Chapter 4: Meditation
"Show me the Sharingan."
"No."
"Show me the Sharingan."
"No."
Kakashi turned his face, stifled a grimace, as he watched Konoha's loudest ninja glare death at Sasuke. Watching his students was usually amusing, but it got a bit annoying at times. Like now.
"Fine! Like I really wanted to see it anyway!" shouted Naruto, face turning pink.
"Ahou," Sasuke deadpanned back.
Kakashi wanted to get through some serious business, or at least get some peace and quiet. Drooping his eyes to hide his intentions, he moved to interrupt whatever Naruto was about to yell in response. "Ma, ma. Sasuke, Naruto! Sakura-chan is sick today, but I want to get in some training before we get back to Konoha."
"Ah," replied Sasuke with a nod. Perversely, he hoped it was Sharingan training. He hadn't been able to exercise the technique since his run-in with Haku. While he didn't particularly want to show Naruto. Well, no, he didn't want to SHOW Naruto, but he DID maybe want to rub it in just a little bit. Tiny, really. "What. . ."
"Ano-sa, ano-sa!" Naruto cut in, bounding up to his sensei, "What kind of training is it, Kakashi-sensei?! Are you going to show us how to do water- clones? That cool doggie-jutsu?!"
"Aahhh," replied Kakashi, placing a hand on his chin with a look of contemplation. He could feel Naruto staring at him with hope naked in his (currently shining) blue eyes. This was going to be good. "No."
Naruto seemed to trip on himself, falling into the dirt, before jumping up to growl ferally at his jounin sensei. Kakashi grinned. "We're going to meditate."
Kakashi watched as a near-grimace twisted Sasuke's face, ignoring the more vocal protests that Naruto was generating. So, Kakashi thought, the calm, cool Sasuke-kun is less than happy to be meditating. Interesting. He had always thought the Uchiha-brat would be the type to love sitting in his own gloom of angst-ridden deep thought. Then again, that was probably the answer. Sasuke couldn't enjoy just sitting, perhaps, letting his mind wander because there were too many dark paths that it could get lost down. Grimacing beneath his mask, the jounin fixed his pupils with THE STARE.
Yes, THE STARE was something he had mastered over the years. It was a skill that all teachers seemed to develop, and one which he had cultivated for years. That chuunin, Iruko?, had tried it on him at their first meeting, certainly. Hardly scary after all the times Obito had used it. It was a skill that got less effective with consistent use, which was why Kakashi used it rarely. He had other ways of getting his students to listen. . .
Of course, it was effective and would be conducive to a meditative atmosphere . . . which was what he was going for. And, besides which, Kakashi had developed a headache. He needed at least 10 minutes, no. . .he'd settle for even 5 minutes without Naruto and Sasuke's constant bickering. And he would get it, if Naruto would just pay attention and let THE STARE sink in.
Finally, Kakashi decided to change tactics. He focused THE STARE onto Sasuke, as if blaming the boy for his partner's excessive noise. Sasuke sweated a bit then promptly tripped a wildly jumping Naruto, who after a little more yelling became intensely aware of THE STARE. Kakashi noticed that he also began to sweat a bit too, followed by a few convulsive swallows. Well, a few more minutes of STARING wouldn't hurt.
". . . "
Sasuke tried to match Kakashi's stare at this point, but kept flicking his eyes away, a nervous line starting to form on his forehead. Naruto seemed to stop breathing, turning an interesting shade of purple. Yup. The timing was about right.
"Now," started Kakashi, his visible eye closing into a friendly cresent. "Naruto, contrary to what you were shouting, meditation is not useless and boring. In fact, it can be powerful tool in a ninja's arsenal. Meditation is all about balance and calm, and the ninja that can keep balanced and calm in a battle is often the ninja that wins." Naruto opened his mouth as if to protest, but Kakashi was quicker, "We will begin with the lotus position IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE. Anyone who breaks the silence will have to run 200 laps around these hills, do 400 push-ups, AND will have my ultra-secret-ultimate technique enacted on them."
The blonde haired boy clamped his mouth shut, growing a little pale. His butt still hurt from the LAST time he had experience Kakashi's ultra-secret- ultimate technique!
". . ." Kakashi watched as his students followed his example and sat down on the grassy ground, their legs crossed into the lotus position. At least the threat of punishment would keep Naruto quiet for little while. "Now, rest the back of each of your hands on the corresponding knee, like this."
The jounin let his arms fall gracefully, placing his hands on his knees, carefully watching his students. Sasuke was starting to look bored. Naruto was starting to twitch. He wondered how long the hyper little ninja would be able to stay still.
"Now close your eyes. Both of you. Naruto, close your eyes. No close them. Naruto, I can see your eyes open. Close them. Okay, now take deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Good. Let's keep this up for a few minutes."
