Chapter 10: A Familiar Mission
As the three sprinted to the front gates, the slouched, but tall figure of their sensei started to form in their line of vision, the messy mop of silver hair covering his head being the dead giveaway that he was Kakashi indeed.
But as they neared the lanky jonin, another man came into view, one with messy, grayed hair and tan, muscled arms from doing hard, laborious work for the majority of his long lifetime.
"…Old man?" Naruto uttered in confusion, skidding to a stop in front of the two older males. Sakura and Sasuke also looked up at the elderly carpenter, their eyes glinting with recognition.
"Naruto! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Tazuna said cheerfully, genuinely glad to see the team after so long. He was especially happy to meet the orange clad ninja once more, since he had helped Inari's bravery and optimism rise to the surface.
"It sure has, old man!" Naruto exclaimed with an ear to ear grin, "So, how's Inari?"
"He's training to become a fine carpenter, just like his old grand pops," Tazuna chuckled gruffly, scratching the back of his head and pointing a callused thumb to his abdomen.
"And none of them bullies mess with him no more!" he added proudly. Naruto's grin only widened. Sakura stepped up with a small smile, leaving Sasuke standing behind the two of them.
"What about Tsunami? How's your daughter?" she asked politely, hands clasped behind her back.
"Tsunami? She's fine, take cares of her two boys very well," the bridge builder answered with a hearty laugh, "Oh, and those two boys would be me and Inari, of course!"
Kakashi shifted his weight impatiently, his gloved hands stuffed deep into his pockets.
"Um, guys…I think we should get going," he prompted, expression bored and passive as always.
"Heh, let's go then. I can't wait to get home and eat dinner with my family, anyway," Tazuna proclaimed loudly, turning his attention to the team's leader.
Kakashi started toward the open gates without a word, the others following after him. Naruto and Sakura immediately assumed positions on either side of Tazuna, while Sasuke took the back, sullenly gazing at the backs of those ahead of him.
"Where are you guys headed?" Kotetsu drawled, seeing the group venturing outside of the gates. Kakashi threw a lethargic glance at Izumo and Kotetsu, secretly relieved that the pair was on duty instead of Genma, or Raidou, especially Anko. He certainly didn't want them, or anyone for that matter, to be asking questions about the 'incident' at the bar.
"We have an escort mission to the Land of Waves," he told them simply, adjusting the seemingly heavy backpack on his shoulders. Izumo nodded curtly, approving of his reason to exit the village.
With the granted permission, the copy ninja started to trudge further away from the hidden leaf, distancing him from easily accessible medical care with every slow step that he took. They walked along a wide, dirt path, ensconced by tall trees on both sides.
The old carpenter and his three students followed closely behind him, talking animatedly about petty topics, such as their zodiac signs, or favorite colors.
The jonin pulled out the familiar orange colored novel from his ninja pouch, and turned to the first page, deciding that he might as well entertain himself for however long the journey was about to take. Kakashi would at least be able to enjoy his favorite read for a good chunk of the morning before a "headache" became too prominent, since he had taken his prescribed medication right before body flickering to the training grounds.
Although he was busy reading in the front, the jonin couldn't help but hear little snippets of what they were talking about.
"What about you, Sasuke, what's your favorite color?" Sakura crooned, trying to include the ever quiet Sasuke in the conversation.
"Hn," the Uchiha grumbled, "I don't have one." Naruto didn't take long to retaliate.
"You can't be serious! I've always thought your favorite color was dark blue or something!" Naruto exclaimed in astonishment.
"I've already told you," Sasuke started, crossing his arms, "Navy is not my favorite color."
"Then why do you wear it all the time, huh?!" The blonde said in exasperation, not understanding why Sasuke refused to admit that he did indeed love dark blue as a color.
"Yeah, I agree with Naruto, for once. I wear red and Naruto dresses in orange every day because those are our favorite colors. You can't just wear the same color every day and not have some kind of connection with it," Sakura added shrilly. Sasuke just clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"I only wear navy blue because I hate most other colors. Like red. And especially orange," he argued, not really in the mood to talk anymore. Sakura sunk into herself, her face falling with disappointment that Sasuke disliked something about her. Naruto just got even more riled up, his chest puffing out as if he had something to prove.
