Kuroko groaned as he woke up. Again—it was the third time. He'd had trouble sleeping, because every time he would move, the discomfort of his achy muscles would wake him up.
Like the Akimichi had warned him, the warnings and side effects were labeled clearly on the container, the medicine had made his muscles stiff when he woke up. Kuroko didn't really think that it would be that bad, but oh how he was wrong. He was up earlier than Shikamaru would ever willingly wake up at without an incentive and was at a loss of what to do. The sun was just coming up over the horizon—the sky was actually clear for the first time in a while—and shining brightly off of the snow.
Kuroko put on his clothes—not without some difficulty that is—and almost toppled over in his struggle, which in turn would have startled the sleeping Shikamaru. He didn't want to wake him up without a reason to since Shika could be grouchy when woken up. He stiffly walked to the stairs and frowned. There was no way around it.
He gulped, carefully taking steps down when, "Ack!"
There were a series of thumps as he tumbled down the stairs. Kuroko groaned quietly in pain before he got up and shuffled his way to the kitchen where he could hear Yoshino's humming.
"You're an early riser Kuroko-kun." She didn't even look away from her task at hand, cooking breakfast, to greet Kuroko, "Good morning."
"O-ohayo Yoshino-san."
She turned around and placed a pan on the counter, "I heard quite the commotion, are you alright?"
"I, uh, fell down the stairs… B-but I'm alright!" Kuroko reassured her before she went all mother hen, "I-Is Shikaku-san around?"
"Hmm… If you say so," she sounded unsure. "He should be in the living room."
"T-thank you." Kuroko would have bowed, but his body rejected any unnecessary movement. He shuffled awkwardly to the living room, stepping over the seam of the sliding door, and approached Shikaku who was reading the Konoha daily paper.
Shikaku flipped the paper to the next page, "Kuroko-kun," he yawned, "good morning."
"G-good morning Shikaku-san… Uh… I was wondering if you would be a-able to help me with something?"
"What is this, something?"
"The side effects of my medication is making me really stiff… I was, uh, hoping that you might be able to help me stretch?"
"Lactic acid," Shikaku determined immediately. "Try jogging around the yard for ten minutes. Afterwards, do simple stretches."
"A-ah, hai!"
The jogging was a different kind of pain that he wasn't used to, the tension in his muscles was almost unbearable. He never had any problems with his flexibility before, but with these side effects, he couldn't even raise his arms past his shoulders.
A few minutes into his jog, he could feel himself start loosening up, it still hurt, but he was actually able to run instead of hobbling around the yard. The snow didn't help either, but it was pretty to look at, at least. When he was done, he sat on the outdoor hallway and took off his boots, banging them together to get the snow off.
Returning indoors for the warmth, he sat down on the floor and started stretching.
He heard a door slide open and looked up from his position.
Shikamaru blinked. Could Kuroko get any weirder? Kuroko had his legs bent up so they both rested on his shoulders.
Kuroko raised a hand to wave hello, "Uh, g-good mor—" and with a fwump, he fell sideways, losing his balance when one of his supporting arms were removed from the pose.
"You alright there?" Shikamaru asked with amusement.
"Y-yeah. The medicine's…" Kuroko trailed off, not really wanting to let Shika know, but it was a little late for that judging by the look on his face.
"Boys, breakfast!"
He was saved by Yoshino's impeccable timing.
• • • • • •
"K-Kuro-sensei!" Kuroko panted as he ran up to the Jounin. He leaned on his arm that was being supported by his knee, breathing laboured breaths. After catching his breath, he looked up and blinked. He just noticed that two other people were with him. "A-ah, h-hello Hatake-san," he greeted.
"Hello Kuroko-kun." Kakashi eye-smiled in his usual greeting.
Kuroko nodded to the unfamiliar Jounin in acknowledgment before looking up to his Sensei. "I did the morning routine you gave me. After I finished, I practiced with my chakra strings, and found something that you can do with them!"
Arata raised an eyebrow, "Something new with chakra strings?" Kuroko nodded. "Show me then."
"Here?"
