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A Reason To Be Late

Most nights the former ANBU could fall sleep easily. But tonight Kakashi Hatake couldn't go back to sleep. He'd woken up sometime ago from a dream he couldn't remember. Defeated the man turned to look at the clock hoping it would tell him he'd slept longer tonight, however he was left disappointed when he saw the clock hands were positioned at 3:00am. Defeated the copy-ninja lay back down. For the last couple of days Ibiki had been going trough the plan step by step. In between preparing Naruto for his part. Tsunade had also insisted that Naruto attend more counselling sessions. But even with the increased medication and therapy the Jónin could sense that the blond wasn't dealing with it as well.

As he thought this Kakashi turned over in defeat only to see the bed next to his empty. A few days ago the sliver-haired man would've panicked and rushed around the house until he found Naruto. Instead he slowly got out of bed and walked down the corridor to the living room. The Jónin had become so used to this routine he didn't even turn the lights on. He saw exactly what he'd expected to see; Naruto exercising in the middle of the floor. "Naruto, it's three in the morning come back to bed." He ordered.

The blond didn't stop his push ups lifted his head up to look at Kakashi. "Sorry I woke you up," The sweaty blond apologised. "I couldn't sleep," he explained mid-way through another press up.

The Jónin sighed heavily. "Its fine I was already awake." The Jónin looked out the window and saw they still had a few more hours before they had to leave. "Stop training and go back to sleep for a little while." Kakashi urged.

Naruto quickly rejected his offer. "No, its ok I'll get up now." He protested.

As much as Kakashi understood he'd grown tired of the stubborn teen for ignoring his advice, he'd tried being nice, but now seemed like it was time for some tough love. "Naruto, this training in the middle of the night needs to stop. I know you haven't slept for days. And with what your going to do in a few hours its important that you get some sleep." His own tone surprised him. "If you don't go to bed right now I'm going to make Tsunade call this off." He warned.

So it surprise the threat seemed to do the tick. him when Naruto nodded. "Ok fine, I'll go back to bed but only to stop you nagging me." Naruto sulked. Crawled back under the sheets and walked back to bed.

Knowing that Naruto would more than likely to disobey him the moment his back was turned, Kakashi waited and listened until he heard the the sound of Naruto sleeping again. Kakashi remained by his side, until he was completely sure Naruto had really fallen asleep. Sure enough he could hear Naruto's breathing slowing down. Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep Kakashi got out of bed and quietly closed the door behind him.

Just a few hours later Sakura turned up with more groceries for them. "Morning sensei." She chirped. "I brought you some more food."

Kakashi happily accepted the food and began putting it into the cupboards. "Thank you Sakura." The Jónin wasn't just grateful for Sakura's help, but her visits also provided Naruto with a welcome distraction. The pair would spend hours just talking about random things.

Like always she asked how Naruto was doing. But today Sakura had more reason to be interested in his well-being. "How is Naruto this morning?" She asked.

For once the Jónin didn't hide his concern for Naruto. "He's had a bad night, so I made him go back to sleep," He explained. "I'm sure he'll be brighter when he wakes up."

Sakura quietly watched her teacher closely. Even though she'd been happy to talk to Naruto again, the perspective girl hadn't been fooled by Naruto's front. She could still see that her friend showing the tell-tell signs of stress and anxiety. And the closer the day got the more seemed to notice just how nervous her friend seemed lately. "You don't need to protect me. I can see that Naruto's not coping." She stated.

His natural response had always been to reassure his female student that everything would be alight soon. Kakashi sometimes forgot just how mature she'd grown over the years. Kakashi shook his head. "No, even after I told him about my past he's still not acpeting what's happened. It's taken me this long just to get him to go back to bed." He revealed. "I know I probably sound selfish, but I just wish Naruto would just let someone else take his place instead." It was a huge refile to talk about it. But Kakashi still felt guilty for even saying such a thing.

Sakura stared at him with understanding and sympathy. "I don't think you're being selfish." Sakura said, as she shook her head. "Personally, I don't want Sai in the same village as Naruto; let alone the same room." As she said this Kakashi noticed the way her fist trembled when the girl mentioned Sai's name, but Sakura soon regained her cool. "But, you know it's pointless to argue with Naruto once he's made up his mind. Besides knowing Naruto he probably doesn't want to someone else in danger." She pointed out.

After spending hours lying awake at night at trying to understand, why Naruto wanted to put himself through such an ordeal, he'd completely forgotten the boy's constant need to protect everyone. "How could I overlook such a thing?" Kakashi asked himself.

If Kakashi was being honest with himself the Jónin was wondering if he was out of depth. While he'd served in ANBU Kakashi had seen some of his comrades suffer from post-traumatic stress before, but he'd never lived with anyone with it. Then he remembered that he was standing in the room with a medical ninja. Sakura might know what to do. "But I don't know if Naruto wants to live with me. Post traumatic stress can change a person. What if the Naruto I know isn't there anymore?" He said once again ashamed of his feelings.

But yet again Sakura didn't look even slightly angry with him. "Does he still love ramen, can't sit still for more than a second and dreams about becoming Hokage."

The Jónin nodded all her questions.

Sakura smiled. "Then he's still the same Naruto." She wanted her mentor to know just how much he was helping Naruto. "You're doing everything right." Sakura promised. "You know what triggers to avoid and your not being pushy. Just give him some time, he'll open up to you soon. Once this is all over I'm sure things will get easier." Then the girl changed the subject completely. "So has Naruto made his decision yet." The chuunin asked.

Sakura's question confused the Jónin for a moment. He couldn't even guess what she might be referring too. Then it hit him like lightning that Naruto hadn't given his answer about adopting him yet. "How did you know?" Kakashi asked.

