A/N: best if you've seen thru the first series and at least the first few seasons of Shippuden.

Chapter 2

The sound of something heavy hitting the floor snapped his eyes open. Kakashi was up and into the main living area before he even registered where he was. The wards were still up. The house was silent and he couldn't sense any chakra signatures other than the two of them. "Naruto, are you okay?" There was no answer, but it didn't matter because a moment later he found the young man on the floor near the foot of the bed, struggling to sit up. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I stood up, to get a drink. I was thirsty," and Kakashi saw the cup next to him, lying on its side. "But then the room was spinning and I ended up on my ass." From the wording, he meant to be funny, but it came out shaky and bewildered. That had Kakashi leaning closer to check the jinchuriki's temperature again with a palm against his neck.

"Aah, Naruto," he said, trying to keep the exasperation from his voice. "Your fever is up again, that's why. You have to let this run its course." He bent, levering his shoulder under the other's arm and lifting. "You remember what I said, yes?"

"Yes, Kaka-sensei," and the almost sullen tone was so much like the young Naruto he remembered, from when they'd first formed team seven, that Kakashi couldn't help his smile. He settled him under the covers again and got some water. The hand that took the cup trembled, slightly, but he didn't comment on it.

It was troubling, this fever. He'd hoped it wouldn't get so high again, but here they were. And though Naruto was alert enough to answer him, the brilliant blue of his eyes was dimmed, almost dull. He wasn't sweating either, which meant the fever wasn't close to breaking. Kakashi could expect this to continue for a while.

"Naruto. Do you have any idea where you caught this? Was anyone sick where you were training, or at the hotel?"

Those eyes flicked up to his for a long moment, as if having trouble understanding the question. "Um. I don't think so, but," he hesitated, "If someone new came around recently I might not have noticed, and," he allowed, "I've been at the hospital a lot the last couple days. Maybe it was when I was there."

"Mmm." Somehow, Kakashi wasn't satisfied with either possibility. He felt like he was missing something important. He looked at the light, or rather the lack of it, coming in the window. It was nearly dinner. The sun was setting. "Let's get something in your stomach."

But Naruto was shaking his head. "I don't think that would be a good idea - I think maybe I shouldn't -" and then his eyes were widening and he was scrambling to get up. Thankfully, they got him to the bathroom in time. He lost everything he'd had since they'd gotten to the safe house and then some, retching helplessly even after there was nothing left. Sighing, Kakashi helped him get cleaned up and got him back to bed. He set a container close by, just in case.

Things had just gone from bad to really bad. Naruto needed to take in water and food for the energy to get better. Maybe the boy's system couldn't handle illness, if he'd never been sick before. An immune system had to be challenged to grow strong. What if he continued to worsen? And still, there was a nagging sense of something not right, some important clue he'd missed, like sand slipping through his fingers.

Pulling a chair from the living area, he set it near the bed. Naruto watched him, his mouth turned down unhappily, dark circles rimming his eyes. "I don't think I like being sick, Kaka-sensei."

He chuckled. "You're not alone there, Naruto," he said, tilting his head. "But I wanted you to …" he started to say, but jumped up instead, taking the two steps to the bed in one. "Naruto!" The genin's eyes had rolled back, fluttering closed when the seizure started. Hold on, Naruto! Cradling his head, Kakashi pushed him on his side. He'd been around medi-nin often enough to know seizures were called electrical storms in the brain. His own affinity with lightning said it was true – he could feel the disruption in his former student's mind. He had to stop this before there was any damage. Quickly weaving a sign, he snapped, "Shizukesa no jutsu!" The stillness jutsu took hold, and abruptly the boy stopped shaking, whipcord tense muscles relaxing suddenly and completely. Blinking quickly and feeling none too steady himself, he dragged the chair closer, not willing to take his hands away from the unconscious jinchuriki. He exhaled raggedly. "Where is Sakura when you need her?"

Whatever this was, there was no doubt it was getting worse. He watched Naruto, eyes closed and finally sleeping peacefully, wishing he himself felt so calm. What is going on?! He ran his fingertips over the boy's forehead again, already knowing what he'd find. If anything, his temperature was higher than before. He shook his head.

