One moment he's meditating, his vision empty and dark, and the next Naruto is falling and falling and falling, (he's falling again and no one here will catch him). He lands on something soft, jerking his head out of the soft something, (softness does not mean safety; this Naruto knows intimately), he looks around, immediately checking his surroundings. Realising there's no one around, he takes a slower look.

"Huh?" He says, pushing himself so he's now sitting. "How did I get here?" The room around him is extremely familiar, from the well-made bed on the opposite side of the room, to the bunk bed above his head. "Is anyone home?" He calls out, getting off of his own bed. No one responds, (it's like an inverted nightmare; instead of being kicked out, he's been left behind).

Once again, he glances around. As usual, his clothes are a messy pile shoved under his bed. As usual, both Uchihas have their beds made perfectly. As usual, the walk-in wardrobe is closed, (he doesn't know if this is a dream or not). The wardrobe growls. "That's not normal," Naruto remarks to himself aloud, taking comfort in the fact he can hear his own voice, (this doesn't have to be a bad dream; he can make it a good one if he just tries hard enough and believes enough). He knows that nothing can get in here without Toru knowing, so surely the wardrobe is safe, (this isn't going to be a nightmare; not while he has any say). "Maybe one of the dogs got stuck in there," he says thoughtfully, creeping closer to the doorway.

The wardrobe growls once again. "That doesn't really sound like a dog, though. Sounds more like a fox, to be honest." With nothing else to do, Naruto opens the wardrobe doors, one hand resting on his weapons pouch, (even if it doesn't mean anything here, it means something to him).

The doors swing open and then keep opening backwards, (flapping and flipping and this isn't right), until the whole room has been covered by doors. The floor drops out from beneath Naruto, and he hits the ground, rolling forward to get rid of his momentum, and stands once more.

He's no longer home, and everything around him is dark and rather damp, (something drips in the distance; goose bumps rise on his skin; he wants to run, he swallows that sensation down and hides it elsewhere). "This is new. And gross. Definitely gross."

"So," a voice growls loudly, "my latest prison guard has decided to deign to finally meeting with me. It only took you a decade and a bit."

Naruto whirls around at the reverberating words, wincing as he feels the deafening sound send his ribs vibrating, (fear sinks its claws into him, into his lungs and crawl – ever so slowly – up his throat). However, upon seeing the owner of the voice he can do nothing but stare, words stolen from his mouth, and he's left frozen and shaking, (this is so much more than fear and so much worse). Behind prison bars, ominous red eyes glare at him accompanied with massive, sharp teeth. The creature glows and steps forward, and the massive fox looks down at him, (he doesn't think this is a dream anymore).

"Come to steal my chakra from me? Come to force me to fight for you? What do you want, you pathetic worm?" Naruto's mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. "What a disgusting, pitiful creature you humans are. Unable to even speak as fear ensnares you. So weak, you are."

"You're– You're the Kyūbi!" Naruto shouts loudly, refusing to step backwards, (refusing to give in to his own fear; he owns his fear, not the other way around), and looking up to meet the giant fox's eyes. The fox grins and leans closer. Swallowing, Naruto continues, "I- I didn't mean to come here. Wherever here is."

(He has a vague idea of where here is, but that doesn't matter not with what's in front of him.)

The fox's snout comes closer, and Naruto eyes the creature's teeth. It's a good thing he does, too, since the fox's snout quickly escapes from beyond the bars, and jaws snap closed where Naruto had been only seconds before.

"That's not very nice," Naruto says. "Besides, I didn't mean to disturb you. You don't have to be so mean about it!"

"You keep me chained here," the fox roars, withdrawing back into its prison with a snarl. "This time I will attack your stupid, little village the moment I escape from here with my own will! This time you will not be able to stop me when I do so! Take that paper away from my cage and I will let you live."

