Father Figure

Note: I just realized that some of you might not have heard the song “Father Figure” by George Michael which this fiction is based off of. Well... loosely based off of. In short when I hear the song I think of this fiction. I just think that you should all go out there and hear it. It’s not only really good, but it really powerful when put to this story. So check it upon You-Tube.

I Have Had Enough Of Crime – 2
Chapter 6

Dinner around the table was tense. Sasuke remained even more stoic than usual, his fists clenching and unclenching regularly while a scowl remained permanently set on his face. Sakura merely moved her food around her plate in an attempt to look as if she had eaten some of the meal, while Kakashi ate in silence. Even Tazuna seemed washed out and weary. His daughter sighed heavily as she went to pick up the dirty dishes, while catching Sakura’s attention with a soft hand on her shoulder. Sakura nodded at the unspoken invitation and went to help the woman with the clean up and make tea.

Inari sat silently but scowling, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed. “I don’t see what the big deal is...” he piped in. “Your friend was stupid enough to try and reason with them and now he’s most likely dead. That’s what happens to people who try to be heroes.”

Kakashi quickly moved to hold Sasuke back from pummelling the child, while Tazuna scolded Inari for his rudeness. His daughter seemed incredibly saddened at the boy’s expression. She couldn’t help but think how much this situation resembled the one where... she had to stop herself from thinking about him and what Inari had lost that day. In fact what everyone had lost that day. Tazuna sent the boy to his room, grounding him from activity the following day as well.

Sasuke was internally fuming, exiting the house to continue the tree-walking exercise Kakashi’s clone had taught them in preparation for the big fight that he expected. He was ready to work of some frustration, never before had be felt so weak. Unable to protect his friends, and merely watching as Naruto was essentially taken to his death. In short Sasuke was angry. Angry at the world... and himself. Sakura took solace in doing little things around the house, cleaning up, and helping to collect flowers for the table, anything that took her mind off of what had occurred.

Kakashi having heard of Inari’s story from his grandfather took a stretch as he exited his seat, intent on proving himself an exceptional role model. The headed up the stairs towards the boy’s bedroom to have a little chat. Entering into the room he found the boy perched on the window still looking outside with his knees brought close to his chest. Kakashi silently took a seat beside him, and sat quietly. Nothing passed between the two for at least half an hour. They merely sat quietly, allowing the other’s aura to slowly comfort one another, Kakashi trying to make Inari more comfortable. Finally Kakashi was the first to break the silence.

“He isn’t dead.”

Inari looked up at that, “How do you know?” He asked suspiciously.

“I just have a feeling. I know Naruto better than most, so I just know he’s still alive. He wouldn’t give up that easily.”

“Oh yeah? Why are you so sure?”

“Because I know him. I’m going to tell you a little story about Naruto, then maybe you’ll see what I’m talking about.” Kakashi said with a small smile.

Inari looked suspicious but nodded his head anyways. “I guess I’ve got nothing better to do.”

Kakashi smiled at the brat’s attempt to seem uninterested. He had dealt with boys like that before. In fact he had dealt with a similar Naruto before.
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Naruto swung wildly at the ANBU, his arms flailing frantically. Getting more and more frustrated at his lack of success he became more and more flustered, and therefore his attacks became rougher but even less controlled.

“Stop.”Raven commanded.

Naruto frowned but obeyed the order.

“You’re much too wild to ever make a hit. You’ve got be much more precise in your movements. Think of yourself as a breeze. You’ve got to be silent, smooth and flowing. Your attacks are much too rigid, and with your body so taunt your enemies can read you, and dodge easily.”

“But you’re too fast!” Naruto groaned.

“This is not a race. You’ve got to try and read my movements, while hiding your own. Only then can you finally hit me. Once you’ve learned this no matter how fast your opponent you can always catch them. Either way you can always work on your speed at the same time. Reading the enemy is much harder and much more important.”

Naruto nodded his head. Finally seeming to understand what Raven was attempting to get across. Kakashi watched from the bushes admiring the boy’s determination. He was going to be a wonderful ninja. With a bit of solid teaching and a few years to develop and hone his skills he would be a force to be reckoned with. Deciding that he had waited long enough Kakashi emerged from the tree’s landing silently near the pair.

