'Uwah, love turns into hate really easily.' Naruto thought when he saw the killer-glares Sakura and Ino shot at Sasuke, and the killer-scowls Iruka-sensei shot in the direction of Kakashi as the taller man made his speech. The exam period had just finished. This meant that summer break would commence soon and Kakashi would be leaving the school as well. Then after summer break, it would be the cultural festival.
'Cultural festival... it would be a pain in the ass.' Naruto thought just as the silver-haired man finished his speech with a 'thank you for this wonderful experience.'
There were some sad faces amongst the girls and a few of the boys. A couple of students were blinking and sniffing.
Despite his perverted ways and his (unappreciated) ability to crack lame jokes, Kakashi had been a great teacher. The art lessons he taught had been the most interesting compared to all the other lessons in Naruto's entire three years. Thinking back, he wondered if those lessons could even be called art lessons...
FIRST LOVE
Step XIII: Time lapse accounts for flashbacks... loads of them. The conflicting feelings are overflowing... Naruto is having chest aches? Naruto! What are you doing?
::Flashback::
Uzumaki Naruto, First Year, Class 1-B, Sunflower Group
"Alright students, take out that empty egg shell and start wrapping the cellophane paper around it..." Mrs. Umeda screamed, in that shrill and squeaky voice, to the noisy class. Some students were running around throwing eggs at each other while the girls were holding some posters and giggling madly.
"...Students!! Wrap the paper around your empty egg shell!! Then paste these two buttons on the side of the eggs... And you have a goldfish!! ...STUDENTS!! You!! Get back to your seat!! You!! Stop throwing eggs!! GIRLS! Stop talking and get started!!" The elderly teacher continued screaming as the class continued wrecking havoc...
Uzumaki Naruto, Second Year, Class 2-C, Sunflower Group
"Alright students, take out the banana and start sketching..." Ms. Sumomo screamed, in that sharp voice, to the noisy class. Some students were running around throwing bananas at each other; some were sparring with their bananas as swords; and some (like Chouji) were wolfing down bunches of bananas to see who could eat faster. The girls were holding some photographs and giggling madly.
"...Students!! Take the banana and start sketching!! Pay attention to the light and shadows on the bananas and shade it to show the light contrast... And then hand into me for grading! ...STUDENTS!! YOU!! Get back to your seat!! You!! Stop playing!! You!! Stop eating the bananas and throwing the skins around!! GIRLS!! Stop talking and get started!!" The petite teacher continued screaming as the class continued wrecking havoc...
::End Flashback::
It was no wonder that some of the more arts-inclined students were sad to see the man go.
Naruto felt a little upset as well but along with that sadness was a deeper sense of relief. School life had been extremely difficult for the two of them since Iruka-sensei discovered their little secret.
::Flashback::
"Naruto! Stand outside the class now!!" Iruka-sensei screamed as he slammed his textbook down on the desk, startling the entire class.
'What had happened to mild-mannered Iruka-sensei today?' was the general question many of the students had in mind as they watched their English teacher took in deep gulps of air to calm down.
"Eh?" The blonde blinked at the sudden punishment meted to him. What had he done anyway?
"Don't 'Eh' me! Acting cute in my class will get you nowhere! Don't think that this is the same as Art class!!" The English teacher continued hotly.
"I... I'm not acting cute in any classes!" Naruto argued, his face slowly reddening from anger and embarrassment. What the hell had Iruka meant by that anyway! "Why should I stand outside class?"
"You weren't paying attention. Now go! Stand outside till your next class... which is Art class right?" The English teacher said with a light sneer.
'So why did he keep mentioning ART CLASS!?!' Naruto frowned. "But I..."
"GO!"
Naruto mutely put his books under his desk and stood outside class.
"Naruto? Why are you standing outside?" A baritone voice asked.
"...Punishment." The blonde growled as he glared at his spouse. "And put that pervert book away. This is a school, you know."
Kakashi ignored the ugly look and order and asked, "Eh? For?"
"Hm? Oh. Not paying attention."
"Uwah... Your English teacher is really strict." The taller man commented as he tucked his book away. Seconds later, the bell rang. "Ah well. It's Art class now. Get in."
The door slid open and the English teacher walked out. Looking at the couple, he scorned, "Oh! It's Kakashi-sensei to the rescue huh?"
"Uh, Iruka-sensei..."
"Oh well, I guess it's understandable that Kakashi-sensei would be helping Naruto. After all..."
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted before the other man could finish his sentence. "I'm terribly sorry for not paying attention in class just now. I will take care next time. Uh, bye!"
With that, he tugged Kakashi's hand, which made Iruka madder, dragged the man inside and slid the door shut.
"Alright class, I've more or less finished the syllabus for this term so this would be a free period for all of you. I know exams are still a month away but do use this time to revise, okay?" Kakashi cheerfully walked out of the class in search of a certain dolphin to have a good talk.
Since then, the picking on and verbal attacks that were mostly concentrated on Naruto were shifted onto Kakashi as well.
::End Flashback::
Naruto scowled as he remembered how Iruka had treated Kakashi; it was even worse than the way he had treated him. Even in front of the entire class, Iruka had been extremely rude to the other man. Like for instance, glaring at him in class; screaming at him when Art class took two minutes more to end; and slightly shoving him off the front of the desk like what he was doing at current. Naruto scowled and clenched his fists. Despite the horrible treatment from the dolphin, Kakashi did nothing to stop the shorter man. The blonde wondered what was wrong with the scarecrow.
