Original Summary: He was a Jinchuuriki who was murdered by his best friend. But Fate has other plans, and Naruto wakes up in his five year old body. KakaNaru Yaoi
New Summary: After his death in the Valley of the End, Naruto wakes up in his five year old body and the ideals and responsibilities of his father's clan fall upon his shoulders as he becomes the bearer of the impossible Yochigan. As his mind threatens to break under the strain of the legacy of the Kazama clan, his only hope in salvation lies in the hands of the one person he pushes away due to his overwhelming love for them. Can Kakashi get close in time to preserve Naruto's deteriorating sanity? KakaNaru Yaoi
Chapter 10: Secret Sorrow
Fear…
The scent of his prey's fear was thick in the air, clogging his throat and leaving an oily aftertaste on his tongue.
It was an emotion the Hunter was accustomed to sensing, one that he had lived intimately with for many years.
His ears twitched as he caught the sounds of harried breathing and the rustling of leaves. He could hear the faint rustling of cloth and the scraping of sandals against bark, and the sound of small twigs breaking, and the nearly inaudible clinking of weapons and money stored in clothing.
He flicked a wrist, launching a shuriken in the direction of the sound. There was a soft thunk of metal impacting wood. He lifted his head and sniffed lightly at the air.
Blood…
His prey had gotten careless, and had been injured.
He paused at the sight of something dark and wet glistening on the leaves.
A gloved hand plucked the leaf from the branch, bringing it to his eyes, hidden behind the white porcelain mask.
He recognized the coppery smell…
Blood…
His prey's blood, most likely.
How careless to leave a blood trail… a voice murmured in the deep recesses of his mind.
Distantly, he acknowledged the thought, and dropped the leaf and leapt from the branch on which he stood. He had a prey to catch…
He could see his prey now, a shadowy figure darting through the moonlight dappled trees.
The Hunter increased his pace, gently sliding one of the two kodachi strapped crosswise across his back from its sheath.
There was a blur of movement, and the corpse of his prey fell to the ground, headless. He stood on the tree branch, looking down on the headless corpse, his hand gripping the severed head by the hair as blood dripped from the tip of the kodachi onto the leaf strewn ground below. He vanished in a swirl of leaves and reappeared on the ground and tossed the head onto the corpse.
Efficiently, he cleaned his blade with a fistful of grass and leaves before sheathing it. Swiftly, he performed several hand seals and summoned several large carrion birds that converged on the corpse, feasting on fresh meat.
Minutes later, the patch of forest was empty, and the blood soaked ground was the only sign that the corpse had been there at all.
The Hunter slipped through the forest, silently, a shadow flitting from one shadow to another. The walls of the village loomed ahead of him, and with a slight ripple of chakra, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.
He reappeared on the roof of a random building just inside the village wall, and he flitted through the shadows of the village and slipped unseen and unheard through the open window of his apartment. In silver light of the moon in the center of the sparsely furnished living room, he removed his weapons, placing his swords lightly on the glass table beside his kunai and shuriken pouches.
Slowly, he removed the white porcelain mask to reveal a face mask which covered his lower face and large and expressive cerulean eyes.
Silently, he vanished into his bedroom, the door closing with a soft click behind him.
A soft golden light seeped through the window as the sun rose…
Kakashi noted the three gennin on the bridge and he dropped down in front of the three. Almost instantly, his nose picked up the scent of blood around the blonde. It looks like someone made a kill last night, he thought.
"You're late!" Sakura yelled.
Kakashi smiled and said, "I'm sorry, but I got lost!"
"Liar!" Sakura yelled.
Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes.
Kakashi smiled. His brats were as lively as ever, and life was good. Che, yeah right! Kakashi led the way off the bridge for Team 7's first mission of the day, and distantly, he wondered why the hell was he putting himself through this torture?
---He was warm… Whatever he was lying on was warm and soft…
Something was beeping in the background…
He opened his eyes and closed them with a groan. It was bright. Far too bright. Warm hands fingers brushed over his forehead.
"Naruto?" the voice was deep, warm, and rough with worry.
He knew that voice… Kakashi…
"Can you hear me Naruto?"
Iruka?
"Naruto?"---
"Naruto!"
Naruto jerked, forcefully ejecting himself from his thoughts. He glanced up, and locked eyes with Kakashi's worried one-eyed gaze.
"Are you feeling alright?" the jounin asked, "We've been calling you for the past few minutes!"
Naruto swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm fine."
His vision was blurry, and he remembered another moment similar to this one… No! That time was past, the past wouldn't repeat itself! He wouldn't allow it!
"I'm fine," he repeated. "I'm fine…"
Sakura and Sasuke were in the background, watching them, he noted. Sakura's face as open as ever, it was too easy to know that she was worried. Sasuke stood next to her, his face and eyes blank, but the tension in his shoulders gave away his feelings. Naruto shook his head and forced himself to smile, all too aware that his smile was too wide and too fake.
He ran toward them, chattering about everything and nothing, even as he drapped an arm over Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders, smiling widely. Sakura smiled tentatively in return, her eyes relieved, and Sasuke's lips twitched as he shrugged off his arm and turned away.
Kakashi frowned.
Naruto didn't look back. He faced forward, still smiling, his eyes narrowed into slits, hiding the pain. Unnoticed, a single tear slipped from his eyes and down whiskered cheeks, and hung in the air, a sparkling jewel in the sun before it hit the ground.
Only Kakashi noticed the tear, and if Naruto noticed the droplet from his traitorous eyes, he never showed it.
---He was dying… He could feel the life leaving his body as his life pooled around him. A familiar chakra flared from nearby, and with tremendous effort, he turned his head toward the door.
"Naruto!"
The door was flung violently open as the dark figure rushed in, silver hair glinting in the moonlight. He grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close.
"Don't die, Naruto! I love you! Please don't die!"
His lips curved.
Kakashi…
His eyes slid shut… And there was only darkness and the echoing cry…
"Naruto!!!"---