Chapter 4: New People and Kiddies
Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. By the time I'm sixteen years old, I've become fully accustomed to the village, and have become fully integrated into it. Kakashi and I have been living together for three years. Ahh that's right, you never knew; I never moved out of Kakashi's apartment. Why? Because he asked me to stay. When I turned thirteen, and not long after I met the others, I decided that it was my time to find a place of my own. I was already doing missions outside the village, so I figured moving out would be a good idea. You know, get out of Kakashi's hair once and for all. However, much to my surprise, he wouldn't let me move out, and even asked I stay. When I asked why he wanted me to stay, he told me he liked my company and that he missed having someone else in the house to live with. This of course didn't turn us into a couple or anything, but it's not like that even matters.
That day, having lunch with Kakashi and his friends, really showed me how much my social skills sucked. I could act social like any good Anbu member. But being with Kakashi and just him for so long made me a bit anti-social. This of course was declared to be remedied by not only Guy, but Asuma as well. Both are fun loving folk when not on missions and when Guy isn't busy challenging Kakashi to a new sort of competition this way and that. Often his challenges were ridiculous. But the punishment for the one who lost was even worse. I remember one time, Guy lost and the punishment- made by Kakashi- was dancing naked around the village for an entire hour. That wasn't a pretty sight at all. Anyways, I'm still on the anti-social side, but for the most part I'm no where near as worried about being around people with or without Kakashi as I used to be.
Soon enough, I found myself going on to turn fifteen, and then sixteen. In those two years, I learned a lot. I can't say what I learned really, I'll have to show you some time. However, I will say that the skills I learned over the two years, be they from being on missions or simply through training with the guys, I keep them close to me as is needed. I physically haven't changed much, save for filling out even more, and I'm just waiting for the last of my curves to settle in. However, that doesn't mean I don't think I'm not breathtaking. Because I know I am. As I grew, my bust got bigger, my hips wider, and my waist smaller. My claws grew with my hands, just as my wings and tail grew with the rest of my body. I still wear the leather corset and leather pants and boots get up, however now a days there are seals on the leather for speed. Thanks to Guy, I'm a huge speed fanatic, and therefore have gravity seals on my legs, torso, and two leather straps that I wear around my wrists. Currently, I stand at an amazing total of five feet seven inches. That's pretty damn tall for a woman, let me tell you that. And that's without my boots. My hair style has changed in that while I keep it long, I also allow it to flow freely. People say that's foolish, seeing as my hair could easily get grabbed. However, I reply by saying that if someone can catch my hair when I'm going at full speed, then I have to up my training. Simple as that.
Today is one of the rare days where I have off from any of my work. Be it simple Anbu work or something else. I sigh as I simply walk the streets of Konoha, a place that has been my home for a total of three years now. Three whole years. Like most shinobi on their day off, I love to dress casually. Today I'm wearing a blue short sleeved shirt that matches my hair, and black jeans to go with simple flat ninja sandals. My wings rest in a relaxed furled position against my back, and my tail is safely around my waist where it can't be pulled by any curious child. That's something I've learned over the three years I've started to live: my tail is very sensitive, and even the slightest of pulls makes me unable to do anything save be at the mercy of the puller. Therefore, I normally keep it around my waist just to be safe. I look up to the blue sky and smile. I should go for a fly; I haven't in a good long while. Well, at least not at a leisurely pace I haven't.
I grunt as I bump into someone, stumbling back just enough to catch myself as to not fall. I shake my head lightly before looking to who I bumped into. He's a handsome fellow, with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck and bangs framing his face on either side. He wears a black high collared shirt with dark tan pants, along with a pair of shinobi sandals. At his side is a little boy practically the spitting image of him, save the sleeves of his shirt are long instead of short. "Oh crap," my eyes meet the older of the two, "I'm so sorry for bumping into you".
"It's quite alright," the older of the two smiles lightly to me, "I wasn't watching where I was going".
"That's not true nii-san!" The little boy interrupts, "She's the one who wasn't watching where she was going!" He now looks to me, "Say you're sorry again!"
I raise a brow, "Uhh...Sorry?" There. Better?