"Alright class. Now as you all know, the school's cultural festival is coming soon and I would like to settle it as soon as possible. This year, our class is in charge of decorating the hall for the talent show and music event so we have to decide the theme and responsibilities of the members involved. We also need to think about what we are going to do this year. Class representation (rep) and secretary, please come up front to hold the discussion." Iruka called out and proceeded to take a seat, the only seat, at the side of the desk, leaving Kakashi standing at the corner of the class awkwardly.
"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, if you don't mind, please take a seat at my desk." The secretary offered as she took the chalk from the other side of the board.
"Uh, okay. Thanks Urahara-san." Kakashi smiled and took a few strides to sit himself at the class secretary's seat... which happened to be two seats in front of Naruto. The secretary blushed and hurriedly wrote down the agenda for the discussion.
The class rep started with the latter topic. "Any suggestions on what we should do for our class in the coming cultural event?"
A hand shot up. It belonged to Kiba. "We should get the girls to do the cosplay café thing like last year! We made loads of money anyway..."
"Hm, good idea, Inuzuka." The class rep commented and the secretary jotted it on the board.
Another hand shot up. It belonged to Shino. "We should do a bug gallery."
The entire class, barring Shino, shivered. "Uhh... g-good idea, A-Aburame." The secretary jotted it down. 'Bug Gallery' was written down in a wobbly font because the secretary's hand had been shaking too hard.
"Uhh, any other suggestions?" The class rep continued.
One of Kakashi's fan raised his hand. "Ah! I've an idea! Why don't we do an art gallery? Kakashi-sensei, you can help us in this right?"
The silver-haired man thought about it for a moment before nodding his head.
"Okay. Art gallery. Three suggestions are enough for now. Let's do a vote okay? Those up for cosplay café, raise your hands."
Most of the guys raised their hands.
"Alright... Nearly half the class. Next, art gallery?"
Most of the girls raised their hands.
"Okay. Final one, bug gallery?"
Two hands shot up. One belonged to, unsurprisingly, Shino and the other belonged to a very quiet and mysterious girl in the class.
"Oh! There are two votes for this. But because the other two had more votes, the bug gallery is taken off!" The class rep announced cheerfully as the secretary hurriedly erased the wobbly scribble on the board.
"Tch!" mumbled Shino and the Shino-like girl irately at the loss.
"Hm, so there is an equal number of votes for both café and art gallery. So maybe we should do a vote again?"
"No way! Let's just do the cosplay café!" Kiba suggested. A few guys murmured their agreement. ('A few guys' included Kakashi, to Naruto's annoyance.)
Kakashi-fan number 1 immediately protested. "No! It's boring!! Let's do something more artistic!!"
"Who cares if it's boring!? It's NOT boring and profitable!! And its so ...Moe!! (1)" Kiba argued.
"What?! You're sickening! This is when we should do something more meaningful and showcase it!"
"Y-Y-You! What did you say?! I'm sickening?!" Kiba yelled as he shot up from his seat and strode to the opposition's table. "You're even more sickening!!!!"
"What?!?"
Noticing the storm brewing, the class rep immediately ejected himself between the two quarreling boys. "Now, I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise..."
"Cosplay café and art gallery would be pretty interesting." A voice that sounded a lot like Kakashi's drifted from the back of the class. "Those students supporting art gallery can design the café with their works and help in making the costumes. Those who support cosplay café should decide on a theme and who wears the costumes... It'll be nice to see some boys in the class to dress up too..."
An image of a certain blue-eyed blonde boy in a French maid uniform and cat ears popped up in two persons' minds.
The fighting ceased.
"Alright! Then it's decided! Secretary, please jot that down."
Iruka-sensei shot up suddenly. "Alright, I'll decide the people who would be in our cosplay café. Hm, you there! And the group of girls there! Ah, Uchiha-kun, you too."
The image of Naruto in the maid's outfit burst into flames when Sasuke heard that he would be assigned to wear the costumes. An image of him wearing the maid's outfit appeared briefly before he turned blue and whacked it (the horrible image) into oblivion. He stood to protest but the girls started screaming in excitement, blocking his voice of protest, and they were quickly stifled as Iruka continued assigning the roles to the rest of the class.
"Alright, now that that's done, let's move onto the decoration of the hall..." Iruka started. "Who has not been assigned any role yet?"
Naruto blinked. Then he raised his hand. "Uh, me?"
"Oh, you? Okay then, you're in charge of decorating the hall."
"EH?" The blonde shot up from his seat in protest. "I'm the only one left? I have to decorate the hall alone??"
"Hm, it seems so." Iruka shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Work hard. The school's talent show and music event are counting on you. Alright, class adjourned."
Naruto slumped back to his seat in depression and stifled anger, thereby missing the worried look a certain silver-haired man (who had previously been dreaming about the various outfits that would look good on Naruto) shot him before said man dashed after the shorter teacher.
"Iruka-sensei, Iruka-sensei, please wait up!" Kakashi called out as he chased after the other man. "Please wait!"
"Is there anything you want, Hatake-san? Unlike temp staff like you, we full-time teachers are very busy."
Kakashi ignored the jibe. "Uh, that is... regarding the hall decorations, don't you think it's a bit too much for Naruto to handle?"
"No, not at all. Is that all you wanted to say?"
"Uh, some students in the other project are only in charge of purchasing materials. Is it alright to ask them to help in the hall decorations as well?"
Iruka shot a glare at the taller man. "What do you know? Purchasing is a very busy job and there is loads of responsibility involved in that too. Naruto alone is enough. Besides, he has such an artistic spouse, I'm sure some artistic skills would have rubbed off on him as well."
