Notes from the Author
Thank you all for your lovely reviews! Hopefully this chapter should explain a little more of how everything is connected to the event that happened when Naruto was a baby. I feel the story is actually starting to progress now, so hopefully updates will continue quickly. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters. I make no money from the writing of this fanfiction.
Naruto was roused from sleep by bright morning sun streaming through the window. He scrubbed at his eyes with closed fists, allowing them to adjust to the bright light, and yawned loudly. Sitting up, the blond stretched languidly.
Then he did a double take, because this was most certainly not his bedroom.
After a few moments of sleepy confusion he recalled that he didn't actually have a bedroom any more, and the events of the night before came back to him. He frowned and swung his feet out of the bed, wincing when his leg twinged as he stood up. The borrowed pyjama bottoms hung low on his hips as he padded barefoot down the hallway, trying not to disturb the silence in the apartment.
He peered into the lounge to see if the owner of the place had woken up yet. Naruto had no idea what time it was, as although he had seen a clock on the wall it seemed to have stopped long ago. He knew it was morning, but how early or late was beyond him. He guessed that Kakashi was still in bed because his door was shut and he couldn't hear the man moving around. Noticing quite how hungry he felt, he wondered off to the kitchen.
Naruto opened the refrigerator and promptly shut it again. The overwhelming stench of rotten food did not completely dissipate when the door was closed, but it was far, far better than when it was open. Backing away from the source of the foul smell, he braved opening a cupboard to see if there was any edible food there. After considerable searching, he discovered not a single item was in date. Groaning, he pulled a chair from the kitchen table and slumped down into it.
After feeling sorry for himself got boring, Naruto tried to think of something else to do. Kakashi still had not woken up. He noticed the dishes stacked on the draining board next to the clothing-filled sink. Normally unnecessary housework was not his style, but he was itching for something to do.
Jumping back on to his feet he strode towards the sink and picked up a plate. Then he put it down again, because he realized he couldn't remember where Kakashi kept the plates. The teenager had seen them whilst searching for sustenance, so he opened all the cupboard doors again until he found the right place. The cupboard was coated in a combo of slime and dust but there was little he could do about that, so he left the door open and marched over to collect a plate.
Naruto was careful to stay quiet so the clinking noise didn't wake Kakashi. As he slid the first plate on top of the stack in the cupboard he felt a sense of nostalgia. It was nice to be back in a homely place, if only for a short while, where there were dishes to put away and a bed to sleep in. If not for the sense of neglect in the apartment he could almost image he was back home with his grandfather. When the man became too old to do much, Naruto took on the cleaning and cooking. He knew how to manage the chores. Though the blond had always been clumsy and forgetful, his grandfather was a patient man and made sure Naruto could take care of himself. The old man had brought him up since he was tiny because his parents had died in a car crash shortly after he was born.
Naruto spent his childhood in a small, out-of-the-way town. It was a quiet, pleasant place, and the two of them lived an easy life in the little cottage they shared. The blond had always put a smile on his face despite his loneliness. His grandfather looked after him the best he could, and he was very grateful to the old man, but he had always felt that something was missing. Not having parents was hard. His guardian was often tired so he missed out on some of the fun the other kids had. The children at his school weren't keen to let him join in anyway - they considered him weird, strange and stupid. They laughed at the marks on his face. He would always play along and pretend he didn't mind, but secretly he hated it. And then something happened when he was a teenager that made everyone want to keep their distance from him no matter how hard he tried to make friends. He couldn't stand it any longer. His grandfather understood, and told him that when he finished his GCSEs they would move near whichever college he wanted to go to.
He chose East Konoha Sixth Form.