"Well, there's no one else around. No civilians to freak out with your magic." Asuma huffed a laugh at Arata's humor.
"Um, alright…" Kuroko brought out a kunai out from his pouch with a chakra string. "I found that you can attach multiple things to one string."
"We can't see it, kid." Asuma decided to let him know.
Kuroko blinked, confused for a moment until he realized that the string was hidden from sight and the kunai was just floating there. "Oops," he increased his chakra output to the string and it appeared.
"You were saying?"
"I'll, um… I-It's easier to show you." He brought out another kunai with his hand and moved it so it was halfway down from the other kunai, in the middle of the string. Kuroko dropped his hand and the second was attached to the middle of the string.
"So, you found that you can not only attach things to the tip of the string, but anywhere else on it too." Kuroko nodded, "Good job."
"T-thank you, Kuro-sensei."
"Now, since you're here I'll let you know. I'll be out of Konoha for about two weeks for a mission." He gestured to his fellow Jounin behind him, "These guys will teach you while I'm gone."
"O-okay."
"Since Asuma's team still needs to go through some things, I'll teach you first," Kakashi came in. "We meet at field number seven, at seven AM." He finished talking and he did a mock salute and disappeared in a bout of smoke.
Kuroko looked up to the sky when he heard a bird's cry.
"The Hokage is summoning you Kuroko."
"Oh."
• • • • • •
Kuroko walked to the Hokage tower with his Sensei.
"I'll part with you here kid." Arata saw that Kuroko looked a bit uncomfortable, it was his first official summoning by the Hokage after all. "Oh yeah, I left notes to Asuma and Kakashi. Do not slack on the morning routine. I'll be testing you when I get back."
"O-okay. I hope your mission goes well Kuro-sensei."
Arata smiled a bit and turned on his heel. Waving goodbye to Kuroko, he went to get the supplies needed for his mission.
Kuroko went up the stairs to see a small line of shinobi by the secretary's desk. He wasn't sure if he could just go ahead or not. Shuffling in his spot indecisively, he decided to stand in the line and wait. Minutes went by and there were no more people, but the secretary didn't seem to notice him.
He waited a bit more just in case they were busy with something more important, but the lady never addressed him.
"U-um. E-excuse me?" Kuroko went on his toes and poked his head over the desk's shelf so he could get the lady's attention.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there. How may I be of help?"
"I-I was summoned by the Hokage. I… I wasn't sure if I should just go in, or…"
"It's alright," she smiled. "I'll let him know that you're here now. Please wait by the door to be called in. Since you were a bit late I let another person with an appointment go in before you so it may be a few minutes."
"T-thank you." He bowed stiffly and left. The lady smiled and went back to her work. Some people should learn from that kid. Cleaning up leaves is practically my secondary job.
While he waited, he went over an exercise his Sensei had taught him. It wasn't anything dangerous, so he thought it would be alright to practice it, he summoned up some chakra and guided it around the surface of his body. Perhaps Kuroko was waiting a little too close to the door—because when it opened unexpectedly he jumped. And by jumped, he jumped. He hit his head on the ceiling.
Danzo Shimura was a man hardened by war, known as The Darkness of Shinobi for a reason. He had experienced many a battle. So, when he opened the door, he did not expect to see a child startle so much that they jumped and hit the ceiling. He blinked at the oddity that clutched their head on the ground. He did notice that the child made no sound other than the thump of his head hitting the ceiling.
"A-ah… S-sorry for blocking the door…" His eyes narrowed when the kid had an odd blank mask on. He would have to inquire Hiruzen about this boy. "Sir?" Kuroko tilted his head in question.
"You may come in Kuroko-kun." Hiruzen chuckled. From his spot at his desk, he was able to see the spectacle.
"O-okay. Sorry for the wait Hokage-sama. I-I wasn't sure if I was s-supposed to wait in line or not."
"It's quite alright Kuroko-kun," he smiled and looked to Danzo. "Please close the door on your way out, Danzo."
Kuroko blinked, "Shimura Danzo?" he questioned under his breath. He briefly remembered a history lesson from the academy. He was one of the village elders, and he just made a fool of himself in front of him.
