The Meetings Chapter 5: The Fifth Meeting (Part Two), a naruto fanfic

Time for another update! It's not as long as the last chapter, but get ready to meet a special friend! :)

Thanks, as always, for all the comments, follows, and favorites!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

The Fifth Meeting (Part Two): The Trip to Whirlpool

"Inari!"

"Boss!"

"Ina-Hey! Why'd you wet me Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto scowled looking like a drenched kitten. He swiped at his face and blinked a few times trying to get rid of the water.

"Sorry, I saw a fly near you head. It must've been lost on the road of life," Kakashi insincerely replied, trying to look nonchalant. No way am I letting my genin go to the Gai-side of life! They should be perverted not demented! Come to the depraved side, we have a Sannin, hot springs, and Icha Icha Paradise!

"More like it got lost to the afterlife…" Sasuke muttered, seeing the fly twitch and plummet to the ground, its wings too wet to hold it up.

Kakashi pouted. Why don't any of my genin copy me? Gai's already got a mini-Gai on his team. Where's mine? "I want a mini-me too!" Kakashi cried out, startling Tazuna.

"If you don't have one by now, I don't think it's going to grow…" Tazuna mumbled before looking away as Kakashi glared at him.

Sakura wasn't listening, she was too busy face-palming. They were finally leaving Wave today, and Naruto and Inari were saying goodbye… Again… For the past one hour…

"Can't you stay just one more day? Please?" Inari looked up at Kakashi, opening his eyes as wide as he could.

"Sorry, we have to leave today if we're going to make it back to Konoha on time…" he eye-smiled. No way was he going to risk opening his eyes and chance looking at Naruto's puppy dog face. That's how they'd gotten delayed this late in the first place.

Sasuke snorted, "Since when did you actually care about being late…" Kakashi played deaf and picked Naruto up bridal-style.

"Woah! Sen-sei!" Naruto yelped. "Why'd you pick me up? I can walk," Naruto asked once he regained himself.

"It's in return for when you carried me on your back when I had chakra exhaustion," Kakashi leisurely replied, walking forward.

"No, that's okay! You don't need to carry me, really," Naruto tried persuading him. Just give up, kid. There's no convincing that masked sadist now… Tazuna thought, remembering the hours he dangled over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Hmm? But I like carrying you," Kakashi shamelessly replied making Naruto speechless. Before he could say anything, Kakashi diverted his attention, "Don't you have to say goodbye to Inari? At this rate, we're going to leave before you say anything to him."

Naruto immediately twisted around in Kakashi's grip and faced Inari. "Inari! This isn't a goodbye because we'll see each other again! Remember to be brave and keep being a hero to your town!"

"Boss!" Inari cried out as tears starting pouring from his eyes. "I'll always remember you! Don't forget to come back and visit!"

By now tears started pouring from Naruto's eyes too. "Don't worry, I won't! I promised and I always keep my word because that's my ninja way!" Naruto yelled out, sniffling a little as he saw Inari turn into a small dot in the distance. He relaxed into Kakashi's grip, already forgetting he was being carried. Kakashi sweat-dropped as he felt the blonde snuggle into him and fall asleep. Placing Naruto into a piggy-back hold, he continued hiking up the trail.

Matching his pace, Sasuke fell into line next to Kakashi. Sakura sped up and joined the two. She noticed Naruto had fallen asleep and was about to wake him up when Sasuke's hand caught hers. "Don't. He hasn't been sleeping well lately," Sasuke stopped her.

Sakura blinked. He's holding my hand! Love prevails!... She thought at first before realizing what her crush said. "Why?" What's up with Naruto? He's never this tired…

Letting go of Sakura's hand, Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at a stone. "Don't know. I think he's been having nightmares," he confessed. Sakura frowned in concern. She didn't know when she had gotten so close to Naruto, but somewhere along the line, her feelings had changed for him. What used to be distaste and hatred gave way to grudging acceptance, which had changed during the trip into feelings of friendship and comradery. She even looked forward to hearing his constant "Dattebayo" tic. It almost felt like Team 7 was her other family away from home. Sakura never experienced being this close to anyone other than her parents. Not even her friendship with Ino felt this way. This was something more, something too hard to explain. But she knew she liked feeling this way and that she cared for her blonde teammate, so when she saw noticed that something was troubling him, she wanted to punch whatever it was away. No one hurts MY team, CHA!

Sasuke warily looked at Sakura, wondering why she had felt the need to punch a hole into the tree next to him. Whatever it was, he didn't want to get involved. Sakura had changed, mostly for the better. She no longer followed him around everywhere like a stalker, and yes, he had noticed. He just ignored it as usual. It was kind of hard not to notice the bright pink hair doggedly following his every footstep, no matter how sneaky she thought she was being. And although she did still give him those love-struck looks every now and then, even those were dwindling. The only bad thing about her transformation, was her… destructive tendencies. And those seal gauntlets Naruto made for her really weren't helping matters… Either way, he knew to stay clear of her whenever she was in one of those moods. The last time Kakashi had asked if she was okay, she glowered at him so viciously he flinched. She made a jounin finch with just her glare! So far, it seemed that Naruto and he were exempt from the stare, but he didn't want to take any chances. He shuddered. That glare was almost worse than when nii-san Tsukuyomi'd me…

Naruto shifted in his sleep and Team 7 froze, not wanting to wake the blonde. He mumbled, "Ramen," and then nuzzled his face into Kakashi's shoulder and sighed. Everyone relaxed when they realized he went back to sleep.

Phew, that was close. Kakashi thought. He petted Naruto's fluffy hair as he walked. He was glad that Sasuke and Sakura finally treated Team 7 as part of their family. He had learned that lesson way too late to actually connect with his former teammates, but his genin still had a chance and they took it! He couldn't be prouder of them if he tried. Whenever he saw them caring for one another he always felt a warm glow in his chest. I've missed this. The feeling of family. He sighed in contentment. Now if only I could find a way to get rid of Naruto's nightmares… Even he didn't know how terrible Naruto's childhood was, the Hokage had only told him a few details, but even with those it wasn't that hard to imagine the cruelties he faced. It must have been so lonely. He thought, unconsciously remembering how empty his house felt after his father's death. Only his Team could make him feel not alone. And now we won't let him be alone anymore either.

From now on, Team 7 will be there for him too. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke all agreed deep in their hearts. No longer will Naruto have to suffer with only as company. He finally had a Team to rely on, and rely on them he would. Today, although Naruto didn't notice, as he was too far gone in the land of sleep, our loveable blonde had gained another family. It was only later he realized that it was this mission to Wave and its many near-death experiences that really solidified his shaky bonds with his teammates. But that realization was still far off in the future...

Hey… re…u... there? …Can…u…r… me?

"Well, this isn't what I was expecting…" Sasuke looked around him. Only one word could describe their surroundings: Sand, sand, and more sand. "Where's this village supposed to be anyways?" he asked Kakashi.

Kakashi hid away his Icha Icha and pointed out to the horizon. "It's supposed to be in that direction," he lazily waved his hand. "We'll go check it out tomorrow," he yawned and stretched out his arms. "I'm going back to the hotel room and joining Naruto in the land of slumber. You know where to find me," he finished and shunshined back to the hotel room where Naruto was sleeping. He also secretly left behind a shadow clone to protect them, not wanting another Haku situation to occur.

"Want to go out into town with me?" Sakura asked hopefully. Although she had stopped acting on most of her fangirl urges, she still had feelings for Sasuke. A night out in town sounded like a perfect date, especially since they were all alone!

"…en," Sasuke hesitated before reluctantly agreeing. They'd been traveling all morning in a forest with barely anything edible to eat. So far on the trip, Naruto had always unsealed a few of his snacks to share with them or they'd eaten Tsunami's delicious home-cooked meals. Since they hadn't wanted to wake Naruto up, this was the first time during the trip where they actually had to either hunt or rely on soldier pills until they reached this town. The bags under the blonde's eyes belied how little sleep he'd actually gotten on this trip. Although he tried to hide it with his usual perkiness, his smile couldn't fool Team 7 anymore. Not after they'd seen the brilliant one he'd given Inari after they'd defeated Gato and saved Wave. Now that they could actually detect Naruto's fake smiles, Sasuke and Sakura were surprised to realize how little Naruto really smiled. Most of his smiles in the academy or with their Team before were wide and toothy, not at all like his genuine warm smiles that made them feel flutters in their stomach. No one in Team 7 believed that Naruto actually was the happy-go-lucky blonde he portrayed himself as anymore.

I just wish he'd let us see under his mask… Sasuke sighed. Caring about someone again after years of not was hard. He just wanted Naruto to trust them enough to show his true self around them. It seemed like the energetic blonde never had his defenses down. In fact… Sasuke almost stopped walking as a thought hit him. In fact, it's almost as if his mask is automatic. Like he's had it on for so long, he forgot how to take it off... But what could be so bad that it forced him to hide himself that long? Sasuke furrowed his forehead in thought as Sakura pulled him inside a small restaurant by the road.

"What're you thinking about?" Sakura asked as she sat down at the table. Following her lead, Sasuke sat down and opened the menu.

"Naruto," Sasuke answered. "He's improved from the academy… You have too," he added as an afterthought.

"Thanks," Sakura blushed. He acknowledges my strength! Cha! "I've worked hard," she agreed. "But, it's mostly due to these gauntlets Naruto made me," she admitted and absently stroked her gauntlets.

"How do they work?" he asked intrigued, closing the menu and gesturing for the waiter. Sasuke had seen Sakura use them to make monstrous punches, and he knew Naruto made them for her when he was fighting with Haku, but that's all he knew about them. He also wanted to know what had made Naruto so exhausted after he made them…

After they ordered their dish, Sakura replied, "Oh, yeah! You were fighting with Haku when Naruto made them for me." Sasuke listened intently, ignoring the strange flash of jealousy he felt when Sakura said Naruto made them specially for her. "We wanted to help you get out of that ice dome, but it was too strong to cut. But I remembered that I was able to punch really hard in the first fight and that the same thing sort of happened when we were tree walking." Sasuke nodded remembering how their feet broke the trunk when they used too much chakra. "I thought that maybe I unconsciously used chakra to enhance my strength, so I tried it out and it worked. But I didn't actually have enough chakra to use it yet. This is where Naruto came in." She paused and ate a spoonful of the parfait she ordered. "I remembered that in his explanation about summons he said he could store things inside scrolls so I asked if he could store chakra inside a punching glove. He said he could store the chakra, but I'd still have to use my own chakra control to manipulate it. I drew the gauntlets the Demon Brothers used when they attacked us and asked Naruto to store chakra in the secret compartment instead of the balls and chains they used." So that's why it looked so familiar… Sasuke thought as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "He made a lot of seals that I still don't really understand and somehow condensed them into two smaller seals that he then inscribed on each gauntlet. Now I'm able to use the extra chakra in it to make my punches super hard until I can do it with my own reserves. Naruto also made it able to leech chakra out of nature and people. That's why he was so tired. He'd filled it with almost all his chakra."

