Disclaimer: I hope everyone realises that the original cast of Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Chapter 21

The first part of the Chunnin exams had been completed, and I was celebrating with Kakashi and his team for passing. There had been a tense moment when all the genin had left the exam room and I passed by who I knew to be Orochimaru. My eyes had locked onto his briefly, and I swore he seemed to know or recognise me. I shook off the shivers and returned to celebrating with Naruto and his team. There was ramen – of course – and lots of laughs from Naruto, Sakura and me, and more discreet cheerings from Sasuke, Kakashi and Itachi. They think they're too cool. Azami had joined us briefly over dinner, long enough to smother Naruto in kisses, before leaving to return to celebrating with Gai and his team.

It was late by the time our celebrating was finished, and I waved goodbye to Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi – I had insisted that they walk Sakura home; she wasn't as strong as she would be yet – and then walked Naruto home with Kakashi. I was practically carrying Naruto the last few steps to his apartment, since he had used up all his energy in his eating it seemed. Kakashi took the spare key from under the welcome mat and unlocked the door for me to drag Naruto in. He wasn't as small as he used to be, and I wasn't much bigger, so I must have been a sight to see putting a boy almost my size to bed.

But I managed.

I even tucked him in, pulling his night hat onto his head, before kissing his cheek goodnight. Kakashi had been waiting for me by the door, and once we locked up and put the spare key back under the mat, I took his hand and teleported us back to my place. The children hadn't been the only ones celebrating, but only Kakashi and I were old enough to have sake. I wasn't as bold in my sake drinking this time, but I had drunk enough that I had a silly smile on my face as I looked up at Kakashi.

He chuckled as he looked down at me, "What are you smiling at?"

I shook my head, "You don't want to know."

He pulled down his mask, letting me see the smirk on his face. "Are you thinking naughty thoughts Natsuki?"

I just giggled.

The grin spread on Kakashi's face, and he started planting kisses all over my face, tickling me slightly. "And I thought I was the only one with naughty thoughts. Tell me what you're thinking of."

"No."

Kakashi nipped at my lips, tugging my bottom lip with his teeth. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Having only recently actually seen Kakashi's face, I was still getting used to this intimacy with him. I was still used to a blindfold over my eyes, so now that he was worrying over keeping my eyes covered was gone, his hands were left to... wander. Currently they were creeping up my shirt, kneading my sides gently. "Please tell me what you're thinking of?"

I pulled away from him, shuffling away from him. I grinned when I heard his frustrated sigh, "I might tell you... if you can catch me!" and then I ran. Teleporting would be an unfair advantage, plus I didn't really want to get away. Kakashi's footsteps were hurrying behind mine, and getting closer. Damn, I forgot he was fast on his feet. I was a few feet away from my bedroom when Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of me, surprising me and making me stumble backwards. Reaching out to stop myself falling, I instead wound up pulling him down with me.

We landed heavily on the carpeted floor, but I couldn't help laughing. Maybe I had had a little too much sake. I could see Kakashi grinning down at me, probably wondering what kind of craziness he had wound up with dating me. "Will you tell me now?"

I didn't answer him, pulling his head down to kiss me. He responded quickly, nudging my legs apart so he could lie fully against me. I wrapped my legs around him, feeling his excitement pressing against me. I reached up and began to unzip his flak jacket, running my hands down his chest. It made me smile when I heard him groan, the fact that I was making the great Copy Nin act like this. My hands were creeping ever lower when I decided to tease Kakashi a little and rolled my hips against his. The growl I got in response was so worth whatever I would get in Kakashi's revenge.

"Natsuki..." he growled in my ear, making me shiver in anticipation of whatever he was planning. "You're not playing-" another roll of my hips made him lose his train of thought momentarily. "Fair..."

I tried to roll my hips again, but Kakashi grabbed my hips, holding them still. I pouted up at him, but he just leant down and pecked the end of my nose. This innocent kiss was the opposite of what his hands – magic hands – were doing. They hadn't left my hips, massaging in circles closer and closer to the growing ache between my legs. Now who was teasing who? It was frustrating me how close he was but still so far. "Kakashi-" His lips covered mine, and I drank him in, working out my frustration on his lips. It felt like years of this sexual tension we had both been harbouring was finally going to be satiated. I gasped in surprise when I felt Kakashi thrust up against me, making it well known to me exactly how much he was enjoying himself. "Kashi-kun..."