What ever fears the Jónin had quickly vanquished as the young Chuunin smiled warmly at her former teacher. "Naruto, told me about it few days ago." She revealed. "I think its a great idea, plus parenthood suits you." She added.

As much as it delighted the Jónin to have Sakura's approval. The pair hadn't spoken much about anything. "No, we've barely spoken since we argued about him being bait." He explained. "I'm starting to feel like he doesn't want to be here, let alone live with me." However Kakashi didn't blame the boy after what he'd been through living with someone was probably hard.

He looked up and saw his former student biting her lip. "What is it?" Kakashi asked knowing that the girl was hiding something.

Whatever Sakura knew she looked hesitant to reveal it. "I think there's more to this than just his illness." She said before she went on. "He mentioned that he feels like he's a burden."

"What! How can he think that?" Kakashi asked both hurt and shocked by the revaluation.

Sakura seemed to sense his anguish and tried to put her former sensei at ease. "He's so grateful to you for everything you've done. But he's worried about putting too much pressure on you. He doesn't like keeping you awake at night or not being able to help pay the bills." She said gently.

It seemed like nightmares weren't the only reason Naruto was avoiding sleep. "So that's why he's not sleeping at night." That wasn't the only behaviour that suddenly made sense. Naruto's excessive cleaning the house and staying out of his way also made sense. "He doesn't owe me anything." The Jónin growled. A pat of him felt jealous that Naruto had told Sakura yet he wouldn't say a word to him some days. "I wish Naruto would just tell me this himself." Kakashi said unable to hide his hurt.

Sakura seemed to notice and tried to put her former teacher at ease. "I've tried telling you wouldn't like him to think like that, but you know how stubborn he is sometimes." Sakura pointed out.

The pair stopped talking when they saw Naruto standing in the door way, clearly angry about something.

The teen turned to glare at Sakura. "You promised you wouldn't tell him!" Naruto shirked. "I thought I could trust you."

Sakura looked guilty to say the least at revealing one of their private talks. "Naruto, I'm sorry" She apologised. "I just wanted to help."

Naruto didn't stay to listen and slammed the bedroom door.

For the rest of the morning both Kakashi and Sakura tried to coax Naruto out of the room. While Sakura only seemed mildly annoyed by her friend's behaviour, Kakashi just wanted to rip the door off its hinges. When he did see Naruto again it wasn't until Ibiki came to pick them up later that morning.

They all walked to location the in silence. Even though Kakashi had managed to convince them to allow him to stay and help the Jónin hated the plan, at least Ibiki had agreed to use a different house to trap Sai. The last thing he wanted was Naruto to feel uncomfortable in his own home again.

The house they were using was a lot smaller but it meant they only had a small place to watch.

While Kakashi looked around the room and saw all of the rookie nine were there. Ibiki began by debriefing the entire team one last time. "As some of you are already aware it's far too dangerous to use a wire." Ibiki informed. "So Instead We've placed hidden microphones and cameras both inside and , so we'll see and hear everything that happens." He scanned the room to make sure everyone was listening. "I'm going to assign each of you to a specific locations to watch the house. You'll all be be given radios able to hear what's going on No matter what you hear or see do not intervene until I give the command." He ordered.

As much as the Jónin hated to admit it. They'd pretty much covered everything, but one subject. "What if the worst happens?" Kakashi asked. Unlike the last couple of months They knew what Sai was going to do once he entered the house. The teen would more than likely try t or worse harm Naruto.

This time Tsunade answered his question. "Kakashi, I understand your not comfortable we've been planning this for weeks. Every possible step to ensure Naruto's safety has been thought about. Even though I can't be directly involved they'll always be a ninja a few yards away at all times." She promised trying to reassure both Naruto and Kakashi. "I will come as soon as both Danzó and Sai are in custody." She added. "Ibiki and I have a few things to discus so all of you need to get into your positions."

With everyone now out of the room The Jónin saw his chance. Before Kakashi even thought about leaving he wanted to talk Naruto alone. Even with all these precautions in place, the Jónin still felt uneasy. So many things could go wrong.

Thinking his guardian was going to try and persuade him to change his mind. "I don't care what you say, I'm still going through with it." Naruto informed him.

Learning from his past mistakes the Jónin knew better than to argue with him. "I know, I just wanted to tell you that if you need me, just call and I'll come ok." He promised.

Naruto stared at his former Sensei in shock. It wasn't like his former teacher to break the rules. Especially since Ibiki had just told everyone that the team would only intervene on his command. What his guardian was telling to do went against everything he'd been told. "But what about the plan. Won't you get into trouble if you jump in too early?" He asked.

The Jónin dismissed Naruto's concerns. "Don't worry about that. If things begin to get too much for you. Just call my name and I'll come and get you." And with that the Jónin left.

For the first few days nothing happened, much to Kakashi's relief. Even though it was hard sitting by, the man stayed and watched the camera's with his experience he'd be able to spot any signs of Sai and Danzó. Naruto only left the house to get food and on the rare occasion train. He every night the teen would sleep for a few hours and lay awake for the rest of the day.

For awhile it seemed like Sai wasn't going to show up. But soon they began to notice a figure walk past the house on numerous occasions. He started appearing randomly at first, but as the mysterious man continued to watch Naruto's movements he soon knew the boys routine. Then early one morning the stranger walked up to the door. After a few quick glances to check the cost was clear. The tension in the room continued to build Kakashi swallowed hard when the hooded figure skilfully picked the lock with ease, and walked into the house.

But that changed the second Sai saw Naruto alone and sleeping on the bed. After spending weeks in a cell dreaming about reuniting with the blond jinchuirki he just wanted to pounce on the teen and make up for lost time. Thanks to his stealthy skills Sai was able to crawl under the covers without disturbing the sleeping teen. However once he wrapped his arms around the blond's waist he woke with a start.

