A/N: To my giftee, ArtAlert :)
The moment the character "九" appears in the centre of Yamato's palm, he knows all is lost. The Kyuubi has shattered the seal.
A leaden weight sits in his stomach, sour with doubt and growing heavier with every step he takes towards Konoha. But he can't give up now; not with his senpai, his Hokage, and his entire village is relying on him to keep their bijuu contained. And of course, there is Naruto himself, whom Yamato has come to consider as his own student.
As he sprints towards Konoha, Yamato clenches his fist tight and lets the sting of the simmering seal bite into his palm. He and Anko had only taken a short trip out of the village to track down Kabuto— what could have possibly happened to cause Naruto to lose control so completely?
"Sage...!"
At Anko's breathless exclamation, Yamato snaps out of his spiralling sense of panic, only to be stunned into silence by the shockingly ravaged landscape. Where the Shodaime's dense forests had once guarded the Western border of Konoha, a clear path half a mile wide has been carved into the ground, tree roots and chunks of soil churned up onto either side. They pass by tree trunks thicker than Yamato's waist, snapped like mere twigs and crushed into the deep imprints of clawed paws.
It's the silence that really sets Yamato's teeth on edge, however. It rings in his ears like tinnitus from a head-blow, worsened only by the viscous chakra coating his teeth with every breath. It has been a decade and a half since the Yondaime's death, but neither he nor Anko have forgotten the malevolent weight of the Kyuubi's power.
They slow to a stop at the edge of a crater, their feet faltering as they stumble on the scorched, crumbling earth. "Where's the kid?" Anko asks, her voice hushed. She looks around with wide eyes, fear written in the pinch of her mouth.
Grimacing as well, Yamato takes in the wilted pines and dust-clogged air. "I can't sense him," he mutters. Tiny, ashen particles have begun to settle onto their clothes and hair, and more particles are swirling above them, blotting out the sunlight with clouds of grey.
Anko's walkie-talkie comes alive with a sudden buzz of static, the sharp sound making both of them flinch. Scowling, she plucks the device from her belt and holds it to her ear. "Mitarashi speaking."
"Anko-san." It's Sakura's voice that comes crackling through. Yamato's eyebrows fly up in concern and Anko shrugs. The pink-haired medic sounds like she has been crying, but she gives the report succinctly.
"Konoha has been attacked by a sub-group of the Akatsuki called the Six Paths of Pain. Naruto went after the person controlling them, but we're not sure what happened afterwards. Please be careful, Anko-san, Yamato-taichou. Pain's assault has resulted in grave casualties." Her voice breaks on the last sentence.
"Roger that, Sakura-san. We'll report in soon."
"Please, do not engage either Pain or Naruto. The last we saw of him—"
"Pain is dead."
The walkie-talkie clatters onto the ground as the two jounin whip around in shock, their hands clasped in the starting seals for their respective jutsu. How...?!
"What's wrong?" Sakura asks, her voice distorted by static. "Anko-san? Yamato-taichou?"
Yamato swallows around the lump lodged in his throat - his palpitating heart, perhaps - and doesn't reply.
The person who just appeared looks between them with red, slit-pupiled eyes, his nine tails waving behind him lazily. His head tilts slightly to the left as if he's listening to something only he can hear, and clawed hands pick at the tattered remains of Naruto's trademark orange. Even though none of them have spoken a word, the young man huffs to himself irritably, shaking his head. "Fine."
Yamato narrows his eyes.
"Anko-san?!" Sakura's voice is overly loud in the silence that chokes them. "What happened—"
The walkie-talkie smashes into tangled wire and warped plastic as not-Naruto brings one of his tails down on it like a hammer. Skidding into defensive crouches on either side of the bijuu's tail, Yamato and Anko spare a tense look at each other, their eyes darkening as the same realisation settles down on both their shoulders.
This isn't Naruto. What's standing before them is only a monster. A monster wearing Naruto's face.
"She's loud," not-Naruto grumbles in an uncharacteristically deep voice, the corners of his mouth twitching downwards in irritation. This, more than anything, solidifies Yamato's resolve. The real Naruto adores Sakura, even though his feelings have never been returned. He would never speak ill of his teammate, especially when she was only acting from concern.
