Disclaimers: Hmmm, you've read enough disclaimers to know what I'm about to say, so… I shan't bother =___=

Author's notes: This was out a while ago, in hopes that I could write more =__=;; But I didn't have the time to finish this chapter properly, so I've decided to post it as a chapter, and work on the subsequent plot in another, though I really wanted the developments I've planned to happen in this. I apologise for the lateness and shortness of this, for anyone who may have been waiting for updates. (though there very well may not be anyone -__-;; ) I'll have to address the reviews since my last post in another update ^__^; But reviewers, thank you so much for bothering to write a review, I certainly read them seriously and am very grateful!

Chapter Three

Findings

Naruto hummed as he walked down the cobbled pavements with his hands behind his back. It was a bright afternoon and everything seemed just so inexplicably promising that Naruto was sure the grin couldn't be wiped from his face.

As he bounced up the steps of the jounins quarters walked down the long corridor before he found the one he was looking for. Pushing the door open, he looked around for signs of other people in the room, but there was no one besides Kakashi. Naruto grinned and welcomed himself into the small room.

Settling himself comfortably on the chair beside Kakashi's bed, Naruto smiled even wider when he saw how much better Kakashi looked now compared to the last time he saw his sensei. Wondering what he could say to an unconscious person, Naruto scrunched up his face and thought hard.

"Uh…..yeah, so uh, I'm here to see you sensei."

Kakashi slept on.

"Great." Naruto rolled his eyes at his own announcement earlier.

After another minute of silence, Naruto couldn't stand the silence and decided to chat on, despite knowing there wasn't going to be any answers in reply.

"That stupid brat Konohamaru he……"

"You wouldn't believe it! That damned pervert sennin blasted that man out of ………"

"And, and the old hag didn't believe me, so we had this bet…."

"You wouldn't believe it! I beat Kabuto! Ne, did you know, he turned out to be a spy?! And I liked him before too…."

Naruto trailed off, a scowl on his face. But he brightened up immediately after.

"Ha! I know this new technique that's waaaaay cool! I still wanna learn the Chidori though, hey, that reminds me, why didn't you teach me that sensei?"

Naruto looked at his sensei still sleeping serenely and smiled.

"Guess I'll have to ask you that again when you wake then."

Looking out of the partially opened window, Naruto was surprised to notice it was already late afternoon. He hadn't known he'd spent the whole afternoon talking to his sensei. This isn't so bad, he mused.

A breeze blew in and Naruto noticed how the breeze gently ruffled Kakashi's hair. He drew his head down to inspect closer before he noticed a light scent of musk and herbs. Sniffing lightly, he found that it came from Kakashi's hair.

"Wow, I wonder what shampoo you use…"

Drawing a lock of hair, Naruto is amazed again by the softness of Kakashi's silver hair.

"What the….damn…wish I had hair that soft too." he grumbled, fingering a lock of his own hair as well, comparing the difference.

With Kakashi's usual mess of spiky hair, no one would have guessed it was so finely textured. After a while of further inspection, Naruto finally settled down again, stretching.

"Oh well, I better go get some ramen before the ojisan decides to close the shop. I'll be back tomorrow! Seeya, sensei!"

Later, as Naruto was settled down at the table slurping ramen, he couldn't help wondering why he felt strangely happy and content.

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Naruto, as promised, visited his sensei the next day, and the next, and the one after the next. Each of his visits were spent talking to his comatose teacher for hours. Happy that, for once, there was someone who would listen to him talk for hours without complaint.

Even if it's only because that person was unconscious. Still, it made Naruto happy. He was happy he had someone to talk to.

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"Hey, you know there was this once I was so angry I thought there was nothing more I wanted to do than to kill all the villagers." Naruto said morosely on his fifth visit as he played with Kakashi's hair. It was a habit he picked up after the first day and frankly, it was kind of fun to play with.

"But, after I knew, well, you can't really blame them can you? I mean, the fourth Hokage died saving the village….and if the villagers respected the Hokage like I do….if I were them, I'd hate me too."

