Images from the battle flashed behind his eyelids, increasing the already unbearable pounding in his head. Naruto groaned, rolling onto his side to bury his head deeper into the pillow, futilely trying to halt the flow of images.

"Well, glad to see one of you three is awake," A female voice teased; Naruto's eyes snapped open as he rolled to face her. Immediately he regretted his decision as a wave of nausea washed over him; he groaned, fighting back the urge to vomit. The smell of mint suddenly wafted into his nostrils, prompting him to open his eyes to see a cup of tea held before him.

"It's to help settle your stomach," She said, setting it down beside his bed. "Now come on, let's get you comfortable so that you can drink this."

He nodded, allowing her to maneuver him as she pleased; his breath caught in his throat as his cerulean blue eyes met her pale blue ones. She flashed him a smile, laying him back against the pillows, allowing him to catch a glimpse of the thick braided rope of hair the color of corn silk sway behind her back.

"Am I in heaven," He murmured aloud as she pushed the tea cup into his hand.

"I would certainly hope not," She said, sitting beside him, "Right now, you happen to be residing in the store of the Yamanaka apothecaries."

He blinked, looking around the small room; across from him, he could see a large oak dresser next to a desk, while beside him was a nightstand. The bed was covered in handmade quilts, while the wooden walls were devoid of any type of pictures or paintings. Despite the lack of knickknacks one might find in someone's home, it was cozy enough for Naruto to feel relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"I thought you guys only sold herbs and medicines," He asked, taking a sip of his tea.

"Usually, but my family decided that it would be best to have some rooms set aside for serious cases," She explained, "Also, since we're close to the walls of the city, travelers and merchants tend to stay the night here from time to time."

"So it acts like an inn as well," Naruto said; she nodded in affirmation. "That's pretty brilliant actually!"

"I'm glad you think so," She said, "It always does my self-esteem good to hear my business be praised."

"You run this place," He asked in astonishment. He began to regret his question as she rolled her eyes at him, arms crossing over her generous bosom.

"What, you think that because I'm a woman I can't do anything," She asked, pale eyebrow arched in question. He raised his hands defensively, mind furiously working to undo the situation.

"No no," He began, "It's just…well, I mean, I don't have much experience with women. N-Not in any weird way or anything!" He stammered out, face turning bright red as he realized the implication of his words.

She threw her head back in the laughter, the sound reminding Naruto of the girls who were the daughters of noblemen that came to visit the village from time to time. "You're quite the interesting one," She mused, looking at him thoughtfully, "My name is Ino Yamanaka," She said, stretching her hand out to his. He grasped it tightly, marveling as how soft it was, even with callouses that were created from grinding herbs into pastes for the ill.

"Naruto," He said, shaking her hand, "Naruto Uzumaki."

When Ino left, Naruto collapsed against the pillows, heaving a sigh of relief. When they had begun talking, it was as if she was interrogating him about every little detail of his life and journey so far. After what seemed to be hours, and when she had run out of questions to ask, he inquired as to why she seemed so interested in him.

"Since Lord Danzou had such strict regulations on incoming travelers, the city doesn't get much news of the outside world." She replied, shrugging nonchalantly, "So whenever I got the chance to talk to outsiders, I made sure to take it."

"Well, now you can move freely all you want," Naruto said, chest puffing out with pride, "We ran him out of the city, so you don't have to worry about any consequences of punishments!"

Ino sighed, rolling her eyes at his comment. "He may have gone about it the wrong way, but Lord Danzou was a good ruler."

"Eh? But you just said-"

"I know what I said," Ino snapped, silencing him, "However, he kept our city safe from danger. We had such strong military power that no one dared to mess with us; anyone that did was either eliminated or beaten into submission. But now that he's gone…"

"Are we really safer?"

"Of course they are," Naruto scoffed, glaring at the ceiling. "Such a harsh guy like him, torturing Sakura like that…Who knows what he did to his own citizens!"

"But wouldn't you have done the same," A traitorous corner of his mind whispered; Naruto frowned, rolling over to his side.

"Of course not," Naruto shot back immediately; however, as soon as he had thought it, he began to think of exceptions to his declaration. "Well, I mean, I wouldn't be as harsh as him."

"Even if it meant protecting your people from the dangers of the land," The voice whispered back, "After all, he was only protecting his allies…Isn't that what you would do in the same situation?"

Naruto groaned, grabbing the pillow and shoving it onto his face in an attempt to silence him. So concentrated on his inner thoughts that he failed to notice Kakashi watch him from the doorway, a look of understanding on his face.

