Crossover Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ K a z o k u ❯ Can we keep him? ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8: Can We Keep Him?

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“Hey Naruto, what was that jutsu you used on the bridge?”

 

“I call it fox fire, Kakashi-sensei. It's cool, isn't it?”

 

Team 7 was heading for home and the two light-haired members of the team were trying to have a conversation to fill in the awkward, uncomfortable silence that descended upon them after Sasuke's spontaneity. Naruto or Kakashi could draw Kagome or Sasuke into one of their conversations sometimes but never for long, and after one word replies, grunts or head nods, they kept quiet again.

 

Sasuke quit trying to engage Kagome in a conversation by the time they reached the Land of Fire since Kagome wouldn't even look at him or acknowledge that she heard him. One word from Sasuke and Kagome would seek refuge in her twin, burrowing on Naruto's side until the Uchiha was forced to give up. If Naruto wasn't there, she would turn to Kakashi and use his back as a human hole in the ground where she could stick her head into until Sasuke quit trying to engage her in conversation.

 

It was vexing for Sasuke and torturous for Naruto and Kakashi. The copy-nin was a man of a few words, but he preferred to pretend to have a long conversation with Naruto rather than see and hear the young Uchiha fumble around. Naruto was stuck between his bestfriend and his sister, a rock and a hard place. He didn't want to choose sides if he could help it, but the bastard was just going to have to fly solo until Kagome unlatched herself from his arm.

 

Haku, whom Kagome had taken an instant liking to the second Naruto claimed him as a friend, knew better than to ask what was happening. Not even Zabuza released such a frightening aura like Kagome did whenever she glared at Sasuke. Acting small and as inconspicuous as possible was his best bet right now. He had little to nothing to contribute to the current conversation anyway.

 

“Yeah...” Kakashi sounded hesitant. “Tell me... when did you learn it? I haven't seen you practicing it before and you could've used it with our first fight with Zabuza,” he gave Haku an apologetic look, “but you didn't. Were you hiding it from me, hm?” His tone and words were kidding but the intentions behind it very serious.

 

Naruto, who was carrying his sister on his back in a piggyback ride, shifted the sleeping girl higher before he replied. “Nah,” he shook his head. “I don't know why but when I thought Haku killed the bastard,” he grinned boyishly at Haku, “something just snapped inside of me and suddenly, I knew this jutsu... I didn't even realize I did it until much later,” and shrugged nonchalantly. “Why do you ask?” Suspicious eyes narrowed at his sensei.

 

Kakashi shook his head “Nothing,” and lied.

 

Naruto wasn't buying it. “You want me to teach it to you, don't you?” he speculated. “No... maybe you want me to do it so you can copy it with your sharingan, yeah that's it! That's what you want, isn't it!?” he accused, would've pointed a finger in the jounin's direction if his hands weren't busy keeping his sister from falling from his back.

 

Kakashi continued to shake his head at his student, but shrugged halfway through a head shake. “You got me, Naruto.”

 

The blond stuck his tongue out at Kakashi, telling him in a smug voice, “You could copy it, but you're never going to do it like me, sensei. I'm the only one who could ever do it right.”

 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Pack your bags everybody,” voice dripping with sarcasm, “Naruto's taking us on an ego trip.”

 

Haku tried to hide a snicker behind a dainty hand and Kakashi barked out a laugh.

 

“Shut up, bastard!” Naruto glared at him. “You're just jealous too and...” at Sasuke's `yeah right' look, “at least Kagome's still talking to me, so hah!” he added hotly.

 

Sasuke took a step forward, intent on beating some sense into the blond but remembered the girl his friend carried. He paused, caught up to Naruto's stride and bopped him one on the head instead, making sure to avoid disturbing Kagome.

 

“Ow!” Naruto scowled, “I'll remember this, teme! Just you wait, when we get back home...” he mumbled the last part, annoyed that his sensei was laughing at him.

 

Their light banter continued all the way to Konoha, and they arrived home just in time for supper. The guards in the entrance outpost observed the addition to Team 7 when they reached the gate checkpoint, but said nothing more than a welcoming greeting to the home-comers as they logged it in the gate traffic report. Naruto wanted to make a beeline for Ichiraku's but Kakashi reminded him about Haku.

 

Haku looked visibly nervous, now that he was going to meet this Yondaime, leader of the Leaf Village and legendary shinobi of Konoha. It wasn't as if he had anywhere or anyone else to come home to, but he would've been able to survive on his own without the help of anyone if only Naruto hadn't insisted on him tagging along with them. He told the blond not to feel responsible for what happened to Zabuza, they were only doing their duties as ninjas, but the loud Konoha genin wouldn't take no for an answer and threatened to drag him all the way to their village bound and gagged if he refused.

 

“I'm sure tousan would be glad to have you,” Naruto had told him.

 

“And you're already one of us,” Kagome had added, further making him agree to come with them. No one had been so eager to have him before - his parents having been afraid of his abilities and all.

 

Now though, he swallowed nervously, it was a different matter. When Zabuza took him in, he had a purpose. He was supposed to be a tool, a weapon to attain Zabuza's goals. He had a solid objective then, something definite to cling to. Now, even though he liked these warm feelings that were to new to him every time the twins included him in whatever they were doing, he honestly didn't know how to deal with it.

 

He wasn't used to doing nothing but receiving. All Naruto and Kagome did was give him something new each day. First there was the offer of having some place to go, somewhere to belong to, and then the next day a sense of belongingness that was almost... familial. Naruto already promised him several things to do in the village like going to his favorite ramen stand, introducing him to friends, showing him the best places in town and lots more. If he proved himself worthy, the blond added, he might even teach Haku the best pranks to pull on people.

 

Kagome, on the other hand, groomed his hair everyday since they've met, made sure to heal even the tiniest cuts he received and promised to take him shopping. He had a feeling the girl thought of him as a female due to his feminine looks despite being a male, but if it made her happy, he didn't mind. The two Uzumakis were a riot, truly fun to be with. The Uchiha's cold demeanor and their sensei's indifference were all but overshadowed by their behavior.

 

What about their father though? It was hard to imagine a Hokage with the disposition of Naruto or Kagome, so Haku was understandably apprehensive about the meeting. The siblings might have promised and assured him of lots of things, but in the end, he knew he had to impress the leader of Konoha to be able to stay longer with his newfound friends. Yes, in the end he was an independent person, capable of taking care of himself but in the time spent journeying from the Land of the Waves to Konoha, he had grown considerably attached to the Uzumakis. He didn't want their father to have a wrong impression of him and get him kicked out of the village at this point.

 

And that made him nervous.

 

The Hokage Tower was noticeably less busy in the afternoon after work hours. An occasional shinobi would pass them while the group made their way to the top office, but the busy random chuunins scuttling from one errand to another were absent.

 

Kagome pretended to be asleep until they reached the Hokage Tower, determined to ignore Sasuke as long as she could. The urge to sit him crept up on her every time he appeared in her line of vision. Sensing Haku's nervousness, she grabbed one of his hands and squeezed reassuringly. Kakashi was waiting for them to catch up to him by the door leading to the Yondaime's office.

 

“Hurry up, kids.” The jounin waved them over impatiently.

