Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 5: Down the Bloody Rabbit Hole

Naruto was floating. His surroundings were completely at peace. The sun beat down on his exposed limbs and torso, and his skin soaked up the warmth it offered. He felt his conscious turn inward his breath becoming slower. The slight ripple of wind brushing the soft hairs on his stomach and legs was the only warning he got before his world shattered.

Water splashed across the blonde's face and his body rocked. Jerking out of his trance Naruto slipped below the surface of the lake he had been floating in. After coming up for air, he saw a spluttering Sakura treading water some feet away from him. "Damn it Sakura! I was almost there!" he yelled, hitting the water with a fist.

The guilty party threw a green-eyed glare over her shoulder. "Don't blame me. Sasuke didn't have to throw me in the lake."Naruto looked towards an unrepentant Sasuke who was standing by the shore. Sighing in frustration, the blonde began to swim, following his friend back to shore.

After telling his teammates about his parents and the Fox they had all agreed that Naruto should try to learn as much as possible about the seal that kept the monster imprisoned. So the three had gone to the only source they could think of, Kakashi. Naruto had not wanted to ask his teacher for help, but there wasn't really a choice.

Though his teammates, well Sakura really, understood his frustration with Kakashi, Sasuke told him blankly to get over it. As one would expect the last Uchiha's words had not gone over well. After some yelling and a bit of a scuffle, Naruto saw that Sasuke was right. And, Naruto was over 'it,' if that meant he had set his anger aside for the moment in order to move forward.

So to Kakashi they went and for once their teacher yielded some very interesting information. The seal that the Fourth, his dad he reminded himself, had chosen used both Naruto's and the Fox's own chakra to keep it powered. This meant that there was a path between the two and Naruto could in theory access the Kyûbi's chakra.

That had been a little less than a week ago. Naruto had spent every spare moment since trying to draw out this foreign chakra. He had thought Kakashi was insane when he suggested it. The jônin explained that there was a very real chance that bleed through might occur naturally, was already occurring naturally even if Naruto didn't realize it. If Naruto were to become extremely stressed or highly emotional the Fox's chakra could react violently, especially since his chakra system was almost fully mature now. Kakashi made the case that Naruto needed to learn how to control the unnatural chakra in a calm environment, as even the Copy Nin couldn't say how Naruto would react to having the Fox's chakra running through him.

Naruto had looked towards Sasuke and Sakura to gauge what they thought. The bastard had on his usual boring face, but Naruto saw that his shoulders were tense. Sakura looked openly nervous, but then said something that shocked him. "Are you sure it won't hurt Naruto?" Sasuke had nodded in agreement to this question.

After learning about the Fox, Naruto finally had an answer to the question he had carried all his life, why everyone seemed to hate him. But having the answer created so many more questions and problems. Like how could he ever tell anyone and how could he ever not? Were the villagers right? Was he dangerous? Was he an explosion tag just waiting to be activated?

But now, here he was. He had two people who didn't run screaming or call him a monster or change their attitude in the slightest once they knew the truth. Sakura would still cuff him for language, which Naruto found to be completely hypocritical as the girl could swear with the best of them and Sasuke still hit harder than was necessary when they sparred. They certainly weren't treating him like he would explode with fur and fangs any time soon.

And they proved just how much they trusted him again by being more concerned with his well-being than what could possibly happen to them if they were in the vicinity and something were to go wrong. Naruto didn't quite know how to express his feelings of gratitude so he didn't. Sasuke would not appreciate any of that anyway.

So, despite his own worry about possibly hurting one of his teammate's Naruto had been trying his hardest to access the Kyûbi's chakra. All the worry was for naught though, because so far it was a complete bust.

The soaking wet blonde flopped down on the soft grass next to Sakura who had taken off her shirt to wring it out. A month ago he would have gone pink at the sight but Kakashi's training didn't afford such modesty. They were all taping up each other's cuts, splinting sprained fingers, wrists and ankles, wrapping up bruised ribs and smearing liberal amounts of bruise and burn creams everywhere.

The lack of body shyness was also helped by the realization that he no longer had a crush on Sakura. The girl had made it very clear that his crush wasn't reciprocated and Naruto had let it go. The blonde over shared though when he told Sakura part of the reason he wanted to be her boyfriend was that he wanted to win her affection from Sasuke. The sparring match Sakura had suggested after his comment had been vicious. Sakura won.

"You weren't any closer today than you were yesterday, don't lie," Sasuke said blandly, coming to sit beside them. Naruto made a rude hand gesture in response and lay back with a huff. It was true. He wasn't getting any closer. Meditation was not working.

"Maybe you should take a break from it for a while. You've been trying nearly non-stop for days now," Sakura suggested slipping her shirt back on. Naruto hummed in acknowledgement and tried not to let his failure sting.

All three genin tensed when they felt a particular chakra signature approach the area they claimed as their training ground. From the western tree line the demon padded toward them. When it had approached, it sat back on its haunches and raised a paw in greeting. "Yo."

None of them had forgotten the hell the damn pug put them through. "Pakkun," Sakura greeted through her teeth.

"Kakashi wants you back at the outpost, but no need to rush. Your mission support has arrived." The three genin stood. "Mind giving me a lift back? My right paw is kinda sore, got into a bit of a tussle with this dumb Akita."

The three shared expressive looks with each other before turning away from the ninken and after a furious game of Rock Paper Scissors the defeated Sakura scooped up the pug.

"So is it anyone we know?" Naruto questioned as they headed back in the direction of town.

