Chapter 14:
"Late as usual, Kakashi."
"Sorry." The Jounin replied while his eye closed, a sign that he was smiling beneath his mask, "On my way over, I ran into a pretty girl." Said Kakashi before he shrugged a shoulder in what was supposed to be an innocent gesture as he continued on, "…and naturally seeing me, she wanted to go dancing.
Both Naruto and Sakura spun around to face their Sensei at the same time, "YOU LIAR!" they declared in perfect unison. Sasuke on the other hand, remained quiet as a soft scowl pulled down on his mouth.
The Third Hokage sighed; clearly unable to make a response to such a ridiculous answer while all Sayomi could do was just stare silently over at Kakashi with a hard, scrutinizing gaze.
"So this was what became of that masked ninja boy from all those years ago." She thought to herself as her eyes searched Kakashi's face for a brief moment. "Huh…" she added seconds later when she found nothing particularly interesting about the man she was watching.
Kakashi posed with his hands tucked away in the front pockets of his pants; and there was an almost lazy aura about him that matched perfectly with his half-closed eye.
"How disappointing." She would've expected something a bit more exciting after all this time. "But oh well…"
Bored with Jounin and annoyed by the stares of the Genin, Sayomi uncrossed her legs and hopped off the edge of the desk. Her sudden movement startled everyone in the room as they watched her head for the door.
Just as she passed the group of Genin and their Sensei, a voice called over to her retreating form.
"Leaving again so soon?" Naruto asked; his eyes narrowed slightly as he glared over at Sayomi's back that was now facing everyone in the room.
"Yup." She replied in an emotionless tone without even hesitating once in her steps.
"Without telling us you who you are?" He quickly threw back.
"Oh…" Came the slightly surprised voice of the Hokage, "Are you guys acquainted with each other already?" he asked curiously.
It was then Sayomi paused in her step, stopping just right under the doorframe, "Not at all…" she answered coolly without even bothering to glance back at the people who were still watching her every move.
"Then how about you do the polite thing and introduce yourself?" The boy answered gruffly.
"Naruto…" Sakura hissed, "…don't be rude!"
At his question, she slightly turned her head to the side before giving him a simple reply. "I am no one of consequence. "She answered, "…like a mere shadow, I come out of nowhere and I disappear in the dark."
"Can you at least give us a hint on what your name is?" Naruto asked in an almost pleading tone. Apparently not knowing who she was did not settle well with him.
Beneath her hood, a tiny amused smile pulled at her mouth before she shrugged, "There is nothing more to say about me."
Though her clue within the sentence went right over the Genin's heads, the Hokage caught onto it instantly and he couldn't stop himself from chuckling.
"Say. About. Me." He repeated inside his head, "….Sayomi." he established with a secret smile to himself, "Very clever, my dear; clever indeed." Of course, he would expect nothing less from her.
Kakashi on the other hand, found himself deeply intrigued by her words. For some reason, he felt like he should know the answer to her identity, yet he couldn't place his finger on it. Her voice was not familiar to his memory; it had an incredibly rich quality to it, like velvet. So he was certain he had never heard it before. But at the same time, there was this aura about her that he could've sworn he knew from somewhere. It was most frustrating.
"Good day, Lord Hokage…" Sayomi respectfully declared in a gentle tone, disregarding the other Shinobi in the room, "If you need me for anything," she informed, "…you know where to find me."
And with those words, Sayomi departed from the room.
The three Genin silently gawked after her; even when she was long gone from the room. After a minute or so, Naruto broke the silence by speaking up,
"Old man…." He started, "….who is she?"
The Hokage smiled faintly before he turned towards the open window so that his back faced everyone else in the room, "A dear friend of mine," he answered, "… very gifted, very strong; not very social however." He added.
Naruto huffed softly before he turned his nose up slightly in the air, "Yeah, I'll say." He agreed. "…about the social part, I mean." He added. "Other than that, I could probably take her."
Sasuke glanced over at his comrade and gave a soft 'Hmpf'. "Yeah because you know, you did so well against her this morning." he stated with a swift roll of his dark eyes.
