Carry on My Wayward Son

Chapter One

As a new day started, an irritated Sasuke stared up at his ceiling. His thoughts dark and angry as his mind went over the argument that he had gotten into with his blonde-haired teammate. Naruto had yet again messed up while they were on a mission, had burst out of his hiding spot at the wrong moment and the enemy had tossed Naruto several feet and head first into a tree, resulting in an unconscious Naruto, which meant less team members to protect their escort.

By the time the small battle had ended, Sasuke was covered in multiple bruises and was exhausted, and what had irritated Sasuke even more was that at some point Naruto had regained consciousness and hadn't even bothered to rejoin the battle and help his teammates. Instead Naruto had completely disappeared into thin air. Sasuke was too angry to care about Naruto's disappearance only cared about the fact that he hadn't helped his teammates in anyway.

"What do we do about Naruto?" Sakura asked once Sasuke and Kakashi had finished tying up the enemies that had been knocked unconscious.

"Right now, nothing." Kakashi replied grimly. "But I will be talking to him about the importance of team work." Sasuke snorted, he was going to do more than talk to him, he was going to knock some sense into his idiotic teammate. Naruto would learn the meaning of team work by the time Sasuke was done with him.

"Good work, Sasuke and Sakura." Kakashi said. "I think we can safely continue this mission." Sasuke nodded after quickly wrapping his sprained wrist. He supposed they should go on and make sure that their escort got home safely. Still Sasuke couldn't help but wonder about what had happened to Naruto while they had been protecting their escort. The smirk on their escorts face going completely unnoticed by the group of Nin.

"Why were they after you?" Sakura asked as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Because I have some information on their village plans that could put an end to their plans of destroying all villages." Hiro replied, chuckling softly when Sakura accepted his answer as a fact. No one seemed to notice that he wasn't being truthful with them, those Nin hadn't actually been after him at all, instead they had been after a certain blonde teammate. Hiro's boss had plans of turning Naruto into a weapon by disrupting Naruto's seal and allowing the Nine Tailed Demon to take over Naruto's body. So, while Naruto was unconscious Hiro's own teammates had snuck off with Naruto. Hiro noticed that Naruto's teammates appeared to be angry about his disappearance, thinking that the blonde had disappeared under his own power. Yes, the team he had hired from Konoha were quite stupid since they hadn't been aware that they were going to be used to destroy their own precious village.

"What about your other teammate?" Hiro asked.

"When we find him, he will be dealt with." Kakashi answered. "and what happens really isn't any of your business." Hiro frowned at the team leader before smirking. It was too bad that they didn't realize what had really happened, and they likely wouldn't realize it until their village was in ashes either.

"I can tell you what I'm going to do when we find him." Sasuke growled.
"I'm going to knock him into next year." He was still super pissed over Naruto waking up and then just leaving them to fight the battle.

"You don't like him, much do you?" Hiro asked looking over at the dark-haired Uchiha.

"Not really." Sasuke said. "He's loud and annoying and not to mention an idiot."

"He likes to seek attention anyway he can get it." Sakura added. "Which is probably what he's trying to do right now." Hiro smirked, Naruto wouldn't be missed too much then. He already had someone working on loosening the seal, which meant that Naruto would be ready to be sent back to his village probably as soon as Hiro reached his home village. He could only imagine that Naruto's teammates would be pissed when they found him safe and sound in Hiro's village. Hiro could easily see them saying something to anger Naruto, which would end up with Naruto lashing out, hopefully that wouldn't happen until they got back to Konoha because it wouldn't take much for the nine tailed demon to completely take Naruto over once they finished messing with the seal. Naruto would then get punished for attacking his own teammate which would also serve to anger Naruto further and weaken his seal even more. Eventually, it would give out completely. The result of which would be no more Konoha, which his own current protectors were too dumb to realize. They were all too busy being angry at the one truly innocent member of their group. Which made Hiro wonder how the other two members of Team 7 could even consider themselves a team. Shouldn't it have been all for one and one for all or some sort of shit like that? Their lack of actual teamwork was quite surprising and was working quite well with Hiro's plans. How could they stand being around Naruto? Did they know that their lives were in danger anytime they were near him? Clearly Konoha didn't inform their own Nin that they had a dangerous weapon living among them. Hiro was certainly going to take advantage of it since no one was willing to dispose of the weapon. Considering Team 7's attitude towards the boy he doubted that any of them would actually mourn the boy's eventual death. Which was kind of sad if you really thought about it.