"Sasuke, she didn't have to apologize a second time. I wasn't paying attention; otherwise I would have moved around her. You weren't paying attention either, it seems. Unless you wanted me to bump into her," the older brother of the two tells the younger, apparently Sasuke. He meets my gaze again, "Please forgive my little brother's rudeness".
I smile to the stranger and roll my shoulders in the form of a shrug, "It's not a problem," I assure, "It seems like you're his favorite person in the world. It's only natural for him to see that you're in the right almost all of the time".
It seems the older of the two was going to say something when suddenly an Anbu suddenly landed in front of us. Dressed in your usual Anbu garb, his mask is made to look like that of a cheetah's face. "Falcon," he speaks, keeping his russet head bowed, "There's a problem that we need your help with".
My smile falls and I sigh. There goes my day off. "Report".
"Naruto Uzumaki has caused trouble and we can't seem to catch him for love nor money. We heard from Dog that you were good with children. We're hoping that perhaps you can help us capture him and punish him accordingly".
"What did he do?" I know Naruto well enough to know that he's the village's Jinchuriki- not that he knows. I also know him well enough to know what he loves to do most; I've often watched over him. He as a result, causes trouble so that people will notice him for whatever reason.
"Broke into the Hokage's office and defiled it," Cheetah speaks up. By now he's standing, and with my sharp eyes I can see through the eye holes which of the triplets it is. I know their voice well, on a casual note. However when they're serious, there's no telling them apart; you have to look at their eye color. Cheetah is Saiai.
I sigh, "Very well. You take off. I'll be there in a second," I tell him. He nods before doing just that. My attention is given to the black haired stranger and his little brother. "Sorry about that; I have to get going," I offer a smile and a clawed hand for a shake. "I know this is random, but you seem like a nice person and I'm always up for making new friends. If you ever find yourself bored or in want of a sparring partner, look me up. My name is Cross".
"What about your last name?" Sasuke questions as he stares at my black claws as Itachi and I shake.
"I'm the only one with my name so it won't be an issue," I tell him lightly.
The stranger in the mean time smiles lightly, "I don't have many friends as it is...However you seem like a decent person yourself, Cross. My name is Itachi Uchiha". So he's the famed Itachi. Huh. He's tall for a thirteen year old. But then again, I'm tall for being only sixteen. I feel I'll get another inch out of my growth if I'm lucky. If not then I'm stuck at this height.
I smile and nod before releasing his hand and backing up. I purse my lips. Saiai went east. My wings unfurl and with a push from bent knees, they make me air borne. I don't bring myself too high above the roof tops, because if I have to dive down, then I'll loose time by being up so high. Therefore I'm only a few feet above the roof tops. It takes me little to no time at all to catch up to Saiai and I sigh. "I assume we're right on his tail?"
"You got that right," ahh, there's his casual voice. He looks my way as I flank him as to not hit him with my wings, "You sure you can get to him this time? He seems to be getting worse".
"He's just a kid. He's shunned and he doesn't know why," I tell Saiai, "When he has a right to know. So of course, as a child, he's going to lash out and cause issues. Having no parents to raise and punish him, and myself and Hokage-sama are only free so often to show him what's right and wrong when he does them, he doesn't exactly know what is socially acceptable or not". As we go, I see a spot of bright blonde hair, showing me that he's right ahead of us. However I shouldn't dive yet. He's still a good while away. "Found him".
There's a grunt of slight surprise, "I'll never get over how strong those eyes of yours are, girlie," he ends up chuckling. "You live up to your title as always". He looks back at me, and pulls something from his pocket, "Here's your mask, by the way".
I'm not even gonna ask how he got it. I slip it on, showing the face of a falcon covering my own. I chuckle myself, "I try. I'll be going now. Why don't you tell Hokage-sama to pull back the others; I've got this". I get a nod, and he moves to the side so I can simply speed up with a push of my wings. I smile to myself as I now start to hear the taunts and laughter of the boy as he continues to bob and weave his way through the ally ways. He would know them best, having to use them to get away from angry mobs on his birthday- if Kakashi and I aren't already there to make sure he's unharmed- or simply to get away from Anbu like he is today. We Anbu don't spend nearly enough time at home to know the ally ways as well as this kid does.
