A.N. New chapter, and OMG... extra long! Ne, here you'll find some explanations concerning the original manga events))))) Have fun!
-"Speech."-
"Thoughts."
Emphasis on the word or flashback
The room was dim lit, because there was only one electric bulb, which was hanging on the long cord under the ceiling. It was just above the table, and it was swinging slightly in the wind. The wind was inside the room because the window was opened, and even though it was the night, it was uncomfortably hot outside. There wasn't much space; most of it was occupied with the table. By it, sat shinobi. One was a jounin, who was focused on his hands, and they almost trembled with emotion, though, which one was hard to say, was it fear, worry or excitement, was unreadable. His brows were bushy and uncontrolled, especially when he frowned. Next to him, to the left, was an almost sleeping Nin, who was too tired by this point to concentrate. He yawned and grimaced, glancing down at the table from time to time, and coughing in his fist here and there. To the right side of the bushy browed jounin, sat the nin with a scowl, who nervously shifted the toothpick in his mouth from one corner of his lips to the other. He changed the positions of his legs, and it was easy to say he was feeling uncomfortable. And in front of the focused jounin was the one eyed nin, who was calm and bored as if nothing mattered to him in the world, unlike his three companions. With another swing of the bulb over their heads, the focused jounin spoke.
-"I think it is time to show our youthful cards, Kakashi, my friend and eternal rival."-His voice was low, quiet and serious, unlike when in the time of a day, when he was shining with energy. The jounin at his sides simultaneously nodded, and the lonely eye looked up. That eye stared at the green beasty man, and its gaze a moment later fell on the table, where were the signed sheets of paper. He emotionlessly made a curt nod and all four of them slowly turned their cards over.
Then they took a deep breath in and looked at each other's group of colors and numbers. The three jounin stared wide eyed at the cards that belonged to Hatake, and he, seeing their cards, froze.
The three jounin leaned in, to have a better look and Kakashi mumbled,-"Shit."
On his green wearing rival's face stretched a grin, and a moment later the beast jumped, getting back all of his energy and excited attitude. With the shouts of joy he raised his right fist in the air and screamed.-"That was FATE, as one of my dearest students says, that you LOST this time, KAKASHI! Because it IS fate, that our teams will FIGHT against each other in the coming exams! Isn't it WONDERFUL?! That our rivalry will have SUCCESSORS!!? I can't wait to see them shout the speeches of YOUTH while in COMBAT!!!"-He declared as his teeth unnaturally glinted, and then looked down to find Hatake uncharacteristically hitting his head against the wooden desk of the table, while repeatedly whispering-"…shit… shit…shit…"
And that is why Hatake placed his team in exams. He lost in the game of poker…
Chapter 8 the bad luck of a genius
The pair of black eyes stared down at the grass and looked for the sign of there being anything. The brunet frowned not seeing a thing and turned around to glance at his blue eyed teammate. The said boy only grinned in response and his eyes sparkled mischievously. Sasuke raised a brow and silently got back to staring at the ground, not trusting it and surly not trusting his teammate in the first place. Then just sighing he made a step forward and stopped with his arms crossed over his chest. He wanted to state that there was nothing here, but he was convinced that there had to be at least something. He tilted his head and blinked, coming to conclusion that his teammate was stupid and didn't do a thing, or was extremely good, and he was just blind to the details.
They stood among the trees of the forest on their training grounds, covered by the shadows of the mighty trees. The grass was green, clean, the trees were whispering in the wind, and the birds chirped happily, as the day was promising to be shiny and pleasant. The brunet again loudly sighed and turned on the heel, to walk away from the small space of emptiness, and wondered what it was that the blond wanted to show him. He knew it was supposed to be a trap of some sorts. He knew it was good if it wasn't seen. But if it actually wasn't there then what's the point? He made a step and screamed, utterly surprised to feel pain. He was covered with lightning that paralyzed his body and he shook, unable to control his movements. He gritted his teeth to stop the sound from escaping his throat and then, it suddenly stopped. He almost fell but stood his ground on the wobbly legs, shivering and panting as the smoke slightly curled in the air, as it let go of his clothes and skin. He absently noticed the blond come closer and take a closer look at him, stooping somewhat with a sickly curious expression. He reminded Sasuke of Kakashi, when the man was mocking his students and taunted them; that… eccentric behavior must have rubbed off on Naruto. The blond blinked and asked
-"You're all right, Sasuke?"