Sasuke stabbed his side salad harder than usual when he heard Sakura drop that bomb on him. That idiot! How could he exhaust his chakra when he saw what it did to Kakashi! He could've died! And we still had a battle to fight! What was he thinking!

"He said he still had enough chakra to fight," Sakura said when she noticed Sasuke's horrified face, correctly guessing it was related to Naruto's chakra expenditure. "And that if he didn't give me at least this much then I wouldn't be able to free you. I tried to stop him, but you know how he's like…" She shrugged helplessly.

Sasuke knew. He knew how his blonde teammate was like and how stubborn he could be when he wanted something. Stubborn blonde. He thought fondly. "Next time he tries this, we'll stop him," promised Sasuke. Sakura nodded, taking notice of the 'we' and not 'I' used in that statement. She was glad that Sasuke was finally including her into the team and taking her seriously. Now if only he could fall in love with her too… Then everything would be perfect, Shannaro! She inwardly cheered.

As if he could read her mind, Sasuke suddenly spoke up, "You know that I can't be with you like that, right?" Noticing Sakura was confused he bluntly clarified, "I don't like you, and I will probably never have those feelings towards you… I care for you and Naruto and Kakashi in a way, but I'm not ready for what you want." He thought it was better to clarify this now then cause a misunderstanding later on.

Sakura pouted. "But that doesn't mean that you'll never have feelings for me," she insisted.

"Not likely…" Sasuke inaudibly muttered. "Well so long as you know it's not going to happen anytime soon and that I don't like you that way…"

"Of course, Sasuke! But, to quote Naruto, I never give up, that's not my ninja way! So, get ready to be wooed!" Sakura gushed with maniacal fervor in her eyes.

Sasuke's lips twitched at the mention of Naruto's catchphrase. "As long as it doesn't get in my way, or in the way of our missions, or become too annoying, do whatever you want…" he surrendered.

"Yes!" Sakura jubilantly replied as Sasuke shook his head at her. I was so close! He sighed. It seems like it's impossible to get rid of fangirls… I wish I knew how nii-san dealt with them… Maybe I should just copy Kakashi-sensei and wear a mask… He stopped thinking about it, and spent the rest for the afternoon checking out the stalls with Sakura.

I k… you c… hear me. W… up, b… at!

In the hotel room, Kakashi woke up feeling that one of his genin had the urge to copy him. Yes, I knew my students wouldn't let their sensei down! He teared up slightly. Now how am I going to persuade the others… Lost in thought, Kakashi didn't notice Naruto's whimpering, until he was nearly kicked out of the bed. What? He thought and leaned over to see what was bothering his genin. Naruto was frowning and… were those tears on his eyes? Kakashi frowned and whispered, "What are you dreaming of little one?" Little did he know that Naruto had gotten used to keeping his cries inside, especially at nighttime. Neither the orphanage nor his landlord were very forgiving when he woke them up with his screams. After many years this was the result: silently crying in his sleep, alone, with no one to comfort him. Kakashi didn't know all this, but he didn't need to know to comfort Naruto. "It's alright, I'm here, you're not alone anymore," he soothingly whispered to Naruto as he rubbed the blonde's tummy using some healing chakra to calm him.

Recognizing the chakra in his sleep, Naruto sighed, "Kaka-sensei…" Kakashi held his breath. Wat it? Could it truly be? The long-awaited nickname! Now, all he had to do was make sure it wasn't a fluke. He stopped rubbing Naruto and looked down at his student again. The deep lines and frown had left the blonde's face, leaving him looking like an innocent little kid who had no worries. Satisfied that Naruto was no longer having a nightmare, Kakashi wrapped the comforter around the blonde and tucked him in before scooting over to the other side of the bed and going back to sleep. Sweet dreams, Naruto. He thought before succumbing to the dream-world. Little did he know that the chakra had helped free something that would make Konoha's villagers shudder if they knew about it…

Brat! Wake up! A voice called out. Naruto yawned and flipped over onto his stomach, going back to sleep. BLONDE BRAT! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! WAKE UP! A guttural roar echoed across the space. Naruto snapped both his eyes open and jumped up looking for the voice.

"Huh? Who's there?" Naruto sleepily rubbed his eyes wondering if he imagined everything.

"So, you're awake?" a male voice asked.

"Who are you!" Naruto asked and then looked around. "Why am I in the sewers? Wait, how'd I even get to Konoha?"

"Come find me runt, then I'll answer your questions," the voice beckoned before it stopped speaking.

"Wait! Where are you?" Naruto yelled out, but there was no response. Looks like I'm on my own. He looked down the dark tunnel and gulped. Here goes nothing. He stepped into the tunnel and walked forward. Water puddled the damp tunnel, making the path slippery. As he kept walking, Naruto noticed that this wasn't Konoha's sewer system. It didn't have any turns and only went straight. He continued following the pipes and wondered, why would someone bring me here? In the distance, the tunnel widened up and Naruto found himself in a large clearing. There were ten metal bars in front of him, blocking the rest of the way. "Hello?" he called out before jumping back as a large claw stabbed down where he once was.

"So, you've made it, brat?" the sinister voice from before chuckled. Naruto shivered, feeling the vibrations from the laugh shake the ground.

"Yeah, I'm here. Why'd you bring me here and trap me in a cage!" Naruto shouted out angrily.

Instantly, the air grew colder. "Trapped…you here?" the voice growled. At first, he was going to humor the blonde brat, but what he said was unforgiveable. "You think that I… trapped you here?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto stuttered, hearing the voice grow angry.

"I have not trapped you here as you said! In fact, this is inside of you, and I am the one who is trapped here!" it roared.

"You, who are you?" Naruto asked and stepped closer only to see two red eyes glowing in the dark cage. He stumbled backwards.

"Me? I'm the Kyuubi no Kitsune, your prisoner!" A large jaw moved into the light, its many pointed teeth smiling widely.

"Wait, you were the one who destroyed the village!" Naruto shouted getting angry.

The fox scoffed. "As if I care about your village. Do you care about ants on the street when you walk? No, you don't!"

"So, you accidentally… stepped on Konoha?" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion, the anger draining away.

"No-" he was about to rebut Naruto, but was interrupted.

"Did you accidentally… sit on Konoha?" the blonde asked imagining a large furry red backside descending from the skies onto his village.

"No-" he growled starting to get annoyed when he was cut off again!

"Did a man with swirly red eyes rip you out of a red head giving birth and control you to attack Konoha?" Naruto pressed once more.

"No- Wait, actually, yes! How did you know?" the nine-tailed fox shut his mouth in bewilderment.

"Ha! I knew my dreams were real!" Naruto gloated and danced around the cave as the fox sweat-dropped wondering why all his jailers were idiots. Then again, they were all Uzumaki… Maybe it runs in the bloodline? He studied the blonde closely, looking for signs of genetic stupidity.

He cleared his throat. "So, now that you see it was all a misunderstanding, why don't you free this old man? I'm getting on in my years, and I want to live the last of my life to its fullest! What do you say, will you rip the paper seal away?" He spread his tails wide, trying to tempt the blonde.

"No way!" Naruto replied without hesitating.

"Why not?" he growled at Naruto who just stretched his arms behind his head.

"Because it'd kill me and you'd try to destroy Konoha, duh," Naruto made an are-you-stupid face at Kyuubi who was sporting a tick mark on his forehead in annoyance. "I saw more of that dream, you know? And I saw that even when you were free, you still attacked Konoha! But… I can't really blame you…"

The Kyuubi opened his mouth to retort that he had every right to hate Konoha, when he heard those last words. He closed his maw, swallowing his words, interested in what the blonde imp would say.

Naruto knew he couldn't be angry at the fox once he saw his eyes. Those eyes… They're the same ones I saw every day, staring back at me in the mirror… He trailed off remembering how not only had the nine-tailed fox been controlled twice to attack Konoha but also had been trapped in three bodies in Konoha. "If anyone trapped me inside three bodies, I'd grow angry too! Especially if I felt all the villagers' hatred while I was trapped…" Naruto, himself, had felt the villagers' hatred for the past 12 years of his life and knew how hard it was to not resent them. He couldn't imagine how the Kyuubi felt not only seeing everyone's hatred, but also hearing and feeling it inside his head everyday nonstop for the past 100 years or so.

"So, you understand. If you won't let me free, why not let me take control of your body instead. We can trade turns, and I can even get revenge on Konoha for how they treated you," he wheedled, trying to get Naruto to agree.

Naruto was silent. What's with this blonde brat? Isn't he usually more energetic? Why can't I read his thoughts right now…? Actually, why can't I feel any negative emotions from him at all? The Kyuubi looked at Naruto in shock, wondering what how he had no negative emotions. That isn't possible…unless…

"Actually… I can let you be free, but only on one condition," Naruto spoke up.

"What? I'll do anything," the Kyuubi agreed quickly, already thinking of what he could finally do with his freedom. First, I'll destroy Konoha. Then, I'll destroy Konoha. Finally, I'll destroy Konoha! Then I'll scour the world for Madara and pluck out his eyes and kill him, slowly… So entranced by his plans of revenge, the Kyuubi almost missed what Naruto had said. "What?" he asked in disbelief, not knowing if he heard correctly.

"I said," Naruto began patiently. "That in order for me to free you, you have to let go of your hatred."

"That's impossible. I'm a being of hatred… I can't simply let it go," he immediately declined. "Pick something else brat," he huffed.

"No," Naruto bluntly refused.

"I knew it was too good to be true," the fox grumbled. "I bet you wouldn't have released me even if I promised."

Naruto heard him and answered while looking the Kyuubi directly in his eyes, "I would have if you promised to let go of your hatred. I never go back on my word, that's my ninja way!"

"Even knowing that you would've died?" the immortal fox couldn't help but ask, curious.

"Even then," Naruto nodded.

"Why?"

"Because you're like me."

"Uh huh…"

Sensing the other's disbelief, Naruto elaborated, "You know what it is like to be left all alone." The Kyuubi reflexively thought back to when the Sage abandoned him and how one by one each of his brothers and sisters left him all alone. "You know what it's like to be looked down upon, to be seen as a monster." He remembered how he would try walking into a village only to be overwhelmed by the negativity of the villagers. And even when he could make it into a town, he would be welcomed in warmly on the outside, only for the same humans to think monster on the inside. "You know what it's like to be despised for something you have no control over…" He recalled the feeling of being stuck in his body, not being able to control it, and having to attack a village when he wanted nothing to do with humans in the first place… He remembered the first few days in Konoha after both battles in his new container. How the hatred wrapped around him like a noose and suffocated him, smothering him in hatred until there was nothing left in him but rage. "That's why I would free you, because deep down I can feel you still care despite everything the world has thrown at you. You still yearn for your family and miss their love, especially that of your father's. I'd set you free even at the cost of my death because after all this time, you deserve it… But, I can't let you destroy Konoha because of my decisions, so until you can let go of your hatred, you're stuck with me." Naruto finished his speech and sat down on the floor, staring solemnly at the Kyuubi.

The nine-tailed fox sent some of his chakra to probe his jailor, only to be shocked to realize the boy in front of him was sincere. He truly felt all those things he said! The blonde was willing to give up his life to free him—the cause of his parents' deaths, the reason his village hates him, the source of most of the misfortunes in his life, just because he felt the Kyuubi deserved freedom after all this time. To not be controlled and to be able to make his own decisions without being locked away in a human due to being deemed 'too dangerous.'