"Ha! Looks like you guys have finally given up! No one can catch the great Naruto Uzumaki!" The ten year old boy laughs out, obviously proud of himself.
Wait...Wait...Wait...Wai- Now! My wings fold and I dive, landing right where I know Naruto to be. I smile as his eyes widen and he tries to stop and turn and run another way. However, just as he turns, I reach forward and a hand wraps around his arm before pulling him back to me so that my other hand may take a hold of his other arm. As soon as I have him a strong enough grip, I take off to the sky. This time much higher than before. Naruto, of course and like every other time I've done this, begins to kick and flail and scream. "Naruto," I tell him once we're at a good enough altitude and I stop going up in trade for going forward, "I hear you actually got into Hokage-sama's office of all places this time".
"AHHHHHHH LET ME DOWN LET ME DOWN LET ME DOWN! I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE! I DON'T WANN DIE YOUNG! NOOOOOOO!" The boy flails wildly as usual. Luckily I have a good hold on him.
"Naruto...NaruTO...NARUTO!" He shuts up. There we go. "Calm down. I won't drop you".
I look down at the blonde boy with a smile while he looks up at me with a pout on his face, "So? That still doesn't mean that this isn't freaky. Where are you taking me, Falcon-chan?" In times of his most isolated times, I've gone out of my way to make nice with him.
"I'm taking you to Hokage-sama so he can deal with you accordingly. Naruto, what made you want to mess up his office in the first place?" I answer and then question.
"No reason," Naruto mumbles. I bet you he'd cross his arms over his chest if he could. I sigh, looking at his balled up form. That's something he tends to do whenever I'm sent to catch him and do just that. He automatically balls up like some sort of baby animal does when carried by their mother. Maybe it's an influence the fox has on him? I don't know. Still, 'no reason' must mean that kids were picking on him again. I sigh again. I wish Kakshi and I could show him our faces, but we can't.
It takes little to no time at all to get to Hokage Tower, and I smile upon seeing the open window just for Naruto and I. Like any other bird would, I swoop down and land on the edge of the window, using chakra at the balls of my feet to keep us from landing uncontrollably. I continue to crouch as I put Naruto down, put keep a hand on his shoulder just in case he tries to make a get away. "One Naruto, just as you ordered sir," I greet the old man with a smile hidden by my mask.
"Thank you Falcon," he tells me, "You can let him go now". I do as I'm told, and look around. The place has already been cleaned up. Heh, old man must have done it; he's always had a soft spot for the boy. I don't blame him. "Naruto, you know it was wrong of you to mess up my office. I know you know. Therefore, you'll be helping me with my paperwork for the rest of the day. Is that clear?"
"But Old Man!" Naruto freely flails his arms now that he can, "I have to go to the academy and learn to be a bad ass ninja!"
"And you will...Tomorrow. Today, you have a punishment to deal with," he turns to me and nods, "You are free to go Falcon. Thank you for bringing him to me. Please take this note to the Academy and give it to Iruka. It will tell him of what happened to Naruto-kun during lunch and of what will be going on with him". I reach forward and take the paper gingerly between my claws until I can actually get my hand on it.
"Of course, sir," I bow, and push off backwards from the window's ledge free falling with my back facing the ground. That is, until I flip my body around and push against gravity with my wings at the last moment. This sends me upwards again, and I'm once more only a few feet above the roof tops. Flying is so efficient, I tell you. No jumping has to be done save for taking off, and your wings have natural stamina like no tomorrow that you just constantly build up. And if you're like me and a natural flier, then there's no issues in landing either. I head west, but not too far of course.
It takes me little to no time at all for me to get to my next destination, and I land in a near by tree simply to see what the Academy looks like. I've never been here more than a handful of times, seeing as Kakashi- and Yugao on occasion- was the one to teach me what I know now. The only reason I know this place kind of is because of the times I've brought Naruto back here when he tried skipping classes. I look down at the letter in my hand and make my way down from the tree branch, my wings furling fully against my back. Through the double doors I go, and through what looks to be an indoor sparring area that is the bottom floor. Up the stairs and down the hallway...Make a...Left. It's the last door on my right. Ahh, here we are. Seeing Iruka through the window of the door is helpful. I stop and knock twice before opening the door. I hear gasps of surprise and amazement through out the room. Heh, ninja wannabes are so cute.
