Chapter twenty-one
Crazy thoughts and runaway hearts
"So what you're saying is, I can't participate in the chunnin exams?" The three genin began to protest loudly, as Sarutobi nodded in confirmation. "I'm afraid so, Moriko. You're skills are far too powerful against a few genin. You could kill someone, if you weren't careful." Naruto pouted, continuing to plead fruitlessly. Saurtobi sighed. "If I allow her to compete with you, your team would have an unfair advantage. That, and it is against the would need two teammates and a sensei, if she could compete." The blonde nodded. "That makes sense. Besides, I would much rather spend my time helping these three train." The hokage smiled, pleased by the young woman's reaction to the news.
"Unfortunately, I will have to remove you from Kakashi's cell and move you from team to team, so they can sharpen their skills. However," He quickly interrupted Naruto's loud protests. "I will allow for you to stay with them until the end of the chunnin exams." Moriko gave a soft sigh of relief, the slight tension easing from her shoulders. "Well, that's great news! I was wanting to teach these three a few of my... techniques." The three genin in question shuddered, fearful of the devious aura that permeated the air around the masked woman. As Moriko plotted in her small corner of doom, Naruto and his team begged for their hokage to change his decision.
Sarutobi merely smiled, and after another twenty minutes passed, began to shove them out outof the office. He grinned at the startled genin before closing the door behind them. The click of the door snapped Moriko out of her thoughts and she looked up, quickly grabbing naruto by his wrist. "Let's get going." The three teenagers and their sensei merely stared at the woman before quickly following her. Kakashi chuckled at the strange woman, his gaze focused on the hypnotic swing of her hips. "I wonder just what she has planned for these three."
When moriko went to grab the handle of the door, it shot open and a blur of dark green slammed into her. Moriko, unable to catch her balance, fell to the ground, accidently crushing the device around her neck. It shattered at the impact, a large piece of metal slicing into the delicate flesh of her throat. Within seconds, kakashi was at her side. He noticed the wound and gently grasped her chin, tilting her head to the side so he could exam the wound. He unclipped the now useless device and tossed it over his shoulder. Pulling a roll of gauze out of his thigh-pouch, he quickly he quickly took care of the scratch.
Moriko blushed at the feeling of kakashi's warm, calloused fingers gently prodding at her throat, careful not to hurt her or make the wound worse. the feeling was... pleasant. When he finished taking care of her injury, he wrapped his arm around her thin waist, pulling her to her feet. She looked up to see a distraught Gai, who was crying 'manly' tears. "R-red! I'm so sorry!" Yanking her out of kakashi's arms, he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Sakura grinned, delighted at the scene unfolding before her. She discreetly glanced over to see her sensei glaring at the bushy-browed man, gnashing his teeth together. "This is great! He's so jealous! This couldn't have been better if I had planned it myself!"
Kakashi, seeing the blonde struggling to escape Gai's grip, came to her rescue. He placed his hand on Gai's shoulder. "Gai..." Upon seeing his 'rivals' aggravation, he immediately released the poor woman and grinned. "Kakashi, my dear rival!" it's been ages since our last competition! We must compete! How about a competition of wits, or of resistance?" Sakura's grinned impishly, a hideous idea coming to mind. "How about a competition of strength? Winner gets to go on a date with Red... without her wearing her mask?" The blonde stiffened, opening her mouth to object. "That's a youthful idea! What say you kakashi?"