Naruto opened his eyes and stretched. It wasn't exactly early in the morning, as the blazing sun sent its rays penetrating through the paper door, filling what was the guest room with light. He looked to his side, and asked with a bland tone,
"What are you brooding about, Sasuke?"
"...shut up dobe." The black haired Uchiha turned on his side, his back facing Naruto. The NineTails keeper half sighed, half grumbled. He fell back onto his futon, and put his hands behind his head.
"Well, there goes your life's ambition. What are we doing here now, Mr. I-got-my-revenges-mixed-up?"
"..."
Naruto wasn't helping Sasuke at all. The embarrassment and shame from deeply trying to kill an innocent man was enough, but also his brother? To think that he couldn't see through a genjutsu that Sakura most likely could in an instant, and live without doubting anything Namari told him pained him.
"In any case, we should go back to the village, right? What's the use staying here? What are YOU going to do now?" The damned guy doesn't know when to shut up.
But there was truth to this. He had never thought of what to do once his revenge was over. There was this...vacancy. Yes, that vacancy in his heart. It felt like the importance of his existance was cut in half.
"I don't know, dobe." This statement turned out more harsh than he intended it too. He felt Naruto recoil in his bones. Despite the warmth of the sun in the room, Sasuke shivered.
~*~
Kenshin fell into the washing bucket for the fifth time that morning.
"Kenshin, what's wrong with you today?" Sano asked.
"Oro, I just feel kind of tired and dizzy." Kenshin said, smiling as to shrug it off.
"What? Was it because the amount of money we won yesterday was so staggering?"
"I rather think it's because we stayed up till 3:00 in the morning gambling, Sano." Kenshin sweatdropped.
"Impossible! I've never heard of such a thing!" Sano replied haughtily. Kenshin 'o_o()'ed.
"The idiot is never tired." Came a smooth voice from the tree.
"Hey! That was NOT appreciated!!" Sano pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi, who was immersed in his book. Kenshin chuckled to himself. "In fact, we won alot of money!"
"Just don't win tramps next time, alright?" Kaoru stepped out to the courtyard, emphasizing the word 'tramps' with a meaningful glance at Megumi. "In any case, why are you all still staying here, Kakashi-san?"
"Only in the face of danger and aniki will Sasuke open his feelings." Kakashi pointed out cryptically. "How fast depends on Sasuke."
"What? I've turned him into a really weird angst-filled guy like Aoshi is what you're saying, isn't it?" Sano accused.
"...I take offense to that."
Misao stared at the surprised group with her hands on her hips, and surpressed a smile. Aoshi-sama always had that kind of effect. Although she really didn't think that rooster-head would have been that surprised. She watched has Sanosuke kept his eyes bulging.
"....hwaawawawawa....!!" The man sputtered.
"Ah! Welcome, Aoshi-san, Misao!" Kaoru gave a bright smile, as did Kenshin. Their trust had developed over a very small period of time, considering just a couple months ago they couldn't even stay with Aoshi-sama without battering each other to death. Of course, Sanosuke's trust was still out there to win.
"Why do you keep turning up here unexpected and uninvited? Didn't you know that's not courteous?!" Sanosuke pointed a finger at Aoshi. Misao stuck her tongue out.
"Not very convincing coming from you, is it now?" An unfamiliar voice drawled from the branches above Misao's head.
"Are you picking a fight, Kakashi?!" Sanosuke shook his fist at the man in the tree, his other hand on his forearm. Misao went forward enough to see this 'Kakashi' take a look at Sanosuke, and go back to his book.
"...I don't need to pick one, since you're the one picking it anyway."
"..." The Zanza let this soak in. "I'll beat you to the ground!!"
"What spirit. Well, don't go crying once you lose okay?" The man chuckled, at his book or Sanosuke, Misao couldn't tell.
"I'LL RIP THAT COME COME PARADISE FROM YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW, KAKASHI!!"
...
Come Come Paradise?
"KYAA! IT'S A PERV!" Misao pointed accusingly. Kakashi sweatdropped. Sanosuke stopped his oncharge.
"You know what that book is?"
"Of course! It's absolutely famous for being a really really perverted book! Didn't you know that? Are you dead or something?"
"WHAT? Kakashi, who are you to talk about others when you're reading a dirty book?!"
"At least I'm not an idiot, like two certain people below me." The veins popped. The earth shook. And the ears died.
"SHUT UP WILL YAAA~~?!" Yahiko and Naruto came falling out of the dojo, through the door and covering their ears. Misao looked over.
"Ah! Yahiko! Hey!" The face of Misao was then blocked by Kaoru. Paper fan in hand, Kaoru stared down at them hard.
"NAAAAARRUUUUTOOOO~~~~~~~~~~!!!" What left the ears just died right then.
