Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 4: A Good Shinobi is Hard to Find
Kakashi found a seat at the back of the small drinking establishment. Though he had plenty of prep to do that night he had a social call to make before he turned in. The Nail's Head, his favorite drinking establishment, was a little off the beaten path and frequented by mostly blue-collar civilians. It had become one of his favorite hidey-holes because of its delicious fried potato wedges and service that wasn't overly friendly. Overly friendly people had always made the reclusive jônin anxious. It was the friendly ones you had to watch out for. They tended to have agendas.
He had already put an order for the food at the bar along with two beers. It was rare for Kakashi to arrive before whomever he was meeting, but as a teacher his schedule was far more predictable than it had once been.
Not that his schedule was the reason why he showed up to things late. But good food and good beer was a sure way to make Kakashi arrive on time, especially when the company that he was expecting was someone Kakashi actually cared to be on time for.
While Kakashi waited he mulled over his choice to give Naruto the box of his father's old things. Minato-sensei had been a little manic about documenting things with photography. It was little known but the man had a rather artistic streak. Taking a sip of his first beverage of the night the jônin decided it was something that had to be done. It would no doubt lead to some trouble but keeping it from the boy didn't make sense anymore.
Tenzô, punctual as ever plopped down across from him just as a waiter dropped off the potato wedges and Kakashi's musings came to an end.
"Yo," Kakashi greeted.
"Been some time senpai." There was no accusation in Tenzô's voice, but the older shinobi wouldn't have been surprised had there been.
After being discharged from ANBU, Kakashi hadn't been at his best. ANBU had given him purpose after losing Rin. It gave him direction and the structure he needed, but it was also a crutch for his grief and other issues.
The time watching over Kushina had been exactly what he had needed at the time. Kushina was the antithesis of what a kunoichi should be. She was loud, hot headed and compassionate to a fault. Naruto was so much like his mother and he didn't even know it.
After the Fox everything started to go down hill. The Third made him a captain in the wake of the massive loss of life. The new appointment left little time for Kakashi to process which was exactly what he wanted but not at all what he needed.
His time in ANBU was by no means awful. The work wasn't always clean but ANBU were a close-knit group and they supported each other. As a captain though the responsibility of his team's safety weighed on him. Every time a member was injured or killed it was a blow to his already fragile state of mind that was barely keeping it together under the surface.
The Uchiha massacre had been a breaking point. Itachi had been a member of his squad before the young man was promoted to captaincy. Kakashi never saw anything in the genius Uchiha to suggest he was capable of slaughtering his entire clan. By all means Itachi had been an efficient and reliable member of his squad. When review time came around Kakashi only had good things to say. He didn't quite think the young man was ready to lead a squad but at the time he didn't say anything against it. Perhaps if he had… things would be different now.
He had been a first responder to the compound. By then though it was all over. If Kakashi hadn't lived through the Third Shinobi War and the Kyûbi attack he would have lost his dinner. Many less experienced ANBU did in fact lose theirs.
It was a blood bath. No one was spared, not even the children or the elderly.
Only one left alive.
The Third soon announced Itachi's guilt, far too soon for Kakashi's liking. Once the announcement came and ANBU squads were reassigned from collecting evidence to hunting down the man, boy really, who had committed the atrocities.
It didn't seem right. None of it was right. None of it made sense even at the time, but all Kakashi could think about was how he had read the other shinobi so wrong, and with this failure and betrayal of someone Kakashi called friend the famous Copy-nin broke.
He hadn't gone on a rampage, but things began to slip. When he was on missions he was reckless. He took missions that he wasn't supposed to return from and every time he came back alive he quickly signed up for another. When he wasn't on a mission he locked himself in his apartment and got trashed while brooding over his survivor's guilt.
And that was how Gai found him one night, nearly blind drunk and still injured from a mission he had returned from. If Gai hadn't come knocking his injuries could have been fatal.
His discharge from ANBU on paper was an honorable one but that was more of a gift from the Hokage for his years of service. After leaving ANBU he fell off the face of the planet.
It wasn't a time he was proud of or wanted to revisit any time soon.
Once he was back on his feet, he began taking missions as a jônin again, but didn't make the effort to reconnect with his old friends in ANBU. Half scared and half tempted to rejoin the corps he knew he wasn't quite ready for that much contact with those actively serving.
"Ah, it has been quite a while," Kakashi agreed with Tenzô's statement. The silence that followed was awkward.
They both preoccupied themselves with their drinks and the food in front of them for a few moments. The parmesan cheese and spices sprinkled on top of the wedges was the perfect touch. Whoever they had working in the kitchen obviously had more taste buds than the usual fry cook.
"You know for someone who didn't grow up in a laboratory as a science experiment your social skills are shit," Tenzô chided with a small smile.
The jônin froze for a moment before a soft genuine chuckle escaped him. Tenzô's smile widened. "I'm sorry for not keeping in touch after I quit."
The brown haired man shook his head. "You needed to get out and leave it in the past. I knew that. Water under the bridge."
Kakashi bowed his head at Tenzô's acceptance of his apology. "How are things?"
"Same old, same old."
"I heard you turned down another captaincy."
"Yugao was a better leader. I never wanted the position anyhow," Tenzô replied with a shrug. "I heard hell froze over and you took on a genin team."
"Weather has been a bit chilly recently," the retired ANBU confirmed.
"How goes it?" Tenzô asked, genuine interest clear in his voice.
Kakashi signaled the bar man for another round for himself and contemplated his answer. "It's better and more frustrating than I expected," he replied honestly. "I got Itachi's little brother, Minato's son and the daughter of some civilians." Kakashi paused and let Tenzô absorb that.
Tenzô was one of the few people to speak out against Itachi joining ANBU. Though not much older than Itachi, when he himself had joined Tenzô had believed the Uchiha to be too young. Perhaps his friend had been right about that one.
"I wanted to ask you something," Kakashi spoke as he quickly popped another wedge into his mouth and chewed.
The ANBU waved his bottle to say continue before taking a swig.
"I'm leaving on a two month long posting in Takikawa."
Tenzô swallowed his last mouthful of beer. "The Hokage is sending you and the genin team?" he asked, naked surprise in his voice.
The other shinobi nodded. "My team's formation was much debated about and there have been some overly interested parties making requests for irregular progress reports."
