Thank you all for reviewing! One more chapter after this, and yes, there will be a happy ending. And I've already started writing oneshots that take place in this universe, so, be on the lookout for those. They will be posted in THIS story, not as separate ones. As I said last chapter, Parental!Kakashi and Kakanaru is very fun to write. Do not own this fic's new cover.

"But that's stupid!" Naruto protested, fighting to pull his arm out of Iruka's grip. "He's hurt! Why are they making him give his mission report now? That's just mean!"

Sighing, Iruka effortlessly held Naruto in place, stopping him from bursting into the hospital room. Naruto would probably end up as a kunai pincushion if he did. "It's ANBU business, Naruto. Who knows what kind of mission he had? It could've been something vital for village. They need his report," Iruka told him gently.

"But… wow, that is so cool." Naruto's eyes widened in awe as he looked towards the hospital room, now very excited. "Iruka-sensei, what do you think his mission was? Maybe he was escorting a king! Or fighting a dragon! Ooh, ooh, maybe saving a princess! Wow, that is just so cool!" Naruto's cheeks were flushing adorably in his eagerness.

Iruka chuckled as Naruto continued his gushing. It probably wasn't a good idea to tell Naruto that such missions were really nothing but fantasy, and that it could've been nothing more glamorous than a scouting mission. Instead, he took the opportunity to inspire and teach, because he was nothing, if not a good teacher. "Yeah, it is, Naruto. Work really hard, and you could be doing things like that someday."

"I will! You better believe it, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto's grin broadened and he clapped his hands together in excitement. "I know! I don't need to graduate; I can take on a mission like that right now! Where's the Hokage? He'll give me a super cool mission like that, I know he-"

"Naruto," Iruka admonished, waving his finger at him. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?! I would be so awesome!"

"…Because, maybe, the mission would require you to make a clone. And you still can't do that, can you?" Iruka playfully ruffled Naruto's hair as his student's pout just grew more pronounced, and he slouched back against the wall, arms crossed. He huffed and muttered something under his breath. Iruka laughed, letting his hand fall down to rest on his shoulder.

"It's not my fault," Naruto muttered. "I just don't like that jutsu. It's hard."

"Well, Sasuke seems pretty good at it."

Naruto looked like he was about to stick his tongue out just to spite him. "Sasuke-teme? He's annoying! So popular; thinks he's all that. I'm a better ninja than he is."

Iruka just smiled.

It was then that the door to Kakashi's hospital room opened to reveal two cloaked members of ANBU, one holding a scroll. They exited quickly and swept down the hallway with a swirl of their heavy black cloaks, white animals masks just as blank and creepy as before. Naruto resisted the urge to shiver, then pulled his hand out of Iruka's and pointed at the door. "Well, Sensei? Can I go in now?"

Iruka shrugged and gestured forward. He didn't know why Naruto was so set on seeing Kakashi, but he seemed adamant in doing so, and Iruka couldn't see the harm in it.

Naruto hurried forward and quickly opened the door, trying to ignore the trepidation building up in his stomach. He wanted answers, and this was how to get them. Besides, Kakashi seemed nice; everything would be fine.

"…scaring us half to death, which seems to be a talent of yours."

"Maa, it wasn't even my blood. They all just overreacted."

Naruto blinked and lingered in the doorway. Kakashi already had a visitor; quite an intimidating one, at that. He towered over Naruto at almost six feet tall, a navy blue bandana tied around his woodsy brown hair. His eyes, the same color of his hair, were narrowed in annoyance and pointedly directed at Kakashi. A senbon twitched irritably in his mouth as he ground his teeth in frustration.

He was leaning with his back against the wall and his arms crossed, looking none too happy. "Yeah. Overreaction. Right, Senpai. According to you, it would be an overreaction to take you to the hospital if half your organs were hanging out."

There was a light chuckle in response. The tall man raised his head to the doorway, as if he'd known Naruto was there all along but just now acknowledged him. He tensed when his eyes met Naruto's blue gaze, and glared into the questioning eyes. Jerking his head towards Naruto standing in the doorway, he stated in a bland tone, "Kakashi-senpai."