"No!" Naruto shouts back, fierce as anything, (fierceness he has fought for), and clearly surprising the fox. "My friends live here! Toru lives here! So does Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei! I won't let you hurt them!"

"You may have me captured and contained for now, but I will escape! I do not wish to be your captive! I will not help you, no matter what you demand," the Kyūbi responds, and now Naruto can see the creature's lashing nine tails, (it is easy to hear and see anger; it is easy to feel anger and hatred; he's been there before).

(Maybe once Naruto would hear the Kyūbi's hatred of Konoha and hate the creature in return, despising the nine-tailed fox for what has been done to the village. However, Naruto has heard speeches of how a ninja must use all their tools and advantages available to them. Still, Naruto is hearing this angry, wrathful, hating creature use words like 'my own will' and 'chained' and 'captured' and can't help but think maybe they're both stuck here and imprisoned.)

"I didn't want this either," Naruto replies. "I didn't ask to be used as a prison guard or have you captured and chained or whatever. I didn't get that choice, okay? But I can't do anything about it now. And neither can you! We're both stuck here and with each other, and yeah, that sucks."

(He has nothing else to offer, just words and maybe he's lying and the Kyūbi won't know, but words are all he has. For quite a few years, words were all he had – now, now he has more. Just not here.)

"Get out!" The Kyūbi snarls retreating back into the darkness.

"Wait!" Naruto shouts back. "What do I refer to you as?" The Kyūbi pauses, clearly hesitating, (pausing, uncertain), taking it as a good sign, Naruto hurries to continue, "I'm not just going to call you an 'it'. You're alive and you clearly have a mind of your own, so you're not just some object and to call you 'it' would be degrading. Do you have a gender or a preferred pronoun – he? She? They?"

A cackle comes from the Kyūbi. "Humans and their labels," the creature says derisively. "Humans created the notion of genders and preferred pronouns; such things are not necessary when you simply are. But… use they. Now, go!" Swallowing, Naruto nods and pulls on his chakra, hoping it'll take him out of this awful place, (a place cemented with terror and hatred and anger – he doesn't want to be back in that awful place).

Blinking quickly, Naruto finds himself staring around him. He's still in the training ground. "Are you okay there, Boss?" A clone asks him.

"Hold up on dispersing for now," Naruto says. "Do you know where Toru is?" The clone points southward. "Thanks."

Running, Naruto finds himself grateful for the fact that Toru is alone currently, (he doesn't think he could wait to have this conversation). "Naruto?" Toru says, turning to face him. "Is everything alright?"

"I think I just met the Kyūbi," Naruto replies, and watches as Toru's face doesn't change. "I was meditating like you'd suggested and then I found myself in our bedroom? And the wardrobe was growling so I opened it except the doors kept opening and then I was falling and somewhere dark and there were bars and glowing red eyes and the Kyūbi spoke to me and they said a lot of things and gender is just a made-up human concept and-"

Naruto cuts himself off as Toru pulls him into a hug, and only then realises he's crying, (he hasn't cried in a while, not like this). Hiccupping, Naruto buries his head into Toru's shoulder and just lets himself feel safe, (reminds himself that anger and hatred and fear are not needed here, that Toru will look out for him). In Toru's warm embrace, Naruto explains what happened.

"Sounds like the Kyūbi has been used as a tool their whole life," Toru says, once Naruto has finished speaking and stopped crying, and the two are sitting next to each other in one of the taller trees in the training ground, (above the ground, everything looks smaller, feels more insignificant, Naruto loves it). "That doesn't sound like a very nice life."

"Do you think the Kyūbi hates me?"

Toru hums, thoughtful in his silence. "I think the Kyūbi sees you as their guard, and thus hates you for that. You stand for keeping them locked away, when they do not wish to be so. You might not have had a choice in the matter, but emotions are not always logical."

