Disclaimer: Naruto, his friends and the universe he lives in don't belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto. I write solely for my own pleasure and don't make any money with this story.

Finally Naruto made up his mind to go to Kakashi and talk to him. He found him in his room, lying on his bed, reading one of Jiraya's erotic romances.

„What's the matter?“ he asked when Naruto entered.

Naruto stared at Kakashi and his book and forgot his original purpose. „Would you lend me one of your Icha-Icha-books?“ he asked instead.

„I thought you did not like them.“

„I have tried the third volume when I was thirteen. I did not like it then, but maybe I was indeed a bit too young. I would like to give it another try.“

„Ah, the third volume. That would be the one where in the second chapter the hero's love interest gets licked off by the villain and enjoys it immensely. It was quite graphic, as I remember.“

Naruto remembered himself: the scene had made him put down the book in horror and disgust.

„I think I have the first volume with me somewhere.“

Kakashi stood up to rummage in his backpack for it. Naruto watched him.

„Why do you love these books so much?“ he asked. „Is it only for the sex?“

Kakashi stopped in his search. He was struggling for words, and Naruto realized that he had managed to embarrass his sensei. He wondered why – after all, Kakashi had never had any issues about reading this book in public, shocking both his students and his fellow teachers. Actually talking about his fascination seemed more difficult.

„Well, I admit that I enjoy the graphic scenes“, he finally said. „But that's not the main point. There are other writers who get them better than Jiraya does.“

„I can imagine“, Naruto replied. „The way he is sneaking on naked women, and how he gets upset every time I use my sexy no jutsu... One should not expect that from a grown-up, experienced man of fifty years.“

„Strange as it may seem to you now, Naruto, we remain men even when we grow up.“

„Yeah, of course, but – you know, Kiba and Shino and Choji and me: we always think about sex, and we keep talking about it and sharing pictures of naked women. But I would have imagined that this stops when we actually had found girlfriends for ourselves and got some first-hand experiences...“

Kakashi thought a bit before he answered. „Partly it does.“

„Well, but what I want to say, Jiraya – I mean, I have been training with him for three years, and he never had a girlfriend – only every now and then he picked up a woman at a bar to have sex with her: One night, or maybe two or three, but never more. And always he paid her: Normally not with money, but with a candlelight dinner at some expensive restaurant, or some glasses of champagne, and sometimes with a copy of his newest novel with an autograph. How can he write about sex, or about love?“

„Now, these are two questions, so they need two answers. The first is that he does know about sex, perhaps more than a man who got married at the age of eighteen and had no sex with any other woman than his wife and knows nothing but their own marital routine. The answer to the second question is that he has been in love with Tsunade for all his life, while she has only seen him as a good friend. When he writes, he writes about his longing for her, and about his dreams of fulfillment. He does not write about being too tired for sex after a day full of work, or sex that gets boring when the first enchantment has worn off. In his novels, sex is the happy ending to a wonderful love story, not something that happens in a long-term relationship. His books are not realistic.“

„And still you read them.“

„Yes. One needs to dream.“

„You do? I thought you were an elite ninja?“

„Do you think that elite ninjas have no right to dream about meeting the right person and finally finding true love and happiness? - But if you want my advice: Don't make the same mistake as Jiraya. Don't wait for Sakura to stop dreaming of Sasuke. Stop dreaming yourself. You'll never be able to compete with him, not because you are the lesser man, but because no one can compete with a dream. Take Hinata instead.“

„I won't. I am not in love with her.“ Naruto flatly replied.

He took the book Kakashi held out for him. The mentioning of Sasuke had brought the original purpose of this late-night visit to his sensei back to his mind.

„I had thought that we were going to retrieve Sasuke so that he won't remain a dream.“

„And so that Sakura may see that you are far better than the real Sasuke. Forget it, he will remain a dream as long as he does not return her love.“

Naruto did not go along with Kakashi's jesting tone. „It's not about Sakura. It's about me wanting to save my best friend.“

„He does not need to be saved at the moment. Jiraya does.“

„That's not the point. I had believed that our mission was to save Sasuke, or to capture Itachi so that he might make Sasuke return to us. Why has it changed now?“

„You heard it: Jiraya is in danger.“

„That's not the point. We haven't been too eager to find him from the beginning. First we searched for him in a systematic but stupid manner, and then, when he is near and when it would be time to act quickly, I get told off for using my kagebunshin.“

„It really was too dangerous.“

„That's not the point.“

„So what, in your opinion, is the point?“

„What was the real purpose of this mission? It was not finding Sasuke, I assume.“

Kakashi straightened up. „Maybe I should be honest with you.“

„Indeed you should.“

„Okay, if you truly want to know: Our real mission was to keep you occupied and content and far from Konoha in case the kyuubi got out of control.“

„Even though I am targeted by Akatsuki?“

„Because you are targeted by Akastuki. We don't want them to attack you in Konoha.“

„And two teams, among them two of the strongest jounin of Konoha, have been sent on a mission with no other purpose than to keep an eye on me.“

„And on what is inside you. The council wanted you to be far away from Konoha, but they do care about you. They wanted to give you the best protection from Akatsuki and the kyuubi you could get.“

„I should feel honored, I suppose.“

„If you wish. Though it is not only about you, but also about the kyuubi. Nobody wants it to fall into the hands of Akatsuki.“

„And now there is something more important, and we will go and save Jiraya.“

„Exactly. We think we can protect you on that mission. - Naruto, listen, I feel sorry, I wish that I had not had to tell you that.“

„Never mind. I am glad that I finally know the truth.“

On his way to the room he shared with Shino and Kiba he was tempted to visit the kyuubi again. Of all those he had talked to that evening, the nine-tail had been the most understanding. And still he did not trust it enough to confide in it again.

Opening the door he felt his knees tremble: His world, the world of relationships and friendships he had built during the recent years was falling apart. He got a grip on himself, managed to go the three steps to his bed, crawl into it and fall asleep.