"Mmmm probably not but he knows you at least," the pug answered. "Name is Namiashi Raidô, special jônin. He is part of the Hokage Elite Guard-"

"Oh shit!" Naruto cursed coming to an abrupt halt. "Which one is he, the one with the bandana, the goatee or the scar?

"Scar, you know him?" the pug asked.

Sakura and Sasuke both looked on curiously as Naruto began to sweat. "Yeah, shit balls! Well I guess it could be worse, goatee was an ass. Scarface just usually glared and looked disappointed."

"How do you know him?" Sakura inquired.

"I used to hang around the Hokage tower a lot when I was a kid. When I would get in trouble at the orphanage they would send me there sometimes. The Third looked out for me. Guess we know why now. His guard was always around. I don't remember their names but the one with the bandana, he was cool. Used to laugh at the pranks I pulled. The other two though not so much," Naruto finished with a sheepish look.

Sakura rolled her eyes and gave him a look that clearly said no shit. "Most of us didn't find your pranks amusing."

"Hey I totally remember you laughing when I pulled a classic fart gag on that old guy who used to teach us calligraphy!" Naruto accused.

"You did laugh at that," Sasuke said in support of the blonde.

Sakura gaped at her ex-crush. "I can't believe you even remember something like that! Okay, so I laughed. That old man was mean. He used whack us with a switch if we didn't have correct posture."

"He was a cranky old bastard and I should have picked something a little more memorable," Naruto said darkly. He had suffered a majority of the blows dealt and had absolutely loathed the old calligraphy teacher. "So Kakashi-sensei knows this guy too?" Naruto asked the pug before he began walking again.

"Yeah the three elite guards first served the Fourth so Kakashi knows them all. Since they were bodyguards for the Fourth Hokage, all three know you're the Fourth's kid. Boss doesn't really care for this one though. Thinks he has a stick shoved up his ass."

"Great," Naruto sighed. It was going to be a constant problem. Every Leaf shinobi he met now, he would wonder, did they know?

"If he is a bodyguard why is he here as our mission support? We don't need a bodyguard we need someone to run the outpost," Sakura spoke.

The furry ball in her arms flipped onto his back and looked up at his benefactor. "You are the smarter one pinkie. Namiashi, from what I remember is a stickler for rules and follows orders to the letter and also trusted by the Third. He no doubt is here to keep an eye you Naruto or that's what Boss is thinking."

"Why? Isn't Kakashi-sensei enough? Is this how it's going to be? My own village keeping an eye on me for the rest of my life?" Naruto grumbled, trying not to be stung by what he considered a complete lack of trust. He understood how the Fox was dangerous, but it had been inside him for twelve years now and so far nothing had happened. Sakura shot him a pitying look that he tried to ignore. "I just want to be a shinobi. Not deal with all of this political bull crap."

The team fell into silence only interrupted by Sakura's noise of disgust as Pakkun began to clean himself in her arms.

Sasuke abruptly came to a halt as they entered the outskirts of Takikawa.

"You used to spout off your dream of becoming Hokage to anyone who would listen," he stated blankly.

The blonde genin frowned at his teammate. "Yeah…" he trailed off not sure what Sasuke was on about. It was a rather random thing to say.

Sakura nodded her head and added, "He's right. Didn't you think about the political aspect of the job at all?"

"No," Sasuke said, looking at Sakura. "You were an annoying fan girl."

"Hey!" Sakura dropped Pakkun who easily landed on his feet.

Naruto was confused at Sasuke's sudden need to reflect on the past, and Sakura looked ready to punch the black haired boy.

"I said were," Sasuke added with an eye roll before continuing, "If we are going to be spied on we should control the information that is reported."

The pink haired girl made a noise of comprehension. "Disinformation, the purposeful spreading of false or inaccurate information," Sakura exclaimed with twinkling eyes.

Naruto quickly recalled the term from one of Kakashi's lectures on subterfuge. "But what does that have to do with me wanting to be Hokage and Sakura being a fan girl."

"Can we please stop mentioning that?" Sakura asked with sigh and a blush of shame creeping into her cheeks.

"Kakashi uses his apathy and disinterest as a mask. He purposefully misleads people," Sasuke stated. "This would not only be useful in battle but also within Konoha."

"He used it when we were at the Hokage tower!" Naruto excitedly pointed out snapping his fingers at the memory. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"So you're saying we should use our old behavior to trick Namiashi Raidô into reporting that we have made little to no progress as genin?" Sakura asked not looking or sounding convinced that this a great plan.

"Come on Sakura!" Naruto whined. "Think about how awesome it would be if we come back at the end of this mission super strong and everyone thinks that we're the same as we were back in the Academy! Imagine the looks on their faces!" Naruto crowed, already picturing all the teachers who said he was beyond hope.

"That isn't," Sasuke began but then shook his head mumbling under his breath, "idiot."

Naruto was too busy fantasizing about his triumphant return to notice.

Sakura still looked unsure of the entire plan but it seemed it was two against one.

"Ok," she relented. "But if we're going to do this we're going to have to sell it."

Pakkun, who had been quiet the entire time listened to the genin make their plan. The pug was sure this wasn't the brightest idea, but it would be entertaining to see his boss's face as the kids regressed before his eyes.

