Chapter 37:
It was still dark when Kakashi woke up. He carefully pushed himself up off Naruto, hoping not to wake him. Covering the blonde back up with the blankets, Kakashi made his way into the bathroom. He dug out his medkit, swallowing back the last two blue pills left in his vial. He shuddered at the awful taste of the medication but was thankful he had them on hand. The worst of the poison would be worked out of his system by the end of the day. He could feel that most of his strength had returned, quickly putting chakra into his palm to gauge its responsiveness. Happy with the results and the lack of pain after using it, Kakashi swallowed back a pain pill for good measure. His back was slightly throbbing from sleeping in such an arched position all night. He laughed lightly at himself, You are getting old Kakashi. While his kit was still out, he rubbed some burn ointment on his unwrapped palm. Reentering the main room, Kakashi could hear Naruto slightly snoring, still sound asleep. He chuckled softly, letting the blonde rest a while longer. He quickly changed and went over their gear, making sure everything was packed up and ready to go. He prepared them a simple breakfast before sitting back on his own bed, waiting a while longer before waking Naruto.
The sun started peaking its way through their rooms window, Kakashi pushed himself up from his bed slowly making his way to Naruto's side. The blonde looked so peaceful in sleep, his arms thrown above his head, silky blonde hair wildly strewn across his face and pillows. Kakashi's heart fluttered, imagining what it would be like when they were finally home. When he could wake up every morning with this beautiful man stretched out in his bed next to him. Kakashi gently brushed Naruto's hair back off his face, placing tender kisses along his jaw and cheeks, "Wake up, little fox" he whispered at the still snoring young man. Kakashi pushed the blankets back, placing gentle kisses down his neck to his chest. He licked softly at his exposed nipple, "Naruto… my love, wake up." Naruto stirred in his sleep, sighing lightly, his head shifted to the right. Kakashi chuckled, kissing his way back up his neck until finally reaching his mouth. He pressed a warm kiss to the blondes lips, pulling back gently to suck his bottom lip into his mouth. He bit at it gently whispering between his teeth, "Wake up, sleepy head." Naruto moaned into Kakashi's mouth, his eyes fluttering open. Kakashi released his lip and gave him a quick smirk, "It's time to get up, love." Naruto grumbled and pulled the blankets back up over his head. Kakashi laughed loudly, yanking them back down, "Come on, up with you, I made us breakfast." He pinched at Naruto's nipple gently, earning a whimper and a swat, "Fine, fine… I'm up." Kakashi laughed again, pressing a quick kiss to the blonde's mouth.
Finally fed and changed, they slipped into their disguise jutsus, strapping their rucksacks to their bodies. Kakashi gave the room a quick once over, making sure they weren't forgetting anything. "Naruto, where did you put your knife?" The blonde blushed slightly and lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing the blade tucked in his waistband. Kakashi stifled a groan at the sight of his taut ab muscles and the dangerous looking, sheathed blade stuffed in his low slung waistband. His eyes lingered far too long on the soft blonde trail of hair leading into the young man's pants. He cleared his throat and shook his head, "We will have to remember to buy you a proper holster but that will do for now I suppose." They made their way out of the inn, quickly arriving at the port just outside of town. Kakashi directed Naruto to a boat lashed to the dock, "This is us." Kakashi quickly inspected the boat, making sure it was full of fuel and had no obvious defects. The waters were calm in the port, the ocean water lapping gently at the shore. Satisfied with the boat's integrity he helped Naruto climb in. The boat was nothing more than a small fishing vessel, about twelve feet in length with a single propellor motor attached to the back of it. Kakashi busied himself with starting up the motor. He made sure the motor was in neutral, placing the throttle in the start position, engaged the choke and pulled back on the starter rope. After about the third pull the motor roared to life, he disengaged the choke allowing the motor to idle, while slipping the throttle into neutral position. Naruto was watching him bewildered, "You really are pretty much good at everything huh?" Kakashi laughed, revving the throttle, "I wouldn't say that, no, I just have a few randomly acquired skills, that's all." Naruto shook his head and smiled. Deeming the motor plenty warm, Kakashi switched it out of neutral and steered them away from the dock. The distance across the open ocean wasn't overly far to the Land of Whirlpools but he was happy that the seas were calm and the weather good. They both dropped their jutsus once they reached open water. Kakashi could sense Naruto's fear, the blondes eyes wide and searching the waters, shifts of red dancing across his irises. He remembered that Naruto had only recently learned how to swim, his fear probably fueled by his inexperience in the water. Kakashi spoke loudly over the motor, "Don't forget, love, you know how to swim, albeit not that strongly, but you can also walk on water. Aside from both of those things, do you really think I would let you drown?" Naruto looked back at him, the fear in his eyes slowly rescinding, replaced instead with adoration. Kakashi gave him a quick smile, rubbing his back, "It will only take us about an hour to reach the Land of Whirlpools, sit tight, love, enjoy the view." Naruto finally relaxed enough to take in the view before him, the sun still