"Orange is a GREAT color! And so is red, ya know!" Naruto added quickly, the passion coming off of him in waves that didn't seem to affect the Uchiha, of course.
"No it's not," Sasuke articulated firmly.
"Is too!"
"Is. Not."
"IS TOOO!"
"It is not!"
Tazuna face palmed at their childish bickering, his face scrunching up in annoyance.
"Hey! Shut up! I thought that at least you would be more mature, broody!" he exclaimed. The bridge builder got them to quiet down, but he also caused Sasuke's scowl to deepen even further.
"What'd you just call me?" Sasuke asked rhetorically, his voice menacingly low and quiet.
"You didn't hear me the first time? And I thought I was the old one…" Tazuna muttered obliviously, scratching the the top of his head of graying hair in confusion.
"Are you stupid or-" Sasuke had started vehemently, before he got cut off.
"Enough, all of you!" Kakashi called from the front, finally deciding that it was time to intervene. He kept his gaze focused on the pages of a book he had read a few too many times, not even glancing back at them. He was successful in shutting them up; an awkward silence had settled around the group, not that Kakashi minded, anyway. He actually enjoyed the unsettlement of those around him. They walked in the same uneasy quietness for a few moments, until Naruto spoke up.
"Hey, sensei, Kakashi-sensei!" He shouted excitedly, although the man was only a few feet ahead of him.
"Hm…?" the jonin grunted in response, his dark orbs skimming over the never ending kanji before him as he trudged along the dirt path.
"What's your favorite color, huh?" the blonde questioned curiously, unaware of the glares he was getting from his two teammates, and even the old carpenter.
"Don't ask that, you idiot! Didn't you see what just happened?!" Sakura hissed. Tazuna nodded in agreement.
"Yep, she's right, Naruto. Ya don't want your sensei to react like broody, right?" the carpenter explained, gazing down at the orange clad ninja. Sasuke bore a hole into Tazuna's back at that, but it wasn't like the old man noticed.
"Yeah, yeah, makes sense!" the Uzumaki said quickly with a few vigorous nods, squinting up at the bridge builder in return.
"Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto tried again, looking intently at the jonin's slouched back.
"Yes, Naruto?" Kakashi responded casually, pretending as if he had not just witnessed their whole conversation.
"What's your zodiac sign?!"
Kakashi stroked his masked chin, acting as if he were deep in thought.
"…My birthday's on the fifteenth of September," he started with a contemplative tone, "So I guess that would make me a Virgo."
"You know, now that I think of it…you do act like a Virgo, sensei…"Sakura mused.
"…Really? How so?" Kakashi asked listlessly, licking a thumb to turn another one of the worn pages of his book.
"Well, first of all, you're really meticulous-I mean, you pay close attention to details. Remember the last time we had to go to the Land of Waves? It was you who deduced that Zabuza was still alive by being really picky and critical of the whole battle," she explained, everyone's attention drawn to her, "That hadn't even occurred to me until you gave the evidence!"
"Well, that's how you'll be too, when you become a jonin…" Kakashi replied simply, reading the same page over and over again while simultaneously talking to Sakura and inspecting his surroundings for any threats.
"Fine, I guess that make sense," Sakura accepted, "But what about how reserved you are? The first time we met, the only thing that you revealed in your introduction was your name!"
I'm impressed…she was able to analyze every single one of my actions in an attempt to form a clearer picture of who I am, a skill required for a jonin to have. I have no doubt in my mind that Sakura will be great someday.
"Hm…perhaps you're right after all, Sakura...You sure do know a lot about Zodiac signs," Kakashi noticed. Sakura blushed modestly, twiddling her thumbs.
"Yeah, Sakura, it's awesome that you know so much!" Naruto added, perhaps in an attempt to win her over.
"Well, actually…Back in Kunoichi class, Ino-pig and I used to make trivia cards on the signs and quiz each other later, for fun. I know it sounds kind of cliché, but I guess it kind of helped me to…find out who I am…" Sakura told them uneasily.
"What kind of name is Ino-pig?" Tazuna asked with a snort, diminishing the nervous energy that had settled around them.
