Chapter Four: From Kakashi

Strength lies in the healing.

Kakashi had watched until Naruto stood up from where he sat, reading the letter. He'd watched the boy's face change over the course of the letter. He watched one (still child-small) hand clutch the scroll. He watched until the light grey-browns of his sensei's son's back disappeared into the trees. He stayed until he couldn't hear him, couldn't smell him, and couldn't feel him anymore.

Some part of Kakashi said, You might never see him again. And the rest of Kakashi choked up that little part until it shriveled and died.

Naruto was strong. Kakashi had watched him for twelve years. He had seen the boy at his best and at his wors,t and even now he was still realizing that there were things Naruto had endured that he had no idea of. He had never been able to lift a finger, never been able to help until no eyes were watching (though there were always eyes watching) but sometimes he would shed the heavy shackles of the law.

Sometimes he would enter the apartment and leave a gift, a new carton of milk, a touch on the forehead of a boy caught in nightmares – the smallest, most shameful of things. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't do more for the boy. What was the law? Could the law touch him, an ANBU Commander, one of the best they'd ever had?

But it was the law that protected Naruto, protected him from death. It might hurt him, but maybe it was also the cruel law that made him strong.

He swallowed thickly. Naruto was gone now.

But they had gone first. He'd stayed and watched them, almost symbolically, the civilian and the ninja, both abandoning Naruto. And after Naruto had watched them leave and Kakashi was trying to figure out how to help without exposing himself, Naruto had stopped his fruitless writhing in the ropes that Kakashi had tied. Almost easily, he'd slipped out of the bindings and walked away, not once looking back.

Maybe, in two years, after he'd done his duty teaching the Uchiha and watched over Naruto as closely as he could, the boy would return, and Konoha would see what she had lost. Uchiha was just one in a clan of many that had gone insane, a link to Obito, a boy driven mad by his past. Naruto was strengthened by his past and would be more of an asset to Konoha, properly trained, than anyone else.

At least, Kakashi believed in him. It had been a long time since Kakashi had believed in anybody. He'd forgotten how good it felt.

It was later, maybe days, maybe weeks, that Naruto saw the contact list, on the back of the scroll.

"Your status has only been made known to several Jounin. To the rest of Konoha, you are considered a failed genin and a civilian for secrecy's sake. The following are your contacts and can be trusted:

Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen
Jiraiya the Toad Sage
Jounin Commander Nara Shikaku
Head of Intelligence Morino Ibiki
Elite Jounin Sarutobi Asuma
Elite Jounin Hatake Kakashi

Contacts may be added to this list by those on this list. Please act with discretion and stay safe.

All my best."

Kakashi? Kakashi, the almost-sensei, the would-be-sensei, the man who had failed Team 7? For a week – maybe for a month (what was time, to him?), as he traveled and read and learned and walked like a normal person among the crowds of places that didn't know him, he was angry. He was sad and angry and scared that he was expected to trust the man that had caused all of this.

If not for Kakashi, he might still be in Konoha.

If not for Kakashi, he might not know how to climb trees, how to craft seals, how to make a profit travelling from town to town. He might not know how to banter with strangers and laugh with people he didn't know. He might not know how to walk on water, might not have the Yondaime's scrolls. He might not be training from wind scrolls written by the Yellow Flash himself.

He might be stuck on a team with a boy who didn't care for him and a girl who beat him down. After that month, that week, a period of time not altogether calculable, Naruto found that he wasn't angry.

He was maybe even a little grateful.

Kakashi saw him sooner than expected, but later than he wanted, because he had wanted to wake the next day and have a team on the bridge, a nostalgic, wonderful, second chance of a team.

Instead, it was two months before he saw the boy.

In those two months, Kakashi did much of nothing. A typical day consisted of him showing up a couple hours late and taking Sasuke on a D-rank with another team, during which he'd conveniently disappear.

Really, he had nothing against the boy. (Okay, so maybe the way the kid acted, and maybe his haircut, maybe his morose eyes, and maybe the looks the civilians gave him – maybe those pissed him off a little. But really, he was doing his best not to be biased. Really.) It was more of him rebelling against the Hokage's orders, against the Merchant Guild's arrogance. They could not force him to do anything, especially when there was no Naruto left to threaten him with.