“You’re late.” Raven stated.

“Miss me princess?” Kakashi said with a grin.

“Always.” Raven replied with a smirk.

Kakashi let out a guttural laugh at that, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow. His favourite sensei had just arrived, and he had promised him a present if he did well in training today.

“Wolf-san!” He said with a blinding smile.

“Chibi!” Kakashi said ruffling the boy’s hair.

Naruto frowned at the chibi comment, brushing off the man’s hand. “What’s my present?”

Kakashi pouted at the fact the boy seemed more excited about the present than him but he took it all in good nature. Raven gave a short goodbye and briefed Wolf on the training activities for the day.

“So you’re doing some taijutsu training I hear.”

Naruto crinkled his nose in displeasure. “Hai. I hate it. What’s the point in tiring yourself out with hand to hand fighting when you can just use a simple jutsu to capture them in a genjutsu or take them out with a technique?”

“Those techniques are all well and good when you’re at a distance, but in some cases you don’t have time. Plus most people don’t wish to exhaust their chakra to attack someone when a little effort in taijutsu can accomplish the same thing. Also in stealth missions you don’t want to release or leave any signs of your presence. That’s why you generally use hand-to-hand combat. No weapon to leave behind and no chakra trace. It’s the perfect method.”

Naruto thought for a moment before nodding. “It makes a lot of sense.”

“Of course it does. Now how about I make you a little deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes. If you can land a single hit on me then I will buy you a ramen dinner. As much as you can eat.”

Naruto’s eyes bulged and brightened. “Really?!”

“Sure thing.”

“Then let’s do this! I’m going to get that hit on you Wolf-san. I promise I won’t give up, because that’s my way of the ninja.” Naruto said with enthusiasm.

Kakashi couldn’t help but smile at how much Naruto had brightened. It had only been about a week since they had begun training the boy and he had already made so much progress. He seemed to be so much happier and had begun to open up to the group. They had never seen the boy so energetic and happy, and it brought joy to their hearts to know that they had helped him to get to this point.

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“But he gave up now. He just gave in and let them take him.”Inari said with a pout.

“He didn’t give up, he just picked a different way to protect his precious people. He truly gave his all, and saved us by sacrificing himself. You have to realize, words are just as powerful as a fist. What he did allowed us to escape unharmed, and your grandfather is still alive right now because of him.”

Inari flushed and looked down in shame. The guy had saved his grandfather and had sacrificed himself to help a complete stranger. Grandfather had even told him about how he had stabbed himself in the shoulder so they could continue the mission. Maybe this Naruto character wasn’t as stupid and useless as he thought.

“So did he win against you?” Inari asked, genuinely curious.

“In a way...”

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Naruto’s face was flushed, his chest heaving with effort. He tried his absolute best but every single shot and attempt he had tried had failed. He had been training for hours and the day was just welcoming the night. He got back to his feet and took a swing towards Wolf, only to have his attempt side stepped and be pushed to the ground again.

“You’re exhausted. Just give it up. You need to go home and rest.” Wolf said, looking at the boy lying on the ground.”

Naruto got to his feet shakily and straightened himself. “No. I won’t give up. I promised and I never go back on my promises. That’s my way of the ninja.”

Seeming to take strength from his conviction the launched himself forward into a series of precise attacks. Punch’s, spinning kicks, even rolling to try and sweep Kakashi feet out from underneath him. Kakashi was slowly being backed up until he hit a tree. Having just realized his position he can to the conclusion that he was caught. Just as Naruto was about to punch him he fell forward, knocking his head against Kakashi’s chin, and landing a hit.

Kakashi caught the boy and cradled him in his arms. He had fallen into a state of exhaustion, falling asleep just as his victory was complete. Kakashi allowed a smile to cross his face as he looked down at the angelic boy sleeping peacefully in his arms. The kid had done it. Despite all odds he had landed a hit, even if he wasn’t awake to see it. He carefully lifted the boy into his room. Tucking him in and awaiting Snake to arrive on for her shift. Just before she arrived he gave the boy a goodbye kiss on the forehead.

“I owe you a ramen dinner.”

With that he left through the window just as Snake arrived to take over.

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“That’s pretty cool. That he beat you and all. Did he ever get the dinner?”