 

“Kagome,” Sasuke turned to her, making one last effort to talk to her before going inside the room. She brushed past him and gently tugged Haku into the room. Naruto was already inside.

 

“Welcome back, Team 7!” Iruka was in the room with the Hokage, looking as much the proud papa as Arashi was. He couldn't be any happier that his students returned safe and sound from their first high-ranked mission. He gave the pretty addition to the team a cursory glance and waited for everyone to settle down, finish their homecoming hugs, greetings and other rituals that involved squishing body parts tightly while giving affectionate noogies.

 

“Your report, Kakashi?”

 

There was an apparent awkwardness in the air, one which Arashi couldn't place. He listened to the jounin's report avidly, but he noticed the genins' odd behaviors. Haku trained nervous eyes at Arashi like he was expecting the Hokage to jump up and eat him any moment, while Naruto tried (and failed) not to look uncomfortable as he stood between Sasuke who kept looking at Kagome and Kagome who kept turning her head away from Sasuke, looking everywhere and everything but him.

 

“So can we keep him?” Two sets of eager blue eyes turned their full attention to the man interrupting his observation of Sasuke and snapping him out of his reverie, the hopeful look on their faces enough to make his heart melt. After Kakashi ended his report, Naruto and Kagome presented Haku's case to him, alternating roles in while they asked for Haku's acceptance into the Hidden Leaf Village.

 

“He's not a puppy or a kitten you can just adopt...” a frustrated hand ran through blond locks, struggling to explain it to his children as gently as he could. “He's not a stray animal...”

 

“We know that papa,” Kagome interrupted and Naruto continued “- but he has nowhere to go!” Then they chorused in synch, “We can help him, can't we?”

 

There was just no reasoning with them. He was surprised when Kakashi gave him the full mission report and impressed when he read the details. He wasn't the only one curious as well, when Team Kakashi came home with one member too many, Iruka being the one to get to the bottom of things when he asked his former students who the stranger was.

 

Haku was introduced by Naruto who made sure to make it clear that he was a boy, mumbling about how he mistook his new buddy for a girl because of his looks before and didn't want his father to do the same thing.

 

Arashi sighed, defeated. “Go make up a room for him at the house,” then hurried to add “and don't keep him up all night tonight, he has to come with me to register tomorrow, after I talk to the council.” The loud cheering made it difficult for him to be heard so he made the two promise to not hassle the new addition to their family too much before he allowed them to race home.

 

Haku only had a few possessions. All the material things he owned fit into the medium sized bag that Zabuza provided for him several years ago. If you looked into the bag, you'll find several articles of clothing not too inexpensive and not too pricey, just enough to provide warmth when needed and comfort in other extreme weathers. There was also a spare set of sandals, a couple of masks when he needed to pretend to be hunter-nin chasing his former master, emergency rations and of course, his weapons. His scroll collection wasn't as impressive as Kagome's was, but he had several which were new to her and he generously allowed her to borrow them for her perusal. Kagome was `scroll obsessed', as Naruto would say. A `scroll freak', so he told her she could keep the ones she was fixated on, but she refused his offer, insisting he should treasure the rare ones he had left of his clan's heritage.

 

The room they gave him was bigger than anything he's ever had as far as he could remember. It's bigger than the hut he lived in with his parents, although the hut wasn't really that big and the room isn't really anything extravagant, but it's his. The twins are already planning on what additions were needed to “spruce it up” and make him “feel more at home”. Haku has a giant lump in his throat preventing him from telling them that he already felt at home. The first time ever since his father rallied the neighbors to kill him and his mother.

 

He had no presentable nightclothes to wear after his bath, but Naruto quickly solved it by handing him some. He wondered where the boy got it considering they fit him perfectly - it couldn't have been Naruto's, his clothes would fit him too small; it couldn't have been the Yondaime's either, his clothes would've been several sizes too big - but he was soon ushered to the kitchen to snack on a bowl of instant ramen with Naruto while Kagome prepared dinner.

 

The front door opened and someone yelled “Tadaima!” from the foyer just as he was washing their bowls. Instead of the bigger version of Naruto whom he was expecting, it was a boy around their age with hair that could rival his joined them.

 

“Okaeri, Neji!”

 

“I'm ho-” his white eyes zoomed in on the long haired stranger. “Are those my clothes?”

 

“Yeah, I hope you don't mind me raiding your closet!” Naruto replied, attempting to grab a piece of tempura from the cooked batch. Kagome slapped his hand away with the spatula. “Ow!” He rubbed his hand, pouting at his sister before turning back to Neji, “My clothes are too small for him and tousan's clothes are too big for him, but yours fit just fine.” He made another attempt to swipe a piece and failed.

 

“Naru, stop that and go set the table! Welcome back, Neji. Are you hungry? Would you like some ramen before dinner? It'll be ready soon,” she smiled at him and stirred the miso soup before checking on the rice and stuffed fish. “Papa might be home soon, too. You look tired. Do you want to take your bath first?”

 

“I'll get the tub ready,” Haku offered, getting up.

 

Neji shook his head, waving Haku back to his seat. “No, I'll take it later after dinner... but more importantly...” he looked at Haku and back at Kagome, an unspoken question in his eyes.

 

“Oh!” She knocked on her head, feeling like an idiot. “I forgot - Neji, this is Haku. We met him at Wave Country and he'll be staying with us from now on. Haku, this is Neji. He's our childhood friend and he owns the room next to yours.”

 

“Yoroshiku!” Haku gave him a friendly salute.

 

“Haku is our new brother,” Naruto said, covertly trying one last time to filch a tempura from the plate. Haku smiled at his words and, once again, failed attempt.

 

“New brother?” Neji asked, ignoring Naruto's pitiful whining.

 

“Yeah, papa's going to talk to the council about it tomorrow,” Kagome handed the tempura plate to Haku who picked one off and popped it into his mouth.

 

“Unfair!” Naruto's protest fell on deaf ears. “Why does Haku get a piece and I don't?”

 

Kagome glared at him, “You've already had your bowl of ramen and I don't want you slobbering all over the dinner before papa comes home.”

 

“But so did Haku!” Naruto sulked.

 

“But he doesn't slobber and I don't wanna hear another peep from you, Naru.” She waved her cooking utensil threateningly.

 

“Peep,” he taunted after a moment's silence, hiding behind Haku for cover.

 

Neji resigned himself to accepting the eccentricity of his friends. He nodded to Haku. The Uzumaki house is looking more and more like an orphanage - where the unwanted or abandoned children seek refuge. “I'm sure your dad will be home any minute now, just wait for a little while, Naruto.” He stepped in before things got out of hand.

 

Kagome stopped in mid-swing before and continued to glare at innocent-looking Naruto for a few seconds. “Go set the table.”

 

He obeyed immediately, knowing he'd stretched his sister's patience long enough.

 

Arashi made it to dinner in time, and it was the first time any of them witnessed the new addition to their family so flustered. Neji had the first impression that he had a lot of similarities with Haku, but the way the boy kept looking like a cornered animal whenever the Yondaime talked to him made him reevaluate his opinion.

 

“Haku-kun...” Arashi's brows wrinkled when his children snickered. “What?”

 

“It sounds funny,” Naruto said.

 

“Haku-kun,” Kagome added when their dad remained confused. “Why don't you just call him Haku?”