There were so many things he'd wanted to say to his abuser. But now he was actually faced with confronting the ROOT ninja he could barely utter his name, his voice even shaking as he spoke. "Sa..i" He murmured quietly.

The ANBU beamed with joy when he heard Naruto called his name. "Yes, it's me little fox," The teen looked at the clean flesh with disappointment. "All my marks are gone." Sai sounded sad at first, but seemed to cheer up a moment later. "No matter we can easily fix that." He said, before leaning in to kiss Naruto's neck. While in prison the ANBU had resorted to dreaming about touching the Kyuubi's host skin. He intended to enjoy this moment and didn't stop sucking until he'd left a mark on the tanned flesh. Despite Sai's excitement he didn't fully trust Naruto just yet. It was easy to find an excuse to touch the boy even more. "I need to check your body for wires." Sai explained putting his hand up Naruto's night shirt.

While Sai continued to search Naruto found himself unable to move. Even before Sai touched him Naruto had already began to regret his decision Naruto desperately wanted to call out for Kakashi to make it stop, but Ibiki's words from eairlar made him stay quite and allowed Sai to do as he pleased. "Just a little longer." He told himself.

Even once Sai was sure that Naruto wasn't wired he didn't remove his hand. But what pleased the teen even more was Naruto's lack of resistance. "I see you've remembered how to behave." He praised. "I haven't seen you for so long That I was beginning to think I'd never get to do this again. Danzó-Sama will be hear soon. " Sai said relishing every touch as he reached into Naruto's underwear.

At last the blond found the courage to speak up. "I know about Danzó's sharingan. He forced me to do those things to you. Is he making you hurt me?" Naruto asked at last.

For a moment Sai stopped what he was doing. He rightly wondered how Naruto knew about Danzó's secret ability. If he'd been more focused Sai would have questioned Naruto further. But his surprise didn't last very long. He found the idea that his mentor was somehow controlling him ridiculous. "I don't know how you heard about Danzó's sharingan, but I can assure you everything I feel for you is real." He informed.

Disheartened by Sai's words, Naruto couldn't think of any reason to explain Sai's behaviour. "But then why are you doing this to me?" Naruto stuttered.

"Because I love you." Sai whispered snuggling into the crook of his neck.

On the other side of the camera many were struggling to deal with what they were hearing and seeing Sai do to Naruto. But no ones rage even came close to matching Kakashi. Before Sai even expressed his affection the irate Jónin already wanted to burst through the door and kill the teen.

Then he saw the pale teen actually touching his Just as the copy ninja was about to storm out the room Ibiki stopped him. "Kakashi not yet." Ibiki warned.

By now the plan no longer mattered to Kakashi any longer. So far Sai had crossed the line. "You just allowed Sai sexually assault him, if we don't intervene now he's going to rape him." Kakashi stated.

"Just watch, we don't have enough to convict Danzó yet. If I showed this to the counsel elders they won't accept his involvement."

To Kakashi's surprise it was Kiba that spoke up. Even thought the group couldn't see what was going on. Hearing someone hurting their friend would have been difficult. "To hell with those old gezzers. We need to get Naruto out o there now!" His voice loudly through his radio. The one good thing that came out of this was Kiba seemed to finally realise what they were dealing with."Who gives a fuck about evidence at this point! It's clear Naruto wants this to stop." Kiba stormed. In the background they could just make out Akamaru bark. While none of the others spoke it was clear from their scilnce they also wanted this to stop.

Sensing that emotions were running high, Ibiki worried that someone was going to ruin the plan. Before anyone could something reckless Ibiki spoke into the radio. "I understand this is hard to watch but We have to wait a little longer. I promise if he does anything else I will stop this." He promised turning to Kakashi as he spoke.

Meanwhile Sai waited for the Kyuubi host to say he felt the same way. "Aren't you going to say something back?" He asked softly.

Growing up with no parents Naruto hadn't seen told he never noticed just how different the phrase could sound deepening on who said it. When his sensei used those words together he felt warmth build his stomach. But when Sai said it he'd be gripped by fear. "N…n…no." He somehow found the courage to shove his former friend and comrade away.

Naruto stood up straight and shouted at the teen, This time with more confidence. "You don't know the meaning of those words!" He spat.

The emotionally challenged boy stared at the Kyuubi container with confusion. He hadn't expected to snap. "This is strange, even though I haven't seen you for so long. I didn't think you'd forget the time we've spent together so quickly." "Don't you remember all those nights we spent together getting to know each other better." "I know your body so well now. I know were to touch and kiss." He whispered moving in to kiss Naruto's neck.

But again he was stopped by Naruto pushing him off. "Don't touch me ever again!" He shrieked. "That's not love, you spent the whole time raping me." Naruto raged.

"Who told you this nonsense?" He asked. "I thought I told you one could ever love you."

Even with Sai holding his hair painfully tight Naruto's didn't waver for a second. "You and Danzó are both wrong, I found someone who loves me Kakashi-Sensei loves me." Naruto declared hoping to make the disturbed teen shut up, but to the young shinobi's surprise, Sai erupted into laughed.

Once he caught his breathe back "I think your the one who doesn't understand what love is. The moment I laid eyes on you I fell under the Kyuubi's spell. I saw the way you were struggling to deal with the Kyuubi. Danzó-Sama made we realise it was my duty to save you and everyone from your power. I sacrificed myself and allowed the seductive power of the fox to consume me." He informed. "You should be thanking me and Danzó for intervening when we did."

Naruto shook his head at Sai's ridiculous suggestion. "Thank you! Because of you and your psycho boss I wanted to end my life. I went to the Hokage monument I was so close to jumping off. If Kakashi-Sensei hadn't been there that day I wouldn't be here today."

