I apologize deeply for not updating sooner, but I've been swamped with schoolwork and family business-and not the good kind (there's a good kind? O.o)
Thank you, supportive reviewers!
Disclaimer: Honestly, right now I'm too tired to even think of a decent disclaimer. I doubt I'm in any state to create a manga either.
Chapter10: Fake Face, Fake Brain
Time Table: Three days before the arrival of Sabaku no Gaara
The sky was rumbling when Kakashi woke up the next day. It was like that traumatizing night, when he had been hunted by his students. He panicked and couldn't move; he hated it, so much. So much that he would strain and scream until his throat was raw and his neck was broken.
Crack. Rumble.
"Ya-aah!" Kakashi growled in the back of his throat. He had to move, to break the bonds holding him down–
"Kakashi, you shouldn't do that." Ino walked in with a tray full of breakfast. A jug of sake.
He wildly cast about, startled. He paused when his eyes landed on the blonde girl, and became to tired to struggle. His muscles slackened and his head fell back.
Ino set the tray down on the bedside table and pulled the chair from the desk (there was one in every bedroom,) beside his bed. "You have chakra exhaustion, Kakashi."
Chakra. Exhausted. Panic. Strain. He remembered; he was a shinobi, a ninja. Reveal no emotions, show no pain. No weakness of mind. It was vital to one wielding the Sharingan. He remembered Ino, too. The one who was cooking. The one he, the team leader, had permitted to accompany the team on the vital mission–
Team. Mission. Lead. "I have–how many days?" he struggled to sort his thoughts and voice them.
"...About two. We found you yesterday morning, the night after the incident. You've been sleeping since then." Ino thought and hesitated.
"Hnn–I have to get up. The mission–" Kakashi didn't try to get up, belying his words.
"No. Shikamaru took over with the planning and Sasuke took over training Arashi to look like Naruto." she cautioned. "You can rest as long as you need, Sasuke is a nearly a jounin and Shikamaru is smart enough. Everyone's helping."
"I guess..." Kakashi relented. Hell, it wasn't like he really wanted to get up... "...Is that...breakfast..." he hinted obtusely.
"Oh, yeah. You must be hungry?" Ino felt foolish for forgetting her initial purpose in coming to Kakashi's room.
"Maybe..."
So Ino would spoon-feed Kakashi his meals for the next three days, until he was well enough to sit up and move his arms. Two days later, he would able to, albeit shakily, make his way downstairs to the kitchen. And bathe on his own. On other days, Sakura the medic-nin, and the other boys on the team would alternate with washing Kakashi, a task they found distasteful.
It was all Ino could do to refrain from sticking her tongue out at Sakura, or pulling down her eyelid and saying 'nyaah!'
-
"You're still doing it wrong, Arashi." Sasuke berated.
"Well, what should I do!" Arashi countered.
Shikamaru, who was slouching against a nearby tree, suggested: "Bend your knees more. You need to become more like a canine."
"Canine?"
"Naruto was built slightly differently, to allow for physical changes involving the Kyuubi's chakra." Sakura explained what she had been told by Tsunade over the years.
Sasuke nodded. "He was able to crouch much more comfortably than we were, and his arms could swing back farther. But he still wasn't particularly fast. Most of his surprises were bursts of strategy involving the Kage Bunshin no justu." He had been one of the only people to see Naruto's demon side in action, after all. He remembered, with his Sharingan.
"You should lean forward more when you're walking, too. Naruto always leaned more forward or backwards, depending on whether he was talking to someone. He paid special attention to anyone who spoke to him," Shikamaru added.
Arashi nodded at the personal information, and adjusted his position. "Like this?" "Yeah, that's good enough for now."
"Let's get started on the face," Sakura said.
-
"His cheeks should puff out a little more,"
"Move the whiskers up a little more, the angle's off,"
"You're hair has to be poofier,"
"Poofier? What the hell are you talking about!"
"Like, it can't stand down so much."
"But shouldn't it? Gaara'll be suspicious if Naruto looks exactly like he did last time they met,"
"I guess you have a point. Fine, leave the hair alone."
"What about the whiskers? Shouldn't we just use makeup?"
"But it'll smear. Then we'll be in trouble."
"Well, maybe Naruto used makeup to put them there."
"No, they changed when he fought, they were real markings. Like the seal, only more permanent."