“No. It slipped my mind, and I guess he never realized he had won.”

“Then you should probably tell him sometime.”

“Maybe.” Kakashi said with a small smile. “But you don’t know how much he eats.”

Inari let out a little laugh at that, trailing off and looking down to his shoes. Silence remained between the two again. Seeming to fill the room before Inari broke the silence. “He sounds pretty cool. I wish I could have met him.”

“You will.” Kakashi said with determination.

Sasuke a Sakura stood outside the door, Sakura’s hand paused mid reach for the knob. She allowed the limb to drop and stepped back he hand clenching into a fist. Sasuke shook his head. They didn’t hold the same hope for Naruto that Kakashi harboured.
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Haku finished his brief tale about Gatou’s interest in Wave and how much he stood to gain from stopping the bridge from forming, and just how wealthy the man actually was.

“He sounds like a complete scum bag. Why would you work for a man like that?”

“Don’t play so naive boy. We do it for the same reason you do your missions. Money. Your village has no doubt committed far more heinous crimes then Gatou, and yet I don’t see you out to destroy it.” Zabuza said.

Naruto remained silent. There was nothing he could say. He had learned firsthand how far his village was willing to go for power. Konoha was just as corrupt as Gatou. The only difference between the two was that one was honest about what they wanted, while the other attempted to backstab and sneak around to accomplish their goals. Which was which was clear for the teen.

“You’re right.” Naruto brightened with a thought. “How would you two kind gentlemen like to help me take out a little threat, gain yourselves a bit more credit with Konoha, and some cash to line your pockets at the same time?”

Haku smiled. “What do you have in mind, kitsune?”

Naruto frowned. “Kitsune?”

“ You’re as devious as a fox. So I call you by a name I find fitting.” Haku said nudging the teen’s shoulder.

Naruto couldn’t help but smile at that. “I say we take out Gatou, and steal his riches. That way he’s no longer a threat to Wave even after we leave, and we become a little richer at the same time.”

“We?” Zabuza asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well yeah. I’ve got rent to pay, and sometime tells me I’m going to have two tenants for quite a while.” Naruto said with a grin.

“You’d be willing to take us in?” Haku asked, slightly astonished.

“Well yeah. At least until you guys can get on your feet on your own. I figure you’ll be put on a probation period at the very least... and you guys can’t earn any money then. So you’ll need somewhere to live, for free.”

“I’m liking you better everyday, brat.” Zabuza said locking the teen in a headlock and ruffling up his spikes.

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Gatou frowned sitting in his large seat. He had heard no word from the two missing nin he had hired. He had hoped at this point they would have taken out the team from Konoha so he could kill them already. Sighing the man groaned as he got out of his seat, shuffling his way over to the door outside his office. He was going to go to the bridge himself with his new brute squad and take care of the problem. Then he could get them to kill off the two missing nin. Mission accomplished. Brutes were so much cheaper then ninja. He could even hire a couple of stronger brutes to kill off the weaker ones, making even less people to pay. Wonderful.

Upon stepping out of his office he was surprised to find a beautiful blonde girl being dragged into the warehouse by two men. She was a sight to behold. Her white kimono was slightly ripped, showing off delightfully tanned thigh. Her hair hung around her head in waves, strings that kept it pinned in place falling to the floor. The front of her kimono was open at the front, teasingly displaying only the cleavage from her two perfectly formed breasts. Her lip stick was slightly smeared across her mouth, and she was struggling against the men’s hold. Gatou allowed a smile to cross his lips. Maybe his day was turning up after all.

Cat calls echoed through the factory, men moving to surround the struggling girl. Some stepping back and laughing as she took a swing at them with her foot.

“She’s a wild one!”

“Looks like we’ve caught a cute little bird. Tweet tweet.”

Some of the men were even audacious enough to try and grab at her already shredded clothing, and to cop a feel. Her two captors pushed the men away from her, and lead her towards Gatou’s office. “This one’s not for you. She was specially handed over as a treat from Wave. For the bosses hands only.” The larger man said, fending off the men’s advances.

“You heard him boys. Off with you. Maybe once I’m done you can have a whirl with her.” Gatou said taking the girl by the arm and pushing her into his office while the two guards remained outside.