A second later he felt Sai pushed back on to the bed. "How could you be so selfish?" Sai was clearly angry with him. "Stupid fox, I haven't even go to practise half the sex acts in my books." He could no longer wait for his mater. "Danzó-Sama's always saying I'm impatient. But I don't think he'll mind if I get a head start. I'm sure he'll agree your actions need punishing" Once he'd tied Naruto to the bed posts He began to rip the boy's shorts and underwear off.

"Yes, I quite agree with you." A voice called.

Startled by the familiar voice the ANBU spun round, only to see his superior standing in the door way. "Danzó-Sama I was only enforcing your rules." He began to explain.

But his master didn't appear upset. "Did you check the room for bugs and camera's before you entered?" The elder asked.

Sai thought about the question for a moment. While he'd thoughtfully checked Naruto for hidden wires; he'd neglected to search the rest of the house. A few months ago he wouldn't of dreamed not to check the house, But his intense desire to be with Naruto overcame his years of training. "Yes, the room and Naruto are clean." He lied.

Danzó studied his student for a moment before he allowed him to proceed. "Then by all means continue. I think you've earned it after what that brat has put you through." Now he looked at Naruto who was still struggling on the bed. "If you only knew the plans I have in store for you." The man threatened. "If you think rape is the worst thing you're in for a nasty shock."

Now that he had his master's permission Sai flipped Naruto on to his stomach and removed his underwear all the while Naruto continued to fight. "Now,now stop fighting and just relax." Sai cooed.

Afraid of what usually coming next. Even before Sai started he thought that at least one of his friends would stop this. "Why aren't they coming?" He asked himself. "Can't they see what he's doing to me?" But once he felt Sai getting into position he could no longer stay quite. He began screaming one name at the top of his lungs. "Kakashi!"

Hearing Naruto scream for help only amused Sai. "He's not coming for you. No one will." Sai said grabbing Naruto hips getting ready to thrust.

Just as Naruto thought Sai had won a spilt second later he could no longer feel Sai top of him. Thanks to his arms being restrained he couldn't see what was happening behind him. If he'd been able to turn around the blond would have been greeted by the sight of Kakashi pressing a kunia against Sai's throat.

A few seconds later the rest of the team charged in. But before they could detain the elder, he disappeared in a puff off smoke. As soon as this happened Ibiki ordered the other chuunin to find Danzó. Most of the went to search for any sign of the elder but Ibiki knew there was little chance of finding any trace of the man now. began cursing Kakashi for jumping in so quickly. "I warned you not to jump in. Now thanks to your emotions we've lost the best chnace of capture Danzó." But Kakashi didn't appear to be listening to him.

Not everyone agreed with the strict Jónin. Sakura couldn't stop glaring at the man. "You were just about to let that sick bastard rape him." The girl raged. "If my sensei hadn't intervened when he did then who knows what would have happened. "The young chunnin expected Kakashi to join in and give Ibiki a piece of his mind. But once again Kakashi didn't say anything. The Jónin appeared to be much more interested in the boy he had pinned to the floor.

At first the pale teen intended to gloat and even tease the older shinboi. But when he only needed to take one look at told him this wasn't a wise thing to do and stayed quite. When Sai looked into the pools of Kakashi's eyes his body suddenly felt cold. "Is this what fear feels like?" He wondered.

Yamato wisely didn't intervene he'd seen this look many times when they worked in ANBU together. He fully intended to savour every moment. And this time no amount of sedative was going to stand between him and killing his target this time.

As much as Kakashi hated Sai, the man couldn't help but smirk triumphantly at the boy fearful expression. He'd dreamed about this moment for so long, he had so many ways he wanted to kill the teen. "You have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy this." Kakashi said. He began by stabbing the ninja in the thigh taking care to avoid all of the major veins and arteries. The Jónin relished it when Sai winced a little. Sai yelled even louder when he twisted the blade deeper into his leg.

Realising that her subordinate was going to murder the boy outright the fifth Hokage tried to stop him. "Kakashi!" Tsunade snapped. Her order wasn't to spare Sai's life. With Danzó gone Sai was there only lead. "Get off him now, we need him alive if we're going to stand any chance of capturing Danzó." She explained.

While everyone tried to talk Kakashi out of murdering there on and only lead, they failed to hear the small cry behind them. "Sen..sensei."

Sakura seemed to be the only one in the room that heard the small cry. The young Chuunin turned to see Naruto half naked on the bed, clearly shaken by the whole experience. Concerned Sakura sat on the bed and tried to comfort her terrified friend. "Hey Naruto it's ok. Kakashi-sensei will be with you in a minute." She promised as she tried to untie him the medical ninja asked if he was hurt. "Did he hurt you?" Sakura asked a little more forcefully than she intended.

"No! don't touch me." The blond wailed.

This time everyone heard Naruto's cries, apart from Kakashi who was enjoying himself far too much to hear anything else but Sai's screams.

As much as Yamato would have enjoyed seeing Kakashi spilling Sai's blood, he knew that Tsunade was right, besides Naruto wouldn't calm down until Kakashi spoke to him. Knowing this the ANBU captian carefully approached his friend. The experienced ANBU captain began by calling Kakashi's name, "Senpia." He called.

As he expected the copy-ninja spun round delivering him a hard stare at his friend for interrupting him. "What!" The Jónin said coldly.

Without losing his nerve, Yamato alerted him to Naruto's distress. "Naruto's calling you." He said carefully.

The Jónin turned his attention to the bed and soon saw that Yamato was indeed correct. Reluctantly the copy-ninja let go of Sai and through the knife in the corner. As the Jónin slowly walked in the space of a few seconds he seemed to calm down. He sat on the bed beside the shaken teen and carefully untied him. "Are you alright Naruto?" He asked reaching out to touch the blond's face. Without warning Naruto lunged forward and embraced his teacher.

