A ninja must see underneath the underneath

Chapter 2 - Ichiraku Ramen and a special new mission

During his stay in the hospital, Naruto had many visitors.
Kiba and his dog Akamaru came by to cheer him up. After that Shikamaru visited him to play a game. Naruto never really enjoyed the strategic Shogi game that Shikamaru was very skilled at. So that's why his friend brought a card game instead. Sakura visited him as well, though she mostly kept quiet. It was clear that Sasuke's betrayal had been quite a shock for the pink-haired girl. Naruto's godfather Jiraiya had visited him as well. He couldn't stay long though, but he gave Naruto a black T-shirt with a big orange frog on the front. The legendary toad sage had found the T-shirt in The Land Of Fire while traveling to find inspiration for his Icha-Icha novels. Naruto loved it from the second he laid eyes upon it. Pervy-sage was the best.

In the evening (after visiting hours of course), his sensei found his way back to Naruto's room through the hospital window.

"Aah, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto was excited to see his teacher. "You came back!"

"I said I would now didn't I Naruto?"

"Hai-Hai, so what's in the bag sensei?" Naruto asked as his eyes spotted the white plastic bag. "Is that..." Naruto pointed his nose in the air and sniffed. "...ICHIRAKU RAMEN!?" Naruto cried out.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei, thank you thank you. You are the best!"

So much praise made said sensei blush. Luckily his mask made it less obvious. Not that Naruto would have noticed otherwise, his attention being focused solely on the bag of food in Kakashi's hand.

"I thought you might like my little present," Kakashi said dryly. "Leave some for me though, I haven't eaten yet, the meeting took longer than expected.

Naruto handed his teacher a container of ramen and turned around on his hospital bed. The two ninjas had an unspoken agreement to each eat in a different direction. Naruto knew this made eating a meal a lot more comfortable for his sensei, who otherwise wouldn't pull down his mask. Kakashi never asked to do so, and Naruto never offered. Some things didn't need to be said.

Kakashi sat down on the bed as well. Naruto lazily let himself hang back so he could find some support against Kakashi's taller back. They made a habit out of eating like this when it was just the two of them.

"What was the meeting about Kakashi-sensei? Are they sending you on another mission?"

"Sort of, yes," Kakashi replied.

"Let me guess, you can't tell me about it?"

"Well, actually Naruto, I can this time."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "Wheally Sensei? Whaf if it abouth? Fhell me!" Naruto said with a mouth filled with ramen noodles.

Kakashi let out a deep sigh and rolled his visible eye. "At least try to eat properly Naruto, otherwise I won't tell you" Kakashi bargained.

"Fine, fine, so tell me already."

"As you know by now, Sasuke and Orochimaru are not our only concern. Akatsuki is still on the loose and we have received intel that they have captured and killed several junchūrikis. We do not know yet how many members they have, but we do know that they recruit members based on incredible skill and strength. All the Akatsuki members that have been encountered showed amazing battle skills combined with powerful jutsu's. Some members also wield rare kekkei genkai techniques. As the situation is now, Konoha's defenses are not strong enough to fend off a full on Akatsuki attack. We know they are after you Naruto, and sooner or later, you will have to face them. Therefore two things are important now. One, the protection of Konoha and its people, and two, your safety."

Naruto liked it when his sensei talked during their meals. He could feel the older shinobi's deep voice without the muffled sound of the mask he otherwise always wore. And he loved feeling the vibrations his voice made while leaning against Kakashi's back. It made it easy for him to listen more intently to what his sensei was saying. Even the package of ramen sitting in his lap was momentarily forgotten.