"How far is your village from here?" Sasuke asked turning his dark eyes on Hiro.

"Not far. Maybe three or four miles." Hiro answered honestly.

"Why would those Nin attack you so close to home then?" Sasuke wondered. "It wouldn't take much for you to send a bird for help and for said help to arrive."

"I don't know." Hiro answered, shrugging his shoulders. "but clearly stopping me was more important." Sasuke frowned. He didn't know why but he had the feeling that the man wasn't being honest with them. It wouldn't be the first time that a client was less than honest with them and Sasuke was sure that it would be the last time either.

As they drew closer to the village, Sasuke began to wonder exactly where Naruto had disappeared too. It wasn't like Naruto to just abandon his teammates, especially in the middle of a battle. Naruto enjoyed fighting so he wouldn't really have tried to sneak off, would he? So, the next question now was what the hell had happened to his teammate? Had someone kidnapped Naruto? Why anyone would want to take the idiot Sasuke didn't know. Still though no matter what happened Sasuke was still pissed at him. Naruto's own recklessness had put himself in this position to begin with, perhaps Sasuke shouldn't have felt that it was Naruto's own fault but he did feel that way.

When they reached the village a little over an hour later, they discovered Naruto waiting for them outside of the Kage's office. Anger flashed through Sasuke at the sight of his teammate, he didn't bother noticing Naruto's pale complexion or his pained expression. Instead Sasuke lashed out with his fist, slamming his fist into Naruto's stomach knocking the other 13-year-old to the ground.

"Where did you go? We could have used your help in the battle!" Sasuke snarled, preparing to straddle Naruto's hips so that he could continue pounding Naruto's face.

"I don't know, okay." Naruto winced. "I don't remember what happened, but I woke up here. I assumed that you guys were already here."

"Bullshit." Sasuke hissed as he launched another fist into Naruto's face. "I think you knew exactly what happened."

"I really don't." Naruto pleaded as he shook his head, trying to clear his vision. "All I know is that my body hurts and my head feels like its about to explode."

"Be that as it may." Kakashi said, suddenly reaching down and pulling Sasuke off of Naruto. "It's still going to be discussed with the Hokage."

"I didn't do anything wrong." Naruto protested fearing what the Hokage would do.

"That's right, you didn't do anything!" Sasuke snarled. "You left us to fight the battle alone."

"It's not like I could help it." Naruto protested a final time. It wasn't like anyone was going to believe anything that Naruto had to say anyways. They were determined that Naruto was the one at fault.

"I'm sorry." Naruto whispered even as a sharp pain coursed through Naruto's back, he bit his lip in an effort to hide the pain that he was in. Something had happened to him otherwise he wouldn't be in so much pain. He just wished that he could remember what it was. Naruto followed his teammates as fast as his aching body would allow. Sasuke's words continuing to plaque his mind as Naruto struggled to ignore the hurtful things that his teammate had said. Naruto tried desperately to recall what had happened but no matter how hard he tried nothing came to mind.

"Stupid loser, acting like he's hurt when it's not possible, he didn't do anything to get hurt." Sasuke sneered cruelly, making Naruto's heart hurt even more. Naruto wouldn't ever gain his teammates respect at this point, he doubted he would ever earn their friendship either. Even Kakashi was disappointed with him and Naruto hated that feeling even more. He was certain that Kakashi would tell Iruka. Kami knew what he would think. If Naruto hated disappointing anyone, it was Iruka. Naruto hated knowing that Iruka was going to be angry with him.

"Kakashi-Sensei are you going to tell Iruka-Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I have no choice" Kakashi replied coolly. "You've broken one of my biggest rules and you seem to have completely forgotten about team work."

"But I didn't do anything." Naruto protested. "I don't know what happened."