Having kept his own eye watchfully open, Kakashi smiled at the way Naruto's body went from twitching to mildly spasming from the imposed inactivity as the minutes passed by. This was probably the longest the boy had stayed quiet and still EVER. I wonder how long before he cracks, mused the jounin.
Well, it couldn't be too much longer, and (as his headache was quickly clearing up in the rare silence) Kakashi was getting bored with simply staring at his sitting students. Perhaps, he could arrange a bit more exciting situation.
"Okay, now picture a clear blue sky. Nothing else. No purple-people- eating-dancing-elephants or flying-teddy-bears-of-sparkling-doom."
Sasuke twitched and grimaced. Naruto clamped down harder on his lips, making him look like a cross between an epileptic old man and an acutely constipated monkey giving birth. Kakashi grinned. Yup, this situation definitely had potential.
"Quiet. . .and keep your bodies still. The point of this is to expand your awareness. Clear your mind. Remember, clear blue sky. . .just blue. . ."
The two nin-students seemed to relax a bit at the soothing tone of his voice, so Kakashi continued to drone on about blue skies and the color blue for a bit.
"Blue. . .an endless expanse of clear blue high above you. . .delicately blue. . .like a robin's eggshell," the jounin continued to talk gently as he used all his stealth abilities to whip out a certain orange book from his back pocket. Yes, this would be very interesting indeed. "Blue. . .like. . . the Princess Yumi's breasts, rising into gentle peaks of soft creamy skin. The soft skin, velvet and slightly dewy, beneath Hiro's rough warrior hands. One hand he used to caress slow circles around her *B-E-E-E- E-P* while the other slid down to meet *B-E-E-E-E-P* before he began *B-E-E- E-P. . .*
Kakashi watched Sasuke with fascination as he continued reading out-loud. He'd never known that skin could turn that particular shade of red. He wondered if it was another Uchiha bloodline limit trait, like Sharingan. . .the two were a bit similar. . .
"*B-E-E-E-E-P* went Yumi as *B-E-E-E-E-P.* "
The ground began to rumble. Kakashi transferred his gaze from Sasuke to Naruto. The violence of his twitching as he fought to keep his body still, Kakashi determined instantly, was the source of the rumbling.
"'Hiro! My hero!' the Princess cried into the night, again and again as her *B-E-E-E-E-P.*"
Naruto was now foaming, slightly, at the mouth and had fallen over onto his side (although still in the lotus position). He wasn't going to last for much longer. Kakashi snickered under his breath, THIS was definitely how to meditate!
"Show me the Sharingan."
"No."
"Show me the Sharingan."
"No."
Kakashi turned his face, stifled a grimace, as he watched Konoha's loudest ninja glare death at Sasuke. Watching his students was usually amusing, but it got a bit annoying at times. Like now.
"Fine! Like I really wanted to see it anyway!" shouted Naruto, face turning pink.
"Ahou," Sasuke deadpanned back.
Kakashi wanted to get through some serious business, or at least get some peace and quiet. Drooping his eyes to hide his intentions, he moved to interrupt whatever Naruto was about to yell in response. "Ma, ma. Sasuke, Naruto! Sakura-chan is sick today, but I want to get in some training before we get back to Konoha."
"Ah," replied Sasuke with a nod. Perversely, he hoped it was Sharingan training. He hadn't been able to exercise the technique since his run-in with Haku. While he didn't particularly want to show Naruto. Well, no, he didn't want to SHOW Naruto, but he DID maybe want to rub it in just a little bit. Tiny, really. "What. . ."
"Ano-sa, ano-sa!" Naruto cut in, bounding up to his sensei, "What kind of training is it, Kakashi-sensei?! Are you going to show us how to do water- clones? That cool doggie-jutsu?!"
"Aahhh," replied Kakashi, placing a hand on his chin with a look of contemplation. He could feel Naruto staring at him with hope naked in his (currently shining) blue eyes. This was going to be good. "No."
Naruto seemed to trip on himself, falling into the dirt, before jumping up to growl ferally at his jounin sensei. Kakashi grinned. "We're going to meditate."
Kakashi watched as a near-grimace twisted Sasuke's face, ignoring the more vocal protests that Naruto was generating. So, Kakashi thought, the calm, cool Sasuke-kun is less than happy to be meditating. Interesting. He had always thought the Uchiha-brat would be the type to love sitting in his own gloom of angst-ridden deep thought. Then again, that was probably the answer. Sasuke couldn't enjoy just sitting, perhaps, letting his mind wander because there were too many dark paths that it could get lost down. Grimacing beneath his mask, the jounin fixed his pupils with THE STARE.
Yes, THE STARE was something he had mastered over the years. It was a skill that all teachers seemed to develop, and one which he had cultivated for years. That chuunin, Iruko?, had tried it on him at their first meeting, certainly. Hardly scary after all the times Obito had used it. It was a skill that got less effective with consistent use, which was why Kakashi used it rarely. He had other ways of getting his students to listen. . .
