Uzumaki Mikomi
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A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to update, I really don't have a great excuse other than I got really busy for the longest time. I moved after I graduated from Community College and am now attending a University, Washington state University to be exact. A lot of things happened during the interim and I had a couple of big problems when it came to getting an update out. I either had the inspiration but not the time, or the time and not the inspiration. Hehe as we all know you have to have both to actually get anything done. Again I am really sorry this took so long, I finally had the time and inspiration! And without Further Ado Chapter 10 of Uzumaki Mikomi!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the world or the Characters. I just hope Kishimoto-sensei can forgive me this story.
Chapter 10
The door opened and a young man stepped in to the room. He had an inviting smile and a gentle look in his eyes. He was a blond man with clear green eyes. Sakura and Mikomi couldn't help but stare at him. He had muscles in all the right places and his clothes weren't shy about showing them off. He appeared to be maybe 16 years old.
The young man walked over to the Hokage and gave a respectful bow. "You found a team for me, sir," the young man said in a melodic baritone that made the girls' knees feel weak. The man, in short, was every girls' dream man. The Hokage gave a nod and indicated the team with a sweep of his hand, "Indeed."
The man gave the team an appraising look and the girls found themselves feeling a little sheepish. "Ahh," he said as he turned back to face the Hokage, "genin?" The Hokage gave a nod. "They are a very good team," the Hokage said looking them over, "their record is nearly flawless thus far." The man gave a nod and turned to face them once more.
"I am Takehito," he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you all, especially you two lovely young ladies." Takehito smiled as he stepped towards the girls. He bowed as he reached out and took Mikomi's hand. He brushed the back of her hand with his lips in a gentlemanly fashion and Mikomi nearly fainted dead away as her face became bright red. Takehito smiled warmly as he released Mikomi's hand, which simply fell to her side, and repeated the process with Sakura who fared no better than Mikomi in keeping her cool.
Sasuke was scowling darkly at Takehito as Kakashi smirked under his mask, the Uchiha was jealous. Kakashi found it humorous, the Ice King of Konoha was becoming more of a puddle as they days went by.
Kakashi snickered in his mind as he began reading his book again, he wasn't about to let on that he was finding this whole thing funny. He glanced at the girls as they both nearly fainted dead at Takehito's gesture. He could swear he saw the steam coming from under their collars as their faces turned several amusing shades of red.
The Hokage was finding the whole thing somewhat humorous, as well. He watched the girls nearly passed out and Sasuke glaring at Takehito. The Hokage though maintained his calm.
After a few moments of that he sat forward and cleared his throat, everyone looked at him again. "My Apologies, Hokage-sama," Takehito said with a bow, "I was merely introducing myself to my escort home." The Hokage chuckled and gave a nod, "I know," the Hokage then turned to look at the team, "Your mission is to escort Takehito back to his home in the Country of Wheat."
Team 7 looked at the Hokage and gave him a nod, "Hai," they all said.
"Keep in mind," the Hokage said after a short pause, "that you have to stay focused." The three genin gave him a nod, looking a little reticent, as the girls began to cool off.
"You have today and tomorrow to prepare," the Hokage continued, "you leave in two days." Every one gave the Hokage a nod as Takehito walked towards the door he had entered by, "I'm glad I was assigned such a promising team," he said over his shoulder as he stepped through the door and slid it closed.
Once Takehito was gone Mikomi let out a sigh and shook her head, "If I was single," she said under her breath, Sakura merely nodded numbly standing next to her.
Mikomi shook her head and decided to look around the room. She noted Sasuke was glaring at the door, as if he could burn holes in it. She snickered lightly at the sight then she glanced at the Hokage, who was looking amused, then Kakashi. Kakashi was busy reading that little orange book of his and looking rather disinterested in the whole thing. Mikomi still giggled though, she noticed that Kakashi had been incredibly amused by the whole ordeal. Once you spent enough time with Kakashi you could tell he was amused by the little crinkle at the corner of his eye.
"Alright," she heard the Hokage say, "You can all go now." The genin nodded and Mikomi ran up to the Hokage, giving him a fast hug.
"Thanks grandpa," she said. The Hokage smiled and gave her a pat on the head before she finally turned and wandered to the other door, a quick wave over her shoulder and she was gone.
Sakura blinked a few times as she finally noticed everyone staring at her and blushed again, "sorry," she said quickly, "what?"
The Hokage shook his head, a light smirk on his face, "you can go now," he said. "Oh," Sakura replied and proceeded to stumble out, still a little overwhelmed by Takehito.
Once the girls were gone Sasuke faced the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama," he said as his eyes grew a little more intense, "if you have time I'd like to speak with you." The Hokage's eyebrow rose slightly, Kakashi's eyebrow soon followed.
"About Mikomi," Sasuke continued, glancing at Kakashi.
"Hmm," Kakashi interjected as he put up his little book, "I would also like to speak to you about some things pertaining to her, Hokage-sama."
The Hokage gave a nod as he stood up from his seat, "I have a little time right now if you two don't mind accompanying me to my chambers."
The two gave a quick nod and followed the Hokage.
Sakura and Mikomi squinted in the afternoon sun as they exited the Hokage tower. "Ehh," Mikomi grunted, moving a hand over her eyes, "bright out here." Sakura followed suit and nodded, "sure is," she replied.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Mikomi asked looking to Sakura.
"Dunno," Sakura replied as she returned Mikomi's gaze, "Wanna come over to my place?"
"Sure," Mikomi said glancing down the street, suddenly her stomach growled loudly.
"Hungry?" Sakura asked as she giggled and looked down at Mikomi's stomach.
"Heh seems so. You know… thinking I'm gunna hit Icharaku's today."
"Alright, guess I'll see ya tomorrow for some pre-mission equipment shopping then."
"Great," Mikomi giggled softly, "always fun shopping with you Sakura."
