hello!! Sorry for the wait. There is no excuse except that school is a menacing, vile institution that keeps making me write papers. But luckily, I'm on break since it's the day before easter, so I have a bit of down time. This chapter was a tad bit difficult to write and certain characters may be OOC so I apologize if they are.
I hope you enjoy the read anyway, and thanks to all my wonderful reviewers: red-headed psychopaths wanted, Hanai-kun, kissama, dark-night-sky, psychotic KAT, InuNekoKitsune, Paachaaaw, and Werewolf of Fire. You all are great!! And I commend everyone for realizing that it was Kakashi who was behind the curtain. I tried to be sneaky but you all are just too good at figuring things out! Nice job!
Oh! And have a happy pagan fertility holiday (lol)! Have a happy Easter everyone! Eat lots of chocolate and peeps!
Please ignore any grammar/spelling mistakes as I have no beta, though I looked it over and there should be little to none (I hope).
"Speaking"
'Thinking'
Disclaimer - Me no own.
Chapter Four – To answer or not to answer, that is the question
Neji was not happy.
That was the understatement of the year.
In fact, he was livid, furious, seething only fit to be seen torturing people for ANBU interrogation. Yes, one could in fact say he was a little mad.
The reason behind the disappearance of his normally impassive, stoic face stood before him, hair buns shaking slightly with her laughter as the second and third reasons came toward the two, smiles bright and shining.
"Ten-ten." He said in a dangerously low tone.
The kunoichi turned toward him. "Yes, Neji-kun?" she asked innocently.
He took a breath and replied, "Let me go. Right now. Or I WILL cut off your chakra, tie you up and gag you. I will make sure no one finds you, buried alive in the forest of death. Is that clear?"
Ten-ten smiled, but not just any smile. It was a smile Neji had seen her use on her victims who barely came out alive. If he were a lesser ninja he would have been petrified by just this, but he stood firm trying to think of any way out of this situation before—
"MY GLORIOUS TEAMMATES!" Lee shouted loud enough to scare away the wildlife in a one mile radius.
Gai and Lee strode over to stand next to Ten-ten. Neji hated them both at the moment for not doing anything to save him from his rabid female teammate, but he had to admit their expressions were priceless.
Lee had his head cocked to the side and one eyebrow raised, perplexed. It didn't help that he was scratching the top of his head with his finger, clearly befuddled at the situation. Neji had to stop himself both from laughing at how ridiculous Lee looked and throttling him.
"Neji-kun…why are you tied to a tree? Did something happen? Was it enemy ninja? Quick! Ten-ten! We must form a solid defense and protect Neji; who knows what they have done to him! Get your weapons. Gai-sensei can run and inform the hokage."
Inwardly, Neji smacked his head against a wall before smacking Lee upside the head. Sadly, his green-clad teammate was not the most idiotic of the bunch…
His sensei on the other hand just stood there with his jaw hanging open, not quite sure what to do. Gai had never seen the likes of this before; his top student restrained, tied to a tree by simple chakra-wire? Was he going crazy? This could never happen, not to one of his students! He trained them better than that!
'Oh no,' Gai thought, 'Did I fail them? Did my hours and hours of practice and intensively voracious schedule cause them to peak years too early while they're still teenagers? This can't happen! Not to MY team! I HAVE to be better than Kakashi. He must never find out. Does this mean that I have myself have peaked in my abilities too?'
Suddenly, Neji saw his sensei's eyes widen, his form go rigid before he looked to the sky and grabbed his head with both hands.
Gai's devastating, sobbing wail of "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! MY YOUUUUUUUUUTH!!!!" drowned out Sakura's yell of "KAKA-SENSEI"
Ten-ten, Neji and Lee would have rather heard Sakura instead because now all three of their ears were ringing.
Neji thought the morning could not get any worse than it already had, what with Ten-ten corning him, sharp and pointy weapons falling from the sky that almost penetrated his defense, and then setting off exploding tags all around him. She finally got lucky with the chakra-wire when it managed to snag him on his hair-tie of all things.
Could the morning get any worse?
Not if Shikamaru had anything to say about it as halfway across town his was about to get decidedly more interesting.
