Alright. Chunin Arc has now begun.
Disclaimer: Nah
"Maybe we should just get a couple of futons." His brother muttered as he looking over the measurements of their rooms and the bed frame in front of him. "That'd be easier than trying to find two smaller beds or one giant bed to fit in our room."
Naruto pouted. "No way, we have the money from two A-rank missions and all the other D-ranks and we've only bought a couch and the bare minimum groceries. I want a good bed, Natsu! We have the money!"
Natsu sighed and ran his hand through his hair, which was out of its usual braid for once. "I know, but our apartment is really small, I'm not sure we have fit any of the good beds."
Naruto scowled at the store around them. He didn't like it, but his brother had a point. "Well, maybe we should just move. Our apartment's a dump anyway."
His brother blinked at him for a moment before looking down at the notebook in his hand with their room's measurements and their budget. "Actually, we have enough to pay for the initial fees, moving expenses and a couple month's rent depending on the place we pick and how expensive it is. As long as we keep up with our missions and manage our budget properly, it shouldn't be a problem to rent a better place with more room. Enough room to actually fit two beds…"
They stared at one another for a moment before Naruto broke out into a huge grin as he processed the possibilities. "That'd be awesome Natsu! Do you think we can afford that new one over on the other side of the marketplace. Did you see how tall it was? You think we could get an apartment on the top floor? I wonder how much it is, you know? How do you even find a new apartment? Do we just walk in and ask if we can rent one, you know?"
Natsuki smiled and shook his head. "Don't look at me. I know just as much as you do about renting an apartment, maybe we should ask Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei before we start. They probably know a lot more about it than we do and can help us find a place in a good area. I bet Iruka-sensei would jump on getting us out of our apartment. He's been clucking at it like a mother hen for years."
Naruto laughed, remembering all the times Iruka-sensei chewed out their landlord for not doing his job and fixing their appliances when they broke. "I wonder if there is an apartment we can rent in his building?"
He would love to live closer to his favorite sensei, ever since they became genin they hadn't been able to spend as much time with him. They had just got back from their C-rank turned A-rank a couple of days ago, but they hadn't seen the man aside from having ramen with him and their team the first night they got back. A thought crossed his mind.
"Do you know where Sasuke lives or Kakashi-sensei?"
Natsu laughed. "I don't think Sasuke would want to live in the same district as us, much less the same apartment building."
"True, true. But what about Kakashi-sensei? He's a jounin, you think he has an apartment or a house? Remember what the Hokage said about Kakashi-sensei completely a bunch of A-rank missions when we got back? I bet he's rich enough to have a house."
"Maybe," Natsu replied evenly. "But, I don't think he's the type to spend more money than absolutely necessary. Come on. Kakashi-sensei told us we had a team meeting at noon and it's 11:45 now."
Naruto followed his brother out of the furniture store and onto the roofs to run towards their destination. It was always a gamble whether their sensei would be there on time, excessively late or on time but hiding. Naruto thought that they shouldn't worry about the time and whether they were late if their sensei obviously didn't. However, Natsu said that it was a matter of principle. Naruto himself didn't understand what he meant by that but went along with it.
Then again he didn't always understand Natsu very well.
He frowned at his brother's back trying not to let his emotions give away the twisting in his gut. He had been learning more and more lately that there was a lot of things he didn't understand about his brother despite spending every day with him since they were born. Like how he knew their sensei so well or his hesitation with Sasuke and the Sharingan.
And, he shivered slightly, the whole affair at the bridge when Natsuki lost control of the Kyuubi.
He knew he didn't understand a lot of things, but if his brother talked to him about it maybe he could.
He caught sight of their meeting spot ahead and tried to turn his thoughts to something happier. He didn't know why his brother wouldn't talk to him about some things, but he'd do his best to be supportive and try to get him to open up.
For now, however….
He sped up and ran ahead of his brother, laughing at the way his brother's hair got in his face when Naruto accidentally created a breeze while passing him. For now, he'd nag Sasuke about where he lived and try to make his brother smile as much as possible.
"Hey, Sasuke! We're thinking about moving out of our apartment, where do you live?!" He bellowed as he landed on top of one of the arches on the bridge they were meeting at.
"Like hell, I'd tell you that. I don't want you idiots living anywhere near me!"
Natsuki laughed as he landed next to Naruto briefly before flipping to the ground gracefully. "Told you, Naruto."
Naruto grinned and jumped onto the bridge as well, though considerably less graceful much to his chagrin. "Aw, come on Sasuke don't be like that. Don't you love us?"