Kakashi wasn't sure if he should be frustrated at the fact that Namiashi Raidô was currently invading the outpost that he had come to consider an oasis of sorts. He had forgotten how great living outside Konoha could be. No, harassing summons for errant mission reports, no nagging to go to the hospital for tiny scratches that really just needed a Band-Aid, or a bit of mud, and no lectures from the Hokage on how he had yet to take a genin team despite his ten plus years of being a jônin…etc…etc.

Plenty of time to just kick back in a tree, read some quality fiction and yell encouragement to his minions as they worked feverishly. He had promised them ninjutsu if they completed all the repairs to the outpost in under four days.

The carpenters and other subcontractors had come in on the second day and with the help of his team completed the largest of the repairs in a little less than three days. The foreman of the crew had remarked how he was glad that shinobi didn't pick up the construction trade or he would be quickly out of business. Kakashi had smirked and told the man his students just had the right motivation.

And now here was an interloper, not just any interloper, but one who history had proven to be particularly judgmental. Joy.

It was really quite crafty of the Third to send someone like Namiashi. As most bodyguards were, the man was fiercely loyal to the Hokage office and only that office. He would not be sharing any information with anyone other than the Hokage. But messages could always be intercepted, the silver haired jônin's paranoid mind thought.

Still, Kakashi didn't care for the man. When Minato had been Hokage Namiashi had been a prick for protocol. Idly he wondered if the other shinobi was being punished for something. As well as being an excellent bodyguard, Namiashi was a top-notch assassin. It was an odd move to put him here in the place of a trusted administrative chûnin.

Kakashi didn't envy him the position that was for sure. The special jônin would be in charge of receiving mission requests from the area, doing any risk assessment for local missions and pass on those that needed further analysis, and assigning any shinobi that were in residence on missions.

So much paperwork.

They were currently standing in the office space. It had been Naruto's job to organize and stock the room and much to Kakashi's surprise he had done a very meticulous job. His early years of hanging around the Hokage tower had obviously taught him a thing or two.

"Why aren't you guarding the Hokage exactly?" Kakashi questioned lightly.

The older man rolled his left shoulder. "I was injured on a short term mission in Wind country. Genma was recalled to service to take my place. I will be here until I am fully healed."

Kakashi hummed his acceptance at the curtly given answer. The Hokage Elite Guard had been made up of the same members since the Fourth had fallen. Given the peace that had reigned undisrupted for some time the Third had decided in the last three years that he only needed two active bodyguards. Of course for special occasions all three would be called to service.

"So, where is your team?" the currently inactive bodyguard asked.

The silver haired jônin shrugged. "Off being young-adults somewhere. I sent one of my dogs to track them down." That got nearly no reaction from the man, which slightly disappointed Kakashi. He was curious to see what Namiashi would make of his team.

As if on cue, Kakashi felt two of his students barreling towards the outpost and one of them was leaking a bit of killing intent. Inwardly he frowned wondering what Naruto had done to piss Sakura off badly enough that the girl wasn't controlling her chakra.

He didn't have long to wait to find out.

A very damp Naruto arrived like a hurricane, slamming the door open and careening into the office, carelessly knocking over a chair on his way to his teacher.

"Saaaaave me from the she-demon!" he cried running to be behind Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't have time to react before a pissed off Sakura with dripping wet hair marched through the door. "He doesn't deserve saving sensei!" she yelled. "Come here Naruto!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Senseeiiiiiii!" The pitch of her whine and the drawn out vowel set his teeth on edge. What the hell had happened? Sakura pointed an accusing finger at the cowering blonde. "He purposefully threw me into the lake. He knows I can't swim well!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! And I went in to get you, unlike your precious Sasuke-bastard who just watched," Naruto shot back. Said bastard had entered the building and was standing in the hall not entering the office and looked absolutely disgusted.

"Don't call Sasuke-kun names you dummy!"

Wait, Kakashi had had this nightmare before. He bit his cheek. Nope, not dreaming. Maybe it was a genjutsu…Sakura and Sasuke had both taken to the art like ducks to water, but neither of them were capable of something so intricate.

"I am not a dummy!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!

"You're both idiots," Sasuke deadpanned from his place in the doorway.

Sakura gasped and flushed with hurt. "You don't mean that Sasuke-kun." The girl turned back to Naruto. "This is all your fault."

Kakashi glanced toward the other adult in the room and he suddenly understood. The man's right eye was twitching and his mouth slightly agape. Horror, he astutely diagnosed. This over the top performance may become too much though the longer Namiashi was exposed to it. Deciding this was a teachable moment Kakashi thought it would be better to cut them off. "Sakura, Naruto go dry off," he ordered sounding exasperated and defeated.

Sakura jerked her head up to look at him, "Aren't you going to do anything? He-"

"Go now."

Sakura huffed and threw a scathing glare at her teammate before departing through the doorway Sasuke had already vacated. Naruto sulkily followed her, swearing under his breath.

Kakashi let out a sigh before turning his head to the stunned shinobi. "I forgot to say it earlier. Welcome. I look forward to working with you."

With that Kakashi followed his team, meeting Pakkun in the hallway. The pug had a paw over his snout and looked to be trying to contain his amusement. Without a word to his longtime partner Kakashi made his way to the bunkroom.

When he entered, Sakura was in her bunk above Sasuke, changing into dry clothes. Naruto was sitting on the floor with a grin on his face, excitedly describing the flummoxed look on Kakashi's face to Sasuke who was smirking in amusement.

Kakashi slid the door shut pulling his genin's attention.

"We totally had you sensei!" Naruto bragged.

