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.
A/N: (sighs deeply) Alright... Well, I dunno what to do now. Oh! I got my first two checks yesterday! (dances around) They're not much, but they're mine... mine! (cackles) On a different note, in the Author Note below, I will provide a sample of the new Naruto fic I'm working on. It was inspired into life thanks to Monica-chan—my angel, my muse, etc.—and iie. See you down below!
Chapter Eleven -Never Patrol Alone (Take Sasuke)
Naruto walked along aimlessly, unable to digest the information he had accidentally overheard the night before. Today was the second to last day of official practice—there would be one more free day where friends on different teams could spend time together—before missions would start being handed out, but Tenko had never shown up, so each Genin was left to do what they felt like.
The blonde stopped, raising his head, and gasped softly. He had walked himself to the magnificent structure that had been named after him. Naruto sighed and jumped onto the bridge rail, slowly starting across with his hands tucked behind his back. He was halfway across when a most familiar voice reached his ears.
"...never understand."
"Well, if you don't tell them, they never will." A male's voice.
"I haven't told you, but you understand."
'That's Shikyo!' The kyuubi leaned over, forgetting where he stood, and plummeted like a rock into the chilled November water.
Shikyo gasped, a hand over her mouth. "Naruto-kun..." She and another floated idly in one of the boats used for transportation.
"Heh heh." The boy grinned then frowned, squinting at the boy with his teammate.
A forehead protector lay over his right eye, leaving an orange orb visible. Also, falling over the protector, was a long bang of dark blue hair. He stared at the blonde before sighing and stretching out the oar. "Grab on."
"We should take him back into town, Kaoru-kun," Shikyo advised softly. "He could catch a cold."
"I don't catch colds," the blonde stated proudly. Almost immediately, his brow furrowed and nose twitched. Naruto released a sneeze so powerful, it blew him back into the water and rocked the boat. Kaoru rolled his yes an set about fishing the boy out.
§§§
"Ugh..." The kyuubi groaned as Kaoru adjusted him. Shikyo's old friend had been courteous enough to carry Naruto back into town. He grumbled under his breath about morons deciding to take swims so late in the year.
"Shut up."
The boy grunted as Naruto's chin knocked him in the head. Shikyo's giggling drew both of their attention and they smiled. "What are you looking at?" Naruto growled, realizing the other had felt the same way he had.
"I should be asking you that question," Kaoru snapped, shifting the weight on his back. "Go on a diet. Really..."
"What'd you say?!"
They argued all the way back to the house. Shikyo knocked for them after Naruto realized he had forgotten his key, wondering if anyone would be home. The deadbolt was undone and the door slowly opened. The Uchiha's eyes opened further with mild surprise at the sight that greeted him.
"Aniki!" Naruto laughed. He squeezed his thighs around Kaoru. "Move, ox."
"I'll show you an ox..." The dark-haired Genin tossed the other boy from his back and stood over him, fist raised.
"Oi." Sasuke drew the attention back to himself with the single, emotionless word. "What happened?" Naruto sneezed again before anyone could answer.
"He caught a cold," Shikyo mumbled, avoiding the ebony-haired boy's hard gaze. She twiddled with her fingers until deciding the best thing to do was get the blonde inside and warmed up before he turned into a human Popsicle from the inside out. Kaoru slung the soaked youth over his shoulder and excused himself upon entering after Sasuke had stepped aside. Naruto grinned sheepishly at his scowling Konoha teammate.
"Sumimasen." Shikyo bowed her head as she stepped by Sasuke.
The Uchiha's grip on the doorknob prevented him from slamming the door, but the dent in the brass handle was inevitable. 'Who the hell is this guy?' Sasuke found Kaoru waiting at the bottom of the stairs, arms cross over his bare chest. He brushed rudely by him and took the stairs two at a time, bursting into Naruto's room.
The blonde kyuubi peeked out from under the towel he dried his hair with and grinned. "Sasuke—" The door slammed this time an the young girl downstairs winced. "What's the matter with you?" Naruto muttered.
"Who's that?"