Stepping into the living area, he bit into his thumb. Slamming his hand to the floor with a quick command and then, in a puff of smoke, Pakkun stood before him. "What's up, boss?"

"Get a message to Hokage-sama. Give her our location. I need medical assistance for Naruto." He paused, his eyes falling to the floor for a moment, before he looked up again. "Hurry."

The little dog sat for a few breaths, shrewd eyes looking first through the door to the room where Naruto lay, and then back to the jounin. For once, Pakkun didn't have a comment or snarky remark. He nodded shortly. "Hai." Undoing the wards, Kakashi opened the window for his summons to jump through, and with pensive eyes, the Copy-nin watched the messenger dog run into the forest.

He already knew, though. It would take too long for the run to the village. A full day, if Pakkun didn't rest. And he knew he wouldn't. But then another day for help to get here.

Too long.

Taking a few moments to collect himself, he stood and went into the kitchen. He thought about the fever, worsening so quickly to seizures. At this rate, Naruto would …

No. He'd lost too many precious people. Using a calming technique to force the tremble from his hands, he lit and brought back a lantern. He needed the light at this point, it was dark outside, the moon hadn't risen yet and he didn't plan on sleeping any time soon.

Lost in thought, he was setting the light down on the bedside table when something caught his eye. Reaching out, he brushed his hand across the chaos of golden hair splashed across the pillow.

There it was again. A shimmer. Another gentle brush with his hand and it shook free, that light dusting of a shimmering something. A memory of an adrenaline-fueled moment flickered through his mind, of a glance at the genin when he'd jumped into the fight in the forest. Kakashi went to the couch and brought back Naruto's jacket. Sure enough, it was more obvious against the black and orange cloth … the dusting of powder he'd noticed when he first met up with Naruto the prior evening. Careful not to breathe any of it in, he dropped his mask, scenting it. Ah. He thought so. A whiff of herbs. Several he recognized. Harmless alone, but together, very much less so. Yes. Together, well, they were poisonous. But like a gift that kept giving; lifting his hitai-ate, the jounin looked more closely, confirming what he already suspected. The dust was also chakra enhanced, faint enough to almost miss. It was that same energy signature he'd come across twice now. The question was: what more had it done to Naruto?

Kakashi wanted to kick himself for not realizing what was happening sooner. Feeling the steady drain on his own energy as he continued the use of the sharingan, he saw, now that he was looking for it, subtle signs that Naruto's chakra was being blocked. Covering the sharingan again, he exhaled a slow breath as the constant pull against his minimal energy stores ceased.

This wasn't a virus, these symptoms were the boy's reaction to the poison. It was slow, compared to other poisons Kakashi had dealt with, so was not as obvious. Combine that with his own fatigue and the jounin hadn't recognized what was happening. Worse, he could see now that the chakra enhancement had spread it through all of the boy's energy centers, not just poisoning, but blocking his ability to heal. This couldn't be solved by washing off the dust or by waiting it out. Naruto didn't have access to his own chakra, let alone his accelerated Kyuubi healing. Without it, all of these physical symptoms would continue to weaken him.

It seemed impossible after all his former student had survived to get to this moment, but this might actually kill him.

Releasing the jutsu he'd placed on him, Kakashi was grateful the seizure didn't pick up where it left off. Instead, the genin opened eyes that had gone beyond fatigue, into fear, and confusion. The jounin frowned. Electrical storms in the brain. "Naruto," he said, "Do you remember where you are?"

"Yes, I remember." Relief, almost painful, washed through Kakashi. He'd stopped the seizure in time. And the genin was still talking, that was something. A frown creased the boy's forehead. "You took off your mask."

Kakashi smiled, tipping his head. "It doesn't serve much use here, does it?"