"Hey, are you okay? You've been a statue for some time now," the Kyuubi glanced down and saw Naruto biting his lip and looking at him in…concern? This was a lot to take in. The last person to care about him like that, to even ask him that question, had been his father. Naruto spoke up again, "So, will you let go of your hatred in exchange for your freedom?" The Kyuubi scrutinized the blonde sitting on the ground and decided this human was more… interesting than the rest. He couldn't let this one die just yet. Maybe he'd even help him a little.

"No… I think I'll hold on to my hatred a little longer. In the meantime, before my freedom, I'll allow you to use a little of my chakra."

Naruto looked wide-eyed back at the fox. "Is this a gift for our first meeting?" he asked before fretting. "Oh no, I didn't bring you anything! I'll get you something next time and for your birthday… When is your birthday, by the way?"

The fox was caught off guard by his container's wish to see him again. Strange human kit… He ignored most of the rambling and answered the last part. "I do not have this birthday, you speak of…"

"Oh, that's okay. You can just pick a day! Tell me when you do so I can get you a gift for it too!" Naruto happily said to the fox, totally forgetting that the other had wanted to take over his body. "And what's your name by the way? I can't just keep calling you, you…"

The Kyuubi froze again and didn't move. Did I break him? Why does he keep becoming like a statue? Is there a lag time in here or something? Naruto wondered and almost missed the Kyuubi say very quietly, "…Kurama…"

Kurama didn't really know why he gave the blonde brat his name. It was an impulse decision. It had just been so long since he heard someone say his real name in a warm tone. Even his siblings had taken to calling him the Kyuubi instead of his actual name. Why he wanted to hear the blonde brat call his name in particular, he didn't know but-he was interrupted by Naruto. "Ku-ra-ma, Kur-am-a, Kurama!" Naruto tested out. He nearly melted when he heard the blonde say his name. It felt so light, so happy coming from the little one's mouth. He could listen to the blonde ramble for days if he just repeated his name once.

While Kurama savored the sound of his name being called out in Naruto's voice, a thought struck Naruto. Wait… If this is my mind, then I should be able to change it! This can be getting-to-know-you gift to Kurama! He closed his eyes and furrowed his forehead, concentrating hard on what he wanted.

What's he doing? Kurama watched his blonde close his eyes and breathe in deeply. Suddenly, he felt his cage start to shrink and he panicked remembering how she had kept him in a small jail cell, chained in her chakra chains. He backed away as the bars got smaller and smaller and smaller… He closed his eyes waiting to be squeezed into a small place. Instead, he felt something light fall around his neck. He opened his eyes and noticed the chain he was wearing. He fingered it and scrutinized it closely, noticing the seal drawn on it.

"Do you—huff—like my gift to you?" Naruto asked between pants. Man, changing a mind landscape sure is hard work…

"What?" Kurama dropped his chain in surprise and looked around. He was startled to see the sewer and jail cell replaced with a large garden in front of a castle in the distance. The garden was big enough for him to run around in if he wanted to.

"Sorry, it isn't actually real, but it's the best I could do given the circumstances," Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "There's a garden in front of the house I made for you and there's a large forest in the back. I also stocked the woods with animals in case you like to hunt, and if not, the fridge automatically refills itself based on your favorites. There's also a pool in the back big enough for you to swim in! Inside the house, there's a theater, library, living room, bed room, dining room, office, kitchen, and game room. I was only able to fill the library with books I've read so there's not a lot in there… And the theater only has movies I actually saw, so there's not much in there either. But, there is a channel that connects you to the real world, so you can see what I'm doing if you get bored…"

"…" Kurama didn't know what to say. If he wasn't a millennia old chakra beast, he'd be crying a river right now. He felt choked up receiving a gift from his jailor—no, from his companion. He was touched that Naruto cared about him enough to do this. Truthfully, he'd only given Naruto access to his chakra to make life more interesting… and to loosen the seal so he could escape. Now, he just felt guilty seeing those innocent blue eyes staring at him with trust… "I love it," Kurama smiled at the blonde in gratitude and firmly repeated, "I love it."

"Thanks," Naruto mumbled and blushed a bright red at the praise. This was his second time giving a gift to someone, and this time he could actually see the other's reaction. It felt really good giving something to someone and making them happy.

Kurama on the other hand, seeing the pure joy on Naruto's face and sensing the delight in his emotions made a vow to protect his kit's happiness. You've shown me kindness where others have shown me hatred, given me forgiveness when others blamed me instead, called me by my name and cared about me enough to sacrifice yourself… For as long as you live, I'll stay with you, help you, protect you until the day you die. And even if you take me with you then… I won't try to escape, I'll stand by your side even in the afterlife. "Hey, kit, come here," Kurama beckoned Naruto over.

"What is it?" Naruto stopped babbling and moved closer to Kurama, not at all worrying about the danger the demon could pose.

"Here…" Kurama held out a large furry paw towards Naruto. "Let's seal our friendship with a fist bump," he tested out the word friendship. How long has it been since I've called someone a friend?

"Okay!" Naruto chirped and unhesitatingly bumped fists with Kurama. He felt a vibration pulse throughout him when their fists touched. "Whoa! What was that?"

Kurama hid his face with four of his tails bashfully before explaining, "Now, your body can withstand my power without getting as badly hurt. You still have to train to use all my powers, but this should make it easier." He'd never shared his power with anyone before. For some reason, this just felt too… embarrassing!

"Thanks!" Naruto thanked Kurama who just hid his face behind even more of his tails. "I promise that I'll find a way to let you out of the seal and help you let go of your hatred."

"No, that's okay," Kurama said and surprisingly, he was okay with being stuck inside the blonde for eternity. "I don't mind staying with you forever," he sincerely said and removed his tails to look at Naruto in the eyes.

The blonde's eyes got wider. Nobody had ever actually told him they wanted to stay with him forever! Actually, no one has ever even told him that they didn't mind his company. He emotionally pounced on Kurama, stretching his small arms around the Kyuubi's furry red body. He sniffled, "Thank you for wanting to be with me!"

Kurama stilled as he felt the kit's feelings of lovefriendhipfamilyhappy wash over him in a soothing wave and suddenly all he could feel was protectminekitprotectlovehappy and the need to protect his kit. The need to protect was something he had never felt before. It felt new, strange but nice in a way. I like this feeling. It feels warm, like I'm home again with my family. He wrapped his tails around the kit carefully, encasing him in a protective cocoon. "I-I may have seen you as my prison before, but you are so much more than a container to me now." He nuzzled Naruto. "You're my kit and I'll stay by your side even after you die. Our souls are bound together, so wherever you go, I'll follow. And that's okay."

Naruto felt himself relax into the purring fox's hold. If I'm his kit then that means that Kurama is part of my family too! "Welcome to the family, Kurama," Naruto grinned up at the nine-tailed demon.

Kurama laughed at his kit's words, "Glad to be here, brat!" They both relaxed, feeling each other's presences wrap around their own in a calm, comforting manner. They stayed like that the rest of the day, lazily relaxing on the garden Naruto made. Watching the stars travel across the sky and occasionally talking to each other about their lives. Like that, the whole evening passed by.

Back with Sasuke and Sakura…

"Hey, let's check out that stall," Sakura dragged Sasuke to the shady booth, leaving him no room to protest. He observed the stall and scoffed as he read the sign: Madame Mirai's Miraculous Magic: Foretelling the Future since Forever.

Sakura sighed dreamily and walked into the shop, pulling Sasuke along. I wonder what she'll tell me… Maybe she'll tell me how many kids I'm going to have with Sasuke! She giggled in a high-pitched voice. I should ask her who Naruto is going to marry! And how Kakashi-sensei looks under his mask! I also definitely have to ask her when Sasuke will finally fall in love with me!

Sasuke looked around, surprised to see the shop looked more like a tavern then a fortune teller's booth. There were ten wooden tables and benches set in front of a small stage where two people were dancing along to the blaring music. In front of the door was a counter where people could buy drinks from, there also was an old lady wearing a fur boa. She had on a purple turban and her long fingers were covered in rings. Sakura skipped up to the counter and asked, "Are you Madame Mirai?"

"Yes, I am the Magnificent Madame Mirai! What can I do for you, dearie?" the old woman spoke in a hazy voice. Sasuke coughed once to get the smell of perfume out of his mouth.

"I want to know my future!" Sakura leaned in awaiting her words.

A crooked finger pressed against her forehead. "I see in your future… a friend or a foe… orange swirls and a… mask?" She opened her eyes and stared at Sakura.

That must be Naruto and Kakashi-sensei… Sasuke thought as Sakura blurted out, "Wow! How'd you know? Those are my other two teammates! They're back at the hotel, sleeping!"

"Madam Mirai knows all!" she mysteriously smiled at Sakura who gazed at her in awe. A man sitting at the counter snorted into his drink.

"Yeah right!" he said.

"Oh? This one doesn't believe, Moi?" she asked, glaring at the disbeliever.

"Give it up, Mirai! You just saw them accompanying those two when they entered the village. I know you say that you're related to some high priestess named Miroku from the supposed Land of Demons, but everyone knows that the Land of Demons doesn't even exist."

"Shut up! It's a hidden village, of course you don't know about it!" the old woman snapped at the old man, destroying her mysteriousness from before. "Madame Mirai knows all! Disbelievers have no say!" she yelled, shaking a finger at the old man.

"I believe in you, Madame Mirai!" Sakura immediately defended her.

"Good girl, as you should," she smiled at Sakura. "I predict great fortune in the future for you, especially with blondes..."

"Heaven knows why I married this crazy lady…" he grumbled under his breath and ignored the two women discussing their future fortunes. "You don't believe any of this stuff, do you lad?" he asked Sasuke who just gave him an understanding look. He knew how it felt to be trapped with loudmouths that only boast about their amazing powers or their future destinies together with him…

"Do you know anything about Whirlpool village?" he asked the old man, figuring he was the only sensible one here.

"Why? You aren't planning on going there, are you sonny?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes, we are," Sasuke answered, irritated by the old man's teasing tone.

The old man studied Sasuke's face and his smile morphed into a frown. "You're serious, aren't you?" Sasuke nodded. "Listen… I should warn you about that place. Ever since its downfall, it's been a ghost village. Not for the lack of the people trying to go there, but because of the spirits. Legend has it that after the people of Whirlpool were massacred, they were so angry that their spirits stayed behind to lead anyone who steps foot there to a watery grave." Sasuke scoffed. He didn't believe in legends… "You might not believe the legend, I didn't either at first, but that changed when a few children went out there to play. One of the children, whose distant ancestor was from Whirlpool before it was destroyed, got stuck in a daze and walked to the edge of the cliff, about to jump off before the other children stopped her. Later, she said she didn't remember anything at all except for the sound of bells ringing in the distance… To this day, no one dares to venture to the island and children are forbidden from going there by their parents. Some of the towns folk reckon that it was one of the child's ancestors wishing for the child to join them in their underwater graves…"

Sasuke made a face at the man. "Thanks for your… concern, but we have a mission to go there and nothing's going to stop us from finishing it."