Growling, Naruto spun around to face his dark haired friend while he angrily shook a fist in the air, "I was unprepared!" he declared defensively.
Sakura shook her pink head in response, "When are you otherwise?" she replied smartly.
Naruto's mouth fell open before his head just dropped in dejection, "Sa…Sakura-chan…." He mumbled; obviously crushed that she had such a low opinion of him.
The Hokage could only chuckle. "Alright you three..." he stated in a firm but amused tone, "…take it easy."
"Yes sir!" they replied obediently. Naruto's yellow head snapped back up in that second.
"So who was that woman?" he asked the Hokage persistently.
His student was relentless and Kakashi found himself lifting his black eye up to the ceiling before sighing, "Goodness Naruto." He stated with a brief shake of his silver head, "You've got a like a two-second rebound rate."
The Hokage found himself greatly amused by the young Genin's curiosity. "You wish to know?" he asked back.
This time, all three Genin perked up at the question. "Yes." They replied in unison; turning their eyes intently on the Hokage's back.
"Well….." The Hokage started to answer but stopped for dramatic suspense.
"Yeah?" Naruto encouraged. At the same time, the Genin all leaned out towards the Hokage as they anxiously waited for his answer.
"….It's not for me to tell you." The Hokage replied with a soft shrug of his shoulder.
"WHHHAAAATTT?" Naruto exclaimed in outrage as he hunched over in disbelief; his arms hanging limply down by his side, "Old man…." He added, "…you've got to be kidding me. All of that and still no answer?" he asked. Sakura raised a hand up and slapped her forehead before groaning in discontentment. Sasuke's one response was a tiny frown and a brief 'Hmpf'.
The Hokage shrugged, "Sorry guys." He answered with a warm smile. "…but she doesn't like me giving her name out."
Both Sakura and Naruto sighed out loud in response, "Great…" they mumbled; not bothering to hide their disappointment.
Knowing full well that the Genin were bummed out about not knowing the identity of Sayomi, he felt something tug on his heart. "They're just curious." He told himself before he turned his head over his shoulder to glance at Kakashi for a brief moment, "….all of them." He added knowingly.
Now even he had to admit that he had been hoping for some kind of reaction when Kakashi had entered the room with Sayomi still in it. The Hokage knew instantly that she recognized him from the way he saw her body tense up when she was sitting on his desk. But by the vacant yet curious look Kakashi had in his eyes when he spotted her form, he understood that the Jounin obviously didn't recognize her. How could he? With that darn hood up over her head hiding her face completely from view, who could?
"And those two were always so entertaining together…." He quietly thought to himself as he recalled some distant memories of his ex-student with a younger version of the Jounin and the few times they went at each other's throats for no apparent reason. "Hmm….wonder how they'd act now…." He contemplated as he brought a hand up and lightly stroked his chin. Perhaps it was time for a reunion.
"Then again, Sayomi might not appreciate that…" he added as he went back and forth between decisions. "Oh well." He added, "…this could be fun."
Then, remembering that he, himself still had an awaiting audience, he reached a hand up to the large, veiled hat he wore, and lightly tugged it down over his eyes, "However…" he declared; instantly bringing the Genin back to attention, "…perhaps you three could…persuade her to show herself to you." He suggested with a faint smile.
Sakura's head cocked itself to the side, "Persuade?" she repeated. "How do we do that? She doesn't seem the type to listen to words."
He closed his eyes for a brief second to smile, "How very true," he agreed before he turned away from the window to face the observing Genin, "You three are Shinobi." He replied. "….use your imagination." He finished with a secret wink.
Sakura blinked silently along with Naruto and Sasuke; each had their brows furrowed softly to display their confusion. "I'm lost." She confessed.
The Hokage shrugged another shoulder, "Use your tools." He replied in a very casual tone, "…think like a ninja."
