A few days later, Naruto was well into his recovery and was already up and about, driving kakashi mad. The boy insisted that he be able to go home and train but the nurses were adamant that he stay a while longer and continue to rest. Kakashi of course, agreed with them not out of spite but of worry. Naruto hadn't completely healed and was lousy on his feet. He was still in intense amounts of pain, often waking in the night struggling to breathe.

Kakashi was always there, despite Naruto's protests. After what was said and done, the boy was secretly grateful for the company he kept, even if his face was buried in that book seventy percent of the time. Kakashi would occasionally sneak in Ichiraku ramen, unbeknownst to the nurses, and Naruto would happily eat it, tossing the dull hospital food to the side.

"You'll have friends coming to visit you today, Naruto." Kakashi mentioned, nose buried deep into his favorite - and unfortunately, last - installment of the Make Out Tactics series.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto grimaced and settled back into his bed. He burped loudly and folded his hands behind his head. "Who's coming today?"

Kakashi sighed. "Today Neji and Hinata are coming around." He turned a page in the book. "They can't stay long though, Lady Tsunade has assigned them a mission to help guard the east gate, they leave as soon as they're done here."

The boy straightened his back slightly and sat up, looking at Kakashi curiously. "Hinata and Neji?"

"That's what I said. In fact, they'll be here any minute, so why don't you clean up a bit, hmm?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask. He took notice to the mess around the boy's bed before drawing his gaze back to his book.

He was sitting on the windowsill in the boy's hospital room. Kakashi had been around for the majority of Naruto's stay. Partly because of his duties to the Hokage, and also because he wasn't one hundred percent himself either. He still had episodes of pain in his abdomen area that sometimes got so bad, that it even would end up concerning Naruto. Kakashi would try to hide it but the kid would always notice. Sometimes he wouldn't say anything, he would just watch him with a worried expression on his face.

It was the second day Kakashi had spent with Naruto. Choji and Ino had visited the first day. They had brought barbeque and flowers. Naruto happily gobbled up the food, and much to Kakashi's relief, took the flowers without complaint. The two had stuck around for a while but left shortly after Naruto had fallen asleep with exhaustion.

Today, Neji and Hinata were visiting. Hinata, whom had brought flowers as well, was distraught when she noticed that there were already beautiful flowers perched on the table next to Naruto's bed. The boy smiled. "Thank you for the flowers Hinata. They're beautiful." He took them and stuffed them in his face, sniffing loudly. He smiled as the others laughed.

"These will go right here next to me, right?" He placed the flowers right next to the others and they complimented each other beautifully. "These other ones were from Ino…" He remarked. "She and Choji stopped by yesterday."

Hinata visibly relaxed at the mention of Ino's name. "Oh, right." She smiled and blushed, ducking behind Neji.

"How are you feeling today?" Neji asked, standing at the end of the bed glancing curiously at Hinata.

Naruto smiled and thrust his fist in the air. "Great!" He shouted, causing Kakashi to glance up at him from his book. He narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "I'm ready to go out and train for the mission!" He winced, grabbing at his side.

"Naruto, don't push yourself," Kakashi reminded him.

The boy huffed, crossing his arms and pouting. "I know, Kakashi-sensei."

Neji chuckled. "You'll be up and about soon enough, no need to rush." He stood aside, catching Hinata off guard. She blushed furiously.

"We should get going, they need us at the gate." He narrowed his eyes at Hinata and smirked. "We'll be seeing you around, yeah? Heal up nice and fast so we can get Kakashi-sensei out on the field with us again instead of babysitting you."

Kakashi hummed.

"Bah!" Naruto pointed at Neji. "I didn't ask him to stay here! You can have him!"

"Sorry buddy," The Jounin retorted. "Orders are orders, you're stuck with me."

"Hmmph." Naruto pouted. Neji and Hinata said their goodbyes.

"N-Naruto… I hope you feel better soon." Hinata smiled and Naruto returned it, her entire face glowing bright red. Neji shuffled her out of the room.

The day passed by quickly and grew into the afternoon hours before long. Kakashi was still perched in the window sill, his book off to the side. Instead he was looking out the window, watching the sun set. The evening hours were fairly quiet and all seemed well in the village, much to Kakashi's relief. Naruto had been mostly quiet for the remainder of the day and the environment had grown stale.