"No." The dark haired boy replied immediately his arms folded across his chest.
Naruto exchanged glances with his brother. Natsuki got the memo and slid slightly behind the other boy, out of his line of site. When Naruto dove forward, Natsuki snagged Sasuke's arms so Naruto could pull him into a headlock without getting his ass kicked by an irate Uchiha.
"Come on!" He grinned and ruffled his hair roughly. "You know you love us. Just admit it."
Sasuke struggled against them fiercely, but Natsuki had his arms secured behind his back. He tilted his head and gave Naruto a baleful glare. "Never."
Naruto pouted until his brother piped up in his usually bland and slightly condescending tone.
"That wasn't a contradiction. He just said he would never say he loves us, not that he didn't love us. So by that logic, he does love us, but refuses to admit it."
"I think I liked you better when you refused to look me in the eye."
Sasuke's glare could probably burn a man alive, but Naruto ignored it gleefully as he released the dark haired boy. A roundabout omission was still an omission after all. Sasuke immediately leapt at them hands in fists, but they dodge the half-heart attack easily. Surprisingly, however, instead of continuing their play fight like usual Sasuke rolled his eyes and rubbed his shoulder.
"How do you idiots even do that? You didn't say anything."
Naruto almost didn't catch the mutter. He glanced at Natsu to see what he thought only to be startled by Sasuke's wide gesture between them.
"That." He scowled at Naruto's obvious confusion. "How do you understand each other with just a glance? Is it a twin thing? You don't change expressions or tense up. You just glance at each other and then act. It's creepy."
Naruto blinked and unconsciously glanced at his brother again. Natsu looked amused.
"Is that jealousy I sense Uchiha?" Natsu said slyly. "Do you want to communicate silently with us too?"
"That a great idea!" Kakashi-sensei butted in cheerfully making Naruto jump and spun around.
His sensei was sitting on the arch with his little orange book open like he had been there the whole time.
"When did he get here?" Sasuke muttered.
"He's been here the whole time," Natsu responded blandly.
So apparently it was an arrive on time but hide day.
"Give us some warning then Natsu!" Naruto cried out, but his brother just smiled at him.
"Ahm." Their sensei cough slightly and continued when he saw he gained their attention. "Like I was saying. Silent communication is very important for shinobi since we focus heavily on teamwork. Sometimes your premade plans don't fit the situation and you can't talk to each other to strategize a new plan. I'm glad this was brought up! I was just going to make you guys do D-rank missions today, but this sounds more fun."
"What sounds more fun?" Sasuke questioned suspiciously.
Kakashi-sensei leaned forward, his eye curving ominously. Naruto took a step towards his brother as he felt a shiver go down his spine.
"So, my cute little genin. Let's play a game."
Sakura scowled at the post in front of her panting heavily. It was a struggle to move her arms up into a fight position, but she forced herself to do it. She shifted her stance, channeled her chakra and struck the post again. It shook slightly. The place where she struck was dented about an inch deep. She nearly grinned before he noticed the trace of blood and cursed under her breath as she looked down at her right hand.
Blood was speckling through the bandages meant to protect her knuckles.
"It's six in the morning. Our training doesn't start until another hour, what are you doing here Sakura-chan?" She jumped as her sensei appeared beside her seemingly out of nowhere. She would never understand how a man who coughed more than he talked could be as sneaky as him.
She blushed and tried to hide her hands behind her back, but her sensei only raise his eyebrow at her and held out his own hands expectantly. She sighed and held out her hands for his inspection.
He unwound the bandages around her knuckles slowly, hesitating slightly every time she winced. "You know when I taught you guys the tree walking technique I didn't expect you expand on it in this way."
Sakura looked away from her now free hands. They really were disgusting to look at. Bruised, scraped, swollen and bleeding. Then again, she should have expected as much when she had woken at four this morning with the idea and nearly ran over to the training grounds to try and implement it. After an hour she had to wrap her hands, but that didn't stop her from continuing despite the pain. Now that she got a good look at the result, however, she figured she must have gone overboard.
Gekkō-sensei sighed as he examined her hands carefully. "How'd you come up with the idea?"
"Um, well. I noticed yesterday that Hasegawa was still having trouble with the whole tree walking thing, especially when he got too mad. He'd put too much chakra into it and would suddenly be launched off of the tree and the tree itself would break a little. I woke up, with a thought that I could probably do the same thing with punches to…make me stronger…" She trailed off slowly looking at her feet.