Kakashi's hair was quickly becoming a tangled mess, and Naruto muttered a curse and quickly tried to undo the damage. He was silent while he worked to smoothen out the mess. He looked up finally and stared at the photo frames rested on the window sill. The one on the right was one of Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke and himself. The one on the left, was of the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi, and another two ninjas Naruto had never seen. He wondered with a pang of pain, if the two ninjas had died in the battle against the Nine-Tailed fox as well.

"The Fourth was your teacher wasn't he? He died sealing the fox in me…….."

Naruto fell silent. He drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.

"Ne sensei….do I remind you of the fox? Do you dislike me?"

"………Because the fox killed so many?"

"Maybe the ones you loved too……"

"Is that why you wouldn't teach me? You know… that time when I asked you to….and you didn't teach me the Chidori….."

Naruto's voice progressively muffled as he sank his face lower and lower behind his knees.

"Or.." he hesitated "…is it that I'm not good enough?"

There was no reply.

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Naruto couldn't remember ever telling anyone with the amount of detail he did with Kakashi. He went from his earliest memories, to his life before Team 7, bragged about his achievements as a prankster, his lessons with Iruka at the academy, down to his preference of the various ramen served at the Ichiraku ramen stall. He surprised even himself with all that he could remember and say.

"You know, I'm definitely going to do something about that Hyuuga tradition. It wouldn't do to have another raving one like Neji… hahaha, but Neji's cool now. We even had lunch together at the ramen stall! Well, we kinda bumped into each other there, but…heheh!"

Naruto looked up from his drawing, and sniggered. He had tied Kakashi's hair up in badly done braids earlier and decided he had to sketch it down.

"You can't blame me for the braids, I've only just learnt them from Sakura this morning. It's not like I'll have another chance like this anyway, you're definitely not going to let me get away with this when you wake up."

Naruto paused.

He was just starting to sketch Kakashi's face when he noticed how weird it looked to draw a mask in. As an idea began to form in his head, he congratulated himself for thinking it up, while berated himself why he didn't think of it earlier before - that now he could solve the mystery that is Kakashi's face once and for all.

We've always wondered why he had to have a mask over his face all the time…if it was because he was ugly, or scarred, or trying to make a fashion statement. Hmmm…maybe I'm not too far off in my prediction of him having horse lips*……

Naruto carefully placed the pad of paper and the pencil aside and looked around nervously. He felt like what he was about to do was monumental, and illegal. He swallowed hard and slowly reached his hand out to touch the edge of the mask. Taking another swallow, Naruto looked away as he tugged the mask down.

Naruto finally twisted his head slightly towards Kakashi and willed his eyes to peel open slightly. What caught his eye made him snap his eyes wide open.

"GEH?! What the….!"

Naruto had imagined what his sensei looked like when Sakura, Sasuke and himself debated over that issue, but he never imagined Kakashi to look so….well, beautiful, for lack of better word to describe.

It wasn't the sort of fragile beauty you'd find in a female, it was more of a masculine, where physical perfection masked over strength and power.

Naruto stared in awe at his sensei. Jealousy started to singe at the edges of his nerves, as it did whenever he came across someone who definitely beat him in the looks department hands down. The last time it happened was with bloody Sasuke, but he'd really rather die than ever admitting that fact out loud. Looks aren't something that you can win or beat by working your ass off.

"Damn it! Who'd in his right mind would cover a face like…..l-like…that!" yelled Naruto as he gesticulated wildly.

Naruto ranted on for the next few minutes before the unbearable feeling of stupidity of ranting at comatose person off descended upon him. He sighed in defeat before he turned back to his sketch again.

Grumbling to himself as he tried his best to sketch the newly revealed face.

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Author's Ramble: Uh yeah, don't flame me ;__;

it's a short, and rather badly written chapter, even I have to admit to that, but I'll remedy that as soon as possible ^__^;;