"Who? Hotaru?" The mysterious Genin's full name was Hotaru Kaoru. Naruto grinned, turning to the window and giving the brunet his back. "He's Shikyo's friend. Seems nice. Annoying as hell." Bright blue eyes blinked, then narrowed as the boy smirked. "You're jealous."
"Nani? Why would I—"
"You're jealous!" Naruto tossed the towel onto his bed. "This is why I said we needed to take things slow. You want kisses in the middles of streets. When you don't get them, you act like a spoiled brat." The other's dark eyes narrowed dangerously, but as usual, Naruto was oblivious to the other's rage, and continued his diatribe on their so-called relationship. "Can't I have a friend? Only Shikyo and Haka talk to me right now. Hotaru pays me some attention and you're jealous. Ha!" The blonde grabbed the spare towel from the bed along with a dry shirt and started by his original teammate.
Sasuke stuck out an arm, scowl hard and deep. "You're treading on thin ice," he hissed, turning on his heel to leave first.
"Jealous!" Naruto cackled, the door slamming in his face.
"You seem pretty close-knit," Kaoru chuckled as the Uchiha passed before him.
Kiss my ass. He wanted so desperately to say so, but a sense of pride kept him from it, and Sasuke stormed out of the hall. He checked the den first, then found Shikyo in the kitchen; the young girl was dropping mini marshmallows into four mugs of hot chocolate. She smiled nervously at his presence. "Sumimasen," the girl whispered. "I just thought..."
"Don't worry," Sasuke sighed. "I'm sure Naruto will enjoy mine for me. I'm stepping out for a while."
"Ah... H–hai... Itterasshai..."
The brunet raised an eyebrow, then noticed the faraway look in the girl's golden orbs. "Ittekimasu," he muttered, walking away.
Shikyo blinked, realizing he was gone, then quickly grabbed two mugs, carrying them into the den. She was heading back for the remaining two when a shirtless Naruto and Kaoru stepped into the dining room. The young girl blushed crimson and hurried into the kitchen.
"Ano... Shikyo..." The kyuubi-carrying child looked around. "Where'd Sasuke go?"
"He went out. Here you go." Shikyo handed them each a steam mug, a bright smile on her face and cheeks still faintly colored. Each boy took one then allowed themselves to be ushered into the den.
§§§
Sasuke returned later that night. As he turned his key in the lock, he glanced behid him at the dark window of Sakura's room. The brunet locked the door back and retraced his steps, turning to head over to the Haruno/Hatake house. Naruto squinted through the den curtains.
"What's he doing?" he muttered.
Sasuke knocked on the door then took a step back, waiting. A groggy Kakashi answered. A silver eyebrow rose at the sight of the boy. "This is a first. If you're looking for Sakura, she went out with friends."
'Friends...' The brunet nodded.
"My little girl's growing up..." The Jounin sniffled.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, scoffing, and headed back to his house. He tried the doorknob and smirked when it opened, knowing it had been locked just a few minutes ago.
Naruto stood at the end of the hall, arms crossed. "Why'd you leave?"
"What's it to you? Jealous?"
The blonde bristled. "No. I just wanted to know where you were. You want me too bad to stray anyway."
"You're too cocky for your own good... dobe." Having closed the distance between them, Sasuke placed a hand beside the other boy's head. "Cutting you down to size... should be... a pleasure."
Naruto's lips parted in a soft gasp as he awaited the seemingly promised kiss. The brunet smirked and tousled the blonde tresses. Naruto's mouth fell open as Sasuke walked off, disbelieving. "I'm taking things slow," the Uchiha laughed as he disappeared into the second hall.
"Sasuke... you... asshole!"
Iruka sighed at the noise and replaced the cold cloth to his forehead. 'If Kakashi found out I'm getting sick, he would never let me leave the house... no matter what reason I have.' He groaned, pulling the covers up to his nose.
'I wonder if this is how Sakura felt.' Sasuke sat on the north side of the town bench, clasped fingers under his chin. Naruto had left this morning with Kaoru; they were going to meet Shikyo and the remainder of Team 10—Kaoru's team. The brunet scoffed, closing his eyes; what Naruto did didn't matter to him. He listened to the hustle and bustle going on around him, not bothering to sift through it for anything specific.
