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Chapter Text

As he dodged away from a fiery breath and a swipe of a giant scaly claw, Kakashi still wasn’t sure if he believed that this was happening. He knew that the heat from the flame that had narrowly missed him felt real. And that the ground shook as the claw landed where he had stood a split second earlier, kicking up roots and dust. Still, the enormous fire breathing dragon in front of him could be the product of a genjutsu or a dream or something. The same could be said for the tall tower behind the huge beast. Kakashi hoped that it wasn't real because he had just been in his office in Konoha and there had been no giant lizard there. Only giant piles of paperwork. 

Still, it seemed prudent to defeat the dragon since it was trying to kill him. Kakashi called on his chakra and turned it into lightning. It danced, crackling, down his kunai. The dragon reared back, ready to strike again, the lightning reflecting in millions of tiny purple specks in its dark scales. 

It was a magnificent beast, but it fell easily as Kakashi leapt forward and cut off its head with one clean swipe. The head landed with a heavy thud before the headless body started wavering in place before crumbling to a heap, breaking the gossamer-thin wing membranes on the bones that jutted out from its body.

Kakashi sighed as he landed and let the lightning fade away. Then he checked for an illusion. Nothing happened when he tried to disrupt his chakra. So he bit into his thumb. The pain was there, so was the blood and the stinging sensation. 

The carcass didn't vanish. The tower still stood in front of him. And Kakashi was no longer in Konoha.

"So… this is real then."

Kakashi looked down at the ground next to him and saw the book that had started it all. He poked at it with a stick and it didn't seem to do anything. The cursed book lied there, with none of the technicolour whirlwind and enchanting song that he had experienced when he had touched the book in his office. It had taken him here, to this strange place with a sugary sweet air and fire-breathing dragons.

He picked it up. The book was a heavy one, leather-bound with gold embellishments. The title page was hand-drawn with rich calligraphy spelling out The Princess and Her Knight on the first page. Kakashi had never seen a more beautiful book. He had never been as tempted to burn a book with a quick fireball jutsu as he did in this moment.

As he flipped through the first few chapters he saw a dragon and a tower on one of the pages. Painstakingly illustrated, each scale carefully drawn and each serrated tooth detailed in the grinning mouth. The dragon on the page was curled protectively around the structure, wrapping it in its serpentine coils, until the dragon’s great big head could glare into a window at the very top of the tower. In the window, there was a figure with long blond hair and dressed in pink.

Kakashi blinked. Glanced up at the tower that stood in front of him. Then down at the illustrated one. They both had some cracks in the masonry that perfectly matched each other. They had both been guarded by a fierce dragon. He craned his neck and narrowed his eyes against the sun to look at the window above him.

He shook his head, scoffed at the suspicion that nagged at the back of his head. If there was a girl in that tower, he must have been sucked into a fairytale. Which was a ridiculous notion, but by now very few things surprised him. He had fought the alien rabbit goddess progenitor of Chakra in the Fourth War. As Hokage, he had almost had to give the order to blow up the moon, only for his students to save the world while fighting on the moon's surface. Ending up inside a book seemed like a sealing mishap in comparison. 

"Brave sir knight!”

Kakashi looked up, up, up to the small window at the top of the tall tower the dragon had apparently been guarding like in the book. A small figure with long, golden hair was waving a hand daintily at him. Kakashi waved back. Since there was no other person around, the girl could only be shouting at him. 

“You saved me, sir knight!" the girl said with something that looked a bit like a bow. "Now if you could get me down from here I would be most appreciative.”

Kakashi bowed back to show he had heard. Then he grabbed a scroll to seal the book away to study later. It might hold the secret to how he could escape this strange place.

Then he ran up the building and tore away the bars that covered the window. He climbed inside and blinked at the sight in front of him.

He stood in an embellished chamber covered with gems and gold details, and in the chamber on a humongous bed of satin sat a pretty girl of somewhere around thirteen to sixteen, long blond flowing hair, pale skin and blue eyes. That was no surprise because the illustration in the book had suggested that the girl at the top of the tower would be blond. What threw him was the strange dress she was wearing. It was a pink, fluffy monstrosity of a dress that seemed to be able to house a family of four underneath it. How did she move in that thing?

“Sir knight! I cannot thank you enough for saving me from that terrible beast! How can I ever repay you for your noble deed?”

This was the first time anyone had ever called Kakashi noble. He was an assassin and a thief and had been so for thirty years. The cleanest thing he had ever done was training three children to become the same.

“Maa, that was nothing, miss,” Kakashi said, smiling. “I am happy to have been able to help you.”

The girl hummed and tilted her head, a perfectly manicured nail tapping against her chin. “You do not wish to give me a kiss, sir knight?”

Kakashi blinked at the question and looked at the tiny slip of a girl. “I mean no offence, but no, not really. We just met.”

“Then you must not be my Prince Charming,” the girl said, looking dejected. “How will I find him now?” 

“I’m afraid that I’m not a prince, charming or otherwise,” Kakashi replied, confused about the whole thing. Though it seemed wise to simply go with it since he was not in his own world. “Now would you permit me to carry you out? It’ll be the fastest way down.”

“Oh, of course, sir knight!” The girl exclaimed. “I have no personal effects in this cursed tower and I only want to leave as soon as possible.”

Kakashi glanced at her attire and gave a fleeting thought to having to carry her on his back with all those skirts fluttering about in the wind. It looked to be voluminous enough to have it end up over his head and obstructing his vision if the wind blew the wrong way. "Hmm, you don't have anything a bit more practical to wear?"

"I was taken by that wicked dragon during the royal ball celebrating my 16th birthday," she said, plucking at her many flowing skirts. "Besides, I can walk just fine in this. It was made for dancing with my prince, after all."

"Very well," Kakashi walked over and bent down so she could climb onto his back. "Let's get going."

“What are you doing?” The girl said, sounding dismayed.

Kakashi straightened up and turned around to look at the girl. She stood with her arms crossed with a slight pink blush on her otherwise ivory pale face.

“I mean to carry you,” he said and spoke slowly and clearly to ensure she didn’t think he planned to do anything improper.

“On your back?” the girl exclaimed, apparently not concerned about what Kakashi thought she was.

“Yes,” he replied, nodding and smiling as kindly as he could with most of his face covered."That will be easiest.”

“But the knight always carries the princess in his arms!”

“I am no knight, your highness,” Kakashi said, bowing deeply. “I am a ninja. And I am mostly concerned with getting you down safely. The window is not wide enough for any other way.”

“Oh, very well, sir knight,” the girl said, walking closer.

“Please,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “My name is Hatake Kakashi.”

“I am Princess Buttercup of Theria, sir Hatake of Kakashi,” she said, curtseying. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Kakashi blinked. That was an odd naming convention. Then again, it didn’t matter how the princess called him since he only meant to help her home to her kingdom and then be on his way. The girl did not look like she would survive even an hour in the wilderness alone.  

“Pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

He bent down again and this time she clambered up his back, pink fluffy monstrosity of a dress and all.

“This might make you a bit dizzy, princess,” he warned. “Close your eyes.”

“As you wish, sir Hatake.”

And with a quick leap, he was standing on the ground. He had made sure to land on the opposite side of the tower compared to the dragon carcass. Something told Kakashi that the young Buttercup was not used to seeing dead things. 

“You can look now,” he said, easing her off his back. “We’re down on the ground.”

“Oh, how marvellous!” Buttercup exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “You must be an enchanter or a mage, brave sir knight!”

Kakashi perked up at that, feeling like there might be a way out of this bizarre situation. “A mage?”

“To move so quickly!” she said with wide eyes. “I have seen our Court Mage move from a place to another in a blink. You must have done something similar.”

So it seemed like this strange world still had shinobi. Or, at least, something similar. Excellent. Then he could go and talk to this Court Mage and show them the book and hope they could help him. He was needed back in Konoha. 

The girl looked around and went up on her toes to try and look over Kakashi’s shoulder. “Where is your noble steed, sir Hatake?”

“My what?”

Buttercup laughed at that and rolled her eyes. “Your horse, silly!”

“I don’t have a horse,” Kakashi said with a shrug.

“Don’t be foolish!” The princess said, glaring at him and stomping her dainty foot. It was covered by a glass slipper. Kakashi looked at the incredibly impractical footwear and had many, many questions. That seemed unnecessarily risky if she ever had to run. 

Kakashi was just about to repeat himself. He had never owned a horse, noble or otherwise. He barely knew how to ride one, and that was only because of a long term infiltration mission in the Land of Iron a decade back. Getting the stubborn thing to move as he wanted had been a challenge and he’d thankfully never had to ride a horse again. Closest he ever got to a steed in his normal duties would be whenever Naruto summoned a giant toad or carried him in his chakra. But calling his former student a horse was a bit of a stretch. And it’s not like Naruto was his. Ignoring the abstract form of belonging stemming from how all loyal Konoha shinobi were sworn to follow their Hokage’s orders, of course.

“I don’t-” he was cut off by the sound of a neighing horse. Kakashi turned around.

There, in the distance, a large white warhorse came galloping towards them. Strong, powerful flanks, a long flowing mane and tail and a shimmering coat that spoke of a horse carefully looked after. As it came closer, Kakashi saw that it was wearing a saddle and a tackle embossed with the leaf symbol of Konoha and the symbol of the Hatake clan. Ah, apparently he did, in fact, own a horse. What was going on?

“See! There is your steed,” the princess laughed, gaily, and small forest animals peeked out from the bushes and trees nearby. Kakashi looked at the fearless animals in bewilderment. “Whyever would you pretend like he would not come when you most needed him?”

Kakashi suspected that saying he had not owned a horse two minutes ago would not go over well. Instead, he walked over to the horse that waited for him with a raised head.

“Ah, you’re right, silly me.”

He climbed into the saddle nimbly and allowed himself a second to get used to the balance shift from sitting on a horse’s back. Such a vulnerable beast compared to a summon. Still, it seemed like this was what the princess expected out of him. And he had a nagging suspicion that if he had entered a fairy tale it might be a good idea to follow the script. At least until he got to the court mage in question.

He turned around and hoisted the girl up, dress and all, and sat her down behind him. Thin arms that had never lifted a weapon before circled around his waist. Then smooth, flawless hands that had never done a day’s work in their life clasped together over his stomach.

“Now then, your highness,” Kakashi said, taking the reins in hand and clicking his tongue. He remembered seeing a samurai do that before. The noble steed started walking. “Which way to your kingdom?”

“It’s to the south of here, two days’ ride away,” she said, “Assuming that we rest for the night.”

Of course, it couldn’t be closer. Kakashi looked down at his horse’s neck, swinging back and forth in front of him, and sighed. He could have run that distance in a shorter time.

“Then let us be off.”

