I claim no ownership of Naruto or Hikari Aino. Just this story :)
Constructive criticism is warmly welcomed and appreciated. So please, review if you can. Air hugs for those who do review :D
Just wanted to point out that part two of this particular filler episode is from my imagination, I didn't see the entire episode just the beginning until they went on the mission and at the very end when Kakashi reveals what's really underneath his mask. So please no flames if it sucks. This is just my interpretation of what could've happened so it's not mimicking the actual episode.
WHAT'S UNDER KAKASHI-SENSEI'S MASK?
PART TWO
"Those who break the rules are scum, that's true,
but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."
~ Kakashi Hatake
~HIKARI P.O.V~
After Sasuke ever so 'nicely' told me that we had a mission; both of us made the very reluctant trip to the Bridge. I yawned, earning a disapproving glare from Sasuke, before getting bowled over by a charging Naruto.
"Ow!" I glared up at him. "Naruto, get off me!"
I glanced over at Sasuke for assistance and received none. I was about to curse him within an inch of his life when I noticed that Naruto's normally cheerful, happy-go-lucky expression was absent today; this time replaced with a more determined serious one that he normally reserved for Sasuke and their daily challenges.
"Alright, now spill!" Naruto demanded.
I was lost for a second before my memory cruelly reminded me of what occurred yesterday. Apparently, Naruto was still convinced that I knew something about Kakashi's face and wasn't giving any 'juicy' information up. If it wasn't for the fact that I was against unprovoked and unnecessary violence, I would've given Naruto a thick ear and a strongly worded request to get over it. Instead, I gave him a dirty look and glanced at Sasuke again for help. The damn bastard was smirking and not making any moves to help me. Fabulous, it looks like Sasuke was serious about what he said last night and for once was siding with Naruto. I groaned with frustration.
It's too bloody early for this!
"Spill what, Naruto? You're not making any sense." I insisted tiredly, feigning ignorance and shoving him off before getting to my feet. Naruto grunted before pouting at me and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh, c'mon Hikari-chan! You saw Kakashi-sensei yesterday when the teme (Sasuke glared at him) and me found ya!" He whined. "Now what did you see?"
"Nothing!" I snapped. Sasuke and Naruto exchanged disbelieving looks. I chewed on my bottom lip in irritation.
"All I saw was Kakashi-sensei sitting in a tree and as usual, reading his stupid book." I reported.
"What was different about this time was that he had this random nose bleed; then he cursed and went to pull down his mask -"
"And? And?" Naruto interrupted grinning from ear to ear and earning an eye roll from Sasuke, whom shuffled off and slouched against the bridge banister.
"Like I said before, nothing." Naruto's grin slowly faded.
"You showed up greeting me loudly and when I looked back he was gone." Naruto then looked like Christmas had been cancelled. "Now you know just as much as I do." I concluded before taking a seat on the ground opposite Sasuke, sitting Indian-style. Sakura chose that moment to arrive, all smiles (directed towards Sasuke, of course) and greeted 'us' cheerfully.
"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted brightly, earning a glare from Sasuke. Sakura gulped before taking a hasty step backwards. Then she turned and gave Naruto and I forced smiles.
"Hi Naruto." Her hand flopped like a wet fish at him in a half-assed greeting.
"Hikari." Her droning, sarcastic greeting made it sound like it was a great hardship to be civil. I rolled my eyes, giving a mock salute. Naruto however ignored her completely – much to Sasuke and my surprise. His reaction shocked and annoyed Sakura (conceited bitch!) immensely.
Big deal …
"Aw! We'll never see what's underneath that stupid mask!" Naruto despaired, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground. Sakura's sharp green eyes narrowed.
"You're still going on about that?" She sneered. Naruto glanced up at her and flushed with embarrassment. Deciding that he'd rather not die of embarrassment, he walked over and sat next to me, avoiding eye contact with Sakura.
"There are worse things he could be obsessing about, you know." I retorted. I glanced over at Naruto's face out of my peripheral vision and saw a very lovely little smile on my best friend's face. Glancing back at Sakura, I saw her glaring at me. She had obviously cottoned on to the fact that I was insulting her.
Wonders will never cease.
"Hn." All three of us glanced at Sasuke in surprise as he normally ignored our petty fighting. Sakura broke the silence first.
