A/N: I know this is coming a lot later than originally intended, but I needed time to think and perfect my mimicry of his writing style. But hey, I got this out way before Wednesday, so there's that :)

I'll do my best to make this as close to the original as possible. Please be patient with me?

Time for Chapter 18

Enjoy!

Kakashi absently scratched his cheek as he sat idly across from an old comrade of his. The slowness and mundanity of life had been a fairly common complaint of his throughout his admittedly still-limited years, but at present, it was a welcome change of pace given all that had transpired recently. Clearing his throat slightly, Might Guy, the aforementioned comrade, leaned forward across the cafe table.

"What do you plan to do? Relaxation is always nice, but you picked a bad time for it. I'm sure you know why." the flamboyant Jonin asked curiously. Kakashi sighed and briefly met the man's predictably-intense gaze.

"Yeah, yeah. The exams and such. I'll make time to think about it. Until then, I need some down time. I have a whole lot to sort out as of now." he replied tiredly. Guy raised an eyebrow and stroked his chin.

"I've avoided the gossip this time around, so I'm mostly in the dark. Care to enlighten me, my dear rival?" he asked hopefully. Though he initially considered refusing the request, the copy ninja could find little reason to do so upon further thought. Taking a deep breath, Kakashi straightened his posture and prepared his explanation.

"You already know Naruto's situation, so I won't bother explaining it to you again. Long story short, the seal broke wide open. On its own, that wouldn't be too bad. I expected it to happen at some point, even if this was a little soon for my tastes." he began, earning an attentive nod from Guy as he processed the information. Drumming his fingers on the table, Kakashi fixed his eyes on the glass in his left hand.

"The thing that makes this whole debacle complicated is why the seal broke. Satsuki just about committed suicided in defense of Naruto. Poor kid snapped after he realized what had just happened. He went wild." he said. A darker look then passed over his features.

"For around five minutes, he might have passed me up in terms of raw power. He curb-stomped a Hunter who was at least on par with me." he said honestly. Guy shook his head sympathetically and leaned back in his chair.

"The first kill is always the most difficult. I understand how he feels." he said presumptuously. Much to the flamboyant Jonin's surprise, Kakashi shook his head.

"He didn't kill her. He definitely tried his hardest to finish the job, and probably would have caused her death indirectly if…something else didn't happen." he said wearily. With one last breath of preparation, the silver-haired jonin opened his mouth to conclude his retelling of the events.

"Shikamaru made the classic mistake of getting to know the enemy a bit too well. Got himself attached. I want to feel bad for him, because for most people, it'd have been impossible to know who she really was, but he's too smart for that." Kakashi said. After a brief pause to order another glass of water, the copy ninja continued once more.

"I'll spare you the more intimate details. Long story short, he went out of his way to save her life. I let it happen on a technicality, but he got a serious verbal flogging from Naruto. Can't say he didn't have it coming, because he did." he concluded. Guy remained silent for a few moments, carefully considering what he had been told.

"Are you going to discipline him? I certainly would." he asked seriously. The Copy Ninja glanced off in the direction of the Hokage Building before returning his attention to Guy.

"That's been arranged by Hokage-sama. I have to write field reports on every single mission he participates in for the next few months. Even a few training summaries. He's got to be flawless for a while." he then let out a dry chuckle.

"Almost feels like I'm being punished. All it amounts to for me is a bunch of paperwork." he joked, drawing a classic wide grin from his comrade, followed by a look of pondering.

"Are you concerned about how he'll perform under such harsh scrutiny? That kind of pressure can break a kid his age." he inquired. Kakashi waved his hand dismissively at the notion.

"He'll be fine. He's sharp, even if he's still a tad immature. I'm more worried about how it all impacts the team's chemistry. Naruto doesn't seem keen on letting this go. At least not right away." he clarified. Guy raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Really? If I have this right, I'd expect Satsuki to be the problem moving forward. It was her life on the line, after all." he pointed out. The silver haired Jonin shrugged his shoulders and cracked a smile under his mask.

"She actually took it in stride. Well, as much as she could, anyway. She definitely didn't like what he did, but she just seemed glad to be alive." he said evenly. He then stood up to his feet and stretched his back. Guy soon joined him.

"I'm sure you've already considered this, but what do you plan to do about the seal? If stress is what broke it open, then I doubt it stays stable for long once they enter the forest." he asked. Kakashi held his silence momentarily. While the thought had crossed his mind, he didn't have a concrete solution other than simply tightening the seal directly.

"I don't think there's much I can do about it right now. I'll get it tightened if I can, but other than that, I'll bank on their preparation being enough to keep them out of that kind of danger." he answered. Guy gave a curt nod and turned to exit the cafe.

"Fair enough, then. Now, come along, my rival. The weather is perfect for a healthy jog." he declared loudly. Kakashi sighed inwardly and trudged along after his eccentric friend, who was already out the door.

'Letting you pay was a mistake. There's always a catch.'