Coming to sit on the frame of his bed Kakashi conceded with a nod. "You did have me going there for a second. If you pushed that performance any harder though it may have become obvious." Pakkun leapt up and made himself comfortable on Kakashi's pillow and ignored the glare the jônin sent him in response.

"Nah it was brilliant, though Sasuke was just regular old Sasuke," the blonde commented.

The black haired genin snorted. "Yeah, because I wasn't completely insufferable like you two in the beginning."

"Hey!" Naruto cried.

From above Kakashi caught a very real flash of hurt from Sakura who blushed when she noticed her teacher had seen. "Don't let the act become reality," Kakashi warned. "You were all insufferable in the beginning and still are sometimes." All three shot him unhappy looks but Kakashi ignored them. "So what was this all about?"

Naruto and Sakura both looked at Sasuke, who just shrugged in response. Rolling her eyes Sakura took it upon herself to explain. "Well, Pakkun told us that this shinobi is here to most likely spy on our team. We decided to practice our skills and see if we could get him to make a report that was for the most part false."

Kakashi hummed at the idea. "So you are prepared to keep this little act up until we leave here?" he asked. The alarmed looks he got in response told him they didn't think that far ahead. Sasuke looked especially uncomfortable at the idea. "Remember when on mission you have to fully commit to an act if it is required, so pick one you can maintain. You cannot fall in and out of character. Lucky for you the only person Namiashi is going to report to is the Hokage, you really don't need to worry about him."

"Old man's keeping an eye on me huh," Naruto said with a grimace.

Kakashi had told them that Naruto was the main reason for the close watch the team was getting. It was much simpler and safer than explaining the interest surrounding Sasuke. The team seemed to swallow the explanation. "He always has and he would be a fool not to." Kakashi raised a hand to stop the coming tirade. "Like it or not the reality is that you house a very dangerous entity that slaughtered hundreds of our village. The Third is taking precautions not only to protect others, but also to protect you Naruto."

The blonde deflated and moodily climbed up the bunk to his bed above Kakashi. Clearly he no longer wished to talk about it. "Now, whose turn is it to cook tonight?"

"It's yours sensei," Sakura answered with a somewhat malicious smile.

Kakashi frowned dramatically. "That can't be right. I believe it is Sasuke's turn to cook. I have jônin things to take care of." Black eyes burned into his back as he left the three genin and made his way back to the office where Namiashi was settling in.

The slightly older shinobi looked up from the desk that he had claimed. Seeing Kakashi he reached into his pack and pulled out a scroll, holding it out to the jônin. Kakashi took it. "You're to return to Konoha within the next five days to receive mission orders."

Kakashi frowned and cracked the seal on the scroll. "The plan was for my team to stay in the area for the next two months."

"The orders are for just you."

Kakashi's silver head jerked up to meet the other man's unflinching brown gaze with a hard stare. He quickly read through the contents of the scroll. He was being recalled for a follow-up mission. The original mission was an initial meeting and recruitment of an informant in Lightning. Apparently that contact had sent word that he had information and was requesting a face-to-face meeting.

It seemed like a coincidence, but Kakashi couldn't help but feel Danzo or one of the Hokage's advisors had a hand in this. Any other jônin could take this mission, it didn't have to be him. Sure, informants usually liked to report to the same person, but that wasn't always a possibility.

Well played Danzo, Kakashi thought. He had walked his team right into a corner. In the village Kakashi could always keep a watchful eye out for someone a little too interested in his team or have people he trusted to look out for them if he was away, but out here with Kakashi gone, his team was cut off. The leader of Root could send a team full of his people to observe Team 7 and Kakashi couldn't do a damn thing.

Kakashi could only hope the man's goal was just to observe.

"I will keep an eye out for them per Hokage-sama's orders."

The declaration pulled Kakashi out of his angry fog. It appeared the Third hadn't missed a beat. The silver haired jônin blew out a sigh as he came to see the full picture of why the Hokage had thought it necessary to send a member of his own personal guard. He had initially assumed it was because of his own resistance in reporting much of anything about Naruto. Kakashi realized he had grown quite protective of the blonde in a very short time.

Team 7 needed an ally. "Thank you," he said, his voice genuine in tone for once. "Have dinner with us tonight. Sasuke is cooking. The boy is surprisingly domestic. Naruto can't do much more than boil water and Sakura seems to not understand the concept of seasoning." The brown haired man froze for a moment. Kakashi could almost see the war that was going on behind the man's eyes. The silver haired shinobi grinned behind his mask. "They really aren't as bad as they seem."

After an uneventful dinner in which their new housemate looked slightly terrified the young shinobi would erupt violently into an argument at any moment, Team 7 retired to the bunkroom and Kakashi broke the news he would be leaving in two days. This was met with concern and whining, "You still haven't taught us ninjutsu!"

"Namiashi will look out for you. In fact he was probably sent here in case this particular circumstance arose," Kakashi reassured. "But do be careful around any Leaf shinobi you don't know."

"Why do we have to be careful around people who should be on our side?" Naruto groused.

Kakashi sighed. "I know it doesn't seem right but keeping peace in a village is a lot more difficult than they make it seem in the history books you read in the Academy. There are many who don't agree with how the Third leads and part of that relates to you Naruto."

The jônin struggled as he looked at the three naïve faces. Even with the injustice that Naruto already suffered he still believed that the enemies were always outside the village gates. Sasuke, who had experienced the loss of his entire family at the hands of someone as close as his brother, was blind to the plans of those who would use him for their own gain. Sakura was the most likely to question an unknown shinobi. As a civilian child she had been taught to fear shinobi and to be wary of even ones of her own village. But, she had also been trained to obey authority and would have a hard time disregarding an order from a superior.