And sometimes he looked at Sasuke and saw Obito, and then the boy would turn and become him, shelled in Obito's skin, living the life Obito deserved. There weren't any other black-haired, pale-skinned, Uchiha-high-bred-faced boys around and it was annoying that Sasuke, who wasn't all that much like Obito, could just be too much like Obito. Except he really wasn't like Obito, not at all, and maybe if he was Kakashi would like him more. Then again, if he was like Obito, Kakashi might hate him for it. And he was obviously driving Kakashi insane, because Kakashi himself couldn't understand his own feelings toward the boy anymore.

(So maybe he did hate him, just a little.)

And they both grew more sullen and withdrawn and childish until Kakashi decided he'd had enough.

On the first day of his third week with not-Obito, Kakashi taught him tree-walking. He watched the Uchiha charge up the tree and waste chakra and almost wished he'd passed the team. He could just imagine Naruto there, like Obito in Sensei's skin, familiar and annoying and safe in unexpected ways. The girl, he couldn't speak for, but he knew Naruto.

But then, he thought, they'd be arguing. Oh, they wouldn't be lonely – for he had no doubt that somewhere in his misguided heart, Sasuke was lonely. But they'd fight, and they'd bicker, and they'd hurt, and he wasn't Sensei, and he couldn't tape together teenage hearts.

So he watched and read and wished and taught a little, and the month passed by.

"I want a C-Rank."

Kakashi looked at the kid. Oh, he was older than Kakashi had been, but Kakashi knew he was no measuring stick for young shinobi. He looked at him and saw a boy who desperately needed to prove himself.

Desperation wasn't good.

But it was enough.

With an almost imperceptible nod to the Chuunin, Kakashi approved the request. The Chuunin sighed and said, "Yes, but you can't go alone."

"I can do it."

"Well, according to the rules book you can't," observed the Chuunin. He seemed to be trying hard not to laugh. (Many of the ninjas didn't like the Uchiha. They were technique thieves and bastards and the civilians always gave them discounts just because they had the easy job of policing Konoha's quiet streets.)

It was, surprisingly, Ino came to Sasuke's rescue.

Ino has been out of whack since Sakura failed the genin test. At least, according to a drunken Asuma, she was as crazy as she could ever have been expected to be. He seemed, perhaps, a little angry at Kakashi as he said this, but he had read the files and he had watched the recording. There was no chance for that kind of a 'team'.

She has been training, the younger Sarutobi said. She has been quiet and diligent and bitter and jaded. She is, he said, too young to be like this. Kakashi told him that nobody is too young, not in the world of ninjas. He watched Asuma remember who he was talking to.

Watched the man remember Kakashi. Watched him see himself complaining to Kakashi about being too young. Asuma stopped talking, and Kakashi didn't press the issue.

He did not tell Asuma that sometimes he dreamt of passing the team. But they would tear themselves apart, and he knew it.

The look Ino gave Sasuke was no longer one of adoration. It was perhaps close to a glare, close to a scream, close to revenge. Kakashi watched Sasuke for his reaction, but saw none.

The boy was blind, and too affected. All he could see was his brother's shadow. Perhaps, Kakashi thought, Sasuke needs a psychiatrist. The thought became a bullet on his to-do list.

They started off to Wave the next day, with their drunken client. Ino's transformation, Kakashi mused, had done wonders for her team. They were well-glossed now, equal at least in their dislike of Sasuke. Asuma was visibly proud of his students. Kakashi was quietly not-so-proud of his.

When the Demon Brothers appeared, Sasuke quickly took down one with liberal application of fire. Ino-Shika-Chou was on the other just as quickly, bringing him down in a way that would allow for immediate interrogation, when Sasuke stepped in and took a shot at the second ninja.

Kakashi saw the formation falter, saw the enemy evade, sighed, and stepped in to bring him down.

"Sasuke!" He snapped, immediately. "What is the number one rule of Konoha ninja?"

Sasuke considered him balefully. "The mission comes first," he said.