The girls giggled and gave each other a hug. They headed in two different directions afterwards, Mikomi heading towards Icharaku's and Sakura heading home. The two girls stopped just before they lost sight of each other and waved at each other smiling, before continuing on their ways.
Mikomi was skipping down the road as she neared the corner that would take her to Icharaku's when she smelled something vaguely familiar. She stopped and sniffed at the air again glancing around with a soft frown on her face. "I know this smell," she thought as she looked towards the corner, "potato chips?" She tilted her head to the side curiously as someone rounded the corner and nearly bumped in to her.
The person was definitely about her age, heavy set and had a jacket and shirt combo she recognized. Mikomi dodged out of the way as a smile crossed her face, "Chou-kun," she exclaimed as the boy blinked and looked at her, tearing his eyes from bag of chips he was snacking on. "Ahh," he said and grinned, "Miko-chan!"
Mikomi frowned momentarily, "You're probably the only one who can get away with that," she said as she gave the larger boy a hug.
"Long time, no see," Chouji said as he returned her hug and chuckled, "whatcha been up to?"
"Nothing much, really, just catching that poor cat again."
"Oh, the one that always runs away from that overbearing woman?" Chouji looked at Mikomi as she released him and stepped back.
"Yeah," she sighed, "that one, poor thing get's way too much loving from that crazy lady."
Chouji chuckled and gave a nod, "definitely, and her squeals are enough to make your eardrums explode."
"Yeah!" Mikomi giggled.
"Mmm," Chouji grunted.
"Whatcha been up to your self, Chou-kun?"
"Same old, same old I guess," Chouji shrugged, "regular little missions and the like, nothing exciting."
"Heh," Mikomi grinned, "as if Shika-kun'd do anything exciting."
Chouji chuckled again, "speaking of Shikamaru, he should be showing up soon. He was behind me when I turned the corner."
"Oh," Mikomi stepped around Chouji to peer around the corner, nearly getting run over for a second time. She jumped back and yelped a little. "Eh," a lazy voice, she recognized pretty easily, came from the boy who just dodged her, "Mikomi?" Mikomi grinned at the taller boy with the spiky hair pulled up, almost topknot style, "Yo, Shika-kun," Mikomi said and gave a little wave.
"There you are," Chouji said as he looked his friend over a moment, "what took you so long?"
"I had to listen to Ino complaining about her hair again," Shikamaru sighed and shook his head, "so troublesome."
"Isn't she though," Mikomi said snorting derisively, "more trouble than she's worth."
"Aww, come on Miko-chan. She's not that bad you know."
"Ehh, all girls are a little more trouble than I like."
"Oh bah, girls are not trouble, you boys just don't know how to handle us," Mikomi smirked lightly eyeing Shikamaru.
"You used be good friends with Ino, Miko-chan," Chouji sighed and frowned, "what happened to you two?"
"She won't tell anyone," Shikamaru looked at Chouji, "she's never told us about it."
"You guys don't need to know," Mikomi huffed slightly and crossed her arms, "Ino just showed me who she really was, that's all."
Silence fell on the three old friends as those last words left Mikomi's mouth. The two boys sighed and looked around quickly, Shikamaru frowning darkly. Mikomi looked at them curiously and started to look around too. "What're you two looking for," she asked. The two boys looked at her again, Chouji smiling a little sheepishly and Shikamaru looking like he was about to deal with something he didn't want to. Mikomi blinked at them.
Mikomi frowned as a voice wafted around the corner, a voice that grated on her last nerves every time she heard it, "Shikamaru, Chouji, where'd you go," The voice said as a platinum blonde girl rounded the corner. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she immediately grimaced when she saw Mikomi.
"Great!" thought Mikomi as she looked at the girl, "Ino…"
"The traitor," Ino said as she frowned, eyeing Mikomi darkly.
"Now, now," said Chouji as he raised his hands up in a placating manor.
"So troublesome," Shikamaru mumbled as he stepped out of the way.
"What're you doing here Ino-pig?"
"I could ask the same of you traitor, what do you want with my team?"
"Come on Ino, we've been friends with Miko-chan a long time."
Shikamaru sighed and leaned against the wall deciding it was best to stay out of it.
"So?" Ino growled softly and looked at Chouji incredulously, "you're my team now, we don't have time to talk to this traitor."
"Traitor?" Mikomi growled back, "I ain't a traitor; you're the one who started coming at me you know."
"Girls, girls, really!" Chouji exclaimed raising his hands to stop the two before they got too far, it was a futile attempt.
"Best stay out of it Chouji," Shikamaru finally interjected, "it's just going to cause you trouble, and probably pain." Shikamaru sighed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued to lean against the wall.
"I did not start coming after you!" Ino exclaimed loudly, "You totally took Sakura's side!"
"I did not!" Mikomi retorted, her voice matching Ino's.
"You so did! You completely took Sakura's side; I knew you always liked Sakura more than me!"
"That's not how it was and you know it!"
Chouji decided he had no chance of stopping this and took refuge next to Shikamaru.
"That's exactly how it was!" Ino shot back.
"No it wasn't!" Mikomi's eyes narrowed as she looked at Ino.
"Yes it was," Ino glared back at Mikomi angrily.
"No it wasn't!"
"Was too!"
Shikamaru rubbed his temples as the bickering started to give him a headache, Chouji fidgeted next to him looking back and forth between the old friends, now enemies. Ino and Mikomi growled at each other again, clenching their fists tightly.
It was taking all Mikomi had to not hit Ino right there.
Ino was doing everything in her power not to use her family's techniques on Mikomi and teach her a thing or two.
The two girls fumed at each other for a long moment, toe to toe.
"All I did was ask you to stop picking on Sakura," Mikomi continued, her voice ice cold, "and you turned on me in that instant, I didn't know you were so two faced!"