"Now, to address the issue I summoned you for." Kuroko turned to face his Hokage and his back straightened. "Someone has issued an anonymous report that I worry may be true," he put down his pipe on the stand he had for it, knocking the ashes out of it with a whack. "I fear that the report is true and wish to hear an honest answer, Kuroko."
"A-and this i-is?"
"The report states that you have been living on the streets since before your last year of the academy."
Silence.
Kuroko's eyes widened. He started feeling anxious. Wondering who it was who told him, who they were, and now he wondered if his Hokage's opinion has changed of him. It was humiliating. It took Kuroko a moment, a moment of self-loathing, but eventually, he nodded.
"Why haven't you come forward about this issue?"
"I—… I don't know… I didn't know who t-to ask…" he anxiously tugged on his poncho. "I didn't want to ask for help…"
"Why is that?"
"I don't like asking for help… with personal issues."
There was a bout of silence from Hiruzen as he looked through some papers, finding the one he was looking for. "The Nara's have been friendly to you. I'm sure they would be willing to let you into their household for the time being."
"But… I don't want to bother them…"
"I already have the papers signed by the Nara's. They have agreed. Now it is just up to you." Hiruzen could feel the uncertainty coming from Kuroko. "Go there Kuroko-kun. If you still think that you're causing trouble by being there, then wait until you become Chunin."
"Chunin?"
"Yes. Chunin are allowed standardized apartments along with Jounin. Now all I need is your signature."
"O-okay," and with the form signed, with his admittedly odd signature, he was officially under the Nara's household for the time being. Kuroko bowed to his Hokage. "T-thank you… Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen smiled, "You are dismissed. Gather your things and move in tonight."
"Oh, and Kuroko-kun?"
"Yes Hokage-sama?"
"I would like you to tell your sensei of your predicament. When you are ready of course. Have a good night Kuroko-kun."
"Y-you too, Hokage-sama."
• • • • • •
Kuroko didn't have very many belongings, but he did sneak into his old house to get some of his clothes and other items. Like a stuffed cat that his father gave him when he was a kid. It had sentimental value and reminded him of the good days.
When he arrived at the Nara's household, he stared at the door for a minute, nervous to just walk in. He was about to knock when the door opened.
Shikamaru looked blandly at him, "You can just come in you know."
"Oh, so you decided to stay!" Yoshino said after she saw the bag under his poncho, she brought him in for a hug, "I'm happy."
"You're going to live here now?" Kuroko nodded in reply to Shikamaru.
"I've already got your room ready! Come in, I'll show you." Yoshino was excited to see Kuroko's reaction and all but dragged him up the stairs. Shikamaru followed just to make sure that his mother didn't emotionally scar Kuroko any more than he probably was.
Yoshino opened the door and gently pushed Kuroko in. The first thing he noticed was the bed, it had that fluffy blanket that he loved, and beside it was a long fluffy body pillow.
"Do you like your room?"
"It's great Yoshino-san. Thank you."
"It's right beside Shikamaru's room, so you boys can do whatever you boys do." She smiled and ruffled Kuroko's hair. "Now, I'll call you two when it's time for dinner." She disappeared down the hallway, "And take that mask off. It's banned in this house!" She shouted and continued down the stairs.
"You heard the woman."
Kuroko laughed lightly at Shikamaru's tone and placed his mask on his side table. He also took off his poncho and hung it up on one of the series of hangers that was on the wall beside the closet. For a moment he just stood there, looking around in awe. Then he looked back to the bed. A squeak of delight came out of him as he jumped onto the bed and hugged that large pillow Yoshino had set out for him.
Shikamaru shook his head, "You're weird." There was a fwump as a smaller pillow made contact with Shikamaru's unsuspecting face, and another when it hit the ground. "Well… I'll just leave you here."
Kuroko didn't even acknowledge Shimakaru leave as his face was buried in that pillow and he wrapped himself up in the blanket. He started thinking about everything that had happened recently. "If Sensei knew…" He thought about how he would react, but didn't come up with anything. He knew his Sensei well enough that he wouldn't freak out upon seeing his… appendages. But he wasn't sure how he would treat him afterwards. "M-maybe I'll ask Shikaku…" he yawned.