"Aw man! Not again?!" Naruto grabbed his head with his hands, his head hit by paper fan and paper roll. "Sorry?! I mean, this has to be the millionth I'm going to fix that door.
"IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT FOR RIPPING IT EVERY SINGLE TIME! YAHIKO! COME BACK HERE!"
"~~~~~~~~~~"
Sasuke finally felt okay enough to get out of bed. After he cleaned up, he saw the now familiar hole in the door being fixed.
"This is not fair, not fair at all-"
"I mean, it's not our fault other people are idiots-"
"Yeah, that's great. Why did she make me help too?!" An unfamiliar voice spoke in annoyance. Something about that voice sounded...so oddly familiar. Sasuke opened the undamaged half of the door, revealing Naruto squinting at a girl. Something in Naruto's head clicked, apparently.
"YOU LOOK LIKE HAKU! THAT'S IT!" The boy shoved his finger at her. "I KNEW I saw you from somewhere!!"
"...Haku?" Sasuke inquired.
"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "Doesn't Misao look alot like Haku? Right? Right?!" Misao was the girl, Sasuke guessed.
"I never really saw Haku's face." Sasuke admitted in a small voice. Naruto stared at him quirkly. "Although I have to admit that she does sound like him."
"See? See?!"
"WHAT?! I DO NOOOT sound like a guy! In fact, many guys have tripped over my voice, thank you very much!" Misao put a hand to her chest indignantly.
"Well, yeah, Haku was really girl like in a way..." Naruto grumbled, and-wait, was Sasuke seeing right?-he reddened slightly. "I mean, for one thing, he was alot nicer AND cuter than YOU most definitely!"
"WHAT?! Alright, now that's just crossing the line!" Yahiko looked in dismay as the two wrestled through the paper door which he just fixed.
"Ungirllike ninja wanna-be-"
"Gay hero wanna-be-"
"IDIOTS WHO JUST RIPPED THROUGH THE DOOR AGAIN!"
"..." They got themselves out of the hole they just made and the duo stared at it, faces reading '=_='.
"Three dobes." Sasuke sighed.
"WHAAT?!" They gave extreme anger looks to Sasuke, who stared back.
"Who are YOU to call me an idiot?!" Misao pointed accusingly.
"Who was the bastard who tried to kill me?!" Yahiko pointed accusingly.
"Who brought me here in the first place, Sasuke you bastard?!" Naruto also followed suit. They looked at each other. Pause.
"Three complete morons." Sasuke walked away.
"This actually isn't that big of a hole..."
"Yeah, we'll get done in no time..." The trio began working again.
Sakura grooooaaaned. The weight of the miso and soy were immense, not counting the rest of the things that Kaoru made her buy. She absolutely KNEW she shouldn't have offered to do Kenshin's job of shopping for supplies. And then all of a sudden it grew lighter.
'Ah? Ugh!! Don't tell me I spilled it?! Kaoru's so going to kill me-' She thought to herself, twirling around and meeting the body of an extremely tall man, who grabbed the pole (you know the pole with two buckets system?) with one hand. Sakura looked up.
"Help?" The man looked down on her with eyes almost completely covered in bangs. As smitten as she was by Sasuke (No! Not smitten! Dedicated! The power of true love!), Sakura couldn't help but blush deeply. The bishounen hoisted the weight onto his shoulders.
"Ah-ah, yes! Arigatou de gozimasu!!" She was about to bow, but he stopped her.
"...be on guard." The man warned her, scanning the area with his eyes.
Aoshi understood Kenshin the moment he asked for him to find the pink haired girl. Worry does not come to the 'rurouni' if it weren't for somebody else in danger. Sakura was very easy to spot. Pink hair under alot of supplies. Eyes burned around Aoshi the moment he offered to carry the items, which even he had to use some force on. The Oniwabanshuu's former leader half followed Sakura to the dojo.
"HIIII~~~!!" Misao waved at the duo rapidly. She ran, practically oblivious of Sakura, to Aoshi. "Aoshi-sama, I was looking for you all day!" I told her yet again to drop the -sama, but for some reason she still has not. A habit?
Misao still wondered deeply what that glance meant whenever she said his name.
"Ah...you're back already?" Kenshin said from behind her.
It only took one glance into Battou-Kenshin's eyes to tell that relief only covered half his face. Aoshi nodded slightly, confirming Kenshin's fear. Lately, a stalker, or most likely many, were coming for shinobis, and the survivors of the Edo era. Aoshi himself was also watched closely, and Misao too.
Misao watched as Aoshi, as if he didn't realize it, put an arm around her neck. After a moment's pause, she smiled to herself happily, her face going pink.
A cold, piercing stare was directed right then and there. The man of the kodachis sensed it so much, yet couldn't find the source. But he didn't need to waver.
Somebody has underestimated the kodachis of the former Oniwabanshuu leader.