rising over the water off to his east, the water twinkling beneath its rays. The salty smell of the ocean filling his lungs. Naruto slid over in his seat, leaning carefully over the side of the boat to dip his fingers into the water. He shivered at the cold but let his hand dip deeper into the water, fighting the drag of the water rushing past it. Finally pulling back from the water, shifting back to the middle of the boat, he laid his wet hand in his lap. He smiled contently, eyes searching the horizon, land already becoming visible in front of him. Hand now mostly dry, he brought it to his mouth and licked at it, shivering in delight at the ocean's salty residue. He turned around in his seat to face Kakashi, the silver head nin was watching him intently, a small smile on his lips. Naruto brought his hand up to the mouth of the older Shinobi, Kakashi quickly sticking out his tongue and dragging it along the back of his hand. Naruto groaned at the sight of Kakashi's tongue caressing his skin, earning a soft chuckle and smirk from the older man. Naruto scowled at him, sticking his tongue out and turning back around. Kakashi was laughing loudly at his back, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Naruto smiled and laughed, so happy in this moment that it felt like a dream. He watched as the shoreline of the island crept closer into view.
Kakashi steered the boat to an old weathered dock, its deck boards rotten or missing all together in some places. He made sure to tie the boat up tight to the most sturdy post he could find, helping Naruto out of the boat, "Watch your step, love." Safely off the dilapidated dock, they made their way east inland, following a heavy overgrown path. It wasn't long before they reached a clearing overlooking what used to be the village of Uzushiogakure.
The surrounding countryside was dominated by steep hills, a wide river cutting through the middle of the town. Not a single structure was left standing, large piles of what used to be high-rise buildings littered the ground. The once large bridges that gapped the raging river lay in ruins, scattered in the water. The earth was slowly reclaiming the land, bushes and crawling ivy creeping over the piles of rubble. Naruto stared out at the destruction, a shiver finding its way up his spine. Kakashi draped an arm over the young man's shoulder, "As I mentioned, love, the village was destroyed many years ago. No one has lived here for a very long time." Naruto nodded and enquired, "Why was the village destroyed?" Kakashi was thoughtful for a moment, "Well, let me tell you a bit about the Uzumaki clan first. As you know, Uzushiogakure village was the home to the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumakis, as I have mentioned before, possess incredibly strong life-forces and long life-spans. Many of the clan's men possessed the ability to use fuinjutsu, a jutsu that can seal objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other objects. It can also be used to unseal objects from within something or someone or restrict one's movements. Some of the clan's men possessed far rarer abilities including the ability to heal themselves or others through chakra consumption. There were also sensory types that could sense other people's chakras and fully suppress their own making them undetectable. Lastly, some possessed the ability to create adamantine chains made of their chakra. The chains are extremely durable and controlled by the user, extending outwards from their body, wrapping around targets and restraining them. Your mother was a very strong fuinjutsu user, she taught your father Minato the seals he used to seal away the nine tails. She also had the ability to use adamantine chains, making her the perfect host for the nine tails." Naruto had a forlorn look on his face, Kakashi gave him a tight side hug, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "You okay, love?" Naruto nodded, "It's just weird hearing about my parents and my clan's abilities, I had no idea about any of this… why was the village wiped out?" "Well, the Uzumakis skill with fuinjutsu earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world. Some of the world's nations banded together to destroy Uzushiogakure and its people, believing the village and its people were too powerful to be allowed to continue to exist. Your mother immigrated to Konoha shortly before the destruction to be the jinchuuriki for the nine-tails. The very few remaining survivors have gone into hiding spread throughout the lands." Naruto sighed, digesting all the information Kakashi shared with him. "Why did you want to come here, Naruto?" Naruto was silent for a stretch, mulling over his thoughts. "I don't know. I guess… I've just never really had a place I've thought of as my home…Konoha was never my home, it was more like a prison. I've always felt like an outsider. I don't have any family… I just… I guess I wanted to see where at least part of me came from. That sounds stupid doesn't it? We traveled all this way just for me to look at some fucking rubble." Naruto's body was trembling slightly, his emotions getting the best of him. Kakashi wrapped his arms around him, placing a reassuring hand to the back of his head. "It's not stupid, love. I would lead you through the depths of hell if it would bring you even a semblance of closure. As for family, we now have each other. You, me and the dogs, we will be each other's family… I love you, Naruto." Kakashi placed tender kisses on the blonde's neck, finally pulling back from him to look at his face. Tears were running down his cheeks but a bright smile had found its way to his lips, "I love you too, Kashi." Kakashi gave him a smile and a soft kiss on the lips, "Come on, let's go explore the village."