"Care to share your thoughts," He asked, startling Naruto out of thoughts. He smiled as for a brief moment, the seriousness that shadowed Naruto's face was wiped away with boyish relief for his recovery.

"You're awake," Naruto shouted; Kakashi nodded, making his way over to the chair beside Naruto's bed, his body leaning heavily on the staff. The joy that had washed over Naruto soon began to fade as Kakashi sat down, releasing a sigh of relief as his joints cracked. It was in that moment that Naruto realized that despite his appearance, Kakashi was an elderly man. As he openly stared at him, Kakashi glanced over, raising an eyebrow.

"Do I have something on my mask," Kakashi asked, feeling it for any signs of crumbs or stains. Naruto shook his head, immediately looking down at the bed, almost ashamed for having been caught staring.

"It's just…" Naruto began, trying to find the right words, "Well…Kakashi, you're really old, right?"

Kakashi felt his eye twitch at Naruto's remark. "I'm quite young by a mage's standards you know."

"I know," Naruto exclaimed, "It's just…" He rubbed the back of his neck, mind furiously working to articulate his thoughts. "Well…we got rid of Danzou right? But there's still this city, and no one is around to take care of it, so, I mean, was what we did…"

"The right thing," Kakashi finished his thought; Naruto nodded vigorously, earning a sigh from Kakashi. "For our intents and purposes, what we did was the right thing."

"But what about the people of the city," Naruto asked, "Was what we did right for them?"

"It probably wasn't," Kakashi honestly admitted, earning a shocked look from Naruto. "But, as I said before, for our journey it was the right thing to do."

"But if that's the case, then is this journey even the right thing to do," Naruto pressed, "Are we just going to destroy more lives because what we think is good, but in the eyes of others are evil? At the end of this, am I going to be, what, some kind of demon king?!"

"Calm yourself," Kakashi began, reaching a hand out to Naruto; he merely smacked it away.

"Answer me damn it!"

"Then you need to be calm," Kakashi said sternly, voice holding a type of authority that only years of walking the lands could create. Naruto immediately silenced himself, laying back against the pillows as Kakashi continued.

"What you must understand Naruto, is that in this world, the words 'good' and 'evil' are arbitrary; that is to say, is that they are based on a person," Kakashi held up his hand as Naruto's mouth opened, "Wait until I finish. Now, where was I….ah yes, people."

"In this world, the ideas and images of 'good' and 'evil' were created by the views held collectively by the people. So, for example, many people will gladly say that stealing bread from the market is bad, correct," He asked; Naruto nodded, still listening, "Well, what if the reason for stealing the bread was that the person's daughter was sick and needed food?"

"Then I guess it's not that bad…" Naruto replied after a few moments of thought; Kakashi smiled at his answer.

"Yes well, while you think that's acceptable, others such as Danzou would still view it as a crime," Kakashi stated, "A crime that, depending on their notion, can be punishable by death."

"But they were still it for their sick kid," Naruto protested, sitting up in bed, "You can't put someone to death just because their kid is sick!"

"Some people's views of the world are that way though."

Naruto laid back against the pillows again, staring at him thoughtfully. "So…what we did wasn't technically wrong?"

Kakashi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ah, youth…No, for many people, what we did wasn't wrong; however, for the people of this city, whose ideals matched Danzou's, what we did was wrong."

"But he was ruling with force!"

"These are dark times, Naruto," Kakashi said, "Creatures have begun to prepare for war since they've felt Kaguya's power grow. Because of that, some would rather live in peace and force than live in freedom and uncertainty, even if it means compromising their own ideals."

Naruto glanced down at the bed, his hands grasping the sheets tightly, mind reeling from Kakashi's speech. After a few long moments of processing his words, Naruto finally looked up at him, eyes steeled with determination.

"I may not know a lot," Naruto began, "But, I know that I don't want my people to be ruled by fear. I want them to put their trust in me to protect them; I want them to love and respect me because they actually do, and not because they fear the gallows! I swear on my life that I'll make it happen, you better believe it!"

Kakashi watched him curiously, eye studying him as he made the speech. Slowly he smiled, hand reaching out and ruffling his hair. Naruto pouted, glaring slightly at Kakashi as he thought he was mocking him; the next words out of his mouth stunned Naruto into silence.

"You would've made your father proud," Kakashi said, hand leaving his hair. A warm feeling spread throughout Naruto's body at those words; the father he had never known, being proud at his declaration? The mere thought made Naruto's heart feel like bursting. Kakashi stood up, sensing that he wanted to be alone for a moment, already heading towards the door.

"Well, I guess I'll go check up on Sasuke and Sakura," Kakashi called back, halfway out the door, "Rest up as much as you can."