And Sasuke, slowly coming to his senses, raised his eyes to glare at the blond, who tilted his head, waiting for a reply. He could say that he's angry with the blond testing his trap on him, but then, Naruto would say that he wouldn't do that to Sakura, and he couldn't find Kakashi, and Sasuke is tough, so one stupid trap wouldn't hurt him, and then, Sasuke would agree with this logic, but damn, he could be left out of this, right? Why should he be the tough one? Naruto should test his damn traps on himself, but then he'd say that he's the maker, so he knows where they are and what they do and it wouldn't be a trap any more…
-"I'm fine."-He replied.
The blond nodded and scratched his chin, looking up in thought. Sasuke walked away making sure he didn't look weak and hurt, and sat under a tree, to rest. He looked at his teammate with half lidded eyes and saw the blond make a clone and carefully lift the grass off the ground, making Sasuke see that the grass was on the blanket, that was hidden underground, and the trap was installed under it, made of cables, pieces of paper with seals, and the sticks, that were connected to it in the bushes, from where the thin thread made a way to the small stick on the ground where he stood a moments before. That was a work of a genius, who had practice in pranks. Sasuke knew that he could use his bloodline to find the trap, but even then, there were small chances of him finding it, as it wasn't made of chakra, and was hidden beneath the surface. That kind of thing could be seen by byakugan, again, and Sasuke wondered if Naruto could make a trap that fooled Hyuuga.
Knowing the blond… he definitely could.
Naruto finished packing the trap into the scroll (he already learned that?) and dispelled the clone, then he turned to Sasuke with the devious grin and said
-"I'll be back quickly; Sasuke, wait here and I'll have another trap prepared! I promise it will be even better!" –and with that he ran away with the new idea in his mind, while Sasuke wondered how long will it take him to get out of here and reach his home to hide there.
At that moment in his line of vision appeared his female teammate and he observed as she glanced here and there, looking for something. In her hands, was a backpack and she was holding it with care as she finally noticed Sasuke and ran to him. She stopped by him and smiled.
-"Where's Naruto?"-She asked crouching by Sasuke and glancing around.
-"Don't know, ran away somewhere."-He replied, glad that the trap did not destroy his clothes, or Sakura would notice his weakened state. She shrugged after a minute and then took out of the bag a box and opened it.
-"I have some pastries!"-She happily shouted and Sasuke glanced down into the box and saw small pastries that looked nice, but he didn't like sweets, so he really didn't want it; he looked at it and shook his head.
-"I don't like sweets, Sakura."-He stated and she pouted.
-"But I did them myself, and I tried so hard, Sasuke-kun…"-She said and her eyes almost became wet. He had a twitch of a temple at this and sighed, reaching up with his hand to take one.
-"Fine, I'll try it."-he muttered, inspecting it and frowning. It was made of fancy, it was small, round shaped, with the red filling. He took a bite, carefully, and chewed. He had his eyes widened a moment later and chewing some more, swallowed before turning to her and saying-"That's… good actually."-hearing that the girl almost jumped of happiness, but held that in, instead making a small dance of victory in her head.
-"I have a tea too!"-She added pulling out a thermos and pouring him a cup. He raised a brow but took it nonetheless.
They heard a puff of smoke and turned to see Kakashi standing by them with a book in his hand. The man looked down and his eye widened seeing the box and he stooped over Sakura to take a look in.
-"Oh, you made pastries, Sakura! How wonderful! Finally I feel like we have a woman in a team!"-He sang out while his eye curved in a smile-kashi'style, and Sakura turned to him raising the box, encouraging him to take one. Sasuke glanced at her face and stopped himself from taking another bite of the thing, because he noticed a hidden, evil glint in her eye when she gave their teacher her hand made sweets. It was then that his logic kicked in and he realized that if Sakura made sweets, she would do them for him, not look for Naruto; that's the first thing, for second, she didn't cook before, so what forced her to do that now? And, for the third, if she really 'tried hard', why give her work to Kakashi? She wouldn't do this, unless… there was something behind it. He looked down at the pastry he still held in his hand, and, not really wanting to risk his health or anything, gently put it back in the box, raising a cup of tea to his lips. But then, he stopped himself before he took a sip, and stared at the liquid suspicious of its contents and purpose. He frowned and carefully put the cup on the ground, giving his attention to Kakashi, who ate what Sakura made, seemingly without pulling down his mask, and happily announced that she will learn a new technique today, for her efforts for the team or something, really, she just bribed him with the food, dammit! They moved further after Kakashi drank some tea, and he showed her a technique of making a wall of earth, which she quickly started to train, and exactly twenty five minutes later, Kakashi grasped his side.