When not-Naruto lifts his eyes again, his gaze is heavy-lidded and hazy with contempt. "Get lost, little shinobi. Naruto isn't here anymore." His nine long tails flare out behind him - a strange contrast to his otherwise human form - as he bares sharp canines.
Yamato's interlaced fingers tighten. "One last try," he tells himself as not-Naruto turns his back carelessly. He owes as much to everyone.
"Mokuton!"
A flash of red eyes.
A crack of wood.
Pain bursts along Yamato's back and at the back of his head as he smashes into a tree, propelled backwards and pinned there by the crushing grip over his throat.
"Knock, knock," not-Naruto laughs with sing-song sarcasm as Yamato struggles futilely, gasping beneath the iron grip of the young man's hand. The rising tide of the bijuu's chakra seems to increase gravity tenfold, dragging Yamato's limbs down as if they had turned into lead. "Who's there?" the bijuu continues, looking briefly skywards as he pretended to think. "Well..." Not-Naruto's gaze snaps down and meets Yamato's purpling face with a wide grin. "IT'S KURAMA NOW!"
Without even turning around, his tails bat Anko and her snakes away like flies, sending them crashing down the slope of the crater.
Cackling, the Kyuubi releases Yamato. The wood user collapses on legs that can no longer hold his weight, helpless to intervene as the bijuu lopes away. "Naruto!" he wheezes through burning lungs. "Naruto!"
But the boy is gone.
Huff, huff, huff. Stop. Paws skittering on the ground, soft dirt between his toes.
Circle. Sniff.
There's a faint scent of wolf at the base of the tree, but it's faint, washed thin by the recent downpour and the scent of growing flora. Wolves are no match for Kurama anyway, who is a tailed beast, a kitsune of old! What's important is that he's far, far away from those stinking humans. Satisfied, Kurama rubs his flank against the tree trunk, dragging his fur against the bark to mark the path that he had taken. Now that he has fully transformed into his four-legged, nine-tailed form, his thick fur crackles with bright orange sparks as he moves. Kurama doesn't worry, though. The bark is too damp to catch fire, and Kurama can put out the larges forest fires with a sweep of his tails if he wants to.
He's a beast of fire and fury! A fox of old, a trickster spirit now uncontained!
Kurama growls, feeling satisfaction coursing through his veins.
The dense forests of Fire Country surround him with the warmth of homecoming. He isn't sure where he is, but it doesn't matter as long as he's free. There's finally fresh air in his lungs, silence in his ears, and damn if he isn't going to enjoy it.
Kurama kneads the soft dirt beneath his paws, digging in his claws as he leans forward, feeling the coiled power of his limbs. He lets his anticipation build as he crouches, lowering his centre of gravity and settling his weight on his hind legs. With a spread of his tails for balance, he fixes his gaze on the invisible path he has chosen and—
Go!
He springs forward in one sudden, explosive move. His forelimbs reach forward as his tails sweep down, streamlining his body as he leaps through the air, fast as a loosed arrow. It's not unlike the release of a bijuudama, or the throw of a punch capable of crushing entire buildings, but this, this! His blood sings and his heart pounds with joy as sweet air fills his lungs.
His paws hit the ground again and again and he's flying, impossibly light on his feet as he dashes through the forest, faster and more agile than any mere animal. He can almost feel the claustrophobia and cramped pain of his imprisonment fading away.
No more chakra chains. No more cells.
He's free.
"You're really enjoying yourself, huh?"
Kurama lands on the forest floor, his four paws coming down neatly on the blanket of fallen leaves. His ears twitch in irritation, but something strangely like relief bubbles up within him too. Wondering at the curious lack of bitterness in the boy's voice, he turns his mind inwards and examines the miniature Naruto living at the back of Kurama's mind.
There are no dark sewers or metal bars here, only an endless expanse of rustling trees and gentle sunlight. It's a perfectly humane place to stay, if Kurama says so himself. The Kyuubi peers at the small, orange-clad human seated on the forest floor's bed of leaves. He looks younger than he should be, with shorter limbs and chubbier cheeks, but his eyes are old and grieving as he cranes his head back at Kurama's towering form. "Hey, Kyuubi."
This is nothing like Kurama's own imprisonment, the tailed beast reminds himself. His jailer freely chose to switch places with him, in return for Kurama's power and willingness to do something that his jailer couldn't bring himself to do. Kurama faithfully fulfilled his end of the bargain: Pain is dead as a doornail and none of Naruto's friends have been irreparably harmed by Kurama's hand. There is no reason why he should be feeling uncomfortable about Naruto's new living arrangements.
