Restless

AN: Yes, I am keeping as close to the anime and manga as possible. No, I will not wait until the very end of the manga/anime to finish this story. I have an ending planned out that I will use when I feel necessary. If you've noticed, there are pieces of information in here that obviously do not appear in the manga/anime. They are leading up to said ending. :-D On the other hand, the way I have the ending allows me a fairly big grace period as to where I want to end it.

Also, the part where Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura try and see what Kakashi looks like beneath his mask is based off of the anime episode (where they go to a bath house), and not the three-page manga special. Plus, getting to the bath house is the fun part. Hehe.

Just so you know, a lot of recap in this chapter, but with a special twist at the end. I wonder if anyone will be able to see it coming…Enjoy!

Restless

Chapter 9: Restless Betrayal

"Stupid Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto grumbled as he sat on one of Konoha's roofs. He hadn't really felt like going home, and he hadn't really felt like going back to visit
Sasuke in the hospital either. He wanted to wait until Sasuke was definitely back to normal, or Sasuke normalness, before he interacted with him again. Sasuke was kinda scary other wise.

It was a rare moment for Naruto. He usually liked being with others when he had the opportunity, but for now, he just felt like being alone.

The brilliant sunset sky began to grow darker, but still Naruto didn't move from his solitary perch on the building. He laid back on the slanted roofs tiles, his feet placed firmly on the little grove between where the roof began to turn upward, forming its natural gutter. There had been some rain in the morning, so there was still a bit of water trapped in the upward lip of the roof, but not deep enough to pass the thickness of Naruto's sandals to get his feet wet. Naruto reclined onto the tiles, looking down at his reflection in the small puddle.

"Shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" Naruto chided ever so gently, as he felt the familiar presence land, and perch next to him. He waited for the other to speak, but he didn't, so Naruto decided to keep his silence as well. It was a full five minutes before the silence was broken.

"I heard that you had some interesting run ins and experiences on your trip to retrieve Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said, finally breaking the silence.

"Yeah. And shouldn't you still be in the hospital?" Naruto chided his teacher.

"Mah, mah. You already asked that. Yeah, probably, but I'll go back to the hospital in a bit. I wanted to come and talk to you. You left rather abruptly earlier today in your rush to go and chew out Tsunade-sama's ear," Naruto grumbled, indicating to Kakashi that it had not been successful. "Jiraiya-sama was most impressed with your growth." Naruto snorted.

"He was interested in the females he saw there, and not me. Hardly paid any attention to my training. I was there for training. So that's what I would do, on my own, training, training and training, but he never helped," Naruto replied sulkily.

"Hooo? He didn't help you? He probably helped you a lot more than you realize," Kakashi smiled, or at least, Naruto though he did. His eyes crinkled up happily. Naruto really hated that mask.

"Oh, he helped me realize that I should never trust him with my money, and that he's really a stingy rich bastard who likes to steal my money and use it all, and spends all of my money on women and booze!" Naruto burst out angrily. Kakashi scratched his head, looking away from Naruto, and instead focused his gaze upon the city.

"Uh, I think he forgot to mention that part," Kakashi said sheepishly. Turning more serious, he added, "But he taught you that you are capable to achieve greatness with only minimal guidance. He may not have guided you in a way that you liked – I know you prefer attention to the point where it can become a hindrance to the way you act as a shinobi. He taught you how to better control seeking that attention, didn't he?"

"I don't know about all that, though I guess he did sorta teach me some cool things," Naruto added thoughtfully. Kakashi was silent a minute.

"The attention you seek from Sasuke can be just as disruptive," Kakashi murmured, turning his full attention back to Naruto. Naruto stiffened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto huffed, crossing his arms, and looking away defiantly, but there was an unmistakable blush on his face. "I won't let Sasuke-teme distract me in my training or during a mission, if that's what you're talking about."

"Is that so? Well, I wasn't trying to lay blame on you. But you must realize that your relationship could be dangerous to both you and Sasuke. There are people who are after you, Naruto. Think about how Sasuke feels. Here you are, someone who he cares about, with his brother after him. His brother, the man who is responsible for his family's brutal murder and his disturbing desire for revenge, wanting to go after you. Can you tell me that is not a distraction for Sasuke, if not for you?" Naruto once again looked down at the puddle by his foot.