Kakashi turned the horse around and it set off in a smooth canter. He pulled out Icha Icha Tactics from his weapon pouch and started reading it.

“What sort of book is that, brave sir knight?”

Kakashi stilled. The girl behind him seemed far too innocent to understand the miracles of pornographic literature.

“It’s an adult book,” he replied, closing the book and slipping it into the pouch again. “About adult matters.”

“Like warfare and running a kingdom?”

“Not quite,” he said, smiling. “Is that an adult topic in your mind?”

“Well, not really,” she answered, giggling. “I’m not going to rule.”

“Are you not the heir to the throne?”

“A princess never rules, silly! I will marry a handsome prince and join our kingdoms together and become queen!”

What a strange way to rule a kingdom. “What if the prince isn’t a good king?”

“He will be!” she replied, fiercely. “He will be brave, strong and a good leader. A great warrior, capable of slaying any foe!”

“That’s a lot to hope for in a husband,” Kakashi said. “And handsome at that?”

“Of course!” the princess replied. “He shall be my one true love!”

Kakashi kept himself from laughing at her sincerity and hummed instead. “Your one true love?”

“Why yes, do you not know of it?”

“Indulge me, your highness,” he replied, looking ahead at the sky that looked too blue.

“Well… how to describe it,” the girl hummed, before perking up. “Your one true love is the person that is perfect for you and you for them. You’ll know it as soon as you lie eyes on them. They are everything to you and you’re everything to them because you love everything about them. And they return these feelings. If anyone could meet their one true love, well...that person's entire life would be complete happiness! The two of you will never fall out of love. You will be perfect for each other.”

“Ah, I see,” Kakashi replied and thought back on Kushina-san's old stories about how she’d fallen in love with Minato that’d always leave his sensei blushing.

A hand was removed from his stomach to poke his side. “What is it, sir knight?”

“I’m not sure if I believe in such a love,” he said. “Falling in love at first sight, I mean, and seeing no flaws in them.”

“Have you never been in love, sir knight?”

Kakashi thought about smiling blue eyes and loud, boisterous laughter. 

“No, I have not,” he said, shaking his head. “Not like how you describe it, at least.”

“I pity you, brave sir knight,” she said, leaning around and moving a dainty hand to pat his knee. “But fear not! There are plenty of beautiful maidens in our kingdom. I am sure you will find someone for you. Your true love!”

“Hmm, if you say so, your highness.”

She huffed and swatted at his shoulder with the same hand that had attempted to comfort him. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Not really no,” he said. “I have lived for a long time and have never heard of such a thing as someone you will love absolutely and see no fault in. We are humans, your highness. We have faults.”

“Not my prince! He will be the most perfect man, the most handsome and brave. And he will rescue me when I am in trouble and then take me in his arms to give me True Love’s Kiss as soon as he lies his eyes on me.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. “True love’s kiss?”

“The kiss to show he truly loves me, of course!”

“As soon as he sees you?” Kakashi asked and thought of Sakura as a young girl. Had she ever talked like this? It was hard to separate his image of the medic that had been tempered by war from Sakura and only think of her as a child. They’d never truly been children. Not like this princess.

The girl nodded against his back. “Why yes!”

“How then can he love you?” Kakashi asked and thought it was a reasonable concern.

The princess scoffed at that. “It is true love! Fated and written in the stars. You will understand when you meet the fair maiden perfect for you, Sir Hatake.”

“If you say so, highness.”

“I do, I do!”

He hummed. She hit his shoulder with a touch as soft as gossamer.

“You will see!” Buttercup said in a fierce tone that reminded him of a growling kitten. “And I’ll be a guest at your wedding!”

“Will you now?” Kakashi asked and smiled, grateful that she couldn’t see him do so.

“I am the princess. If I wish to go to a wedding, the couple would be honoured to have me.”

“I see.”

____

Dusk painted the sky in the same peach pink colour as Buttercup’s dress as Kakashi could feel the girl slump a bit against his back.

“Are you getting tired, your highness?”

“A bit, sir knight,” she said, nodding against his shoulder. “I am also growing hungry and some rest would be most appreciated.”

“Then we’ll make camp,” Kakashi said, looking around. 

They were still riding through the thick and sprawling forest, but finding a safe place to camp hidden amid trees was natural to a Konoha ninja. He saw a small, winding path trampled up by various forest animals and guided his horse down it. After a few minutes, they approached a small clearing covered with a soft moss. Given that they had no supplies they would have to sleep directly on the forest floor. He could use his vest for a pillow for the poor girl, but he could not offer much more than that. Unless the princess agreed to cut up her dress for some padding. The skirt seemed to contain enough fabric to give them both a comfortable layer to sleep on, without her sacrificing her modesty. Though it also seemed to have been terribly expensive and he very much doubted that he’d be able to convince a royal to destroy their clothes for something as pedestrian as making a mattress. 

 He led the horse to a nearby stream to let him drink and graze the soft-looking grass. Then he jumped off the horse before helping Buttercup dismount. 

“I think this is the best we’ll get,” he said, as Buttercup took off her glass shoes to walk barefoot on the uneven ground. “Unless you could wait for an hour or so as I scout for a cave? We don’t have any supplies, so we’ll have to sleep under the stars.”

“That’s alright, sir knight!” she said, laughing in a way that made Kakashi think of a tinkling brook or tiny bells. “I’ve always wanted to sleep beneath the stars surrounded by the forest.”

“Why haven’t you?”

“Oh, I could never leave the castle like that!”

“Not even by taking some guards?”

“That would be wildly inappropriate, Sir Hatake,” she said, still smiling that angelic smile. “I am a princess, not a prince. There is no room for me to indulge in some youthful escapades on a simple whim.”

Kakashi could smell an emotional conversation a mile away by now. He had spent decades avoiding them like the plague. He hummed and walked off to collect firewood.

As he returned, he heard a beautiful voice singing in a language he’d never heard before. When he got back to where he had left the girl, he saw that she was sitting in the middle of the glade, surrounded by forest animals. There were small birds perched on her shoulders, trilling along in the music and fluffy rabbits curled close to her flowing skirts, getting petted by dainty hands.

Kakashi stood still for a moment, taking in the scene. Then he shrugged, added it to the list of idiosyncrasies he had noticed so far in this strange land, and placed the firewood nearby. The animals didn’t pay any attention to him as they were far too caught up in the petty singing. He grabbed some nearby rocks to create a nice fire pit and stapled the firewood up high. A quick fireball and the firewood was eerily crackling. 

Then he looked around at the animals surrounding them and smiled when he saw a lonely fawn without its mother at the edge of the clearing, peaking out its head from a bush. One thrown kunai later, going straight through to its brain, and the fawn fell to the ground. It was dead before it had time to register any threat or realising that anything had happened.

 He strolled over to the carcass, lifted it up in one hand and wandered over to the fire to toss more firewood on the fire. Then he walked off a bit before dropping the deer. The dull thud of the carcass hitting the ground made the girl look his way.

The princess stopped singing with a shrill scream that scared away the animals around them. 

Kakashi looked at her in confusion. “What’s the problem, your highness?”

"You killed it!" She exclaimed, paler than normal and looking so very small where she sat drowning in pink skirts. “Easy as anything!”

"Quicker than it knew what hit it,” he replied, hands raised up in a placating gesture. “The deer felt no pain."

"Why did you kill it?” Buttercup asked, glaring at him. “It was a friend of the forest!"

Kakashi frowned at her and shook his head in confusion. "We need food. We're a day's ride away still from your castle and you're starving, your highness. We have no other supplies."

"But why kill an animal?" the girl asked with wide blue eyes. At least she had calmed down a bit as she realised he had killed the animal for a reason.

Kakashi raised a brow as he took in her visible confusion. "You do know where meat comes from, right?"

The reply came quickly but sounded a bit hesitant. "The castle kitchens."

"And before that?" Kakashi prompted and felt a bit like when he had explained tree walking to his three students many years ago.

"We have servants for that," the girl replied, flushing as she realised that she had never considered it before. Never needed to, Kakashi assumed. This wasn’t the first time he had ended up bodyguarding spoiled civilian royals who had no idea how the world worked. It was almost reassuring to learn that certain things stayed the same between worlds.

Kakashi pulled out a clean kunai and crouched down next to the deer carcass. He looked over to the girl with a grin. “I will need to skin and butcher this in order to prepare its meat for consumption. You would know it as venison, a finer word for deer meat. If you are squeamish around blood, princess, you should not watch.”

“I’m not a child!” The girl hissed, hands curled into fists and body shaking with rage rather than fear. Kakashi smiled at the sight and grabbed his kunai, lifted the fluffy little tail in one hand and proceeded to cut the goring ring.

Princess Buttercup looked on, stoic if a bit pale-faced at the slick sounds of his kunai cutting away the membranes and parts of the colon. Though as he flipped it on its back and lowered his blade to cut open its belly, she flinched and looked away.

“I will have to remove all its internal organs, your highness,” Kakashi said, warning in his voice. “It will be gory. If you wish to step away, do so now. But don’t wander off too far, I want you close enough for me to hear you.” She did not need to know that was a lot longer distance than she’d think.

The girl huffed and stood up. Then she collected her ample skirts in one hand and did something with some lacing and clever folding to tie it all up behind her in a tight roll. It left her with something that looked like thin cotton pants, also embroidered with lace and silvery thread, of course.

She marched over, barefoot and with dirt clinging to her small feet, before sitting down a few steps away. “I won’t be much help, sir knight, but show me how to do it.”

The hour passed with him going over each step in detail, naming each edible organ as he removed it and placed it on a flat rock nearby and pointing out muscles and major bones. As he cut out the deer's heart he held it out to her.

“The heart. This little muscle is what the poets say holds all our emotions,” Kakashi explained, “Its function in the body is to pump blood, through the arteries to the rest of the body. The blood, princess, is what carries oxygen to the rest of the body keeping it all functioning. If you ever experience strong heartache, it can feel like your actual heart is breaking. Pain so intense you clutch your chest.”

“Oh, so that’s what a heart looks like," she murmured. "So different to how it is drawn in the art I have seen."

“The human heart looks very similar but will be bigger than this. Especially since this belonged to a fawn and not a full-grown deer.”

Big blue eyes looked at him rather than the small muscle resting on his palm. Still, like so many hearts he'd felt before.

“Have you seen a human heart before, Sir Hatake?”

He nodded. “A few times.”
_____

After a dinner of grilled venison, Kakashi set up a few spits with thin slices to smoke during the night. The rest of the carcass he threw into the woods as far away as he managed without leaving the princess out of earshot. He did not trust this strange world with dragons and magic.

As he came back he shrugged off his flak vest and offered it to Buttercup as a makeshift pillow. The poor girl was tired enough to fall asleep as soon as she’d lied down with her head on the bulky thing. It was not the best of pillows, but Kakashi knew from experience that it was better than nothing.