"Sasuke-kun?" It wasn't Sakura. "Sasuke-kun, are you sleeping?"
"No," the boy muttered, opening his eyes in time to see the young girl sit beside him. "Who are you?"
"Yun Miyako." She grinned, stretching her arms before tucking them into her lap. She wore black shorts, her shuriken holster wrapped around the bandages that were wound around her bare leg, and a blue shirt with one long sleeve on the left side; there was no right sleeve. Her right arm was wrapped with bandages from her shoulder down to her wrist.
One of the things about her that intrigued Sasuke were the golden stars designed to fall like tears leading down from the corner of the girl's left eye; they stopped about an inch down. The other was her pigtails. One was blonde, the other red, but the rest of her hair was brown.
"Kaoru's cousin," the girl continued in a chipper tone. "And a member of Team 1."
Ebony eyes narrowed at the mention of that boy's name. "What do you want?" Sasuke muttered, looking away.
"You seemed so bored, so I'm taking it upon myself to cheer you up," Miyako sighed, tossing the blonde pigtail
'Great.' He snorted, closing his eyes once more.
"Come on, Sasuke-kun!" She grabbed his arm, pulling the boy to his feet, and twirled with him until he brought an abrupt stop to their movements, his eyes narrowed in irritation.
"I don't have time to play," Sasuke snapped.
"Then let's spar." The boy's body visibly relaxed, an eyebrow raising. "I'm as good as Chigiri," the girl smiled, hugging his arm.
The Uchiha smirked. "You're on."
"Yes! A spar with Sasuke-kun!"
He rolled his eyes and let her lead the way. Surprised that they would go back into the town, he eventually found himself outside a traditional house quite similar to his own. Miyako explained she was just getting a few necessary items for their session. They removed their shoes upon entering, leaving them at the entrance, and the girl skipped ahead.
"Kaoru," she called out.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. 'He lives here?'
"Kaoru!" Miyako slid open the back door, sighing. "I guess they left already."
"They?" the brunet questioned, tone strained.
"My cousin and your brother. They were in his room for quite some time before I left and found you." She smiled at him over her shoulder. With pigtails swinging, Miyako closed the door and ran towards the stairs and up to her room. With the new information he'd just been given, Sasuke felt he was going to enjoy sparring with his new acquaintance because it would help relieve some of his anger.
Not planning to spend the time he would wait for her standing, he took a seat on one of the cushions surrounding the low table and looked around. The house was split in two, with the traditional Japanese decorations on the left of the entrance—where he currently was—and the modern settings on the right. A dining table with a glass top and four high-back chairs at each end had been placed slightly right of the sliding door that led to the backyard.
Miyako ran back down the stairs, tying her pigtails together with a black ribbon, and with a sheathed katana held between her teeth. Sasuke sat up straight. "This is Kaoru's," she explained with a gasp, taking the weapon in her hand. "It's double-edged, so..."
"So? Do you know how to wield it?"
"I fight using a three-sword technique, so one of these is nothing. Also, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu aren't really my thing."
Sasuke stood, hair falling into his face. He chuckled softly, lips quirking into a smirk. "I just might enjoy this."
"Great!" Miyako laughed, hugging his arm once more; she had tucked the katana into the belt around her waist. The brunet sighed in exasperation and dragged her along-back to the entrance so they could retrieve their shoes. The front door opened as Sasuke bent to work in getting his shoes back on with his one available arm. "Kaoru," Miyako giggled.
"Sasuke?" a curious voice mumbled.
The Uchiha cursed under his breath and straightened up to face Naruto. What he didn't expect to find was the whole "gang" standing around: Kaoru and Naruto were partially inside, Shikyo was behind them along with the two remaining male members of Team 10. The three-toned-haired Genin allowed her smile to brighten and grip on Sasuke's arm to tighten as she felt his entire body go tense.
Kaoru's orange eye narrowed after his cousin had shifted. "That's my katana."