"Of course I realize it, but that does not mean I should live in fear of someone coming after me. I can take care of myself when I need to," Naruto replied. Kakashi sighed.

"How do I say this? Naruto, I know you can take care of yourself. You've proven yourself over and over again. What I'm saying is I don't know if Sasuke will let you take care of yourself. He wants to protect you because you are someone close to him. He cannot bear the thought of you being lost to him in the same way as his family. I think part of him fears you because you are that important to him."

"Of course he fears me! I'm greater than he is!" Naruto said all of a sudden, laughing proudly. His laughter didn't last too long, and trailed off awkwardly. "Ne, do you really think Sasuke is that worried about me, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto had moved up on the shingled roof, concentrating chakra to his feet to crouch close to Kakashi. Kakashi turned to him, and gave another one of those eye wrinkling smiles.

"I do." Kakashi reached out a hand and ruffled Naruto's hair. "I guess what I'm trying to say, is make sure Sasuke knows you can take care of yourself. You know, you make a lot of people worry now that I think about it. Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Jiraiya-sama, Iruka, Sasuke, and Sakura. And me of course."

"Nani? You just said that you knew I could take care of myself!"

"Yes, but you still worry me sometimes. Don't you think I can take of myself? And weren't you worried about me when I was in the hospital?" Naruto mumbled "yes." "See? Worry and rationality of prior knowledge of how you know someone will handle a situation differs."

"I think I get it," Naruto replied, tapping his chin in a thoughtful matter. Kakashi chuckled.

“Good,” Kakashi replied, amused at Naruto’s expression

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto started, not sure how he wanted to phrase the question. "Why do you think Sasuke feels so close to me? I've thought about it a lot, and I know he and I have a lot of things in common, but we're both still so different."

"Friendships are strange things. Some of the best friends only have a few things in common. Just because you are not exactly alike doesn't mean that you have nothing in common. Sometimes it's just the very few things that we have in common that draw us closer to other people. You and he are both used to being alone, and as much as neither of you likes it, that is what you are used to. So, maybe because you both have few things in common, yet hold different interests is the best way for you to connect with others," Kakashi said, not knowing if he was helping Naruto or not.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, smiling.

"Plus," Kakashi said, and Naruto thought his sensei might be smirking, but it was hard to tell through that stupid mask, "he's also clearly attracted to you as displayed through your continuous pornographic games. Ja ne!" And without waiting for a response from Naruto, Kakashi vanished. Naruto stood mortified, knowing full well that yes, that HAD been a smirk. Damn mask!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exactly one week later, Team 7 found themselves on their first mission since before the chuunin exams. It normally would have been a very long and tedious task; they had been asked to help with harvesting the rice in the nearby daimyo's fields, but with Naruto's kage bunshin no jutsu, and his eagerness and excitement at playing in the flooded rice fields, both Sakura and Sasuke hadn't really had much to do, until the daimyo's cat ran away, and they were asked to fetch it as a hundred or so Narutos splashed happily about, Kakashi idly helping the Naruto replicas one handed, the other holding his book as he read.

Both Sasuke and Sakura were tired from chasing around the wayward cat. Sasuke felt as though a tick in his eye were going off. He had had so much difficulty catching the damn thing because he had been so ready to kill it. Thankfully, Sakura hadn't mentioned anything in his lapse of ability.

Naruto, on the other hand, was bubbly and cheerful as he walked back, saying how Sakura and Sasuke should have stayed because to help with the fields because the man who they had been helping tend the fields had given both him and Kakashi-sensei some delicious food. It was then that Naruto had had a random and sudden epiphany. An evil grin twisted over his face, and he snickered. Naruto had been too busy eating to think to look, but if Kakashi ate, and if he had to put food in his mouth, then naturally Kakashi-sensei would have to...

"Oi, don't you wanna see it? Don't you think it's about time that we do?" Naruto said tauntingly to his two teammates as they returned home together, Kakashi-sensei far ahead of them now.

"What?" Sakura asked, clearly confused.

"Kakashi-sensei's face!" Naruto cackled out evilly.

"Hn. Baka. Not interested. We're done with the mission. I'm going home," Sasuke said irritated at his lack of enthusiasm for the mission. His stomach had also growled violently when Naruto mentioned food. Sasuke was hungry. But Naruto wasn't done yet.

