Kakashi woke before Iruka, his inner clock stirring him before any alarm went off. This was the usual manner the pair operated under during morning missions, Kakashi had never needed to set a clock which was thankful because it prevented Iruka from being disturbed needlessly before work. Although today Sunday and teaching not being part of the schedule there was still no point in waking the sleeping Chuunin.
Today however Kakashi would have liked nothing more then to rouse the conked out man and release some of the tension he'd built up during night. Many clones of his beloved in a whole number of sultry positions, each playing for his attention, left the man feeling rather horny. (Un)fortunately any traces of the night's fantasy were quickly repelled upon entering Tsunade's office.
"Good Morning" Kakashi started to say, but before completing the greeting it had shifted to more of a scream, Tsunade replying in a similar manner.
"GYAAHHHH" she barked, hands quickly going through a sequence of seals.
The figure that had greeted Kakashi was no other then the true to life version of Tsunade obaa-chan, it was not the most soothing of sights and had understandably sobered Kakashi's mind.
Two ANBU suddenly appeared having heard the Fifth scream, teleporting to her rescue, not that there's much a Hokage should really need rescuing from, but nevertheless it was their duty.
"Tsunade sama, is everything Ok?" came a slightly muffled voice from behind a porcelain mask.
"I, oh, erm, we." she stammered out, still trying to retrieve her shattered mind.
"A mouse appeared just as I entered the room and it gave us both a fright." helped Kakashi, Tsunade still at a loss for words.
If the masks had not been present, you would have seen the two ANBU looking a little dubious and raising an eyebrow to one another, which you may think strange, as neither ANBU could see each other's face.
"Tsunade sama?" asked the other ANBU disbelievingly.
Tsunade nodded, head jittering up and down before coughing and regaining enough composure to speak.
"Mmm." she swallowed, "Yes everything is fine."
"As you wish." Both ANBU replied curtly, lightly bowing before teleporting away in a cloud of smoke.
"Good morning Tsunade sama." Kakashi spoke out before the dust could settle, am attempt to make light of the situation that had just occurred.
"Oh, Good morning Hatake, I would appreciate it if what you saw today didn't leave this room."
"Pardon me ma'am but I wasn't aware anything had happened." he paused for a second, "Iruka informed me I was needed for a mission."
Recognition swept across the Sannin's face as she began returning to normal, beckoning Kakashi closer and handing him a scroll.
"It's a simple B class delivery mission to one of the towns at our south, they want some information regarding Rain's judicial system, apparently a spy was apprehended trying to assassinate the Feudal lord. Either way they wish to proceed with caution and adhere to any wishes Rain may have during such an incident."
Tsunade folded her arms loosely, pleased that she had managed to speak with any sort of coherence.
"Is there any reason you are giving this mission to me? Surely a chuunin would be more suitable."
"The mission may only be class B, but the information is to be delivered today which adds in complications. Usual travelling time would be just over two days there, two days back, unfortunately we don't have the luxury of time and they are paying well, I wish you good speed Kakashi."
The pale man nodded, bowing slightly then loped out of the room.
What Tsunade had neglected to tell him was that she had in fact been in possession of the mission for almost a week, but had lost it under a pile of medical journals, only relocating it the day before. Well to tell you the truth Iruka had found the scroll, but to Tsunade that was neither here nor there.
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BRRRRP! BRRRRP! BRRRRP!
A tanned arm shot out from beneath warm blankets, attempting to switch off the damned noise that had rudely awoken it from a peaceful sleep. The clock was not where it should have been causing a tanned hand, attached to the tanned arm to go smashing into said clock driving it up to become airborne. The aim was perfect, the ticking contraption following a graceful arc and passing through an open window, landing with a clang below.
Iruka realized what he had done, groaned, then forgot about it, simply satisfied the rotten thing had shut up, after which moving over to cuddle up to something warm. Something warm wasn't there as he quickly noticed, hands meeting cold sheets and something else which rustled in his fingers, 'a piece of paper?' he thought and pulled himself up against the head board, opening eyes along the way.
