to be able to leave when the time comes." Naruto popped the top off of his beer and took a deep drag.

Meanwhile Kakashi just stared. He was completely confused. Of course Naruto was totally drunk, so maybe the fact that what he just said didn't make any sense at all, was just because the young man didn't know what he was saying or wasn't following thier conversation, but Kakashi had thought the young man was rather lucid just a few moments ago. So he dicided to push a little more. "What does that mean? You can't leave, you'd be a missing nin."

"That wouldn't be as bad as what I could be, if I didn't leave."

"Huh?" Not the most articulate response, but it definitely summed up Kakashi's thoughts at the moment.

"Nevermind. I don't wanna be hokage, 'kay? What I want" Naruto leaned in a little closer, than thankfully turned his head away before yelling, "Is another beer!"

Kakashi couldn't just accept that. He hoped Naruto was trying to tell him something before. He wanted to change the other man's mind. Quite simply Naruto had a light in his soul. Most people never saw it because they only saw the nine-tailed fox demon and that dark soul, but as the years wore on and genins became chunin, and chunin became jounin and pieces of the soul turned dark and rotted away while stepping from one level to the next in their bloodly trade, Naruto's soul never seemed to dim as all the others did. He still had this unshakable faith in others and compassion for even his worst foe. Perhaps that was Iruka's influence. That Naruto could make one man's weakness his strength was a true testament to just how great a ninja he had become. Of course Naruto had advantages. He did train under Jiraiya and had won over Tsunade long ago, thus always gaining the hokage's ear. His rivarly with Sasuke pushed him in his training more than Kakashi alone could. Even the villagers cruel treatment when he was a child served to strengthen Naruto in much ways that battle experience did.

Of course all of that was hard to see right now, with Naruto practically falling out of his chair, half-shouting, half-whispering about the creaking bones and bad dreams. And then Kakashi was mad, it just seemed to come upon him all of a sudden.

"Shut up Naruto. You are not going to become a missing nin! You are not leaving. You are not bad!"

"But I enjoyed it. In the dreams, it was fun and I can't stay. I would have to leave to protect the village."

"What are you saying? What are you talking about? We all have bad dreams, we're ninja. I don't care what you did on your last mission. I've done and seen worse and I didn't get stinking drunk and cry about it afterwards. Pull yourself together!" Because Naruto was crying as much as any ninja in public ever has, which was to say they were silent, dry tears but Kakashi recognized them for what they were. Kakashi was upset because Naruto wasn't weak and he didn't get drunk over nasty missions and he didn't cry because he killed someone who was just like him, doing a job and nothing more. Kakashi was upset because he didn't know why Naruto was crying and he had a feeling that maybe Naruto hadn't put the ghosts of his past behind him. Quite simply Kakashi didn't know how to handle emotional breakdowns and it seemed that that was the path Naruto was on right now.

But Naruto wasn't having an emotional breakdown. He was crying for his villagers, the villagers that he loved and he wanted to protect them and he wanted to be hokage, because he had always wanted to be hokage and he couldn't be hokage because he was the greatest threat to this village. His dreams weren't about missions gone wrong, or killing people who might be considered innocent in the line of duty. His dreams weren't his at all. They were terrible violent dreams of the day he was born. They were of blood and death and screams in the night. They were of strong soliders fighting with all their hearts and falling down like a child's toy, completely useless. They were of mothers being torn apart from their children and children aging a lifetime in a second. They were the nine-tailed demons memories and so they were lanced with joy, with the rush of omnipotent strength. They were remembered in the dead of night when Naruto's subconscious took over and tapped into the dark soul resting in his stomach.

Somewhere in Naruto's inebriated diatribe, Kakashi heard it all. He put the peices together, because that was his gift and he understood why Naruto was adamant about not becoming hokage. He heard the fear and he respected it and sat in awe of this young man who knew exactly what evil was resting just beneath his skin.

"Because I didn't die from that stab wound, but I should have, anyone else would have, and I really can hear Tsunade's bones creak and I could smell TenTen on Neji even after they broke up so I told Ino that she should dump him, but of course she didn't listen to me."

"So he's in there."

"And I think it’s okay, the seal will hold, but sometimes I wonder, because I need him. I couldn't summon the larger toads without him and..."

"Is he stronger, closer to the surface? Do you think the seal's breaking?" Kakashi asked, numb and afraid. His mind was moving a mile a minute to figure out how the seal can be reinforced.

Naruto shook his head. "No way, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Naruto laid back in his chair, one hand secure around the neck of his beer, the other waving away the morose air. "It's hard not to want that strength. It's here." Naruto pointed to his chest, tapping the glass bottle against it once or twice. "It's right here, all the power anyone could ever want. It's why Itachi's still after me, 'cause he thinks he can get it out of me, but he can't. I'm the only one who can tap into it. It's all mine if I want it."

"But you wouldn't Naruto. You're powerful enough."

Naruto nodded from chin to forehead and forehead to chin. "Of course I don't need it now, but what if something really big threatened the village like when Orachimaru attacked with the Sand and Sound or when the fourth had to sacrifice himself?"

"I think I understand. You're afraid that by trying to save the village, you'd destroy it by tapping into a power you're not sure that you can control."

Naruto nodded again, in his exaggerated way. "I would rather leave than ever take that chance."

"Do you think you could leave, especially in a situation like that?"

Naruto shrugged and it was funny, because he almost fell out of his chair by doing so. "I dunno, but if I were hokage, I couldn't leave, not at all. I wouldn't have a choice."

Kakashi nodded. He didn't know what he would say to the others, because what he learned tonight would only hurt Naruto, if other knew, but he'd figure out something. They had to stop pushing him now, of that he was sure, because it was too much of a burden to place on someone who already had so many burdens to deal with. So instead he steered the conversation back to other things, like just how long Neji was cheating on Ino and what creaking bones actually sounded like. Eventually he half-carried, half-dragged his former pupil back to his apartment and left him to fight of a killer headache the next day.

When Kakashi got home, he pulled off his vest and forehead protector and washed his face in mirror. He got in bed, pulled the covers up to his nose and picked up a particularly lewd volume of Make-out Paradise. It was a night made for vice.

*Lyrics from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd G.I.G. opening
**Lyrics from the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes"
***Lyrics from Pat Benatar's "Hell is for Children"
****Lyrics from The Cure's "39"
*****Lyrics from Aerosmith's "Dream On"

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