A/N: I think of this as a sequel to "Under the sun, where we belong", but you don't need to read that first.

Here comes the night

Kakashi

With great reluctance he opened his eyes to the hospitable light in the tiny room. It consisted of two beds to one side, a desk to the other and a window in between. In the bed above him his roommate was still sleeping, snoring loud enough for anyone to consider it psychological terror. Kakashi took his earplugs out.

Their camp was situated ten minutes away from the village. People were generally wary of him, not so much because he was from Konoha but more because of the reputation he had that followed him around like a ball on a chain, leaving a dried out riverbed behind him wherever he went. He'd arrived four months ago, on a mission to strengthen the bonds between Sound and Fire country. All things considered, it had gone well. Those in charge had requested help from Konoha in the form of an overseer, helping them to speed up the process of obtaining a military force. Ever since the unjust attack on Konoha by sound nin the country had been the subject of various meetings at the Kage gatherings, which resulted in reprisals being placed upon the struggling country. For example they could only keep a certain number of fighting class shinobi, and those were the men Kakashi worked with. Of course he also had the job of gathering information about Sound country, their leaders and their future ambitions, not to mention keeping an eye out for Orochimaru. There had been no reports or sighting of him ever since the last battle, but to assume he was dead would be foolish. After all, he had a tendency to come back to life.

Because of his position he had practically unlimited insight into Otogakures military forces, which kind of was the point. Him being placed there was a quiet attempt to wash their hands of the attack that ultimately led to Sarutobi-samas death. The leader of the ninja village, a burly man in his forties without any real power, wouldn't be caught dead apologizing for something that had happened before he got to the leading position, but this was practically the same thing. Come see for yourselves, we're your allies.

Kakashi was pleased with what he saw, the nin were effective and good at defense, a valuable trait. The military had been shrunk from an all-encompassing kind of force to a more direct "go where needed" type of regiment, which was good for all of Sounds' neighbors since they wouldn't be attacking anyone in the future. Their soldiers may be above average, but when it came to the sheer number of men, they weren't a force to be reckoned with. He just hoped no one thought about attacking Sound instead.

His days went by quickly out there in the forest, he had no weekends off to mark the number of weeks. Every day looked the same; he got up, ate breakfast mostly consisting of grilled fish, rice, rolled omelets, whatever was closest in the fridge. He then went to the morning meeting where he listened to the Sound officials as they went through a list of news, some local and some not. He always listened closely, and since no one asked him questions or even cared about his presence he was left alone to think. Sound had few problems with outside forces, their neighbors (including Konoha) seemed to stay on their side of the border. No, a far more worrisome issue was the wave of break-ins that traveled from one village to the next in a malevolent stream of fear. No one knew if the thieves were shinobi or civilian citizens, but it was troublesome nonetheless. Kakashi subjected it all to memory to get a report to Tsunade later.

After the meeting it was time for training. Most of the groups were good at defense and protection, but not so much at planning and staging combats; individually they were clever, but once they were supposed to function as a group or team their cooperation faltered. It was a big difference in teaching a whole platoons' worth of nin ranked chuunin or higher instead of barely-made genins, but he found that he enjoyed the difference.

He ate lunch every day in the canteen, where everybody ate, and he usually sat alone in some corner. He didn't mind.

The afternoons were spent with the shinobi again, focusing on more theoretical lessons, troop formations, general tactics, showing them different scenarios and outcomes. He kept the afternoon classes short, usually about an hour, the remaining time he spent on writing a report to Tsunade, though of course he couldn't write anything too explicit since they read his letters (for everybody's sake he pretended he hadn't noticed, it was only to be expected) but instead hoped she would read between the lines. Not that there was anything exciting to report about.

In the beginning his job had simply been to live there and get acquainted with the Otogakure nin and their leaders, but a captain had almost gone nuts after seeing him loitering around day after day, and had gruffly ordered him to "teach the new recruits something, don't just stand there and look stupid." He'd held an impromptu class on chakra affinity and the shinobi were overjoyed. He wasn't aware of it at first, but he almost enjoyed being back in teaching, though with other students. He never told them anything important, but it was fun to see them so readily applying what he'd taught them on their training. Especially the younger students looked at him with awe, something that amused him to no end. They still thought he was cool. He wasn't even late that often.

Every night he went out on a run, making sure to stay in shape. He dreaded waking up one day and realizing he wasn't as fit as he used to be. When he came back he would read his book and fall asleep, only to begin again the next day. It bothered him and at the same time did not, having such a structured subsistence.