The younger shinobi's face darkened at 'interested parties'. "The man was always far too interested in anything Uchiha related."
Kakashi nodded in agreement. "I have been a bit vigilant-"
"You mean paranoid," Tenzô snorted.
The silver haired shinobi mock-pouted at being interrupted. "As I was saying I have been keeping a look out for such interest, given Naruto is also on the team I expected plenty, but something … just isn't sitting right."
Tenzô rubbed his chin before asking, "Not enough?"
The older shinobi nodded. "Barely a peep out of the Village Council who so thoroughly fought against the boy becoming shinobi in the first place. All jônin team leaders are required to fill out progress reports on their teams weekly in the first month. I accidentally forgot to turn in a majority of them." That got another snort from the brown haired man who very much doubted that it was on accident. "After the third week of not filling out a report I was summoned before the Hokage and his advisers to give my report in person." Kakashi stopped his story here finishing off what was left of his second beer.
"And…"
"The Hokage wasn't present."
Tenzô frowned at this. "So it was just the two wind bags?"
Kakashi nodded. "They said the Hokage was seeing to another matter. I doubted it, but it was not my place to question them."
The brown-eyed man's eyebrows shot up before he chuckled bitterly. The Third's old teammates and now advisers were well respected among shinobi and civilians of Konoha alike and held quite a bit of power. Tenzô had very little respect for the two as they tended to agree one too many times with Danzô.
"What did you do?" Tenzo asked, half expecting Kakashi to have fed the two some odd story about how his students were busy helping old people down from trees and carrying groceries home for cats.
Kakashi clucked his tongue at the question. "Maa, so little faith. I behaved myself and answered all their questions to the best of my abilities."
"Oh, I'm sure you did," Tenzô chuckled. "Did they get anything intelligible out of you at all?"
The older man shrugged. "Their questions were more telling than my answers. Though Koharu was very much interested in Naruto's development, Homaru was much more interested in the last Uchiha."
"Homaru probably ran right back to Danzô with whatever tidbits of information you fed him," Tenzô concluded. The ANBU tapped the table as he thought. Homaru had always been sympathetic to Danzô despite Danzô's fall from grace after Orochimaru was chased out of the village. "Did you meet with the Third about this?" Tenzô questioned though he felt like he already knew the answer.
Kakashi merely gave him a look in response. "If Hokage-sama didn't know what had happened by the time I left the building he should resign from office." Tenzô brow furrowed over the slightly sharp tone Kakashi directed at their leader, but didn't say anything. The older shinobi shrugged. "I got told off by him today. Probably irritated that I gave the two vultures a reason to question me in person. He is very protective of Naruto."
The silver haired jônin took a moment to ruminate on how the Hokage would take his informing Naruto of his heritage. Not that he had directly told Naruto. The blonde might not even see what was there in front of him. Though Naruto had calmed considerably under his somewhat brutal tutelage and grown in his abilities, the genin was still excitable and easily overlooked things.
Tenzô sighed and rubbed his chin again. The whole Uzumaki Naruto problem had always flummoxed the calm ANBU. He didn't see the point in keeping the boy in the dark about the Fox or his parentage but he was certainly not the right person to call those shots. He had met Uzumaki Kushina a few times and was aware of her relationship with the Fourth as well as the result of that relationship. Wanting to turn the subject away from all things related to that piece of the past he quickly asked, "So did you get much grief for not turning in your reports?"
Kakashi answered. "They barely even berated me for not filling out the reports to begin with, but requested I return to give another oral report of my team's progress."
"Perhaps they have realized your allergy to ink," Tenzô said with a small smirk. The smirk quirked further as he asked, "Is this why you requested the mission in Takikawa?"
"It was more of a happy coincidence," Kakashi said, his mask hiding the mischievous grin that spread across his face at his plan working out so well. He was very much pleased that his wish to take his team out of the village also gave him a reason to not report to the advisers. "But while I am away I won't be able to keep an ear or an eye out-"
"Done, just leave me a scroll to call Pakkun when I have news." Tenzô answered, before Kakashi could even put words to his request. "It will be just like the old days. Now you owe me another couple of beers for this request." The bar had filled throughout their talk and Tenzô had to stand and make his way to the bar to place their order.
Kakashi felt a weight lift off of him. The way he had just abandoned his friendship with Tenzô had always been a regret of his and once again he was shown how his friends were much better people than he was.
Tenzô keeping an eye on things was also a relief.
The meeting had been a bit tenser than Kakashi had let on. Koharu was digging for gold. The old woman wanted a reason, any reason to have Naruto thrown out of the shinobi corps. Homaru had been rather aggressive in his questioning of Kakashi's methods with Sasuke's training and had threatened that if the last Uchiha didn't develop the sharingan by the end of the second month he would be removed form Kakashi's care.
It was a totally empty threat. Only the Hokage could approve such a thing and Kakashi knew that would never happen. Still, the threat showed just how much the esteemed elder and perhaps his friend cared about Sasuke's progress. It had been reckless to reveal this to Kakashi. Both advisers had grown complacent in their power and sway over the on goings of the shinobi corps in the jônin's opinion.
When Tenzô returned with their beers Kakashi took a healthy pull of his own. Something told him this next month would be nowhere near as peaceful as the last.
The following morning, Kakashi made one last trip to the memorial stone before departing the village. He arrived in the familiar clearing and observed his student crouched in front of the memorial stone. The orange tracksuit was gone, replaced by nondescript dark green jacket and black pants. The ends of the pants were wrapped down similarly to his own. It wasn't even 5:30 yet. Surely the blonde should have been getting all the sleep he could before they left, or scrambling to pack.
"You know I used to come here a lot after Iruka-sensei showed it to us." Naruto didn't turn around to face him. "I read the names over and over, looking for them." Kakashi tried very hard to ignore the quiver in his student's voice. Ah, Naruto had found out. The blonde stood up from his crouch clenching his fists. "No one ever told me they were shinobi. No one ever told me anything," he said with a bitter wet laugh. Kakashi flinched at the sound. The guilt that had grated on him for twelve years left him raw and exposed in the face of the indirect accusation. "Them being shinobi, it was something I made up. I wanted to imagine that they died protecting Konoha. But, I couldn't find them." A single hand waved towards the stone.