The old man sighed and waved his hands. "Do as you want, but remember my warning. Who knows, it might just save your life."

Sasuke nodded to show he understood. He was about to ask the man a few more questions about the place when Sakura pulled him away. "Come on, Sasuke, let's go! This old lady couldn't help predict our future together…" She pouted remembering the old woman's words. "What's with, 'The future is shifting around you too much to tell. It's like a whirlpool, its rapids constantly churning, changing the future too many times to see which road is the true path.' She only saw friendship and a blonde in my future! But that doesn't matter Sasuke-kun, you'll always be the one for me no matter what a fortune teller says!" She smiled widely at Sasuke, a maniacal gleam in her eyes. Sasuke felt goose-bumps break out on his skin. He shivered and averted his eyes. No way was he going to encourage his teammate's… obsession with him. You'd think that by now they'd give up when they see that I have no interest in them at all. Fangirls…

"Thanks," he dryly responded. "But I think you should be focusing on your ninja training first." He quickened his pace back to the hotel and cut her off before she could drag him to another stall. "I think we should get back to the hotel. It's getting late." Sakura deflated, but looked up the sky and saw it darkening.

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed. "Let's go back."

Sasuke smiled, a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Let's," he nodded and they both made their way back to the hotel.

Naruto's Mindscape

"Hey, Kurama?" Naruto asked from within the furry fox's embrace.

"Mmnh?" Kurama lazily opened his eyes to look at Naruto.

"What's with that ringing noise? I've been hearing it non-stop since I came in here. I thought it was part of my imagination or something, but is it just me or is it getting louder?" Naruto scrunched up his nose.

How cute! Kurama thought and couldn't help using one of his tails to tickle Naruto's face. "No, you're not imagining it, in fact…" he described what was happening.

"Oh, so that's what was happening," he smacked his fist on his palm in understanding. "In that case, I should probably wake up…"

Kurama nodded and pushed Naruto up into a standing position. "Be safe kit, I'll be right here if you need me."

"Okay! See you later," Naruto waved goodbye and concentrated, his body slowly growing more transparent until he finally disappeared.

Kurama looked at the spot Naruto had been in longingly and sighed. "That kit is going to be the death of me," he murmured fondly remembering all the trouble the blonde gets himself into. "Already, going on another dangerous adventure, just days after his last one," he covered his eyes with his tails and whined. "And now I have to protect that brat! Oh well… I better get going to the theater room and watch to make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Kurama stood up and stretched out his back. "Okay, time to go see," and with that he bounded over to the movie room, ready to watch over his kit and help him out of any danger.

The Next Morning

"He's still not awake yet?" Sakura asked biting her lip worriedly. Sasuke gazed at his… friend also anxious. It bothered them to see their normally energetic teammate still and lying on the bed, unmoving.

"No," Kakashi answered, ruffling the blonde's hair. "But he should be waking soon. He's almost done with this sleep cycle."

Sakura blinked. "You memorized his sleep cycles?" she asked dumbfoundedly. She couldn't bring herself to feel creeped out, only feeling relief that Naruto would be waking up soon.

Kakashi ignored her question. "In fact, he should be waking up in 3… 2… 1…"

Right as he said, 'one,' Naruto opened his eyes and jumped to his feet.

"Naruto! You're…awake. Hey! Where are you going?" Sakura yelled out as Naruto shot towards the window and jumped out of it.

"What just happened?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. Did Naruto just jump out the window? Kakashi ran to the window and looked outside. He saw Naruto run across the path to the beach. Without saying anything, he also flew out the window and sprinted after Naruto.

"Wait!" Sakura cried as Sasuke followed his sensei and threw himself out the window. She sighed and muttered, "Here goes nothing…" and jumped out the window too. Both genin ran after their sensei, trying to catch up to Naruto. When they finally reached the beach, they thought Naruto would stop running, but he didn't even pause. He just used water walking to speed across its surface and continue on his way towards Whirlpool. Almost there…

Kakashi stopped at the water's edge, waiting for his other two genin to catch up. "Okay, hold on tight!" he said and wrapped an arm around each of his genin's waists. "This might get bumpy!" Before either of them could argue, he gathered chakra to his legs and jumped.

"Woah!" Sakura breathed out. Sasuke agreed. He had to admit that the view was spectacular. They were about 50 meters above the village and could see everything! The turquoise-blue sea, the ruined remains of Whirlpool, the village they were just in, the stalls, the beach, everything. In the distance, he could even make out a small orange speck scuttling towards the rubbles of Whirlpool. Then gravity kicked in and suddenly they were falling. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed in a high-pitched shriek, deafening her other teammates. Kakashi breathed in and released the chakra he'd gathered earlier, propelling them forwards towards Naruto. "Oh my god! We're gonna die, we'regonnadie, WE'REGONNADIE!" Sakura screamed as she saw Whirlpool approach them. Sasuke closed his eyes, waiting for them to splatter across the ruins. Kakashi released another wind blast and they flew upwards once more, narrowly missing the tower in front of them and landing safely on the largest cliff in the dilapidated village.

"Phew, that was close…" Kakashi placed the two stunned genin on the ground and wiped the sweat of his brow. Man, I'm getting old… I almost hit that tower… He walked to the other side of the cliff and looked out over the edge. Now, where's Naruto?

As if summoned by his sensei's thoughts, Naruto used the tree walking exercise on the cliff's sides and jogged up it, joining his team at the top. Yes! I'm almost there! Now I just need to… He ran across the cliff and stopped right next to Sasuke at the edge and bent his legs.

Sasuke laid out on the ground where his sensei had dropped him. I'm still alive? He patted his chest, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating. He snapped out of his daze when he saw Naruto approach him and bend his knees. Is he about to jump? The old man's warnings echoed in his brain. "One of the children… got stuck in a daze and walked to the edge of the cliff, about to jump off… Some of the towns folk reckon that it was one of the child's ancestors wishing for the child to join them in their underwater graves…" Shit, wasn't Naruto an Uzumaki? One of the clans that used to live here in Whirlpool? He lunged forward and caught the edge of Naruto's fraying pant cuff, just as Naruto jumped off the cliff. No way am I letting his dead ancestors take him away from me, I mean us!

Why haven't I reached the water yet? Naruto looked up to see himself dangling over the cliff's edge, Sasuke clutching his ankle cuff in an iron-tight grip. "Sasuke let go!" he yelled.

"No way!" Sasuke grunted and tugged Naruto up a little.

"You don't understand! The bells… They're calling me! I need to go! Please!" Naruto looked up at Sasuke with watery eyes.

Sasuke got a bad feeling about this. Didn't the old man say something like, "Later, she said she didn't remember anything at all except for the sound of bells ringing in the distance…" Shit! He cursed as he felt the fraying cuff start to rip.

"Kakashi!" Sasuke yelled over his shoulder as Naruto inched downwards, his pant cuff slowly ripping. No, just a little more! Please! Kakashi sprinted over, but the cliff's edge was just too far away and he'd already exhausted most of his chakra trying to get there in the first place.

"Just let go, I'll be fine! I promise!" Naruto stared into Sasuke's eyes, trying to tell him he would be okay.

"NO!" Sasuke cried out as the cuff ripped and Naruto plummeted into the water. Sasuke hands grasped at the air as he stared unblinkingly at his teammate's falling form. He made a move, about to jump and join Naruto, when Kakashi stopped him.

"Stay here with Sakura," Kakashi held a hand out, stopping him. Sasuke looked up at his sensei. Kakashi had never looked as reassuring as he was right now. Sasuke unconsciously nodded. Kakashi took two steps back, and then ran forward and dived off the cliff.

"What just happened?" Sakura asked from where she was still sprawled out on the floor. "Did Kakashi-sensei and Naruto really just jump off this cliff?"

"Yeah," Sasuke helplessly shook his head. He stood up and started pacing.

Kakashi spiraled closer to Naruto. When the orange genin was right next to him, Kakashi stopped spiraling and wrapped his arms around the blonde. He looked down and saw a whirlpool forming beneath them. This is going to hurt! He was about to send the last dregs of his chakra under them to cushion the fall when Naruto tugged at his sleeve and pointed up. What now? Kakashi looked up and saw a pink blob screaming as it floated down towards them, followed by a black blob.

"What are we doing up here, then?" Sakura asked, her hands crossed.

"Kakashi said to stay up here with you," Sasuke answered and then continued pacing back and forth.

"And you're just going to listen to him?" Sakura snapped, a vein pulsing on her forehead. How can he just wait here while our teammates might be about to die? Sasuke held his hands up helplessly. "Fine, be that way! But, I'm going to go and join the rest of my team!"

Sasuke felt that bad feeling from before intensify. Wait, what is she doing? She's not… Shit! He ran towards Sakura, trying to stop her, but it was too late.

"See you down there!" Sakura yelled and jumped off the 500m cliff.

Sasuke gripped his hair and breathed in. Why are all my teammates crazy? His lips twitched. Guess it doesn't matter, after all, I'm just as crazy! He opened his eyes and ran to the edge of the cliff, also jumping off.

What are they doing? I told them to stay up there, not to follow me and jump of the cliff! Kakashi used his remaining chakra to wrap around his other two genin and bring them into his arms. He held onto them tightly. I don't have enough chakra to cushion our fall… Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke closed their eyes, preparing for the worst.

Naruto channeled his chakra and pushed it into the whirlpool, making the sealing matrix underneath it light up. That's it, keep it up Kit! Kurama encouraged him, as Naruto poured almost all of his chakra into the whirlpool, causing the last seal to glow, emitting an anti-gravity field, causing Team 7 to decelerate until they were floating two meters above where the whirlpool used to be. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura stared wide-eyed, not understanding what was happening.

Swoosh. Chink. Whirr. Ka-chink. The whirlpool drained away revealing a platform which slowly rose out of the ground. In the center, there was a head-shaped indentation. Naruto unsealed a mask out of his pocket storage seal and threw it into the middle of the platform. It settled into the indentation with a clink, and then the ground began rumbling.

"What did you just do?" Sakura shouted over to Naruto as the wind rose up around them.

"Nothing bad," Naruto assured as a black vortex appeared in front of them. Kakashi shuddered at the ominous presence he felt. Wait… This energy, it feels the same as the one I felt on the day the Kyuubi was sealed…

Sasuke squinted at the vortex and saw a translucent shadowy figure drift out of it. The demonic spectre darkened its body, showing it had purple skin, shaggy white hair, and two red horns protruding from its skull. It smiled its long-jagged teeth around a tanto. Using the hand not gripping prayer beads, it took out the tanto and licked its lips with a long serpentine tongue. Its white kimono fluttered as it asked, "Who has summoned me?"

"I did," Naruto said and waved at the creature.

"Why have you summoned Shinigami?" it asked and stared at Naruto, ignoring the other three. Inside Naruto, Kurama was freaking out. This was not part of the plan, kit! Naruto just shushed him and continued his conversation with the Shinigami.