They weren't going to get Sakura. They weren't going to get him.
...
And they especially weren't going to get Misao.
"What are you brooding about, Sasuke?"
"...shut up dobe." The black haired Uchiha turned on his side, his back facing Naruto. The NineTails keeper half sighed, half grumbled. He fell back onto his futon, and put his hands behind his head.
"Well, there goes your life's ambition. What are we doing here now, Mr. I-got-my-revenges-mixed-up?"
"..."
Naruto wasn't helping Sasuke at all. The embarrassment and shame from deeply trying to kill an innocent man was enough, but also his brother? To think that he couldn't see through a genjutsu that Sakura most likely could in an instant, and live without doubting anything Namari told him pained him.
"In any case, we should go back to the village, right? What's the use staying here? What are YOU going to do now?" The damned guy doesn't know when to shut up.
But there was truth to this. He had never thought of what to do once his revenge was over. There was this...vacancy. Yes, that vacancy in his heart. It felt like the importance of his existance was cut in half.
"I don't know, dobe." This statement turned out more harsh than he intended it too. He felt Naruto recoil in his bones. Despite the warmth of the sun in the room, Sasuke shivered.
~*~
Kenshin fell into the washing bucket for the fifth time that morning.
"Kenshin, what's wrong with you today?" Sano asked.
"Oro, I just feel kind of tired and dizzy." Kenshin said, smiling as to shrug it off.
"What? Was it because the amount of money we won yesterday was so staggering?"
"I rather think it's because we stayed up till 3:00 in the morning gambling, Sano." Kenshin sweatdropped.
"Impossible! I've never heard of such a thing!" Sano replied haughtily. Kenshin 'o_o()'ed.
"The idiot is never tired." Came a smooth voice from the tree.
"Hey! That was NOT appreciated!!" Sano pointed an accusing finger at Kakashi, who was immersed in his book. Kenshin chuckled to himself. "In fact, we won alot of money!"
"Just don't win tramps next time, alright?" Kaoru stepped out to the courtyard, emphasizing the word 'tramps' with a meaningful glance at Megumi. "In any case, why are you all still staying here, Kakashi-san?"
"Only in the face of danger and aniki will Sasuke open his feelings." Kakashi pointed out cryptically. "How fast depends on Sasuke."
"What? I've turned him into a really weird angst-filled guy like Aoshi is what you're saying, isn't it?" Sano accused.
"...I take offense to that."
Misao stared at the surprised group with her hands on her hips, and surpressed a smile. Aoshi-sama always had that kind of effect. Although she really didn't think that rooster-head would have been that surprised. She watched has Sanosuke kept his eyes bulging.
"....hwaawawawawa....!!" The man sputtered.
"Ah! Welcome, Aoshi-san, Misao!" Kaoru gave a bright smile, as did Kenshin. Their trust had developed over a very small period of time, considering just a couple months ago they couldn't even stay with Aoshi-sama without battering each other to death. Of course, Sanosuke's trust was still out there to win.
"Why do you keep turning up here unexpected and uninvited? Didn't you know that's not courteous?!" Sanosuke pointed a finger at Aoshi. Misao stuck her tongue out.
"Not very convincing coming from you, is it now?" An unfamiliar voice drawled from the branches above Misao's head.
"Are you picking a fight, Kakashi?!" Sanosuke shook his fist at the man in the tree, his other hand on his forearm. Misao went forward enough to see this 'Kakashi' take a look at Sanosuke, and go back to his book.
"...I don't need to pick one, since you're the one picking it anyway."
"..." The Zanza let this soak in. "I'll beat you to the ground!!"
"What spirit. Well, don't go crying once you lose okay?" The man chuckled, at his book or Sanosuke, Misao couldn't tell.
"I'LL RIP THAT COME COME PARADISE FROM YOUR HANDS RIGHT NOW, KAKASHI!!"
...
Come Come Paradise?
"KYAA! IT'S A PERV!" Misao pointed accusingly. Kakashi sweatdropped. Sanosuke stopped his oncharge.
"You know what that book is?"
"Of course! It's absolutely famous for being a really really perverted book! Didn't you know that? Are you dead or something?"
"WHAT? Kakashi, who are you to talk about others when you're reading a dirty book?!"
"At least I'm not an idiot, like two certain people below me." The veins popped. The earth shook. And the ears died.
"SHUT UP WILL YAAA~~?!" Yahiko and Naruto came falling out of the dojo, through the door and covering their ears. Misao looked over.
"Ah! Yahiko! Hey!" The face of Misao was then blocked by Kaoru. Paper fan in hand, Kaoru stared down at them hard.
"NAAAAARRUUUUTOOOO~~~~~~~~~~!!!" What left the ears just died right then.
"Aw man! Not again?!" Naruto grabbed his head with his hands, his head hit by paper fan and paper roll. "Sorry?! I mean, this has to be the millionth I'm going to fix that door.
"IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT FOR RIPPING IT EVERY SINGLE TIME! YAHIKO! COME BACK HERE!"
"~~~~~~~~~~"
Sasuke finally felt okay enough to get out of bed. After he cleaned up, he saw the now familiar hole in the door being fixed.
"This is not fair, not fair at all-"
"I mean, it's not our fault other people are idiots-"
"Yeah, that's great. Why did she make me help too?!" An unfamiliar voice spoke in annoyance. Something about that voice sounded...so oddly familiar. Sasuke opened the undamaged half of the door, revealing Naruto squinting at a girl. Something in Naruto's head clicked, apparently.
"YOU LOOK LIKE HAKU! THAT'S IT!" The boy shoved his finger at her. "I KNEW I saw you from somewhere!!"
"...Haku?" Sasuke inquired.
"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "Doesn't Misao look alot like Haku? Right? Right?!" Misao was the girl, Sasuke guessed.
"I never really saw Haku's face." Sasuke admitted in a small voice. Naruto stared at him quirkly. "Although I have to admit that she does sound like him."
"See? See?!"
"WHAT?! I DO NOOOT sound like a guy! In fact, many guys have tripped over my voice, thank you very much!" Misao put a hand to her chest indignantly.
"Well, yeah, Haku was really girl like in a way..." Naruto grumbled, and-wait, was Sasuke seeing right?-he reddened slightly. "I mean, for one thing, he was alot nicer AND cuter than YOU most definitely!"
"WHAT?! Alright, now that's just crossing the line!" Yahiko looked in dismay as the two wrestled through the paper door which he just fixed.
"Ungirllike ninja wanna-be-"
"Gay hero wanna-be-"
"IDIOTS WHO JUST RIPPED THROUGH THE DOOR AGAIN!"
"..." They got themselves out of the hole they just made and the duo stared at it, faces reading '=_='.
"Three dobes." Sasuke sighed.
"WHAAT?!" They gave extreme anger looks to Sasuke, who stared back.
"Who are YOU to call me an idiot?!" Misao pointed accusingly.
"Who was the bastard who tried to kill me?!" Yahiko pointed accusingly.
"Who brought me here in the first place, Sasuke you bastard?!" Naruto also followed suit. They looked at each other. Pause.
"Three complete morons." Sasuke walked away.
"This actually isn't that big of a hole..."
"Yeah, we'll get done in no time..." The trio began working again.
Sakura grooooaaaned. The weight of the miso and soy were immense, not counting the rest of the things that Kaoru made her buy. She absolutely KNEW she shouldn't have offered to do Kenshin's job of shopping for supplies. And then all of a sudden it grew lighter.
'Ah? Ugh!! Don't tell me I spilled it?! Kaoru's so going to kill me-' She thought to herself, twirling around and meeting the body of an extremely tall man, who grabbed the pole (you know the pole with two buckets system?) with one hand. Sakura looked up.
"Help?" The man looked down on her with eyes almost completely covered in bangs. As smitten as she was by Sasuke (No! Not smitten! Dedicated! The power of true love!), Sakura couldn't help but blush deeply. The bishounen hoisted the weight onto his shoulders.
"Ah-ah, yes! Arigatou de gozimasu!!" She was about to bow, but he stopped her.
"...be on guard." The man warned her, scanning the area with his eyes.
Aoshi understood Kenshin the moment he asked for him to find the pink haired girl. Worry does not come to the 'rurouni' if it weren't for somebody else in danger. Sakura was very easy to spot. Pink hair under alot of supplies. Eyes burned around Aoshi the moment he offered to carry the items, which even he had to use some force on. The Oniwabanshuu's former leader half followed Sakura to the dojo.
"HIIII~~~!!" Misao waved at the duo rapidly. She ran, practically oblivious of Sakura, to Aoshi. "Aoshi-sama, I was looking for you all day!" I told her yet again to drop the -sama, but for some reason she still has not. A habit?
Misao still wondered deeply what that glance meant whenever she said his name.
"Ah...you're back already?" Kenshin said from behind her.
It only took one glance into Battou-Kenshin's eyes to tell that relief only covered half his face. Aoshi nodded slightly, confirming Kenshin's fear. Lately, a stalker, or most likely many, were coming for shinobis, and the survivors of the Edo era. Aoshi himself was also watched closely, and Misao too.
Misao watched as Aoshi, as if he didn't realize it, put an arm around her neck. After a moment's pause, she smiled to herself happily, her face going pink.
A cold, piercing stare was directed right then and there. The man of the kodachis sensed it so much, yet couldn't find the source. But he didn't need to waver.
Somebody has underestimated the kodachis of the former Oniwabanshuu leader.
They weren't going to get Sakura. They weren't going to get him.
...
And they especially weren't going to get Misao.