Naruto jumped, startled, and then glanced over at the bed. Kakashi was propped up on some pillows, his hair an even greater mess than usual, and he was wearing a black sleeveless top and his trademark mask. Naruto was relieved to see no sign of any strange red eye; nothing but the scar bisecting it. The one opened grey eye widened in recognition, and Kakashi glanced back at the other man.

"Genma, please give us a moment alone." It was phrased as a request, but Genma's narrowed eyes indicated that he knew a command when he heard one. He was slightly confused as to the reason, but slowly shrugged and acquiesced.

"Sure thing, Senpai."

"Stop calling me that."

"Yes Senpai," Genma lengthened that particular word purposefully, enjoying the other man's irritation. He inclined his head slightly in mock respect, and swept out of the door. While he ignored Naruto's small frame clutching the side of the door, he brushed against him none too gently.

Naruto stumbled forward into the room as Genma shut the door behind him. He was alone with Kakashi. Shuffling his feet nervously, Naruto could not meet Kakashi's eyes. The ANBU tilted his head to side, scrutinizing the boy carefully. "Do you need something?"

"Um…" Naruto trailed off uncertainly. He wanted very much to know about Kakashi's unsual eye, but could not bring himself to ask. He started the query, but his courage deserted him midway. "Kakashi, why did your eye- I- I mean… you, er... why are you still wearing that mask? I thought ANBUs only wore one mask… at least, that's what Iruka-sensei said."

Kakashi shook his head slightly and tugged on the edge of the cloth. "He's right. But this isn't an ANBU mask. It's just special."

"Oh." Naruto visibly deflated and anxiously clasped his hands behind his back. He resumed shuffling his feet, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. What was he supposed to say? "Um…"

Luckily, it was Kakashi who broke the silence. "I guess it wasn't a hallucination that you found me, huh, Naruto?"

"What?" Naruto blinked, looking directly at Kakashi in his shock. "How do you know my name?!"

Kakashi chuckled again. "Special jounin here. I know a lot of things."

"But… but-"

"Look, I'm fine, if that's what you're here to find out." He interlocked his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the headboard with a lazy sigh, blinking up at the ceiling. "Maa, I guess it's not. I was a bit too instinctive with the use of my Sharingan back there."

"…Huh?"

Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile and he shook his head ruefully. "I apologize. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Wha…" Naruto pointed his fingers at him accusingly and snapped, "You didn't mean to scare me? You showed me my own funeral! You made me think I was going to die!"

"What?" Kakashi waved his hand placatingly and smiled, shaking his head. "I admit, I showed you some pretty unsavory things, but it could've been worse. And I certainly did not show you your own funeral. What are you talking about?"

"You did too!" Naruto protested angrily. "It was a funeral, and the Hokage was there and a bunch of other people, and then I walked up to the casket- well, I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop for some reason, and then I was the one in there, and it was really freaky, and-"

"Hold it, hold it. That wasn't you."

"Yes it was!"

Kakashi gave a resigned sigh and paused, looking at him in an odd way that made Naruto shiver. After a long moment, he reached up and lightly tapped his scarred eyelid. "No, it wasn't, Naruto. I'll prove it. If you'll let me, I'll show it to you again. This time, take a closer look at him. Okay?"

Naruto hesitated, instantly unsure. He glanced at the closed eye and took an involuntary step back, biting his lip. "I… no way. It was weird. I felt really sad, and I didn't know why, and I couldn't control anything, and-"

"Now that I'm actually not about to pass out, I can assure you that it won't be quite as unpleasant of an experience. I was actually making you see my memories, earlier. I can taper it this time, so you won't feel my emotions as well.

Naruto hesitated again. On one hand, he wanted to be sure Kakashi wasn't some kind of freaky fortune-teller who had foretold his death or anything. But, on the other, he wasn't exactly keen to experience that creepy, out-of-body sensation that red eye had made him go through before. "I don't know… it was really weird last time."

Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile again. "That's only because I wasn't exactly intending to show you anything… you just look a lot like someone I used to know, and it confused me for a moment. That's all." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and shrugged. "Of course, it's entirely up to you. If you don't care, then-"

"No! I still think that was me in that creepy memory or whatever it was, but…"

Kakashi sighed. "It's fine if don't want to. I've scared plenty of ninja away from ever looking at me again with this thing. I wouldn't expect a pre-genin to just jump back into-"

"Oi! I'm not a coward!" Naruto stepped forward and defiantly crossed his arms, glaring at him. "I'm a super great ninja who's going to become Hokage someday! Don't just diss my skills because of some little technicality like not graduating or anything!"

