Chapter 10:

A few hours had passed, the light of dawn making its way across the land. Kakashi could see his ninken scattered around the area, diligently keeping watch. He was so grateful for the dogs, he would have never found Naruto if it wasn't for them. He heard shuffling behind him in the cave and quickly glanced inside. Naruto was stirring, Kakashi got to his feet to walk deeper into the cave to check on him. He squatted down beside Naruto, going to check him for signs of fever when the blonde's eyes shot open wide, a glint of red dancing behind his irises. In a flash Naruto was scrambling backwards away from him, crashing hard into the back wall of the cave. He was frantically feeling the wall behind him, eyes desperate with fear. "Naruto, please calm down. I won't hurt you. Look…" Kakashi stood up and walked backwards from him with his arms raised in the air. "I don't have any weapons, I will give you lots of space, okay? Just please, calm down."

Naruto was sucking in panicked breaths, chest heaving, his whole body shaking. "What happened? Where am I? We aren't back in Konoha right? Please, please no". Tears started falling from his eyes, head falling forward, he started quietly sobbing. Kakashi wanted badly to reach for him, offer him comfort but he dared not move any closer. "The dogs and I tracked you down to your camp near the lake, after you … after you had hurt yourself. You were in pretty bad shape. The dogs found this cave nearby and we moved over here. We are still at the lake, Naruto. We aren't back in Konoha. How are you feeling? You lost a lot of blood, in all honesty you should have been dead."

Naruto lifted his head and met Kakashi's eyes, "You took care of me…?" he mumbled.. "these aren't my clothes…". Kakashi nodded and replied "Your clothes were soaked through with blood, I washed them in the lake, they are hanging to dry right now. I lent you some of my clothes, it didn't feel right for me to look through your pack." A moment of silence passed between them, Kakashi asking again, "How are you feeling?" The young man gave a dry chuckle, "I'll be fine, Kurama apparently saved my ass again." Seeing the look of confusion on Kakashi's face he continued, "Kurama is the nine-tails name that is sealed in me. Him and I can converse in my subconscious. After years of watching me getting my ass beaten by the villagers it seems the damned fox feels sorry for me. He would heal me after the beatings and eventually started lending me his strength when I was in dangerous situations. My body has very few scars aside from the ones I have caused myself. Kurama hates that I hurt myself and refuses to heal those wounds. He has brought me back from the brink of death numerous times, but only enough to keep me alive. If I were to die, Kurama would too so he isn't willing to let me kill myself." So cruel, Naruto thought to himself, he wasn't granted an easy way out. "That's why I ran away…Kurama wouldn't just let me die, so I had to leave. Had to try and start over somewhere else."

Kakashi was stunned, "Oh, Naruto, I am so sorry. I wish…I wish I hadn't..." He started walking toward him. Naruto flinched, stopping Kakashi in his tracks. "...I'm hungry…" he whispered. "Shit, of course you are, I'm sorry. I'll go make you something to eat really quickly. Just rest, okay?" Narutos only reply was a sullen nod, this gaze directed back at the ground. Kakashi cursed at himself for scaring him, he just wanted so desperately to hug him. Hug away the years of pain and loneliness. He went about quickly making them a hot meal, also collecting some fresh, cold drinking water. With everything prepared he headed back into the cave, only to find Naruto curled back up on his bed roll, sound asleep. He carefully put the food down beside him, not wanting him to wake up. Kakashi hesitated but figured now would be the best time to redress the young man's wound. He doubted that Naruto would let him get close enough to him, while awake, to check it over. He carefully pulled out his medkit, preparing all he would need to get the job done in a hurry. He grabs his small scissors and starts cutting the old wrapping free, peeling it back. The wound on his wrist is slightly weeping, but the cut looks clean with no signs of infection. He carefully applies ointment to the wound preparing to rewrap it. He feels Naruto jolt awake under him. He is trembling with wide eyes, another flash of red, staring at Kakashi. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm just about done dressing your wound, I promise I won't hurt you. Let me finish up and I will get away from you. Please?". The young man doesn't move, doesn't make a sound, seemingly frozen in place. Kakashi makes quick work of wrapping a fresh bandage on his wrist, collecting his kit and moving away to the other side of the cave. "Your dinner should still be hot… and your wound seems to be healing fine.." Naruto still hasn't moved or spoken. Kakashi sighs and starts to move toward the exit of the cave. "I will give you some space, I'm sorry. I'll be just outside if you need me."

