Chapter Text
Kakashi is not working when Naruto’s apartment goes up in flames. Or, well, he's working but not on the jinchuriki's guard.
No, on that terrible night instead of being somewhere helpful, Kakashi is sabotaging supply lines in Kumo. He doesn't find out about the incident for almost two weeks, when he drags himself out of the ANBU barracks after the mission.
He's halfway to the miserable little apartment the sandaime's given Naruto – intending to check in just for peace of mind before crashing – when Raidou catches up with him, dragging him down an alley.
Kakashi's exhausted and confused, and normally he'd shake the other man off immediately. Thing is, though, Raidou looks like death. Dark rings under his eyes and a rumpled uniform point to days without sleep.
The iron grip on his shoulder might well be the only thing holding the tokujo upright, so Kakashi allows himself to be dragged along. Allows Raidou to half collapse against an alley wall. Allows a couple of choked out sentences about a little boy living alone and a third hand kettle plugged into faulty wiring to rip his world out from under him.
Then he takes off for the apartment like it will matter. Like if he just goes fast enough he’ll get there in time to prevent a disaster two weeks passed.
There’s nobody there when he reaches the ruined unit, no guards or investigators or anything. Why would there be? All of that happened when Kakashi was being useless on the other side of the continent. There’s nothing left here but ash. He falls back against a wall, which creaks ominously but ultimately holds. Raidou trails after, looking even worse than he had a minute ago.
“Where…where is he?” Kakashi croaks. ‘Where is he buried?’ is what he thinks he means, but it’s hard to be sure even in his own head. He’s dimly aware that he’s breathing irregularly, vision fuzzy and dim at the edges. He’s felt panic enough to recognise the symptoms of a building attack. He couldn’t care less right now.
“He's not…there wasn't…” Raidou murmurs, staring at a patch of wall.
“No body?”
“Nothing left. Everything burned. Everything burned.”
“Where were you?” Kakashi growls. His whole body's shaking and the words lose much of their effect because he can barely get enough breath to say them. Raidou still flinches.
“Mission. Suna. With Genma.” too far to help, just like Kakashi. “Tenzo?”
“He was with me,” the Hatake answers. “Iwashi?”
“Kiri.” And who else was there in ANBU to care about a little boy with a demon sealed inside. Good riddance, as far as most people would be concerned.
“Was it Danzo?” They should be more discreet on this topic, but Kakashi is far beyond caring. He slides down the wall, hugging his knees. Raidou just shrugs, still studying the same patch of wall.
“Or negligence. Does it matter?”
“Does it matter?” Kakashi snarls.
“Kid’s dead. He’s dead, Kakashi. We weren’t here. And no other guard gave a damn. And now he’s dead. They let him die.” it’s said in the same flat tone as everything else and directed at a crack in the plaster of the wall.
Kakashi is angry, filled with a potent rage he wasn’t sure he was still capable of after Minato’s death left him half-numb. But he can’t quite find it in himself to take any of this out on Raidou, who was just as far away and cared just as much, who went out of his way to make sure Kakashi didn’t find out about this on his own, and who is almost entirely shut down from the grief.
No, somebody will pay for this, but not Raidou. Kakashi buries his face in his hands and screams.
They sit there like that for a while, neither one entirely processing anything.
Tenzo shows up eventually, Genma in tow. The sharpshooter must have filled him in, because Tenzo looks horrified but not surprised. Iwashi’s still in Kiri, he still doesn’t know.
They don’t usually talk much, the five of them, all wrapped up in their own grief and pain and the work, but they’ve always been united on this.
Naruto is sensei’s kid, for Kakashi. He’s the last legacy of the man Raidou, Iwashi, and Genma swore to protect. He was a curiosity to Tenzo, at first, one of the only people Kakashi could still be seen caring about. Then he was a little outcast with an outsized legacy living under his skin and Tenzo could relate too much to be anything but fiercely protective. They were confined to the outskirts of his life, but they took to what little they could with solemn intensity. It was more than others who cared were allowed.
Not that it mattered. Five top-level ANBU, two of them captains and at least one more on track towards the position. They’re already run off their feet, and this is far from the first time all five have been on missions at once. Now Naruto’s gone, and not one of them was in the position to help.
Maybe Raidou’s right. Maybe it doesn’t matter if it was foul play. Kakashi’s still going to slit Danzo’s throat, just in case.
“You said there was no body.” Kakashi finally says. He’s grasping at straws and they all know it, but nobody comments.
“They found DNA at the scene, though,” Genma murmurs. His voice is wrecked – scratchy and soft like he’s been crying for hours. Or screaming. Or both.