"Of course I'm glad," Kurama replies gruffly, unwilling to be anything but brutally honest. "I'm free."
"That's good," Naruto replies, sounding hollow despite the way that his mouth curves up into a wobbly smile.
The bijuu frowns. It seems too easy. He'd fought so hard all these years as he was passed from jinchuuriki to jinchuuriki. In the end, it was Naruto who had come begging.
"I don't know anything anymore!" Naruto had whispered, collapsing onto his knees before Kurama's cage. Outside the shuddering walls of their shared mental landscape, Pain's Chibaku Tensei slowly crushed them as Naruto's half-transformed bijuu form roared and clawed. Doubled over as if in physical pain, Naruto's fingers wound into his hair and tugged hard. "Somebody, help me. I can't... I can't protect anyone like this..."
Kurama remembers how his lip had curled with barely hidden scorn as he answered like he'd always had. "Destroy everything. Use my power, Naruto." The seal was weak and so was the boy's will. Victory was on the horizon. "My power is for you to take, Naruto."
The boy wiped his face slowly, face downturned as he sniffled. "Hey, Kyuubi…" His voice trembled and faded into nothing. When he collected himself again, the false cheer in his voice made Kurama gut twist. "You're right. Maybe... we can help each other."
That was not what Kurama had said, but it was close enough. Kurama waited as Naruto pushed himself up onto shaky legs. When he raised his head, he met Kurama's gaze squarely. "I'll undo the seal. But you've gotta promise me that you won't hurt anyone other than Pain. You've gotta promise!"
Beggars can't be choosers, but Kurama discovered a scrap of honour buried somewhere deep inside him. When the wood user and the snake summoner attacked, he'd been kind enough to stay his hand.
Naruto is quiet again now, small and lonely at the back of his mind. He has been like that ever since they'd taken off from Konoha at Kurama's fastest run. For once, the boy's endless supply of sunshine seems to have scraped the bottom of the barrel. There's no-one around to make Naruto perk back up with encouraging words or closed-eyed smiles, either.
The bijuu shakes himself as if he could physically throw off the inconvenient, nagging nip of guilt that comes with the memory of Naruto's downcast face.
Kurama's free. It doesn't matter.
They made a good deal.
"Are you crazy?" Ino exclaims as she stares at the veritable mountain of instant ramen that Sai had unsealed. There must be about fifty flavours in that one scroll alone, in about twenty different brands, all of them piled up so high that it reaches her knees.
Sai's face creases into his smile-not-smile. "Dickless likes ramen."
"But he's not—" She stops abruptly. Suddenly, the silence between them becomes like a physical weight. The smile on Sai's pale face slides off.
"Dammit, Ino!" she scolds herself. A helpless noise of frustration escapes her throat as she lifts her eyes up to the shifting canopy of leaves above. The Kyuubi's chakra flickers at the edge of her senses, cloaked but not quite hidden.
"He's not Naruto anymore," she'd almost said, but the words had stuck in her throat. It was burdensome enough that they had spent three days travelling with Yamato's chilling warnings hanging over them. To acknowledge the Kyuubi's takeover meant that they couldn't even pretend they were on their way to support a friend in need. Ino doesn't want to be that person, but it's the truth, isn't it? Yamato had been so sure. Danzou had been too, when he sent them on this mission. The only person who had insisted that Naruto was there somewhere was Sakura, but...
"It doesn't matter," Sai says lowly as he squats down to sort through the pile of ramen. "We're just on a recon mission. If Naruto comes by, we'll know that it's him. If he doesn't, we'll know that it's the Kyuubi."
Ino stares at his hunched back, a million thoughts running through her head.
("C'mon, Ino-pig! You know Naruto! He'd never give up like that!" Sakura broke out into a single sob that she quickly hid in the sleeves of her blood-stained scrubs. It takes everything in Ino to resist the urge to fold her friend into her arms, but she holds herself back. When Sakura looks up again, her eyes were hard and her voice steady. "Ino, promise me that you'll give him a chance. You know he deserves it more than anyone."
"I'm not going to take sides, Forehead." Objectivity was the greatest assurance she could give. "You're not even supposed to know about this."
