Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Not me, nor anyone else on this site.

A/N: Okay, first things first, for those who don't already know, there are 4 new sketches on my profile page. 1) Narashi - post fusion (pay no mind to the ears, that was just a test) 2) Stomach Growl scene 3) Minato vs Spoon and 4) tree climbing attempt. I got into a drawing mood after the last chapter, so I did those.

Key: (Quote marks are important)

'Naruto speaking'

'Kakashi speaking'

'Kyuubi speaking'

thinking

Chapter 9: The Sharingan's Discovery

Narashi quickly caught up to Kakashi, and together, the two traveled to the chosen field in silence, neither having anything to say. Arriving at the edge, Kakashi quickly noticed the large amount of destruction that had apparently occurred recently. Raising an eyebrow at the sight, he turned to Narashi, question in his visible eye.

Noticing the look, Narashi grumbled "don't ask," not wanting to explain how he and his multiple clones had caused the damage when trying to figure out what jutsus worked and which didn't. More often than not, it was the latter. He walked away until he was about ten feet away, then sharply turned around, signifying that they would start their fight there.

While still curious about what happened, Kakashi decided to just leave it alone, figuring that it had been a jutsu or something similar that had gone badly wrong. Instead, he got himself into position, asking, "Any rules?"

Narashi thought for a few seconds before looking back at Kakashi. "Yeah, just three. Number one," he said, holding up a finger, "no Sharingan." Seeing Kakashi about to give a confused protest, Narashi quickly continued. "I know that I said I would help you learn to control it, particularly since it's one of the reasons for us to train together. But you can't rely on that eye all the time, Kakashi. If you recklessly use it in every fight you get into, you're only going to kill yourself."

'I'd be the first one to admit that I overuse my Sharingan too much, a bad habit built up during those first few years, especially when I was in ANBU. I was using it any chance I had, either as an attempt to learn what I could do with it or because I still wasn't used to the lack of depth perception. I hate to admit it, but it was really only my shinobi experience and jounin rank that kept me from colliding into random poles that I couldn't see on my left side.'

'Oh man, I would've paid to see that happen. I'm still waiting for the day when you run into something while your nose is stuck in one of ero-sennin's books.'

'Well, you're going to be waiting for a long time then. Too bad for you, and luckily for me, I can multi-task very easily. Unlike someone else I know.'

'Yeah, I guess,' Naruto grumbled. '...Hey, wait a minute! That better not be me you're talking about!'

'Now what gave you that crazy idea?'

While Narashi held this side conversation, he had also managed to continue the one he was having with Kakashi.

"Before you learn to fight with the Sharingan, you need to learn how to fight without it first. Since it's covered or closed most of the time, you've lost a lot of the sight you're used to. Learn how to fight with the lose first, then focus on the increased version of the sharingan. Understand?"

Of course, Kakashi understood. What Narashi said made perfect sense to the genius. While he'd prefer to learn how to control the Sharingan first, he also realized that Narashi had a point. Most of the time, he'd be fighting with only one eye, and if he didn't get used to it, he'd be killed.

Kakashi nodded to Narashi, who smiled in return. "Good. Now, the second rule is more of a request than a condition, but I'd appreciate if you followed it anyway. Remember that I just woke up about a week and a half ago, so go easy on me, please."

Kakashi choked back the incredulous laughter that came up. The surrounding area alone proved that Narashi could still cause quite a bit of damage. "I'll keep that in mind."

Narashi narrowed his eyes, not liking the smirk that he could see on the young jounin's masked face. He sighed, then smirked a little himself, knowing that he had some tricks of his own that would get rid of Kakashi's smirk.

"Rule number three is very simple." Narashi's smirk grew wider. "If it doesn't break the first two rules; anything goes."

Kakashi grinned confidently, eye curving slightly. "But that's already a given amongst shinobi, so why point it out?"

"Just wanted to make it clear," Narashi answered. He slid into the basic form of his own taijutsu; legs bent at the knees, the left further back, ready to either jump back or charge forward. His arms were held loosely in front of him. "So, shall we start?"

The other ninja got into his own form, leaning forward, with his hands near his back pouches. "Ready when you are."

