Here's a bit of history on me. About a month ago was my three-year anniversary. In those three years, not counting one-shots, I have completed one story, which was utter crap so I took it down a very long time ago. If I am able to finish this story, then I will actually go out and celebrate. So help me guys! I want it to go on and hopefully you want it to go on, but I need lots of support. Thanks!
Btw: this will not be finished before I get into college. If I get into college by December, I will 100 finish this.
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Title: Andromeda
Chapitre Deux: Il ne change pas
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I've had my wake up call sensei
I chose to ignore it
A blueberry rolled out of Sakura's palm and disappeared through a space in the ship's railing. The pink-haired girl sighed as she watched the fruit roll across the wooden deck and make its escape into the water but she did not make an effort to eat anymore of the berries in her hand.
"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked as he looked up from his book. He had secretly been watching her munch on the blueberries for a while and he noticed that she seemed to eat her snack with great distaste.
"Who opted to buy blueberries for this trip? They're out of season and they're among the most perishable fruits around!" Sakura answered, revealing her frustrations in the tone of her voice.
Kakashi couldn't help but laugh and he apologized lightly when Sakura shot him an ugly glare. No doubt his only female student was the only one he knew who would agonize over some steward's obvious lack of judgement. Nevertheless, he had to admit to himself that watching the girl get frustrated over such a small error was quite amusing.
For a while neither of them spoke as they instead found comfort in leaning on the railing and watching the seawater languidly lap against the ship's side. Sakura extended her arm over the railing and let go of the few berries left in her hand. They pricked three small holes in the water below and were quickly swallowed up by the greedy waves. The kunoichi watched the spot where the berries had fell for a bit before she turned to the man standing beside her.
"Sensei, what information do we have on the holdouts as of right now? Why are they in Yuki no Kuni?" Sakura asked as she watched for a reaction from her former teacher. He gave none and instead he casually turned a page in his book, acting as if her question had never been posed.
Sakura crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger as she began to tap her foot impatiently on the deck. Kakashi continued to give her no response and took little note of her show of frustration. Instead, he kept his attention on the book in his hand.
The girl rolled her eyes at his nonchalance and she watched his visible eye peruse lines of what she assumed was smutty text. Sakura unhappily blew a strand of pink hair out of her face in a huff. Her green eyes went back to their normal size but she continued to stare at the man. The elite ninja standing next to her finally sighed and caved in to her scrutiny. Kakashi pocketed his book and gave her his undivided attention although he couldn't help but chuckle with amusement as he watched the supposedly dangerous kunoichi standing before him pout prettily like a spoiled princess.
"Hai, Sakura-hime?" Kakashi answered, smiling beneath his mask as he waited for her response.
"Answer my question, Kakashi!" Sakura whined back at him.
The silver-haired ninja lifted his revealed eyebrow when he realized she had dropped the honorary at the end of his name. He decided not to call her on the omission as it had truly been too long since he had honestly been her sensei. Sensing his perplexity, Sakura started to explain.
"Mou . . . it's been more than five years since you've trained any of us, I supposed it's about time I dropped the 'sensei' part don't you think?" Sakura looked away from him and stared at the deck floor while she spoke, as if she were embarrassed by what she was saying.
Kakashi looked up at a seagull floating overhead and wrapped two fingers around his chin pretending to be deep in thought. Sakura smiled lightly at his show of contemplation and knew that he was only doing it to further annoy her. He truly loved to get on her nerves.
"Okay, but can't you call me Kakashi-san at least?"
"No."
" . . ."
"Okay, okay, Kakashi-san it is." Sakura quickly responded, suddenly realizing that she was disrespecting her elder. She wasn't exactly in the mood for Kakashi's wrath.
Kakashi smiled brightly underneath his mask.
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Sakura sat on a desk facing the porthole and breathed in the night sea air. She carefully pulled two senbon from her hair and shuddered slightly as her loose locks tickled her bare shoulders. The salty breeze worked its way through her wild mane and Sakura closed her eyes, graciously accepting the feather-light brushes of the wind across her skin.