Naruto rubbed sleep out of his eyes as he labored toward the door of his apartment. He had been awoken by the sound of knocking, and try as he might to ignore it, he simply couldn't bring himself to fully block it out. He hardly ever received visitors, so the presence of one piqued his interest whether he liked it or not.

'Ten bucks says it's just Kakashi-sensei.' he thought to himself tiredly, turning the door handle as the thought crossed his mind. As it turned out, he was incorrect. Instead of his teacher standing outside his dwelling, it was Satsuki. Very much unlike the blonde, she was fully dressed, appeared to have showered, and was wide awake.

"Kinda early to start pushing my buttons, don't you think?" he opened, hardly veiling the annoyance in his voice. The Uchiha girl glanced into his apartment and pointed past him at the clock on his wall.

"It's noon, actually. And besides, no time is too early to wind you up a little." she jeered at him. Naruto sighed heavily. Both at the fact that he had so badly overslept, and because Satsuki was as antagonistic as ever.

'She did promise me she would treat me like normal, though.' he reminded himself. When framed this way in his mind, his teammate's attitude actually lifted his spirits a tad. Indeed, nothing had changed.

"What do you want? I'm too tired to argue with you if that's what you're here for." he pressed, leaning against his door frame as he spoke. Satsuki grinned provocatively.

"You're gonna buy me lunch." she said in a far-too-pleased tone. The blonde stood up straight again.

"Even if I wanted to do that, which I don't, I'm broke. You know that as well as I do." he shot back. The raven haired girl snorted and lightly kicked him in the shin.

"We got our paychecks for the escort assignment yesterday morning. You've got money." she corrected. Naruto's left eye twitched. Either she was exceedingly hungry, or bound and determined to needle him. Likely both.

"You suck, you know that?" he grumbled. Satsuki smirked and stepped back away from his front door.

"And you swallow. Now go shower and put a shirt on." she ordered him. The Jinchuuriki's face gained a light shade of color at the realization that he was, in fact, shirtless. Begrudgingly deciding to do as he was told, Naruto shut his front door and threw together an outfit from his limited selection of clothing, and took a brief shower. Five minutes later, he emerged from his bathroom to an unnerving sight.

"Who said you could come in here?" he asked irritatedly. Satsuki was seated cross-legged on his couch with a shameless look on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Nobody said I couldn't. Then again, it's kind of a mess in here." she replied, making a wide gesture around the living room. The blonde quickly scanned the room to ensure that she hadn't stolen anything.

"I could report you for trespassing." he threatened, though he hardly meant it as anything more than a come back. Satsuki stood up from her seat and began walking toward the door.

"The village loser is gonna put a pretty girl in jail, huh? I'm shaking." she retorted lightly. Naruto muttered an insult regarding his appearance under his breath, but didn't dare raise his volume high enough for her to hear him as he followed her out of his apartment. Quickly catching up with his teammate once they were in the hallway, Naruto took a sideways glance at her face. Unsurprisingly, she looked pleased with herself.

"We're splitting the bill." he decided aloud. Satsuki gave no verbal response, but a moment later, Naruto tripped over her out-reaching ankle and stumbled forward, barely managing to catch himself before crashing down the stairs ahead.

"What was that? Couldn't hear you over your two left feet." the Uchiha girl asked with faux innocence. The blonde wanted with every fiber of his being to strike out at her, but that would mean letting her bully him, and he wouldn't let her enjoy herself anymore than he already had.

"I said that we're splitting the bill. I've still gotta, you know, pay rent." he said as calmly as he could given his rising temper. Satsuki strolled past him and down the first few steps.

"Can't relate. I basically own a neighborhood free of charge." she said proudly, though her voice held an undertone of veiled sadness. Naruto opted to change the topic, having easily detected the undercurrent of her mood.

"Got any news on what exactly we're gonna be getting up to as a team?" he asked. Satsuki glanced back over her shoulder at him and shrugged.

"Nothing specific, but I doubt much changes. Probably just more D-ranked assignments." she said. Before Naruto could say anything in response, the Uchiha girl corrected herself.

"Well, actually, I did hear that the Chunin Exams are coming up next month." she recalled. The Jinchuuriki gave a skeptical look as they both reached the ground floor of the apartment complex.

"We've been genin for less than two months. Feels a little soon for that sorta thing, don't you think?" he said pointedly. Satsuki pondered his logic briefly.

"Sure, but we also survived and completed what was pretty much an A-ranked mission. We've got the resume for it based on that alone." she countered. Naruto squinted a bit as they exited the building and stepped out into the open sunlight.

"I kinda feel like that was a fluke." he said honestly. Satsuki glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and studied him. She then allowed herself to laugh a bit.

"I died, and you turned into an oversized wolverine. Definitely not the most consistent process for completing assignments." she said humorously. Naruto rolled his eyes and kicked a rock into the side of a nearby garbage can as they walked along toward wherever Satsuki had in mind.

"You didn't even see what I looked like." he muttered. The raven-haired girl brushed a strand of her dark hair behind her left ear.

