C.M.D: Thank you Shirilyle, KyleQ, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, SkyglazingMaro, Kai, xNetsux, and Mikunikuetu for reviewing! And virtual cookies for everyone who read!
Ci, Ci, My Playmate...
"Park! PARK! PARK!!"
Kakashi sighed, pressing his palms to his ears as he tried to block out the last screech. It did nothing to get rid of the noise, as the livid blonde continued to yell at the top of his lungs. The grey-haired man focused his eye on Naruto, watching with irritated amusement as the kid's face turned a deep red.
Why, oh why, did his sensei have to ask him to babysit? Initially, he had no problem with it. Minato had always asked him to babysit whenever he was around, and those days had been quite enjoyable. Well... not entirely, Kakashi corrected, what with diapers and feeding, and then potty training... But they were definitely better than today.
Naruto had never thrown a tempertantrum before. The man didn't know if he could take this noise any longer... So maybe the kid wasn't quiet on a regular basis, but he surely wasn't as loud as he was right now. If the blonde didn't stop soon, Kakashi was certain his ears would start bleeding.
"Naru-"
"PAAAARKKKKK!!"
The jounin cringed as the child's voice reached its highest volume (at least he hoped that was the loudest Naruto could go. He'd hate to hear the vessel go any louder), before sighing. "NARUTO!," he yelled over the child, which was a feat in itself, releasing a breath of gratitude when the child actually fell silent.
The blonde glared at him, face still resembling a cherry, eyes red and watery as they focused on the man. Kakashi was tempted to chuckle, imagining his sensei wearing that face, but held it in. He didn't want to waste this precious silence.
Naruto eyes tightened into tiny little slits when the quiet dragged on a few seconds longer, the child's lips parting and his mouth opening wide. Knowing exactly what was going to happen next, Kakashi sprang up out of his seat and rushed to the boy.
"Okay, okay!!," he relented, panic highlighting his tone, "We'll go to the park!"
Naruto's jaw clicked shut, big, blue eyes opening to blink up at him. "W-weally?!," Naruto gushed, his face breaking out into a huge grin before the jounin could answer. "Tank you, 'Kashi!!"
The little blonde threw himself at the grey-haired man, any evidence of his tantrum gone as he giggled merrily. Kakashi patted the child's head in response, feeling a headache coming on. Naruto may be cute and a joyful kid, but Kami have mercy on the poor soul who pissed the young Uzumaki off.
"Alright, let's get going," Kakashi said.
"Wait! No 'Kashi, not that way!"
Kakashi paused in his stride, trying to twist his head to look up at the child sitting on his shoulders who was currently tugging at his hair. "What do you mean, Naru?," he asked, reaching up and removing the blonde's fingers. "Aren't we going to the park?"
Naruto leaned down some, his small hands balancing him. "Not that park," the blonde said. "Other one. One daddy taked me to," the kid answered.
Kakashi picked the child up off his shoulders and lowered him onto the floor. "The one your daddy took you to?," the man repeated. While the Uzumaki nodded in response, the jounin scratched at his chin, lost in thought. Minato had mentioned taking Naruto to the park, last night when he'd called. But where?
"'Kashi, hurry up!" The grey-haired man's head snapped up as a voice cried out, his one visible eye widening when he saw that Naruto had gotten all the way down the street without him noticing. The little boy was waving his arm wildly about, signaling for him to hurry up, before dashing around the corner.
"Hey-wait! Naruto!! Come back here!," Kakashi cried, bounding after the running child.
When he had finally caught up with the kid, the jounin decided to just let the blonde lead him to the park that he had wanted to go to, instead of trying to figure out exactly which park Naruto that was exactly. To his surprise, the little Uzumaki led him all the way to the back of the Academy, where there was a little park.
Naruto stopped, and looked around the empty park, frowning. Kakashi noticed, and tapped the child's shoulder. "Well, Naru? Aren't you going to go play?," he asked.
The blonde looked at him, before twisting his head around. Huffing, Naruto bolted forward. The grey-haired man watched disinterestedly, expecting the child to head over to the swing or maybe even the slide. Once again, the boy stunned him by running past the park entirely, rushing up to the side of the building. Curious, Kakashi walked off after him.
Naruto stepped on tip-toe, peering into the classroom, his eyes searching but not finding who he was looking for. Huffing, he dropped back down onto his heels and ran over to the next classroom window. Why was everyone inside? It was such a nice day, they should be out playing. Otherwise, the park would be too lonely.
The tiny Uzumaki stood again on tip-toe, pressing his face against the glass. He gasped in glee, making a fart sound as he sucked in air, spotting the person he was looking for. Sasuke sat practically sounded by girls, his eyes focused on the teacher, lowering every once in a while to make a note. So happy, Naruto was about to rap on the window to get the Uchiha's attention, when Kakashi came up beside him.
