Chapter 15:
Kakashi woke up before the rising of the sun, he could smell rain in the distance. He quickly hopped to his feet, dashing out of the cave. "Shit" he swore under his breath. He hurriedly gathered the still slightly damp clothing that was hung outside, dropping it in a pile just inside the cave. He heads back out to collect a few armloads of tinder to also put inside the shelter of the cave. He whistled for his dogs, they were at his side in a flash. Kakashi directed them to head into the cave, while collecting the last of their gear to protect it from the rain. By the time he was back inside the cave, Naruto had woken up and was stretching. "What time is it? Are we heading out?". Before Kakashi could speak, a loud crack of thunder echoed through the cave, rain started falling in curtains outside the cave's entrance. "I think we are going to stay put for a while…" Kakashi replied with a small laugh. More loud echoing booms rumbled through the sky, flashes of lightning illuminating the gloom of the world outside. Kakashi looked over at his dogs, obediently sitting near the entrance of the cave. "I'm going to send you boys home for a bit, the cave is a little small for all of us and I don't want you to have to sit out in the cold and wet. Thank you for your loyalty as always." He gave each dog a quick pet and reversed summoned them, the dogs disappearing with a pop of smoke. Bisuke was the only dog remaining, he made his way to Naruto's side, nuzzling his way into his lap. "Kakashi, you forgot about Bisuke." Kakashi smiled and replied, "Nahh, I didn't forget about him, I figured you would like to keep him around still for comfort." Naruto scratched the dog behind the ear, the dog happily licking at his arm. "I'm okay, I think you should send him home too, I'm sure he will miss his family if he is stuck out here with us." Kakashi thoughtfully regarded the young man, "You sure?" Naruto just smiled and nodded, giving the dog a quick scratch under the chin. Kakashi walked over to the hound and gave him a quick pat and a thank you, the dog's tongue lolling out of his mouth as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Standing back up, Kakashi made his way to where he had set down their clothing. He pulled some chakra wire from his pack and wrapped it around an exposed tree root within the cave, securing the other end to a tree just near the cave's entrance. He collected the still damp articles of clothing and hung them carefully on the wire. "Where do the dogs go when they aren't with you?" Naruto asked to Kakashi's back. "I own a large parcel of land outside of Konoha, near the northern border of Fire Country. There is a farmhouse on the land. I pay a man named Hiroto and his wife to take care of the property and the dogs when they aren't with me. They are really nice people." Finished with his task of hanging the clothes, Kakashi walked over and sat next to the young man, still giving him plenty of space. The rain was still falling in buckets outside the cave, the temperature dropping quickly. Kakashi could see Naruto start to shiver, he grabbed his blanket and draped it over the blonde's shoulders. "I'll start a fire near the entrance to heat up the cave. You hungry?" Naruto smiled and nodded. "Alright, you stay put, I'll have a fire going in no time."
A few minutes later they were both sitting in front of the fire, shoulder to shoulder, eating their breakfast. Naruto still had Kakashi's blanket wrapped around his shoulders for extra warmth. Kakashi brought himself to his feet, looking outside the cave into the sky. "It looks like the weather will clear up here in the next hour or so. We should pack up our things and prepare to head out." When Naruto didn't respond, Kakashi looked back at him. Naruto was looking into the fire, a forlorn expression on his face. "You don't have to be alone with your thoughts any more Naruto, what's bothering you." Kakashi sat back down next to the young man, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Naruto went a little stiff beneath the touch but quickly relaxed, letting out a soft sigh, he spoke. "I am still worried that you will eventually make me go back to Konoha, or leave me to return yourself." Kakashi replied, "I promised you that I won't and I meant it." "But… you coming to retrieve me was your mission…you can't abandon that right? Won't you get in trouble?" Kakashi chuckled, "So I get in trouble, so what?" "Well, won't you be considered a deserter? A missing nin? That could land you in the Bingo Book and you would be in danger with a reward set for your head and.." Kakashi cut off his rambling, "I will eventually write to the Sandaime and tell him my intentions, none of the rest of it matters. I will take being deemed a missing nin and becoming a head in the Bingo Book if it means you are safe and happy." Naruto looked at Kakashi in shock, "...you really mean it don't you…" "Of course I do, a ninja never goes back on their word." He smiled back at the young man. "Now, let's pack up." He gave the blonde's shoulder one more reassuring squeeze before standing back up to pack up his gear, retrieving his now dry mask and pulling it back over his face.
It was about mid day by time the rain had finally stopped, they headed out, trailing west toward the border into the Land of Vegetables. They crossed over the border and reached the outskirts of the village just before dinner time. Kakashi instructed Naruto to stay outside the village with their gear hidden from sight. Kakashi then used a simple transformation technique jutsu to change his appearance, his usual gray unruly hair now brown and curly. His dark gray eye, now a soft green, his Sharingan eye covered with an eye patch. Kakashi chuckled at Naruto's aghast expression, "I will have to teach you this jutsu someday. I'll be back within the hour. Please stay well hidden."