Seeing her teacher frown and look down at himself thoughtfully, Sakura took a notepad and made a step closer to sensei.-"Are you feeling well, sensei?"-She asked, looking up at him, to which he just sheepishly eye' smiled and mumbled
-"I am fine Sakura."-And then gasped and his right palm was pressed to his side again.
-"Are you sure?"-She inquired tilting her head, looking at him almost hopefully. But Kakashi blinked, and then remembered that he taught her some medic jutsus, so he decided that she could check what it was…
-"Well, there's some pain in my side."-the girl wrote something down.-"And… I think I have nausea…"-He added and she wrote again. He fell silent and she looked up. Then, seeing his painful expression, she asked
-"Maybe, your legs are getting shaky?"
He looked down at her and frowned, realizing that she was right, and then he tilted his head, starting to put two and two together…
Seeing him getting thoughtful, pinky ran to her backpack and picking it up, shouted
-"I forgot I had a meeting with a Pig, so don't wait for me, Kakashi-sensei!"-and with those parting words… she was gone. The jounin stared at her retreating form and wondered why he had a feeling that she knew something he didn't know… And then, he remembered that Sasuke was here too… but where is he now? The man walked back to where he remembered leaving his other student and felt rather uncomfortable. Then, he knew that he felt bad and on his shaky legs he made it behind a tree where started to empty his stomach, absently noticing that Sasuke was only slightly away on his right, doing the same thing…
He tried to recall how many pasties ha ate and how many tea he drank, to know how bad his state will be, but it was hard to focus when he was busy emptying the contents of his belly and at the same time did all he could to hide his face from Sasuke, who now stood sideways leaning on the tree and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. How could Sakura do this? A nice, shy girl with a kind spirit, a girl he taught so many things… he even started to teach her about poisons… oh… so that's where she got an idea… but! To test it on your teammates?! Why not other teams? How cruel! Kakashi had a sad look when he made some steps away and slumped under another tree. Sasuke watched his sensei almost crawl there, and had to admit that he felt better… He ate only half of one poisoned pastry, while Kakashi ate about four or six… And who knows, maybe the worst part was hidden in the tea… Thank God he noticed her expression at the right time, before it was too late for him… He didn't want to know what happened with the jounin then. Sasuke nodded to himself and started to walk away from the scene, remembering that he planned to hide today…
Kakashi realized that his vision was blurring, but he decided that he will sit like this for an hour and then he'll be fine, but then he frowned noticing that his tongue got numb, and he cursed himself for being kind to his students and teaching them everything they wanted… Sakura probably planned to use this also or… especially on Naruto, so that the blond will have no ability to speak for some time, as she will get to her beloved Sasuke and try to have some intimate moment. Little devils… she forgot that Naruto was too lucky, and even then, if she managed to use the poison on him, he wouldn't be affected. The fox would heal him before the stuff had its effects. And now look at Sasuke, he didn't even ask how he felt! Just stood up and left him alone on the scene, not bothering to even mumble a polite 'goodbye'. Kakashi had an even sadder look at being left alone like that and made a small, barely heard sound of frustration, that let us imaging a pout behind a mask.
Two minutes later behind that tree appeared a blond, and hearing some unrecognizable noises he glanced what was happening behind it and found the jounin. He had a surprised expression on his face and then, just asked
-"Did you see Sasuke, sensei?"
-"A-ah…e…."
The man couldn't say a word because his mouth and tongue were numb, so he just made a strange sound again. The blond tilted his head furrowing his brows together, and after blinking five times, replied
-"…oh."-Then, he just smiled and said-"Well, maybe it's even better that you're here! Would you like to test my new designed trap?"
-"E-eh?..e-eh?!..."
The man had a widened eye and tried to say that he didn't want to test anything, but the strange muffled noise sounded almost like a laugh, and Naruto believed that his sensei said a 'yes'. Kakashi stayed still in one place, not planning to get closer to any trap, but the blond started to lift him up off the ground on his own, complaining
-"Ne, don't be lazy, sensei! Get up and take a look!"