"You left your teammates to fight a battle." Kakashi replied, Naruto didn't say anything, just hung his head. Team work was something that Iruka had drilled into him back at the academy. Once he heard about this Naruto knew Iruka wouldn't be pleased. Naruto swallowed hard, wondering what else could happen to make his misery even worse. It wasn't like Naruto hadn't been put through enough in his thirteen years of life. Didn't he deserve a little peace? As Naruto walked, a heavy cloud of depression seemed to settle on his shoulders, he was almost ready to completely give up. No one in Konoha wanted him, they all hated him for something that he'd had no power over, and the harder he worked the less respect he seemed to gain. Why should he continue to live like this? Why should he spend his nights lonely and longing for a family to go home too after returning from a mission? Maybe Konoha would be better off without him, maybe he should just sneak off again and find a way to end his life. Maybe the Hokage would have his Anbu bring his body back home to be laid to rest. Even though the idea was appealing to Naruto's worn out mind, he knew he wasn't quite that desperate to go that far. He knew it probably wouldn't take much, but he still wanted to wait a bit to see if something would turn around for the better. As he continued plodding along, he didn't notice Kakashi looking back at him, something like concern and guilt in his eyes.

"Walk a little faster Naruto, I want to get home sometime today." Kakashi said. "I need to speak to the Hokage."

"It hurts to move faster Sensei." Naruto said softly.

"Quit whining Naruto, I want to get home too." Sakura said. "I feel like I haven't seen my parents in forever."

"I haven't seen Itachi in a while. Hopefully he's home from his mission." Sasuke said, both of his teammates reminding Naruto of what he wouldn't have waiting for him at home. His heart bled a little more at the thought. Naruto bit back a groan, but forced himself to move a little faster despite the agony that was shooting through his body. Why couldn't anyone understand how much he was hurting? As they approached the village gates, Naruto spotted a brown-haired man waiting at the gates, he grimaced. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to be around when Kakashi told Iruka what happened, apparently luck was not on his side. Naruto stared down at the ground as they arrived at the village gates. The minute Kakashi spotted Iruka, the situation spilled past his lips.

"I think Naruto needs to return to the academy to work on some team work lessons." Kakashi said. "He doesn't seem to know what the word means. He left us in the middle of a battle when we could have used his help. Sasuke and Sakura could have been hurt but he continued on to Hiro's village instead." Kakashi said.

"What's gotten into you Naruto?" Iruka asked, looking at Naruto who was still staring at the ground. "I thought I taught you better than that." Naruto said nothing, his face burning with shame that his teammates were there to witness his humiliation.

"I'm beyond disappointed in you Naruto." Iruka said. "I think that you need to stay your place for the next couple of weeks so that you can think about the seriousness of what you have done." Naruto didn't say anything just shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away down the street towards his apartment, his shoulders slumped over and his head hung down. Iruka and Kakashi glanced at each other, both feeling guilty and ashamed that things had come to this.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Kakashi told the confused Sasuke and Sakura, who had watched Naruto wonder off without saying a word to anyone. "I'm going to speak to the Hokage."

"He better know what he's doing." Iruka muttered before turning and walking off.

Naruto frowned as he headed down the street to his apartment, hating himself more and more with each step that he took. Iruka didn't know that Naruto's electricity had been turned off because Naruto couldn't pay both his rent and electricity, which was why Naruto had been spending so much time at Iruka's place lately, and if Naruto was really honest Iruka was the only reason that Naruto even got a warm meal some days. And it looked like Naruto was going to have to figure something out, because nobody was going to care about his struggles. Naruto figured too that once Kakashi discussed the matter with the Hokage, Naruto probably wouldn't get paid for this mission which meant that Naruto was going to have forget about picking up some groceries on his way home. Naruto placed his hand on his stomach as a sharp pain was sent through his seal and he could feel the head radiating from the seal through his jacket. He didn't know what had happened to him but it couldn't have been good. Naruto wondered if Kakashi would need him to talk to the Hokage? If that was the case it could wait until morning, because Naruto really wasn't in the mood to go anywhere tonight.