"Ino-pig is just a nickname, gramps!" Naruto explained with a few loose guffaws.
"Yeah…her real name is Ino. She is-I mean she used to be my friend, but now we're rivals!" Sakura said with a raised fist, her face set in determination.
"And she's an annoying fan girl, too," Sasuke added tersely, rolling his eyes. Sakura flinched and lowered her fist, her expression softening ruefully. For some reason, when Sasuke said that, it made her feel bad as well. The kunoichi almost felt guilty for not defending the Yamanaka.
"You know, broody, you've got a serious attitude problem," Tazuna told Sasuke seriously upon noticing Sakura's gloomy mood. Naruto nodded his head vigorously in agreement.
"He does, he does!"
Sasuke growled in annoyance, his fists clenched tightly to keep himself from punching the man that they were supposed to be protecting.
"Hey, we're here, guys," Kakashi informed them, stopping in front of a boat dock. The rest of the group had been so involved in their conversation that they hadn't even noticed the disappearing trees, or that they were getting closer to the body of water in the far distance.
"Wow, already?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Yeah. Now we just have to take a boat to the Land of Waves, and drop Mr. Tazuna off." Kakashi told them with a sigh, strolling down the wooden dock that extended onto the vast body of water. He raised a gloved palm and waved for a paddler to come over.
An old man with a gnarled face got the signal and started rowing his empty boat toward the group, the water rippling every time he thrust the long paddles into the water.
The copy ninja stepped aside, once the elderly man was waiting beside the dock, to let the others board the watercraft before he did so himself. They started toward the small boat, slowly lowering themselves off of the wooden surface of the dock. Sakura and Naruto immediately took the front, the latter of the two gazing in wonderment at the dark sea sloshing beneath them. Sasuke got on without a word and cautiously sat down in the middle of the boat, his legs crossed casually.
After seeing that Tazuna had also taken a seat close to the patient paddler, Kakashi lowered himself down, the vessel creaking under all of the weight. He occupied the space between Sasuke and his other two students, who were now both smiling as they stared down at the tadpoles flickering in the depths of the water. The jonin nodded curtly to the paddler, upon noticing that the old man had been looking to him for a signal to start rowing toward the pier.
He exhaled and extended his long legs, attempting to lean back, but to no avail. His backpack was boring into his spine, preventing him from enjoying the experience to it's full extent. Kakashi removed the damn thing with frustration and plopped it onto his lap, heaving another sigh. Let's try this again.
The copy ninja slumped against the wall of the boat, his head slightly nodded forward in exhaustion. As much as Kakashi hated to admit it, he was tired. Really, really tired. The fact that his muscles ached as if he had ran the whole of the journey to the boat, truly made him despise his body. Like, come on, he didn't even really use any chakra.
And on top of that, it had become sharply apparent by that point that his medication had "worn off". Kakashi would be kidding himself if he said that the headache was faint, or if he told himself that it was something he would be able to handle on a day to day basis. The pain bloomed at the top of his skull and radiated in waves all the way down to his jawline, not as intense as the monster headache that had encouraged him to overdose, but blatantly worse than the ones he dealt with every day.
He closed his sore, dry eyes and massaged his throbbing temples in an attempt to soothe the headache, one of the only things he really could do at the moment. If Kakashi was allowed, he would have greedily taken the pills stowed away in his backpack already, but unfortunately, he was strictly prohibited to taking the special drugs only twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.
Kakashi wiped the sweat accumulating on his clammy brow, only to have more perspire there in an instant. Unfortunately for him, the fog had decided to dissipate that day, so the sun was shining brightly on the back of his head and chafing his neck, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was.
"What's wrong?"
Kakashi blearily opened his eyes and glanced to his left, where Sasuke was looking at him expectantly, the faintest hints of concern tingeing his usually impassive expression.
"Are you…okay?" Sasuke started shyly, as if the words were too foreign to come out of his mouth.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Kakashi replied simply, granting his student a full view of his face, which made the Uchiha's frown only deepen.
"What's wrong with you? You look terrible," The Genin said more sternly, his brows furrowing as he inspected his sensei even further. And he was right; Kakashi certainly didn't look his best at the moment.