Of course, it was effective and would be conducive to a meditative atmosphere . . . which was what he was going for. And, besides which, Kakashi had developed a headache. He needed at least 10 minutes, no. . .he'd settle for even 5 minutes without Naruto and Sasuke's constant bickering. And he would get it, if Naruto would just pay attention and let THE STARE sink in.
Finally, Kakashi decided to change tactics. He focused THE STARE onto Sasuke, as if blaming the boy for his partner's excessive noise. Sasuke sweated a bit then promptly tripped a wildly jumping Naruto, who after a little more yelling became intensely aware of THE STARE. Kakashi noticed that he also began to sweat a bit too, followed by a few convulsive swallows. Well, a few more minutes of STARING wouldn't hurt.
". . . "
Sasuke tried to match Kakashi's stare at this point, but kept flicking his eyes away, a nervous line starting to form on his forehead. Naruto seemed to stop breathing, turning an interesting shade of purple. Yup. The timing was about right.
"Now," started Kakashi, his visible eye closing into a friendly cresent. "Naruto, contrary to what you were shouting, meditation is not useless and boring. In fact, it can be powerful tool in a ninja's arsenal. Meditation is all about balance and calm, and the ninja that can keep balanced and calm in a battle is often the ninja that wins." Naruto opened his mouth as if to protest, but Kakashi was quicker, "We will begin with the lotus position IN ABSOLUTE SILENCE. Anyone who breaks the silence will have to run 200 laps around these hills, do 400 push-ups, AND will have my ultra-secret-ultimate technique enacted on them."
The blonde haired boy clamped his mouth shut, growing a little pale. His butt still hurt from the LAST time he had experience Kakashi's ultra-secret- ultimate technique!
". . ." Kakashi watched as his students followed his example and sat down on the grassy ground, their legs crossed into the lotus position. At least the threat of punishment would keep Naruto quiet for little while. "Now, rest the back of each of your hands on the corresponding knee, like this."
The jounin let his arms fall gracefully, placing his hands on his knees, carefully watching his students. Sasuke was starting to look bored. Naruto was starting to twitch. He wondered how long the hyper little ninja would be able to stay still.
"Now close your eyes. Both of you. Naruto, close your eyes. No close them. Naruto, I can see your eyes open. Close them. Okay, now take deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Good. Let's keep this up for a few minutes."
Having kept his own eye watchfully open, Kakashi smiled at the way Naruto's body went from twitching to mildly spasming from the imposed inactivity as the minutes passed by. This was probably the longest the boy had stayed quiet and still EVER. I wonder how long before he cracks, mused the jounin.
Well, it couldn't be too much longer, and (as his headache was quickly clearing up in the rare silence) Kakashi was getting bored with simply staring at his sitting students. Perhaps, he could arrange a bit more exciting situation.
"Okay, now picture a clear blue sky. Nothing else. No purple-people- eating-dancing-elephants or flying-teddy-bears-of-sparkling-doom."
Sasuke twitched and grimaced. Naruto clamped down harder on his lips, making him look like a cross between an epileptic old man and an acutely constipated monkey giving birth. Kakashi grinned. Yup, this situation definitely had potential.
"Quiet. . .and keep your bodies still. The point of this is to expand your awareness. Clear your mind. Remember, clear blue sky. . .just blue. . ."
The two nin-students seemed to relax a bit at the soothing tone of his voice, so Kakashi continued to drone on about blue skies and the color blue for a bit.
"Blue. . .an endless expanse of clear blue high above you. . .delicately blue. . .like a robin's eggshell," the jounin continued to talk gently as he used all his stealth abilities to whip out a certain orange book from his back pocket. Yes, this would be very interesting indeed. "Blue. . .like. . . the Princess Yumi's breasts, rising into gentle peaks of soft creamy skin. The soft skin, velvet and slightly dewy, beneath Hiro's rough warrior hands. One hand he used to caress slow circles around her *B-E-E-E- E-P* while the other slid down to meet *B-E-E-E-E-P* before he began *B-E-E- E-P. . .*
Kakashi watched Sasuke with fascination as he continued reading out-loud. He'd never known that skin could turn that particular shade of red. He wondered if it was another Uchiha bloodline limit trait, like Sharingan. . .the two were a bit similar. . .
"*B-E-E-E-E-P* went Yumi as *B-E-E-E-E-P.* "
The ground began to rumble. Kakashi transferred his gaze from Sasuke to Naruto. The violence of his twitching as he fought to keep his body still, Kakashi determined instantly, was the source of the rumbling.
"'Hiro! My hero!' the Princess cried into the night, again and again as her *B-E-E-E-E-P.*"
Naruto was now foaming, slightly, at the mouth and had fallen over onto his side (although still in the lotus position). He wasn't going to last for much longer. Kakashi snickered under his breath, THIS was definitely how to meditate!