They didn't have much that wasn't soaked besides what was in waterproof bags in their packs, and they decided it didn't make sense to change into dry clothes for a run in the rain, so they spent a miserable hour until they got to the cave. As they left the battle field and crossed into virgin forest, they were grateful for the cover. Traveling at night under a nearly full moon in the open wasn't a good idea, even with the smoke cover from the burning forest. They were far enough from any villages that they didn't have to worry about discovery, but they all felt better when they left the open battlefield.

When they reached the cave Naruto set about making a small fire just inside the cave's mouth, so that the smoke would be pulled out instead of choking them. After he sat up a few basic platforms made of rocks they hung their clothes up to dry after Sakura went slightly deeper into the cave to change.

Kakashi's stomach rumbled loudly, and he pulled out two ration bars. He pulled the gag out of Sasuke's mouth and put a bar in his still bound hands.

"You lousy, perverted, good-for-nothing..." Sasuke began.

"If you keep using your mouth for talking instead of eating I'll put the gag back," Kakashi said.

Sasuke threw the ration bar at him, and Kakashi caught it while it was still in the air.

Naruto put the gag back in Sasuke's mouth, but he needed Sai's help. "He's getting stronger," Naruto said.

"Yes, and I'll kill you all before I'm done," Sasuke said just before Naruto managed to slip the gag in.

Kakashi quickly ate a full day's worth of rations. "I forgot how hungry those pills make me," he said. He noticed Sasuke's head tilt slightly as he spoke.

He's listening to everything, he thought. He's still looking for an advantage. Such a waste.

Sai volunteered for 1st watch. It only made sense. He'd used the least jutsus, and he was the least exhausted. His artistic jutsus weren't much use against an opponent like Sasuke, so he'd stuck to jujutsu and distracting Sasuke for the rest of Team Kakashi, darting in and out and cutting with his kunai.

They all stayed near the fire, with Sasuke and Sai near each other, and Sai watching him as if he expected an attack at any moment.

Sakura lay alone, as usual, and Naruto lay only a few feet away from Kakashi.

"What side effects are there to blood pills?" he asked.

Kakashi glanced toward Sasuke, trying to judge if he could have heard them.

"Quiet!" he whispered. "Don't give him any information he can use later."

"Ok," Naruto whispered, "but what are they?"

"There are a lot, but I'm not having any problems, so don't worry about it."

Everyone but Sai slept, but Naruto woke a couple hours later when he heard Kakashi mumbling.

Just Sensei, he thought, and he was about to fall asleep again when Kakashi sat up with a gasp. Sai and Sakura were instantly battle ready, and their first instinct was to make sure Sasuke was secure. Naruto however, turned toward Kakashi, who had a surprised and confused look.

"You ok?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi said. He noticed everyone looking at him and smiled, somehow still wearing the mask. "Sorry, sorry," he said. "Bad dream. How silly of me,"

Sakura groaned. "Baka Sensei." She lay down again.

"I'm sure Gai Sensei is fine," Naruto said. "You were talking to him in your sleep."

Kakashi gave a warning glance toward Sasuke. "Let's go outside." He let Naruto help him up and then out of the cave.

"You're getting stronger already," Naruto said. "I know you're trying to hide it from me, but I know chakra exhaustion when I see it."

"It isn't anywhere near as bad as it's been before. You should know by now that I bounce back. The leg needs attention, but that will have to wait until Sakura builds her chakra reserves after healing Sasuke."

"Did she use too much chakra too?" Naruto asked, glancing at the cave.

"It isn't a problem," Kakashi said quickly. He didn't need a nervous, over protective Naruto on his hands.

"Why did you want to come out here?" Naruto asked.

"I was thinking about the first attack," Kakashi said, "when Gai went down. Do you remember him moving at all, or making any sounds?"

"No," Naruto said, "but I was more focused on fighting Sasuke. It's weird, but for some reason what I remember most is Ino, with her head laying there with that purple flower over her ear. It still seems so weird that she's dead."

"Wait, did you say purple flower?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because Ino wasn't wearing a purple flower," Kakashi said.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked. "Did you use the Sharingan?"