"C- Falcon-san," oh, he almost slipped up~, "What brings you here".
"Nothing of large importance, Iruka. Simply a letter from Hokage-sama pertaining to Naruto's where abouts is all," I reply simply, handing the man the letter and as usual careful to not let my claws scratch the hand taking the letter up.
"Ahh, thank you Falcon-san," he tells me with a grateful nod as he looks the letter over. "Serves the twerp right". I sigh. This is something I hate about Iruka. Apparently his parents were killed by the Kyubbi. And Iruka, while not someone who openly causes hell for Naruto, doesn't do anything to help him either. His eyes fall to me and I can see that he knows why I sighed, and that he's a little frightened. Out of Kakashi and I, I'm more likely to lash out at someone for saying something mean about the hero of this village.
However, this time I don't do anything but turn to leave the room when, "Iruka-sensei! Who is she?" I turn, and my eyes fall onto a boy dressed in a gray hoodie with fur on the rim of the hood, dark eyes and red fang marks on his face. I can see claws on his hands, which are nothing but nubs compared to my talons. On his head rests a puppy that's all white save his ears which are brown.
"Hush Kiba!" Iruka snaps out, annoyance in his voice.
Being a small fan of children, I chuckle a bit before turning and facing the entire class, "My name is Falcon. I am a member of Anbu, and have been for the past two years".
A girl with bubble gum pink hair, a dress of light colors and her hair is held back by a red ribbon, raises her hand. Green eyes are fixed on me as she asks, "I thought you weren't allowed to wear casual clothing when on a mission?"
"I was on my day off when I had to go get Naruto. I, along with Iruka here and one other, am the only one who can actually catch him".
"You've gotta be kidding me," a blond girl with pupil less blue eyes, blond hair held back in a pony tail, and an orange shirt from what I can see of her sitting form, speaks up. "Anbu are the elite of the elite! A loser like him isn't near fast or strong enough to out run a group of Anbu!"
"Actually," I let my arms cross and rest against my lower back under my wings, "Naruto knows the ally ways and streets better than the back of his hand. Using that to his advantage, he can easily out run us. Anbu aren't nearly home enough to know the ally ways and streets of our home like he does. Not only that, but he has amazing stamina". I pause, and see a diabolical look in puppy boy's eyes, "However, that doesn't mean you personally can out run us. Myself especially". I smile behind my mask as the boy sweat drops.
"Falcon-san?" A nameless boy raises his hand. His hair is of a light brown color, his shirt green and from what I can see his shorts are black. His eyes are green like his shirt, and his skin is on the slightly tanned side. "How old might you be? You sound rather young to be an Anbu".
I smile, "Believe it or not, there's a lot of young Anbu currently. You can thank the Third Shinobi War for that. However, if you must know, I'm sixteen". I turn and make my way out of the room, "Now if you lot will excuse me, I have a day off to finish". As I leave, I finally look to little Sasuke, who has been staring at me with intense surprise ever since I got here. I'm positive he recognizes me. How can he not? I give him a little, hidden to all but him, wave as I leave and close the door behind me. I don't take my mask off until I'm up in the sky again.
I finish my day off with flying until the sun is about to go down. I know that seems like a long time, and it was, but I love flying to the point that I'm willing to do it for days on end with only sleep and food as a reason to land. Because the sky is where no one can reach me. It's my domain and no one else's but the real birds of the world. By the time the sun is setting, I decide it's time to go home and see if Kakashi is finally home from his mission with Churitsu and Nikun as well as some others. He said that he hoped to be done within two weeks; it's been two weeks. I land on the railing of the upper walk way of our apartment, and furl my wings before lightly stepping off this railing. I open the door with the key and look around for any signs of Kakashi being here. When I see none, I sigh and walk into my room to put my mask away where it should be. I then go ahead and look for any signs of Saiai being in my drawers, something I've found traces of before. However, either he covered up his tracks really well, or this time he didn't dare go and investigate my underwear. I feel my stomach grumble and decide that it's time for food.