Kakashi made his way down into the village, stopping at a few vendor stalls to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. He found a small supplies store and bought a tent, a lantern and an extra woolen blanket. Satisfied with his purchases he started to make his way back out of the village, stopping abruptly when he came across a ventor stall selling his favorite meal. Salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant. His stomach growled as he read the sign and took in the delicious aroma. He purchased two large portions for himself and Naruto, finally heading out of the village. Naruto was in the same place he had left him, patiently awaiting his return. He greeted the young man and handed him over his dinner. "I'm not sure if you like eggplant, hopefully you do." Kakashi quickly undid the transformation jutsu, pulling his mask down off his face. He sat next to Naruto and started slurping happily at his food. Kakashi noticed the young man hadn't started to eat yet and looked at him curiously, "You don't like eggplant? I can make you something else." "No no, it's not that… I'm.. I'm just still not used to seeing your face." Kakashi dropped his gaze from the young man, a small blush hitting his cheeks, "Oh… right… sorry." He scratched at the back of his head with a small chuckle, recollecting himself. He picked back up his chopsticks and continued to eat, watching Naruto from the corner of his eye as he finally opened his container to eat as well.
When they were done eating, they continued west away from the village, deciding to travel as far as they could get before nightfall. A few hours later they had reached a decent patch of forest far from any signs of inhabitants. Kakashi quickly set up their tent, apologizing that it was a bit smaller than he had hoped. They decided to forgo a fire, not wanting to draw attention to their location in case there were people nearby. Kakashi laid out their bedrolls and blankets in the tent, collecting the rest of their gear and hiding it up in a nearby tree. They made their way into the tent to sleep for the night. Once they were both laid down, the smallness of the tent became more evident. Their shoulders were only inches apart. Kakashi could sense the young man was tense beside him, sighing, he sat up and started collecting his blanket. "What are you doing?" Naruto asked him quietly. "I'll go sleep in the tree outside, I'm sorry the tent is so small. I don't want you to stay up all night because you are uncomfortable." He smiled at the young man as he went to unzip the tent. "No… it's… I'm alright. I would rather you stay. I'll adjust to it… please. Just stay." Kakashi relented and positioned himself back down on his bedroll, curling onto his side facing away from Naruto to give him as much space as possible. "Good night Naruto." "Thank you for staying, good night, Kakashi." Kakashi listened to the young man's breathing, finally relaxing when he heard him start to lightly snore. He allowed sleep to claim him, drifting off almost immediately. His nightmare was back, him and Rin were sprinting away from pursuing enemy shinobi. They were cornered, he got into a bloody battle with them. His Chidori screaming in the silence of the night. His hand punching through Rins chest, meeting her eyes as she smiled and murmured his name. Something was shaking him. Kakashi awoke with a start, pining his assailant to the ground, grabbing for the kunai he kept strapped to his calf.
He had Naruto pinned helplessly below him, eyes wide and shining with fear, a flash of red behind his irises. "Fuck, Naruto… holy shit. I'm so sorry." He leapt off the young man, pressing himself as far away as he could get against the tents wall. "You… you were having a nightmare… I was trying to wake you up." the blonde shakily replied. "Are you okay, did I hurt you? I'm so sorry, you startled me… I'm … I'm not used to having someone touch me either." Kakashi hung his head in shame, angry at himself that he scared the young man yet again. Naruto surprised him, crawling over to where Kakashi had knelt, gingerly placing a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "It's okay, I know now that you wouldn't intentionally hurt me. We both just have to get used to each other's presence." Naruto gave him a light smile. Relief washed over Kakashi, this incident may have brought them closer together, gaining a better understanding of each other. It was obvious to them both that they shared a lot of similarities. "It's still really early, let's try and grab a couple more hours of sleep before we head out." Kakashi said as he ushered Naruto back to his bed roll. A few moments after laying down Naruto whispered to Kakashi in the darkness, "Kakashi, do you think… do you think you could… hold me…I'm freezing." Kakashi could feel the young man slightly shaking against his shoulder, he rolled onto his side, sliding closer to the blonde, draping his arm over Naruto's chest, pulling him in close to him. "Like this? This okay?" Naruto hummed, the shaking slowly stopping, he fell back asleep almost immediately. Kakashi's face was so close to Naruto's neck, he carefully lifted his arm off Naruto to pull down his mask before draping his arm back over the young man. He watched the blonde carefully, still blissful asleep. He took in a deep breath, savoring the scent of the young man. His hair and skin smelt spicy, earthy. The smell of him was comforting, it smelt like home. Kakashi shut his eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.