Kakashi's feet moved despite his will for them not to and he stepped up to stand behind Naruto on his left side.
"Then I thought they must have not been shinobi. So I went to the library and searched through civilian census records and nothing." Kakashi looked at the back of Naruto's messy blond head with new found respect. He didn't know the boy had even lifted a finger to try and find where he came from. Not a small amount of shame seeped into his chest. "I thought that maybe their friends didn't want anything to do with me because of… well, you know, so that was why no one came forward." The shame was growing. "But again. Nothing. The old man used to tell me that my parents loved me. That they died in the attack. That he didn't know them, but eventually I came to the only conclusion that made sense. He lied to me."
The anger and pain in Naruto's voice was vividly clear. The jônin wanted nothing more than to abandon the situation. He wasn't equipped for this and it was his fault. Because the truth was he failed. He had failed Minato and Kushina and no amount of alcohol or abuse of his body in training or on missions would erase that. No amount of training and attention towards Naruto now would make up for it.
"I thought the only thing he lied about was that my parents loved me. I thought they had just dropped me off at the orphanage and not looked back!" Naruto's voice cracked and he angrily rubbed his tears away.
"They both looked so happy in the pictures. They wanted me right sensei? They wanted me?" The boy was now sobbing, but trying to smother the sound with his fist, shoulders shaking.
Kakashi couldn't find his voice. All of the lies, all of the anger and Naruto just wanted to know if someone had wanted him. Kakashi raised a trembling hand and for a moment it hovered above the halo of blonde hair. He remembered all the times Minato had ruffled his hair as a child. He had always acted annoyed, but he wasn't. It was a gesture of affection. Something he had always denied he needed.
Taking in a shuddering breath Kakashi closed his hand and dropped it back to his side.
"Yes Naruto, they wanted you." Tear filled blue eyes looked up at him and Kakashi not the first time wished he could talk with Minato one last time. But then again the man would probably kill him and Kakashi wouldn't protest. "There was nothing that they wanted more than you." Naruto swallowed and struggled to regain control of his breathing. "I'm…"
I'm sorry you grew up thinking that no one wanted you.
I'm sorry you didn't even know their names.
I'm sorry for all the abuse you suffered.
I'm sorry for all the lies you were told.
I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.
I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough.
I'm sorry I'm still not strong enough.
"Will you tell me about them?" The question broke through the older man's thoughts.
Astonishment was swift and left Kakashi speechless. He had expected rage. He had expected shouting and maybe even a punch or two. Not this. Not this desperate need for acceptance. But why hadn't he?
Hadn't he craved the same when he was a child? Minato, Kushina, Rin, and Obito, they had given it to him without him realizing or asking for it.
But Kakashi had yet to do the same for Naruto.
Well, that was going to change.
"Yes Naruto. I will tell you about them."
Naruto nodded sharply and wiped furiously at his face till all trace of wetness was gone. But it didn't hide the puffiness or the irritated redness of his eyes. He turned back to the stone. "Why aren't their names here?"
It was a question that Kakashi had asked himself numerous times. Why weren't their names on the stone? He never quite got a straight answer from the Third. "Because there is a monument to the Fourth already, because no one was to know of Kushina's relation to you or to the Fourth. Because some people believe the past is better off left in the past in order to protect future generations from the sins of those who came before." His voice was dull and sarcastic to his own ears.
"You followed that example." The tone was biting and in Kakashi's opinion well deserved.
"I did." What excuse could he give his inaction? None. There was nothing that could excuse him. The Hokage had never forbade Kakashi from coming forward, in fact the man on more than one occasion suggested he become involved in Naruto's life. Kakashi ran as fast as he could, which was quite fast, in the opposite direction.
Naruto's mouth set in frustration. The tears were gone now anger having replaced them. "I, I'm so angry," the blonde admitted.
"I believe that is understandable," the older man said softly.
The bitter laughter that fell from the blonde's lips sounded out of place for the twelve year old. "I don't know who I am more angry at, the old man, or you. I started to trust you." Naruto looked up at him quickly and Kakashi could see the surprise the boy felt at letting these words slip.
Words that hurt more than Kakashi cared to contemplate. "Naruto-"
The genin cut him off sharply. "I just, I just need you to teach me and tell me about them. I don't want anything else from you." Before Kakashi could say another word the boy fled the clearing.
Kakashi tilted his head back and turned his face to the rising sun. He let its rays soak into the little skin showing on his face.
You deserved that. You deserved far more than that.
Feeling far older than he was Kakashi gently touched a few of the names on the stone and turned towards the training grounds where his genin would be gathered. It appeared he was going to be late.
Well, this was going to make the next two months a joy. He didn't regret giving Naruto the box though. The boy would be in almost constant contact with him. If there was any way to get past this, whatever this was, Takikawa was the perfect opportunity.
But it didn't change the fact he was terrified.
Kakashi strode into the familiar grounds and wasn't surprised to see that Naruto wasn't the only one who had changed up his clothes.
Sakura was kneeling on the ground surrounded by numerous scrolls that she no doubt wanted stored. The pink haired girl wore a long wheat-colored, shirt with three quarter length sleeves that was not quite tight, but not loose enough to be a liability. It was long enough to reach low on the girl's thighs and had slits on the sides for mobility. Over this she wore a tighter fitting quilted dark green vest. Her legs were clothed similarly to Naruto's, except she had swapped sandals for ankle boots.
"You're late," the girl tossed over her shoulder without turning around. Their chakra sensing abilities were coming along nicely Kakashi noted.
Sasuke who was sharpening his arsenal near the girl snorted quietly. Kakashi was happy to see the Uchiha fan nowhere on the boy's clothing. The black haired genin was wearing a simple long-sleeved black high-necked shirt with a short-sleeved dark green jacket over it. He had kept his stone colored shorts and sandals.
Naruto strode out from the storage shed with various practice weapons and moved towards his teammates. He purposely didn't acknowledge Kakashi's arrival and the jônin repressed a sigh.
Seeing the three of them dressed similarly tugged at something in him. He wondered if their matching color choice was on purpose or simply coincidence.
They looked like a team as they squabbled over what to take.
Kakashi interrupted them by imposing on their circle and clapping to get their attention. "Ok kids, how about we have a lesson in storage scrolls before we pack up and leave. So how does a storage scroll work?"
