"Speech"
~Thoughts~ *Flashbacks* (A/N)
Chapter 3 Restraining the Monster
Last time: "S-S-SENSI!" she yelled, backing up more. Kakashi spun around faster than a cat. In an instant, he was kneeling beside his student. "Naruto? Nani? What is it?" Naruto gave a groan and said through clenched teeth, "He's trying to get out."
Kakashi paled. Sasuke and Sakura were utterly bewildered. Kakashi turned to them.
"You two, would you start a small fire over there?" He pointed to an area sheltered by a few trees. They turned, still too stunned or freaked out to comment. They started to run toward the trees gather some firewood.
"Sasuke?" Sakura said quietly, he voice containing traces of shock.
"Sasuke, what was up with his eyes?" Sasuke stopped and looked over at her.
"Huh?" he asked, "What about his eyes?" Sakura started to pile wood into his arms.
"They...they were..." she furrowed her brow in frustration, trying to find the words to describe it.
"They were red," she finished lamely. Then she decided to elaborate when Sasuke gave her an irritated, can't-you-do-better-than-that sort of look.
"They were almost like a cats, I guess. The shape was, anyway, you know, vertical pupils, but it was just... scary." She said, coming up with the best comparison for the strange phenomenon. Sasuke didn't say anything to this; he only scowled. Now his mind was just crawling. Kakashi must have known something was wrong with Naruto, the way he had protected the blonde from his cutting remarks earlier, the way he walked with Naruto for most of the journey so far, and how he seemed to understand when Naruto had said, 'He's trying to get out.' Sasuke frowned. What in the hell had he meant by that? Well, he was going to find out soon enough. He planned of extracting information from his sensei as soon as they returned; he hated being left in the dark.
Sasuke knelt down, striking his flint to start the fire. He got a healthy blaze going and Kakashi carried Naruto over, laying him close to the hungry flames.
The boy looked terrible. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and he was shivering, either from pain or cold, Sasuke couldn't tell. He bit back the raging questions and sat down on a log, staring into the fire. He could tell Kakashi was at a loss of what to do. This was interesting. So it wasn't a normal illness. Kakashi would know instantly (or should...Sasuke wouldn't put it past the man to forget, though) what to do for illness. Now he looked pathetically hopeless. Sasuke would have laughed if not for the tense atmosphere.
Kakashi stood, running a hand through his hair. "I'm off to look for some herbs for tea. I shouldn't be long." With that, he walked toward the forest that was looming uncomfortably close to their resting spot. Sasuke stood.
"Watch Naruto for a minute," he said shortly. Sasuke followed Kakashi into the forest, seemingly unnoticed by the older man. Kakashi bent down to pick some leaves off of a spiky, twisted looking plant. He stopped, silently watching.
"What do you want, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, never looking over at his student. Sasuke scowled. His sensei could have at least let him know that Kakashi had detected his presence. He came out from hiding behind a bush and stood by Kakashi.
"You could have said something," he murmured. Kakashi turned a bit to look at him, his visible eye crinkled up into what Sasuke knew was a smirk.
"And ruin the fun, Sasuke?" he asked, teasingly. The man straightened, a small pile of shiny leaves in his hand.
"What is it that you had to follow me into the forest to talk about?" Sasuke decided that they were already making too much small talk as was, and cut right to the chase.
"I know something is going on with Naruto. I also know that it can't be something normal, or you wouldn't have been so freaked out when he collapsed. I know you know what's wrong with him, and I want to know too. As his teammate, I have a right to know." Kakashi waited patiently for Sasuke to finish talking. He looked at his student thoughtfully.
"You have a good head on your shoulders, Sasuke," he said at last. This was not what Sasuke wanted to hear. However, he remained calm.
"Most of all," Sasuke said, "is that I want to know why, if you knew he was ill, that he was allowed to participate in this mission. He could have brought us down in a fight. If he's sick, he's only a liability to the rest of us." Kakashi began to walk, scanning the ground for whatever else he was looking for.
"I have my reasons, Sasuke," he stated flatly. "As for why, I'm afraid that I can't tell you that." Sasuke waited to hear why he wasn't allowed to know, then realized Kakashi wasn't going to elaborate.
"But... wait! Why aren't I allowed to know?"
"I can't tell you."
"But I have a right to know!"
"Actually, no you don't."
"No I don't what?"
"Have a right to know."
"I know I do! So why wont you tell me?"
"No, I meant that you don't have a right to know."
"Why?!"
Kakashi stopped walking and face his student. "Sasuke, I am not going to tell you, you don't have a right to know, and no one else is going to tell you! Why is it so important to you? You've never shown a care about Naruto before." Kakashi said the last bit with a hint of bitterness in his voice, barley detectable, but still there. He turned to continue walking.
"Sakura saw his eyes. She said they had turned red, like a cat's eyes. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" he said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Kakashi stopped and turned back to his student.