Kakashi sighed. "Right and wrong, Sasuke," he said. "The team comes first." Asuma stared openly at them; Team Asuma mirrored their teacher. Kakashi disregarded all of them. "How can you do the mission without your team?"

"I don't need help," Sasuke snarled. "I'm not weak."

"No," Kakashi agreed. "But you're definitely not strong." Strength, Kakashi didn't say, was the Yondaime's back in front of his team. Strength was Obito's back in front of him, saving him. Strength was the fox in the boy, the boy around the fox, back stretched in front of all of Konoha. Strength was not – not… Strength was not what Kakashi had been.

He didn't say a word when they decided to continue the mission. Two Jounin – especially him and Asuma, two High Jounin – were enough for up to S-class missions, even with the burden of protecting a young genin team.

He didn't say anything, but it wasn't because of that. Kakashi wondered if maybe Naruto would be somewhere along the road to Wave.

Somewhere in his head, there was a connection between Naruto and Sensei.

Somewhere in his heart, he believed that Naruto could save him; Sasuke, broken from death, and himself, broken from war. Ninjas killed and maimed and broke, but somehow there was something about sunny blue eyes and golden hair that still spoke of healing.

Kakashi didn't expect to actually find Naruto there. And certainly not on the opposite side.

But when the giant sword soared through the air, there was a whisper, a presence, a something. He ducked, pressed Tazuna down, fished out a kunai, and flung it. His feet slid into an easy, wide, ready stance. Asuma beside him, knives out. Sasuke behind. The team clustered in a rough triangle.

And Naruto, in the chakra-laden mist, porcelain mask hiding his face. But nothing hid his chakra signature, so like his father's, and nothing hid his sunny hair.

Zabuza (Demon of the Mist, killed his class, A-Rank, bounty of twenty million, moderately challenging, watch out for the sword) circled them slowly, well aware that a wrong move would probably bring the famous Copy Nin down on his head.

Kakashi had only half his mind on Zabuza. He and Asuma wouldn't kill Naruto, but sneaking in on opposite sides like this was tricky. He had to talk to the boy. He had to see him. He had to ask him what it was like, how he was faring, if he needed anything, if Kakashi could do something. Old guilt welled up like new blood.

"Hey," Zabuza shouted. He would not use Naruto's name, Kakashi realized, if he knew Naruto was from Leaf and they were from Leaf. Asuma must recognize the boy. Kakashi wanted desperately to take Asuma aside and make sure the admittedly oblivious man wouldn't target Naruto. "Take care of the brats." He shifted.

"No problem," Naruto said. His voice was deeper than Kakashi remembered. He's grown, he thought, simultaneously nostalgic and happy and sad and amazed. Someday Naruto would be like his father, and Kakashi wanted to see him grow into Sensei.

Then the sword was at him and he made a Water Clone, then replacement, quick, faster, water falling from the cleaved halves of the Bunshin, repeat. Kunai to a roughly bandaged neck, slice – it's a Water Clone – jump back and switch with a Bunshin. Team was gathered around Tazuna, good. Asuma cut in, destroying another Water Clone – Kakashi made a Shadow Clone and then replacement. Then all the Bunshin were gone. He couldn't smell water on the Zabuza in front of them.

There was a slight lull as Zabuza watched them and caught his breath and wished for weaknesses they didn't have.

He lifted up his headband, revealing a scarred Sharingan eye. Obito's legacy.

He had sworn that one day Obito's legacy would be known throughout the nations, and it was. Zabuza flinched, just a little, but the Sharingan saw it. A cling of metal echoed from the kids, three Naruto clones circling the group easily, slowly, just keeping them in place.

Why wasn't Naruto going for Tazuna? But Kakashi had no time to think and Zabuza's hands moved, and it burned into his eyes, his brain, and his hands, so fast that they performed the seals at the same time. "Water Release: Water Dragon!" He shouted with Zabuza. It drained his chakra, but he had large reserves – the Sharingan ate at his chakra, burning in his temples. Asuma sent two Wind Releases at Zabuza, but there was a Naruto there, suddenly, blocking it.