What to make? What to make? I wonder to myself. I could make teriyaki, stir fry...Hmmm...Smothered chicken sounds good right now. What about stuffed peppers? Oh...Those sound really good right about now. Those it is. Luckily, we still have the peppers I bought for this occasion specifically, so I don't have to go out and get more. Cutting open and carving out the seeds of the peppers takes no time at all. It's the cooking of the meat that will seemingly take forever. Well...That and the rice. The sauce shouldn't take too long as it is.
As I'm chopping up the ground meat into tiny little pieces while it's cooking, my hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand on end, and my tail- which I let hang down when at home- twitches nervously. What do my senses sense that I don't...? It takes me a moment, but my eyes widen and I spin around only to find...Nothing. "What the hell?" My eyes narrow, looking and searching for the source that's sending chills up my spine. I turn around smirking to myself. Found you. "Fucking senses. Lying to me about absolutely nothing," I mutter to myself. I go back to what I was doing, chopping up the meat while my tail twitches 'angrily'. I grin to myself when I feel the clone successfully made to appear in my room. I listen as the person sneaks up on me. He's rather skilled, being silent even when his feet hit the tiled floor of the kitchenette.
"Guess who," a pair of gloved hands cover my eyes playfully, and the voice speaks into my right ear from over my shoulder. I feel him stiffen as my tail wraps around his person and playfully runs its tip along his spine.
"Hmmm...My guess is a man of about five foot eight...Gray hair, a single Sharingan eye...Mask over his face save his normal eye, gravity defying silver hair and dressed in standard Konoha Anbu garb. It wouldn't be...Kakashi would it?" My tail stops its playing as he continues to stand between the gap of my furled wings. I can feel his body heat radiating off of him like tomorrow. Damn he's a heater.
"You got me," Kakashi chuckles lightly and steps back as soon as my tail is safely dangling from my tail bone, "You're getting good".
I turn, putting the spatula down, and face him. I grin up at him, baring harmless fangs, "I have a good teacher," I tell him in turn. My molten gold eyes meet his singular dark one for a moment long before I turn and walk away from the stove to relax on the couch. "Stuffed peppers for dinner. You hungry?"
"Starved," he tells me, headed for his room. Probably to change out of his current garb. I was right, as moments later he comes back out barefooted, armorless as well as hitai-ateless. He flops himself on the couch next to me, picking up the remote to the tv we decided to get a year ago and flipping it on, with his free arm slung over the area where my shoulders are on the back of said couch. The show he picks is a simple one about a normal boy and his every day life up until a war begins. Like I said, it's simple. However, it's something for us to watch. It's silent for a little bit before he speaks up, "How was your day off?"
My eyes flash to him, "Eh. It was not that eventful. I woke up, had breakfast, went for my usual morning fly. I ended up going for a walk at some point. Guess who I met today?"
"Who?" Kakashi questions.
I roll my orbs and poke him with a curled claw as to not poke him with the tip but instead one of my knuckles, "You're supposed to guess". Kakashi looks to me lazily for a moment, silent and nothing else. "Oh fine," I sigh out, "I met Itachi Uchiha. The famed Uchiha prodigy".
"You met Itachi?" Kakashi raises his only visible brow, "How?"
"He was going for a walk with his little brother by the looks of things, taking him to the Academy I think. I wasn't paying attention and bumped into him and we got to talking. I didn't really get to hang out with him, though. I had to go catch Naruto again".
Kakashi sighs, "What did Naruto do this time?"
"Snuck into the Hokage's office and messed it up. Nothing as big as some other things he's done, but no matter," I answer. "Anyways, I told Itachi that if he wanted someone to hang out with- even just spar with- he should look me up".
Kakashi nods and I get up to take care of the food, "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Whether he looks like it or not, he's not big on contact with other people unless he has to".
"We'll see," I call from the stove, "You never know. Maybe he just needed someone to make the first step for him".