"Fûinjutsu," Sakura answered curtly.
Kakashi raised a single eyebrow at her.
Sakura continued, "The sealing array is written onto a scroll. Activating the seals with chakra allows the user to store or retrieve an object or objects of their choice."
"Very good, but can you tell me where the object goes?"
The girl frowned and threw a glance at the boys standing to her left. "Into the scroll?"
Kakashi tutted and gave her a somewhat condescending smile. "Still haven't figured out what the storage sealing array actually does have you? Much more complex than the average shinobi gives it credit for."
Naruto rolled his eyes and flat out glared at his teacher. "A storage sealing array creates a small pocket dimension."
"Correct," Kakashi cried exuberantly giving the boy an eye smile. "Which is why there are very few actually capable of writing these arrays and those that are, are paid very well for it."
"Can't they just be copied?" Sasuke asked glancing down at the unrolled storage scroll and not seeing how exactly it was complicated.
"If you wanted to rip a hole in space and time itself please go right ahead," Kakashi offered with a little 'as you will' wave. He had a moment's enjoyment from Sakura's alarmed face and Sasuke's attempt at hiding his alarm.
Naruto snorted, "That is exaggerating things a bit. No doubt the seal would simply fail."
Kakashi pursed his lips. He knew Naruto was pissed, but the boy really didn't have to ruin his fun. "True. You see an array must be written not only with precision, but the chakra applied to the seals as they are being written must be applied with even more accuracy."
Sakura frowned at this. "If that is the case, no offense Naruto, but how were you able to write your own explosive tags?"
Naruto shrugged to show he wasn't offended but looked thoughtful as well.
"I believe that Naruto while focusing so keenly on writing the seals correctly falls into a meditative state. It is much easier to focus chakra in such a state while in a calm environment without any pressure to perform." Kakashi had developed the theory after watching Naruto create a tag.
The blonde nodded, a light popping on behind his eyes. "It was always easier to practice jutsu after I had written a few tags. Plus, explosive tags, even modified ones aren't storage seals." The teacher nodded at his student's deduction. "But why the hell can't I meditate when I'm actually trying to?" Naruto cried angrily.
Kakashi coughed to cover his chuckle but was saved a reply by the Uchiha on the team plowing on.
"Is it really that difficult?" Sasuke asked looking very skeptical still.
Naruto nodded thinking about his own experience. "Following an array already created doesn't exactly take the sharpest kunai in the holster, but there is a certain finesse to it. Creating a unique array is another matter entirely. Think of the written seals as hand seals but there are few hundred of them and they all react to each other in certain ways. Their positioning in an array also changes their reactions. There is also a bit of mathematics to it as well. The array and the chakra a sealer infuses into it at the time it is written creates a pathway that the activator's chakra follows. It took me loads of tries to alter the basic explosion seal tag." Naruto winced at his last comment and rubbed a spot on his chest in memory.
Sakura blinked at Naruto in surprise. "Why exactly did you do so poorly in the Academy again?"
The blonde flushed and glared at his teammate for bringing up his poor academics. Mumbling incoherently under his breath Naruto snatched a storage scroll from the pile Kakashi had set out for them and began sealing up his goods.
Sasuke and Sakura shared a look before following the genin's example. Kakashi watched it all with his single eye. He was impressed that Naruto understood so much of the theory behind sealing. Though the boy was only able to write explosion tags currently but his ability to modify them was impressive.
Idly the jônin wondered if the knowledge that his father had been a genius at sealing techniques would encourage the boy to study the skill more. Kakashi himself wasn't a slouch when it came to fûinjutsu, but having someone else on the team who was capable of even mediocre fûinjutsu would be useful.
Once they were ready and had redistributed the packs so the weight and goods were evenly spread out Kakashi led them out of the village. As soon as they hit a fork in the road Kakashi turned back to his team who had been following him quietly, chatting amongst themselves.
Naruto's bad mood lifted as soon as they left the village, but he quickly announced his disappointment at there being nothing but trees since they exited the village.
"Now, if we continue on foot at this pace it will take us nearly two weeks to get Takikawa. I want to push hard and fast and reach the city in three days. The pace will be more than normal genin should be able to maintain, but I think you lot can handle it." The three exchanged determined, and bland in one case, looks.
Sakura nodded, jaw set. "We can handle it sensei."
"Piece of cake," Naruto said with a determined grin.
"Good we will be cutting through some rougher terrain in order to save more time. Be careful and keep alert. You are no longer within the walls of the village." His voice darkened as he gave his warning.
Turning towards the east, the jônin pushed off from the ground hard and flew into the trees. His three pupils shadowed him.
He didn't go lightly on them. The pace he set was more akin to evacuating enemy territory than traveling through non-hostile country on route to a non-time sensitive mission. In fact, he intended for them to be absolutely exhausted by the end of the first day. It was risk given that it would leave them exposed if they were caught by an enemy, but Kakashi believed he was in good enough shape to take care of just about anything they came across.
At the height of noon he stopped near a stream for water and a snack. The children didn't speak as they took out their canteens, refilled water and ripped into calorie bars with gusto.
Once they had finished refueling the three removed their outer layers and stuffed them into their packs. Without a word they all looked to him for the direction to continue.
Stuffing away the wrapper of his own piece of cardboard that was passed off as food he threw himself back into the trees. While running Kakashi blocked out all thoughts, keeping his senses alive to his surroundings. The silver haired shinobi could not be distracted by thoughts while his team was exposed for the first time.
When it was time to stop for the night, Sakura's legs were shaking so badly she could barely stand, Sasuke was winded and seemed to be holding himself up through sheer will power alone, and Naruto was huffing and holding his side. They found a small inlet in a cliff face that was partially hidden.
They had yet to see a soul on the journey since they left the main road, which pleased Kakashi.
"It's quite warm and there is only a very small chance for rain tonight," Kakashi spoke as he sniffed the air. "No need to waste time or energy on the tents." There were a couple sighs of relief as the three unpacked their bedrolls and prepared for the night.
The jônin began to look through the food rations. They were still in the heart of Fire Country and there were no towns for a good fifty miles in any direction. They could risk a fire to actually cook somewhat decent food.