"Could he have...fish lips?" Naruto said, watching the way that Sasuke stopped walking, his back going rigid, clearly thinking of the strange possibility. Naruto's smirk grew even wider. "Or horse teeth?" Sasuke practically swayed on the spot.

"Well, it would be like good detective work, and a way to practice our team skills outside of a normal mission," Sasuke finally gave in, glaring back at Naruto, knowing he had somehow lost that round. 'Dobe, you will be punished later...' Sasuke thought to himself.

So, Team 7 tried several different attempts at seeing Kakashi-sensei's face without the mask on. First, they had all tried trailing him separately. Then they had tried getting him to eat (since that was what had sparked Naruto's inspiration in the first place), but Ino had managed to spoil that one. Just as they had been about to see Kakashi eat, Ino had pounced on Sasuke, blocking their view. Though the reaction from Ayame and old man Teuchi made Naruto think that Kakashi-sensei probably wasn't all that bad looking. Next they had decided to try a bath house, but Sasuke and Naruto had to run for it when some bizarre things had started to happen, and not to mention Kakashi-sensei had come into the water with towels wrapped around his face so they hadn’t been able to see what he looked like anyway. Both Sasuke and Naruto ran out of the hot spring, towels wrapped hastily around their waists in order to cover themselves.

It was then that Sasuke decided he would punish Naruto.

Or so he thought.

Apparently, Naruto had decided he didn't like the idea of Sasuke being in control so much last time, because just as Sasuke's hand had snaked around to pull off of Naruto's towel, four more Naruto's appeared grabbing both of Sasuke's arms, and Sasuke's legs as the real Naruto laughed from behind him.

"Bwahahaha!" His laugh was high. "You almost got me again," Naruto said, but his annoying laugh died down, as his hands slipped around Sasuke's waist, untied the towel, letting it drop to the floor. Naruto had decided to take Kakashi-sensei's advice, and show Sasuke that Naruto could take care of himself in a very reasonable manner - by taking care of Sasuke of course.

Sasuke growled at being held in such a humiliating manner, but all coherent thought was lost as he felt not one, not two, but four pairs of hands on him, massaging him in so many different ways. Each clone was doing a different limb. One clone was massaging his hand and wrist while another was massaging his right bicep. The one on his right lower side was kneading the soft area around his knees, while the Naruto on his left lower side massaged his inner thigh, ever so often alternating from "accidentally" brushing his sac and "accidentally" groping his ass. He kept going "oopsie!" whenever he did so. Sasuke was too enthralled at being touched to put him straight. Though, not straight in the sexual orientation sense of course.

The real Naruto finally moved in closer, pressing himself against Sasuke's back side (Sasuke cursing the presence of Naruto's towel the entire time), and wrapped his hands around Sasuke's front side, taking in his length in both of his hands, slowly beginning to stroke him, then getting faster and faster.

"Mah, mah. You know, you didn't have to use trying to treat me to a bath house if this was really what you wanted to do here," Kakashi said amused, as he quickly turned away from the intimate scene in front of him. Sasuke and Naruto both wanted to die. All of Naruto's clones disappeared, and Sasuke scrambled to cover himself in a towel.

"Er, Kakashi-sensei-" Naruto began, but then stopped. How to explain this? Kakashi just shook his head, and waved a hand as to dismiss it.

"Just clean up - or finish up - and we'll get going," Kakashi said as he exited the room.

"Ow!" Naruto yelled, as Sasuke clipped him hard on the back of the head.

"Usurakatonkachi, you should have posted a guard," Sasuke said angrily, thinking if it had been anyone other than Kakashi-sensei, he may have added them to his hit list as well. He still wanted to really hurt Kakashi-sensei though. Naruto's hands had felt really good. As it was, Sasuke guessed that he and Naruto were more alike than he thought. Apparently being touched slowly was a universal good feeling for those who had spent too much time alone as a child – or maybe just plain good.

"Teme," Naruto growled lowly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Clean yourself up," Sasuke huffed at Naruto.

"Nani? You're the one leaking pre-cum!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke's only response was to throw his towel at Naruto's face.

And by the end of the day, they hadn't gotten to even see Kakashi-sensei's face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Team 7's next mission had not been one of Sasuke's favorites. In fact, far from it. Yes, it was a bit more difficult than usual, trying to help Idate from being attacked in order for his people to gain necessary control, but it had not turned out anything like what he would have expected.