"Is this about Hasegawa-kun's teasing yesterday?"
"I know he was just upset he was still having trouble with it and I mastered it immediately, but…" She hesitated. "It's still true. Even though I'm better with chakra control, I still suck at sparing because I'm physically weaker than them. I haven't won a single match!"
"I see." Gekkō-sensei coughed softly before his hands were engulfed in a green glow. Sakura watched with wide eyes as her hands slowly started to heal. He noticed her awe and smile softly. "I'm no med-nin, but I've been taught the basics just in case. It's a good thing you didn't break anything or I'd have to take you to the hospital."
Sakura nodded slowly and flexed her hands once he released them. Her knuckles still had some bruises, but they were lighter and the scratches and swelling were gone.
"Now about this whole business." He broke off coughing for a moment before continuing. "It's well and good that you recognize your own weakness and are working to correct them, but you can't just work yourself into an injury like this. You should have just told me about your idea and I would have helped you practice it in a more productive way than smashing your fists against a wooden post with varying chakra outputs to see what worked. This type of fighting style requires precision chakra control and can result in some serious injuries if done incorrectly."
"Fighting style?" Sakura perked up. She had figured that her idea had been done before, but the library wasn't open when she woke up this morning so she couldn't check.
Her sensei gave her an indulgent smile. "Yes, quite a few jounin and even chunin with good control channel their chakra during battles to strengthen their attacks beyond their physical limit. However, one woman took this idea and truly made it her own. I think your first step should be looking her up and reading what we have in the library about Tsunade Senju. I'll get you some reinforced gloves for practice and we'll move on from there."
Sakura grinned widely at him.
"However, as punishment for working yourself to injury, you'll have to participate in all of the activities today despite your tiredness now."
She deflated, her arms were already so sore. How was she going to manage training?
Her sensei chuckle and put his hand on her head. "Participate, but don't overdo it. I have several D-rank missions lined up for you guys. You can rely on your teammates, Sakura-chan. There's no shame in admitting you can't do certain things when it would hurt to do it. Hasegawa may be crude and overly gruff at times, but he won't let you down when you need it. Nor will Kenta-kun."
Sakura spent the next hour listening to her sensei's quiet lecture on chakra control and the dangers of overusing one's chakra coils silently. The rest of her team arrived with large yawns and sleepy eyes. Sakura would have smirked if she didn't feel as exhausted as they looked. It was going to be a long day.
"Alright team." Gekkō-sensei began. "We'll be doing some more D-rank missions today."
Sakura grimaced down at her feet as their client lectured them on what type of plants he wanted pulled from his garden and what type he wanted them to leave alone.
"And once you're done with that I want you to rake the yard and clean out my gutters! Got that?"
"Yes, sir." They chorused.
The old man huffed. "Well, at least you kids have some manners. The last genin team I hired was a mess. That Hyuuga boy was so rude and the weirdly dressed one tore up my yard in his excitement. The only decent one of the group was that girl!"
He went to stomp off before turning and eying them one last time. "Don't ruin my yard."
"Yes, sir." They chorused again.
They made their way over to the gardening beds to start the weeding. Sakura hesitated as her teammates knelt and began to look over what that needed to pull out.
"Um!" She started, then bit her lip.
Hasegawa glanced at her. "Out with it."
Kenta smacked him on the back of the head. "What's wrong Sakura-chan?"
"Well, I woke up early and I kind of over did it with training this morning." She held out her hands automatically as proof even though there were only some faint bruises now. "Um, my arms are really sore. I'm still going to help! But, I might be a little slower today…"
She looked at her feet.
"Ok."
She blinked and looked up at Hasegawa. He was starting to pull out the weeds near him. Kenta smiled at her.
"It's okay Sakura-chan. I can't tell you how many times Chou got chewed out by his mom for overworking himself. Just do what you can."
"Stop calling me that," Hasegawa scowled while sending them both a glare, before turning back to his work with a nearly inaudible. "Sorry for yesterday."
Leaning on the side of the client's house their sensei was smiling faintly at them.
Sakura felt a smile touch her lips. "Ok!"
After finishing several different clients lawns and finding a lost dog they went back to their usual training ground for lunch when three familiar shapes came rushing out of the trees looking worse for wear.
"Sasuke!" She shouted, standing automatically. "…and Natsuki and Naruto."
"What the hell are you lot doing here?" Hasegawa scowled in annoyance from his spot lounging in the grass.