"Konohagakure is your home. You owe the Hokage your fealty. But, there are those in our village who do not agree with its current path, those who see the future of our village in a radically different light. Those, who most certainly mean you harm Naruto or those who would use you Sasuke for your bloodline. And even those who don't believe civilian children like you Sakura should ever have the chance to become shinobi."

The silence that followed Kakashi's speech was heavy. "The Third is old. What would happen if he died without naming an heir? What if one of those people became Hokage? What if the first thing they did was order Naruto's execution?" Sakura sucked in a harsh breath. "Would you stand against the Hokage, against your friends, against Konoha itself?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto's blue eyes were aflame. "My dad died for Konoha. I'd die before I see everything he stood for be violated by some asshole, especially if that asshole comes after me."

The thought of Naruto dying caused cold fear to fill Kakashi's chest and the man had to take a breath to clear it. The jônin could see Kushina shining through her son at the fierce declaration. It was something she would say.

Sakura and Sasuke were quiet and Naruto's exuberance diminished at their silence.

"And you two?" Kakashi asked.

The sole female genin of Team 7 shook her pink head. "I don't want to believe any of that could ever happen, but if it did… I could never stand by and watch Naruto fight alone." Beside her Naruto beamed.

"Sasuke," Kakashi pushed, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

The black haired boy shifted before replying. "The Uchiha used to keep order in Konoha. We were its police force." Sasuke looked to Naruto. "I would fight with you. I do not want to restore my clan in a Konoha that turns on its own people."

It was a moment of solidarity that Kakashi hadn't been expecting from the reserved youth. "And I would be right there with the three of you," Kakashi added, because there was no way any of his team was going to die while he still drew breath. "Now I think it is about time we all turn in you three slouched on training today because of our new arrival. I think an extra hour of conditioning will make up for it." The serious air was broken by the groans of his students but they did as they were bid.

An hour or two later, right before Kakashi felt himself drift off Naruto spoke. "Kakashi-sensei can you tell me about them?" Not speaking for a moment the jônin deliberated on his response. "I know you're awake sensei," Naruto said, obviously believing his teacher's silence was avoidance.

"What do you want to know," Kakashi asked in reply.

Naruto sighed, "Everything, but start with who they were. I guess I know a bit about my dad already, we had to read about him, but what about my mom?"

"Your mother's full name was Uzumaki Kushina. She was everything a kunoichi isn't supposed to be, and was an amazing one at the same time." Talking about Kushina always brought a smile to his face and now was no different. "She was fearless on the battlefield, but she wanted a peaceful life. She taught your dad a thing or two about fûinjutsu. She was hotheaded, incapable of being subtle and quick to trust. You did not inherit her cooking skills, because her food was excellent. She was always down for a laugh and a good time." Kakashi pictured Kushina when she was pregnant. "She was cheerful and always had a smile on, but she had one that was reserved just for you. She would talk to you often." He paused before adding. "Kushina loved deeper than anyone I have ever known."

There was a moment of silence. "I wish I could have met her," he said, voice cracking as he spoke.

Kakashi said nothing in response. There was nothing to say.

Sakura's feet barely brushed the dirt below the wooden landing she sat on. Her legs swung idly in tandem, the pink haired girl not caring as her bare toes scraped at the earth. It was near three o'clock in the morning, the usual time Naruto and Sasuke returned from their bouncer duty at a bar in the city. Her mind was focused on the unopened letter in her hands though instead of her tardy teammates. It was a letter from home.

Home. She wasn't sure where home was anymore.

It had already been two weeks since Team 7's arrival in Takikawa and nearly a week since Kakashi had left them. Sakura was amazed to find she quickly missed her teacher's presence. The twelve year old had yet to feel the same way about her parents.

She did however miss the luxuries home provided. Living at the outpost made Sakura realize how she had taken both her parents, but especially her mother for granted. Here Team 7 had to do everything for themselves and Sakura was smacked in the face by the reality that she was rather spoiled in comparison to her teammates.

Growing up, like many other children Sakura had done chores around the house to help out. She set the table, washed dishes after dinner, and vacuumed and cleaned up her own room on the weekends, and helped her mother mend and alter clothing.

The green eyed girl had not however, ever done laundry by herself, cooked a full meal without her mother, or made a weekly budget, which had been her father's job.

Both Sasuke and Naruto had.

Though, Sakura and Naruto had said they would gladly pick up Sasuke's other chores if he agreed to cook, because he was by far more gifted in the kitchen than anyone else on the team. Well, they didn't know about Kakashi because the man always weaseled out of kitchen duty. Sasuke said no to this proposition, much to his friends' disappointment. His reason being the other two would never learn if they didn't practice. Naruto had whispered to Sakura after the other boy left, "This is proof! He is a masochist. He has to eat the crap that we make." Sakura felt Naruto was on to something.

The soon to be thirteen year old was happy to find that she at least beat Naruto in the cooking department, but any pride she received from the small triumph was obliterated when Naruto practically had to hold her hand when it came time to go to the laundry mat. The blonde had patiently guided Sakura through everything.

Cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, budgeting, all the things Sakura had never really paid much attention to thanks to her having the privilege of parents.