He turned at the sound of ruffling sheets. Naruto was fussing once again and insisting upon standing up and walking around. "Naruto, you've already done enough walking around today, you need to take it easy and rest so your body can heal."

Naruto didn't answer him. He took a few steps toward the door but stopped when he found Kakashi blocking his path. The Jounin was glaring at him. "Lay down."

Once again the boy didn't answer, turning and walking toward the window. He lost his footing a few steps in and Kakashi was there to catch him when he fell. "Naruto-"

"Get off!" The boy yelled, startling Kakashi. He let go of Naruto and the boy fell to the floor. He cursed silently and went to help him up when he flinched away. "Get off! I can do it myself dammit."

Kakashi backed away and stood as Naruto slowly managed to stand on his own, leaning against the wall for support. The boy glared angrily at nothing in particular. "I don't need a goddamn babysitter," He spat out, walking along the wall. "I can figure it out on my own, alright? Just leave me alone."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "If I didn't have to be here I would let you on your own but-"

"Screw your orders! I'm perfectly capable of handling myself!" He snapped at his sensei. "If Granny Tsunade knew any better she'd know that I didn't need you or anyone else."

"It isn't only that, kid." Kakashi took a step toward him but hung back.

"What else could it possibly be?" Naruto fell forward but caught himself, cursing aloud and gritting his teeth. "Why would you even want-"

"It's because this is my fault!" Kakashi yelled furiously, catching Naruto off guard. He looked up to his sensei, surprised. The Jounin pointed at him. "This. What you're dealing with. It's my fault Naruto. If I hadn't of let my guard down none of this would've happened!" He angrily gestured to the entirety of the hospital room. The boy was at a loss for words.

"I could have handled this whole situation better. I let you get hurt, I let you almost-" He turned away and closed his eyes. The pain in his stomach was coming around and he was starting to get nauseous. He neglected to care as he turned his gaze back to the boy.

"Kakashi-sensei, it wasn't your fault." Naruto stood, making his way back to his bed, sitting on the edge and taking a deep breath. His tone of voice had softened a great deal. He looked at Kakashi. "It wasn't my fault either. It was those asshats. they're the cause of all this and when I get better I'm gonna pulverize them!" He smiled and punched his fist into the bed. "What they did to you is unforgivable."

"I second that," Kakashi's voice strained, causing Naruto to glance up at him in concern.

"Sensei?" Naruto stood as Kakashi doubled over in pain, falling to his knees. He reached for the chair, trying to steady himself as he focused on his breathing. His ears were ringing and he didn't feel when Naruto placed his hand on his shoulder. "Kakashi-sensei? Are you okay? Do you need me to call a nurse?"

"I'm fine…" He stood slowly and sat in the chair carefully. His eyes fluttered closed and he slumped heavily. "It'll pass," He swallowed the pain and opened his eyes, his gaze falling on a very worried blonde boy. He steadied his breathing and attempted a smile. "It's okay Naruto, I'm fine." He sat up straight as the pain slightly began to subside and attempted a smile.

Naruto sat in his bed and sighed. "I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei."

"For what?" He breathed.

Just then a loud explosion sounded outside and they both jumped, glancing out at the window at the same time. A large plume of smoke billowed from a nearby building and the smell of burning wood and smoke invaded their noses. They both glanced at each other in confusion and shock. Kakashi stood warily and walked to the window, temporarily forgetting the nagging pain in his stomach.

It was dark out, the sun had set a while ago and the village was mostly sleeping comfortably, under the false pretence of safety. Kakashi glanced around and noticed shadowed figures dancing around the rooftops of the buildings, quickly making their way to the explosion. "An attack on the village? Now?" Kakashi groaned as Naruto scrambled beside him, holding onto his sleeve.

"What's going on?" He asked, wrinkling his nose at the smell. "Is it them?"

Kakashi stood back and closed the window tightly, locking it. He nodded and sighed, rubbing his face. "It's them. They got past border patrol."