"You agree too, Sasuke-kun?" She asked sounding an odd mixture of doubtful and hopeful. Sasuke looked and sounded annoyed.
"Tsk, if you, Sakura, haven't figured out by now that the dobe is a naturally curious person, then you're even stupider than he is." He deadpanned. Sakura looked like she'd been slapped. Kakashi-sensei poofed in from outta nowhere and smiled at us like there was no awkwardness happening at that point.
Naruto and Sakura immediately 'pounced' on him.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
"Is that really all you have to say every time I show up? I'm not always that late." He complained with a martyred voice. We glared at him, and he sighed before getting down to business.
"Alright, team!" He said, as though he were speaking to a crowd of thousands instead of a small group of four bored twelve or thirteen-year-old ninjas. "Today we will be helping out on a farm." He paused letting the information sink in. "So let's move out then!" Kakashi announced and walked off, pulling out his book and burying his 'nose' in it.
"What?! A farm, are you serious?" Naruto complained. "This bites!"
Sakura instantly cuffed him over the head.
"Quit complaining, Naruto!" She barked at him and when we opened his mouth to object, she raised a fist threateningly over his head. Naruto flinched and backed off quickly. Satisfied, she sprinted to keep up with Sasuke who tensed up the moment her arms glued themselves to his arm.
Clearly, Sakura was as dumb as she looked.
Naruto muffled a grimace and slowly got to his feet, rubbing his head at the same time and wiping away loose tears. He glowered at the back of Sakura's head.
"I don't know why I bother anymore." He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I don't know why you bother either. You should know better by now, Naruto." I scolded gently as Naruto nodded and continued drying his eyes.
"Thanks, Hikari-chan. That's the second time you've stood up for me." He said, referring to before when he was contemplating Kakashi's mask. I grinned and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.
"Nah, what are friends for?" I replied, nuzzling his cheek. "Besides, I'm more surprised that Sasuke of all people stood up for you." Naruto frowned and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, you're right. I better thank him too." He flashed me another brilliant smile before sprinting off towards Sasuke and Sakura. I watched as Naruto intercepted them and sheepishly scratched his golden head as he thanked Sasuke. The stoic raven looked mildly surprised, but just shrugged before he and Naruto fist-bumped and left it at that. Sakura, during the exchange, looked surprised that Sasuke hadn't told Naruto to 'beat it', and in her surprise let go of Sasuke's arm.
Sasuke chose that moment to slip away before Sakura was even aware he had moved.
I knew for a fact that Sakura had overstepped the mark the moment she bashed Naruto in the head with her fist. It was about time somebody gave her a cold, frosty glass of reality, and if she wasn't going to listen to me or her 'beloved' Sasuke-kun; then she is going to bloody well listen to someone with more authority. I sprinted up to where Kakashi was.
"Is something the matter, Hikari-chan?" Kakashi's voice held a tone of pleasantry but also boredom at the same time. It was like he could see out the back of his head.
"You could say that." I admitted.
"And …?" I hesitated. This could make me out to be a whiner or a snitch and land me in hot water as well.
"Sakura is being a complete ..."
"What has she done to Naruto now?" He guessed, stopping me from using a word I might regret.
'Hey!? Get out of my brain!' He smirked when he saw my shocked look.
"No, I'm not a mind-reader, Hikari-chan. But I'm also not blind." He scolded me gently. I flushed and pouted feeling like I'd been tricked. Kakashi tousled my hair.
"Don't pout, Hikari-chan. It's most unflattering to see that expression on a pretty young girl like yourself." He said playfully. I wrinkled my face.
'Ew … is he flirting with me?'
Kakashi then put his 'game face' on and raised the book back up to his face. I peered over my shoulder and was slightly amused by what I saw: Sakura was oblivious to the attention she was receiving, mostly because she had somehow reattached herself to Sasuke's arm, and was trying and failing to hold his attention. Sasuke obviously couldn't care less and was trying to tuning her out whilst frowning curiously at both Kakashi and I; and Naruto was … being Naruto – carefree, happy-go-lucky and innocent as he trailed along behind us, just enjoying the sunlight with a huge grin on his chubby face.
Smiling, I turned back to the front just as Kakashi announced that we had arrived at the farm.