"Two-faced!" Ino yelled, "Two faced? I was never two faced! You turned on me! You betrayed me!"
"I did not betray you! You turned on me, you two faced, petty, shallow, stuck up, snobbish PIG!"
"That does it! I'm going to show you a thing or two! You….you…. you traitorous, venomous, two timing, stab your friends in the back BITCH!"
Chouji blanched at the language the two girls were using as Shikamaru cussed under his breath.
Ino and Mikomi separated quickly as Ino's hands flashed in to the seal for her family's technique.
Mikomi jumped back a little ways to gather momentum and charged at Ino.
"Oh shit," Shikamaru thought as his hands formed the rat seal before he was thinking. He only had a few seconds before the two girls clashed in, what he assumed would be, a bloody battle.
"You're too slow," Ino yelled as she braced herself for her technique. Mikomi, for her part, flew at Ino a fist raised to deliver a nasty blow.
"Mind switch…"
"Rock Cru…"
Suddenly both girls felt themselves stop in the middle of their attacks mere inches from each other.
"Shadow binding technique, success," Shikamaru said as he sighed and stood up, forcing the two girls to follow his movements and stance, "so troublesome." Chouji sighed in relief as he wiped the sweet that had gathered on his brow, in the tense moment, away.
"You better let us go!" both girls shouted at Shikamaru, "If you know what's good for you, I'm going to beat her up!" They growled but Shikamaru wasn't about to let them go, he knew they'd pummel him before each other after what he did.
"Enough!" Shikamaru said, his voice rising, "I can't believe you two!" Shikamaru waved his hands in exasperation; the girls were forced to mimic his movements, thanks to his technique. "This is so troublesome," Shikamaru continued eyeing the two girls, "you just about beat a fellow shinobi of the leaf to a pulp and you two have the audacity to tell me to let you go?"
The two girls seemed taken aback by Shikamaru's actions and then blinked at him blankly after he spoke.
Shikamaru noticed the blank expressions and his eyebrow rose. "What?" Shikamaru asked them, but he was silently glad whatever he had done to confuse them worked to calm them both down again.
"What the hell did you just say?" Mikomi asked, moving her eyes to see Chouji, hoping he might know what Shikamaru just said.
"Y…yeah," Ino supplied a couple of moments later, "Aud…who?"
"Audacity," Shikamaru blinked, "you know…'the nerve to'…"
"Ohhh…" both girls said in unison. Shikamaru just sighed and shook his head, again mimicked by the two girls.
"Well," Mikomi grunted, "it doesn't matter I'm still going to kick her ass."
"Whatever," Ino replied incredulously, "I had you."
"You did not! My punch was going to smash that pretty little nose of yours!"
"It was not! I had you with my technique, I would have had you stopped and beating yourself up before you got to me."
Shikamaru glanced between the two, disgusted now, and muttered something to Chouji. Chouji frowned but nodded his assent. Chouji walked up to the two bickering girls and placed a big hand over both their mouths, effectively silencing them. They tried to protest but they were bound tightly and Chouji wore his tape thick, they couldn't bite through it.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," Shikamaru sighed stuffing his hands in to his pockets and slouching again, "this is so troublesome."
Chouji nodded with a grunt and frowned at the two girls, he hated seeing his friends try and hurt each other and he had a feeling those two were being serious.
Shikamaru glanced between the two girls quietly a moment before speaking again, "What were you two thinking? You're supposedly comrades you know," Shikamaru said, turning his attention to Mikomi, "'Rock Crusher' hmm? I've seen you use that technique to crush a boulder the size of Chouji. Were you trying to kill Ino?" Shikamaru fell silent as he waited for Mikomi's answer; Mikomi just cast her eyes down and didn't try to say anything. "Ino," Shikamaru continued after he got his answer and looked at Ino, "What were you planning? Were you going to take over Mikomi's body? Then what, make her go jump off a cliff before releasing the technique?" Ino didn't make eye contact. She, too, did not protest after the question. "I see," Shikamaru sighed, "so you two were planning on killing each other?"
Chouji frowned darkly and looked between the girls sadly, "That's not good," he said casting his eyes down. The two girls felt pretty bad seeing the look of pain and sadness cross Chouji's, usually cheerful, face. Silence fell heavily on the group as they all thought about what just happened.
The Hokage sat behind his desk and sighed comfortably. He reached over to pick up his favorite pipe and stuffed some tobacco in it. "Have a seat you two," he said waving his hand towards a couple of chairs in front of his desk, "just give me a moment to find my lighter."
Kakashi and Sasuke walked up and sat in the chairs, settling a little as the Hokage found his lighter and lit his pipe.
The Hokage puffed a few times until he got a good drag and stashed his lighter looking at his two guests as he puffed away. "This is the first you've actually requested to speak to me about something Sasuke," the Hokage said after a moment, "what's going on?"
"I just wanted to ask you what was going on with Mikomi's apartment," Sasuke said, "she said her rent has been raised recently."
"Hn…," Kakashi grunted softly looking at Sasuke, "That's actually the same thing I wished to talk to you about myself Hokage-sama."
"I see," the Hokage said raising his eyebrow, "her rent was raised?"
"It was," Sasuke replied, "Sakura's mother mentioned it to me when I was assisting them a few days ago."
"Indeed. Mikomi mentioned it to me when I was checking on her after the training ground 39 test."
"I see, she never mentioned it to me." The Hokage frowned lightly, taking a large pull from his pipe.
"She never mentioned it to me either, as I said; Sakura's mother mentioned it to me." Sasuke crossed his arms as he sat a little more deeply in his seat.
"Mikomi said it was for 'back rent and fees and stuff' to quote her," Kakashi supplied.