Kakashi clenched his fists. "Iruka-sensei... I don't think you should do such a thing... Please stop punishing Naruto unnecessarily..."
"What?" The dolphin's face turned dark. "Why should I listen to you? Humph! Unnecessarily? He took the person I like away from me!! So don't tell me what to do without even knowing my feelings! ...What's so good about a brat like him anyway? He's the last in class; he can't cook other stuff other than ramen; he is noisy..."
A fist flew past the English teacher's face, narrowly missing it by a couple of inches, and smashed into the wall behind him.
Kakashi's usually cheery tone had taken on a deadly calm. "Please refrain from insulting him any further. I think I mentioned this before but I'll do it again: I don't care what you do to me; I'm willing to take any punishment from you but stop treating him unfairly. Besides, he... he never asked to be married to me, anyway, so it isn't his fault. So, Iruka-sensei, please stop all this. Stop being such a mean person; it's unsuitable for you."
The shorter man recovered from the shock and scowled. "You know nothing about me, Hatake Kakashi, so don't say what is suitable or unsuitable for me! Naruto alone is fully responsible for the hall decorations and that's it. If he fails to create something presentable, he's gonna get it!"
With that, the English teacher stalked off, leaving Kakashi in his own thoughts and regret.
"Ah... You're so huge..." Naruto groaned as he stared at it. "This is bad..."
The blonde slumped down onto the floor of the stage and sighed. Then he tilted his head sideways and dashed from one side of the stage to another and groaned again. "The side is at least tens of meters already... And the length is half the size... Ahh... This sucks! Why must it be so huge?!"
In case you're wondering what 'it' is, 'it' is the clean and strong backdrop/wall of the stage. The fact that it was a plain white with not a single speck on it at the moment meant that Naruto had not started on his work.
The blonde flopped onto the floor and laid there facing the ceiling as he wondered how he was going to paint an approximately 5 by 10 meter stage backdrop by himself. What's worse was that, the school would be closed for summer break (which lasts for a couple of weeks), meaning he would only have a few days to finish the job before the cultural festival. The worst thing was he sucked at art. His best score for Art class was a pathetic 51.5 and that was because the art subject had been to draw a sketch of your favorite food or use your favorite food to create a sculpture of sorts. He had used two packets of ramen and stitched them onto a stronger cardboard that was later made into a shuriken that would look a lot like a real shuriken with a lot of imagination.
It had been a good thing his art teacher liked ramen or he would have gotten a lousy score again.
Naruto briefly wondered if his buddies would help him. The other four had always been very good at art (though they don't look like it, but considering recent events) it was unlikely for Naruto to get help from them; they were still pissed about the Sasuke-thing and were still in the process of giving him the cold-shoulder.
Sasuke was out of the question too; the brunette was totally lost in his own world when Naruto approached him after class.
'Hmm... Maybe I can ask him?' Naruto pondered. 'Hmm... But he's probably busy helping the class with the art gallery too... Hmm... I'm on my own.'
"I'm dead." He announced and closed his eyes and imagined the different punishments waiting for him from Iruka-sensei. A few minutes later, he got up from the floor and headed home.
"Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara and Akimichi right?"
"Uhh... yeah?" Kiba asked unsurely. It wasn't everyday that your Art teacher ambushed you after school.
"You guys are Naruto's friend right?" Kakashi asked.
"Uh, not at current." Chouji replied as he whipped out a grape-flavored Ring-Pop (tm).
Kakashi frowned. "Why?"
The four exchanged a look before Shikamaru spoke up. "Uh, some disagreements."
"Hm... well, can't you forgive him?"
"No! We can't! It's the worst thing he had ever done and I hate two-timers!!" Kiba stated hotly.
"..."
The silence was so tangible that one could reach out a hand and touch it.
"Uh, did I say something wrong?" The canine-lover scratched his head and back-tracked his words mentally.
"Kiba." Shikamaru looked like he was about to strangle him and Shino's green shades were flashing menacingly already. The killing aura was overpowering and Kiba felt like a toad in front of a couple of snakes. Just as he finished his prayers and waited for the inevitable punches, a chuckle broke the tense situation.
"Ah! That? It's fine! I know about it!" Kakashi stated merrily as his obsidian eye crinkled into a happy crescent.
Three. Two. One. Then... "EH?!?!?!!?!?!"
"You know about?"
"When? How? Why? What?"
"What are you gonna do? Y-You're not gonna hurt Naruto, are you?"
"Naruto is innocent! He doesn't really know about seriousness of things even though he's already 18!!"
Kakashi pressed a finger to his lips to signal them to be quiet. "I know. I won't do anything. But don't let him know that I know okay?"
The four boys nodded mutely.
"Thanks for your concern. You guys are good kids. Now I finally know why you guys are ignoring him... But I need you four to do something for me. Can you guys help me?"
"Sure."
"Good! Here's what I need you guys to do for me..."
"Naruto, what are you doing moping around?" Kakashi asked when he felt more than saw the blonde's gloomy aura as he stepped into the house. He could feel the depression oozing from every pore of the blonde and carefully treaded to the boy on the sofa.
"..." The curled-up lump, covered by a fluffy pink blanket and a naruto (fish-cake)-patterned one, with only the golden hair sticking up remained unmoving.
"Oi, stop spreading your aura of doom around; it's affecting my mood."
"...You heartless jerk!" The boy popped out from the cocoon of blankets and scowled/pouted at the older man. "How could you rub salt into my wounds?!"
Kakashi whistled. "Wow... that's so... deep. Never knew you could spout philosophical stuff like that."