Shikamaru looked pained as he attempted to get his sense of hearing working again after Sakura's deafening scream of annoyance just moments before (though he did not know that she projected with such force that she actually drowned out even Gai's wail at the same time).
"Troublesome." He murmured, wondering how it was that Lee could put up with the devilish medic-nin who had caused him plenty of trouble in the past, including that very morning.
He gave up trying to get inside the mind of the green wonder knowing if he tried he would inevitably be consumed by all that was youthful, bright and vigorous. No, that was so not happening. Shikamaru slowly made his way to the Academy, arriving just in time for the afternoon sessions to begin, and almost came to a complete stop upon seeing a familiar shinobi leaning against the wall.
Now, shinobi are not easily identifiable unless is one is trained to pick up on the finer details as it part of their mission in life to not be recognized, much less seen or heard. However, if one could not already identify this particular figure that had Shikamaru thinking 'I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning' then that person would be a disgrace to the ninja community.
This person could very easily be recognized as a shinobi just by the vest they were wearing or of course, the hitai-ate with the leaf symbol engraved in the metal. Yet, what made this shinobi so specific and quite remarkable (though remarkable in a good or bad way is up to your own interpretation) was the brilliant orange cover of the /cough/ novel /cough/ he was reading.
"Ah, ohayo Shikamaru-kun," stated Kakashi giving the chuunin his one-eyed smile, "What brings you to the academy? I thought you'd be cloud gazing on such a fine day as this."
"Unfortunately, no. I have to work here this afternoon Kakashi-sensei, which is more than I can say for what you're doing."
Kakashi narrowed his eye at that comment. Apparently the lazy ninja had a death wish because of his smart-ass mouth.
"So, what are you doing here sensei?" Shikamaru smirked, already knowing the answer. "You do know that Iruka-sensei has classes all day today, right?"
'Why that little…" Kakashi thought. 'Oh, two can play at this game.'
"Ah, you're absolutely right Shikamaru. It must have slipped my mind. By the way, how is Neji doing these days?"
The shock was not apparent on Shikamaru's face, but there was still a tiny bit visible nonetheless. He had suspected that Kakashi knew something, at least since this morning.
While Sakura was changing his bandages, he had thought it was strange that the chakra signature of the room's second occupant was hidden. He had heard Sakura chastise the person as if they were a five-year old, alluding to the idea that they were one of Iruka's students. But no pre-genin would be smart enough to hide his or her chakra, and that only meant one thing: Kakashi-sensei was the person behind the hospital curtain. Sadly, Shikamaru only realized this when he left the hospital and heard Sakura's yell.
And what was even worse was that he already brought up the subject that he and Sakura were not so inconspicuously talking about. Now, how to get out of this situation without digging one's own grave...hmm….
"How should I know how he's doing? It's not like I ask him on a daily basis, or that I even care." He replied, in his mind hoping that Neji was nowhere near here so as to overhear what Shikamaru just said and take it the wrong way.
Kakashi feigned shock. "I am surprised at you Shikamaru!" (He clutched his Icha-Icha to his chest for added emphasis) "How could you say that you didn't even care about Neji-kun, your own boyfriend? I would never say something so mean. You should be ashamed!"
Okay, now Shika was having a hard time controlling his inner laughter because he really, really wanted to laugh out loud at how silly Kakashi was being. The only thing that stopped him was that the copy-nin was still pursuing this topic of converstation that he did not want to continue.
"I'm sure you've said plenty of mean things Kakashi-sensei. And I'm sure Sakura pummels each time she hears them. And then you realize your mistake and go crawling back to Iruka-sensei so he can nurse your wounds, kiss them and make everything better. Am I right?"
Kakashi just blinked. 'How did he know that? Oooookay. Never underestimate Nara Shikamaru ever again. Got it. I'll still get it out of him though.'
"Well, Shikamaru, that is usually what happens, but I am quite glad that I at least have someone to go home to at the end of the day. But apparently, you will too soon enough. That is if you admitted it."
"I don't have to admit anything Kakashi-sensei; there is nothing to admit," Shikamaru said, his brow furrowing in frustration.
"Are you sure about that? Maybe you're just lying about this whole thing. I know the truth."