~SASUKE P.O.V~
We watched Kakashi turned away from our client beaming from ear to ear and I suddenly felt dread when he clapped eyes on me and darted from Hikari and back. Nothing good comes from Kakashi 'smiling' like that. It was clear he was up to something, and I had a feeling Hikari was involved.
'What the fuck are you up to?'
"We have several jobs to finish today." Kakashi pretended like he was seriously thinking about where he was assigning us. All I could think was:
'Please don't put me near Sakura. I don't care what I do, as long as it's far far away from HER. She never leaves me alone!'
"Sasuke-kun and Hikari-chan," Inwardly I relaxed. "You two are hoeing the fields and planting seeds." Hikari pulled a cautious face while I smirked. Presumably she was thinking back to when we had to hoe some nut-job's field without gardening tools.
"I just hope it's the right way, not the weird way." I heard her muttering underneath her breath as Kakashi turned to Sakura and the dobe, who was surprisingly quiet and giving Sakura nervous glances. Sakura was looking hopeful and casting excited looks in my direction.
"Sakura ..." Kakashi looked at Sakura with a suspicious calculating look that indicated that he had an ulterior motive for her. Naturally she was oblivious as she stared at our sensei with eager, excited eyes that darted back and forth between Kakashi and me, impatient for the task.
"You'll be working in the barn, milking all the cows." I smirked.
'Visiting relatives, huh?'
Sakura looked anguished that she was (thankfully) nowhere near where the fields were and she scowled at Hikari with resentment. Then it was Naruto's turn. The dobe had been acting very strangely today, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Sakura after she hit him this morning. Kakashi smiled (as much as he could with that retarded mask over his face).
"You are repainting the farmhouse." He announced holding up a giant drum of white paint, a white tipped stick which was used to stir the paint, and a paint encrusted brush that Kakashi tossed at Naruto. We all glanced at the farmhouse and the size of it. Hikari let out a low whistle.
"Aw, man!" Naruto whined. He managed to grab the paintbrush before the hardened bristles could smack him in the face. I didn't envy him the task, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. But only a little – do like to see him squirm.
"Alright then, off you go!"
Kakashi waved before retreating to a nearby peach tree and disappeared up into the foliage to read his porno book. Naruto glared at the paint brush and then the farmhouse he was supposed to paint before stomping off with our client trailing after him, rattling off instructions. Sakura threw me a longing look and Hikari an envious one before blowing a kiss and hurrying off towards the barn. Two seconds later, her outraged yell could be heard. I grinned and couldn't help but snicker at her misfortune. Clearly, there were a lot of cows to milk.
Someone tugged on my sleeve.
"C'mon Sasuke, let's get started before it gets way too hot." Hikari picked up a sack full of seeds, staggering slightly underneath its weight before walking towards the fields. I nodded, following and grabbing another sack and the two hoes. I caught up with her easily.
"I know you're up to something." I said. Hikari froze before turning slowly and looking at me.
"What do you mean?" I gave her a look.
"My sharingan does a hell of a lot more than just copying jutsus. If you remember from our fight with Zabuza, you would know that it can also be used to read lips." Hikari went as pale as milk.
"How much did you read?" She demanded, eyes narrowing. I smiled, shaking my head before picking up the two hoes and advancing towards her.
"That you're out for Naruto's best interests." I replied, handing Hikari her hoe watching her avoiding my eye. I hooked my hand underneath her chin and raised it to eye level.
"Stop freaking out." I suggested, agreeing that Sakura had gone too far. Hikari relaxed and nuzzling her face into my hand. I flinched and frowned, hastily taking it back. While my feelings for Hikari had grown, I wasn't exactly comfortable expressing that kind of affection. I felt a little guilty at the hurt expression she gave me the moment I retracted my hand. I swallowed before continuing what I had been planning to say.
"You're a great friend, Hikari. Naruto is clearly very lucky to have somebody looking out for him." I tried not to sound bitter, but apparently she was too smart for her own good because picked up on it and frowned at my tone.
"That's what Naruto told me too." She smiled. I felt a hand tugging on my chin and turning my head to face her. She was frowning.
"I would do the same thing for you in a heartbeat." She murmured, eyes smouldering. I brushed away her hand, frowning and feeling uncomfortable.
"I don't need anyone looking out for me. I can take care of myself!" I started attacking the soil savagely, resenting the fact that I was feeling embarrassed.
