Questionable Loyalty

A/N: Thank you ALL for your numerous kind reviews. I love reading each and every one of them!



CHAPTER 60







“Alright.” Naruto said after a short hesitation. “I’ll go and bring the body. Iruka-sensei will remain here. If you hurt him…” he let his voice fall ominously.



“I won’t harm him in any way. I am a man of my word.” Nagato said seriously.



With one last warning look, Naruto departed from the clearing, leaving the two men alone. An uncomfortable silence filled the space between them as neither was willing to say anything for a while. Finally, Iruka spoke:



“Why did you do it? Why did you allow Kakashi to come here?”



Despite its emaciated features, or perhaps because of them, Nagato’s face was expressive and couldn’t hide the guilt that twisted his features.



“I did it because I believed it was the right thing to do. Because I thought that my feelings for him were less important than my cause. It seemed that he thought the same thing.”



“He did. He never betrayed you. So the interrogators said.” Iruka intoned sadly.



“I know.”



“How do you know, actually? How did you know that he was tortured, to begin with?” Iruka asked, as this question had been bothering him ever since Nagato cornered him in Konoha.



“I saw it into the mind of the man who did this to Kakashi, before I killed him.” Nagato answered casually.



Iruka looked down, guilt gnawing at him as well.



“I wish I was the one to kill him.”



“We both failed him.” The other man responded softly, his hair falling on his face as he bowed his head. “He needed us both and we failed him.”



“Yes.” Iruka agreed. “When this is all over… I won’t stand in your way. As much as I want to take Kakashi home, I know that it could never work, even if he wasn’t in any danger if he stayed in Konoha. Not after everything that happened.”



Nagato wanted to shout that even if Iruka tried to keep Kakashi for himself, he’d kill him first, but he refrained from doing so. There was no point to antagonize neither him nor the Jinchuuriki any further. He wasn’t any closer to reaching Akatsuki’s goals, but soon, very soon, he would have Kakashi in his arms and he’d leave this wretched place. Now only Kakashi mattered.



Naruto returned soon after that, carrying Yahiko’s body and laying it down between the three of them. They all stared at it, so serene and beautiful, the soft ginger-red hair spread innocently around his face. ‘You were always my better part.’ Nagato thought as looked at his friend.



“Okay.” Naruto said. “Now what?”



“Now, I will return to you all of those I have taken from you, except Jiraiya-sensei. Too much time has passed for him to be returned, his body is not in condition to receive his soul.”



They both stared at him in awe.



“You can resurrect people?” Iruka whispered.



“No. Not exactly. I can return the souls that I have consumed, and if I add a little more chakra I can fix the immediate damage to the bodies that have to receive them, but I cannot resurrect any random dead person. I am not… not a deity.”



Naruto looked like he was about to make a snide comment, but he thought better of it and threw Iruka a warning look when it looked like the Chuunin wouldn’t be so nice. The Chuunin pressed his lips together angrily but nodded.



Nagato let go of the machine and gathered his hands for a complex series of seals. At first, nothing happened and then suddenly the all the metal rods impaling his body began to glow, his hair graying and then becoming white before their very eyes, his already emaciated body beginning to crumple as if made of paper.



“I have restored their lives, Naruto.” Nagato’s voice was hollow and distant, as if he was speaking from below the ground. “And I am giving up all the previous power that I held. My dream is yours now.”



Before Naruto could ask what the hell that meant, Nagato fell apart before his very eyes, his body turning to dust, blown away by the slight breeze. The machine was empty.



Iruka was about to take a step forward when the red-head at their feet suddenly stirred and moved.



“What the…?!” Naruto began and then closed his mouth as he watched the defeated body slowly open its eyes and rising to his feet, wobbly and uncertain.



“So strange…” the man said softly. “Walking with your own two feet.”



“Didn’t you just…” Iruka pointed to the ash-covered machine. The red-head turned to look at it thoughtfully. “I moved permanently to this body.” He said, as if that explained everything.



“Oh.” Was all that Iruka said. Naruto simply kept staring at Nagato, his mouth open in surprise.



“Close your mouth.” Iruka hissed at him through clenched teeth. Naruto did so with an audible click. Nagato made a valiant effort to ignore their comical expressions and eventually failed. He burst into helpless giggles – something he didn’t remember doing for a very long time. It was ridiculous to laugh in the presence of these two – enemies, rivals – but he couldn’t help it. He guessed that part of it was the fact that he was finally residing in a body of his own, despite the little side effect that he expected from having his soul in a foreign body, other than using all the original abilities of his bloodline limit. Now he was limited to whatever abilities Yahiko had had in life, the Rin’negan completely out of his reach. Orochimaru moved to live bodies in order to prevent just that from happening, but Nagato had never been able to bring himself to use someone in such a way. As for the side-effect… well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.



“You have blue eyes now.” Naruto blurted out when Nagato finally stopped laughing. The red-head nodded.



“Yes, Yahiko’s original eyes were blue.”



“So, you don’t have all those powers anymore?” Iruka asked quietly. Nagato nodded again.



“Good.”