Sakura's eyes darted about with the harried look of the surveilled as she worried at her chapped lip. "Fine, Ino-pig. You do what you're supposed to do." She turned on her heel. "And I'll do mine.")
It's all bubbling up inside Ino, pressing up from the inside of her skull like a jutsu gone wrong. Her conversation with Sakura had left her uneasy. What did she even mean? Did Sakura get what Ino was hinting at, or not?
Dammit. If only ROOT hasn't spread through Konoha like a bad case of lice. The only reason why Danzou assigned the mission to Ino and Sai was because he hadn't the resources to spare. What with eighty percent of Konoha crushed into dust, Tsunade still comatose, and a disproportionate number of jounin dead and gone, not even a dictator could handle everything with his personal secret service. Ino is the only sensor with enough experience yet expendable enough to throw at the Kyuubi. Since Danzou doesn't yet trust Yamato, even with Kakashi's influence now gone, Sai is ostensibly here to watch her. It's their only stroke of luck in a long, long time that Sai is, in fact, loyal to Naruto.
The clumsy clank of the pot on firewood startles her out of her thoughts. At the sight of ramen piled up in the pot, Ino sighs. "You need to boil water first, dummy."
Sai ends up holding the ramen (topped with its a small mountain seasoning, slowly scattering in the wind) while the Ino heats up some water with a fire jutsu. When the water bubbles, Ino carefully drops the ramen in piece by piece, sighing as she watches the noodles loosen from their tight, wavy patterns.
"Do you really believe he's in there?" Ino mutters, pulling her knees up to her chin as she sits on the leafy ground. The warm scent of ramen wafts in the air, but her stomach feels tight and unwell.
Beside her, Sai is unrolling his scroll and readying his brushes. "I don't know. But we'll try."
Ino looks out into the dense forest, her eyes picking out the glint of a stream nearby and the shadowed den just beyond it. The Kyuubi is stirring awake and unfurling its chakra in warning. It knows that they're here.
"That's what Naruto has always been doing, hasn't he?"
"What?" Distracted, Ino glances at Sai.
"Trying," Sai says without looking up from the inky mass that's forming under the soft bristles of his brush. "He's always trying. Moving forward. Trying to make friends."
The last item of his list strikes Ino as ridiculously funny. Of course that's what Sai's socially awkward self picked up on. It's true though. Even though the village had never treated Naruto with anything more than selfishness and casual contempt, that idiot had run back time and time again to save them.
This time, well. Ino doesn't think they can achieve anything nearly as grand as saving Naruto, but what they can do is to let Naruto know that they haven't abandoned him.
Sai holds out his arm to her, letting the enormous hawk perched on top of his wrist hop onto Ino's shoulder instead. "It'll protect you," Sai explains as the ink bird spreads its wings around Ino's shoulders and snaps its beak in agreement. Ino reaches up to stroke it, surprised at the soft, near intangible feeling of its feathers.
A grateful smile pulls at her lips as she looks back at Sai. "Thanks."
He nods solemnly. "What is he doing—"
Sometime flickers at the edge of her senses.
"DOWN!" Ino screams, her hand reaching out to push Sai down as a bullet of red speeds up from behind them.
"Hot, hot hot hot! Kurama, don't...!" Naruto yelps in horror as the bijuu snatches the pot of ramen right off the fire, using Naruto's very much human-looking hands.
"Oh shut up," Kurama sighs in his mind. The full blast of his exasperation washes over Naruto like a crashing wave. "I am Fire and Destruction! A little bit of heat won't hurt me, no matter what those Uchiha think." The fox sets down the pot and turns back into his fox form, licking his paws delicately as he smirks.
Naruto sighs. Even though he's the one trapped - no, staying - in bijuu now, he can still feel his - their - mouth water at the warm scent of ramen.
"This is all your fault, you know," Kurama grumbles. "I never had ramen cravings until you."
Naruto tries hard to ignore Sai's expressionless stare and the protective way the hawk on Ino's shoulder shields her. "It's just that good, dattebayo," he laughs weakly.
Of course they're scared. Kurama won't kill them, but they don't know that. Even Naruto himself hadn't started thinking of Kurama as "Kurama" instead of "the Kyuubi" until recently, and that was only because they have been stuck with no-one but themselves for weeks. It can get quiet, you know?
