Okay. So I visited my sister, kyonkichi05, yesterday. While at her house, she gave me a list of songs, which I put on my iPod as soon as I got home. At about midnight, I was listening to one of the songs (Angels by Within Temptation) when I got inspiration for a little oneshot.

Enjoy!

The sunlight was nearly gone, darkness slowly taking over. The shadows of the trees, once friendly, now stretched long, taloned claws across the ground.

"Please sensei! Can we stop now?!"

"Shut up, Naruto! He'll stop when he thinks we need to. Right, Sasuke-kun?"

There was no answer to this question.

Kakashi turned around and surveyed his group.

Naruto was straggling, at least ten steps behind the rest of the group, which made the older male sigh. The closest behind him was Sasuke, who just kept his head down, buried deep in his thoughts. Sakura kept jumping at him and grabbing his arm, asking question after question, as always. The raven haired boy had so much patience with her that it even amazed him, Jonin that he was. Actually, if he thought about it, he was convinced that Sasuke didn't have the patience to deal with her. He just plain ignored her.

The last person in the group was a pretty, dark haired woman by the name of Mara. She was a singer who had been visiting Konoha and had requested protection on her trip home. The trip had been uneventful so far, but they'd only been traveling for a day. And Mara had actually told them that she didn't expect there to really be any trouble. She just hadn't felt safe traveling from one village to another by herself.

"Alright. We can stop once we find a good place for camp."

Naruto gave a cheer, hurrying his pace to help find a place to settle in for the night. He'd only gone about twenty steps in front of the group when he waved at them, calling them all over.

"Is this any good, sensei?"

Kakashi looked over the place Naruto had chosen, mildly surprised that he'd found an acceptable camp so quickly.

"Why yes, Naruto. This will work. It's sheltered from the elements and any prying eyes on the road. And it would be easy to protect, should it come to that."

Naruto positively glowed at the praise he was given. He followed the group into the small clearing, depositing his bag and stretching.

"Boys, why don't you go and get wood for a fire? Stay together. Sakura, you come over here."

"Sensei, what are you going to do?" The boys heard Sakura ask as they were walking away.

"Exactly what I always do."

"Exactly what you…"

Naruto dared to peek over his shoulder, just in time to see his teacher pull a small orange book from his pocket and burry his nose in it. Sakura grumbled and protested quite loudly at this, but her voice disappeared moments later as the forest swallowed him.

Hastily, he grabbed a few sticks of wood, holding them awkwardly under his arm.

I want to get done with this as quickly as I can. Before I annoy Sasuke. No matter what I do, I always manage to get him mad at me.

He grabbed several more pieces of wood, and almost dropped them all when a hissing sound made him jump. Carefully, he peered down at the ground, checking to see if he'd somehow managed to step on a poisonous snake.

Nope. No snake. Then what was that? Maybe it wasn't near me. Maybe it was near…Sakura would kill me if Sasuke was poisoned! Where is he?

"Sasuke?"

Said dark haired boy moved out from behind a tree. He had a handful of small branches under one arm, and appeared to be biting a finger on his free hand. He quickly pulled his hand away from his face, his body language voicing his annoyance.

"What?"

Naruto braved a glance at Sasuke's hand. In the gloom, he saw a small amount of dark liquid slowly spreading down his finger.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

"Cut my finger."

"Oh. Is it bad?" Naruto approached him, bending down a little to get a good look at the cut.

"It's fine." Sasuke wiped the blood away again. He made a sighing sound. "We need dry wood, dobe."

"Don't call me that, teme!" Naruto looked down at the wood he was carrying.

Okay. So some pieces are a little damp.

Grudgingly, he dropped the damp pieces and started checking around for more dry ones.

"Do we have enough?" He asked five minutes later. "I can't carry any more."

Sasuke gave him a look, then started back toward the camp.

What did I do?! I don't do anything, and he gets annoyed at me! I do something, and he gets annoyed at me! Someone needs to beat some sense into him!

Smiling and nodding to himself and his conclusion, he made his way to camp.