The blonde's face turned darker and it looked as if he would bawl any minute.
The older man turned his head to hide a smile before gaining his composure by faking a cough. "Ahem. Summer break is starting... Where do you wanna go?"
Kakashi didn't thought it was possible; but it happened anyway — Naruto actually managed to look more depressed.
"Do you think I would have the mood to go and have fun? ...Jerk, you're really rubbing salt onto my wounds." The boy sniffed.
Kakashi felt bad. But the man also believed that everything would work out fine in the end so he reached his hand, ruffled the boy's head and winked. "Don't worry about all that. Maybe a miracle would happen. Haha... Well, for now, let's go and prepare for summer break and the matsuri (2)!"
"Even though it is summer break, the seniors should be preparing for the college entrance exams. If you want to enter the top colleges, it's good to work harder. As always, remember the motto: play hard, but work harder! Even if you're not in school, you're still representative of the school so behave yourself, students! With that, enjoy your summer break." Principal Sarutobi stepped down from the stage as the rest of the student body rushed out of the hall and out the gate.
Finally... Summer break begins!
"Oi, Naruto, are you ready?" Kakashi asked cheerfully.
"Yeah, yeah... Geez, why are you so excited? Never been to the beach before?" Naruto muttered as he packed the lunchboxes.
Recently, he had been put in charge of the kitchen in the household because his cooking skills had improved exponentially. He had become a rather good cook in the three/four days of bringing lunchboxes to Kakashi and gang in the military camp and had gained quite a reputation there — he topped 'The Condemned Chart' in the canteen ladies' minds because Kakashi no longer visited the canteen for lunch.
On a side note, he also managed to be at the top of the 'To Kill List' in some of the military men's mind. This was because...
::Flashback::
"Yo, Kakashi." The sergeant in-charge of Kakashi's platoon, and his pack of cronies, strolled to their table during lunch on the second day. "I heard you little wife has been bringing you lunchboxes. Why? Is the food our camp that bad? Who said that you could bring in lunches? HUH?"
The silver-haired man sighed. "Ah, sergeant. Nice to see you again. It's nice to see that your bad character hasn't changed all these years."
Sergeant-san raised his brow and brought his face nearer to the other man's in (what he thought) a very threatening way. "What did you say? 50 push-ups with your left arm for being rude to your superior." The cronies began cackling in a very sadistic way.
'Maa... It's probably good to get him off my back instead of fighting, I guess...' "Yeah, yeah... My bad." Kakashi replied with a smile on his face. Just as he bent down to do the push-ups to appease Sergeant-san, a voice called out.
"WAIT A MINUTE!!"
"Ah, Naruto, You're early today." The scarecrow commented as he took in the sight of the slightly ruffled looking blonde. 'Why is he panting so hard? ...And what's that mountain of lunchboxes?!'
Unbeknownst to him, Naruto had rushed from school to home to carry that pile of lunchboxes then rushed from home to the camp. Then just when he was slowly strolling to the meeting point, he witnessed the entire scene of the Sergeant and cronies against Kakashi, and memories of the gangsters from the previous night came gushing back and he got pissed off. So he had dashed the remaining 20 meter to save his spouse.
The boy panted a bit, dropped the huge pile of lunchboxes then stormed to Sergeant-san. "Oi, teme! (3) What the hell did you think you're doing?"
"T-Teme...!?! You... You little brat! How dare you be rude to your seniors?!? Kakashi! Is this the way you train your wife?!" The sergeant's face had turned purple and his rage was obvious to anyone within a 50-metre-radius. The cronies were also rolling up their sleeves. It was starting to be oddly reminiscent of the scene with the gangsters from the previous night.
'Train? Wife? Why this bastard...!' A couple of veins popped and throbbed around Naruto's temple. "What did you say?! You pathetic man!! How dare you use your position to bully my husband?! And worse, you dare to show your chauvinistic pig-self to ore-sama (4)!! You call yourself a man? And a sergeant?!"
"Y-Y-You!" The sergeant's face turned a darker shade of purple and his hands were twitching, as if they longed to wrap around someone's, preferably a blue-eyed blonde's, neck and squeeze really hard.
"What? Are you going to bully me as well? Oi, everyone!! Look, look, look!! A sergeant is bullying a student for bringing lunchboxes to camp!!!" The boy hollered, gathering the attention of the other recruits, privates and sergeants of other platoons.
"I-I-I...!" stammered Sergeant-san. The cronies were sweating bullets and edging away from the scene.
As the crowd grew larger, Naruto suddenly burst into tears. "Uwah—!! This man is bullying me!! I just came to bring lunch to my husband but he's chasing me away!! Uwah—!! I missed my husband so much and wanted to see him so I made all this lunchboxes... and yet... and yet... UWAH—!!"
Kakashi hid a small grin when Naruto started crying harder. The boy was too cute. There was a sense of déjà vu (Refer to Chapter 2) about this scene, and he suddenly felt immensely sympathetic towards his superior. Taken from the 1000 Haikus of Hatake Kakashi, is some advice from a married man and also the golden rule of living with Naruto:
To make him angry
Is to embarrass yourself
Naruto Banzai (5)
— From Chapter 2 of 1000 Haikus of Hatake Kakashi: What Not to do to your spouse
"I-I-I... No, it's not like that!! Everyone! Why are you looking at me like that?! It's, it's not what you think!!" Kakashi's sergeant looked around for support from his cronies but they were gone. He started to look like he was on the brink of a mental breakdown. "I-I-I...! Doesn't anyone understand me?!"
