Don't own it!
Chapter Ten: Question of honor
After making sure Imako was bound up tight, Kakashi asked Sasuke to dress his wounds. They walked a short distance from camp to the spring before the Jonin took a seat on a rock and removed his vest and shirt with some difficulty. Sasuke meanwhile soaked a cloth and went to clean off all the blood. Kakashi looked at the cleaned wound and grimaced.
"Are you any good with needles?" he asked.
"I'll need something to disinfect your shoulder," he said digging through his pouch.
Kakashi reached into his back pouch and pulled out a small bottle of sake.
"This'll do," he said holding it out. "What, this is what I have it for," he added when he saw the look on Sasuke's face.
"Yeah, and Naruto has a brain," he muttered taking the bottle.
The usual silence settled between the two as Sasuke concentrated on stitching up his Master's shoulder. He couldn't help but glance at the many faded scars on his back and when he went back to his pouch to get some bandages ready he caught a glimpse of larger scars on his chest. Kakashi noticed him glancing and automatically folded his arms pretending he hadn't noticed. Sasuke returned to finish the stitching.
"You were the seven year old, weren't you," he said suddenly.
"Of course I was seven years old once," said the Jonin airily.
"Fine, be that way," he muttered wrapping the shoulder.
The bite on his arm wasn't as deep, but it still had to be stitched up just in case, so the genin cleaned stitched and dressed that one too. While doing this he made sure not to look at his Master's chest, but he did catch his eye and noticed he had fallen deep in thought.
'For once in my life I would actually want to know what he's thinking,' mused Sasuke.
"I think I know where we are," said Kakashi suddenly as though coming out of a trance. "This is Iwa."
"The land of stones?" asked Sasuke. "But that's- we could have never survived that!"
"It's a fact that Imako can't drown... I guess it was a stronger current than we thought to bring us way out here," he said. "In any case, we have a long way to go before we can return to Konoha."
"What about the shinobi hunters, they'll be looking foe her."
"Not way out here," said Kakashi putting his shirt on with a little help. "We're safe for now."
Sasuke silently helped him with the vest and packed up.
"You did a nice sow job, thank you," said the Jonin getting up.
Both returned to the camp site o see Naruto burning what must have been a rabbit at some time and Sakura sitting on a boulder with a kunai in her hand watching Imako.
"You can relax Sakura," smiled Kakashi. "She won't be jumping anyone in her state.
Imako had never come to and small beads of sweat had formed on her face. It seemed her fever had kicked in from the concussion.
It was late at night when Kakashi woke from his light sleep; the others were still sound asleep by the remaining embers. He quietly hopped down from the branch he had sat on and walked over to Imako. Her breathing was strained and when he put his hand on her cheek it was very hot.
"You should have stayed down the first time," he said quietly, dapping her face with a peace of cloth.
"...I'll kill...you...yet," she said hoarsely.
Her eyes were slightly open and glazed. He could see the demon's eyes instead of Imako's.
"Don't waste your breath," he said with contempt.
He reached to his back pouch and took out his canteen; gingerly propping her up he held it to her mouth. She glared at him as best she could, but drank nonetheless. The fever had dried her out. Through a tear in her shirt Kakashi noticed numerous, almost parallel scars on her shoulder. They were too thick to have been made by a blade. He pushed it to the back of his mind for later questioning and laid her back down after she'd finished.
"You should try to sleep and let the fever pass," he said. "I'm watching you so don't try anything stupid."
"You're dead!"
"And you're delirious," he retorted. "Now shut up and sleep!"
"Kakashi!"
Imako ran up to the silver haired boy and jumped into his arms.
"Guess what, I'm going to take the Chunin exam next year," she said excitedly.
Kakashi smiled and set her on her feet.
"Oh yeah, guess what I'm doing next year," he said with a smirk. "By the time you ace your chunin exam, I'll be a certified Jonin! I'll be a breeze."
Imako gaped at her best friend.
"But you only made chunin two months ago!"
Kakashi still smirked.
"What can I say? I'm good."
"Don't brag or you'll fail for sure!"
"There you are!"
Kakashi turned to see Iruka run up to them.
"Hey Iruka," greeted Kakashi.
"What are you thinking distracting Imako!" panted Iruka. "Come on sis, we're late for class!"
"My better half has spoken," laughed Imako. "See you later Kakashi!"