"Oh, well fine. But don't be too obvious, Gaara's the Kazekage, he might notice the genjustu."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Don't yeah, yeah, me! We only have a certain amount of time!"
"..." Shino cut in to Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru's argument.
"What is it, Shino?" Shikamaru tried to decipher what Shino wanted.
"Can't you just let me look at a picture? I mean, it wasn't that long ago that Naruto left. I can just alter his Chuunin identification." Arashi whined.
"..." Shino affirmed.
"...but. I didn't think of it first." Shikamaru and Sakura protested. "Ch. Troublesome."
Ino sifted through the mission specs and handed the picture of Naruto to Arashi.
"...You guys suck at describing stuff." He stated drolly.
"I find that offensive." Ino joked.
"...I'll just leave and work on this on my own. When I'm done, I'll come back and show you, ok?" Arashi started towards his bedroom, pausing in the doorway to see if anyone objected.
"Whatever. Right. Sure." The others waved him off. Shino left to commune with nature; Ino left to cook and clean, and Sakura followed Sasuke, who looking for a group of anyone else to train with.
"This is so troublesome..." Shikamaru went outside. Maybe there was a hammock somewhere...
Jingle, jingle.
"Shikamaru, could you get that?" Ino called from the kitchen.
Ok, maybe he wouldn't. He would go be bothered by Kakashi.
-
"Yeah, waddya want, sensei," Shikamaru enunciated annoyedly as he leaned against the doorframe.
"Oh, hello, Shikamaru, I was just calling to ask for you to–" Kakashi smiled and weedled until Shikamaru cut him off.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure you can do it yourself," Shikamaru stated wryly.
Kakashi cringed, offended. "I'm injured, Nara, I can't do everything on my own. I only wanted to know how it was going, because I could hear the yelling."
Shikamaru didn't respond, mollified.
"So if you would..."
"..."
"...please..."
The stinging silence continued.
Kakashi sighed. "This is why I wanted Ino to come up here. She's much nicer than you brats..."
Shikamaru shook his head. "We were just having a few disagreements about how Arashi should arrange his face, sensei." he said respectfully.
"Don't bother with the sensei crap, makes me feel older than I already do with this gray hair," Kakashi playfully tugged on a lock of (old man colored) gray hair.
"...you like her, don't you, Kakashi." Shikamaru was looking uncomfortably away. It had been niggling at the back of his mind for awhile now, and with that permission...
Kakashi eye-smiled. "What makes you say that, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru shifted. This guy...couldn't just say anything outright, could he? He had to make everyone work for the littlest things...
"You let her come with us. And you treat her like an adult. Everyone else like they're still genin." Shikamaru assumed an unassuming stance. He wouldn't be made uneasy by this.
"Maybe she acts more like an adult," Kakashi countered.
"Maybe you act more like a kid." Shikamaru replied. "I just want a straight answer."
Kakashi eyed the genius. He knew he didn't have to answer, he could lie and no one would ever know the difference. Should he lower himself to this, or should he tell enough that the Nara could figure it out...Shikamaru wouldn't tell. He was smart.
"There are...some family issues. With her mother. Her mother is pushing for something beneficial to me to make an ideal a reality," Kakashi said cautiously, listening for anyone outside. Not that Shikamaru hadn't done that already. It was the principle of the thing, really.
"I see." Shikamaru said slowly. "I'll go then, if you don't need anything else..."
"Actually, I could use another blanket—" Too late. Shikamaru was already gone, to mull over the new information he had acquired.
-
Arashi sat in the chair before his desk and stared at the mirror. He removed the genjutsu, and replaced it with a few minor modifications. It was difficult to do this; there was no way Gaara would fall for it.
For now, he would do his best to be convincing for the others. Once Gaara arrived, Arashi would execute his other plan, the one that would work, much better than the others that his 'teammates' had cooked up.
Frowning at the mirror, he tweaked the genjutsu slightly. The whiskers scars sunk slightly into the skin of his cheeks.
That was the best he could do; only practice would help him keep them in place.
Arashi stood and went to the closet. He pulled out a bag and rummaged in it for a jumpsuit similar to what Naruto had been seen wearing last; the orange and black jumpsuit. He stripped off his ninja-toned clothing in exchange for the less economical color and looked at his reflection in the mirror again. One thing missing;
Arashi took a copy of Umino Iruka's hitai-ate and tied it around his forehead.
He grinned at his reflection. "Anou sa, Anou sa!"