She was privileged for having parents. She was lucky to even know their names. The thought was on cycle in her head going round and round. She couldn't imagine not knowing something so basic. Being the daughter of Tatsuki and Chiho Haruno was part of who she was.

But, now Naruto had solved that piece of his identity. He was the son of the Fourth Hokage. It was like one of the books Sakura had read as a child where a girl, living in a horrible situation and comes to find out she is really a long lost princess who is swept off to live happily ever after in a castle with a prince. Naruto should have been treated like royalty by the village. Shinobi and civilians alike revered the Fourth. Sakura had been raised on bedtime stories, mostly fictitious ones about the man.

Well, now she knew even the story of him slaying the Kyûbi was definitely false. Instead the man had sealed it inside his newborn son. The tragedy of it all was heart wrenching and seemed more plausible as the plot of some movie than real life. But, Sakura was beginning to see that real life was more tragic than any fiction could ever be. Naruto was the son of the man who saved the entire village and was hated for something he had zero control or choice in. Life was no fairytale.

The female genin had never felt guiltier for treating Naruto so poorly in the past. She had been mean to him because everyone was and she foolishly believed that the reason behind his poor treatment was the pranks he pulled and the chaos he caused. But, once she began to get to know her teammate and see instances of uncalled for mistreatment, her brain finally decided to start working.

How could anyone think that the always smiling and laughing blonde, a child, was a monster?

Any fear she had felt in the wake of being told about the Fox and that Naruto could potentially use its power was doused when she caught Naruto looking at the photo album of his parents when he thought no one was watching. His face was the picture of contentment. He would never hug either of his parents. He would never hear them say I love you. All he had was a photo album. And he was happy.

Tears for her friend leaked down the sides of her face. She rubbed angrily at them. Shinobi weren't supposed to cry.

That was how Namiashi found her.

"Haruno-san, please remind Uzumaki-san when he returns that he owes me a rewritten report on the bathhouse peeping-tom mission you-" The man froze mid-sentence when he finally looked up from the papers he had been shuffling through and saw the girl was crying.

If Sakura wasn't beginning to burn with righteous anger, she would have laughed at how the uptight shinobi's face went from blank to acutely uncomfortable in barely a second. Tears tended to do that to those lacking social skills.

"I-" he began, but Sakura had, had enough and anger always made her bold.

Since Kakashi had left, Namiashi had been sending them out on missions, nothing big, just D-ranks around the village. The first couple days he came with to observe them. At the end of the day he would critique them on their performance. Though he usually said something negative about all of them, the majority of the critique would be nit-picking Naruto.

Team 7 also had to fill out their own mission reports and turn them in. The elite bodyguard was always harder on Naruto. At first they thought the man was just being strict as both Sakura and Sasuke's reports were covered in red ink too. Naruto though, was nearly always asked to rewrite portions if not all of his report and given a bullshit (in Sakura's opinon) excuse as to why it was necessary.

Sakura had suggested after the third time Naruto was asked to rewrite a report that they talk to the special jônin about it, but Naruto had just shrugged, admitting to a past prank on the man that he wouldn't go into detail about because apparently it had been pretty embarrassing. The blonde said he could understand the man's grudge.

Sakura didn't. The man was using his position of authority to bully her friend and she was going to do something about it.

"His report was fine, I checked it before he handed it in. Explain why he needs to redo it," she demanded, trying to keep her voice as level and as confident as possible. After more than a month of trying to decipher Kakashi-sensei's emotions with that damn mask on his face, the flash of anger that crossed Namiashi's at her audacity was clear as day.

"You should not be writing Naruto's reports for him," the brown haired man reprimanded.

"I didn't say I wrote it for him, I said I checked it," she countered. "And if I had written it, it would have been as flawless as my own report was for that mission. You, yourself said so." A hint of heat rose in the veteran shinobi's cheeks, he was no longer hiding his anger, but Sakura was pissed and she sure as hell wasn't backing down. "We know you and Naruto have some history. We know he pranked you and that it was one of his worse ones. I think Naruto should apologize for it, but your behavior hasn't been any better."

"Whatever Uzumaki did in the past has no relation to-"

"Stop lying. It insults me," Sakura said with a sneer that would make Sasuke proud. Pocketing the unopened letter she stood to fully face the irritated shinobi. "I get it. Naruto was a right brat to you, to the Hokage at times and to most of the village. And like I said, he should apologize, but given all of the hate and cruelty he has put up with since he was old enough to recognize it, he does deserve some slack. You, and all of the people who know his situation fully should give him some." Sakura was out of breath by the time she had finished.

Raidô was shocked. He didn't know that either of Uzumaki's teammates were aware of the Kyûbi. "You are talking about something you do not understand and are not supposed to be privy to."

"Hokage-sama told Naruto he could tell those he wished to." Frustrated that the man still couldn't or wouldn't see his unfair treatment she lost her patience. "Aren't you the least bit ashamed of bullying the son of the Fourth?!" It was a low blow and Sakura was stunned at the way Namiashi's face crumpled at the question.

For the first time since the heated discussion had started the man looked away from her. The pink haired girl dropped her head, slightly guilty that she had shown all their cards without permission.

"He knows?"

Sakura nodded in response.

Silence reigned for several moments leaving the two to their own thoughts. Sakura wished she could read minds like Kakashi-sensei seemed to be able to. The look on the special jônin's face was sad and guilty, but there was relief there too and the girl wondered what he was thinking. Without another word the man made to leave and Sakura found herself wanting to call him back. Something flared against her senses and Sakura realized that Naruto and Sasuke had returned.

