Back at the Hotel
"Finally!" I shed my outer layers and plop into my hammock. "I should have never left."
"Yeah yeah, we're jerks we get it. Next time I'll ask you if you have information." Tayuya dryly says back to me. "Still, it is rather impressive that Mister Spider found out that much in such a short time."
That reminds me, I should check in with Shirokumo and see if he has any new information. At the least he should be able to tell me which village's gennin has shown up.
"Oi. Scaredy cats, I'm going to summon Shirokumo." Under my breath I grumble, "Still can't believe I have to warn you idiots when I summon a spider."
POOF
"About bloody time!" He angrily screeches at me.
I jolt upwards in my hammock. This will require my full attention.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to talk to you? They're here. Alvarcus, they're here."
"The Konoha gennin." It can only be them, Shirokumo wouldn't be freaking out this much for anything else. "How many? What did they look like?" I want to know which of my friends are here.
Shirokumo starts pacing back and forth near me. "They came in teams. Twenty of them, sixty gennin total. There is an extra jonin with them though, it doesn't add up."
Who is the mysterious extra jonin? What is Tsunade's plan? "Interesting. We will need to find out why the extra is here."
"I'm working on it already. It is the new priority." Shirokumo assures me as he continues to wear a track on the carpet.
"Back to the gennin. Were any sent that fit the descriptions I gave you?" I described everyone to him, anyone who could possibly be competing.
He stills. "Al, all of them are here. I have a match for everyone you gave me a profile on."
I heave out a sigh, "So much for relaxing and wandering around town. Now I have to be alert all the time. Where are they staying?"
"Across town, whoever organized this is good. They're keeping each village's nin separate as much as possible." Shirokumo pauses his pacing. "You're not freaking out. I thought for sure you'd freak out."
I roll my eyes, my mask is off since we're in our room. "We knew this was going to happen for over a month. It isn't a surprise, actually the extra jonin is more worrisome than anything else. They're here for a reason and I want to know what it is."
"I'll find out." Shirokumo assures me.
"Anything else important?" I hope not, even if I planned on everyone showing up I didn't want them to. My luck must be running out.
The mood changes from business to something more lighthearted. "The weavers are in an uproar. Something about hammocks and scarfs?"
I wince. I should have seen this coming, Murasakino seemed like a gossiper.
"I knew you were to blame. I just knew it." Shirokumo accuses me. "Whenever something strange happens it is always because of you."
"I was only two hammocks! I swear!" I quickly yell out. "And the scarf thing is so not my fault! I just said that I like them, that I might make it a permanent thing. Do you have any idea how many stares I used to get?"
"I thought you wanted people to see it." Sasuke interjects from across the room. "I distinctly remember you talking about an intimidation factor?" He's taking the news of our friends being here well.
"Yeah, but only when I want to intimidate someone. There's no need to always have it on display, even if it does look majestic."
"Majestic? It looks like you don't know how to duck." Sasuke says.
Shirokumo, Sasuke and Tayuya all share a hearty laugh.
"You're all jerks. I'm going to sleep. Shirokumo, do whatever. Stay here, go back, chase Tayuya around while laughing maniacally I don't care." With those inspiring words, I lay down on my hammock and pull a blanket over my head. "Don't wake me up unless someone dies."
...
The Next Morning, Five Days Until the Chunin Exams
I wake up in a mildly surprising predicament. Tayuya decided to steal my body heat again, she's clinging to me in her sleep.
"I hope this doesn't become a routine. I like having my body heat to myself, thank you very much." I grumble quietly. No need to wake her up, I'm content with laying here.
"I could see her making it one. You'll need to install locks when we go back to Sound." Sasuke chimes in from the kitchen side of the room. He's pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee. He wiggles the pot in my direction. "Want some?"
"Hell no! Coffee is gross, I have no idea how you can stand to drink that stuff." He rolls his eyes at me. What a jerk. "So, anything you want to do today? Wander the village, mess with Tayuya, spy on the Konoha gennin?" I ask from my reclined position.
Sasuke sips his coffee and gracefully sits down in one of the two chairs. "The last one sounds fun. It would be... interesting to see if the others have changed."