"See ya Imako, Iruka."
Kakashi opened his eyes and sighed. He couldn't have slept more than an hour, it was still dark. He looked over at Imako's sleeping form.
'Why did it have to be you?' he asked himself sadly.
It was early the next morning when Imako opened her eyes. The fever had passed quickly thanks to her demon side and she was ready to attempt at her freedom. Flexing her wrists she probed the rope and found it weakest at the knot as it left a little more space. Her hands worked furiously to wrench free, but it was no use. Propping against the boulder behind her she stood up and hurried to sneak away from camp and find a sharp rock to cut herself loose. There were plenty of rocks around so she didn't have to look for long.
"I see you're feeling a lot better!"
Imako snapped around to see Naruto glaring at her.
"Oh, does the little fox want to come along?" she asked. "We can have a lot of fun killing you and I."
"I told you my name is Naruto so stop calling me that," he readying a kunai. "And I don't think Master Kakashi will be too thrilled to have you running around on you own."
Imako shrugged.
"Sorry, I can't be bothered," she said. "To bad you don't want to come along."
Naruto growled and ran at her with the kunai. Imako's eyes turned demon. She snatched hi wrist and throat with startling speed and slammed him against a three.
"Careful little fox," she snarled. "I might yet change my mind about killing you!"
"My name is Naruto!!" he shouted at her clutching her hand, "Naruto! Get that into your thick skull!"
Imako was about to say something when she felt cold steel prick her neck.
"Kakashi," she snarled without turning.
"Let him go Imako," he ordered.
Imako smiled evilly.
"And what if I don't?" she growled softly, putting pressure on Naruto's throat.
"Please," said Kakashi quietly, drawing a little blood.
Imako dropped Naruto and turned around, cutting herself a little with the kunai still at her throat. Sakura and Sasuke stood behind Kakashi, ready to jump in when needed.
"You would slice my throat and fail your mission?" she sneered.
Kakashi shrugged and put away his kunai, taking a step back.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said calmly. "Curse or no curse. We once called each other friend- does that mean nothing to you?"
Imako took a step back and growled. Kakashi held out both hands.
"Has the demon corrupted you so that you've lost even your honor?" he asked playing at a known sore spot.
"Don't waste your breath Hatake," she sneered. Imako is dead- long dead. If you wan to see her so badly I can arrange that."
She growled a laugh.
"Just stand still as I tear you to ribbons!"
Kakashi lowered his hands to his side, his expression changing to tired sadness.
"If there's even a shred of Imako in there you'll grant me a last request," he said.
"Master Kakashi!" gaped Sakura. "What are you doing?!"
"Yeah, what's with the last request bit?" asked Naruto having rejoined his comrades.
"Stay out of it," said Sasuke.
He knew something the others didn't, but wasn't sure if it would actually work.
"Talk then," ordered the demon.
"Spare Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke," said Kakashi. "They're no threat to you."
Imako laughed and transformed into her demon form.
"No, I think I'll Kill you all," she snarled and lunged.
She hadn't gone more than two steps when she suddenly stopped.
"What's this?" she growled.
Kakashi silently watched as the demons eyes changed to Imako's. She suddenly began to shudder and clutched her head with her massive claws.
"What's happening?" asked Naruto.
"It's a battle of spirits," said Sakura having caught on. "The demon's loosing control."
An almighty roar echoed through the dead forest as Imako fell to her knees, her body changing back to normal.
"Don't...ever...question...my-honor," she said through gritted teeth.
She cried out, tensing up immensely; her eyes flickering between human and demon. Her entire body was caught between staying and changing.
"Why aren't doing anything?" asked Naruto.
"She has to regain dominance," said Kakashi without taking his eyes off of her. "I played on her honor to get her to wake up and fight. If we interfere there is no telling what might happen."
So that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it. I'm already to chapter 23 on paper; it's finding the time to type it that's causing the long waits. So just incase you're wondering, it's not because of writers block or because I'm too lazy. Having said that I hope you'll understand and continue reading when I update. Please leave a review. If I don't know what you think of this I can't improve. Thanks to those who've reviewed the last chapter. On thing I want to ask you. What would you say to a side story telling about Imako and Kakashi's past? Of course I wouldn't post it before the end of this one or it would bring major spoilers, but I can start writing it on paper if you're interested. Just a thought to be taken into consideration.