"Borrowing it," Miyako sighed. "What are you doing back here?"
"Naruto lost his wallet." His glare slowly moved toward the scowling boy beside his cousin. "Are you picking up strays now, Miyako?"
"Your puppy is cute, too. I'd love to stay and chitchat some more, but I've got somewhere to be, so... Bye!" she quickly told them, dragging the ebony-haired Konoha shinobi with her to prevent all hell from breaking loose.
Naruto turned slowly, glaring after the fleeing duo. 'Turn around.'
Sasuke looked over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner, meeting the blonde's scowl with his own. "If you're not related by blood," Kaoru started in a whisper beside his ear. "You can sleep with him."
The kyuubi's face burned with embarrassment and he raised his fist to attack. "Baka!" he snarled.
"Naruto-kun...!" Shikyo wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him back, and Kaoru ran off into the house, chuckling to himself.
§§§
Sasuke hissed as he pulled his hand away from the sword wound on his chest. It was long, but shallow, and probably wouldn't scar. They had practiced until early evening and Miyako proved she was excellent with a blade. 'I wouldn't want to meet her in the exam to make Chuunin when she has all three of her own.' She had offered to clean and wrap the cut, but he kindly refused. The brunet stopped as he noticed the orange-clad blonde figure waiting in front of the house. Naruto looked in his direction then away. Sasuke continued forward, the hand not staving off the trickling blood flow reaching for his key.
"The door's already open," the kyuubi mumbled. "No one's here yet, except us." With that said, they headed inside. After closing the door, Naruto took Sasuke's hand and led him into the den, both sitting on the out-of-place green couch. "This is stupid," he muttered, pulling down the zipper to the front of the other's shirt. "We both like each other. We're both jealous of the other getting too friendly with someone else." He wrinkled his brow at the wound.
The brunet leaned forward, the metal of their forehead protectors clinking. "I guess you're right. Besides... Miyako has too much energy for me."
Naruto grinned and tilted his head, brushing his lips over the Uchiha's. "I'll share kisses with you anywhere."
"Patch me up first," Sasuke groaned.
"Wakata!" The blonde stood to retrieve the items needed to do so from the bathroom, and his grin slowly faded as he stared out the window. The brunet stood also, following his partner's gaze. They were now watching Sakura and Takai standing outside of the opposite house. The pink-haired Genin leaned forward to place a quick kiss to Takai's cheek. She blushed along with the Shuuha shinobi in front of her, both exchanging muttered words that couldn't be heard through the glass pane.
Naruto jumped over the couch and snatched the window curtains shut, body trembling as his chest rose and fell. Sasuke placed a hand to his head consolingly and led him away upstairs. There, he got his wounds treated and stayed with the blonde until he fell asleep. The Uchiha was left alone in his own room, wondering what was happening to their team.
With terms straightened out, the young boys decided to spend the day together, at home. Breakfast had been had already—with Sakura and Kakashi—and dishes washed, but the counter was still occupied. Naruto giggled uncontrollably as Sasuke placed ticklish kisses on his stomach, and tried to push him away. He kicked his legs, biting back laughter, and Sasuke conceded, lifting his head with a smirk. The blonde glowered playfully at him then leaned down to pull the brunet's protector over his eyes.
Sasuke's smirk widened as Naruto whispered in his ear. "Now?" he chuckled.
"We won't be able to once missions start and more practice comes up in between them," the kyuubi pointed out. "But... Iruka-sensei's upstairs."
That was true. The Chuunin had decided to rest up for tomorrow because he knew he would need his wits about him when handing out the D- and C-ranked missions to Genins who believed they deserved better. The only good thing was that May would be at his side to see him through it.
"The bathroom," Naruto suggested.
Sasuke snorted and tossed Naruto over his shoulder, raising his forehead protector to see. "Your call," he sighed.
"Right here," the blonde cackled. He yelled as he was dumped atop the dining room table, the Uchiha glaring down at him. Sasuke grabbed the blue shirt, tugging it off.
"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?"
