Title: Wishes Are Free
Author: Cheza-chan
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Pairing: KakaIru, SasuNaru
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto—oh, I wish I did—but I own Kan'you, all the characters of the Hidden Wave Village. I own the Hidden Wave Village because I created it! I own the Hidden Wave Village's special jutsus, etc. (I can't make good jutsus... .)
A/N: I am so sorry! (bows low) This was supposed to come out on Monday, wasn't it? Well, actually, in my defense, it officially belonged coming out on Friday, because I put out a chapter earlier than the seven-day update time range. But anyways... (bows once more) it's not one of those 4,000 word chapters, but it was the best I could come up with. Stress if becoming very overbearing in my life and I'm trying as hard as possible not to let it interfere with my writing. So... enjoy!
Chapter Nine – Improvement May Lead To Promotion
Kakashi set two bunshin clones to protect him from Iruka's wrath that night; one was positioned outside the door and the other outside the window. The clothes Sasuke had stolen from him lay on the floor, some pieces ripped into shreds so small they could serve as a bandage for a cut on someone's cheek. What he had really wanted was the blue Chuunin vest that held secret compartments.
The silver-haired shinobi tore through the gray sweatdhirt with a sigh and tossed it on the floor. "I wonder if Iruka-sensei wanted his clothes back..." he murmured aloud, stabbing up a piece of underwear. Kakashi sweatdropped. "Why did I make that boy get this?" He tossed it aside and lay down onto the bed, closing his eye. He kicked the remainder of the clothes from the bed as he rolled over, his arm beneath his head.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura stood outside the door, the clone no longer there, the kunai she used to take it out hidden under the tray. On that tray she held was food. "Kakashi-sensei, I brought you dinner."
"Leave it at the door."
The pink-haired girl scoffed, but knelt, doing as she was told. Kakashi listened to the other door close and sat up, swinging his legs from the bed to stand. He crossed silently to the door and pulled it open, bending to pick up the tray. 'Why would Sakura give me food?' The Jounin closed and locked his door, placing the tray on his dresser. Turning off the lights, Kakashi waded through clothing and got back into bed, sitting with his back against the headboard and both eyes open.
Everyone seemed to be out to get him.
Kakashi had no sleep because of a dolphin. That's why he liked dogs: they were more loyal. There was a knock to the door after the handle was tried and couldn't be turned, and he turned his head slowly in that direction.
"Kakashi-sensei, you better be awake if you're going to lock the door."
He hung his head, groaning. Waiting until the young girl left, the Jounin—now Kentan—set out to find his own students.
§§§
Kentan had never come across a team like the one he currently led. It was as if Sasuke had been paired with Hyuga Neji and Gaara of the Sand. A single word—two at the most, if they felt up to it—was all that would be uttered from one, and they would run like a well-oiled machine. The light-haired Jounin sweatdropped as he remembered Chigiri was a girl; she reminded him of Neji. He also believed she might be of an Advanced Bloodline family. Proof lay in the attack she tried to use on him during yesterday's practice.
Standing on a thick branch with a new Icha Icha book, he kept watch as the kids tried to rescue a clone of himself after he had transformed it into a young hostage. Two more clones, both resembling the enemies, were their targets. Kentan smirked. He'd warned them if the hostage disappeared, they'd be doing push-ups and curls for the remainder of the day, then take a lap around the village at one in the morning.
"Hmm?" Kentan's eyebrow rose as his lips quirked slightly, and he leaned forward. Yoku had started running straight at the clones with his arms crossed in front of him, each hand grasping a kunai. The Jounin looked around for the other two. 'If he doesn't stop...' The shadow clone raised its own blade to the hostage's throat. 'He'll be the cause of the team's downfall.'
The dusky-haired youth stopped, stabbing his kunai into the ground, and closed his eyes. Kentan smirked once more. Echoing trough the woods, he heard it: an Uchiha's attack.
"Katon Housenka no Jutsu!"
The multiple fireballs came from every cardinal direction, the flames dissolving to reveal kunai and shuriken. 'What are they up to?' Kentan closed the book around his finger, intrigued by the events unfolding. The bunshin clone that served as a bodyguard deflected the projectile weapons, while the other kept its wary eye on the frozen Yoku. Violet orbs snapped open and Yoku snatched the kunai on his left out of the ground, a loud yell from the forest quickly following.
