Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Kakashi's Sedentary Adventures ❯ Attack After Dawn! ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Why Sedentary? Well, Kakashi's so laid back that you can't imagine him doing anything energetic on his days off. It's still surprising to me, that he's a ninja. Still, their creed is to be silent and let every movement count. Also, I guess, because I never thought I'd be able to write action. I surprised myself with some of the stuff I've written. Action is doable, as long as you've the descriptive power to back it up. Mind you, the story was always supposed to feature fights, but in a laid back kinda way. With the action in this chapter, I'll have to rename it soon. You can't be sedentary if you leave the house, after all.

Any thoughts, queries, flames or suggestions, please just hit the review button down there and I promise to read them.

italics are his thoughts.

The day broke. Sunlight spilled from the golden orb and rushed over weary fields, restless mountains and through lazy forest, poking through leaves, to pool on the dew-stained grass. A quiet ninja watched it all, drinking in its brilliance, even as the light ignited his hair. The silvery halo reflected a strange pattern onto the bark of the tree he rested in. As the sun rose higher and that first flash of beauty faded, he settled into a cosy nest and pulled his headband down over both his eyes.

"Just a few minutes," he muttered. "Then I'll go meet the guys."

Several hours later, the snoring ninja woke. Slightly disoriented at first, he soon realised where he was and cast about for the sound that had woken him up. While pushing up one side of his headband, he realised that it was the lack of sound that had woken him. Someone's here. Friendly, or unfriendly? They probably know where I am, so I'll wait for their attack, then jump away and launch a few kunai knives at them, while I scope out their skill level.

His plan of action settled on, he lazily raised a hand, yawned theatrically and said "Hi."

Some bushes rustled and Kakashi calculated the trajectory a stone would have to take, to hit them at the right angle for maximum movement. He then worked backwards to calculate a point of origin. There were three possible sites, all under the tree he was lying on. He whacked the trunk, apparently accidentally, as he moved and three acorns fell from their branches and landed in precisely those locations. He listened to their echoes. One hit something far too soon.

He flashed down the tree and into the undergrowth, to confront a vaguely man-shaped block of wood. His eye widened when he saw the seal attached to it.

A small explosion rocked the bush and incinerated its leaves. A light breeze blew through its naked branches and crumpled the blackened remains. They turned to ash and silently trickled onto the scorched earth. Meanwhile, fire still ate away at nearby bushes. The explosion had flash-dried their tips, although the wet bark further down refused to burn and merely smouldered with a nastily scented smoke. It filled the area, then petered out. As it cleared, a loud, mocking laugh filled the air.

"Alas, poor Kakashi," the mocking voice said.

The air whistled, as it was cut by a kunai knife that struck through the undergrowth, to pin a luckless sleeve to a nearby tree. The startled ninja pulled the knife from his clothing and mournfully examined the hole in it. He was dressed in prescription ninja clothing, with a brightly coloured scarf around his head and a headband inscribed with the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village, tied around his left arm.

"You always ruin my good clothing," he said, poking a finger through the hole.
"Indeed," answered a dry voice.

He looked up to see the silver haired ninja, lounging on a large branch, tossing another knife into the air and catching it by the blade.

He smirked and waved at the other ninja. "Kakashi, my friend," he called loudly. "Taking a break from babysitting?"
"Hakoda," Kakashi remarked, looking down on him. "I'm glad to see that you've still not been trusted with the future of our village."
"Must be hard," he said, with an offhand air. "Doing all those difficult D rank missions." His smirk grew wider, with this devastating insult and his eyes gleamed.
"Now, there you're wrong. We did our first C rank mission, already," Kakashi informed him, as he leant forward and scratched his behind.
"Still, you must be getting rusty, old friend," he challenged, eyeing Kakashi coldly and balancing himself on the balls of his feet. "Your hair's already turned grey with the strain."
"Yes, well," answered Kakashi, sheathing his dagger and nonchalantly lying back. "Fighting Zabusa was quite the unexpected danger."
"Zabusa?" Hakoda asked, his arms and legs stiffening. "The demon?"
"The very same," he said, placing his arms in a comfortable position behind his head. He raised his head a little to say, "He's dead now," before settling back down.
"Oh," the uneasy ninja said, standing down and scratching uncertainly at his holey sleeve. "I guess that's good then?"
"Unfortunately, his little protégé died too," Kakashi yawned, ruffling his hair. "I guess that all us cool guys have students now."

Hakoda paused and the wind whipped at the tails of his bandanna. "Zabusa was a C rank mission?" he whispered, incredulously.
Kakashi nodded solemnly. "It's getting tougher and tougher to become a ninja nowadays. If you're not careful, Hakoda, you'll be busted down to genin."
"Heh," he said, looking aside and losing his cockiness. "I don't know if I could go through all that again, without you beside me."

The tension lifted, as Kakashi smiled with genuine warmth and nodded at Hakoda. "It'd be a grave stain on our master's reputation, if they ever saw how bad you really were."
Hakoda laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "So... I hear that volume 4 is out. They were all sold out by the time I got there."

Kakashi jumped down beside his friend and clapped him heartily on the back, before easing into his usual slouch.

"Indeed it is. Why don't we go for something to eat and I'll tell you what happened in it?" he asked.
Hakoda coughed uncomfortably and looked up at Kakashi. "I don't suppose that I could borrow ..."
Kakashi shook his head wistfully, before he could finish. "Unfortunately, there's been a little accident ..."

The two men walked off together, discussing the difficulties of paper based manga and laughed and chatted well into the night. Meanwhile, in a lonely little corner of the village ...

"Master Kakashi? Master? It's dark and cold and there are wolves after me."

Shorter than the last one, but not all adventures are the same length.

I've been reading Shonen Jump magazine, but a friend has the anime and he's been showing it to me. We've just started the third test for chuunin preliminaries. I still can't decide if Rock Lee is cool or comic.

No jutsus in this one. Then again, you don't really need one to sit on your arse and watch the sunrise. Thanks ???, whoever you are. A balancing view is always appreciated, though, to be fair, none of the jutsus in Naruto are actually real. I have to admit that I was straining to think of some in the last chapter.

Please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism welcomed and flames tolerated.