Gatou closed the door, immediately blocking out any noise through the soundproof walls. Turning around he licks his lips and adjusted his glasses. “Now let’s get a good look at you girlie.”

His eyes travelled over the length of the girl’s body. She remained completely still, seeming to observe him as well. His eyes rested on her heaving chest a Cheshire grin splitting his face. “You’re a pretty one aren’t you? We’re going to have a lot of fun together.” He said again licking his lips, and moving closer.

His hand travelled up the length of her thigh his greedy fat digits working their way across smooth skin, crawling up. The girl shuddered in disgust and shifted away from his wandering fingers.

“I came here to have a chat with you.” She said.

“Let’s not talk now baby. Not when there’s other much more fun things to do.” Gatou with a small growl once again advancing on her form and attempting to grab her breast.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She said pushing his hand away.

“As if I care for your fucking opinion you stupid bitch.” He gritted out, pushing away her hands and moving to press himself on her.

He was met with a foot to the face which sent him flying across the room and into the wall. He groaned as he slid down the plush siding and onto the floor. The girl gracefully hopped down from her perch on the desk to the floor and worked her way over to the fallen man. Staring at his form she put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “I just have a little question for you. Where’s your money kept?” She said with a sweet smile. Gatou opened his eyes and in a flash of movement fled out the door. The girl sighing as she slowly went after him.

Gatou ran out his door like a bat out of hell. He was about to call from help from his guards but the scene that met him left him shaking in his boots. His men hung from the ceiling rafters by strings, their bodies dripping blood and their eyes open. The floor was covered in their remains. His body began to tremble in terror the two guards that had brought the girl in stepped out from the shadows their form’s transforming into that of Zabuza and Haku. He knew he shouldn’t have fucked with missing nin. Let alone someone who called himself a demon. Now he was royally fucked.

He took a step to run from the building only to be met with a kunai held against his neck and a voice in his ear. “Ah ah ah. Don’t try and run now piggy. I’d hate to have to cut off your tail.” The woman whispered in his ear. Gatou pissed his pants.

“P-please just let me go. I’ll give you anything you want. I can make you all rich beyond your dreams. Hell I can give you a permanent position. I need people with your skills on my team. So what do you say?” He pleaded.

“Tell you what... If Mr. Piggy squeals on where he keeps all his money then we won’t hurt a hair on your chiny chin-chin. But we want it. All of it.” She said her voice sharp as a knife.

Gatou felt his legs trembling. He would have to give up all his money, and therefore his source of power. However he could get that back, he couldn’t , however get his life back. “A-alright.”

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Sakura waved goodbye as Tazuna, Kakashi and Sasuke took off towards the bridge. She had decided to remain behind in case anyone decided to attack Tazuna’s family. Inari has thrown a bit of a fit when he wasn’t allowed to join his grandfather at the bridge, but they were convinced that it wasn’t safe.

She had decided to take a perimeter of the house when she came across some tracks and broken branches. ‘Shit. Someone’s here.’ With that thought in mind Sakura sped back to the house where she encountered two brutes. One held Inari by the throat demanding to know where that bastard Tazuna was, with his little gang of ninja’s, while the other held Inari’s mother back, even going as far as to lick her neck as she struggled.

“Calm down sweetie. We’re just going to find your father and kill him, and take care of your little brat here in front of the entire village. Teach you not to mess with our squad or Gatou, when we say stop building the bridge, we mean it. I guess one message wasn’t enough for you people.”

She shook in her captor hold, still struggling to get to her son. She couldn’t bear to lose him. He was the only reason she kept sane after losing... it still hurt of her to think of him. He died a hero... but at the same time killed a bit of her little boy with his death.

“Please don’t hurt him. I’ll tell you anything you want, and you can hurt me in his stead. Just please don’t hurt my baby boy.”

“Hey. Maybe we can get a little action out of this one huh? Maybe have our way with her in front of the boy. How about that one son? You wanna see your whore mother do what she’s best at?”

Sakura took in the appearance of the two bandits. They looked like they had seen hell and been back again. Stepping forward silently she made her way behind the man holding Inari in his grip. A quick kunai to the back caused the man to gasp and lurch. He released his hold on Inari and stumbled forward, right into his friend to released Inari mother. Sakura jumped out from behind the puppet body and stabbed the man in the throat. She stood stock still as the body spurted over her face, seeping into her clothing and dripping down from her forehead. Sakura had just killed two men. Her hand began to tremble as she looked down at the two lifeless bodies before her.