"Yes Natsuki-chan?"

"Please..." his lips moved down my neck, his fingers continuing the journey down my body. I opened my eyes briefly to shove off his flak jacket fully, but there was something I saw that scared the shit out of me, sobering me up instantly. "Madara!"

"What?" Kakashi was on his feet in an instant and had his mask up and me behind him. In front of us, in his Akatsuki get up and everything, Madara stood not five feet from us. I wouldn't lie, I was terrified, and with good reason. This was possibly the most evil man on the planet, and I hadn't read far enough in the Naruto manga to see any feasible way of killing him either! "So you're Madara."

"Hatake Kakashi, so nice to properly meet you."

"I'll kill you-"

"No Kakashi!" I cried, pulling him back. No matter how strong and powerful Kakashi was, I wouldn't and couldn't risk losing him.

Kakashi tried to push me off him, but he didn't want to hurt me, so he stopped, simply glaring at Madara. "... What are you doing here?"

Madara waved a hand, "I didn't come for either of you... at least not this time, I just wanted a good look, to know who exactly I was going to kill. I'll be seeing you soon Natsuki."

In a swirl he disappeared, but the terror he had stirred up still remained, almost tangible in the air. Kakashi turned around and gathered me up in his arms, rubbing my back soothingly. "Don't listen to him Natsuki. Nothing is going to happen to you or Naruto or anyone. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I don't." Kakashi hugged me tighter to him, kissing my head every now and then. "Come on, let's go to bed. Everything will be okay."

"Can we go to your place?" I asked, looking up at him. "I don't feel safe here."

"Of course." I teleported us to his house, and let Kakashi lead me to his room. We lay on the bed, Kakashi's body enveloping mine and my head resting on his outstretched arm. I was facing away from him, but the warmth from his body reassured me he was still there. And if that hadn't, Kakashi's hand intertwined with mine resting on my hip let me know he was there. Well, there goes a lovely evening. Kakashi kissed my shoulder, "Sleep Natsuki. I'm right here, nothing's going to get you while I'm here."

"I love you Kakashi."

"I love you too, now sleep."

I turned around, pulling Kakashi closer to me, burying my head in the crook of his neck. If Madara lay a hand on my family, I don't know what I'd do... "Kakashi, if anything happened to you or Naruto or anyone..."

"Nothing's going to happen. Forget about tonight."

I pressed my lips to his neck, trailing my kisses up his neck and stopping by his ear. "Make me forget Kakashi," I whispered in his ear, tugging up his shirt so I could feel the smooth skin of his hip, tracing the line down towards his pants. "Make love to me."

He pulled me closer, kissing my shoulder and up my neck, causing shivers to run up and down my body. "Not like this Natsuki. When I finally make love to you, I want my name to be the only thing you can think of. And it will be all about us, and nothing else."

I shivered again at his promises, and all I could do to answer was nod. I pulled back away from him enough to see his face. He was smiling gently to me, and I leant up to kiss him, only to feel something nudging my hip. Looking down, what I saw surprised me. I looked up at Kakashi again, a big smirk on my face. "I thought you said not now."

He sighed, flipping onto his back. "Just because I said not now, doesn't mean my body didn't want it now."

Now my grin probably resembled the Cheshire cat as I leant over him, slowly running my finger down his chest. "Aww Kakashi, I didn't realise you were so noble-" He abruptly leapt out of bed, grumbling as he went. "Where are you going?"

"I need a shower. A damn cold one too."

The moment he stepped out of the room, I burst into a fit of laughter. Ahh, that was funny. I decided to push him a little further, calling through the shut door, "Kakashi?"

"What?"

"I'm a screamer."

"SHUT UP!"

I collapsed back onto the bed from my laughter. Kakashi sounded frustrated.

I stood in shock, staring at the Hokage in utter disbelief. "He... He couldn't have."