This is probably a bad idea, but I want to at least see my friends before I'm forced to oppose them in the Chunin Exams. Even if it is from afar, a fleeting glimpse will be enough. "There will be one minor problem that we'll have to deal with first."
"What? I can act professional around the Konoha gennin. It isn't an issue." Sasuke scoffs.
"It isn't that, I know you can. It's... well... I'm stuck." How embarrassing.
Sasuke chuckles at my expense. "Yes, that is a problem."
"Any ideas for my escape?" He's good at worming out of tight situations, he's got to have something to help me. "Can't you hit her with a genjutsu or something? Turn off a few of her senses?"
A smile splits his face. "No, I'm fresh out. Good luck!"
"You bastard." I can't blame him, I'd do the exact same thing if our roles were reversed.
Well, might as well try to be nice about it. "Tayuya." I give her a little shake. "You need to let go of me. I need to get up."
Tayuya doesn't open her eyes, she slightly loosens her grip on me. "Mkay."
I try to wiggle out of her grasp. In response she tightens her grip, trapping me again. "Tayuya, release me." I say firmer this time.
"No. Warmth." She squeezes me tighter still. She still hasn't cracked an eye open, I'm impressed.
"Either release me now, or this is the last time I'll be your personal heater." I lay down the law.
"Mmrgl. Fine." Her grip goes slack and I escape from my prison. She scoots over to where I was laying and curls up into a ball. "Mmm, still warm."
"I can't believe I let her get away with that." This makes two times in a row that I've woken up with her clinging to me.
"I can." Sasuke is still sipping on his coffee. "It is obvious why."
I raise an eyebrow at him in question. "Do tell."
"You like each other." He says in his patented arrogant Uchiha tone. "Anyone can see it."
My face flushes red. There is no possible way. She's just overly affectionate. Likes to be super touchy and always goes out of her way to be aggravating or teasing.
To me. Just to me. She jumps on my back. She steals my body heat. She teases me about many things. She always is the one to wake me up. Maybe she volunteers to do it? Whatever, that isn't important. It isn't like I like her back.
Except I let her do all of those things. I don't dodge when she jumps on my back. I tease her back when she teases me. I didn't even try to get revenge for the buckets of water. And I let her sleep next to me.
I'm forming an attachment to her.
Not good. Very not good. There is a very strong chance I'll have to leave Sound at a moments notice, I'll have to leave everything behind. I need to be able to do that, to drop everything and run for my life.
Right now there is one thing chaining me to Sound: Sasuke. Even then it is a very loose thing, he's only there to get stronger. If someone has a better offer or if I can convince him to he'll leave. I can't afford another attachment, an anchor keeping me pinned down. I've abandoned friends before when I left Konoha. It is something I never want to repeat.
"I thought we were going to go spy on people?" I hurriedly say as I scoop up my clothes an bolt to the bathroom. "I'll be ready to go in ten minutes! Stupid bandages take forever to put on."
I slam the door shut, separating me from my allies.
"I knew it." Sasuke smugly says from the other side of the door. "He didn't try to deny it. Things just got much more interesting!" Great, just great. He's never going to drop this now.
"Alvarcus, you're in too deep." I say quietly to myself in the mirror. "You're in too deep. How the hell am I going to get out of this one?"
I get dressed and exit the bathroom. Sasuke has a very conceited grin etched onto his features. We make eye contact.
"Not a word." I order him in my best professional tone. "Not. A. Word."
Sasuke rises up from the chair and puts on his mask. "Of course. This promises to be too entertaining, I don't want to ruin it. Who will crack and confess first? The stoic Al-Green or the vulgar Tayuya?"
"Shut up. I believe we were going to go spy on some gennin?" I prompt Sasuke, baiting him to leave the room and hopefully our current topic behind.
"Yes, I believe we were." He opens the door as I put on my own mask.
We both leave the room to go see our friends from a distance.
Unbeknownst to both Sasuke and I, Tayuya opens her eyes after the door closes. There is not a hint of tiredness in them, she's wide awake.
"I have a chance!" She happily squeals out.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
p atreon.com/CarriePoppins