He stubbornly tries not to think about why Sakura isn't here, whether Hinata has recovered, or —
(Sensei's gone. Don't think about him.)
"Let's just take the ramen and go," Naruto pleads. Ino's stare is intense enough to be a jutsu in and of itself, and Naruto really doesn't want to talk to anyone right now. "C'mon, Kurama."
Kurama ignores him. "Naruto isn't going to go back, so you might as well leave now." At the two Konoha-nin's startled gazes, his lip curls into a sneer. "Quickly, before I decide that I have a greater taste for blood than for ramen."
Ino sits up, brushes herself off, and plants her hands on her hips. Her face is still slightly pale, but there's a determined twist to her mouth. "I think you'd want chopsticks. Sai put in some chilli powder—"
"Oh," Naruto thinks dumbly, surprised that Sai remembered his preferences.
"—so you'd better be prepared for a world of pain if you stick your nose into that soup."
Naruto watches through Kurama's narrowed eyes as Ino digs through her backpack and pulls out a small knapsack. It's straining at the seams.
"The chopsticks are in here. We've packed clothes and rations too," Ino explains, puffing up with a bit more courage when Kurama stays silent. "Not the tasteless ones, of course, but the new chocolate flavoured bars. You can take all this ramen too… Gosh, there's got to be enough to last even you several weeks!"
As Ino babbles on, covering up her nervousness with a stream of words, the tension in Naruto's chest deepens into an ache. They've been thinking about him and worrying for him...
…even though everyone in Konoha is suffering so much because he'd failed to save them.
The hawk on Ino's shoulder picks up the rucksack and flies over, dropping it softly on the ground before them. Naruto stares at it, feeling trembly and achy all over.
"Dammit Naruto!" Kurama roars, startling Ino into silence. "You're ruining my image!"
Sure enough, Kurama's vision is distorted with tears. Naruto grimaces sheepishly as the Kyuubi squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head vigorously. "Sorry," Naruto says, his voice choked.
"Naruto?" Ino pipes up in a small voice.
Kurama's tails lash out in agitation but she doesn't flinch. Her eyes are so bright with hope that it almost hurts to look at her.
"Naruto, are you listening?" Sai asks, rising slightly from his defensive stance.
"Of course that dumb brat is here." Kurama snaps his teeth in agitation as he leaps onto his feet to pace. "Who do you think woke me up so we could eat ramen?" Tucked away at the back of the fox's mind, Naruto sniffles and wipes at his face, chuckling through his tears.
"Naruto," Ino says with sudden seriousness. "You've got to help us. Danzou has taken over Konoha and he's going to take the hat from Tsunade-sama soon. Sakura's stuck in the hospital 24/7 and he has just placed Sasuke on the official hit-list too."
Sai puts a hand on Ino's shoulder. "She's right. Konoha's under lockdown right now. We're just on a recon mission, but I don't know how much time you have until Danzou-sama starts using force. You know how important you are to the village."
"Is that a threat?" Kurama snarls, his eyes flashing gold and chakra billowing out.
"A warning," Sai replies steadily, "and a plea. Run if you need to, but help us if you can, Naruto."
"Anything to say, brat?" Kurama snaps, too agitated to keep their conversation silent.
Inside the forest of Kurama's mind, Naruto hunches further into himself and buries his face against his knees. "I don't know," he murmurs, his heart squeezing painfully. The guilt gnawing at his insides is killing him. "B-but it wouldn't be fair to you if I try to make you do anything, Kurama."
There's a startled pause. Naruto squints up at the canopy of trees around him but Kurama isn't manifested here. Even when he peers through Kurama's eyes, he can only see Ino, Sai, and their pile of ramen.
"Kurama?"
"Damn right," Kurama growls before picking up the pot of ramen and sweeping up the rucksack with one of his tails.
"Wait!" Ino cries as the bijuu begins to lope away. "What did Naruto say?!"
They're already leaving the two Konoha-nin behind fast, but Naruto catches the low tones of Sai's voice. "I think that is quite obvious."
It takes every fibre of will that Naruto possesses to choke back the urge to shout, "Turn back! Kurama, we can't just leave like this!"
The thud of Kurama's paws over the forest floor echoes the plummet of Naruto's heart. It hurts. It feels like he has failed them all over again.