The old man had been visibly reluctant, but said that maybe it was for the best and agreed. They ended up in a small apartment that was walking distance away from the college. His grandfather grew weaker as time passed, and though Naruto was sad when his guardian died he had expected it to happen eventually. The two had already talked about it in depth until the teenager accepted it and both were prepared for the event to happen. Only, they hadn't anticipated the man's death quite so soon - they had planned that Naruto would be eighteen. That would make him old enough to withdraw the fund in his bank account so he could pay for accommodation. He wasn't. They money was still locked away until his next birthday, leaving him to wait out the time until then wherever he could.
Sometimes he stayed the night at one of his new friends' houses, but he couldn't do so too often or it would look suspicious. One night he crashed at Iruka-sensei's, but he wouldn't risk that again. The ever responsible man had wanted to call Naruto's grandfather to let him know his grandson was okay, and it took a lot of distraction to stop him from doing so. The one thing he didn't want was to be put in a care home. Even though it would only be short-term, he couldn't stand the thought. He liked his independence and was used to being responsible for himself; having somebody else giving him patronizing advice and annoying words of sympathy did not sound appealing. Besides, it wasn't as though he needed anybody to take care of him.
The draining board was significantly emptier now. At least half of the semi-clean crockery had been moved to its correct cupboard and it gave Naruto a small sense of satisfaction. He grabbed a glass and turned to find a place for it.
The loose trousers were far too long and the hems kept getting caught under his toes, so it wasn't surprising when Naruto tripped and sent the glass flying. It whizzed through the air to crash into a counter and shatter impressively. The blond could only wonder at how anything could smash so spectacularly for a moment before he realised what he had done. The tiled floor was covered in tiny shards of sharp glass. The glittering fragments had reached even the far corners of the kitchen.
Kakashi would not be pleased.
When Kakashi was roused from sleep by a terrible crash, he was not pleased. As soon as he woke he regretted ever bringing the little brat home. He might have enjoyed the boy's company inside the hospital, but he wasn't used to dealing with other people in his own home. It felt uncomfortable.
He clambered out of bed before the boy could destroy his entire apartment and lazily wondered through to the kitchen. Amidst the scattering of glass stood Naruto, facing away from Kakashi. He stood slumped with defeat and helplessness in the middle of the kitchen, gazing at the mess on the floor. Kakashi yawned and the blond jumped, noticing he was there for the first time. He turned around in surprise and winced when glass embedded itself into his feet. Flushed with embarrassment, the teenager scratched his head and chuckled nervously. Kakashi raised one eyebrow.
"I thought I told you not to touch anything?" he said, voice slurred with sleepiness. Naruto turned a brighter shade of pink and Kakashi realized he was still only wearing his bandana, mask and boxers. The surgeon disregarded the young man's embarrassment and leaned against the wall, waiting for an explanation.
"Erm..." mumbled the blonde sheepishly, "I kinda tripped... sorry." Naruto felt slightly distracted by Kakashi's lack of proper clothing. For a man who spent all day in a hospital, he kept himself in shape very well. Forcing himself not to stare, because it was rather rude to gawk at his host when he had just broken something, he added to his excuse.
"I was only trying to help though!" he blurted, "I was putting away the stuff on the draining board, and my trousers were too long so I tripped."
Kakashi glanced down and noted that his trousers were indeed too long. It wasn't surprising since he was taller than Naruto. The teenager's body was a little swamped by his clothing and he looked rather cute standing there in Kakashi's clothes with a blush on his face. Sighing in acceptance of the story, Kakashi turned away to let the blond pick his way out through the shards in peace.
He retreated to his room, where he located suitable clothing for himself and got dressed. When he returned to the kitchen, wearing some old, comfortable grey jeans and a loose shirt, Naruto stood on his tiptoes by the doorway with drops of blood seeping from his feet. The surgeon rolled his eyes at the kid's clumsiness and instructed him to go sit on the sofa. Moments later he had returned with a pair of tweezers and a mouthwash cup.