 

Arashi looked to Haku for permission. “I don't mind,” the boy responded quietly, looking at the table top.

 

“Haku,” Arashi tried again, “if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask for it, okay? Our home is your home now. Don't be a stranger.”

 

“Yes sir,” His gaze remained fixed on his food, his voice humble.

 

“And don't call me sir.”

 

“Yes, Yondaime-sama,” Haku replied ruefully.

 

Naruto laughed, earning him glares from his dad and sister. “Don't be rude, Naru,” she chastised.

 

Arashi turned back to Haku, “Just call me Arashi.” Then immediately wished he didn't because the boy gaped at him like he'd suggested something unforgivable. “What? It was just a suggestion...”

 

“Stop freaking out Haku, papa. He'll call you whatever he wants to call you, ne Haku? Neji still calls him Yondaime-sama,” she rolled her eyes, obviously unimpressed. “I don't know why when we live in the same house and he's been repeatedly told to drop the keigo.”

 

“That's because Neji doesn't know how to chillax,” Naruto quipped.

 

“Chillax?” Arashi was confused, lost with the lingo.

 

“Chill and relax,” his son explained, chewing on a mouthful of rice and fish. “That's because Neji was brought up to be a prim and proper lady,” he told Haku. Kagome chuckled and Arashi had to bite back a smile.

 

`Prim and proper lady' Neji shot him a glare full of un-ladylike pain and torture.

 

Some time later, after Arashi convinced his children to not have a sleepover in their family's newest addition's room, Haku still couldn't believe his luck. His mind ran in circles, tying to make sense of his new role in this newfound - family? The concept was still fresh to him, but certainly not disagreeable.

 

The man, no the Hokage - the twins' father - was very different from what he pictured a leader of a hidden shinobi village would be. Looking back, he shouldn't have been that surprised, seeing Naruto's and Kagome's breeding. Only a good man could raise children like them. He was everything Haku would have liked for a father, and he was genuinely surprised the man had been so accepting of him, considering. Their family wasn't perfect for sure, he was apprehensive to touch the subject of the absentee Uzumaki matriarch, but it was better than what he grew up with.

 

The other boy, Neji, wasn't as warm and friendly as the Yondaime, that's for sure, but he wasn't hostile either. He could tell the white eyed teen was someone who kept to himself and didn't say much. He had also yet to see this `Ero Sennin' Naruto referred to and the other friends Kagome talked a lot about, and he was sure there were others whom he had yet to meet, but if they were anything like his newly adopted family, he was looking forward to meeting them.

 

His life, he mused while staring at his ceiling inside his new and first ever room to himself, had just turned over a new leaf. Pun not intended.

 

Days passed and the new addition to the Uzumaki household slowly found his place within the group. He had never been an official shinobi of any hidden village, but the Yondaime gave him the option of taking tests if he wanted to.

 

Naruto balked at this, remembering what Zabuza said about Haku not fit to be a true ninja because of his unwillingness to harm people, and Kagome suggested allowing him to help Arashi with his work. Arashi hesitantly reminded them that his work required shinobi of high clearance, and Haku humbly volunteered to stay at home and look after the house.

 

“Take your time deciding, Haku.” Arashi-sama told him. “Don't rush yourself and set your own pace. When you're ready, you can do whatever you want. No one is pressuring you to do anything.” That phrase was like the man's mantra to him. He was really nice. Haku really liked him.

 

ღ

 

Pink energy gathered on her hands as she aimed at her opponent. Pink light swirled mixed with black, dark, malicious power, before she released it in the face of her charging enemies. When the blinding flash subsided, she opened her eyes to see her adversaries on the ground. Lifeless bodies, some of them with their eyes still open and mouths agape held faces of absolute terror. No visible wounds or marks were on their bodies, but she could tell from their auras that they were clearly dead.

 

“Good work, my precious.” A pasty-faced man with long black hair surveyed her work in approval, pride hinted in his voice. “You didn't even break a sweat. I should be careful, you might surpass me in a few years with the way you're improving.” He was clearly teasing, but the humor was lost with the girl.

 

“You have nothing to fear from me, father.” She replied, perplexed. “I will not betray you.”

 

His face twisted into what might have been a smile, patted her on the head in obvious affection. “That was a joke. You need to relax.”

 

“I apologize,” Her eyes were downcast. A grey-haired teenager with glasses and a short ponytail examined the dead bodies as they talked. Green chakra flowed from his hand as he did. She looked indifferent, but she observed his actions through the corner of her eyes as much as she could.

 

Her father sighed. “You're too serious for your own good sometimes.”

 

The young teen walked towards them, deactivating his hands. “They're all dead, sir. Instantaneous, quick and mostly physically painless assuming from the lack of bodily traumas, but definitely emotionally traumatic, if I were to judge on the expression on their faces. There is also considerable brain damage,” he nodded to his superior.

 

“Good work, Kabuto.” Orochimaru said. “Is there anything else? How are the effects of the attack on her?” The sannin waited patiently, watched quietly as his subordinate did a quick full body scan of the girl.

 

“She appears fine, but I wouldn't recommend the use of this attack more than once a day at most. It takes a toll on her chakra reserves and might cause...” he paused to find the right word to describe her, settled on a something that would be suitable, “cell damage if abused.”

 

“Did you hear that?” Orochimaru turned to her. “Don't use this attack unless you absolutely need to. I forbid it, do you understand?” He waited for her nod obediently. “Use it only in an emergency and never more than once.”

 

She would have nodded again if not for - “You!” the girl whose face Kagome couldn't see turned to her, aura screaming outrage. “Get out of my head! Right now! Get out! Get out! Get out!!!” The girl screamed repeatedly, sending several bursts of energy to punctuate her demands. The ones named Orochimaru and Kabuto were asking the girl what was wrong but Kagome could only feel the attacks from the girl.

 

Kagome woke up with a silent scream in her throat as she sat up in her bed, absolutely terrified. It took her several seconds to realize that she was back in the safety of her room, away from the girl's killing intent. “It was just a dream,” she told herself as she tried to calm her furiously beating heart. Whoever that faceless scary girl was couldn't hurt her now, it was just a dream. But what a realistic dream it had been! It almost seemed and felt like she was walking in the girl's shoes, seeing the whole thing with the girl's eyes up until the point where the girl attacked her.

 

She frowned, trying to make sense of her weird dream. She had a long history of having bad nightmares, Papa and Naruto could attest to that, but they've never been as surreal and scary as this one. Logically, her recurring dream about a giant spider-baboon man was scarier, but this one... this one felt so familiar. The promise of death in the angry girl's voice had been so real, hate pouring out of her in waves. And it was all directed towards her.

 

Trembling like a leaf, Kagome stepped out of her bedroom and quietly made her way down the hall. Arms tightly wrapped around her pillow, her feet silently marched towards a very familiar direction. She could do this in her sleep, having done it countless of times, opened the door and noiselessly stepped inside. Not a single sound was made as she closed it behind her.

 

“Gome?” Blond hair stuck out in all directions as a groggy voice asked from the bed. Naruto sat on his elbows, squinting at the indistinguishable darkness of his room. Neither of them ever wondered about Naruto's uncanny ability to sense Kagome's need for company after a bad nightmare, and neither of them questioned it, attributing it to the bond they shared.