I wonder what training with team seven will be like…
And he dozed off into a deep sleep.
• • • • • •
Shikaku walked up the stairs to get the boys for dinner as per his wife's orders. He got his son first as his room was the closest to the stairs. "Shikamaru, dinner."
"I'll be down in a minute."
"Then get Kuroko too."
When Shikamaru finished the page, he put his book away and went to get Kuroko for dinner. "Kuro—" he stopped himself when he opened the door, "Huh." He walked up closer to make sure if he was actually asleep or not, but he was definitely asleep by the looks of it. Kuroko was hugging the pillow Yoshino had gotten him and was wrapped up in the blanket too.
He closed the door and he went to the dining room.
"Shikamaru? Where's Kuroko?"
"Sleeping. I couldn't bring myself to wake him up."
• • • • • •
Kuroko blinked when he looked around the room. "Where…" then he remembered what he was doing in a bedroom. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. His eyes drifted to the clock on the wall and it showed that it was six fifteen AM.
Wait… six fifteen?
"T-training!" Kuroko hurriedly got ready and ran out of his bedroom. He silently ran down the stairs as to not wake anyone up. He only stopped in his rush when someone called his name.
"Kuroko?"
"Y-yes?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I-I need to get to the training fields."
"Not before a proper breakfast you aren't," she said sternly. "Now sit down. I can whip up something for you."
She heated the portion of dinner she left aside for Kuroko and made some fresh rice and cut up some vegetables to go with it.
"You won't be able to train efficiently without a full stomach." She smiled as Kuroko ate her food.
"T-thank you Yoshino-san. It was very good." He set down his chopsticks and got up to leave. He hurried and put his clean plates in the sink and ran off.
While running, he felt anxiety that he was short on time and ran faster to get there faster. When he arrived, he noticed that he was the only one there. He ended up getting there early.
"What are you doing here?"
Kuroko flinched and his head whipped around to see Sasuke clad in winter clothes. "A-ah, w-well… My Sensei is out on a m-mission. S-so I'll be joining your team for the week."
There was no response from the Uchiha.
Minutes later Sakura came into the clearing in new winter clothes and asked the same question as the Uchiha. She didn't seem too happy, but as long as Kuroko didn't do anything against Sasuke she would be fine with it.
"AH!" There was a shout and a finger pointed at the masked one in the clearing, "Kuroko!"
"Uh... M-me?" Kuroko also noticed Naruto wearing winter gear.
"Yes! What are ya doin here? This—"
"Stop yelling Naruto! He's here because his Sensei is out on a mission and he's joining us for the next week!" Sakura shouted back at Naruto, not even noticing that it was hypocritical since she yelled in response.
"Cool!" Naruto grinned at Kuroko, "But Kakashi-sensei's pretty lame. He's always hours late to our training sessions."
"H-hours?"
"Yeah! It sucks!"
"O-oh…" Kuroko sighed lightly under his mask, fogging it lightly. He supposed it would give him enough time to do the regimen that he did in the mornings. He sat on the ground and started stretching. The others looked at him. "W-what is it?"
"What are you doing?"
"U-uh… t-training?"
"Why? Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet." Sakura said with a huff.
"Why does he have to be here for you to train?" Kuroko asked with confusion. "H-he shouldn't force y-you to train by being here. You should train without him asking y-you too."
"Humph, like you know anything." Sakura crossed her arms and turned away from him and to Sasuke.
Kuroko disregarded her remark and continued stretching. Afterwards, he did laps around the field.
"Well… I'll train too then! Hey, Kuroko! Lemme join in too!" Naruto ran off to follow Kuroko in his laps.
When Kuroko sneezed, he made a mental note to get winter clothing when he wasn't busy. His old tattered poncho could only do so much.
• • • • • •
Hatake Kakashi wasn't late to his team all the time just for the sake of being late—well… most of the time. There was also a second purpose. Teamwork. Team seven had terrible teamwork with the dynamic they had. It was also to get them to be more independent as a team. He was hoping that eventually they would start training together when he didn't show up on time.