As Naruto's stomach grumbled with hunger pains, he wondered if his teammates had ever had to go to bed hungry, and then Naruto considered that Sakura still had her parents and Sasuke still had his brother, he decided it wasn't likely. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it looked like he was going to be going hungry for the next few days or however long it took him to get a new mission.

Sighing, Naruto reached his apartment and headed in, he knew there was still food in the fridge but considering how long his electricity had been turned off, he knew it wasn't any good, not to mention the fact that his landlord liked to sneak in when Naruto wasn't there and put poison in the food. Naruto had discovered this the hard way after returning from a mission, the fox had kept the poison from killing him but it had made him really sick and miserable. And he had learned to always check his food after he returned home from missions.

Naruto's stomach gave another grumble as he slid his shoes off his feet, and he shivered at the lack of heat in the apartment. He really wished he could move to another place, but he figured he would be charged the highest price for the crappiest apartment they had. It wasn't worth it so Naruto stayed miserable and lonely in his little apartment.

As Naruto walked over to his bed, and flopped down on the hard mattress, he wondered if the Hokage would hold him back from any missions until their current situation got worked out. If that happened the Hokage might as well sign Naruto's death certificate, he would no doubt be dumped into the streets with no way to take care of himself. He wondered if Iruka would have made the same decision if he had known about Naruto's current circumstances. He would have liked to have said that there wasn't any way that Iruka would have let him come home to this, but now he really wasn't sure.

"No other orphan is treated this way." Naruto murmured as he turned over to stare up at the ceiling. He didn't know who his parents were, but at that moment he hated them for all he was worth. How could they just abandon their child the way they had? How could they let him be treated like he was some kind of monster who wasn't deserving of life? Ignoring his grumbling stomach, Naruto closed his eyes, he had the feeling that the Hokage would be calling for him soon, and whether he wanted to or not he would have to go. Naruto didn't understand why no one would listen to him, didn't they know that he would do anything to protect Sasuke and Sakura despite knowing that they didn't give a damn about what happened to him? Naruto couldn't stand the thought of his teammates getting hurt, Sasuke especially. Naruto had always cared more for him than he did Sakura but he wasn't ever going to let anyone know that. The citizens probably would kill him if they knew. Gay people weren't accepted in Konoha.

Naruto sighed and sat up and leaned his back against the wall, and pulled his knees up to his chest. He had written Sasuke some letters detailing how Naruto felt about him the dark-haired teen, Naruto never had any intention of ever delivering said letters, but writing them made Naruto feel better about keeping his secret. Reaching over, Naruto opened the drawer in the bedside table and reached inside, and felt around for the letters. He was shocked when he didn't feel anything in the drawer, which likely meant his landlord had found the letters, what the man would do with them Naruto wasn't sure. But he was certain that he could expect more hell to come his way, because those letters contained some really graphic situations that Naruto could only dream of being in with Sasuke. If Sasuke ever found out about that, Naruto's life would be over. Naruto was sure both Itachi and Sasuke would beat the shit out of him. Naruto wondered what he should expect from his teammate now, he wouldn't put it past his landlord to have hand delivered the letters to the Uchiha's. Naruto wanted to bang his head against the wall, perhaps it would be better if he went on and hung himself. He didn't know how he would deal with the shame of knowing that Sasuke likely knew how Naruto felt about him. Naruto wondered what Iruka and Kakashi would do if he were to hang himself, Naruto hated the thought of Iruka finding his body, he wouldn't want any of his precious people to find him. He wondered if he would be buried with his family or if his body would be dumped somewhere outside of Konoha's gates for the birds to pick at until there was nothing left.

Suddenly his window started squeaking as it was opened, Naruto turned his head to find his team leader sitting on the edge of the window.

"What do you want Sensei?" Naruto's asked, his voice coming out hollow, his normal bright blue eyes turning dull with his depressed mood. Naruto wanted to go to sleep and forget about his life just for a little while, Kakashi was putting an end to those plans. He didn't want to deal with the person who thought he could so easily abandon his teammates.

"Why is your apartment so cold?" Kakashi asked hearing Naruto's stomach giving a loud grumble.

"Why do you care?" Naruto asked bitterly, not wanting to admit that he had no electricity and no heat. "Maybe I'm trying to be careful with my money since I'm likely not getting paid for a while. Now get to the reason you're here or get out."