Not just because he'd been saved but his teacher had kept his promise. "You..c..a..ame"

"Of course I did." Kakashi said gently. He watched as the medical team healed Sai's wounds before he bled out. A moment ago he just wanted to rip the teen to shreds. But now Kakashi just wanted to take Naruto home and care for him. "Lets go home." He suggested.

When they first approached the two elders they once again refused to believe what happened. But once they were shown all of the evidence, both the council elders reluctantly declared Danzó a wanted criminal and had warrants out for his imitate arrest. To aid in the search Tsunade quickly dispatched a team of ANBU to help with the investigation.

While everyone else focused on capturing Danzó. Kakashi took care of Naruto. Even though Danzó escaped Kakashi felt confident Naruto would begin to feel better. But the Jónin's hopes were quickly dashed the moment they got home. If anything Naruto seemed to relapse. Not only did the boy refuse sleep but he also wouldn't eat and both the nightmares and flash-backs only seemed to get worse.

"I just wish it would stop." He begged one night.

Every day for the last week, Kakashi did his best to help the teen and at night the Jónin got up to comfort Naruto from his nightmares. He'd done this a number of times now but With things getting worse and Naruto refusing to tell him what was wrong; Kakashi wasn't sure he could cope with much more. "Maybe we should talk to Tsunade in the morning, maybe she can help." He suggested tiredly.

Like always Naruto shook his head at the idea. "No, I don't want to bother her anymore." He explained.

"If you don't want to talk to her that's fine. But we need to do something soon. I'm trying my best but I don't know how much more I can do."

Naruto nodded slowly. He knew his teacher was exhausted. "Ok I'll talk, but only to you."He said.

The Jónin started at the teen surprised that he wanted to talk to him. The pair sat down on the bed together. Kakashi decided to start the conversation by asking him why he really volunteered to be bait. After what happened that day Kakashi promised himself he'd let the matter drop, the man's instinct wouldn't let it go. "Naruto, why did you want to talk to Sai?" He asked at last.

As his teacher suspected Naruto did have another reason for wanting to help. But he blond felt too afraid to tell Kakashi the truth at the time. "I heard what Ibiki said about Danzó's sharingan. I thought maybe he did the same thing to Sai. I know it was dangerous but I couldn't help it. I just thought that Danzó was controlling him." He admitted.

Kakashi could understand his students motives, but he still felt angry at the teen for putting himself in danger. "Why couldn't you just talk to me about it?" He questioned. "If you had spoken to me, I could have told you that Sai was never under Danzó's influence." The Jónin hadn't intended to scald the teenager.

"Because I didn't want to burden you anymore." The blond eventually admitted. "But then why?" The blond asked. Sai sounded convinced that the Kyuubi was to blame for his attraction towards him. Despite everyone repeatedly telling Naruto he wasn't at fault but he once again found himself asking if he was somehow to blame. "Is it possible that the fox really can make someone feel like that." As much as Naruto didn't want to ask Kakashi he felt like he had no other choice. Naruto had hoped to get those answers from Sai, but now it seemed as if he'd never know the truth.

The question had also plagued Kakashi. He'd thought about the possible explanation for Sai's behaviour long and hard. "Sai's training relied on him suppressing his emotions. I suspect that when Sai joined team 7 it reawakened his those dormant feelings. It probably started out as harmless curiosity to begin with. If thing had been different he might have been able to master his emotions and use them correctly. Unfortunately those feelings went unchecked and developed into something dangerous. Danzó used that to his advantage."

Most of what Kakashi said did make sense to the blond, but it left him wondering just who was really to blame for what happened. "But doesn't that make Sai a victim too. Danzó knew Sai had feelings for me and he used Sai's to get to me." He asked.

Even thought Naruto had a point, it still horrified Kakashi to hear Naruto refer Sai as a victim. The silver-haired man refused to allow Naruto to think like that. "Now, you Listen to me and listen well." Kakashi growled. "Even though Danzó did manipulate Sai, no one forced him to do those things. He always had a choice. If he really cared about you, then he would've protected you from Danzó instead of abusing you."

The Jónin wondered if he'd been too harsh. But then the copy-ninja heard the sound of sobbing as if the person was desperately trying to force it down. But the attempts proving useless as it slowly getting louder it was clear that his charge was failing to contain the pain. Warping his around Naruto Kakashi encouraged him. "It's ok, just let it out." He urged. The quite sobs soon tuned into loud wails that seemed to go on for hours.

When Naruto finally settled down Kakashi gently lowered the sleeping boy into bed. He could've gone to bed with him Kakashi turned round and looked at the sleeping Naruto one last time before he left. "I'll be back soon." He promised. Packing lightly Kakashi quickly left the house before Naruto woke up. As he jumped between roof tops he tired to think of a plan. The Jónin soon realised that if he was going to do this, he would need help.

After spending three days and nights tracking a person down Kakashi and Pakkun found a promising hide out. All they had to do now was wait for him to come out.

As they waited, the pug looked at his boss. When his contractor had asked him to track down a certain individual, he'd done it without question. But for the fist time in the dog's life he couldn't keep his worries to himself ."Are you sure about this boss?" The pug asked. "The last time you faced off against him, it didn't end well." The small pug pointed out. "And by the looks of it, he's even strong than before. It's as if he's acquired more power somehow." He added.

Kakashi didn't need his loyal dog to tell him he was facing an even stronger opponent than before. Not even he could be sure if his plan would work. "No I'm not, but he's the only person that would be willing to help me." He knew that Yamato would be cross with him for not including him, but the Jónin didn't want to drag his friend down with him. "I'll call you when its safe to come out." He said sending the hound back.

Kakashi's response only worried Pakkun even more. He highly doubted there wouldn't be consequences for his actions. "You know the Hokage will have your ass for this when you get back." The small dog warned, hoping to persuade Kakashi to forget his plan and return home before it was too late.