So here he was, sitting in a tree, observing if Kuroko would help make a difference in his team.
"Nee, Kuroko, wanna spar?"
Kuroko tilted his head in thought, "Uh, well… I-It would be better to wait for Hatake-san."
"Why?"
"For supervision."
"Oh."
"S-so what have you l-learned since becoming Genin?" Kuroko asked with curiosity.
Naruto frowned, "Nothin."
"N-nothing? Not even tree walking?"
"What's that?"
"It's—"
"Sorry I'm late my cute little Genin!" Kakashi appeared in the field with a bout of smoke. "An old lady was stuck in a tree trying to get her cat down, and I just had to help them out."
"YOU'RE LATE!" Both Naruto and Sakura shouted in rage. Kuroko winced at the volume.
"Ma maa," Kakashi eye smiled at the group. "Now since we have a guest for the week, let's do something different."
"Are we actually going to train?" Naruto asked hopefully.
Kakashi nodded at his eager student, "Yes, but not right now. We'll be doing missions first."
Two out of the three members of team seven groaned. Kuroko wondered why. Missions couldn't be that bad. Could it?"
• • • • • •
"How many times does this demon cat escape?" Naruto muttered under his breath. The headset that he had on caught the sound and it carried to the other members.
"Is Tora really that bad?" Kuroko asked.
"Yes—"
"Target spotted! Team, get into position!"
At a silent signal, three Genin ran at the cat. Tora was forced to run towards Kuroko's position and all but jumped into his arms. Kuroko pat the felines head and scratched under its chin. Once he got Tora comfortable in his arms, they started walking to the Hokage Tower.
"H-how?" Naruto asked in awe. "It scratches the hell outta me when I catch it! It hurts, ya know! Like a lot!" He frowned with a pout, "No one else tries to hold it."
"It's alright Tora."
"Thank you," Tora replied with a meow.
Kuroko smiled, "But I'll have to return you to your owner." He secured his hold on her, "It's a mission after all."
"Why are you talking to it?" Sasuke asked.
Kuroko didn't have a good answer other than, "I… don't know? A-and Tora's a her, n-not an it."
Tora meowed again as if talking to Sasuke, "That's right duckling." Kuroko cracked a smile at Tora's attitude.
"Now, now. Be civil please, Hokage-sama is waiting."
"Ah, Kakashi. Are you done your mission already?"
Kakashi chuckled, "It seems that Tora likes Kuroko."
"Sorry Tora-san, you'll have to go back to your owner."
Tora's meow was cut off when the client cut off it's air supply in a crushing hug. Naruto snickered, "Devil cat deserves it." Kuroko frowned.
"Hey Kuro."
"Shika!" Kuroko turned to see Shikamaru and his team.
"Hey Shikamaru, Chouji! Haven't seen you guys since graduation!" Naruto grinned.
"So, you're going to join our team later?" Shikamaru questioned, he just heard from Azuma earlier when they first met up. He also knew that Kuroko's Sensei was out on a mission from his Father, so he just put the pieces together.
"Y-yeah."
"That'll be next week though." Azuma voiced after closing his conversation with Kakashi.
Someone cleared their throat and they all turned their heads to where the sound came from. "While I hate to break up this reunion, I believe there are missions to do?" Hiruzen said with a puff of smoke from his pipe.
"Well, let's go back to the field my little Genin." Then Kakashi poofed away in smoke.
"I-I'll meet you guys there." Kuroko said to his temporary team members, "See you later Shika." He went through some hand signs and did a shunshin. He knew where the training field was now so he could use the technique to get there.
"I hope he didn't land in the river again," Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.
Naruto's eyes bulged out of their sockets, and he bolted, shouting, "Whoever gets there last is a sore loser!"
• • • • • •
Kakashi was waiting for his Genin in the training field reading his book. He did not expect to see a puff of smoke and Kuroko stumble out of it, landing on the ground.
"A-ah… Hi… I'm not quite u-used to landing y-yet."