The jounin grabbed the child's hand. "Sorry, Naruto," he apologized. "Iruka-sensei would be unhappy if you disrupted his class."
Naruto was about to protest but Kakashi shook his head, tugging the boy away from the window. "Come on. If you want to play with the other children, you'll have to wait until class is over. How about we get ramen in the meantime?," he suggested. As the man expected, Naruto instantly brightened up, and suddenly it was the blonde pulling him away from the school; complaining about Kakashi being a slowpoke.
The jounin just sighed at the predictable result, his hand reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, by passing the orange book that lay in the other pocket. Oh, how he wished to open Icha Icha Paradise and just relax into the novel's pages... But if Minato found out he had been reading his porn while taking care of Naruto, his sensei would castrate him! No exaggeration.
"Definitely later," Kakashi promised himself, as he and his charge entered Ichiraku's.
Naruto bounced around the tree roots, his head twisting this way and that, as he continued to look for Sasuke. Behind him, all the other children who'd been let out for recess occupied the playground, and the blonde could hear all their shrieks and laughs of merriment. Not that he cared, Naruto told himself, he'd have lots more fun with Sasuke. ...If he could just find the Uchiha.
Pouting, the young Uzumaki pulled up to a tree and plopped down at its base. "'Suke!! Where you at?!," the little Kyuubi-container called out. There was a rustling above him, and the boy threw his head back. "'Suke!," he cried out in glee.
Up in the tree's branches, sat the black-haired child, his lips pulled in a scowl. "Dobe... would you stop yelling. I'm trying to rest."
Naruto ignored the insult, gripping at the tree's bark. "Let's play!"
"No," came the immediate reply. Naruto's smile fell, and he frowned as he tried to climb up the tree. Sasuke leaned back against the wood, ignoring the struggling child. There was a gasp, then a flump as something hit the ground, then a quiet 'ouch'.
Sasuke, cursing his curiosity, opened his eyes to see exactly what happened to the blonde. Naruto was laying on his back on the grass, his whiskered face scrunched up in frustration. The raven couldn't help but smirk. "What? Don't tell me you can't climb a simple tree? What kind of shinobi are you?," the Uchiha teased.
The demon-vessel sat up and glared at Sasuke. "I can so! I gonna climb the tree, watch!!," Naruto cried.
Sasuke's face fell back to its bored expression, the coal orbs rolling. "It's 'I'm going to climb', dobe," he corrected. The blonde just stuck his tongue out in response, and walked back up to the side of the tree. Interested, the Uchiha watched the smaller child try to get up; falling several times but still getting right back up afterwards.
Finally, panting with the exertion, the Uzumaki got up to the tree branch that Sasuke was sitting on. "S-see. I do it!," Naruto grinned, pulling his little body onto the limb. Sasuke said nothing in response. All of a sudden, there was the ringing of a bell.
The Uchiha jolted at the sound, glancing at the blonde momentarily, before leaping off the branch and to the ground below. "Ah, wha!? 'Suke, where you going?," Naruto asked, scrambling to get back down. It was harder than getting up.
"It's time for class. Recess is over," Sasuke replied simply. Naruto finally managed to get down, falling, and hurried back onto his feet and chasing after the leaving Uchiha.
"Can I come?," the Uzumaki asked. The raven scoffed at the stupid question, fixing the blonde with one eye.
"Of course not," he answered. "You don't even go to school, do you?" Naruto thought about, then shook his head. He didn't think he went to school. "There you go," Sasuke said.
The fox-child scrunched his brow in confusion. "When do I go to school, 'Suke?"
Sasuke stopped sighing. Naruto looked around them now. They had gotten close to the school now, just a few feet away from the doors. The last remaining children were walking into the building. The Uchiha turned around and faced the boy, leaning down a bit to be eye-level with the blonde. "Listen, I've got class now. So quit bugging me, and stop coming to 'play' with me. Ask your dad if you want to know about school."
The black-headed boy spun on his heel, and entered the school, without even a farewell. Naruto stood there for a moment, before he huffed, and crossing his arms over his chest turned in the opposite direction. As if he was going to listen to Sasuke. He'd come to play with the Uchiha if he wanted to.
Kakashi came up to meet the child, slipping an orange book away from sight. "So did you have fun, Naru?," he asked. The blonde nodded his head, grinning broadly. "Good to hear," the jounin smiled back. "Let's go home now. Your dad's probably waiting for us."
"Okay," Naruto chirped. Kakashi walked after the bouncing boy, happy that the day was nearly over for him.
"Oh, Naru? Who was that boy?"
C.M.D: yea, another chapter done! I just love how cute Naruto can be, with his half-perfect speech. Someone was asking me about their ages, well, I'll mention them next chapter. So...yea, review. Make me happy!