Iruka,
Damn that woman giving me such annoying missions, should be back sometime tomorrow everything going well.
Yours always,
Kakashi.
'That's right, he's on a mission' thought Iruka before climbing out of bed and moving over to the window. Squinting to the street below a small object (or maybe that should read several small objects) could be seen looking very different to how they had done earlier. 'We need a new alarm clock' went through the Chuunin's mind as he turned away from the broken device, seeking out some breakfast.
Just as he sat down to eat, an exuberant knocking came from the front door, Iruka had a pretty good idea who the knocks belonged to and sighed.
"Can't even get breakfast in peace." He denounced.
Iruka opened the door to find a bustle of blonde standing there, hand clenched into a fist ready to apply another series of raps, yawning he motioned towards the boy, gesturing for him to come in.
"Iruka sensei, I found this outside and wondered if it belonged to you?"
In Naruto's other hand could be found the remains of the clock that had met its demise earlier on.
"Hmm, well it used to belong to me, however I don't think it's of use to anyone at the moment." Iruka rounded the corner back into the kitchen.
"Naruto, don't forget to put the wood in the hole."
"W w what did you say?" came a confused reply.
"The door Naruto, I don't see why there is any reason for me to be sat in a draft."
"Oh the door."
SLAM
SHUDDER
'Did he really have to use so much force this early on in the day?' Iruka thought spooning a heap of oats into his mouth.
Naruto joined him at the table placing the clock's remains to rest in the bin along the way. The blonde then started to look very interested in what Iruka was eating, eyes following each manoeuvre as the spoon scooped up another mound and directed it towards the expectant mouth. Iruka pretended not to notice.
"Hmmm what is that Iruka sensei?"
"What is what?" asked Iruka through a mouthful, again pretending he'd been oblivious to Naruto's eye balling.
"That food you're eating, the cereal."
"Oh that, its something Kakashi gets, claims its some sort of super breakfast. Would you like to try some?"
"Err, no thanks sensei it looks too much like the rabbit food Sakura-chan feeds to Millie."
"Sakura has a rabbit?" Iruka asked somewhat surprised.
"Haha no Millie is a hedgehog, she has been showing up almost every night outside Sakura's house, Sakura felt sorry for it, so decided to feed it."
"Hmm wouldn't a hedgehog prefer dog or cat food?" quizzed Iruka between bites.
"That's what Sasuke said when Sakura was explaining to us about Millie. Apparently when Sakura is on a diet, so is any wildlife she chooses to feed."
Iruka laughed. 'Typical'.
"Well Naruto" started Iruka, swallowing the last of his rabbit food. "I'm going to get showered and dressed now, then head out to do a bit of shopping, don't you have any training to do or something?"
"Ah no, Kaka-sensei gave us the day off, I could go shopping with you if you like." He offered helpfully.
"That's not needed, but you can come if you really want to. Just wait down here and I'll be ready in a few minutes, help your self to any of the drinks in the fridge and I think there were some biscuits in the tin too. Try not to eat too many."
With that Iruka left the room.
Four glasses of milk, one of something called Squnch and a rather large amount of chocolate chip cookies later, found Iruka back in the kitchen and ready to leave. He had stood outside the kitchen for a good minute or two marvelling in the gluttony of the Genie, how anyone could devour a biscuit in a single mouthful with only a couple of chomps was beyond him, yet Naruto managed to do it with ease, one biscuit after another, followed by another. He only stopped eating, grinning impishly when Iruka coughed behind him, one had to wonder if that stomach was at anytime content and would Naruto have ever ceased eating should the supply have been everlasting.
"Hey Iruka sensei, very nice biscuits you got here." Chomp chomp, swallow. "But you're going to have to buy some more, these ones are nearly gone, good thing we're going shopping."