The brunet made no reply and continued stripping the other boy in plain view of all three main hallways of the house. Both froze at the creak on the stairs, dark orbs and bright blue orbs wide. A disheveled Iruka shuffled from the hall into the dining room, halting with his hand tangled in his hair, and stared at the event taking place before him.
Naruto hurriedly draped the jacket that was tied around his waist over the middle portion of his body, legs still locked around Sasuke's waist. "Iruka-sensei, this—"
"Dont, please... I'm going back to sleep and when I wake up, this house will be empty and I will be happy." The Chuunin turned slowly, forgetting the reason he had ventured downstairs, and shuffled back up, leaving the boys.
Naruto kicked the Uchiha away and pulled back on his clothes. "You've never listened to me before!" he yelled. "Why start now?"
"Stop kicking me," the ebony-haired Genin growled, curling his fingers into a fist.
The blonde jumped from the table before Sasuke attacked, watching it crack down the middle from the power exerted; at least that took care of Iruka having to burn that particular piece of furniture.
Iruka whimpered and stuffed himself further into his closet, pillows pressed to his ears. 'This isn't happening!'
Kakashi came back to the house and tracked down the dolphin by the sheets sticking out from under the closet door. He opened it and smiled, leaning his head against the doorframe. Iruka was asleep as comfortably as anyone could get in such a cramped and confining area. Naruto and Sasuke had left, their note reading: "Iruka-sensei's scary".
The silver-haired Jounin sat, knees raised and arms resting atop them, watching the young man sleep. He sighed softly and tried to remember the real reason he began obsessing over the Chuunin. As of late, he had just been wanting to see the younger man blush His dark eye roved lazily over the constricted frame. 'He has a secret.' Kakashi yawned loudly.
What he was also noticing was the way his Team 7 had split three ways. Since Naruto became a part of his life, Sasuke didn't seem to realize Sakura was not a part of his anymore. The same could be said for Naruto: he'd lost interest in Sakura. Sighing, the Jounin scooted back then stood, deciding to see what said pink-haired girl was up to.
He would have moved Iruka to the bed, but to get him out would mean to drag him out, and after the incident with the stolen clothes and their small argument two nights ago, he'd rather not annoy him too much. Kakashi spared the sleeping figure one more glance before leaving. He stood in the middle of the street, staring at the house across from, slowly remember the doves their first day here. 'Birds like that aren't too common in this area.' It was nothing he could dwell on too long now.
Careful of rushing carts and people, the Copy Ninja made it to the house. Not trusting his chakra-sensing skills when it came to the new and developing Sakura, he called for her, taking the stairs two at a time. He knocked on the door to see if she was even in her room. That was another thing. She was spending more and more time as "Haruno Sakura, the Shuuha Genin of Kenshiki Hizaku's Team 5".
Kakashi headed into his room, closing and locking the door, then crossed to the window, closing and locking it also: he wanted sleep. Seeing Iruka sleep like that reminded him of how much he lacked. The Jounin sat on the bed, removing his shoes, then lay back, groaning loudly. He would, also, never again participate in practice with his team. Chigiri had destroyed one of his Icha Icha novels. 'Note to self: stop by the bookstore. Nuri would probably be glad to see me.' With a hidden smile, Kakashi rolled over onto his side, closing his eyes.
Neither couple had expected to meet, and in the same place at that. Sakura leaned back, looking behind Takai at the two boys walking slowly across the bridge they already stood on. "Sasuke-kun. Naruto." She smiled.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, waving. He couldn't put the night of seeing the two together as they were now out of his mind, but he had years of practice when it came to masking his true feelings. "What are you doing out here?"
"Talking and also waiting for Oyasa-kun," she replied., tugging her black jacket closet to warm her from the chill wind. "And you? You and... Sasuke-kun...?" Sakura smiled in an attempt to cover the slip of emotions that still managed to resurface whenever seeing the two together; she had been avoiding them as best and as much as possible for the whole month.
An ebony eyebrow rose questioningly on Sasuke's part, but the blonde was clueless, and answered the question. "Otou-san said he needed time for himself," Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "So we just wanted to see how far we could walk."