She looked the three over. They looked a bit roughed up with messy hair and torn clothing, but what really caught her eye was the tags slapped over their mouths with a strange looking seal. The boys stopped looking around and approached them. Naruto was gesturing wildly while Natsuki and Sasuke just looked vaguely pained.
"Is that silencing seals?" Her sensei asked in an amused tone.
"Silencing seals?" She couldn't help but ask.
Gekkō-sensei coughed. "We tend to use them on prisoners. You just slap them over their mouths if they're being too loud."
"Oh!" She turned to her crush. "D-do you want me to take that off, Sasuke?"
"Bleh, she'd gone all girly again," Hasegawa muttered.
Sakura smacked him on the back of the head waiting. Sasuke simply shrugged and shook his head, looking annoyed.
"Leave it to a clan kid not to want any help." Hasegawa rolled his eyes, Sakura wanted to smack him again. Sasuke wasn't like that!
"No, I don't think that's it Hasegawa-kun." Their sensei replied in an amused voice. "That seal looks a little different than the ones I've used before. Was it altered to only allow the person who put it on you to remove it?"
All three boys nodded. Natsuki stepped forward, and Sakura nearly laughed when she caught sight of the state of his hair. She was fairly certain there was a branch stuck in there with a few leaves still on it. She tried to focus when he started gesturing slowly. He pointed at Naruto who had pulled his headband over his left eye and pulled his shirt up to cover his mouth. Then he gestured to his eyes and pointed at Naruto again.
"What."
For once Sakura was in complete agreement with Hasegawa. She turned to her sensei, but he waved her off.
"Think of this as another exercise." He coughed into his hand. "Figure out what they're trying to ask and answer the question."
The trio of boys gave her sensei a collectively pained look before turning to them. Natsuki gestured again to Naruto and then to his eyes and pointing at them.
"If you're asking if you brother looks funny, then the answer is yes," Hasegawa replied looking unimpressed.
The orange haired boy just shook his head and rolled his eyes before turning to Sasuke who just shrugged unhelpfully. Natsuki tried again, but her teammates just didn't get it. Finally, Sasuke stepped forward and tried a couple of clumsy hand signs before pointing to Naruto. They looked vaguely familiar, but Sakura couldn't quite place them. Her teammate, however, recognized them immediately.
Kenta's eyes lit up. "Oh, those are some shinobi hand signs! My dad taught me a few of those when I was a kid."
"So, what's he sayin'?" Hasegawa asked still frowning at the three.
Sasuke repeated the signs.
"Uh, target, searching…"Kenta blinked. "Oh! They're looking for a guy that looks like Naruto?"
Natsuki shook his head and pointed to Naruto's headband and shirt.
"They're looking for a guy that wears his headband over his left eye and covers his nose and mouth?" Sakura questioned.
The boys all nodded.
"Well, we haven't seen him," Hasegawa answered. "Is he the guys who stuck those seals on your mouths?"
They nodded again looking disappointed. Naruto waved his hand at Sasuke who flipped him off in return before Natsuki gestured sharply to both of them. Sasuke pointed towards the city and the other boys nodded. Naruto and Sasuke took off immediately, but Natsuki stayed behind and bowed slightly spreading his hands out in silent thanks before taking off after his teammates.
"Well, that was weird." Was Hasegawa's only comment on the matter.
Sakura couldn't help but agree.
What kind of training were they doing?
Hayate sighed heavily as he went over the paperwork again. He had been working on the packet since he had gotten home from the meeting with the Hokage and other sensei's three hours ago. As much as he wanted his team to get some experience with the chunin exam the amount of paperwork that involved putting a team through the exam was nightmarish. He had thought the other instructors were joking, but apparently, they were dead serious. He ran his hand through his hair for the fifth time and marked down some more answers.
"So, you're allowing them to participate?" Yūgao placed a cup of tea on the table beside him as she pulled out her chair and settled down.
"We've finally gotten our defenses sorted out after the Kyuubi and Uchiha incidences which has allowed us to host it here, so I think this is the best time to allow them to try it. They have gotten better these past several weeks." He took a sip of the tea despite the heat. "I think this is a good chance to allow them to see how far they need to go in a relatively safe environment."
"It should be a good experience for them." Yūgao laughed. "I remember my first chunin exam. It was an utter disaster, but I did learn quite a bit. Same with the second…and the third though that wasn't my fault."
"Was it the time you're teammate got poisoned and spent the rest of the exam in the hospital?"
She nodded. "Yeah, at the time I was so pissed, but looking back on it I'm glad he lived through it."