"Bullshit."
"I beg your pardon?" I turned to see her glaring at me with her hands on her hips. I flinched - her stance reminded me painfully of my mother when she was cross with me.
'Don't start crying ...'
"You heard me." Hikari looked worried, "You don't have to act so high and mighty all the time." I glowered at her before turning my back and continuing my task.
"You're not fooling anyone." I heard her whisper. I felt the anger rising and I jerked my head towards her to put her back in her place, when I saw that she had moved quickly to the other side of the field and was currently digging up the soil. My stomach started twisting into knots and for a second I considered wondering over, dragging her somewhere private and apologising to her in my own way.
"She's right you know." I bristled before turning and glaring at Kakashi.
"Mind your own business." I felt him grab the handle of the hoe and I unwillingly glanced up to see him scowling down at me. I struggled with the hoe, trying to remove it from his grip but he held it steady and I couldn't budge it.
"The 'tough guy' act. It's getting old, Sasuke." I glared at him.
"It'll get you into a lot of trouble one day, and the sooner you realise that the better. Think about it or you'll regret it one day." Kakashi warned me before moving off to check up on Hikari who I saw greeted him half-heartedly. I snarled, taking out my frustrations on the soil.
Who the hell did he think he was? Talking down at me in that condescending fashion like he was my father. The seal on my neck flared up, sensing my vengeful mood and I hissed from the pain. I could hear Orochimaru's voice egging me on, telling me to give in to the hate and fear.
"Shit!" I could feel my eyes stinging, and I realised to my horror and disgust that I was starting to cry. I hastily drew my arm across my eyes, fighting the valid reasoning in Kakashi and Hikari's words. I cannot show weakness. That was the last thing that I wanted the dobe or even Hikari to notice. I don't want her opinion of me to decrease.
~KAKASHI P.O.V~
I rolled my eyes as I observed Sasuke savaging the field in one of his temper tantrums. I allowed one of my legs to dangle off the Peach tree branch I was sitting astride of as I mulled over my thoughts.
'Okay, at this moment I have to deal with a paranoid, jumpy blonde jinchuuriki; a highly possessive fan girl with anger management issues; a troubled, defensive and smitten Aino clan member; and a moody and resentful Uchiha who refuses to come to terms with his less than favourable attitude. I still can't get over how much he reminds me of myself when I was his age; especially when he fights non-stop with Naruto.
That reminds me of my own rivalry with Obito way back when. Sasuke deserves a chance to be happy and to be distracted from the tragedies of his life. But I guess I should be thankful that Naruto and Hikari are positive influences for him. And, I'll admit, it's extremely amusing to see that stubborn brat seeking furtive glances at Hikari when he thinks she's not looking. I'm just counting the days until these two finally come to their senses and 'smell the roses'.
God, I love a good romance … and a little nookie on the side. Tee hee!
My main headache, however, is Sakura. I am a little insulted and disappointed with Hikari-chan's lack of faith in my observational skills and so clearly believed me to be blind and ignorant of Sakura's atrocious behaviour. Not to mention her very disturbing affectionate behavior she exhibited around Sasuke. It is definitely not befitting of an aspiring kunoichi – which is a shame, really.
I keep asking myself why I even signed up to be a squad leader in the first place. Oh right … for the extra cash, and because I was 'requested' to keep an eye on both Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto: so he didn't lose control and unleash the Nine-Tails Kyuubi upon Konoha once again; and Sasuke: so he doesn't give in to temptation because of Orochimaru's curse mark, and lose himself to evil. Because not only would that ruin his career as a ninja and his life, but I also suspect that it would destroy the res t of his teammates.
In particular, the two that he trusts and loves the most: Naruto and Hikari.
I am definitely not getting paid enough for this. But alas, I promised the Third Hokage that I would, god rest his soul. But who knew I'd be dealing with such trivial and petty bullshit!? It's enough to do everybody's head in-' a sudden foreign chakra spike attracts my attention, and I lower my book to inspect my team: Naruto was having a heated argument with our client over something to do with painting.
'Alright, I see nothing unusual there. But I may have to intervene if Naruto's bad temper and idiotic ways interfere.' I hopped down from the tree branch and sauntered over to the nearby barn. I glanced in to see Sakura milking the cows as specified, but perhaps slightly more disheveled in appearance than she had been before.