Namely, Naruto stealing the show.

It had begun when they followed Idate onto the boat during the water leg of the race he was running in order to win the rights for his people to hold control over the land. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura's job had been to help him go through the race without being attacked by outsiders. But of course, they had been attacked. The Mist-nin were far more troublesome than Sasuke had originally thought they would be. When their boat set fire, and the water clones began chasing after them was when the mission had really gone down hill for Sasuke. They had had to jump into the water, where naturally the Mist-nin would be at an advantage. Their clones had come from them at all sides, and easily managed to hold down Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. Sasuke almost groaned when Naruto used his kage bunshin technique. Didn't the dobe know that the water clones would be much stronger than his in the water? That was the first thing that had irked Sasuke. Instead of Naruto's clones going after the Mist-nin's clones like Sasuke thought Naruto would do, he made them go to the bottom of the ocean floor, and use some sort of strange technique on the Mist-nin's water clones. How had Naruto been able to mold chakra into that technique? Was he a water-type user? Somehow, Sasuke didn't think so. And what was that technique that he had used?

The next thing that had bothered Sasuke was Naruto's attempt to rescue Sakura from the whirl-pool he had created in order to save them from the Mist-nin. Oh, saving Sakura, that was one thing, but attempting to give her mouth to mouth when she hadn't needed it had bothered Sasuke. It was obvious she was fine when her eyes opened ever so slightly. Sasuke had felt an inward groan as her eyes peeked open, to look at him ever so quickly, and then close again. She was trying to get him to give her mouth to mouth!

Sasuke wasn't stupid. Sakura was fine, and she was wasting time to boot. However, he noticed Naruto's blush-stained cheeks as he bent down in an attempt to perform CPR on her water prone form. He felt secretly relieved when Sakura had "woken-up" in time to slug him across the face. Sasuke had felt like doing that himself to both of them, but was glad that Sakura was showing no interest in Naruto, though he was NOT at all happy that Naruto had seemed happy about giving her mouth to mouth. Sasuke got up and left Naruto clutching his head on the beach, seething as he began to follow Idate.

Clearly Naruto still had some feelings for Sakura, and quite frankly, it pissed him off. Naruto had said that he liked him. He had said so! Had he lied? Did he like Sakura too? Did he like Sakura more? Or, a hopeful voice in the back of Sasuke's head muttered, maybe Naruto hadn't been blushing, but was rather embarrassed by the thought of kissing Sakura? Sasuke delicately took the hopeful voice and crushed it, deciding he was in too much of a foul mood to try and be hopeful at the moment.

After that, Naruto's little pep-talk to Idate had pissed him off. He knew it shouldn't have, after all, they were trying to help Idate win, but something about the way that Naruto had taken such an interest in Idate too, made Sasuke jealous. Naruto seemed to like absolutely everyone, and clearly Sasuke was of no importance to him right now.

Then, the worst of it came. Sasuke had not been able to fight against the Mist-nin responsible for causing everyone so much trouble. His chidori had barely cracked the powerful, stolen Konoha blade. Instead, he had been flung like a doll over the cliff, knocked unconscious, and had woken up to find that Naruto had been the one to defeat him with whatever new technique it was that he had developed. The Mist-nin's taunt that the rumors had been true that the weakest Uchiha had been the only one to survive the Uchiha massacre ringing in his ears.

When had Naruto gotten so strong? Naruto had been able to defeat Gaara when he, Sasuke, had not been able to. He had clearly learned a new jutsu that seemed stronger than chidori; Naruto's new technique had worked when Sasuke's hadn't. How much had he missed being in the hospital when Itachi has gone after Naruto?

Itachi's voice rang in his ears. "Why are you so weak? Why do you still lack hatefulness?"

Old questions and fears came rushing back to Sasuke. They were so distracting that he didn’t even feel the light tingling sensation from his cursed seal, a tingling sensation that began to spread throughout his entire body, spreading to his mind, tainting his thoughts as questions assaulted Sasuke’s psyche.