"Sakura-san?"
The kunoichi's green eyes snapped open as she heard her name called. She turned her head away from the open window to face her timid caller and her eyes softened when they fell upon a nervous young boy standing in her doorway. He must have seen something feral in the pink-haired kunoichi being perched on a desk bathing herself in the breeze as Sakura detected a faint tremble around his frame.
'This must be that steward who brought the blueberries onboard,' she thought to herself and a well-hidden smile touched her lips.
"Yes?"
"K-Kakashi-san wants to meet with you . . ." the boy trailed off as he found himself unable to look at the woman and adjusted his gaze to the wooden floor.
Sakura unconsciously let her smile widen and she nodded. The boy took that as his signal to depart and he scrambled off down the hall. Sakura heard him lose his footing as the ship suddenly lurched to one side and she openly laughed while she smoothly slipped off the desk and quickly wrapped the senbon back into her hair.
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Sakura slipped down the hall only to find Kakashi's door wide open. She peaked inside his dark room and noticed him sitting on the floor with his back to the door. He appeared to be deep in thought as an open scroll lay spread on the floor before him. Sakura grinned as she realized how vulnerable he was to an attack at that moment but she knew better than to think that the copy-ninja would ever reveal an opening.
The kunoichi resigned herself to leaning casually against the doorframe in hopes that she had blocked enough light for him to notice her presence. When Kakashi gave no acknowledgement of her presence, Sakura frowned and realized he was toying with her again.
"Ne . . . Kakashi, this isn't funny! Don't call me out for no reason, I'm really tired." Sakura began to whine in her spoiled princess voice she knew her former sensei loved to hear.
"Sakura, come in and shut the door." Kakashi suddenly demanded, his voice low and serious.
The pink-haired girl stood stunned for a moment as her mind rapidly processed the gravity of the situation. She swallowed and lightly nodded before moving inside, bringing the door silently behind her.
The room was completely dark save for a slither of moonlight that slipped through Kakashi's open window. Sakura's heart began to beat faster as she pondered why Kakashi had ushered her into his unlit quarters. Then Sakura noticed it. Perched on the tiny porthole was Naruto's messenger bird, a sleek brown falcon with sharp eyes and a menacing beak. The pink-haired kunoichi couldn't remember the majestic bird's name but she knew something was wrong by just its presence.
"The other two squads never reached Naruto. All radio contact was lost with them while they made their way to the snow." Kakashi spoke quietly as he moved closer to Sakura who felt her breath begin to quicken. The silver-haired ninja stopped his advance within inches of her tense body and he leaned down so his mouth was right near her ear.
"There are probably assassins on this ship. If there are, we are going to lure them into the cargo hold, okay?" Kakashi whispered into Sakura's ear and she couldn't help but shudder at the feel of his breath against her sensitive skin.
A moment passed and neither of them moved as Sakura's brain worked to deal with the intimacy of the situation. Before she could put together a coherent reply Kakashi had already moved away from her and was busy tying a small scroll to the waiting falcon's leg. Sakura watched his silent actions and her mind finally regained clarity as a plan began to form in her head.
"If we take a walk on the deck they might see us, and then we can go to the cargo hold." Sakura offered quietly as she walked nearer to Kakashi who was watching Naruto's falcon fly into the distance. He turned to look at her and for a second he marveled at how watery her jade eyes looked in the pale moonlight. She caught him staring blankly at her and she childishly waved her hand in front of his face to regain his attention.
Kakashi smiled as he returned to his senses and nodded in response to Sakura's plan. He motioned towards the door and the two of them quickly slipped out of the dark room into the dim glow of the hallway's lights.
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Sakura laughed loudly as she and Kakashi sat at a table on the deck sharing a bottle of red wine. So far she had done her best to draw attention to the two of them and she had already spotted three people who looked like potential assassins. Much to her relief, neither of the three carried himself like a ninja.
As the pink-haired kunoichi drained her second cup of alcohol, she noticed Kakashi raise his thin silver eyebrow at her. She scowled at his subtle reprimand and threw him a disdainful look.