-
Sasuke jerked when he heard the yell, the coarse voice. He did a double-take when he saw the orange and whiskers and flashy white canines. The figure half crouching, half waving. Annoying.
...Naruto.
Naruto was gone, wasn't he? Was this some sort of prank?
If it was, he would kill that dobe. He wouldn't be tricked by some dumb fox.
"Anou sa, anou sa, everyone? Recognize me?" the Naruto look-alike grinned at everyone standing in the field.
Kiba, Chouji, Hinata, Sakura, Konohamaru, Lee, and Shikamaru stood dumbfounded. Wait, rewind.
Kiba, Chouji, Hinata, Sakura, Konohamaru, and Lee stood dumbfounded. Shikamaru leaned against a tree, Shino and Neji stood like they normally do (with no expression. Expression is weak(Well, actually only his mom has ever seen Shino's face)) and Sasuke had advanced from his shocked state into an analytical one.
Ino and Kakashi were still inside the house.
The look-alike kept grinning, but twitched visibly. He spun around obviously, as if to say, "HEEEELLLLOOOOO!"
Well, he did say that. "Common', you know who I am, don't be so glum!" He started to leap around, with his legs still planted far apart and bent.
Sasuke spoke first. "Arashi." He knew. He just hadn't expected for Arashi to become so similar, so quickly. This...genin was quite advanced. Skilled.
"Eh, Sasuke, you got it," Arashi quieted his yelling voice in favor of his own calm one. "Took you guys awhile, though. Guess I did good, so far?"
"Yeah, you look a lot like the boss, Arashi," Konohamaru finally spoke. Hinata looked at the ground, blushing. She nodded and stiffly turned to walk away.
For that moment, Arashi-san...had actually become Naruto for her.
Neji saw her leave, but didn't follow. He didn't hate her, but he didn't like her that much. Still, he could understand why she was upset. It wasn't fair that someone could imitate an enigma that quickly, that well. Of course, he hadn't been fooled, knowing all along that Arashi was the one underneath.
Kiba glared when Arashi was named. That bastard couldn't become Naruto. He couldn't do it so fast, so easily, when he had to work so hard for the simplest things. No, no, no.
But what he hated the most was that there was nothing he could do about it. The others were all exemplary shinobi; none except Sasuke would allow their emotions to cloud their vision. And Sasuke had already turned him down.
Besides, Kiba didn't want to die, anyhow.
Sasuke walked closer to Arashi-in-disguise. He looked long and hard at Arashi's face. He looked exactly like Naruto. Almost.
Sasuke remember in minute detail the lines of Naruto's face. He had fought him, after all, while he was using the Sharingan, hadn't he? Couldn't he replicate those angry, glaring red eyes with the help of his genjutsu, enhanced by the Sharingan?
But Tsunade had said that he couldn't be the one to turn into Naruto. It would be too suspicious for Sasuke to come back from an extended mission only to go missing again.
But sometimes, Sasuke wanted to be Naruto. Naruto with his laughing blonde hair, with his smiling blue eyes. Naruto who could run away and not get caught. Because no one cared enough to catch him and drag him back.
Sasuke had been dragged back.
Every time he had left to become stronger, there had been someone to pull him down, hold him back. Every. Single. Time.
But no one had harassed Naruto. No one had expected him to leave. Naruto was smart, he had tricked them all. Tricked like a fox.
Naruto wasn't held back by his own past. By his own pledge to kill the last of his own family.
Naruto didn't have any family, though.
When they had been younger, Sasuke had silently respected Naruto for that. For living all alone, and never showing that he was afraid of the nightmares that came to visit him when he slept. Sasuke had been visited every night, and he had always been scared. Scared until he cried, cried until he was numb. Then the red and gray came back and Sasuke had learned to embrace his fear, his hunger.
After all, Naruto had. He had always been so loud, attracted so much negative attention, hadn't he? He had pulled it all in on himself.
Sasuke looked a little closer at Arashi's face. At the near flawless cheeks.
Sasuke thought they looked a little thick.
-
By the time Arashi had 'perfected' his face, Ino had started dinner. By the time Sasuke had recognized the Naruto look-alike as Arashi, she had been nearly halfway done. When Sasuke had gone up close to look, Ino had been setting the table while the evening meal was still steaming on the stove.
