Chapter 31:
They woke up shortly after dawn, Naruto busied himself with taking down their tent while Kakashi made them a light breakfast. After finishing up their breakfast and putting away their dishes then divided up the gear and headed out. Kakashi stopped suddenly to dig through his rucksack, finally locating his cloth mask; it had felt like it had been forever since he last wore it. Resecuring his rucksack to his back he continued. They stood atop the gully's stone wall, peering back down onto the sand below one last time. Kakashi pulled a forlorn looking Naruto into a side hug, "We'll come back love… one day we will come back." The blonde offered up a weak smile and nod, finally turning his back and heading down to the beach.
They traveled north down the beach in the direction they had previously come from, all those many days before. They stuck closer to the inland border of the neighboring Land of Vegetables, wanting to keep as much distance between them and the shinobi village of Joumei as possible. The journey through the Land of Keys to the border of the Land of Mountains went well, sticking mostly to the treeline; they encountered no other travelers along the way. The landscape stayed very similar or that of the Land of Vegetables but gone was the scent of the ocean. Their direction started to shift toward the east, their aim was for the destroyed Shinobi village of Kagero. The village had been at war with Konoha many years previous, eventually declaring a cease-fire. While the village of Kagero was weak and rebuilding from the battle with Konoha, Shinobi from Takigakure Village of the Land of Waterfalls swept in and wiped out what was left. The village itself now was mostly inhabited by stranded civilians, trying to piece together a decent semblance of life after such a tragedy. Most of the village's previous infrastructure lay in ruins, the civilians rebuilding or building anew, what they could. Kakashi had been through the area a few years back during an ANBU mission and recalled there still being a fairly decent market with vendors selling their wares. His intention today was to go into the village and pick a few things before continuing east through the Land of Earth.
They reached the outskirts of the village at about midday, Kakashi directed Naruto into a deep section of brush far off the beaten path. "I'm going to quickly run into the village and grab supplies. We will be traveling through areas with villages close to Fire Country and I want to avoid them as much as possible. I will be back as quickly as I can, please stay well hidden." Kakashi pulled down his mask and placed a soft kiss on the blonde's lips before performing a quick jutsu to disguise his appearance, sprinting off in the direction of the run down buildings. The heat from the village was as stifling as Kakashi remembered, large geysers spewing steam and heat from within the ground were littered throughout the area. Kakashi couldn't wait to leave this Kami forsaken place.
Naruto waited patiently for Kakashi's return, slowly molding chakra in his palm. It was still amazing to him how much easier he could control his chakra now that he was swirling it in the correct direction. He laughed softly to himself, suddenly hearing movement behind him, there's no way Kakashi is back this quickly, he spun around to see what caused the noise but was knocked unconscious before he saw anything.
Kakashi was able to pick up the few items he was after in the small village; a cloak with a hood for Naruto, some blank scrolls and more dried meats & fruits. He hastily beat his retreat from the village, he hated leaving Naruto alone. He made his way back to where he had left Naruto but there was no sign of him. Their gear was strewn all over the place, dumped carelessly from their rucksacks. A twist of fear and an overwhelming amount of rage filled Kakashi. He quickly collected their items, tucking them back into the bags. He summoned his ninken, Pakkun, popping up at his side in a puff of smoke, "Hey boss, what do you…" Pakkun abruptly stopped, a sharp whimper leaving his muzzle when he saw Kakashi's face. Murderous rage blazing in his eyes, his Sharingan swirling dangerously, Kakashi whispered through clenched teeth, "Find Naruto."
The hounds quickly found Naruto's scent, chasing it down, Kakashi vibrating with anger directly behind them. Pakkun fell back to Kakashi's side and relayed that there were three other distinct scents mixed with Narutos. They quickly came up to an old run down manor, apparently turned into a hideout. "They went in there, Kakashi, I smell a lot of people inside. Be careful." Kakashi dropped their gear, "I want two of you to find us a suitable place to sleep this evening, preferably with a water source. The rest of you stay here, if anyone tries to enter or leave the building, kill them." He ordered the dogs, hastily making for the entrance of the manor.