Kakashi settled down with his back against a mossy boulder and pulled out his Icha Icha Tactics. The princess had not been concerned about bandits and highwaymen when Kakashi had raised the possibility as they ate. Buttercup had blithely replied that such things did not exist in her father’s kingdom. Her father’s knights ensured that, if any gang of lawless bandits started to harass travellers, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men would ride out and wipe out the threat. Kakashi had thought about how all the king’s horses and all the king’s men must have been unable to keep her from being kidnapped by a dragon. 

It had seemed wise to say nothing and he had simply decided to keep watch throughout the night.

A wolf howled in the distance. No wolf answered the call with its own. Was the pack too far away or did it have none? Kakashi looked up at an unfamiliar sky with constellations that almost looked like they should.
_____

The sun rose on a cloudless sky as dawn made Kakashi look up from his reading. He smiled at the orange sun and went to wake up the princess. If she was still tired she could catch some sleep as they rode.

As she went behind a few trees to relieve herself, as she had put it, Kakashi went to collect the smoked meat and to wrap it in some large leaves he'd found the day before. Then he went to the tree where he'd secured the horse, that was apparently his, the day before.

Kakashi’s noble steed reared up in greeting, clearly happy to get moving again. He eyed the beast a bit wearily and considered, once again, to just hoist the girl on his back and run. It would be faster by far. The horse flicked his ears and nudged Kakashi's chest with his snout, demanding pats as if reading his mind. Kakashi sighed. The horse was a strong and loyal one, even if he didn't understand why it was so loyal to him, and it deserved better than being left alone in a forest. 

"Very well," Kakashi said, giving in to the demands and stroking the velvety muzzle. "You'll probably be welcomed into the royal stable once we get to the castle. What stable master would turn you down?"

He led the horse over to Buttercup as she came back from behind the trees. She was hiding something behind her back with an impish smile. 

"Sir Hatake, do you have a way to store something I found?"

"Sure," Kakashi replied and pulled out a storage scroll. "Place the item in here and it will be placed in the scroll. It is a special kind of magic that is placed upon the scroll in advance."

"How clever," she said as she turned around to fiddle with the scroll for a bit before handing it over, neatly rolled up again. "It's a gift for you. Open it later!"

Kakashi accepted the gift with a bow and then got up on the horse before helping his companion up behind him.

_____

The lush forest made way for green hills, rolling fields and small villages as they rode on. The peasants working the fields paid them no mind, busy as they were with the harvest. Every so often he would feel Buttercup twitch and shift around behind him, taking in the sight.

"What is it, your highness?"

"I've never seen peasants work before," she replied. "Is this what they do to keep food on their table?"

"And on yours," Kakashi said, "This is how your castle's kitchen gets stocked with grain." 

"My tutors wanted to teach me about these things," Buttercup murmured as they passed a group of thin and exhausted children working in the fields, supervised by what looked to be an older sibling. "I was always more interested in music lessons.”

Kakashi thought back to the piles of paperwork covering his desk. Death certificates, team assignments, tax and educational reform, trade agreements between Konoha and the Land of Fire and all the forms, in duplicate, surrounding pardoning Uchiha Sasuke. “The more important things often require more effort, your highness. But you are young and have plenty of time to learn about ruling a country still.”

She laughed, the same tinkling sound from before but tinged with sadness this time.

“Perhaps.”

_____

When they crested the next hill, towering white spires seemed to cut into the sky above. The citadel was surrounded by large walls, and Kakashi could now understand why the young girl had such a limited view of the world. She would have been removed from the world in the most physical of sense in a castle like that.

“My castle!” Buttercup exclaimed, clutching at Kakashi’s arm and pointing ahead. “We’re home, Sir Hatake! Look!”

Kakashi smiled and spurred on the horse. The animal reared up with a dramatic flip of its mane and then broke into a gallop that felt like flying.

It took no time at all before they approached the gates and a small unit of knights approached them, riding on horses looking much like Kakashi’s own and their hands on the pommel of their swords.

“Halt, stranger!” The knight in the front called. “State your business!”

“I mean no harm, sir knight,” Kakashi called back and dismounted to show the princess riding behind him. “I came to return someone home.”

The flock of knights swarmed around them with calls of “Your highness!”, “The princess!” and “The king and queen have been so worried!”.

The suspicion from just a moment ago was lifted and the head knight lifted the princess over to his own saddle before smiling down at Kakashi. 

“Please mount up again, sir, and we will escort you to the citadel. The King will most assuredly want to meet with the man who saved his daughter.”

Kakashi sighed but got up on his horse again. He had a suspicion that the meeting in question would be less of a quick conversation and more an elaborate ball of some sort.

Once they arrived at the citadel, Princess Buttercup was herded away by handmaidens to meet with her parents again. In the same manner, an unobtrusive manservant sidled up to Kakashi’s side and gave a bow once Kakashi looked at the man.

“If you come this way, sir, we will prepare you a bath and a change of clothes.”

“What exactly is the occasion?” Kakashi said, but followed the man. “I am weary from the battle and the journey. If a ball or something of that sort is planned I’d appreciate some warning.”

“Her Majesty the Queen suggested in her infinite wisdom that they would only hold a dinner between you and the royal family.”

“Ah, very well,” Kakashi let himself relax as he took in the winding hallways and intricate masonry. “A small dinner shouldn’t be that bad.”

_____

The dinner was that bad.

The food was delicious. The company was perfectly pleasant. Even the beautiful outfit he’d been given made of silk and brocade in black and silver was comfortable and he’d been permitted to keep his mask on.

Kakashi had been to many diplomatic gatherings in his career. Sometimes as a guest, sometimes as a hired assassin. He thought nothing could surprise him anymore.

This was the first time he had been offered marriage to a princess and half the kingdom to rule. As a reward for saving his beloved daughter from such a fearsome beast, the king had said.

“Daddy!” Buttercup called out, dismayed. “Sir Hatake is a fine and brave man, but I do not love him!”

“But my sweet, he’d make an excellent king for this kingdom one day,” the king said in a booming voice that echoed throughout the hall. “Just look at how he slew that dragon!”

Kakashi had, by now, understood that the qualities these people looked for in both a future husband and a future ruler were a bit skewed compared to what he was used to so he wisely said nothing. Instead, he looked longingly out of the window and considered just running away. 

“That’s all well and good, daddy, but I cannot marry someone I don’t love.”

“Now listen here, my darling sugarplum-”

“Daddy, I will not-”

“I am honoured to be considered worthy of ruling this great kingdom one day, your majesty,” Kakashi interjected politely as he could before the two got even more heated. The Queen gave him a grateful smile. “Though I have to decline such a generous offer. I am not from here and I need to return to my home.” 

“What place could need you more than a kingdom?” The king asked. “What place could offer you more riches than here?”

“My own,” Kakashi replied. “I lead a military town in a country far, far away. I am needed there. By the city and by people close to me.”

“Above all, I lead this kingdom and its people, I am a man who understands duty,” the king replied. “But surely you have someone in the town that can pick up the mantle?”

Kakashi thought of Naruto and knew the royal wasn’t wrong. Naruto was ready to become Hokage, in many ways he had been even when Kakashi took the position after the Fourth Shinobi War. Still, he had rather wanted to see him do it and support him along the way.

“I have a successor, yes,” he replied, hoping the offence caused wasn’t enough for him to lose his head. “But that is not the sole reason why I wish to return.”

The queen looked at Kakashi for a long time.

“Don’t you see, husband dear,” she said, with a voice soft as silk and hard as steel. “There is someone he loves. We cannot keep him.”

The king broke out in a booming, boisterous laugh.

“My wife is a great romantic, Sir Hatake,” the man said with an affectionate smile towards his wife and a kiss to her hand. “I cannot force you away from your true love. Nor will my daughter suffer marriage with someone she doesn't love, I’ve learnt. Very well, what else can I offer you as thanks?”

“Thank you, your majesty,” Kakashi said, smiling as well. “You are very kind to offer. There is one favour I’d request if it is not too much.”

“Anything for bringing our daughter safely back home, sir knight,” the queen said, taking a hold of her daughter’s hand with her free one.

“I was sent to your kingdom through means I can’t explain,” Kakashi said, looking at the two regents. “I’d hoped to talk to your Court Mage and see if they might be able to assist in returning me home.”

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing else, your majesty,” he replied with a bow.

“Then it shall be done,” the king said. “I’ll escort you personally once we’re done with dinner.”

“Thank you.”

_____

The Court Mage lived in a tower at the end of a long, winding spiralling staircase. The king huffed and puffed a bit as they stood in front of the heavy wooden door.

Before the king had time to knock, the door swung open and a woman’s voice called for them to please step in, she had tea at the ready. 

Kakashi blinked as he stepped inside. It looked a bit like one of Orochimaru’s hidden labs, with tubes and cauldrons and billowing smoke. Glinting gems and sparkling lights floated around the room that was a lot larger on the inside than what Kakashi would have expected. 

He dodged as a teapot floated past him in the air to reunite with some slightly cracked teacups that danced through the air from the other direction. The pot poured tea into one cup and it floated over to Kakashi, bobbing next to him in the air. A jar of sugar, a saucer of milk and a pot of honey were all herded over by a broom that shot out sparks.

“Ah, no thanks,” Kakashi said. “I like my tea as it is. But thank you.”

The items moved over to the king who nodded with a smile. A spoonful of each got added to his cup and then they vanished into thin air. 

“Our court mage is a brilliant one, Sir Hatake,” the king said with a fond smile. “So we don’t mind some levitating items here and there. As long as it’s not done to animals, of course.”

“I would never, your majesty,” the voice from before called before a young woman with dark skin and glowing green eyes walked up to them, a chair walking next to her. “Animals get too finicky about it all. Especially cats.”

“Good evening, Lady Methril, thank you for the tea.”

The woman waved a hand in dismissal as she stared at Kakashi. "Never mind that, this one is far more interesting than some pleasantries."

Kakashi waved at her with a smile. "Yo."

She strode forward, robed swishing around her feet.

"You're not of this world, are you?" she said and grabbed one of his hands in hers. "There's a power within you, rather than magic and chaos clinging to you. It crackles and sings. Like a storm."

Kakashi drew chakra to his free hand and let it take the form of lightning. "We call it chakra rather than magic. And it is our own. Though all lifeforms have it in my world."

"How fascinating!” she said and stepped away without looking away from his hand until he let the lightning fade away. “Well, I'd love to keep you for studies but I assume you want to get back home?"

"Yes, please."

Lady Mithril looked at the king and scratched at her chin. "Your majesty, I'd have to put my current project on hold for it. It's close to completion, but I've yet to test it besides on myself."