Naruto nodded, fist coming up to wipe away the tears that had sprung at the corners of his eyes.

"Sasuke…this isn't you."

"Watch out!"

"Get up and fight damn it!"

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke's eyes shot open as he lurched forward in the bed, the sound of Sakura's voice ringing through his ears. He faintly heard a gasp, attention immediately snapping to the source; by his bed stood a blushing Ino, a damp rag still held in her hands.

"Y-You're awake," She stammered, setting the rag into the bowl, "How are you feeling? You've been out cold for a couple days now, so you must be hungry. How about-"

"Where is she," He demanded coldly, eyes glaring at her; her blush intensified, eyes glancing away from him.

"You mean the girl," She asked, "She's still asleep, though she's recovering." She smiled at him, not noticing how his scowl grew deeper. "My name is Ino by the way, what's-Hey!"

He immediately threw the covers off of him, climbing out of the bed; he ignored his body's protests and her vocal ones, opting to instead search for Sakura. As he began to walk, he suddenly felt Ino grab his wrist, giving a strong tug back towards the bed.

"Oi, you need to take it slow," Ino said, "You've just woken up, and your body is still injured!"

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke replied curtly, "Take me to her before I find her myself."

"She's not exactly in a proper state right now-"

"Don't. Care."

Ino huffed, releasing his wrist and folding her arms across her chest. "Geez, you're a lot cuter when you're sleeping than when you're awake. At least Naruto has manners…when he remembers to use them.

He rolled his eyes at her comment, heading towards the door. "Good to hear that the idiot is awake as well," He said, opening the door and immediately slamming it behind him. Ignoring Ino's cries of indignation, he walked down the hallway, noticing that his room was at the end, and was one of at least ten others in the hallway. He stalked past doors, his heightened hearing listening for any sounds indicative of Sakura.

"So bored," He heard Naruto whine from behind one of the rooms; he quickly slipped past it, not wanting him to distract him from his current mission. He strained his ears harder, trying to listen for the sound of a breath, perhaps a heartbeat, anything to indicate that there was still life in her body. After a few moments, he heard the soft rustle of a scroll opening behind one of the doors in front of him; he quickly walked to it, turning the knob as he yanked it open.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw Sakura laid on the bed, her chest rising and falling shallowly, cheeks flushed a light pink. He felt the back of his neck grow warm as he noticed that she wore a flimsy slip, the thin straps falling down her thin shoulders, the neckline plunging dangerously low. Despite knowing that it was wrong for him to stare at her while she was incapacitated, he found that his eyes seemed transfixed upon her; slowly, he took steps towards her, until he found himself by her bedside. He knelt besides her, focusing on how despite still looking ill, she had a healthier glow about her. He suddenly noticed how his hand began to reach out to push hair off her damp forehead; he stopped himself, pulling back at the last moment.

"Captivating, isn't it," A voice asked; Sasuke snapped his head towards the direction, glaring as he saw Sai sitting in a chair in the corner, paintbrush in hand with his scroll spread across his lap. He stood slowly, feeling the anger from before begin to bubble in his veins.

"What are you doing here," Sasuke growled; Sai merely tilted his head to the side, almost as if in confusion.

"Is it wrong for me to be visiting a friend," He asked, "Or rather, are you upset that I wanted to paint her?" He asked, gesturing towards Sakura.

Sasuke's hands balled into fists. "She is no friend of yours," He spat, eyes narrowing dangerously at him. The entity from Danzou's battle was at the back of his mind, whispering to use its power; considering the situation, he was quite tempted to.

"No, but he's a friend of Ino's," Kakashi's voice came from behind; he spun around, glaring at Kakashi learning against the door frame. Kakashi merely waved his hand in greeting, entering the room, Rin perched on his shoulder. He spotted an empty chair in the other corner of the room, making a beeline towards it; he sighed as he plopped down into it, joints creaking protest.

"So, how is she," Kakashi asked, ignoring the incredulous look Sasuke sent his way. Sai smiled, glancing over at Sakura as he began to speak.

"Her fever has gone down," He began, "At times, she's become lucid enough to tell us what she needs, and her weight gain has been quite good. Despite that, she'll still need at least a few more days of bed rest before she can be cleared for travel."

"Well, with all things considered, I'm glad to hear she's doing a little better."

"What the hell are you doing Kakashi," Sasuke asked incredulously; Kakashi looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"I thought it was quite obvious. I'm inquiring about the health of our comrade."

"You know that's not what I mean," Sasuke growled, "Why are you acting like that he didn't try to kill us?" He demanded, finger pointing accusatorily at Sai. Kakashi sighed, hands reaching up to rub at his temples as he leaned back in his chair.