"I want the other half of my soul-companion! I bet Kurama doesn't feel good with only half his soul. And I also want the other soul that was trapped along his. I feel a connection to it. We also want to go inside the Vermillion Bird's sanctuary," Naruto answered. Kurama didn't know whether he should thank or kill his idiotic blonde container for his reckless actions right now…

"Why did you not just control me using the mask?" the Shinigami asked. The other three members of Team 7 tried listening in, but couldn't because of the barrier the Shinigami erected.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well… I wouldn't have wanted to be controlled by a mask and be forced to do things, so I thought that you wouldn't want to be either…" Kurama remained silent in agreement. He knew how horrible it felt to be coerced to do things.

"What if I said no?" the Shinigami asked, intrigued by the little mortal's response. Normally, the all-powerful being wouldn't have heeded the summons, but the blasted mask was used so the entity was forced to come. It was going to devour whoever dared to summon it, but decided not to as it had felt a trace amount of its energy within the mortal. Interesting. The entity decided to hear the human out, but it seemed like he was like the others of his kind…

"Nothing… I would've been sad, I guess, and tried to trade or fight you for them, but I wouldn't have used the mask to force you. I read about what it does, and I don't think anyone could be happy about being forced to cut open their own stomach," Naruto sympathized.

"Oh?" the Shinigami looked at the blonde. It seems I was too hasty. Maybe this mortal, is truly different… Or an idiot… Did he really believe he could fight me and win?

"Yeah. Actually, I also called you here for something else…" Naruto trailed off.

"What is it?" the Shinigami asked preparing to grant one favor to this mortal for not using the mask. What will he want? The souls? Riches? Power? Female mortals?

"I want you to take the mask."

The Shinigami froze. What? The mortal wants to give me the mask?

What's with large powerful entities becoming statues when they talk to me? Is there really a lag-time for the human world or something? Naruto wondered and continued, "I want you to take back the mask, so no one can control you anymore and force you to rip open your stomach or do things you don't want to. It doesn't really make sense for people to have control over death anyways… They should live in the living and not mess with the controller of the dead…"

The Shinigami couldn't believe this tiny slip of a mortal was trying to give the Shinigami something it had yearned for ages. The boy was giving him back control of that cursed mask. The entity had made the mask as a gift for an Uzumaki named Ashina after the ninja allowed its creation, the Vermillion Bird, a sanctuary on his lands. The being didn't expect that the mask would continue controlling it centuries down the line, forcing it to drop its work and do whatever the ninja who had it commanded. The entity couldn't even find and destroy the accursed mask, because of the cloaking spells it had placed upon it. But now, this small creature wanted to give back the mask without forcing it to do anything in return. If the Shinigami had emotions or tear-ducts, it'd shed a few tears right now.

"Thank you," the Shinigami said to Naruto before making a decision. "I'll release the two souls you asked for, and they will merge with their remaining energy on Earth."

"Thanks!" Naruto chirped but the Shinigami wasn't finished rewarding Naruto.

"I shall also tell the Vermillion Bird to allow you entrance to its sanctuary. Regarding the mask, I shall tweak it slightly and allow you to hold on to it. From now on, no one but you can use it. It shall always remain on you and will follow you into death where I will take it from you. You may use it to call upon me within this time." The Shinigami decided to allow the mortal to keep it until he died. After all, the remaining years the mortal could live was nothing much to the Shinigami.

"Thank you so much!" Naruto squealed and threw himself forward, hugging the Shinigami.

"Yes…" the Shinigami said and stiffly patted the blonde on the head twice, trying to remember how biological lifeforms comforted each other. He reminded himself that this was not an attack, but a show of affection and that the mortal was too young to be declaring an intent of procreation with this embrace. "I must be going now. Your companions will not remember what just happened. They will only remember jumping off the cliff into the whirlpool." The Shinigami detached Naruto from him and rubbed his head once more, softening its voice. "If you need anything don't hesitate to call for me. Goodbye for now," it finished and faded away.

Kit! No more hugging super powerful entities that can kill you in the blink of a second! Kurama scolded. He had nearly had a heart attack when the blonde launched himself at the Shinigami.

"Okay Kurama," Naruto automatically answered, not really listening. Kurama sighed fondly. There really was no helping his impulsive blonde…

Naruto looked down to see a whirlpool had replaced the platform. The whirlpool split into two and lava spurted up out of it in a pillar. "No way! I think a fissure just erupted!" Sakura yelled out in disbelief. Of all the bad luck, we could have…

Are you kidding me? Sasuke stared at the lava in shock. His head was a bit fuzzy right now, as if he was forgetting something important, but he ignored it. "Since when were there volcanoes around here?" he spluttered out.

"Maa maa," Kakashi waved his hand. "We'll be fine!" he tried to reassure his two genin. They just looked at him incredulous. "Whenever something unbelievable happens, and it looks like we're all going to die, something powerful will come and save us! Either that or we'll have a life-or-death battle and eventually win… And since there isn't anyone to fight, something super strong is going to save us!" The other members of Team 7 just looked at Kakashi in mistrust. "What? It's true…" he pouted. My little genin don't believe in me…

"Look, over there!" Naruto pointed at the flaming column. The flames unfurled into two large… wings?

"My creator has sent me here to grant you entrance. Inside, there are only the temple and the falls. Once you have finished, call out Vermillion and I shall take you back to your home," after finishing, the bird morphed back into flames and disappeared in a swirl.

Kakashi's voice broke the silence first. "See, I told you a powerful entity would save us!" He almost put his thumbs-up but refrained, thinking it was too Gai-ish. The genin sweat-dropped at their sensei. Who knew he'd actually be right… This must be what they call 'experience.' All three of them incorrectly surmised.

"How do we go inside?" Sasuke asked. As if replying to him, the flames sank back into the ocean, and the whirlpool extended out towards them. It stopped an inch below them and smoothed its main swirly layer into a slide leading into a crack in the water.

"I think we're supposed to go down there," Sakura pointed downwards.

"No point in waiting," Naruto said and then jumped onto the slide. "Woohoo! This is fun! You guys got to try it out!" The other two genin looked at Kakashi who eye-smiled at them.

"You heard him, let's go!" and then he too hopped onto the slide. Sakura nodded at her sensei's words and followed him down too. Sasuke joined her after a second. Team 7 slid down the swirl to the bottom of the ocean. Once all of them stepped onto the sandy bottom, the whirlpool ascended and a dome of water enclosed over them. They were inside a bubble on the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by many exotic and colorful fish.

"Now what?" Sakura asked as she watched the fish swim around their bubble.

"I think we have to do something with this drawing on the ground…" Sasuke bluntly pointed below them.

"Is this a seal, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, stroking his chin in thought.

"Nope! But I think those drawings are of the four directional animals…" Naruto answered honestly.

"Right! Didn't you use those for your barrier seal earlier?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Naruto scratched his cheek in thought. "I think this one here is the Black Turtle of the North," he pointed to the circular shape on the top. "That would make this the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, and the White Tiger of the West!" He pointed to a squiggly line, a pair of red wings, and striped cat shape respectively. "Since we're here for the Vermillion Bird's Sanctuary, I think we have to push chakra into that picture," he pointed to the red wings.

"Alright!" Kakashi moved forward and pushed his chakra in. "Hmm?" he tilted his head in confusion, "Nothing's happening?"

"I think I should try," Naruto moved forward. "My chakra has traces of Uzumaki chakra, so it should work…" he trailed off and pushed his chakra into the picture. It glowed and a staircase emerged below them. "Come on! Let's go!" Naruto excitedly bounded down the stairs, the rest of Team 7 right behind him. At the end of the staircase, there was a large clearing with a small pagoda in the center. In the middle of the pagoda, there was a waterfall falling from the roof and continuing deep underground. Around them, the walls were filled with luminescent rocks that glowed around the cavern. As Team 7 neared the pagoda, they could make out a small sign. "Meditate around the Falls of Truth inside this Tailed Beast Temple to truly connect with your inner self," Naruto read out loud.

"Is this why you brought us here, Naruto? To meditate around the falls?" Sakura asked, staring at the blonde in confusion.

"Sort of… I wanted to come to Whirlpool because I read in my Uzumaki History book that there was a meditation waterfall that I could use to… awaken a… special constitution that I inherited from my clan," he explained, trying to avoid talking about his Jinchuuriki status. "Jiji said that some people who have a similar ability also awakened their talents in Kumogakure. There they have the Falls of Truth on the back of the Black Turtle of the North. I think they call it Genbu the Island Turtle. The Uzumaki had something similar. We had the Falls of Truth hidden within the Vermillion Bird of the South's Sanctuary." He waved his hands around as he explained. "Actually, I was just hoping to come here to see if I could find this place, but I didn't have much confidence because no one recorded where this place was. But once I woke up on this island, I felt a constant nagging sensation drawing me closer and closer to this area until I could only hear the clear sound of two bells ringing. Then I knew what I had to do, I had to jump into the whirlpool to reach this hidden area." He walked forward and sat under the pagoda. "You guys can meditate under the waterfall. It's supposed to really clear your head and help you solve problems that are hindering you from reaching your full potential as a ninja."

"Okay," Sasuke immediately agreed to meditate under the waterfall with Naruto. He sat down next to Naruto under the pagoda. He didn't really know how it could help him become a better ninja, but if Naruto believed in it, then it couldn't be that bad, right? Plus, he was sure that Naruto wouldn't hurt them on purpose… Then again, he did jump off an 500-meter cliff just because he heard the sound of bells ringing …

"Let's do this!" Sakura cheered and sat cross-legged under the pagoda. Kakashi joined her silently. Then Team 7 closed their eyes and began to meditate. The pagoda glowed and promptly knocked them all out…

Naruto's Mindscape

"Oww," Naruto groaned. "Why do I feel like that time I ran into Choji's dad and bounced against the brick wall?" The blonde pushed himself up and saw he was in the garden in front of Kurama's mansion. "Yo! Kurama, you there?" he called out and walked to the back of the house. He stilled once he noticed who were in the pool.

"Naru- Ahem, I mean, brat, you're finally here!" Kurama greeted in his gravelly voice. Naruto blinked. It wasn't every day you saw a 15-foot nine tailed fox holding a platter of drinks and serving them to his twin.

"Stupid me, you've arrived. How kind of you to keep yourself waiting," a copy of him walked towards Naruto. "I see you've given up your foolish affections for the pink one…" He circled Naruto and stopped right in front of him.

"You… Are you me?" Naruto examined the other blonde carefully.

"Yes," the blonde answered his counterpart. He tensed up slightly, wondering if Naruto was going to continue ignoring his negative feelings and pushing them to him.

"Oh! That's so cool!" Naruto's eyes sparkled as he looked over his twin. The other blonde sweat-dropped. I knew I was overestimating his ability to understand things… "So, how have you been all these years?"