"Let's get this show on the road then," Narashi replied, adrenaline already pumping through his veins.

Taking that as the start signal, Kakashi dug his hands into his pouches, tossing a handful of kunai at Narashi, replacing aim with quantity. The older nin quickly jumped into the air to avoid the knives. Kakashi instantly took advantage of Narashi's momentary inability to dodge and tossed his other handful at him.

Having expected Kakashi to make that move, Narashi grinned. Employing the same tactic that Naruto had during the second bell test, he created a kage bunshin just next to him, using it to pull him out of harm's way.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, impressed despite himself with the move. He stowed it away in his mind for later reference.

'Now who's the impatient?' Naruto said, amused at the irony of the situation.

'Heh. I suppose you'd like to do the same thing I've done to you both times?'

'Yeah!'

'...Alright, but we'll do it a little differently. Trust me, he'll never stay still long enough to get behind him like that.'

Narashi landed on the ground alongside his clone and created five more. The seven Narashis quickly surrounded Kakashi, all of them grinning.

Kakashi looked around at them, starting to realise that the shadow clone technique played a large part of Narashi's fighting style. He quickly got ready to defend himself on all sides. And not a moment too soon, because at that very instant, they attacked.

He focused all his attention on dodging and blocking, unable to retaliate against the flurry of kicks and punches. This was only made more difficult by his blindfolded eye, and found himself really disliking the first rule that Narashi had set. He also realised that that was precisely the reason why he came at him seven to one; to force him to get used to the blind side. But understanding the reason didn't make him like it. Unfortunately, the method also didn't automatically make him an expert in half-blind fighting.

Just as he was blocking a punch from his right, an unseen kick struck him on his left side, right below the ribs. He grunted from the impact, but still managed to continue blocking the next few follow up attacks. Before he could push back the pain completely though, something invisible suddenly grabbed him around his ankles and tossed him into the air.

Shocked and confused though he was by the action, Kakashi wasn't Konoha's youngest jounin for nothing. He proved this by flipping over in the air, already using the temporary break to form the seals of a jutsu that would get rid of all the clones. Some of them apparently recognized the jutsu, as they turned toward the one who Kakashi suspected had thrown him, yelling out "you idiot!" while trying to escape. Too late, though, as Kakashi slammed his hands into the ground as he landed, crying out the jutsu's name.

"Raiton: Keiro Shoukou no Jutsu!"

Lightning instantly erupted out of the ground, radiating out from where Kakashi crouched, illuminating the entire area. One by one, Narashi's clones disappeared with a 'poof' as they were touched by the electricity, their small pain tolerance unable to stand the powerful attack. As the light from the Raiton jutsu faded, Kakashi stood up, looking around for any sign of his opponent.

I knew it, he thought, still looking around. He used the distraction caused by his clones to switch out and hide his presence. So where could he be hiding? He stretched out his senses as far as he could, but found no sign of him. Unless he's... Kakashi gasped, looking down at his feet, BELOW!

He realized this too late however, because just as he looked down, Narashi's hands burst out of the ground and grabbed his ankles.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!"

"Damn it!" Kakashi cursed as Narashi pulled him into the ground up to his chin. He didn't bother struggling, knowing it would be futile. Instead, he just glared at Narashi as the other man walked up, laughing, crouching down in front of him.

"Don't look at me like that," Narashi said, grinning. "You were the one who got impatient."

"Impatient?!" Kakashi sputtered incredulously.

"Yes, impatient," Narashi continued, wide, fox-like grin on his face. "I hadn't even said 'start' yet, and there you go, tossing kunai at me. Sheesh!" He shook his head as if disappointed.

Kakashi didn't say anything, merely intensifying his glare.

'You know, I think I'm starting to understand why Sensei and Jiraiya-sama enjoyed teasing me so much at any opportunity they had. It's so entertaining to se my younger self's reactions. And since I know what buttons to push, it makes it more fun.' Naruto joined Kakashi in his laughter.

If it was possible, Narashi's grin widened as he started saying, "Ready, set," he paused, building up the tension that had formed. "Start!"