"No, they're not," Naruto agrees, knows. "Still, though. It seems a rather awful life to live – being locked and chained up forever. Being only a tool. I don't think I'd want that… The Kyūbi said some odd things, insinuating that they didn't have a choice when they attacked Konoha," he continues slowly. "Do you think I could change their mind about everything? Prove humans aren't as bad as they say? Or, at least, not all?"

"Naruto, we all have the power to try to change someone's mind, but it might not work. They have a choice to listen to you and ignore you. Don't go forcing people to change, forcing choices on them. Only reveal they have a chance. Show the Kyūbi you are not what they think you are. From the sounds of it, you visited your own mindscape and for you it was home, for the Kyūbi it was a jail. Perhaps you can try to change that, give them somewhere better to be whilst they are stuck within you. You control your own mind, Naruto. Don't let them bully you into believing otherwise."

Naruto nods once, twice. "I'm going to prove the Kyūbi I'm better than the other humans they've met. And… I think the Kyūbi needs a friend, you know? I could try to be their friend."

"We all need friends to offer comfort and love," Toru agrees. "And, you know what I think Naruto?"

"What?"

"I think the Kyūbi would be hard pushed to find a better friend than the one they will find in you."

Naruto beams.

Haruto snarls loudly, echoed by Takumi. Instantly awake, Toru slips out of bed. He'd been intending to recover a bit more after the ANBU mission he'd completed with his team the previous day; so far, his plan seems to be failing, (that's fairly normal).

Both dogs quiet as Toru drifts closer to the door, adrenaline kicking his heart into overdrive, (but he remains in control). Slowly, silently, approaching the door, the chūnin signals both dogs to ready themselves. Takumi crouches next to the door, Haruto stands next to Toru, hackles up. Someone knocks on the door, polite enough, but that doesn't necessarily ensure they mean no harm. Dropping his hand to his side, Toru flattens his palm, telling the dogs to hold, and opens the door.

"Good afternoon, Toru-san," Kakashi greets from outside the door. "May I come in?"

Tilting his head, Toru nods, opening the door full and stepping backwards. "Come on in, Kakashi-san." Haruto and Takumi turn away from the pair, moving to opposite sides of the room where they appear to curl up and sleep – an appearance, Toru knows, that is quite fake. The pair are watching, ready for if Toru needs them. "Have a seat," he adds, gesturing towards the couches.

Kakashi sits down, on the edge of the couch, not relaxing back into it. He looks awkward, ill at ease, in the apartment. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Toru asks, already predicating the answer.

"No thanks," Kakashi says, (Toru's prediction had been right). "Do you mind if we talk about the genins?"

Sitting down, Toru responds, "Go ahead. I take it they're training with Gai-san currently?"

A shift in body posture and Kakashi dips his head in a nod. "Yes, they're with Gai and his team – as we'd planned in weeks past." Toru waves his hand, acknowledging the statement. Three weeks ago, Kakashi had brought the idea forward, (had made a decision and come forward, had tried), of the genins training with an older team, against those more experienced like what would happen often in the field. Gai had been happy to improve the taijutsu of Kakashi's team and the two jōnins had organised for their teams to train together once a week.

There's a pause, and it stretches out, (stretches and stretches, like a shadow does as the sun rises). Over the course of the past two months, Toru likes to think he's gotten an understanding of who Kakashi is. Kakashi knows what he wants to say, doesn't let silence stretch out unless he wants to be that way.

"What are you thinking?" Toru finally asks, because Kakashi has come here to Toru's home, to Toru's safe place. This is an area where Toru has control over what happens; by coming here, Kakashi has given away the advantage and purposefully placed himself at a disadvantage, purposefully given himself a weakness. The man may be arrogant, at times, but he's all too aware of his own mortality and vulnerability. He doesn't give himself weaknesses.