"You are never to talk of this again. Not to Sakura, not to Naruto, not to myself. You already know too much."
"How can I know too much?! I don't know anything!" Sasuke walked right up to his sensei. He looked directly into his teachers' eye with determination.
"I will find out. Whether it comes from you or some other source, I will find out. Like I said that day when we met... I have determination. I am determined to find out what you are hiding from me." Kakashi just snorted impolitely at this and said, "Fat chance, Sasuke. It'd be easier if you just dropped it now. You would save a lot of wasted time." With that he turned and left, without looking back. Sasuke growled low in his throat and shoved his hands back into his pockets, returning to camp.
Sakura sensed his mood and decided to "cheer him up". He tuned out her annoying voice and looked at the afternoon sky. It was so clear. A few puffs of cloud dotted the sky here and there. He was snapped out of his daze my something clinging to his arm. He jumped and looked down, seeing Sakura practically ripping his arm out of his shoulder. He tried to shake her off, but to no avail. She kept chatting happily, lost in her own little world, and cutting off the circulation to his fingers.
"Sakura, would you mind it so much if I sat over there?" he asked, looking for an excuse to get away from the girl. "Alone," he said, before she could get another word in edgewise. She looked crest-fallen, and released her vice-like grip on his arm. He shook the feeling back to his numb fingers and plopped down in of a tree.
What was up with Naruto? Would he ever find out? Could the blonde boy be helped? What was everyone keeping from him and why? Why was he worried about that dobe in the first place? Sasuke sighed as all of theses questions and more swirled through his head. What in the world was taking Kakashi so long?
************************************************************* That's all for now... I'm doing my best to update every couple of days, but I have no end in sight! I could use some ideas for events in the story... what do you guys want to happen? R&R, Flames are welcome, they're feedback, but don't burn me too badly... it is my first fic... cut me some slack! Sort of a cliffy... I should really increase the suspense at the end of each chapter... I love making people wonder what's coming next! I'll try to update again soon! Thanks for everyone's support and suggestions!
Aradow: thanx... I noe a lot of my Japanese is off... Adam misled me into thinking that it was correct... little butt monkey. Anyway, I'll have to go back later and fix it... I have a lot to do right now, and I'm trying to update to keep everyone happy. Oh well. I'm tryin!
Thanks JadeViper, Kiako Ornitier, SoulRetriever13, aradow, Sirious183 and Drownin in my Tears for supporting my fic!
~Thoughts~ *Flashbacks* (A/N)
Chapter 3 Restraining the Monster
Last time: "S-S-SENSI!" she yelled, backing up more. Kakashi spun around faster than a cat. In an instant, he was kneeling beside his student. "Naruto? Nani? What is it?" Naruto gave a groan and said through clenched teeth, "He's trying to get out."
Kakashi paled. Sasuke and Sakura were utterly bewildered. Kakashi turned to them.
"You two, would you start a small fire over there?" He pointed to an area sheltered by a few trees. They turned, still too stunned or freaked out to comment. They started to run toward the trees gather some firewood.
"Sasuke?" Sakura said quietly, he voice containing traces of shock.
"Sasuke, what was up with his eyes?" Sasuke stopped and looked over at her.
"Huh?" he asked, "What about his eyes?" Sakura started to pile wood into his arms.
"They...they were..." she furrowed her brow in frustration, trying to find the words to describe it.
"They were red," she finished lamely. Then she decided to elaborate when Sasuke gave her an irritated, can't-you-do-better-than-that sort of look.
"They were almost like a cats, I guess. The shape was, anyway, you know, vertical pupils, but it was just... scary." She said, coming up with the best comparison for the strange phenomenon. Sasuke didn't say anything to this; he only scowled. Now his mind was just crawling. Kakashi must have known something was wrong with Naruto, the way he had protected the blonde from his cutting remarks earlier, the way he walked with Naruto for most of the journey so far, and how he seemed to understand when Naruto had said, 'He's trying to get out.' Sasuke frowned. What in the hell had he meant by that? Well, he was going to find out soon enough. He planned of extracting information from his sensei as soon as they returned; he hated being left in the dark.
Sasuke knelt down, striking his flint to start the fire. He got a healthy blaze going and Kakashi carried Naruto over, laying him close to the hungry flames.
The boy looked terrible. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and he was shivering, either from pain or cold, Sasuke couldn't tell. He bit back the raging questions and sat down on a log, staring into the fire. He could tell Kakashi was at a loss of what to do. This was interesting. So it wasn't a normal illness. Kakashi would know instantly (or should...Sasuke wouldn't put it past the man to forget, though) what to do for illness. Now he looked pathetically hopeless. Sasuke would have laughed if not for the tense atmosphere.
Kakashi stood, running a hand through his hair. "I'm off to look for some herbs for tea. I shouldn't be long." With that, he walked toward the forest that was looming uncomfortably close to their resting spot. Sasuke stood.
