A Family of their Own

Chapter 5--What Happened Next

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********

"OOOOMMFFF!!!!!" Kakashi woke up, winded and in pain to see bright blue eyes and
white teeth inches from his nose.

"Tatkashi!! What you do in Awuta's bed? Awuta, wakes up! Tatkashi is here!! Wakes
up, wakes up yous guys! I's hungwy!" Naruto's loud yells chased the sleep from the
two teens.

Groaning, Iruka looked at the clock. "Naruto, it's only six o'clock! Can't you go
back to sleep for at least another hour?" He covered his face with his pillow.

"But I's HUNGWY!! I's hungwy! I's hungwy! I's hungwy!" Each repetition of the
statement was accompanied by a bounce, and an answering groan from Kakashi. (Remember
where he's sitting?)

"OOMMFF!!!" Iruka bolted upright at the impact, barely catching the tiny blond before
he tumbled to the floor. Brown eyes glared reproachfully at the copy-nin as he tried
to regain his breath. "What was that for!?" he gasped out. "Naruto could have been
hurt!" He gazed into smiling blue eyes. "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?"

"I's HUNGWY!!" The boy tried to bounce again, but Iruka held him in place.

"Okay, okay. I'll make breakfast. Come on, let's leave Hatake-san to dress in
peace." Iruka followed the blond blur from the room, looking back once over his
shoulder to see the jounin stretching. Blushing, he hurried his steps.

Kakashi took a perverse pleasure in making the cute chuunin blush. His lower belly
was still sore from the recent abuse he received, but he'd survive. Right now, he
wanted to see how Iruka was going to explain his presence to Naruto. He giggled,
thinking how the younger nin's face would heat up at such a question. As quickly as
his 'boys' allowed, he dressed and walked to the kitchen.

Naruto was playing with his fox plushie while waiting for the food to be ready. He
had a look of concentration on his face that was out of character. He was thinking
hard. When he had woken up, he was surprised to find the silver-haired man in bed
with his guardian. What did it mean? Did Awuta like Takatshi? They had looked real
comfy together. Maybe they wouldn't want him around no more. Maybe Awuta didn't like
him no more. He hadn't sounded very happy to see the little blond this morning, and
he had been frowning. Maybe Naruto should leave before Awuta started to hate him.
Yeah, that's what he would do. Right after he ate, that is. He was REALLY hungry!


Naruto was quiet throughout the meal. Kakashi kept waiting for the inevitable
question: "Why is you here?", but it never came. He glanced at Iruka and saw that he
was watching the tiny blond also. "Ne, Iruka. Why don't we do something fun today?
We could go on a picnic or take a walk. It's a nice day; what do you say?"

Iruka looked irritated. "Do you think that's wise? The festival was only last night.
It probably isn't safe yet to go outside." He turned his gaze on Naruto. "What do
you want to do today, Naruto-kun?"

The chibi looked up guiltily. He couldn't tell them what he planned; even if the man
really didn't want to, Iruka would try to stop him. He plastered a huge grin on his
face and stared the brunette right in the eyes. "I's going to play wit my new toys!
Yous can go has fun!" So saying, Naruto jumped off of his chair and ran to the
bedroom, leaving half his beakfast on his plate.

The two shinobi looked at Naruto's empty seat, then at each other. What was wrong
with Naruto!? The child hadn't even finished eating, despite saying how hungry he
was. Iruka stood and went to check on the blond. He found him doing exactly what he
had said he wanted to do: playing with his new toys. Sighing in relief, the chuunin
walked back into the kitchen and sat down. "Maybe we should do what he said," he told
Kakashi with a smile, face turning pink. "He seems to be having fun by himself."

Not completely convinced, Kakashi agreed anyway. They finished breakfast and Kakashi
helped with the dishes, then went to tell Naruto he was going to take Iruka out for
awhile. The boy smiled happily and waved him off. The jounin collected Iruka and
they left, locking the door behind them. Before they exited the building, Kakashi
summoned his nin-dog, Pakkun, and asked him to keep an eye on the place. He wanted to
make sure the blond would be safe while they were gone.

~~~~~~

Naruto waited until he was sure they had left the vicinity, then grabbed an overnight
bag and shoved his toys, blanket and a change of clothes into it. Looking around the
room, he decided he had everything he needed. As he left the house, he felt bad that
he couldn't lock the door again, and hoped Iruka would forgive him. Walking down the
street, he didn't notice the little brown dog following him.

~~~~~~

Iruka and Kakashi had decided to just go to the market and pick up some items for
dinner that night. Arriving back at the apartment, they found the door unlocked.

Iruka freaked; forgetting his ninja training, he burst into the room, calling out for
Naruto. Kakashi followed more slowly, looking around to see if anything was out of
place. Nothing appeared to be. Iruka had gone into the bedroom, but was soon back,
sobbing in the jounin's arms. Naruto was gone!

Kakashi led the distraught chuunin to the couch, sitting beside him. "Tell me what's
missing. Is it just Naruto, or is anything else gone?"

Iruka worked hard for about 10 minutes to get his crying under control. He calmly
stood and walked to the bedroom, where he surveyed the room. "His toys and blanket
are gone. I guess that means he left on his own. But why!?" He was crying again.
He had thought Naruto was happy with him. Why then had the tiny child run away?

