Jizouko stared thoughtfully at the book's worn cover as she ran her fingers down the spine. The librarian had told her that the book didn't belong to the library so she didn't have to bring it back, but that just left her in a state of confusion.
How'd you end up there? She wondered with a furrowed brow.
"Hello! Earth to Jizouko!" Takeshi called into her ear, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"What?"
"I've been trying to tell you that your food's here for the last few minutes. You better start eating before the noodles start stretching," he explained, slurping his own ramen.
She just grunted and took a bite of her food.
"Anyhow, I'm going to be away in a mission for the next few weeks," he started between mouthfuls. "I talked to one of my old buddies and he's agreed to look after you."
"I've been on my own for the last six years; I think I can look after myself. Besides, it's not like you've never left on my own before." She said with a frown.
"Oh relax!" Takeshi placated with a scoff. "All those other missions were just a day or two; this one's going to be at least three weeks. You're just going to train and do missions with him and his genin squad!"
"Do I have to? They're probably fresh out of the Academy!" She complained exasperatedly.
"So? You're the same rank, it shouldn't be that bad."
"But!"
"No arguments! I'm taking you to meet them after you finish, so eat up!"
I hate you so much right now. Jizouko thought as she glared daggers at her guardian, but complied anyway.
"It better not be an old pervert." She muttered as she took another bite.
"You're a dirty rotten liar, Takeshi, and I in no way regret putting dirty socks in your mouth." Jizouko stated with her arms crossed and sending an angry look at the brown haired male.
"Ha ha, I have no idea what you're talking about." He denied with a forced laugh.
"You told me that he wasn't an old pervert! Look at the book he's reading!"
"I said he wasn't old, difference."
In response to this Jizouko punched him in the arm. "I hope that leaves a bruise, you jerk!"
"Yeah, yeah," he turned to leave with a slight wave. "Love you too. See you in a few weeks!"
"I hope you fall down a very deep hole and only come out when you've realized the full extent of the trauma you've caused me today!" She yelled after him.
All through this little episode Takeshi's buddy and his team of genin were standing off to the side and trying to figure out what was happening.
"I'm guessing you're the kid Takeshi was talking about…" The sensei trailed off, only to be fixed with a look that screamed "You think?"
He cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm Hatake Kakashi, and this is my Team.
"Haruno Sakura," The pink haired girl waved nervously, not sure how to act around this new comer.
"Uzumaki Naruto," The blond boy tilted his head and stared inquisitively at Jizouko, he had never seen anyone with so dark a skin tone before.
"And Uchiha Sasuke." The dark haired boy looked on uninterestedly; this was probably just some weak loser who couldn't go on a mission with their team.
"And you are?" Kakashi asked, gesturing towards her boredly.
She was about to answer when she was interrupted by Naruto. "Who are you? Are you really a ninja? Where's your hitai-ate? How come I've never seen you before? And what's with the weird hair and all the piercings? Are you some sort of rebel?" Jizouko seriously doubted that he took a breath between any of those questions.
" Naruto! Don't be rude!" Sakura exclaimed as she hit him on the head.
"Tell us about yourself, it seems like you'll be with us for a while…" The silver haired jounin trailed off.
Jizouko stared at him for a long moment before asking, "Like what?"
"Like your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, stuff like that." He explained as his team looked in interest (mild interest in the case of the Uchiha).
"My name's Jizouko," She started after giving a blank stare, "I like poetry, romantic candle lit dinners, and long walks on the beach, I have no dislikes because I just love everything," she said in a fake sugary voice, "My dream is to one day sprout wings and fly off leaving a trail of rainbows and hearts everywhere I go, and my hobbies are getting metal shoved into my ears and training." You could practically see the sarcasm dripping off of every word she said.
The group stared at her for a long moment as they digested the information. "Okay, I might have lied on a few things…" She trailed off with a grin.
"You think?" Naruto yelled.
"All we really learned about you is your name and that you're a pathological liar! Honestly, you're worse than Sensei!" Sakura sighed exaggeratedly.
"Well, anyways," Jizouko started as she laced her fingers behind her head, "I'm probably not going to be able to hang with you guys that much because the stupid hospital hasn't given me a bill of clean health yet. For example, I have to go now for a checkup, so bye!" She said before turning around to leave the clearing.