"You must understand Sasuke," Kakashi began, "Sai isn't our true enemy. Does it not occur to you that Danzou would have put all his men, including Sai, under his control through sealing magic?"

Sasuke was silent, allowing Kakashi to continue. "While you were unconscious, Sai had come to us to apologize for his actions. Apparently, when Danzou recruited his men, he placed a seal on the tongue that would cause immeasurable pain to the user if they went against Danzou's plans; after investigating other soldiers, I saw that this was the true."

Sasuke grunted, glaring over at Sai. "That still doesn't excuse your actions."

"I wouldn't expect it to," Sai replied, "After all, I was one of the people in charge of cleaning up the massacre, as well as trying to prevent you from escaping so that you could save your lover."

Sasuke felt his ear twitch at the last word. "…Lover?"

"The dwarf girl, Sakura correct," Sai tilted his head to the side, "According to Ino and her romance novels that she lends me, you two have the proper relationship structure for romance. Am I mistaken?"

"We're comrades," Sasuke clipped out, the back of his neck warm. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"I see…" Sai said, hand thoughtfully stroking his chin. "I will certainly have to add that to my notes."

Sasuke stared at him as if he had grown another head; Kakashi cleared his throat, gaining his attention. "Well, since we've gotten everything settled, we should be heading back to our rooms now." Kakashi said, standing up. He began to head for the door, casting a glance over his shoulder. "Coming, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked over at Sakura, her face serene as she slept, seemingly undisturbed by their intrusion. "Ah," He said, casting another suspicious glance at Sai before following Kakashi out of the room. He closed the door behind them, careful to not make a sound, before giving Kakashi a confused look.

"Relationship structures?"

Kakashi shrugged, beginning his walk back to his room. "According to him, because he showed an affinity for magic as a child, he and his brother were part of a group of children chosen to be trained by Danzou. Because of that, he lacked social interaction during those key years; nowadays, he gets his information from books and novels. Which, as you can see…"

"Leads to some inaccurate observations," Sasuke finished; Kakashi nodded. "He seems to be lacking more than just social interaction though," Sasuke noted, "It's almost like he's,"

"Emotionless," Kakashi interrupted, glancing over at him. Sasuke blinked, taken aback by his statement, but nodded nonetheless. "You would be correct in assuming that," Kakashi continued, "Magic is a powerful force as I'm sure you're aware, and begin exposed to it can have some…damaging effects."

"Such as?"

"It depends on the race," Kakashi replied, "For humans, we become drained; in more serious cases, our minds can become lost to the void. For elves however, it's a very…different matter entirely."

"Elves get tired using magic as well," Sasuke pointed out; Kakashi nodded.

"That may be true, but that is only for your basic spells." Kakashi said, "Each elven clan has different specialties, and with each of those specialties arises a different danger. You may be too young to remember this, but do you know of the Nohara clan?"

"I have heard of them, though their clan was wiped out many years ago."

Kakashi nodded, "Generally, their specialty was healing, though some were proficient at illusions. A common danger in their clan was that one would go beyond their limits, using all their power to save a person, which would result in their deaths. For those proficient in illusions, if they stayed within it too long, they could become lost from reality, forever trapped in the planes of their imagination."

Sasuke stopped as they reached Kakashi's room. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Kakashi turned, meeting Sasuke's inquisitive gaze with his own. "Because your clan has its own dangers. The general specialty, as you may have realized, is fire magic. Just like a fire, if you allow the power to take over, it will destroy everything; control it, however, and it will be your greatest ally."

"You speak of what happened at Danzou's castle," Sasuke stated, having realized what his words meant. Kakashi nodded, turning to open the door.

"It would do good to share with you all the story origins of magic." Kakashi said, opening the door, "Perhaps we shall do it after Sakura awakens. Until that time though Sasuke, heed my words; you know what triggers it, so you should do very well to get a handle on it."

Sasuke merely grunted, though Kakashi understood that it meant he got the message. Kakashi offered him a smile as he entered the room, turning back around.

"Make sure to rest while you can," He said, closing the door; he paused, peering out of the crack so that Sasuke could see his eye. "Oh, and try to not to kill Sai…lover boy."

Sasuke scowled as the door closed in his face, displeased with Kakashi's teasing. "Insufferable mage," Sasuke thought, turning back to head to his room, ignoring the way the warmth on the back of his neck seemed to spread to the tips of his ears.

A/N: Filler chapter is filler. I mean really, that's all I can really say. I guess you could count it as character development kindasortamaybe? I dunno, midterms are killing me slowly and loudly.