Kakashi sat cross-legged on the floor by Naruto's feet. The blond watched uncomfortably as the man lifted his ankle and began to pick glass out of his bare soles. He dropped each shard in the empty cup with a look of distant boredom. Naruto winced occasionally as the glass tugged his skin but could see that fussing would not do any good - the man was only trying to help him after all. Neither male spoke and the only sound was the soft plop as each fragment fell into the cup. The blond found it strangely relaxing to have the surgeon's careful hands touching his feet. When he realised that, it made him want to squirm away and it took some effort to remain still.
Kakashi had at last finished, after wiping Naruto's feet with cold water and fixing a few plasters over the larger cuts. The wounds were not at all serious, just uncomfortable. They would heal best if left alone. He noticed Naruto's breathing had sped up a little but supposed he must have been in some pain. A loud rumbling announced that Naruto was hungry.
"I looked all through your kitchen, Kakashi-sensei. You don't have any food. What are we having for breakfast?" asked the teenager, rubbing his stomach to emphasize his point. The grey haired man raised a sceptical eyebrow and found himself quite amused by the question.
"What makes you think I will give you breakfast, Naruto-kun?" he asked, and Naruto answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"If you are going to kidnap me, you at least have to feed me!"
The cafe was mostly empty when they arrived, and it remained that way. The decor looked thrown together but traditional - red and white checked tablecloths, old posters on the walls and simple white plates and mugs. There was music playing through a radio somewhere, and it gave the place a nice atmosphere - not too loud you couldn't hear yourself think and not self-consciously quiet either.
Naruto sat in the chair opposite Kakashi, kitted out in a different set of Kakashi's clothes. Seeing him wearing them outside was even more awkward and strange, but as the teenager had emphatically pointed out, his proper clothes were still wet and he couldn't go out in pyjamas. The surgeon still found the mental image of the sodden pile in the sink absurd. Naruto was also wearing a pair of his shoes, which had prompted more complaints, but were surely more comfortable than wet footwear.
Watching the blond eat was strangely mesmerizing. He practically vacuumed up the food. Kakashi had barely touched his black coffee and wholemeal toast whereas Naruto was already halfway through a plate of sausages and eggs. The glass of orange juice had been gulped down straight away and now sat empty and forlorn at the edge of the table.
"So, Naruto-kun," he interjected, if only to slow down the boy before he choked, "what do you plan to do now?"
The teenager looked up, confusion written over his face. He swallowed his mouthful so he could speak.
"What do you mean?" he asked, and went back to eating whilst waiting for a reply.
"Where are you going to be staying? How are you going to get to school? That teacher seemed very concerned. You can't sleep in the street if you want to get your A levels," remarked the surgeon. Naruto huffed before responding.
"I'm never going to pass them anyway, I'm already too behind. I haven't been to school much...there's no point trying, really." The teenager seemed rather disappointed for a moment, scowling at his plate, before looking up with a grin.
"But when I'm eighteen I can withdraw the money my parents left me and rent my own place, and then I can do whatever I want! I can do my A levels again, so I can go to university," he insisted.
"What are you planning on studying?" asked Kakashi.
"I'm going to be a doctor, like my Dad!" declared the blond, "I will be the great doctor Uzumaki Naruto!"
That surprised Kakashi. Okay, so the kid knew his father was a doctor. No big deal, his "grandfather" probably told him that. The surgeon looked Naruto up and down with a raised eyebrow. He didn't seem like medical student material. The blond got bored far too easily for studying, and clearly wasn't doing too well in college at the moment. He seriously doubted the kid's ability to train as a doctor. Medical schools were extremely competitive.
"I see," he answered in a measured tone, "and you used to stay with your grandfather. Do you have any other relatives to stay with?"
Naruto shook his head. It saved time because he didn't have to pause in his eating frenzy to reply. Kakashi's curiosity got the better of him, considering Minato's son was being quite so open today.
"Naruto-kun, what was your grandfather's name?" he questioned, and the young man took a few seconds to finish swallowing before answering.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen," he replied. Kakashi sat back in his chair.
Ah. That explained a lot.