Hayate smirked. "It's surprising they even chose you for Anbu."
She made face at him. "Shut-up, mister, not everyone is as good as you are. Some of us have to work for it."
He laughed, but it turned into a cough halfway through. Yūgao frown at him.
"I really wish you'd get that checked out."
"I have." He sighed. "There's nothing they can do for me. I'd have to go outside the village for treatment and that's always a hassle for everyone involved. It's not like I'm dying, so I'll just have to wait and see if the doctors ever come up with something."
She scowled tracing her fingers over the grooves of the table. He knew she'd worry over this endlessly, so he changed the subject.
"So what has the Hokage order for defense with the chunin exam?"
She rolled her eyes at his blatant topic changing but answered anyway. "The usual for foreign shinobi in the village. Keep an eye on them and an ear to the ground for any suspicious activities or rumors. Our patrols have been upped in frequency and number of squads."
"Hm," He flipped the page over only to find another form he needed to read and sign. "Any suspicious activity as of yet? Who has arrived?"
"Honestly, you have a team. Didn't anyone tell you that you're exempt from defense duty when you're a genin sensei?"
"I'll be exempt when I die," Hayate muttered back, narrowing his eyes at the rest of the stack.
"You're hopeless." Yūgao sighed and stole a sip of tea from his cup. "The Suna shinobi will be arriving today. Probably a bit later than expected, they sent a message claiming to be delayed though they didn't say why. They got the Kazekage's kids with them, though so I don't think they'll be trying anything funny with us while they're here. But…"
Hayate glanced up at her hesitation. "What is it?"
"It's nothing really…It's just that the youngest one rubs me the wrong way." Yugao stared out the window. "There are rumors about him claiming he's a bit…off."
Hayate frowned. "Off?"
"Hm, yeah."
She stood up suddenly.
"It could be nothing. You know how Anbu like to over embellish things when their bored or drunk. Anyway, I have patrol duties tonight, so I should get at least some sleep in before I have to leave." She dropped a kiss on his head as she passed him. "Don't let the paperwork eat you, alright?"
"Hm,"Hayate rolled his eyes at her back before turning back to the last sheet. "Over embellish? Perhaps. Though, I still have to wonder if that one rumor really is true about the Kazekage's youngest son…"
Kurama sighed and glanced over the apartment catalogs laid out on the table in front of him, his sensei had apparently managed to snag while leading them on a merry chase around the village. Then again they had been chasing him for four hours till they cornered him after he came out of a meeting with the Hokage and the other genin instructors, so there was a large possibility he had managed to grab the catalogs one of the many times they lost track of him.
Kurama frowned and glanced at the window that he had trapped with some of Naruto's supplies out of spite.
"Hey, Natsu?"
He glanced over at his brother, who was hesitating in the doorway of their bedroom. "Yes, Naruto?"
"Well, um, I just wanted to say if you wanted to talk to me then I'll listen." Naruto waved his hands aimlessly. "I mean, you know, anything that's bothering you…"
Ah, he should have seen this coming. Kurama shifted his chair to look at Naruto fully. "Is this about the whole incident with Sasuke and me not feeling comfortable with Uchiha's?"
Naruto nodded slowly and bit his lip. "I just don't get why ya didn't tell me, you know? I could have helped you, you know. I could have told you that it was just a silly fear from the demon."
(Silly? The horrid eyes that control him, that subjugated him, that led to his imprisonment was silly? No. No, no, no.)
Kurama couldn't help the way he tensed, but he tried to keep his expression neutral.
"Naruto-"
"No. Natsuki, this is important." Naruto pulled away from the doorway to stand in front of him. Kurama, still sitting, looked up into the boys surprisingly serious eyes. "I've been thinking about this since that night. We can't keep things like that from each other, you know? We're…we're jinchuuriki and both of us has lost control before. I've been trying real hard not to give into that damn demon and I want to make sure you don't either. I knew something was up with you and Sasuke, but I didn't know what. Ya gotta talk to me, you know."
"Wh-what do you m-mean N-Natsu? Wh-what are you saying?!" Fearful blue eyes met his own. "You think…you're saying that we have a…a monster inside of us? A-A demon that almost d-destroyed the village?"
"I…" Kurama shifted his eyes away.
(How could he possibly explain to Naruto that he was the damn demon? The damn demon who killed countless other people and nearly destroyed Konoha. The damn demon who was the reason that Naruto grew up hated and without parents.)
Naruto seemed to sense turmoil because he leaned over and hugged him tightly.