"Such a thing was not in the original contract I signed for that apartment when I decided to set her up there. Then again I heard that apartment building had changed hands in the last couple of years. I assumed the contract was retained as it was, though it seems that was naive of me." The Hokage's frown deepened.
"Can't something be done; it sounds to me like there is a breach of contract." Sasuke sat forward a little bit in the chair, maintaining his stoic calm but feeling angry on the inside. He'd figure "why" out later.
"It sounds as such to me as well Hokage-sama." Kakashi, for his part, seemed to be concerned simply because she is his genin.
"I can't do anything right now you two." The Hokage sighed and sat back in his chair. "If Mikomi signed a new contract it's out of my hands," the Hokage continued, "she was emancipated by the council a few years ago, when she was nine."
"She was?" Sasuke frowned at the information, but concealed it as quickly as it came.
"They can do that?" Kakashi asked with momentary surprise in his eye, "I thought children couldn't be emancipated until they were at least sixteen."
"They can be declared emancipated by the council, pretty much at any time." The Hokage took a puff of his pipe looking rather upset, "As long as the children are wards of the village and working towards becoming a shinobi."
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded, "I was emancipated a couple of years ago myself."
"I see," Kakashi sat back in his seat again, "So there really isn't anything we can do about it."
"No there isn't, though I will look in to it. If she was forced to sign a contract through threats of eviction or some other coercion it violates our landlord/tenant laws."
"Why not just move her to another apartment building?" Sasuke inquired looking at the Hokage intently.
"Mikomi wouldn't go for that, she hates depending on others. You should know this Sasuke." Kakashi waved his hand dismissively.
"Indeed." The Hokage took a long pull from his pipe and looked towards the side window.
The three men sat in silence for a few minutes before Kakashi sighed and stood up, "The landlord seems to be bleeding her dry, Hokage-sama," He said, "she can't afford anything except a few clothes and some necessities, even though she's getting paid now." Kakashi glanced back at Sasuke and the Hokage then headed for the door, "I should go prepare myself for our upcoming mission," he stated before taking his leave.
The Hokage sighed and nodded as he looked at Sasuke, "something else on your mind Sasuke," he asked noting Sasuke wasn't getting up to leave.
Sasuke looked back at the Hokage and gave a nod, "Yes," he said, "I was wondering why the villagers look at Mikomi the way they do."
The Hokage frowned and looked at Sasuke, "what do you mean?"
"I mean they all look at her with this…hidden hatred I guess. They have these cold eyes, like Itachi when he killed my family."
"I see. I can't answer that question Sasuke, I'm sorry. If you really want to know I'd recommend talking to Mikomi about it."
Sasuke grunted softly and stood up, "alright," he said as he turned towards the door. The Hokage watched him walk towards the door frowning. "I guess he was bound to notice someday," the Hokage thought as he watched Sasuke leave his chambers.
Kiba jumped from roof top to roof top hoping to get home as soon as possible. "Boy," He said glancing up at the little white dog hiding in his hood, "I'm starving, think mom will mind cooking a late lunch for us Akamaru?" The little dog barked happily as Kiba chuckled. Just then Kiba caught a few scents he recognized, "Mikomi, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji?" he thought as he stopped on a rooftop to get a better whiff. "I wonder what's going on," he said as Akamaru barked looking in the direction of Mikomi's favorite ramen restaurant, "wanna go check it out boy?" Akamaru barked and gave a nod. "Ok," Kiba said with a grin, "guess we'll be eating Icharaku's today eh?" Kiba laughed as he bounded towards the familiar scents, Akamaru barking as they sped away.
Shikamaru stood in the uncomfortable silence as he looked between everyone there. He finally sighed and grunted, "I should probably report this to the Hokage," he said as he looked at Mikomi and Ino. The girls' eyes went wide as they tried to look at him. "Well," Shikamaru sighed then shrugged, "it's too troublesome right now. I guess we should let you two speak now, hmm?" The girls tried to nod but they were still held fast in Shikamaru's technique.
Shikamaru was silently glad neither girl was particularly strong, as he looked at Chouji. "Go ahead and let them go Chouji," he said and Chouji lowered his hands.
Mikomi sputtered some as she gasped for air, Chouji's hands were big and they had nearly suffocated her in the last few minutes. She looked towards Ino as she heard Ino gasp for air and sputter too. "You nearly…" Mikomi began to say before she caught sight of Chouji again. Chouji was still rather down and quietly walked over to stand next to Shikamaru, refusing to make eye contact with either girl.
Ino didn't even try to talk to Chouji; she'd seen him like this before. It was always hard to see such a gentle guy that down. Ino sighed and looked at Mikomi finally.
Suddenly Kiba landed next to Shikamaru, "what's up?" he asked looking at everyone before noticing Shikamaru's technique. "What're you doing Shikamaru," Kiba exclaimed, "you shouldn't use your techniques against fellow Konoha shinobi, unless you're, you know, sparring." Kiba looked at Shikamaru and then noticed Chouji and frowned, "something bad happened here, huh."
Shikamaru didn't flinch as Kiba landed next to him, having already felt Kiba's presence before Kiba got there. Shikamaru frowned as Kiba barraged him with questions and finally looked at Kiba once he had shut up. "I just stopped these two from killing each other," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly as he fixed Kiba with a pointed gaze. "So troublesome," He muttered.
Kiba frowned as he looked at the two girls, at a loss for words. Akamaru whimpered softly and tried to crawl deeper in to Kiba's hood.
The silence that permeated the area was deafening as everyone thought, trying to find some words to use and finding all the words they thought of inadequate. The silence lasted a long time.
Kiba finally broke the silence, "so, why were you two trying to hurt each other?" he asked.
"Mikomi betrayed me," Ino said softly.
"I keep telling you I didn't. You're just two faced," Mikomi replied, though she kept her voice down.
"What are you two talking about?" Kiba asked, lost. He looked at Chouji and Shikamaru but noticed the other two boys were keeping quiet.