Being used to all the sensory input from the Rin’negan he didn’t even see it coming when the Chuunin socked him in the jaw. Light exploded behind his eye-lids and he swayed but remained on his feet.



“Damn, that felt good!” Iruka muttered. Nagato rubbed his jaw unhappily.



“Feeling any better now?” he asked but there was no real anger in his voice.



“A little.” The Chuunin admitted.



“I still haven’t forgiven you for Jiraiya-sensei.” Naruto butted in, his voice cold and serious. “Don’t act like you’re my friend.”



The lightened mood evaporated instantly. The red-head looked down.



“I know. I am not asking for forgiveness, or for your friendship. What I did with Jiraiya-sensei was wrong and not something that can be forgiven, and a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to redeem myself for that deed.”



Naruto nodded.



“And nor for the deaths of Asuma-sensei, and the monks at the monastery, and everyone else which your organization murdered in order to further your insane plan.”



Once, many years ago, Nagato cried when he killed a man while defending his own life and the life of his friend. A long time passed since that day, and many tragedies shaped him into a person who was capable of killing indiscriminately. He no longer thought himself capable of feeling remorse or guilt, but this damn boy had managed to bring that person back to the fore. His eyes welled up but he refused to let the tears fall – he had spent too long time hating the person he had been to revert completely back to him.



“I did say however that I will let you and Kakashi go.” Naruto continued, his tone softening. “Sensei” he turned to Iruka “lead the way back to the dungeon where they keep Kakashi.”



Iruka nodded.



It didn’t take too long to arrive before the rock that marked the hidden entrance to the underground prison facility where they knew Kakashi was kept. After they located the door Naruto brought it down with an well-aimed Rasengan. The facility itself proved to be quite small, apparently created to hold only one person – it consisted of a corridor that led deep underground, several rooms that held the staff and a heavy steel door that led to the chamber where the prisoner was locked in.



“I expected we’d meet opposition when we get here.” Iruka muttered softly as they walked through the silent corridors and inspected the empty rooms.



“They must’ve seen the Kyuubi and ran for their lives.” Naruto suggested.



Nagato said nothing, too worried to even speak, anxious to get to Kakashi as soon as possible, to have him in his arms and take him out of this horrible place.



Finally, satisfied that they wouldn’t be attacked and that all the guards had run off, Naruto dealt with the dungeon door the same way he had dealt with the entrance. They quietly filed in, bringing a lone torch held by Iruka to illuminate the complete darkness in the cell.



There, huddled in the same corner where Iruka had last seen him, was Kakashi. He was as naked as before, a wide metal collar fitted tightly around his neck, the short chain attached to the wall behind him. Apparently whoever Tsunade had sent to take care of his wounds had done only a very basic job of it – all the bleeding seemed to have been stopped, but he was covered in huge bruises and ugly scabs, all of his broken and shattered bones obviously unset, his fingers and wrists and knees still bent at strange, unnatural angles and looking even worse than they had the last time he saw Kakashi. The old rage bubbled up inside of Iruka, but he carefully suppressed it, remembering Kakashi’s reaction the last time he showed how angry he was. Somewhere behind him he heard Naruto shocked gasp at the sight.



Nagato, however, was deathly silent – there was no gasp, not exclamation, not anger. He simply stared at the body of his lover, his blue eyes sad and resigned.



“I cannot, I CANNOT believe that they did this to him!” Naruto exclaimed, shaking like a leaf next to Iruka. The Chuunin put his free hand on his shoulder.



“Be quiet, your yelling only frightens him further.”



Indeed, at the sound of Naruto’s voice Kakashi had huddled even further into the corner, his eye focusing on them.



“Why?” Nagato asked quietly.



“Why what?”



“Why can’t you believe that Konoha nins are incapable of doing something like that? Are you still keeping to your ridiculous, idealistic notions about how pure and noble Konoha is? Even after all I told you?”



“It’s one thing to know it.” Iruka remarked softly. “It’s completely another to see it with your own eyes.”



“Indeed.” Nagato said and stepped forward into the circle of light. Kakashi’s single eye immediately focused on him, wide and disbelieving. Then he quickly looked away, closing his eye and whimpering softly.



“No. No. No. He’s not here, not here, come on, Kakashi, he’s not here…”



Nagato slowly approached him and then crouched down to his level, as if he was dealing with a small injured animal.



“Love, I am here, I am here for you, look at me.”



Kakashi shook his head.



“Don’t listen, nobody’s here, nobody’s here, he’s not here…”



“Baby, why do you think I am not real?” Nagato asked carefully.



Kakashi sent him a furtive look.



“I failed Nagato. He’s angry. I failed him. They hurt me and he didn’t come… I begged so much and he didn’t come. I failed him and he doesn’t think me worthy anymore.”



That, combined with the images he had gotten from the ANBU’s head, made the tears that didn’t spill at Naruto’s accusation earlier to slide down Nagato’s cheeks. He took in a shuddering breath.



“I am here now.” He stated and reached to touch Kakashi’s shoulder with the tips of his fingers. “I came for you.”



