Naruto unwillingly woke up earlier than he wanted to and dragged himself out of bed. He got a quick breakfast of cereal, even though he was very tempted to get some ramen. He got dressed and headed out to the training grounds, wondering if Kakashi would be there. And if he wasn't... should he tell Sasuke and Sakura that he was back? Or should he just wait for them to find out on their own?... Waiting seemed to be the best bet, so he started training first chance he got. But his mind wasn't completely in it, so by the time Sasuke and Sakura arrived, he was ready to leave. Sakura, of course, didn't mind that he wanted to leave. It just left more time for her to be alone with Sasuke. Sasuke didn't care either way, even though he really didn't want to be left alone with Sakura. Naruto walked aimlessly through Konoha until he ended up in front of Kakashi's house. He sighed and went up to knock on the door. He figured it might help ease his thoughts if he at least talked to his sensei about what happened.

Kakashi heard a knock on the door. He jumped out of the shower he had just steped into and skidded across the floor drying himself and pulling on his clothes on at the same time. "Just a minute!" he yelled. He oped the door and turned slightly green. It was Naruto. He felt sick. "o hey, come on in." he said this halfheartedly.

Naruto hesitated. Was he doing the right thing? He didn't want to go into Kakashi's house in case things got awkward again. So he shook his head lightly. "... Can we talk out here instead?" he asked. He knew he'd feel more comfortable if they did.

Kakashi nodded. "Sure." he gulped. "So what do you want to talk about." he already knew but still asked. He really felt sick. He wanted to go back in and hide. But he was a man not a little girl so he stood ready to listen.

Naruto was silent for a second, thinking over how he should word what he was going to say. "Yesterday.... " he started. He took a deep breath to calm his sudden nerves and he forced his gaze to stay on Kakashi's face. "..... Did you mean what you said? About loving me?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes" he said looking at Naruto slightly confused. He had expected Naruto had come here to scold him but instead was being ask this question.

Confusion crossed Naruto's face for a moment. "Why? I haven't done anything to earn those type of feelings from you." he said. He didn't understand how Kakashi could love him.

Kakashi looked at him for a second. "Naruto your sweet, loyal, and have a great personality. you have 'earned' my love and my respect. You've become a greater man than I could ever hope to be."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not a great man. You say all these things, but I know it can't be true. I get on people's nerves all the time, even when I'm not trying to and nobody could stand being around me."

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "you're not annoying and I love to be around you." he didn't understand why Naruto felt this way. He had a feeling Naruto's past had a lot to do with his emotions. "and Naruto...I don't lie to you."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds, thinking. Could he really believe what Kakashi was telling him? He knew that he really wanted to believe him, but there was a part of his mind that was telling him that it wasn't true. "... How do I know you're not lying to me right now?"

He grabbed Naruto and pulled him close. He hugged him tightly. "How can I prove my love to you? Please tell me." he was still holding Naruto. He didn't want to let him go for fear he might run off again. "Please, Naruto believe me I love you more than anything in the world. I would give everything I have and even my life for you."

Naruto was surprised when Kakashi had pulled him into a hug. But he wasn't complaining. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around his sensei to return the hug. "I don't want you to give your life for me." he said, thinking that sounded stupid. He really wasn't worth it. ".. And I don't know how you can prove your feelings. This is the first time someone has told me that they loved me."

Kakashi smiled and lifted Naruto's chin "you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. Your delicate, yet strong." he ran him fingers through Naruto's hair. "I don't know how, but I'll prove to that I love you." he kissed Naruto's forehead softly. "Now come in." he pointed towards the house. "We wouldn't want anyone eavesdropping."

A faint blush spread across Naruto's face when he heard what Kakashi said. A small frowned formed for half-a-second at the delicate comment, but he decided not to say anything. He nodded and took a deep breath before stepping into Kakashi's house.

Kakashi offered Naruto a seat and some tea. "Now we can talk about what ever you'd like" he smiled and sat there just looking at Naruto waiting for him to speak.

Naruto accepted the tea quietly and took a drink. He was silent for a few seconds before looking over at Kakashi. "So.... when are you going to tell Sasuke and Sakura that you're back?"

He shrugged. "Sometime today." he said not really worried about that right now. He was busy staring at Naruto. Studying his perfect face. His eyes were half closed at he was dazed.

Naruto started to feel self-conscious with Kakashi staring at him like that. He pushed the feeling aside though, hoping it would pass quickly. "That's good.. Sakura has been saying how much she was worried about you."

"um..hmmm.." Kakashi said still dazed not really paying attention to what Naruto was saying, but instead watching his lips move.

Naruto grew quiet again, watching Kakashi curiously. ".. Sensei... Are you listening to me?" he asked, waving his hand in front of Kakashi's face to get his attention.

Kakashi looked up at Naruto and blushed. "o..sorry I was thinking..but I did hear what you said.You said that Sakura was worried right? What about Sasuke? How's he been lately?" he asked hoping the other sharigan user had behaved in his absence. He kind of wanted to shift the conversation. "So what did YOU do when I was gone?" he asked not wondering about the others. They were important, just not AS important.

Naruto thought for a moment. "Sasuke's been.... Well.... Sasuke. Nothing's changed with him." he said, shrugging lightly. His thoughts drifted over to what he's been doing. "I've been training mostly. Lots and lots of training." he said. Anything to get stronger. Sometimes he would go well into the night and fall asleep at the training grounds and only woke up when Sakura dumped cold water on his head.

Kakashi nodded. "Why do you train so hard?" he asked and tenderly touched Naruto's cheek. "your already so strong. So enough you'll be stronger than me." he smiled knowing trust what he said was truth.

Naruto shook his head. He didn't think he'd ever be stronger than Kakashi, no matter how much he trained. "I have to train hard everyday. My goal is to become the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen!"