"That is alright, my lady," the king said and chuckled. "Sir Hatake saved Buttercup from the dragon. While a sword that can nullify magic would be useful against another dragon, we don't need it right now."

The mage collapsed into the chair that had hurriedly moved behind her. "She's safe? She's home?"

"Yes, she is," the king said and walked forward to clasp her shoulder. 

"Thank the Primordials!" the mage exclaimed, shoulders shaking in laughter that turned into sobs. "I'm sorry, your majesty, I should-"

"Do not worry, my lady, I know how long you worked on the sword, and your effort won't be forgotten,” the king said, smiling down at the woman. “I know we would have been able to ride out in a week's time had Hatake not come along. You will still be awarded once you have finished, but now you can move on to happier pursuits. You talked about a way to assist the harvest, for example."

"Yes, your majesty, I did," Methril said and rubbed across her eyes with a shaky breath. "Alright, then let me assist this kingdom in showing our thanks, Sir Hatake. I'll do everything in my power to help you home."

“Excellent! Well, I shall leave you in Lady Methril’s capable hands, Sir Hatake,” the king said before getting up from his chair with a bow of his head to the Court Mage. “Lady Methril, I’d be honoured if you would join us for dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the mage replied with a nod in return.

Once the king had left, she turned back to Kakashi and rubbed her hands together. Sparks flew from the tips of her fingers and lit a fire in the corner. It burned bright blue. 

“Let us begin then, sir Hatake.”

"I appreciate it, my lady," Kakashi said and finished his tea in a flash. Black with something fruity in it. A strange blend, but not unpleasant.

"I can only offer to assist though, sir knight," she continued with a serious look on her face. "Magic is a primordial force in this world, with laws that govern its behaviour that we've yet to truly understand. There is always a cost. A drawback to each gift. And I don’t know what brought you here.”

“I believe it was through a book, my lady,” Kakashi said and pulled out the scroll he’d sealed the mysterious book in. He opened it and unsealed it with a puff of smoke. The mage muttered about multiple dimensions and portals but cut herself off when she saw the tome.

“Oh, that’s where you went!”

“What?” Kakashi asked. “Who went?”

“My book, it goes on adventures sometimes,” Methril said and flicked through the pages. Kakashi saw an illustration of a masked ninja with silver hair on one of the pages. “To get more things to tell me about.”

“The book goes?”

“Of course!” Methril replied and showed him an illustration of himself slaying the dragon, lightning chakra depicted with a silvery ink that sparkled in the dancing lights above them. “That saves me the trouble.”

“I see,” Kakashi said even if he did not. It seemed wise to not worry too much about all this magic happening around him.

“Well, Sir Hatake, this makes it easier for me to figure out where to send you,” she said and grinned at him. “I can use a Transetheric Localisation spell to see where the book was and open a portal there. But well, magic is chaos and it doesn’t like to be controlled. I can figure out when to send you, but not exactly where or where to send to, but not when.”

Kakashi frowned. “You mean I might end up travelling in time from my perspective?”

“Or end up at the bottom of the ocean, but in the correct time, yes.”

“Ah,” he replied with a sigh. “Well, I’d prefer to know I’ll end up at the right time. I can make my way back home.”

“You still wish to go?” Methril asked with an arched brow. “Despite knowing the limitations?”

“I must return home, my lady:”

The mage hummed and held a hand over the tome as she uttered a string of nonsense words. There was a rush of what felt like wind around them as her eyes glowed brighter.

“Alright, I know where to send you, Sir Hatake,” she said. “But first, I must ask, do you have someone you truly love?”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a spell I could use if that’s the case,” she said as she went over to a bookcase to pull out a thick tome. “It will send you back to your true love. Still at a cost, but a smaller one. Love is one of the great forces in this world, you see. Even magic cannot tamper with it too much which is why it can be used for this spell. But it will kill you if you have no one to be sent to. So tell me, Hatake, have you found your one true love?”

Her eyes seemed to pierce through him but he kept his mind blank and his breathing even.

Kakashi chuckled. “My one true love? The person I will love utterly and completely as soon as I see them? The person I see no flaws in?”

“Ah, you’ve talked to the young princess with her fanciful ideas,” the mage said with a wistful smile as she sat down on another of her moving chairs, tome held on her lap. “Though she is not entirely wrong. True love exists, sir knight, and it is a powerful force. To love someone completely and be willing to die for them is a marvellous thing. That’s why I asked you if you have someone like that.”

“What is the cost with this spell, my lady?” Kakashi asked, unwilling to reveal anything without knowing if it was worth it.

“You will be turned into an animal,” Methril said and waved her hand when Kakashi was about to protest. “Not permanently, mind you. And you will return to your loved one’s side, within a few hundred yards. And maybe a week or two later than when you left, but no worse than that. It’s the best way for me to be more precise with where you end up. Isn’t that better than you ending up in a volcano?”

Kakashi sighed and nodded, clasping his hands together to keep them still. “You are right, it’s preferable.”

“Then tell me, is there someone you love so much you’d die for them?”

“I am a ninja, my lady, a tool for my village,” Kakashi said, looking down at his hands. “I’ve been willing to die for a piece of paper in the past. For a stranger. For five seconds. I don’t think that willingness to die for someone is true love. Not for me. But…”

He heard shifting fabric and knew she had leaned closer. “But?”

“There is someone I wish to live for,” he murmured. “I want to support him if he ever stumbles on his path... I’m no longer prepared to die for insignificant things anymore. Is that good enough? That I have someone to live for? Someone I wish to protect? Even if I know he’s stronger than me?”

The glow in the mage’s eyes dimmed and left kind, brown eyes smiling at him. The woman looked at him with unshed tears. “Yes, I believe so. Then we can process with the safer spell.”

Kakashi bowed his head to her. “Thank you.”

“The spell is easy, sir Hatake,” she said. “Think of what form you’d wish to take and I’ll do the rest.”
He thought of sharp teeth and a strong jaw. Four large paws at the end of strong legs. He thought of his pack and a pact made in blood. Of running in the dark, being summoned by a bark in the distance. Trusting his nose, because that would never lie. 

“Good, keep that form close;” a voice whispered as if far away and right by his ear at the same time. “Now think of your beloved.”

Sunshine and laughter. The smell of ramen. An arm around him to drag him out of his office when he’d worked too long. Blue eyes that seemed to sparkle when they looked his way. A strong, stubborn presence that refused to give in. A light that shone so brightly Kakashi couldn’t stop himself from being pulled in. Like a moth to a flame. So warm and inviting Kakashi sometimes thought he might be welcomed to come ever closer. As if Naruto wanted him there.

The voice started whispering in a deep, guttural tone. The volume rose and fell, it was a whisper than a shout, and then a murmur. He could not understand the words, but he felt himself shift and shrink and grow. The world seemed different, both larger and smaller. Kakashi tried to look around, but there was a bright, blinding light that forced him to shut his eyes against the glare. Everything spun and sang and screamed.

Then, before everything went black, a voice he recognised but couldn’t remember from where. 

“Your true love must recognise you and call you by your name. Only then will you regain your true form.”

Chapter Text

The scent of wood, dirt and rotting trees.

Birds singing.

A familiar voice singing and the crackling of a fire in the distance.

A fog, slowly receding.

His head hurt.

Wind rustling the leaves, ruffling his fur.

Wait.

Kakashi opened his eyes and saw a blurry, dark blue and greyish-yellow mess in front of him. He tried to groan, felt annoyed at how it came out as a whine and closed his eyes again. 

Then he attempted to sit up, but his limbs were all wrong and bent out of shape. He was lying on his side, arms and legs sprawled in front of him at an angle. There was no pain though, despite Kakashi knowing his legs and arms didn't bend like that. Drugs? That could be why his mind felt foggy and his vision was so strange.

What had been in that weird lady's tea? 

He remembered dancing furniture and twirling lights. His body had changed as the world twisted around him and grew. What had she said? Something about thinking of his love and a form to take. There had been more words, including after everything had gone black. A whisper deep in his mind, crackling and dancing like embers. 

Had the spell worked? 

Kakashi scented the air and was relieved to notice that it smelled like normal. The sweet perfume of that other world was gone. That seemed promising.

He opened his eyes again and whined as he saw the strange colours and blurriness still being there. He winced and closed them against the light. The pain in his head was dull and all over his skull, so he didn't think it was head trauma. It felt more like he was hungover or suffering from chakra exhaustion. Kakashi reached up to feel for an injury. Well, he tried to. He couldn't reach his head. His arm refused to move any further than in front of his face where he sprawled. 

What was going on? He blinked his eyes open again to look at his hand where it lied, clumsy and useless in front of him and saw a large grey paw instead. He tried to flex his fingers and saw the paw twitch. The sharp claws didn't retract, but neither did he grow a thumb. 

Kakashi tried to draw on his chakra to dispel an illusion and found nothing to manipulate. There was chakra in him, yes, but just enough to sustain his body. He sighed and bit his tongue instead. Sharp pain and blood trickled down his throat, but the world was still in yellows, greys and blues and he still had paws. And fur. 

Kakashi ran his tongue over his teeth and felt sharp canines in a jaw far longer than that of a human. A canine one. 

He cursed and pulled his legs under him to get up on all fours, because he had no arms, did he? Four legs, four paws and, as he looked over his shoulder, a large and furry body that was capped off by a fluffy tail.

The mage had said to think of a form and Kakashi had thought of hunting with his pack, of sharp claws and teeth. Now he was a dog, or perhaps a wolf. The spell must have worked. At least partially. The only way to know for sure would be to find his way back home to Konoha. 

His ears pricked up as he heard the voice from before as it started singing again. It was familiar and he could swear he knew it, even if he was equally sure he'd never heard it while singing before. 

Kakashi looked in the direction and sniffed the air again. The smell of sizzling fat and meat teased his nose and he felt himself drooling. He licked his chops and took a small step forward with his left foreleg. His right hind leg followed by instinct and he was grateful for how he'd transformed into Akamaru to mess with his students in the past. It made it much easier to move now.

He followed his nose and the delicious smell until he came upon a clearing with a fire merrily dancing underneath pieces of venison on spits. Much like when Kakashi had hunted for himself and Buttercup. 

The singing stopped. A shame, because the voice had been warm and pleasant, even if not that of a trained singer. 

He huffed in surprise when he saw Naruto on the other side of the fire. Naruto who could sing and why had Kakashi never heard that before? The man waved at him. It was a blurry and strangely tinted sight for sore eyes. He was home . His tail started wagging up a storm and he barked happily. Because that was Naruto in front of him, and he hadn't known if he'd ever be back, and he'd missed him, and it was so very good to see him again and he wanted to jump him, press close and lick those smiling cheeks and stay .