"I–" Kakashi visibly cuts himself off, words lost, and Toru waits, because that's all he can do. "I didn't really have a genin team, not really. As a genin, I was swapped between teams during wartime. I wasn't a genin for long, quickly being promoted to chūnin. Minato Namikaze was my teacher then, and I was placed on a team with two other genins – Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha. We weren't friends – or, at least, I wasn't friends with either of them. I was just waiting for when the time came that I didn't have to be on a team, didn't have to rely on anyone."

Now there is a pause, emotion fuelled, and Toru thinks this is may very well be the first time that Kakashi has ever spoken about such things to someone else, (it's a sad thought, and something that shouldn't have happened, because while Toru knows that Kakashi is littered with cracks and scars that he has healed himself, Toru thinks everyone needs someone to speak to).

"We had a mission, without Minato-sensei, and I was leading it. During it, Rin was captured and taken. Obito refused to follow my suggestion that we complete the mission, and left after saying... Well, such words don't matter. I went to complete the mission, and turned back before I even got to the bridge. I arrived in time to save Obito from being killed and we both went on to rescue Rin. During the ensuing battles, I lost my eye and Obito finally unlocked the sharingan. There was a cave-in and Obito took my place beneath the falling rocks," Kakashi's fists tightened, and he met Toru's gaze with his own eye, angry and guilty and broadcasting his emotions clearly, (he's been fairly emotionless, acting like he is giving a report – until this moment). "He bequeathed his sharingan to me."

Kakashi takes a deep breathe, and then continues, "Teams have never worked out for me, Toru-san. I wasn't taught like how ninjas are taught these days. Things don't work in my head like how they work for others. Teams often end in death, and I have never been strong to protect my teammates. They call me friend-killer Kakashi, you know." The jōnin folds his hands in his lap, and appears to wait for Toru's response.

"What were Obito-san's words?"

"What?"

"You say the words don't matter, but clearly they do. You turned back form the mission, regardless of the possible consequences. The words must have made an impact then, and thus must carry some importance now," Toru responds, leaning back. "You remember them; you just haven't said them."

"'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. If I'm going to be called trash either way, I'd rather break the rules. And if that somehow makes me anything less than a real ninja, then I'll crush all of these so-called real ninjas.'"

"So, you fear that your will be the reason behind why this team dies or survive where they don't. You carry the guilt of Obito-san's death with you," Toru says straightforwardly, and Kakashi twitches, fingers inching towards his weapon pouch, (he has given himself a weakness, and so he is ready to attack). Carefully running his tongue over his teeth, Toru considers his words. "You probably know this, considering such knowledge became wide-spread fairly quickly, but when I was a chūnin with a half a year's experience of being one I was… Well, I was second in command for our team. Our leader went down so I stepped up in the midst of a fight. I ordered them to go and kept our enemies from following, and ended up being captured by them."

"Yes, and you were tortured for it, and that's terrible, but we are ninjas," Kakashi stresses. "This is what our lives are like."

"This story isn't about me, Kakashi-san," Toru says sharply, because he knows what a ninja's life is like, knows it all too well. He knows his story, knows himself. Not everything is about him; he knows that. This is much bigger than him. "It's about my teammates. They all blamed themselves for the fact I was left behind, but that was my choice. I made that decision and it wasn't on them. There was nothing they could be done."

"Obito didn't have a choice."

"Didn't he? He pushed you out of the way and that was his decision. Listen. Guilt isn't logical, and your emotions are valid, okay? You are entitled to them and they are yours, but don't forget this was Obito-san's choice. You were in war. There was nothing you could have done. Obito-san's death isn't on you."

"I killed Rin," Kakashi chokes out, and Toru doesn't know the story behind the comment is, but he knows people, knows that if they're loyal then their decisions are for those around them, for their friends and family and village.

"That was also her decision," he says, deciding to trust that Rin hadn't been a traitor. "We are ninjas. These things happened. Death is part of our lifestyle, and clings to us, sinks deep within our bones. We make our decisions, our choices. And yes, we live with guilt and hate and anger. Such things are not easy, but they made those choices, selfless choices. They wanted you to live Kakashi-san. They wouldn't have done that if you didn't deserve it."