Sakura approaching him with a small bento interrupted his thoughts. "Sensei, my mom wanted to do something for me, for the mission, so she made everyone a meal for tonight."
Kakashi blinked slowly at the food before taking it with a genuine smile. "Thank you Sakura." Not having to cook the first night would allow them to get a good chunk of rest and be fit for the next leg of their journey tomorrow. The three genin sat off a little ways from him talking amongst themselves, while Naruto and Sakura talked, Sasuke just ate, listening to his teammates chatter with one ear.
It was a scene almost familiar but yet not the same. He remembered his own team camping out during missions. Looking at his three students, he couldn't help but compare himself to Minato.
His teacher would have been there with them, chatting, teasing, and sharing stories of his own time as a genin.
But he wasn't Minato. He would never be Minato.
Team 7 pushed hard and fast through their journey. It was exhausting but the genin were used to such conditions and bore it without complaint. They arrived in the city earlier than expected and Naruto felt all the more happy for it.
Naruto had questioned Sakura on a few more details about the city during their journey. He learned that the city was the central location of export for smaller mining communities located in the surrounding area.
It was thrilling in a city so much bigger than Konoha. Built down river of a waterfall and close to the ocean shore, Takikawa was split into two banks. The river was heavy with boat traffic as they came into the heart of the city from the ocean. The sights and smells of the bustling market place were nearly overwhelming.
The buildings were taller than those in Konohagakure and more tightly packed together. There were men on horses shouting for the pedestrians to clear a path. Carts carrying various goods were pulled down the streets and stopped beside various stands and shops. People shouted their prices from every direction.
It was all bit overwhelming.
Naruto felt like he was being swallowed up by it all as he was jostled from side to side as he followed Sakura, who followed Sasuke, who followed…
The run here burned off all his anger. The betrayal still stung though. He trusted Kakashi-sensei. Even liked the older man. He had thought that Kakashi-sensei had cared somewhat about him.
And the confusing part was now he was sure Kakashi did care.
One of the few things he knew about the jônin was the man did nothing without reason. Every move was planned, every word spoken carefully selected. Naruto knew that Kakashi knew that the album had been in the box. The man wanted Naruto to find out about his parents, but what stung was that Kakashi had waited so long.
Why hadn't he just told him?
A burly man carrying a crate collided with a woman who fell into Naruto. The genin's reflexes kicked in and he caught her easily. "Alright there?"
The blonde smiled at the woman as he righted her. She was probably in her early twenties her. "I'm so sorry for bumping into you like that," she said as she took in her rescuer.
"It wasn't your fault," Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head. She was rather pretty.
"Naruto?" Sakura's voice called through the crowd. His teammate had already been absorbed into the crush of people and Naruto barely caught a glimpse of pink and green through the forest of bodies.
"You sure you're ok? That wasn't a gentle bump."
The woman smiled. "Yes, the fall would have hurt much more." The woman's dark brown eyes took in his hitai-ate and widened in surprise. "You're shinobi?"
"Yep," the affirmed popping the 'P'. He proudly adjusted his hitai-ate proudly.
The brown-eyed woman opened her mouth again, but then Sakura was beside them. "Naruto come on. They're waiting on us."
Naruto flashed a toothy smile at the woman and then followed his teammate through the crowd. They caught up with Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and continued on.
The ocean of people thinned as they walked further. Naruto could tell they were headed out of town as the buildings came to have more and more space between them and the smell of the city began to dissipate.
They crossed over another smaller bridge that passed over a calmer offshoot of the river. The buildings became older, showing their age not only in their architecture but their condition as well. Paint was peeling, weeds overran many of the gardens, and the walls surrounding the properties were in general disrepair. A few buildings were even beyond hope and only partially standing.
There were a smattering of restaurants and small shops dotted here and there, but Naruto could see they were definitely in a district that had seen better days. Kakashi came to a stop in front of a temple that was in just as poor condition as the buildings surrounding it.
The blonde raised an eyebrow. Kakashi definitely did not strike him as a religious person.
"Well, say hello to your home for the next couple of months," the jônin said, looking expectantly at his students.
Sakura's jaw dropped and Sasuke actually looked worried.
"You're joking," the blonde genin accused.
Their teacher merely raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
Naruto glared at the man for playing with them. "The outpost is a temple?"
"Oh, no," Kakashi chuckled, gesturing across the way to what had been either a large house or a small inn. 'What had been' being key, as in past tense. It was in rough shape. The stone wall that surrounded the property was either overtaken by ivy or crumbling. The grounds were overgrown and in desperate need of taming. Worst of all, roof over a portion of the right wing was collapsed inward. The entire building needed a lot of TLC.
Beside Naruto, Sakura closed her mouth and swallowed. "Some how that is so much worse." Both her teammates nodded solemnly in agreement.
"Right, well, I am going to the city hall to announce our arrival and secure any permits we will need for the reconstruction." The Copy-nin began to head back towards town. "Settle in and have a look around, but don't wander back into the city. I expect to see some headway in the clean up by the time I get back." If the man could feel the three hateful glares that watched him stroll down the street he didn't acknowledge it.
"Sometimes I would really like to hit him," Sakura sighed, sounding almost wistful. Naruto could empathize with that. He was tired, sore and no doubt smelled from the journey and he was sure his teammates felt the same.
"Let's get to it, he's gonna be an ass if he gets back and we haven't accomplished whatever goal he set and failed to mention," Naruto said through his teeth. Sakura let only whimper escape her while Sasuke exhaled loudly.
Together they waded through the overgrown yard, a stone path somewhere underneath their feet. Naruto moved to open the door to the entranceway, but instead of sliding open the door creaked and began to tip towards him.
"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, back peddling to get out of the way as the door fell to the ground, buoyed by the greenery beneath it.
"Fantastic a bridge!" Sakura bit out sarcastically as she stepped onto the door and into the entrance-way of the outpost. Sasuke followed her in with a look of foreboding on his normally passive face.
Sighing Naruto followed his teammates inside to whatever awaited them.
It wasn't nearly as bad as he expected. Team 7's exploration took little over ten minutes. Under Sakura's direction the team took note of all the things that would need to be addressed other than just a thorough cleaning in each room.
The plumbing in the kitchen and two bathrooms would need to be replaced. The section of roof that was collapsed was over what appeared to be the main sleeping area from the rope bunk beds that were underneath the rubble of the ceiling.