Iruka hadn't planned to visit the supermarket today, everything was well stocked, but on noticing the almost empty milk carton he decided that a small visit would probably be best. After all, he had told Naruto to help himself, also knowing full well what that meant, he only had himself to blame.
"Okay then." He said cheerily "Lets get going."
The pair of them strolled around Konoha, popping into various shops as they went. First Iruka replaced the items Naruto had engulfed, then went on to buy a few blank scrolls and some other stationary equipment, finally ending up where they both stood now. The place was called Electrical Elation, a slightly odd name but if you knew the owner you would understand, she was the microchip worlds' version of Gai. If you gave her half a moment it was too late, you'd be roped into an explanation of how the newest gadget in the store operated, everyone was sure the information they received was fascinating, it was just no one actually understood any of it. Unfortunately this didn't seem to bother her, no matter how dumbfounded the recipient looked the woman still twittered on. Iruka had never dealt directly with the fiend and certainly had no intention of starting a new tradition today, after all he had put up with Naruto for the better part of the morning and didn't want any extra bother. So it was with a clear conscience, well clean enough (if scrutinized "fine tooth combs a blazin'" someone would probably say 'you missed a spot') that Iruka gave the aforementioned Genin a direct order to go and speak with the shops proprietor. Naruto had started to ask 'why?', or 'what should I talk about?', but was cut short when given a rather firm push in the right direction, Iruka disappearing into another shopping aisle.
Said aisle was labelled 'Chrono keepsakes and other Temporal fixations' and if not for the symbol of a clock in close proximity to the writing many people might have wondered if they had accidentally wandered into a sci-fi convention, even having looked at the clocks some might have still been left wondering. The selection was immense; small clocks, large clocks, digital clocks, analogue 'ticking' clocks, alarm clocks, clocks which threw out a projection of the time onto a nearby wall, glow in the dark clocks and various others which seemed closer to miniature weather stations then actual clocks, even if they did possess a time piece.
After browsing for a good few minutes Iruka decided he really did not want a clock with an annoying alarm to it, there was a small selection in the alarm clock sector which comprised of musical alarm clocks, these he thought would be much better. One in particular caught his eye, a rather modern design, long and slender standing on a circular base, all clad in brushed aluminium, a central window displaying the time in large digits, perfect for legibility in the early hours of the morning when light was scarce. Most importantly however was the fact it came with eight different tunes it could wake you up to.
Picking a boxed version off the shelf he headed for one of the checkouts, glancing over at Naruto to see how he was doing. The boy was slumped against a wall staring at the floor, nodding every now and again, trying to feign some sort of interest, it didn't look very convincing, not that it mattered. The other participant in this almost one sided conversation was holding up some object which looked for all intentions like a pocket calculator, hardly even aware of Naruto's presence. Iruka decided this wasn't the time to start feeling guilty and placed the box on the counter.
"Blip." sounded the machine as the barcode affixed to the box was skimmed by.
"That'll be 5000 yen." came a voice no different in intonation to the barcode reader.
The clerk sat there looking about as dynamic as a bucket of mud, staring blankly at the LCD display in front of him. Upon uttering the price his hand moved mechanically out towards Iruka, eyes never leaving their transfixed position. Iruka placed his credit card into the outstretched hand, the hand then moved in and guided the magnetic strip (no chip and pin in Konoha yet!) with practiced ease through the slot in the till. A few seconds later the till whirred into action producing a receipt that was handed back, along with the card and a pen.
"Check and sign." were the only words given.
Iruka signed in the correct box and handed it back to the clerk.
"Is everything OK?" he asked, concerned for the well being of the assistant.
The man merely pointed, an outstretched digit simply indicating the stores owner.
"Oh, I see." replied Iruka.
The box was then placed into a shopping bag and handed back to Iruka, the clerk droning one final line.
"Please come again."
'Not likely' thought Iruka, 'this place is weird and depressing.'
"Come on Naruto!" he called out. "We're leaving."
Naruto looked up to face Iruka, eyes glazed over in much the same way the clerks had been. He simply walked slowly, quietly, towards Iruka both moving out of the shop side by side.