"Mikomi sided with Sakura, she betrayed me…"
"I keep saying I didn't side with Sakura, I just asked you to lay off of her, that's it."
"Eh?" Kiba looked between the two girls scratching his head.
"I thought we were friends, and then you totally took Sakura's side Mikomi. I mean I never saw you telling Sakura to lay off."
"I did tell her to back off, lots of times, but the first time I tell you to back off of her and you jump all over me."
"I didn't jump all over you, I just…felt…felt like you were against me because I never saw you talking to Sakura about it but it seemed you talked to me about it a lot."
"Sounds like a big misunderstanding to me, no reason to nearly kill each other." Kiba shrugged lightly as he glanced at the two girls.
"Like I said, you always talked to me about picking on Sakura you never talked to her about coming after me."
"I did talk to Sakura, lots of times. Ask Kiba he was there for a few of them."
"Eh?" Kiba blinked looking between the two as their eyes moved to peer at him, "Err…," Kiba thought for a few moments, a frown on his face as his hand stroked his chin, " oh, yeah, I saw Mikomi telling Sakura to stop picking on you Ino. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but come to think of it now…I actually saw her doing that a lot for a while."
"Oh?" Ino frowned softly as Shikamaru started to release his technique on the two girls, "I…I thought you were against me when you talked to me…It always seemed you favored Sakura over me."
"No, that wasn't it at all," Mikomi sighed as her limbs started moving as she wanted them to, "I never found out why you and Sakura were fighting to start with. One day we're all good friend, next day you and Sakura are at each others' throats. I just wanted the fighting to stop that's all. I didn't want to see my two friends hating each other. Sakura never said anything about what happened between you two."
"So…you're telling me you were just trying to keep the peace, Mikomi?" Kiba asked a frown on his face, "and you thought Mikomi had chosen Sakura over you, Ino?"
"I never knew you had talked to Sakura too, I just thought you were always talking to me about it. So I guess I just snapped." Ino sighed softly and rubbed the back of her head.
"I just wanted to stay friends…why did you two even start fighting in the first place?" Mikomi looked at Ino curiously.
Kiba sighed and stepped back, he wanted to hear this story. He looked at the other two boys who seemed just as curious as he was. He looked at Ino as she started the story, listening patiently.
"Well," Ino started, thinking back, "You know Sakura and I have crushes on Sasuke, it's rather blatant from what I hear. Of course, every other girl in the academy had one on him too, except you Mikomi." Ino looked at Mikomi who simply shrugged and indicated that Ino should continue. "Anyways," Ino started again, "You remember that ribbon I gave Sakura way back when we were little?" Mikomi nodded. "One day after her and I realized we both had crushes on him, she gave it back to me." Ino shrugged, "she gave it back to me and said we were rivals…that she wouldn't lose to me." Mikomi frowned softly and sighed, "That's it?" Mikomi asked. "Pretty much," Ino replied, "before I knew it we were fighting and you know the rest."
The boys looked at the two girls blankly, obviously at a loss.
Mikomi looked at Ino then sighed, "Look Ino, I never wanted us to drift apart. I had always hoped we'd be friends again, but one thing lead to another and before I knew it we hated each other. I'm sorry for everything." Mikomi slumped a little bit, letting her arms dangle limply at her sides.
Ino shuffled a little, before looking at Mikomi, "I'm sorry too Mikomi, I guess I let my imagination and hurt feelings control me."
Everyone stood in silence for a moment before Mikomi extended her hand to Ino and looked at her, "friends again?" Mikomi asked, hoping Ino would nod. Ino looked at Mikomi's hand and then at Mikomi before sighing and clasping Mikomi's offered hand in her own, "Yeah, I think I'm done fighting with you." Ino smiled at Mikomi, looking her in the eye.
Mikomi grinned at Ino and then pulled Ino in to a hug, "I'm really sorry," she breathed as a few tears escaped her eyes. Ino smiled more and embraced her old friend. "You know," Mikomi said after a moment of silence, "I still have that flower wreath you and Sakura made for me, that we had your mom preserve." Ino giggled softly, "I'm glad."
Chouji couldn't take the touching scene anymore and stepped in to hug his friends, lifting them in to the air. "Alright," he exclaimed happily, "Friends again!" The girls giggled softly as Chouji embraced them, he was truly a gentle and sensitive guy. After a while of that Chouji set the girls back down and smiled at them brightly, keeping a big hand on each of their shoulders.
Kiba and Shikamaru, who could only take so much of "touching scenes", finally coughed and looked at the other three pointedly.
"I think," Kiba said as his stomach growled, "food is good, Icharaku's is just around the corner and I'm starved!" "Good idea," Chouji exclaimed, pumping a fist in to the air as the girls looked at Kiba and gave him a nod. "Yeah good idea," the girls said, "I think we have a little catching up to do." Mikomi and Ino looked at each other after that and started to walk towards Icharaku's.
Shikamaru stood still for a moment before smirking and shaking his head, "Sheesh," he said as he started to meander after his friends, "so troublesome."
The door creaked open after it received a rather rough shove. Mikomi reached in to her apartment and flipped on the light, she couldn't believe how late it had gotten. She sighed and nearly fell in to her apartment; Kakashi's training could be brutal sometimes. She finally got inside and kicked her door closed, it bounced right back at her and whacked her on the rear. "Oi!" she exclaimed turning to face the offending object with a glare. She sighed and lifted the thing up some to close it, the screws in the hinges had been stripped out for weeks now and she was getting tired of it.
Mikomi slowly made her way to her bedroom and shed her sweat soaked clothes, letting them land in a pile on the floor by her bedroom door. "Gah," she muttered as she shivered, the cold air of her room washing over her sweat soaked skin, "shower," she thought heading for her bathroom, "at least the water heater is working now."