"No, but I had been looking at her earlier. Ino's new outfit was very... um..."

"Noticeable?" Naruto asked.

"That's one way to put it," Kakashi said. "I've seen more cloth on a large doll."

"But if she wasn't wearing a purple flower, then who was that on the ground?" Naruto asked.

"It was Ino," Sakura said behind them. "I helped her put it in her hair. You just weren't looking that high."

"Sakura-chan, it's rude to eavesdrop," Kakashi said.

"It's rude to read porn in public too."

"Fair enough."

"I heard you ask about Gai," Sakura said. "I think he was alive when we had to leave him with the medic, but you need to prepare yourself for the worst. That wound looked really bad."

"Gai-sensei is a fighter though," Naruto said. "He's tough, and he had a medic working on him."

"Yeah," Kakashi said. "I'm focusing on that."

They went in and found Sai crouching by Sasuke, staring at him with unblinking eyes.

"Sai, are you ok?" Sakura asked.

"No," Sai said. "I think I hate him for hurting all of you. I've never hated anyone before."

Sakura knelt and put her arms around Sai. "I'm so sorry. You weren't even on Team 7, but our pain has infected you."

"I hate him because I love you, Sakura-chan," Sai said softly.

That stopped everyone from whatever they were doing at the moment. Naruto looked up from tending the fire, Kakashi stopped trying to ease an itch by scratching a couple inches away from his leg wound, and Sakura suddenly gave Sai her full attention. Even Sasuke turned toward Sai, although he seemed to let out a muffled laugh.

"I bought a new book," Sai said, ignoring Naruto's groan. "It said to tell you at a good time. I don't think there will be a good time, not how we live. And I really want to kill him because of it."

"Sai, I think..." Sakura started. She looked at everyone watching her. "I think we should go outside and talk."

Sai nodded and stood. If he felt any nervousness he didn't show it.

After they left, Naruto asked, "do you think he can feel love?"

"I don't know. I'm never really sure what he can feel," Kakashi said. He noticed Sasuke chuckle under the gag. "I forgot dumbass was here." He kicked Sasuke with his good leg, just hard enough to get his attention.

"You keep your mouth shut about this when we take that gag off to feed you, or I'll break your fingers."

"I wouldn't cross Sai when it comes to Sakura," Naruto said. "I don't know what happened last year on that mission in Rain Country, but he's been protective of her ever since."

Sai came in and sat by Sasuke, watching him.

"Sai?" Kakashi asked.

No answer.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.

"Thinking," Sai said. "Sakura needs time to mourn her friend's death. I had bad timing, but if he hadn't killed Ino I think Sakura might have answered me differently. Or not. I have no experience with this sort of thing."

Naruto was stirring the fire, watching Sai watch Sasuke. "Did she tell you she thought of you as a brother?"

"No," Sai said.

"When you can have some hope, if you'll wait for her. It might be a long wait."

"I'll wait," Sai said. "She's very important to me."

"Sai, what do you think love means?" Naruto asked.

When Sasuke let out another muffled chuckle under his gag, Kakashi kicked him again, this time harder and aiming for his bad rib.

Sasuke grunted and bent double.

"No more," Kakashi said. "We've all had enough out of you."

"Sakura wouldn't like you doing that to her patient," Sai said. "I think that's why I love her." His mouth stretched as if he was trying to smile but didn't quite know how. "She is everything I'm not."

"Where is she?" Naruto asked.

"Walking," Sai said. "She wants to be alone. She was named incorrectly. She's far too strong the be named after a decorative tree. She should have been named Oku."

This time Sasuke let out a laugh that was distinct even under the gag.

Kakashi kicked him harder with his good leg, slamming him against the wall. "Enough!" he said. "I have had it with you!"

"I see you're well enough to assault my patient," Sakura said. Sasuke was coughing, and when she pulled the gag out of his mouth he coughed up blood.

"Great," she said. "He had a hairline fracture in his rib, and now you broke it and punctured his lung. Just because I healed it doesn't mean it isn't still weak."