Kakashi mercilessly cut down everyone he came across, silently slashing throats and piercing chests. By the time he made his way down the long corridor, to what he assumed would be a grand hall, he had killed fifteen Shinobi. He could hear talking within the hall, he peered around the doorway carefully to count the number of enemies within. Knelt on the ground blindfolded with his head slumped forward and chakra wire binding his upper arms was Naruto. He appeared unconscious, being stood over by a portly dark haired Shinobi. Kakashi counted five more in the room. He was running through quick strategies in his mind when the dark haired Shinobi grabbed Naruto sharply by the hair, slapping him across the face. "Wake up, runt!" Naruto's head was jolted sharply to the side, the hit had apparently woken him up. Kakashi looked on, rage boiling inside him, resisting the urge to dive headlong into the room, knowing it would only endanger Naruto. Naruto shook his head, panting harshly. "Don't …fucking… TOUCH ME!" the blonde screamed out, a pulse of chakra exploding from his body, driving back the Shinobi closest to him. Kakashi jumped into action while everyone in the room was distracted by Naruto's sudden outburst. He silently curled his way around the room, snapping the necks of three of the six assailants. Kakashi was making his way to the fourth, when he heard Naruto scream in anger, driving a Rasengan blindly into one of his assailants. Naruto's body was shimmering in the all too familiar red cloak of the nine-tails. Kakashi muttered a silent thankful prayer for the Kyuubi. Kakashi quickly took out the fourth assailant. The only enemy left was the dark haired Shinobi who was still knocked back on the ground, stunned by Naruto's chakra blast. Kakashi walked to him silently, dropping down and meeting his eyes, plunging a kunai through his throat. The enemy Shinobi gurgled blood in his throat, eyes wide with fear, slowly glazing over with death. Kakashi watched him bleed out, feeling his rage slowly dissipating. Kakashi brought himself back up, turning and sprinting toward Naruto. The blonde's head was whipping around violently, teeth bared in rage. He heard Kakashi's approach and formed another Rasengan in his palm, screaming blindly in Kakashi's direction. "Naruto, it's okay, it's me." The Rasengan dissipated in Naruto's hand, reaching out blindly in the direction of Kakashi's voice. "Kashi?" his voice had gone shaky and soft, no longer dark and harsh. Kakashi brought his hands up to untie the blindfold covering the blonde's eyes, wincing at the burning heat of the Kyuubi's cloak. Naruto's eyes fluttered open, instantly filling with tears when he met Kakashi's. Kakashi gripped him tightly on the shoulder with one hand, his flesh sizzling on contact, the other hand quickly covering his Sharingan, "Thank you Kurama, everythings okay now, you are safe, Naruto is safe. Please calm down." Kakashi watched as the Kyuubi's cloak slowly withdrew, Naruto finally looking down at his body and gasping at the red aura surrounding him. The burnt skin of the blonde was quickly repaired as the cloak disappeared. Kakashi gripped under Naruto's chin, turning his face slightly to inspect the red slap mark on his face. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Kakashi angrily whispered. Naruto shook his head, tears spilling freely down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, I am never leaving you alone ever again. I promise." Kakashi cut the chakra wire binding the blonde's upper arms, scooping him up into his arms.
Kakashi walked carefully through the manor back in the direction of the exit, stepping over the bodies he had left behind earlier. The garish light in the corridor eerily illuminated the grizzly scene, blood was splattered everywhere. "Close your eyes, love… keep them closed until I say so." Kakashi whispered to the blonde. Naruto buried his face into Kakashi's neck, shaking violently. Kakashi made his way back to where he had left his pack, they were guarding their gear diligently. Pakkun confirmed they had found a place nearby to bed down for the evening. They made the quick journey to a slow moving creek nesselled at the entrance of a raveen. Kakashi nodded his approval, directing the dogs to check the area for any threats and retrieve some tinder. The dogs dashed away on their new mission, Kakashi finally looking back down at Naruto and himself. The blonde still had his face buried into Kakashi's neck, hands gripping tightly onto his shirt. Kakashi was drenched in blood from head to toe, the blood smearing all over the shivering blonde in his arms. Kakashi kicked off his sandals and slowly wadded out into the creek. Naruto gasped as the cool water hit his body, "Keep your eyes closed, love. I've got you." Kakashi carefully set him down in the water, stripping him of his blood smeared clothes, bringing handfuls of clean water up to his face to rinse his cheeks. "Stand here for just a second, almost done." Kakashi quickly stripped off his blood soaked clothing and mask, dunking under the water and giving his body a quick scrub with his burnt hands. Finally thoroughly rinsed clean, Kakashi brought Naruto in for a tight hug, the blonde still shivering with his eyes closed. "It's okay now, love, all done. You can open your eyes." Naruto's eyes quickly fluttered open meeting Kakashi's, instantly brimmed with tears, "I'm sorry Kashi, I promise, I stayed hidden but they somehow found me and knocked me out before I even noticed them. I… I was so scared when I came too and couldn't see. I'm sorry… I'm sorry." The blonde was frantic, "Shhh, love, it's okay. It's not your fault. They must have had a sensor Shinobi with them that stumbled across your chakra. It's my fault for leaving you alone. I'm sorry love. Are you okay?" Naruto nodded, crushing his body tightly into Kakashi. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again, I promise, okay?" Naruto nodded again, face pressed against the older nin's neck. Kakashi held him tightly for a while longer, before ushering him out of the creek back to their gear. "Let's get dressed and set up camp for the night, yeah?"
