In which anticipation builds and Haruhi gets a free show.
Damn birds, always chirping.
She sat up clumsily in her bed, brushing off scraps of fabric used for blankets. From here she could make out her tables, chairs, and dressers, plus a few books. To the right blocked slightly by the door was the floor and living room far off into the distance. Oh, she was not looking forward to climbing down that.
"Ouch!" Picking herself up, she twisted too hard.
Taking a second and leaning against a cookbook, she waited for the sharp sting to fade into a dull throb. She was still only in her underwear. Walking rigidly over to the dresser(wedged between two hardcovers) She opened it slowly and pulled out a pair of very baggy, short, beige sweatpants. If they were going where she thought they were shoes were probably a good idea. All they had really were mismatched pairs though. Taking some of the scraps, she wrapped them tightly up to the calves of each leg, and put the knee length sweatpants things on. She was sure those scraps were made out of ninja cloth, and would serve as pretty good glorified sock-shoes. Taking out a baby blue shirt She put it on her head and shimmied into it.
Yawning, she stepped lightly over to the edge and looked over. The living room had that quiet energized morning vibe going on, the type when you're well rested and ready to do jumping jacks or something. Truly, great things would happen today.
And, she thought, looking down at the giant red books and the carpet floor at least three times her height, it would be even greater if she wasn't back to square one. She would need to find another way down, the easiest path. Looking at the books, she realized if she pushed gently she could make a staircase.
She was in the process of easing a paper back from the shelf when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
Turning around she came face to face with Kakashi.
At this point it was a given and she wasn't surprised anymore.
"We'd better get going. I'll let you wash up and eat quickly first." He carefully laid his palm flat. She had no other choice and because Kakashi was better, she rolled on. Breathing shallowly, she clutched a finger as he slowly brought her to the bathroom. Fully expecting him to leave, she was slightly startled when he coughed awkwardly.
"I need to check it." He blushed slightly, but conveyed the necessity of it with his gaze. She nodded shakily, and took off the baggy pants and slid off her shirt, his eyes sliding with the movement. He gulped.
He cupped one hand around her back, so she could rest on it. The other poked tenderly at her exposed stomach and lower chest.
"Nothing's broken." He said quietly, blush having since evaporated. She finished her business, brushing her teeth the best she could and washing up with occasional assistance from Kakashi when it became too much. They finished up and he carried her to the kitchen, where she worked on that clementine.
"As you know, I'm testing the three genin from yesterday to see if they are capable of becoming genin under me."
She chewed from her perch from on top of the apple.
"You won't be staying with me."
She stopped chewing at this, and almost choked. Was she supposed to stay home then? Reading her confusion he clarified;
"It's too dangerous, and I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt even more. You'll stay back with Pakkun."
Sounds legit. She gave him a thumbs up.
He let her finish up and helped her stand with with his index finger. Instead of being put in his pocket like before, she was carried in his hand.
"You'll be with Pakkun instead of me."
Oh.
When they finally left, it seemed to be about nine in the morning. Most of the early birds had been replaced, sitting and flying among the many trees that speckled Konoha. The roads far from the center of the village weren't gravel, but dirt packed. An energy tinged the air. It swept through the trees and blew her hair softly over her shoulders like a cloud.
They didn't meet anyone on their way, it still being relatively early in all. Besides, most of the people were heading towards the heart of the village, not away from it.
The trees became thicker, and birds and other animals replaced the sounds of people. They were still in the village, but deeper into their training grounds. One of the animals happened to be a black cat with orange eyes. It licked it's paw a few feet in front of their stopped forms, before bounding up a tree. Almost immediately, Kakashi turned and headed down what looked to be a deer trail that was now mostly used by people. Foliage ghosted over his pant leg.
"It's quite beautiful." Kakashi said, looking around then down at her.
She wanted to agree, but found her breath taken away. She looked over her shoulder at him then turned back. The trees were dozens of feet high, wildflowers bloomed in every spot of clearing they could find-even on the side of the path a bit. Briar's were a rich red brown and winded up the trees, and a faint trickling led to a tiny waterfall with stones gleaming in the morning sun.
They walked up to one of the larger stones, big and flat enough for Kakashi to squat down. The waterfall, maybe up to his waist, was right in front of him. He gently lowered her on another moss covered stone to his left and slightly behind him. She didn't mind. The view was great.