"Natsu, no matter what it is I'll listen, ok?" Naruto whispered. "No matter what you're still my little brother. You seem so sad sometimes Natsu, I just want to help you."
You…you softhearted knucklehead. Kurama smiled ruefully. Honestly, you are too kind for your own good.
"Is, that is…did the demon kill our parents, do you think? The Hokage always said our parents died that night…do you think…"
He flinched and bit his lip. Naruto claimed that he'd love him not matter not, but how could he? After all that Kurama's done under the Sharingan and of his own free will when he blindly attempted to prevent his resealing. How could he actually tell Naruto to his face that he was the one who killed his parents? He killed Iruka's parents among so many others.
(I'm sorry, Naruto. You're brother's a coward.)
"I'm sorry Naruto. Thank you, but…not right now. I'll talk, eventually, I promise…but just," He took a breath. "Give me a little time, ok?"
Naruto looked at him for a long moment before replying cheerfully. "Ok Natsu! I'll give you time, I just wanted to let you know that I'll always be here for ya, you know?"
Kurama nearly winced trying to ignore the stabbing guilt welling up from making his brother fake a smile like that. He gave Naruto a weak smile.
"I know Naruto."
I swear I tell you eventually His gaze shifted over the window as Naruto walked stiffly back to their room. Just give me time.
He stood to go to the roof and stare at the stars for a few hours but was nearly sent to his knees as a sudden wave of chakra touched on the edges of his senses.
He froze.
It raged and swirled violently. With the chakra, he could feel the emotions that came with it. Rage and insanity intermixed into a high pitch, wordless scream. It almost felt like a physical force.
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
Shukaku?
Kurama noticed vaguely that he was trembling.
This wasn't good.
*Extra*
Genma was laughing so hard it was a shock that the senbon didn't fall out of his mouth. They stood there waiting for the jounin to calm down looking varying degrees of disgruntled. Sasuke looked like he wanted to set the man's face on fire, while Naruto had his arms folded over his chest. Kurama could tell he was pouting even with the tag over his mouth. Kurama, himself, tried not to glare to harshly.
"So, heh, let me get this straight." Genma chuckled finally. "You're sensei put those seals on and ran off. So, now you're trying to find him, to get him to take them off?"
They nodded.
He looked over them again and visibly suppressed another bout of laughter.
Kurama scowled. Kakashi had lured them through the busiest streets and the thickest foliage during their chase. He knew that they looked like a mess, but the man didn't have to laugh so much.
"Well, I'm sorry to tell you that Kakashi is in a meeting with the Hokage right now. He probably won't get out of there for a little while. You guys can wait out in front of the tower though! Heh..."
They waited half an hour before catching sight of Kakashi-sensei, nearly tackling him in front of all of the other jounin walking out with him. Pestering him silently with several silent insults and curses they managed to pick up from various shinobi throughout the day, until he took the seals off and sent them home to get cleaned up.
Kurama totally just ran away from an opportunity to tell Naruto 'cause he's a coward who doesn't think he deserves forgiveness. Poor baby, I'm just dragging him through the mud until he his reveal to Naruto.
So, here we are at the start of the chunin exams! I adjusted the arrival of Gaara a little, so don't worry the meeting will occur next chapter! I actually had this chapter finished yesterday, but I tinkered with it some more today. There were a lot of little things I wanted to set up for this arc that took some rewriting. I have had so many ideas for this arc and have even typed out a bunch of scenes. The Hayate scene this chapter has actually been done for months, lol. This weekend I even wrote out a complete outline for each chapter and have really ironed out how I want it to end. I've had a vague idea since around chapter seven and have been dropping hints for several chapters now. We'll see if anyone picks up on it. Let's just say, shits goin' down this arc.
Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews! Yall are the real mvps of this story. I never expected it to be liked so much when I posted that first chapter and yall have only inspired me to expand further since then. So thanks a whole bunch.
P.s. Also, I finally got around to getting an Archive of Our Own account (same name) and have been transferring my stories over there. Don't worry, I'll still update here. In fact, this'll likely be the first place I update any chapters.
Preview:
Kakashi watched the boy silently. His eyes were that familiar dark purple with no hints of that demonic red. They were crinkled slightly at the edges as he smiled at his brother's antics. He looked so much like a normal child. But...
He shook his head.
No.
He was being ridiculous.
(Yet, ever since the battle at the bridge, his gut was telling him that there was something off. Something was wrong. And his gut had never been wrong before.)