Kakashi watched him as he reentered the campsite, dropping his load of wood next to Sasuke, who was busy making the fire. When Naruto looked up at the silver haired man, he stuck his nose back into his book.

Making fires is so boring! Naruto thought as he watched Sasuke make the fire.

And so is cooking, he decided as Sakura began making them a small meal once the fire had been lit.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Sasuke looked up at him, expression unreadable.

"You can help me cook." Sakura offered, although she regretted offering the second after she said it.

"Nah. I hate cooking."

Sakura sighed in relief.

Naruto's eyes fell on Mara. He approached the dark haired woman and sat down next to her. She looked up, giving him a nod, which he returned.

"So…you're a singer?"

"Yes, I am."

"Are you any good?"

Kakashi wanted to slap the blonde for using so little respect with a pretty young woman. To his surprise, though, Mara smiled at him.

"I sure hope so. I have many fans, and I'd hate to know that they only listen to me out of pity."

"Well then, maybe you could sing for us."

"I would enjoy that. It's up to your sensei, though, isn't it?" Mara looked up at Kakashi, tilting her head in question. Had he been going to say no, he would have said yes now, because his heart nearly melted.

Yes. He, Hatake Kakashi, had a soft spot for pretty young women.

Actually, he had a soft spot for young people in general. There was just something about children that made him unexplainably…happy. Children had that effect on most people, though. Didn't they?

"You may sing for us a little later, if you want. I think that Sakura just finished making us dinner."

The pink haired girl, had, indeed, just finished preparing their meal. She handed Mara her food and returned to the fire, pouting when she realized Sasuke had grabbed his to prevent her from giving it to him. She handed Kakashi his, and promptly ignored Naruto.

They ate in relative silence. When they were finished, everyone settled around the fire.

"Do you have a certain song you would like me to sing?" Mara asked.

The group shook their heads.

"I don't think that any of us heard you sing when you were in our village." Sakura said. She looked around the group and saw no objections to her statement. "No. We didn't hear you sing. You should choose what song you would like to sing."

Mara stared into the dancing flames in front of her in thought. Then she looked up with a smile.

"I worked out a new song a few days ago. Would you like to be the first people to hear it?"

"It would be our pleasure." Kakashi told her.

She nodded.

"Alright." She waited a moment, collecting her thoughts. Then she cleared her throat and began singing, her voice high and clear.

Sparkling angel I believed
You were my savior in my time of need.
Blinded by faith I couldn't hear
All the whispers, the warnings so clear.
I see the angels,
I'll lead them to your door.
There's no escape now,
No mercy no more.
No remorse cause I still remember

The smile when you tore me apart.
You took my heart,
Deceived me right from the start.
You showed me dreams,
I wished they'd turn into real.
You broke the promise and made me realize.
It was all just a lie.

Sparkling angel, I couldn't see
Your dark intentions, your feelings for me.
Fallen angel, tell me why?
What is the reason, the thorn in your eye?
I see the angels,
I'll lead them to your door
There's no escape now
No mercy no more
No remorse cause I still remember

The smile when you tore me apart
You took my heart,
Deceived me right from the start.
You showed me dreams,
I wished they'd turn into real.
You broke the promise and made me realize.
It was all just a lie.


Could have been forever.
Now we have reached the end…

Kakashi glanced at his students, to see what they thought of the song so far.

Sakura had a faint smile on her face, eyes closed. Naruto was open mouthed and staring with wide eyes.

Clearly impressed, he thought with another hidden smile.

He turned his gaze last on Sasuke, and was surprised by what he saw. The raven had pulled his knees to his chest and was staring at the ground between his feet. He felt his heart clench in his chest at the almost hurt look in the boys dark eyes.

This song, it strikes a chord in him. I should have guessed that…

…This world may have failed you
It doesn't care your reason why
You could have chosen a different path in life

The smile when you tore me apart
You took my heart
Deceived me right from the start
You showed me dreams
I wish they'd turn into real
You broke the promise and made me realize
It was all just a lie

Could have been forever.
Now we have reached the end.