A closet space off the kitchen seemed to house old medical supplies, Sakura made a quick note to go though and see if any of it was salvageable.
The office area of the outpost was in good condition, but under a layer of dust.
Nearly all the windows were damaged in some way or another, either the sills were rotten or the glass was shattered. There was also an assortment of furniture that needed some maintenance in order to bring it back to working condition.
Other than the collapsed roof there was no other structural damage that the genin could find, but Naruto pointed out that none of them knew shit about carpentry and the damn building could collapse at any second for all they knew.
Once their list was compiled Sakura sketched out a to do list based on difficulty of the task.
"How are we supposed to repair a roof?" Naruto cried exasperated.
"Maybe Kakashi-sensei knows something about construction," Sakura said, but she didn't sound as if she actually believed it. Naruto snorted and flinched when Sasuke had the exact same response. The two locked eyes, obviously deeply disturbed they had, had the same reaction. Sakura hid a grin behind her hand. "Well let's sort out a room that we can sleep in for the night and then get started on cleaning out what's unusable."
With their task for the moment clear, Team 7 began to efficiently take care of business. It was strange to be doing something other than training with the others, Naruto thought, but after spending so much time together they fell into a rhythm quickly enough. Without much discussion they all took on roles that best suited each of them while complementing each other.
Their work went undisturbed as they transitioned from clearing out and cleaning a smaller room suited to their current sleeping needs to removing debris. Naruto suggested they use the broken door to press down a portion of the wilderness that was the yard so they could begin piling the garbage into a central location.
As they worked Naruto's thoughts drifted to the man and woman who were his parents, the Fourth Hokage and a beautiful woman named Kushina. The man who was his father had also sealed a demon inside him.
How was he supposed to feel about that?
On one hand it was awesome that he was the son of Fourth. The Fourth had been super strong and from what Naruto knew of him he had been a good leader, a leader who had made the ultimate sacrifice. Naruto just wasn't so sure how he felt about being part of that sacrifice.
But it seemed petty to be angry at a dead man, especially a dead man who was his father, who from all appearances in the pictures seemed so very happy at being a father.
A selfish part of Naruto wanted to scream why him though. Why couldn't the Fourth have chosen another child? But at the same time the genin could understand why the Fourth couldn't ask that of another parent.
The thoughts spun round and round Naruto's head until he couldn't think about it anymore.
A few hours into their clean up effort the sun began to set and Naruto stretched out his back and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto complained to Sakura who had just finished dumping a load of rotten wood on the pile of junk. "I'm starving, if I don't eat soon my stomach is going to cave in on itself," he whined.
Naruto was thrown off balance as Sasuke unceremoniously shoved him to the side so he could drop off his own load. "We're all hungry idiot. There's no need to assault our ears and make it worse."
The blonde glared at his teammate and wanted to snap back but was interrupted by Sakura's shrill voice "Yes, we're all tired and hungry and we smell freaking terrible and our pervert of a sensei is probably off perusing the porn section of some bookstore and left us here with all this work!" The two boys watched as Sakura's face turned red in her anger, which Naruto would never say but made for a very unattractive look with her hair. Sakura continued to rant as she stomped back into the house. He only caught a few words but the theme was clear and it involved very sharp kunai and a very sensitive part of the male anatomy.
"We really have to teach her it isn't cool to make threats like that," Naruto mused and Sasuke solemnly nodded alongside him.
"Make threats like what?" A voice from behind them asked.
"Gah!" Naruto cried as he stumbled forward and nearly fell into the pile of wood and shingles and most importantly exposed, rusty nails. Sasuke whirled around kunai in hand. "You!" Naruto spluttered after he had righted himself.
"Me?" his sensei answered as if it were a question. "Maaa, you must be tired. You didn't even sense me arriving. How disappointing. Looks like you need to work harder at that skill and staying always aware of your surroundings," the teacher tutted, bring a finger to his mouth in a thoughtful gesture.
"Work harder?!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'll show you hard work you perverted-"
"Now, now there is need for such slanderous language."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and scoffed. "It's not slander if it's true."
Kakashi could not fault this statement but waved it away. "Now, now I too have been busy."
"Really?" asked a skeptical voice and all three male shinobi turned to look at the only kunoichi on the team. Sakura's face was set in a harsh glower as she met her teacher's single eye. Violent chakra emanated from the girl and both Naruto and Sasuke took a step away from the target.
"Now, now, there is no need for hostility. Look I brought food." From behind his back, Kakashi brought a bag of take out boxes into view. The irate girl stalked forward, grabbed the peace offering and snapped at the rest of the team to follow.
The smell of food that wafted towards Naruto while this transaction happened drove all other complaints from his brain and he quickly chased after his female teammate. Berating their teacher could wait.
"Why exactly are we here?" Sasuke asked bluntly.
Team 7 had eaten ferociously, decimating all of the food that Kakashi had brought them. Sasuke was sitting cross-legged in-between Naruto who had unrolled his sleeping pad and flopped down onto his side, and Sakura who was rifling through her pack for her bathing goods.
Kakashi who was sitting across from his team, had explained what he had been up to all day while his students worked. The jônin had secured the permits that had been requested by the Hokage's office and been around to several construction contractors. A few that Kakashi had spoken to would be by tomorrow to give their quote on the work that needed to be done. He had also opened accounts for power, water and gas for the building.
The report of his day didn't mollify the three genin completely but there wasn't much they could do to complain. Sakura and Naruto looked outwardly relieved when Kakashi had told them that professionals would be hired for the large fixes the outpost required.
Sasuke was more preoccupied with why they were even here in the first place. He had hypothesized all throughout the journey possible reasons for why Kakashi was so intent on them taking this assignment. In the excitement to leave the village and the mess that awaited them both his teammates seemed to forget that their teacher owed them an explanation.
This time the last Uchiha would not settle for a half-truth or a riddle. If he was going to waste the next few days on cleaning and repairing this wreck he was going to damn well understand why.
For a moment Kakashi gazed at his student. Sasuke could tell the man was carefully deciding how straightforward his answer would be.
"There are several reasons why I cannot be completely transparent in my explanation. You are going to have to accept that." Their teacher's voice had taken on its serious tone that he adopted when he didn't want to be questioned.