"No I need to do this." He said as he jumped down the tree and followed him he was within feet of touching his former student Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi didn't even need to make his presence known. "You better have a good reason for being here, Kakashi." Sasuke warned turning round to face him. Sasuke could think of only one reason why his former sensei was standing in front of him. "Has the Hokage sent you to assassinate me?" The Uchiha asked, slightly amused at the thought of his old teacher finishing him off. Unlike the last time there was no danger of him losing his eye-sight.

"Luckily for you I'm under no one's orders, I came here on my own accord. Not even the Hokage knows where I am." He explained.

The raven-haired teen studied his teacher hard for a moment. He could immediately tell he wasn't lying, but he was still armed. The Uchiha the wondered if the man was hear to try and persuade him to return to the village. To Sasuke informed his old teacher that he hadn't changed his mind. "Nothing you say will stop me from taking my revenge, I'm still going to destroy Kohana and avenge Itachi." He proclaimed.

"Hmmph, I seem to recall that Danzó is still alive and kicking. It not like you to miss one of your targets. I never thought you could be fooled by such a trick."

The every mention of the elders name and pointed his sword at the Jónin for mocking his failure. "Don't test me Kakashi, now that I have Itachi's eyes I'm far more powerful now." He warned. "And as for that scum-bag Danzó I intended to finish him off as soon as possible." He promised.

Now that he knew that Sasuke still intended to go after the elder, he felt slightly more confident about sharing his plan with the teen. "I'm glad to hear your hate for him hasn't lessened since our last encounter." Kakashi joked. "But I'm sure you've already heard that Danzó is now a wanted criminal. If only you had a ninja hound, with heightened senses, then you'd be able to could track him down. Then you could finish what you've started." A quick glance at His student seemed to be listening to him at last.

Sasuke sheathed his sword. It sounded like the Jónin was offering to help him. But for the life of him Sasuke couldn't understand why wanted to help. "Could the Hokage have sent him to kill Danzó?" At first this seemed like the obvious answer, But then the boy remembered that the Jónin had said before. Still suspicious Sasuke decided to ask Kakashi why he wanted Danzó. "Why are you so interested in Danzó?" The raven asked.

Kakashi wondered if he should share what he knew with the raven. Mostly because a part of him wanted to see if Sasuke still cared for his team-mate, but he decided against it. "Lets just say you're not the only one with a score to settle." Kakashi answered.

After resorting to hiding for that last few days Danzó had almost reached the fire countries border. While walking he tried to understand where his plan went wrong. The more he thought about it he soon came to realise his mistake. The elder cursed himself for ever trusting Sai. "I was far too dependent on Sai to complete this mission alone. Now thanks to him and that blond brat I've probably lost my only chance to take control of the Kyuubi. He shook his head and decided to move on from his mistake. "It doesn't matter if I'm alone, I still have many followers in different countries. Soon I'll be able to return and when I can gather enough ninja's I'll attack Kohana and take my rightful place as Hokage." many plans but he was on punishing the Kyuubi fox the most.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke blocked his path.

This time Sasuke didn't waste time and used his new and complete Susanoo to grab the elder and restrain him quickly.

Danzó winced in the forces tight grip. "He's even more powerful than before." He noted. The one armed man noticed the boy wasn't alone. Inside the purple mass he could make out a second person. His first thought was Madara had joined them again but he saw it was Kakashi. "How can you stand next that traitor as if he were an ally." Danzó spat at the man.

"As of this moment I'm off duty." Kakashi announced.

The raven haired-boy scoffed at his threats. "So what if you're able to use the Sharingan, but this time you don't have your arm anymore." The loss of this arm meant fighting would be much harder. Plus I'll bet forming hand seals is harder." The Uchiha pointed out.

Even in his precocious position the elder smirked. "That may be true, but this particular eye belonged to Uchiha Shisu. It has abilities that you could only dream of having." He boasted. "It's taken me a few years, but I've slowly learned its secrets. I've become so powerful that not even the Kyuubi brat could resist it's powers."

Usually Sasuke could control his emotions effortlessly and wouldn't allow such a comment to break his concentration. So it surprised Kakashi when he noticed when Sasuke's chidori dissipated ever so slightly and his eye twitch. He waited for his student to retort with a something smug, but he didn't. "It seems even you can sense something was wrong." Kakashi noted.

Even Danzó seemed to sense Sasuke's unease. "Of course I haven't always used it's power just to . Lately I've been experimenting and using it for more personal activities." He gloated.

This time he found it even harder to push his curiosity to one side. Sasuke turned to face his former teacher. It wasn't as if he cared about his team-mate but the idea of someone as unworthy as Danzó using his birthright for something so vile angered him greatly. "Kakashi, what exactly did he do to Naruto?" He asked his voice shaking ever so slightly.

Before he could answer Sasuke's question Danzó couldn't seem to help basting about what he'd done.

The man still felt his actions were justified. "I was the only one that realised the Kyuubi brat was out of control. I knew something had to be done before it destroyed everything. But even with my eye I couldn't get close enough to the brat. So I used one of my own shinobi to get close to the boy. My original aim was to control the fox eventually. But I grew curious of the Sharingan's true powers. So I allowed my most loyal student, Sai, to explore his sexuality a little." He paused for a moment nether Kakashi or Sasuke said a word. "Who knew the Kyuubi brat could perform so well under it's effects. If Itachi was till alive I'm sure your brother would've done the same thing."

Almost straight away Kakashi felt the purple chakra that surrounded him change dramatically. It turned from a calm controlled atmosphere. The Jónin could feel Sasuke's rage in the air surrounding them. The young Uchiha didn't speak, but the Jónin could tell that he was offering to team up with him. Just as Sasuke was about to crush Danzó to death Kakashi bravely intervened.

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"I was just going to propose a small suggestion." He explained.