"The Hokage wants to speak to you." Kakashi replied.

"And it can't wait until morning?" Naruto asked.

"Considering the seriousness of the situation." Kakashi said. "No, it cannot."

"You're acting like I betrayed the village." Naruto said. "Despite knowing the lengths that I would go to protect this place and all the assholes in it." Naruto lowered his legs to the floor and pushed himself to his feet.

"I'll give you time to grab something to eat." Kakashi said. "But Lord Third really wants to talk to you."

"Whatever." Naruto murmured as he climbed out of bed. He really didn't want to tell Kakashi that he didn't have anything to eat and what he did have was probably poisoned. Sighing, Naruto walked over to the fridge and opened it, he doubted anything was edible but he had the feeling that Kakashi wasn't going to go away until he had eaten something. Reaching into the fridge, Naruto grabbed some left-over ramen. Pulling off the lid, Naruto grimaced at the rancid smell but not only that he caught the scent of something that didn't belong there. Yes, his landlord had been up to no good again. Maybe this time the poison would be too much for the fox demon to handle.

Without bothering to put the ramen in another container, Naruto raised the bowl to his lips and quickly slurped the noodles down, grimacing at the taste as he swallowed the noodles.

"You could have heated them up you know." Kakashi said and Naruto shrugged, missing the angry look in Kakashi's eyes. Naruto slid his feet into his shoes and headed towards the door.

"We both know that you aren't as stupid as you are pretending to be." Naruto replied. Kakashi had to have guessed that Naruto had no electricity in which to heat the noodles up.

"Come on." Kakashi said irritated with the normal hyperactive blonde. Naruto rolled his eyes and exited his apartment through the door. He knew Kakashi would be waiting for him at the entrance to his apartment so there would be no escaping the man that way. They walked in silence towards the Hokage Tower and as they passed Ichiraku's Naruto spotted Sasuke and Itachi talking quietly, and as Naruto got closer, he noticed Sasuke handing a piece of paper to Itachi. Naruto froze, he had the feeling that he knew exactly what Sasuke had just given Itachi and it wasn't anything that Naruto ever wanted anyone to read because of the extremely graphic content. Naruto watched the two brothers for a moment, loneliness making his heart hurt. He wished so badly that he had someone to talk to, that didn't hate him for something that he couldn't control.

"Come on Naruto" Kakashi said loudly making Sasuke look away from Itachi and turn towards Naruto. Naruto's face turned red and he forced himself to walk faster after his team leader.

"Thanks a lot Sensei." Naruto grumbled, wondering when his humiliation would finally be over. He couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke had indeed gotten the letters from his landlord, or if he had gone into Naruto's apartment and had gotten them himself. Naruto couldn't imagine what Sasuke thought of him now.

When they reached the Hokage tower, Naruto followed Kakashi up a staircase and down the hall where they were immediately let it in to see the Hokage.

"Naruto." Sarutobi said once Naruto was standing in front of him. "Kakashi tells me that you went missing during a battle and later showed up at your escorts village." Naruto nodded.

"But I don't remember what happened." Naruto said. "I don't know how I ended up there. All I remember is hitting a tree and then I wake up in the village with my seal hurting."

"Is the seal bothering you right now?" Sarutobi asked and Naruto shook his head.

"Not right at this moment, no." Naruto replied his stomach was starting to ache but it was for an entirely different purpose, not that Naruto was about to disclose that information.

"Naruto would you be willing to allow Inoichi Yamanaka to have a look at your mind?" The Hokage asked.

"You think I'm lying?" Naruto asked, feeling helpless he knew what the Yamanaka was usually used for.

"Clearly something happened." Sarutobi said. "I would like to find out what. Perhaps your memories can tell us. If you don't submit, I will have no choice but to see your actions as treasonous acts against Konoha and I will have to act against you."

"So, you don't believe me." Naruto said bitterly. "No surprise there. I am just the demon of Konoha after all."

"Naruto, that's enough." Kakashi said sharply and Sarutobi shook his head at him.