'Hn, apart from her untidy appearance, there again appears to be nothing unusual.' I frowned with confusion and slipped away before she could notice me. There was nothing unusual about Sasuke and Hikari – they were still plowing the field and trying to ignore their growing attraction towards each other, but I knew that the sudden chakra spike was definitely something to be investigated while my team was working.
'Hmm? I wonder…' The best part of the book was going to have to wait. The safety of my students came first.
~NARUTO P.O.V~
Why do I have to paint a house, dammit! This is so boring! We should be doing something fun and exciting! Like that mission we did back at the Land of Waves. I suddenly noticed Kakashi-sensei was wrapped up in that stupid 'Icha Icha Paradise' book again. I grinned in excitement.
Yes! Another chance to see underneath that stupid mask! I quickly looked around to see if that annoying old bat was lurking around before dropping the paint brush and heading over to where Hikari-chan and Sasuke were working-
"And where do you think you're going?"
I froze and spun around, scratching the back of my head guiltily. The old bat was standing there with arms crossed over her saggy boobs and her sharp brown eyes were narrowed down at me.
"Ah heh, heh."
'Shit!'
Immediately, she stomps over to me and grabs my ear. "Ow! Hey!?" My shouts grab Sasuke and Hikari-chan's attention. I scowled at the smirk on that teme's face, while Hikari gave me a 'what-are-you-up-to-now' look. I tried to twist free from her grip, but it was like the bitch had welded her hand on my ear as she dragged me back to the wall.
"Don't slack off again and get back to work, demon!" She screamed at me. I flinched at the word and saw both Hikari and Sasuke immediately bristle out the corner of my eye. Oh, great! Not another one. I forced myself not to start crying as she started laying in on me again.
"The only reason why I am 'letting' you touch my house with your filthy hands is because you're being supervised." She spat, before turning and disappearing back into her house. I scowled at her back but continued painting, ignoring the sympathetic look I felt aimed at the back of my head from Hikari.
Two hours later, I was done and free from her wrath so I chose that opportunity to rush over to Sasuke and Hikari.
"Hey! Now's our chance to come up with another plan to see underneath Kakashi's mask!"
Hikari pulled a face.
"No, not again, Naruto. I'm getting bored with that." She said, digging through the soil with the hoe. I opened my mouth to protest when Sakura-chan randomly popped up from nowhere. Hikari frowned at her.
"Thought you were milking cows?" Sakura scowled at Hikari before answering her.
"Yeah, I finished early. Kakashi-sensei said I had to help Naruto paint the house." She turned and glared at me.
"So why aren't you painting, Naruto?" I flushed as I struggled to answer. I really hope she doesn't bash me in the head again.
"You better not be slacking off as usual."
"Would you relax already? Naruto finished about five minutes ago." Hikari explained grabbing a handful of seeds and scattering them in the holes she had just made in the soil. Sakura looked skeptical – as though painting a house was an easy task instead of a boring one that I could've finished within ten seconds with about ten clones, if it wasn't for the fact that that bossy old Kyuubi hater wasn't constantly snooping around me like a bad smell.
"Are you sure he didn't just cut corners like he usually does?"
I gaped at her with offense. 'Oi bitch! I'm standing right here…' Hikari just pointed towards the farmhouse without saying anything. Sakura followed the pointed finger and gaped at the freshly painted house. I glowered at her – knowing there would be something else she'd pick on me for. I can't remember why I even liked her in the first place.
"You've done something right for once." I resisted the urge to hit her for that comment, and I was about to defend myself when Sasuke unexpectedly came to my rescue … sort of.
"It's a good effort, considering how large that house is." I grinned appreciatively, "For a dobe." He smirked and I immediately scowled at the insult.
"Teme!" I was about to ram my fist into that smug bastard's face when Hikari suddenly interrupted.
"Hey! Where'd Kakashi-sensei go?"
~SAKURA P.O.V~
We all turned to look at where we last saw Kakashi-sensei. He had gone from his perch on that Peach tree branch. I frowned.
"That's not like him." I commented and turned to see Sasuke-kun's reaction to our teacher's disappearance. I was half expecting him to be frowning contemplatively and thinking up some awesome, well-thought out plan that he always comes up with on the spot.
'Oh, he's just that fantastic.'