He reached up and in a jerky movement, bit his thumb. She flinched slightly at the movement. He continued to paint a circle and some of the unreadable symbols. She craned her neck in vain, as she couldn't read them. Muttering under his breath, there was a poof, not unlike when she had arrived here. The moving water swept it away and suddenly Pakkun was there!
"Yo." He greeted. Kakashi rubbed his head and explained what would happen. She listened in. Apparently, she and Pakkun would watch the test from the sidelines. He would use his ninja dog skill or something to observe undetected by everyone expect Kakashi, who would be directing the test. They got up again and walked to the clay packed riverbank. Some of the fresh water droplets got in her hair.
When they were on the path again, Kakashi placed her on Pakkuns head. They saluted to each other and split. Pakkun occasionally filled the time with small talk. They had ventured from the openness of the trail to one in the undergrowth. Judging from the paw marks, fur on the briars and pellets under the roots, she and Pakkun were traveling on a bunny trail! How cool!
The thorny red branches and green plants formed a canopy over them. It was dusky at some points but sudden breaks in the canopy, where maybe a tree or a rock broke through, left a halo of light. Like tunnels!
Some of the larger trees had roots sticking up and forming above ground caves. She could have sworn she saw a family of rabbits under one. All the while they were completely silent.
He slowed down suddenly, mindful if her sides.
"Shhh." He whispered. She tapped to signify she heard. The crept up, and stopped on the edge of the biggest clearing yet.
There they were.
Those three kids would become legends, neo-sannin if you please.
Save the world in all.
Right now Naruto was snoring loudly, Sakura, who was sitting next to Naruto, kept blushing and looking up at Sasuke, and Sasuke had a constipated look on his face. God help them. At this point the sun was much higher in the sky, only a few hours till noon. The sun wasn't so much relaxing now as it was serious. Unhindered by clouds, it beamed down on the clearing.
"Hello everyone. Ready for your first day?" Kakashi said casually, having popped up out of nowhere. His hooded expression was back.
"HEY YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura jumped up screaming in unison.
"Well, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way" He pointed and eye smiled.
"Liar!" Sakura said this time.
"Well how about I had a tiny woman with me and she needed to finish breakfast. " They looked on like he had sprouted an extra head. She giggled.
Instead of being offended, it somehow made her happy. Lucking, Kakashi had chosen that exact moment to start the explanation.
"Well," He cleared his throat "Lets get started."He walked over to one of three tree stumps and put his hand down on an alarm clock.
"Here we go. It's set for noon. You're assignment is very simple. You just have to take these bells from me." He jingled them in emphasis. "That's all there is to it."
"If you can't get them by noon, you go without lunch."
That got a verbal reaction. All of theme developed tortured expressions. So that was why he told them to go without lunch.
" You'll be tied to those posts and you'll watch while I eat my lunch in front of you." He pointed to the posts.
"Wait a minute, there's three of us. How comes there's only two bells?" Sakura asked sharply.
"Hm well that way, at least one of you will end up tied to a post and ultimately disqualified for failing to complete the mission. That one goes back to the academy." He swung the bells forward.
"Then again, all three of you could flunk out too." No mercy.
"You can use any weapons, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to take the bells." He curled them into his fist.
"Those weapons are too dangerous!" Sakura exclaimed, arms spread. Naruto laughed.
"Especially since you couldn't dodge that eraser."
"Class clowns are usually the weakest links. You can safely ignore them. When I say start you can begin."
Naruto had other ideas. From what she could see with the leaf blocking her view, he screamed and charged, kunai out.
In a whirl to fast for her or anyone to see, Kakashi grabbed Naruto's kunai arm, turn him and pointed it at the back of his neck. Naruto struggled fruitlessly to escape the iron hold.
"Don't be in such a hurry. I didn't say start yet." He stated, annoyed. Sakura and Sasuke took a step back. Her heart was in her throat. She knew Kakashi was powerful. Matter of fact, he had one of the highest kill counts in the entire series. But she had never seen him in action before.
He let Naruto go.
"But, you came at me with the full intention of destroying so...how can I say this? "I'm actually starting to like you guys." Well good. They'd be together for awhile.
"Start!"
The three jumped up and into the trees. The fun starts now!
This story is picking up steam! Tell me your suggestions, what you liked and disliked, and the vibe you're getting.