Sasuke fought down the flash of anger at this answer, determined to not let it show on his face. Naruto had no such qualms at letting his displeasure be known. The boy scoffed, mumbling something that Sasuke couldn't quite catch and plainly glared at the man.
It was not the first time Sasuke had seen Naruto glare at Kakashi since the mission began. He had watched the blonde stare daggers at Kakashi's back on and off throughout the run to Takikawa. There was something off between the two, but Sasuke had chalked it up to Naruto being emotional.
But, now before his eyes Kakashi reacted in the most surprising way to Naruto's mumbled outburst. The silver haired man's right eye twitched. It was a the tiniest of twitches but it was the second largest involuntary reaction he had seen from his teacher other than the flash of irritation at the Hokage's office.
It was a flinch. As if whatever Naruto had said had actually hurt the stoic man in some way. The idea, that Naruto of all people, could get such a reaction from Kakashi was mind boggling, but Sasuke couldn't see another explanation. It was truly curious.
Something more was going on between the two than he had originally thought. Now, however was not the time to get to the bottom of it.
"What can you tell us sensei?" Sakura asked, not hiding her disappointed sigh.
"There are some high ranking officials in the shinobi council who are a little too curious about this team's progress," Kakashi answered dully as if the whole situation bored him.
Sasuke couldn't help the frown from curving his mouth. Beside him Sakura looked confused, either about why there would be people interested in their team or why this made Kakashi feel it was necessary to leave Konoha Sasuke didn't know. The black haired boy was far more interested in why Naruto seemed to be torn between worry and anger.
Naruto knew something. But what? And why? Surely these officials were interested in Sasuke himself. The reason behind their interest was rather obvious. Why wouldn't they be interested in the last Uchiha? He was the only hope of the sharingan bloodline continuing in Konoha.
But if this was the reason for their interest why was Naruto reacting so strongly?
"Why would they be interested in our team…? Sakura trailed off as she voiced the question, but then glanced toward Sasuke as if he was the answer.
"There are several reason's why this team is of interest. One reason I can explain is the Hokage legacy."
All three genin leaned forward unconsciously at this.
"What legacy?" Naruto asked quickly, with an edge of anxiety in his voice.
Kakashi rubbed his head and sat back leaning into his hads for support. "The Third Hokage was taught by the Second as a genin. A student of the Third taught the Fourth. I am the only surviving student of the Fourth."
This revelation was a bit of a shock to Sasuke and based on the gob smacked look on Sakura's face it was clear that not even she of the Research knew this particular piece of information. Naruto on the other hand…
Sasuke was starting to get irritated with the blonde. He was becoming distractingly interesting. Naruto had known. Sasuke was sure of it. The blonde had shut up about his goal of becoming Hokage in the first week of training as Team 7, but his reaction to the news that their teacher had been taught by a Hokage should have been much, much louder and more annoying.
Naruto had known.
Kakashi continued, "The trend follows that one of you will be the next Hokage." The notion sounded absolutely ridiculous to Sasuke and it was obvious the entire reason was just a smoke screen to cover up something else.
Sakura shook her head in disbelief, "Or you sensei."
The man chuckled, "No one in their right mind would make me Hokage."
The genin of Team 7 certainly agreed with that statement, though none of them voiced it.
"I think that's enough for tonight. We have a long day tomorrow and the bathhouse will close soon. Get your stuff together." With that their teacher picked up his own bag and exited the room.
The three genin sat unmoving for a few moments.
Sakura sighed as she came to her feet. "Well, we got one reason out of him. Even if it was a rather unbelievable one."
"You knew," Sasuke accused. Naruto was turned away from him, reaching for his own pack. Sakura stopped at the doorway and looked back. "You knew that Kakashi was a student of the Fourth." Naruto turned to meet Saskue's gaze before looking down at his empty hands.
"Naruto…?" Sakura questioned.
"I, I knew," Naruto confirmed.
Sakura shuffled her feet and appeared to try and not be irritated by this news. "Why didn't you say anything? The man is still a mystery to all of us."
The blonde looked conflicted. "I didn't know how to explain how I found out, I-" He cut himself off and let out a frustrated breath. "There is a lot you guys don't know about me."
Sasuke glared at the non-answer. He had, had quite enough of those already. "Then tell us," the black haired genin demanded.
Sakura made a choked noise at her teammate's tactless order that was just so Sasuke.
Naruto sneered at the command, "Why the hell should I?"
Sasuke was about to retort, but Sakura stepped forward and kneeled to be on their level. "Because we are a team and…" Sakura hesitated, "We're friends." The final word seemed to strike Naruto dumb.
Friends.
They were friends.
Part of Sasuke revolted at the word, claiming he didn't need friends. Teammates were all that he had planned on letting the other two become. Friends were for people who didn't have a clan to avenge.
Sakura was talking again and her voice interrupted his inner struggle. "I noticed when we were buying clothes that Sato was horrible to you and only you. The teachers at the Academy were completely unprofessional and downright mean to you. Well, other than Iruka-sensei. Most of the kids were mean too." Sakura wrung her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry. When I first started the Academy I was picked on, but Ino stood up for me. Instead of standing up for you I helped the other kids bully you."
"Sakura…" Naruto said softly.
"I have wanted to ask why for a while, but I never did, because I didn't feel like you owed me an explanation, I still don't, but I want to know now. I want to understand because it pisses me off that people treat my friend so poorly." Sasuke couldn't help but nod with what the girl was saying. In the Academy he had ignored the bullying for the most part because it didn't concern him and because… he had told Sasuke not to bully Naruto.
Sasuke remembered that day. Itachi had come like he always did when he was home to pick Sasuke up from the Academy. Naruto was being heckled by some civilian children outside near where Sasuke was and Itachi had very quickly put a stop to it.
While walking home Sasuke asked his brother why the other children were so mean to Naruto. The younger boy had already formed the opinion that the blonde was annoying and loud and an idiot, but didn't quite understand why the other children picked on him so much. Itachi had stopped walking, turned around and kneeled in front of his brother. "People are ruled by fear. It poisons all their actions. Never let fear control you. That boy does more for this village by simply breathing than most shinobi accomplish in a lifetime. Those children's parents have forgotten that. Do not follow their example."
As a child Sasuke had simply nodded, not understanding his brother's cryptic words. The words were no longer unintelligible.
