Everyone, thanks for the reviews, they always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Special thanks to those of you who told me I was good at depicting a child's reactions, that is one of the things I'm most anxious about.
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The day was bright, as far as cloudy days went. It was also unbearably hot, as the thin cover of grey clouds stretched across the sky did nothing to keep the sun from making Konoha into a large sauna.
As such, many people stayed indoors if they could or looked for shade and water. of course, that didn't apply to the ninja part of the population as ,much as they wished it did.
Of course, there was a number of shinobi willing to rest in the shade on such a hot day, but the hardcore ones, the ones who had no idea what to do on an off day in the first place except train, were in hell.
Kakashi, especially, was affected badly by the heat due to his stubborn refusal to take off his mask. It was more than stubbornness on his part, however. At least half of it was survival instinct.
"You sure you don't want to give up?"
Ignoring the mocking call with all the practiced ease of a saint, he wove his fingers into well-known hand seals and prompted the water from the nearby stream to form into a water dragon. It shot toward the treeline, thoroughly drenching one particular nuisance out of an oak tree and sending a flock of birds flying away with screeches of outrage.
Unfortunately, there was only an amused "Thanks for the shower, much appreciated" in return as Genma flicked a wet lock of hair away from his face with a shit-eating grin.
Kakashi refused to let the troublesome man disturb him (never mind that he would have wiped his face long ago if he hadn't had an audience).
"You're going to faint from the heat, you know, and then I'll be the one stuck with having to cart your ungrateful arse to the hospital. Do you know how humiliating it would be if word got out that one of our finest, a man our enemies tremble before upon seeing, was felled by a simple, easily-avoidable heatstroke?"
The annoyance had a point, much as he'd like to deny it. Still, he wouldn't give him the time of day so soon. He did have his pride.
Still, one hour later, even the stubborn Hatake had to admit that going on would be pointless. He was sweaty and tired, especially since he hadn't taken the time to rest after his last mission and giving his report to the Hokage that very morning, and was still wearing his ANBU uniform, and damn it, Genma was getting on his nerves (though that could be seen as a different kind of endurance training).
"Say, shouldn't you get out of your uniform? The Hokage's got other ANBU, you know. No need to kill yourself both out there and here at home. You can afford to relax, once in a while."
Kakashi's first reflex was to punch him in the face, because what did he have, if one took away his lifelihood from him? If he wasn't a ninja, what was left of him? He had already lost so many people because of his weakness...
With a deep breath, he clenched his hands, gaze distant, and kept walking out of the training grounds.
"Hey, it's alright..." said Genma gently, putting a warm hand on Kakashi's shoulder in support. He was no stranger to guilt either.
The harsh lines around Kakashi's covered eyes eased somewhat as he shrugged.
"Shiranui, are you getting soft in your elder years?"
Just with that, the serious mood was broken.
"Hey! I'll show you soft, you damn genius! I have to leave tonight on a mission, but when I return, it's on!"
"Don't pout when I win," warned Kakashi semi-seriously, both of them choosing to ignore that making promises was their way of saying "I'll be back alive and well" and "I'll be waiting for you." Saying it out loud would somehow diminish the meaningfulness of the sentiments.
A beat. "And you'll owe me dinner."
"You're always sponging off me anyway, you greedy bastard!"
Still, there was the hint of a smile on both of their faces as walked side by side in direction of the nearest ice cream parlour.
-:-
The streets were busy with sweating people looking for relief in the shape of shade and/or cold treats, children enthusiastically dragging their parents to ice cream parlours and sweets shops. Bedraggled parents followed tiredly, longing for hamacs and pools.
Among the bustling life of Konoha, a pink blur streaked through the throngs of people with cries of joy, weaving around the legs of strangers to get to the goal.
The goal being, in this case, a small shop on the other side of the street where her mother would buy her the most delicious ice cream she had ever tasted.
And there it was!
BANG!
She fell on her butt, blinking owlishly up at the stranger she had just run into, too surprised to think of crying.