'I do... Totally...' A voice filled with pain and immense understanding resonated in Kakashi's heart. Oh, just all those memories were enough to make him cry for mercy from the boy.
"UWAH—!!" Naruto continued that Oscar-winning performance. Some of the on-lookers were already turning hostile towards Sergeant-san.
"Ahhhhhhh—!! KAKASHI! You better remember this!!!"
The blonde wiped his tears, placed his hands on his waist, stuck his tongue at the retreating back of the escaping man and then turned around to give Kakashi a super cute grin filled with bubbles, Sakura petals and sparkles.
'H-How scary...' Kakashi sweated, even though he was really happy that the boy had stood up for him.
::End Flashback::
Naruto chuckled at the memory of the jealous and angry looks from the canteen ladies as well as the ugly scowl from that sergeant whenever he made his appearance in the camp.
"Oi brat, did you know that laughing by yourself is a serious sign of mental breakdown/dementia?" Kakashi teased as he stole an octopus-shaped wiener (sausage) from the lunchbox.
"Tch!" Naruto stopped grinning and whacked Kakashi's stealing hand with his chopsticks. "I was just thinking about something funny, pervert. And stop stealing food with your dirty hand! We are supposed to share this with Rin-san and everyone... Here, eat this. But go wash your hands first."
"Yea, yea... So what funny things were you thinking about? A fishcake dancing tango with ramen??"
"...Nothing like that, idiot!" The blonde huffed as the taller man chuckled. "Mou. Stop teasing me, old man! Ah, by the way, bring your yukata (6) along... The evening would be very warm and humid."
"Hmm... yukata huh? Which one should I bring? Hehe... but it's been a while since I saw Rin-chan in a yukata..." Kakashi turned pink and started giggling lecherously.
Naruto's face turned dark and in a flat voice, congratulated Kakashi. "Ah is that so. Good for you then. Rin-san said she'll wear a pink one."
"...Jealous?"
"W-W-What?! What are you talking about, idiot? W-Why should I be jealous??"
"... ..."
"I'm not jealous."
Kakashi looked at the back of the blonde and his eyes turned sad. "Yeah, I know you're not... Just pulling your leg, kid." 'Yeah, why should he be jealous...? It's not as if he's in love with me. To him... I'm just a...'
His obsidian eye widen as realization struck him. How silly! He should at least know what he is to Naruto before he decided on that course of action.
So he proceeded to voice his thoughts. "Naruto... what am I to you?"
The blonde stopped chopping the salad and turned a fiery red. 'This pervert... What kind of embarrassing question is that??'
"Oi, what am I to you?" The silver-haired man repeated his question. "Oi!"
"Y-Y-You... What the hell! Why are you asking such a weird question all of a sudden?!"
"Hm, because I don't know, that's why. I'm super curious today... so answer me."
"Y-Y-You... To me, you are..." Naruto blushed and tried to sort out his feelings for the other man. What did he feel about the other man? Hm... What was the other man to him...? It was too complex. Wait a minute... why should he be thinking about that question? In that case, shouldn't he ask what Kakashi thought about him as well?
Thinking that, the blonde repeated the question. "Y-You! What am I to you then?"
"...Uh..." Kakashi sweated. How should he answer him? Should he tell him his true feelings? But then what if he scared the boy away? At least right now, they were like a pair of good friends/brothers/teacher-student that was bordering on the positive side. But it wasn't good enough. Ah, what should he do? It was too complex. So in the end, Kakashi chose the safest way (in his opinion) out.
"Uh, to me, you're a kid. A brat."
"..."
Naruto felt a strange tightness in his chest. He always had that feeling whenever the older man regarded him as a kid/brat or when he mentioned about Rin. He wondered if he was getting some kind of weird heart problems and for a minute, he thought of telling Kakashi that his chest felt weird. It hurt so much he thought he would suffocate. Why didn't Kakashi understand?
"...Brat?" The taller man waved his hand in front of his eyes.
Naruto brushed the hand away and turned his gaze away from him. "...Am not a kid."
"Eh?"
The blonde turned around and shot Kakashi a glare. "I'm not a kid! I'm not a kid anymore! So stop calling me a kid or a brat!!"
The taller man was surprised. 'Why is he over-reacting like this? It's not as if it's the first time I called him a kid...'
Naruto must have realized that he had over-reacted as well. Because in the next minute, he had turned back to the chopping board and started chopping the cabbage with renewed vigor (?). However, the previously jovial, teasing mood had mellowed into a somber one.
Kakashi sighed. It was so hard to understand Naruto sometimes. "Fine, fine... I wouldn't call you kid or brat anymore. Then?"
"Then what?" Chop. Chop. Chop.
"What am I to you?"
"A pervert who likes to read Icha Icha Paradise at home, in school and everywhere else, and a jerk who likes to bully me." Chop. Chop. Chop.
"...Is... is that really what you think of me?"
'No, not really...' "...Yeah."
"...So I don't make you happy?"
'No, you do... Sometimes. Many times actually.' "...Hm..."
"You are unhappy with me, huh?"
'No, I'm only unhappy when you're your perverted self.' "...Hm..."
"...I see."
'I was lying.' "...Yeah."
"Kakashi! Naruto-kun!! Over here!!" Rin waved her hand merrily when she spotted the couple. She had woken up extra early so that she could get a good spot on the beach. Looking at the crowd now, it was worth sacrificing that few hours of beauty sleep.
"Rin-san, nice to see you." Naruto bowed respectfully and sat on the mat.
"Yo, Rin. Where are the rest?" Kakashi asked as he set the picnic basket down by the mat and looked around for signs of Genma and Raidou.