"You don't know me," Kakashi accuses, as if such statements make Toru's words wrong, as if the past two months mean nothing.

"You know I do. Maybe I don't know you well, but I know you. You're a genius, a prodigy, a ninja and person formed and shaped by war. You're arrogant, on occasion, and fully aware of your mortality. You are loyal to your village and its people, deeply loyal. You strive to protect others who are part of your village, even at the cost of your own life. You're afraid of forming connections with people and don't know how to interact with others properly. You don't understand other people because they don't think like you, and although you can often predict how they'll act and respond, you don't know why. You're scared and hurting. Tell me, Kakashi Hatake, do I not know you?"

Kakashi narrows is eye and doesn't reply, preferring silence to actually answering. "Consider this, you came to speak to me about the genins. A few months ago, they all hated and despised you, assumed you couldn't teach and looked down upon them. Now? Now they're content to go to training, willing to ask you questions. They know, vaguely, how to tell when you don't mind human contact and socialisation and when they're better off asking someone else instead.

"Consider this, I was once willing to bring you in front of Hokage-sama due to the fact you weren't up to teaching, and now I would be hard pressed to stop you from teaching those genins. You've learnt – how to be human and how to teach; you're still learning. A week ago, one of Gai-san's students asked you something and you answered easily. Sakura is willing to listen to your advice and teachings. Naruto trusts you and doesn't feel like he has to hide who he is or his dreams. Sasuke will come to you, will talk to you. Those three are fighters, and so are you."

Having leant forward sometime whilst he had been speaking forward, Toru leans back again. He has said his bit, and now he's willing to let Kakashi muddle through Toru's words and his own head, (it's Kakashi's turn now to make a decision; Toru has said his part, done what he can, offered his support and opinions, there is nothing else he can give at this moment). Standing up, Toru heads to the kitchen and pours himself a glass of water before returning to the sitting area.

"That's slightly annoying," he comments as the door closes quietly behind Kakashi. "I suppose I best be thankful for the fact he used the door rather than the windows. But still. That's one way to avoid finishing a conversation." Takumi barks in agreement, Haruto whines.

"You can't come?" Naruto whines. Toru shakes his head. "Please?"

"I have my own mission to prepare for, Naruto," Toru says. "Besides, you don't actually need me on this mission. This one is a pretty boring C-rank. You've completed these before. Remember? Just last month you were retelling how the three of you managed to complete an escort mission to a nearby town with minimal difficulties. The month before that you were explaining how you stopped a flood with your teammates."

Naruto crosses his arms, looking remarkably like Sasuke for a brief moment, and then pouts, which ruins the image. "You've never been on a mission with us barring our first C-rank mission."

"Because you don't need me," Toru repeats, eyes flickering over to Kakashi who had turned up half-an-hour late a few minutes ago, (and that's a sign of improvement too). "C'mon, Kakashi-san is waiting for you already." Naruto groans but heads over to his teammates who easily engage him with a conversation.

Toru meets Kakashi's gaze evenly. "Look after them," he says. Both older ninjas are aware that the mission will bring difficulties the genins hadn't planned on. Previously, Kakashi has carefully selected C-rank missions that have the least likely chance of fighting anything vaguely human. Today though, they would be going on a mission that would probably involve fighting, and killing, bandits. Their first kills, and Kakashi is the one who's dealing with the aftermath, (and Toru trusts him with it).

The older man inclines his head. And Toru turns away, he trusts that Kakashi will look after the trio. He's gotten better at dealing with them, better at teaching, and although – at times – he remains aloof and avoids socialising, he's better than he had been.

As Toru reaches the rooftops, he's joined by two others. Souma and Sora take up positions on either side of him, (teammates and friends and something more – trusted). "They'll be fine, you know," Sora says. "They've trained well."