Her two teammates' heads bobbed into view beyond the garden wall and finally the two stumbled into view. Sakura blinked. Naruto and Sasuke were leaning heavily on each other as they tripped their way up the stone path.

They were both giggling.

Sakura's jaw was somewhere at her feet and Namiashi who had come to stand by her side was frowning deeply.

"Sakura-chan! Oh and the serious one," Naruto called as the two stopped a ways away. "Mission complete Captain!" the blonde announced with an exaggerated salute. Sakura was just glad Naruto had forgone the second part of that nickname for Namiashi.

They were both drunk.

Sasuke yanked on Naruto's sleeve to get the blonde's attention and in a stage whisper said, "Maybe if Namiashi had a few rounds with Seria he would be able to find that stick up his ass and pull it out." Sakura face flamed and she didn't dare look at said man.

Naruto broke out laughing and to Sakura's horror opened his mouth again. "Maybe if he asked nicely she would help."

"Shut up both of you!" Sakura hissed, finally able to cut through the disbelief that held her voice captive.

"Sakura, next time we need to demand that you join us. Not fair they don't want a girl. You shoulda seen Sasuke!" Naruto wavered on his legs and Sakura had to reach out and grab him to keep him upright. "Thank you Sakura-chan!" Naruto didn't let go of her arms after he was stabilized.

"This behavior is unacceptable." Namiashi's dry voice cut the air like a kunai.

Naruto's face turned mulish and Sakura was terrified that he was going to say something stupid so she dug her nails into his arm hard enough to draw blood. The drunken boy just frowned at her as if she were just squeezing too tight.

"We were invited to engage our clients in a social manner after the mission was completed and we accepted. What about that is unacceptable?" It seemed that even alcohol couldn't make Sasuke sound more normal, but his eyes were unfocused as they looked up at the irate special jônin.

"You have another mission beginning at eight in the morning tomorrow. Your choices tonight have diminished your capacity to perform adequately."

Well, this was just great, Sakura thought. She had made some headway in Naruto being treated more fairly and now it was all down the toilet.

"Pshhh," Naruto dismissed, releasing Sakura to wave an arm at Namiashi. "We'll be fine come morning Captain."

"That remains to be seen." Raidô looked like he wanted to add more but thought better of it. "Get yourselves to bed and try to drink some water before you do." He disappeared into the outpost leaving Sakura and her two drunken teammates.

"I can't believe you would pull something like this!" she complained.

"Hey it was Sasuke's idea!" Naruto protested as Sakura pulled them both along to the bunkroom.

"Well it seems even Sasuke isn't immune to being an idiot!"

Instead of erupting in anger at being called his favorite insult Sasuke laughed. If Sakura wasn't so stressed about what Namiashi was going to do to them the next morning she would have been amused. The pink haired girl left them to change into their sleeping clothes and went to get water, she also remembered how her mom would give her dad some headache medicine after he had been drinking with his business associates.

The temptation to go and try and smooth this incident over with Namiashi grew as she filled two glasses with water. Seeing the light in the office still on after leaving the kitchen, temptation won against the more reasonable line of action.

The special jônin sat at his desk in the office reading, when Sakura stepped in. He looked up but before she could say anything in defense of her teammates the brown haired man held up a hand to stop her. "You do not need to worry Haruno-san. As their mission was complete I will not be writing them up for improper behavior. I'm well aware teenagers do stupid things. I know it must seem unbelievable to you considering the stick that seems to be lodged in my ass, but I was a teenager once." Sakura's face grew hot in embarrassment. The man stiffly smiled. "Go take care of them and get some sleep yourself. You may have to pull most of the weight tomorrow."

Sakura nodded, flashing a small smile of her own. Before she left the office she turned around. "Namiashi-san? Please call me Sakura."

"Well then, please call me Raidô, Sakura-san." This time Raidô's smile wasn't quite as stiff.

Feeling much lighter Sakura headed back to the bunkroom. On the way she heard what sounded like vomiting coming from the bathroom. Fantastic.

Namiashi Raidô sat in the mission office the next day pouring over paperwork. The three genin had dutifully woken up at six that morning and readied themselves for their morning mission despite two of them being massively hungover. He took a little joy in watching them try and cover the fact that they had both been sick most of the night.

Raidô wasn't sure what he had done to deserve the situation he was currently in. When the Hokage gave him this assignment he had not questioned it as that wasn't his place, but that did not mean he had no feelings on the matter.

The string of bad luck that had landed him in the outpost had started with the failed mission in Wind. Raidô had torn several ligaments in his shoulder, ligaments that according to three different medic-nins would never fully heal. Nearly a month into his rehab Raidô had been summoned to the Hokage's office for a mission and the special jônin had dared to hope that perhaps his shoulder injury wouldn't mean the end of his career.

That hope died when he realized he had received a glorified babysitter mission. It was worse when he realized just who all he would be babysitting.

In the beginning Raidô had nothing against the Fourth's son. On the contrary he was very much looking forward to one day meeting the boy and watching over him. Then he met him.

The blonde who looked so much like his father was crass (incredibly so for a child), rude, and downright disrespectful to everybody. Even the Hokage. It was unacceptable. Raidô didn't even think about the time that the little brat had … It was better not to dwell on it.

As one of the Hokage's guards it hadn't been his place to instruct the boy's behavior so in the past whenever the boy acted out, Raidô ignored it and if he glared at Naruto once or twice who could blame him.

