A/N: Sorry for the wait. I got myself a beta, but apparently setting a deadline for myself to send to them killed my motivation to write. After dropping the beta, the motivation just miraculously came back. What a weird thing.

Updates will be more frequent. Hope you enjoy.

If one looked at Konoha, they would see a village sprawling with life. Kids were playing, adults were working, and the sun was shining. It was the perfect day to be out and about and experience all of the village's most wonderful possibilities.

And Iruka Umino was stuck doing paperwork inside a hot, musty room in the Academy. Granted, Iruka did have the opportunity to sit beside the Hokage and assist him in his duties, but still–there was so much he could be doing right now, but he was forced to assign missions and work on some of the paperwork the Hokage had to have finished.

Iruka took a moment to pause and just… breathe. His hand was currently flaming with pain from the constant use, so it was absolutely prudent he take a break, anyway.

He paused to observe the village and let his thoughts wander. When a former blue haired friend flashed through his mind, a wave of regret suffused him. Over a month ago, an incident had occurred where his best friend was revealed to be a traitor, and Iruka still couldn't believe it. To think Mizuki had resorted to stealing Konoha's Forbidden Scroll to hand to Orochimaru–it continued to boggle his mind even after all this time.

There was never a hint, a glimpse of who–of what–his friend truly was. He had visited him in T&I, and the depravities Mizuki had admitted to Iruka to committing, and that he never even cared for Iruka in particular, but was just using him to make himself seem better…

It destroyed his worldview–his very trust in others. If even his best friend wasn't who he was, how could Iruka be sure about anyone else? It destroyed his dating life, his friendships, and started to even affect his relationship with his students.

It was why, even though Iruka hated being here right now, he was thankful to the Hokage for inviting him. Because it was only because of the legendary shinobi that Iruka had been slowly coming out of his shell, and had began allowing himself to trust in others.

He glanced at the Hokage from the corner of his eyes and smiled. The man truly was amazing. Konoha was fortunate they had such a kind leader that cared for each and every one of them. Even him, a lowly civilian born orphan.

Iruka's musings were interrupted when shouting could be heard outside the room. He shared a glance with the Hokage before the two of them sighed. It had to be a genin team here to ask for a mission. He really loved his old students, but why did they insist on conducting themselves like immature children?

"If you think you're so much better than me, you bastard, then how about you prove it?! Right here and now, I'll take you on!"

"If you think I'm going to resort to putting you in your place in a place like this, then I gave you too much credit, you mangy mutt."

"You absolute fuckin–"

"Kiba! Language!"

Iruka couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. He was met with the migraine-inducing sight of Team Seven and Eight entering the Mission Assignment Room, Kiba and Sasuke arguing once more.

While that was occurring, he decided to take the opportunity to examine his former students, having been a while since he had seen them. Especially Team Seven. While it was true that he rarely helped with assigning missions due to his busy schedule, the fact that he never once caught sight of them requesting a D-Rank was surprising.

Naruto looked as lively as he always did, sending him a smile in greeting. Iruka happily returned it. Thank goodness the boy had never turned out to become what he and the village had feared he would–unequivocally a monster. Instead, he was a smart and courteous child that treated everyone he came upon politely. He was practically a breath of fresh air compared to some of Iruka's other students. He shivered when he thought of Konohamaru. That boy was going to kill him someday with those pranks of his.

Sakura was looking between Sasuke and Kiba worriedly, wondering if she should interfere. Hinata seemed as nervous as she always did. Iruka couldn't help but frown. He had hoped her time as a shinobi would give her more confidence.

Shino ignored the entire world, as he was always wont to do. Kakashi, the lucky bastard, read his pornos, and Kurenei was desperately trying to stop the argument brewing.

Everyone fell to silence when the Hokage pointedly coughed. "As much as I may love to see such youthful enthusiasm, please do try to keep it civil."

Kiba blushed embarrassingly, while Sasuke just huffed and looked away, muttering, "Then stop the mutt from attacking me." When it looked like Kiba was about to retort, Kurenai whacked him on the head.

When she was satisfied, she addressed the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, my apologies for Kiba's behavior. My team and I were just here to ask for a C-Rank mission."

"Ditto," was Kakashi's only reply.