Naruto chuckled tiredly. "I guess not. But, I can't see you very well. Why is it so dark?" Kakashi glanced at the lamp, bright in the small room. Hesitant, the boy's gaze followed his. Lifting the light, he raised it to look closer at Naruto's eyes. "Kaka-sensei," he said, squinting into the light and rubbing harshly at his eyes, "Stop. That hurts." The pupils in those remarkable eyes didn't react, even a little. Kakashi's stomach dropped. Quietly, he set the lamp back down on the side table. They were both silent for a few breaths, before Naruto said, "This isn't normal sick, is it?"

"No, Naruto. It isn't." He didn't say, I don't have the medical skill to fix this. But if I don't do something, soon it will be too late to do anything. He sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you trust me?"

Blue eyes were solemn on his. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi didn't know if he should be happy or worried at the use of his real name.

Steeling himself for what he was about to do, he lifted the hitai-ate (for the fourth time in too soon) and felt the sharingan activate. The mind. It was another way to access the chakra system. And this particular genjutsu, a variant on one he picked up from Kurenai, was the easiest way to enter the mind. It was one he'd developed but never used (for good reason). And though the Copy-nin would never say it, he knew it was nearly on par with Inoichi's mind reading jutsu. If it weren't for its one flaw, it would be the perfect jutsu for the Intel Corps. But he couldn't think about himself now.

What was important was that this genjutsu would give him quick access to virtually any memory he needed. Regardless of how he felt about it, without a medi-nin's skill for direct healing, the best he could do was clear Naruto's pathways of the foreign energy, freeing the jinchuriki's astonishing ability to heal. He only hoped that it would be enough.

Energy wasn't only about sustaining the body or producing powerful jutsu. It was spiritual as well, and memories were entwined with it. The synergy between the two was worked into every living cell. Ask an acupuncturist and they'll tell you – hit the right chakra point with one of their needles and a client will tell you all about their childhood, their worst fear or greatest desire.

If he could stir the right memories, get enough chakra moving, it would flush out that blocking energy.

It was just, in order to do that, he'd see things Naruto probably didn't want him to see. He looked down once more at the face flushed with fever, eyes over-bright and slightly glassy. Naruto took a breath that trembled on the way out. Kakashi took it all in, and his jaw tightened. They were running out of time. I'm sorry, Naruto. I don't have a choice.

Forming seals, he laid one hand on Naruto's chest. He held the gaze of his former student, ignoring the uncomfortably intimate feeling and the increasing energy drain as the sharingan swirled. Everything in the room narrowed to blue eyes, his vision tunneled and shadows in the corners seemed to advance on the two of them. He heard Naruto take in a sharp breath and then he wasn't anchored to ... anything. He fought a moment of panic, knowing the feeling would pass. But as that faded and though Naruto said he trusted him, when Kakashi stepped into the rippling landscape of his former student's consciousness, there was resistance. It was instinct, he knew, but the boy was strong enough that the world wobbled at the edges and he almost lost grip on the jutsu.

'Maa, Naruto,' he thought at him. 'It's me. Be careful now, you don't know your own strength.'

He didn't get a response, but a shudder seemed to vibrate through him (Naruto?) and the resistance lessened, though it didn't vanish completely. It was enough, though. And there was no time to waste. With his student's energy all around him, it was painfully apparent how weakened he was. He could see, feel and almost touch the poisonous presence of the toxin the boy had taken in. Dimly, he could also sense the boy's slow steady heartbeat and each quiet breath, heavier and more strained than they should be.

Where to start? He quickly realized he might not have a choice. Since he'd only experienced this once before (and briefly at that), he wasn't exactly sure how this would work. He'd have to improvise. And right now, well. Chakra has a current, and it was currently (no pun intended) sweeping his consciousness along with it. That much he'd expected, but he hadn't known exactly how his mind would perceive it. The 'how' of it probably had just as much to do with Naruto's mind, as his own.

Images flickered by, some too quickly to understand and not in any particular order. He saw some that must be through a child's eyes and others through the eyes of the teen he knew now. This boy eats a lot of ramen. Most were almost dizzying as they flashed by, but those that stayed long enough to register… he suddenly knew that those were moments that had more emotional energy tied to them. They also had their own gravity - as he assessed the 'landscape', he could easily feel their pull in the chakra flow. If he really wanted to be effective, those were the memories where he needed to concentrate.