But now he was Team 7's temporary team leader and it became Raidô's mission to whip Naruto's behavior and mission performance into that of a respectable shinobi. If he corrected the boy with a little more zeal and relish than his teammates it was hardly noticeable. Or so he had thought.

After Team 7's disastrous first impression, which the trained assassin had discovered later on was completely fabricated by the genin themselves, Raidô had been surprised to find the newly graduated team were surprisingly competent. They had a lot to learn, which was to be expected but still the team had more potential than most. The revelation left him feeling bitter and slightly proud.

Raidô paused as he looked over the schedule for upcoming missions. When he reflected on his behavior after Sakura's confrontation, he really would have preferred to be confronted by anyone other than her, he saw just how out of hand he had acted. It was embarrassing and completely unprofessional.

Sighing the scarred shinobi raised a hand to the side of his face that was unmarked and rubbed. This entire assignment was a shit show. He should have kept one of the genin back from the mission to help him with the paperwork for the day, but he hadn't wanted any of them around as he tried to piece back together his mask of professionalism.

There was a C-rank mission on the books for the next day and the genin team that was to take it had not arrived yet. Raidô wasn't sure what he was going to do if they didn't show up. He couldn't leave the outpost and complete it with Team 7. Team 7 wasn't experienced enough to take it on their own. To make matters worse the mission was contracted by the city of Takikawa itself. It was the first contract from the city Konoha had won. If it was completed successfully it would be a major step in building Konoha's rapport with the wealthy city.

Team 7 could probably handle it. The mission was a simple escort and protection detail that would take about three days to complete. Each night would be spent in a nearby town. The traveling party would consist of a few city officials and four of Takikawa's own guardsmen. They were to collect and transport taxes.

If the other team didn't show up by that night Raidô wouldn't have much of a choice. He would have to send Team 7. For a genin team they were quite skilled. There had been no instances of trouble in the area other than a couple of highway men robberies. Nothing Team 7 couldn't take care of. They should do fine.

But that didn't change how much Raidô did not want to send them.

Sticky, slow and uncomfortably warm liquid trickled down the back of Naruto's neck and beneath his shirt.

Air was whipping through his hair, braches broke across his body and the occasional thorn dug into his skin, but he couldn't feel any of it.

His legs were like lead, but he forced one foot in front of the other at a rapid pace. His lungs burned. He couldn't feel it though.

All he could feel was the way his shirt was sealed to his back and pulled at his skin as he shifted the weight that lay across his back. His back that was drenched in her blood.

His friend's blood.

Sakura's blood.

How long had he been running? Was she even breathing anymore? Naruto couldn't feel it. Couldn't feel anything.

Except the blood.

Sakura's blood.

This was not acceptable. Sakura couldn't die. If she died her name would end up on that god damnned stone and Naruto had promised that, that would not happen.

He had promised.

Something flickered in him, something that he could feel. And he knew instantly didn't belong. The sensation started like an itch that he would later describe to Kakashi as being just under his skin. From an itch it exploded till he felt as if even the skin underneath his nails was burning, melting and healing and melting again.

Strength he had never felt before surged in him. His legs churned faster and propelled him farther.

Naruto nearly tripped when he heard the ragged breath his dying teammate drew in from behind him. The sound, proof that he was still carrying a living body spurned him to run faster with this new found power. His body dodged out of the way of objects too solid to crash through on instinct alone.

Takikawa sprung up around him, but Naruto felt no relief. As he skidded to a halt in front of the outpost he called out for Raidô. The genin carefully swung his teammate from his back and into his arms. His voice cracked as he called out for help again.

His teammate's blood was now down his front.

His friend's blood.

Sakura's blood.

Raidô appeared before him. Naruto hadn't noticed the man's presence because his attention was too focused on how pale Sakura's face was and how red the blood staining her cheek was.

Sakura's blood.

"Naruto, you need to bring her inside," Raidô commanded.

The burning energy that had filled Naruto moments before drained out of him, leaving his limbs feeling hollow and brittle.

His friend's blood was so cool on his hands.

Sakura's blood.

He was being guided into the outpost's tiny medical room. He vaguely acknowledged the presence of others and anger flared in him briefly, but he couldn't say what he was angry about. Sakura was so heavy in his now weak arms.

"Naruto you need to set her down so the medic-nin can help her."

He did so. Someone, the medic-nin stepped up beside him, hands already glowing with green chakra.

Raidô guided him out of the room. Naruto let himself be pushed into a chain in the office. Raidô was talking to another shinobi, the blonde genin had never met.

Her blood was everywhere.

Sakura's blood.

"He's going to save her, right?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.

The other two men in the room stopped speaking and turned to him. The unfamiliar jônin spoke, "Kabuto is a highly accomplished medic-nin."

It wasn't reassurance. It didn't mean she would live.

His friend's blood dried on his skin as he stared at nothing.

Sakura's blood.

Naruto idly realized as Raidô began to question him about what happened that he had not spilled any tears for his friend. Maybe crying as easily as he did had been a phase.

He wondered if he could ever cry enough to wash her blood off of him.

Sakura's blood.

A/N: Ok not gonna lie. I got caught up with a lot of stuff in my life and I didn't feel like posting for a while. I don't have plans to abandon this story but I can't promise rapid updates.

This chapter had mostly been written months ago but every ending I wrote didn't work and I eventually decided to take a break. When I came back with new ideas for future chapters I wrapped this one up with something a bit drabbely.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I'm sorry I didn't get this to you faster.