"Oh. My mistake. I didn't realize I was speaking with a super great ninja. So, you'll look, then?" he asked brightly, and Naruto couldn't help but feel insulted by the obvious sarcasm.

In his desire to prove the man wrong, Naruto nodded with a lot more bravado than he felt. He glared at Kakashi boldly. "Yeah. Go on, hit me."

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you." Kakashi took a deep breath and flickered his grey eye shut. Immediately, the other eye snapped open. The black symbols started to spin, just like before, and Naruto found himself entranced, unable to look away, unable to do anything…

He was staring down at his own corpse again.

Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His instinct to jump back was greeted with the uncomfortable sensation of immobility. However, he felt no crippling sadness. Suddenly, Kakashi's cheery voice echoed eerily around the dreamscape.

"See? It's not you. No whisker marks on his cheeks, ne?"

Naruto willed himself to examine the body more carefully, and, sure enough, there were no whisker marks. However, the man still bore an uncanny resemblance to himself… maybe whisker marks faded with age? Naruto still felt rather uncomfortable.

"I told you, Naruto. Minato-sensei here just reminded me a lot of you; that's why I showed you memories concerning him. ...But, I can feel that you're not convinced. Perhaps, I should show you another memory? One when he's a bit more conscious? If it's all right with you. "

Naruto was getting irritated by the tacked-on queries to Naruto's well-being. He could sense that it wasn't naturally in the other man's personality to ask about the welfare of others. Putting the feeling aside, Naruto wondered how exactly was he was supposed to tell Kakashi that yes, it was okay with him, he wasn't a wuss. He wanted to know more about this man who looked so much like himself-

Kakashi's voice echoed out again. "Okay, good. Just relax, and..."

The body vanished, and Naruto felt the now recognizable disorientation of the memory abruptly changing to another. This time, it was the familiar blond sitting on a couch, his head in his hands, a woman with striking red hair sitting next to him and rubbing his back comfortingly, with Jiraiya standing off to the side and looking entirely amused by the entire situation.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do... she's never been this mad at me." The man's voice was certainly not his own; it was lower and calmer and oddly relaxing. Naruto felt an unusual instant trust in this man.

The redhead winced in sympathy. "Well... Minato, to be honest, it's entirely your fault."

Naruto would've jolted in surprise if he could have. Minato? So, the man's name was actually Minato…

Minato just groaned, his voice muffled by his hands. "That doesn't help, Kushina."

"Poor baby," she responded amusedly. "Wait, hold on... It can be Kakashi's fault, too!"

Naruto felt his lips shape into words, and he uttered in a voice not his own, "How, exactly?"

Kushina grinned triumphantly. "Because, here you are, getting Rin that fantastic present- that makes my husband just look even worse!"

"It was a book."

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Well, she seemed to love it!"

"That's because Rin's in love with Kakashi," Jiraiya cut in with a knowing look. "He could give her a pile of dirt and she'd be absolutely overjoyed."

Naruto felt himself shift a bit and rub the side of his neck. "I don't think so..."

This whole out-of-own-body experience was still very disconcerting, he thought privately.

"See, Kashi-kun here knows nothing of the tenacious and wild female. Unlike me, of course. Minato, I tell you, just give her a copy of my book! Any woman would forgive you in an instant, and-"

Kushina smacked Jiraiya upside the head with a practiced motion and a glare. Naruto found himself feeling a slight hint of amusement - of Kakashi's amusement? The emotions seemed to overlap - when she snapped, "No one reads your dirty porn, Jiraiya! And Rin would gut him if he gave her that!"

Jiraiya winced, rubbing the site of his new injury. However, even the fear of the redhead's wrath couldn't stop him from muttering, "Kakashi likes them."

"They're for visualization training," Kakashi answered smoothly, but even the quick reply wasn't enough to dispel Kushina's furious look in his direction.

"I hate that habit of yours, Kakashi. You'll never get yourself a girlfriend with that attitude."

"Can we please focus on my problem here?"

