Back at the Hotel
"Summoning Jutsu!" I slam my hand to the ground.
"Sup Al? You need something?" Shirokumo asks once the smoke clears.
"Yeah. I have information on our mysterious extra jonin." I say.
"Really? I thought I was the information provider. Let's hear it, I've found out some stuff on my own already. We can pool resources."
"His name is Kakashi Hatake. Also known as Kakashi of the Sharingan and the Copy Nin. One of Konoha's elite jonin, he was considered for the position of Hokage before Tsunade stepped up." Sasuke explains for me. "He is without a doubt one of the most deadly people Konoha has to offer. His skills are almost unparalleled. Don't trust his lazy demeanor, it is simply a cover to hide his true skill level."
"And on top of all that, he was our first sensei. Him being here makes our situation more difficult. We can fool gennin easily. We can fool jonin who didn't really know us. But our old sensei? That will be considerably more challenging. We should avoid him at all costs." I add on.
"We will leave the instant the Chunin Exams are over." Tayuya orders. "We will go back to Sound as soon as possible. Why is he even here?"
"I don't know and that's really worrying me. By all rights he shouldn't be here. He has no gennin that he could send. There's plenty of other jonin here to make sure the gennin don't get into trouble. It doesn't make sense." I tell her. "Shirokumo, any ideas?"
"Rumors at best. I've heard that he's in charge of all the Konoha shinobi sent, gennin and jonin both. I've also heard that he made his way onto the Hokage's bad side so she stuck him with babysitting duty as revenge. Another version has him happily volunteering to chaperon because there is a rare version of some book in the stores here."
"They all have one thing in common: Kakashi is here to lead the Konoha shinobi." Sasuke dissected Shirokumo's words better than I did. I missed that they all had that in common, I was busy envisioning Kakashi going through all of those situations. Sadly, I could believe any one of them to be the truth.
The real question is does he know that Sasuke and I are here? I can't ask Shirokumo that in front of anyone else. No one can know that I'm in touch with Konoha in any way.
"You two can't wander off anymore. Consider yourselves on lock-down, you only leave the hotel if I go with you. We're taking zero risks from here on out." Tayuya demands. It does make sense, that way we at least have someone else to speak for us and run interference.
I won't have a chance to get a letter to Tsunade to ask her about Kakashi, there is no way I'll be left alone now.
"You want us to be stuck in here for four more days?" Sasuke says in disbelief.
"We'll go out for food and things. You two just can't go out without an escort anymore. It is too risky." Tayuya isn't budging at all on this.
That's fine, it doesn't affect me that much.I am content with being lazy, I don't need to go do anything. Besides, Murasakino's hammock is simply amazing and I'm due for a vacation.
"It won't be that bad. Fair warning, I may visit the Nest if you two get on my nerves." I tell the others.
That is actually a good idea, if I go to the Nest I can talk freely with Shirokumo and get him to take a message to Tsunade. I'll have to be patient, I can't decide to go right now. It will have to wait a while.
"Whatever. Just tell me before you leave." Tayuya dismissively waves an arm in my general direction.
"Can we go to a bookstore before you both get cozy?" Sasuke asks. "I need something to do if I'm going to be stuck in here for days."
"Fine." Tayuya says.
...
At a Nearby Bookstore
"I already have books. Why did I come along again?" I ask rhetorically to Sasuke and Tayuya.
"Because we need to stay together." Tayuya lazily replies as Sasuke skims the selection of literature.
"What? I could have stayed in the room. No one would come in there. I would have been fine. It isn't like the guy is going to randomly pop up out of nowhere."
"Not risking it. Deal with it." Tayuya lackadaisically dismisses me.
"Red back me up on this."
There's no reply.
"Red? Wow, that's unexpected." For reasons that escape me, Sasuke in the poetry section. I never knew he liked poetry. Not only that, he's already visited the history section, the bibliography section, and strangely enough the romance section. He hasn't visited the fantasy or the action books yet.
Well, we practically live those books. Our lives have to be way more exciting than books. Maybe one day I should write a book? Not only do I have stories from my first life in my head, I could make one about my experiences here. Nah, it probably wouldn't sell. Why would shinobi read a book about another shinobi?
"Fine. Stay together, yeah yeah I get it. I'm going to see if there's anything good in the fantasy section." I tell Tayuya.
I walk over to the corner of the store where the fantasy books are. After I exhaust my interest here, I can pop over to the Icha Icha section and see if there's a new book out. Say what you will about them, Jiraya writes an excellent story.
I idly start browsing titles while humming quietly to myself. "That one looks boring. Totally not reading this one with a title like that. Hmm... nah. None of these really interest me. No wonder Red didn't look at them."
Thud
The sudden noise startles me and I reflexively look towards the source. It came from the Icha Icha section, someone swatted their hand down on one of the bookcases. Someone I know. Someone who I decided to avoid at all costs. Someone who I literally just said wouldn't pop up out of nowhere did just that.
Kakashi Hatake, my former sensei, is browsing books barely two meters away from me.
"Sorry about that." Kakashi drawls out sheepishly. "Thought I saw a spider. I think they've been following me around."
I can't help but grin under my mask. Of course Kakashi would notice that, he's paranoid to the extreme.
"Who knows, maybe you've attracted their attention. If you ask them to, they might leave you alone." I say in a changed voice. I sound younger, squeakier.
"Maybe, but I like their presence. Just not on my Icha Icha! You know, I used to have a Spider. Funny thing is, I didn't know he was one for the longest time." Kakashi blandly says as he's flipping through the selection of Icha Icha. "Damn. I don't know which one to pick."
Tsunade told him I'm the Spider Summoner. There is no other explanation for his reply, he has to know.
"Funny how that works. What happened to him?" I gently probe him for information. I want to know more.
"He wandered off to play with a Snake. It is sad, I miss him terribly. Every day he's gone could be the day I lose him forever. I just hope he finds his way home in one piece. He'll come back eventually. Who knows, he might bring his friend home with him. Unfortunately, I think he has picked up my habit of being late." Kakashi says in his lazy drawl.
He knows everything. He knows where Sasuke and I went. He knows that I'm the Spider Summoner. He knows that Sasuke is a Snake Summoner. He knows that I'm trying to bring Sasuke back, that I'm protecting him in my own way.
"Your spider sounds like a handful." Kami I sound weird, I can't wait to use my normal voice again.
"He is. Without a doubt he causes trouble or trouble finds him. But it is okay, he's my favorite after all." Kakashi smiles forlornly. "Although I admit, he's a tad obsessed with fire. No idea how that happened."
"I'm sure he'll come home. He must miss his friends dearly."
"I'm sure he does. It is hard being out on your own. Sometimes writing a letter can make all the difference." Kakashi turns away from the books. He pins me with a serious stare, one that is determined. I have his full attention is on me.
Slowly, he reaches into his jonin vest and withdraws an envelop. Written in his nearly illegible scrawl is one word.
Spider
He extends his arm towards me. I reach out and grab it. He knows exactly who I am.
"You should try Icha Icha Beach. It has a very interesting twist at the end." I say in my normal voice.
"My favorite student." Kakashi whispers, barely loud enough for me to hear.
"Sensei." I respectively whisper back with a tinge of forlornness.
I walk away. I leave him behind and go rejoin Tayuya who is still waiting impatiently for Sasuke to purchase a ridiculous stack of books.
"Didn't find anything?" She asks once I'm by her side again.
"Nothing worth mentioning."
...
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