Allowing himself to be drawn to the nearest swirling whirlpool of images, the world suddenly had weight again. He was in the streets of Konoha. There was a crowd around him, everyone in it was taller than he was. He was trying not to cry and looking down, his hands were small and chubby like a child's. But it was the whispering that brought the sting to his eyes. Everyone, everyone, was whispering about him. Looking at him with narrowed eyes, shaking their heads. Those looks made his stomach hurt, made his face feel too hot. In their voices he could feel their scorn, their dislike and distrust and when he heard the keening sound under the breath of the child that he was, that was when he remembered this wasn't him – Kakashi - these were … no, these were Naruto's memories. He was just a witness to them.

And Kakashi ached to see it. Naruto must have been just a few years old. He himself had been away from the village, already a jounin. The Copy-nin. Not much older than Naruto was now, but already being sent on S-rank missions.

While the son of his senpai was shunned and alone.

Under the anguish Naruto felt, hate for the villagers rose, black and ugly. It jarred the jounin from his thoughts and made him look at the scene with new eyes. He saw it then. The pain in this memory felt too fresh. He knew that Naruto carried the scars from these moments, but they weren't as heavy a burden as they once were. Here, now, looking at the memory with clear eyes, he could see the colors were off. The emotion too intense. And there was a cloying stickiness in the air, the sickly sweet smell of poison.

Ah. What to do? But before he could act, abruptly he was swept, no… yanked away from the scene. He was in the training yard. Training. Alone. He was always alone now. His father, the shinobi who'd abandoned his mission, was just freshly buried. He told himself it didn't hurt. The thunk of kunai hitting the target rang out in the twilight dusted air.

'Kakashi-sensei?'

Who was that? He looked around, but the other shinobi had left. That was just as well. For months now he'd watched them talking behind their hands, stealing furtive glances at him. Knowing eyes saying he would fail as a shinobi, just like his father. Shuriken flew now, unerringly striking the target as the burn of anger began to grow, threatening to become a fire …

'Kakashi-san, I … I didn't know,' he looked around again, looking for the source of that voice, grey eyes blinking into the fading light of the day. And then he knew.

He took a deep breath, coming back to himself, his present adult self, again. 'Ah, Naruto. It's you.' And here then, was the catch. The jutsu allowed him to see into Naruto's mind, but unlike Inoichi's jutsu, Naruto could also see into his. It was one of the reasons that, powerful as it was, he'd never used it (beyond that one, mortifyingly embarrassing episode with Iruka-sensei). Sighing mentally, he thought to the boy, 'It was a long time ago.'

'But they were so mean,' and though he was talking about Kakashi's memory and it was something today's Naruto would never say, the jounin heard the hurt from the child that Naruto had been, lost in a crowd of hating, distrustful villagers.

'Yes, Naruto, they were,' he thought, and there was sadness there he refused to hide. 'People are often mean when they don't understand. Once they've labeled you, they think they have the right to be mean.' He shrugged, not knowing if the boy would see it or sense it. 'They're wrong.'

He could see the gathered crowd again, but this time a shadow overlay it. A shadow with nine-tails and a snarling face, lips pulled back to reveal glistening fangs. Kakashi felt a chill run through him and pushed it away, kneeling in front of the child standing there. 'I'm sorry, Naruto.' He looked into those hurt-filled blue eyes. 'I wasn't around then.' He took the child's hand in his, squeezing it gently. 'But I'm here now. You're not alone.' He heard the child inhale, a disbelieving gaze met his. He blinked, seeing the training yard flicker in and out once more, before he blinked again, feeling a rush of energy sweep through. The murmur of the crowd faded, the harsh color surrounding them softened at the edges and before he could process what was happening, he was pushed off his insubstantial feet and swept towards another swirling center of light and color.

When he landed, the scene that met his eyes was one from his nightmares.

a/n: reviews are love.