A/N: Hey everybody! Here we go again. This chapter shall be forever remembered as "the couch incident." Hope you like the "funny" because things are about to change. Enjoy!
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Kakashi arrived at his new apartment and tried the door – it was locked. He smiled as he reached for his key. It slipped into the lock smoothly and turned easily, opening the door to his new home. Anko was there smiling at him as he came in. She said, "I locked the door so you could test your key. I see it works."
He smiled back at her and said, "Sure does. Where would you like me to put these?"
"There's room in the closet in the bedroom." Kakashi went to the bedroom closet and found that there was plenty of room for his clothes. He hung them up next to Anko's and took a step back to look at it. That looks right he thought as he closed the closet door. Then he heard voices. It seemed that his movers had arrived.
Anko called, "Kakashi! Asuma's here!"
Kakashi wandered out of the bedroom with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Naruto with you?"
Asuma said, "No. Tsunade called him in for something before he could leave. He'll be here in a few minutes. So what are we moving?"
"Just a few boxes. Want to tackle those now? We could make Naruto do the couch himself. We'll just steer it."
"Sounds fine. The kid's got way too much energy for his own good. Steering will be fine."
Anko said, "I'll send Naruto over when he gets here."
Kakashi said, "Come on then. Let's get moving." Both male ninjas went to Kakashi's old apartment and picked up a few boxes each and moved them back to his new place. This time, when they arrived, Anko heard them coming and opened the door for them so Kakashi didn't have to fish for his key while carrying boxes. They brought the boxes inside and put them in the hallway.
Anko said, "How much more?"
Kakashi said, "That's it. Got everything I need, except the couch, TV and a few electronic things."
Anko was actually a little relieved. She knew that Kakashi didn't have much stuff – he'd been single so long, and he didn't really need much. But she was still concerned that the combination of their things would be too much for the apartment to properly contain. It looked like that was not going to be the case.
A knock sounded – Kakashi opened the door to a grouchy faced Naruto. "Oi. Kakashi-sensei. I'm here. What do you want to move?"
Kakashi looked at Asuma and smiled, "My couch. Come with me."
Naruto interrupted him, "Before I forget, Granny Tsunade gave me this for you." He handed Kakashi an envelope that had his name on it.
Anko asked, "What is it?"
Kakashi opened it and inside a note said, "Kakashi. Korekimi will see you in the morning. Make sure you're there ON TIME. Let Anko know so she makes sure you get there when you're supposed to be there. Be there at 8:30AM SHARP – or else! -Tsunade"
"Looks like I've got an appointment with Korekimi at 8:30AM SHARP tomorrow."
Anko said, "Good. Then get the rest of your stuff over here and it's early to bed for you mister."
Kakashi, Asuma and Naruto all turned toward Anko slowly, all of them thinking the exact same perverted thing. She picked up on it immediately, frowned at them, pointed to the door and said, "MOVE!" The three male shinobi scrambled over each other out the door. Anko just shook her head and mumbled, "Pigs. Even though they're right. . ."
Naruto grumped the whole way to Kakashi's old apartment. "Don't tell me you're going to make me move your stuff by myself." Asuma and Kakashi just looked at each other sideways. "I won't do it!" Naruto yelled. "You can't pay me enough ramen to move all your shit Kakashi-sensei!"
"Language, Naruto and you don't have to move it all. It's the couch I'm concerned about."
Naruto grumbled, "Probably weighs a ton."
Asuma clapped Naruto on the shoulder and said, "We'll soon find out won't we? Quit your whining kid. Consider it strength training."
Naruto liked the idea of turning moving his sensei's couch into training. At least when Asuma put it that way, he accepted it. So his grumpy mood lightened a bit at the prospect of getting some training out of moving his former sensei's shit, aka his couch.
Kakashi opened his door and propped it open with the kitchen chair he was leaving behind. He said, "Asuma, go behind the couch. Let's turn it to face the door." Asuma did as he was asked and the two shinobi angled the couch so the arm of the couch faced the door.
Asuma said, "Damn this thing IS heavy! How the hell did you ever get it up here?"
Kakashi said, "I had it delivered. It was worth the extra cash."
Naruto said, "See! I knew it'd be heavy!"
Kakashi said, "Shut up and get over here. We're going to have to tilt it sideways to get it through the door. It's too wide to go straight through. When Asuma and I tilt it, you grab the arm and we'll lead it through the door. Then we'll put it upright again when we get it all the way into the hall. Got it?" Naruto and Asuma both nodded.
