22 and 23 are basically one chapter but posted in halves because I was ill ;w;

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Attacking with Raikiri was risky without the Sharingan's enhanced perception, but Kakashi had not been idle in the weeks after the Fourth War. He sensed Kama's movement behind him in time to veer slightly to the side, enough to avoid the worst of the damage while still ensuring he could land his attack on Hiruko.

But then Kama suddenly changed direction and dashed past him. His Chidori missed Kakashi by barely a hair's breadth as he lunged at Hiruko, which put himself directly in the path of—

"NO!"

Naruto wrenched himself free of Hiruko's control a moment too late, and his horrified scream seemed to take an eternity to pierce the space between them. He had to move, he had to stop them, but his chakra was too unstable and he wasn't fast enough – he wasn't going to make it—

"Shiden!"

There was a blinding flash as Kakashi swung his arm sharply to the side, purple lightning bursting out wildly from his hand. It struck everything within the immediate area, paralysing both himself and Kama, who collapsed with a cry of pain.

Kakashi stumbled forwards, shaking from the after-effects of the electrocution, but Naruto caught him before he could fall over.

"I'm alright," he said dazedly, trying to regain his balance. Something had happened in the instant his chakra had made contact with Kama, and his mind was still reeling from what he had seen. "We have to…"

"I know," Naruto said. "I've got it."

Hiruko had been momentarily stunned by the lightning strike, having fallen to one knee as he struggled to regain control of his body. But before Kakashi could ready another attack the rogue ninja snarled and raised his arm, electricity crackling in his palm like the chirping of a thousand birds.

Kama closed his eyes as Hiruko's hand slammed down into his chest.

Thud.

Was it already over? He had felt no pain, and yet he must have died. But he could still feel the ache and burn of his injuries, still feel the solid ground beneath his back, and still smell the blood and ozone of their battle. He was tired, so tired, and he wished he could just go to sleep…

Kama opened his eyes.

Hiruko's arm was frozen in place, having stopped bare centimetres before it could crush Kama's heart. As the stolen Chidori finally destabilized and fizzled out, Kama could see that the attack had been blocked by a thin layer of some strange black material, which hovered just above his chest.

He blinked, and then realised that Naruto was scowling down at him, glowing yellow-golden with pure chakra.

"Can either of you not do anything awful for one minute?!" Naruto snapped, angry golden eyes glaring at Kama, and then Kakashi. He let go of Kakashi and took a step forward, hands clenched tightly into fists.

With a single punch he sent Hiruko flying backwards, landing on his back with a painful crash. The gudoudama that had protected Kama rose into the air, reshaping itself into a long black stake. Before Hiruko could recover or even react, Naruto had grabbed the stake and thrown it, skewering the rogue ninja through his chest and pinning him to the ground.

The eight black orbs hovering behind Naruto's back also transformed into identical stakes which flew at Hiruko, piercing through vital chakra points in his arms and legs so he could neither move nor channel chakra.

A pair of Kage Bunshin popped into existence on either side of Naruto, while a Rasenshuriken formed in his hand. The two clones picked up Kakashi, who protested, and then Kama, who was too exhausted to bother. They leapt back quickly as Naruto threw the deadly jutsu, carrying the two out of its destruction range.

Naruto joined them a moment later, and his expression finally relaxed when he saw that Kakashi was largely unharmed. Satisfied that his clones had already restored the other two's chakra levels, he dispelled them and squeezed Kakashi in a very tight hug.

Kakashi winced, but let him.

"Is it over?" he asked quietly, and Naruto nodded.

"He's dead," said Naruto. "His subordinates are probably still out there, but we can deal with them later. It's over." He let go of Kakashi with some reluctance, and caught sight of Kama trying to sit up.

Kama had barely propped himself up on his elbows when Naruto practically flew at him, knocking him flat on the ground with the force of his embrace.

"Get – off – me!" Kama gasped out, completely winded. "Get! Off!"

Kakashi sighed and tugged at Naruto's shoulder. "Give him some air, Naruto."

Naruto pulled back with a huff, turning away quickly to rub his eyes. "Why do you both insist on doing awful things?" he sniffed, casting a glare at each of them in turn. "You scared me half to death!"

Kakashi patted him placatingly, then noticed that Kama was trying to push himself up again. "You should take it easy," Kakashi said, paying no heed to the 'oh, really?' look Naruto cast him. Kama chose to ignore him, but was ultimately thwarted in his efforts by a sharp spike of pain through his right shoulder.

"He's right, you know," Naruto said dryly, supporting Kama so he could sit. "Even though he never follows his own advice."

"Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones," Kakashi countered, crossing his arms, and Naruto snorted.

"Yeah, whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. "The point here is that both of you should stop doing stupid things, especially when you're all beat up."

"Says the one who was bleeding all over the place just a few hours ago," Kama snapped, having finally recovered enough to speak, and yanked up the side of Naruto's blood-soaked jacket.

"But you patched me up all nice and stuff," Naruto said innocently, pushing his shirt higher so he could pull some of the bandages loose. "See? It's all healed now."

Kakashi frowned deeply and inspected the wound himself, his gaze lingering on the dried blood staining Naruto's clothes.

"That's no reason to – to just – " Kama grit his teeth. "You could've easily defeated Hiruko the first time around, with that kind of power. You shouldn't have…"

"Are we really going to do this whole argument again?" Naruto sighed, letting go of Kama, who turned his head sharply away. "I already told you why I did it. Maybe it wasn't the smartest choice, but I don't care. I just…"

The words abruptly locked in his throat, forcing him to stop. Naruto took a few steadying breaths, trying to push past the tightness in his chest.

"I don't want people to die for me," he whispered, staring blankly down at his hands. "I don't want to lose the people I care about. I don't… I can't…"

Kakashi's hand found his and squeezed it gently. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to focus on the touch, letting it ground him in the present.

"Are you…" For a few seconds, Kama seemed to be at a complete loss for words.

"Have you gone mad!?" he finally burst out and Naruto stared at him, startled. "Did you already forget? I'm not real! None of this is real! I shouldn't even be – I'm not – why would you go so far for someone who's just a false copy?! Why would you risk yourself when I'm not the one you—"

"But I care about you," Naruto said.

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Tsun Kama tsun Kama tsun Kama :3

Writing scene with two characters: this is fine
Writing scene with more than two characters: [everything is on fire] this is fine