These words kindled the flame of anger within the other blonde's heart. "You tell me, hmm? How do you think I've felt all this time, trapped up in here? You've been shoving every bad feeling you've had towards the village up here for me to deal with!" The other blonde roughly poked Naruto's chest. "How do you think I feel, stuck trying to solve all our problems alone! It doesn't help that I got most of our father's brains while you got the reckless-throw-myself-into-danger instincts from our mother…" he muttered the last part under his breath. The two demon foxes in the pool however, heard what he said with their enhanced hearing and nodded. No wonder our container is such a spastic moron in everyday life and only brilliant occasionally in battle…

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He knew he had a lot of denial going on in his head after his realization that he wasn't actually in love with Sakura, but he didn't know it was bad enough to create a separate persona! "Sorry," he said and he meant it. It must've been awful trying to sort out his negative emotions alone. "Is that why I can't use Kurama's powers to sense negative feelings? Because I'm in denial?"

The other Naruto hesitated before answering, "Actually, I'm not really sure about that…" He looked back at the two foxes who were frolicking in the water. "I don't think that I've ever felt the villagers' negative emotions, only ours… Otherwise, I'd be a lot less level-headed than I am now. Actually, it's a good thing you freed me from that place. Another three years, and I'm sure I would've attacked you in jealousy at being able to go out there in the real world and make friends."

"Yeah," Naruto scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to say. How do you comfort someone stuck in a prison, albeit a nice prison, but a prison nonetheless… The only way I could free him-me-it-whatever would be to swap places. But is that even possible? Tired of thinking, Naruto looked over to see if Kurama was still playing with himself.

"So… the Shinigami's stomach…" Kurama opened up.

"I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It." the other Kurama said.

"But—" Kurama whined.

"No!" he cut off but sighed as he saw the other him widen his eyes and make them teary. "Fine," he huffed. "It was like… It was like being impaled and wrapped in chains in Kushina with the added blank darkness of Mito."

Kurama winced in sympathy, "Ouch…"

The other Kurama nodded and then smirked, "So… a sewer?" It grinned at Kurama who pouted.

"That was when the Kit didn't know about me, and only had his childhood experiences to develop his mind…" The other Kurama's face darkened. He knew what had to be done to a child to warp their mind into something as horrible as a sewer. Kurama barred his teeth remembering his kit's childhood. No wonder he had to make a separate him to deal with the pain… He sighed and continued, "But look at this place now! It has a mansion fit for the magnificent us!" he tried injecting humor into the conversation. The other him laughed, sharing the same sense of humor as himself.

The other Kurama cleared his throat and asked, "Shall we get to it? No point in staying separate any longer…"

Kurama nodded. "Okay, come here," he moved closer to the other him and nuzzled him.

"I accept you," they both whispered and merged into one.

Woah! Did Kurama just merge with his other self? Wait! That's it! Merging! He could merge with the other him, that way they both would get to see the world together. "Hey, we should merge too!" Naruto called out to the other him.

"Do you know what that means?" the other him asked doubtfully. Naruto shook his head no. "It means, that you'll have to deal with our negative emotions and thoughts from now on. No more splitting yourself in two and hiding away your feelings. Are you ready to hold that burden? Are you ready to take down that mask of happiness you've had on for years?"

Naruto was silent. He honestly didn't know if he could handle all those emotions again. He had a vague memory of when he was younger and it all got too much for him. That's when he'd finally decided to stop crying because it wouldn't change anything, and to start smiling and trying to change things. I thought I was handling my emotions, but it looks like I was just hiding them under a rug of denial… But, when he saw himself sag in resignation, thinking that he'd have to deal with all the emotions alone again, Naruto knew he had to say something. "I won't be alone when I deal with them," he said while looking into his twin's eyes. "We'll be dealing with the emotions together. You know what they say, a team is stronger than an individual, any day!" The other Naruto was shocked, and then launched himself at the blonde in pure joy.

"You accept me?" he asked in hope, looking like a lost little boy.

"Yes, I do. Do you accept me?" Naruto asked while hugging his counterpart who nodded his agreement.

So cute! Kurama thought as he watched his two blonde kits hug each other tightly as if they let go, the other would disappear. The wind picked up in the mindscape and enveloped the two blondes who felt like they were floating and suddenly what was two became one. It felt like a piece of him he never knew was gone, finally came back home. He sighed in relief and sank back into the grass, laying on his back. In no time, he was joined by Kurama who lazily blanketed Naruto with his tails. Naruto leaned back and relaxed as he petted Kurama. I finally feel whole again… He thought as he watched the sun set over the forest behind them.

Meanwhile, the other members of Team 7 weren't faring as well as Naruto had. Sasuke and Sakura still hadn't made any progress with their inner darkness, while Kakashi on the other hand, was struggling with letting go of his.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked the imposter he saw in front of him. He had woken up inside his bedroom, confused at what was happening. Being observant, Kakashi immediately noticed this wasn't his regular bedroom, but instead was his childhood bedroom. He silently left the bedroom and walked into the living room wondering why his "Kai" hadn't disrupted this genjutsu yet.

"You know who I am," the older man said to Kakashi, fingering his ponytail of spiky silver hair. He slung a familiar chakra sabre over his shoulder.

"No, that's impossible…" Kakashi denied and trailed off when he noticed the sabre. "You… How do you have a white light chakra sabre? This is the only one that was ever made!" he called out in shock, taking out an identical tanto. "The maker died after its commission, taking its secrets to his grave! How do you have one?" Kakashi asked pointing the blade at the man in front of him.

"Kakashi…" the man sighed and held his hands up in surrender, deciding he should tell the paranoid jounin where he was before he tried to kill him. "We are in your mind to face your inner darkness. Don't you remember meditating underneath a waterfall?"

Kakashi withdrew his saber, but didn't sheathe it. "The falls… I remember," he rubbed his masked chin with his free hand. "Why are you here?" he faltered when he looked at the dead man standing in front of him.

"I-I just wanted to talk to you one last time… I'm here as a guide, to take you to your inner darkness… and to help you fight it, if you will allow me to," the man stuttered, awkwardly trying to convey his feelings. He stiffly turned around and began walking in a direction.

Kakashi followed him and looked at his father's back. He didn't know if this was a really elaborate trap or just a very vivid hallucination. Either way, he knew he had to talk to him on the chance that this was real. "I forgive you," he quietly called out. Sakumo Hatake stopped his footsteps.

"What?" he croaked out, thinking he'd misheard his son.

"I forgive you for leaving me," Kakashi repeated, louder this time. Sakumo turned back and looked into his son's lone eye, searching for the forgiveness he desired all these years. Kakashi tugged down his mask and tilted up his forehead protector, staring at his father with his Sharingan spinning, carving the image of his father into his memory forever. "I am proud of you. For saving your teammates," he clarified and took in a deep breath. Trying to inject all the emotions he could into his next words, he said, "I will always love you."

Sakumo rushed forward and hugged his son tightly. "I love you too, son! Thank you for forgiving me," he cried, tears spilling over his cheeks and trailing onto Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi just rubbed the older man's back, silently comforting him without words. Sakumo pulled back. "I will always be proud of you," he smiled at his son warmly and then smirked. "Even if you are a hopeless porn-addicted pervert," he rubbed his hand through Kakashi's silver hair fondly.

"Hey," Kakashi scowled, reverting back to his younger self. "Not the hair!" he growled, copying Sakura's reaction to him ruffling her hair.

Sakumo pouted. "My cute little boy is growing up!" Kakashi sweat-dropped. Is this what I look like when I'm with my cute little genin? He wondered before dismissing the thought. Nah. No way, can I ever look that lame… If anyone else saw the two right now, they'd helplessly shake their head and think: hopeless duo… like father, like son…

Sakumo wiped the last of his tears away and pulled Kakashi along with him. "We have to go to the center of the house to fight off your darkness." He led Kakashi down into the basement and pointed to a dark smoky orb in the middle of the room. "I can't go near it, there's a barrier around it that only you can enter. I'll try to help you from here," Sakumo patted Kakashi's back and pushed him forward.

Kakashi nodded and entered the barrier. He defensively held his sword out and approached the orb. When he got closer to it, the orb spewed out smoke which then split into three inky blobs. Kakashi eyed the balls warily as they shape shifted into the members of his old team.

The Obito-look-alike stepped forward and hissed menacingly, "How does it feel Kakashi? To steal my eye and become famous for it? How does it feel to know that you were the reason I died?"

"No, I—that was—" Kakashi tried to deny, but was cut off by the Rin-blob.

"You killed me Kakashi. You struck a chidori through my heart. You killed both of your teammates. You're a Friend-Killer," she condemned him.

"Rin, I didn't mean too, I was just—" Kakashi tried to explain but was interrupted by the last blob of his team.

"Kakashi," a deep voice spoke out and Rin and Obito quieted.

"Sensei…" Kakashi saw his old mentor glare at him with hatred.

"How could you? I trusted you! How could you leave Naruto all alone in the orphanage? Let him experience being hated by the villagers with no one to protect him," Minato accused. Kakashi's face crumpled. How could he explain why he couldn't adopt Naruto?

"…I have no excuse," Kakashi looked down shame-facedly, each word ripping into his small shriveled heart and shredding it into pieces. Although he protected Naruto as part of his ANBU-detail, he was unable to give the blonde the comfort and love of a family. Even if he tried to make Team 7 a family, he couldn't make up for the first 12 miserable years of his life.

"I see," the Minato-clone frowned and stepped closer to Kakashi, almost touching him. "Then, are you willing?"

Kakashi looked up. "What?" he asked.

"I asked, are you willing to suffer for all the things you put us through?" it finished and all three of the blobs stared at Kakashi, waiting for his answer.

Kakashi was about to put down his sword and agree when his father shouted out, "Don't listen to them! They aren't real! I've been watching over you since I died and I know first-hand what you did. Obito protected you and gave his eye to you of his own free will and you helped make that eye famous across the lands, immortalizing Obito's sacrifice. Rin stepped in front of the chidori to save Konoha. You didn't murder her, you saved her from killing her friends and family! And as for Naruto…" Here Kakashi looked at his father, wondering what he would say. "As for Naruto, you protected him those twelve years! Saved him from his parent's enemies, watched over him like an over-protective brother would! He even gave you a plant as a thank you even if he didn't know it was you who was saving him. And now, you let him experience a family. You shower him in unconditional love, something he's yearned for. He trusts you enough to call you Kaka-sensei or Inu-san when he thinks he's all alone," Sakumo finished, his voice hoarse from yelling.

The moment Kakashi heard of his genin's nickname towards him, he stopped wilting and stood up firmly, facing his old team. Instantly, able to stand up against his team's accusations at the thought of his cute little genin calling him, "Kaka-sensei!" I knew I'd be able to get a nickname! And I got one before Iruka did, and it isn't lame like Jiji or Haku! Ha, take that Haku! Lost in his thoughts, Kakashi didn't notice he stepped through the shady forms of his old team and was right in front of the black orb. The orb, sensing Kakashi come nearby, transformed into its final form and Kakashi's oldest inner fear.

Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the shadowy figure of his father. "I killed myself because of you! I am ashamed to have a son like you!" Kakashi stood in front of the form of his father frozen stiff. "You were never good enough for me or your mother! I hate you, in fact I never loved you!"

Sakumo couldn't stand the sight of himself hurling abuse at his son. "That's a lie!" he burst out. "Your mother and I both deeply love you and nobody could be prouder than us of who you've become today!" Kakashi could see the sincerity in his father's eyes and held up his saber to the fake form of his father.