Kakashi tried to bark out a message in the Konoha Standard Code, but he only managed one before a mental block kept him from continuing. A whispery dragon that felt like the mage’s glowing eyes, crackling and strange, circled his tongue and kept him silent. He tried again, and only managed to scratch at his ear with his leg instead. It seemed like the spell kept him from communicating in any way a human would understand. Which meant that his only chance to return to himself was for Naruto to recognise his sensei in a large dog, without chakra or the ability to communicate.

"Oh, hello there, big guy," the man said, tossing a piece of meat in Kakashi's direction. It was instinct to leap up and catch it with his teeth. Juicy venison hit his tongue and Kakashi was grateful that the meat had been cooked. He wasn't sure if eating raw meat would agree with him.

As he chewed on the prime cut he walked closer with perked ears and a still furiously wagging tail. Naruto was there and he was safe and everything would be alright if he was with the man that shone even despite Kakashi's limited vision. 

"First I thought you were a wolf, but then you'd not get this close," Naruto said and tossed another piece to lure him closer. As if Kakashi needed an incentive. Of course, Naruto couldn't know that. "You're also much larger than a wolf. Come here, boy, I have plenty more food. Are you lost? Looking for your owner?"

When Kakashi was almost by the other's side, Naruto held out his hand and Kakashi leaned close to sniff at it. Salt, dirt, and animal fat covered the familiar scent that Kakashi could pick out from thousands. The one that made him think of laughter and home. Before the hand could be pulled away, Kakashi whined, leapt forward and leaned into it.

Naruto laughed and scratched him behind his ears and Kakashi melted as the throbbing in his skull eased. Few people would dare to touch him and Kakashi was normally perfectly content with the lack of physical affection, but having someone scratch his scalp felt divine. He understood now why his ninken would swarm him to be petted on lazy mornings. 

"Yeah, you're definitely someone's pet if you're this friendly," Naruto said and stroked his bandaged right hand over his left eye. "Look at you though, so big and fierce. And this scar. You look a bit like Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi perked up at his name and barked softly. No recognition flashed across Naruto’s face. Instead, he smiled fondly down at Kakashi.  

"You do," he said and traced the scar with a gentleness that would have surprised Kakashi had it not been for the moment years ago when Naruto had covered his empty eye socket with a golden hand, soft as gossamer wings, and done the impossible. "I don't know what to do with you." 

Kakashi had to make Naruto want to take him back to Konoha. He would normally be able to find his way himself, but without chakra, it might take weeks for him to run the distance. While his survival skills were good enough to manage for months alone in the wilderness, he wasn't sure about managing without thumbs and if he could stomach parasite-riddled raw meat.

He also didn't want Naruto to leave.

With this in mind, he walked closer and put his head in Naruto's lap and did his best to imitate his ninken when they wanted to get out of bath time. He pulled his ears back, whined sadly and looked into Naruto's eyes. This close, Naruto's face was focused enough that he could see the whisker marks curl into a wide grin. 

"You are ridiculously cute for being this big," Naruto said with a snicker. "Looking all scary, but being a softie on the inside."

Two hands landed on top of his head and one stroked the fur between his ears as the other scratched gently. Kakashi closed his eyes and pressed closer, nudging his nose into Naruto's stomach. His body relaxed so much he ended up leaning most of his weight on Naruto who took it without complaint. It felt like he was about to fall asleep. Kakashi didn't want to sleep. Not with Naruto's fingers dancing through his fur, strong legs bracketing his sides and the familiar scent in his nose. He hadn't seen him for anything but a team dinner here and there for months since becoming Hokage. It felt good to be close once more. Even if it was as a dog.

"I can't leave you here to fend for yourself, can I?" Naruto murmured as one hand moved down to Kakashi's neck. “I don’t know how you got out here without messing up your fur. I can’t sense any human anywhere near so you must have gotten far away from home. Did someone abandon you?”

Kakashi opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows in the way he knew, instinctively, gave him the puppy eyes look that made him weak to his dogs' demands.

Naruto cooed at the sight and leaned forward to wrap his arms around Kakashi. "Alright already, I'm taking you with me, you adorable furball," he said in a soft and playful voice. "Now, don't run away while I clean things up."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and stood still as his former student made a few clones to clean up the campsite. Then he carefully accepted the remaining meat from Naruto's left hand, making sure not to let his teeth even scrape the tan skin. A small part of him wondered what it would take to get Naruto to feed him by hand once he was back as a human.

"There we go, boy," Naruto said and held up his flask. "Let's get some water in you as well."

Water was poured into his cupped palm for Kakashi to drink. He licked it up, alongside the taste of Naruto and it sang. He ran his tongue between twitching fingers as Naruto laughed at the tickling sensation.

"You must have been thirsty, you poor thing,” Naruto said and poured him some more water. 

Kakashi hadn’t been, but he was happy to lap up this water too.

“Alright, I think we're ready to get back to Konoha now," Naruto said and got up on his feet with a final pat to Kakashi's head. "Stay calm as I pick you up. Don't bite me, please. I'll heal, but I just washed this jacket and blood is always a bitch to get out once it's dried."

Kakashi stood still and barked as softly as he could. 

"You are clever, aren't you?" Naruto asked as he scooped Kakashi up in a bridal carry. “It’s like you understand me. I'd think you were a ninken, but you have the chakra levels of a normal dog."

And the dragon was back in his mind, keeping him from responding in any way. He couldn’t move his neck to nod or blink out a yes . Instead, his tongue lolled out in a canine grin as he looked up at Naruto’s grinning face. 

He tried to scratch out a message in the dirt, but his paws refused to move. Instead, his hind leg reached up to scratch behind his ears.

He did blink when Naruto shrouded both of them in golden chakra that surrounded Kakashi and held him up alongside Naruto's arms. Warmth and comfort embraced him and he closed his eyes at the sensation of floating in a golden ocean. 

Then they were flying, moving faster than Kakashi could register in his current state. It wasn't long until Naruto came to a stop and Kakashi opened his eyes to the familiar sight of Konoha's gates. The world wobbled and blurred together more than normal for his new eyes. 

"There we go," Naruto murmured and sank to his knees to let Kakashi down. He kept a steadying grip on the scruff of Kakashi's neck as Kakashi tried to make sense of too many limbs while the earth spun. "I hope you're not dizzy. Do dogs get nauseous?"

Kakashi growled in reply and shook himself before sitting down until things stopped spinning.

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin. "I guess you do. Sorry, boy."

Kakashi glared at the idiot but leaned into the apologetic pat to his head. He’d forgive many worse things if Naruto kept petting him. 

After a while, Naruto pulled away and Kakashi got up on all fours to be able to follow that amazing hand with the magical fingers that should never stop petting him and why would Naruto move away? He leaned into Naruto’s leg and looked up at that dear face and whined. 

He cut it off as soon as he realised that he was acting more like a needy dog than a grown man. Was it part of the spell? Would he lose himself in his new form if the effects weren’t reversed? The mage hadn’t told him much before everything had gone black, but he remembered hearing her voice as if in a distant dream as he slept. What had she said besides needing to be recognised by his true love? There had been words and images in his dream, but he couldn’t remember it at all. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a hand tugging at his ear. “Are you there, boy? We need to get going. I have to report back to Kakashi-sensei, y’know.”

Kakashi barked once before following, walking right by Naruto’s side. He had to figure out some way to tell the young man who he was and do it soon. For now, all he could do was to follow his former student down a familiar path past the shopping district.

“Naruto!”

They turned as one to see Sakura walk down the street. Kakashi’s tail started wagging on its own again and he barked in greeting. It was good to see her again.

“Hey, Sakura-chan!”

“Where did you find a dog, Naruto?” Sakura asked as she held out a hand to Kakashi in greeting. He sniffed it and could tell she’d been in his office recently. She smelled of the ink he used for stamping his seal on documents. Clever fingers found a spot under his chin that felt amazing as she rubbed it. “He seems friendly.”

“I found him just now after my mission in Land of Iron was done and I was grabbing something to eat. I couldn’t sense anyone nearby. No way of getting him back to his owner. So I ran back here with him,” Naruto said and shrugged at Sakura’s raised eyebrow as if it was perfectly reasonable to carry a dog across three countries in a few minutes. “What was I supposed to do? Just leave him? Look at him!”

Kakashi tilted his head and looked up at her with large, sad eyes.

Sakura punched Naruto’s shoulder, lightly enough that he barely moved with the force, and shook her head. “So now you’re a dog owner?”

“I don’t know, Sakura-chan,” he responded and rubbed a hand over Kakashi’s jaw when he nudged his head against it. Naruto leaned down and nudged his nose against Kakashi’s with a smile. “I’ll have to ask sensei about how to care for a dog, don’t I? Or sensei might want him! Look, they’d match, wouldn’t they? Same shade of grey and same kind of scar!”

Something crossed Sakura’s face before Naruto glanced up at her again. “Yeah, they would.”

Kakashi looked at her and whined in confusion. Why did she sound sad?

“Sakura-chan?”

“Ah, Naruto, you should get to the Hokage’s office,” she said and started walking off with a wave. “I’ll come by your apartment later.”

Naruto looked after her for a bit, a frown on his face before he shook his head and looked down at Kakashi. “I’ll figure out what’s wrong with her later. Let’s get you to my apartment so I can see what Sensei wants me for.”

Naruto scooped Kakashi up again and jumped up to run across the rooftops before he leapt up to his apartment building to land right outside his door. Then he let him down to unlock the door and let him in.

“I’m sorry, I know you prefer to walk, but it’s faster this way.”

Kakashi shook himself and sat down, looking up at Naruto.

“You should probably get some more water before I leave,” the man muttered before walking to the kitchen. Kakashi followed close on his heels.

Then he sat back as Naruto climbed on top of his counter to rummage in the back of a cabinet for a large bowl. A wooden bowl fell down as it got knocked off its perch and Kakashi leapt up and caught it before depositing on the counter next to Naruto’s foot.

“You show-off!” Naruto said with a bright laugh. “Thank you.”

He filled the bowl with water and put it down on the floor before leaving with a final pat to Kakashi’s head. Kakashi looked after him and considered following him, but his body was still wrong, his head was aching and he felt exhausted.

He padded over to Naruto’s sofa and looked at it. Then he glanced over to the door leading to Naruto’s bedroom. 

Kakashi shook his head at himself as he opened the door and jumped on top of the bed. It smelled warm and inviting, like home. He twirled around on the spot before laying down with his head on the pillow that smelled the best.

There was a door in front of him, a heavy wooden door with an intricate knocker shaped like a dragon. When he raised his hand to use it, it unfurled to fly at him, claws brandished. Sharp enough to cut his very soul. It was impossible to dodge it, frozen in place as he was. The dragon twisted in the air, made of gold one moment, smoke and embers the next and then it was lightning, soaring into his mouth with a roar. 