Kakashi wanted to shout, to tell Naruto that he was ill, poisoned, and checking some freaking traps was out of question, but the damnable poison took away his ability to make a sound or to speak, and he was freaked out completely, when the boy dragged him somewhere with promises of the super stuff he created. He wanted to trash, to run or to make some fucking jutsu, but his whole body turned into some kind of jelly, refusing to move. For God's sake, he was a jounin! He was the best ninja in the village, the most competent shinobi Konoha could offer, and here he was just dragged by a genin who planned to… to what? How good Naruto was becoming in the arts of sealing and traps…? They suddenly stopped and the blond kept him steady, making an effort to make sure his teacher stood in right place, and oh damn, he treated Kakashi like… like a thing! The man wanted to cry, feeling as if he was going to be executed, and his lonely eye, that was half lidded since he felt ill, turned dull and full of pain, and there was a tear of pity he felt for himself… He was so desperate, so… so scared!...
The blond absently nodded and grinned, before letting go of the man and jumping away. Kakashi, who was too weak to stand on his feet properly, swayed a few times before falling down on the ground, sprawling, without any control over his limbs, and just for the entire three seconds, he felt relieved, when nothing happened. He was happy, because he believed he wouldn't actually be dead. And then…
-"BOOM!"
Hyuuga Neji was known as a genius. End of question. Whatever people had problem with learning, he learned as easily as the fish to swim. If some jounin wanted to use an example of the perfect genin student, his choice would be Neji. Quiet, fast, precise, cold, responsible and simply perfect, he was known as the strongest among his peers. No one expected him to fail. And even if his teammates saw his flaws, they still respected him.
He believed in Fate. He kept saying that it decides our future, and our past. To him, the world was controlled by the hand of God, and he knew that if something happened, it was supposed to be so. So why when there comes a day when he can't control his life or continue his normal existence, he doesn't wish for it to be called… 'Fate'? Maybe, because it would mean that Fate hates him…
It started with a simple morning on the training grounds of team ten, where Tenten threw the pointy weapons at her teammate, as he trained his speed to dodge, and she her accuracy and precision. The field they trained in was fresh, after the slight morning rain, and the sun warmed the day, that started early for them. And everything would be calm and beautiful if it wasn't for their third teammate appearing and asking them with a wide grin in a shout
-"Oh, Neji-kun, Tenten-chan! I saw you yesterday TOGETHER, were you on the DATE?"
Instantly, their training forgotten, they faced the green spandex wearing Beast Junior and replied at the same time.
-"Of course we were."
-"Of course not."
Hearing the negative response the girl turned and faced the pale eyed boy, frowning in confusion.-"What do you mean? You made court to me!"
-"We just had a dinner together."-He replied closing his eyes, and crossing his arms.
-"But we talked, we… you paid for me!"-She put in and he scoffed, shrugging with the answer
-"I am a gentleman."
-"You're an asshole!"-She shouted and punched him in the face. Lee looked from her to Neji, and then back, and then, seeing that the girl was ready to cry, he scowled and raised his fist, turning to his teammate.
-"You hurt Tenten, Neji, did you forget that you can't hurt your teammates, or, what's more important, a beautiful lady's feelings? That's very UNYOUTHFUL! I shall protect her HONOR!"-He shouted and punched Neji in the other side of his face. Neji flew on the other side of the field from the force behind it and, ever having the nose for commotions and rivalry, Guy appeared on the scene, gazing between his students. He saw Tenten in tears, Lee with the fire in his round eyes, and Neji with the bruised face. There could be only one conclusion he could come to.
-"Finally! Your Flames of YOUTH are burning BRIGHTLY! My students, finally you're in LOVE! What was it, the TRIANGLE?! How WONDERFUL! HOW INTERESTING!!!"
Fifteen minutes later
-"I REPEAT IT ONE LAST FUCKING TIME!"-Shouted Neji and turned to Tenten.-"TENTEN that was NOT a DATE! We are teammates, we are FRIENDS! That was a simple dinner! You're even not in my fucking TYPE!"-Then he turned to his other teammate.-"LEE! FOR GOD'S SAKE, I HATE THE GREEN COLOR…"-here he turned to the jounin.-"…AND THE FUCKING FLAMES OF YOUTH! YOU!"-Here he pointed at the teacher.-"ARE JUST AS PERVERTED AS YOUR FUCKING ETERNAL RIVAL! I SWEAR HIS TEAM IS MORE FREAKING PROMISING FOR A FUCKING TRIANGLE! SO GO AND… WHATEVER! I am done. I'm leaving. I want a day off."-He turned on the heel and left the grounds.
He walked slowly, trying to control his breathing and relax. After some time, when he was far enough from his teammates, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. And magically, a very smiling, a very… youthful, and just as very beautiful, the female member of the mentioned team seven, appeared in his field of vision. She walked the same road, but in different direction, so they ran into each other by…. Fate. She noticed him and waved with her hand, gracefully. He almost melted at her smile.