Instead, he rolled his eyes and 'hn'ed before continuing his job. I felt disappointed with the lack of reaction and wondered if he really cared about anything.
'Me perhaps?'
"He probably needed to take care of something." Hikari butted uncaringly, gesturing with air quotes. I wrinkled my nose when I realized what she meant.
'Ew, I don't want to think about that! That's disgusting!'
"On second thoughts, let's try looking underneath Kakashi's mask again. I'm bored anyway." Naruto's face lit up and he started bouncing around excitedly.
"Yay!"
"That's not going to work, if we don't know where he is." Sasuke-kun pointed out. I smirked smugly at Hikari and Naruto.
"That's what makes it so fun, teme." Naruto retorted, "You gotta loosen up and stop being so uptight all the time." Sasuke-kun glared at Naruto, but instead of continuing to hoe the dirt he dropped the farming tool to the ground and stretched before shrugging and shoving his hands into his pockets and sauntering after Naruto and Hikari who had regrouped next to the Peach tree Kakashi-sensei had previously been sitting in.
"Sakura?"
I stopped looking at Sasuke-kun to see that Hikari had backtracked and approached me to see if I was in or not. I wanted to refuse, but realized that attempting to see underneath Kakashi-sensei's mask again did seem like more fun than farming chores. So I nodded and ran to stand near Sasuke-kun. I just hoped that Naruto's plan didn't suck like last time. I felt like a complete idiot standing around all day looking at a stupid decoy scarecrow.
'I just hope I don't make the same stupid mistake again, especially in front of Sasuke-kun. I don't want him to have a bad opinion of me. I already know I'm not as strong as the rest of my team. But I already promised myself that I would become just as strong as they were.'
I tuned out of the plan, suddenly picturing Lady Tsunade in my head and made the mental note to approach her and ask if there was a chance that she could train me as her student. I tuned back in to hear Sasuke-kun scoffing disbelievingly at the 'plan' that Naruto had constructed. One look at Hikari told me that even she felt that the plan wasn't really thought through properly.
"If we get caught, I'm blaming you." Sasuke-kun threatened, but Naruto shrugged it off clearly overly confident that his plan would work. All of a sudden we all felt somebody's chakra spike.
"What was that?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. But it's definitely not Kakashi's." Sasuke-kun answered for once, now looking alert and serious. I noticed him subtly reaching in his weapons' pack.
'He's always so prepared!' Hikari looked a little unsure.
"Should we check it out?" Sasuke-kun shrugged but before he answered, Naruto barreled in as usual before thinking things through. Typical.
"I'll check it out!" He volunteered and darted into some nearby bushes before any of us could stop him.
"Naruto!"
"Idiot!"
"Come back here, you don't know what we're up against!"
We waited a few seconds before we heard the sounds of a struggle, then Naruto's panicked voice.
"H-hey! Who the hell are you guys!?" Naruto came rushing back out of the bushes dodging shuriken as he went.
"What did you do now!?" I snapped glaring at him for not thinking it through. Before Naruto could answer, things suddenly went weird.
"What on earth is going on here? Why aren't you kids working?" We didn't bother looking over our shoulders to know that our client had come investigating. We didn't need to say anything either because three strange ninjas came running out of the bushes to confront us. Our client screamed with fright and retreated back into her farmhouse.
~HIKARI P.O.V~
The three random ninjas that burst from the bushes were really weird. All three of them were dressed in grey shinobi pants, tan coloured shirts and chunnin vests and had white wraps with their village's symbol around their heads, and each were striking different poses. One of them was brandishing a purple bottle at us like a trophy.
"Ah! Kakashi's genin brats!"
'Kakashi? What does he have to do with them?' I slowly backed away from them, sensing something about to go down.
"Yeah? Can we help you?" I spoke up earning what appeared to be leader's attention. The ninja smirked before striding forward and seizing the front of my dress and pulling me up so I was face to face with him. I immediately struggled, trying to free myself from his grasp.
"Hey!?" Naruto growled, "Put her down!" The ninja ignored him, preferring to focus his attention on me instead.
"Yeah, you can tell us where your sensei is." He demanded, his bad breath hitting me in the face. I wrinkled my nose with disgust and struggled even harder to get free. I glanced over at Sakura out of the corner of my eye and saw her trying and failing to disguise a smug smirk with a horrified, concerned one.