Kurama's sigh rustles the canopy of leaves over his head, and even the sunlight on his back dims as clouds drift overhead. Naruto squints skywards, not understanding why Kurama would be moved to care. He's just holding Naruto to his promise, after all.
"Don't think so loudly, brat," Kurama growls.
"Sorry," Naruto mumbles.
Another put-upon sigh breezes through the branches as Kurama sets down the heavy pot and works the ache from his jaws. "Tell you what. I'll let you out for ramen if you don't make any trouble. Okay?"
Naruto can't believe it. It's not about the ramen, but the trust that Kurama has just shown. "Really?"
"I don't like spicy things anyway," Kurama huffs, bending down to pick up the pot again. Their other hideout is near.
Feeling torn apart yet oddly whole at the same time, Naruto smiles genuinely for the first time since Pain's assault on Konoha. "Thanks, Kurama. You didn't have to."
Kakashi wakes up with a gasp, eye snapping open only to be met with darkness. "What—?" he tries to croak, but the cold air hitting the back of his throat sends him into a fit of hacking coughs. He tries to sit up but a splayed hand immediately presses against his chest, keeping him down as his weakened muscles give out and send him sinking back into the pillows.
"Kakashi-sensei, please," whispers a familiar voice. The faint scent of Floral Green reaches his nose as a dim light flickers on. "Don't strain yourself."
He turns towards the voice and blinks hard, trying to focus his eyes. "Sakura?" he whispers.
"Yes, sensei," she says with a brilliant, teary smile as she helps him sit up. Everywhere she happens to touch, her warmth bleeds into the chill of his bones. He shivers, unable to shake the feeling that he is...
...displaced.
He'd died, hadn't he?
The straw bumping against his bare lips brings him back to the present. "Drink," Sakura says softly, and it is simple to obey the parched protest of his throat. The water is sweet.
As he sips thirstily, Sakura picks up a headset laying on one of the shelves and murmurs several code words into it, her fall of pink hair hiding the movement of her lips.
"What happened?" Kakashi asks when she grabs a mask and helps him put it on. Sakura doesn't mention his face so he keeps quiet too. There can be teasing later; what's more important why he's lying in this strange place. He's not in the usual hospital room. Rather, his cot is crammed between shelves of medical supplies. Boxes upon boxes are stacked onto bare metal racks, each one of them taped and neatly labelled.
"Did you have to dump your sensei in a supply room?" he asks with humour, but Sakura's smile turns strained. Kakashi dearly hopes that his assumption regarding Pain's defeat hasn't been misplaced.
"Listen, sensei," Sakura leans close to whisper, her eyes flicking up to the doorway in the far corner. "It's been three weeks since Pain attacked. He's... gone now. Naruto had to use the Kyuubi's powers. According to Yamato-taichou, he lost control." Her hand tightens around his as her verdant gaze finds his single eye. "I don't know where Naruto is. Ino and Sai went to search for him and they used ramen to lure the Kyuubi out to talk."
The incredulous lift of Kakashi's eyebrows speaks for itself, but Sakura looks perfectly serious.
"Apparently, Naruto was there, listening, but they couldn't speak to him. The Kyuubi talked the whole time and in the end, it ran away."
Kakashi doesn't know what to think. None his contingency plans are particularly pleasant, and almost all of them relied on the effectiveness of Tenzou's mokuton, which the Kyuubi had already broken out of. Neither can he explain the Kyuubi's strange new passivity. With such minimal information, no new plans are forthcoming— not with his brain being about the consistency of mashed potatoes right now.
Sakura squeezes his hand. "It's alright, Kakashi-sensei. I don't know what to do either, but," she sighs, "we have more problems on our hands. We've lost a lot of people. Tsunade-shishou's not waking up and I can't try anything drastic because I'm being watched." She spits the word with barely banked fury. "Danzou has taken over Konoha."
Kakashi's blood runs cold at her words. "Danzou...?"
"He's why you're in a supply cupboard. I reported you as dead and smuggled you here." Sakura looks proud and very, very exhausted. "Danzou would have let you die if he had known what I was doing. The whole hospital is conspiring to keep you alive, Kakashi-sensei. I'm sorry, but you're everyone's choice for Rokudaime."
It's all a bit too much for man who had just been plucked from the jaws of death. "But... I was dead. I… I saw..." Kakashi looks down at his hands, remembering the flicker of the campside fire.