"This is the last bridge," Takai replied. "But there's a large lake further along that the children skate on during the winter.
"Honto?" Sakura giggled. Just like that. Just like that—in mere moments after she just finished talking to them—her real teammates could be that easily forgotten. Naruto's grin faded, blue eyes remaining wide until he lowered his head. "I've never been skating before," the pink-haired girl continued, leaning forward on the railing once more.
Takai watched the blonde and brunet turn around and head back the way they'd came, then gave Sakura all his attention, noting she had been doing the same thing also. "If you're still around," he said. "Maybe I'll take you, after the lake freezes."
"Arigatou, Takai!"
Naruto cringed at the laughter reaching him and glared at the road they walked on. 'Sakura-chan...' He grunted and ran ahead, head still bowed.
"Dobe." Sasuke wouldn't waste his expose himself and waste his chakra for Sharingan when he knew the boy would blonde would be going to Kan'you. He re-entered the village. A glare was shot to the person running into his out of no where. "Watch where you're going," Sasuke snapped, pushing the body away. His eyes narrowed and his arm shot forward, grabbing the boy by the front of his shirt. "Give it back," he hissed.
The child's brown eyes lost their fear and narrowed to match the brunet Genin's glare. The young boy fished into his pocket and raised Sasuke's stolen wallet. The Uchiha snatched it back and dropped the kid. "Maybe you should stay in school, bozu," Sasuke muttered angrily, walking off. The felled child blew a raspberry after him, kicking up the dirt in frustration at being caught.
The undercover Konoha shinobi reached the restaurant and squinted through Kan'you's window; he found it was devoid of a certain ostentatious, blue-eyed kyuubi. There was one other place he could check. Just as he had suspected, Sasuke found Naruto sitting on the stood of a rundown old shack in a desolate part of town.
The blonde looked up and grinned weakly. "You're late."
The brunet scoffed and waited for him to come to his feet before knocked on the door. It creaked opened and Haka stared at them. "Did you come to drink?" she questioned.
"Hai," both replied.
"Do you intend to hold your liquor until you make it home?"
"Hai."
"There's no fighting in here, but if you must, try not to lose," the girl finished with a smirk, stepping aside to let them by. With another quick glance outside, Haka closed-locking and bolting-the door, rushing after the boys as they descended into the family-owned bar.
Kakashi assumed he'd been sleeping less than two hours when the wind picked up outside of his window. The silver-haired man turned over, pressing a pillow over his head. He sat up, visible eye bleary, at the loud tapping to his window. It was almost as if he was being invited out. The Jounin pulled himself from bed, slipping his feet into the black sandal-like footwear, and left his room. He stopped at Sakura's, pushing open the door, and spotted the still form under the covers. 'Good.' Kakashi closed the door and disappeared.
Landing silently on a thick branch deep in the woods, the silver-haired shinobi tried to ward off the sudden cold. He crouched low on the branch, lowering his head to focus his hearing. He remained in his unwavering stance, wind circling him with whispered secrets; teasing him in a lilting voice, until that voice became shrill and the wind itself screamed at its mistake of revealing too much. The air fell still and silent.
The Jounin raised his hand to his forehead protector, pulling it up, and his eyes snapped open, Sharingan swirling. Kakashi pulled a kunai from his holster and dragged it through the branch's bark, watching the wood tear and crack, but found he heard nothing, not even his own thoughts.
"I hear them for you," a distorted voice snickered.
A black specter swooped down before him and he started a hot pursuit, his Sharingan the only thing guiding him. What the transplanted orb caught was another figure down below, running at an even pace with him. What kind of jutsu is this? Kakashi knew he had asked himself that.
"One from an advanced bloodline. You are... Hatake Kakashi. The infamous Copy Ninja."
He froze at the blade flying by him and looked down. The dark-cloaked shinobi pointed and he spun around, narrowly avoiding the shuriken that rained down on his branch. The silver-haired Jounin dropped onto the forest floor, but his supposed "ally" was gone without a trace. Kakashi cleared his head of all thoughts—unable to hear them anyway—and his one sole purpose to make it out of the forest alive.