When the Hokage turned to Iruka, he hurriedly scrolled through the list of missions available, trying to find the C-Rank section. Getting there, he grabbed two scrolls, reading them quickly.

"We have… a mission where you're to escort a merchant to a village in the Land of Rivers, and… a mission where you're to eliminate a horde of bandits harassing the Land of Frost."

Kurenai perked up at the second one. "Team Eight accepts the bandit mission, Hokage-sama."

Before Iruka could hand her the scroll, Kakashi spoke up. "Hokage-sama, do you know about that limited edition Icha Icha Paradise: Toxic Dependence series where only a hundred copies were sold? " The Hokage hesitantly nodded. Iruka could see glimpses of hope in the man's visage. "Let Team Seven take the Land of Frost mission, and it's yours."

"Done." In a blink of an eye, the scroll disappeared from Iruka's hand and appeared in Kakashi's. "I must thank you, Kakashi-kun. I was running out of… materials from the last collection you sent me."

Kakashi blinked. "That should've lasted you a month. How in the world did you already finish it?"

The Hokage chuckled. "An old man like has far too much free time, especially after my wife's passing."

Kakashi absently nodded, turning around and waving back. "Makes sense. It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Hokage-sama."

As Team Seven left to prepare for their mission–and Kurenai berated the Hokage for falling for bribery, especially to a book like Icha Icha–Iruka wondered how he could incentivise Kakashi to lend him some of his supply. The man always seemed to have access to any of the limited editions Jiraiya occasionally sold.

"Not you, too," a defeated voice greeted Naruto as he met his team at the front gates of the village.

Naruto just chuckled in amusement. "How much evidence are you going to need, Sakura, that Kakashi-sensei is just never going to arrive on time?"

Sakura was not having it. "It's just the principal of the matter, Naruto! And, besides, if we all arrive late, Kakashi-sensei will just arrive later to toy with us!"

"Well put, Sakura. Very well put."

All three of them slowly turned their head towards the top of the gates. Smiling at them was their sensei.

Sasuke went ballistic. "I checked there! I expressly checked there! How–why? Why do you do this?!"

"I often wonder about that myself, Sasuke. When you find the answer, please do enlighten me." he said, jumping down. Dusting himself off from the filth no one ever cleaned up there, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Try not to make this a habit, Naruto. It's bad decorum to be constantly late."

Does the man get off on the hypocrisy? Naruto wondered.

Smile undeterred from the looks of his students, Kakashi pulled out a scroll. "Now, let me guess. None of you prepared for the weather, did you?" When all he received were confused gazes, he activated his scroll. What popped out were fur cloaks.

When they reached for the cloaks, Kakashi pulled them away. "Ah, ah, ah. I would like some apologies, please. I'm pretty sure I was just insulted. Quite rude not to make amends."

Sasuke growled. "Do you really think I'm going to apologize for calling out your bullshit?"

Kakashi was undeterred. "And do you really think I'm going to give you my cloaks with that attitude? Tsk, tsk, Sasuke. I thought you knew me better than that."

"Fine. Fine. I apologize, Kakashi-sensei. I must have been mistaken when I checked the gates. You were right. We should look up more."

"Very good, Sasuke. Just the right amount of groveling to keep a sliver of your dignity. I'm impressed," Kakashi continued mocking. He chuckled when they forcefully grabbed the cloaks from him and ignored him from then on.

He has to be getting off to this, Naruto thought. If he wasn't such a good teacher, Naruto would be running to the old man to beg for one that didn't toy with them all the time.

"Alright, my little genin, it takes a week to get from Konoha to the Land of Frost. We'll be taking constant breaks, but we won't be truly stopping until nighttime." Kakashi said, now serious. "We'll establish who has which watch then. Let's head out."

And so they did.

Kakashi couldn't help but be fond of his team. It was just approaching nighttime and there hadn't been as many breaks as he thought there would be. Only a couple, when he expected at least double that. He was proud of them. Especially Sakura.

He had expected her to be the reason why they would need the constant breaks. As much as he had tried to improve her stamina during their training, there just wasn't enough time to massively progress in just a month. He had expected elemental training, medical ninjutsu, and genjutsu to eat up so much of her time that the physical reinforcement training would fall to the wayside.