"Applying chakra to your feet helps to stop the momentum," Kakashi advised.
"T-thank you. Um… so what are w-we going to be doing?"
"We're going to spar. I'll have Sakura do some stamina exercises since she won't want to."
"FIRST!" Naruto cheered and ran to the training posts. Sasuke came in a second later with his breathing slightly laboured, while Naruto wasn't even out of breath.
Sakura came in a few minutes later, panting and out of breath, "Naruto! You tripped Sasuke!" She huffed and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off of her forehead.
"Yeah, we're Ninja."
"Hmph." Sasuke scoffed and looked to Kuroko with a glare.
"Mah, mah, quiet down. We will have sparring sessions. Sakura would you like to participate?"
"No. I don't think I'd do very well." She fixed her hair from running.
Kakashi eye smiled, "I'll have you doing exercises then."
Sakura went to voice her opinion but stopped herself. The boys were just getting too far ahead. So far ahead that she felt that she wouldn't be able to catch up. If she wanted to stay with Sasuke, then she would have to start pulling her own weight. Even Naruto was doing his share, she noticed the improvement from him, it wasn't that hard to notice if she squinted and turned her head at an angle.
"Okay…"
"Naruto will spar with Kuroko first. Then Naruto and Sasuke, after will be Kuroko and Sasuke. Taijutsu only."
"Alright! Bring it on Kuroko!"
"O-okay."
• • • • • •
Kuroko panted heavily, hunched over and bracing himself on his knees. Naruto was truly a stamina monster and just wouldn't stay down until he held a kunai to his throat. He wasn't fully recovered for his match with Sasuke either and they were almost matched in speed. Kuroko was faster, but Sasuke had a stronger foundation in Taijutsu and outlasted him with his stamina.
"S-so…" Kuroko lifted his mask a bit so he could get air more efficiently. He was too out of breath and tired to care at the moment. "W-what do we… Have to w-work on, Hatake-san?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "Well, for starters you need to work on your stamina."
"I-I know…"
"Other than that, keep working on your Taijutsu style and build upon it. You just need a stronger foundation."
"Sasuke, you need to be more flexible. You're too stiff. Think outside the box a little." Sasuke nodded, taking the advice from his sensei with a grain of salt.
"Naruto, opposite of Sasuke. You need to get a firmer grasp on your Taijutsu style. It makes you unpredictable, but it gives you no option for defence."
"But Sensei, I don't have one. I never learned the Academy style properly…"
Kakashi stroked his chin over his mask, "I may know someone that can help you out there." He was thinking of sending Sakura to them too. He shivered at the thought of his cute little Genin being corrupted.
"B-but Sensei," Sakura finally regained her breath from the routine Kakashi gave her, "You're our Sensei. Doesn't that mean you should be the one teaching us?"
"Yes, it's my job. But it doesn't mean that you cannot be taught under another person too. Look at Kuroko. His sensei is out on a mission, so he got another Jounin Sensei and myself to teach him while he was gone."
"Well, this is what we will be doing for the next week. I'll see you later at the same time!" Kakashi burst into a poof of smoke.
Did he even use hand signs? Kuroko thought as the smoke dispersed. He didn't even see Kakashi go through the hand signs. Either it was too fast for him to see, or he just didn't use them.
"Kuroko… Uh, Kakashi said that I would be good at chakra control. Like tree walking. Would you be able to teach me that exercise you were talking about earlier?"
"Oh, uh, s-sure!"
"I wanna learn too!" Naruto bounded over. Sasuke followed behind him silently.
"O-okay. J-just t-to let you guys know… I-I haven't taught before, s-so my explanation m-might not be the best…"
"It has to be better than what Kakashi-sensei's done so far." Sasuke voiced. It gave Kuroko a little more confidence.
"We will need some trees then."
• • • • • •
Sarutobi looked out of the window of his office to look at the falling snow and frowned thoughtfully. His son had stopped by and the news he heard some intriguing news. Azuma told him some of what Kuroko had done to Kakashi's team and now he was curious. He had to get a report from Kakashi himself about this. He knew of the dynamic in team seven, it was horrible. Now he needed to hear it from the man himself.