Souma hums his agreement, only bothering to add, "And they're strong too. You worry far too easily."

(He worries too easily because he knows all too well the dangers and how easy it is to snap someone's neck, to watch someone die, to see their life bleed out of them – he knows all too well how easy it is to die, even when you don't want to, especially when you don't want to.)

Rolling his eyes, Toru jabs Souma in the ribs, not caring when the other ANBU dodges the blow with practiced ease, (a sign of how used to one another they are). "I'm fully aware you didn't just come here to tell me my worries are illogical," Toru says. "So what do you two want?"

"We definitely just came to tell you that you didn't have a need to be worried over them," Sora says. "But, also, we had a conversation with some others and decided it was time for us to distract you, except we aren't too good at doing that without forcing you into a spar. Thus, we recruited some help!" With that last statement, Sora shoves Toru, (Toru allows it), causing him to stumble and take to the street.

His teammates land beside him and he blinks in surprise upon seeing Shou and Kiku. Toru glances around and the four people surrounding him; his closest friends aside from Iruka. "Is Iruka going to turn up as well?" He asks, laughter trickling up his throat, (contentment sits in his heart, and it is not heavy or awkward).

"No, because apparently he can't 'just skip a day of teaching.' He called me mad when I told him he could," Kiku responds. "Now, shall we go in? We haven't caught up in ages. Besides, you need to introduce us to your new friends."

"Kiku and Shou, meet Sora and Souma. You all can play a good guessing game to figure out who's who," Toru says. "After all, you've apparently decided to make plans regarding me without my knowledge. You probably know each other's' names already."

"You're right, but you don't have to point that out," Shou says, rolling her eyes and pushing open the door to the restaurant. "That's just plain rude."

"Rude," Toru echoes as he follows the chūnin inside. "You say that like no one conspired with little Sasuke and then handcuff me to Kiku because we were having a disagreement."

"I solved the issue, didn't I?" Shou responds, teasing smile on her face and allows Toru to select a table. "You can't deny it worked."

"I deny it worked," Kiku says, placing herself in a seat next to Shou. "Really, the only we reason we made up was to get our own revenge."

Sora laughs and leans forward, palms flat against the table. "Toru hasn't told us this story, has he Souma?"

The ex-ROOT ANBU follows his teammate's lead and shakes his head, leaning forward slightly and watching Toru's genin teammates with wide eyes. "Please, do tell."

(They've both come so far and they will only go further.)

"I'd be delighted to," Shou says, launching straight into the story.

"The other teachers of the rookie genins are having a dinner meeting tonight," Kakashi says suddenly, seeming to finally explain why exactly he's in Toru's house, sitting on Toru's couch, (he's in Toru's life because of Sasuke and Naruto but Toru thinks there's starting to be another reason why he remains in Kakashi's life). It only took him twenty minutes to finally speak, (at least he spoke this time rather than staring at Toru for an hour and then leaving).

"That's nice?" Toru hazards, not sure what the jōnin wants to hear from him. "Do you want to explain to me why, exactly, you're telling me this?"

Kakashi hums and immerses himself in his book once again. There's no title on the cover, and Toru has no idea what book it actually is. It's a different cover to last week's novel, but that's all he really knows about it. Eventually, Kakashi says, "Do I go?"

Clicking his tongue, Toru picks up a piece of paper with scribbles all over it. "That's your choice," he says as he scrunches the paper into a ball, throwing it up into the air and catching it. "You get to decide that, not me. If you have something else to ask, ask. Otherwise, I'm going to grab something to do as we sit here."

Kakashi leans back further into the crouch, as if he doesn't care what Toru does. Flicking the ball of paper at him, and not minding when the older man catches it without watching, (he expected nothing else), Toru stands up. He heads into the bedroom, grabs his most recent notepad, and goes back to where Kakashi is sitting.