"Can't say I'm sorry for it," Kakashi said. "I have watched him ruin most of the people I've ever cared for."

Sakura began to heal Sasuke. "I was just getting enough chakra to work on your leg, and now I have to waste it on him. I thought you wanted to take him back."

"I do," Kakashi said. "I just keep remembering what Gai looked like when he died." He stopped. "He couldn't have survived that wound."

"That isn't true," Naruto said.

"He's dealt with some bad injuries," Sakura said. "Don't give up hope yet."

Sasuke had blood on his chin, and he looked weakened, but he smirked at them.

"I remember Ino now," he said. "That blonde girl I decapitated? Did you know it takes a lot of force to decapitate someone? I had to really put some effort into it."

"As for that idiot Gai-Sensei, I didn't miss. You saw the blood, and I put a hole right through his stomach. Thank you for teaching me the Chidori, Sensei. How does it feel to know that your signature move killed your best friend?"

Sai drew his weapon and stepped to Sasuke. He was trembling with rage. No one stopped him.

"Maybe it's better if we just kill him," Kakashi said wearily.

"He should face justice," Sakura said.

Naruto said nothing, but he looked more miserable than he had since he was a child.

"His words do more damage than his jutsus," Kakashi said.

Sai raised his weapon, but he hesitated and lowered it. "We are letting our emotions control our actions, and I think that we need to stop and think about this."

"That's how a Konoha ninja acts," Sasuke said. "Commit to an action and then wimp out because you're taught to be soft. I would have killed all of you and been at home having dinner by now."

"Yes," Sai said, "but you are a monster, something we don't wish to be."

Sasuke snorted. "You hear that Naruto? Your pet doesn't like monsters. I guess that means you two are going to have to break up. I'm sure Kakashi will still have you. He was always reading trash. He'll probably screw trash too."

"Just one more good kick?" Kakashi asked Sakura. "I'll aim for somewhere non-vital."

"No," Sakura said. "His empty words mean nothing, because he means nothing, and besides, even using your good leg is a bad idea right now. Do you want more problems?"

Naruto sat quietly. The shadows dancing from the fire leant his bent figure a sinister look, actually a little monstrous.

A low, rumbling growl filled the cave, and when Naruto looked up his cheeks had distinct whisker marks, his teeth had elongated into fangs, and his eyes had turned yellow and harsh.

"Naruto, calm down," Kakashi said. "We're not in danger."

"You are all in danger," Kurama said, his careful enunciation and his emerging chakra letting Kakashi know that Naruto wasn't the one talking. "Snakes bite even after they die. He's trying to make you kill him so he doesn't have to return to Konoha to be tortured, and in the meantime he's poisoning all of you."

Kurama growled. "Leave the cave and I'll let my chakra burn him. It's a painful, slow way to die. Then you can have your revenge without dirtying your hands with his death."

"And put that guilt on Naruto?" Sakura asked. "No."

"Naruto was hurt by that last statement," Kurama said. "I have removed him far away in his own mind. He is safely huddled in my fur, hiding from all of this. If you don't tell him he'll never know."

"He's hiding in his brain?" Sasuke asked. "I knew he was insane, but I had no idea he let a mangy demon that was so weak he got sealed in a baby console him. He is truly worthless."

Kurama's chakra flared, and two tails came out. Kakashi scooted away from Naruto.

"Watch your tails," he said. "I don't want chakra poisoning."

Kurama was still except for the waving of his tails. He stared at Sasuke, and without breaking eye contact said, "I haven't injected poison in my chakra yet. I know what you're doing, you doomed frightened, snack-sized filth, but I will not lose my temper and kill you. I want you to die slowly for hurting my container."

"Is Naruto ok?" Sakura asked.

"No," Kurama said. "Since he learned who I am he's had a fear of you and Kakashi turning on him, calling him trash, and abandoning him, as so many others did. When that filth said that last thing to him, I felt Naruto's pain. I want to hurt someone for it."

"Why would he even think that?" Sakura asked.

"You let him know you never cared for him as a child," Kurama said. "He never really believed that you see him as more than a freak. He tries to believe, but I know there are times when he wonders."