Kakashi turned back so Naruto could see Minato still slumped over on the couch, seeming depressed and miserable. Kushina went back to his side and patted him awkwardly on the back, seeming without any idea of how to comfort him. "Look, Minato... women just don't like it when you forget their birthday!"

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry, you know I am. But her birthday was on the same day that I was proctoring the finals of the Chuunin Exam. I kept thinking I was forgetting something... but I can't fix it now that I have! Rin hates me."

Kushina grinned. "No, she doesn't. She's just a little upset now, understandably, but she'll get over it. You're her sensei, you know. Your kids all love you. Even stubborn, little emotionally-stunted Kakashi here."

Naruto felt Kakashi shift a bit with uncertainty, and even more of this odd, pleasurable feeling that he couldn't quite place leaked through as all the eyes in the room turned to him.

And now that Minato had raised his head, Naruto could see that, while his eyes were the same brilliant shade of dark blue, Minato's were smaller than his. Naruto was starting to feel like a bit of an idiot for mistaking Minato as himself.

Minato pushed lightly at Kushina's shoulder, giving a broad grin. "Stop it; you're embarrassing him."

"No, she's not," Jiraiya chuckled. "If we wanted to embarrass him, then we'd talk about the time when that weird boy Gai got him drunk. Wasn't it karaoke night at the bar?"

Kushina laughed uproariously, prompting Naruto's embarrassment to rise, along with the heat in his cheeks. "He kept trying to sing as Minato pulled him outside! He was so out of it he couldn't remember the words, though, so he stared making up his own- didn't it end up being a song about-"

"There was no song. Ever. No song, no karaoke night, no anything."

"Aw, Kakashi, come on! You're no fun."

Naruto really, really wanted to smile. Kakashi's emotions were steadily growing stronger, easier for him to feel, and they made him glad. It was hard to describe... it wasn't necessarily happiness... it was a foreign feeling to him, one he didn't think he had ever felt before.

It took him a moment to realize that it was contentment.

With the surprise that came along with understanding what exactly he was feeling came a sudden dizziness. The memory blurred and dulled, and the contentment abruptly vanished, what he'd been able to feel of Kakashi's emotions disappearing, and Kakashi's voice echoed around the memory again.

"I'm going to release the genjutsu now. Stay calm."

The vision of the dead man blurred and fragmented, the shards drifting apart to reveal the bland hospital room again. Naruto gasped, while Kakashi shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Sorry. I let myself get a bit carried away..."

Naruto just stared at him, still reeling.

"Well, did you get my point, at least?"

He gulped. "Um… well…"

Kakashi chuckled. "Don't worry. Just a misunderstanding, ne?"

Naruto relaxed a bit, feeling somewhat like an idiot. He had completely overreacted.

He had completely overreacted, and yet Kakashi didn't seem angry. Normally if he dared to accuse any other civilian of anything, he'd be surrounded and hit before he could think twice. But it hadn't seemed to have bothered Kakashi at all.

He grinned, on instinct. "Thanks."

Kakashi shrugged. "Don't mention it. Now, is there something else you needed? Because I kind of had an escape plan to get to…"

"Um, well… hey. Did that Jiraiya guy come to the funeral?"

Kakashi's eye widened for a split second in surprise before he regained his usual indifferent expression. "I showed you that, too? Well, no. He didn't."

"Oh." Naruto shifted his weight again. "I'm sorry… it seemed like you really wanted him to be there."

Kakashi just smiled. "Maa, he had his reasons. He went to go look for a friend."

"Did he at least find him?"

"Well… no. As far as I know, he's still looking. And he left ten years ago."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're kidding! That's how old I am."

"Yeah, I know."

Suddenly, another bit of information from the memories struck him. "Hey! If that Jiraiya person left, what happened to the kid you were talking about? Minato's son, I think? You said something about him needing a home…?"

Kakashi's smile fell instantly. His eye downcast, the ninja turned away from him, hands clasped loosely in front of him. "…He's still alive. But a lot of things that he didn't deserve happened to him. Honestly, I don't think his father would be very pleased with how things turned out."