Like the past few times, Kakashi doesn't take leave without prior warning, remaining on the couch, (it's a more recent development). Sitting back down on the couch, Toru flips open to his current thought process regarding the ninjutsu that creates drilling wind bullets. Since a water version of air bullets exists, he assumes that there could be a drilling version for water, especially as there is one for fire already. However, he needs to figure out the hand seals.

There's a slam as Kakashi snaps close his book, Toru doesn't look up. "Toru-san," Kakashi says, and Toru glances at the other man's face, mask and all, (and doesn't mind because they both hide parts of themselves), "Do you believe it would be worthwhile going to the meeting with the other teachers?"

"The rookies often train with each other," Toru says. "Moreover, each teacher has different ways of teaching and different specialities as well. By talking to the other teachers, you may be able to get their help as well or, like you do with Gai-san and his team, work together to train your teams together."

The man grimaces, shifting in his seat, and allows Toru to see his discomfort, so Toru returns the favour, placing down the objects in his hand and focussing on the conversation. "Socialisation isn't my strong point," Kakashi says. "I prefer to avoid it when possible. And I can't stuff this up, especially if the trio want to actually work with the others. It'd do them some good as well."

"Then you're going to go?" Toru asks.

"Are you going to come?" Kakashi asks in answer. "It'd be helpful. You know all the genins."

"Since you so graciously asked me," Toru replies. "I guess I can come."

The book disappears and Kakashi stands up. "Well, let's go then!"

"Already?" Toru asks, surprised. He frowns. "We're already running late, aren't we?"

"Nope," Kakashi says cheerily, and obviously lying, as he leads Toru out of the apartment and then out onto the rooftops. Kakashi leads the way, confident in each step, and Toru traces half a pace behind him, sticking well on side Kakashi can clearly see, (what people forget is that when you have an obvious disability, you make that your stronger side, if people think it's a disadvantage, they'll aim for it, so you make it stronger and always surprise people).

"Here we are!" Kakashi announces, dropping onto a street containing ninjas for the most part. Toru takes note of the name – Shushu-ya – before entering the restaurant. It's clearly a ninja-only restaurant, with wide open spaces between tables with windows and reflective surfaces so that everyone can see if there's anyone approaching them.

However, despite Kakashi's enthusiasm, he's willing to let Toru make the way to the table where the other jōnin teachers are. "Kakashi? You actually came? What a surprise!" The man greets – Asuma Sarutobi who Toru has seen in passing. "Who's your friend?"

"Toru Uchiha," Kakashi says. "He's been helping me out with training the genins."

"Nice to meet you both," Toru says. "I've heard about both of you. Sarutobi-san and Yūhi-san, correct?"

"Call me by my first name," Kurenai replies. "Please, sit down. I'm sure we have plenty to discuss."

"Toru-san, then," he catches Asuma's gaze, "for both of you."

"Trying to get on their good side so they'll pay for your meal won't work, Toru-san," Kakashi chimes in, swaying to avoid Toru's answering elbow. "That was rude."

"Free-loaders don't get to comment," Toru counters as he takes a seat next to Kurenai. With a somewhat grumpy expression, Kakashi sits next to Asuma. "Besides, last time your genins tried to get you to come with them for lunch, you ran off and left them with the bill."

Kakashi sniffs. "I don't recall the event you speak of. Could it be that you're lying?" Giving Kakashi an unimpressed look, Toru doesn't reply, instead leaning back.

The silence drags out, and Toru withholds a sigh that builds in him. Kakashi, he can understand, doesn't necessarily understand how to engage in conversations without pretending to be someone else. Moreover, Kakashi doesn't speak that often, he's not quiet, (his presence is loud, jarring, because Kakashi is dangerous and no trained ninja can ignore what his presence means), but he doesn't speak unless he wants to. However, the other two just appear awkward when they have no reason to be.

"Has Kiba-kun strengthened his taijutsu?" Toru says, directing his question at Kurenai. "Apparently, he's generally weaker when he is without Akamaru helping during a fight."