"Watch Naruto for a minute," he said shortly. Sasuke followed Kakashi into the forest, seemingly unnoticed by the older man. Kakashi bent down to pick some leaves off of a spiky, twisted looking plant. He stopped, silently watching.
"What do you want, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, never looking over at his student. Sasuke scowled. His sensei could have at least let him know that Kakashi had detected his presence. He came out from hiding behind a bush and stood by Kakashi.
"You could have said something," he murmured. Kakashi turned a bit to look at him, his visible eye crinkled up into what Sasuke knew was a smirk.
"And ruin the fun, Sasuke?" he asked, teasingly. The man straightened, a small pile of shiny leaves in his hand.
"What is it that you had to follow me into the forest to talk about?" Sasuke decided that they were already making too much small talk as was, and cut right to the chase.
"I know something is going on with Naruto. I also know that it can't be something normal, or you wouldn't have been so freaked out when he collapsed. I know you know what's wrong with him, and I want to know too. As his teammate, I have a right to know." Kakashi waited patiently for Sasuke to finish talking. He looked at his student thoughtfully.
"You have a good head on your shoulders, Sasuke," he said at last. This was not what Sasuke wanted to hear. However, he remained calm.
"Most of all," Sasuke said, "is that I want to know why, if you knew he was ill, that he was allowed to participate in this mission. He could have brought us down in a fight. If he's sick, he's only a liability to the rest of us." Kakashi began to walk, scanning the ground for whatever else he was looking for.
"I have my reasons, Sasuke," he stated flatly. "As for why, I'm afraid that I can't tell you that." Sasuke waited to hear why he wasn't allowed to know, then realized Kakashi wasn't going to elaborate.
"But... wait! Why aren't I allowed to know?"
"I can't tell you."
"But I have a right to know!"
"Actually, no you don't."
"No I don't what?"
"Have a right to know."
"I know I do! So why wont you tell me?"
"No, I meant that you don't have a right to know."
"Why?!"
Kakashi stopped walking and face his student. "Sasuke, I am not going to tell you, you don't have a right to know, and no one else is going to tell you! Why is it so important to you? You've never shown a care about Naruto before." Kakashi said the last bit with a hint of bitterness in his voice, barley detectable, but still there. He turned to continue walking.
"Sakura saw his eyes. She said they had turned red, like a cat's eyes. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" he said, a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Kakashi stopped and turned back to his student.
"You are never to talk of this again. Not to Sakura, not to Naruto, not to myself. You already know too much."
"How can I know too much?! I don't know anything!" Sasuke walked right up to his sensei. He looked directly into his teachers' eye with determination.
"I will find out. Whether it comes from you or some other source, I will find out. Like I said that day when we met... I have determination. I am determined to find out what you are hiding from me." Kakashi just snorted impolitely at this and said, "Fat chance, Sasuke. It'd be easier if you just dropped it now. You would save a lot of wasted time." With that he turned and left, without looking back. Sasuke growled low in his throat and shoved his hands back into his pockets, returning to camp.
Sakura sensed his mood and decided to "cheer him up". He tuned out her annoying voice and looked at the afternoon sky. It was so clear. A few puffs of cloud dotted the sky here and there. He was snapped out of his daze my something clinging to his arm. He jumped and looked down, seeing Sakura practically ripping his arm out of his shoulder. He tried to shake her off, but to no avail. She kept chatting happily, lost in her own little world, and cutting off the circulation to his fingers.
"Sakura, would you mind it so much if I sat over there?" he asked, looking for an excuse to get away from the girl. "Alone," he said, before she could get another word in edgewise. She looked crest-fallen, and released her vice-like grip on his arm. He shook the feeling back to his numb fingers and plopped down in of a tree.
What was up with Naruto? Would he ever find out? Could the blonde boy be helped? What was everyone keeping from him and why? Why was he worried about that dobe in the first place? Sasuke sighed as all of theses questions and more swirled through his head. What in the world was taking Kakashi so long?
************************************************************* That's all for now... I'm doing my best to update every couple of days, but I have no end in sight! I could use some ideas for events in the story... what do you guys want to happen? R&R, Flames are welcome, they're feedback, but don't burn me too badly... it is my first fic... cut me some slack! Sort of a cliffy... I should really increase the suspense at the end of each chapter... I love making people wonder what's coming next! I'll try to update again soon! Thanks for everyone's support and suggestions!
Aradow: thanx... I noe a lot of my Japanese is off... Adam misled me into thinking that it was correct... little butt monkey. Anyway, I'll have to go back later and fix it... I have a lot to do right now, and I'm trying to update to keep everyone happy. Oh well. I'm tryin!
Thanks JadeViper, Kiako Ornitier, SoulRetriever13, aradow, Sirious183 and Drownin in my Tears for supporting my fic!