Samurai no Issan

The next morning, Naruto awoke to Kakashi leaning over the top of him.



"Naruto...wake up...we have to go..." He said gently. Naruto opened one bleary azure eye and rolled over, letting out a plaintive moan.



"Naruto, we have to go now...this morning a messenger arrived from the Namikaze clan in Edo...we are being ordered to evacuate the city...we have to be gone before sunrise..."



Naruto sat up groggily, getting dressed quickly. Looking around, he noticed that a lot of things were gone.



"Hey...Kakashi-sensei...what's going on?" He said, waking up almost immediately as he watched Kakashi slide his katana into his obi.



"The Shogunate has outlawed the Samurai class, active immediately, the sword-hunt will begin at daybreak..." Kakashi said simply, tossing Naruto his wakazashi. "You hang on to this for the time being, Naruto..." He said, going to the door and sliding it open. "It is too dangerous to be seen carrying two...



Naruto nodded solemnly, wondering what was going on. Surely it had to be some mistake? Some joke...the Samurai would never be outlawed...would they? And what was this sword hunt?



Kakashi led Naruto into the darkness outside where a fine, misty rain pattered the ground. Kakashi paused, tying the strings of an umbrella hat firmly beneath Naruto's chin and kissing his cheek before turning back to the house.



"It's time to let go of worldly possessions..." He said, taking a torch and tossing it into the open door.



"Come, Naruto...by the time they realize what has happened, we should be halfway to Nagoya..." He said, turning away from the house and leading Naruto off down the street. Naruto glanced back at the house where it had all started, but Kakashi put his hand on his shoulder, jerking his thoughts back to the present.



"Do not dwell on it, Naruto...think of the cherry blossoms: everything in life is fleeting, there is a flow to it, and we can only go along..." The silver-haired man said, almost sadly. "We cannot fight the overflowing tide..."



"Where...are we going?" Naruto asked, looking around the darkened street.



Kakashi closed his mismatched eyes.



"A temple deep in the mountains. It is a safe house for us...one of the things that was discussed last night at the meeting..." The samurai master paused with a heavy sigh, tuning to Naruto and touching his cheek. "Listen to me, Naruto...they say there is a change coming over the land...that Nippon is in in a revolution...but the Meji has declared it a restoration...do not listen to what they say about the samurai...we are honorable and uphold the Emperors sacred bloodline...remember always that you are still the Samurai's Issan..."



Naruto nodded, his eyes taking in the way the dim light hit Kakashi's unusually sad face. The full seriousness of the situation slowly sunk in as he followed the older man down the rain soaked streets. This was no joke...it wasn't just training this time...



They stopped to rest at an abandoned shrine at the foot of the mountains later that morning, ducking under the red roof as the rain downright pounded on the small building.



Kakashi took some papers out of the folds of his kimonos, examining them closely while Naruto fell asleep against his side. Kakashi smiled sadly, putting his arm gently around the boy and watching him sleep for a little while. He looked just like his own sensei in the dim light, the memories of Minato's last command ringing in the silence of the shrine; the last request to train the blond when the time came. It had been so dark and cold the night Minato had been forced to commit seppuku...and the cold had never left Kakashi's heart until he had set eyes on the boy.



The sat in the silence of the shrine as the rain pounded the roof, Kakashi thinking sadly of his sensei. He'd been about Naruto's age when Minato had died...was it possible that the boy loved him as much as he'd loved the boy's father?



Kakashi shook his head. He didn't deserve someone like Naruto...after all...the boy was of Imperial blood...



Soon, they were on foot again, trying to reach the temple by a deadline. They were halted at a check point in a village halfway up the side of a large mountain, where Kakashi presented some papers to the guards, who looked at them each suspiciously.



"You cant continue." He said, examining Naruto closer. "You don't have security clearance from the daimyo..."



"Surely there's some mistake?"



"No mistake. You have to turn back now."



Kakashi looked around, leaning closer to the man and dropping his voice so low, Naruto had to lean towards them to listen.



"Maybe we could come to some sort of an agreement?"



"Like what kind?" The man said, raising an eyebrow.



"Perhaps you could use some convincing..." Kakashi said, reaching in the front of his kimono and pulling out a small bag of ryo. The man surveyed Kakashi coolly.



"How much convincing are we talking about, samurai?"



"Thirty ryo." Kakashi said without even batting an eye. The guard thought for a moment.



"I think I'm going to need more convincing than that..." The man said, clearly looking Kakashi over.



Kakashi though for a moment.



"What exactly are you thinking?"



"Come with me..."



Kakashi knew better than to let his displeasure show; he had hoped that a monetary bribe would have sufficed, but in the current situation, he'd do anything just to get Naruto to the safety of the temple: The Akatsuki had been specifically dispatched to locate and execute Naruto.



The man nodded to Kakashi, who told Naruto to stay put, then followed the man outside to the back of the building.



What came next, Kakashi would never forgive himself for doing, no matter how many times he told himself it was for the better.



He dropped to his knees before the man, who had pulled his erection out of his kimono for Kakashi. The silver-haired man took it gently, and, knowing that this could mean life or death, he slowly began to lick and nibble on it. He closed his eyes, imagining it was someone else he was servicing behind the checkpoint. The man was too big to be Naruto, but no matter how many times the samurai tried to imagine other faces on the man, Naruto's was the one that kept coming back. He could see Naruto's face, the boy's mouth open and his eyes screwed shut in pleasure as Kakashi deep-throated him, moaning to send chills down the blonds spine. The chilly mountain air was interrupted with the intermittent moans from the man who ran the checkpoint as Kakashi continued to pleasure him with his tongue.