Sasuke snorted at the suggestion. "Tch you're just going to chidori him to death. You seem to forget I studied under Orochimaru I know plenty of ways to make this painful." Sasuke informed.

Kakashi smiled a little at the comment. "Rest assured I have no plans on making this a quick death. And I think you'll find I'm a bit more experienced when it come to torture." To prove his point that Kakashi leaned over and whispered into Sasuke's ear.

The things that Kakashi whispered to his former student's ear would of turn a normal person's hair white with fear. Although Sasuke wouldn't admit it out loud, It shocked the young Uchiha. Kakashi's suggestions included not only physical, but also mental torture; something he'd neglected to think about. But to the raven the Jónin's ideas sounded marvellous. In-fact Sasuke was so pleased that he even smiled. "Hmpth that's more like it. I guess I wouldn't mind sharing the load just this once." With a plan formed the pair turned back to face Danzó.

Hours later a group of ANBU were racing to get to the border. The reason for the teams haste was they'd received information about a sighting of Danzó. Wanted to prevent the former council member from escaping for good. The team raced to reach the border in time. They were just yards from reaching their destination when the group came across a meadow. The sight that awaited them stopped them in their tracks. The surrounding landscape had been turned into a bloody mess. There was blood scattered nearly all the way across the field. Even the hardened hearts of the men shuddered a little at the sight. Not one blade of grass or flower was speared, even some of the trees had blood dripping from the leaves.

Unlike his subordinates the ANBU captain, in charge, gave his instructions. "Scatter and search for clues. We don't know whether or not this is Danzó." The squad had no idea where to begin.

The clever captain quickly deduced that someone wanted them to find this mess. "Who ever did this, wasn't trying to hide what they did." He thought to himself. An experienced killer wouldn't have left the sight without cleaning the blood away first. The search carried on into the night with little sign of any results. For a moment it looked as if they wouldn't be able to find any clues. Until one of the members called their leader over.

The man walked over to his subordinate. "Have you found something?" He asked. The captain saw the man was holding something in hand. At first the team leader thought his comrade was holding a stone. But as he got closer he quickly saw it wasn't rock, it was an eye.

That was the only piece they found.

At the same time the team of ANBU uncovered the grizzly discovery, Kakashi was slowly dragging his tired body back home. Despite the Jónin's best efforts he'd, still managed to exceed his chakra limit. When the exhausted Jónin eventually made it back to Kohana he was greeted by a furious Hokage and a pissed off Yamato.

As soon as the tried man stepped inside he was restrained by Yamato's wood.

The woman all but punched the copy ninja for just casually strolled into her office like nothing had happened. "Where on earth have you been?" Tsuande demanded. "Do you have any idea..." The sannin paused and took a moment to look at the Jónin's cloths. Even for an experienced medic like Tsunade the stench of blood was overpowering. There was blood on the man's cloths, hair and even under his finger nails. "What have you done?" She asked warily.

Exhausted the copy-ninja didn't mind telling her what happened. "I took care of Danzó, you'll find whatever remains of him scattered along the border." He told her. "I gave the ANBU that were trailing him a tip off, they should have found him by now." He explained.

The news didn't entirely surprise her but even though Kakashi was a strong ninja, Tsunade doubted he could take on Danzó alone, he would have needed help. But all of Kakashi's subordinates and allies were accounted for. "You couldn't have possibly taken Danzó down all by yourself." The girl pointed out. "Do I even need to know who your accomplice was?" She asked.

"It just so happens that I bumped into Sasuke along the way. You might say we came to a understanding." The Jónin admitted.

At first the ANBU captain was angered that his friend had gone alone and had the pleasure of killing Danzó. But now he couldn't stop himself at gawking at his superior. "How on earth did you convince Sasuke, of all people, to help you?" Yamato blurted out, only to be silenced by Tsunade.

"Don't encourage him." She yelled.

But Kakashi was only too happy to tell his friend how he'd convinced the rouge ninja to help. "As you can imagine he took some persuading, but we eventually came to a agreement." Kakashi explained.

This was the last straw for the Hokage. "Damn it Kakashi!" She yelled. "How could you be so stupid!" By now imprisoning Danzó was far from her mind. "I couldn't care less about how you and the Uchiha brat killed Danzó." The fifth snapped. "But I do care about you abandoning your charge so you can go off and live out your murderous fantasy." The woman barked furiously. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't remove Naruto from your care right this second?" The woman challenged.

By this point the wood that held Kakashi in place creaked. "You'd have to kill me, before I let you take Naruto away from me." As much as Kakashi respected the medical ninja, but Tsunade had no idea what he'd had to deal everyday from the past few months. "I didn't do this for my benefit, I did it for Naruto's. I wanted him to be able to sleep, eat and live without fear. You don't know what its like to hear him screaming in the night, or when he breaks down crying and begs me to make his pain stop." He revealed. "I've had to watch him suffer for months, while you and everyone else had the luxury of being ignorant. I felt so powerless to help him. I wasn't just going to stand by and let Danzó escape."

After Kakashi gave his explanation Tsunade seemed to soften a little once she heard just how bad things were. "If you were struggling that much, you should have come to me, I could of helped you. I can see that you really did it for Naruto's benefit. And because of that I'm prepared to forget punishing you." That's where her sympathy and leniency ended. "But you didn't tell anyone why you'd gone. When Naruto woke up that morning and couldn't find you, he thought you didn't want him anymore." She explained.

This grabbed the Jónin's full attention. "He what?"

Tsunade went on to explain what happened. "He came running in here screaming that he couldn't find you. We searched for hours when we didn't find any trace of you Naruto began to think you'd left and didn't want to see him anymore." The look of shock told her that Kakashi at least knew how his actions had effected Naruto. "What was he supposed to think? You left in the middle of the night with out telling him where you were going." She pointed out.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to Naruto." He swore

"For now I want you to go home." Before she allowed Kakashi to leave Tsunade had one more thing to say. "I'll make my decision about Naruto in the morning." She finished dismissing him from the room.