Later days, Imako the Demon Wolf
Chapter Ten: Question of honor
After making sure Imako was bound up tight, Kakashi asked Sasuke to dress his wounds. They walked a short distance from camp to the spring before the Jonin took a seat on a rock and removed his vest and shirt with some difficulty. Sasuke meanwhile soaked a cloth and went to clean off all the blood. Kakashi looked at the cleaned wound and grimaced.
"Are you any good with needles?" he asked.
"I'll need something to disinfect your shoulder," he said digging through his pouch.
Kakashi reached into his back pouch and pulled out a small bottle of sake.
"This'll do," he said holding it out. "What, this is what I have it for," he added when he saw the look on Sasuke's face.
"Yeah, and Naruto has a brain," he muttered taking the bottle.
The usual silence settled between the two as Sasuke concentrated on stitching up his Master's shoulder. He couldn't help but glance at the many faded scars on his back and when he went back to his pouch to get some bandages ready he caught a glimpse of larger scars on his chest. Kakashi noticed him glancing and automatically folded his arms pretending he hadn't noticed. Sasuke returned to finish the stitching.
"You were the seven year old, weren't you," he said suddenly.
"Of course I was seven years old once," said the Jonin airily.
"Fine, be that way," he muttered wrapping the shoulder.
The bite on his arm wasn't as deep, but it still had to be stitched up just in case, so the genin cleaned stitched and dressed that one too. While doing this he made sure not to look at his Master's chest, but he did catch his eye and noticed he had fallen deep in thought.
'For once in my life I would actually want to know what he's thinking,' mused Sasuke.
"I think I know where we are," said Kakashi suddenly as though coming out of a trance. "This is Iwa."
"The land of stones?" asked Sasuke. "But that's- we could have never survived that!"
"It's a fact that Imako can't drown... I guess it was a stronger current than we thought to bring us way out here," he said. "In any case, we have a long way to go before we can return to Konoha."
"What about the shinobi hunters, they'll be looking foe her."
"Not way out here," said Kakashi putting his shirt on with a little help. "We're safe for now."
Sasuke silently helped him with the vest and packed up.
"You did a nice sow job, thank you," said the Jonin getting up.
Both returned to the camp site o see Naruto burning what must have been a rabbit at some time and Sakura sitting on a boulder with a kunai in her hand watching Imako.
"You can relax Sakura," smiled Kakashi. "She won't be jumping anyone in her state.
Imako had never come to and small beads of sweat had formed on her face. It seemed her fever had kicked in from the concussion.
It was late at night when Kakashi woke from his light sleep; the others were still sound asleep by the remaining embers. He quietly hopped down from the branch he had sat on and walked over to Imako. Her breathing was strained and when he put his hand on her cheek it was very hot.
"You should have stayed down the first time," he said quietly, dapping her face with a peace of cloth.
"...I'll kill...you...yet," she said hoarsely.
Her eyes were slightly open and glazed. He could see the demon's eyes instead of Imako's.
"Don't waste your breath," he said with contempt.
He reached to his back pouch and took out his canteen; gingerly propping her up he held it to her mouth. She glared at him as best she could, but drank nonetheless. The fever had dried her out. Through a tear in her shirt Kakashi noticed numerous, almost parallel scars on her shoulder. They were too thick to have been made by a blade. He pushed it to the back of his mind for later questioning and laid her back down after she'd finished.
"You should try to sleep and let the fever pass," he said. "I'm watching you so don't try anything stupid."
"You're dead!"
"And you're delirious," he retorted. "Now shut up and sleep!"
"Kakashi!"
Imako ran up to the silver haired boy and jumped into his arms.
"Guess what, I'm going to take the Chunin exam next year," she said excitedly.
Kakashi smiled and set her on her feet.
"Oh yeah, guess what I'm doing next year," he said with a smirk. "By the time you ace your chunin exam, I'll be a certified Jonin! I'll be a breeze."
Imako gaped at her best friend.
"But you only made chunin two months ago!"
Kakashi still smirked.
"What can I say? I'm good."
"Don't brag or you'll fail for sure!"
"There you are!"
Kakashi turned to see Iruka run up to them.
"Hey Iruka," greeted Kakashi.
"What are you thinking distracting Imako!" panted Iruka. "Come on sis, we're late for class!"
"My better half has spoken," laughed Imako. "See you later Kakashi!"
"See ya Imako, Iruka."