"Kakashi-sensei!" He heard Naruto call just as the man came, spraying the bitter seed into the disgraced samuraies mouth. It was a rude awakening that brought him back to his senses as the hot fluid shot into his open mouth. Kakashi pulled away, turning to look for the boy. Naruto stood at the corner of the small building, the shock and hurt evident with the tears on his face as his beloved sensei stood up.



"Naruto! I told you to stay put!" Kakashi said, standing up and wiping his mouth on his fine grey kimono. It hurt worse than any wound to see the pain of betrayal on the boy's face, the tears leaking from those beautiful cerulean eyes.



But his words were wasted on the boy, who simply turned and ran off into the trees.



"Naruto! Wait! Come back!" He called desperately, taking off after the boy without another word to the man who'd caused the trouble in the first place.



‚₨‚¢‚ª‚·‚«‚Å‚·‚©B



Naruto crashed through the trees, his heart pounding as his face burned with tears of betrayal. How could Kakashi do that? How could he...



Naruto ran through the trees until he came to a wide, deep stream. There was no hope of an easy crossing in sight...



Naruto collapsed on a rock beside it, sobbing with his face on to cool grey stone, his heart pounding against his ribcage at the rain fell all around him.



He'd trusted Kakashi...he'd given his heart, his body to the man...he had loved and respected him...and now this...like it was such a simple thing...



Naruto closed his eyes as a fresh wave of tears sprang fourth: he wanted to be the last one that Kakashi had...and how many others had their been other than him anyway? And how much of what Kakashi had told him was the truth? Was Naruto really who Kakashi said he was? Or was he really only just a piece of garbage, cast out on the street and forgotten, and taken in and dressed up like a doll?



Naruto choked, trying to hold back the tears as the sword Kakashi had lent him poked into his stomach. He pulled it out, tempted to fling it into the whirling pool beneath him, his azure eyes narrowed and filled with tears now of anger. His world had ended right there...there was nothing for him anymore...



He unsheathed the sword, staring down at the silvery blade in the dim light of the forest. It was well made to say the least, and possibly one of the finest blades he'd ever seen, but at the moment, it was just a disgusting memory of someone he'd trusted...



"Naruto! Stop!"



Naruto froze, his temper flaring. How dare that lying voice call out to him... The blond turned slowly, glaring at the silver-haired man. Kakashi's face was desperate in the pale blue light, and he looked just as amazing as he did the night they had met. Naruto fought back more tears.



"I trusted you..." Naruto choked. "I trusted you and..."



"It wasn't what you think! Please, put the sword down!"



Naruto stared at him for a moment. He wanted to believe the samurai...he wanted to, but something in the back of his head was whispering not to.



There was a moment of silence before Kakashi fell to his knees. "Naruto, please...please come back...you're all that's left...donet leave me now..."



Naruto stared in shock. He'd never seen Kakashi this upset before. The blonde's cerulean eyes fell upon the sword and suddenly he realized what it looked like. He looked back up at Kakashi, who's shoulders were shaking from unshed tears.



"Naruto...don't make me watch it again..." Kakashi whispered, his voice breaking down.



Slowly, he put the wakizashi down, wanting to run into his sensei's arms, to hold him and tell him that everything was all right, but something unexplainable held him back...



"Sensei...I love you..." Naruto blurted out, his vision blurring once again. "...how could you...?"



"Because I love you, too, Naruto..." Kakashi whispered, wiping his face on his sleeve, those beautiful, mismatched eyes still on the forest floor.



Slowly, Naruto stepped towards him, putting his hands into the mop of silvery hair.



"Sensei..." He muttered as Kakashi put his arms around the boy's waist, pulling him close so that his face was pressed into Naruto's stomach.



"I love you Naruto..." Kakashi muttered, his voice muffled by the soft fabric of Naruto's kimono as the man's hands fisted in the back of it. It took Naruto almost a full minute to realize that his sensei was crying. It felt so strange; Kakashi had always seemed so strong, almost emotionless at times, but right now in the forest, he was a different man; weak and vulnerable...and...in love.



Naruto wrapped his arms around his Kakashi, kneeling down in front of him and burying his own face in the older mans chest, closing his eyes and listening to the steady heartbeat, seemingly the only thing that hadn't changed.



Kakashi wrapped his arms around Naruto, holding the boy closer and burying his face in that soft golden mane. He didn't want to lose something as precious as Naruto...



The tender moment was ruined, however, by the sound of a twig snapping.



"Well well well, look at what we have here..."



Naruto froze in Kakashi's arms, his heart filling with a sudden anger; it was the guard that had caused the problem.



"Isn't it cute...I didn't think samurai were supposed to be in love with their apprentices...I thought the kid was just a piece of flesh to you...no matter, Uzumaki Naruto's head will fetch me great favor from Pein-sama..." The guard said, drawing his katana. "he might even make me a daimyo for it..."



Kakashi stood suddenly, his perfect face stoic and emotionless once again.



"I don't think so..." he muttered as he stepped in between Naruto and the guard, drawing his own sword and falling into a fighting stance. Without further hesitation, the man rushed at Kakashi, brandishing his katana wildly. It didn't take but a second for Kakashi to cut him down, wiping his blade before turning to Naruto.



"Search his body, he may have what we are looking for..." He said softly. Naruto nodded, rummaging through the man's kimonos' and finding a couple bags of ryo and a couple of papers.



"Aha..." Kakashi said, taking the papers from Naruto and inspecting them. "These are exactly what I was hoping to find...come one, let's go..." He said, leading Naruto through the trees.



They passed the checkpoint without any further complications, and they were on the road once again, pausing briefly at a shrine to have Naruto cleansed and purified from touching the dead guard.