A/N: This was previously Chapters 2 and 3, but I combined them; they seemed too short. I did, however,cut out a chunk in the middle explaining the Naruto-world basics, though. It seemed pointless, since pretty much everyone knows what occurred during the Chuunin Exam Arc. (I can't believe how far the dub's gotten! It seems like just yesterday that Haku and Zabuza were the big bad guys!)
And, just for the record, my spell check wanted to substitute 'Sasuke' with 'Sapsucker.' xDDDDD
Disclaimer: snerf
Counting Stars
Chapter II: Under the Covers
"Well," said Kakashi rather tiredly. "This is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into, young lady." You parted your fingers slightly so you could peek out angrily at the man, stifling a loud wail of the meanest thing you could think of saying. Instead, you continued to blubber meekly.
"But what're we supposed to do, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, sitting down next to you on the bed. She put an arm around your shoulders as you cried, resting her head softly against yours. Kakashi sighed.
"This isn't the type of matter I'm accustomed to dealing with," said the silver-haired man. "And by all rights, I shouldn't be dealing with it now. But due to the state of the village…" His voice trailed off, leaving a dark feeling in the air. Sakura's arm seemed to lay heavier upon your shoulders at this moment. The room remained quiet for a while longer, until the sound of footsteps approached.
Sasuke appeared in the doorway, with a tray of five steaming cups in his hands. He said nothing as he set down the tray on a small table next to the bed. Finally, he broke the deafening silence as he gently shoved one of the hot cups into your hands.
"Tea," he said simply as you inhaled the steam rising from your cup. You sipped it delicately, and upon finding out how bitter it was, you scrunched up your face and spat it back into the cup.
"If only I could be the new Hokage," Naruto said between loud slurps. "I'd let you stay here, for sure!" Another gulp of tea. "In fact, I'd make you stay. This village could use some more good-looking girls."
You saw Sakura's fingernails whiten as she tightened her grip on the teacup; the amount of damage she could considerably do with it was astounding.
"But you're not the Hokage," Kakashi reminded the blonde boy. "So this isn't up to you."
"I vote she stays," Naruto said almost defiantly. Suddenly, as if you'd just entered the room, the topic of the conversation hit you.
"You'd send me away?" you asked nervously, your eyes darting around the room. The three young ones all avoided your gaze. Kakashi, however, did not.
"It's possible," he said, his visible eye boring into you. "If there's any evidence that you're a threat to this village, you'll be expelled immediately. Either that, or you'd simply be killed."
"But how could I possibly be a threat to anyone?" you whined, tears coming back to your eyes. "I don't even know my own name, let alone how to be a threat to society!" As you began to sob again, Sakura pried the teacup out of your fingers so you wouldn't spill. "Please…you have to believe me…" Kakashi made his way to the door, then spoke without even bothering to turn and face you.
"I'll summon a meeting with the other jounin of the village. If it's agreed upon, you may stay." And without waiting for a response, he left, sliding the door shut behind him.
"Wow," said Sakura quietly, once she was sure Kakashi was out of earshot. "Kakashi-sensei is only ever this serious when something bad happens…"
"It's because of all the crazy stuff that's been going on around here lately," said Naruto as he joined you and Sakura on the bed. "We just have to be careful, y'know?" He smiled at you, but your only reply was a nod. Your head felt stuffed up from so much crying; you sniffed loudly.
"I'm really not dangerous," you said softly, for lack of anything else to say.
"We know, 'nee-chan," said Sakura gently, her arm wrapping around your shoulders again. You leaned into her touch, reveling in her kind touch. It was obvious that no one in the room thought you were a threat, and for that, you were grateful. The room fell silent once more, only your sniffles breaking it.
"If you're allowed to stay here, what'll we do about your name?" Naruto asked suddenly, as if the thought had just hit him.
"Don't know," you replied stuffily. "It's possible that I'll remember my name one of these days, right?" You looked around the room for approval, and Sakura nodded.
"But what'll we call you 'til then?" asked Naruto. " 'Hey, you' doesn't really seem to fit." You laughed weakly; Naruto was trying to cheer you up. You thought it was sweet of him, really, to take it upon himself to make a complete —and potentially dangerous— stranger feel more comfortable. Sasuke, however, rolled his eyes and began to pick up the empty teacups that'd been abandoned around the room.
" 'Yanagi,' " said Sakura suddenly, a smile coming to her face. "We found you under a willow tree in the forest, so it makes sense. It's just perfect, isn't it?" You twitched.
"Sure," you replied a little awkwardly. What kind of stupid name was she trying to give you? …Yanagi? At least it was only temporary —as soon as you remembered your real name, 'Yanagi' would be no more.
"Really? You like it?" the pink-haired girl asked in what sounded like a sigh of relief. You slapped on your most believable smile.
"Of course," you replied. "It's…nice." Your smile, however, faltered a bit as you said this, your eye twitching.
After having been named, the evening passed rather quickly for you. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke proved to be good company for a girl with amnesia —or rather, Sakura and Naruto did. Sasuke managed to keep himself annoyingly quiet most of the time, and only ever spoke up to either insult Naruto or correct some "obvious" error the blonde made as he explained this strange new world of shinobi, clans, and ranked missions to you.
Amidst a melodramatic reenactment of Sasuke nearly fainting in fear during Part II of the Chuunin Exams (starring only Naruto) while fighting a very snake-like man, the door to the bedroom slid open and Kakashi appeared in the doorway.
"Good news, everyone," he said, a grin evident on what little of his face you could see. He eye was looking at you. "This young lady may stay." You smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Really, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked happily.
"On one condition." You cringed. There was always a condition. "You're to become a medic-nin as soon as possible. There's a severe lack of them these—"
"A what?" you cut in rather rudely. The silver-haired man blinked.
"A medic-nin," Kakashi repeated. "Short for 'medical ninja.' You accompany and heal the shinobi who've been injured during their missions." You raised an eyebrow.
"That's a great offer, but I don't think I can take you up on it," you said, an apologetic look on your face.
"And why is that?" Kakashi asked. He probably already knew your answer, but you told him anyway.
"Well, I'm not exactly a ninja," you said in your best stating-the-obvious voice.
"I anticipated as much!" Kakashi said in an oddly happy tone. "Which is why I volunteered our Number One Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sasuke, to be your private, one-on-one instructor of the ninja arts!" The silver-haired man gestured to Sasuke, wiggling his fingers for effect.
This, however, was met by dead silence.
But within a few seconds, Kakashi's proposition was met by four babbling objections. You weren't exactly sure what Naruto and Sakura were upset about, but you knew Sasuke was absolutely not willing to teach you a thing. And you…you simply weren't ready for such a huge undertaking.
"Oh, but all the arrangements have already been made," Kakashi replied almost sympathetically. "It's too late to change anything now."
"What about the Academy?" Sasuke challenged, almost pouting. "Aren't summer classes starting soon?"
"They are," said Kakashi offhandedly. "But they progress very slowly, since they're intended for young children. The council and I agreed that you're the best candidate for teaching someone the basics of the ninja arts." Sasuke scowled, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. "Anyhow, " Kakashi continued. "Our young lady should be ready to begin her training in a day or two, after which she'll be moving in with you so to maximize your teaching time. Which means—" he grinned at Sasuke. "—that you'd better set up another bedroom."
The raven-haired boy groaned quietly.
End Chapter II.
A/N: The setting-things-up chapters are always pretty lame in my fics… I tried my best to not make this sound like I'd schemed up the basic plot months ago and was just trying to get to the fun parts. But for some reason, I don't think I did a very good job. sweatdrop
Who can spot the transition between the original second and third chapters?