Chapter eleven

Some time later they were on their way again, walking down the street, pretended not to notice the brown dog that was lying outside a window on the street. Pakkun didn't look like himself without his usual blue vest, he looked smaller, almost tiny.

Their plan was to go to the Iwagakure headquarter, posing as two representatives from Kumogakure, the land of Lightnings ninja village. They had both changed their appearance with a henge jutsu, on the surface Kakashi had two normal eyes, brown hair and an ordinary face with no mask. He felt Narutos glances and he knew it was probably odd to see him walking around without it in broad daylight. Naruto on the other hand had dark brown hair, almost black, and green eyes. He also seemed to have gotten a tad taller. He was almost as tall as him now, whereas normally he reached his forehead. His whisker-scars were gone. Despite the many changes he was still attractive, his joie de vivre coming off him in gusts, a fragrance only worn by conquerors and kings.

They reached the main building where there stood groups of people, at least two in each, they walked across the square in front of the stairs that led up to a pair of big doors. Without a sound Naruto grabbed his elbow, smoothly stopping him. Kakashi tried to meet his gaze but it was glued to the ground, his face blank, listening intently. And then he heard it too.

"I suppose it's smart of them, really. To keep people from disguising themselves."

Naruto looked up, eyed him questioningly, Kakashi looking back with his eyebrows furrowed.

I didn't know that either.

He tugged on Kakashis arm and he followed him willingly as he led him astray. His captor stopped by a little shrub, away from the rest, and let go of him.

"Their were talking about someone in their team who had used a henge jutsu, and as soon as he'd walked through the doors it vanished."

"For security." Kakashi thought out loud. "They can't afford to have people using disguises. It probably costs a lot of energy to maintain it, but if they're more or less forced to..." His voice trailed off.

"I guess we have no choice but to go as ourselves?" Naruto asked, and he thought for a second.

Neither of them had had any business here, so they shouldn't be recognized. Then again, there was hardly a shinobi out there that hadn't heard of Naruto Uzumaki, Konohas valued hope and, fate willing, the future hokage. He suppressed a faint glimmer of anxiety that always made itself known when he thought in those terms. He's not his father. Even if they by some miracle didn't recognize Naruto he himself had a pretty distinct look, directly linking him to his father and his deeds. Not either of them had been particularly lucky when it came to family legacies; Naruto was left with a demon and Kakashi with a knife.

"It's hardly the best solution but I think we'll have to go as we are, yes."

"Genjutsu?" Naruto offered.

Kakashi pondered it.

"We could try, but if they have disguise-detecting wards then there is at least the possibility of some sort of anti-genjutsu wards too. If we're found out they're not gonna be happy." He was glad he'd at least come with a suggestion. "Any other place I would have tried it though."

Naruto nodded, looked around. No one seemed particularly interested in what they were doing and he released the henge quietly. Kakashi felt a waft of familiar emotions arise when he saw the golden strands of hair peeking out from under Narutos hood. The younger man once again stared curiously at his face, hoping that he'd somehow lost his mask in dealing with the jutsu. He was in for a disappointment though, as Kakashi made certain that it was where he'd left it. Narutos eyes narrowed.

"I'll see it some day."

Kakashi chuckled. "I bet you will. Let's go."

The blond sighed, once, now resolved. They went closer, took in the majestic facade with its many windows and grand entrance. The house had been built into the mountain, a feat only mastered by the Iwagakure nin. Naruto held his breath as they passed through the black doorway but nothing happened. There were corridors on both sides but the hallway continued forward and so did they. There was no telling that they were inside the mountain, the interior was lavishly decorated, far from the normally sparse design of the rest of the city. He felt Naruto tense beside him as they walked, sniffing out possible danger like a wild animal. There was no going back now. They reached another pair of black doors, not quite as large but still much taller than him. On the wall to the right it said "reception room" and he knew they were headed in the right direction. He nodded to Naruto to get the other door and they pushed them open at the same time, stepping out into the unknown in unison.

Behind the doors there was a smaller area and a desk shaped like a horse-shoe. The staff consisted of a man and a woman in Iwakagure gear. They looked tired, worn and strict. Kakashi had encountered countless adversaries like them before, knew that a no-nonsense approach would be the best.