His visage was even paler than usual, and clammy with perspiration that hadn't accumulated on any of his students' flushed faces. He had pronounced dark circles under his lidded, bloodshot eyes. And in addition to that, Kakashi's pained breathing was starting to become audible, his chest rising and falling with every inhale and exhale.
"Oh, it's nothing…I'm fine," the jonin reassured his student, waving the Uchiha off with an unexpected series of yawns.
He slowly blinked a few times, tightly closing his moist eyelids in an attempt to ward off the sudden blurring of his vision.
"You're not fine," Sasuke stated dryly, placing a reluctant palm on the jonin's forehead, who was too exhausted to fight back. It was cool to the touch, no fever whatsoever, so his theory about Kakashi having a cold, or maybe the flu, was proven wrong. The Uchiha retracted his now moist hand and wiped it onto his white pants, even more confused than before.
"Don't worry…I'm just…tired," Kakashi slurred, the ringing in his ears getting louder with every passing moment. The blood steadily drained from his face, making him look sickly and pale as a sheet, almost like a ghost.
The jonin put a shaky hand to his forehead, his head lolling side to side.
"Kakashi?" Sasuke said loudly, sitting up in alarm at his sensei's worsening condition. Sakura and Naruto, having heard their teammate's disturbed cry whipped their heads around to look back at the rest of the group.
"Kakashi-Sensei? What's the matter?" Naruto cried upon noticing how ill and unsteady his teacher looked. To the jonin, their voices seemed far off, as if he were underwater and someone was trying to speak to him from the surface.
"Ngh…" he moaned incoherently, feeling nauseatingly light-headed.
"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura exclaimed worriedly, jolting forward and placing a hand on his slumped shoulders. By that point, even Tazuna had scooted over in concern, remarking that the copy ninja "didn't look too good".
He gave one final groan before his eyes rolled back into his head, his muscles losing their tone. Kakashi crumpled into a limp heap, falling sideways, onto Sasuke. The Uchiha caught him by the shoulders, straining to hold the dead weight of a grown man. All of his students' orbs, and even the bridge builder's, were wide with shock and confusion, as their captain's sudden collapse was completely unexpected.
It was Tazuna who first spoke up.
"We should lay him down. Come on now, we can't keep him in that position forever, can we?" the carpenter prompted, taking the lead. The three Genin nodded in solemn agreement, and lowered Kakashi onto the base of the wooden boat, placing a T-shirt that Naruto had procured from his overstuffed backpack under the jonin's head.
The group sat around the copy ninja in silence, nervously waiting for him to regain consciousness. Sakura lightly dabbed his clammy forehead with a small, pink handkerchief she had brought along with her, claiming that he would be more comfortable if his face was "dry".
Finally, with the pier slowly forming in the distance, Kakashi began to reclaim his lucidity.
He opened his eyes, blinking several times to make his surroundings a bit clearer. Upon glancing up, he saw that his students were surrounding his form, their round faces twisted into similar expressions of concern for their sensei. Kakashi sat up stiffly with a small grunt, a hand clutching his head.
"Kakashi-sensei?! Are you alright now?" Sakura asked out of relief that he regained consciousness, her hands clasped to her chest.
"Yeah…" he croaked. They all looked at the jonin skeptically, none of them believing his claim.
"Water! Get him some water!" Sakura called out authoritatively. Naruto nodded vigorously and immediately started to search through his the many contents of his messily packed rucksack. Before he could come up with the requested item though, Sasuke reached into his pouch and offered the kunoichi his own water bottle, who then forced it into Kakashi's hands.
"Here, sensei." He gave a small nod in thanks, before opening the cap and gazing at them shyly. At the moment, his mind was too blank to come up with a clever solution to keeping his face a secret.
Naruto, seeming to understand Kakashi's uneasiness, ordered everyone to turn away.
"Hey! Don't look at Sensei! Turn around!" Naruto exclaimed firmly, turning the other direction himself. The rest of them shifted the other way without argument, their gazes settling on the vast body of water they were traveling across. Tazuna was especially confused at first, thinking, how could such a renowned ninja be so shy?