"WAIT!" Naruto screams, startling Kakashi. He turns to look at the young man. "Wait… please. I'm sorry, I'm just… I just….. I'm not used to someone being so close to me, touching me. I just... Please don't leave me here alone." Kakashi moves back into the cave, still giving Naruto lots of space. "I won't leave you, never again will I leave you. I promise."

Kakashi watched over the young man as he ate, a peaceful silence falling over them. "When you finish up you should try and get some rest, I have to go feed the dogs but I will be just outside. I will come right back in when I'm done, okay?" Naruto nodded, lying back down on the bedroll, quickly curling up and closing his eyes. Kakashi headed outside the cave and prepared the dogs dinner. Giving a low whistle, Pakkun was at his side in an instant. "How's Naruto doing, boss?". "He's doing okay Pakkun, but we will be here for at least a couple more days while he regains his strength. I need you and the rest of the pack to gather more tinder and hunt down a few rabbits and fish tomorrow. Naruto doesn't want me to leave him alone." "No problem, leave it to us." "Thank you, Pakkun, good night." Kakashi grabbed a quick bite to eat and started to head back into the cave. Naruto was now sound asleep curled up in a tight ball on the bedroll. Kakashi gathered up a few extra layers of clothing and covered the young man. He made his way silently to the other side of the cave, lowering himself down into a sitting position, drawing his legs up to his chest and resting his head on his knees. He would try and get some rest tonight, a few hours of sleep but he had to remain alert, thus forgoing laying out on his own bedroll.

A few hours later, a sound brought Kakashi out of his light sleep. He sat upright and listened carefully, there weren't any sounds coming from outside the cave. If something was happening out there, Pakkun would have come to alert him. He remained silent, listening carefully for any further sound. A muffled scream shattered the silence of the cave. Kakashi was up in a shot, quickly making his way across the cave to Naruto's side. The young man was thrashing and mumbling in his sleep, clearly having a nightmare. He took a few steps back from him to not startle him. "Naruto… Naruto, wake up, you're only dreaming… Naruto." His eyes flew open and searched the space, panting heavily. His eyes finally found Kakashi in the gloom of the cave. "You're okay Naruto, it was just a dream. You are safe." Naruto was violently shaking, silent tears rolling down his cheeks. "You are okay, I'm right here… I'll go get you something to drink." Kakashi went to stand, Naruto replying "NO! Please…please don't go. Can you… can you just sit over here beside me?" Kakashi nodded and moved closer, lowering himself to the ground, back pressed into the wall of the cave. "Is here okay?" Naruto's body was tense but he nodded, slowly laying back down. "It's okay, go back to sleep, I am right here."

Sunlight started to flood in from the entrance of the cave a few hours later, Kakashi had stayed awake the remainder of the night keeping a careful eye on the young man. Naruto had slept soundly through the rest of the night. Unable to sit in the position any longer, Kakashi stood and stretched out his limbs and back. He moved quietly away from Naruto to the entrance of the cave, making sure to stay within viewable distance in case he was to wake up. He greeted Pakkun at the entrance, making the dogs a quick breakfast. The pack had already started to collect the items he had requested the night before. There was a healthy pile of tinder stacked near the firepit along with some foraged nuts and veggies. The dogs were waiting on Kakashi before going out to hunt, knowing that anything they were able to catch would have to be gutted and cleaned right away to prevent spoiling. Kakashi gave his approval for them to commence their hunt, setting to work on building a fire to cook breakfast. Shuffling noises behind him caught his immediate attention, he stood turning toward the direction of the cave entrance. Naruto was awake and slowly making his way outside. "Hey, sorry, I'm just getting a fire going to make some breakfast. How are you feeling?" The young man's skin was still dreadfully pale but he looked a hell of a lot better than he did two days previous. "I'm feeling okay, still really weak but definitely better." Kakashi handed the young man a water canteen, knowing he had to be thirsty since he had hardly anything to drink in days. "Your clothes should be dry now, if you'd like after we eat you can go change." Naruto took a seat near the fire, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. Sensing that he was still cold, Kakashi grabbed a spare vest from his rucksack and handed it to the blonde, trying to give him a reassuring smile. "Thank you" Naruto mumbled, shrugging the vest over his shoulders. "Why did you leave, Kakashi?", "I told you, I came out to make a fire and…" Naruto cut him off before he could finish. "No I mean before, why did you leave the village all those years ago. Even with how young I was at the time, I could tell something was bothering you. You seemed so…sad. I just….. Why did you leave me?"