Disclaimer: Don't own anything "Naruto" related... Haha, you can't sue me!

Rated M, for masturbation. I don't really know yet, as far as warnings go... Yaoi, though. Lots and lots of butt sex.

Sequel to Change.

Kakashi lay restlessly in bed, head cradled by his arms as he stared at the ceiling. It had only been six hours, fifty-two minutes, and four seconds since Itachi snuck out his bedroom window, and he was already pining for the Uchiha. Not to mention, it was so damn quite. Where was the chaos? Hidan's foul mouth, Tobi's cheerful singing, the occasional random explosion...

Kakashi sighed, massaging his temples as he willed himself out of bed and to the shower. He set the temperature to scalding, and let steam fill the small room. The fresh, clean feeling always put him in a better mood. He grabbed for a towel, only to find an empty bar. Great...

He wrung his hair out in the sink and went to search for a towel.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto?! Kakashi's hands went to cover his groin, before he jumped behind into the bathroom. "Me and Sakura came to find you because you were really late this time, and you didn't answer the door, and it was unlocked, so I thought it was okay to..."

"Naruto!"

Naruto's eyes went wide, apparently just realizing Kakashi's lack of clothing, "Ah!"

Sakura beat her fist against his head, "I told you to wait until he answered the door!", then dragged him away.

Kakashi sighed. "Now for a cold shower..."

The Copy-nin finally got dressed without any further incident. He went into the kitchen to get a quick breakfast and found a milk carton full of cottage cheese. Of course, I've only been gone for several months, and everything's rotten...

A garbage bag full of outdated food later, and Kakashi was headed for the grocery store. He could feel eyes on him as soon as he walked through the door. Everything suddenly grew tense, and eerily quiet. He tried to ignore the fact, strolling through the streets like any other day, even as a woman quickly grabbed her daughter's arm and headed for the nearest building. It wasn't long until everyone on the street was following suit, save a few brave, stupid men who tried to trip him.

Kakashi managed to make it without killing anyone. After all those months of being an Akatsuki member, he was fairly used to being gawked at by civilians. But these were people he knew, who used to stare at him out of respect and admiration. Not fear. He sighed mournfully, grabbing a basket and tossing in food as he passed through the aisles. He only got the necessities, wanting to escape from the citizens' gazes, but a man had to eat.

He took his place in line behind four people. They glared at him, and he returned a smile. They could throw him dirty looks all they wanted, but if they didn't want to lose their place in line, they would have to deal with him. But, apparently, some weren't that concerned with their position in line, making note to shove Kakashi as they moved to the other cash register. The Copy nin sighed. Well, at least I don't have to wait.

The cashier gave him a cheeky grin, "Sorry sir, this lane is closed."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "I only have about ten things, you can't just check me out?"

The teen started randomly pushing buttons. "The machine is broken." He shrugged. "Guess you'll have to buy your groceries somewhere else."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Kakashi started, resisting the urge to strangle the kid. "And this is the only grocery store in Konoha!"

He shrugged again. "There are grocery stores back at the nut house, right? Why don't you go back there?"

Everyone was staring now, like they were watching a soap opera tragedy unfold. Kakashi took his basket in hand and hurled it into the liquor aisles. Bottles and food crashed to the floor, giving the bystanders something to gawk at. Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out, leaving a confused audience in his wake.

Kakashi wandered the back alleys until he ran into Naruto. The blonde seemed to be oblivious to the towns reaction to his sensei's return. Kakashi was relieved. It was nice to have some inkling of normalcy.

Naruto turned around and screamed. "Kakashi-sensei!" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry I walked in on you earlier... It was totally out of line."

"It's fine, Naruto. Just knock next time."

Naruto laughed. "Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. So, what can I do you for?"

Kakashi was about to say 'nothing', but his growling stomach begged the differ. "Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"What would that be?" Naruto asked skeptically, hoping it wasn't a menial mission, like gardening for some old woman, or catching a cat.

Kakashi hesitantly pulled out some money, handing it to the blonde, almost embarrassed to ask. "Could you get me some Ichiraku ramen to go? There's enough money for you to get some too."

At the mention of free ramen, Naruto beamed. "Will do, Kakashi-sensei. Say, why don't you come? We can get Sakura too, and catch up. I've been training a lot with pervy sage, and I've gotten really good!"

Kakashi stammered, remembering the last time Pein attempted to order from Ichiraku's. "That's great Naruto, but I'm in a hurry right now. Maybe some other time."

Naruto looked disappointed, but did as asked. He'll get over it, Kakashi thought. I'd rather have him avoid me than watch as I get kicked out of another business establishment. Kakashi leaned up against the wall to wait Naruto's return.

It wasn't long. Naruto came back chattering away about Jashin knows what, and insisting that Kakashi not eat alone. The two sat in the back alley, eating ramen and reminiscing on old times.

"What's Sasuke's brother like?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Kakashi shrugged. "A lot like Sasuke. Broody. Taller, though." Kakashi mumbled. "And demanding... Why?"

"Well, it's Sasuke's brother. I thought if I got to know him, I'll get to know Sasuke a little better. You know, like why he left."

Kakashi nodded. "That makes sense."

"Do you think Sasuke is okay in jail? They won't let me or Sakura visit him, at least not until the trial," Naruto asked, worry clearly painted on his face.

"Sasuke's tough, Naruto. If he can survive living in Otogakure with Orochimaru, I'm sure jail will seem like an amusement park to him," Kakashi said reassuringly.

"That bad, huh?" Naruto asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Kakashi nodded. "You don't wanna know..."

A silence passed as Naruto scarfed down more ramen. "Is Iruka-sensei okay? I haven't seen him in forever."

Kakashi contemplated the answer. With Hidan, anything could happen. But Pein promised to keep an eye on them. Although, he can't watch the Jashinist forever... "He's fine," Kakashi said, trying to reassure himself as much as he was Naruto. "I'm sure he's just waiting for someone to bring him home. I don't think he knows how to get back to Konoha from headquarters."

"That's good. Mizuki-sensei is really worried," Naruto replied.

"Mizuki?"

Naruto nodded, slurping a ramen noodle before responding. "The other teacher. He's Iruka-sensei's friend."

This isn't going to be good... Kakashi mused, thinking of how many ways Hidan can find to torture this Mizuki if he interfered with Iruka.

"Oh, look at the time," Naruto said, glancing at his watch. "I was supposed to meet pervy sage a half an hour ago. See you later, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi watched the twilight sky fade into night, and decided to head home. It wasn't until he could see the building that he noticed his door was slightly open. He jutsu'd to the door, grabbing a kunai before slowly pushing the door open. What he saw was painful memories from childhood, from before Sakumo died. Traitor was written across his wall in black spray paint. The intruders had tore through his kitchen, tossing plates and glasses everywhere. What little food he had was littered all over the floor. The trash he'd thrown out earlier was now in a pile on his couch. There were pieces of broken porcelain, the remains of his toilet, in the hallway. He didn't even want to know what the bedroom looked like.

Before he lost control, he closed the door, refusing to even go into his apartment. It was dark now, everyone was in bed. He snuck outside Konoha's gates and slept under a tree, reminding himself the meaning of "loyalty".