"Ah, they're somewhere out there... Probably chatting with girls or something along those lines..." Rin answered cheerfully as she took out the various boxes from the picnic basket. "Wow... So many boxes of food? Ah... they all look so delicious... Did you prepare them, Naruto-kun?"
The blonde nodded his head and helped to take out the bottles of beverages.
Kakashi thought the drinks looked heavy so he reached to help Naruto. Just as his hand came into contact with the blonde's, the boy drew back his hand hastily and looked away. Kakashi looked a bit surprised before it changed into a look of indifference. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by Rin, but she chose to keep quiet.
Instead, she decided to break the tense atmosphere by praising the youngest member in the group. "Naruto-kun, I heard from the other two that your cooking is delicious. Is it okay if I take a piece first?"
"Ah, sure! Help yourself. I'm confident of the sushi and tamago-yaki... (7)"The blonde grinned as he took out the boxes of sushi (to Kakashi's distaste) and egg rolls.
"Wah... it looks really delicious. Itadakimasu!" Rin started to help herself to the food. "Uwah! This is really, really good! Naruto-kun, you definitely have to teach me how to make this some time! Kakashi, you're so lucky to be eating good food everyday!!"
Kakashi merely smiled mildly.
"Oi! Kakashi!! Yome-san!!" cried Genma and Raidou as they dashed to the group with huge grins on their faces. "UWAH! We get to eat your delicious cooking again, yome-san!!"
The two men immediately helped themselves to the food (with their bare hands, and got chastised by Rin).
Tears suddenly ran down their cheeks.
"Shi. A. Wa. Se!! (8)" The two chorused as they continued pigging. Then Genma, with rice all over his face, turned to Naruto suddenly and gripped both of the blonde's hand.
"Naruto-kun! Are you willing to ditch Kakashi and marry me instead? I'll try my best to make you happy!"
Naruto chuckled and pulled his hands from the man's grip. "What are you saying? I..."
"If you can make him the happiest person, you can have him; I don't really mind." Kakashi interrupted before the blonde could finish his sentence.
"Eh? Really?" Genma went along, thinking Kakashi was jesting around.
"Yeah... but he's a kid so you got to be extremely patient with him." The silver-haired man spoke in a sagely tone.
"Hahaha... Naruto-kun, what do you say then?" Genma joked.
"I... I have to go to the toilet!" The blonde cried before taking off towards the rows of stores nearby.
Genma and Raidou chuckled. "Ah, he ran away."
Kakashi shrugged and just gazed at the sea. The only female in the group looked worriedly at her friend and his runaway spouse before sighing and shaking her head lightly. 'This couple is a troublesome pair.' She thought as she munched on a piece of fish. 'This tastes really good; Naruto-kun would become a really good housewife.'
Naruto ran and ran till he reached a deserted corner of the beach. His chest hurt so badly! And, and he felt so angry! He hurt so much and felt so furious that he had to escape from there before he reached his limit and started throwing his tantrum. He didn't want Kakashi to look bad in front of his good friends. Then he got even more mad for thinking that way.
'...Tch! Actually... Why the hell should I care if he looked good or bad?!' The boy thought madly as he clenched one fist and slammed it into a nearby tree. 'What the hell. What the hell? What the hell!! Who does he think he is? How could he just give me away like that?? ...Why should I bloody care what he thinks anyway? He's just an idiotic, perverted jerk!!'
"'If you can make him the happiest person, you can have him; I don't really mind,' he said... Who the hell does he think he is? ...What the hell does he take me for?!" Naruto growled and slammed both fists into the tree to vent his anger. "That idiot. I hate him."
Then like a deflated balloon, he slid down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. "I hate him!"
His hands were wet when he lifted them away from his face.
He didn't know how long he had sat there, curled up like a ball beside the tree. One thing was for sure though, he had been there throughout the whole afternoon and past evening because the sky was turning dark and the surroundings were silent except for sounds of the crickets.
"So you're awake now?" A familiar baritone voice drifted by his side, startling him.
"Hiiiii!! W-Who? P-Pervert? Is that you??"
There was an exasperated sigh before he felt a warm body beside him. "Yeah, yeah... I'm a pervert. So you should hide from me and go back to the group. You had Rin and the rest of them worried when you ran off and didn't come back for hours. You're lucky I'm good at tracking people or else you would be abandoned here."
Naruto scowled. "Yeah, I should apologize to them for making them worried..."
"Yeah, now come on... My body's all stiff from sitting here all day..." Kakashi grumbled as he stretched his body and rubbed the kinks from his joints and numbness in his legs. "Here..." He offered his hand to the boy who was still looking away from him and pouting.
"..."
"What? You want me to carry you?"
"..."
"Oi, say something."
The blonde bent his head and mumbled something that was lost to anything except the tree he was leaning on.
"Can't hear you."
The blonde blushed and whispered slightly louder. "I said, my legs are numb."
Kakashi stared at the fidgeting boy who was still blushing madly then leaned down and offered his back to his spouse. Naruto reached out slowly to the taller man and shyly held onto his back. Then in an instant he was piggy-backed by the older man.
The couple walked silently when Kakashi chuckled abruptly.
"W-What? Don't laugh like that all of a sudden..." Naruto complained and held on tighter.
"Haha, sorry... but I realized something... You're just like an Onbu! (9) Hahahaha..."
"What? What the heck is an Onbu?!"
Kakashi smiled. He could already see the confused pout forming on the blonde's face. "Well, you see... An Onbu is a mythical creature that rides on other people's back. It is said to be very big and fierce, and it..."