Mikomi sat on her bed after her shower and sighed contentedly, stretching her legs and smiling. "Well, that felt good," she said looking around her room, "at least the heater kicked in, feels much better in here." She looked at her dresser and grinned, wandering over and opening a drawer. She shuffled through its contents for a few moments before finding the teddy and pants that Hinata had given her for her last birthday. This particular outfit was her favorite sleepwear.
Mikomi strode over to her bed again setting the pajamas on it and quickly drying off. It didn't take her long to get in to her pajamas and sigh happily; she loved how the silk teddy felt. The silk pants felt great too, never sticking to her legs if she got too hot in bed. Whenever she wore it she felt like she was sleeping on air.
After several minutes Mikomi decided to go make herself a cup of instant ramen before bed, she was a little hungry. She giggled thinking about what Kakashi would say if he knew she was eating this stuff before bed. "'It's not healthy,' he'd say, 'and it'll probably give you nightmares, all those preservatives in it.'," she thought.
Before she knew it the bell on her microwave dinged at her and she fished some chopsticks out of a drawer. She ate her snack in relative silence, her mind playing the day's events out once more.
First there were the dozen missions her team had finished that morning, before they got the cat retrieval one again. Then the near brawl she and Ino got in to. Mikomi frowned recalling that fight but smiled again as she remembered making up with Ino. Mikomi noticed she had finished her ramen and decided it was probably bed time as she tossed her trash in the trash can and headed for her room.
Mikomi snuggled in to her blankets and sighed, Sakura had given her these soft sheets a couple of months ago. Her old ones were getting a little thread bare and Sakura had noticed during a visit.
Mikomi rolled over in her bed and stared at her dresser, it was an old dresser. It had been worn down with constant use before it was finally tossed out. Mikomi had discovered it outside one of the small homes in the residential district as she wandered through the streets. She remember wondering why someone would throw it out and had opened a drawer, the drawer fell apart in her hands. She had frowned but decided she wanted that one. It took her some time to convince the bear ANBU to help her haul it home, but the Hokage finally ordered him to do so and he helped her out.
Mikomi giggled as she remembered the Hokage trying to fix the thing himself, he did it but it took some time and a couple of his ninja techniques.
Mikomi's eyes settled on one of the little top drawers. It was her special drawer, she kept all of her precious items in it, including…. Mikomi got out of bed and walked over to the drawer and opened it. Inside lay a few things, her photo album, a couple small trinkets and a flower wreath. The wreath was just big enough to fit on the head of a little girl. Mikomi smiled as she gingerly took the fragile looking thing out and looked it over. It was the flower wreath Sakura and Ino had given her, so long ago, before the fights started. The day the three girls had declared they were best friends forever.
Mikomi sighed and held the wreath to her chest, over her heart. "I'm glad I was able to make up with Ino, I always wished we could be friends again," she said as she put the wreath back in to the drawer, "I hope Sakura and Ino can make up too, I really miss those days…back when we were kids who didn't know how to fight with each other."
Mikomi went back to her bed after closing the drawer, her and Ino had spent the whole afternoon catching up and apologizing, a lot, to each other. It seemed time made people forget how to act around one another. They had talked about everything they had been through since they had drifted away, good things, bad things, stupid things, and in between things. When Mikomi and Ino left Icharaku's they found Kakashi waiting for her, he had said he had some training he wanted to help her with. So she said good bye to Ino then hugged her again. The old wounds had finally healed.
Mikomi slumped in to her bed tugging the sheets over her body again and sighed, Kakashi's Training had been brutal. He said she needed to work on her stamina. Mikomi knew the real reason he had called her out soon after they got to the training grounds. Kakashi asked her about her apartment and her landlord as he made her run a few laps and stretch.
He raised his hands and said, "Come at me." Mikomi launched herself at him. They sparred for a while then he started asking her questions again.
"You're emancipated hmm?" he had asked her as she threw a kick.
"Yeah," she had replied blocking a knee to her stomach. He actually ended up asking her a lot of questions; she couldn't really remember them all except two.
"Did you sign a new contract with the landlord after you were emancipated?" He had asked, distracting her long enough to get her in a hold.
"Gah, how'd you know?" Mikomi exclaimed as she wriggled her way free, but her arm was sore afterwards.
"Just had a hunch," Kakashi threw a light sweep at her, which she dodged easily.
"Why the sudden interest in my living conditions, Kakashi-sensei?" Mikomi threw a roundhouse punch at Kakashi's face.
"Oh," he said as he ducked her punch and threw a quick jab to her kidney, "just curious."
"'Just Curious'?" Mikomi smirked at that and blocked the kidney jab with an elbow, flipping back and landing out of his reach to catch her breath.
Kakashi stopped there and sighed looking at the sun as it slid behind the Hokage monument, "Guess we should stop here." Kakashi looked at her, "ever consider asking the Hokage to move you out of there?"
Mikomi frowned at that and shrugged, "I can take care of myself, when I can afford to move I probably will," she replied, "I don't need to burden grandpa anymore than I already have."
Mikomi sighed as she rolled over again in her bed, "why's everyone so worried about me, I'm a big girl," she said as she closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, the only sound in her room her soft breathing.
Mikomi opened the door to her apartment building and looked out in to the early morning light. She liked going out in the morning sometimes, just to feel the cool morning breeze and feel the new sun touch her skin. Of course, the thick pouch that held her money was a good thing too. She giggled softly as she headed out the door, only to be stopped by a gruff voice echoing down the hall. "Ahhh," she muttered, "crap!"
She turned to look down the hall, seeing the familiar form of her landlord. He was a heavy man, burley and hairy. She grimaced, feigning a yawn to hide the grimace. The man stunk a little, and he wasn't exactly good looking. His shirt was a little too small for his portly belly and stained with a little bacon grease.