"Hello," he said, aiming for professionalism.

"We're looking for a group of Tanigakure representatives. There's a matter that needs seeing to which requires their assistance and I heard you were the best way of going about that."

The two people looked at each other. Naruto leaned forward, his expression softened, let a fatigue be seen through his usual carefree demeanor.

"Look, we wouldn't have been coming to you unless we didn't have another choice. My boss is gonna hand my head over to me on a platter if I ain't got some results to show." He looked down. "Please."

He spoke in a slight accent, had traded his typical words for some he didn't usually have in his mouth. Kakashi liked it, how easy he played the role.

They looked at him, struck or smitten or both. Kakashi heard his heartbeat in his ears.

"There's a group coming from Tanigakure two days from now. They have a meeting with one of the appointed leaders at eleven. You didn't hear it from us."

Narutos face lit up, his relief apparent.

"Oh, thank you so much, I'm real grateful, you're a lifesaver, really."

The brown-haired man waved his hand dismissively. "Don't mention it."

Kakashi decided maybe it was time that he contributed as well.

"They're pretty powerful, these guys, right?"

This time the woman nodded, she seemed a little taken with Naruto as well, he could tell from the way she eyed him just in passing, on purpose.

"They have ties to the counsel...or so I've heard."

Kakashi whistled softly, as if impressed.

"Aha, that explains why they're so popular. I only met them once briefly before, and I kinda got the feeling they had an ace up their sleeve, you know?"

Naruto chimed in with that peculiar, newly acquired drawl of his.

"I can't even imagine what it's like. I had to work for everything I got. Some days I wish I could've been pampered like that too..." He looked away, wistful.

The ones listening were quiet, not doubting the sincerity in his voice, Kakashi even less so, knew that there was a foundation of truth beneath every line he served them.

Naruto shook himself to get rid of the dark thoughts.

"But I guess growing up like I did gotta count for something, right, if nothing else it makes you real grateful."

Behind the counter they both nodded solemnly, like they too were sorry he'd been brought up like that.

"Oh well," he shrugged, "we'd better get going or we're gonna earn ourselves an earful."

They both turned around to leave when the man spoke up, this time addressing Kakashi as he was the oldest.

"Is your boss interested in the seat of tsuchikage as well?"

Kakashi was quiet for a while then shrugged.

"To speak frankly, I don't think it's his main objective but I wouldn't put it past him, no."

"Then tell your boss to save his time. Rumors have it that if everything goes well then we'll be looking at a new tsuchikage in two days."

"Really?" Naruto said. "We'll definitely keep that in mind then."

He looked at them both, smiled in a way that could rival the sun in terms of warmth.

"I don't know how to repay you, really. If you ever come to Kumogakure, ask for Nakata and I'll show you around."

They both smiled back, "that would be wonderful." the woman added.

"Thank you for everything." Naruto said and then they were finally on their way.

As they pushed the doors open they surprised a man in his forties that had been standing outside, clearly eavesdropping.

"I- I was just gonna-"

"Sure," Kakashi said, not especially worried about what he might have heard. Soon after they were out in the sunshine, drinking it in like dried out plants drinking water. Naruto almost skipped down the stairs and Kakashi hurried after. Naruto waited waited for him to catch up, by then they were out of earshot from the other people. He grinned a lascivious, eager smile that made Kakashi smile too.

"How did I do?"

The need for his appraisal warmed his heart a little, made it flutter.

"You did great." and he meant it.

A born storyteller, he had something that made people want to listen, join him.

"I almost forgot that I was nervous, it was like I played a role and I could write all the lines myself."

"That's... one way of looking at it," Kakashi said, now thinking intently. "Have you thought about a career in ANBU?" he continued, not knowing what to expect.

Naruto didn't answer straight away, let the noises of the crowd and shops fill the tiny void between them as he thought, allowed it to cover up the place devoid of words.

"I've thought about it," he said finally. "But I'm not even sure of what it is you guys do."

He looked at Kakashi who struggled to come up with an answer that was both honest and yet wouldn't scare away.