A second late, Kakashi disappeared, revealing himself to have been a kage bunshin, leaving behind a smirking Narashi. "Two can play at that game," he muttered, before popping out himself.

Now the real hunt begins.

OOOOOOOO

As the sun started to set in the west, creating long shadows across the ground, Narashi and Kakashi collapsed onto the ground near the edge of the field. They had spent the past few hours sparring fiercely against the other, alternating between extreme taijutsu and ninjutsu battles, to more subtle genjutsus and traps. Now, both of them were exhausted, breathing hard, and laying spread eagle on the ground, side by side.

"I...still think that...you cheated," Kakashi stated breathlessly, obviously irritated despite his exhaustion.

Narashi gave a tired smile. "Heheheh...can't cheat...if one...of the rules is...'anything goes.'"

Kakashi sent a weak glare at the man. "Doesn't matter if it's 'anything goes' or not. A hundred to one is unfair, and you know it!" He hit Narashi in the shoulder as hard as he could, which, considering how tired he was, wasn't that hard. "If you wanted me to go easy on you, the least you could've done was return the favor."

"HA!" Narashi responded disbelievingly. "Like you were even trying to hold back in the first place. If I hadn't told you not to use your Sharingan, you probably would've charged one of those 'chidoris' I've heard about at me."

"If I had been allowed to use the Sharingan in the first place," Kakashi retorted, "I wouldn't have been so overwhelmed by your army."

"That may be true," Narashi chuckled. "But if you had, you wouldn't be here talking to me. Instead, you'd be in a hospital bed, unconscious for who knows how long."

"Hn." Kakashi had no further comment to that, so he didn't give one.

For a while, neither said anything, simply laying on their backs and watching the sky darken. Only when the sky was more a dark purplish-blue than a pinkish-gold, and the first of the night's stars were twinkling into existence, did one of them speak.

"Hey, Narashi," Kakashi started, almost nervously, "about what happened earlier..."

Knowing what the other was talking about, Narashi spoke before he could continue. "You don't have to say anything, Kakashi. I was glad to help in any way I could. And don't worry," Narashi added, smiling at Kakashi, "I'm not going to tell anybody about it." Kakashi smiled back briefly, though it remained hidden behind his mask.

Wanting to get his mind off of the rather embarrassing moment at the memorial, he asked, "So, what was your assessment of me, Sensei?"

"Oh, don't give me any of that 'Sensei' crap," Narashi snorted. "You and I both know that the only one you deem as deserving of the title is currently having his face carved into the mountain side."

That statement got a chuckle from Kakashi. "Okay, true, but seriously," he said, sitting up while looking at Narashi, "what did you think?"

Narashi remained on his back, putting his arms under his head. "Well," he started, carefully constructing his response, "you adapted well to each situation. Summoning your ninja hounds near the start was a good idea." Even if they did give me a bit of a panic attack when they got my scent and got confused on the impression they were getting. "Although you're obviously used to relying on your eyes, you still used your other senses rather well throughout our fight." Though not often enough.

"However, you got frustrated whenever I got past your guard, which always leads to more mistakes. So try not to get so frustrated so often. It's going to be a while before you can sense and block every attack. You also need to moderate your chakra use a bit more. Once that Sharingan is put into play, you aren't going to be able to use as many powerful jutsus as often. Always keep that in mind, Kakashi. Like we went over earlier, use that eye too much and you'll only end up getting yourself killed.

"Overall, though," he said, finally sitting up as well, "it's no surprise how you gained the rank of jounin three weeks ago. Many might think otherwise because of your age, but your skill makes it clear that you deserved it."

Kakashi smiled, appreciating that last comment. It irritated him more than he cared to admit how most of the older ninja underestimated him just because of his age, sole exceptions being his Sensei, Kushina, the Third, and Jiraiya. And even they had taken a bit of convincing to get them to stop underestimating him. The first time he'd entered the jounin HQ, just after achieving the rank, he'd been treated as if he didn't even deserve to wear his headband, let alone be in the building. A couple had even gone so far as to act like he was only a messenger sent to retrieve one of the jounin, instead of being there for more important reasons. The reactions had been just as bad when he made chuunin, and had only gotten worse since the mission.