'Chigiri, at last.' The Jounin shifted his weight in the tree.
The young girl dropped from the trees, landing gently. She smirked, tapping her heel twice to the ground. Sasuke dropped next to her as two whirlpools of muddy water captured the Kentan clones; the hostage stumbled away from the arm that held him, watching as the appendage became encased in the water that seemed to have a mind of its own. "Eternal Tomb." Slowly, with a dull rumbling, the water sunk back into the ground, taking the clones, and the soil returned to its smooth state.
The hostage beamed then disappeared as the team's leader called out to them. "Chigiri-chan."
"Sensei?" the girl replied.
"What was that attack?"
"Eternal Tomb. If the prisoners inside had not been clones, they would suffocate to death in the inescapable whirlpool that keeps them buried underground."
Kentan shuddered. 'That's cold. This also seems like a higher-level attack; something learned from her family, but not from an advanced bloodline.' "And you, Yuko? What were you doing?"
"Sasuke and myself were merely distractions for Chigiri's attack..." His eyes narrowed maliciously. "This time."
'These children are warped.' "You've earned yourself time off... today. Practice is over. Sasuke, can I see you?" Withut a last word, Chigiri and Yoku exited the forest, little stirring in their wake. The Jounin took his time in walking down the tree and stopped before the Uchiha.
"What is it?" the boy sighed.
"Sakura." A dark eyebrow rose to question the relevance of the name.
"She was acting a little weird... last night and this morning. Actually, I've noticed it a few more times before that. Anyway, I was just wondering if you knew anything."
Sasuke shook his head.
"Oh, well. Now I have to find something to do..." Kentan scratched his neck and looked around, deciding left would be lucky for today. He somehow ended up back up at the school and inside. 'Iruka-sensei told me Naruto managed to infiltrate the conference room.' The light-haired team leader headed up the first flight of stairs and turned down the hall, pausing before the double doors. He didn't want to just walk in with no form of work, but what else could he do? Wait, for the opportune time. Kentan felt like an idiot standing outside the sliding door with his chakra masked slightly, listening for some form of lull in conversation.
Tenko gasped as her head slipped from her hand, jolting her out of sleep. The soft snickers and giggles from her fellow Jounin made her blush. She stared down at her scroll and sighed, rolling it back.
"Date went long?" A violet-haired woman asked, propping her head up with a sly smile.
"Shinobi don't get dates," someone else reminded the group.
Tenko ran her fingers through her hair. "Ha, ha. Laugh it up. At least I have the best team in the village."
'Perfect.' "Do you?" Kentan joined the soiree, taking a seat on the other end of the rectangular table, the redhead directly across from him. He smirked.
"You may have the strongest students," Tenko retorted. "But mine understand the basics of a true shinobi and how to draw power from that."
"Aa. You're talking about Naruto."
The mention of the blonde's name sent all female ninjas off in a frenzy of giggles and squeals at what an adorable boy he was.
'Adorable...' Kentan thought with a soft snort.
'Until he pulls a prank on you...' Tenko finished to herself. It had taken her a day to get the doughy paste out of her hair, leaving her with no sleep. She was also annoyed at how the sandy-haired Jounin across from her refused to break gazes and kept smirking. "Kentan-sensei," she started. "May I have a word with you?"
"Hai, hai." The young man stood, aware of the eyes following them. He waited for the woman to join him and wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders, leading her out.
"Don't toy with me," Tenko hissed, grabbing his wrist between her thumb and forefinger; she squeezed.
"Chotto, chotto. That actually hurts."
"I know. Shuku-san did it to keep us in line when teaching us."
Kentan tried to pull his hand away but the pressure increased. He really didn't want to use force on a woman, but she was leaving him no other choice. Grinning suddenly, he pulled the redhead against his body. Tenko's eyes widened and she stepped back, dragging the man's arm with her. "Bakayero!" she yelled.
Kentan's ice-blue eye widened as her entire hand clamped over his wrist, and he fond himself sailing through the air. Before he neared the floor, Tenko appeared before him, water swirling around the clenched fist she had pulled back.
"Ayaki. Neku."
Both Jounins landed, Kentan massaging his wrist, and looked up at the village founder. May sighed loudly then snatched their ears between her fingers. "Children never learn. Do you remember this disciplinary method, Ayaki?"