 

“I had a bad dream.” Kagome inched closer toward the bed.

 

Naruto didn't need to hear anything else, lifting his blanket as he made room for her and her pillow. She needed no further invitation, jumping under the covers and snuggled close to bask in the safe haven. He always knew how to calm her down after a bad nightmare. She was lucky to have the best brother in the whole world. Scary Girl would never be able to touch her now. The thought calmed her down and sleep took over quickly.

 

“You've been stressing yourself too much,” Naruto sleepily mumbled into his sister's hair, stroking it gently, like the way she liked it. It soothed her, he learned through the years. “Maybe you should make up with Sasuke,” he pushed, knowing she wouldn't lash out and bop him on the head at this state.

 

In response, she snuggled even closer, even breaths fanning the nook between his neck and shoulder. He looked down, even if he couldn't see much through the darkness, sighed, and hugged his sister closer, letting it go. There was no use talking to her since she'd already fallen asleep within the blink of an eye.

 

He pressed a chaste kiss on her forehead. At least Sasuke couldn't blame him for not trying. He'd already done his part as the bastard's friend.

 

Teme was on his own now.

 

ღ

 

“Did something happen between you and Sasuke?”

 

The question caught Kagome off-guard, causing her to knock over her tea cup. Itachi's fast reflexes saved it from crashing on the floor but she had to stand up to avoid the spilled tea that dripped from the table top to her lap. Regretfully, she wasn't as fast as he was so her skirt soaked up a little amount before she was able to get out of the way.

 

A while later, after a server from the dango shop they were eating in cleaned up the mess and refilled their cups, Itachi regarded her thoughtfully while nibbling on his dango stick.

 

He wasn't blind.

 

While the constant use of sharingan took its toll on his eyes, he still possessed perfect vision. Technically, if you were referring to his eyesight per se, the reason behind his non-blindness despite the stress caused from using his Mangekyou was because Kagome insisted on giving him regular check ups. Forced it upon him really, threatening him with going blind and going to such lengths as stalking him if he refused her care. She wasn't a certified medic-nin yet but her healing skills were one in a million. He wasn't talking about physically seeing with his eyes though.

 

No, he was talking about his little brother's strange behavior recently. It all centered on the fidgety girl sitting in front of him. If the shock she displayed from his question wasn't proof enough, her nervous mannerisms and avoidance of eye contact were enough to make him suspicious.

 

“What happened?”

 

Kagome had been walking on cloud nine when Itachi asked if she wanted to go get some dango today. She was certain he didn't consider this a `date' date, but that didn't prevent her from pretending it was anyway. It wasn't unheard of Itachi to treat her but she always made sure she looked her best anyway. Who knows? Maybe her efforts were finally going to pay off someday and his eyes were going to open up to her charms. Yes, they were non-existent and she had the sex appeal of a tree trunk but it certainly didn't hurt to hope... or delude herself into thinking that she had a chance.

 

She shook her head in response to his question, playing with the edge of her skirt. “Nothing,” she hoped her voice didn't sound as nervous as she felt. Her insides quivered, hating herself for not telling him the truth. Luck was on her side this time though, in the form of Genma, who smiled brightly when he spotted them.

 

“Hey Chiati!” The man had no fear, walking over and merrily slapping Itachi on the back while grinning at him and Kagome. “Hello, Kagome-chan. Out on a date, I assume?” Needing no invitation, he plopped himself down on the bench next to Itachi, enjoying the feathers he ruffled with his one sentence.

 

Color quickly rose on Kagome's face as all the blood rushed to it and she tripped over her words. “W-we're not on a d-date, Genma-san!”

 

“You look so cute when you're embarrassed, Kagome-chan,” he ignored Itachi's glare and held himself from pinching the girl's cheeks. He liked to tease his friend and his friend's almost-girlfriend, but he wasn't dumb enough to push past his limits. That and he valued his life. He knew Itachi probably didn't see him on the same friendly terms he did. “I was just teasing, but the more you deny it, the more I want to believe it.”

 

“Meanie!” Kagome glared at him.

 

Genma laughed at her, waving a shop staff over and giving her his order before turning back to them. “So Chiati,” he ignored the death glare he received for massacring the name, “that was some mission you were in, huh? The survivors of the first squad they sent are still in the hospital. I heard their only hope is if someone of Tsunade-sama's caliber cures them.”

 

“What happened to them, Genma-san?” Kagome was thankful for the change of topic but was horrified at the same time.

 

Genma thought about it for a moment while Itachi shook his head.

 

“Nothing you need to concern yourself about,” he stated. He wanted to spare her the gory details, but the irritating Genma who took too many liberties with him had a different idea.

 

“I guess I can tell you since it's not a secret,” Genma nodded to himself. He thanked the server who set his order in front of him and took a bite before continuing, “I believe it happened around the time you were out on a mission, Kagome-chan. A squad was on a routine patrol mission and went missing for a few days. Chiati's squad was sent to look for them and they were found two days later.”

 

“The bodies they found...” He gave an exaggerated shudder.

 

“That's enough,” Itachi warned, shaking his head and trying not to reach over to cover Kagome's ears so she wouldn't hear what Genma was going to say next. Genma gave him a look that said `don't worry, I won't say anything bad' before he continued.

 

“They were burnt beyond recognition and the survivors have considerable psychological damage that none of the medics could cure.” He addressed Itachi, “I heard the older special jounins talking about a similar thing happening several years ago.”

 

“Hn.” Genma and Kagome both frowned at the non-answer he gave.

 

“What do you think happened to them, Genma-san?”

 

He shrugged. “I wish I could tell you, Kagome-chan. I honestly have no idea what went on... and I doubt even the nins investigating it are sure of what happened. I'm sure we'd all like to know what jutsu was used to create fire strong enough to make charcoals out of human remains. I thought it was just another rumor. There are lots of talks about weird deaths lately, and not just in Fire Country. I heard about this incident in Sand, a whole platoon wiped out with no marks on the bodies whatsoever.” He refrained from shuddering. “A new jutsu is invented everyday, but I'd sure like to know what techniques they used to do those things.”

 

“Naru has a new fire jutsu. I don't think it's hot enough to turn bodies into charcoal though,” Kagome remembered out loud, frowning. “Even if it was strong enough to burn through Haku's ice jutsu.”

 

“Haku? He's that new,” Genma thought of another word to use than `stray', “- friend who's living with you, isn't he? I heard about him too.” He grinned at Itachi while he enjoyed his dango. “Have you met him yet?”

 

“No,” Kagome answered in behalf of the Uchiha. “We're throwing him a welcoming party this soon. Would you like to come?”

 

“No,” Itachi answered at the same time Genma said “I'd love to!”

 

“He can't come,” Itachi grit out.

 

“Of course I could,” Genma countered. “I'd love to,” he insisted.

 

Kagome smiled at him, “I'm sure Haku would love to meet you, Genma-san.” And he smiled at Itachi in triumph.

 

“I don't see him a lot but this'll give me a chance to take a look at Naruto-kun's jutsu then.”

 

“Cool!” Kagome chirped.

 

“It must be something,” he continued, “I heard he saved Sasuke-kun's life with it? What's wrong, Kagome-chan? Why are you blushing? Did I say something wrong?”

