I do not own, nor will I ever own Naruto.
Italics indicate thought.
REVIEWS WELCOME
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Just Ludicrous: Chapter 16
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People stared as the man strolled down the street, his hands tucked comfortable on his pockets, his sliver hair skewed to one side.
"Hey, isn't that-?"
"Yeah, it is!"
"It's that ninja!"
"Copy nin Kakashi!"
"But where are his students?"
"Yeah, I would have liked to see that Naruto kid, and those other two, Sakura and Sasuke."
Neji gaped as she watched Kakashi-sensei stroll down the street towards the brothel. Iruka also stared, then did a quick self-check, making sure her hair was properly set, and that she was sitting elegantly.
"Hey there, Copy Nin Kakashi," she called, "Can you see what I could have in store for you?"
Neji choked. She supposed it should have been expected, but it was still weird watching someone hit on her sensei.
Kakashi ambled up to the brothel and replied, "I'm not sure, but I feel it'd be fun to keep up with." Neji gagged audibly. Kakashi looked over at her.
"Eh? Neji, what are you doing here?"
Neji's eyebrows skyrocketed. "Kakashi-sensei, you know perfectly well why I'm here!"
"Oh, did my cousin, Ningyo, actually go through with selling you?"
"Uh . . . yeah . . ."
Neji's confusion only grew as, from around a corner, appeared Ningyo and Sasayaki. Then she realized the only two plausible cases. Either she was under genjutsu, or her sensei had made a shadow clone of himself. The most likely was that he had used his left over chakra to make a male shadow clone.
"Ah, speak of the devil," commented Kakashi lightly, "How are you, Ningyo?"
"Well. And you?"
"Likewise. May I ask why my cousin is in a brothel?"
Sasayaki raised an eyebrow. 'Cousin?'
"Especially since, last I checked, she was engaged to Sakusen Haruno."
Coincidentally, it was at that very moment that Sakusen was walking up, carrying a white pastry box. He stopped and stared at the scene, then hurried up to the group.
"Kakashi-sama, what are you doing here?"
"At the moment, I am trying to solve the puzzle of why my cousin, your fiancé, is in a brothel, along with my good friend Iruka."
Such a gathering of locally famous people had begun to draw a crowd, and out of it stepped Jiraiya. "I might be able to explain part of it."
"Ah, Jiraiya-sama, what a surprise. Perhaps you can explain the situation?"
"Not all of it, but some, yes. Apparently the girl was sold for financial reasons."
Kakashi turned to his female doppelganger. "Is that so?"
She nodded. "Perhaps you were left with money when your father committed suicide, but our father left us only with debt."
"And you couldn't have asked for help? As you said, I have some money, and may have been able to solve the problem."
Ningyo did not respond.
"In any case," continued Kakashi, "we have to get you two out of there."
Sakusen remembered why he had been there. "Here, Neji, I got you some sweet bean buns."
Neji beamed. "Thanks, Sakusen."
Kakashi turned to Ningyo. "So, where are you staying?"
"I'll take you to the inn." She answered, and turned. Kakashi waved to Neji and Iruka, then beckoned for Sakusen and Sasayaki to come along, too.
Neji watched them leave, then said, "That was the most random thing I have ever seen."
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They all trooped up to the room, and sat down. Then, in a cloud of smoke, the shadow clone of Kakashi-sensei disappeared.
"So that's how we're going to pull out?" asked Sakusen.
Ningyo nodded. "I'm going to buy Neji's contract back, and also Iruka's and we'll disappear."
Sakusen rubbed his thumbnail against one of the bandages on his face and mumbled, "Okay."
Sasayaki nodded.
Ningyo clapped her hands. "Alright, I think it's about time that Sakusen and Neji compared notes."
Sakusen's eyebrows shot up. "Are you saying-"
The woman nodded. "I have enough extra to allow you to go in an talk for a couple hours."
"Hey, sensei?" Sakusen asked, "How'd you know Iruka? I mean, I know I have my suspicions, but I want to know for sure."
"Oh, her? She's an old colleague from the Leaf Village. I hadn't seen her in a while, so I was a bit surprised to see her there. She's an excellent actor, no?"
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NO NO NO!!
I do not support KakashiX- whoops, can't keep ranting, I'll be giving out spoilers!
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REVIEWS DEMANDED FROM READERS . . . please. They help my . . . well, no evilness right now . . . so not-so-flogged ego.
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because this and last chapter are so short, they're gonna be close together.
And look, not half as depressing as last chapter! YAY!