“Doesn’t prove anything,” Tenzo says. “He lives here. Lived. Lived here. There would be DNA regardless.”
“Could be alive.”
“And where, that nobody’s found him for weeks after the fact?” Raidou asks.
“Like anyone looked.”
Genma shakes his head. “We looked.”
“We looked for days,” Raidou agrees “If he ran away, he hid his tracks better than some jonin I’ve trailed.” not likely, kid’s not exactly subtle.
“Unless somebody took him.” they’re all thinking it, but it’s Tenzo who says it.
“Would he?” Kakashi asks, and Tenzo confirms the possibility with a tiny nod.
“Stop.” there’s a raw edge to Genma’s rasp, a tinge of desperation. Raidou shifts enough to bump their shoulders together, a single point of grounding contact.
“Gen–” Raidou starts, but Shiranui talks through his intervention.
“No. Stop. I can’t…I can’t… I can’t, Kakashi.”
“You’d rather think he’s dead?” Kakashi growls, furious and baffled all at once.
“No. No. But he is, isn’t he? He’s dead. He’s fucking dead.”
“He might be.”
“You’re right. Or maybe you are, at least. It’s possible. I know, but I…” his eyes are somewhere else entirely. “I can’t lose anyone else. If I don’t believe you, if I believe he’s dead and you find him that’s. That’s one thing. A good thing. A miracle. But if I believe you and he’s not–” Genma sucks in a breath and it sounds more like the whine of a wounded animal than anything a human voice box should produce.
Most people Kakashi knows are one good hit away from shattering, the consequences of sending children to fight wars etched into their souls. It shows now, in the four of them. Raidou’s shutting down, and Tenzo’s over-rationalising, and Kakashi and Genma are spiraling in opposite directions.
It’s infuriating, not the least because it’s understandable.
Still. Kakashi wants to pick a fight. Wants to ask how the fuck Genma can just give up. Wants to pretend not to have heard the part about the two tokujo scouring the village for days before reaching this conclusion.
The copy-nin made his first kill at eight. He’s made hundreds since. He knows every gritty detail of what it means to be a murderer – so does everyone else in this burnt-out shell of a room.
Kakashi meets the eyes of a man who can mix a few dozen deadly poisons from memory and sees a little boy he's known since they were both freshly orphaned and mean. Knows if he snaps some cruel accusation in this moment, he’ll live up to the friend-killer name again.
“I’ll find him,” Kakashi mutters. Genma nods, staring right through him.
“I hope you do.”
•••
Naruto’s getting to know the Fox. Or, he’s trying to, anyway. The guy’s super grumpy, honestly, and Naruto’s still getting the hang of this whole meditation thing that Kana-san says is so important. Plus, he told the Fox his name, but he has yet to get a name back. Which is super rude, and Kuri agrees.
Grumpy’s better than actually hurting him, though, and that’s what villagers tend to do, so he doesn’t mind the bad mood. Mean words suck, but they don’t hurt like a punch to the stomach. Naruto’s pretty good at staying positive, so he figures he’ll wear the Fox down. It’ll be worth it if he can manage to make a friend who’s with him literally all the time. Then he won’t have to be alone ever.
Besides the grumpy Fox, though, things are going pretty well in the wolf den. Naruto’s not entirely sure how long he’s been here, but he figures it’s been a while since his hair is getting long enough to constantly be in his eyes. Kana says if he lets it get a bit longer, he can tie it back and it won’t get in the way anymore.
There’s still no sign of this ‘Hatake’ guy, but Naruto’s not super sure he cares, since the den is comfortable and the wolves are so much nicer than anyone in the village. Except maybe the friendliest of the mask-people and Iruka-sensei, but the wolves are around a lot more than they ever were.
Kuri's come around, too.
She only tried to drown him twice more after the river, and once he proved that he can so swim she stopped. Now she's insisting he's got to learn everything she knows, so he doesn't get ‘eaten by the dark woods and spit out as cursed bones’ whatever that terrifying sentence means. Safe to say, however weird she is, Naruto now has at least one friend.
The other wolves are slightly more distant, but they're nice and usually willing to spare time for Naruto if he has a question. He's not so good at asking for help, less because he thinks he doesn't need it than because he isn't quite used to having someone to ask yet.
The pack isn’t very big, seven wolves in all, though Kana says it used to be much bigger, years before Naruto was born. They all have their roles, so everyone’s busy. But they also always have a way to help out, which seems nice.
Kana's the boss, apparently, so she's super busy making sure nobody’s overworked or hurt and everyone's eating right. Kuri says she knows what every plant in the forest does.