Exactly five months after he had gotten there a Sound shinobi had slowly begun to approach him. She was around twenty-five, he guessed, with black hair and green eyes. Her name was Riko, and she was the daughter of a general that had died in the last conflict. Like a curious cat she had strolled up to him when he wasn't looking, and he wasn't sure of how to deal with her invites. He liked her, she was funny and clever, but his heart was elsewhere. She seemed to sense it too because the careful nudges stopped. They kept talking though, and one day she dragged him out into the woods, following a thin path, leaves brushing against them on both sides as if the forest had done some thinking and had decided to revoke their right to travel through it.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" he asked after getting slapped across the face by an insisting branch.

She dodged the leaves expertly, "Yeah, we're almost there. I used to go here all the time with my friend before she moved to Konoha. Her name's Yuki, you know her?"

He took a second to think but came up with nothing. "I don't think so."

By then the path had gotten wider and she hurried up, her ponytail bouncing, the shining hair spreading out across her shoulders like a black tide, approaching and retreating with each of her steps. He looked up only to see the barren night sky, countless stars strewn across it and when she lay down in the thick grass he did the same, some distance away from her. They were at the edge of the forest with the village behind them, in front of them a valley stretched out between mountains. There was no moon and the stars were all on display, competing against each other.

"The first time we were here we had gotten lost on our way back after a mission, and we just sat down to rest for a while. And then we saw the stars..."

At the same time she was telling him she was talking to herself.

He was quiet, let his thoughts wander.

"Kakashi-san," she went on, now watchful.

He suspected which way the conversation was headed but did nothing to avert it. "Hm?"

"Do you... Do you have a girlfriend?"

Well, that was direct. He took a second to breathe, buy himself some time, couldn't see her expression from where he was but didn't sit up, didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Ah..." He knew he was supposed to continue, but didn't, couldn't.

"I understand," she said in a neutral voice, and he knew she wouldn't push the matter.

There was an earthy, soft sound as she leaned back against the grass and sighed.

"It sure is beautiful."

"Yeah," he agreed and looked up at the sky.

It was easier to keep him off his mind when he wasn't home, when he wasn't near, and during the last couple of months that wild, roaring sensation he'd felt had eased its grip a little bit, had become manageable. It wasn't gone, far from it, but it now felt like a slight buzzing in the background. Going away had done him good, he reasoned, lying on his back, legs crossed, one arm behind his head and the other beside him on the ground, fingers nestling in the grass. Of course he missed him, but this was better for everyone, that he'd try to forget and pretend like nothing.

Could it be called an infatuation (not love, it wasn't love) even if the person he thought of had no idea or feelings matching his?

It probably couldn't.

It had been five months since he'd left Konoha, five months since he'd last seen him, laughing and joking with Sakura. What was he doing now? Was he seeing anyone? Did he have someone special in his life? He was filled with dread at the thought but knew he had no right to feel that way.

What are you doing, Naruto?

Soon he'd get to see him. He wondered if he'd changed. Kakashi looked up into the endless void, only disguised by faint dots of yellow light, holding it back.

I still think of you.

Naruto

He'd put his tent up by a little brook, and as he lay still he listened to its quiet beckoning, as it slowly ate its way into the ground that enclosed it. He still hadn't gotten used to the tent, a black, depressing wobbly thing, prone to collapsing on him at inappropriate times. But it was part of his training that he'd learn to put up and handle a tent, and so here he was, seventh week of ANBU training, fighting almost constantly when the sun was up, and at night keeping an eye out for attackers and such.

When Tsunade had first suggested it he'd been enthusiastic. He had very much enjoyed his mission in Iwagakure with Kakashi where he'd gotten to "infiltrate" their headquarter and claim to be somebody else. He thought he'd done good, Kakashi had praised him, and so he'd been quite upset to hear that his sensei didn't recommend it.

She'd started by telling him that it would be good for him to get some insight of ANBU and their working methods, a suggestion to which he readily agreed. He was a bit nervous, as he stood in her office. This was, after all, his future being decided.

"Did Kakashi talk to you about a career in ANBU?" she asked, looming over her steady wooden desk.

"He did," Naruto said, but then changed his mind. "Or, well, he asked me if I had considered it."

She furrowed her brows, sat up straighter, giving him all her attention.

"And what did you say?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure! I don't know which branch I want to join though."

Tsunade smiled a little, "Oh no, we're not discussing employment, just training."

He didn't follow. "...we are?"

She nodded, "Kakashi was actually the one who advised against it."

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, and then he felt betrayed. He was hurt, betrayed, and suddenly doubtful. Why had he done that? Why was Kakashi doubting him? He was fully aware of the fact that he wasn't more than a relatively clever strategist, not like Shikamaru or even Kakashi himself that could think a dozen steps ahead. Was he simply not good enough? In Iwagakure it had seemed like Kakashi almost wanted him to join ANBU. What had changed?

"Why?" he asked, demanding a reason for his sudden change of heart.

The Hokage cleared her throat and looked at him again.

"When I asked him the same thing he said 'he doesn't have the heart'. Any idea what he meant by that?"