"Doesn't he know we care about him?" Kakashi asked.

"You," Kurama spat. "I hated Naruto when he was a child, but when he got older and learned to pity such as me, how could I not care for him? When he was a child I used to enjoy watching the mistreatment he got from his village, but I am at least inhuman."

"You never cared about what happened to your Sensei's son, Kakashi. None of the adults did. I helped fight Obito because of Naruto, but I only associate with you for Naruto's sake. If you had helped him he wouldn't be in this pain right now."

"I never hurt Naruto, and by the time I learned how poorly treated he was he was on my team. I did what I could for him after that."

"He told you what his landlord did," Kurama said, "and you gave him some teacherly advice and did nothing."

"I couldn't very well make the man lower his rent."

Kurama had been staring at Sasuke, but he turned his attention to Kakashi. "But did you have to allow the boy to be beaten? What lesson did that teach him?"

"Beaten?" Kakashi asked. "When?"

"He told you what his landlord was doing. He asked you what would happen if he killed a civilian while defending himself, and you told him about Shinobi rules on dealing with civilians. Because he wasn't sure if he could defend himself against a weak civilian without killing him, Naruto let him cane him. He was under your protection, and you did nothing."

"Kids ask all kinds of random questions. I never knew," Kakashi said. "I swear!"

"I healed the wounds - and there were serious wounds - but he tried to tell you. You never listened, and it wasn't until he left with Jiraiya that the beatings stopped."

"I don't know what to say," Kakashi said. "Let me talk to him."

"He'll come out when he's ready. Right now I have full control, and I want to tell you finally how much he needed you, and how badly you failed him."

"It isn't true!" Sakura said. "Kakashi did help us."

"No," Kakashi said. "He's right. I missed all the signs, and if I hadn't been putting so much energy into Sasuke I would have seen it."

Kakashi looked away from Kurama, unable to meet his blazing eyes.

"I know that I'm trash. I accept your accusations."

Kurama cocked his head. "I didn't expect that. In my experience humans will do almost anything but accept fault in themselves."

"It's just one more thing I failed at," Kakashi said. "I didn't even know."

All of them were focused on Kurama except Sai, who kept a wary eye on Sasuke.

"Naruto forgave you," Kurama said. "I've worked with you, but I cannot forgive you."

"So how much did the landlord hurt Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "I hope he really laid into him."

Another tail grew from Kurama, and his fangs grew longer.

"Sakura, if you don't gag him right now I might kill him after all," Kurama said, "and I think we all agree that we want him to live for our own reasons."

"He doesn't need to eat every meal," Sakura said. "Once a day will be enough to get him back to Konoha alive. Let's keep the gag on."

"Hai," Kakashi said.

Kurama was still smoldering in his anger. "Naruto is reasserting his power over me. I'm leaving now, but we will finish this conversation later, Kakashi."

The tails faded one by one, and when the yellow glow in his eyes disappeared, they knew he was back.

"Naruto? Is it you?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. Don't listen to what he says. I don't have resentment toward you, Kakashi. I know that I never told you directly, and you would have stopped what happened. Kids just don't know how to say things sometimes."

Kakashi stared at the fire. "You don't have to say that," he said.

They all fell awkwardly silent, until Sasuke said, "pathetic".

"Sai, put the gag in," Kakashi said. "Kurama was right. He can still cause damage."

Sasuke tried to fight Sai. "He's getting stronger."

"We have a two day trip back to Konoha. Two days without food or water should keep him too weak to fight."

"If you want him to live we should keep him hydrated," Sakura said.

"We'll take care of that when it's time," Kakashi said. "Just wet down the fabric on the gag. He can suck the water out so we don't have to hear him spew poison."

When they woke from what little sleep they were able to get, Sakura finally had enough chakra to work on Kakashi's leg. He stood and tested it.

"Feels fine. We can go now. I think you and Sai should go on ahead with Sasuke. I'll slow you down. Naruto and I can travel together."

Naruto hadn't woken yet.

"I think we need to talk when he wakes up," Kakashi said.