Hi guys! Chapter 6 is finally out! Thanks to all the reviewers who had been reviewing my story so far! Love ya xD
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from it
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(Chapter six)
"I'm Arashi alright… You are?"
"I know it's troublesome but my name is Shikamaru Nara." The boy greeted and stood next to him, "I met Naruto this morning and he mentioned about you. So I thought it would be polite to drop by to visit."
"News REALLY travels fast with Naruto around…"
"Thank you, Nara-san. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Just Shikamaru will do. I'm not really used to people addressing me by my surname. It's too troublesome anyway." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his neck.
"Shikamaru Nara… Mm… the genius boy from Asuma's group if I'm not wrong…"
"Ohayo, Shikamaru!" Ino shouted from her desk, "What brings you here?"
"Ohayo." Shikamaru glanced at her and nodded his head in recognition of her presence, "Tsunade's request."
He then dug into his pocket, retrieving a packet a cigarette which was too familiar to Kakashi. It was the same brand that Asuma used. Shikamaru proceeded by picking a stick out of the box and placing it in between his upper and lower lips. Ransacking another pocket, he took out a lighter and light his cigarette. Before the flame could even appear, a shuriken whizzed past right before his face, cutting the cigarette into half.
"If you've not forgotten, you are currently in a hospital." Ino voice came out, "Even Asuma-sensei knows not to smoke here."
"How troublesome…" the Nara kid sighed and stuffed both the packet and lighter back where it was supposed to be in. Kakashi chuckled as he recalled the times when Kurenai had to threaten a breakup with Asuma just to make him stop smoking. And it was only the hospital.
A squeal was heard as both the boys lifted their head and turned towards the source. It came from Ino. She was leaning against the counter, her eyes was shining with eagerness. Her mood took a hundred and eighty degrees turn, compared to what happened a few minutes ago. The reason was soon revealed when a raven-haired boy walked out of the corridor.
"Sasuke-kun! How was the meeting? It went well? Yes? Of course with such a genius like you…"
Sasuke gave a mere nod which of course, was a completely different thing to fanatic girls such as Ino. Kakashi groaned mentally when he felt the Uchiha's stare on him. Shikamaru, being the smart one immediately felt the hostility towards the copy-nin.
"Hi there, Sasuke." Shikamaru greeted hoping to lighten the atmosphere.
"Hi, Shikamaru and Arashi-kun." The Uchiha walked past the both of them, his eyes never seemed to leave poor Kakashi. The staring issue finally stopped when Sasuke went out of the hospital. Only then did Kakashi dared to breathe.
"To think they were so innocent back then…"
Of course he would gladly stared back at him but not at the expense of getting into more trouble. His current mission was to keep a low profile of himself, not make himself stick out like a sore thumb.
"You must really have done something aggravating to have him hate you to such extent." Kakashi almost forgot the existence of Shikamaru.
"I don't know… he was the one who started hating me first," the copy-nin shrugged, "and deprived me of a place to stay."
"Aa… That guy's always so troublesome…"
"I agree… but what can I do? He's my student…"
"Oh, time's up. Thanks to Sasuke I didn't get a chance to talk. Guess I'll be seeing you somewhere." He glanced at the clock, "and if you are lacking a place to stay in, you can always stay in mine. I'm sure my parents won't mind that much. Jya ne."
Kakashi could have done a victory dance back then if there weren't people around. It seemed that things are turning out well for him and he couldn't be happier. Taking a quick glance at the clock, he concluded that he still had time to make his way to the academy, considering that lessons had just only started.
The copy-nin could later be seen strolling along the pavement, walking leisurely at his own pace to the ninja academy despite the fact that he was late for lessons. It was well-known to everyone that lateness was a trademark of his. Furthermore, he didn't even consent to go there in the first place, so why should he care about the time? Ten minutes isn't that long anyway…
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"ARASHI! You are late for thirty minutes!" Iruka-sensei shouted out when he saw the boy walking in the classroom. That earned a few giggles from the class and a very angry Iruka. "What reasons do you have?"
"I saw this old lady on my way and…" The whole class burst into laughter.
"I don't find that particularly funny, Arashi. You are the eldest in this class and I expect you to set a good example for the rest. Not teach them how to make up lame excuses!" Iruka's voice could be heard echoing throughout the room. Everyone immediately kept silent. People do have their limits after all and that includes Iruka too. From the way he was shouting, it was an obvious signal for them to stop.