"But that means Neji and Hinata…" Naruto stood back and stumbled on his feet. Kakashi was behind him in a second to catch him. He lifted the boy up and placed him in the bed carefully.

"They're fine," Kakashi assured him. "It looks like they came from the other end. Stay put, okay? I need to go and-"

Just then the door slammed open and Naruto yelped in surprise. Kakashi was ready for it though, he whipped out his kunai and jumped in front of the boy, blocking him from the figure standing at the door. He wielded his blade in a defensive position and demanded an answer. "Who is it?"

The figure ran into the room and the voice that followed slightly put Kakashi at ease. "Kakashi! The village is under attack!"

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto stammered. He pointed angrily at the man. "What are you doing coming in here like that you scared the crap outta me what in the world were you thin-"

Iruka sweatdropped and threw his hands up as if to block himself from Naruto's rant. "I'm sorry I'm sorry, Naruto but this is urgent. Several masked men got past patrol at the north gate." He began to explain himself and Kakashi quieted the boy. "Kakashi we need you out there on the offence."

Kakashi looked at Iruka and narrowed his eyes. "I'm supposed to stand guard over Naruto, Lady Tsunade ordered this herself."

Iruka looked momentarily surprised but corrected himself. "But Kakashi the village is under attack, we need all the manpower we can get. Including you."

Naruto glanced at Kakashi then to Iruka. "Kakashi-sensei is hurt. He can't go out and fight." He crossed his arms and stated matter of fact. Kakashi shushed him.

"The boy is right," The Jounin admitted. "I won't be of any use out there, I'll just be in the way." He nodded to Iruka.

Another explosion sounded from the distance causing the three to look out of the window as another plume of black smoke rose from the now panicked village. Iruka grimaced, disappointed. "They're coming after Naruto and will destroy the village in the process."

Kakashi nodded. "I know. That was their intention to begin with. Lady Tsunade set up extra security for that very reason." He looked at Iruka. "What happened to the north patrol unit?"

"Completely wiped out," Iruka answered solemnly. "They were able to get the word out right before but there wasn't a chance."

Kakashi looked at him in disbelief. "six Jounin and two Chunin and they were still no match?" His breath quickened and he glanced at Naruto whose face had gone completely pale. "How many are there?" He asked.

"We count at least twenty of them, but it could all be a diversion." Iruka looked behind him as a nurse ran past the doorway.

"That's a lot to be just a diversion, don't you think?" Kakashi questioned. The pain in his stomach was beginning to numb and he swallowed it down. "If their intent is to destroy the village, then they'll make sure to do that before they come after Naruto, right?"

Iruka shook his head. "I think they'd be just as satisfied if they got him first. Their plan is to gather all the beasts and control them. They could just as easily come back and wipe Konoha out without a second thought." He glanced over his shoulder as a few others ran past the doorway. "We have to get Naruto out of here and someplace safe. We can take him to the evac shelter with all of the other civilians and he can blend in for now."

Naruto began to protest but Kakashi quickly quieted him. "Is it safe to remove him from here? They've not come looking for him here yet, maybe they don't know where he is yet."

"They know he's injured. There was a survivor amongst the shinobi who attacked you the other day. They would have been informed that the boy had been injured and would possibly be staying in a place like this." Iruka pointed out and Kakashi sighed.

"You're right," He glanced to Naruto and back at Iruka. "Fine, let's get going to the evac site." He turned around and helped Naruto out of the bed, instructing him to get dressed quickly as he could.

It took him a few minutes but once the boy was ready, Kakashi helped him up and shifted his weight to partially carry him on his shoulder. Naruto grimaced but didn't complain, resting his head on Kakashi's shoulder. The Jounin glanced at him, sensing that he was in pain and unwilling to make the trip. The boy squeezed his eyes shut and mumbled incoherently. Kakashi was afraid that the boy was being pushed too hard and might pass out. He shifted uncomfortably and bit his lip, ignoring the pain in his stomach.

"How are we going to do this, Iruka?" He looked up at him questioningly.

"We're not going to be doing anything." A thick accent escaped Iruka's lips as he spun around, catching Naruto and Kakashi off guard. Before Kakashi had any time to react, Iruka was inches from his face, thrusting a blade into his chest.