Alright here's the rest of the chapter from last time. Thank you for reading and reviewing :D
Ok just to clear things up
'This is thinking, note the commas'
This is not thinking but just another point of view.. note the absence of commas
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"Why did you choose someone like that to be your cover, I mean I can understand the loudmouth, stupidness and the fact that you are annoying as hell, that last one's not much of a difference from your usual self, but orange. Why on earth orange?" Iruka asked absent mindedly while he waited for the coffee machine.
The trio was in the kitchen eating breakfast. It had been a long night for all of them and even though they tried to make the most of it the atmosphere was still a bit gloomy and tense.
"Well I was going to go for the lazy, pervert but the spot was already taken." Naruto yawned and glanced over at Kakashi.
"Of course, I'm way better at it than you would ever be too." Kakashi beamed with pride.
"Well yeah I hardly think people would react well to a 5 year old with the books you read. They're all banned for people under 18." Naruto slurped down his ramen slowly.
"I'm a bit afraid to ask" Iruka did indeed look a bit uneasy. "But do you actually know what a pervert is and what Kakashi's books are about?"
Naruto looked confused. "No, I hear people call Kakashi that all the time because he reads those books but no one will ever explain what it means, Jijii always just coughs and changes the subject... and I can't see whats so special about those books that you can't read them until your 18, although I can't really understand why anyone would ever want to read them anyway, unless your a girl.. the book seemed to talk an awful lot about girls and how they look."
Although Kakashi and Iruka were both blushing at that point they were nevertheless very relieved that they could postpone the "kunais and the shuriken" talk for a few years. Kakashi was the first one to break the awkward silence.
"But anyway, Iruka's right why orange? I thought you hated that color, at least that's what you said when Gai offered to give you those leg warmers."
"I don't hate the color, it's Kyuu's color after all. It's just not a practical color for a ninja, which is why Genma picked it because it goes well with the whole 'look at me I'm an idiot' thing we were aiming for, but there really is a limit to how idiotic you can get and those leg warmers are wayyyyy over that line."
"I thought the whole point was for people not to notice you" It was Kakashi's turn to yawn.
"Ah but you see mister Copy-Nin, Knows a 1000 jutsus and can sharingan your ass, sometimes the best way to hide something is putting it in plain sight for everyone to see. Who in their right mind would look at a little orange goof-ball and think 'You know, that one there is definitely training to be an Anbu'."
Kakashi opened his mouth to retort but nothing came to mind so he reluctantly closed it again. He was beginning to realize why such few people liked him when he was a kid. Being outwitted by a 5 year old wasn't just a punch to ones ego, it was a huge chakra induced kick in the ego's groin.
Thankfully Iruka took pity on him and came to his rescue. Or maybe he was only thinking about the kid and didn't care about his friends dignity at all.
"Well that's enough about that. I'm glad Genma-San helped you finding a cover, me and Kakashi really should have done so a lot sooner. I guess since your so young we just never really thought about it and things have been pretty busy here lately with your training and all. Speaking of which I think you've had a bit to much of excitement... or trauma" Iruka mumbled under his breath. "for the time being so I think we should skip training today. You and Kakashi can go do something fun together, I should stay here and look after Genma."
Kakashi looked between his partner and the kid. He really didn't like the idea of leaving Iruka all alone after last night. Especially if he was going to be taking care of Genma. He'd probably spend the entire day blaming himself for something he'd had nothing to do with. If it was anyone else's fault, other than the ninja's who did this to him, then it was Kakashi's since the medic nin had treated him first. Still Kakashi knew that he could do little for Iruka in this case, as much as he wanted to stay at home and look after Iruka he knew that his partner wouldn't appreciate it no matter how much he needed it. So to avoid upsetting his partner any more than he already was Kakashi decided to go along with Iruka's plan for now. Not because he didn't want to deal with Iruka, he'd have plenty of time to force him to accept help later today if he had to, but because he had another person he had to look after today as well. One that could use some fresh air and time away from the gloomy atmosphere at the house. Naruto's sleep had been restless for most part of the night and he'd been eerily quiet and a bit distracted all morning. The clearest sign of something being wrong was the fact that the kid was now poking at his half eaten ramen bowl, which he'd eaten slowly instead of practically inhaling it like he normally did.
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Kakashi didn't know what had driven him to come here. He'd planned on taking Naruto outside to cheer him up but staying inside the town hadn't been helping much since everywhere they went people would glare or avoid them. So he'd decided to take Naruto somewhere more secluded to eat lunch and somehow they'd ended up at the memorial stone. The place hadn't given him much comfort lately but somehow coming here with the kid felt right. Like some unseen force had guided them there together. For the first time in a while Kakashi felt at peace here.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when the little hand in his tugged ever so lightly on his own. He looked down on the child next to him.