So to be instantly treated like an equal by Narashi was a pleasant change for Kakashi. Unlike many other ninja that he had fought before, Narashi hadn't really held back in their fight. Even though he had the impression that Narashi could've done more, he also felt that his reasons for withholding those skills had been his own, rather than because of Kakashi himself. Knowing this, only enforced the trust and respect that Narashi had somehow gained from him.

"So," the older nin said, "enough about your performance. What did Konoha's youngest jounin think of mine?"

"It was okay," Kakashi replied instantly. "Your taijutsu is sloppy, and your chakra control is terrible. That gigantic chakra reserve you have is probably the only reason that you didn't end up in the hospital again." Kakashi turned a frustrated glare at Narashi, who had scoffed at his own comments. "I'm still trying to figure out how you managed to toss or push me aside multiple times without even touching me."

Narashi's irritation at what Kakashi had said transformed into a laugh. "That's a secret, one I don't intend on telling you. And no, you can't copy it, so don't even try," he added before Kakashi could say anything.

"Hmph." Kakashi really wanted to know how Narashi had done what he did, but also realized that he wouldn't be getting the answer. Not right now at least. He shrugged, finishing with his assessment. "All in all, you don't stand a chance against Sensei on Sunday."

"Tch. Here I am, sacrificing my time to help you, complimenting you for your skill. And all the thanks I get are insults! Hmph!" Narashi grumbled, crossing his arms in irritation.

As Kakashi burst out laughing, Naruto brought up a question that had been bugging him the entire day. 'You know, Kakashi-sensei, your younger self isn't quite what I expected. From the way you described it, I kinda expected someone like Sasuke, just without the need for revenge.'

'I know. I'm just as surprised as you are, honestly. I've never been one to just automatically let people in. So the fact that Kakashi - (it's weird to address myself in third person) - has apparently done so is...rather odd.'

'It's obvious,' Kyuubi interrupted. 'The kid may not know the truth, but a part of him does feel the connection the two of you have. You can probably feel the same thing, Cyclops; you just haven't paid it any mind. It's different for Kakashi though, because he can't explain what the connection is. Once Naruto is born, he will most likely feel the same.'

Now that Kyuubi had pointed it out, Kakashi did feel something whenever he was around young-Kakashi. But like the Demon Fox had pointed out, he had only attributed it to knowing that they were one and the same. He hadn't considered that younger Kakashi would be feeling the exact same.

'I guess you're right, Kyuubi. I just hope that it doesn't get to the point where he finds out the truth.' Kyuubi gave a small growl in agreement.

"Narashi?"

He dragged himself back into reality when he heard Kakashi say his name. Any worry that he had space out again, and Kakashi had had to call him multiple times, died though when he saw that the younger ninja appeared to have been lost in thought as well.

"Hmm?" he said, showing that he was listening.

Kakashi turned toward him, a grateful smile hidden by his mask. "Really. Thanks." For everything.

Narashi blinked in surprise, then smiled as well. "Anytime, Kakashi," he said, ruffling the silver hair, laughing when he smacked his hand away. "Anytime."

OOOOOO

Unbeknownst to either the two ninja, a certain blond Hokage stood in the shadows of the nearby forest, a soft smile on his face as he observed what would appear to be, to the uninformed, two brothers resting after an intense training session.

And in a way, Minato thought, that's essentially what they are, when one thinks about it. Kakashi is half of Narashi, even if he doesn't know it. I wouldn't be surprised that if the two had a blood test, that half their results would be identical. Considering that, he added ruefully, note to self; keep that type of information away from those who don't need to know the truth. It's no secret that Kakashi is the last of the Hatake, so I doubt that it would be good for rumors to start up that he and Narashi might be related.

Minato turned his attention back to the two ninja on the field. He had arrived near the end of their fight and had decided to remain hidden, wanting to see what happened. Admittedly, he'd been rather surprised to see Kakashi here when he came to find and invite Narashi over for dinner (at Kushina's insistence). At the same time, he was happy to see Kakashi getting out of his depression and training again. He'd been worried, because he hadn't known what to do about it, or rather he did, but hadn't had the time with his new promotion. He'd been considering asking Jiraiya to help whenever his perverted sensei showed up, but it appeared that he didn't need to do that.

