Nightmares - Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 32: Homecoming

Naruto awoke to the muted sounds of familiar voices.

"And you really think he's ready?" The deeper one said with skepticism and careful hope.

"I really do. There's nothing keeping him from eating and functioning at this point. As long as he stays on a rigid medication schedule and has someone assisting him, he can leave whenever he's comfortable." The slightly more feminine voice replied.

"What about..." the other voice, which he now recognized as his sensei's, trailed off.

"I know that it's hard to see his chakra system so off balance, but Jiraiya and I are working on finding out how to reverse what those bastards did. The old perv is still trying to understand the extent of the seal, but he has made a decent amount of progress. Until the seal is reversed, there's not much we can do except giving him a little boost of chakra every once in a while." Tsunade paused realizing the implications of her last statement. "But that doesn't mean that you need to go out and give him all of yours, we all know your reserves aren't ideal for that kind of exertion." 

Kakashi sighed, knowing that what she said was true. Instead of replying, he diverted his attention to Naruto, who was beginning to stir. Before he could say anything, the boy in question yawned and began his morning greetings. 

"Good morning sensei, good morning grandma" Tsunade twitched but chose to ignore his attempts at starting conflict this early in the morning. She had more important things to fight the blond over. 

"Naruto, how would you feel about a little challenge?" the older woman said with a slight smirk.

"Huh? A challenge? What do you got granny?" Naruto replied, suddenly more awake. 

Tsunade took it upon herself to reveal a small bowl and a spoon. "If you can finish this entire bowl of oatmeal and keep it down, then I'll discharge you from the hospital today."

Naruto weighed her words and then suddenly sat up as straight as he could, ready for the challenge. "That's all!? You better say your goodbye's now, because I'm not coming back here for a LONG time!" Naruto proclaimed with glee. 

Kakashi internally hummed. Something wasn't right here. The old Naruto would have loved getting out of the hospital as fast as possible, but he knew that ever since the incident, Naruto had seen the hospital as a place of comfort. There were always people here for him, and it was heavily protected in case anything went wrong. It took a lot of convincing for Naruto to leave the hospital for the first time just a few mere weeks ago, so it didn't seem right that he was so desperate to leave it entirely. Kakashi would have to keep an eye on this situation. 

Tsunade sighed once more, not used to the loud tone Naruto had suddenly decided to readopt, and set the bowl in his lap. Before she even had the chance to, Naruto reached out and grabbed the spoon. But before he jeopordized his chances of leaving, Kakashi stepped in. 

"Remember Naruto, you need to actually keep the food down this time, so please, eat slowly" Kakashi said while smiling at him with his eye. Naruto make a 'hmph' sound, but did not object and instead decided to carefully make his way through the bowl of oats. 

The tired jounin took a deep breathe and pulled out his novel while Tsunade began administering his morning rounds of medicine. Although Naruto hadn't had any problems that night, he had still had trouble sleeping after what Tsunade had said to him. He recounted her words. 

"Are you sure that you're ready to do this? Adoption is a big step, and it won't be easy to manage this" the woman said while eyeing Kakashi. 

"I am sure, Tsunade-san, this is something I owe to Minato and Kushina" he said the last part quietly, as if to himself. 

"Kakashi, let me be honest with you. If you cared about Naruto so much, you would have adopted him the second you left ANBU, so I don't understand why now, of all times, you decide to take it upon yourself to act like his hero. This isn't the first time he's suffered, you know"

Kakashi thought for a long moment. Although the Hokage, the one who was absent from the village for Naruto's entire upbringing, wasn't one to talk, she did have a point. 

"I.." Kakashi paused, obviously troubled by his thoughts. "I guess I figured that it was better to never know the kid. You can't mourn the loss of someone you never knew enough to love." He paused again, inhaling slowly. "I didn't want to care for anyone after Minato-sensei, and I can't take away that time, but I want to be here now" he finished, much more confident than the start of his ramble. 

"Damn, brat, I didn't know you had any emotions in here" she sighed, knowing that she had grown far too protective of the boy. "I trust you" she said, and Kakashi knew the implications of her statement. It wasn't just that she trusted his reasoning, it was that she trusted him with Naruto. He looked up upon hearing the familiar sound of papers hitting the Hokage's desk, and smiled fondly when Tsunade handed him a pen. 

Kakashi was pulled back to reality by a loud clang. "I win, Granny!" Naruto screamed as his spoon rattled in the bowl. 

"Well, I guess you did" she said with a smug smile graced upon her face. "Now Naruto, before you leave, there is something that we need to talk about" she felt Kakashi tense up, though he would never admit it. 

"Huh, what's going on old lady?" Naruto said while squinting his eyes. 

"As you may understand, there are a few responsibilities that you may find difficult doing on your own, so as your superior I have granted Kakashi permission to take care of you" Tsunade figured that if she told him as a statement, rather than a choice, he would be more likely to conform to the arrangement. 

"Ew ew ewwwww!! You're making me live with this sneaky pervert!? No way! How long am I stuck with him!?" Naruto frantically sputtered out. 

"Calm down, Naruto, Kakashi isn't that much of a pervert, at least you're not staying with Jiraiya anymore. As for the length of time, well, Kakashi has decided to adopt you" Tsunade said in a firm yet gentle tone, understanding that this was a very fragile situation. 

"You mean..I'm stuck with this freak FOREVER!?" Naruto was sitting straight up in his bed at this point. 

"Mah, just as long as you want to, my precious little genin" Kakashi said in a casual tone and reached forward to ruffle his student's hair. 

"Ugh, well, it is better than this dumb hospital I guess" Naruto mumbled while folding his arms over his chest. 

"Excellent, then as soon you and Kakashi are ready, we can see you out" Tsunade said before jolting down a few notes on a clipboard and then leaving the room. 

"Kakashi?" Naruto asked after a few minutes, looking down at his legs. 

"Yes, Naruto?" his sensei answered cooly. 

"I was wondering...if it would be okay if we stop by my apartment before leaving? I have a few things that I wanted to pick up" Naruto replied, obviously nervous after asking for the favor. 

"Of course, Naruto, if you're up to it, you can brush your teeth and then we can head over there now" Kakashi replied, eyeing Naruto to ensure that his anxieties were quelled. 

Naruto smiled. "I'd like that" he said while reaching for his toothbrush off the nightstand. 

Author's Note:

I hope that everyone had a good day today, and if not, I hope that I was able to make it a tiny bit better with this chapter : )

I would love to get some feedback! I've started replying to all my comments sooo... lay it on me!

I also have a small announcement...I have begun rewriting this story! The first chapter has already been spruced up a little bit, and I might continue slowly working through the story to improve grammar, flow, and consistency in the plot. I hope you all enjoy!