"Ne, Kakashi. What is this place?"
Kakashi bent down next to the kid. "This here is a very special place. Every time a ninja dies for this village their name will be inscribed on this stone. Those people are all heroes who helped the village live on. And so to honor them and so their names will never be forgotten even after they are gone their names are kept here to help us remember."
Kakashi put their food down on the stone base of the memorial and sat down next to it, motioning Naruto to do the same. After they'd sat there eating for a while Naruto looked up.
"Do you know anyone who's on here?"
"Yeah. More than I care to remember." Kakashi looked a bit lost in thought for a while. "These two." Kakashi pointed at two names. "These were my old team mates. Obito, Rin. This is the kid I've been telling you about." Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "He's the reason I haven't been coming around so much lately."
Kakashi pointed to another name. This one was marked specially and written a bit bigger than the rest. "This one here is a true hero and a very special person. My old sensei." Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Your father. Minato sensei, this is your son Naruto. I'm sorry to say that your hopes didn't come true but I'll do my best to make him as happy as he's making me."
Naruto reached out his hand and touched the name. Kakashi couldn't read much out of his expression but he thought he could see pride with a hint of sadness in those blue eyes.
Everything was quiet for a while and then Kakashi pointed to two more names. "These are Iruka's parents." Kakashi looked at Naruto again.
"They died when Kyuubi came here." Naruto met Kakashi's eye. Again Kakashi couldn't read much out of the boys face.
"Yes they did."
"Along with many others on this stone." It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
Naruto was quiet for some time looking at the memorial. Finally he looked up with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Kakashi?"
"Hmm?"
"Am I a monster?"
"NO, of course not. The Kyuubi attack had nothing to do with you."
Naruto looked at the stone again.
"Everyone always calls me a monster. I asked Iruka what he thought about it and he seemed a bit hesitant when he told me I wasn't. Kyuu is a huge monster and he's in me so I must be a monster too, right? That's why no one likes me."
"Naruto... that's not.." Kakashi looked around for a way to explain things easily, somehow the kunai in the stomach approach didn't feel quite right in this case. "Look" Kakashi grabbed a beetle that was walking on the ground with his chopsticks. "Let's say this beetle is Kyuubi and this glass of water is you alright?"
"Ok" Naruto looked at Kakashi with that look that says 'I think you are utterly stupid but I'll humor you to see just how much more stupid you can get.'
Kakashi ignored the look and put the beetle into the water. "Alright just like the beetle is in the water the Kyuubi is in you. The beetle continues to be a beetle even though it's been put in the water and the water continues being water even though it has a beetle in it now. But the thing is that people don't really like insects so when people see a beetle in their glass, even though it hasn't done anything bad to the water, they throw the water away to get rid of the beetle. So even though you are still you and the Kyuubi is still the Kyuubi people try to hurt you to get to him. Just like now, if I want to hurt the beetle all I have to do is shake the glass or do something to the water."
"So what do you want to do with it?"
"Personally?" Kakashi looked at Naruto. "As long as there is nothing wrong with the water then the beetle doesn't concern me." And with that Kakashi drank the water through his mask leaving the beetle behind. He then tipped his glass over and allowed the beetle out again. "Personally I like the water a lot better than beetles but if it just so happens that there is a beetle in my water then I won't be cruel to it." Kakashi smirked at Naruto.
"Now your just being silly." Naruto tried to look serious but deep down he was really relieved.
For the first time in his life Naruto knew what having friends was like. He'd met a lot of nice people through Iruka. He was also starting to get to know what having a family felt like, Iruka was like a father and big brother combined into one person and Genma had become Naruto's second big brother during the week he'd stayed with him. Kakashi was a bit different though. He was a lot more than a friend to him but Naruto still didn't really think of him as a brother or a father figure like Iruka and Genma. He didn't really understand it nor would he be able to explain it if he tried but somehow Kakashi meant a lot more to him than he could put into words. He was the first person whom Naruto trusted with all his heart. Kakashi's opinion of him meant more to him than any one else's so hearing him say that, no matter how silly the explanation had been, meant a lot.
"Well I think we should be heading back soon" Kakashi cut into his thoughts. "By now Iruka's probably killing himself with self accusations and guilt. Plus it looks like it's going to rain soon."