Satoshi is Kuri's big brother, smart and quiet and patient, who spends most days either following at his mother's heels looking very much like her shadow with his thick, dark coat or keeping watch over the camp. He keeps careful track of the stockpiles, and it’s Satoshi who dragged a pallet together for Naruto, when he first arrived.
Naoki and Eiko always seem to travel together, a couple flashes of silver fur in the trees hunting for enough food to support the pack. Naruto doesn’t see much of them during the day, but they’re always happy to share stories at dinner time, pushing food towards him until he can’t possibly eat another bite. He needs the fuel, given the constant stream of motion his days have become.
Michi heads out with the pair in the morning more often than not, golden where they are silver, tracker to the other two’s hunters. Kuri says Michi does laps of the territory, making sure the shadow things keep to their side of the river. Naruto asks if he can help, since of all of the jobs, he knows how border patrols work the most from watching ninja guard the village walls. Michi doesn’t say no, entirely, but sets the same requirement he’d apparently given Kuri. When they can keep up, they can come along. The tracker moves like lightning, so it’ll probably be a while before either Naruto or the youngest wolf is allowed on border patrol.
The last wolf, Mayumi, Naruto does not meet for a long time.
When they do meet, it’s down by the quiet lake where he proved to Kuri he could swim. Naruto goes out to the water when he can’t sleep sometimes, since it’s only just past the edge of the den – well within the safety of wolf territory – and the gentle lapping of the water against the bank is soothing.
Sleep is easier the longer he spends in the wolves’ realm, noticing the pattern of day and night in the relative brightness and darkness of the sky, instead of the rising and setting of the sun. It’s a change, but Naruto’s always been good at working with changes. The wolves are nice, and they never let him go hungry or attack him, and even though Kana reminds him every little while that he can’t stay forever, she doesn’t say he has to leave soon, either.
Still, some nights sleep refuses to come, so Naruto goes down to the lake.
One night, instead of the empty bank he’s used to, there’s an unfamiliar wolf.
He’s heard about Mayumi from Kuri and Satoshi, but this is the first he’s actually encountered her. She’s bigger even than Kana, and older too if Naruto had to guess. Her fur is the same inky black as Satoshi’s, but where his eyes are a warm amber, hers are pale blue, staring right through the water they’re watching.
“Hello, Naruto,” she rumbles without looking up.
“Hi!” he smiles. The black wolf is strange, but he doesn’t sense any bad intentions from her, and he’s usually pretty good at knowing that sort of thing. “You’re Mayumi-san, right? Do you mind if I share your staring lake?” Mayumi’s chuckle shakes the ground where he stands, just slightly.
“Not at all, little one. Are you looking for something?”
“Looking for something?”
“Are you trying to see something in the water?”
“Oh, uh, I don’t think so. Are you?”
“I am always looking for something in this lake, Naruto. That is my role, to see. See enemies and allies, possibilities and prophecies, dreams and moments of reality. To see, and to understand what I can, and to tell Kana what there is to be learned from it.”
“Wow, this lake does all that?” Naruto feels kinda bad for splashing around in Mayumi’s magic lake, now, even if Kuri says she does it all the time.
“Sometimes.” Mayumi murmurs, tilting her head to one side. “Why do you come here, if not to see?”
“It calms me down.”
“I’m sure it does. I imagine it calms your guest some as well.”
“My guest?”
“The kyuubi.”
“The grumpy fox? You think so?” Mayumi hums.
“Why don’t you ask him?” Naruto doesn’t think he’ll get an answer any more than he ever does, but it’s worth a try. He settles down at the edge of the water with his hands on his knees like Kana taught him, closing his eyes. “Open your eyes, little one, watch the water.”
“Okay, Mayumi-san.” he agrees, focusing on the water bumping up against land, occasionally producing the tiniest, tiniest bit of spray. The sky is reflected in the surface of the water, thousands of stars just slightly distorted by the gentle movement of the water. He finds himself counting, trying to keep track of how many stars he can see. Naruto’s never had much in the ‘patience’ category, but for some reason he has no trouble focusing on the stars.
He blinks and Mayumi is gone. The lake is still there, though the stars look more like the ones over Konoha, where there aren’t so many as to constantly overlap. In the middle of the lake, floating just about the water, is the fox.
“Brat.”
“Hey, Fox-san. I told you, you can call me Naruto.”
“Where are we, brat?” Rude, ignoring him again, but whatever. Naruto just keeps smiling as openly as possible.
“We're at the lake.” Obviously.
“What lake? Why does it feel like the spirit realm?”
“I think it is.” Naruto shrugs. Then a thought occurs to him. “Wait! If you can come out, why do you stay in that gross sewer cage all the time?” The Fox snarls.