Once Yamato realised him the man went to leave. As the Jónin passed Yamato the ANBU captain threw him a warm smile. He had worried that his long time friend would be angry with him but his fears were put at ease.

When Kakashi eventually entered the house he went straight into the shower to wash the blood off his body. Once he was done the next thing he did was quickly dispose of the bloody clothing. With nothing else to do, the Jónin slowly walked into the bedroom. Facing the Hokage had been hard enough but now Kakashi needed to face the teen. The Jónin expected Naruto to throw abuse at him at least. But when he went into his bedroom, he found Naruto sleeping in his bed. Not wanting to wake him, Kakashi quietly crawled in to his own bed. Knowing that in the morning he'd somehow have to face Naruto and explain where he'd been. Despite his worries the Jónin fell asleep easily.

That night Kakashi's dreams were surprisingly peaceful and filled with the sounds of Danzó begging for mercy. When the copy-ninja eventually awoke the next morning he found Naruto sleeping beside him. Kakashi didn't need to be a therapist to recognize this was a huge step. Instead of getting up straight away Kakashi decided to just watch the blond sleep. He couldn't ever recall seeing Naruto looking so peaceful. "He looks so at peace." he said quietly.

Kakashi slowly sat up, somehow not disturbing the sleeping teen and made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

With Danzó out of the way. Kakashi could now focus on restoring his reputation, no longer would he be called a mother hen by anyone. The first thing on the Jónin's lists was to change was Naruto's appalling diet. Now that the blond lived under his roof Kakashi was going to eat healthy. While he began preparing the dish he could hear a strange sound coming from the bedroom. It started out as a small cry before it gradually got louder and more desperate. Concerned the copy-ninja raced back to the room, there he saw Naruto thrashing on the bed calling out for help.

"No please, stop. Dad! Dad! Please help me." The blond cried.

As Kakashi continued to watch he couldn't help but wonder how many times had Naruto called out in the night only for no one to come. Before Kakashi stopped to think about it, he gathered Naruto into his arms and tried his best to soothed him. "It's alright, I'm here. No one can hurt you anymore." He soothed.

To Kakashi's surprise Naruto seemed to know who was touching him and didn't struggle in his arms. Slowly he opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. Kakashi watched as the boy's face brightened and he threw his arms around his neck tightly. "You're home." Slowly Naruto began to snuggle into his chest.

The Jónin listened to the way Naruto sounded so relived to see him. It made Kakashi realise that the boy in his arms wasn't the least bit angry with him. "Naruto didn't need me to Danzó's blood spilt. He needed me here. I've just been selfish again." He thought to himself. As Kakashi scowled himself Naruto called out again.

"Dad." He cried out.

For the second time that morning Kakashi had clearly heard Naruto say the same word. Kakashi knew not to get his hopes up, for all he knew Naruto could just be half asleep. "Yes Naruto, what's wrong?" He asked keeping his voice steady. When he didn't answer the Jónin thought Naruto had just fallen asleep again. "Looks like he is just dreaming." He thought, slightly disappointed.

Just as his hopes were dashed. Naruto spoke again. "It was just a bad dream. Sai was here and he.." Naruto didn't need to explain what happened. "But then I called you and you made them go away." He sniffed. "Where did you go? I wanted to tell you something that morning, but I couldn't find you." He asked.

As much as the Jónin was glad that Naruto was opening up to him. He was more amazed to hear Naruto really did just call him dad. Yamato had been right before, the boy truly did see him as his father. "I'm not going to leave you I promise. And I'm sorry I left you alone that night." He blurted out quickly. "I can't tell you everything now, but I can tell you is Danzó's gone now, he can't come back to the village again." He promised.

Naruto only yawned tiredly. "I know you will, but I wanted to tell you I've decided. I want you to adopt me." The blond announced.

The Jónin felt his chest tighten and tears burned behind his eyes. At first Kakashi thought he was about to have another panic attack. but the pain in his chest felt warm and comforting. "That's wonderful news." Kakashi smiled and hugged his student a little tighter. "Can I do anything for you?" The Jónin asked the sleepy teen barely able to hide his happiness.

It was then that Naruto realised he was quite hungry. And the blond knew there was only food that could satisfy his hunger. "Can we have ramen for breakfast?" The teen yawned.

Before Kakashi could stop himself he agreed to Naruto's demand. "Yes, we can have ramen for breakfast." Only to remember his earlier healthier food. "Wait hold on I..." But before he could change his mind. He saw that Naruto had already fallen asleep in his arms. "Oh well," The Jónin thought to himself. "I can always cook something healthy tonight." As the copy-ninja carefully laid the boy back into bed he felt the teen didn't seem to want to let go.

"Please don't leave me dad." Naruto cried out grabbing hold of the man's shirt for dear life.

The Jónin had no intention of leaving his little boy now. He so happy that didn't even fear the woman's wrath for being late, for once in Kakashi's life he'd have a good excuse. "Shhh, It's ok daddy's here son." He cooed, calling Naruto his son felt surprisingly natural. Almost straight away Naruto settled down beside him. As he Jónin lay beside his son he pulled the covers himself. the warm feeling his chest continued to grow until it felt like his chest was burning, melting the ice that had been rooted there for so many years. It was as if it was washing away the years of pain and hardship. Now he was left with a feeling complete.

Thank you so much to everyone that has followed this story. I would like to say a huge thank you to LightningScar for all your advice. Thanks to your feedback it had helped me grow as a person and a writer. Thank you everyone. I've really enjoyed witting this story. I'm going to take a short break. But don't worry I will return soon with new Naruto stories.

Please review.