"You summoned me Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked with his usual lackluster tone.
Hiruzen's eye twitched at the swirl of leaves in the room. He had come in through the window. He sighed, "Yes Kakashi-kun, I have." He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting too old for this. "I would like some insight to the effect Kuroko has had on your team."
"Ah, so you've heard from Azuma," Kakashi nodded sagely. "I'll lay out some context then. Each morning team seven is required to meet in the field at seven AM. When they do get together I wait in the trees and watch over them while they wait for me. I've been doing this in hopes for the Genin to take initiative in their training and get to know each other. Sadly, it hasn't been working out the way I'd hoped."
"What do they do?"
"Before they would just sit around and wait for me, talk a little, but nothing other than that," Kakashi sighed and adjusted his vest. "When Kuroko came on the first day he started training even when I wasn't there when he heard that I wasn't going to be there for a couple of hours. Now he has them training with physical exercises in the morning before I arrive and chakra control after missions."
He stopped talking when he heard a knock at the door.
"Come in."
At Hiruzen's voice, the door creaked open. "H-hello Hokage-sama… I-I have a package f-for you." Kuroko blinked and just realized that the Jounin he was staring at was Kakashi, "H-hello to you too, Hatake-san."
Speak of the devil.
"Package?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes in thought, it mustn't have been anything overly important if Kuroko was delivering it to him. Ah, it must have been that then. "It came out earlier than expected."
"No. You don't mean?" Kakashi asked with baited breath.
A corner of the Hokage's mouth turned up as he took the rectangular package from Kuroko. "Perks of him being my student." Kuroko looked confused but didn't try and figure out what they were talking about. Hiruzen chuckled and Kuroko tensed up when the elder ruffled his hair. "Thank you Kuroko-kun."
"Y-your welcome Hokage-sama," Kuroko bowed slightly and he vanished out of the room with a puff of smoke.
Kakashi whistled, "He didn't use the hand seal."
"He has potential." Hiruzen nodded in agreement.
"I was wondering about that mask of his…"
Hiruzen smiled sadly, "It's not my place to tell, but he feels that he needs to hide a part of himself."
"Still can't believe you got the spin-off book before it released," Kakashi frowned, and Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh at the man who was pouting in front of him.
Hatake Kakashi, pouting!
• • • • • •
Shikamaru yawned and stretched on the floor of the shogi room. He looked over to see Kuroko yawn after him. He's looking… Healthier. He's noticed that Kuroko's skin wasn't as pale as it used to be. And now that he was in his pyjamas—which consisted of blue pants and a tank top—he could see that he didn't look as skinny. Speaking of health, "Kuro."
"Mmn?" He joined Shikamaru on the floor and sprawled out, forgetting about his loss on the shogi board.
"I recall you saying something about pills a few days ago." He said idly and saw Kuroko tense up with the topic. Aqua eyes turned to him and he saw anxiousness in them.
"I…" Kuroko's lips tightened into a line and he looked away from Shikamaru. "B-because of… Um… A-anorexia… I have been taking m-medication to help." That's what he was diagnosed with by the Akimichi and a doctor.
Shikamaru scratched his cheek, "You're looking better."
"O-oh." Kuroko blinked, "T-thanks!" He smiled a little. Then he remembered something and mumbled, "O-oh yeah… I have to get winter clothes…"
"Don't let my mother hear you say that," Shikamaru smirked when he saw Kuroko's eyes widen.
"It's a little late for that I believe." The door slid open and Yoshino smiled down upon Kuroko. Kuroko gulped. "After training tomorrow. Kuroko-kun." Then the door closed.
"You're screwed."
"You're coming too, mister!"
"… Crap," Shikamaru cursed, "and don't laugh at me."
"I-I wasn—" Kuroko tried to fight down his giggles, but couldn't hold them back at the unamused face Shikamaru was making.
"S-shut up!"
Kuroko only laughed harder.
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Hello, my readers! I hope that you guys liked it. Please leave a review or something, I really appreciate it!