But Sakura had lapped up everything he had given her with unstoppable fervor. She'd run for hours while reading her medical textbooks at the same time. Kakashi would often wonder if she had a bit of Gai's blood in her.

Anytime she needed a break coincided with Sasuke also not being able to continue on. She didn't allow herself to be the first one to falter, pushing her body to its limits to keep up with them. Even if it was dangerous to do so. From then on, Kakashi had to maintain an eye on her to make sure she wasn't overdoing it. He had no doubt–in the coming week–he would have to speak up everytime she looked like she was exerting herself too much.

Checking the sky and seeing dusk was soon approaching, he signaled his team to stop. He informed them of the need to set up their campsite, and assigned them their roles. Sakura was to grab the firewood, Naruto and Sasuke were to set up the tents.

It was half an hour later when everything was finished. It was completely pitch dark now, and Kakashi had to decide who would take which watch. He chose Naruto to take the first watch–he needed to speak with the boy–Kakashi himself would go after, Sasuke would follow, and Sakura would be last.

Kakashi decided to speak with Naruto when he was sure everyone was settled. From the snores coming from the two, they were.

He earned himself a very confused look when he sat beside the boy. He just smiled in response. "Hello, Naruto. I've been meaning to ask you about a few things. I could never find the right time to bring it up, but I think I've been procrastinating on for too long. How's everything going with your… burden?"

Absentmindedly touching his stomach, Naruto quietly nodded. "It's fine, sensei. Learning about what I am doesn't really change anything. Just lets me in on the secret, too. You know, I can actually… feel it sometimes. I always knew something was off, besides the constant hostility people kept sending me. Whenever I used my chakra, I could feel something like a second source around my stomach. No matter how much I reached for it, it never came out, but it was there."

"Do you ever feel the urge to use it?" At the look Kakashi received, he elaborated. "Like an urge that was not your own. Something calling out towards you to use its power."

"Did I ever feel the Kyuubi ask me to use its chakra?" Naruto whispered to himself. "No, I never did. But when I was younger, I remember playing with a boy. He came up to me and asked me to push him on the swingset. That was the first time anyone ever let me play with them. I… was so happy I was just about to cry." Naruto sighed, a smile on his face before it died an ugly death. "But then his mom saw us. She ran over to yell at him for playing with me. He would get killed playing with a monster like me, she said. From then on, he never wanted to be near me.

"I ran home after that, but I couldn't get the incident out of my head. I was so mad at her. How dare she call me a monster? How dare she take away the only person who was willing to be my friend? I hated her–oh did I hate her so much. I remember my fingernails started turning into claws, my teeth were turning into fangs, and I started seeing literal red. My hatred turned to loathing, and my loathing turned into the desire to hurt her as much as she had hurt me."

Kakashi was concerned. Was the seal weakening, even back then? That wasn't supposed to happen. He consoled himself with the fact that it happened years ago, and there hadn't been an instance where Naruto turned into the Kyuubi, but he was definitely going to have to bring this up to the Hokage. Jiraiya needed to be here to check Naruto's seal.

"I started noticing the transformation that was happening, and the shock I felt was able to reverse it. That's the closest thing to an 'urge' I felt." he said.

"You know, I am sorry about how you were treated, Naruto. You should've been hailed as a hero, not a monster. Without you, without a jinchuriki, Konoha would've been destroyed a long time ago." Kakashi said, his tone remorseful.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't think you ever did anything to me, so you shouldn't apologize. I guess it's just the way the cookie crumbles. People weren't able to move past the pain of losing their loved ones to think rationally. Getting their rocks off on making the 'monster' feel bad was their way of grieving." Despite his words, there were flashes of bitter resentment in Naruto's countenance.

Kakashi gently shook his head. "That's precisely the problem. I didn't do anything. I didn't check on you, I didn't make it known that there were people who cared for you, and I didn't–" He breathed in carefully. Come on. Say it already, he berated himself. "–I didn't raise you like I should've." There. Kakashi finally said it. He had to force himself to before he chickened out, but he still went through with it in the end. Now Naruto could know how much of a failure he truly was.

Naruto stared bewilderedly at him. "Why in the world would you ever feel the need to raise me? We're not related, are we?"

