Chapter 2 - Water
Genma frowned, "I guess we're out of water… That means no cooking and no cleaning my wound…"
He shook the canteen and held it upside down, but it really was empty.
Raido groaned, "No, not again those ration-bars! I've eaten enough of them during these godforsaken weeks!"
"We need water though. Tomorrow, we have to travel far, and I don't want any of us to dehydrate – nor do I want you to die of an infection before we reach home." Kakashi said, tossing Genma a bored, but patronizing look as the honey-haired man stuck out his tongue.
The Hatake stood up, "I'll go to the stream we passed. Hold the fort while I am away."
Before he could leave the wooden house, Tenzou blocked the doorway, "There's no way you're going to leave, Kakashi-senpai."
Everyone stared at the younger shinobi.
"I'll go and get water, you should rest." With that, Tenzou had disappeared outside before any of them could react.
By the time the wood-used returned, the other team members had already started a fire, and were baking some meat in a small pan.
Kakashi's pack of dogs was circling around their boss, and the silver-haired man waved at Tenzou as he came in.
"Don't worry, I didn't go out myself – my dogs caught the deer, I didn't do anything." Kakashi said.
Genma smiled at Tenzou when the wood-user sat down next to him with a sigh. The honey-haired man chewed on his senbon and handed the younger Anbu a plate, "It won't be long."
Soon, the team of four and the dogs were eating. The firelight lighted the house with a pleasant, warm glow. It was the first time in days they had a fire and a good, hot meal, and everyone was happy the mission was accomplished. The team cracked a few jokes, and Genma – as he was the most talkative of the team – told them about all of his female friends.
The dogs yipped and sometimes joined in with the talk – especially when there was a chance to embarrass Kakashi - but most of the time they stayed silent and begged their master for more food.
"We should go to sleep," Kakashi stated after a while, "Tomorrow we'll have to run like the devil is on our heels if we don't want to pass the deadline of our mission."
Raido coughed and sounded an awful lot like 'like you care about being late' when he did so, but Kakashi ignored it, "We'll leave at 6.00. I'll take first watch."
Tenzou bit his lip, and in a bold moment, he picked up Bull,the most heavy and large dog of the pack, and dropped the dog right on top of the captain. (How the young Anbu managed to do that is still considered a miracle.)
"You should rest. I'll take first watch."
Kakashi eyed his underling with suspicion, and resigned himself to his fate when he noticed that Bull was already vast asleep, and therefore almost impossible to move away.
The other dogs grinned wolfishly, and Tenzou was happy when they moved to lie next to their boss. Bisuke licked Tenzou's hand before he went to sleep, and the wood-user was touched by this rare moment of affection. Pakkun though was clearly frowning at him, and barked out something about brats and not knowing their place in a pack.
Raido and Genma laid down on their bed-rolls too, bidding Tenzou a good night. Before closing his eyes Raido said, "Don't tire yourself too much, and wake me when your shift is over."
Tenzou nodded, and looked at the fire, extending his senses.
After a couple of hours, and two shifts later, Genma was kneeling by the captain to wake him up.
"Captain, it's your turn, get up." The honey-haired man said, careful not to wake up Tenzou or Raido in the process.
The silver-haired captain sat up, glad Bull was finally gone. The eight dogs were all staring at him, their eyes illuminating in the light of the small fire.
"Thank you, Genma."
The man rolled his senbon in his mouth, "I can go to sleep safely, right? If something happens, you should wake me up though."
"You should rest more with that hurt arm of yours. If I'm not mistaken, your shift should've ended about an hour ago."
"Bullshit, I'll be alright, rest or no rest." After a beat, " …How do you know about the time my shift ended anyway?"
"Go to sleep, you're nagging."
"Tch. Ungrateful bastard." Before Genma's head touched the bed-roll, he was already asleep.
Kakashi stretched his arms and craned his neck. He stood up and went to sit next to the fire, the dogs following him.
He took a deep breath and sniffed slightly as he breathed in the smoke of the smouldering fire. With a stick, he poked it a few times, and stood up again.
He walked towards the door and breathed in the night air.
Much better.
"Pup, you should stay inside." Pakkun said, his voice gruff. Kakashi nodded, and walked back to his place by the fire. He scratched Guruko's back as he stared at the dancing flames.
"They're nice kids, Kakashi. They like you." The dog said as he nuzzled Kakashi's hand, begging for more touches.
"They're my age, with exception of Tenzou that is. They're not kids anymore, and neither am I." Kakashi added as he gave Pakkun a stern look.
"That Tenzou-boy adores you, be careful not to hurt this team too much." The pug said, and soon he too tried to get the attention of Kakashi's affectionate hands, "You've found yourself a new pack."
"I have." The Hatake said, "Genma, Tenzou, Raido and I, we're like a pack, huh? I like the sound of that."
A/N: Alright, this was chapter two. I hope you liked it - if there's anything I could do better, please tell me. I hope I didn't dissapoint anyone with this chapter. Thank you for reading this story!
To all of you who reviewed, favorited and follow it: Thank you! I'm very glad you liked it so far!
In reply to 'Inolover': I wholeheartedly agree with you on this. These four are quite amazing - they're just fun!