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Sure enough on their way home it started pouring. Kakashi could slowly feel the little hand he was holding go colder and colder. A little sneeze made him look down, Naruto was soaked through and shivering as he tried to keep up with Kakashi's long strides. The look on his face clearly said that he was trying his best to keep going and not to complain. Kakashi admired Naruto for being so resilient at his age, being able to go on in harsh situations without complaining or giving up was a requirement for ninjas but most genin and even some chuunin weren't able to do it. Kakashi was a firm believer of the phrase "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" and that the more difficult things were, the more you learned from them. But even so there was a time and place for everything and Kakashi really felt no need for Naruto to catch pneumonia if he didn't have to. He took his vest off and put it on Naruto, not caring one bit that the hem of it was dragging in the mud.
"Kakashi?"
"Hmm?"
"What about your parents?"
Kakashi glanced down on the kid who was looking at him with uncertainty. "What about my parents?" He didn't really know what Naruto was asking about.
"Did they die when Kyuubi came too?" Naruto stopped walking, waiting anxiously for the answer he hoped wouldn't come. He didn't have to wait long.
"No they didn't."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and started walking again. Lately he'd been realizing a lot of things. He didn't understand all of it but they were making a big impact on him. When Kyuu came a lot of people had been killed. He knew Kyuu wasn't bad, he'd always been very kind to Naruto, but people hated him and they hated Naruto for being his container. He hadn't really understood it before but lately Naruto had begun to wonder if maybe he and Kyuubi were the same. If he and Kyuu were close and the demon took care of him then that would essentially mean they were on the same side. And if that was true then what side were they on? With or against the village? Then were the people that Kyuubi killed people he killed as well? Did he have those peoples blood on his hands? Iruka's parents... His own father.
Naruto looked up at Kakashi's face. He still didn't really know what to think but Kakashi had said he'd had nothing to do with the Kyuubi attack and he'd like to believe that. Still he was glad that Kakashi's parents hadn't died in it.
"What happened to them?"
Kakashi studied the kid for a while, he usually didn't ask many questions and he wasn't sure if this new and curious Naruto was the result of the week spent with Genma and the cover they had made for him or if it had something to do with the attack on them last night. Naruto didn't look upset though, just genuinely curious so he supposed the kid was alright.
"Are they on the stone as well?"
Kakashi just realized he hadn't answered the kids question. "No they're not on there. I never knew my mother, she died giving birth to me. My father raised me the only way he knew how, like training a new ninja student." Kakashi smiled faintly at the memory.
"What happened to him?"
"He died at home, not on a mission. So his name's not on the stone."
"How did he die?"
Kakashi hadn't wanted to tell Naruto about this, he kept his eyes on the road as he answered the question to a subject he'd been avoiding for years.
"He committed suicide when I was 10." (1
Kakashi stopped when he felt the hand he was holding tug at his. He looked down to see Naruto had stopped moving again and was looking at him with surprise in his eyes.
"Why?"
'What's with all these questions all of a sudden' Kakashi thought. "He went on a mission with his team, they ran into some trouble and to save his teammates life he failed the mission. Which caused the village a lot of trouble. Even the teammates he saved turned their backs on him when they got back."
"Well that was wrong." Naruto stated strongly.
Kakashi hesitated for a moment. Did he mean that failing the mission had been wrong?
"He saved their lives and they pay him back with that? You're nothing without your team. A team is a unit that you should be able to trust your life with no matter what. They should stick with you and support you even though they know you did something wrong. Even more so when you've done something wrong. You're nothing without someone backing you up."
For the second time that day Naruto had managed to make Kakashi speechless.
"Who taught you that? He asked Naruto with wonder.
"You did. You and Iruka." Naruto grinned at him and walked on ahead. Kakashi was left behind, looking at the back of a little boy wearing a jounin vest so big that it dragged behind him in the dirt, but somehow the the vest fit him perfectly in so many ways. Kami knew the kid had the experience and knowledge to deserve it.
'If I'm never able to teach him another thing in his life then at least let him remember that one. If he does he'll surely become a good ninja in the future.'
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When they finally reached the base house Kakashi and Naruto were soaked through. He told the kid to go get ready for a bath and then made his way to Iruka's room. The sight that met him there made him wonder if he had made the right choice when he decided to focus on Naruto first and leave Iruka for later. He knew Iruka would beat himself up about things but he'd wanted to give him some space none the less because trying to comfort someone too soon could, and would, more often than not only make things worse.
When Kakashi opened the door Iruka glanced up at him before his gaze fell back onto the unmoving figure lying on his futon. Iruka looked like he hadn't bathed at all that day, actually he looked like he hadn't moved from that very spot since he'd sat down on it shortly after Kakashi left with Naruto. That wasn't what concerned Kakashi though. No what concerned Kakashi had been the bitter look of contempt he'd seen cross his friend's eyes when he'd seen him.