Shika raised an eyebrow attempting to figure out where this was going. "You do, huh?"
"Yep." Kakashi smiled, knowing his victory was near. "You're lying because you're ashamed to admit that you're dating Chouji."
The Nara blinked once and then: "What the hell?!"
The jounin closed his eyes and nodded his head. "Yep. You're dating Chouji. I've seen it happen before. Dating one's teammate. You're not the first, not even among the rookie nine. Just look at Shino and Kiba and Naruto and Sasuke. Heh, the latter two are the perfect example. I knew they would end up together ever since they were first on team 7 since they always reminded me of Iruka and myself. Naruto being like Iruka and Sasuke being like me of course. Huh, that is really weird now that I think about it…"
From this moment Kakashi pondered in thought and scratched his chin while Shikamaru recovered from what he had just said.
"I am NOT dating Chouji. I'm dating Neji. For a genius, you really are an idiot. Yes, teammates do date each other often, like MY teammates, Ino and Chouji. In case you haven't noticed, they've been going out for almost a year. Chouji's my best friend and I love the guy but NOT in that way. First, Ino would kill me. Second, it's too weird. Really weird. And third, I've got Neji. Who, I might add, seems a lot smarter than you, especially after that ridiculous comment."
Shikamaru finally allowed his shoulders to slump after his mini-rant. That was the most he's spoken in about a week would be his guess.
Kakashi on the other hand was in a bit of stupor. He couldn't believe that such simple questioning could actually illicit the answer he was hoping for. It actually worked! He had been insulted, but still, it worked!
He had another mini shock when he felt two hands grab onto his shoulders a voice started to speak. 'Must remember to hone ninja senses,' he thought before tuning back into reality and what was actually going on.
"That wasn't a nice thing to say Shikamaru-kun. You might have hurt Kakashi-sensei's feelings." Iruka said, having snuck up behind Kakashi without either of the /cough/ geniuses /cough/ noticing.
"Well, he wasn't saying too many nice things about me. You missed that part. And besides, if I did hurt him, I'm sure now that you're here he'll be just fine." He said smirking, still angry over what Kakashi had gotten out of him.
"Yes, well," mumbled Iruka, slightly embarrassed, "I'm glad I happened to catch you while I did. I need you to deliver some documents to the Hokage if you wouldn't mind. The paperwork for the chuunin exams is backed up and Shizune has been hounding me all week for it."
"That's unlike you Iruka-sensei, not to get documents in on time." Shikamaru said, ignoring Kakashi, not wanting to bring up their previous conversation.
A faint blush colored Iruka's face. "Well, you see," he said then turned to mock glare at Kakashi, "I've been rather occupied as of late."
Shikamaru paled slightly, not wanting to even think about what that statement implied. Granted, he might have had somewhat similar experiences but it was different when such things had to do with one's former teacher. Wait. Why was he thinking about this?
Shaking his head to clear it of several unwanted thoughts, he turned back to Iruka who had just whispered something into Kakashi's ear causing his visible eye to widen.
"Sure Iruka-sensei, I can take the documents to Shizune."
Iruka smiled. "Great. I've already asked Genma to cover your classes. Arigatou." He handed the documents over to Shikamaru.
"You're welcome sensei." He turned leave but stopped himself. "Don't say anything Kakashi, though I'm sure you won't listen, but I figured I'd ask anyway." He turned and waved, muttering to himself about geniuses being too smart for their own good.
When Shikamru was out of sight around the corner, Iruka turned to Kakashi and asked, "You didn't torment him too much did you?"
Eye crinkling, he replied, "Not that much. I was just messing with him a little. I wanted to see if he would admit it and he did."
"Yeah, yeah. I overheard you from the classroom. But really Kakashi, Naruto's like me? I think he's more like you with how you're both getting yourselves caught up in the most ridiculous situations." Iruka joked.
"Whatever. Would you rather I have compared you to Sasuke?"
Iruka thought about it for a moment and said, "No, that's okay. Now that you've had your daily dose of picking on the rookies, what do you say we go and do what I suggested earlier?"
"Lead the way sensei," Kakashi said happily before being pulled hurriedly inside an empty classroom.
Neji could not quite stop the ringing in his hear from his sensei's wailing earlier since he did not have use of his hands to tap the side of his head as they were currently still tied.
As it was, he decided to remain silent and still hoping that the rest of his team would be dense enough to overlook him if he appeared to blend in with the tree. Ten-ten and Lee were currently reassuring Gai-sensei that his youth was still as brilliant as always and would remain so for a very long, looooong time.
/sniffle/ "Thank you Lee, Ten-ten. I profusely apologize for my juvenile outburst earlier. I do not know what came over me. Just the mere thought that something could take away such radiant, young lives—why is Neji tied to a tree?" Gai, during his mini-speech had once again seen Neji in his current predicament, having earlier forgotten about it due to his "episode".
All three shinobi could feel the heat of Neji's gaze as he glared intensively, especially at Ten-ten.
"Yes, why AM I tied to a tree? Please, enlighten us Ten-ten." Neji said sharply.
The kunoichi smiled and said to her sensei and teammates, "Simple Neji-kun, you didn't answer my question so I decided to tie you up and interrogate to get my answer. Basic shinobi tactics, you should know that silly!"
Neji's mouth hung open slightly before he found his voice. "You never asked me a question! You just started attacking me with your damn weapons falling from the sky! I never answered because you never asked. Now. Untie. Me."
Ten-ten had the decency to look naïve. "Did I forget to ask you? I was sure that I did. Oh well. At least you're here now. And so are Lee and Gai-sensei so it's good that I didn't get an answer so they could hear it too."
"Yes, thank you Ten-ten for inviting us here," Lee said looking puzzled, "But why do we need to be here? What could you have not asked Neji-kun without us?"
"Oh that. Well, this morning I was on my way to see Shino and ask him if his bugs could clean off my weapons since I can never get in the really tiny grooves, when I overheard an interesting conversation. Apparently, Neji has been dating someone for the past few months. A someone who is also going to move in with him."
At the mention of "Shino" and "overheard a conversation" Neji inwardly cursed Kiba for not keeping his mouth shut. At least she didn't know who he was dating. That much he was thankful for.
"Neji, is this true?" Gai asked with a stunned face. Lee had the exact same expression, but with his mouth hanging open slightly.
To keep quiet and anger his sensei and get skewered by Ten-ten's weapons or to tell the truth? Hmm…
"Yes, Gai-sensei. Though Ten-ten if you already knew that, then there is nothing to ask, so can you please untie me now?"
He never got his answer because somehow at that moment he was being hugged by not one, but two shinobi clad in green spandex. How they managed to hug him until he was out of breath when he was still tied securely to the tree was beyond him.
"I'm so happy that you have indulged your youthful spirit of spring love! This is wonderful! You have made me so happy that I no longer have to worry about my youth disappearing!" Gai cried happily.
Lee, meanwhile, said while crying tears of joy, "Congratulations my rival! You may now know the boundless joys of love and bliss that my Sakura-chan and I have. May youth be with you and your love!"
Finally, the two stood back, wiping away their happy tears as they stood next to Ten-ten.
"Untie him Ten-ten. We must take Neji out to celebrate this glorious occasion!" Gai shouted.
'Finally. It's about time. For once, Gai-sensei is the smartest one of the group.' Neji thought but his happiness was short-lived.
"I can't do that Gai-sensei." Ten-ten deadpanned.
"Why not?"
She turned and looked straight at her "prisoner". "Because Neji still hasn't answered my question."
"And what is that Ten-ten?" Lee asked, curious.
"Who is he dating?"
'Oh shit.'
Hurrah! The end of chapter four at almost three-thousand words. A little extra just because you were all so patient for my late update. Hope you enjoyed reading it!! A mini cliff-hanger of sorts, but not really.
I actually know where I'm going with this story and even how it's going to end! But it won't end for awhile yet, no worries.
P.S. My absolute favorite line I wrote this time: "May the youth be with you" heheheh. I'm such a dork, I know. And for further dorkiness I hope you liked the the Shakespeare reference in the chapter title because I couldn't think of anything better and I /heart/ Shakespeare.
Thanks for reading and reviewing!