"No, but I knew your father." Naruto froze when he said that. It worried Kakashi, but there was no backing out now. "He was my sensei. He practically raised me after… my team died. He would've wanted me to take care of you. I wanted to. So badly did I want to, but I wasn't in the right state of mind then. Everyone I had ever cared about died. I was feeling suicidal, and taking care of a kid when I was feeling like that? Recipe for a disaster."

Excuses after excuses were pouring from Kakashi's mouth. He knew this. He just couldn't help it. He wanted at least someone to understand. Especially Minato's kid. Kakashi didn't know what he would do if he hated him. He no doubt deserved any thrashing that came his way, but it would break him, and it would destroy his already fragile psyche that he had worked for years to maintain.

"I threw myself into ANBU instead, hoping I would die on a mission so I could be with the others again. No such luck, unfortunately. Eventually, I did get better, but by that point, you were well into the Academy and genuinely happy. You had a friend you could spend time with. I… didn't feel like you needed someone like me in your life."

But Kakashi would accept it. Any hatred that Naruto felt, any respect he may have lost, and any hostility that may come his way would just be what he deserved. He closed his eyes, ready for the judgment.

He was instead met with a quiet voice. "Could you–tell me about them? What were they like? What were their flaws? I want to know who they are as people. Not some, y'know, idealized version of them…"

Kakashi inwardly chuckled. He really did need to stop being so self-deprecating sometimes.

"Of course, Naruto." he softly said.

It was a week later that they finally arrived in Shimogakure, the hidden village of the Land of Frost. The name didn't seem to fit to Naruto because the village was neither hidden nor did they have any shinobi. It seemed more like a large town instead.

A breeze started kicking up, and Naruto desperately covered himself with his cloak. He truly hated this past week. He had never felt anywhere near this cold before. The Land of Fire was a warm area that rarely ever snowed. He was not used to this type of climate.

As they walked through the village to head to their destination, Naruto glanced at Kakashi. Well, hate was a strong area. He very much disliked the Land of Frost, but it did allow him the opportunity to speak with his sensei.

Ever since they reached the snowy areas, Kakashi had them take constant breaks. And everytime, without fail, he would sit with Naruto and regale him with tales of his parents. His mother was supposedly a headstrong, impulsive, and erratic woman. She had a mean tempter that could get you hurt if you pricked at its pride, but she was also kind, too. You could always trust her to light a room.

Apparently Naruto took more after his father. He was a calm and collected individual that could pick you apart with just a glance. His perceptiveness knew no equal, and his ambition was without peer. Naruto smiled. His father had a dream of uniting the world and stopping the Cycle of Hatred, something Kakashi had educated him on.

If it hadn't added another question for him to answer, Naruto would want to take up his father's goal of achieving peace. Maybe someday. Right now, there was more than enough on his plate. He still couldn't determine whether or not he was willing to be just a tool. It frustrated him. Maybe he could ask Kakashi? Hopefully he had also pondered what the point of being a shinobi was.

He resolved to do just that. Kakashi may have thought himself a failure, but that wasn't who he was to Naruto. So the man hadn't been in the right state to take care of him. Naruto could moan all about it, or the two could start bonding right now, trying to make up for as much lost time as possible. Looking at Kakashi now, that felt more productive to Naruto.

They reached the building they were headed to a few minutes later. It was where the village leader requested they meet him. They had to wait in the lobby for half an hour, but eventually the secretary let them in.

When they entered a large office with decorations galore, an exuberant shout greeted them. "Well, hello! My, you ninja travel quickly! I wasn't expecting you for another few days."

A tall man sat behind a large desk that contained quite a bit of paperwork sprawled throughout. He stood up to shake each of their hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shinto. I'm thankful that Konoha decided to respond to our aid." When he was done, he sauntered back towards his desk, continuing to speak. "As much as I may wish we could have shinobi of our own, it's much too impossible at the moment. Our people here just don't have the talent for it."

"Yes, well, it's an unfortunate reality of our world. Some people are born luckier than others." Kakashi nonchalantly said.

Shinto sighed. "I know that fact all too while. Thankfully, we have Hidden Villages that are willing to help those who need it. Speaking of that, I'll start debriefing you soon, when our other guests st–"

Loud laughter started booming behind them. They all turned sharply to the door that was just loudly opened.

