A/N:So i felt a bit bad for leaving Naruto out when i had covered Sakura's and Sai's way of dealing with this. So heres Naruto and Yamato. More Angst. Next chapter will see Yamato finally facing his demons :D
Chapter 13
It had now been 8 days since Tsunade Sama's news about Orochimaru. Iruka had been forced to resume his post at the academy; he had been neglecting his students long enough. Naruto was still hounding them to be allowed to join the mission. There was no getting through to him, they just couldn't take him it was too risky not only for him but the peace of the 5 nations.
Yamato and Kakashi were taken in to the examination room and poked and prodded. Yamato went first; he knew how much Kakashi hated hospitals and medics and completed the task without complaining and with indifference. When it came to Kakashi the medic didn't appreciate his wise cracks and poked and prodded him harder causing Yamato to laugh. Yamato was mending well and a few more days of rest would be enough to give him the all clear. Kakashi too was looking well and required the cast on his arm to be taken off; whilst this was happening Yamato went for a rare walk alone. He knew Kakashi and Iruka were apprehensive about him so he didn't push them, but he needed to think over what Tsunade had said about Orochimaru and headed for the hospital roof were he would find some solace to think. He didn't want it to be true, it couldn't be, and if it was true then it was somehow his fault. He had bought him back, Orochimaru had said so. As he was pondering his thoughts, he noticed a lone figure in the shadows near one of the water tanks. "Naruto". The blonde looked up; there were tears in the corner of his eyes that had been harshly brushed away on hearing his name. Yamato smiled at him knowingly, this was where Sasuke and Naruto had once fought and Yamato finally realised why Naruto was so insistent.
"Taichou, shouldn't you be resting?" the boy asked sounding down trodden. Yamato sat down beside him wrapping the hospital Yukata around him tightly. "I've been doing nothing but resting. So what brings you up here Naruto?" Naruto shrugged, they both sat watching the trees sway in the wind and people entering and leaving the hospital below. Finally Naruto spoke "Yamato Taichou, please let me come with you".
Yamato took a side long glance at his subordinate and took a deep breath "Naruto, it's not that I don't want you to come with me. I have to do this on my own and I thought you would understand" he sighed trying to find a way of explaining it to Naruto so he would understand. "Remember how you had to talk to Nagato by yourself? Well this is something I have to do. I don't want to take Kakashi either but I owe it to him".
"This isn't the same Taichou! He hurt you because they were after me, so it affects me too. You wouldn't be like this if you hadn't tried to protect me. You're all always getting hurt trying to look out for me. Let me do this for you. I couldn't save Sasuke Taichou, please let me save you from him!" Naruto eyes started to gather pools of water again.
"Naruto, I don't know how much you know about my childhood; I had no notion of who I was or how I had come to be. He took all that away from me for some sick experiment he had in mind. I won't say I understand what you're going through when I myself don't understand what I feel. But, you know that with great power comes great responsibility. We can't just let you go out there fighting everyone's battles; there are still people who want to hurt you". Even though the boy had saved the 5 nations, there were many that still feared him, hated him for the fox that was inside and would hurt him. "But I do appreciate what you want to do Naruto" he genuinely smiled down at the boy putting his arm around his shoulders.
"Yamato Taichou" Naruto took a deep breath as he was hugged and looked up at Yamato with eyes that resonated hurt felt by someone beyond his years "you can't just hug me and say it's going to be OK because right now, it doesn't feel that way. They still look at me different, though they don't hate me outwardly" he paused and looked away from Yamato "and now that Sasuke is gone, I…I don't know what I have left to do in life. I can't be the Hokage, I couldn't save him, I'm not worthy of being a Hokage. I know I'm supposed to be this strong person who can get through anything with the Kyubi's power but I seem to be failing. Everything I knew, thought I had is just falling away. I couldn't stop you from getting hurt and I let all my comrades get hurt too".
Yamato squeezed him tighter "Naruto you are not defined by the Kyubi. You are you an essence of your mother, your father, Jiraiya Sama, your sensei's, your friends and all those you have met and touched. The kyubis power was nothing compared to the force that was Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto we Shinobi survive through love and understanding. It's OK not to know what you want right now".
"Right now Yamato Taichou, all I know right now is that it hurts inside and I feel it eating me, and one day there won't be any me left because I never existed in the first place".
He thought back to his life without Kakashi and Iruka, he was living each day as it came not making any plans for the future as he himself didn't know what he wanted. He wished he could ease the boys pain but he didn't know how to ease his own let alone another's. "Naruto there'll come a day when it will all make sense; so you need to stop putting your life in danger. I never knew what I wanted either. But now that I have Iruka and Kakashi I feel complete, like I do have something to live for and my life isn't a waste. There is nothing scarier than getting what you want, because that's when you realise you really have something to lose and you can't be selfish with your life anymore" he smiled at Naruto "Besides, Iruka would be awfully upset if you got hurt again. We all would be. I'm really proud of you Naruto".
They heard footsteps approaching "we're proud of you too" Iruka said taking Naruto's other side bringing him in for a hug. Kakashi bent down throwing his arms around the three "Meh Naruto, I like how you've developed. How well you've turned out" Kakashi said crinkling his visible eye and gesturing for Naruto to come hither and give him a hug too. "Kaka-Sensei why do you always do creepy things" shouted Naruto backing away with a vein pulsing in his head. "Maa Naruto, I'm proud too" he followed Naruto still motioning for Naruto to give him a hug freaking the boy out further. "Yamato Taichou, Iruka Sensei, get him away from me" he shouted causing the other two to laugh hysterically. Iruka looked at Yamato noting how good it felt to hear him laugh freely. Yamato caught Iruka's eyes and leaped for him catching him in tight embrace causing Iruka to fall back on the floor in shock. Yamato captured his lips in a deep and slow kiss taking Iruka's breath away. "Missed you Ruka" he said as he nibbled on Iruka's bottom lips. "Missed you too Yamato" Iruka said gazing into his eyes. There moment was broken when they heard further shouting from Naruto and Kakashi and both shook their heads laughing. "Let's go save Naruto, think his been tortured enough" Yamato said offering Iruka a hand up.