Stupid ff(dot)net I couldn't log in, so I couldn't work on my stories. Or review anyone. :(
uchihabrat:thanks! I'll take that into consideration, I've always had a soft spot for NaruIno. I haven't really thought that far, at least about the pairings. *cookie*
SaphireWhiteWolf: It didn't show up, but I got the review in my e-mail..weird. Yay! smores!!! *cookie*
Warning: I drop the f-bomb a couple of times, and shit and hell.
--- Chapter 2: What ANBU do in their spare time.
Sasuke's head was still ringing from that dumb Yamanaka girl's screech. He'd winced at the time, but tried to keep his composure; the Uchiha kept a tab on his emotions and reactions. Sasuke tried to keep things to a minimum. No good to encourage rumor mongerors. Even a twitch out of line and half the populace would be convinced he was planning another coup.
Because he just had that kind of time on his hands.
Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes. Thank god the "harpy" (as he called her in private) wasn't on his team. Sakura at least, was smart and understood theory much better than the rest of the class, even beating him out in that area. Her taijutsu and stamina could be better though..he knew she was among the lowest of the class in that regard. Also for some reason, she didn't seem to view him negatively for whatever reason.
He lounged against the tree and opened his bento. Waves of sour bitterness washed over him. In his home, with Itachi, he could never reveal these feelings. Such things his brother could pick up and Itachi was already damaged enough. Sasuke cared enough about Itachi not to let it show. But who could stand that? Being whispered about, pitied, and the cause for all of it was an unresponsive blank slate 97% of the time. It was an endless cycle. Love. Hate. Denial. More bitterness.
Deep down, Uchiha Sasuke hated his older brother.
But the youngest Uchiha also loved him enough not to act on it. The dirty secret remained buried in his heart, where it would never be shown. Only in private could he vent, let the unhealthy emotions leave him.
And so, he did.
---
"When is he going to get here?" Annoyance laced the light, young, and clearly feminine voice; it made it slightly deeper and rougher.
Naruto watched Sakura eyes locked on her. He'd watched both of his new teammates with a steady gaze.
Sakura was too vexed by the long wait to find his constant stare creepy or irksome anymore. She had tried to be patient, as to show her maturity (she did not want Sasuke-kun to think she was a twit) and ability to endure long periods of ridiculous boredom. But three freakin' hours was really pushing it!
The three were all sitting in the room closer than they had ever willingly done so previously. For various reasons, none of them had come within five feet of each other at the same time; public views, rumors, insecurities, and other undecided conflicts. The genin were all towards the front by the chalk board which was blank. Iruka had left an hour ago, after wiping down the board and organizing some left over papers.
All were in a rough triangle; Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke (the blond being at the "top" point and on the next row). Naruto had no visible response, besides blinking once, and swiveling his eye's from her crush to herself. Sasuke turned his head in her direction. "Hatake..I've heard that name before." His brow furrowed in thought; a small frown marred his features.
Naruto's eyes flickered to Sasuke.
"You have?"
Sasuke nodded, somewhat distracted. Who was he? Obviously Hatake Kakashi was a jounin, or he wouldn't have been assigned as an instructor.
Silence fell over the room.
"Gonna say somethin'? Show those bastards?! You've got nothing!"
Naruto's lips pursed and eyebrow twitched in a suppressed wince. Shut up. He put a bit of heat in the though. Now was not the time to look crazy.
Naruto's eyes riveted to the door, and he tensed. Sasuke, rather observant for his age group noticed the movement and turned toward the door; Sakura happened to catch his movement, which was far less subtle than Naruto's, and also set her sights on it. All in the space of two seconds.
The door bust open! It barely hung by it's hinges, it's support battered by the sudden entrance. The door swung back and forth slowly, pathetically. A squeal-whine eeked as the rusted pieces of metal rubbed against each other.
The blond' s blue eyes widened, and he was leaning back, hands in front of him gripping the desk. Sakura's mouth was open, like she was about to give a shout of surprise, shock all over her features. Sasuke had a kunai pulled out and was crouched on the desk.
They all had there eye's locked on the figure, inches away from them.
Taller than they were, leaning against a ninjato that was stabbed into the floor. Small streams of blood trickled down the blade, and stained the wooden floor. Standard ANBU armor covered him, making him seem ghoulish and even more frightening. His masked face was a mere hand's distance away from all of them, right in there faces.
The last wisps of smoke dissipated.
Sasuke gained his bearings first, "Hatake Kakashi?" (Naruto might have already snapped out of it, but he was never inclined to respond verbally).
The mask dipped down, then came up again.
"Are..are you okay?"
As the mask slowly turned, coming to face her, Sakura felt a blush redden her face. What a stupid thing to say! It was the first thing that had popped into her head. How naive she must have seemed with her babbling. The mask didn't move up, down, nor sideways in any acknowledgement. Merely watching, evaluating. He gave no answer, only remaining in that position for a full thirty seconds.