 

“Nothing's wrong, Genma-san!” Kagome quickly denied as she saw Itachi's questioning glance trained at her, like a hawk in waiting. She started to sweat under his scrutiny. Furthermore, she took the coward's way out, thanking her lucky stars that the presence of Genma would keep Itachi from going with her.

 

“Um, I just remembered... I have to...” eyes shifted from side to side, indicating she was lying, “help uh, Haku, yeah! I have to go um, go talk to papa about that thing... and I have to go home and help Haku with something...” Her laughter was forced and the smile she tossed him was crooked but she just had to get out of here fast, before she spilled the beans. “You know how he's still settling in and all... Um, we'll do this again some time, ne?”

 

She was gone before he could open his mouth to respond. That was the fastest he's ever seen her move to date. Yup, something was definitely up and if he wanted to know what it was, he just had to go to his brother to ask now, didn't he?

 

ღ

 

“Oh my God! I can't believe he did that!”

 

“Sssh! Keep it down, Hinata. I don't want your dad or Hana-chan to hear!”

 

Hinata's eyes were wide with shock, mouth open from her friend's revelation. “I can't believe he did that!”

 

“I know, I know. You don't have to repeat it several times,” Kagome resisted the urge to shake her. “And keep it down, will you!”

 

Hinata blinked twice before she closed her mouth and continued to stare at her friend in disbelief. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

 

“You were out on a mission, remember? And I had to get you alone,” eyes darted around to see if the younger Hyuuga sister was around. The little squirt always had a knack for eavesdropping on their conversations. She'd make a great spy one day, in Kagome's opinion, a useful shinobi for their village; she just didn't want her bestfriend's sister to spy on them right now.

 

“So what happened next?” Hinata asked, curiosity gnawing at her.

 

Kagome frowned, brows furrowing. “What do you mean what happened next? That's all there is to it, end of story. Nothing else happened.”

 

“You're not talking to him, are you?” Hinata guessed, reading her friend's reaction. “And...” her milky white eyes widened into saucers, “Itachi-san doesn't know, does he?”

 

“Of course not! And don't you tell him!”

 

“Why haven't you told him!?” Hinata gasped, feeling her shock and surprise escalate, and then having a sneaking suspicion. “You... did you... did you like it? I mean, how was it?” She might not be an expert at reading mannerisms like most of her family, but she could read her friend like the back of her hand even with her eyes closed, blindfolded and her hands tied behind her back.

 

“O-of course not!” Kagome denied, red in the face. “I'm very mad at him right now, I haven't even talked to him since then and I'm never going to talk to him ever again! I'm not even going to mention his name!”

 

“But you have to face it some time!” Hinata pointed out.

 

“I don't wanna talk about it! It happened, he'll pay for it, I'm not talking to him right now and I just want to forget it.”

 

“But -”

 

Kagome held her fingers up to her ears to block out whatever else her friend wanted to say. “Lalalalalalalalala! I can't hear you!”

 

Thankfully, Hanabi chose that time to join their discussion, inviting herself into her sister's room, and Hinata was forced to let it go for now, but not before sending her friend one last `we'll talk about this more later' look.

 

ღ

 

“Pervert.”

 

The reply was a hot glare which was ignored.

 

“Defiler of maidens.”

 

He snorted and rolled his eyes.

 

“Kissing bandit!”

 

“Usuratonkachi.”

 

“Mini Jiraiya!”

 

“Hey!” he finally reacted.

 

“You stole her first kiss! Now my sister is ruined for marriage! No one will want her and she'll have to spend her life as a spinster!” The blond continued his dramatic tirade, ignoring his raven haired friend glaring daggers at him while pacing in their spacious living room. They were alone in the Uzumaki house for now. Neji was out on a mission, Kagome still hasn't returned from her errand earlier this morning, and Haku was with his father. “I'm never going to have a niece and/or nephew! I'll never experience the life of an uncle spoiling his cute little nieces and nephews while they complain about the strictness of their parents, and I'll never be called `uncle' by anyone! This is all your fault, teme!!!”

 

“Shut up, dobe. The whole neighborhood could hear you.” Sasuke interrupted Naruto at mid-rant by extending his leg to trip the boy when he walked in front of the sofa where the Uchiha was sitting on.

 

Naruto narrowly avoided crashing into his father's precious collection of sharp weaponry, carefully mounted on one side of the wall in their living room.

 

“So where is she?” Sasuke ignored Naruto's threats about skewering him with one of the weapons on the wall, looking around while stretching his senses out in hopes of sensing Kagome hiding out in her room or lurking around to avoid him. He could hear at least one other person in the house aside from him and Naruto.

 

“She's gone to see `tousan,” Naruto replied after venting for a bit, then grinned. “She's still avoiding you because you're a bastard.”

 

“Shut up, dobe.”

 

Haku, who was still in shock at the generosity his new family showed by providing him a new wardrobe and thoroughly exhausted from Kagome's slave-driver persona when it came to shopping for his stuff with him, was startled by the loud noises outside. Sounds of skin being hit and hair being pulled were what greeted him as he rounded the corner towards the living room, and he had to break up the fight before it escalated.

 

ღ

 

Arashi mentally sighed, giving up trying to make sense of the extremely important document he was currently reading. His arm lowered and blue eyes fell on his daughter who was innocently observing him.

 

“Was there something in particular that you wanted to talk to me about?”

 

She shook her head, no.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

His shoulders dropped when she nodded, looking like a kicked puppy.

 

“Am I bothering you?” The visible distress on her face tugged at his heart strings and he found himself assuring her she wasn't. “Because I could leave if I'm just getting in your way...”

 

She sounded so pitiful, he felt doubly guilty for bringing up the topic of her impromptu visit to his office in the first place. “You're not, honey. I like spending time with you.” He glanced at the paperwork on his desk which seemed to have doubled in size the last time he blinked, “But I have work to do. I'm not going to be good company. Why don't you go hang out with your Hinata-chan -”

 

“She has training with her father.”

 

“I'm sure your brother -”

 

She huffed and crossed her arms.

 

“- or Haku. I'm sure he'll love your company.”

 

“If you don't want me here, you could just say so.”

 

Arashi sighed wearily. “You know I don't mean to say that. You can stay here whenever you want.” When she continued to look doubtful, he added, “Just stop staring at me. It makes me self-conscious.”

 

Kagome grinned. Who knew the great Yellow Flash of Konoha had such a weakness? She was never going to tell her father what was bothering her, but she felt comforted by his company. She loved Hinata dearly, but there was just something about her dad's presence that calmed her. Her brother made her feel the same way too, but she wasn't ready to face Sasuke yet... Itachi was out of the question, of course, as proven by their earlier conversation, and Neji had a mission. He wasn't available to hang out with her at the moment.

 

“I promise not to stare at you while you work.” She waved an old scroll in the air, “I'll be busy reading this anyway.”

 

“What is it about?” Curiosity piqued, Arashi asked.

 

Wrinkling her nose, she answered, “The art of making paper servants.”

 

Arashi raised a brow at his daughter's description. “Shikigami?”

 

“More like lame-agami,” she mumbled under her breath. “Mushin-sama disapproved of my use of summons so he's making me learn this,” wrinkled her nose distastefully, “in hopes I'll unlearn my summoning. He says it's safer for someone as `reckless' as me.”