She dropped the weapon to the ground and stepped back from their forms, Inari’s mother tentatively touching the girl’s shoulder. It only took a moment before Sakura turned around and buried her head in the woman’s arms. “I-I killed... two people. That’s my first kill, and... Oh god.” She couldn’t help the tears that threatened to fall. Inari’s mother stroked her hair, bringing her son into the hug.

“You did what you had to do, and you saved the both of us. Thank you.” She said softly holding the girl away from her slightly before enfolding her within her arms again.

“Grandpa!” Inari suddenly said his eyes darting frantically around the room.

Sakura’s blood chilled in her veins. “If they went after you here, then there’s no doubt that there’s a group heading to the bridge. I’ve got to go.” Sakura said.

“Not without us. If they dare to try and stop us then we’ll show the determination of our people. You go on ahead. We’re going to round up the villagers.” Inari’s mother said, determination set in her eyes.

Sakura nodded and smiled as Inari picked up his faithful sling shot. “Go save grandpa, we’ll be there to help out as soon as possible.”

With that Sakura worked her way to the bridge. Unknowing that something very important was already underway.

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Tazuna felt his world crumbling out from under him. His last worker had just left the site, explaining that it was too much of a danger to continue to work there, and that he had a family to care for. At this point Tazuna was on his own. Refusing to give up the old man took his tools and began to work. Even if he had to complete the entire thing himself he would, no matter how long it took. So long as he was still breathing the bridge would be finished.
Kakashi had decided to pull up his sleeves and get into the work as well, Sasuke following not far behind. The sooner they helped Tazuna to complete the bridge, the sooner they could report back to the village, and continue their search for Naruto. As it was they hoped that staying with Tazuna it would act as bait for the attackers, and from there they could find what they had done with Naruto. No matter how much they worried about the teen they couldn’t leave the old man alone and unprotected, Naruto would have never wanted it that way.

Kakashi felt his hair stand on end before he shifted both Sasuke and Tazuna behind him. Landing on the deck silently was the definite form of the partner to Zabuza, excepting the fact that their hunter mask was missing. It astounded Kakashi and Sasuke to see how beautiful the boy was, nearly as feminine as a woman, but an aura of danger hung about his form.

Behind him came the figure of a girl clad in an entirely white kimono, reaching only about thigh length, and slit up the side. The front was very loose and displayed her assets fairly well. Sasuke blushed, having never seen that much of a woman since his birth. Held beside her was a trembling Gatou, his pant’s stained with piss, and a kunai held to his neck.

Zabuza appeared in front of the group, grinning widely before them. “Long time no see.”

Kakashi felt his face contort in anger. “Where is he?”

“Where is who?” The girl asked.

“Naruto!” Kakashi roared. Sasuke shifted into a fighting position. Kakashi had been training him for the past day or so to be able to take on who he had called Haku. The boy was no doubt going to be fast, and deadly. As a hunter nin he had expert knowledge on pressure points, and would wield needles, something Sasuke had to learn to combat.

Naruto was wondering what the hell his sensei was thinking. He was standing right there in front of him. A small cough from Zabuza brought him back. Looking towards he man a motion was made for him to look down. The first thing that Naruto’s eyes saw was a large expanse of chest... he had breasts. Oops.

“My bad.” Naruto said with a laugh, quickly forming the hand signals to change back.

Sasuke seeing the blonde performing hand signals thought that they were under attack and moved to hit the girl with a well placed kunai. However just as his hand moved to plunge deep within her chest, his blade was met with that of Zabuza’s.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you brat.” Sasuke quickly flipped back and away from the dangerous blade.

Zabuza looked behind himself, and turned back to the group with a grin before stepping out from in front of the girl. There in all his glory was Naruto, still wearing the kimono. What was seductive on the girl was outright tempting on the boy. His golden locks sprang to life and the thigh length skirt became even shorter with his growth in height. Dusky pink nipples emerged from the loose material in the front, and a tanned expanse of chest was revealed.