He doesn't have the heart.

What did that even mean?! He couldn't think of a single time he'd failed to do his bidding, or any order for that matter, because of his heart. He thought another while, and by then he was pretty sure he'd never been in such a position except once, and he was determined not to think about that, since it had been a necessity at the time, out on the battlefield. He'd only ever killed one person, Madara, though he had gravely wounded a lot. Like the time with the Akatsuki guy with five hearts, where he'd used his rasen shuriken for the first time. That time he hadn't even had the thought of finishing him off, had left it on Kakashi-sensei to end his misery. The misery Naruto had put him in... He didn't like hurting people, but he had to sometimes.

Tsunade was awaiting a reaction.

"I think it's unfair to not even let me try."

Who the hell was he to decide anyway?

She eyed him, putting plans into place that he had no idea of.

"I've talked to two ANBU operatives that will be in charge of your training. They're called Hound and Owl."

Naruto stifled a laugh.

"Starting tomorrow you will do everything they tell you to."

He nodded. Hound, huh? They really had to think of better code names, this was horrible.

His teachers, two masked ANBU nin had taken it upon them to learn him as much as they possibly could in the limited amount of time they had.

"You'll be forced to learn a hell of a lot faster than a regular student," Owl had explained their first morning together, on the outskirts of training ground ten.

"Normally this takes two years, and we have less than a fourth of that."

They were both fit, and seemed a bit older than himself. He couldn't tell if he'd met them before, but it didn't feel like it.

"I would refrain from thinking of this like the Academy," the man wearing a dog mask chimed in. "There you get to go home at the end of the day. You are not setting your foot inside Konoha unless we say so."

Naruto nodded, tried to swallow down a lump in his throat despite the fact that his mouth was as dry as a desert.

"Also..." Hound said, and Naruto couldn't see it but heard that he'd started smiling from the leer in his voice. "If you are having troubles, I won't hesitate to beat it into you."

After a quick evaluation Naruto had guessed Hound to be a bit younger, and Owl to be older and thereby the stern one, but after his statement he quickly changed opinion. Owl definitely made the calls, but Hound was the one to be especially wary of.

That was how his training started, an early Tuesday morning.

A little part of him had expected Kakashi to be the one to meet him, standing as impeccably slouching as always, looking nonplussed and interested at the same time. He hadn't even known he'd been hoping for it until he'd met his teachers' chakras and not recognizing them.

The whole thing had started with a test, or at least that was what he'd thought it was, the few moments he had over to think. They had started at six thirty, chasing him, surrounding him, making him fight them one by one. They were both experienced fighters, he could tell from their relaxed stances that constantly had him on edge, seeing which way he would move before he did it. He'd started out carefully, not wanting to hurt, a decision he'd quickly regretted when he'd lashed out at Owl only to get a harsh blow to the back of his head in return. He blinked away a couple of tears that sprung up because of the pain. Ow. They weren't playing nice. Then again, who could blame them?

I'm a Jinchuuriki, he thought, and spat out a mouthful of dirt. Why aren't I acting like one?

They were quick, and that just meant he'd have to be quicker. As soon as he'd entered chakra mode, speed wouldn't be a problem. But every time he got a second away from the battle, about to gather up energy and make the seals, they were there again.

"You need to become faster without relying on the Demon's strength. You lack stamina." Hound said sourly.

His words stung but he knew it was true, he was trusting Kuramas power too much. He had another thought.

"Wait, so I can't use chakra mode at all?"

Hound was now in front of him, surely about to haul himself forwards, he was vaguely aware of Owl circling him, in the forest, out of sight.

The man chuckled, "Of course you can. If you ever get the time to make the seals, that is..." and he had barely finished his sentence before he sent a wave of knives flying and Naruto had to duck. From behind him he sensed Hound's chakra and he veered, the one throwing the kunais must have been a clone.

The ANBU were a competent team, without talking they lured him into traps and ambushes. He had great use of his newly acquired ability to sense chakra and sent Kakashi-sensei a thankful thought. Though after a while it seemed they had figured out he knew which way they were approaching from and they changed tactics.

He didn't even know what time it was, just that it had gotten late and he was becoming tired. Not just tired, but exhausted, a weariness that made his movements slower and decisions increasingly hazardous. His teachers had sensed it and became more aggressive than before, he knew that was the point, to exhaust him, and thereby teaching him...something. He hated to admit it, but he wasn't sure how long he could go on for, now he was relying on Kurama's power to even stand upright. Going into chakra mode wasn't even on the map, every muscle of his body protested in agony every time he moved.

They were beside a little river, having boxed him in, not that it mattered since he could escape across the water if need be, but he remained, trying to catch his breath without letting it show. He had started to wonder when this hellish lesson would end so that he could rest for just a bit, maybe sit down... They all stood still for a moment, he opened his mouth as if to say something, anything, didn't know what yet. Hound was closest, saw the hesitation on his face.