My father.
Sakura's gaze is sympathetic. "It was the worst case of chakra exhaustion I've ever seen, Kakashi-sensei, and I had to use some experimental techniques to revive you, but you weren't dead. The body has a way of preserving itself. It won't let you use up what you can't spare. You were courting death, but you did not die immediately." Her chin trembles faintly as her eyes grow wet. "Kakashi-sensei," she says with distressed reproval.
Kakashi's expression gentles. "I'm alright now, Sakura."
Running hand over her face, she exhales shakily. "Yes. You're here now." Taking a deep breath, she wipes away her tears. "I'm so sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I wish I could give you more time to rest, but there's something that we have to urgently ask of you." She looks up at him, her expression transforming with such determination that Kakashi feels a sudden rush of pride for her. "Danzou just left for a Five Kage Summit to discuss the constitution of a Shinobi Alliance against Akatsuki. We're planning to show up as well and present another Rokudaime. Are you ready to accept the Hat?"
"What on earth?" Kakashi thinks desperately. "Surely there must be someone else who isn't..." He flaps his hand vaguely at his cot. "Shikaku, perhaps?"
Sakura shakes her head. "Shikaku is good, but you're... popular. Charismatic even when you don't mean to be."
Kakashi stares at her in disbelief. "You're serious."
"I am. We all are." It's uncanny how well Sakura imitates his eye-smile. "Please, sensei."
All moisture leaves Kakashi's mouth as his head starts to pound.
The Five Kage Summit is an unmitigated disaster.
It had started off well, despite the slight motion-sickness Kakashi had suffered from riding Sai's ink hawk at top speed to the Land of Iron. They had been offered a seat at the roundtable thanks to the General's diplomatic interference, but it had gone downhill from thereon. Now, Sakura had anticipated a great deal of scepticism, but the way everyone seemed to buy Danzou's lies was shocking. She and Kakashi had pushed back and argued until their throats were hoarse, but no-one seemed to listen. Even Gaara had said nothing in their defence.
To her relief, that only lasted until one of Kiri's stepped forward and tore through Danzou's hypnosis with his Byakugan. The irony was palpable. Stolen eye against stolen eye, who would have thought? As unsavoury as it was - "precious spoil of war", how brazen! - the Kiri-nin had utterly destroyed Danzou's credibility and tipped inter-village recognition in their favour in one fell move. While Kakashi might have been able to undo Danzou's jutsu with his Sharingan, Sakura will not have him risking his life on a suspicion.
Aloe Vera Man's appearance had thrown them all. Even though they tried their level best to maintain their proud stoicism, chaos abounded by the time Sasuke came slashing.
"What a rat," Sakura thinks sourly as Danzou slips away with his ROOT bodyguards, though they don't get far before the Byakugan user gives chase. Beneath Sakura's steadying grip, Kakashi's shoulders shake slightly as he watches Sasuke and the Mizukage duke it out with jutsu after jutsu, the great destructive powers of their abilities making the entire building shudder.
"Sasuke," Kakashi murmurs, sounding pained. "Why is he here?"
Sakura grimaces. As much as she wants to confront Sasuke - for Naruto's sake, if nothing else - they must focus on getting to safety. The Mizukage has already sealed off all the exits with her lava style, and the room is rapidly heating up. "Kakashi-sensei, lean on me."
With a pinched expression, Kakashi wraps his arm around her shoulders and lets her support his weight. "Let's not go far."
"Just to open space," Sakura agrees, pulling back a fist to break through one of the walls. Those suspicious, gum-like white lumps bubbling from between the floorboards don't look friendly.
Before her fist makes contact with cement though, the wall next to the Mizukage and Sasuke's deadlock crumbles dramatically into pieces. "Watch out!" Kakashi gasps, dragging her down behind the roundtable with a shove of his shoulder.
"SASUKE!" comes a yell, closely followed by a crash. Sasuke flies across the room and hits the wall hard. He crumples insensate in the corner, his Susanoo fading rapidly from his shoulders, as the Mizukage takes up a defensive position near Sakura and Kakashi. The rest of the kage and their bodyguards surround the newcomer immediately, but the glowing figure doesn't seem to notice.
Sakura is scrambling to her feet before she knows what she's doing. "Naruto?!"