His tongue burned, fire melting his teeth and searing them into his cheeks. His throat was fused shut against his screams. 

You may not speak.  

The door fell apart, the planks circling him, locking his arms down. Branding him when wood turned into red-hot iron. They slithered away, like snakes. Like grinning tongues and slitted eyes.

You may not write. 

The ground beneath his feet fell apart, and he stumbled into the darkness in front of him. The shadow turned into the rotten carcass of a dragon, curled around a pulsing heart, beating in a familiar rhythm.  A creaking of bone against bone, a skeletal head looking at him with eyes glowing green. 

This story was not yours.

Bony jaws split open in a roar, spitting putrefaction and decay.

Not yours to kill. 

Claws crushed the heart and laughter burst out, before dying as the darkness ate it. 

A figure rose from the ashes, a manic grin on an empty face. They leaned forward and stroked his cheeks, ripping the skin apart with silky smooth hands.

Not yours to save.

He tore himself away and scrambled away, but the rotten flesh and boiling blood made it impossible to stand. He fell and fell and fell . Into a twisting, maddening spiral. He was dead or dying or gone and he-

Sir Hatake!

The floor underneath him was solid rock, unforgiving as he crashed into it. Blinking against the swirling lights, he sat up and looked into dark brown eyes.

I found you, thank the Primordials!

His jaw was fused shut and he couldn't open his mouth and make his burnt-away tongue form words. 

I'm sorry. The spell- the Chaos- it's reacting like this because you were an outsider. Balance shifted when you killed the dragon because it wasn't your story. 

A soft hand grabbed his elbow and got him up on his feet. A flustered, fluttering presence led him into a familiar room of glowing sparks and dancing furniture.

I searched for you in your dreams. I had to warn you. You'll lose yourself to the spell if it's not broken. I can shield you, for a bit, but you have to break it within a day or so. 

He fumbled in the dark and met with warm skin, flesh and bone under his touch. He patted the arm and ran his hand up to clutch at the shaking shoulder and tried to smile. 

Since the story in my book wanted the prince to kiss the princess, it’ll demand that from you now. Your true love must kiss you after recognising you. Two days, then you’re gone. I’m sorry, Sir Hatake. I thought this spell would be the best. And instead, I doomed-

A sealing scroll soared through the air and he activated it. A smooth white rock fell out, clattering to the floor. The gift from Buttercup.

Yes! This is of my world, I feel the magic clinging to it. Keep it close, keep it near. It will shield you. Keep you as you. I can use it as an anchor, a talisman. I owe you more than I can say-

The door burst open, a claw shrouded in rotting flesh reached for him and he leapt away, felt the bone tear at his chest, leaving bloody gorges. 

Go! Leave! Wake up, wake up! If it catches you-

He bolted awake, heart hammering in his chest and a scream lodged in his throat. The world was no longer in sharp, crisp colours.

His feet scrambled across soft sheets before he got to his feet on top of the bed. Naruto’s room. Naruto’s bed. Naruto, who had to kiss him or Kakashi would die. 

Kakashi panted, mouth wide open and tongue lolling out. He glanced around the room and saw a white rock on the table next to the bed. The talisman.

As he brushed it with his nose, it gave off a soft, tingling feeling, soothing him. Like cool water, rushing through him. It cleared his thoughts and made him feel more like himself. More human.

He lied down on the pillow again, but could not sleep. The echoes of the dream still rang in his head and he couldn’t clear his head. The dragon, the rot and decay and the voice, clear as a bell and dark as tar. It refused to leave his mind. Instead, he listened to the world outside Naruto’s windows. He heard a mother call for her children, a ninja run across a rooftop, glad to be back home and careless about being heard in Konoha.

Then the world exploded. Or erupted. A rush of Naruto’s chakra billowed through him and it was everywhere from thousands of sources.

Kakashi leapt over to the window and saw a haze of gold streak across the sky in countless directions at once. 

What would cause Naruto to make that many clones? He wanted to go out, to help, fight. He snarled, feeling as impotent as he’d been at fourteen, straining against the barrier keeping him out from the fighting. What could he do against an enemy as he was now? Bite their ankles?

He growled, pacing round and round. Then he quieted as the window slid open and Naruto climbed inside. 

Kakashi lifted his head and barked, tail wagging. 

Naruto looked at him with the golden eyes of Sage Mode and said nothing. Instead, he collapsed on his bed before removing his sandals with stilted, jerky movements. Then he removed his mission gear, tossed it all to the floor and crawled into bed, in just a t-shirt and boxers.

Kakashi cocked his head to the side, considering. Then he jumped on top of the duvet and lied down at the foot of it. Naruto remained as still as a statue, staring ahead. Unmoving and unblinking. 

Kakashi got up and nudged Naruto’s shoulder with his nose. The young man didn’t even flinch. 

There was a knocking at the door, and Naruto didn’t move. 

Kakashi barked, right in his ear, and when that garnered no reaction he nipped at the golden hair, tugging gently. 

“Naruto!” That was Sakura’s voice coming from the door. Kakashi glanced over as he heard her open the door. Then two sets of footsteps approached and he smelled Sakura’s shampoo and Sai’s ink. He slunk off the bed and ran up to them, but he only got a distracted pat from Sakura before the two walked past him.

He blinked, alarmed, as he smelled the salt of tears. Then he followed and jumped up on the bed as his former students sat down on either side of Naruto and stared ahead. Their faces were just as blank as all three of them sat with their knees hugged to their chests.

Kakashi felt tense, wanted to ask what was happening but couldn’t. Of course, he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was to crawl closer and settle down by their feet, keeping watch.

Sai looked at him with a curious expression. "That is a very large dog. He looks like Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto didn't reply. Sakura nodded with a wince.

A bird was singing outside the window. Children were running around, playing ninja and laughing. The sun hid behind clouds. 

Kakashi waited.

It started raining. A soft pitter-patter over the rooftop, which picked up until it was storming. A flash of light lit up the sky, then the rumble of thunder. 

“Nothing," Naruto said, aeons later, making Kakashi’s ears perk up at the sound after such a long period of silence. He looked at the man, and he sighed in displeasure as Naruto still didn't move. It didn't tell him much about what was going on.

Sakura took a shuddering breath as her clenched hands shook on her knees. "Nothing?"

"I can't sense…  nowhere,” he replied, sounding hoarse and hurt and Kakashi felt it in his bones and he wanted to find whoever had made Naruto sound like that and rip them apart. “The clones who’ve reached the sea have all dispelled too. And nothing.”

Sai said nothing and moved closer with a hesitant glance. Sakura mirrored the move on the other side of Naruto with far more confidence of her welcome and put her head on a broad shoulder. She reached for Naruto's hand and squeezed it. “Search parties were sent out two weeks ago.”

“I should have been here,” Naruto said, heedless of the tears streaking his face. “I might have-”

“He vanished into thin air from his office,” Sakura said, voice carefully measured. “At 12:03 he sent Team Ta on a mission, and then at 12:04 Shikamaru went into his office with paperwork for him to sign and saw nothing.”

Realisation struck like lightning and Kakashi wanted to scream. The silent vigil in Sage Mode, the thousands of clones sent out across the continent and the dejected looks on the faces of his former students were all because of the same thing. They thought him missing. They thought him dead. And he could do nothing but watch them grieve. 

“There was nothing to track,” Sai said, voice even and eyes hard. “I sent out many beasts myself. The Inuzuka sent their dogs."

Kakashi looked on, helpless, as Naruto glanced at Sai. "His pack?”

Sakura shook her head against his shoulder and Naruto keened before biting his lips. Sai leaned against him and wrapped an arm around shaking shoulders. Naruto put a hand on his free wrist in turn, just holding, and Sai relaxed into the hold.

The Chūbu agent gave a shaky exhale. "They joined the Inuzuka teams. They returned a week later. Nothing.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you as soon as you got back, Naruto,” Sakura whispered and she reminded Kakashi of years past when she’d looked at him for reassurance about their team falling apart at the seams. “Since no one can establish what happened, he’s only considered MIA. It’s not been made official yet.”

“It’s alright, Sakura-chan, I get it,” Naruto whispered with a broken voice into her hair. It was quiet enough that Kakashi had to strain his ears to hear it over the thunder and rain. “I don’t know what to… Do people think he left?”

Sakura shook her head again, eyes fierce and snarling, lit up in a flash of lightning. “Sensei would never.”

“But who would want him dead?” Sai asked and Naruto flinched at the word. “And who would manage to do it in less than a minute and leave no tracks or body? It’s Kakashi-sensei.”

“I still don’t know what to make of it,” Sakura said, hunched shoulders held tense in anger or frustration. “It’s Kakashi-sensei. He can’t just be gone.”

Kakashi looked at them, three of his strongest and most capable ninja, who hadn't needed him for years. And he saw how they huddled close together, to shield each other. He tried to speak, to bark to make them see. Anything. He wanted them to know, to understand, to not grieve him. He wasn't dead. Not yet, at least. He still had time.

There was something that felt like death and decay that snared, no, slithered around his throat, clamping down on his windpipe. No sound could escape him. 

You will not speak. A hiss from a clicking throat, through razor teeth. His tongue burned like he’d swallowed glowing coals. 

Kakashi huffed and lied down again, body tense and coiled. How was he meant to tell them?

Sai nodded. “I’ve found that it is harder to accept it without a body. You keep waiting for them to return.”

Sakura laughed and wiped her face. “With an excuse about being late.”

Naruto grinned through his tears and gave a strangled sound, half laughter, half sobbing. "This black cat must have been really big."

Kakashi felt himself relax at their smiles, hesitant and wobbly as they were. The storm outside raged on, but here there was the bittersweet comfort of being home and safe,

"I do not know what happened to Kakashi-sensei, but I wish for him to return," Sai said, looking down at his bare feet. "It seems irrational to simply hope that he returns without any evidence that it will happen. But I wanted him to be there when I reformed the Anbu. He promoted me a few months back and I have been working on it. With Yamato's help. And…"

Naruto nudged him with his elbow. "What is it?"

"I've found myself wanting to paint Ino lately and I think I want to ask her to go to a restaurant together and eat."

"You want to date Ino-pig?" Sakura asked with a pleased smile pulling at her lips as she scrubbed at her eyes.

"I believe so," Sai said. "And Kakashi-sensei said he'd buy me a book for the occasion. If I ever went on a date, I mean. I find that I regret the fact I won't receive that gift."

"Bet it'd be Icha Icha," Naruto said, sounding fond. "He gave me the entire collection for my birthday two years back."

"I remember that," Sakura said and rolled her eyes. "Apparently it's the greatest literary masterpiece since the Classics and perfect for commiserating turning into an adult."

Naruto laughed and muttered about perverted sensei and porn.