"Cell 7?"
His voice was hard, like one who had scene many horrors, and might unleash them upon unsuspected genin if he so desired. It was also intimidating, like everything else about the shady ANBU that was apparently their instructor on the side. His mere presence was a bit overwhelming for lowly genin. Everything. The stance, screaming confidence, deadly, extremely dangerous, and maybe not all there. He didn't possess monstrous amounts of chakra unlike other jounin, but what he did have was scary; controlled, experienced, thick. Waves of badass oozed from him.
"H..H-Hai!" Sakura's instincts to answer a sensei could never fail her, even when her wit had fled her. She bit her lip trying to regain control.
Sasuke followed her example like an echo. "Hai."
Naruto said nothing. Kakashi apparently took his silence for a yes, or simply didn't care.
"On the roof. In five minutes."
Shunshin. He was gone. Only a single leaf and distortion in space to give evidence of his actions. The air had warped for one instance, and then the moment was gone, along with him.
Naruto was still, than he got up stiffly, and started towards the roof.
Sasuke got up, with only a quick glance in her direction.
Sakura followed there example, wondering if her team was all that great. It was..just..so quiet.
---
Naruto watched Kakashi closely; he'd been the first one up aside from the freaky ANBU who was their sensei apparently. The mask stayed on, and he was leaning against the railing (it had started to rust, as it was left to the elements), hands in his pockets. A constant aura emanated from Hatake, never letting one relax completely.
From the corner of his eyes he could see both his teammates on either side of him. Sasuke to the right, Sakura on the left. He fidgeting uneasily. The blond wasn't around people all that much. Or at least, usually he was a ghost in the crowd, for all he interacted with others. This was something he found himself unfamiliar with.
And not in a happy "let's try new things" way.
Nope, he was content with having limited experience of certain things.
"Pinky-one and Pinky-two!"
"No no! Cherry and Duck!"
What the fuck?
Naruto did not need friends. Nor talk with people. He had plenty of bonding moments in his head.
"Name. Rank. Reason for joining. Any notable strengths, weaknesses."
Sakura gulped visibly and gathered herself. Obviously Naruto wouldn't be starting the conversation and Sasuke didn't look inclined to open his mouth either. So it's my job to get this going.
"I'm Haruno Sakura, and I've just graduated-Genin." The mask gave no sign of approval or disapproval. It was eerie. "..I joined because.." Her mind went blank. She was like a deer in the headlights. Stupid, stupid! Focus!"I will be a strong kunoichi! And make tou-san proud." she added, trailing off at the end. "I have a strong mind and understand most theory quickly..and I can detect most low level illusions. My taijutsu could use some work." Sakura mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed. They probably thought she was lazy or never practiced, or didn't work at all or something.
Kakashi levelled his masked face with her. "You ramble. Next."
"Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm a genin; top of the class." He boasted a bit, bolstering his confidence. This man had a way of making him feel like dirt. "I have no reason notto be a shinobi," Sasuke frowned. "I would also like to prove certain people wrong." A bit of a hard edge entered his voice there, but no anger broke his calm. "My taijutsu is balanced and I can perform more ninjutsu than the average rookie. I.." he paused. Kakashi wanted some sort of answer, and defiance was not a good idea. He did want to live a little longer, and with all of his body parts intact. "My genjutsu could use some work..as well my skill of working in groups."
"Arrogant. Too big of an ego."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"..."
-Mask-
"..."
-glare-
"..."
"You're a quiet one, eh?"
Sasuke and Sakura prepared for some crazy killer intent or whatever ANBU did when shit hit the fan-for Naruto to be pounded into the ground-all of them fucked beyond imagination, even the Hokage wouldn't be able to identify their remains---
"I like you."
"What the hell?!"
Sakura and Sasuke stared each other; they had both lost control and screamed in sync. And Kakashi hadn't decapitated, maimed, or otherwise inflicted terrible pain or injury to them.
It was mind boggling.
They could've sworn he was fucking smiling at them.
Or just fucking with there minds.
"Language, language. Come here tomorrow..mm, about an hour before sunset..maybe two."
Poof! Smoke. Distortion of air and all that.
Sakura turned to Sasuke, her mouth open. Then pivoted on her foot to Naruto. She shut her mouth, and swivelled back to Sasuke. "What..what was that all about?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Some jounin tend to have strange tendencies."
"Strange?! That was more than just a bit of an eccentricity!"
"He's ANBU."
And that settled the matter.
---
Words: 2,011
Bwahahaha! I can get away with ending it there I think. I already have an idea for chapter 3, so it should be up soon. I was cracking up while writing Kakashi. Please check out my other stories if you have time. And review! At times reviewers get sneak previews others don't..and uh, it inspires me? *cries* I'm sorry, I'm an addict! Must have reviews...*drools*
8/10/09