Naruto frowned at the sudden change in his voice. Instead of being lighthearted and cheerful, it had abruptly dropped to become bland, almost morose, and his eye was no longer fully alert and curved in a smile. His shoulders slumped, and Naruto watched in surprise as Kakashi crossed his legs, resting his head on his hands, gazing blankly at the wall.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why'd you get sad all of a sudden?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow without looking at him. "Mmm? Oh, I'm just thinking."

"About?"

Kakashi shrugged limply. "Nothing, really. Just the kid."

"Why don't you talk to him?"

"Maa, it's too late, now. He's been on his own for a while; doesn't have any use for a guy like me." His eye curved up in a smile again, but it looked pained.

Naruto hesitated. "Well, I mean… you had a reason for why you couldn't help this kid, right?"

Kakashi shrugged again, sending his eye skyward. "Oh, sure. It's more of an excuse than anything, though. The council knew I wouldn't be easy to control, so they assigned me a long S-rank. Was a scouting missions set to last for four years… things got a bit out of control, ended up lasting for six. By the time I finally came back to Konoha, this boy was already enrolled in the Ninja Academy."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really?! He's in the Academy, too?! Maybe he's in my class!"

For some reason, Kakashi found this funny. He grinned happily and nodded, still gazing at the wall. "Ah, maybe."

"Well, anyway, it looks like you had a pretty good reason. Why don't you talk to him? I mean, I'd be pretty mad if I found out there was this guy who was supposed to look after me and he shows so late, but I'd be okay with it. Eventually, anyway. Now that I think about it, it'd be cool to go home at night and not be alone. And have someone to teach me stuff… like how to cook! And- oh! Sorry." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "I, uh, got carried away. Sorry."

He blinked, realizing Kakashi was looking at him strangely. His one grey eye was wide in surprise, his head tilted to the side, and he looked like he was on the verge of saying something, but he didn't quite know what exactly he wanted to do.

"Hey, you're looking at me weird, dattebayo."

Kakashi stared at him for another moment, then laughed quietly and looked away. "You know, Naruto, you remind me more of your mother than your father. And that's including how much you look like him."

Naruto's jaw fell open.

Kakashi glanced back at him, elbows resting on his knees, gaze shaded by a few thick spikes of silver hair. His eye was curved up in a hesitant smile.

"Y-you…"

Kakashi gave a little one-handed wave. "Yep. You're that kid, Naruto."

The floor was suddenly a lot closer than before.

A hard, muscly arm stopped him from face planting. He blinked in surprise, letting Kakashi stand him upright again. "Woah. Don't faint on me, ne?"

He stared up at Kakashi in shock, and the jounin grinned, still holding him by the shoulder in case he fell again. Naruto trembled.

Ten years of nothing. Of no one who cared, of hateful glares and not a single person who would've even noticed if he'd died. Ten years of nothing...

And here was Kakashi. Out of nowhere, there was finally someone- someone who knew him and someone who cared. Someone else like Iruka. He had someone else.

This knowledge was like a breath of fresh air. It was like a huge weight had been taken off his chest, and he felt almost like he was floating. The relief was just so intense and he almost couldn't stop smiling.

And then something clicked.

"Four years."

"Huh?"

"Four years." First, he repeated it in a hoarse whisper, but then it abruptly became a yell. "You bastard, you said you had a six year mission! But I'm ten! What about those other four years, huh? Why didn't you say anything to me until now?!"

Kakashi backed up, waving his hands in a conciliatory fashion as if trying to calm him. "Look, I didn't exactly think it'd be welcome-"

"I didn't have anyone, you bastard!" Naruto yelled. "Just the Hokage who would come by with money once a month and that's it! And you just-"

"I was ordered to keep my distance, Naruto. And, besides, ANBU kept me on a tight leash until two years ago; the only time I was in the village for more than a month was when I was hospitalized. What was I supposed to do, waltz into your life and then, just as easily, waltz out when I had a mission? I was gone for months at a time! You didn't need someone like that."

"So?!" Naruto snapped, frustrated. "That doesn't matter, damn it! That's just an excuse! Why didn't you ever do anything?! I was… I was so alone and-"

"Naruto, I-"

"What is going on in here?!"

Naruto spun on his heel to see a nurse standing in the doorway, her hands planted on her hips, her eyes narrowed in fury. Naruto turned to point accusingly at Kakashi, then stared.

The jounin was gone.

"Wha…"

His gaze was drawn to the open window.