Kakashi opened his eyes and sighed. He couldn't have slept more than an hour, it was still dark. He looked over at Imako's sleeping form.
'Why did it have to be you?' he asked himself sadly.
It was early the next morning when Imako opened her eyes. The fever had passed quickly thanks to her demon side and she was ready to attempt at her freedom. Flexing her wrists she probed the rope and found it weakest at the knot as it left a little more space. Her hands worked furiously to wrench free, but it was no use. Propping against the boulder behind her she stood up and hurried to sneak away from camp and find a sharp rock to cut herself loose. There were plenty of rocks around so she didn't have to look for long.
"I see you're feeling a lot better!"
Imako snapped around to see Naruto glaring at her.
"Oh, does the little fox want to come along?" she asked. "We can have a lot of fun killing you and I."
"I told you my name is Naruto so stop calling me that," he readying a kunai. "And I don't think Master Kakashi will be too thrilled to have you running around on you own."
Imako shrugged.
"Sorry, I can't be bothered," she said. "To bad you don't want to come along."
Naruto growled and ran at her with the kunai. Imako's eyes turned demon. She snatched hi wrist and throat with startling speed and slammed him against a three.
"Careful little fox," she snarled. "I might yet change my mind about killing you!"
"My name is Naruto!!" he shouted at her clutching her hand, "Naruto! Get that into your thick skull!"
Imako was about to say something when she felt cold steel prick her neck.
"Kakashi," she snarled without turning.
"Let him go Imako," he ordered.
Imako smiled evilly.
"And what if I don't?" she growled softly, putting pressure on Naruto's throat.
"Please," said Kakashi quietly, drawing a little blood.
Imako dropped Naruto and turned around, cutting herself a little with the kunai still at her throat. Sakura and Sasuke stood behind Kakashi, ready to jump in when needed.
"You would slice my throat and fail your mission?" she sneered.
Kakashi shrugged and put away his kunai, taking a step back.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said calmly. "Curse or no curse. We once called each other friend- does that mean nothing to you?"
Imako took a step back and growled. Kakashi held out both hands.
"Has the demon corrupted you so that you've lost even your honor?" he asked playing at a known sore spot.
"Don't waste your breath Hatake," she sneered. Imako is dead- long dead. If you wan to see her so badly I can arrange that."
She growled a laugh.
"Just stand still as I tear you to ribbons!"
Kakashi lowered his hands to his side, his expression changing to tired sadness.
"If there's even a shred of Imako in there you'll grant me a last request," he said.
"Master Kakashi!" gaped Sakura. "What are you doing?!"
"Yeah, what's with the last request bit?" asked Naruto having rejoined his comrades.
"Stay out of it," said Sasuke.
He knew something the others didn't, but wasn't sure if it would actually work.
"Talk then," ordered the demon.
"Spare Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke," said Kakashi. "They're no threat to you."
Imako laughed and transformed into her demon form.
"No, I think I'll Kill you all," she snarled and lunged.
She hadn't gone more than two steps when she suddenly stopped.
"What's this?" she growled.
Kakashi silently watched as the demons eyes changed to Imako's. She suddenly began to shudder and clutched her head with her massive claws.
"What's happening?" asked Naruto.
"It's a battle of spirits," said Sakura having caught on. "The demon's loosing control."
An almighty roar echoed through the dead forest as Imako fell to her knees, her body changing back to normal.
"Don't...ever...question...my-honor," she said through gritted teeth.
She cried out, tensing up immensely; her eyes flickering between human and demon. Her entire body was caught between staying and changing.
"Why aren't doing anything?" asked Naruto.
"She has to regain dominance," said Kakashi without taking his eyes off of her. "I played on her honor to get her to wake up and fight. If we interfere there is no telling what might happen."
So that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it. I'm already to chapter 23 on paper; it's finding the time to type it that's causing the long waits. So just incase you're wondering, it's not because of writers block or because I'm too lazy. Having said that I hope you'll understand and continue reading when I update. Please leave a review. If I don't know what you think of this I can't improve. Thanks to those who've reviewed the last chapter. On thing I want to ask you. What would you say to a side story telling about Imako and Kakashi's past? Of course I wouldn't post it before the end of this one or it would bring major spoilers, but I can start writing it on paper if you're interested. Just a thought to be taken into consideration.
Later days, Imako the Demon Wolf