'It seems our positions have been swapped. Now I'm the damsel in distress, instead of Sakura. I can see why she doesn't like this position so much …' I kicked at the ninja's shins, but realized to my frustration that he was wearing metal shin guards. A kunai whizzed past the ninja's head, and caused me to freeze as it narrowly missed mine.
"This is your final warning. Put Hikari down." I recognised Sasuke's serious and dangerous tone and realized that he had been the one to throw that kunai. I scowled.
'Note to self: kick Sasuke hard in the shin for almost impaling me on his kunai.'
I heard the ninja gulp nervously but then started laughing with 'amusement' but at the same time he didn't let me go.
"Fat chance, kid. This girl is my bargaining chip for finding your sensei—"
It all happened at once. I flew through the air at breakneck speed and found myself standing between Sasuke and Sakura who both looked extremely confused, as did the ninja whom looked at his hand in shock, obviously wondering where I had disappeared off to. The two other ninjas behind him looked shocked as well, but also a little scared.
Standing in front of us, was Kakashi-sensei.
"I don't appreciate you threatening or using my students as 'bargaining chips' under any circumstances." Kakashi-sensei stated sounding pleasant, but had an underlining hint of annoyance and seriousness within his tone. I physically pat myself down, checking for injuries. Finding none, I stared at the back of Kakashi-sensei's head incredulously just as I felt Sasuke grab my hand.
"Are you alright?" I glanced over at him, and saw that he wasn't looking at me but rather at the ninja.
"Uh … I suppose so." I confirmed and squeezed Sasuke's hand in gratitude. He squeezed back, but let go straightaway – obviously freeing his hands in case Kakashi-sensei called upon us to fight – but I did notice the increase of body temperature and I realized that Sasuke had moved closer to me, shielding me from the three ninjas. I rolled my eyes. I knew I shouldn't have been surprised. Uchihas were notoriously territorial and possessive of things they coveted as their own – whether it is family, friends, or lovers.
"Where the heck did you come from?" Naruto demanded pointing at Kakashi-sensei rudely. Kakashi-sensei shrugged more concerned about the current threat before us.
"Here, there, everywhere." He replied, "I just go where the wind takes me." The four of us pulled confused faces.
"What's he going on about?" Sakura whispered to nobody in particular.
"Who knows?" Sasuke answered. The ninjas finally decided to snap out of their dazed demenour and finally focused on Kakashi-sensei who was reading from his book, and had been since he removed me from the Leader's captive.
"Ah, copy-ninja! We meet again!" The leader of the three smirked and loudly addressed our teacher. Kakashi-sensei lowered his book slightly and raised a silver eyebrow.
"Again? I don't have the faintest idea who you are." The three ninjas sweatdropped before regrouping and forming their stupid poses again.
"Who are these bozos?" Naruto whined.
"WE ARE THE MOYA TRIAD!"
'Who?'
Each stepped forward to reveal themselves to us individually. "I'm Mo!"
"I'm Ya!"
The leader came forward and posed theatrically,
"And I'm Aniki!" Each gave a cheesy grin. Before 'Aniki' glared fiercely at a bored looking Kakashi-sensei.
"And I'm here to take revenge upon you for stopping me courting a fair maiden." I couldn't take it anymore; I just started laughing at the weirdness of it all. Naruto, Sakura and even Sasuke, who mostly just smirked, followed suit.
"Children, settle down. We must not be rude to this Mota Squad." Kakashi-sensei 'scolded' flippantly. Aniki went red faced.
"IT'S MOYA TRIAD!" He yelled childishly. Kakashi-sensei waved his hand.
"Like it matters, the point is – I don't remember such event. But even if I did, I probably did that lovely young girl some justice if she was being terrorized by the likes of you." If Aniki could get any redder he would've looked like a beetroot with steam smoking from his ears.
"Nevertheless. I will get my revenge from your treachery." Kakashi-sensei nodded in semi-agreement.
"I'm sure you will." He then stepped into a fighting stance, all whilst still holding his book.
"Have at it then."
It wasn't much of a fight to be honest. All that happened was Kakashi-sensei 'dancing' about as he dodged every attack the 'Moya Triad' threw or launched at him. Aniki was getting frustrated.
