(Discontinued until further notice) Naruto: The Truth Beneath the Surface

Chapter 13: Gone Too Soon

A/N: I just want to say that this story has officially surpassed the Gods Among Us!!!

-- A.D.

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"Ugh..." Kakashi groaned, turning his head slightly before squinting his eye open. He was in a small bedroom, one with a simple nightstand. "Where...?"

"I see you're up, Ninja-san," A voice said by near him. A woman with long brown hair and a kind smile stood a few feet away from him, cutting apple slices. "My name is Tsunami. I'm the daughter of Tazuna. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too. My name's Kakashi," The Hatake looked around, looking for his team.

"They're downstairs," A different voice joined in the conversation and Kakashi turned to see Yuki leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed. "We're about to eat. Tsunami-san went through all of the trouble to prepare us a wonderful meal so get your lazy ass up."

Tsunami blushed slightly, waving her hand at the man, "Oh, it was no trouble at all, Yuki-san. I can bring the food up to Kakashi-san."

"No, it's alright," The raven-blonde pointed to some crutches leaning next to the nightstand. "He can use those."

Kakashi sighed silently, sitting up, "He's right. I'll be done in a minute."

Yuki studied him for a minute, eyes softening when Tsunami left, "Do you need help?"

"Please," Was all Kakashi said.

Walking forward, Yuki grabbed Kakashi's hand in a gentle grip, easing the man to his feet, "There we go. You got it. You'll be up and about without these crutches in a week max." The ninja handed his partner the crutches, watching him with a careful eye before nodding, as if satisfied with his own thoughts.

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"It's very delicious, Tsunami-san," Yuki said softly, taking a bite of his food. "This is the first home cooked meal I had before," He allowed a small smile to grace his face as he ate more.

Tsunami blushed a bit at the unexpected praise from her guest, even more when the rest of Team Seven joined in, "I'm glad you enjoy it, Yuki-san."

"Why do you try so hard?" Inari, Tsunami's son, demanded, standing from the table. "You're all going to die! You can't win against Gato!"

"Kid, shut up. We're here to help you and all you can do is whine about dying. That's not a good way to boost moral, you brat," Yuki nearly growled, staring down Inari.

"Inari, stop it. They are here to help," Tsunami said soothingly.

"Help? How can they help? Look at them sitting there laughing! They don't know anything about our pain!" Inari shouted, pointing at them.

Yuki's eyes widened a fraction and he bit his lip as something inside him snapped.

"How is my little disciple? My, you sure have grown."

"Senseiiii, I'm not little anymore! I'm older now! Look, I even managed to master the jutsu!"

"You may be older but you still whine like a five year old. Still, I am proud of you, my little Yu-chan."

Yuki gasped suddenly and felt bile rise up. He covered his mouth, muttering a quick apology, before rushing out of the house, holding back his tears. He didn't care where he was running, he knew that he just needed to get out of there. Stopping in a small clearing, Yuki fell to his knees in front of a tree, releasing what little food he had in his stomach, dry heaving harshly when there was nothing left. He didn't care about the tears that streamed down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut, hugging his stomach as he mumbled over and over, "Sensei... Sensei..."