Kakashi felt a twinge in his groin, which he quickly attempted to stifle. Sasuke didn’t even bother, he never knew that the blonde could be so... sexy. He looked like an innocent pure angel about to be ravaged. It took the two a moment to realize that the boy they thought was lost to them forever was standing in front of them, completely unharmed. Kakashi was the first to recover.

“Naruto, you’re alright, but how?”

Naruto just gave a smile. “I gave my friends here an offer they couldn’t refuse.” He frowned for a moment. “Well they could have refused they chose not to.”

Kakashi looked towards Haku and Zabuza who just nodded, the man referred to as a demon even pulling down his mask far enough to give the man a grin. Kakashi nodded in their direction before turning back to the teen holding Gatou.

“Why do you have Gatou?”

“Well its-“

“THEY THEY ARE!”

The group turned to see what appeared to be the entire village coming down the bridge, in their arms they held various weapons forged from household items. Pitchforks, knives, canes, bats, even the odd fishing pole or two. Inari stood at the front, looking at Haku and Zabuza, then to Gatou and Naruto. He looked confused for a moment.

“Aren’t you Naruto?” He asked, looking towards the blonde. Naruto nodded raising an eyebrow at the boy. “Then why are you here with the two criminals, and that bastard Gatou?”

Inari’s mother would have under normal circumstances scolded Inari for using such language, but at the moment she found the title to be befitting, and in fact slightly unstated.

Naruto gave a almost chilling grin at that. “These two gentlemen are no longer criminals, at least they won’t be for long... and as for Gatou. Well let’s just say I brought the village a nice little present. A nice fat pig.”

With that Naruto shoved Gatou into the midst of the blood thirsty crowd. The same villagers who had tormented, and killed and threatened. Gatou face paled dramatically.

“You promised you wouldn’t hurt me!” Gatou he whimpered turning back to the teen.

Naruto looked down at his nails and then back up again. “We promised we wouldn’t hurt you. We said nothing about the villagers. Have at him boys.”

The villagers took up their various weapons with Inari at their side to destroy the man who had done so much to destroy their lives.

Kakashi was a little taken aback by the cruelty that Naruto was displaying. He didn’t dirty his hands but he had just as well sealed the man’s death warrant, and yet seemed undisturbed by his death. ‘There’s a side to that boy I’ve never seen before. What happened to you when I was gone Naruto?’

The villagers took their time in brutalizing Gatou. They each individually inflicted as much pain as they could to represent the pain he had brought into their lives. He took a long time to kill, and it was Inari’s mother who in the end struck the finally blow that killed him. Whether it was done in anger or as a mercy kill, to the man who had yet to stop screaming, no one knew, but it was over. His reign of terror was complete.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi welcomed Naruto into their midst’s again while the teen was finally introduced to Inari, just as Kakashi had predicted. The group took their time to get to know Haku and Zabuza, surprisingly finding why Naruto had so much trust in them. Although Zabuza at times was questionable, Haku kept him grounded. They would make an excellent addition to Konoha.

However Kakashi knew that it would never be that easy, he had voiced his opinion to Naruto who had responded in kind, ‘I’ve got a plan.’ Never one to question the teen’s odd but successful plans Kakashi left it at that.

A great party was held in the village that night. It was a celebration to toast the team’s success and the continuation of the bridge. It was then that Naruto stood up to make a special speech to the villagers.

“I can’t say I know how much you have suffered, or that I feel your pain. However I know it must have been difficult to see your village fading around you and feeling powerless to stop it, I can only imagine how that would feel to me. I don’t want to feel your pain, because I’d rather help to you feel happiness once again. With that being said I would like to give you my portion of what I apprehended from Gatou. It seems only fair that you should receive the wealth that he gained from you.” Having finished his speech he handed over a large suitcase to Tazuna.

The village was stunned into silence. Tazuna opened the suitcase to see more money than he could have imagined. Haku and Zabuza looked to one another, before nodding. Zabuza steeped forward, looking slightly sheepish, before handing over a card. “On there is the rest of what he has in his bank account. The access code is on the back... and we know it’s good.”

Tazuna felt his eyes fill with tears. This would assure the completion of the bridge, and the people of the village wouldn’t go hungry to support its construction. In fact with what they had here they could even afford to buy supplies to start their trade. They had enough to start a new life.