"Shit-" but it was a clone, and Zabuza smiled at them like Naruto was his. "This is the end for you," Kakashi pronounced, some twisted rage heavy in his adrenaline-filled heart. He poured concentration into the Sharingan, nothing else, hand seals and eyes and bandages and the flickers of chakra and the twist of the jutsu and he had it.

He barely registered Asuma muttering an expletive and going to the team, all focused in the water he'd gathered swallowing Zabuza, gathering electric-charged chakra in his hand, and heading in. Just enough chakra left.

A shadow whizzed out of the trees, following a quickly thrown glint of a senbon. Kakashi paused, if only to avoid collision.

"Thank you," the Hunter-nin said. Fake. Fake.

Naruto's in danger, he thought. Then, damn, my chakra. The last push had taken too much. He'd poured too much into the Sharingan, trying to finish the jutsu before Zabuza. He could open his Sharingan for hours, not just minutes of a battle. He'd let his rage control him.

Quickly, tiredly, he scanned the team. Asuma and the four were okay, getting back on their feet – "Did you see how I held that masked ninja off?" Could they not recognize blonde hair when they'd seen it for a year? Asuma smiling, nodding, Sasuke scowling.

Kakashi half-fell, half-lowered himself to the ground, pulled the headband over his eye, and slept.

The first thing Kakashi did when he woke up was go out to look for Naruto.

Well, not really. First, of course, he sat up and checked the surroundings – a rickety old wooden bed in a slightly moldy room. Fine. And then he had to go greet Sasuke as nonchalantly as possible, as if he hadn't been out for the past two days and was not wondering what had happened those days.

Asuma gave him a brief report, disguised as a hello. "Glad you're up!" He said. "We've just been working on two against two sparring. Tazuna's in the house right now with his daughter and grandson, eating breakfast. I've been watching the perimeter. With you up and about, maybe I'll get some shut-eye." Kakashi chuckled good-naturedly and assured Asuma he was still sick and couldn't keep watch. Asuma pouted a little. The kids laughed and went back to sparring.

Sasuke looked a little brighter, which was good. Maybe time around the two friendly boys had helped him. Then Kakashi told Asuma, "I'm going to go check out the town," and Asuma nodded like they didn't both know he was going to look for Naruto. "I'll be back by dinner time. Do you want to go?" Do you want to see him?

Asuma was one of those people who might know about Naruto's heritage, because of his connections, but Kakashi wasn't sure if he knew or if he cared. He'd been part of the 'contact' session Sarutobi had held, so they'd each know which other ninjas knew about Naruto's strange status, but he might not know of Naruto's heritage, or the things the boy had been through.

"Maybe later," he said. "You're enough, right?" Kakashi paused and nodded.

"Are you okay, Kakashi-sensei?" Ino asked, with real concern. For a while Ino had known him as one of her dad's 'friends', a war-torn teenager who her mother plied with tea and who spent time with her father. There was something to be said about a girl who could guess at what psychological trauma a ninja had just from the time he spent with her father.

"I'll be fine," he said, and smiled.

Then he was out the door, scent of wood and salt and water in the air, into the trees by Tazuna's house. It was quiet but for a couple lone gulls calling over the sea, and if he wasn't Hatake Kakashi he would have thought nobody was there.

But Kakashi immediately noticed the three 'chakra holes' in the peripheral of his senses. They followed him and he headed for the shoreline, stopping by the edge of the water to sit. "Sit with me," he said. A gull cawed, and two of the holes disappeared.

"How did you notice me?" Naruto asked from behind Kakashi. He walked up and sat.

"I'm guessing the fake hunter-nin taught you to black out your chakra?" Naruto nodded. "It's a good lesson, but that's just the first step. Now you have to assess the ambient chakra in the environment and control your output so it matches. Blacking out can't fool Jounin, but a good chakra cloak can fool even ANBU."

There was a glint in Naruto's eye, something that searched for learning. Kakashi felt comfortable - almost too comfortable - teaching the blonde he hadn't seen for what seemed like years. Was Naruto not mad at him? Were they okay? Naruto didn't know Kakashi like Kakashi knew Naruto. Kakashi had watched over Naruto nearly all his life, but only as a shadow.

