Disclaimer I don't own Naruto.

"Yamato."

Tenzo, who almost exclusively went by Yamato these days, looked up from his paperwork at the young ninja who had burst into his office. "What is it?"

"The Hokage has given us the slip. He's not in his office or at The Ichiraku Ramen Bar. This message," the man waved a scroll, "needs a response."

Yamato sighed and put down the report he had been reading. Standing, he formed a cane and grabbed the scroll out of the other man's hand saying, "I'll find him."

Naruto was rarely in his office. He had largely avoided the dreaded paperwork that had plagued so many before him by using his clones. Usually, two or three clones were always left behind to relay messages or were at least catching up on paperwork. A complete disappearance was rare, but not unheard of. Yamato could always find him, however, and it wasn't just from experience. He knew some of the other office workers thought he had some technique to track the Hokage, but that wasn't true. He just simply knew or understood him.

There were only two things that could send him out of his office without leaving a clone behind. The first was a big decision, and since he was not on top of the stone faces that was not it. The other was the past. For a man still in his twenties he had a lot of that, even for a ninja.

The walk was not a particularly long one, but Yamato attempted to hurry and his still injured leg was throbbing by the time he saw the back of the blonde. He slowed his pace, not as a conceit to his injury, but out of respect. The only thing that had changed about the memorial stone since Yamato had first laid eyes on it was how the list of names had grown.

Coming to a stop an arm's length away from Naruto, he cleared his throat and said, "There's a message that needs your attention."

For a moment, the strongest living Kage seem to ignore him and then he slowly turned and extended his hand for the scroll. Yamato handed it to him and waited in case he was asked to do something.

"Daichi really needs to learn what exactly a priority messages is. After all, good news can always wait."

An ill defined tension left Yamato's shoulders. He didn't know the contents of the message, but if Naruto wasn't worried, then he shouldn't be worried. Unfortunately, the flat tone was another source of concern. His concern on that level would probably be viewed as unprofessional, but Naruto was more than just his superior, on some level they were friends.

Instead of walking away, he took one step forward so they stood shoulder to shoulder and looked at the monument. There were a lot of familiar names for Yamato, but he knew the ones that would be weighing on his companions conscience would be those who had been added after taking his position as Hokage, those he had known personally before. His eyes traced those names, wondering what had been the catalyst to send Naruto into this melancholy mood. Had something reminded him of Sakura or perhaps had he seen one of Jiraiya's books? That meant he could be thinking of either of Jiraiya or Kakashi. In truth, it could be any of a hundred things and he decided to wait him out.

The silence between them stretched into long minutes, but Naruto found it comfortable. Yamato was an undemanding man and his silent presence was more reassuring than some others would've been. If Konohamaru was there he would bombard him with questions until Naruto confessed to whatever was bothering him. Neji would stand there quietly, but he would also analyze every twitch of a muscle to figure out what was wrong with him. Everyone else he knew fell in somewhere between those two extremes. Only Yamato would simply be there with him.

Still, the silence game was not one he was good at and he broke. "You ever second guess your decisions?"

"All the time," Yamato said tapping his cane against the cast on his leg. "For example, I think I should have dodged right."

A smile crossed Naruto's lips. It wasn't really funny, but it did lighten his mood a little. "Not exactly what I was referring too."

"Yes, I know and I do."

"So, we do what you think is right, but still ends up hurting so many. How is that right?"

Yamato stared at the stone for a moment and traced the names of those he knew. "It's not, but it just is."That answer was even unsatisfying to his ears.

"I was going to change that. I was going to change the world," Naruto said quietly. "Still, every year I add new names."

The use of 'I' struck the older man as wrong. "Naruto, you may be Hokage, but you are not alone. We work with you. The people in intelligence, codebreakers, ANBU, Jonin, Genin and me. The decisions you make are results of all our efforts. If we succeed we succeed together, if we fail we fail together. History does not judge that way, but that's how it is."

"And if I say so myself, I believe we've accomplished a lot. The peace between the Elemental Nations is for the first time in my lifetime not just a tinderbox waiting for a match. That is because of you and us. We're in this together."

Naruto seemed small for a moment as he said, "Why do I feel alone then?"

Yamato had heard enough. He spun Naruto around to face him and kissed him. The younger man was surprised at first, although he had known of the olders' orientation for years now. However, the blonde soon relaxed into the kiss, and for a moment it was just the two of them in the world. When he broke it, Yamato said, "I'll always be with you if you'll allow me."

The blonde hesitated for a second, and then smiled a flicker of his older self showing. "So would you make sure I don't eat alone tonight?"