 

Arashi hid his smile, silently agreeing with the monk's decision if it was indeed a safer technique. “Don't you like it?”

 

Kagome shrugged, “Meh,” haphazardly waving a hand in the air. “I have to use chakra and paper, unlike my summoning jutsu. Too much hassle,” she complained, frowning. “My shikigami are only as strong as I make them to be, unlike my summons that are strong on their own. And I think Mushin-sama's making me do this as a punishment because he found out I disobeyed him. I wanted to learn more about aura manipulation, but he hid the scrolls from me.”

 

Work forgotten, Arashi leaned forward in interest. “Aura manipulation?” Even as Hokage, the techniques the monk taught his daughter weren't any he was familiar with. He'd always suspected Kagome was capable of influencing their auras, her bursts of pure emotion became rarer growing up, due to her training with her monk sensei, he guessed, but he never knew she could learn to control it at will and use it as a tool. The old man liked to boast about how much knowledge he was imparting his student, so why wasn't Mushin teaching it to her?

 

“He says I have to prove myself worthy of learning that technique first. `If you can't even remember the rules to your summoning, how do you expect me to teach you this high level, powerful technique, Kagome-sama? It'll take you a hundred years of training before you master all the basic techniques, with the way you're slacking off.',” Kagome said in her best impression of Mushin.

 

“He has a point,” Arashi amused himself with his daughter's obvious displeasure, puffed out cheeks, arms crossed and protruding lip topped with a glare. “Maybe you can win his favor if you show him you're studying hard.”

 

“Maybe you can ask to take a peek at the scrolls, borrow them from him and then kindly let me have a peek at them without Mushin-sama knowing,” his daughter countered, grinning innocently.

 

The look on his face clearly said `not on your life, missy'.

 

“Come on! Please? Pretty please, papa?” she said in her sweetest `don't you just love your beloved daughter' voice, in hopes to sway him. “I sort of have some of the basics down, but I need the scrolls for guidance.”

 

When he continued to look amused, she pushed further. “Aren't you curious to know what the technique is about? Maybe you can learn this one too.”

 

The corner of Arashi's mouth quirked in response. Bribery was, predictably, always his daughter's second tactic to make him more pliable. “Of course I'm curious, but I know you'll get into more trouble if Mushin-sama finds out you went behind his back for those scrolls. You'll get me into trouble with him too.”

 

“Keh,” his daughter sniffed, wrinkling her nose. At least she tried. Thinking quickly, she switched tactics. “Then why don't you let me take a peek at one of those forbidden scrolls you have. I'm sure they're far more interesting than making shikigami.”

 

Arashi didn't know if he should be amused or angry. He grinned like a rascal. “I'll let you take a quick peek at it once you're a jounin and not a day earlier.”

 

“But Naru read it already! Why can't I?”

 

His grin vanished, replaced by a fierce frown. “Your brother stole the scroll and got punished for it dearly. You know he wasn't supposed to do that.” He leveled a stare in her direction, as if he was holding her partially responsible for the whole fiasco Naruto caused.

 

“Unfair,” Kagome mumbled under her breath, lowering her eyes to her scroll when her father looked angry, remembering what Naruto did for Kiba's dare. She shouldn't have mentioned Naru's stunt, in hindsight. Papa clearly didn't find it as funny as the rest of them did.

 

Thinking of a way to get out of the hole she started digging herself, she quickly concentrated and sent a small burst of calming energy towards her father. She was an extreme novice at it and she really didn't have any idea of what she was doing, but she figured it was worth a try. If they didn't want her experimenting on her own, then they should train her properly. She risked a peek at the corner of her eyes to see if it worked, and she almost thought it didn't when her father suddenly giggled.

 

The action caught both of them in surprise; Kagome because she'd never seen her father do it before and Arashi because he was appalled at what he just did. Manly Hokages did not giggle!

 

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Arashi snickered at his daughter's look of astonishment. He didn't know why he felt like laughing at even the littlest things, but he couldn't help himself. Kagome wasn't affected, but the sight of her dad laughing sent her into her own set of giggles.

 

“I don't know why but I can't stop myself,” Arashi said as someone knocked on the door. He schooled his features and tried to look stoic, but failed, then called for the visitor to come in.

 

The door opened and a Chuunin carrying more paperwork walked in. Arashi took one look at the stack of papers and moaned, still unable to keep the smile off his face. The Chuunin carefully placed the documents on the Hokage's desk and smiled back at him when he saw that the Yondaime was smiling.

 

“Thank you, Kamizuki-kun.”

 

Kamizuki Izumo tried to gather himself as he nodded respectfully at his Hokage, relying on his training to ignore the surprising giddiness bubbling inside of him. He spotted the Hokage's daughter sitting inside the room and planned on giving her a brief smile.

 

His own giggle startled him.

 

He clamped a hand on his mouth and his eyes got large, confused at what came over him. He felt so embarrassed, with the Hokage and his daughter looking at him like he'd just lost his marbles. Nobody could blame them, really. What got into him? Why was he giggling like a schoolgirl?

 

“I -” he struggled to get his tittering under control, “I don't know what's gotten into me, Hokage-sama.” Large, almost horrified eyes looked apologetically at the Yondaime even as he twittered some more.

 

Arashi replied with sniggering of his own, looking as confused as he was.

 

Unable to keep her amusement under wraps, Kagome burst into chuckles, realizing this was the result of her failed experiment. She didn't know exactly what she did and what caused this, but she was sure the effect was going to wear off in a few minutes... wasn't it? She chuckled some more and that was all it took for the two men. They too were laughing seconds later, for unknown reasons, thoroughly confused as to why they were amused in the first place.

 

Nobody knew what the reason for the cheerful mood in the Hokage Tower that day, and Kagome went home before her father could start suspecting her. Her dad did question her about it with his tried and tested `Is there anything you want to tell me?' technique, but she dodged it by asking to be taught his signature Flying Thunder God Technique if he wasn't willing to let her peek at those forbidden scrolls before she became a jounin.

 

He answered with the usual, “Not until you're older and more experienced,” and they both dropped the subjects.

 

Avoiding Sasuke got harder and harder each day, more so when she ran out of excuses and things to acquaint Haku with in his new life at their village. She couldn't even seek sanctuary in her own home anymore because of her traitorous brother.

 

“Hey Gome, look who's here for a visit!” Naruto tried to look innocent while his sister stared him down. Today was one of the better days. Yesterday when Sasuke dragged him to corner his sister at the oden shop, Kagome kicked his shin in a fit. He took a precautionary step back, just in case.

 

ღ

 

Arashi rolled his shoulders to ease the tension from his limbs. He had a hard day today, compared to the previous one full of giggles, and he couldn't wait to get home. As soon as he stepped into the living room, however, he quickly lost his relaxed attitude.

 

His children were locked in some sort of weird four-way tension-filled silent combat.

 

Kagome had a fierce frown on her face, cheeks puffed in irritation. Naruto and Hinata looked very uncomfortable; Hinata wrung her hands together while Naruto looked like he was wishing for the floor to swallow him whole. And Sasuke... well, the young Uchiha was glaring daggers at Kagome, who was obviously ignoring him. The only thing they all had in common were the identical red tint on their cheeks. What had he just walked into?