Sai nodded once. "It seems likely it'd be erotica, yes. But I have read that gifts are a nice gesture even when they're not a surprise. And the books are most likely well-written given Jiraiya-sama's financial success."

"Oh, they are," Naruto said, idly scratching at his nose when Sakura shifted her head, tickling it with pink strands. "His editor reached out to me about continuing the series. He had an outline, y'know? For Icha Icha Deception. The sequel to Tactics."

Kakashi sat up, ears perked and tail wagging. A new Icha Icha? Written by Naruto? 

Sakura glanced at Kakashi and laughed. "It seems your new friend likes the idea of it. Of course, everyone around me is a huge pervert, including the dog."

Naruto looked up at that and grinned when he saw Kakashi's tail wagging furiously. "You do, huh?"

Kakashi barked once and, as Naruto unwound a bit from his tight curl, he jumped forward and forced himself between the raised knees until he could lick away the remaining tears on whiskered cheeks. Naruto shouldn’t cry, not because of him. 

"I'll take that as a yes, furball," Naruto said and wrapped his arms around Kakashi, burrowing his face in Kakashi’s neck. "I guess I'll try to write something."

"Maybe it'll lure Kakashi-sensei back home," Sai said and petted Kakashi's back. 

"It's worth a shot," Sakura said. "I wanted him to see me reform our hospital to add mental health to it. If porn is the way to get him back, then so be it. He’s got to be there for it, you know?"

Naruto nodded into Kakashi’s fur. “I wanted him to be there when I’m Hokage. He’s supposed to give me the hat. I don’t- I don’t want it from anyone else.”

Kakashi felt his chest ache. Want. He had worried, sometimes quietly in the dark, about if his use had run out now that he was their Hokage rather than their Captain. It seemed like he had nothing to worry about. He closed his eyes, not to hide tears, but to focus on the sounds and smells. Burning the moment into his memory. 

He opened them as inspiration struck. If porn is the way to get him back, then so be it .

Nothing kept him from pulling away from Naruto’s hug and dashing into his living room. You will not speak. You will not write. The spell kept him from communicating, be it by barking in code or trying to scratch into the dirt, but it couldn’t keep it from acting like a dog. And dogs liked to fetch things.

He stopped in front of the bookcase and scanned the shelves. His vision was blurry and no colour looked the same, but the bright orange of Icha Icha Paradise still stood out to his new eyes as a dull gold. Gingerly he got up on his back legs and caught it between his teeth, trying to not leave any marks in its precious cover. 

Then he carried his prize back to Naruto’s bedroom and deposited the book on the mattress so it fell open and then titled his head down as if reading. 

He looked up at his speechless former students and closed his eyes in a canine grin. It was rare that he managed to surprise them these days.

“It can’t be-” Sakura said.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto murmured.

Kakashi wagged his tail and walked forward to place a paw on top of Naruto’s head, patting the golden locks awkwardly. 

Naruto smiled widely at the gesture and leaned into the touch.

“It would explain why he’s the same grey colour and has the scar,” Sai said. “And why he’d react so strongly to Icha Icha.”

Sakura’s eyes widened. “But you can’t sense any chakra in him, right?”

Naruto shook his head. “No more than what a normal dog has. But he’s been weirdly smart. He’s not really tried to, y’know, communicate, but that could be a seal, right?”

“Like the one Danzo put on ROOT agents,” Sai said. “Yes, it is possible.”

“We’re all thinking this is Kakashi-sensei as a dog then?” Sakura asked, grinning and looking as if she couldn't believe it until she heard herself say it. “I have never read of a seal that could do anything like it, but it doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Do you think a Yamanaka would be able to discover his mind somewhere in there?”

“It’s worth testing, Sakura-chan,” Naruto said. “Want to ask Ino about it?”

“Yeah, I’ll ask her first thing in the morning,” she replied, rolling out of bed after patting Naruto’s shoulder. “For now I want to go to the library and see if I can find anything on possible seals.”

“I’d like to come with you,” Sai said, getting up from the bed in one smooth movement and walking to the door. “It seems like it might take a while. I am glad you are well, Kakashi-sensei. These last two weeks were not pleasant. Get some rest, alright?”

Kakashi barked and walked over to the man to nudge at his arm with his nose. He smiled up at Sai and nodded.

Naruto got up as well and swayed with flickering eyes as more clones dispelled. “I can come with you.”

Sakura laughed and shook her head. “You’ve had over a thousand clones running around the continent, Naruto. Your brain will probably fry if you attempt serious research when all of their information comes back to you. Rest after your mission, keep Sensei company and we’ll talk tomorrow. It’s getting late.”

Naruto sat back on the bed with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, but tell me if you find anything?”

“Of course, you’ll know as soon as we learn something,” she replied as she got up and patted Kakashi’s back. “And sensei, you’ll look after Naruto for me, right? Make sure he sleeps.”

Kakashi barked and walked over to Naruto, sitting down next to him on the bed.

Sakura smiled and Kakashi smelled salt again. “It’s good to have you back, sensei.”

He smiled at his former student and lifted a paw to wave back at her as she left. Then he glanced over at Naruto and saw how he sat, still looking tense. Kakashi huffed and considered his options. Hundreds of clones dispelling at once would probably exhaust Naruto if they’d run across the continent, actively scanning for all nearby chakra signatures. It’d be billions upon billions of sources of energy: ninja, civilian, animal and plant alike. Well, if Naruto had to sort through them all. He didn’t know if Naruto could control what he noticed in his many chakra forms, but he knew it was within his abilities to listen to it all.

With this in mind, he took hold of Naruto’s t-shirt between his teeth and dragged him down, dodging the flailing limbs. 

“Whoa!” Naruto huffed out a laugh and rubbed at his eyes as he landed with a bounce on the mattress. “Alright, alright, I’ll dispel all of them and take a nap!”

Kakashi settled down with his head on one of the pillows and kept an eye open until he caught a head of spiky hair landing on the pillow next to him. Pleased, he yawned and closed his eyes. 

A few seconds later he heard Naruto groan and shift around until he was under the comforter.

"You want a blanket, or are you good with all that fur?” Naruto murmured, sounding half asleep already. “I could grab the one on the sofa.”

Kakashi opened his eyes and looked over at his companion. While he couldn't see their true colours, he could tell that Naruto's eyes were still not as open and bright as normal. Something was weighing on the other’s mind, and Naruto had always responded the best whenever Kakashi made himself more approachable, more open. It made sense, of course, that Naruto responded so honestly and beautifully when he felt welcomed. 

With this in mind, he got up, nudged Icha Icha to a safe spot at the head of the bed and then burrowed under the blankets, head first and wagging tail that shifted the blanket back and forth. As Naruto laughed at the undignified display, Kakashi twisted around before lying down on his side and popping his head on the pillow again, surrounded by the smell of warmth and comfort. 

"You do tend to be cold, sensei," Naruto said with a fond smile. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he ran cold compared to a normal ninja, it was that Naruto burned as brightly as a small sun. His teammates had learned, long ago, that if you ever went on a mission with Naruto during the winter, sharing a bedroll with the loudmouth was the best way to stay warm. As long as you didn’t mind waking up to a sleeping Naruto wrapped around you like an octopus.  

“Of course you never freeze, sensei,” Naruto mumbled through a yawn. “That’s why you wear three layers.”

Kakashi huffed. Three layers for protection. Not all ninjas healed quickly enough that the light mesh armour was more for decoration than function. Kakashi liked his reinforced flak vest, thank you very much.

“Or why you always order more tea in the fall and winter," Naruto continued as if most people didn't enjoy hot drinks when it was colder. He might not be a walking icicle, but he could get cold and sick. In comparison, Naruto had stopped paying attention to anything but the most extreme of temperatures ever since he and Kurama worked together and he could unconsciously regulate his body temperature with chakra. 

Kakashi growled as a reply and smiled when it made Naruto chuckle. "Alright, I'll stop."

A hand reached out and landed on Kakashi's front leg, making Kakashi open his eyes and look over at Naruto’s face, it was achingly open as he smiled. “I’m glad you’re back home, sensei, but I want you back , y’know?”

The voice was shaky and so different from his usual boisterous confidence. Kakashi frowned and moved closer. Naruto breathed out sensei in a shuddering exhale and pressed his forehead to Kakashi’s. Kakashi whined and pressed back because he missed being human. He was missing the ability to talk, to express himself. And it was frustrating to be this close to Naruto and causing him pain. He had done his best through the years to not hurt him, and now he was anyway and it made his chest ache.

“It’s stupid ‘cause I know you're here, but I still miss you,” Naruto murmured, making Kakashi’s heart skip a beat. “Your voice. Even seeing you read that stupid porn.” 

Kakashi smelled tears again and he huffed, scrabbling with clumsy paws against Naruto’s chest and cursed them for not being hands. He wanted to reach out and touch, to comfort, but he couldn’t. The best he could do was to nudge his nose up to brush against Naruto’s.

“We need our Hokage. I just-,” Naruto stopped himself and leaned back, worrying his lips with sharp teeth.

Kakashi raised his brows, wondering briefly how it looked, and a hand landed on Kakashi’s neck, stroking the fur with a barely-there touch. 

“Please, Kakashi-sensei,” he said, and kissed Kakashi’s nose. “Would you come back? For me?"

Your true love must kiss you. 

A tingling sensation, like light twirling around dancing furniture, rushed through him and the world twisted and his bones screamed. A horrible cry burst out of him at the sensation, and then his spine cracked and changed. 

Kakashi bit down on the pillow underneath him to keep himself from screaming and reached for the stone on the night table. Desperate for the soothing sensation it’d given before.

He was aware, as if through a thick fog, that Naruto moved away with a startled shout and then he felt an icy cold sensation chase off the pain and he could breathe. A rock was pressed to his skin and it dulled everything. The pain and his thoughts danced away and there was a sense of smoke and fire.

Then he knew nothing but soothing darkness and a soft, soft voice.

Seconds, minutes or hours passed. Kakashi didn’t know. 

The fog lifted and he could think again. His thoughts cleared, his body didn’t scream at him in confusion and his limbs hurt but when he tried to wiggle his toes, they moved.

Kakashi could hear again and the storm had calmed into a gentler pitter-patter of rain across the rooftop. How long had he been out?

A shiver ran down his spine as his skin complained about it being cold where the soft blanket didn’t cover him.

He unclenched his jaw and breathed out into the pillow he’d had clamped his teeth around, reached up a hand with five fingers and smooth, if scarred, skin and rubbed at his throat. 

“Sensei?” Naruto’s voice was quiet but happy. “Are you alright?”

He couldn’t muster the energy to lift his head enough to reply and just groaned into the pillow instead, burrowing further into the welcoming softness. It was heavenly against his cheeks and smelled like a heady mix of himself and Naruto. 