The man wandered up to her and glowered, "You trying to make a break for it without paying what's due?" He asked her.
"No sir," Mikomi stuttered out, "I was just going to get some equipment is all."
"Equipment? Girly you got obligations here first, that back rent ain't going to pay itself." The man crossed his arms and snorted towards Mikomi.
"Well…true," Mikomi sighed as she looked around and fidgeted under the man's accusing gaze.
Just as the man stuck his hand out Lee wandered up, "Hi, Mikomi-chan," He called waving at her happily. Mikomi blinked and looked over her shoulder, "Lee-kun!" she exclaimed as he wandered up behind her.
"Something wrong?" Lee asked as he looked between Mikomi and her landlord.
"Nothing you should be concerned about kid," the landlord grunted out leveling a baleful eye at Lee.
"Yeah, I'm just paying the rent, Lee-kun."
"Huh?" Lee looked between them blankly, "but it's the middle of the month, isn't rent usually due on the first or last day of the month?"
"I told you kid, ain't your concern. Now shut up and let girly pay me what's owed."
"It's ok Lee-kun." Mikomi pulled her money out and gave it to the landlord, who counted it. She put her arm in the way so Lee wouldn't do something rash.
"Alright Girly, now have fun." The landlord's voice dripped with sarcasm as he walked back to his apartment chuckling softly.
"I have to pay my back rent and some fees Lee-kun. So I have to pay every week to get caught up." Mikomi turned and looked at Lee smiling at him gently.
"That ain't right Mikomi-chan! That's…That's…gotta be illegal or something." Lee frowned darkly and looked at Mikomi with a little concern in his eyes.
"It's ok Lee-kun, I signed a contract…he said he'd evict me if I didn't sign the contract when the council declared me emancipated." Mikomi sighed and looked down a bit before plastering on her patented fake smile for Lee.
"Now…I know that's Illegal Mikomi-chan, that's called Coercion."
"Honestly Lee-kun," she said looking away from him, "do you really think I'd have a chance of winning that case…with my…prisoner?"
Lee growled softly and tried to argue with her but he knew she was right. He sighed and looked down the hall of the apartment building, seething for a few minutes before he remembered what he had come for.
Lee sighed again and shook his head, regaining his cool. "Mikomi-chan," he said placing a hand on her chin to pull her face towards him, so he could look her in the eyes. "I was wondering," Lee continued after a moment, "if you had this morning free?"
Mikomi looked at Lee blankly and nodded, "Uhh, yeah I do," she said.
"Great!" Lee exclaimed as he presented her with some flowers and a little box of candies.
"Oh!" Mikomi gasped softly and smiled brightly, "thank you Lee-kun!" Mikomi took the flowers in one hand and stashed the chocolates in to her small purse. "These are lovely, and Haruno sweets!"
"Yes." Lee said with a smile "I thought it'd be nice to go on a morning date with you, just a little stroll up to the Hokage monument to look out over Konoha."
"That sounds lovely Lee-kun." Mikomi giggles brightly as lee offered her his arm. She wrapped her hand gently around his elbow and he escorted her to the monument.
They were both laughing together as they reached the top of the monument. Lee was glad he had gotten Mikomi to smile again. That fake smile she plastered on all the time made him hurt inside. He smiled down at Mikomi as she mentioned something that had happened to her a couple of days ago; in truth he wasn't really listening. Lee just basked in the warm glow of Mikomi's smile as they walked up to the top.
"Ahh," Lee sighed as they crested the top, "here we are Mikomi-chan." Mikomi looked up from the flowers and nodded, "seems so," she replied. Lee grinned at her and swept her in to his arms. He really didn't know why, but it just seemed the right thing to do. He carried her over to a bench and set her on it.
Mikomi was a little surprised when Lee scooped her up in his arms, but she soon found she was happy he had done so and gently rested her head against his chest. Lee's heartbeat was soothing to her, and his warmth made her a little giddy. She was a little disappointed when he set her on the bench and sat down next to her.
The two basked in the warm glow of the morning sun. They sat silently for a while, each enjoying the company of the other. Finally Lee slowly put his arm around Mikomi's shoulder and tugged her close. Mikomi giggled softly as she rested her head on his chest again and they watched the sun rise in bright blue sky.
After, what seemed like an eternity of bliss, Mikomi spoke up, "the village is pretty from up here."
Lee glanced down at Mikomi and smiled, "Indeed it is," he said. "When we aren't dealing with the people in this village," Lee thought darkly as he gave Mikomi a squeeze. Lee had a few other angry thoughts streaked through his mind but he decided it'd be best to not dwell on them, or mention them. Lee was only concerned with Mikomi's happiness right now and those thoughts would only ruin it for her.
Mikomi knew something was bothering Lee a little bit just by looking at him, but she wasn't going to push to find out. She really just wanted Lee to be happy and she knew that her asking questions about his current thoughts would only ruin that for him.
Mikomi smelled the flowers for the hundredth time as Lee kept holding her close to him. "Lee-kun," she said looking up at him, "thanks for this." Lee looked down at her and smiled, "I'm glad you are having fun," he said as he leaned down slightly to kiss her cheek. The kiss was gentle and it somehow didn't seem enough for Mikomi as Lee pulled back from her and gazed out over the village again.
"Lee," she said as she began to sit up. Lee turned to look at her questioningly as she planted a warm kiss on his lips. At first Lee was shocked but he quickly got used to it and returned her kiss. They kissed for a long time, embracing each other as Mikomi's hand strayed to his head.
The sun felt hot to Mikomi as they kissed, she felt herself wanting to pull Lee closer as he returned her kiss. She moved her hand towards his head and began to run her fingers through his hair; it was surprisingly soft to the touch. She dropped the flowers as she placed her other hand on his chest gently, "damn," she thought, "He's ripped." Her thoughts were quickly ripped asunder, though, as the kiss deepened.