 

Arashi looked from one blushing face to another and decided that he didn't really want to know. He cleared his throat, hoping to alleviate the awkward atmosphere he just stumbled into, directing his next question to his children's bestfriends. “So I take it you'll be attending the welcoming celebration we're throwing for Haku this weekend?”

 

ღ

 

“Oh look,” Naruto sided up to Haku as he observed his friend, “It looks like Sasuke's going to try and talk to Gome again.” The people in Haku's welcoming party were clustered in small groups, talking amongst themselves after getting introduced to the new boy. There weren't a lot of guests present, just intimate friends upon the insistence of the kids, citing that Haku could get to know the whole village little by little as he made his transition and not everyone at once.

 

Some of them haven't arrived yet, but the grownups Mushin, Arashi, Jiraiya and Kakashi were in one group, drinking sake, while Naruto stood together with Haku and Miroku. They watched as Sasuke approached cautiously, like one would when approaching a wild animal.

 

“What are we looking at?” Miroku asked as he stood next to the two spectators, following their line of sight while nibbling on a barbeque stick. The food was really good.

 

“We're watching Teme put the moves on my sister,” Naruto replied, not taking his eyes off his bestfriend. Haku watched quietly beside him.

 

“Oh man,” Miroku moaned, digging in his robes' pocket. “Now I owe Kakashi-san money. I wonder if I brought enough...” he mused to himself, counting his pocket change.

 

Haku cocked his head to one side, briefly confused. “Are monks allowed to gamble?”

 

Miroku smiled, pleased to know he had enough to pay up and spare change to make one more bet. “No, so don't tell my grandfather. I know he knows I wager with Kakashi-san and Jiraiya-sama but I'm safe as long as I pretend to at least have the decency to hide it from him as much as I could,” He grinned at the boy. He had much to learn, this new friend of his, and much to get used to.

 

Haku didn't know what to make of this weird monk whom Naruto referred to as one of the `the three legendary perverts', so he kept his mouth shut as a wary eye kept close watch on Miroku while the three of them observed the Uchiha's attempts quietly for several moments. He'd already met Jiraiya and he made the mistake of thinking he was relatively safe, like Kakashi, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake ever again.

 

“Shouldn't you be helping him, Naruto-kun?” Miroku questioned. “He looks like he needs it.”

 

“Bastard claimed he didn't need help,” Naruto scoffed. “So I'm going to watch and enjoy myself while Romeo crashes and burns.”

 

“Kagome threatened bodily harm and something about a marshmallow,” Haku confided to Miroku.

 

“Ah!” Miroku nodded sagely. Now he understood. “Um...” thinking of something to repay Haku for the information, he thought quickly. “I like your braided buns,” he said.

 

Haku fingered his hair consciously. Kagome had insisted on doing his hair everyday, giving him a different hairstyle each time, and he was unable to refuse or say no so he was stuck with elaborate coiffures fit for the opposite sex. Today he was sporting a braided bun on each side, intricately woven and set in place; a hairdo fit for a princess... which he most definitely was not.

 

It looked good on him though, even Arashi and Naruto said so, so he didn't complain.

 

“Thank you, Miroku-san.”

 

“I don't think he'll have any luck talking to her like that,” Naruto observed, turning their attention back to Sasuke. “Oooh,” he winced, “He shouldn't have done that.” Miroku shushed him and leaned forward to catch what the young Uchiha was saying.

 

“So you're just going to ignore me?” Sasuke continued, focusing on Kagome alone as he ignored a very uncomfortable-looking Hinata beside them. “We're not even going to talk about what happened? If you're mad at me, hit me or something.”

 

Hinata gave him a pitying glance, feeling bad for the silent treatment he's getting, but choosing to semi-ignore him out of loyalty for her bestfriend.

 

“So that's it? We're never going to talk to each other again. For the rest of our lives and as Team Seven, you'll never talk to me or acknowledge I exist ever again. Even when we go to missions where you need to talk to me, you'll just ignore me, right?” He was talking up a storm but he was at his patience's end. Getting ignored and treated like he was lesser than the worst scum in the world would do that.

 

Hinata couldn't decide which was more painful... watching Sasuke attempt to talk to Kagome or having a tooth removed without anesthesia. “Um, Sasuke-kun,” she whispered in a low voice only the three of them could hear, “people are starting to stare at us.”

 

Sasuke shot her an annoyed glance, not because she said anything to offend him, but because he was still frustrated with Kagome. “Then tell your friend to stop sulking and start talking to me again,” he demanded.

 

“Um...” White eyes darted from her friend's face to her bestfriend.

 

“Tell him, Hinata,” Kagome finally spoke, “that `your friend' doesn't want to talk to him right now because of what he did and will continue to be ignored until he apologizes. And your friend doesn't want just any normal apology. He must mean it or else he shouldn't apologize at all.”

 

Hinata looked at Sasuke who clearly heard the message she was supposed to tell him. They didn't really need her to repeat the things they said, did they? He was looking exasperatedly at Kagome, but he addressed Hinata with his next statement. “Tell your friend that `he' doesn't need to apologize because he did nothing wrong, and that she should just get over it because she's acting really childish.”

 

Kagome flicked invisible lint on her lint-free shirt, hand shaking in controlled anger, before she said to Hinata: “Tell him to step away before I rearrange his organs for him.”

 

“Tell her she is welcome to try but I doubt she could really do it.”

 

“Tell him to watch his mouth or else he could forget about having children in the future.”

 

Sasuke snorted. “Tell her she's not scaring me.”

 

Hinata watched them trade barbs like a spectator at a hanetsuki match. Threats, stinging insults on the part of Kagome, arrogant snorts on the part of Sasuke, ultimatums, and other words exchanged through Hinata flew, making the girl dizzy.

 

“Tell him to go away now, Hinata.”

 

“Who's `him'?” Itachi joined their little circle, looking at the trio curiously. Kagome, Hinata and Sasuke jumped at his appearance. Where'd he come from? The man just came out of thin air, it seemed.

 

“Naruto!” Kagome suddenly blurted out. Hinata looked at her with wide eyes. “Hinata needs to tell him to go away now because she needs to um, talk to him about uh, something...”

 

Hinata looked at Itachi, who was now looking at her, with wider eyes.

 

“Isn't that right, Hinata?” Kagome elbowed her friend.

 

Hinata squeaked painfully. Stammered, “A-ano... h- uh... y-yes!” then quickly turned and went straight to Naruto, who shot his sister a `you owe me' look before he grabbed Hinata's wrist and led her outside. The Hyuuga looked paler than an anemic ghost.

 

“I hope she doesn't faint before she gets to tell Naruto-kun whatever it is she's telling him.”

 

Kagome smiled at Itachi's words, waving at Genma who was now talking to Haku.

 

Sasuke looked put out with his brother's interruption.

 

ღ

 

“So,” Jiraiya sipped his sake and nodded where Haku was at, “another one, huh?” Kakashi and Mushin nursed their own cups beside him.

 

Arashi nodded at his sensei's question.

 

“Wave country?” Jiraiya continued, motioned for Kakashi to pour him another cup which the jounin obliged. “What're you gonna do with the kid?” He came `home' one day and found another addition to Arashi's brood. His student sure knew how to make more children without a wife.