-"Hi, Neji! How are you? How is your team?"-She asked, but at the thought of his teammates he slumped.
-"…Forget it…"-he mumbled. Seeing that, she raised her brows, but then grinned and reached for her backpack.
-"Here! Have something to lighten you mood!"-And she opened for him a box with pastries. He stopped, and surprised, looked in it.
-"Oh, it smells nice."-He said and took one. He took a bite and felt the sweet taste. It made him almost smile.-"You made it yourself?"-She nodded with a toothy grin.-"It's great!"
-"I just was in such a good mood today! So I wanted to share with it!"-That speech melted his heart, and he felt definitely better.-"Oh, I have a tea too!"-She added, and poured a cup for him from the thermos.
-"Oh… thank you…"
He just… felt touched. Here, he was having the worse morning ever, and the girl he barely knew, was kind to him, like an angel, sent by the Fate herself, or… himself… whatever… He ate the sweetness, and drank a tea. She waved again, going her own way, with the parting words
-"Ne, have a nice day, Neji!"
He smiled and waved to her too.
Fifteen minutes later
He didn't want to believe in fate hating him, so he convinced himself that this day was a test, and that fate wanted to know how strong and patient he was… though, it definitely didn't help to ease his pain and… sorrow. He had the colic in his side again, and pouted, crawling his way back to Hyuuga compound, wondering, how he will survive the humiliation of his clan seeing him in this state...
The three genin of team seven opened the door to the apartment and walked in. The apartment belonged to Hatake Kakashi, their teacher, who landed in the hospital, after the explosion of the trap installed by Naruto. So to say that the trap test was successful, was like to say, the monkey likes banana, or whatever. Anyway, the doctors gave them the key, and the list of clothes they were supposed to bring for the man, because the explosion destroyed his attire, leaving untouched only his mask. Not even boxers survived! The flat wasn't too clean or too messy. Not too dusted. The fridge in the kitchen was empty, to which Naruto complained, admitting to be hungry. Sakura noticed that the man had two shelves of books, all of them were quite known classic. It made her smirk, because it meant that their sensei wasn't that much of the pervert then. She curiously picked one and opened, only to gape at the sight of the smut. The next book was the same. She quickly checked more and her teammates joined her, checking the interesting pictures… Sasuke held up one and nodded with a smile, satisfied, his teammates checked what got his attention and a moment later Sakura hit him on the head with the other smut, knowing that he was turning into pervert… They found some scrolls that were thrown around his bedroom in a mess, and deciding that their teacher wouldn't be able to teach them while in a hospital; they took some of them for the… private training. The wardrobe wasn't too big. Opening it, they saw the row of identical attires their jounin wore. The same vests, shirts and pants.
-"Well, that's just… boring."-Muttered Sakura. They frowned seeing the contents and opened the nearby shelf, which appeared to contain underwear. Sasuke raised a brow.
-"My God…"-Mumbled Naruto, reaching inside and pulling out the boxers with pineapples. The blond whistled and Sakura blinked, surprised. Sasuke rummaged in there a bit, and pulled out the boxers with pink hearts. Naruto smiled evilly, and took out the white in color, with the large red heart on the backside and on the front, both with cute arrows… The trio nodded at that choice. Then Naruto grinned, and took one, complete attire for the man.
-"I have some idea."
Half an hour spent in the bathroom later, he and Sakura brought the new clothes for the jounin, and grinning, the trio went back to the hospital, to put on some clothes on sensei.
The trio stood by the bed on which lay a jounin and stared down at him. He was covered with a white sheet, while his face was behind his favorite mask.
-"let's take it off."-Mumbled the blond, and his teammates agreed, nodding. They made a step closer and carefully, Naruto reached with his hands to the man's face. He was very close, and all of them had eyes widened in anticipation, when suddenly, the man rose, saying
-"Don't you even try."-And then the jounin lost consciousness and fell back. Terrified at his reaction, the genin pulled away and gazed at their teacher sweat dropping.
-"All right, never mind. Dress him, boys, I'll wait outside."-Stated pinky and walked out. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other and then had a glint in their eyes. The blond opened a bag and took out the boxers. The boys smiled and quickly put them on the man. Then they took out the two pairs of pants. Naruto asked singing
-"Sasuke, what do you prefer, the blue ones, or the… pink ones?"-And held each pair in his arms. The brunet made a thinking pose, and scratched his chin.
-"Well, personally, I like the blue."-The blond's arms fell and he stared at his teammate tiredly.