Why was Itachi after Naruto? Was it because he was going to try and kill Sasuke's most important person? What about Orochimaru? Why had he tried to kill Naruto? First he had gone after Sasuke, but maybe he wanted Naruto now that he was more powerful? Or was it because he was becoming a distraction to Sasuke? Were Orochimaru and Itachi after Naruto because he was connected to Sasuke? But no, that didn't make sense. Itachi had said that his organization was after Naruto. Itachi hadn't seemed interested in him at all. Yet what about Orochimaru? What had happened to make Naruto worthy of a powerful man personally trying to kill him? And, did Naruto know why? Why hadn't he told Sasuke that he was going to leave with that Jiraiya person? Naruto HAD to know why they were after him. Why had Naruto not confided in him? Perhaps he had chosen to confide in someone else. Naruto always seemed to get along with others, wanting their attention. Sakura. Kakashi. Hinata. Tsunade. Lee. Idate. Jiraiya.

Maybe, maybe Naruto was pushing him aside? Looking for someone stronger? No! Sasuke was stronger than Naruto. Naruto couldn't push him aside like that...

Naruto, on the other hand, saw things quite differently than Sasuke.

To Naruto, he finally felt as though he was making progress. No longer did he need Sasuke to save him, but rather they could work as a team. Sasuke had made the dent in the Mist-nin's stolen sword with his chidori, and had enabled Naruto to finish it off with his rasengan. Naruto felt good about the mission. Hadn't Kakashi-sensei said that he needed to show Sasuke that he wasn't weak? Well, he'd done that!

He hadn't bothered to tell Sasuke about his personal run ins with Orochimaru or Itachi because in doing so, he would have to reveal his deepest secret about harboring the Kyuubi. If only Naruto had confided in Sasuke, had only Sasuke asked for closure, the next 24 hours would have gone very differently.

Naruto happily bickered with Sakura as the two of them sat with their third teammate in Sasuke's hospital room, oblivious to Sasuke’s inner turmoil of thoughts until Sasuke could no longer hold his pain in mentally or emotionally. He lashed out physically instead, striking the apple Sakura had been slicing for him. Naruto was on his feet in an instant, where as Sakura stared opened mouthed, looking shocked. Sasuke looked at the cut apple pieces on the floor with a sneer.

‘Only weaklings cannot feed themselves,’ Sasuke thought to himself, glaring at the apple pieces as though he could light them afire…hmm…he should do that later. Next, his eyes moved up.

Sasuke stared at Naruto. Naruto, his fists in a fighting stance, nearly recoiled at the deadly glower. Sasuke had never looked at him like that before, and quite frankly, Naruto didn't like it. Sasuke looked like he wanted to seriously hurt him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Naruto demanded. Sasuke briefly looked down.

"Oi, Naruto. Fight me," Sasuke's eyes flashed to Naruto's "Now!" It was not a request, but a command. Naruto began to protest, but Sasuke merely yelled at him to shut up and fight, his Sharingan blazing.

Sasuke's body shook. Why was everyone after Naruto? Was he that strong? Was Sasuke just that weak? He needed to know. He needed to know that he was stronger than Naruto. He needed Naruto to be weak so that he could protect him. He couldn't be useless. In order to protect Naruto from the people he hated, Naruto had to need his help. Sasuke needed Naruto to need him. Ever since they had first started their rivalry, something had flared within Sasuke. It was now that he finally understood the feeling.

There was doubt in the back of his mind that Sasuke could defeat Itachi, but until now, there had been no true doubt that when push came to shove, he could protect Naruto. As long as he could do that, as long as he was stronger than Naruto, then he was needed. Hadn't that always been the case in the beginning? Hadn't Sasuke always been the one to save Naruto? Hadn't he saved him as he went over the waterfall when doing that stupid D-rank mission? Hadn't Sasuke been the one to come and save him when he was overwhelmed with his other tasks? Hadn't he protected Naruto with his life against Haku?

When had all that changed? When had he become the weakling? No, he needed to make sure that Naruto was weaker. As long as Naruto was weaker, Sasuke was still needed. As long as Naruto was weaker, Sasuke still had a purpose...for living.

A grin began to spread on Naruto's face. Funny thing was, his thoughts almost mirrored Sasuke's. 'If I'm stronger,' Naruto mused to himself 'then Sasuke has to admit that he needs me.'

"Naruto, tell Sasuke to stop!" Sakura said, breaking both of the boys’ thoughts away from their inner musings. Neither bothered to look at her. Instead, both boys glared at the other, knowing that this would be a different type of fight than before. The atmosphere was different, and there were no sexual pleasures involved.