As the scarecrow continued his tale, the blonde snuggled tighter to the warm back and slowly drifted to sleep. 'He's so warm... This feels so familiar... When I was a kid...? Hm... Zzzzz...'
"Eh? You want to go to the Tanabata (10) festival with me??" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?" Sasuke asked over the phone. Naruto could almost see the frown forming on the brunette's face.
"I might not be going to the festival."
"Why?"
"Because... it's uh, inconvenient for me."
"How?"
"It just is. Besides, I never ever been to one before... it's for lovers and stuff anyway."
"...Aren't we lovers?"
"Eh?"
Sasuke repeated the question again. "Aren't we lovers? We are dating after all."
"Uh, oh yeah... that's right. Ahaha... Uh, Sasuke, I think, uh..."
"Hm? What is it?"
"...N-Nevermind. Uh, okay then. I'll meet you. But I can't stay for too long okay?"
"...Fine. I'll pick you up at..."
"No! Uh, I mean, it's better if I meet you there directly. Hm, it's being held in the village centre right? So I'll meet you near Ichiraku okay?"
"Yeah. No problem."
"Okay... Ah! Have to hang up now. I'll meet you there yeah? Bye!"
Three knocks rapped on his door and it opened to reveal a tall silver-haired man in boxers and a Hawaiian T-shirt. Kakashi strode into the room like it belonged to him (which actually did belong to him until he got evicted from there and made to stay in the other room when Tsunade and his mother threatened him) and sat on the bed.
"Oi brat, let's go to the Tanabata festival together. I heard from Jiraiya jii-sama that you seldom go to these festivals so I thought I should bring you there. Do you need to get a new yukata? You complained that the other one was too girlish right?"
Naruto sweated. "A-Ah... Uhm, regarding that, you see... Uh, I think I might be going with a friend... Uhm, but I could meet you later in the evening... Maybe we could watch the fireworks together?"
A silver brow rose. "...Friend... huh?"
"Y-Yeah..."
"Tanabata is usually for lovers though. This friend of yours..."
Sweat was pouring down the boy's back and he looked away from Kakashi in case his eyes betrayed him.
"...must be very close. Your best friend or something?" The silver-haired man finished.
Naruto mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Then he turned back to the older man and nodded. "Uh, yeah... we are quite... close. Uhm, but I'll try and meet..."
"No, never mind." The taller man got up from the bed and slowly walked out of the room. "It's okay. I just thought I should bring you to one of those festivals since you've never been to one before. Ah well, it's probably more enjoyable if you go with a ... close friend anyway. Ah well, I'm tired... Good night, Naruto."
In the apartment, one resident was immersed in guilt and confusion while the other was wondering what he could do to make the person he loves happy.
That night, both of them could not sleep.
A few days later, it was the Tanabata.
Naruto gingerly made his way to the door after donning on his pale blue yukata. He stopped at the living room where the silver haired man was lounging and approached him.
"Hey... come along. The fireworks would be very pretty and... Don't you want to make a wish? I heard that the bamboo groves near the temple at the festival grounds are very spiritual so wishes hung on them have a higher chance to come true... Come along." Naruto smiled and held out his hand to the older man.
Kakashi removed his gaze from the television and fixed them on the blonde. There was no doubt that Naruto was good looking and incredibly adorable. That pale blue yukata was a size too big so it made the blonde looked smaller than usual; almost petite compared to many men his age; and it accentuated the boy's sky-blue eyes and soft-looking gold hair. With his cheeks flushing a light pink, Naruto was beautiful. Kakashi felt very reluctant to let the boy leave. Of course he knew who this close friend was. Of course he wanted to go badly; it was a significant festival afterall — going together meant that they were lovers.
'But that's not the relationship we have now. And Naruto won't have a fun time with me...' The scarecrow thought sadly as he sat himself upright so that he could reach the boy's yukata and help him fix his belt. Then he straightened the boy's outfit and smiled. "Yup, you look really cute now."
The blonde turned red and averted his eyes.
His spouse chuckled. "Have a good time, Naruto. Bring back loads of souvenirs."
"...But..."
"Don't worry about me. Actually, I'm not feeling too good so it's better for me to stay at home and rest. Make loads of wishes for me in my stead okay?"
"But..."
"Naruto, this is the third thing I want you to do for me: go and have fun at the festival. And stay out of trouble. Now get going. Shoo, shoo!"
"...I understand. Ittekimasu."
"Aa. Itterasshai!" Kakashi smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair.
"I'll buy loads of food for you so rest at home. See ya."
"Yup! Geez, get going already..." 'Before I break and keep you from leaving...'
"Bye." The door clicked shut. He shut his eyes as the 'karan-koron' sounds from Naruto's wooden clogs gradually faded into silence.
'Naruto... ...Come back.' For the first time in many years, Kakashi felt like crying.
"You're late." Was the greeting from Sasuke when he saw him.
Naruto smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Shall we go then?"
"Yeah... Here."
"Eh?"
"Hold my hand."
"Uhn."
The two boys walked together hand-in-hand. The brunette was wondering if the smaller boy beside him had noticed the yukata he was donning while the blonde was immersed in thoughts of a certain silver-haired man.
"Naruto."
"Hm?"
"You look really cute."
"Hm... Thanks. You too, Sasuke." The taller boy blushed as Naruto went back to his thoughts.
For some reason, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about Kakashi. Everything was so beautiful at the festival and he suddenly wished that the older man could be there with him to enjoy the decorations, composed of large colorful streamers and lanterns.
"Naruto? Are you okay? You looked a bit ...distracted."