"'Dispell' won't work," the voice laughed.
The Jounin hissed—or so he thought—in pain as a kunai lodged itself in his left shoulder and two shuriken tore across his sides. He turned sharply to retaliate, but found the masked shinobi defending for him; it wasn't a hunter-nin or a member of the ANBU. There was little time to dote on that because the wind screamed once more, his name twisted somewhere in the shrill noise, and his hearing returned. He quickly became aware of his panting and swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed from a fear of never seeing his team or Iruka again; true fear like this Hatake Kakashi never wanted to experience again. He ripped the kunai from his shoulder while calling out to the other figure before him, "Oi."
The shinobi stiffened, gloved hands halting in returning the hood to a head of dark hair. He turned, dark bangs shadowing his eyes, while a mask similar to the Copy Ninja's took care of concealing the remainder of his face.
"Who are you and why are you here?" Kakashi muttered, sticking the blade in his holster, but not removing his hand.
"It's none of your concern." The voice was unfamiliar also.
"I'd like to offer some gratitude to the one that saved me."
A soft scoff and the cloaked figure turned away, pulling on his hood. Mismatched orbs narrowed and the Jounin rushed the man's back. He grunted as the bloody blade he wielded sparked as it clashed with a double-bladed kunai, and stared into dark eyes that revealed nothing.
Kakashi's own eyes widened as he put his Sharingan to use, but the attack was never carried out. He coughed, the blood trickling from his mouth unseen, and his body fell limp. The anonymous ninja removed his fist from where he'd buried it in the other's gut and replaced his weapon to lift the body onto his shoulder. With a soft sigh, he took to the trees and headed back to the village.
A/N: That was a total of... three days; the last week of November... I think (grins sheepishly) I said I would keep track, but I'm lousy at that... The reason Shikyo spaced out like that was because she was remembering times with her brother. I'm also not sure what I was doing with that whole scene about the wind and its personified state, but if no one else complains... .;
Now—following a few translations—I bring you a scene from chapter one of... (drum roll) ...The Substitute! Yeah, I know, the title sucks XD I told you I was bad with them.
Aniki - Another way of saying "big brother"
Oi - Hey
Sumimasen - A more polite term (has three different meanings) Used in Sumimasen¹ as "excuse me"; used in Sumimasen² as "I'm sorry".
Itterasshai - Said in response to "ittekimasu"—I believe it means "go safely and come back". (shrugs)
Ittekimasu - I'm leaving to return (something along those terms)
Wakata - Understood
Honto - Really; Is that true (something along those terms)
-Preview-
Tsunade started laughing once more, arms crossed over her chest. She had been doing so intermittently for the past forty-five minutes as she stared down at the bed-ridden males. Kakashi moaned, slinking under the covers; Iruka still struggled to breath. The pair had been taken to the hospital and were sharing the same room, but not the same bed—the reason why they had ended up in their current situation.
The legendary Sennin wiped at her eyes with a content sigh. Kakashi had summoned Pakkun to contact her, but she sent two ANBU members to his home instead of coming personally—the embarrassment.
"This is... Heh. This is something. Team 7's officially grounded—no big loss there, but... Iruka..." The female Hokage stare at the Chuunin. "You're the Academy's biggest asset."
The Chuunin gave a ragged intake of air to force out two words.
"What was that?" Tsunade mumbled, tilting her head.
"He said 'thank you'," the nin-dog sitting on the floor replied.
"Yeah, well... I need to replace this... asset." She placed one hand to her hip, sighing. She blinked narrowed eyes at the touch to her leg and looked down to see Pakkun motioning for her to listen. With a groan, Tsunade knelt to do so. She nodded slowly, a smirk spreading across her face. "I think he's perfect."
Iruka, having been assisted in swallowing water to help calm his throat, raised his head slowly. "Who?" he rasped, coughing. The Hokage's smirk widened to impossible proportions.
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I think I have this thing for writing people sick... (shrugs) But there you have it! XD A preview.
