Gentle Caress

The Fox and the Hound

Shouta watched as Kakashi dragged his students away. He was going to teach them tree climbing. Everytime he looked at Mio, it reminded him of his brother. They were never related, they shared a room. A dark room with only a thin sheet to call their own. But they were okay, they had each other. What else could they want? His brother, just like he did, never had a name. His brother got sick and died young, and it left a hole in his chest. The last thing they said to each other was that they would always be together and that they would travel the world. Exploring the wonders beyond their dark room. He never got the chance, but Sai did. And he would tell him about it every night.

"Are you okay, Shouta?" Kitsuki leaned in.

He smiled, a small sad smile. "Yeah... Just remembering..." She nodded in understanding, a small squeeze on his shoulder later and she set off back to work.

Naruto felt bad for doing this. His siblings were going to be so upset when they found out, if they weren't already mad at him. He sent out one of his shadow clones with the group, leaving himself at home with Neji. The Hyuga in question was still bedridden. His leg was casted and he was high on pain medication, Haku had to give him a pretty high dosage since his chakra seemed to just burn right through it, leaving him in a world of pain.

So while his clone helped with the bridge building in a hedge, he dropped his. He was going to tail the team and find some way to get Kakashi alone. For long enough to slip him the message Jiraya had trusted him with. So he stayed perched on a tree branch, close enough that there was no way Kakashi couldn't smell him. Mio... he wasn't too sure about that girl. She wasn't the best actor, a lot like Sai was before, she wore her emotions on her sleeve. Well... the ones she had were worn on her sleeve. And currently, she was bored. She had climbed the tree to the top after her fifth "attempt." At least she could fake failure, he'll give her that. So while the boys struggled to climb the tree and stay on, she was leaning against her tree. Kiba was struggling the most out of the two, he hadn't made it past the mid-way point. He used to have the same problem, granted his problem had always been his chakra mass.

As he watched them train, he observed their sensei. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew the guy. It was something in the way he carried himself, the way he walked, and how he spoke to his students. This Kakashi guy seemed to really care about his students, if you look past the taunting and teasing. Though he did seem very weary of Mio, Naruto didn't blame him. Sai had already identified her as one of Danzo's child soldiers, why she was put on a genin squad was what they had yet to figure out.

Kiba growled in frustration as he fell on his rear once more. Akamaru barked in encouragement as he rose back to his feet. "This is stupid!"

Kakashi sighed, apparently he had dealt with this before. "It wasn't stupid when I did it, was it?"

He looked away, his cheeks puffed up. "... No..."

"I know it's hard but it is a necessary skill you need to learn. Chakra control can end up being the difference between your survival and your demise. As well as that of your fellow shinobi."

Kiba nodded, "fine. I'll keep trying."

"Good. Well, I'll leave you to it. I'm going to go back to the cabin and rest. Mio, why don't you find Tasuna? He shouldn't be alone for too long."

She nodded, though the slight drag in her step showed that she didn't want to leave. Why, he didn't know.

Naruto followed Kakashi, sending a clone to tail Mio. The gray hair jounin stopped in his tracks. "I know you're there. Show yourself."

"Impressive. I shouldn't have expected less from Konoha's Copycat Ninja."

"My reputation presumes me. Who are you?"

"You know who I am. We've met before, when I was much younger. You helped me whenever I needed. You and Bullfrog. How is Bullfrog?" Menma dropped from the tree he was perched from. His hedge fell as soon as he hit the ground.

Kakashi's eye widened. "Naruto?"

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"How-? Wait, how did you know it was me? We never interacted outside of my anbu uniform."

"Do you really think that you're the only one with a keen sense of smell?"

"Of course." He sounded amused. "How have you've been?"

"As much as I would love to stay and chat with a former savior of mine, now is not the time and place. I came with a message from my master. The toad sage." He pulls a scroll from his pocket and tosses it to him.

"He's your master?"

"Yes."

"About time he stepped up and took his job as your godfather seriously." Kakashi caught the scroll with his offhand. He lifts his headband, Sharingan eyes spinning to life as it memorized what was there. The scroll ignites into flames and Naruto disappears. "Take care of yourself. Hope we can talk again."

From behind a tree, heading back to the house, Naruto sighs. "Hope to see you again, Dog." The clone following Mio was dispelled as he dropped in through the attic window. It was like he had never left.