"Ramen." dictated Naruto, still not having blinked.
"Pardon?" questioned Iruka.
"You owe me ramen, lots of it. Whenever I want it, which happens to be now. You're buying me Ramen."
Not another word was spoken, the blonde just turned to face the direction of his favourite restaurant and plodded on, vowing never to help Iruka shop again. The Chuunin just followed, now he was feeling guilty.
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Daylight had already started to fade as Kakashi arrived at the towns' outskirts, leaning against a tree he panted heavily catching his breath. He had been running just over his aerobic limit the entire day, using chakra to bolster his movement, his body was spent but at least he had arrived in time. Having rested for a few minutes the pale man followed signs towards the feudal lords mansion, not that any were really necessary, the estate stood out rather well, built raised above the rest of the town.
Getting closer he noticed the number of guards in the area surrounding the house was surprisingly high, even given the circumstances. Normally there would be two men placed at the entrance, two or three patrolling and a lookout somewhere up high, at the moment there were easily five times the number of men posted about. 'The attack must have really shaken things up' Kakashi thought to himself as he ambled up the loose stones that formed the pathway to the front door. Taking in all his surroundings he couldn't help but try and plan a way into the house should his job now be assassination, he didn't find it very comforting to come up fairly empty handed, at least not if he wanted to survive.
"Oi you." Came one of the guard's voices.
"Mmm?" replied Kakashi with a question.
"What you doin' 'ere, these grounds are off limits."
"I'm a ninja from Konoha, I've got some information to deliver to the Feudal lord." He explained, patting the pouch the scroll was placed in.
"Hmmph." The guard snorted gruffly. "You better leave that with me, no one is allowed into the mansion at this time, especially not people like you. How are we supposed to know you ain't a spy?"
Kakashi thought this one over for a minute, before accepting the guard's terms and handed him the scroll. True, the mission was to deliver the scroll to the Feudal lord, which usually meant in person, but given the content he didn't think it worth the bother of heightening the already tense atmosphere by demanding an audience with the man. After all, if the guard wasn't on the level, information on Rains' law wouldn't really avail him of anything.
"Just make sure you deliver the scroll quickly." Kakashi told the guard. "I'm already late as it is."
"Ohh? And who's faults that then?" spoke the guard defiantly, trying to get a rise.
'One with a temper we have here.' Thought Kakashi as he strolled back along the path he'd just taken. 'Either that or everyone round here is REALLY bored, perhaps I should have offered him Icha Icha.'
By now there were no traces of daylight left, leaving a velvet backdrop where thousands of stars prickled the night sky, a full moon also present, its cool shards of luminescence providing just enough light to navigate by. Popping a food pill into his mouth Kakashi took off into the trees, leaping from branch to branch, the gelid night air rushing past, chilling the tips of his ears. Before long the effects of the food pill wore off, causing the silver flash to come to an abrupt stop.
"Damn it." He cursed, "I must have been further past it then I thought."
Eyes scouting round for a few moments discovered a rather large tree that plateaued out towards its upper branches. With one last burst of speed Kakashi propelled himself up into the canopy and sat down. 'Yes' he concluded, this will do fine.
The tree was an evergreen with fern like leaves, thick and soft to the touch and provided a rather comfortable mattress for one to lie on. Kakashi organized some of the branches around him to act as a shield against the weather and to provide an extra level of stealth. Satisfied he had done a good enough job he cast a small heating jutsu on a stone and lay down, cuddling round the rock. Just before he fell asleep Kakashi realized it was in fact "tomorrow" and now his birthday.
"Well happy birthday Hatake." He said aloud, an owl hooting in the distance. Before closing his eyes again, Kakashi drew his hands around his mouth mimicking a conch and blew a series of puffs into them. A noise imitating the owls call flooded the silence around him, a few seconds later the owl hooted again. Smiling to himself, he relaxed and fell asleep.