A man with waist-length green hair and dark, full lips was the one laughing. He was accompanied by a red-eyed boy with shoulder length purple hair who looked about their age. Kakashi stiffened when he saw them and stepped in front of Team 7 protectively. They stared at each other, perplexed by their sensei's strange behavior.

"If you think I'm going to let you get started before me, old friend, then you can think again! Amekage won't be left behind." the man boomed, his voice a deep baritone. Naruto wondered how someone could have a voice that was fitting for a demon, not a human.

Shinto spoke behind them. "No worries, Raiga-san! I was just about to tell them that we should wait for you. I wouldn't want to get started before the two of you get acquainted."

Kakashi shook his head. He tilted his head slightly to ask Shinto, "Why in the world would you work with Raiga Kurosuki, A-Rank former Swordsman of the Mist? He's a missing-nin. You'd be consorting with a criminal."

Before Shinto could respond, Raiga interrupted him with a sneer. "Get your facts straight, Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan." Sasuke sharply turned to their sensei. Kakashi motioned for him to calm down for now. "I'm a former missing-nin. Now I'm a loyal shinobi of Amegakure." Looking more closely, the two newcomers had Amegakure's headband on their forehead.

"Why would Amegakure accept missing-nin in their forces?"

Raiga snorted. "Take that up with my Kage. I promise you, he was very accommodating when Ranmaru and I expressed interest in joining. You should consider it sometime. Far better than your village hidden under some leaves."

Shinto interjected before Kakashi could retort. "Gentlemen, whatever your differences may be, I hired the both of you. If you're unable to work together, please tell me, so I can find different villages to ask for aid. This behavior is shameful."

The red-eyed boy decided to speak up for the first time, his voice soft. "Raiga-sama and I apologize for our rude entrance as well as our argument with our new allies. It will not happen again, I assure you. Amegakure values our relationship with the Land of Frost far too much."

Kakashi pursed his lips, before sighing. He motioned for them to turn back around to face Shinto. Kakashi bowed ever so slightly. "Konoha apologizes as well for our display. Unless provoked, we'll refrain from antagonizing our… partners."

"I'm glad to hear that," Shinto said. He pulled two folders from his drawer before setting them down. "These folders contain the full mission details, and every info we have on the whereabouts of the bandits that have been harassing our supply. I'll be brief on the specifics, but we've come upon a new type of crystal that we've been experimenting with. We have a prototype of a new armor we've been working on, but this group of bandits have been cutting into our supply. We can't continue unless they're stopped."

Shinto grimaced. "Because of them, our miners are refusing to continue digging. They've lost too many loved ones to continue to risk it. Your task is to capture as many of these bandits as possible. We'll be taking them prisoner to use as labor. That will help us get back some of our profits. The reason why I asked for genin from two villages is–except for the little fact that fostering relations between us and Konoha and Ame is always good for business–that I suspect there may be hundreds of bandits. They're too organized, otherwise. Something nefarious is occurring here, and I need the two of you to deal with it, together.

"Whatever differences, whatever issues you may have, I ask you to put them aside for the sake of the mission." Shinto finished.

Kakashi nodded. "This isn't the first time I've worked with criminals. By no means do I expect it to be the last, either. Konoha will be civil."

Raiga grunted. "And I've worked with cowardly dogs before. They say some mean things but always fail to bite when the time comes."

Ranmaru elbowed his partner's ribs. "Excuse Raiga-sama's tact. You have nothing to fear, Shinto-san. Amegakure will behave with Konoha."

"Good. Now, look through those folders and help me come up with a plan, would you?"

A/N: I decided to age up Ranmaru instead of creating an OC. He'll be fairly important. Check out who he is-his doujutsu is so absolutely broken that I had to nerf him. Like, in canon he has Kotoamatsukami level genjutsu, and can heal anyone from the brink of death. Also has an enhanced Byakugan. All in one doujutsu!

Now why would Amegakure accept missing-nin, I wonder...

I may not have written much this week, but I used that time to iron out the plot. The story has been outlined up to Shippuden. I'll start working on that shitshow when I get to the Finals. So much will be completely different from canon then. Scary.

Please review. You don't know how freaking motivating it is. Makes me wanna write more everytime I see one.