Kakashi jerked away violently from the touch but stared at him. Nagato was grateful that in the flickering light from the torch and Kakashi’s own visual impairment prevented the man from noticing the different eye-colour.



“Nagato?” Kakashi finally asked, barely audible.



“Yes. It’s me. I’ll take you away from this place.”



Kakashi’s lips began to tremble, but he didn’t cry.



“You’re here.” He said, disbelief colouring his tone. “Why? I failed you.”



“Baby, you never failed me.” He answered and reached to touch his cheek but Kakashi jerked away again, eye wild and frightened.



“Kakashi, love, you have to let me touch you if I am to carry you out of here.” Nagato told him. Kakashi’s breathing rate increased, verging on hyperventilation. “Do you believe that I will hurt you?” Nagato asked gently. The other shook his head, as much as he could with the metal collar around his neck. “Do you trust me?” Kakashi nodded. “Once you said that you’d do anything for me. Now I need you to let me touch you.”



Nagato knew firsthand what it felt like to be feel violated, to be terrified of a human touch, even if you knew that the person touching you was a friend who meant you no harm so he hated himself for manipulating Kakashi in such a way, but he knew that he had no other choice – that was the only way that he would be able to free him from the collar and carry him to safety – he had to force Kakashi to accept his touch.



“Will you do this for me, love?” he asked gently.



After a long time, Kakashi nodded mutely.



“I’ll go look for the keys.” Naruto said and quietly left the chamber.



Kakashi’s eye focused on Iruka and widened again, as if he realized for the first time that he was there. He began to shake so hard that his teeth were chattering.



“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”



“Shh, baby, look at me, look at only me.” Nagato ordered and felt relieved when his lover focused on him again. He had sensed during his mental contacts with him his growing feelings for the Chuunin and now had to make a conscious effort to suppress his jealousy. This was all his fault, he had no right to blame anyone but himself for all that had happened.



‘You played right into Madara’s hands. It was so easy for him to manipulate you, for all these years, even now. Fool.’ He thought.



Finally, Naruto returned and handed him the keys. Nagato reached and, as carefully as he could, released his Kakashi from the collar. The man sagged into his arms, initially stiff with instinctive terror, but in a few moments began to relax and only buried himself deeper into his embrace.



Iruka stood and watched them from the side as the red-head held the Jounin gently while trying to take off the remains of his tattered Akatsuki robe and wrap it around him. Finally, he succeeded and much to Iruka’s surprise, Kakashi allowed all that touching despite his obvious fear, trust shining in his single dark eye.



‘He never allowed me to touch him.’ He thought, but couldn’t bring himself to feel jealous. ‘He was never meant for me, wasn’t he?’ Had he been a worse person than he was, he would’ve gloated over the knowledge that the passionate sexual intimacy between the lovers would probably be ruined for a very long time, if not forever. Iruka was, however, a man with many flaws but he had never been malicious and couldn’t bring himself to rejoice at other people’s misfortune, even if they were his enemies – all he felt was sadness – for Kakashi, for himself, even for the man who held his former lover. ‘We were all pawns on other people’s chessboard.’ He thought bitterly.



Finally Nagato had his lover carefully wrapped in the remains of his robe and slid his arms under his knees and around his shoulders, lifting him carefully in his arms as he got up. The Jounin moaned softly when this jarred his broken kneecaps but didn’t make an attempt to free himself, his head resting on Nagato’s shoulder. It seemed that he was drifting in and out of consciousness, barely aware of what was going on around him.



They headed for the exit and when they finally reached it, they stopped.



“What now?” Naruto asked.



“I’ll take Kakashi as far away from here as possible.” Nagato answered quietly.



“Where?” Iruka asked.



The red-head cocked his head to one side.



“You both know I can’t tell you that. I’ll take good care of him, don’t worry. Better than I did up to this moment.”



Naruto’s expression was solemn and serious as he watched them.



“And Akatsuki?”



“I am no longer an asset to them, considering that I have lost all my previous power. They’ll leave me alone, probably.”



“An asset? I thought you were the Leader.” Naruto asked, pursing his lips.



“In name only. The real Leader is an Uchiha.”



Iruka and Naruto gawped at him in shock. Nagato continued:



“He was the one who sent the Kyuubi after Konoha, all those years ago. And I don’t think anymore that world peace is anywhere on his agenda.” He looked down at Kakashi tear-streaked face. “I am afraid that you’ll have to face him on your own, Naruto-san. Both Jiraiya-sensei and I have given you our dream, and this is a terrible burden to bear. I think that you are strong enough for it, no matter the hardships that you will face from this point on.” He turned away and gathered the unfamiliar chakra of this new body, feeling almost exhilarated despite the circumstances, when it responded to him, swift and strong. “Be careful with Uchiha Madara – he’s stronger than I ever was and he has your friend in his clutches. Be aware of the danger he poses to all of us.”



And with that, he jumped on the nearest tree branch, then on the next and the next and disappeared among the leaves.



Naruto and Iruka stood there for a little while more, looking at the trees. Finally, Iruka spoke:



“Shouldn’t we have asked him about some financial compensation about all the havoc he caused in Konoha? Reconstruction will bankrupt us.”