"Hai...!" the red-haired female whimpered, standing rigid.
"I'm not a child," Kentan whimpered, eye tearing up. "I'm twenty-nine. Twenty-nine."
"And I'm fifty," May sighed.
All movement ceased on the team leaders' part. "Honto?" they whispered.
"No!"
The door to the conference room slowly slid shut to lessen the chances of the rowdy laughter being heard in the hall as a harsher punishment for the duo ensued.
§§§
The special Jounin snorted and shook her head as she headed back to her office. She shouldn't have to break up petty squabbles between her team leaders when there were more pressing matters at her. A look of seriousness came over her as she slid open the door and greeted the couple on the inside with a solemn tone. She had just closed it behind her after stepping in when Iruka turned the corner at the far end of the hall.
The young man was thumbing through a stack of papers he'd accepted impulsively on behalf of the village founder. He smiled in humor at some of the listed missions the school was given. Iruka raised his hand to knock on the door that had not been fully closed two minutes, but froze at the raised voices reaching his ears.
May's eyes narrowed in that direction as she sensed a sudden surprised chakra flare. After sensing nothing more, she relaxed and returned her attention to the frantic parents seated in the two chairs before her desk.
"Shuku-san," the frail woman there sniffled. "How would you feel if it was your children that went missing?"
"We're doing our best," the Jounin half-snapped, a fist clenched at her side.
"Report to Konoha," the mother cried, hands gripping the material of her skirt tightly. Her husband's arm encircled her trembling body.
"We would like to handle it ourselves," May stated with a determined frown. "We are now our own independent Hidden Village and we will get your children back. This is a personal promise I make to you." The couple nodded slowly.
Iruka took a deep breath and knocked loudly, stepping back to wait. A delicate, auburn eyebrow rose on the village founder's face and she passed by the chairs to answer the door herself. She smiled brightly after seeing who was on the other side. "Iruka-kun. What brings you here? Don't you have a class?"
"Someone's watching them for me," he replied. "I'm letting them have recess for the final half hour of class." Her lips parted in a silent "oh". The dolphin smiled and held out the stack of papers. "I'm also bringing you these. They're missions. They just came in."
"Great! Hm." The older woman looked over her shoulder then back at the young man. "Iruka-kun, I have a second position for you to take on-if you can handle it, that is."
Genuinely surprised at being led into her office, Iruka leaned against the door after he'd closed it, staring at the obviously distraught couple. 'I wonder if she knew it was me at the door...'
"There's more to you than meets the eye."
He smiled nervously.
"You'll do well at my side. Your input would be very useful." The special Jounin laughed at the look of relief washing over the man. "You thought you were in trouble."
The Chuunin's stance immediately changed—filling with pride—and he tilted his head with a warm grin. "Hai, Shuku-san."
"May. Call me May."
"May," he murmured. The feeling of belonging was slowly returning.
"Now that that's done," May sighed. "There's something you need to know."
While one practice—and possibly many more—ended, others was still ongoing; Team 5 was also on the verge of wrapping up. Oyasa hung from the branch by his knees; Takai was perched next to him, hands and feet planted firmly atop the bark. They were watching Sakura train. "What do you think?"
"You like her." Oyasa laughed as his partner tried to push him down. He swung himself under the bough and back onto it, standing. Takai stood also, and they faced off. "First to fall," the oak-haired boy started, pulling his forehead protector over his eyes. "Has to admit defeat and back off."
"Then you like her too," Takai chuckled, also covering his eyes. They fell into battle stances, ready to prove who was the better ninja.
Below them, Sakura's attacks to her sensei were being deflected. "You're not trying!" Hizaku yelled. "Not as hard as you did before!"
'Before...' She stopped, scowling. 'Before I didn't know as many things as I did know that are weighing down on my mind.' Chakra was gathered at her feet. 'Before I didn't realize that Naruto would become my rival in a love I'm not longer interested in.' Weapons were pulled from the container on her thigh. Sakura flung them.
"There's no surprise!" Hizaku deflected the shuriken with a kunai and his bright eyes narrowed at the girl's disappearance. At the crunch of gravel, he looked down to find a foot coming straight up at him. In his surprise, he was unable to realize that he had just flipped away from a clone. As soon as his feet touched solid ground, they left it. Sakura had run through her own clone in order to deliver a sharp kick to the man's head. The Jounin slid along the ground for several feet, then stopped, dust swirling around his still body.