"You must realize how serious this situation is." Sarutobi said, resting his chin on his pointer fingers. "If word of your disappearing gets out, people will demand to have you executed. Let me do this and we can prove your innocence."

"Fine. Those same people will still think I'm guilty no matter what you do." Naruto said. "As far as they are concerned, I'm already dust in the wind. But do what you want, just know that I would never do anything to harm Konoha, I would kill myself before it came to that."

"It won't ever come to that." Sarutobi said "I know you think we are treating you like the bad guy but there are reasons that I can't explain to you right now. I have my own suspicions about that mission you went on and I am hoping that your memories will confirm those suspicions." Naruto frowned as Sarutobi nodded towards an Anbu member who came forward and stood behind Naruto.

"Take him to Inoichi." Sarutobi said. "He should be down in T&I with Ibiki." The masked man nodded before placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder, Naruto stood up and followed the Anbu towards the door.

Once they were gone, Kakashi turned towards Sarutobi.

"You have suspicions?" Kakashi asked. Sarutobi nodded.

"I think someone may be planning an attack on Konoha." Sarutobi said. "but what did you think of Naruto's behavior?"

"I don't know. Something's not right with him that's for sure." Kakashi said, not liking the way Sarutobi had deflected from his question about his suspicions.

"There's a reason I wanted you and Iruka to behave they you have been towards him." Sarutobi said, noting the guilty look in Kakashi's eyes. "Naruto's depression needs to come into the light so that it can be dealt with, otherwise he's going to go off somewhere where no one can find him and end his life."

"So, having the people he adores treat him like shit is going to help how?" Kakashi asked. "I don't like it. And if something happens to my sensei's son, there's going to be hell to pay."

"You noticed that with your and Iruka's treatment of him, he hasn't hid his depression." Sarutobi said. "If he thinks you and Iruka aren't on his side, he has no reason to hide it. I can clearly see his state of mind for myself, which means that you and Iruka have served your purpose. I know now that we have a very serious issue to deal with him, and he's going to have no choice but to face it from here on out."

"Why are you having Inoichi look around his memories?" Kakashi asked.

"I want to see for myself if he's planning on suicide or if its just been a thought, and I really do want to know what happened during your mission." Sarutobi said.

"You're using him?" Kakashi guessed. "But for what?"

"Not exactly using him. I do want to help his depression, but I fear that an enemy may be trying to use him against Konoha." Sarutobi said. "I'm not entirely sure about that, but I have a strong suspicion that things went the way the enemy them to on that mission of yours. I'm hoping Naruto's memories will tell us for sure who the enemy is and if we will be able to prevent an attack."

"So, you're using Naruto to protect Konoha." Kakashi said frowning.

"It's better than using him as a weapon." Sarutobi said, "Which I'm sure some Kage's would do."

"If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive myself." Kakashi said. "And while it's on my mind, I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't have any electricity or heat and I'm wondering if his landlord has anything to do with that."

"Search Naruto's apartment for whatever evidence you can find against him, and I will see to it that he is justly punished." Sarutobi said. "That nonsense was supposed to stop a long time ago. I'll see to it that it does now." Sarutobi turned towards the door when the door opened and a blonde-haired man entered the room.

"I was told that you want me to examine Naruto Uzumaki's memories?" Inoichi Yamanaka said and Sarutobi and Kakashi glanced at each other.

"Naruto was taken to you down in T&I." Sarutobi said. "You were supposed to examine him there."

"I got a note saying that you wanted him examined here in the office." Inoichi said.

"Find Naruto Uzumaki and bring him to me, it's absolutely urgent that he get brought to me immediately" Sarutobi told the Anbu that he knew were hidden in the shadows. "We may have a spy among us, so be extremely careful. Uzumaki is not to be harmed in anyway." The question now was who had Naruto and what did they want with him.

"No harm better come to him before I can explain my actions." Kakashi said, "I'll never forgive myself and I won't forgive you either."

"It was never my intentions to put him in harms way." Sarutobi replied.

"No, you just hand delivered him to the devil himself." Kakashi muttered before turning and striding towards the door. If anyone hurt Naruto in any way, Kakashi would make sure to send them straight to hell.