There was the tell-tale sound of clones popping into existence.  

“Go to Sakura-chan and Sai and let them know that sensei is back and that I’ll take him to the hospital if needed, but that it looks like he just needs to sleep,” Naruto said, and Kakashi had never appreciated Naruto’s aversion to hospitals more than in that moment. “And you, go and fetch some water.”

There was a chorus of “Yes, boss!” before Kakashi felt the mattress dip to his right. Then he hummed in appreciation as the blanket was drawn up to cover his naked back and shoulders.

“You want me to get you some clothes, Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi turned his face to the left with a groan. It was still mushed into the pillow, but now Naruto would probably hear what he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he managed to say in a scratchy whisper. “Everything hurts. I’m not moving unless I have to.”

“Alright,” Naruto said and then there was a hand on his head and chakra rushed through him, merging with his own and making his body sing again. He moaned in relief as his limbs felt less leaden and his head clearer. “You were pretty much out of chakra, sensei. What happened to you?”

“Long, strange story,” Kakashi answered, blinking his eyes open slowly. “I’ll tell all of you later. When I feel more human."

“Alright, sensei,” Naruto said and it sounded like he was trying not to laugh. The hand on his head started to move away and maybe it was because he’d been a dog, but he could not stop the protesting whine. Naruto chuckled and the hand returned, gently stroking over his hair.

Kakashi smiled, boneless from the relief as the last, lingering pain started to fade away. His head was now heavy and cloudy rather than painful. He closed his eyes again and hummed in contentment as the clever fingers combed through his hair and started rubbing against his scalp.

"Here you go, boss," Naruto's voice said from far away as a clone returned, presumably with water. 

“Put it on the nightstand for now and then dispel,” Naruto said as his other hand started digging into the muscles at the base of Kakashi’s neck. “Wow, you're tense. Must have felt odd running around on all fours, huh?"

"A bit, yes," he said and folded his arms under him to get up on his hands and knees and arched his back, before rolling down towards his feet in a glorious stretch that made his spine pop. He groaned in satisfaction as he straightened out again. 

There was a choked noise from his right. Then the sound of a body sliding on sheets and Naruto's scent moved away.

Intrigued, he grabbed Icha Icha Paradise and used it to shield his face as he flipped around in one motion to end up sitting with the lovely pillow at his back. There was no need for the book because Naruto sat on the edge of the mattress with his back turned to Kakashi. Kakashi frowned and dropped the book to reach for Naruto. The sheet slid down his chest to puddle around his hips and he thought mournfully about the comfortable warmth. Though the way Naruto was refusing to look at him was more important. The younger man had blushed at the sound of sliding sheets and was now pulling his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, looking down at the floor.

A familiar scent permeated the air and Kakashi froze. He sniffed the air, for once glad that his mask wasn’t there to impede his sense of smell. Because that was Naruto’s scent, clearer than normal because of increased body temperature, but the most important part was that it was intermingled with the tell-tale scent of arousal. Kakashi took another deep breath in through his nose just to be sure and yes, all the pheromones in the air told him the same thing. 

Kakashi looked over at Naruto, who smelled warm and inviting and a bit like Kakashi, and saw a glimpse of a flushed, whiskered cheek. It shattered him, made his instincts call out to wrap himself around the man and refuse to let go. But arousal did not mean love and he had to know if it meant something more. He would be a liar if he said he'd never dreamed of the possibility. His mind wasn't kind enough not to tempt him with impossible, wonderful things. Of course, he'd woken up with Naruto's name on his lips, stroked himself to completion with flashes of blue eyes and a soft smile on his mind. But for all his genius, he'd never imagined that Naruto would feel even a hint of attraction towards him, Hatake Kakashi, his past sensei and a man. And the idea that Naruto might love him back? A nice fantasy to indulge in on cold nights.

"Naruto?" He said in a soft, cracked whisper. It must be real because he'd never imagined himself naked, tired and in pain next to an embarrassed Naruto. Normally, the blond was stretched out beneath him or looming over him. Kakashi wasn't picky. Not if it was Naruto.  

The man jumped up from the bed and reached for the glass on the nightstand. Then he turned around, eyes tightly shut in a wide grin, and held out the glass. "Here, have some water, sensei! I better get going to tell Sakura-chan you're alright."

It was a lie and they both knew it. He’d sent a clone already. Kakashi leaned forward and grasped Naruto’s wrist in one hand and downed the water as quickly as he could. 

“Stay,” he said, and his voice was deeper than normal, causing Naruto’s pulse to beat faster underneath his fingers. “I think we need to talk.”

“Sensei, you know already, I know you do. I know how good your sense of smell is,” Naruto said, pulling at his arm but Kakashi reinforced the grip with chakra because if Naruto left now he’d be perfectly happy to avoid Kakashi besides for mission assignment. And while Kakashi was an excellent tracker, Naruto was an unsurpassed sensor and would be able to run away whenever he got close. He didn’t want Naruto to run away from him. 

“Naruto,” he said, holding him still but not tugging him closer. “Please.”

“Don’t. I-” Naruto cut off and rubbed his right hand over his eyes. “It’s just, it’s you, and you’re naked in my bed and I thought you were gone. And I didn’t mean to, it’ll mess things up and you’re the Hokage and I can get over it, give me some time, y’know?”

His heart skipped a beat and then he smiled because maybe he could get the happy ending that young Buttercup had talked about. “Maa, it seems like a mess I want to deal with.”

That made Naruto turn around and look at him with blue eyes blown wide. Kakashi just smiled wider at the way Naruto stared at his face, seemingly out of words for once. This time he tugged gently on the slack wrist in his grasp and Naruto stumbled closer until his knees knocked against the edge of the bed. 

Kakashi grabbed a pillow with his free hand and placed it right next to his own with a meaningful glance at Naruto. The transfixed look didn’t leave so he smirked and patted the bed next to him. 

“Come and sit with me, Naruto,” he said and smiled up at the man he loved, heart feeling lighter than it had in years. “We definitely need to talk.”

A tentative smile broke out on Naruto’s face and it was beautiful and soft and so unlike the defiant grin he wore in battle. This was something else, something private.

“So you don’t… eh… mind?” Naruto asked as he sat down next to Kakashi, uncharacteristically mindful of not brushing against him. The blond normally had a very loose definition of things like personal space.

“Not at all,” Kakashi replied and it was a miracle that he managed to speak at all with his heart thudding in his throat. “Far from it.”

It was still cold in the room and Naruto was right there, warm and smelling amazing, so Kakashi wrapped an arm around warm shoulders and pulled him closer, rubbing his nose against the fluttering pulse in Naruto’s neck. He moved his free hand to Naruto’s cheek and tried to nudge those tempting lips closer so he could kiss them. The man in his arms didn’t move closer or say anything. Kakashi frowned when he realised that the body next to his was still tense as if ready to move away at any second. 

That would not do.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and dragged his lips up the soft skin of Naruto’s throat and chin until he could press a kiss to a whiskered cheek. It grew warm under his touch and he couldn’t resist but bite into it. Softly, of course, but the temptation had been there for a long time now whenever Naruto would smile at him. 

It seemed to have reassured Naruto though because the tense line of his shoulders relaxed and he caught a glimpse of blue as Naruto looked at him. 

“Eh, Kakashi-sensei, I-” Naruto broke off with a gasp as Kakashi shook his head, rubbing his nose against Naruto’s cheek because he didn’t want to move away. Not when he tasted like sunshine and joy and other nonsensical things that Kakashi had imagined because he’d been wanting to taste his skin for years now.

“Call me Kakashi, Naruto,” he said through lips that wouldn’t stop smiling. “I think we’re past the sensei stage, no? As you said, I’m naked in your bed.” 

Blue eyes narrowed and Naruto huffed in annoyance. “Kakashi, I don’t know- what is this?”

Kakashi pulled away and tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I’d like something more, Kakashi,” Naruto whispered with a frown. “I don’t know what you… What do you want from this? From me?”

He reached out and stroked Naruto’s chin and nudged gently to make him look at him. Blue eyes burned into his very soul and he could say nothing but the absolute truth.

“Everything,” he said, stroking his thumb back and forth across Naruto’s cheek. “But I’d be content with whatever you want to give me.” 

Naruto reached up and covered Kakashi’s hand with his left one. “Everything?”

Kakashi nodded and entwined Naruto’s fingers with his to pull it away from Naruto’s cheek so he could press a kiss to the back of it. “Everything and anything. I love you, Naruto. Have for a long time.”

The smile that broke out on Naruto’s face took his breath away. How fortunate it was that he didn’t need to breathe to lean closer and brush his lips against those tempting red-bitten ones. Naruto gasped against his lips and the sound sent a tremor through him, making him press closer. Soft lips gave in to him, but he felt like the one yielding as Naruto clumsily tried to copy his movements. It didn’t take long until Naruto pressed back and caught his lips between sharp teeth. Then Naruto smiled against him and he keened and licked the smile as if he could taste it.

As he moved away, Naruto’s other hand moved into his hair to pull him back. Eager as always and Kakashi was happy to indulge him.

“Kakashi?” Naruto murmured against his lips.

Kakashi opened his eyes and pulled away with a final, lingering kiss. “Yes?”

Those blue eyes were darker than normal, with pupils blown wide and Kakashi had to take a steadying breath at the sight. 

The hand in his hair relaxed and started petting, rather than pulling him closer. Confident that Kakashi wasn’t moving away any time soon. 

“I love you too,” Naruto said and pulled Kakashi down so he could kiss his forehead, seemingly unaware of how Kakashi's soul sang. “And I’d love to carry on, but I’m tired and you need to rest too.”

The other man pulled away and Kakashi whined as Naruto got up from the bed. “I’m cold.”

“Not my fault, you didn’t want me to get your clothes.”

Rather than answering that, Kakashi slid down on the bed until he was lying down on his side and lifted the corner of the blanket as he tried his best to hide a smirk. He wasn’t sure he managed, but since Naruto focused on his body rather than his face, he thought it didn’t matter that much.

“Why would I want clothes when you can warm me up?”

Naruto snorted. “Pervert.”

Kakashi said nothing since Naruto slipped into the bed and lied down next to him. Instead, he reached out and pulled the man closer and then rolled onto his back, sighing happily when Naruto nuzzled into his neck.

“Your pervert,” he corrected with his best patient sensei voice. He had used it many times in the past whenever he had to explain something that Naruto should already have known.

A bandaged hand wrapped around his chest as Naruto cuddled closer.

“Alright then, my pervert,” he said, lips brushing against Kakashi’s skin. “Tell me a story then, so I fall asleep.”

Kakashi glanced over at the small, white rock on the nightstand and smiled.

“Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, lived a beautiful young princess by the name of Buttercup…”