"We do a lot of things." He waited to see if Naruto would press the issue. He knew he'd been as vague as usual but didn't want to elaborate with people around, streams of faces passing in the opposite direction. As if he'd read his mind Naruto said "we can talk about this later." and Kakashi nodded gratefully.

After some struggling they made it back to their room.

Home sweet home, Kakashi thought.

He took in the mess that they'd managed to create in no time at all.

Or something like it.

They went through their information by the table, Kakashi making a map by writing down short notes on the vital points. Naruto became engrossed in the process, watching intently as the older man swiftly wrote the complex signs. Kakashi had learned to write "properly" as his teacher had called it in ANBU, but he still mostly used his usual sloppy style to write mission rapports and the likes of it, driving the administrative office to the brink of insanity. Anything official though was graced by the more readable style. It also came in handy during missions, in times like these. Writing neatly helped him focus on the most essential, which words he chose to describe it told him a great deal about how he perceived the situation, sometimes in ways he hadn't even thought about. Bisuke sighed loudly to his left and both he and Naruto woke up from the little bubble they'd been absorbed in.

"It'll take another while, and then you need to take this to Pakkun."

The ninken glared at him but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. You know I'd let you go back if I could."

Naruto had been watching them as they spoke, seemingly wanting something but too shy to ask for it. Kakashi pretended not to notice but kept watching him out of the corner of his eye, continued writing. He watched as he conquered his insecurity, stretched a hand out towards Bisuke, questioningly, to see if anyone protested. He stopped himself, turned towards Kakashi.

"May I?"

"Maa, you'd have to ask him," he said, smiling inside as he knew that Bisuke would love it. His dogs may have been trained to assist shinobi, and by extension him, from an early age but they were still a large part... dog.

Naruto repeated his question and the dog sighed and grumbled a little. "Fine."

Naruto scooted closer and patted him on the back, ran his fingers through the soft brown fur, after a while the motion became absentminded, as if the monotonous movement allowed his thoughts to wander. Bisukes eyelids got heavy as he became calm and relaxed. Kakashi shook himself from his watchful suspension, got back to writing.

Some time later he finished up and by then Bisuke had fallen asleep, his head resting on the table. Naruto started scratching him behind his ear, pleased as the entire dog leaned towards him, into his hands. He laughed. "You like that, don't you?" At the sound of his voice Bisuke woke up and realized he was acting like a lovesick puppy. He looked embarrassed, looked away, facing the window. "Tch."

After Bisuke had been sent off with sharp reminders to dispose of the scroll right after Pakkun had read it, Kakashi stood and stretched to make his tense muscles come loose. Naruto looked at him then looked away. Kakashi felt a slight warmth color his cheeks, didn't want Naruto to think he was showing off, putting himself on display.

"I'm starting to get hungry. What do you say we go and get something to eat?"

Naruto got up too.

"Ugh, I thought you'd never say so."

Had he been hungry for that long? And he hadn't wanted to say anything?

"I'm sorry for making you wait," he said apologetically.

Silence. "You know, I'm pretty sure I saw a ramen place on our way back..."

"Really?"

Kakashi found it endearing the way his face lit up, unabashedly.

They went out feeling revived, glad to be somewhere where the air was clean and high. To his relief the ramen place was where he remembered it. Naruto ordered miso ramen and Kakashi settled for shoyu ramen. They both sat down in a booth in the far back, the last table available. There were a lot of people, talking, cracking jokes and having a good time.

"Thish feelsh jusht like home," Naruto said, his mouth full of noodles. Kakashi hummed in agreement, he'd just emptied his bowl and was now feeling rather over-fed. He was still not comfortable with Naruto seeing his face, and despite the fact that no one looked at them twice it would still be a bad idea to pull the mask down in public. To an untrained eye he was an exact copy of his father, the infamous Hatake Sakumo. Anyone who'd seen his father knew that he had had longer hair, broader shoulders, a generally more stern approach to things, but few people paid close attention to those kinds of things. His father had been absent a lot during his childhood, until the day when he'd ended his misery and became absent for good. It had taken many years but now he could finally think about it without becoming overwhelmed. Instead he felt a faint annoyance, like the smell of damp air in a boarded up house. He wasn't mad at him, no, but he was mad at him for leaving in such a cowardly way. Then again...he reasoned, while looking down on the hands that looked just like his fathers, he heard Naruto still gobbling down his ramen. Maybe, he thought, maybe I would've done the same thing. Maybe such cowardice runs in my veins. He couldn't imagine what it was like, having the entire village turn the back on you. He'd tried to tell himself that it had been a different time back then, more barbaric, people's spirits surely must have been ravaged by war to allow such treatment to happen. He'd used to think like that, but now he wasn't so sure. Their time had seen wars too. Konoha had practically been leveled by Pein not too many years ago. If the same thing had happened to him, there would be no telling what he'd do, how he'd respond.

