After almost a year of unemployment, I finally got another job, with that now secured I can finally pick up this story! (You've been waiting long enough :3 )
Chapter Five: Plan of Action
Early the next morning, Naruto stood near the training field and Lilli hovered beside him with her wings silently fluttering. Naruto sighs as he sees Kakashi reading beside the Memorial Stone, same ratty book he had yesterday; a rip down the spine, torn and bent edges and a mystery stain on the back.
Naruto leaned over to Lilli and whispers, "I don't think I can do this…"
"Don't worry Naruto, I've got it covered. I also like things to happen naturally, you know I'm not going to have you act like someone you're not-"
Naruto boldly grabbed the front of her top and pulled her nose to nose. "Ok, so if you're not going to help me with this like that then how am I going to do this?!"
She held up her hands and smiled. "Relax, you'll be fine. I know you aren't good with words but I am, trust me my literature grades at school were totally awesome!" she pulled away and whipped him around and started ruffling his hair and straightening his head band. "I'm just going to help you speak the proper way and how you can drive him wild with longing."
"I don't think I'm ready to do that!"
"Not that you Dumbo, I'm going to help you make his love for you something worth waiting for-"she paused. "He knows you're here but he can't sense me, get out there and just be yourself and fear not the quirkiness of your attitude Ok, he loves it. It makes you a-dork-able."
"A-what-able?" he said as she shoved him out of the bushes.
He stumbled and saw two feet in front of him, he looked up and saw Kakashi standing there looking confused. "Naruto, what are you doing here? I thought I told you to rest today."
"Yeah but I thought…a little fresh air could do me some good." He smiled.
"Is that so?" he looked behind Naruto at the bush then back at him.
Naruto smiled awkwardly before taking a nervous step backwards and Kakashi patted his head. "Well, that's true and it is nice out. But-"he turned and started walking back to the stone. "-why come here?"
Lilli rushed out of the bush and shoved Naruto forward while whispering in his ear. "Don't get nervous, he's talking to you like a person not just a student. This is it, a very important moment, go and chat with him and remember the a-dork-able!"
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're so dumb it's incredibly cute! Now go!" she pushed him and he rushed forward then turned to look and she was gone. He sighed and walked over to stand beside Kakashi at the stone. Lilli was settled in on a tree branch nearby and watches intently through the leaves, a little sunlight filtering on her eyes, like a mask.
"I just come here all the time, I like the woods…the trees are cool."
"The trees are cool…"Kakashi doesn't seem to buy it.
"Yeah, there are squirrels and sometimes I see other guys training and I could watch and pick up some tricks." Not a lie, he did spend some time here on his off days. He did like the breaks but he needed to keep learning all sorts of different techniques; if he was going to become Hokage he had to keep the learning curve alive.
Kakashi scoffed a little. "Sounds like something you might do, you've always been pretty determined."
Naruto felt his face light up and Lilli smiled from her place in the tree. "Exactly,"
Lilli's tail suddenly slipped out and hung down from the cover in the trees and flicked back and forth. Naruto looked up at Kakashi from where he sat and before he could speak, Kakashi looked over at him a little embarrassed it seemed.
"Listen Naruto, I just want to apologize about what I said the other night, I know that it might have come across a tad bit inappropriate for a teacher to say to his student."
Naruto quirked his head to the side, he didn't really seem to understand till it struck him like a clear ringing bell.
"Sensei, I'll be fine to train tomorrow!" he complained as Kakashi put his book away and started walking toward him. "I can train tomorrow, I feel just fine, I'm even willing to start right now if you-"he stopped as Kakashi leaned down to almost touch noses with him and held his chin, staring directly into Naruto's eyes that looked grey in the moonlight. Kakashi's silvery hair almost shimmered and his grey eye looked mystic, hiding a cryptic secret that no one knew but him.
"Naruto…go home and take tomorrow off, the last thing I want to see is you hurt. I couldn't stand it before and I won't stand for you to get yourself hurt by being stubborn," his gaze almost intensified. "Don't make me have to put you in bed myself…"
Naruto felt his cheeks heat up at the memory, his stomach felt alive with fluttering little wings and he shivered as he tried his very hardest to quell such a memory. "Oh…that…" he started, feeling the air around him suddenly growing warmer as he once again pictured Kakashi putting him into bed, being ever so gentle but so possessive of him…his body…!
Suddenly Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder and he was shaken from his day dream to look up at the man it centered on. "I just figured I should clear the air before I freaked you out too much, you tend to be rather jumpy about things like that."
"Um…yeah…right…"
Kakashi pulled his hand away from Naruto's shoulder and looked back at his book but didn't read anything. Naruto should have gone into a fit of complaining that he wasn't jumpy or giving excuses as to why it seems like that but he just accepted it and twiddled his thumbs, looking at the ground.
The afternoon went on, warm and breezy with Naruto and Kakashi just talking about training, new missions and plans about the future…well, Naruto talked and Kakashi set him up to continue talking. Naruto was always a very open kid but he never actually talked to anyone about things like this, his training and his dreams about being Hokage were all anyone ever really heard but, Kakashi doubted that anyone even knew his favorite color-which subsequently was blue.
They walked through the forest a little still talking while Lilli followed holding a patch of raised skin on her forehead from where Naruto had hit her with a rock. He'd spotted her tail swaying in the open air for all to see and thankfully, Kakashi hadn't seen it yet. He distracted Kakashi by calling out to a few friends and picked up a rock to throw at her. The rock flew into the plush leaves on the tree; hit something making the tail that stood out puff up and bristle and then her whole body fell out of the tree and into a bush.