This was full out superiority.


Meanwhile, in the Hidden Village of Sound......


"I have activated Sasuke's seal," Orochimaru instructed the four Sound-nin in front of him. "His mentality will become unstable, and he will begin to lust after the power that I have to offer. Retrieve him," The four Sound-nin grinned maliciously, and vanished to do their master's bidding.

Back on Top of Konoha's Hospital.....


Kakashi had decided to visit Sasuke in the hospital. He had just come back from a solo S-class mission, while the rest of his team had been away, only to find that Sasuke was back in the hospital. He hadn't even had to bother trying to find what room he was in, feeling the flaring chakra of two of his pupils on the roof.

Kakashi had to do a double take as he took in the scene in front of him. A fire jutsu had just been cast. Kakashi could smell the burnt tinge sizzling on the roof, clearly Sasuke's technique, and loud popping noises, most likely Naruto's kage-bunshin being dispelled. In the center of the roof were all three of his pupils. Sasuke and Naruto were barreling towards each other, and Sakura ran to stop them. Sasuke had his sharingan activated, a chidori chirping loudly, and Naruto had -

No, that couldn't be -

Kakashi didn't have time to finish his musings as he stepped in between the two boys, catching each by the wrist flinging them like dolls into the two water towers atop the Konoha hospital. When each of the boys' techniques hit the water tower, Kakashi saw the damage, knowing the full extent of each technique. Sasuke had his chidori powered to its maximum, and Naruto -

Naruto had formed the Rasengan.

But that had been more than 24 hours ago now.

Before leaving for another S-class mission, Kakashi had chased after Sasuke, lecturing him about using chidori so recklessly. Kakashi had been shocked at Sasuke's hurtful words, trying to irk Kakashi by saying he didn't know what it felt like to lose a loved one. That should have been the first warning sign. Sasuke had never been the best at emotionally leveling with anyone, but Kakashi should have realized Sasuke had reached a snapping point somewhere along the way. He just hadn't realized how quickly or devastating it would be. He had assumed that he would be able to deal with it when he had more time when he returned from his mission. Instead he had returned from his mission only to find that Sasuke had run off with some Sound ninjas, and Naruto and a team of shinobi had gone after him. Tsunade chided Kakashi for leaving after them, but he had bolted anyway, knowing better than anyone else the inner turmoil of both of his students.

Fear welled up inside Kakashi as he summoned his faithful dog, Pakkun, meanwhile muttering a mantra of "make it in time, make it in time" over and over again.

How could he have been so foolish to ignore the tell-tale warning signs?

Sasuke had powered his chidori with enough force to kill Naruto on top of the Konoha hospital roof. If Sasuke was trying to kill Naruto, that meant two things. First, clearly the cursed seal was out of hand. And second -

Sasuke was trying to obtain the mangekyou sharingan.

Kakashi muttered a curse as he saw the prone body of Naruto lying at the bottom of the waterfall at the Valley of the End. He landed near Naruto’s body. Kakashi’s breath stilled for a moment, noticing how pale and dead looking Naruto appeared, before he saw the reassuring rise and fall of Naruto's chest.

"Why did this happen?" Pakkun whispered, running over to Naruto's body.

"I'm sorry for not getting here on time. Naruto, you were desperate, ne?" Kakashi murmured cajolingly to Naruto. Naruto must have been desperate in trying to save his teammate from whatever monstrous hell would await him in Orochimaru’s clutches. Kakashi looked down at Naruto, who looked so young, much too young, and he placed Sasuke's hite-ai on Naruto's chest, picking Naruto up, noticing the fist sized rip in Naruto's shirt on the front, and the identical size rip on the back, as though someone had rammed their first through it. Like a chidori. Kakashi closed his eyes, knowing full well what must have happened. Sasuke had fisted a chidori to Naruto's chest, and the Kyuubi had healed the wound. Whether or not the Kyuubi's powers emerged other than in healing, Kakashi wasn't sure. He hoped desperately that Sasuke had not left Naruto with a chidori wound, hoping Naruto would bleed to death, but he had a sneaking suspicion that that was the case.