Kakashi said, "Ok Asuma. One, two, LIFT, and tilt it towards me," Kakashi ended up having the front side of the back of the couch in his hands, while Asuma held onto the bottom front part. "Naruto, grab the arm, and lead us out the door."
As soon as Naruto got his hands on the arm of the couch, Asuma and Kakashi nodded and both shifted their grips so they moved further away from Naruto, thereby giving him more of the weight to carry. He noticed and said, "HEY! You're doing that on purpose!"
Asuma said, "Just shut up kid and get us out the door!"
Naruto muttered under his breath something about Asuma being an asshole, and began to shuffle backward toward the door. It took two more attempts of re-angling the couch to finally get it out into the hall and upright again. All three shinobi were surprised at how difficult a simple task of getting a couch through a doorway actually was. All three were slightly sweaty and breathing a little heavier than normal.
Naruto sat on the arm and said, "That was rough! And we've got to bring this up a flight of stairs and back into another apartment? We'll never do it."
Kakashi knew just what to say to inspire Naruto. He leaned close to him, and said, "Are you saying we've failed our mission?"
Naruto's eyes shot open. He said, "You're a real bastard Kakashi-sensei."
"Language Naruto! I'm not normally the one to give inspirational speeches, but we'll get this done."
Naruto said, "I doubt it. There's no way,"
Kakashi said loudly, "Would you rather I threaten you than encourage you?"
Naruto turned and looked from Kakashi to Asuma. Both didn't look too happy with him. So he accepted the fact that it was them against him and said, "Ok, let's get going. You're going to go broke with all the ramen I'm going to eat tonight."
Kakashi mumbled, "You're going to earn it."
"What?!" Naruto yelled back at him.
"Nothing! Nothing. Ok, ready? Let's go." Kakashi closed the door to his old apartment and the three of them picked up the couch, as is, and moved it down the entire length of the hall to the set of stairs leading up to the floor where Anko and Kakashi now lived. They put the couch down and looked up at the stairs. The stairs went up for a ways, and then bent around to the right twice and then went further up to the next floor.
Naruto looked up the stairs and said, "No fucking way."
Kakashi growled, "Language Naru, oh why do I fucking bother?"
"Ha ha! Kakashi-sensei! You can't comment on my language, when you're as bad as me!"
Kakashi sighed and said, "Asuma, help me tilt the couch up." The two jonin picked up the right side of the couch, leaving the left side on the ground. Kakashi said, "Naruto, face the stairs and bend over."
Naruto got a look of horror on his face and said, "Oh no way! No way am I bending over in front of you, you perv! The last time I did, you shot me across a lake!"
Kakashi was quickly losing patience. He said, "Would you like me to shoot you up the stairs? BEND OVER."
"Yes sir." Naruto faced the stairs and bent at the waist. Asuma and Kakashi dragged the couch over and put the bottom of it on Naruto's shoulders. "HEY!"
Kakashi said, "Hold on to the legs on either side. Now, get moving up the stairs!"
Naruto grumbled, "I'm a pack mule. I am a fucking pack mule."
Kakashi said, "If you don't get moving . . ."
"OK! Let's GO!" Naruto stood up slightly and started to move forward. Kakashi and Asuma "steered" the couch up the first section of stairs. Naruto grumbled the whole time, between grunts of effort. And he swore once that he heard one of the two jonin behind him laughing. I'll kill him. I'll fucking kill him. I'll shove this couch up his perverted a . . ."
"Naruto," Asuma interrupted. "Stay right there. Kakashi – we've got to lift it around the corner."
Kakashi said, "Right. Naruto put your hands on the legs and lift now!"
Naruto grabbed the legs of the couch on either side of his head and lifted. His arms shook as he attempted to lift the couch over his head. "BAS---TARD!!!" he yelled as he hefted the couch upward.
Asuma said, "That kid really is strong."
Kakashi said, "Just tell him he can't do something and he'll find a way to get the job done. Now, we have to lift. Come on – almost there!"
Kakashi and Asuma lifted, taking some of the strain off Naruto, but at the same time, pitching him off balance slightly. "WHOA! Kakashi-sensei, I'm slipping backward!"
Kakashi said, "Asuma – quick – PUSH!" The two ninjas pushed the couch upward and forward, causing Naruto to not only be pushed upright, but over-correct and pitch forward.
"SHIT!" he yelled as the bottom of the couch started to go forward over his head. He was forced to let go and duck as the legs he was holding onto got pushed past him and onto another step above him. He very nearly and literally lost his head as the two jonin behind him pushed the couch forward until it met the resistance of the step in front of it.