Kakashi walked in and closed the door, he had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.
Naruto walked into their room. He was wet, freezing and shivering all over. He sat down at the end of their futon and started prying of his shoes. He had some trouble with it because his fingers felt so numb but in the end he managed to pull them off one at a time.
"How is he." Kakashi walked over to his partner. Iruka glanced at him again. 'Yep this is going to be hard.'
"There's no change." Iruka's voice was curt and cold.
"Well that can be a good thing too. At least he's not getting worse right?"
Kakashi got no response. No glance, no cold remark... well actually he was getting something. It was a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach that almost made him shiver more than his wet clothes. A feeling that something not so pleasant was about to happen.
Naruto took his socks off next and put them down with his shoes. He then got up and tried unzipping his jacket. He got the zipper half way down but then it got stuck and no matter how he tried he couldn't get it down any further, he then tried to zip it back up again but it wouldn't budge.
"So how are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." There it was again, that cold voice. Kakashi rubbed his eyes and braced himself for the break down.
"Iruka this wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything to cause this so you shouldn't blame yourself for it."
"I know. This didn't have anything to do with me."
"Uhm" Was Kakashi's intelligent reply. "Well that's good..."
Naruto made his way quickly down the hall to Iruka's room. He'd ask Kakashi to help him with his zipper and see how Iruka and Genma were doing while he was at it. He really hoped they were doing alright.
"It's all your fault."
"What!" Kakashi was expecting something but the outburst he got wasn't one of them.
"You and that fucking brat! I knew it was a bad idea to take him in. None of this would have happened if that stupid gaki hadn't gotten involved. You just had to get him involved! Why couldn't you just listen to me for once in your life when I told you nothing good would ever come with that thing.
"Iruka!"
Naruto walked up to Iruka's door and raised his little fist up to knock. Before his hand connected with the door he heard Iruka's voice.
"It's all your fault."
Naruto stood there frozen for a few minuets. After what felt like eternity his hand slowly fell down to his side and he took a few steps away from the door. Away from the voice he'd been looking forward to hear. The cold voice he didn't want to hear ever again.
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Genma's head was floating. At least that's what it felt like in the beginning. It felt light and his thought were swirling. In between he thought he could hear voices. He knew those voices but he couldn't place them right away. He tried to move but concluded afterwards that he really shouldn't have. His head stopped floating and he came crashing down. Hard. He couldn't move but his body aced all over and his head felt like it had been hit by a ton of bricks. Repeatedly.
He tried getting his bearings but when he focused his chakra he felt like he'd set his body on fire. He grunted out in pain but at least he'd gotten some of the information he was looking for. He'd sensed Naruto near by which would undoubtedly mean that the two huge signatures he was getting next to him were Iruka and Kakashi.
His thoughts were proven right when the ringing in his ears subsided. Those screaming voices definitely belonged to those two. He didn't hear much of what they were saying and he didn't much care at the moment. He just wanted the headsplitting noise to go away. He tried speaking but his throat was too dry so he ended up in a coughing fit. Which certainly didn't make his head and body feel any better.
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Kakashi and Iruka were snapped out of their argument by the sound of Genma's cough. Iruka bent down to help him. Kakashi quickly grabbed a glass of water from a tray near the futon and handed it to him.
When they had managed to calm the Special Jounin down his eyes focused on their faces. They both looked pained somehow. He tried clearing his head some more and for a moment his chakra flared again. "Nahh.." He tried speaking again.
"Shh don't say anything you've been severely hurt. Don't strain yourself." Iruka tried soothing Genma but the special Jounin grabbed his hand momentarily and managed to croak out a full sentence.
"Whe..re's Naru..tohh?" He couldn't sense him when his chakra flared up.
Naruto finally snapped out of it. He quickly turned around and ran down the hall. He felt numb but this time it had nothing to do with the cold. He didn't feel the cold anymore. His mind was filling up with thoughts he hadn't had for a long time. Thoughts he didn't think he would ever have again. He didn't know what he was doing or what he was going to do. All he knew was that he didn't belong there so he had to get out.
Kakashi ran out into the hall. After Genma asked them where Naruto was he couldn't sense him anywhere in the house anymore. The sight that met his eyes once in the hall nearly made his heart stop. At the end of the hall was his Jounin vest, he slowly walked over to it and picket it up. That's when he noticed that the front door was open.
(1. No idea how old he was, just made it up.
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+Runs inside my room, puts bed up against the door and hides in the closet+
I was so going to make this a more happy chapter but it just didn't work out... it'll get better I swear! I'll stop torturing my favorit guys soon.. for now.