Lee wasn't sure what Mikomi wanted as he looked over to her, he was about to ask when he felt her lips caress his. Lee's world blew apart at that moment; all he knew was the feel of those lips on his and how much he wanted to feel them more and longer. He didn't know exactly what was going on as his mind completely blanked. He found his hands move towards her back. He vaguely recalled the color of flowers splashing to the granite of the monument as he felt something touch his chest softly. It was a tentative touch but it felt right to him. His hands strayed to her back now that she seemed closer, deepening the kiss as he stroked his fingers along her spine gently.
Neither teen knew how long they were like that, lips locked and gently embracing, when they heard a familiar voice echo over the Monument. "Lee, Mikomi," the voice called as their minds began to work rationally again. The two looked at each other and blushed brightly before separating and stuttering apologies at the same time.
"I see you two are enjoying your Fires of Youth!" Gai called to them as he strode up, "but be careful, those fires can burn you." Gai chuckled as the two teens blushed brighter than they already were and they stuttered worse than he had ever heard from them. "Good thing I decided to go for a morning jog," Gai thought as he stopped behind the two and patted their shoulders.
It took a long moment before the two teens could talk again. Mikomi quickly scooped up the flowers and hugged them close to her chest. Lee, for his part, found the two clouds floating by very interesting. Gai chuckled again.
"It's about noon you two," Gai said as he looked over the village.
"Noon!?" Mikomi exclaimed jumping up.
"Yes, noon," Gai confirmed as he looked at Mikomi.
"Oh, crap!" Mikomi looked around, "I promised Sakura I'd meet her for equipment shopping at noon."
"I see," Gai said glancing at Lee, "you better hurry, Mikomi, or you're going to be late."
Mikomi nodded quickly as Lee stood up, "Gai-sensei," he said, "I'm glad you're here; I need to train hard, for some reason." Lee glanced around, clearing his throat.
"I see," Gai replied chuckling, "I have just the thing!"
"I do need to go," Mikomi said as Gai pumped a fist in to the air, "Sorry Lee, I had a lovely time." She smiled at Lee brightly.
Lee fixed Mikomi with one of his blindingly bright grins, "alright Mikomi," he said, stepping in to give her a quick and awkward hug, "I'll see you later I hope."
"Of course you will Lee," Mikomi smiled and returned the hug before she ran off to meet with Sakura.
"On a name only basis," Gai thought chuckling once more, "looks like I'm going to have to keep an eye on these two." Gai fixed Lee with a bright grin "Alright!" Gai exclaimed, "Time for a work out, follow me Lee!"
"Hai!" Lee yelled as he fell in to step behind Gai. He'd talk to Gai about what just happened between him and Mikomi later.
Mikomi rushed down the monument, running full tilt to meet with Sakura, she was already late and she hated keeping Sakura waiting.
"Sorry I'm late Sakura," Mikomi called as she slid in to "Haruno Sweets", "I was on a date with Lee and lost track of the time."
Sakura blinked and looked at Mikomi blankly, "Late?" Sakura asked, looking at the wall clock, "You're actually a half hour early, Mikomi."
"I am?" Mikomi glanced at the clock too, "dang, I am."
"Uhuh," Sakura said fixing Mikomi with a curious look.
"Gai-sensei tricked me!" Mikomi shook her head and sighed, then giggled. "It was probably for the best, though."
"Huh?" Sakura tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean Mikomi?"
"Oh never mind." Mikomi replied giggling sheepishly and blushing some. "I'll tell you later."
Sakura just gave a nod and shrugged. "Anyways, we still got a half hour wanna go early or just hang out here for a little bit?"
"I think I want to hang out here for a little bit Sakura, I had a rather…err…interesting morning." Mikomi grinned at Sakura. Sakura shrugged once more and led Mikomi to her bedroom.
"Where'd you get the flowers Mikomi?" Sakura pointed at the bouquet in Mikomi's arms.
"Oh." Mikomi giggled again. "Lee gave them too me earlier."
"Ahh." Sakura gave a nod then blinked. "Lee?" She looked at Mikomi.
Mikomi giggled one more time and shrugged, flashing Sakura a mysterious grin.
"Heh. I'm looking forward to this story Mikomi." Sakura smirked and let Mikomi in to her room to cool off.
The next morning Team 7 assembled in the Hokage's office.
"Are you three ready for the mission?" The Hokage asked as he looked them over, raising an eyebrow at the new walking stick Kakashi had in his hand. Kakashi just gave the Hokage and rather blank look as the Hokage looked at him.
"Hai!" The girls said in unison as they jumped up waving a hand in the air. Sasuke simply nodded and Kakashi didn't even acknowledge the question. "Good, good," The Hokage continued glancing towards the side door, "go ahead and send him in, his team is ready to depart." One of the Chunin nodded and opened the door to let Takehito in to the room.
Takehito smiled at them and greeted the girls the same way he had a couple of days ago. Sasuke stood behind the girls protectively glaring at Takehito.
"I have been looking forward to today," Takehito said as he stood up again, "please lead the way, my caravan is waiting at the front gates." The girls grinned brightly and headed for the door.
"We're off!" Mikomi exclaimed as she headed out the door, pumping a fist in to the air.
A/N: Again I'm really sorry folks, I just hope I still have some readers out there who want to read this fic of mine and aren't ready to throw rotten fruit at me for taking so long. I can't guarantee any exact times I can update, but I do hope to update more often now.
I still have to find a place to live here in Pullman, WA as I've been living in a hotel room this whole semester thanks to rental agencies checking credit scores. I mean seriously? What the hell does your credit history have to do with your ability to make rent? Every intelligent individual I have –ever- met pays rent before credit cards. Anyways, enough of my personal rant, again sorry for the uberly long wait. And as always: review, review, review, Please!