They followed the overgrown road down into the village, carefully weaving their way through the rubble of the buildings. Long forgotten belongings of the village's previous inhabitants were strewn throughout the streets. Naruto found an old rusty kunai buried beneath a pile of rotting timber. He turned it over in his hands, noting the familiar swirl etched into the base of its handle. "You should keep that, love. We can have it restored when we are back in Fire Country." Naruto nodded, carefully wrapping the blade in a shirt and tucking it in his rucksack.
They wandered the village for a few more hours, finally reaching a section of the land that seemed strangely untouched. A vast, thinly forested, meadow spread for miles just on the outskirts of town, thousands of wild flowers were dancing lazily in the wind. The river that ran through town was just off to their left, this section of the water traveling more calmly between its banks. "Wow… so beautiful." Naruto murmured. Kakashi hummed in agreement, "This looks like a great spot to set up camp for the night." They quickly set about their usual routine, pitching their tent and collecting some tinder for a fire. Kakashi summoned his ninken to confirm his assumption that the village and its nearby area were devoid of any inhabitants. The dogs sprinted off in all directions, Pakkun staying behind. Naruto was a short distance away busy with lighting the fire. "I'm not going to lie Kakashi, you kind of look like shit." Pakkun whispered. Kakashi laughed, replying, "Yeah, we had a rough couple days, but I'm fine now. No need to worry. I asked you to stay behind because I want you to relay a message to Hiroto and his wife. Ask them to prepare the farmhouse for our return. I want the house to be as comfortable and fully stocked as possible before we arrive. Clean sheets, a fully stocked fridge and panty, all of it, I want it to be perfect. Let Hiroto know to use the Hatake funds as he sees fit to purchase what needs to be bought or replaced and of course to compensate himself and his wife for their time." Pakkun nodded, "No problem boss. When do you think you will be back?" Kakashi was thoughtful for a moment, looking back at Naruto, who had made his way down to the river to wash the few dirty clothes they had. A small smile played on his lips, "I'm not sure, it will all depend on what Naruto wants to do but I think the earliest we would be back is within three days." Pakkun nodded once more, replying, "It's going to be good to have you back home Kakashi. It has been far too many years since you took a proper break." Kakashi chuckled, "With any luck, if what I have in mind works out, I will be at home permanently." The rest of his ninken arrived back at his side, confirming there were no inhabitants in or near the village. Kakashi thanked all the hounds giving each a loving scratch before reverse summoning them home. He sighed happily, making his way down to the river to help Naruto with their laundry.
Night was starting to fall as they sat in front of the fire eating their dinner. Kakashi was watching Naruto carefully from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his feelings. The young man was quiet, eating slowly, gazing into the fire. Finished with his meal, Kakashi set down his plate and shuffled closer to the blonde, "We should head back to the mainland tomorrow. Do you think you are ready for us to head back to Fire Country?" Naruto was thoughtful for a moment but turned to give Kakashi a small smile, "Yeah. I'm ready. I am still worried about what will happen when we get there but I am hopeful that somehow everything will be fine… Thank you for bringing me here, Kashi." Kakashi curled his arm around the young man's waist, giving him a soft squeeze, "Of course, love. Anything for you. The journey to the farmhouse should only take about three days but there is something I would like to show you along the way." Naruto's eyes lit up with inquisitiveness. Kakashi chuckled, "It's something pretty interesting and a large part of Konoha's history. I won't spoil it but I can't wait to take you there. It's getting late, let's head to bed. We have another early start tomorrow." They quickly changed and crawled into the tent, Kakashi lying stretched out on his back with Naruto curled up tight to his side. The older nin buried his face in the young man's hair, breathing in deeply, sighing, "Good night, my little fox." "Good night, Kashi." the blonde mumbled out, quickly falling to sleep.