“You keep me in that cage you little monster.” Naruto curls in on himself a little, pulling his knees to his chest at the insult.
“No I don't.”
“Liar.”
“Why would I do that? You're all the way down there in the dark, and it's cold, and my feet get wet when I come to see you, and there's bars between us. Why would I want you down there? That's stupid. I'm sorry, Fox-san, I don't wanna be mean, but that's just dumb.”
“You imprison me, you taunt me, and now you insult my intelligence.”
“Woah, wait, I didn't prison you.”
“You lie, you puny, disgusting little mortal. All of your kind do.” That's just unfair, Naruto hasn't lied to the Fox even once. And maybe he's getting a little too used to the wolves, because he's been called much worse than a liar, but this time it makes him angry.
“I did not lie, you stupid, bully Fox! I didn't ask to be stuck with you, either, and I wanted to be friends, and I didn't ask for everyone to treat either of us like garbage, and it's not my fault!” Naruto kicks out at the water, clenching his fists.
The moment his foot disturbs the water the Fox is gone, the sky is normal, and Mayumi-san is back.
“Are you okay, little one?” The wolf asks, bumping him with her nose. Naruto shakes his head, takes the deepest breath he can manage to try and calm himself down, and promptly bursts into tears anyways. “Oh, oh dear. What's happened?”
“He's just so mean, Mayumi-san. Why's everyone so mean?” He buries his face in her fur.
At some point, probably drawn by the sound, the rest of the wolves come out to the pond, circling around the sobbing little boy. They stay like that until Naruto drifts off to sleep.
•••
He does not see the Fox in his sleep that night, as he has most nights since he met the wolves. In fact, he doesn't see any trace of the big, orange, bully for almost a week.
Instead he spends the week learning how to build a proper fire from Satoshi, racing Kuri around the lake, and pestering Mayumi about how, exactly, her dreams work.
To say he's forgotten about their fight by the next time he sees the Fox is an overstatement, but he's mostly moved on. He's still not going looking for the Fox again, but it's mostly fine.
So when the Fox shows up in a dream – once again in the dark of the sewer – Naruto manages to stay calm. The Fox is harsh, and rude, and very growly, but they're still stuck with each other. Kana says she doesn't know any way to let him out, so Naruto can even accept that the Fox is a prisoner, even if he still doesn't get how that happened.
He's got an apology ready – he did try to find a way to set him free, but he didn't succeed so he's sorry for that at least – but the Fox speaks before he gets the chance to.
“You're very small, aren't you?”
“Uh…I dunno, Mr. Fox, I think I'm pretty average for my age.” Maybe kinda skinny, but the wolves are hard at work on that.
“For your age. And what is your age?”
“I'm five!”
“The last one was older. Much older, given how long I have been sleeping in your soul. You must have been an infant when they bound us.”
“Last one?”
“You think you are my first jailer, child?”
“Oh, um. I thought I was, but I wanna say I'm really sorry, Fox-san. I asked Kana-san and she doesn't know how to get you out. I'm gonna keep looking, though.”
“You– why would you want to do that? I am a source of incredible power, you know.” He sounds pretty proud of it, like somehow Naruto’s judging him by wanting him to be free. “Your kind fight constantly for power, and you would relinquish mine?”
“What's ‘relinquish’?”
The Fox puffs a heavy sigh. “Give it up.” He clarifies in a long-suffering tone Naruto mostly knows from the couple of classes he had with Iruka-sensei before he left.
“Oh! I don't get it, Fox-san, it's your power, not mine. Why would I trap you just to steal your stuff? Somebody broke into the apartment once–”
“Listen–” The Fox rudely interrupts, but Naruto’s got a really good story about how stealing is wrong, so he just continues on.
“–and they took my best cup, the one with the dogs on it, and–”
“Child–”
“– and it was terrible, because that was the only cup that didn't leak. So I had to–”
“Naruto.”
“Drink everything really fast so it didn't leak out the bottom of my…hey, you used my name!”
“Yes, I suppose I did.”
“Yes!” Naruto pumps his fist in triumph. He's doing great at this friend thing.
“Go to bed, Naruto, that's more than enough interaction for the night.” This strikes Naruto as a little rude, but he's willing to let it slide, accounting for the name thing. The Fox does look tired, head laid down on his paws. And it is getting pretty late.
“All right, good night, Fox-san.”
“Kurama.”
“What?”
“My name is Kurama.” That stops Naruto short. For a second he feels like he should hug the fox, but of course he's still behind the bars in the sewer.
Instead he settles for the biggest smile he can manage. “Good night, Kurama!”