"Sasuke," Kakashi hissed, feeling an overwhelming sense of failure wash over him. He had thought things were going okay between Naruto and Sasuke. He had tried to monitor their behavior. He cared for his students; he always had. Pakkun and Kakashi traveled up to the uppermost part of the Valley, hoping to see if they could see a glimpse of Sasuke. Pakkun could no longer detect Sasuke's scent due to the rain, but there was a chance that they might still be able to see Sasuke if he happened to have been injured as well.

Naruto began to stir on Kakashi's back, but did not speak. Pakkun and Kakashi, with Naruto on his back, began to head back to Konoha in order to get Naruto's wounds healed.

Kakashi seethed inside. There were many things that he hated, but above all, he hated those who left their friends to die.

"Sasuke, you better hope that the seal was the cause of this. I thought that you truly cared about Naruto. If I find out that you left him to bleed to death, I swear I will never forgive you," Kakashi hissed to the air, a warm breeze blowing past him as they continued towards Konoha, Naruto slipping in and out of consciousness.

Kakashi hated people who left those they cared about to die. As a child, Kakashi had idolized his father, the man whom the village called White Fang. He was an elite ninja, and Kakashi learned much from him. However, during a mission, his father had sacrificed the good of the mission in order to save his teammates.

He remembered the utter ridicule his father had received afterwards, but the worst of it had been from the very teammates whose lives he had saved. Kakashi remembered the night when he had come home to find his father's lifeless body; suicide apparent. On that night, Kakashi vowed to follow nothing but rules and regulations - rules and regulations, and teammates and teamwork be damned. He would not be driven to insanity like his father.

Then, five years after his father's death, after training so dearly, he remembered the mission that had changed his life forever. He had never bothered listening to his sensei, the notable and elite ninja, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, the man destined to become the Yondaime Hokage, when he lectured him about teamwork.

It was the mission that he had learned the hard way the importance of teamwork. He had learned it from the boy he had always chided, the one whose life he could have saved if only he hadn't been so damned egotistical. The boy who he always teased for being late. Obito, the one from whom he had obtained the Sharingan. Obito's death haunted him to the point of obsession. He never developed feelings for him in the same way that Naruto and Sasuke had each other, but he was still connected to him, ever seeing through the eye of his former friend and rival. In fact, he had adopted some of Obito’s habits – namely being late and his nindo that those who left their teammates to die were worse than trash.

Quite frankly, Sasuke reminded him of his former self, and Naruto reminded Kakashi of Obito - as well as the Yondaime of course.

Kakashi understood the importance of the people over the mission. It was something that Kakashi should have known, should have learn. To see Sasuke so blatantly throw away his friends and the bonds he had with them by claiming to be chasing down his brother in order to avenge what was done to his family was complete and utter hypocrisy. And family was the most important thing, whether it be by blood or the one you created.

For Kakashi, he had always assumed after the death of his father (his mother dying on a mission when he was only three years old) that he had had no other living relatives – until very recently.

He had finally gotten up the courage to read the note that his father had written to him before committing suicide. For years Kakashi had kept it, never wanting to know why his father had committed suicide. Yet when he had finally decided to take on a team of Genin, he knew he would have to remind himself why teamwork was the most important thing, and in order to do that, he would have to overcome his last battle with teamwork, and read his father’s letter. He could not let his doubts cloud his judgment because he could not afford to let any more members of his team die.

What he hadn't expected to find was an even deeper secret that his father had kept hidden for years. Apparently, at only fourteen, his father had had a love affair with one of the daimyo's daughters, and gotten her pregnant. She had been forced to give the child up for adoption. His father explained in the letter that he had found his eldest son, but had never been able to tell him that he was his father. Kakashi had cried when he read the name of his brother, someone he knew had been dead for years, someone who, when he looked back on it, had reminded him of his father, in personality, ideologies, and even looks.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder where Naruto was again sleeping on his back, his wild blonde hair, the structure of his face, his smile, his vivid blue eyes – all suggested that he was Yondaime's son, just as his father's letter suggested that Kakashi was Yondaime's younger brother.

Yes, family came first, and Kakashi would make sure to protect Naruto, the boy he believed and hoped was his nephew.


Next Chapter: Restless Training


Anyone see that one coming – Yondaime being Kakashi's older half brother? If you were confused, please review and let me know what you think, and I will do my best to clear up any confusion. ~ Jelp