 

“He's a nice young man,” Arashi thanked Kakashi as the jounin also freshened his cup. “He could be a ninja if he wants to, despite the council's reservations, but the kids insist that he should become a florist.”

 

Kakashi looked amused.

 

“At least he's not evil.” Mushin interjected. “I don't sense any jyaki from him.”

 

Arashi rolled his eyes, said sarcastically, “And if your senses were wrong, I'm sure that ofuda you slapped on his forehead while screeching `Demon be gone!' was sure to have worked.”

 

Mushin ignored his sarcasm. Sniffed importantly, “Of course it would've worked! If he were some demon in disguise or someone with a dark heart, he would've been purified on the spot.”

 

“Are you always in the habit of `purifying' innocent folk thinking they're demons?”

 

“He's been doing it a lot lately,” Arashi answered his sensei, leaning towards the sannin to loudly whisper. “The old age has done damage to his brain.” A finger rotated clockwise on his ear.

 

Mushin glared at him. “It's a safety precaution.” Mumbled under his breath, “Now that she hit puberty...”

 

“Speaking of demons,” Jiraiya treaded carefully, motioning with his cup at Naruto. “I heard from Kakashi that there was an incident?”

 

Arashi winced. “The council grilled me for it, but I assured them that my seal is still firmly in place.” Frowned at his sake, “I think Naruto subconsciously figured out how to tap into the Kyuubi's power. The seal will hold, but my theory with Mushin-sama's is that he now has access to two sources of chakra - his own and the Kyuubi's.” A hand massaged his forehead, “I'm not nervous about the fox escaping, but I can imagine the concern they have.”

 

“For the first time in several years, I recalled what it's like to feel fear again,” Kakashi added wryly. The four men sat in silence for several moments.

 

“Well,” Mushin said, attempting to alleviate the somber atmosphere that suddenly blanketed them, “The good news is Naruto-kun will be able to use that to his advantage and power up his attacks. I did tell you that before, didn't I?”

 

ღ

 

Catching his brother alone was harder than he originally thought, but he found the perfect opportunity while they walked home together after Haku's party.

 

“What happened between you and Kagome?” Itachi demanded in a soft voice, masking the menace underneath the question but leaving no room for argument at the same time.

 

Sasuke would've answered the question regardless, but he refused to let his niisan intimidate him. He stopped in the middle of the empty street, as if to ponder his niisan's question. “What makes you think something happened?”

 

“You're both acting suspicious, you've made a fool of yourself to get her to talk to you, she's been ignoring you, she wouldn't talk about you even with me, and I overheard parts of Naruto-kun's very interesting conversation with the others the other day,” Itachi replied pointedly. “Did you really think I wouldn't notice?” He asked sarcastically.

 

Sasuke had to admit, grudgingly, that his niisan was right. “It's nothing really,” he said, thinking hard. How should he phrase it? “I... we... sort of had an incident in our last mission and now refuses to talk to me. She'll come around, eventually.” He was proud of the conviction he heard behind his own words.

 

“Incident?” Itachi questioned.

 

A pair of hooded onyx eyes watched his brother carefully as he said the next words. “We kissed.” There. He said it. Now his niisan knew. What now?

 

“You what?”

 

“Well, I took the initiative and kissed her, but we kissed none the less. She's mad at me for -” his eyes widened at the expression on Itachi's face. His niisan was furious and all the rage seemed to be directed at him.

 

“Why did you do that?” Itachi's voice could've frozen an active volcano.

 

Sasuke shrugged as indifferently as he could. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. She wouldn't shut up and we all thought I just came back from the dead. The mood was just right. You're not mad at me, are you?” He feigned innocence, pretending to be surprised at the thought of his brother taking offense to what he did.

 

“She's mine, Sasuke.” Itachi narrowed eyes at him, stepping forward and getting straight to the point. “I won't tolerate anyone taking what's mine, not even my little brother.”

 

“She's not yours! Never have been, never will be.” Sasuke retorted; angered at the possessiveness his niisan was showing.

 

“It's only a matter of time,” Itachi stated matter of factly, so confident of his statement, causing Sasuke's eyes to narrow in displeasure.

 

“Yeah, well whatever.” Sasuke spat venomously, knew he was acting childish but he couldn't help it. He'd never gotten into a fight or argument with his brother before, but he didn't regret anything he said. Itachi got all the good things and was better just because he was older. It was high time he one-upped him. “I'll always be her first kiss,” the words spilled out of his mouth.

 

He held his ground and tried not to feel afraid when his brother stared him down. Was this the part where they start throwing punches now? Were they really fighting anyway? Was his brother mad at what he just said? His mind ran in circles, overwhelmed at what his mouth just spouted.

 

Itachi stared at his little brother for several minutes, hours, days... weeks... years, it felt like. He didn't wish to get into a disagreement with his brother, yet he couldn't back down from the spoken challenge. His eyes were unnaturally cold, like black diamonds when he finally spoke, confidence oozing from every pore of his body.

 

“You might be her first kiss little brother,” He leaned forward until their faces were almost touching as he hissed, “but I'll always be her first love.”

 

ღ

 

Sasuke was still fuming about what his brother said, days later when Kakashi summoned them for `an urgent meeting'. The jounin was late as always, so he leaned on the red bridge and took the time to brood as he waited with his teammates.

 

First love indeed! He knew his brother was only stating the facts, hell, everyone in Konoha and the next village over probably knew the girl was drawn to Itachi, but that didn't mean it sat well with him, having the fact thrown at his face like that.

 

He'd lost that round with his brother, knocked out of the ring with that one sentence. At this rate, he wouldn't even stand a chance if his niisan got serious. Gah! What to do?

 

Naruto wisely kept his distance away from Sasuke. His friend looked like he was in his intense emo mode and he knew there were dire consequences to be paid if he interrupted the Uchiha's serious musing. This was one of those times that he'd be better off leaving him alone than prodding him out of his reverie.

 

Thus, with his friend on one end of the bridge, probably pondering the meaning of life, where babies came from or something profound along those lines - and his sister on the other end studiously reading another of her scrolls, Naruto was bored out of his mind. His brain shut down after he counted the fiftieth fish that swam under the bridge and there was only so much of nature he could listen to until he was at the end of his patience.

 

Imagining the ways of how to torture Kakashi-sensei when he came weren't even fun anymore. Luckily, the super tardy jounin appeared with a puff of smoke an hour later, smiling like all was well in the world on top of the red arc of the bridge.

 

“Good news, my precious genin brats,” Kakashi ignored the indignant glares and angry `you're late!!!' accusations he received, getting straight to the point. “Being the kind, generous, helpful, concerned, great teacher that I am,” the disrespectful eye-rolls and snorts rolled off him like water on a duck's back, “have recommended you three for the Chuunin Exams!”

 

â— â— â—

 

Hanetsuki - Japanese badminton

Notes: I'll try not to write a long author's note since my new muse doesn't like it, but I hope this really long chapter made up for the long wait. Who's the girl with Orochimaru? You'll probably find out in the next chapter or the one after that. Thank you to everyone who left positive reviews on the previous chapter! I will admit I sort of didn't want to update here anymore, but I reminded myself not to let one nasty person affect my view for a whole site, reminded myself with a modified saying “singkit lang ang walang ganti!”, so here is the update. Sorry for the lateness!