But he didn't know how to say any of that, didn't know how to ask for forgiveness when he had done more than he should have but not all he could have for the boy. He didn't know how to tell Naruto that he'd wanted to teach him but got the Uchiha instead, and though the boy was smart and talented by all means he wasn't –

"How have you been?" He asked, instead. "Where have you been?"

"I've been studying the scrolls I picked up from Konoha," Naruto said. "The Fourth's scrolls don't do basics, but he explains jutsu very thoroughly, and I don't have any trouble with the 'dangerous chakra output' stuff."

"That's because you have so much chakra," Kakashi interjected. "Most people wouldn't have difficulties with things like Bunshin, but you have trouble with them because you have this giant sea of chakra and no way to control how much output you have. So the more chakra-intensive jutsu should be easier for you." Naruto nodded, eyes attentive, and Kakashi felt like a teacher for maybe the first time in his life.

"So, techniques that use more chakra are easier," Naruto confirmed.

"Something like that."

"Okay. Then I went through southern Fire country first but when summer hit and it got hot, I headed north. Wave just happened to be in my path, and I actually ended up around the border of Mist and Wave. Zabuza-san and Haku picked me up there, and for the past month I've been with them."

"The hunter-nin is part of your team?" Kakashi asked, even though he already knew the answer. Naruto had confirmed his suspicions with his silence earlier when Kakashi mentioned the fake Hunter-nin.

Naruto seemed quieter, like when he was much younger, and Sarutobi still visited him every other day. The villagers had been bitter, but more fragile from recent loss. They'd been less aggressive toward him then. Everybody tended to just ignore him. It looked like Naruto had gotten a bit of attention, or maybe he had always been like this and Konoha had just turned him into some orange, nonstop chatterbox of an idiot.

"Yeah, Haku's pretty cool. He's really loyal to Zabuza-san, and he talks strange sometimes, but he's nice and he knows a lot." He stopped, paused. "You're not… going to kill them, are you?"

Kakashi thought about it. "We don't have to, but it would be easier to," he admitted, finally. "Though, with your help, we should be able to reach an agreement."

"I'll help!" Naruto burst out immediately. "Actually Haku's pretty worried since both you and Asuma-san are here, and he doesn't think we're quite a match for two high-level Jounin." He paused. "Er, you didn't hear that from me."

Kakashi chuckled a little. "Well, I could take Zabuza by myself, and Asuma could take down both you and Haku, but you would probably be able to hurt some of the Genin in the process."

Naruto quieted. "You're… Sasuke's teacher, right?"

A lump of dread welled up in Kakashi. He swallowed it down. "I… Well, yes I am." The air felt heavy. He felt the need to explain himself, to excuse himself. "The Sharingan was part of it, and it was a bad situation, and –"

Naruto shrugged, cutting him off. "I know. Zabuza told us a little about the Sharingan and the Uchihas when he was a little awake. He doesn't like them very much, or you for that matter. Calls you copycats and thieves. Where's Sakura?"

It took him a moment to remember Sakura. The pink-haired girl, he recalled, insecure and obsessive, evaluated as book smart and good for future medic training by the Academy file. He hadn't checked up on her. He'd seen little battle potential from her and more problems than solutions. "I don't know," he admitted. "Asuma might know more, from what he says about Ino and her being friends."

Naruto smiled. "They used to be really good friends," he said. "But then they started fighting over Sasuke. Asuma-san is on my contact list. There are some people on it that I don't know how to identify, though."

Kakashi considered it. "I could give you some descriptions; show you the bingo book pages. Who are they?"

"Jiraiya the Toad Sage, Jounin Commander Nara Shikaku, and Intelligence Head Morino Ibiki," Naruto recited. "Nara Shikaku-san must be related to Shikamaru, but they can't look totally alike, right?"

"You probably won't see him. He usually stays in the village for management affairs these days. But for reference, he has the classic Nara look; the spiky black hair and pale, bored-looking face." Kakashi reached into his pouch and drew out a bingo book. "He's only barely made it into the bingo book on account of being a high-level commander in Konoha, his bounty's pretty low too."