Naruto was the first to speak after the song ended.

"That was beautiful!" He said with a huge smile.

Sakura nodded her agreement, and Kakashi smiled, even though no one could see it. He glanced at Sasuke, and his smile disappeared. The others followed his gaze, all of their eyes landing on the boy.

As though he knew that everyone was watching him, he stood and walked toward his bedroll, lying down and hiding his face from the worlds prying eyes.

"Did my song…offend him?" Mara asked softly.

"He has issues." Naruto said with a shrug. He'd spoken with a careless tone in his voice, but his eyes said that he really wanted to find out what was wrong with his rival.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't have issues. He's just tired." Sakura said, as though she knew all.

"You should all follow his example and get some rest." Kakashi told the small group. They all nodded, walking to their own bedrolls and lying down to sleep

For all her fawning over him, Sakura still doesn't understand Sasuke at all, does she?

Kakashi perched in a tree as soon as they were asleep, watching over them all. He leaned back against the trunk, listening to the sounds of the night and watching the moon, which was shinning bright and full overhead. The music of frogs and insects tried to lull him to sleep, but he fought it off, enjoying the calm. He heard the tinkle of running water somewhere off to his left. Miles away, a coyote yipped, and another answered, the creatures speaking excitedly to one another.

A sound from close by made him look down. A small figure wrapped tightly in its blankets was turning in its sleep. Then it whimpered, turning over again.

Kakashi closed his eyes, leaning forward and listening closely to what the figure was saying.

"…how…how could you?..."

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat.

He's dreaming about that day, isn't he? Did that song have that much of an effect on him?

The boy rolled over again, bumping into the figure beside him. A tousled blonde head appeared.

"Sasuke? What's wrong? Why'd you wake me up?" Naruto's voice asked, fuzzy with sleep. Nothing answered him, and Naruto shrugged, starting to lie back down.

"…aniki why…why did you do it?..." That voice whimpered.

Naruto froze, eyes widening as he looked down at the dark haired figure beside him.

"Sasuke?"

"…you killed them all…you killed me…I'm…because of you…I'm…"

Naruto grabbed the other boys' shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"Wake up! Sasuke, you're dreaming." The blonde whispered frantically.

Naruto, Kakashi thought. If only you knew. If only you knew he wasn't dreaming. But that's for Sasuke to tell, if and when he ever wants to tell someone

Sasuke's eyes snapped open and Naruto leaned back.

"You alright?"

The boy didn't answer. He scrambled out of his sheets, stumbling away from Naruto and collapsing against a tree a few feet away from the one Kakashi occupied. He let out a small, choked sob, but it was quickly smothered.

Naruto watched this in silent fascination and surprise. Then he slowly stood, approaching Sasuke and squatting down in front of him.

"What did you dream about?"

Again, Sasuke didn't answer. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, staring at the full moon over Naruto's shoulder.

Kakashi could see the ravens' jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to fight off the emotions running through him. In the moonlight, he could see the boys' dark eyes glittering with the tears he would never permit himself to cry. Naruto was sitting still, unsure what to do.

"Are…are you going to be alright?" He finally asked.

Still, no response.

"Answer me. Just say something."

Sasuke's eyes flashed in halfhearted annoyance. He opened his mouth to angrily speak to Naruto, but only a small whimper escaped his throat. The blondes' eyes softened further. He bowed his head, apparently thinking something over.

For the second time that night, Kakashi felt as though his heart was melting away.

Naruto hesitantly leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's slight shoulders in an awkward hug. The dark haired boy resisted the embrace at first, but slowly crumpled, allowing himself to be comforted.

Kakashi leaned back against his tree, high above the ground, and closed his eyes.

Naruto and Sasuke…They pretend to hate each other all the time. But as soon as no one is looking…

Kakashi smiled to himself and let the sounds of the night to wash over him again.

But as soon as no one is looking…

Okay. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I'm working on typing up my next story, which I believe is going to be called 'Just Normal'. Before I put it up, I'd like to finish handwriting another chapter or two. But, expect something else from me soon.