"Everyone! We are going out for field practice!" Groans were heard throughout the students. Some of them were even glaring at Kakashi, who seemed the least affected by what had just happened.
"We are going to practice throwing shurikens and well… you know the rest." The man announced as more groans erupted from the class.
"Let see what you can do, Arashi."
Everyone took their turns at the practice while Iruka busied himself with the recording of each student's progress. Finally, it was Kakashi's turn… and what all of them were waiting for. The class once more began their words of exchange amongst themselves. Most of it consisted of them blaming him for the incident earlier on.
Kakashi sighed. Those kids just don't know when to stop, do they? Without even flinching, he drew out five shurikens and threw them towards the pole. Each one of them hit their marks and landed nicely in a straight line, one above another. The rest could only just gape at what they've witnessed.
"T-That's… amazing, Arashi. I don't remember Sakura doing shuriken practice yesterday… but it's really something… considering you've only taken lessons for two days." A wide smile spread across the teacher's features, "Reminds me of Sasuke…"
Kakashi tucked his hands into his pockets. Needless to say, this was child's play for him. They have only themselves to blame for ever doubting his skills. The copy-nin smirked inwardly. In other people's eyes, he would only be a normal kid just like anyone else and he was grateful for that. He passed his childhood with great misery because of the accident that happened to his father. Everyone in the town would shoot dirty glares at him and no one would ever acknowledge his presence in school.
"Everyone split for practice now!" Iruka stood up before turning to him, "Arashi, I need to talk to you for a moment."
Both of them waited for the children to get involved in their things before continuing with their own stuffs.
"Arashi, I can already see that you have great potential, but do remember: punctuality is also an important key a ninja must take note of. I don't want to see you late the next time, okay Arashi?" He grinned, "You know, you really look like my friend, Hatake Kakashi and I must say you habit is exactly like him especially with that excuse of yours… He was a prodigy at young and I can see you growing to become a genius ninja like him."
"Thank you."
"Just don't be late the next time. It's brings bad impression for other people."
"I knew that already."
Nodding his head, Kakashi walked away. One thing he couldn't stand was lectures. He halted on the spot when a kunai flew past him, missing his head by a few centimeters. There was a paper tied on the kunai and the copy-nin immediately knew who it was from. Unseen to the others, he took off the paper and unfolded it:
Kakashi,
I'll be waiting for you at the bridge right after your ACADEMY lessons.
Your good friend
Seriously, doesn't anyone see him? Kakashi folded the piece of paper and pushed it into his pocket. He's strong after all… there's no way he will be detected that easily.
"A prodigy when young… just like me…"
It was a few hours later when the dismissal bell went off. The students cheered and hastily ran off to meet their parents…all except for Kakashi. He supposed to be an orphan anyway… no parents to fetch him from school. The copy-nin lazily trudged out of the academy when he caught Iruka's worried glance. The copy-nin gave a reassuring smile… one that indicated he's going to be fine alone. Iruka was always concerned for parentless children such as Naruto and Sasuke which explains his affections for the kyuubi. He understood their pain… and he wished to help them. That's his personality. And for that, Kakashi took off his hat in respect for his actions.
"Don't be late for the next lesson, Arashi!"
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(At the bridge)
"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?" Kakashi asked in pure shock. He should be meeting his friend, not his former student. And from the handwriting, it's definitely not from the Uchiha currently standing right in front of him.
"This is a henge, idiot… and to think you are the great copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi. What a disappointment."
"Gomen… I was too surprised to notice the difference. A good imitation anyway, you look like the real thing."
"Whatever. By the way, you're late."
"Aa… there was a black cat and I have to…" Kakashi gave an eye crease and placed his hand on back of his neck causing his friend to glare at him.
"Save your excuses. More importantly, I have news of him."
"That's good… The faster we settle this…"
"I wouldn't say its good at all, Hatake. I just found out he had detonated his old basement and let's just say it's going to take some time before we find his new hideout. Plus without your help, it's really going to take quite some time."
"Damn…"
"Yes, 'damn' fits this situation perfectly. And do settle down soon, it's tough for me to find you when you keep running about."
"I don't know…" Shikamaru's image came to Kakashi's mind.