"Yes, actually," Kurenai says, sounding slightly surprised. "How did you know he had been working on it recently?"

"Their last spar a few weeks ago," Toru explains, "Apparently Kiba-kun knocked Sasuke out of the spar. Sasuke wasn't too impressed, but it was a step-up from the previous spar where Kiba-kun was easily taken out."

"Who partakes in these spars?" Kurenai asks.

"The nine genins – Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura-chan, Kiba-kun, Hinata-chan, Shino-kun, Shikamaru-kun, Chōji-kun, and Ino-chan – as well as the two ninkens – Akamaru and Takuma. They've had training sessions altogether and spars and so forth. They've been doing it for a few years now, ever since they all became friends. The restrictions on the spars generally change. If they're involving ninjutsu, they know they actually have to have someone supervising or nearby or one of their medics-in-training on standby rather than participating in the fight."

"I'm sorry, they do what?" Asuma asks with wide eyes. He turns his gaze to Kurenai, and then Kakashi. "Did you know they were doing this?"

Kurenai shakes her head. Meanwhile, Kakashi nods and opens his book once again. "Are you telling me you didn't know your cute little genins were running around on their off days to continue training?"

"They only do it when they have at least three off days," Toru adds with a glare at Kakashi. "They do actually know how to rest."

"Are you really sure Kakashi is the one doing the teaching?" Asuma asks, with a teasing laugh. "He doesn't really seem the type."

A glance at Kakashi tells Toru all he really needs to know. The man doesn't appear upset or anything, simply turning a single page slowly, calmly, with precise movements. The man doesn't normally turn the pages of his book like that; he's listening, and he's not happy with that comment. "He's a good teacher," Toru replies, barely keeping the irritation out of his voice. "He just had a bit of trouble in the beginning."

Asuma narrows his eyes, but tilts his head in what appears to be apology. Toru nods, short and sharp. Deciding to throw away with the pleasantries, since small talk didn't appear to be working all too well, he asks, "So, what have you been teaching your teams?""

Naruto meets the Kyūbi and it goes, well, it goes. That's all that can really be said. Kakashi turns to Toru; both ninjas attempt to find trust within themselves and find the strength to give it to one another. Toru's friends help out and help him and make sure the chūnin doesn't run himself into the ground. Meanwhile, time continues to pass as it does, with the future drawing closer and closer. And the Rookie Nine teachers finally gather and discuss the progress of their students.

Naruto finally meets the Kyubi, and it's fairly different from what happens in actual canon. I found the whole sewer thing was a bit weird, and so changed it a bit whilst keeping it the same. The Kyubi acts differently, I think, but that's just because I wanted to write them that way more than anything. Also, because they're so caught up in their anger and so forth, they give things away - Naruto picks up on the major one, 'my own will'. However, that's partly due to Toru who mentions that maybe the Kyubi had a reason to attack. I don't know how long it'll be until the Kyubi comes back. I'd have to check my plot outlines, but that's more effort than it's really worth. Eventually, they'll be back. Just not right /

As we probably all know, Kakashi is definitely not in the best mindset. He comes to Toru because he has come to trust Toru, although even then, he doesn't trust Toru fully. To be honest, during the conversation, a lot of Toru's thoughts were probably 'why me?' and 'I'm not an actual therapist, he knows this right?' Kakashi's weird and everyone just puts up with it. Toru does his best to help Kakashi, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going about it the right way. Good news is that they're both ninjas and probably don't understand socialisation properly, so even if they both make mistakes, the other might not pick up on it.

I threw in Shou and Kiku because it was about time they reappeared, and also just to remind everyone that they existed, even though Toru has grown more distant in regards to them. That's what time and distance does, to be honest. They just aren't as close as they once had been.

You finally met the other teachers - Kurenai and Asuma - I had no real idea on how to write them. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed!