Beta'ed by Lohis, thank you! ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or TF Prime
Will of Fire and Hearts of Steel
Chapter Seven
Naruto was bored.
It was already Friday. Friday. That meant they had been at the base for almost a week. And that whole week they'd been spending all of their time in the Autobot base without even a glance at the outside world.
He was a ninja, damn it! He wasn't supposed to be confined inside four walls in some desolate base buried underground! He wasn't supposed to sit all day in some stuffy base with nothing to do.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. Of course he had things to do, just not the usual things. No missions and no training (at least not nearly as much as he had had before). Seriously, staying inside all day long (and all days!) was starting to get him a real cabin fever.
He wanted to get out.
He wanted to breathe the fresh air and see the sun again. He wanted to see some trees like he had seen every day in Konoha. He wanted to go and visit all the places in this new world he had gotten into. He wanted to do something useful.
The days had passed with varying speed. At the start of the week, Miko had gotten them the language books Kakashi-sensei had asked for and his teacher had insisted that they would concentrate mainly on them now (it was so boring, like being at school all over again). Well, of course it was better to have even something to do instead of just hanging around.
Though, it always was fun to talk with the Autobots. Even though Ratchet was a little grumpy, especially if he was disturbed during whatever work he was doing, and Arcee eyed the ninjas with slight suspicion every now and then. Basketball matches between Bulkhead and Bumblebee were always fun to watch and Smokescreen never grew tired of telling amazing stories about battles he had fought in and how many Decepticons he had beaten up. Naruto had even exchanged a few words with Optimus Prime, though he still thought the tall robot was kind of scary with that powerful leader aura of his. But Naruto had ranked the Autobot leader on about the same level with the Hokage which automatically equaled awesome.
When Jack, Raf and Miko were at the base he always had a good time. The teens had shown him some absolutely cool things that apparently were quite ordinary in this world. Like Miko's electrical guitar (Kakashi-sensei hadn't been amused at all) and Raf's weird little machine called "lap-top". Yesterday the blond ninja had found Jack and Raf doing something with the computer and according to Jack (once again translated by Miko) they had been removing photographs of Bumblebee from something called "Internet" (Naruto still didn't understand what it actually was, despite Jack and Rafael's attempts to explain it to him) and replacing them with talking cats and other weird things. Apparently every now and then somebody managed to catch a glimpse of the robots and the teens were happy to get rid of the photos whenever they found them.
With the Internet, Naruto had learned, one could do quite a many things. Like play even more games (the racing game had been so much fun!). The three teenagers had also started to show him photos of the outside world, which was something Naruto had found overly entertaining. Miko had been utterly enthusiastic to tell him all about the photos:
"That's Jasper, our home town. It's a kind of a boring place, nothing really happens there – "
"That's Tokyo, in Japan, where I come from! I'm here just as an exchange student, you know –"
"Here's a picture from Greece, I were there once with Bulkhead, we had this super cool mission –"
"Oooh, and that is New York City!" (Ooh, so that was what it had meant)
Even Kakashi-sensei had been interested. The jounin had been peeking over Raf's shoulder, staring intently at the screen and everything that had been happening on it. Rafael had been quite intimidated by the ninja's sudden proximity. Naruto had been staring at the display for so long his eyes had become all red and itchy so that had been enough of computers for a while then.
And because it would have been totally foolish for a ninja to neglect the training, regardless the situation, he and Kakashi-sensei had sparred a couple of times, honing their taijutsu skills after the small break. Once before an audience because Naruto and his new friends had talked the jounin sensei into it. The other teens had been quite impressed and Miko had immediately demanded Naruto to teach her some of those "awesome ninja moves" they had used.
Okay, so the past days had been fun. But it wasn't enough to ease the growing sense of being trapped underground with those same walls around him every single day. Kakashi-sensei was probably sick and tired of listening to his never-ending inquiries whether they could go outside already.
Naruto could understand why they couldn't just go strolling outside as Kakashi-sensei and the Autobots had explained it: the place was supposed to be abandoned and the team of alien robots really didn't need any more risks of being discovered. Oh, and then there were the Decepticon folk who probably would try to snatch away both Naruto and his teacher if they just got the smallest of chances. But they had recovered a lot of their chakra reserves already, so next time they faced off the bad guys it would be very different!
Surely a small peek outside wouldn't hurt, right? He could just sneak out and take a look at their surroundings and return and nobody would be any wiser. Maybe he could have done that if they still weren't almost always under the watchful eye of some of the Autobots, and there was always someone in the room with the tunnel entrance. And Kakashi-sensei's strict orders were not to use any jutsus. Well, sneaky ninja techniques hadn't ever been his strength anyway.
But he still was The Number One Unpredictable Ninja! He would find a way to sneak out, even for just a little while. He would just have to wait for the perfect opportunity.
"Man, this is so hard!"
Kakashi didn't bother to answer. Naruto had complained for the last half an hour about how hard, boring and stupid language English was. The jounin couldn't help but roll his eye every time he heard a bored and exasperated huff from the direction of his blond student. He had been right when assuming Naruto wouldn't be too enthusiastic to really try to learn the new language.
He took a quick peek over the top of his own language book and glanced at Naruto who sat cross-legged on the floor not far from him, squinting his eyes at the Japanese-English textbook in his hands. He was again wearing his usual and now clean outfit just like Kakashi. The Copy Nin had been euphoric (though he hadn't shown it, of course) about being able to wear the jounin uniform again. He had felt rather uncomfortable without it. Ninjas just weren't supposed to walk around in silly t-shirts with hearts on them.
"I mean," the boy turned the book in his hands, glaring at the text inside, "who could have possibly come up with a language like this? The letters make no sense!"
"They're just different, " the Copy Nin said without really trying to convince the boy anymore. He had been trying to motivate his student whole week without any real success. "You just have to memorize them, and then the rest gets a little easier."
"But that's it, I can't remember them!" The boy wailed. "And look at this!" He jabbed his finger at the book, scowling at whatever he was looking at on the pages. "How can that one even be a word?! It's probably just random letters in a row! How could anyone even try to pronounce that?"
"Treat it as a mission," the Hatake suggested a little wearily. "An A-rank if you like."
"Well it would still be a stupid A-rank mission!" The boy glared at him and the jounin chuckled.
Kakashi retreated back behind his language book. Naruto would just have to survive from this. At least the current exercise was great patience practice.
There was another bored sigh. The blond probably refused to learn anything out of sheer stubbornness. Kakashi wondered how the staff in the Academy had managed to teach anything to the boy.
"Ha!" The boy suddenly yelled. "You're having difficulties too! That's like the third time you're reading that same book!"
"Hn, had to revise some things," he lied smoothly. He took another glance over his book. "Maybe you would actually learn something if you would for once actually concentrate on what you're doing."
"That's mean, Sensei! Nobody should be forced to try to memorize these things!"
Kakashi ignored his student. He had other matters to focus on right now anyway.
Naruto was right; he actually had read the book he was currently feigning to read. He had read all of the books Miko had hauled to the base, some of them more than once. The letters had been a little hard to learn first, but he wasn't called a genius for nothing and had memorized them in a relatively short time.
He thought he had improved quite nicely, absorbing all the information from the available pile of textbooks. His vocabulary was steadily increasing and while it would have probably sounded no less than horrible if he'd tried to actually speak it he could already almost understand some written texts if they weren't too complex.
His improved language skills had enabled him his new favorite pastime: eavesdropping.
There was a reason he was currently pretending to struggle with the new language. He had come to the conclusion that it would be far more useful for them if the Autobots still thought they didn't know a word in English. Naruto's antics were for once helpful as the boy's loud complaining made it even more like they both had to make a huge effort to learn the new language.
And as the Autobots still used English whenever talking among themselves, Kakashi could nicely pretend he was reading and listen to the conversation unnoticed. Though large deals of the discussions were spoken in words which meaning he had no idea about he still sometimes managed to understand at least something. Listening to the Autobots talk had also been great practice. He had once tried to translate Miko's ramblings but had quickly deducted that it would require much more than simply being a genius to decipher the girl's lightning-fast chatter.
He knew the Autobots wouldn't probably be too glad to discover his new hobby and the Copy Nin felt his conscience sting a little at the thought of spying the ones that had offered them a sanctuary. But he was a ninja by heart and had been on active duty for over two decades. It was his job to gather information in situations like this. That was also the reason why he hadn't, despite Naruto's growing demands, told their new acquaintances about chakra and jutsus. He just wasn't supposed to. Keeping things secret was what he did. What he had always done.
Kakashi sighed. And it wasn't like the Autobots weren't keeping an eye on them too. The jounin hadn't made it this far if he hadn't reacted to new situations with a healthy sense of suspicion that admittedly sometimes did tilt to the direction of downright paranoia.
Kakashi banished the distracting thoughts and concentrated on the conversation going on between the Autobots. Sensitive hearing became rather useful in situations like this, he thought when blocking out Naruto's complaining and focusing on listening to the discussion. He couldn't keep this up for long anyway as the robots would, without a doubt, soon decide it would be too risky to have any important conversations with the two ninjas present.
His body language gave no sign that his focus had been directed to totally different directions than the textbook in his hands. Every now and then he flipped the page, eyes focused on a blank spot on the book and listening intently.
Hmm… Nothing too important, something about fetching the kids from school, later today probably… Something about the Decepticons, Kakashi wasn't sure if he had gotten that right but he assumed the Autobots hadn't heard from their nemesis for a while… And the robots were getting a little anxious, going by the tones of their voices.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes, turning a page in his book but straining his ears to hear more. He was sure he had heard a word there the Autobots had used relatively often before. Oh, there it was again. There were lots of other words which meaning he didn't know or had missed but he was rather sure he had caught one.
He snatched a Japanese-English dictionary from the floor and continued to ignore Naruto's grumbling. He flipped the thick book open, for a moment contemplating the spelling and scanning his memory for the right letters. Then he flipped the pages until he got to r and then e and started looking for the word.
After a moment of search he thought he had found the right one.
Relic.
He stared at the word, brow furrowing ever-so-slightly. Why would they be talking about that? Maybe he had gotten the spelling wrong… But he was fairly sure this was the right one.
Kakashi closed the dictionary and put it aside, continuing to hide behind the textbook. The Autobots didn't come across as folk who would collect memoirs and keepsakes. That didn't make any sense, not when the robots' whole existence was uncertain. He had gotten the image the Autobots were more like soldiers than anything, so he doubted there would be space for mere souvenirs in their life.
Unless there was more to it.
And there was that part of the base that hadn't been introduced to them.
"Kakashi-sensei! Are you even listening to me?!"
Kakashi lowered the book slightly so he could look at his student. Naruto seemed to be on the verge of pure anguish. The kid clearly was someone who learnt by doing, not by reading.
"Sorry Naruto," the Copy Nin's eye crinkled in a smile, "this part was kind of hard." He waved the textbook in his hands.
His mind was totally elsewhere as he listened to Naruto's complaining how impossible it was to even try to learn the weird language.
Arcee was standing beside the wall, absentmindedly listening to the conversation taking place at the computers. Or in other words listening to Bulkhead and Bumblebee's chatter, while Ratchet pretty much tried to ignore the other two.
It was still early afternoon, so the kids were not yet at the base. Their guests were currently absent too, having left the room with Smokescreen and their textbooks a while ago.
She still wasn't happy about the situation, but Arcee wasn't going to complain about something they had already decided together. Prime was sure the ninjas would open up once they realized they were not going to be double-crossed or betrayed. Arcee just hoped their leader would be right (the Prime usually was). She was getting tired hosting these secretive soldiers like she had told Hatake almost a week ago, though the silver-haired man hadn't seemed to be even slightly intimidated by her words. And she was sure the masked ninja was up to something.
She would keep an eye on him so when he finally tried something (she just knew he would) Arcee would catch him red-handed.
Her inner musings were abruptly interrupted as there was a sound coming from the computers Ratchet was currently operating.
"What is it, Ratchet?" Arcee asked, moving closer to the displays.
The medic narrowed his eyes.
"It's a signal from…" The blue optics widened in surprise. "From Wheeljack!"
"JACKIE?!" Bulkhead hollered, nearly shoving the medic aside as he stomped to stand before the screens.
"You sure it's him?" Arcee asked warily.
"Hello again Doc," the Wrecker' familiar voice echoed through the room. "Care to set up the ground bridge for me?"
"That sure is Jackie!" Bulkhead laughed after hearing his friends' voice. Arcee saw Ratchet rolling his eyes at the huge green mech while checking the identification beacon and the coordinates.
The ground bridge was soon ready and the medic hit the switch. The green portal flared to life before them. It wasn't long until the familiar figure of Wheeljack appeared from the glow, slowly walking to the room as the ground bridge disappeared behind him.
"JACKIE!" Bulkhead bellowed, instantly grabbing the white Wrecker into a metal-crushing hug.
"Long time no see, eh?" Wheeljack chuckled as he was lowered back to the ground.
"Great to have you back again, Jackie, " Bulkhead laughed, slapping his friend on the shoulder. The newly arrived Wrecker's attention shifted to other presences in the room.
"Hi Doc!" Wheeljack greeted Ratchet with a laugh. "Thanks for the bridge! It would have been a long drive."
Ratchet waved his hand without turning around from the computers. Bumblebee chirped happily and Arcee nodded a greeting. She noted the Wrecker looked a little battered; his white paintwork covered in scratches and a few more serious-looking cuts.
"Where's Prime?" Wheeljack asked, glancing around the base.
"On patrol. He should be back soon," Arcee answered. As Wheeljack was someone who didn't usually hang around the missile silo she couldn't help but ask:
"So what brings you here today?"
"I had a little run-in with the 'Cons. Took some nasty damage so I wondered if Doc here could patch me up. Not that I'd really need it. Just thought you might miss me by now. "
"Well don't call me 'Doc' then!" Ratchet snapped indignantly, for a moment turning to face and glare the other 'Bot. "Or I just might leave you to rust some day!"
The warrior laughed. "Sure thing, Doc."
Ratchet grumbled something about a ruffian and bad manners.
"So," the white Wrecker drawled. "What have you been up to lately? Anything interesting to tell?"
"Well –" Bulkhead started.
And then, Hatake Kakashi chose that exact moment to stroll to the room.
The ninja stopped dead on his tracks as soon as he saw the Wrecker standing not far from him, the lone grey eye widening.
Wheeljack frowned and turned around, noticing the ninja standing in front of the corridor entrance.
"What the – ? How many humans do you keep down here nowadays?"
Arcee noted there was a slightest of scowls visible on Hatake's masked face, as if he had understood something of the words spoken though it had been in English. But the look was gone in a flash.
"And who might you be?" The man asked evenly in Japanese, arching one silver eyebrow and looking up at the 'Bot.
If Wheeljack was surprised of the sudden language change he didn't show it.
"Name's Wheeljack, and occupation: one of the last few Wreckers around." The white mech took a step towards the man. "And you are?"
"Hatake Kakashi," came the smooth answer. "A shinobi."
"A ninja, eh?" Wheeljack snorted. In a one swift move he had drawn one of his swords, the deadly blade being taller than the silver-haired man.
"You know, I could cut you in half in less than a second, little man."
The Hatake met his gaze with admirable indifference. He suddenly had one of his knives in his hand, spinning it in lazy circles.
"And I could have this buried in your eye in less time than that, " he stated matter-of-factly.
For a moment the room was silent as the two warriors glared at each other. Ratchet followed the encounter with a frown. Bulkhead looked slightly worried. The tense atmosphere stretched, and Arcee was just about to try and explain the situation before something bad would happen when the white Wrecker suddenly let out a loud rumbling laugh.
"I like this new guy!" He said with a grin. "You got the spirit don't you, little man?" The Wrecker seemed like he would have slapped the ninja on the back if that probably hadn't lead to quite a few broken bones. "Nice to meet you, Hatake Kakashi."
Hatake looked a little confused first at the sudden change in the other's attitude but then offered a slight smile (or at least his eye curved in that funny way). "Likewise." The dagger had already disappeared from view.
Arcee explained (with a little help from Ratchet with the more scientific information and theories) the current situation with their interdimensional visitors.
Wheeljack let out a bark of laughter.
"From another dimension? Hadn't heard that one before! And Megatron is after you already? You've been busy! Tough luck."
Kakashi rolled his eye. Arcee couldn't help but chuckle.
"Though nothing has happened in a while," she said. "The 'Cons have been disturbingly quiet."
"That usually means they are just up to something nasty again, so you better watch your backs," Wheeljack scoffed. Then his attention shifted back to the ninja standing beside him.
"So, you have a friend here too?"
Hatake nodded. "My student. He should be here soon."
"If possible, that boy is even louder than Miko, " Ratchet mumbled. "My audio receptors are starting to get abused..."
Wheeljack laughed.
"Abused? So he's even worse than Soundwave with a resonance blaster?"
Ratchet ignored him.
The Wrecker grinned, returning his gaze to the ninja again.
"Well then I think we're gonna get along just fine."
Extra: Teaser from Chapter Eight:
"Well," Wheeljack said, his lips twisting into a grim smile. "I think this is what they call a rematch then, eh?" The blue optics narrowed dangerously. "Wonder how you'll do now, without any nice little relics in your back pocket to save the day."
Soundwave just tilted his head.
"Got nothing to say?"
A cricket chirped in the distance.
There was a silent swoosh as two katanas were unsheathed.
The visored head remained unmoving.
The Wrecker grinned.
"Then let us begin."
Thank you for reading! Feedback and reviews will be more than appreciated.
AN: And again, thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I really can't thank you enough ^^ And I just had to put the sneak peek of the next chapter at the end xD
If you see any mistakes, just let me know and I'll fix them.