"I know my parents love me. You won't be able to fool me," he said and slashed down with his tanto, dispersing the remnants of his inner demons as he did so. Sakumo ran forward as soon as the barrier lifted as Kakashi defeated his inner hatred of himself. He hugged Kakashi tightly to his chest and spoke his last words to Kakashi.

"Thank you for forgiving me… Now I can move on in peace. And finally see your mother… Remember that we'll always love you," he finished and started dissipating into small balls of light.

"I love you both too!" Kakashi called out as the faint form of his father smiled and then faded. He looked around his empty basement and said, "Well, I guess the only thing I can do is to explore." He took a step and then the world spun around and he found himself back in his regular body, sitting in front of the waterfall. "Or not…" he murmured half-heartedly.

"Kaka-se—I mean, Kakashi-sensei! You're all right!" Naruto threw himself at Kakashi and tightly wrapped his arms around him. Kakashi grunted, finding his arms full of the blonde and then remembered what Naruto just said.

"What did you just call me," he asked looking at Naruto.

Naruto pulled back and averted his eyes, his whiskered cheeks tinted pink. "Nothing…" he avoided looking at his sensei.

"No, I'm pretty sure you called me something," Kakashi pressed, trapping his squirming student in his arms.

Naruto puffed his pink cheeks up and admitted in a very small voice, "I called you… Kaka-sensei."

Kakashi almost laughed seeing his student looking like a cute little chipmunk. He wanted to pinch those chubby cheeks, but restrained himself. "What was that?" he playfully asked.

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, "I said… that I called you Kaka-sensei."

Ruffling Naruto's hair fondly, Kakashi eye-smiled and said, "See, that wasn't' that hard. From now on, you can call me Kaka-sensei."

"Okay," Naruto shyly ducked his head. He didn't mean for Kakashi to find out he secretly called him that in his head.

"Okay, what?" Kakashi couldn't stop himself from teasing his blonde.

"Okay… Kaka-sensei," Naruto blushed hard. So cute! Kakashi thought seeing his genin's red face.

Kakashi laughed and pulled the blonde up with him. He stretched out his numb legs and then asked, "How long were we in here for?"

Naruto tilted his head and tried to remember, "I think that you were in there for about two or three hours after I came out…" He reached into his pocket seal and pulled out an alarm clock. "We came in here at about 10am, and this clock says that it's 8:30, so it's been ten and a half hours!"

Rubbing his chin in thought, Kakashi looked around the clearing and saw that Sasuke and Sakura were still meditating. He figured that they'd be that way for a while and turned to Naruto. "Let's eat dinner now, I don't think they're going to wake up any time soon…"

"Okay," Naruto chirped and started unsealing. He placed a picnic blanket in front of the pagoda and started pulling out the food. "What do you want Kakashi, I mean Kaka-sensei?" Naruto hurriedly corrected when he saw Kakashi eye-smile threateningly.

"I've got rice balls topped off with Bonito flakes, fresh sliced tomatoes, syrup-coated anko dumplings, umeboshi, and anmitsu," Naruto listed out as Kakashi smiled, hearing the names of Sasuke's and Sakura's favorite foods. "And salt-broiled saury and eggplant miso soup, red bean soup, and all the types of ramen I could find!" Naruto continued.

Kakashi stilled for a second before saying, "I'll have the eggplant miso soup." He was touched Naruto packed his favorite food too. But how does he know those are my favorite foods? Kakashi wondered, not suspecting Naruto broke into the records room to read his teammate's files…

"Okay!" Naruto smiled and pulled it out. He handed a spoon to Kakashi and dug into his ramen. He watched closely, trying to see Kakashi's face. Kakashi smiled, inwardly noticing his genin spying on him eating. He looked over at the pagoda, causing Naruto to involuntarily follow, and when Naruto was distracted he finished off the soup in one bite. By the time the blonde looked back, it was already too late. Naruto slouched in his chair and sulkily ate his ramen. Kakashi laughed at Naruto's antics and watched him finish off five bowls of ramen, mentally noting never to offer to pay for dinner at Ichiraku's Ramen. By the time both of them finished dinner and they cleaned up, it was already 9:30.

"It doesn't look like they're going to be done anytime soon," Kakashi squinted at the where his other two genin were resting. "Why don't we go to sleep for now, and if they're still not done by tomorrow, we'll ask the bird to take us back to the Konoha Hospital."

"Okay!" Naruto agreed and rolled out two sleeping bags. As they both settled down to sleep, Naruto flipped over to face his sensei's sleeping bag and asked, "Kaka-sensei, can I please see your face?"

Kakashi toyed with just pulling down his mask to reveal his other emergency mask, but decided not to when he saw Naruto's pouty teary puppy-eyes. Must resist… Can't give in… In the end… he gave in. "Alright, you can look, but only on one condition."

"What?" Naruto asked, eager to see Kakashi's always hidden face.

"No falling in love with me," Kakashi said seriously and Naruto nodded, almost bouncing in anticipation. Kakashi slowly hooked his fingers on both sides of his mask and tugged it down. Naruto gasped. Wow, sensei's handsome!

Kakashi watched his student closely, ready to pull up his mask if Naruto displayed any of the classic signs of heart-struck fangirls, or fanboys in this case. Other than a gasp, which could easily be due to surprise, Naruto seemed to be normal. No blushing, heavy breathing, sudden sweating, or increased heart-pounding, Kakashi catalogued Naruto's reactions.

Naruto piped up, "Wow! You're good looking sensei!" Kakashi noticed that Naruto sounded surprised, but didn't display any other symptoms. Hmm… I think he's the first one other than my father to not fall for my face… I don't know whether to be happy or sad about this, but I guess it makes sense that only my family doesn't love my face to the point of becoming raving fans. While Kakashi was lost in thought, he didn't notice Naruto staring at his beauty mark under his lips. "I knew it!" Naruto shouted out triumphantly.

"What?" Kakashi asked, startled out of his thoughts.

"I knew you were Inu-san!" Naruto smugly replied.

"How did you know?" Kakashi asked, bemused. As far as he knew, he never showed off his shoulder to his genin, so there's no way they could tell Inu was him that way. And he never removed his face mask as Inu either, so Naruto shouldn't be able to identify him that way.

"Your hair was the same, so I thought you could be Inu or related to him, but I didn't really know. I was going to just ask you, but then I remembered that one time you saved me and the bottom half of your mask broke off. I saw that same mole under your lip!" Naruto said happily.

Kakashi was shocked that Naruto could recall something that far back. "You remember that day?"

"Yeah… It's hard not to," Naruto began. Yeah, I guess even a young kid would remember their birthday. Especially if it was something that traumatizing… Kakashi ruminated and figured Naruto remembered that day because someone had hurt him in a failed assassination attempt on his fourth birthday. "I could never forget the day that I made my first friend!" Naruto chirped. Kakashi stared at Naruto, not expecting him to say that. He always looks at the bright side of things, doesn't he? "Yeah, that was the best birthday ever! I got cake, presents, and a birthday party with a friend and Jiji!"

Kakashi definitely remembered that day. He'd taken Naruto to the hospital after stopping the attempt and then had waited for Naruto to finish healing. He was giving his report to the Hokage, when the nurse stepped out and said that they were all done. Kakashi had given Naruto a get-well balloon, while Hiruzen had brought Naruto a present and a cupcake with a candle in it. Naruto had stared wide-eyed at the present and had happily blew out the candle. He then split the cupcake into three pieces and gave one to Kakashi, Hiruzen, and ate the last piece. Later, Hiruzen had given Kakashi a plant along with a note saying it was from Naruto as thanks for coming to his birthday party…

"I'm so happy that you're alright. I thought something bad had happened to you," Naruto's lip wobbled slightly as he swallowed down a sob. In that moment, Kakashi felt like a jerk for never coming back to visit the blonde.

"Yeah, after that day, we had to up the security in the village and were a lot busier. It didn't help that the whole Hyuuga-Kumo affair happened then too…" Kakashi scooched his sleeping bag closer to Naruto and ruffled the blonde's hair comfortingly. Naruto nodded, not really knowing what the Hyuuga-Kumo affair was, but remembering how the attacks on him had stopped after that day.

"Do you still have Mr. Ukki?" Naruto asked, yawning slightly as he looked up at Kakashi.

"Yeah, I still have him. I watered him every day. He's grown well over the past few years," Kakashi lazily replied still playing with Naruto's hair.

"Mm… I should come over sometime and add a watering seal to him," Naruto drawled, barely awake then. Kakashi nodded and then smiled as he noticed the blonde had fallen asleep.

"Night," he murmured before he too, drifted off to sleep.

Kakashi woke up to the arousing smell of breakfast. He sat up and saw a tray with a glass of orange juice and a plate of buttered toast. "Is this for me?" he asked, wondering when was the last time he had actually had breakfast in bed—or in this case, breakfast in a sleeping bag…

"Yeah!" Naruto replied in between bites of his own toast. "I didn't add any powdered sugar or cinnamon on yours, because I know you don't like sweet stuff." Once again Kakashi questioned how Naruto had gotten his information about them, but quickly forgot his suspicions when he tasted the food.

"It was good," Kakashi finally commented after he finished eating everything. Naruto perked up hearing his words of praise. Kakashi chuckled, he could almost imagine Naruto wagging a tail in delight. "It doesn't look like they're going to wake up any time soon," Kakashi noted, checking their breathing patterns.

"Should we go back then?" Naruto asked as he finished clearing everything away.

"Yeah," Kakashi got up off the ground and called out, "Vermillion-sama, we're ready to leave now!" A pillar of flames erupted and from it, unfurled the Vermillion Bird from before.

"Where would you like me to—" the bird cut himself off and flew closer to Kakashi. "You actually look really good, for a mere mortal…" the ancient animal purred as it stepped closer to Kakashi.

Shit! I'm not wearing my mask! He had forgotten to put it back on yesterday as Naruto had barely any reaction to his face, so he didn't remember he wasn't wearing one today. "…As kind of you to notice," Kakashi backed away and tugged up his mask, "we really should be getting back to Konoha. Can you drop us off at the Konoha Hospital?" Seems like only my family isn't affected by this face…

The bird shook itself out of its trance and dipped its head down in embarrassment. "I will do as you wish," it muttered and then the room was engulfed in a flash of blinding white light. When Kakashi could see again, he found himself in front of the hospital, his genin right next to him. Naruto was trying (and failing) to support both Sasuke and Sakura, who were leaning on him. Two nurses noticed them outside and wheeled out two wheelchairs. Kakashi helped check his two genin into the same room and then took Naruto with him to the Mission Desk.

"Ready to report the success of Team 7's mission!" Kakashi clearly stated once he saw Hiruzen.

"How was your first C-rank, Naruto?" the Hokage asked his favorite orange genin. Naruto peeked out from behind where Kakashi placed him. He was relieved that they were back, they'd taken a lot longer on this mission than he'd thought they'd need.