The rotund man turned around and rounded on her, face crimson in anger. In his hand, there was a single cone, the remnants of the ice treat it had once housed smeared across his shirt.
"You stupid child, look what you have done! My shirt is ruined and you owe me another ice cream!"
The man made to grab the frightened, paralyzed child; with a snarl, two dogs intercepted him, staring him down with fangs bared, jowls shaking.
"Stand down. It was an accident."
The man turned even redder, if at all possible.
"This child—!"
"Ran into you by accident. Stand down."
The girl was hoisted onto the back of the bigger of the two dogs, a monster of a dog, truth be told, but refused to let go of the smaller one.
"Pacchan!" she hiccuped. "The scary man's mean..."
"Bull, take the girlie to the boss," replied the pug before reassuring the girl. "Hang on to him, I'll be with you in a bit."
The man fumed, protesting insistently.
"Hey, you!"
"A problem here?" came a calm, cold voice from behind him as a firm hand clamped onto his shoulder with near-bruising force.
-:-
Kakashi observed the situation from his vantage point as Genma dealt with the man in a much more socially-acceptable way than he would have as Bull bounded onto the roof where he had been lounging previously with the pink-haired girl on his back. The big dog grunted in happiness as he approached and whined in pleasure when his master gave him a good scratch behind the ears.
"Oh...Oh! You're Pacchan's summm...summo...summoner, right? Thank you very much!"
She smiled brightly at him; Kakashi remained stoic, nodding slightly in return, but even the slight movement seemed to satisfy her.
Genma landed next to them with a low thump, Pakkun hot on his heels. He directed a large smile at the child, crouching next to her.
"Hey there! My name's Shiranui Genma. Forget about this silent guy. What's your name, pretty lady?"
Large green eyes pierced him better than any kunai could. "My name is Haruno Sakura," she said carefully, enunciating every word slowly in a bid for clarity. "Is...Is the scary man not mad anymore?"
"Don't worry 'bout that, girlie, me an' the guy took care of things," replied Pakkun, looking at her with a decisive nod.
She looked at the dog with beguiling eyes, making Genma inwardly sigh in relief. He didn't quite know how to face such innocent and clear eyes.
"He's not mad anymore?"
"Nah, we explained and stuff," replied Pakkun, not totally unhappy when Sakura hugged him close to her chest. At least she wasn't trying to suffocate him like so many other children.
"I didn't mean to run into the big man...I tried to avoid him but I was going too fast and then he stepped back straight into me!"
"We know, we saw it and that's what we explained to him," said Genma, rolling his senbon from one side of his mouth to another with a sincere grin.
Kakashi, who was content with remaining silent, saw the ruthless glint in his comrade's eyes even if Sakura didn't but wisely didn't comment on it, knowing that there must have been a certain dose of killing intent involved in the peace talks.
"Now, pretty girl, it's been nice meeting you and saving a pretty damsel in distress, but what say you we get you back to your mother, hm?"
The girl's eyes widened as she thought of her mother who, by now, must be worrying about her.
Before she could say anything, though, an arm wrapped around her and suddenly, she was flying with a shadow at her side. In a few thrilling leaps, the shadow deposited her back on the street, in plain view of her mother who rushed to her with a relieved sigh and crushed her to her breast despite her protests.
Kakashi turned to leave, desperately wanting to avoid anything like emotional reunions, and nearly stumbled as Sakura called out to him a last time before he jumped back to the rooftops.
"Goodbye and thank you, Neko-san!"
He waved lazily over his shoulder and joined a laughing Genma on the roofs.
"You...She called you Neko-san! Hahaha! Neko-san, she said!"
Kakashi, once again, gritted his teeth against the urge to punch his friend in the face, something that was happening to him more and more recently. Maybe he'd go rogue at some point, just to have the satisfaction.
Pakkun just had to choose that time to pipe up, "Don't worry, Boss, you still look plenty dog to me."
While Bull growled his agreement, Kakashi wondered when he had lost his ability to stay foolish tongues with just a glare.
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A long time in coming, but was it worth it?