But why did the village fear Naruto?
"I'm afraid," Naruto admitted. Sakura's face fell at this admission. "I'm afraid if you know, you won't-," Naruto angrily rubbed at his eyes and Sasuke tried not to show his revulsion at the other boy's tears. "You won't want to be anywhere near me once you know."
"Idiot." That stopped the blonde's eyes from leaking as he glared at Sasuke. "We haven't put up with your presence 24/7 for a month just to turn on you. I didn't give up on your weak, worthless ass in the beginning. Don't insult me by thinking I will now that you are finally a decent teammate."
Naruto's mouth fell open and Sakura was stunned for a moment before she chuckled and added, "Yeah, we're not some random people. We're teammates, friends and together we have so-far survived the nightmare that is Hatake Kakashi."
Their blonde friend stared at them both swallowing and setting his chin. "Ok, I don't know everything but here goes." Sasuke and Sakura watched as he twisted to grab his pack and pulled a small photo album out and flipped through the pages before showing them.
"This is Kakashi-sensei's genin team." The other two genin leaned forward to look at the picture of Kakashi with two other genin and a jônin they both quickly recognized as the Fourth Hokage. Sasuke noticed that the other boy in the picture was definitely an Uchiha though he didn't recognize him. The boy who had given Kakashi his sharingan eye had a dopey smile on his face that was certainly out of place on an Uchiha.
Naruto flipped through a couple more pictures of the team before he got to a picture of the Fourth and a red haired woman. The blonde man had his arm thrown around the woman and their proximity in the photo obviously showed that they were a couple.
"How did you get this album Naruto?" Sakura asked as she took in the photograph.
"It was in a box of fûinjutsu scrolls that Kakashi gave me the night before we left Konoha," the blonde explained as he turned the book around to flip to another picture of the Fourth and the red haired woman who was now pregnant.
"Why did he give it-?" the pink haired girl questioned before she snatched the book from Naruto to get a closer look at the picture. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed.
It was surprising Sasuke thought. He had never heard of the Fourth having a family but he wasn't sure why Sakura was so excited.
Naruto took back the book and flipped to the end, removing the last picture before presenting it to them. Sasuke didn't see the point of this as he took in the subject of the last photo.
It was the red haired woman again. She had Kakashi's hand pressed to her stomach forcefully and their teacher looked remarkably uncomfortable. Naruto turned the photo over and everything started to make sense.
Sasuke wanted to hit himself for not recognizing the resemblance. The other boy was the spitting image of the Fourth but it didn't click until the connection was glaring right there in front of his dark eyes.
"Naruto…" Sakura whispered in awe.
"Yeah, was a bit of a shock for me."
"Why, why the hell doesn't anybody know this?!" Sakura nearly yelled.
Naruto took a breath before beginning to shock his two teammates even further. "Because things are even more complicated than me being the son of a village hero. You see we were lied to our entire lives about the Fourth. They told us that he killed the Kyûbi. He didn't."
Sakura looked like she wanted to object to what Naruto was saying but stopped short, no doubt coming to the same conclusion as Sasuke. The Fourth's wife and child had been kept secret, a pretty big deal and highly irregular as the families of past Hokage's were treated with great respect in the village.
"Then what happened to the Fox?" Sakura asked.
Naruto looked at them both anxiously before answering. "He sealed it. He sealed it inside of me.
"People are ruled by fear."
"It poisons all their actions."
"That boy does more for this village by simply breathing than most shinobi accomplish in a lifetime."
For the first time since he was six years old Sasuke found himself in agreement with his brother.
Kakashi sat outside the room leaning against the wall and covered by an illusion.
Three down.
Sakura had found her motivation. Sasuke had accepted his teammates. And now Naruto had chosen to trust.
A small smile was hidden behind the ever-present mask.
There was still work to be done, but it was a damn fine start.
A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Life happened and I ended up in the hospital and had to have surgery.
Ok I have a secret to tell. I haven't read all of Naruto, like not even close to all of it. Therefore a lot of what I write may be AU. I don't actually know if Kakashi was aware of the reasons behind the Uchiha massacre. Mine doesn't. I don't really know how close Kakashi was to Itachi but I love non-massacre stories that feature them having a pretty tight relationship. In this story they had more of a working relationship but Kakashi did care about Itachi as he was a team member of his at one point.
My point is I'm not going to follow canon to the letter, it was never my intention to give that impression, but neither am I going to ignore it completely. I might make changes through ignorance or just because I really didn't like the direction canon went with certain characters or events.
This includes rules and laws about chakra and jutsu. I do my utmost to read everything I can on the theory behind a lot of jutsu and why it works the way it does, but I find a lot of the explanation offered by canon is lacking. Therefore I make up my own.
Kleio96: Ok you are not hacking my computer. I was suspicious. This Kakashi is extremely calculating, especially when it comes to his team. He does almost nothing regarding them without purpose. Which also makes him distant because he doesn't allow himself to relax around them. Giving Naruto the album was a way to tell Naruto passively about his parents, because Kakashi just isn't good with his words. If I was a better and more patient writer I would have let Naruto look through the album but not turn over the picture and maybe finally discover it a month later. I am not patient and my writing isn't that great so immediate gratification is always good.
Enbi: I am glad you are liking where I am going with Sasuke's and Sakura's characters so far. Hopefully I did justice to Naruto in this chapter but I don't think I will ever nail him completely.
Ann: Edited. I found them. So turns out I didn't read far enough into the manga... Sorry! I wanted her to be a civilian so even if I had known about them I might have changed it. They won't play a huge role past a certain point so I hope it doesn't stop you from reading!
XJackiefrostX: I feel your pain.
A big thanks to everyone who reviewed. This isn't the chapter you deserve and I'm sorry. My unavoidable break from this fic kind of threw me off. Your reviews really helped cheer me up during my stay in the hospital so thank you so much for that.
Please let me know what you think of this chapter! Also I promise the next update will come faster than a month!
I watched the shit out of the Lord of the Rings movies while I was in the hospital cause those are my sick movies. I couldn't help but imagine my Team 7 in that world and actually wrote a bit on a whim. Made me think how you never see kid versions of Team 7 in an lotr crossover. Or at least I couldn't find one really. If you know of one please share!