Naruto looked at the picture and rolled his eyes. "He looks exactly like Shikamaru. I bet he's lazy like Shika too. I swear he didn't move at all even while I was attacking them."

Kakashi smiled. Naruto seemed to be coping well, even while being an enemy to friends he had in Konoha. He flipped the pages. "Jiraiya-sama is quite… eccentric. You might actually see him, because he's in charge of Konoha's information network."

"Are there other information ninja?"

"Not that I've heard of. Most of Jiraiya-sama's contacts are civilians or rouge ninjas. I don't think any ninja has been a full-time information gatherer, except maybe Jiraiya-sama himself." Naruto deflated a little, and Kakashi hurried to add, "It's definitely an important and helpful position, it's just that usually we don't know where to get the information we need until after we have it already. And Jiraiya is a very famous ninja." And kind of infamous with the Kunoichi, Kakashi thought but didn't add. Then again, so am I.

Naruto peered at the picture of Jiraiya. "He's old," he said. "And his hair looks funny. He's got tattoos like Kiba."

Kakashi smothered a laugh. Comparing Jiraiya the Toad Sage to the Inuzuka wolves was something the Sandaime would have to hear about. Affecting seriousness, he closed the book. "Ibiki-san… Well, I hope you don't meet him either. He's always in the village, and the only reason you'd see him that I can think of is if you were taken in for interrogation as a spy. He doesn't have a bingo page."

"I should get one of these bingo books," Naruto said. "Where do you get one?"

"They're handed out by the village to active shinobi. There's a Chuunin version, a Jounin version, and a High version, for people with high enough classification to receive classified information on our missing-nin." Kakashi thought about it for a while. "I have a High version, which might get you in trouble if you're caught with it, but it might be helpful for you." He handed Naruto the little grey-green book. "You can take it, I'll just get another. The Hokage will understand."

"Thanks." He took it and shoved it in his kunai pouch.

There was a small, slightly uncomfortable silence. Kakashi wanted to say something, to break it, to use the time, somehow. Because in a week, he'd be gone and they'd go off separately.

"What's the plan?" Naruto asked, finally. "I have to get going before Haku misses me."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I'm hoping you can convince them to target Gato with us, take him out, and split the money half and half."

"That's not fair," Naruto cut in. "We'd be supplying all the inside information. Plus we'd take a reputation hit from betraying a client."

Amused at the bartering, Kakashi replied, "Dead men don't tell tales. And we're supplying most of the firepower." Of course, a kid on the streets would learn to barter, especially with the Merchants' Guild's grudge against Naruto. That and the ensuing chaos and economic depression after the Kyuubi attack hadn't been good to the civilians (or shinobi) in general.

"You're not letting them join in?" Them, of course, referred to the Genin.

Kakashi wondered, idly, when Naruto had started separating himself from them. Then he wondered if they'd ever been a group in any sense. Naruto had been rather isolated, after all. "You're going to be in on it," he pointed out. "But I actually meant me and Asuma. If we're the main force, people will be less likely to trace it back to you. I'm sure the Hokage will be okay with it too; Gato hasn't been good for trade."

Naruto considered it. "I guess it's fine, then," he said finally. "But I'll have to convince them first, make it seem like my idea, and then run with it." He got to his feet. "If I come back with Haku, Zabuza-san, or both, pretend like you don't know me."

"I'm not an idiot."

He turned, then hesitated. Kakashi waited, patiently, water lapping at his Konoha Jounin-issue sandals.

"I'll see you later," Naruto said, paused, and added, "Kakashi-sensei."

Author's Notes:

Much thanks to my most awesome beta, she who flies. Further thanks to l'-'jj for corrections.

Break the Sky: "One lesson Uzumaki Naruto taught the world was that glass ceilings are fragile, and limits are only for the fools who believe in them."
My newest posted story, and one of my personal favorites.

We are a team, you and I
This is a thing you can't deny
The words are mine, but you can see
You are that which motivates me
Let's work together, me and you
I will write, and you'll review.

Liffae ^-~