Asuma and Kakashi held the couch up at shoulder level and soon realized that it was clear that it was quite stuck exactly where it was. Asuma looked at Kakashi, breathing heavily and said, "Now what do we do? And where's Naruto?"
"I'M UNDER HERE!" a voice came from between the bottom of the couch and the stairs.
Kakashi said, "Well get out from under there and get up the stairs and pull the couch up from the step it's caught on!"
Naruto continued to grumble, and looked around at his options. There was a wall to his left as well as one on his right. There was a couch over his head and body. His only option for escape was to crawl back down the stairs. The only problem was there were two sets of male ninja legs blocking his exit.
Kakashi yelled, "NARUTO! NOW!"
Naruto thought, alright – you asked for it. He crawled quickly down yelling, "COMING THROUGH!"
Kakashi looked at Asuma in fear and flung his right leg sideways against the wall in enough time to avoid Naruto plowing into, or more like "through" him.
After Naruto exited his couch-like enclosure, he stood up behind the two jonin, both of whom turned their heads as far back as they could to glare at him. "What?" he asked.
Kakashi said, "Just get up there!" He motioned with his head to the top of the stairs.
Naruto could tell his former sensei was just about out of patience, and he knew that if he wanted the ramen he'd been promised, he'd better get this job done quickly. He said, "Ok, hold on!" and he leapt over Kakashi and Asuma, landed on the far side of the couch and scrambled to the stairs. He said, as he reached for the bottom of the couch, "Back up about three inches so I can get a good grip."
Asuma mumbled, "I'll give him a good grip. Around his scrawny neck!" Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle as he and Asuma backed the couch up a bit.
"OK, ok! I've got it. Ready? Let's GO!" Naruto lifted and Kakashi and Asuma pushed. They continued their efforts until the couch was finally and completely on the floor it would now permanently reside on.
Naruto flopped backward in the hall completely out of breath. He unzipped his jacket half way and fanned his face with the open sides. He said, "Kakashi-sensei. I'm weak with hunger. Ramen . . . need . . .ramen . . ."
Kakashi and Asuma both breathing harder than their younger counterpart walked up to his sprawled form. Asuma said, "Hey," and he nudged him in the leg with his boot for emphasis. "Not done yet kid. Come on, get up."
Naruto groaned and dragged himself to his feet. "I know, I know. Just wanted to take a breather before I passed out from exhaustion. I'm ready. We'll get this done, believe it!"
Kakashi thought sometimes his enthusiasm makes me want to stab myself in the neck.
The three ninjas lifted, shuffled and completed the couch move. The only thing left to do was get it through the door in the new apartment. Naruto, being the first one to the door, opened it. Seconds later, Anko arrived to assess the situation, "I was starting to worry. What took you so long?" Her answer was three "death-looks." She said, "Sorry I asked. Bring it on in."
After some final finagling, the couch was finally brought through the door and settled into its new place. The three male shinobi collapsed as follows: Asuma on Anko's original couch, Kakashi on his newly moved one, Naruto – on the floor because it was easier than moving to find something more comfortable.
Anko thought as she looked at the three exhausted men, and these guys train for endurance? Moving a couch did that to them? What a bunch of sissies. She smiled to herself as she looked at them. Then she remembered something. She went and picked up two of the couch cushions that Kakashi had moved in the night before. She brought them over to the couch that was currently occupied by him and said, "Hey. Move."
Kakashi looked at her and said, "Seriously?" She gave him, "the face." He said, "Ok, just gimme a minute." He stood up and she tossed the two cushions into place, and then pushed him back onto one of them.
"There. Now you're more comfy." She kissed him on the nose and went to get the rest of the cushions and the decorative pillows that went on the couch.
Asuma said, "She's good to you Kakashi."
Kakashi said, "Yeah, I know."
"Too bad she's nuts," Naruto said from the floor.
Kakashi kicked out instinctively and connected with the blonde ninja's foot. "OW! Sorry Kakashi-sensei." Asuma laughed under his breath.
Anko went into the kitchen, but not before looking at the three men sprawled around the living room. Is this how it's going to be from now on? More people than just "us" here? I asked Kakashi to move in, not everyone. But I guess, since one is his student and the other is his friend, I suppose I get the whole package. Anko's quiet existence had not grown by one, but by one, plus all his "other" ones. She kind of liked that idea.
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A/N: See what I mean about, "the couch incident?" Something they'll never forget.
Next up: It's ramen time for the boys while Anko decides to help Kakashi out by unpacking some of his boxes. Oh, the "things" she finds in those boxes! See you soon!