Kakashi wasn't too worried; Pakkun would protect the boy. If he was in over his head,
the nin-dog would come get him. He was sure once it got dark, or the chibi got
hungry, that Naruto would come home. He was about to get a lesson in the petite
kyuubi-vessel's level of determination.

~~~~~~

Kakashi had talked Iruka into going to work today. Staying busy should keep the
teen's mind occupied on things other than Naruto. Iruka had reluctantly agreed. He
sat at his desk, paying little attention to what was going on in his class. The
students, sensing something was wrong with their sensei, wisely behaved themselves.
None wanted to incur the wrath of the chuunin; he could be scary.

Iruka went home for lunch, only to be disappointed that Naruto hadn't returned. He
dragged himself back to the academy, more despondent than ever. He half-heartedly
showed the class how to throw weapons, but paid scant attention to where the
projectiles landed. The only thing on his mind was, 'Where is Naruto?'

The brunette trudged to the Hokage tower for his shift in the mission room. It wasn't
the same without the tiny blond running around, making a nuisance of himself. Others
noticed the lack of Iruka's usual appendage, and his emotional state. Questions were
asked, but few answers given in return. Iruka didn't want anyone knowing he had lost
his charge, that he made a bad parent. However, after a couple dozen people had asked
after the blond, Iruka couldn't take it. Angry at himself, angry at the persistant
questions, even angry at Naruto, Iruka snapped. Standing quickly, knocking his chair
over in the process, Iruka screamed, "It's none of your damn business!! Naruto is
just fine!! Shut up about it, will ya?!" Standing his chair upright, he seated
himself and, with eerie calmness, continued to do his job. No one said another word
on the subject for the rest of the shift.

After his shift ended, Iruka dragged himself through dark streets to his equally dark
apartment. Naruto hadn't returned. Where could he be? Hoping the child was safe
wherever he was, Iruka lay down on the couch, drifting into an uneasy sleep.

~~~~

Pakkun hadn't returned. This didn't bother Kakashi too much as it meant Naruto was
safe. The question was, though, where was the boy? He thought to summon another nin
dog to track the pair, then decided against it. Pakkun could take care of himself and
Naruto. He took a quick shower and lay down. He'd just rest his eyes for a bit. If
neither showed up in the next hour or so, he'd go out and get the child. He knew
Iruka must be frantic not knowing the little blond's whereabouts. If he brought the
boy home, maybe the chuunin would be so grateful, he'd invite Kakashi to stay again.
Smiling at thoughts of what might be, he fell asleep.

He was unceremoniously awakened in the early hours of the morning when teeth sunk into
his hand. Jerking upright, he noticed Pakkun clinging to him. Kakashi shook the dog
off, getting an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Pakkun was here, then
Naruto was in trouble. Throwing on some clothes, he said simply, "Take me to him."
Within seconds the two were gone.

~~~~

Naruto was lost, cold and hungry. He had never been in this part of the village
before. The villagers ignored him, to his relief. But as the sky darkened, he wished
someone would pay attention to him. He pulled his blanket and fox plushie from his
bag; wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and holding the fox close, he continued
to look for a place to spend the night. The tiny boy yawned; he missed his bed, but
he didn't want to be a bother. He turned into an alley where he spied a box lying on
its side. That should be a good place to hide tonight. He took off his bag and
deposited it in one corner, crawling in after. He curled up, and pulled the blanket
over his head. As he fell asleep, he felt something warm crawl in next to him. It
comforted him as darkness fell.

Growling and barking woke him. His box was being roughly jostled, and he could hear
laughter.

"Looks like we found ourselves a little fox! What do you think we should do with it?
Maybe we should skin it!"

"Get this dog off me! You'd think it was trying to protect the monster!"

Naruto heard a yelp of pain, followed by more laughter. The box was abruptly tipped
over, spilling him onto the ground. The little blond took in the five men surrounding
him. All were smiling, though none looked friendly. A shove to the back sent him
tumbling into the nearest wall. That hurt! He wouldn't cry; crying was for babies
and he was four now. Tears welled in his eyes. A kick to the side made him yell in
pain and surprise. 'Meanies!' he silently screamed. A hand fisted in his hair and
yanked him to his feet. He saw the hand draw back to strike him and closed his eyes.

The blow never fell. The laughter had turned to shouts of fear; Naruto cracked open
an eye to see what was going on. Someone was standing between him and his tormentors,
who were running for the entrance of the alley with a pack of dogs on their heels.

Kakashi knelt until he was eye to eye with the small boy. "Are you alright, Naruto?
Let's get you home. Iruka is probably worried sick. Why did you run away?" He felt
guilty as blue eyes filled with tears and overflowed. He gathered the chibi into his
arms, grabbing his belongings as well. Making a hand sign, he and the boy vanished.

~~~~

Iruka woke at dawn to a knock on the door. He rushed to open it; standing there was
Kakashi with a sound asleep blond, sucking his thumb. Relief flooded him. He tried
to take the child, but Kakashi just pushed past him into the room. Iruka shut the
door in confusion as he followed the jounin to the bedroom. Kakashi lay Naruto on
Iruka's bed and tucked him in. He made sure the boy had his fox next to him. He
signaled Iruka to follow him to the kitchen. He put water on to boil for tea, then
sat at the table. Iruka sat down, looking expectantly at the other teen.

"What happened? Where did you find him, Kakashi?"

Wiping his hand across his face, the jounin looked at the table. "He was sleeping in
an alley, in a box. Some drunks found him." Iruka gasped, but before he could say
anything, Kakashi went on. "Don't worry; Pakkun got me before they could do serious
injury. He's scared and a little shook up. Drink a cup of tea then go join him. You
look like you could use some rest." Kakashi stood and walked towards the door. Just
as his hand reached the knob, Iruka called out for him to stay. Turning, he saw the
blush forming on the chuunin's face, and smiled.

Iruka stood as the jounin came back, and embraced him. "Thank you, Kakashi," was all
he said. He turned off the stove, and clasping the silver-haired teen by the hand led
him to the bedroom. They settled on either side of the blond, letting their joined
hands rest on the small bundle between them.

~~~~~~
A/N: Poor little Naruto! He doesn't understand about relationships. Tell me what you think. Read and review, please!