-"I didn't ask what you like, Sasuke. I asked what we'll dress Kakashi in."-Sasuke made an 'oh' and looked at the pants again.
-"Well then, personally, I think I prefer the pink."-He said and Naruto grinned. They put them on and took out the sandals. Orange was more interesting, so they put them on the man's feet. Next were the shirts with long sleeves. One was Kakashi's blue, and the other was created by the blond. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and then, without thinking, he directed his forefinger at the second, and the blond smirked. The shirt appeared on the jounin, and the next was a vest. Choosing between the dark green and the red one, Sasuke looked at the rest of the attire on the man.
-"The red one looks good with pink pants. Flowers are cute too."-He commented. The red vest was decorated with flowers and hearts, which was Sakura's work and idea; they put it on the chair near the bed. The fingerless gloves were orange, matching his shoes. At last, they took out the headbands, and they had to choose between the blue, pink and yellow. Then Naruto decided that these colors do not match his taste, and pulled out of his pocket an orange one. Sasuke raised a brow at that.
-"So? We should sign under it!"- The blond opened the door. -"Ne, Sakura-chan, do you want to sign?"-She grinned evilly entering the room and both of them tied the headband over jounin's head. Naruto took out the black marker, and opened it with his teeth. He gave it to Sakura, and she wrote on the orange fabric 'Pinky' and drew some hearts, Sasuke smirked at it with a shake of his head and taking the marker from her hands, wrote 'Brooder'. Naruto grinned widely and wrote 'Blondie-Uzumaki Naruto' and they clasped their hands, striding to the door. Before they left, they turned and chorused
-"We love you sensei!!!"-And they were gone, taking with them the normal attire of the jounin…
That day, when Mighto Guy found out that his eternal rival landed in the hospital, he was deeply worried. Sure he already suspected that Kakashi's bad luck would keep him in troubles, but it got too far. And to think that it happened while he was in Konoha, not on the mission… What would happen if he'd leave the village's walls? As a caring and kind friend, Guy bought some apples and oranges, to visit the jounin and lift his spirits, so now he entered the building and was beaming, traveling through the corridor to reach the room. Maybe if he shows up with his beautiful and youthful smile, Kakashi's bad luck will be merciful and leave? That would be wonderful! Though, that would also mean that he himself had less chances of keeping their score in his favor... He looked up hearing the grunt and saw some strange patient… But then, his eyes widened, when he recognized in the man Hatake himself… He read the strange… confession written on the shirt of the man and his bag with the fruits landed on the floor…
Having his right hand at the side of his head, with a problematic headache, Kakashi walked down the corridor, wondering why suddenly he became a daltonian… He mumbled something incoherent under his breath, angry at ending up in such a situation, when he noticed his friend on the other end of the corridor, staring at him strangely… Oh, his vision was corrected now! Guy is in green! Just as always…
-"Oh… Guy… that's… nice to see you… came… to visit me…?"-Moving his mouth but not making a sound, Guy stood frozen in front of him, gaping like a fish.-"Guy… is… something wrong?"
In the end, Guy let his hands fall at his sides, as if he gave up about something and then he started to finally speak
-"It is, Kakashi. I can't express, how hard it is for me to say this, but I can't… share your… feelings."
Dumb at his speech, and really out of it, Kakashi frowned and tilted his head, replying-"What… feelings…?"
-"K-ka-kashi… I… I understand you, really, my flames of youth are too great and too powerful… it… had an effect on you in the end… I… am sorry! We… we can still be friends, right?"-Muttered Guy, confusing the one eyed jounin even more.
Kakashi turned away, and noticed a glass door beside him, where was his reflection. There he saw his terrifying, horrible looks: pink pants (oh Jesus…), orange shoes, headband and gloves (really, it could be only one person responsible…), and the green shirt with the words written in white, right in the middle, but… as it was his reflection, and he also had a headache, he couldn't read it… (A.N. there was a phrase, 'I love Mighto Guy' on the front and on the back of the shirt) so… he turned to his friend, and motioned for him to come closer.
Guy pulled back at that action and slowly started to wave his hands in front of him in the negative response.
-"Guy… would you…"
-"No… I… have to meet with my team and… we've got a lot of things to do and the other… stuff…so… I'll see you… later, Kakashi…"
-"I hoped you'll help me… read it… Guy? Where are you… going? Eh…?"-Guy disappeared, and Kakashi was left standing in the corridor, wondering what happened… He looked back at his reflection and wondered how to punish his students for the stunt they pulled. But… on the other side… it proved that he trained them well enough so that they could get under anyone's skin… Somewhere deep in his heart or something… he was actually proud of them.