It took a couple seconds, but eventually Naruto caught onto his hints. The boys blue eyes widened with glee and a devious grin started tugging on his mouth
"Ooohhh!' he exclaimed excitedly as he slightly bounced up and down on his feet. "Tools…ninja!" he repeated, "I get it, I get it, I get it!"
"That's a first…." Sasuke grumbled smartly. Sakura watched the yellow haired boy with curious eyes,
"What do you get Naruto?" she asked.
"We gotta jump her!" he answered.
"What?" both Sasuke and Sakura answered together with a you're-out-of-your-mind look on their face.
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto answered before he turned to the Hokage to confirm his statement. "Right Old man?" he asked with a wide grin.
The Hokage turned to Kakashi; "Is that what the young ones call it these day?" he asked, "Jumping?"
Kakashi could only shrug and Naruto took this response as a definite 'yes'.
Throwing his fist up into the air, he happily declared, "Alright, let's do it!"
However, both Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem very warm to the idea of getting the drop on a complete stranger. They each exchanged a quick glance with each other and remained silent.
Seeing how they needed the extra push, the Hokage chuckled before he nodded once at his open office door, "If you want your answers, you'd best get moving." He stated, "….or else you'll miss her." He added.
Naruto didn't have to be told twice, "Right!' he exclaimed before he reached out and grasped Sakura by the hand before he took off across the room. "Come on let's go, Sakura!" he said as he dragged the pink haired Shinobi behind him,
"Na…Naruto!" she replied in protest as she stumbled along before they rounded the door and disappeared down the hall.
"SASUKE!" Sakura's voice called back seconds later.
Sasuke frowned; looks like he was going to be dragged into this as well, "Crap…" he stated before he took off after his two comrades, leaving behind a pleased Hokage and a puzzled Kakashi.
Upon hearing the soft sounds of quiet laughter coming from the Hokage, the silver haired Jounin turned to the older man with an inquiring gaze, "You're laughing." He stated.
The Hokage nodded before turning towards the silver haired Jounin, "I am." He answered, "…and you're still here." He added.
Kakashi blinked, "…yes…" he replied warily, "…should I not?"
The Hokage smiled and shrugged, "I had simply assumed that you would tag along with your Team."
Kakashi shrugged in response, "Eh…" he answered lazily, "…I see no need to supervise them. What kind of trouble could they possibly get themselves into?" he returned.
At this the Hokage laughed out loud; it was a low, rumbling sound that instantly made Kakashi rethink his words.
"Uh…did I miss something?" he asked as he watched the Hokage's shoulder shake softly with his mirth.
"Oh you have no idea, Kakashi." The Hokage replied; closing his eyes with a smile.
The Jounin couldn't help but arch an eyebrow in response before he brought his arms up and crossed them over his chest, "Just…" he started, "…what exactly are they getting themselves into, sir?" he asked.
The Hokage shrugged innocently, "Why don't you go and find out for yourself?" he returned.
Kakashi sighed before he started to turn his body towards the door, "Well I guess I have no other choice. Something's telling me that there's bound to be some kind of mess from all of this." He stated.
The Hokage's smile widened slightly as he watched the Jounin slowly head for the door. "Well I think you'll be quite surprised at what you'll find, Kakashi."
When the Hokage's words finally reached him, Kakashi found himself pausing momentarily underneath the doorway. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the Hokage give him a soft nod in encouragement before he turned away to watch out the window.
"What did he mean by that?" he asked himself before he faced back around and left the office. Looks like there was only one way to find out; without another thought, Kakashi set off in search for his team of Genin who were now on the hunt for a mysteriously hooded, young woman.
With Kakashi gone, the Hokage pulled out an old wooden pipe form his robes before he stuck one end into his mouth and swiftly lit the other end with a lighted match. As he took a long drag on it and slowly blew the smoke out through his mouth, he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh drat…." He mumbled out loud, "…I forgot to assign them their mission." He confessed out loud. After a few seconds, he brushed his little mind slip off his shoulder; "Well…" he added before a knowing smile started pulling on his mouth, "Let's face it….this will be a mission entirely on its own. "