"Uso!" Takai ripped his forehead protector from his eyes, giving all his attention to the fallen man below them. Sakura lowered her leg slowly, chest heaving, and grinned proudly.
Oyasa raised the cloth and chuckled softly, smiling. "That's a first. Hizaku-sensei was tricked by a simple clone."
Takai could care less. He jumped down from the tree and ran to the pink-haired girl. Sakura turned in the direction of the grunt to see her teammate and hugged him tightly, laughing. He smiled weakly. Hizaku opened his eyes at the shadow falling over his face and stared up at Oyasa.
"Bested again, sensei?"
"That I was," the man answered with a sigh.
"Such a shame."
The Jounin grinned along with his student; this was a daily behavior for Team 5.
§§§
"I concede."
Takai splashed the lake's water over his face, washing away dirt and blood from the day's practice. Hizaku and Sakura would be waiting for them at the edge of town. He exhaled deeply and stood, facing his friend. "Concede?"
"Step down," Oyasa continued. "I'm giving you Sakura-chan's hand in marriage."
A vein popped out on the other's forehead and the oak-haired boy found himself breathing water instead of air. He formed shaky hand seals while struggling to keep the water from his lungs, and Takai was sucked into a whirlpool that rose up to form a water funnel that doubled as a tower of imprisonment. Unlike Zabuza's own prison technique, the boy didn't literally have to have a hand in it.
Oyasa dragged his head from the water, dark hair forming a soppy curtain before his face. He stood and tossed his lengthy locks back then cancelled the jutsu, watching his friend drop with a splash. "That should teach you a lesson," he stated teasingly. Takai waded his way back to the bank, sopping wet, and started out of the forest with his teammate so they could join the other two members that made up their team.
Team 5 just happened across the young Hitsu running back towards the Academy. Sakura's green eyes followed the girl for a short while until Oyasa splashed her in an attempt to get his hair under control once more. She sighed, wiping her face, then spared Shikyo one more glance before she disappeared into the Academy grounds.
"Onee-chan!"
Shikyo smiled and held her arms open for the running Sendo to jump into. She giggled, spinning with him. Sendo placed a kiss to her cheek and grinned. "What did you learn today?" the soft-spoken girl questioned, walking off the school campus. Instead of continuing back into town, she made a left, shifting they boy so she was giving him a piggyback. They entered onto a worn dirt path.
"Iruka-sensei is great!" Sendo exclaimed. "He teaches Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. Did I tell you he brought his son?"
"You did," Shikyo giggled. "A while ago."
"It was so cool!" The boy squeezed his eyes shut in excitement, clenching his fists. "Naruto-kun is great!"
"He is," his sister whispered, blushing. "Ehhh. Onee-chan has a crush!"
"Sendo-kun!"
They quickly fell silent after reaching two large pillars, and passed through them, stepping onto the Hitsu estate. They were not as many as the tragic Uchiha clan had been—they didn't have an entire village—or the Hyuga, but they were a proud advanced bloodline family.
"Sendo-kun, be on the alert."
"Hai."
Children of the Hitsu were taught certain basics in order to learn the family attack, but nothing else. Shikyo slid the boy from her back. As soon as Sendo's feet touched the firm earth, the wind screamed.
A/N: Sorry if it seemed like this chapter didn't really go anywhere. It's just... there. Once again, I felt rushed. But there are some things in this chapter that should be noted. I can't say what exactly, but I guess you just have to read it carefully and retain everything (grins) Thanks for the reviews I received, and I'll try to keep my updates to seven days
As a treat to reviewers, I'll let you see the wonderful—most wonderful—image crabapplered drew for me! XO I just love it so much! Because of ff-net's retardness, replace all "-" with "." and close all spaces to get the link working right.
http: w w w.img-photobucket-com / albums / v451 / kokkeichan /ride-jpg
It's from the scene where practice for the three-man teams hadn't started yet, Sakura had taken Sasuke out, he'd ditched her, ran into Chigiri who ended up walking him to the Academy, and then Sasuke saw Naruto being carried on Iruka's shoulders. Look at all the Shuuha students! (squeals)