Dressed, Kakashi quickly set up their tent and started a small fire with the tinder his ninken had collected, while Naruto slowly pulled on clothing. The blonde was still shaking violently, struggling to button his pants. "Here love, I'll help you." Kakashi helped him finish getting dressed, guiding him to sit next to the fire to warm up. Kakashi went back to their gear, collecting their blanket and some food for dinner. He draped the blanket over the blonde's shoulders, wrapping an arm around him and sitting down. The blonde was lost in his thoughts, eyes staring unblinking into the fire. His shivering had stopped, which Kakashi took as a good thing but he was still worried, wanting to pull the blonde out of his head, "Talk to me, Naruto." Kakashi offered Naruto his dinner, the blonde collected the plate blinking a few times before sighing, "Sorry, I was talking to Kurama." Kakashi gave him a light squeeze, "It's okay… what's on your mind, love?" Naruto took a minute to collect his thoughts, scooping a few bites into his mouth, "How did you find me?" Kakashi pointed out some of the hounds still surrounding the area. "Right… the dogs, how stupid of me." Kakashi grabbed Narutos chin harshly, forcing him to look at him, "You are not stupid by any means, Naruto. Get that out of your head right now." Naruto looked away from him, chin still gripped tightly in place, "How long was I out for?" Kakashi released his chin gently, replying, "I was in the village for a total of fifteen minutes, it took us around another fifteen to track you down and a few more minutes before I found you in the hall being slapped awake..." Kakashi's rage was flaring back up again, his hands curling into tight fists on his lap, he had to hit something. "...excuse me for a moment." Kakashi abruptly stood up and walked to the nearest tree, his fist suddenly flashing with lightning he let loose a harsh yell and punched directly through its trunk. He pulled his arm free, releasing the jutsu, taking a few deep breaths to further calm himself before he sat back down next to Naruto. The blonde was staring at him wide-eyed, "Sorry, love, continue." The blonde shook himself to regain a bit of composure, he ate a bit more before continuing, "I… I remember being slapped awake… I couldn't see anything but I could feel that man's hands in my hair and I could smell his disgusting breath. I went ballistic, I wanted to lash out at him but my arms were pinned to my sides… I molded a large amount of chakra to my core and drove it outwards. I tried to imagine it knocking him away, like being thrown back by a strong wind. That's what I wanted to do… I wanted to push him away from me." Kakashi nodded, "And that's exactly what you did, you stunned him and knocked him backwards." The blonde's eyes were wide again, "I wasn't sure what happened… I couldn't see anything… it felt like I was standing there for an eternity trying to listen for the sounds of him but I couldn't hear much over my heart beat." Kakashi brought his arm back around the blonde, pulling him in tight. "You knocked that man back with your incredible chakra release distracting all the others in the room, it afforded me the opportunity to sneak in unnoticed and… subdue them." Naruto was thoughtful again for a moment, "How many were there?" Kakashi bit back his response, "In the hall with you, there were a total of six. You took out one with a Rasengan and stunned the man who slapped you. I took out the other four and finished off the stunned man." Naruto nodded, "I remember hearing someone approaching me and forming a Rasengan, but I wasn't sure if that even worked 'cause I couldn't see… the noises just stopped again… it was so quiet Kakashi. I remember hearing someone running at me and attempting to form another Rasengan, but it was you… I heard you." Kakashi nodded, "I had just finished off the last assailant when I ran for you, you had another Rasengan on in your hand that you dissipated upon hearing my voice." "How many more were there, Kakashi?" Kakashi knew he had to be honest, as much as he didn't want a number weighing heavily on Naruto's conscience, "Fifteen in the corridor for a total of twenty-one." Naruto was