She rang the bell; she placed the dishes on the table. As everyone filed in, she set heaping servings of the beef and vegetables on one plate, and filled a second plate with less. She put the plates on the platter and when everyone was seated, she told them, "I'm going up to take care of Kakashi–he still can't feed himself."
She went up the stairs, careful to not spill the food or the drinks that she was carrying up to Kakashi's room. Sasuke glowered at her retreating back. He appreciated Ino's sense of responsibility, but maybe she was taking this gratitude thing a little too far.
Kakashi was sitting up a little when Ino came in cheerily-he was anticipating her visits. Even though he had only been conscious for one day. And the most he could move was to crane his neck. But, hey, he would utilize this chance to get to know her to its fullest–one of the many ninja ways.
One of the numerous, of the plethora of, ninja ways. Who ever said a ninja could only have one ninja way? Well they obviously weren't a ninja, that was for sure.
"Hello, Kakashi," Ino sang as she nudged the door open with her hip and carried in the steaming tray of beef and veggies (how Kakashi loved his veggies.)
"Oh, hello Ino. I was wondering if you had forgotten to feed an injured man in his time of need," Kakashi whined piteously. Piteously, dammit!
"Kakashi, stop being a brat if you want to get fed." Ino smirked. "Like one of your nin-dogs."
Owch. "Oh, you're so crueeelll, Ino-chaaaaaan!"
Ino picked up a piece of beef and negligently flung it at Kakashi's face. More specifically, his forehead.
"Eew, Ino, you're getting beef juice on my nice shiny hitai-ate!" Kakashi looked morosely up at the brown trail of juiced dribbling onto the bridge of his nose. His face-mask would be filthy at this rate.
"Why are you still wearing that? You know I have to take it off." Ino asked irritably. "How did you get it back on, anyway?"
"Just what are you getting at?" Kakashi defended himself, offended at where this conversation was going.
"You can move, can't you, you liar!"
"Noooooo...I would have gotten up by now if that were the case. We are on a mission, no matter how menial."
"Hmmph," Ino snorted suspiciously.
"Well, anyway...feeeeeed meeeeeeeee..." Kakashi pleaded.
"Not until you prove that you can't move your arms."
"I can't! I called Konohamaru in to fix it after you left, honest! Please, now just gimme some o' dat foooooooddd!" he cried as his head lolled to the side.
Ino sniffed. "Whatever."
-
Chouji eyed the platters on the table. Something wasn't meshing, tonight.
"Where's the ramen," he asked suddenly.
Shikamaru sighed, along with most everyone else.
"We're not doing that until at least tomorrow, Chouji," he explained exasperatedly
"It's never too soon to start, Shikamaru!" Chouji protested. He wanted ramen! Fresh ramen! If only to refrigerate for a midnight snack.
"Not until tomorrow, Chouji." Shikamaru repeated firmly. "Let Ino do her thing for a little while, at least."
This time, it was Chouji who sighed. He understood Shikamaru's loyalty to a team member...even if that team member was more of an ex-teammate. Ever since that mission a few years ago, to retrieve Sasuke, he had been hell-bent on protecting his teammates.
Maybe that was why he avoided actual missions in lieu of teaching.
Shikamaru had become too sensitive, hadn't he.
As Ino finished feeding the last scraps of meat to Kakashi, she heard a yell up to her: "Ino, where's the ramen!"
"Geez, Arashi's getting too into this Naruto thing!" Ino said immediately. Kakashi didn't comment like she expected. She began to blush.
"Th-that wasn't Arashi, was it." Ino commented nervously.
"Nah. No it wasn't." Kakashi repressed his snickers.
Chouji... Ino grumbled irritably.
CHOUJI...Shikamaru glared angrily.
Fuuaaan...ramen! How could you betray me so? Chouji bawled fearfully.
Chip, chip cheep. The Squirrel rubbed its paws together menacingly.
To be continued–dun dun, dun.
Well, that was amusing, no? We get sm'ore KakaIno and a hint of ShikaIno. Which will not be a pairing. Ever. Seriously, if you want ShikaIno, sorry, but I don't need another pairing tearing me apart. And Ino's ALWAYS with Shikamaru anyway. Go read someone else if you want them! But don't review for whoever's fic you read unless you review for mine first. And mention that I told you to review.
YOUTH AND GLORY! Which I do not have. I have schoolwork. Dammit.
Review, and I'll try to work on the next chapter, but I'm not promising anything, because midterms are coming up and the AP exam is fast approaching!