"Stop dancing about and fight like a man!" Kakashi-sensei shrugged and the 'mask' we had spent the past week trying to see beneath rose slightly, indicating that he was smiling. Almost immediately the four of us knew that the fight was over.
"Alright then, if you insist." He disappeared within a blink of an eye. We froze – Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and I because we were anticipating what was happening next, and the Moya Triad because it went so fast and they were growing nervous and scared.
"Uh, bro? Where did he go?" 'Ha! That rhymed!' Aniki glared at his brother in his frustration.
"You call yourself a ninja?! Don't just stand there, look for … AAH!" Aniki shrieked with fright when Kakashi reappeared behind Mo and clocked him on the neck, knocking him out before disappearing again.
"I'm getting out of here!" Ya panicked before taking off, much to our disgust – who runs from a fight? He didn't get far before a senbon connected with a pressure point in his neck and he dropped like a stone, knocked out. Aniki gasped at his brothers' downfall, before turning and spotting us.
"Uh oh."
Kunai were pulled free from weapons packs. Aniki grinned sinisterly and advanced on us. However, just before he could attack, Kakashi-sensei appeared behind him.
"Hi!" Aniki jumped and spun around intending to stab our sensei with a kunai, but Kakashi-sensei dodged and aimed one good, hard punch to his gut. Aniki gagged and clutched his stomach falling to his knees.
He was out cold.
"Well that was pathetic." I commented. Sasuke nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, that wasn't much of a fight at all." Sakura surprisingly agreed with my statement, "Even Naruto could've taken him on and won." Naruto's face jerked with offence.
"Huh?!"
"That's enough, Sakura." Kakashi-sensei reprimanded as he scooped up the unconscious Moya Triad and tied them to a tree. That done he turned back around and 'grinned' at us.
"Alright! Breaks over, back to work!"
We glared at him with outrage.
~AUTHOR'S P.O.V~
An hour later, the weary group of ninjas and their sensei were finally finished with their mission, and the sun was already beginning its descent. A groan drew the attention of Naruto who elbowed Sasuke. The Uchiha smacked him over the head in retaliation but turned and addressed the tied up Moya Triad with the rest of the group and a highly amused Kakashi. Aniki stirred from his sleep.
"Where am I?" He asked sounding dazed. Then he realized he was tied to a tree and then he looked horrified.
"Oh no, not again!" Kakashi chuckled and replaced his book back into his pouch.
"Welcome back to the living." Aniki thrashed wildly, jolting his brothers awake and causing them to thrash violent in bid for freedom.
"I'll get you!" Aniki promised. Kakashi frowned with disgust.
"Don't waste your time or mine." He turned and sauntered towards his students, but then paused and turned back for a final word.
"And for the record, I did remember who you were. I was just messing with you. Ya ne." He waved lazily.
Naruto sniggered – he knew from personal experience how difficult it was to get free from one of Kakashi's restraints. The team had just arrived home and were half way to the Hokage Tower to deliver their report, when the four little Genins realised something: they still didn't know what was underneath their sensei's mask. That was when Naruto decided to cut to the chase and just ask him.
But once again, Kakashi proved how much of a mind-reader he supposedly was by scaring the crap out of them saying,
"What are you four up to now?" Naruto saw his chance.
"We were just wondering what was underneath your mask." The blonde knucklehead yelled. Kakashi looked slightly exasperated.
"Is that all?" They nodded, then he smiled. "I'd be happy to show you what's underneath this mask." Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto and Hikari all held their breaths with anticipation.
"Maybe it's those buck teeth …" Sakura surmised as an image of Kakashi with buck teeth re-appeared in her memory.
"Maybe he has grouper-fish lips …" Hikari guessed. Naruto chewed on his bottom lip impatiently as Kakashi agonizingly slowly moved to remove his mask.
"C'mon already! This is torture!"
Sasuke had by now secretly wondered what really was underneath that mask and had done a very good job of hiding his curiosity. But didn't have anything to think about, just as Kakashi finally yanked down the mask to reveal …
"It's another mask to match my skin tone. Do you like it?" asked Kakashi cheerfully.
All four Genins face-faulted.
FINALLY! I've finished this stupid update – plus it didn't help that I'm currently trying to finish the last few weeks of Uni for this year. I hope that I haven't lost too many readers. Please review, and the new update will be up soon. Ya ne!