"Is there a problem, Kakashi-san?"
"Yes Sakura-hime, no one told me that you drink like a fish."
"I do not!"
Kakashi simply chuckled behind his mask and proceeded to stand up. He offered his hand to his former student thereby urging her to follow. Sakura nodded in understanding and took his offer, careful to pose her next question with enough volume.
"What should we do now?"
"I thought we'd explore the ship a little, are you up for that?" Kakashi replied, his answer already prepared.
Sakura agreed and the two of them made a slow circle around the deck before proceeding to move towards the stairs descending into the cargo hold. The kunoichi tried her best to look calm and inquisitive but as they descended further into the dark and dusty regions of the ship she found it harder and harder to stay cool. Kakashi felt her anxiety and as they crossed the threshold between light and dark, he slipped a kunai into Sakura's hand.
His timing was impeccable.
Sakura immediately detected three people behind a row of large boxes and her body loosened up when she realized the intruders had no chakra control. Her green eyes moved slowly to meet Kakashi's single dark one and he nodded lazily at her. The two ninjas disappeared into the darkness and the "assassins" barely had time to react before each felt the cool edge of sharp metal at his throat.
"Who hired you" Kakashi demanded. His voice was low and smooth, just the way Sakura had always remembered it being before he went in for the kill.
"K-Koo . ." The person Sakura held a kunai to managed to stutter before passing out. In horror, the kunoichi realized that it was none other than the ship's steward she had seen in her doorway moments before and she dropped the unconscious body to the floor in shock.
"Sakura, get a hold of yourself." Kakashi warned while he quickly performed a bind jutsu on his own two hostages. The unidentified man let out a grunt of resistance but quickly succumbed to falling limply on the floor next to the boy.
"Kakashi . . . he's just a boy, the sound holdouts couldn't have hired him to attack us!" Sakura defended as she cast a sympathetic glance at the boy lying on the ground. Moonlight had since broken through the clouds and a stray moonbeam cast itself across the boy's calm face. To Sakura the boy looked like any other sleeping child and she could not fathom that he had potential to harm others.
"We know someone hired them Sakura, he even started to give us a name." Kakashi responded, slightly irked by Sakura's desperation.
"It's just . . . we don't have to kill them . . ."
"Then what do you propose we do with them."
"I can think of something . . ." Sakura trailed off as she bit her lip and tore her gaze away from Kakashi's questioning eyes. The kunoichi's delicate pink eyebrows knit together as she wracked her brain for a suitable plan.
"S-Sakura-san . . ." the boy suddenly called out, his voice laden with fright. "Sakura-san, the man who hired us is named Asai Koori . . . he has ninja waiting for you two at shore, please don't hurt my brother and me, we won't try to harm you anymore."
Sakura kneeled down and carefully examined the shivering boy. Why he had ever considered attacking two skilled ninja was beyond her but she knew he was telling the truth when he told her he wouldn't try to harm them anymore.
'Like he really could if he tried.' Sakura thought to herself.
Kakashi cleared his throat and Sakura turned to him, her eyes cold and dull. She nodded to him before molding her chakra and she heard the boy let out a tiny squeak at the sight of the green glow emanating from her hands.
"Fuminshou no jutsu!" Sakura called out as she quickly pressed her hand into the back of each boy.
Sakura cast a final glance at the unconscious bodies and she looked towards Kakashi.
"They won't remember any of what happened tonight." Her voice was even and professional and Kakashi only nodded. Behind his nonchalant face, however, he was secretly trying to figure out when the Godaime had developed memory modification jutsus.
"Sakura, I think it's best that we get off this ship." Kakashi said subtly as he and Sakura ascended the steps out of the cargo hold.
The kunoichi looked silently at him for a moment but her eyes soon slipped past him. Kakashi turned to see what she was looking at and caught sight of a lifeboat hanging placidly at the ship's side. He smiled to her under his mask and she couldn't help but grin too.
"Yuki no kuni it is then."