Few days later, after students of team 7 and their teacher understood and forgave each other
The door opened, and revealed Kakashi. He stood in the doorframe with a serious expression, and looking at the other occupants of the room with the determination. They… were gazing at him with the frowns. Or rather, at someone he took with him, a blond genin who widely yawned, before rubbing his eyes tiredly, obviously still asleep. After all, it was the middle of the night. He was clothed properly only because his teacher didn't want other jounin see his student in pajamas. The boy opened his innocent, blue sparkling eyes, and looked around. It was dark. There was only one light bulb above a strange wooden, square and painted green, table. He blinked at the sight and caught the view of other ninja, who stared at him with the strange faces. The bulb swayed and Kakashi closed the door behind them. Then, he put his right hand on Naruto's shoulder, and slightly pushed him forward.
-"What he's for, Kakashi? I thought we play only among us, not teaching it genin."-Asked a bearded man while making a ring of smoke in exhale. A woman, who stood by him, raised her brows at first, but then she glared at Hatake and released some of the killing intent.
-"Maa, maa, don't worry. Naruto's just a mascot. He brings luck."-Muttered the jounin explaining himself, and the boy scowled and glared, turning his head up to see the one eyed sensei. The man just smiled sheepishly, and scratched the side of his masked face. Asuma and Kurenai sweatdropped at that proclamation, but then decided that Kakashi was just desperate to win the game, and he was ready to do anything, to not lose his books or his money. It was no secret now that the jounin had a bad luck passé. He lost to Guy already, and that never happened before. Not in poker. So when he invited them for a round, they agreed, having faith in Kakashi's bad luck, and wanting to do what they always wanted to; Kurenai to force him to not read the smut for a year, and Asuma to force on him his expenses on the barbeque for his team. So if the man just wanted to reassure himself by bringing in his genin, it was his trouble. It wouldn't save him.
They shrugged and all three of them sat by the table, Naruto stood by Kakashi, glaring at the table and the man. The game started, and with the first cards in his hands, the one eyed jounin frowned.
-"So, I heard you train your team pretty seriously, ne Kakashi?"-Asked Asuma, licking his lips before parting them to place between them a cigarette. Still frowning down at his small fan of colors and numbers, the jounin replied.
-"I had to. They didn't give me any choice."-He mumbled and the woman smirked, glad that there was someone who could force the man to do something. She glanced at the blond and the boy tiredly stared back, not showing any emotion whatsoever. She frowned and wondered what happened to the grin he sported; did Kakashi wipe it off with some training program?
They reached for the cards again, but Kakashi stopped before touching them. He blinked, and then pulled back. He thought for a moment, as his friends watched him closely, and then turned to his student, asking
-"Ne, Naruto, give me the card, please."-He started quietly, and the boy looked down at the man coldly.-"If I win, you'll have three bowls of ramen."-He added, and the boy sighed, before turning to the table and taking the cards for the man. Kakashi took them from the blond's hand and looked down at it with a glint in his eye.-"Luck is in your hands, Naruto."-He whispered, widely smiling behind the mask at the sight.
Forty minutes later
Asuma glared at his hands, and sometimes, he would glare at the blond. Kurenai gritted her teeth, and her piercing stare was almost making holes in the one eyed jounin, while she also glared at Asuma, reminding him that it was him, who convinced her to play the damn game. Kakashi sat with the blond on his lap, sometimes ruffling his blonde hairs, happy that Naruto's luck was stronger than his bad luck, and the boy would ask for a new technique, or the new seals, before giving the man the card that would determine him as the winner. Kakashi promised to get him some scroll that contained the powerful sealing techniques, and the boy was actually happy at getting the complicated, dangerous and deadly 'toys' with which he would play putting in his creativity.
-"It is time."-Kakashi said, and Asuma, instead of staring just threw his cards on the table, letting them turn over, and his elbows appeared on the wooden surface, as he held his head at its sides, clenching and pulling his hairs in frustration. Kurenai blinked and gulped, putting her cards down and one drop of sweat slid down her temple, as she looked up at the man with red and scared eyes.
