"I...I have a beast in my belly?" Naruto asked, hands tracing the swirl, eyes confused.
Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. "You have the most powerful beast in your belly." Kakashi corrected.
"You have been assigned to me...why? Do you have a beast or can you control beasts too?" Naruto asked.
"No, I don't have a beast in me. However, I do have the ability to control the beasts. It was the last lesson your father taught me. So, between that and your father asking me to protect you, it was obvious that I be assigned the mission to protect you." Kakashi said sadly.
"S...so that's why you have been interested in me." Naruto said, sadly as well. Not understanding where this sadness came from, he just stared at his stomach, tracing the swirl with his finger.
"Danzou doesn't know I have the ability. No one does except for my boss and now you." Kakashi said softly, moving over and kneeling in front of Naruto.
"So you're my keeper?" Naruto looked into Kakashi's eyes, sadness swirling in them.
"In a sense, I suppose so." Kakashi admitted.
"Right." Naruto nodded glumly.
"Naruto, I am sorry to be the one to explain all this. To put this on you. However, I can promise you, you will be safe. I have never failed a solo mission." Kakashi vowed.
Naruto laughed bitterly. "I am sure you haven't Kakashi." Confused by his emotions, Naruto was suddenly exhausted. "Look, I just want to sleep." Going over to the loveseat, he covered up and rolled over, closing his eyes, willing for sleep to overtake him. Kakashi sat back on his heels, frowning. Well, that could have went better.
Waking the next morning, Naruto stretched, yawning, oddly pain free from what he expected to feel after sleeping on a loveseat. Opening his eyes, he saw he was in the bed. Sitting up, looking around, he saw Kakashi asleep on the loveseat, legs hanging off. Shaking his head, Naruto went to the bathroom, taking a shower when he was done. Slipping back into his clothes, he sighed.
By that time, Kakashi was awake, sitting at the loveseat, coffee and a cigarette already being ingested. He was sitting in his pants, having not gotten fully dressed yet. "Feel better?" Kakashi asked.
"No, but at least I know what is going on and what I am facing." pouted Naruto. "So, I'd be safer if I was closer to you. I need to pretend that I want to join cause I adore your or think you're cool, or cause you are just that good in bed?" Naruto asked skeptically.
Kakashi had the decency to blush. "I don't know I am that good in bed, but if you choose to pretend to join, yes, it would be easier for you to be protected. I know a few ways to keep Ibiki at bay."
"Ibiki?" Naruto asked
"Head of interrogation and torture." Kakashi explained.
Naruto nodded.
"It could simply start as you moving in with me. Since I am briefing you, I am sure that Tsunade is explaining things to Jiraiya. He will agree. After moving in with me you could decide to "join"." Kakashi held air quotes up in the air.
"The Akatsuki…are they evil?" Naruto asked, looking Kakashi dead in the face.
Kakashi frowned. "Some are, some are not. Some of the assassinations are deserved. However, I can tell you that most assassins have a simple motto…it does not matter if you are good or bad. It is not personal. You did something to bring them to your door." Kakashi shrugged.
"Is Danzou evil?" Naruto pressed.
Kakashi simply nodded. "Yes…he wants more than just to run an assassination guild. His plans are far more nefarious."
Naruto nodded his resolve in place. "Fine. I will join. The easiest way would be to say I fell to your charms. On two conditions." Naruto looked up at Kakashi, blue eyes determined.
"The conditions are?" Kakashi asked, curious.
"First, we kill Danzou, and I'll take over the Akatsuki, make it an organization that does good."
Kakashi nodded. "And number two?"
Naruto stared at Kakashi with hard eyes. "When it is just us, quit acting like you're interested in me, since I am just a mission."
Kakashi walked into Danzou's office. Bowing, he looked up. "Lord Danzou, the Uzumaki wants to move in with me. We have him." Kakashi stated
"Good, good..." Danzou smiled. "I knew you would not disappoint me. Let him get settled in...We need his trust to make things...easier." Nodding, Kakashi left.
"Quit acting like you're interested in me, since I am just a mission."
The words haunted Kakashi. Swallowing hard, he said nothing as Naruto brought in a box and another bag into Kakashi's home. "Well, that's it." Naruto said, acting all nervous. "Y...you really never lived with anyone else 'Kashi?" Naruto asked, bright blues eyes showing no emotion in them when looking at Kakashi.
"No, never." Kakashi stated. "I'm glad you are my first." Kakashi pulled Naruto into a kiss, closed lips due to Naruto's stipulation. He put his arm over Naruto's shoulder as he turned to Guy, who sat a box down and clapped.
"It is good to see my rival finally has found happiness in youth!" Smiling, Kakashi playfully frowned. "I will leave you two to break in the apartment!" Guy winked as he left. As soon as he left, Naruto's smile fell and he wiggled out of Kakashi's grasp.
"I think that is it." Naruto said quietly.
"Yes." Lighting a cigarette, Kakashi sat down, miserable. Naruto stayed unpacking, saying nothing. After a bit, Kakashi couldn't handle it anymore. "I'm going to go take a shower." Kakashi said, Naruto merely nodding in agreement. Going in, he stripped, leaning against the shower wall.
"Quit acting like you're interested in me, since I am just a mission."
Damnit…hurting Naruto was the last thing he wanted to do. As the warm water sluiced over him, he kept his eyes closed, trying to figure this mess out. How could Naruto think that? Naruto, to me you were never just a mission.