"True. You probably weren't oversized. You're shorter than me." she relented. Naruto prickled at the jab to his ego. Straightening his posture as much as he could, he was dismayed to find that she was correct.

"Not my fault you're a giant." he said in an attempt at deflection. Satsuki snickered and pulled him off down another street to their left by his shirt collar.

"I'm five foot eight. You're just short." she said. They then fell into a neutral silence. Within the next several minutes, they reached their destination. Once they were standing at the restaurant's entrance, Naruto shot a glare at his teammate.

"Oh, hell no." he said bluntly. It was an upscale establishment, to say the least. Entry usually required a friend on the inside, or money. And needless to say, the blonde had neither. Satsuki gave him a smug look.

"What? A little too nice for you?" she asked. Naruto gave her a bored look and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"No, I just don't feel like being a circus animal for a bunch of rich assholes." he said sharply. The Uchiha girl's lips pulled into a smirk.

"I'm rich, and you definitely think I'm an asshole, so I don't really think going in there would change much." she said. Naruto turned on his heel and began walking across the street toward a much cheaper eatery.

"Yeah, but in your case, it's just blood money." he fired back. He had known it was a vicious retort when he'd thought of it a moment earlier, but he hardly cared. Satsuki's eyes widened just a tad at his words.

"Fuck you." she hissed as she reluctantly followed him to his chosen restaurant. Naruto grinned to himself. For once, he had beaten her.

"At least get me drunk first." he said jokingly. Unlike every other time he had taken a shot at her, Satsuki didn't reply. Instead, she silently sulked as she walked into the affordable cafe after him.

As a silent apology for his final quip, Naruto did, in fact, buy Satsuki lunch that day.


Shikamaru kept his eyes fixed firmly ahead of him, his field of vision jarring slightly with every heavy step he took along the dirt road of Konoha's eastern mainstreet. It was late, nearly eleven o'clock, and he was out on a jog. He had always hated running. It was boring, exhausting, and made him painfully sore for days to come afterward. Unfortunately, he had little say in the matter. His mother had demanded that he take a three mile run every night before bed as punishment for his actions in the Wave Country.

'I'd have taken a basic grounding over this any day of the week.' he mentally complained. Despite his dislike of the punishment, he was well aware that he had little room to fuss. He deserved to be reprimanded and disciplined. Truth be told, he had been let off easy as a show of good faith and confidence. Shaking these thoughts from his mind for the time being, the genin picked up his pace a bit. The sooner he was done, the better.

He was roughly a mile and a half in, and he was already exhausted. Compared to his teammates, he was in awful physical shape. Finding that his small, yet extant competitive side flared up a bit at this notion, Shikamaru clung to the feeling of inadequacy.

'It's a drag, but I'm not gonna be useless. I'll do more than just sit by and watch next time.' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he pushed up his pace even further. He was soon bordering on a sprint. He was now fueled by a new emotion. One other than annoyance or resignation.

He was angry with himself.

Time and again, he gave the minimum amount of effort. He had nearly flunked tests he easily could have aced had he bothered to study for even a single hour. He had scraped by his physical tests when basic exercise would have made them simple. Worst of all, he had been careless in the face of danger. He had always prided himself in his ability to 'go where the wind took him', as he liked to tell himself, but he had now learned the hard way that there was no room for complacency in his life as he now knew it.

'You put your teammate's lives in danger because you got all up in your feelings for a stranger. Satsuki almost died because of you.' he berated himself. His legs ached and his legs burned, but he didn't care. The pain was warranted.

'And you got what you wanted. Haku survived. You got away with murder, you selfish dick.' his inner voice continued. Only a mile to go now. He was running on empty from the blistering pace, but he did not allow himself to slow down.

'You could have stopped her before the fight even started. You had her wide open and comfortable. You knew it was her. You fucking knew.' he chided himself further. For as much as he wished he was lying to himself, he knew that this was the first rush of self-awareness he had experienced since the mission. He had to face the facts. And they were ugly. Half a mile left. The end was in sight. The sector's clinic was visible in the distance. It had been his starting point for the triple-mile loop he had mapped out for the run.

'But you didn't stop her, did you? You kept on coming. You kept on lying to yourself. You let your feelings take control. You created the disaster that came next.' he mentally bellowed. He promptly tripped over his own feet and took a hard forward fall.

With his face in the asphalt, Shikamaru dug his fingers into the rough ground. He wouldn't let it happen again. He would ensure that fact even if it killed him.

"I'll put you guys first next time. And every time after that." he wheezed aloud as he dragged himself to his feet and hobbled past the clinic to complete his run with a badly scraped knee and a few pointed pebbles stuck in his forehead. Unbeknownst to him, his final crash and subsequent declaration had not gone unheard.

As Shikamaru trekked his way home, a certain blonde Jinchuuriki slipped out of the alley, a spark of respect having been reignited.


A/N: I have no idea if I managed to capture Jack's style with this chapter, but I hope it was close enough. Not a ton happened, but I feel like some basic character moments are a good way to pick this back up after such a major arc.

As he used to say,

Read and Review! :)