"Ah, sorry. Just thinking about ...something."
Sasuke frowned. He liked Naruto a lot but he really disliked it when Naruto gets preoccupied by something when they were together. He wanted the boy's attention all to himself.
"Oi dobe, come along... let's go look at the games..."
"Uhn."
Suddenly a group of girls spotted the two of them and started squealing.
"Kyaa—!! It's Sasuke-sama!! Kyaa—!!" One of them screamed then suddenly, the horde of girls started rushing towards them.
"Ah, Naruto!"
"S-Sasuke!"
The smaller boy felt someone jostling him from the side and then someone else bumped into him hard. He lost grip of his companion's hand and got shoved further and further away until he was on the outer perimeter of the grounds.
"..Those crazy fans!!" Naruto cursed as he made his way back to where he last saw Sasuke... only to find that the other boy had already vacated that area. "Mou... this is so crappy! If only Kakashi was here!!" He muttered offhandedly.
'Yeah... If only he was here...' The blonde thought sadly as he walked towards a stall selling masks. His eyes were drawn to a fox-designed and another one that looks like a scarecrow. 'Ah, that one would be totally suitable for him!'
"Jii-san! How much is this?"
Naruto wore his fox mask and held the scarecrow one in his hand. Feeling a little hungry, he walked to some of the food stall. 'Ah! Takoyaki!! Yakisoba!! Tempura!! Ringo Ame!! (11) Hm... but he doesn't really like tempura and other foods that are flavored too strongly... Hm, maybe yakisoba then!'
"Jii-san! Two servings of yakisoba, one with less sauce, and one takoyaki!"
"Baa-san! One ringo ame!!"
The blonde went on to buy more souvenirs for the person plaguing his thoughts and all too soon, he had forgotten about Sasuke, who had started a frantic search for his smaller companion the moment he got rid of those persistent, pesky fan-girls.
'Shit. He didn't pick up his phone and there are too many people around!' Sasuke scratched his head irritatedly and huffed. 'Argh! This is infuriating!!'
Just when he was ready to give up, he caught a flash of gold and blue at the corner of the festival grounds and dashed towards that figure.
"Naruto!"
The blonde turned around in surprise. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt a pair of arms encircling around his waist, pulling him to a taller body and a pair of lips attached to his own.
'Kakashi? No, it's not... it's Sasuke... ...I-I don't want this.' Naruto thought as he tried to push the other boy away from him.
"NARUTO???"
"NARUTO!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!? OI!!!"
Sasuke finally let go of him and Naruto immediately turned around to the source of voice.
'Ero-jii... Tsunade baa-sama! And ...Otou-sama and Kaa-sama!!'
"Oh no..."
::To Be Continued::
A/N 1:
1) Moe: Blossom. Or burn (with passion).
2) Matsuri: Festival
3) Teme: A very, very rude way of saying 'you'.
4) Ore-sama: A very, very arrogant way of addressing oneself.
5) Banzai: 万歳。'Long live (Naruto)'
6) Yukata: A cotton, lightweight kimono that is worn mostly in summer and bathhouses
7) Tamago-yaki: Fried egg. This is usually in the shape of egg rolls.
8) Shi. A. Wa. Se(Shiawase): 幸せ。 Meaning blissful/happy.
9) Onbu: That little furry creature in one of the filler episodes of Naruto.
10) Tanabata: 七夕。 A festival (literally translated to Seven Evenings and usually celebrated on 7th July) that celebrates the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi, the lovers that are only allowed to meet once a year via the milky way (river of stars across the sky bridging the two stars (lovers) together.
11) Takoyaki!! Yakisoba!! Tempura!! Ringo Ame!!: Octopus ball!! Fried noodles!! (Deep-) Fried food (seafood or vegetables) in batter!! Apple Candy!!
A/N 2:
Sorry for the long wait. Exams are very scary things. X(
Thanks for the reviews. :)
Well, I'm sad to say that FIRST LOVE would be finishing in a couple of chapters (or in one very long one). There will most likely be a sequel to this story; I do hope to showcase the family life of the couple via their kid. (GASP!!)
To answer a few questions (because my email is wonky):
1) KNOW-san: Sure. ::smiles::
2) Iruka isn't really evil... just a bit jealous and a tad vindictive.
3) Sasuke would be approaching Kakashi in the next chapter actually, and that would most probably lead to the moment everyone is waiting for. XD So stay tuned!
4) Gothic Kacie: I was laughing like mad when I saw your reivew. Good idea, actually... XD But nahz...
In the next exciting episode of FIRST LOVE:
Sasuke explodes!
"Why did you keep it from me? ...WHY DID YOU KEEP IT FROM ME?!"
The elders explode too!
"How could you cheat on Kakashi like that? How would you feel if you were him, Naruto? Huh??!"
The power of friendship:
"Don't worry, Naruto! We'll do our best to help you!!"
"You guys..."
"Haha, don't start crying now, Naru-chan. You're the baby of the group but if you start crying, we'll feel troubled by your tears, ya know?"
"...Uhn. Thanks."
Everyone knows?
"Ladies and Gentlemen!! I'm sure you guys don't know this... but Kakashi-sensei here... actually has a spouse! And it's one of the students from our school!!"
Naruto's feelings!
"I... I think I knew that I love him all along... but I was an idiot to ignore the feelings inside me. I... I... I'm sorry."
Finale?
Please... Please let me be in time!! Kakashi! Don't leave me!!
"Kakashi!!"
All these and more in the next chapter of FIRST LOVE!!
As usual, please give me feedback and comments via the cute, lil' button below. Don't be shy!!