Seeing the way Kakashi acted towards Narashi though shocked him perhaps as much as finding him here. He treated Narashi as if he had known him for years, rather than a week; a week in which he'd had very little contact with the man. It had taken Minato himself weeks to get the five-year-old Kakashi to open up to him, and that was before Sakumo's death closed him off to everyone around him.

But then, it's like you pointed out earlier, Minato told himself. The two are practically the same person. Maybe a part of Kakashi realizes that.

Minato wasn't completely sure as to the reason, but he certainly wasn't going to do anything to change it. He liked the change he was seeing, and knew that Narashi was probably causing that change to happen. He had no intention of stopping him.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Minato stepped out of the trees, finally revealing himself to the other two, greeting them as he did so.

OOOOOOOO

Three days after their first spar together, Narashi and Kakashi once again stood apart from each other on the training field. They had continued meeting there early in the morning, staying until late afternoon, Narashi helping Kakashi get used to his new, usual sight limitations, and Kakashi helping Narashi prepare for his fight against Minato. Every time, they altered the rules of their fights to suit their purposes; taijutsu only, Kakashi/Narashi on defense, weapons, etc.

Today, though, they were going to change their routine even more.

"Use the Sharingan?" Kakashi asked, blinking in surprise.

Narashi nodded. "Yep. You've gotten better at going without it, though you're still not perfect. Time to balance it out now by getting you more used to using that eye. There will still be days when I'm not going to let you use it, but we'll start mixing it in more."

Nodding in acceptance of the explanation, Kakashi brought his hand up to push his hitai-ate back into it's proper position, eager to get started. But when he opened his eye and looked over at his opponent, all thoughts of a fight left him at what he saw.

Now while the Sharingan couldn't see the chakra coils like the Byakugan could, it could still see the chakra itself. But what Kakashi saw when he looked at Narashi was unlike anything he had ever seen or heard of.

It was almost like looking at three different people, one directly behind the other, all of which had a different color. Two appeared to share dominance, though the third topped them both in sheer power. Blue and white chakra spread evenly throughout Narashi's body, blending in certain areas into a light blue. The presence of the white chakra shocked Kakashi, because he knew that only the Hatake, which he was the last, had white chakra. So seeing it in someone else surprised him far more than he ever thought it would.

Even if the white chakra didn't surprise him, what the third chakra did would've. Blood-red in color, it concentrated more in certain areas than it did in others, unlike the other two colors. Like the other two, it blended in as well, more with the blue to form a purple, than with the white. Flowing outside of Narashi's body, the red chakra formed what could only a long tail, waving and wagging behind him, and two fox or dog ears sticking out of the side of his head. Kakashi couldn't really describe it, but every time he looked at that red chakra, chills flowed down his spine and his instincts kept telling him to run away.

Taking all this in, Kakashi stood statue still, both eyes open wide in shock, and mouth gaping.

Narashi was momentarily confused by Kakashi's sudden change in demeanor. It only took him a split second though to realise why Kakashi was so openly shocked. At which point, all sides of him, including Kyuubi, started cursing up such a storm that it would've made the most hardened of ninjas blush. The content only got worse when the teen ninja asked slowly, shock and even a little bit of fear obvious in his voice.

"Who, and what are you?"

A/N: And we have another spontaneous ending! And it's stuff like that that makes it impossible for me to work out of an outline. I was thinking while I was writing out the fight 'Hmm, I wonder what the sharingan would see when they get to that part?' :mental lightbulb: I honestly can't believe that it never occured to me before hand. But now it has, and this is the result.

Oh, and I know I haven't done this very often, so I'll do it now: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It makes me so very happy to open my email and see review alerts. Gives me motivation to keep this fic going. :D

Jutsu translations:

Raiton: Keiro Shoukou no Jutsu: Loosely, it means Lightning Element: Paths of Light Technique, which I got from an internet translator. But I don't know japanese, except for a few words, so if anybody knows a proper translation, please let me know.

Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu: Inner Decapitation Technique