She knew she'd get him for that, but at a later date. She watched closely as they walked along nearing a large field of tall grass. Lilli could hear the quiet hum of several flying bugs and a few were flying, lit up as the evening sky set in. She slid down out of the tree and scurried up ahead of them and fast as a cat, rushed through the grass in a straight line ahead of them-even meowing for added effect-and all the fireflies sprang up and flourished around them like a pair of gentle hands protecting them from the outside world.
Naruto's blue eyes grew wide and he stared and exclaimed at the beautiful display while Kakashi, just stared at him. Naruto's eyes were darkened by the low lighting and reflected the night sky and were now dotted with the reflection of the fire bugs. He sighed solemnly and from her new perch in the bushes Lilli's shoulders dropped a little, feeling a little sad for the man…but it would be worth it, she knew he'd wait.
Kakashi reached out his hand to let a few lightning bugs land on his fingers and then lowered them to Naruto's face so he could look at them closely. Something glistened in the way Naruto's face just lit up at the sight of them being so close, sharing this moment with him even seemed to sweeten the deal and his grin was wide and his cheeks pink with excitement. Kakashi smiled under his mask and Naruto didn't see it.
"Naruto," he said and Naruto looked up from the bugs and at him. "You have a magical smile, you seem to make everyone's day better when you smile."
"What do you mean sensei?" he seemed confused.
"Well, when you smile at people, it's like you've given them a beautiful gift that only you can provide and it makes people feel better, reassuring them. You make people hopeful with that smile."
Naruto's eyes softened from wonderment to something…Kakashi had only ever seen once…back in the library underneath those shelves. "I've never seen your smile Kakashi sensei, I bet your smile makes people feel better too but why you choose to hide it is beyond me." Naruto says, a few lightning bugs landing on his shoulders and hair.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"You always wear that mask and no one ever sees your face at all. We know what your eyes look like but not the rest of your face, it's a shame really. I remember when the old man and Ayame at the noodle bar saw it and they seemed pretty happy so you must have one too." Naruto said simply.
Kakashi tensed and relaxed with a light chuckle and Naruto smiled again, feeling a warm flutter in his chest. He wasn't upstarted or swooning like a schoolgirl but he felt…warm and relaxed now.
Kakashi suddenly yawned and pointed toward the village. "Well, I'm gonna head home now, be seeing you Naruto."
"Ok, bye Kakashi sensei." Naruto said awkwardly.
As Kakashi passed him by he brushed Naruto's hair back and patted his head before he was gone.
Naruto's heart began to calm down and he sighed when Lilli squeaked from her place in the bush. "Hey you how'd you like the light show?" she emerged and walked over to stand beside him.
"You did that?"
"Sort of, the fireflies would have avoided you guys but a little run through the grass in the right direction and they flocked around you two. I took a little walk and gave you two some privacy, how'd it go?" She asked.
"Great, we talked all day and…" Naruto's voice dropped a little. "-well I don't know if this is good news or not?"
Lilli's ears pricked up, "What happened?"
"He apologized for what he said to me the other night…he um…" he stalled and looked away from her. "-made a comment about putting me to bed himself and…he kind of took it back tonight. He said it was a little inappropriate for him to say that to me." He looked down, disappointed.
"That's not a bad thing you know," she said simply.
Naruto looked back up at her befuddled. "What do you mean?"
"He's a grown man Naruto and you're what, twelve?"
"Yeah, that doesn't mean he can't say stuff to me, right?" He tried.
"True but to him it's morally wrong, you're his student, and he's the teacher. A student teacher relationship is always something of a taboo but he's much too invested in you to just give up; he won't make any moves…not yet anyway."
"Not yet…?!" Naruto said a little excited.
"Keep your pants on Naruto, you obviously need to grow up but until then…you are playing hard to get." She ordered more than suggested.
"Playing hard to get, what does that mean?"
"He can't have you because you're still a kid and you feel very strongly for him yes?"
"Yeah…"
"Then this means you'll need to make sure he knows you're still interested and when you're old enough to do 'things'-" she said with a quirk of her eyebrows, making Naruto chuckle awkwardly. "-he'll be so mad about you that he won't be able to contain himself anymore."
"So kind of like offering a dog a bone-"
"-and mocking him with it until you give it to him." She finished.
Naruto felt his cheeks heat up again, the idea of making someone go mad for him, to crave him and not just anyone-the one he felt the strongest for-he shivered with excitement. He's never been like this before…puberty must be in full bloom.
He looked up at Lilli and smiled. "Yeah, I'm willing…but-"then a thought strung in Naruto's mind. "Are you gonna be able to stay for that long?"
"Naruto…time here and back home moves very differently."
"Meaning what?"
"I've already been gone for a hella long time, they're not worried, and I've got a job to do."
"Alright, then let's go back home and get some food, I'm starving."
"I'll go ahead and make food tonight, it's on me-you did great today."
"Wow, really, thank you!" Naruto said excitedly when one last thing dawned on him that made him stop walking. "Wait, what about that other Fairi that's here, the one with purple hair?"
"As long as I'm close by and you're never alone, we won't have any trouble with her." She smirked and put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise; you'll be safe."
Naruto smirked and put a hand over hers. "Ok, let's get out of here!"