No friends, no family, no job, hated by everyone.

He looked across the table. Naruto had no more noodles left and was finishing the soup. He somehow doubted Naruto would turn his back on him. Warning signs appeared in his mind, trying to beat some sense into him. He felt how ridiculous the thought was but thought it through to the end, despite that. He put his chopsticks down, now absorbed by the thought as he realized how true it felt against his skin, a simple knowing.

I trust you.

He trusted him not to abandon him.

When they were back in the hotel room he called for Bisuke again. Kakashi only summoned all of his ninken if he was in Konoha or truly didn't have another choice. His chakra level was something to be monitored, to keep tabs on, since it couldn't be replenished just like that, and could change the whole outcome of a fight. It bothered him to no end to not be able to go all out in most fights. When he did he ended up in the hospital, without fail. He'd rarely encountered anything as humiliating as being carried back to Konoha on Gais back. His friend thought nothing of it other than that he was glad he could help, but it still stung in him whenever he thought about it. When he was out of chakra he could be likened to a wrung out rag, completely dry.

In situations like these he was sure never to summon more than one or two, or it might affect his combat readiness. These kinds of missions were especially treacherous, because right now things were calm. In an hour he might be fighting. There was no telling what might happen.

Bisuke showed up. Pakkun had nothing of value to add.

The day had passed without problems, which he was grateful for. Tomorrow might be different though. Despite not being especially sleepy they had gone to bed. It was dark in the room, a dull, gray outlook lingered between them.

"If our information is correct, there might be hostiles showing up tomorrow," Kakashi said. He could barely make out Narutos face a few meters away from his.

"Hm? … Oh right, even more people who's after the scroll."

"They might know who to look out for, or at least that Konoha sent its own people after it."

"So I should be more careful than usual?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"Did you know my parents?"

Quiet.

He didn't know what to answer.

"Well... sure." He knew that Naruto knew that Minato had been his sensei. So why did he ask?

"Can you tell me about them-, just a little, I mean." Naruto said, hesitantly, as if he was afraid of dragging in dirt into their conversation.

"Maa, it was a long time ago," he said, to excuse himself in advance for any mistakes he would make, for telling him something that wasn't true. During the years his memories had become jumbled and now he wasn't sure of which piece that fit where. He decided to begin with what he remembered most clearly, something that he had thought about not many hours ago.

"Kushina was great at telling stories. A little too good sometimes, I don't know how many times she managed to scare me with ghost stories or old tales or, um, myths. People listened when she talked. And she could outsmart your dad in a discussion any day. She was very stubborn when she'd made up her mind, and he could be too. He was a bit scatter-brained, your dad."

Kakashi had rolled onto his back as he spoke, and now he could almost see them in front of him, alive and laughing.

"Please go on," Naruto said.

He did so.

"They both felt very strongly about justice, about doing what was right. They liked spending time at home. Minato did the dishes, and he cleaned too, every once in a while. He had a lot of paperwork but often left it unfinished to deal with the next day." He thought of something else, chuckled. "When they just started seeing each other, you know, for real, I couldn't have been more than eight by then, but I remember it so well, seeing them together, and I remember thinking how come sensei looks so happy? And then-"

He paused, listened to the heavy, regular breathing in the bed next to his. He rolled over, so that he was on his side again, heard some sort of commotion on the street, probably by the bar. He'd never talked to anyone about what he recalled of his sensei and Kushina. He hoped that they were together, wherever they were.

I think you would be glad if you saw him.

I think you would be proud.

I am.