"You're neither dead nor dying. Why the hell are you stopping?"

Naruto suspected any answer he would come up with would earn him an earful. He was quiet.

Hound pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag.

"You still think of this as training, you need to think of this as a real battle. Until you act accordingly, I will keep attacking you."

Think of this as a real battle.

What would he do in a real battle? All battles ended when you defeated the enemy.

He flung himself out of the kunai's path and doubled back to avoid the blast.

He tried to think logically about it, which was difficult enough even without people out to hurt him. The smartest person he knew was definitely Shikamaru. What would he do?

No doubt about it, Shikamaru would have played it differently from the start.

A clone of Hound had him teetering on the edge of the trees.

This wasn't working out, he needed to get away, to think. But how the hell did you go about that with two ANBU guards following his every move?

I need to create a diversion. Several diversions. In the middle of a forest.

The answer hit him, and he could have kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. With a final rush of energy-soaked adrenaline he created a multitude of kage bunshins, all setting out in different directions with various speed. He hoped that if they all moved in a different way there would be no version that stood out and tipped them off.

Five minutes later he rushed back across the lake, confident that neither Owl not Hound had seen him. As he rushed on, deeper into the forest on the other side of the body of water he felt the clones' memories returning in chunks. It was a little unsettling to be discarded of so many times by his teachers, but they were just clones, he reminded himself. Maybe ten minutes later he felt the last one disappearing, but by then he was very far away. When he felt he couldn't go farther he climbed up a tree, created a new clone and put it in sage mode, while he leaned against a branch and instantly nodded off. So tired, but damn proud.

Ever since that first night he wasn't nervous anymore, he knew he'd be alright. It was a little flame within him, lit by pride. Slowly he learned how the ANBU were thinking, what to do when fighting them, and with a bit of luck, avoiding them long enough to get an hour or two of sleep. He learned to sleep lightly, otherwise they had time to gang up on him and, a few times when he was completely exhausted, they were able to sneak up on him and pour an entire bucket of ice cold water over him, Owl chuckling as he yelled and scrambled to his feet.

"You weren't paying attention. It is your own fault," Hound said pointedly.

Naruto muttered a couple of carefully chosen words that earned him another round of easy laughs, which only served to agitate him further.

After two months of the insane boot-camp they started having lessons on fighting styles and techniques, weapons, intelligence gathering, even a brief history of the ANBU-ops. His tutors gradually warmed up to him, Owl more so than Hound, who at least toned down his hostility a bit. The mornings were spent in a little, forgotten classroom in the Academy with Owl trying to teach him and Hound sitting in the back, usually nodding off. In the afternoons they were out, and he got used to the lifestyle, got used to waking up at five am, though by then he got to sleep in his own bed.

The days passed him by, he tried to commit them to memory but failed, the inside of his mind was like a ceramic bowl, smooth, refusing to leave any trace behind. Another three months passed and before he knew it they were done.

"I regret to say it, but the Hokage is wondering if you're ever coming back."

His head felt curiously empty of anything that wasn't military terms.

"Oh," he said. He cleared his throat, ransacked his brain for something a little more intelligent. "...already?"

Hound snorted. "Is it that fun getting your ass kicked?"

Naruto smiled back. "You have no idea."

Despite having spent so much time with them he still didn't know that much about either of them. And now he'd have to leave them. He'd tried asking them a little more personal questions and they hadn't answered, probably weren't at liberty to. He still regretted not having tried harder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll see more of us," Owl added, as if having read his mind.

"If you ever change your mind about the service..." Owl continued, in that oddly neutral voice of his.

He started smiling again. "You'll be happy to kick my ass any day, you mean?"

Hound nodded. "That's right. Say hello to your sensei from me."

Naruto nodded again. "Will do." He turned around to pick up his backpack that he'd left on the ground, slung it over his shoulder. "Well I guess this is goodbye-"

He was alone. With a sigh he pushed the bag up further on his shoulder and he went home, listening to the inelegant sound of kunais and scrolls rattling around at his back.

Kakashi

After his sixth month in Sound country he had a meeting with the leaders and his appointed boss. They explained that his visit had been very beneficial but that his assistance was no longer required. It was only to be expected. He thanked them in return for the experiences gained, talked a little about their common future, words they all expected to hear without especially wanting to. They exchanged some more pleasantries and then he was free to go.

As he walked down the street, enjoying the smells of fresh dango for the last time, it almost felt as if he'd miss the place. It was calm and cozy. Of course also incredibly boring, despite the risk of having Orochimaru slithering up out of the closest hole in the ground at any given moment, but if you ignored that, it was a nice place.

It took him a little more than a day to get back to Konoha, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped inside the huge green gates.

He was home.