"It would be good if you avoid staying with people that have sharp senses. People like the Nara and Hyuuga are definitely out. I would prefer I you stay at the Kyuubi's house."
"I'll try…"
"Good. I'm going off now and don't expect to hear for me soon."
Like before, he did a few hand signs and disappeared in a puff. Kakashi waved at his departure and walked off. Now to find Naruto…
0o0
He wasn't that hard to find at all. As usual, the top suspected areas would be Ichiraku Ramen and true enough, there he was sitting there all alone. Perfect.
"ARASHI-KUN! Over here!" The blonde shouted across and waved enthusiastically at him. Kakashi smiled and nodded his head. He approached the shop and sat next to Naruto who was beginning on his third bowl of ramen.
"Naruto-kun."
"Hmpff?" the blonde looked at him with noodles hanging out of his mouth. The copy-nin had a hard time containing his laughter at the sight.
"Do you mind if I stay at your house for the time being? Sakura's parents are back and I currently have no place to stay." His found his fingers to be extremely interesting.
Naruto continued looking at him before his words finally registered. A grin appeared as he slurped up the hanging escarpments from his mouth.
"Of course, Arashi-kun! I'm willing to let you stay even if it means staying there for the rest of your life! After all, that's what friends are for!" Naruto's hand went down on Kakashi's back which took him by surprise. The copy-nin forced a smile back. Naruto basically lived off ramen for a living. That alone might just drive Kakashi nuts. He'll need to find some other ways for food management…
"Thanks a lot, Naruto-kun!"
0o0
(Naruto's apartment)
"Ahaha… This place is a bit messy, hope you don't mind…" Naruto laughed nervously as he opened the door to his humble abode. Kakashi stared at the mess lying in the room. It wasn't 'a bit'; rather it was 'very' messy. How does he even produce that much waste?! But of course, Kakashi have no rights to comment about others since he himself is an untidy person too.
"Maybe we can do some clean up before going to sleep?" Kakashi gritted his teeth as he forced the words out. He swore he will change for the better next time if he ever gets a chance… Thoughts of him sleeping among those pile of rubbish just isn't to his liking.
"Sure, dattebayo! Let start cleaning up!"
You mention it, they have it. Kakashi found the rubbish to be the most interesting: Expired milk, Takoyaki, Sushi rolls, ramen cups, potato chips, apple cores… there were so many that Kakashi couldn't memorise at least half of what was present on the ground.
After one hour of toil and hardship, they managed to clean up what's in the living room, excluding bedrooms and the kitchen. That was one tough feat to complete… And to think he's going to stay here for weeks or maybe, even months…
Kakashi slumped down on his couch. He knew it was rude to do it especially in someone else's house. But his legs were close to giving way after those cramps he got from bending down over a long period. Naruto too, slumped down beside him as he let out a huff.
"Iyaa… I didn't know cleaning up would be so tiring… it's worse than the training that Kakashi-sensei used to give us…"
"Really?"
"Sou sou! That perverted sensei always walking around with a porn book. During training, he would let us do all the jobs while he just sits under the shade and read his book. Giving us ridiculous trainings…" Naruto crossed his arms. Kakashi could feel a vein popping out from his forehead.
"But at least the trainings did help you right?"
"Although I hate to admit, but they do really help me in my stamina and chakra control… too bad I only realize it when Kakashi-sensei was gone…" His smile turned into a frown as his eyes was engulfed by sadness.
"Why do all of them always think that I'm dead?! Can't they at least have a bit of faith in me?!"
"Dattebayo! Let's get some sleep now! I'm really getting tired…" The kyuubi container let out a stiff yawn, "since its weekend tomorrow and there's no lesson for you, maybe I'll help you with some training…"
"I don't think that's necessary, Naruto-kun…" Too late. He was fast asleep… on the couch. Kakashi sighed and took the floor that they had been trying so hard to clean. The couch supposedly should be his place but since Naruto is sleeping in it… Kakashi put his bag next to him and lay on the parquet floor. The room soon fell silent and all that you can see is Naruto and the copy-nin, sleeping peacefully.
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Reviews! Thanks!
Thanks to the following non/authors who reviewed for my previous chap:
Thinkerandwriter
Rika24
MemoriesOfNobody
Nire Sanam
Fanimation-x-
Kakashifan
Frozen Waterz
Prescripto13
Elektric Storm
FanGirlForKakashi
Eldr-Fire
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