The Psychic, The Swordsman, and The Sorcerer
Chapter 38
I don't own Naruto (Masashi Kishimoto), X-Men (Marvel Comics in association with 20th Century Fox), Zorro (public domain despite what Zorro Production Inc. would like you to believe), or Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling in association with Warner Bros. Studios). Fun Fact: supposedly, Daniel Radcliffe broke eighty wands over the course of the Harry Potter film franchise because he used them as drumsticks. Here's a bit more silly stuff before we return to the Chuunin Exams.
A couple of days later, Kakashi was disappointed to see his students waiting for him. He had genuinely hoped that they wouldn't bother him ever again once he'd dumped them into the Chuunin Exams.
"That's almost hurtful, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura remarked, "Also, I thought that you'd know by now that you're stuck with us."
"What are you all doing for the official matches?" he sighed. It was better to get things over with before he got dragged into their latest madness.
"I think I found someone who can sell me a boggart," Sasuke remarked, "It took a bit of work to find one, but I think I can have it in before the matches. If not, well, I'll have a boggart later. I'm not that concerned, though I have been working on some more defensive spells in the meanwhile."
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but, despite himself, Kakashi was starting to become curious about boggarts. Apparently they were real, and they were rare enough that Sasuke had only now found someone willing to sell him one. Brushing away the thought for the time being, he turned towards Sakura and asked, "And you?"
"Toying with more control exercises," she responded glibly, "Trying to see how low I can take a flame without it being useless, refining my shields, things like that. I'm really intent on facing off against Ino."
"Knowing your luck, you probably will," he shrugged, turning to his least-irritating student, "What about you, Zorro?"
"I am practicing my swordsmanship and ninjutsu further," he responded, "and I am attempting to learn some more seal-making. In my humble opinion, I am still a novice."
"I might know someone who can help you," Kakashi said, jumping on the opportunity to pawn one of his students off onto a deserving victim.
"Well, I suppose that we can call this meeting adjourned," Sakura stated, "Since you clearly have other goals for the day."
It took him a while longer than it should have, but Kakashi eventually managed to track down the infamous Toad Sage, Jiraiya.
"I take it you want me to teach..." the old novelist inquired before turning to face the pair, "...your son?"
"He's not my son, he's my student," Kakashi replied, annoyed by the fact that people kept making that mistake, "But, yes. He wants to learn seal-making."
"Aren't you that kid who goes around carving the letter Z into everything?" Jiraiya asked, recalling multiple instances of the boy getting him in trouble by getting him caught while he was peeking at the hot springs.
"Aren't you the writer who created the novel known as The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi?" the blond inquired in response, "If so, you have my sincerest praise."
That statement alone led to Jiraiya pausing. Very few people had read his first novel, and even less praised it. The fact that this boy had done both intrigued him, as it put him in very rare company, indeed. Considering both that, and the fact that he wanted to learn an art that he so rarely got to teach, Jiraiya really only had one possible response.
"Sure, I'll teach him," he said, "What's your name, kid?"
"I am the legendary horseman known as Zorro!" the blond announced, drawing his sword and carving a Z into a nearby fence. To Kakashi's shock, Jiraiya seemed to just take the odd behavior in his stride. Jiraiya, on the other hand, didn't mind the strangeness at all. He had dealt with all manners of odd, considering his two previous prized pupils. Besides, he wanted to pass on his lessons to someone, and his godson had apparently decided to become the village's premiere construction company, so it wasn't as if he really had anything to prevent him from taking on another apprentice.
"Come on, then," Jiraiya told him, "We might as well see what you do know and work from there..."
If the boy was skilled with chakra control, maybe he could even teach the kid the Rasengan.
Meanwhile, hidden in a secret location just outside of the village, Orochimaru was still working on repairing his fangs. Sure, he could use one of his functional cursed seals and switch out into a new body, but there were only a few that actually functioned exactly as they were designed to, so he didn't want to waste any of his spare bodies.
"They killed my summoned snake, chipped my fangs, and my vision still hasn't fully returned in my right eye," he growled under his breath, "And, to top it off, I didn't even get to brand Sasuke. If I had the body of a wizard, I could make a real Horcrux. I will have my revenge on all three of them when the time is right. Sasuke, the pink-haired girl, and Kakashi Hatake's son..."
Kakashi felt a strange sensation of hatred directed towards an unknown party. Quickly, he pulled out his newest copy of Icha Icha Paradise and checked the pages for any sign of damage. As of yet, he still hadn't gotten the time to finish it, and he was worried of foul play. After a cursory glance indicated that his book remained intact and unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief. Whatever it was that had bothered him, it clearly wasn't there at the moment, so he sat down on the park bench and opened to his bookmarked page. Haru and Momoko were finally going to be reunited, after a year and a day of separation. It was one of those moments that he loved in a good ninja love story, and the sort of thing that always drew him into his favorite series.
It was, therefore, very unfortunate that Sakura had been throwing fireballs at a stump nearby to continue working on control. In a burst of flames, Kakashi's book was destroyed, yet again. He would not cry. Gai would somehow hear of it, and would try to cheer him up, which never ended well. Sadly letting the ashes of his precious book run through his fingers, he got up and slowly made his way to the bookstore. As he did, he attempted to console himself. He only had to deal with them until they passed the Chuunin Exams, which he was certain they could do. Then, he would be able to find some poor sap to pawn them off onto, and they wouldn't be his problem ever again. Feeling slightly better, he continued to make his way to the bookstore. Surely, things were finally looking up for him.