"It was cool but sad…" Naruto frowned remembering Haku's and Zabuza's deaths. Hiruzen grimaced hearing that. He noticed Sakura and Sasuke weren't there reporting with the rest of Team 7. Don't tell me they actually… While the Hokage's thoughts shifted to a morbid place, Naruto interrupted and said, "But we buried Haku and Zabuza in front of the bridge, so their memorial will last forever." Hiruzen sighed in relief. So, his teammates are still alive… Just imagining what the council would've done if only Naruto survived, while the 'last loyal Uchiha' died made him shudder. Wait… Zabuza? Why does that name sound so familiar?

"Who were Haku and Zabuza," Iruka asked Naruto curiously, from behind the desk.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto happily waved at Iruka, not noticing him there before.

"They were two ninjas from Kiri. Haku had ice release while Zabuza used to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen…" Kakashi winced, seeing the Hokage narrow his eyes at him.

"That would make this mission a B-rank, right?" Hiruzen tightly smiled.

"Actually…" Kakashi faltered slightly noticing Iruka glaring daggers at him. "Tazuna concealed that Wave was under the control of a man named Gato, so this mission was an A-rank…"

"Why did you continue the mission if it was an A-rank!" Iruka shouted, almost using his Big-head jutsu.

"Hey, it wasn't Kaka-sensei's fault," Naruto piped up. Iruka and Hiruzen blinked. Kaka-sensei? They thought together…

Since when did Kakashi allow anyone to call him by a nickname? Hiruzen wondered, while Iruka was jealous that Kakashi got a nickname before he did. Why does the Masked-pervert get a nickname first? I was his sensei first and for way longer… Iruka pouted.

"Kaka-sensei sent Pakkun to Jiji after we defeated the Demon Brothers, and Jiji said it was okay to continue the mission. He didn't know about Zabuza and Haku then and we couldn't just leave Wave in the hands of Gato!" Naruto passionately exclaimed.

Hiruzen decided he'd just read Kakashi's mission report later and not try to decipher the blonde's ramblings. He cleared his throat and asked, "Then, where are young Sasuke and Sakura?"

"They're in the hospital!" Naruto answered.

"Are they hurt?" Iruka fretted. He still saw the genin as his children even though they were out of the academy.

"Nope! They're just meditating," Naruto happily explained. The Hokage and Iruka looked at Kakashi for clarification.

"Two weeks after we freed Wave, we set off towards Whirlpool. There, Naruto felt a hidden place his ancestors left behind for their legacies. Only an Uzumaki was able to open the sanctuary and call upon a directional beast for entrance."

"What? Directional beasts? You mean like the ones they use in sealing? They're real?" Iruka asked in shock.

This time, Hiruzen answered. "Indeed, they are real. I believe I told Naruto about Genbu, the Black Tortoise. He lives off the shore of Kumo and is known as a moving island to the villagers. He has a temple on him that allows people to conquer their inner hatred… If I'm correct, since Whirlpool is in the South, the guardian deity you met must have been the Vermillion Bird?" Hiruzen asked, intrigued.

"Yes, as I heard about that place too, I allowed Team 7 to undergo the training at the Uzumaki's hidden sanctuary," Kakashi continued. "Naruto asked the Vermillion Bird to allow us entry, and the bird said when we were finished, it'd bring us back to Konoha. Sasuke and Sakura are still meditating, so I checked them into the hospital, so they don't have to worry about food or water."

"What about you and Naruto? Did you conquer your inner demons?" the Hokage leaned forward, waiting for an answer.

"Yup, Jiji! I finished first and then Kaka-sensei finished and we had dinner together. And after that Kaka-sensei let me see his face!" Naruto gestured widely with his hands. All the ninjas in the academy stopped and spun around to stare at Naruto when they heard him say the last part. Hiruzen's eyebrows lifted at this. He showed Naruto his face? Not even I have seen his face… He really treasures Naruto. Iruka just gaped.

"He saw it!" a girl with hearts in her eyes squealed.

"The legendary masked Kakashi actually shared his secret with someone!" another ninja at the desk asked in disbelief.

"What do you think it was? Blimp lips? Buck-teeth? No nose?" another jounin asked, on his way back from turning in a report.

"I think its tentacles! That's why he likes Icha Icha so much, it's like reading about his family…" Everyone turned and looked at the last person who said this. "Hey, it makes sense. How else can he eat his food so fast without anyone noticing?" People nodded their head at this thought and Kakashi sweat-dropped. What type of weird human-hybrid do they think I am? They then turned to Naruto with hungry eyes.

"Say, Naruto, why don't you tell your Jiji how Kakashi's face looks like? I'll take you out for Ramen, if you whisper it to me," the Hokage bribed.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, when Kakashi covered the blonde's mouth with his hands. "I think we should be going to the hospital to check on the rest of our team… Don't want to be late…" Kakashi insincerely eye-smiled and shunshined out of there with Naruto. Hiruzen and Iruka watched the puff of smoke and leaves settle down.

"Naruto really saw his face. I thought it was a prank, but Kakashi's reaction,,," Iruka trailed off in amazement. "He really cares about this team, doesn't he?" Iruka asked Hiruzen who smiled widely.

"Yes. It seems like he's finally found what he's been searching for," Hiruzen said mysteriously, confusing Iruka. A family… Hiruzen thought as he saw in the distance a flailing blonde being carried by his silver-haired sensei into the hospital.

Fast Forward to the Fifth Meeting

"…And in Whirlpool we went to the Uzumaki's hidden sanctuary where we had to mediate to find our inner selves. That's why Sasuke and Sakura are in the hospital. They're still in their meditative trances right now, but they should be waking up sometime later this week," Naruto finished his story, winded from the huge explanation. He had left out the parts about Kurama and the Shinigami, but he'd mostly told the rest of what had happened. The other genin were silent, trying to digest that their blonde had just went on a dangerous mission without them to protect them.

Shikamaru furrowed his forehead in thought. He was sure the blonde left something out, but he just couldn't put his finger on it…

"Does that mean Sasuke and Sakura are coming to our meetings from now on?" Kiba moaned, curling up his nose in distaste.

"Hey! They're not so bad," Naruto defended. "Sakura's toned down on the whole Sasuke worship thing and Sasuke actually talks to us now. He even said that I was his best friend!" Naruto beamed, remembering how he got the stoic raven to laugh and admit the blonde was his best friend.

Shino pouted, not that it could be seen behind his huge jacket. "I wanted to be your best friend," Shino sulkily stated, his Kikaichu buzzing, trying to comfort him.

Naruto looked at the glasses-wearing boy in shock. "Really?" he wondered.

Shino nodded and was about to respond, but was shoved aside by his impulsive teammate. "Hey! I'm his best friend," Kiba puffed out his chest and pointed his thumb at himself.

"What about Akamaru?" Naruto asked in confusion. He could hardly believe that people wanted to be his friend, let alone his best friend?!

"We're a package deal! Two for one!" Kiba bragged as Akamaru yipped. The dog really wouldn't mind being best friends with the blonde. He'd always fed him delicious treats when no one was looking and made his human happier.

"No way dog-breath! Keep your paws off of him! Naruto is going to be my best friend!" Ino waved her fist at Kiba who backed away slowly. "Right, Naruto? Us blondes have to stick together!" she winked at him. Naruto just blinked in confusion.

"Ahem," Shikamaru coughed, feeling the need to stake his claim. "Choji and I have already become Naruto's best friends back in the academy. We always went cloud-watching together, so Naruto is our best friend."

Choji added, "Yeah, I shared my chips with Naruto, so he's our best friend."

"Yeah? Well I pulled pranks on people in the academy with Naruto," Kiba retorted, forgetting about Ino. Naruto looked back and forth between the genin, wondering how this was going to turn out.

"Ano!" Hinata face turned red as everyone stared at her. "I-I would… like t-to be… Naruto's best friend," Hinata admitted, her voice growing fainter as she spoke. Naruto looked at Hinata and she blushed harder, swaying a little as she overloaded.

"Wow, looks like your popular today, Naruto," Kakashi eye-smiled and walked up to the genin throwing his arm over Naruto's shoulders possessively.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto blurted out in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"What, I can't just come to see my cute little genin, because I missed you?" Kakashi asked, revealing his inner thoughts. "Just kidding," he lied. "I came by to help you with the next step of your wind release. Let's go to Training Ground #7." He steered Naruto out of the restaurant.

"Huh? Okay, bye guys!" Naruto called over his shoulder and waved goodbye to the rest of the genin, who were glaring jealously at Kakashi for taking away their blonde. Kakashi… They thought together, murderously.

Kakashi looked back at the genin and mouthed, "I'm Naruto's first friend." And he wasn't lying, really. He was Naruto's first friend. The fact that Naruto didn't know he was back then, notwithstanding. And if the genin mistook his 'first' for 'best', who was he to correct them? He chuckled as he saw the rest of the genin's jaws drop open at his words. He whistled merrily and walked to the training field with Naruto, happily training the rest of the day away.

Replies to Reviews:

King Cairo: (I know I already replied, but if anyone else wanted the answer as well, here's what I said): Hello, thanks for liking the story! Don't worry, I didn't think you were bashing or anything! ;) Wow, I didn't even think of looking at the elemental balancing chart when I was writing the fight scene... I just thought that lightning would get canceled out by the earth because it would get grounded by the earth. Your reasoning for why Zabuza's dragon canceled out Kakashi's makes sense, so let's go with that ;) Zabuza used extra chakra to make his earth dragon compact enough that it was able to cancel out the lightning dragon which was made with less chakra because Kakashi was trying to conserve his chakra to use his Sharingan... It's cool that you're into analyzing jutsu effects, feel free to point out again if something doesn't make sense! (If you have a reason as to why it works out, even better! Hahaha)

Jango519: Yay, favorites! That means I must be doing something right! :)

Naru285: Yup, I love when Team 7 has teamwork! It tugs at my heartstrings.

AndiDuel: Thank you! Here's the nest chapter (look above) ;)

duchessliz: Yeah, I didn't want them to die at first, but then I didn't have an impetus for Naruto to unravel his seal and meet Kurama... Don't worry though, they'll be watching over Naruto's journeys as ghosts :)

SilentAqua: Ok, that's good! I was worried I was changing their characters too fast. I'm glad it's believable!

random bug: You'll have to wait for the next chapter to see ;) I'm actually really excited to write the next chapter! :)

Guest: I love Naru x Shika too! :)

Guest: Naruto won't teach his teammates the two jutsu until Kakashi says its okay, so if Sasuke and Sakura really change, then they'll be able to learn it. I'm trying to change them into more like-able characters. Maybe after this chapter, you'll like them more :)

Guest: Updating now! ;)

Guest: Shipping, I always have troubles there too! :) No, no one's time traveled. The future has change from the cannon world once Shikamaru pulled Naruto away to join the gennin meetings. Ha ha no, they were just hinting that the second Hokage would be dying soon because he perfected this jutsu when he was already old. About the seals on them... I'll leave that for a future chapter, but it's going to be a long wait... I haven't decided if he will have more than one type yet... Actually, I like the idea of him having two types, so foxes and toads it is! :) I should totally do that short story! I'll add it to my list of side stories for this series!

ryo tadagachi: Thanks! More family in this chapter!