Kakashi smiled and turned his cards over, showing the beautiful combination, and the woman froze, looking at it with shock. The one eyed jounin reached with his hand for the three papers that were in the middle of their battle area, and looked down, before tearing into pieces one of them, which was signed by him. The other two were signed by his colleges, and he carefully folded them, before putting them in one of the pockets of his vest. He spoke
-"Now, as both of you realize, you lost. So, I guess… I'll see you and your teams in exams? Bye, guys!"-He waved with his hand while grabbing Naruto with the other, and they disappeared in a swirl of leaves. A long and silent moment later, Kurenai, screaming and yelling like a crazy feline, attacked Asuma with her nails, teeth and fists…
The next day, early morning, training grounds ten
Asuma nervously smoked, watching as Ino and Choji awkwardly fought with each other. The girl used shuriken and kunai to attack the boy, and he clumsily dodged the projectiles, before turning into the large and heavy ball that attacked the girl, who in turn, was screaming while running away from it across the clearing. That picture made him feel all the more uncomfortable; they were attacking each other like children would do in a sand-box, and then they would run away scared of themselves like they were pursued by the squad of anbu or something… Now, where's Shikamaru? That fucking lazy ass should train too.
Asuma looked around the grounds, grassy, spacious and almost untouched, and noticed his third student somewhere in the middle of it, bathing in the sun rays while watching the white clouds above. It irked the jounin even more and he had a twitch of the left temple, realizing that their days looked like this for the last two months. He gritted his teeth and sharply turned, striding to the genin, who did not acknowledge his presence. He stopped above the boy who lay peacefully on the ground, and tired of everything, really, just kicked him in the side.
-"Enough with that freaking behavior of uselessness, Maru! Get the fuck up and train!"-he said sternly, and the boy looked up, frowning. Their teacher was different today, beside the fact that he had scratches on his face and hands, as if he alone battled Tora, he was extremely jumpy, angry and overall troublesome. Something must have happened that night to make him react like this. But to throw his own problems on his students? That was unprofessional.
-"What's wrong, Asuma-sensei? You behave like the world is ending, you sure we have to run around like idiots and train or you just want to get rid of the pent up anger?"-Asked the boy rubbing his ass, as he stood up. He tiredly looked up at the man and found the face of the fury, so unconsciously, he made a step back.
-"Don't ask me fucking questions. Go and train with your team, or I will make you."
-"You also started to curse a lot…"-Mumbled the boy but seeing the face of the man getting red in color, he, with the widened eyes ran to join his teammates and train with them, preferring to get away from the troublesome man, even if that meant doing the troublesome training…
Same time, training grounds eight
The three pairs of eyes stared at the woman disbelievingly, one pair was hidden behind the glasses, the other was slated and dark brown and the last was lavender, almost white in color. They were among the trees in the forest and just gathered as usually to complete some missions, when Kurenai, out of nowhere, announced that they will participate in the coming chuunin exams.
-"Well, that's… great sensei, but… are you sure that we're ready? I mean, sure it'll be fun and all, but aren't we supposed to train a lot before that?"-asked Kiba, frowning at the jounin while Shino nodded, to agree with him. Kurenai sighed, crossing her arms under her chest and spoke
-"There aren't high chances of you winning this year, but this will be good experience, and believe me, you will learn a lot from that."-She argued, not at all willing to explain exactly why she put her team in the exams. They nodded and shifted somewhat, waiting for her to say something.
-"So, what the hell are you waiting for? The training starts today. I swear, if you disgrace me in the exams your training will turn into torture from hell. Do we understand each other?"-She asked with the dangerous tone and her students gulped, before quickly nodding, utterly scared.-"Good. Today you train your clan techniques, Kiba I want you to fight against Hinata, then you Shino, will fight against me; after that we will chose some target and follow it using the tracking skills, also, I will teach you some jutsus, for you something about water, Hinata, if I remember correctly, this is your affinity, and you boys will have some earth technique. Then I plan to give you some points on genjutsu and no, don't look at me like that, we don't have much time."
-"Ano… sensei isn't it…"-muttered the girl and Kurenai suddenly shouted out of nowhere at her.
-"I said we will train, and that means that we will do so until you lose your consciousness because of exhaustion!"-She cut her off.
-"H-h-ha-ai…"- the girl mumbled using all of her strength and fainted head over heels.
Hokage office, present time
-"Now, now, Kakashi; you get away from the topic again. What's up? It can't be that serious."-Muttered the old man, and Kakashi fidgeted, hiding his eye from the man. He coughed a bit, and for a moment glancing at the man, looked back on the floor and started to mumble…
End of chapter 8
A.N. No omake this time, I think half of this chapter was funny enough as it is... but as you can guess, the next one gets serious. I try to keep the story balanced)))) Ne, do you want more romance, or more drama?