The young man whips around, his abundance of tails sweeping together to reveal a much missed face. "Sakura?" Blue eyes widen as they trial down to her side. "K-Kakashi-sensei...?" he whispers in disbelief, eyes welling with tears.
Stumbling to his feet as well, Kakashi joins Sakura's shocked stare. "Naruto, is that you?" he croaks.
A wide grin spreads over Naruto's face even as one of his tails lengthens and snatches up Sasuke's limp form, binding the Uchiha tight. "Yeah." The jinchuuriki wipes at his eyes furiously and sniffles. "Me and Kurama."
When Naruto lifts his head again, one of his eyes is a deep, blood red. His expression hasn't changed except for the slight frown that has taken up residence on his forehead, but when he speaks, his voice is harsh and grating. "Got a problem with that?" His other eight, unoccupied tails flare out threateningly.
Weapons are readied as everyone steps back a pace.
Just as quickly as the red eye had appeared, Naruto bursts out awkward, loud laughter. "Kurama, please," he hisses under his breath, "we need to be non-threatening, remember?" He apologises slightly louder, scratching his head as he bows shallowly to everyone.
A small, near hysterical laugh escapes Sakura. Her throat feels tight. Of all the possibilities... had Naruto convinced the Kyuubi to work with him? Sure he's acting a bit crazy, but there's no way that isn't Naruto...
The red eye narrows a bit but fades back to blue. Smiling self-consciously, Naruto comes up to them with his furry tails drooping.
"Hokage-dono," the Mizukage interrupts, her eyes still fixed on Naruto as she addresses Kakashi. Naruto freezes and looks at her, wavering in place as he bears the brunt of her suspicious gaze. "I suppose we have a new ally?"
Even as he sways against Sakura, Kakashi doesn't hesitate a beat. "Of course, Mizukage-dono. Naruto is my student." Reaching out in a show of trust, Kakashi reaches out and pats Naruto's arm. "Please excuse his boisterous nature."
"Um, sorry? Mizukage-sama?" Naruto offers sheepishly.
A familiar exasperation rises up in Sakura at Naruto's clumsy manners, but stronger still is the overwhelming warmth and relief that she feels as she drinks in the sight of her teammate, whole and hale.
The Mizukage raises her eyebrow. "And your... friend, Kurama?"
"He's with us, dattebayo!" Naruto answers immediately, eyes wide and earnest. "We worked out a time-sharing agreement! We're friends now, so he won't hurt anyone."
His eyes change again and Kurama's scowl turns Naruto's smile into a stern mask. "If you're not going to accept our help, we're going to leave. We're only here because we have a common enemy."
The assembled share a tense, silent look. "A common enemy?"
"The Aka—"
"Me, you mean," laughs the cloaked figure swirling into view on the ceiling above them. "Madara!"
A deep growl rumbles from Naruto's chest as his newly gained tails flare about Sakura and Kakashi protectively. "You!"
The masked man taunts them, threatening all manner of harm and destruction, and even going as far as to demand that the kage hand over their bijuu. But throughout it all, Naruto's chakra wraps around them like a cloak, warm and safe. "Talk all you want," Kurama chuckles, his chakra mixing with Naruto's and turning it a bubbling acidic orange. "But you're not dragging me anywhere I don't want to go."
The masked man grinds his teeth audibly as the Kyuubi interrupts him every other sentence, but Kurama just snorts and continues. Even the other Kage are starting to smirk, emboldened by the Kyuubi's show of scorn.
"If anyone should have a criminal masterplan," Sakura thinks wryly, "it should be the Kyuubi instead." But here he is, protecting them alongside Naruto. Incredible.
"Get lost, dattebayo!" Naruto shouts, taking over briefly as Kurama uses his tails to bat away the weird white blobs trying to sneak up on them. "If you want a war, we'll bring it to you, but on our terms!"
Sakura grins, showing a bit too many teeth but not caring one whit. Beside her, Kakashi's eye is curved happily, proud as can be. Even with their plans for a peaceful Summit torn to shreds, their plans for a Shinobi Alliance is far from ruined. Instead, here they are, more united than ever, with their enemy shaking in rage before them.
Sakura never could have never imagined Team 7 reuniting this way - certainly not during those dark days just after Pain's attack, when her hands had found no-one but the dead and dying - but here they are.
For better or for worse, it seems that Naruto is back. They're all back.
Together.