Sarutobi nodded his head, a grave look on his face. "I am sorry Natsuki-san, but it is true. Itachi has deferred from Konoha and joined the Akatsuki."

"Have you sent people after him?"

"Yes, but it is too late. We have already lost him now."

I shook my head, this is wrong. Why would he... I should never have said a word to Itachi! The stupid, over-protective brother that he is, he probably worked out what was likely to come after Sasuke. I hate geniuses too now! "How... How is Sasuke... taking things?"

"As well as we would have expected. He seems to have retreated into himself further, and I can only guess the types of thoughts he is having."

"Should I speak to him-"

"No." Sarutobi said, "The last people I sent to speak with him returned almost as bad as those I sent after Itachi. Nothing's getting through to them."

I couldn't help smiling a little at my next thought, "Naruto will."

Sarutobi smiled too, "Yes, but it is very hard to ignore someone so loud for too long."

"Hokage-sama, about the chunin exams-"

"I don't need to hear anything more about the future. Besides, I like surprises sometimes."

I looked up at his smiling face, the lines hard usually were currently softer in his smile. His eyes seemed to tell me he had already accepted whatever was to happen to him. I bet he even knew exactly how he was going to go. My first day here in Konoha, I had almost reached this point when I warned him of his imminent demise. Sarutobi, then and now, had not wanted me to reveal anything further on his death. But I bet he had always known. "Hokage-sama, I just wish I could do more to help..."

"You have already done more than enough. Now, why don't you return to your post on the village border? Just in case."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

One month later...

I was practically hugging the life out of the boy in my arms, but I didn't have it in me to let go either. "Natsuki-chan, you have to let me go or I'll be late."

I pulled away from Naruto a little, brushing his blonde hair from his face and tracing the whisker marks on his cheeks. I thought I could guarantee that he'd be safely returned to me at the end of the second test, but Madara had screwed that all up. All I had now was hope. That just worried me more, and I resorted to planting as many kisses as I could on Naruto's face as I possibly could. He squirmed away from me.

Of course, he started to whine about my display, "Natsuki-chan!"

"Naruto-kun, you swear that you'll stay safe. Stay safe and come back to me? Please?"

He grinned, holding up two thumbs up to me. "Don't worry Natsuki-chan, I'll be back very soon. And I'll have won too, Dattebayo!"

I nodded my head at him. "Of course you will, and I'll have a big bowl of Ramen waiting for you too."

"Alright!"

I hugged him one last time before he left with his team to the dreaded forest. "I love you Naruto, you're the best little brother in the whole world."

"I love you too Natsuki-chan, I'll make you proud!"

I smiled, you always do Naruto. I let him go then, watching him run out of his apartment screaming excitedly about how he was going to beat every single person in the exams. I bit my lips, so very, very frightened for him though. Knowing instantly what I needed, I teleported out of there and appeared in the SCBU of Konoha hospital, and found the babies' ever-present angel among the cots tending to them. I ran to Azami and tackled her for once in a hug, pressing my face into her shoulder. She turned to me instantly, and was rubbing my back and shushing me like a mother to a child. "Natsuki-chan, what's the matter? What's wrong?"

"Naruto's gone on his second test... what if something happens to him?"

"Oh yeah, Gai's team are doing that too. Hmm..." Azami held me at arm's length, her huge grin on her face, "Don't worry Natsuki-chan, I'm just as worried about them as you are. But we have to have faith that they are as strong, smart and brave as we know that they are. They will make it, because they can. Worrying is natural, but our boys and girls had the best senseis they could have, don't you think? They'll come back to us, and imagine the smiles on their faces when they tell us they've won."

I could only nod in response.

"Now, we both have work to be doing don't we? So scoot! Besides, I don't want you to wake up these babies, I just put them all down for a nap."

I smiled, kissing Azami's cheek before I left. "I'll see you later Azami-chan."

With the blink of my eye I had teleported myself to my post on the village wall. I was in for a long day of scanning the forests constantly, but I wanted to do my bit.

"Natsuki?"

I looked over at the voice, only to spot Genma, the ever-present senbon in his mouth as he waved at me from his post not too far along the wall from me. I grinned to myself, oh just wait until I tell Kakashi about this. Can you say jealous?