quiet for a stretch, staring into the fire before continuing, "Kurama finally didn't shut me out for once, he actually listened to me… and the cloak, I have never seen it before, it's terrifying… Oh shit, Kashi, you hands." Naruto spun around quickly to the side, catching both of Kakashi's wrists in his hands. Naruto flipped over his wrists to inspect the palms of Kakashi's hands. The one palm was slightly scorched but not too bad off, the other was badly burned, layers of skin peeled back exposing tender pink flesh. Naruto hissed in a breath as he poked lightly around the edge of Kakashi's palm, "Give me your medkit." "It's fine love, I'm okay." Naruto looked up at him with an angry scowl, "Give me your medkit, Kakashi." Unable to refuse the blonde, he dug the kit out of his pants pocket, handing it over. Kakashi watched Naruto's face carefully as he went to work cleaning and wrapping the wound. He had his tongue stuck out slightly, a crease of concentration between his eyebrows. Just about done wrapping up his hands Naruto asked, "Why did you tell me to close my eyes?" Kakashi sighed lightly, "There was a lot of blood and a lot of bodies, Naruto, I didn't want those images ingrained in your memory." Naruto nodded in understanding but continued, "But… you made me keep them closed for so long…" "I was covered in blood too, I smeared a lot of it on you while I was carrying you. I brought us to the creek to rinse it off before telling you to open your eyes… I didn't want you to panic seeing blood on me or yourself." Naruto's eyes widened in fear, "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Naruto quickly tied off the bandage he was wrapping, now frantically checking Kakashi's body for wounds, tugging at his shirt hem, dragging it up over his head before Kakashi could protest. Naruto was up in a shot, moving to the rear of the silver haired Shinobi to check his back, "Pants, drop them." Kakashi chuckled, "Love, I'm fine, none of the blood was mine, I promise." Naruto just glared at him, hands on his hips. Kakashi sighed and stood up, pushing his pants down to his ankles, "See, not a scratch on me." Naruto quickly surveyed Kakashi's thighs and calves, peeking below his waistband for any possible hidden wounds. Kakashi was laughing loudly at this point, "It's still there, little fox, no need to worry." Naruto blushed crimson, swatting at Kakashi's chest, "That is NOT what I was checking for!" Kakashi laughed and pulled him in for a tight hug, "I know, love, I'm just teasing you." Kakashi pushed back from the blonde, holding him tightly by the shoulders. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that today Naruto, I promise to never let you out of my sight again. Are you okay?" Naruto smiled at the silver haired nin, the smile finally reaching his eyes, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you, Kashi." Kakashi placed a soft kiss on Naruto's lips, "Good, now let's go to bed, I want to leave this damn place as soon as day breaks tomorrow." Kakashi steered Naruto to their tent, whistling for his dogs. Pakkun and the pack were at his side in an instant. "Thank you hounds, sorry I scared you Pakkun. I'm sending you home for the night." Kakashi gave them all a quick pat and reverse summoned them back to Fire Country. He crawled into the tent, Naruto curled up on his side still wide awake waiting for him. Kakashi climbed under the blanket and laid beside him, bringing one arm under the blonde's head and wrapping the other around his back, pulling him tight to his chest. Kakashi hooked a leg over the blonde's legs as well, coaxing one of them between his legs. Kakashi brought his face down to inhale deeply Naruto's scent, peppering kisses on the crown of his head. "You comfy, love?" One of Naruto's hands was pressed tight to Kakashi's chest just over his heart between them, the other thrown around his waist tightly. The blonde hummed and nodded, burying his face in Kakashi's neck, kissing it lightly. "Good, sleep well little fox, I love you." Naruto kept kissing Kakashi's neck softly, whispering back, "I love you so much, Kashi." Kakashi slowly fell asleep with the light kisses still being pressed to his throat.