Kakashi quickly pulled down his mask and guzzled the cool liquid rather greedily, drinking all of it in the end. After telling them, much to his chagrin, that it was okay to look, he handed Sakura an empty bottle, most of the color restored to his complexion.
"What happened, sensei? Why did you faint like that?" Naruto asked him seriously, his concerned cerulean orbs locking with Kakashi's dark ones. The jonin immediately felt he had the need to reassure them with a crescent eyed smile.
"Ah, it's nothing, really. I skipped out on dinner last night and also missed breakfast today, since I was in a hurry. I guess I was pretty dehydrated too. I really do need to start drinking more water…" he said quickly, still a bit drowsy. It wasn't completely a lie, but it wasn't even close to the truth. Sasuke looked at him skeptically, eyes narrowing as if he were trying to read Kakashi's mind.
"You're a grown man, aren't you? Honestly, start taking care of yourself like you're supposed to," Tazuna rebuked obliviously.
"I-I would give you something to eat, but I didn't pack any food…" Sakura said softly, her eyes shining with undiluted worry. He said he missed breakfast the last time he fainted, too…
"And the only thing I packed was cup ramen! I would give it to you right now, if it weren't for the three minutes needed to heat it up!" Naruto exclaimed, cursing the three minutes needed to cook his ramen. Kakashi smiled genuinely, touched by their concern.
"I'm really not that hungry…" he told them, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment at all the attention he was getting.
Before Tazuna could invite the team to dinner, per say, the paddler pulled into the pier, halting before another wooden dock that would lead them into the small town in which Tazuna lived with his daughter and grandson.
"This here bridge will lead you into the village," The rower told them with his scratchy voice, gesturing toward the dock they were parked in front of.
The team thanked him for the ride and started to get off, Kakashi going first this time. There was a small, wooden ladder extending beneath the landing stage to help them climb to the surface, but the danger of falling back into the deep depths of the water below them was still present.
Once everyone's feet were firmly planted onto the surface of the "bridge", they started toward Tazuna's humble abode, Kakashi's backpack weighing down on his shoulders yet again.
"Well, this is it," Tazuna told his escorts. The group had stopped in front of the front door of his home, finally arriving a little before evening after a whole tiring day of traveling.
"…I guess we should take our leave, then," Kakashi started stonily, his hands tucked deep into his pockets. He pivoted on his heel to start the journey back home, ignoring the disappointed faces of his students-well, Sakura and Naruto's disappointed faces, because Sasuke didn't really care if they stayed or not.
"Hey, wait!" Tazuna called frantically, "Why don't you stay for dinner?" Kakashi paused mid step, turning back around. He glanced down at his Genin; two of the three flushed, sweaty faces had lit up at the offer.
"No, no, I don't want to impose," Kakashi politely started for all of them, "And if we want to reach the Inn by nightfall, then we need to leave as soon as possible. Tazuna crossed his muscled arms, unimpressed.
"Oh, come on! You practically collapsed today, so at least stop to eat something! It's not "imposing", cause I'm sure my family will be glad to see you again," Tazuna encouraged loudly, " And I'd be more than happy to let you guys stay here for the night. Being a family of only three people, we have some extra space."
Kakashi scratched his forehead, a thoughtful gaze fixed on the wearing straps of his blue sandals. The Jonin's students looked up at him expectantly, quietly waiting for his approval.
*Grumble, grumble*
Kakashi's head shot up in the direction of the unmistakable sound of churning stomach acids. He found himself staring at an uncharacteristically flustered Sasuke, who was clutching his rumbling stomach as if doing so would shut it up. Naruto held a hand to his mouth to halt his laughter, but loud snorts escaped through anyway. The copy ninja lightly chuckled himself, looking back at Tazuna.
"Well, as long as it's fine with you…" Kakashi answered sheepishly, approving of the idea. Naruto and Sakura cheered simultaneously, giving each other ecstatic high fives without even realizing it. Sasuke just pouted and averted his eyes, a faint blush still dusting his pale cheeks.
"Great! I'm sure you'll love my daughter's cooking!" Tazuna boasted happily as he slid open the Japanese styled door and strolled into the small house, taking his shoes off at the entrance. The rest of them followed him in, also leaving their sandals by the front door.