The villagers swarmed the three shaking hands and taking turns hugging the men one by one. Naruto couldn’t help but smile at the look on Zabuza’s face as he was thanked for his generosity. He doubted the man had ever been thanked for anything he had done in his life, and if his face was any measure he had a feeling the man would be making a habit of it. Haku took it all in stride, smiling and shaking hands with the villagers.

From there the celebration came in full swing, people dancing and music filling the clearing. People had left only to come back with various foods they had made, and a camp fire got started. Zabuza, Haku and Naruto seemed to be the centre of the party, people asking questions and asking to dance with them. Zabuza seeming to blush at the strange attention that wasn’t fear, Haku spent the majority of the knight fending off girls who wished to “dance” with his boyfriend. Zabuza spent just as much time explaining to other males that no, Haku was not a girl, and that he was taken.

Kakashi noticed that Naruto seemed to separate himself from the crowd, hiding away from the groups of people and shying away from their questions. He did it in a manner that seemed as if he was being modest, but Kakashi could see that something was wrong. Later that night when the celebrations continued on through the dimming sun Naruto had gently excused himself from the festivities, making his way up to his room, with Kakashi following a safe distance behind.

Kakashi waited a few moments before knocking on the door to Naruto and Sasuke’s temporary room. When he received no answer he quietly pushed open the door and stepped inside. Naruto was sitting on the futon staring blankly at the wall. He briefly turned to look at Kakashi when he entered before looking away to stare at the floor. Kakashi stepped closer and took a seat beside the boy, but Naruto made no acknowledgement of his movement. There was a few moments of silence between the two before Kakashi finally spoke.

“Why did you have him killed Naruto? Without his money he was powerless. You didn’t need to have him killed.”

Naruto brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. “They wouldn’t have found peace. Not while thinking that he was still out there, just waiting to re-build his empire to take them down again. I wanted to help them to sleep at night. To know that the demon that haunts their dreams is truly dead, and that he’s not going to find another way to come back. I’ve just had enough of crime.”

Kakashi took in everything Naruto said... and what he didn’t say. The boy wanted to give the villagers of Wave the peace of mind that Konoha didn’t have. He wanted to give them what he couldn’t give to Konoha short of killing himself. Kakashi closed his eyes before opening them again. He knew why Naruto was so hard on Gatou and why he caused him so much pain and suffering... it was because that’s what Naruto thought he deserved as a demon, what he deserved for causing the village so much strife over his existence. He placed a hand on Naruto’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

The teen’s bottom lip quivered slightly before he launched himself into Kakashi’s arms and let out all the emotion he had been harbouring. He had been so scared this entire time. Never knowing if Haku and Zabuza were really going to kill him or sell him off, and not knowing if his plan with Gatou would work. He had thought more than once he was going to die, and everything he would leave behind, everything he had failed to accomplished. He would have died having never redeemed himself, leaving his baby brother alone and unprotected in this world, and without telling someone how he truly felt about them.

Kakashi held the teen close, breathing in his scent, and wiping away the new tears that streamed down his cheeks. He tucked the boy’s head under his chin and leaned down to lay on the floor, Naruto curled up against him. That was the position that Sasuke found them in when he finally returned to the room from the festivities. Deciding against interrupting the pair he quickly exited, instead choosing to bunk with Inari for the night.

As Sasuke lay down in bed thinking about the pair lying together he came to a sudden realization. Upon seeing them lying in one another arm’s, looking so perfect he finally came to realize that perhaps the feelings he had been harbouring for quite some time weren’t of the nature he originally thought. Perhaps they were something more, something different entirely.

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Ooooo. A lit bit of cuteness... a little bit of a sexy Naruto, and a lot of angst/ fluff. Hope this chapter was a departure from anything you’ve ever read before on the mission to Wave. I’ve seen the mission done in so many different ways in different fictions (and some very similar) that I wanted to try something completely different. Hope you enjoyed it. :D

Any questions? Any observations? Any complaints? Surprisingly I actually want to hear them, so please review and give me a piece of your mind. I know how many of you have this on alerts... and trust me, by reviewing and saying something... heck anything other than the words “Love it... or Update now” does help me to get my creative juices rolling and update faster. :D So think on it.

Cheers,
Cassandra Incognito