Now What Have I Gotten Myself Into? ~Enter Konoha's number one knuckle head

29

Chapter 29

When the sun had finally rose the ninja in the house had began to stir. Even I could hear Kiba inside laying into Naruto for losing the boy. And yet, Naruto brushed it off. He was calm about the child's disappearance in the night. The very child he had ran off after sometime before sunrise. Even I thought that Naruto would be upset, yelling and screaming about going after the kid. Instead he accepted it. All that told me was that he knew where the boy was and he was alright with it. If not happy for the kid. It was only a few minutes after Naruto had shut Kiba up that everyone was congregating outside. "Kira, you should come down here." Yamato's creepy voice calls up to me just before the building began to pull apart and sink back into the ground.

With a grunt I jump off the roof before I would fall and land with a small whimper amongst the others. "Kira you should be careful, you're really hurt." Sakura comes up to me and walks around behind me as if checking to make sure I didn't injure myself worse. "I'm alright." I try to assure her though as she comes back around her emerald green hues watch me closely. Knowing I am far from okay. "Alright, let's head back." Kakashi calls from the front drawing my gaze to him. The memory of last night still heavy on my mind. My gaze lingered a moment too long as the others leap into the trees and begin their trek back to the village.

"You going to make it?" Kakashi asks as a short lived smirk pulls at his mask. "I'll be fine." I inform him before steadying myself for the pain I was about to put my body through. Jumping into the trees I follow behind the others at a much slower pace than I am accustomed to moving. As we move from tree to tree I couldn't help but notice how some of the ninja kept glancing towards Naruto. They knew it was weird for him to just abandon the kid but it was clear they couldn't figure out why he would do it. The silence was tense amongst the ninja, a tension I wasn't used to feeling between so many of them. It was a bit unnerving.

"Kira." Kakashi's voice came from my right drawing my attention to him. He moves his gaze from me and back to the others ahead of us. As if he was mulling through his own thoughts. "Kakashi." I sigh watching him carefully. "It's not like you to want to display or acknowledge openly any feelings you have. If you aren't sure that you can trust me, then don't." I inform him quietly before looking ahead of us again. "Besides, if you were to suddenly open up completely to me I would think you have been captured under my spell. And that, is something I don't want. So don't rush it." With my words I could have sworn I heard him sigh as I see him raise his right hand and rub the back of his head from the corner of my eye. "Don't feel discouraged." I speak up again causing a quiet surprised sound to come from him. "You've done enough. I know, what you wanted to say." I knew it the moment he first took me into his arms in front of that cave. He doesn't have to say anything that would make him feel uncomfortably vulnerable.

Silence fell between us, one much more comfortable than the tension brewing ahead of us. I could hear each time his feet would land on a branch. Each intake of air as he breathes evenly. Much like his presence has always done. It accepts the silence without judgement. One of the things I liked most about him. I didn't have to talk if I didn't want to. Even as the sun rose high into the sky and my body was seriously dragging I didn't wish to break the comfortable silence. However it was growing ever towards the late afternoon meaning we would only have a few hours before night fall. "Kakashi." I finally spoke catching his attention again. "A lot of us are injured. A few more severe than others. Maybe we should stop and make camp." I suggest causing him to smile behind his mask just before he picks up his pace to catch up with the other Jonin.

I watched as he paused next to Shizune and then Yamato seeing each one nod in agreement before suddenly jumping down into a small clearing amongst the trees. Obeying faithfully I watch each ninja I once knew as genin and most even as children jump down to the ground without question. As I had thought, they were pushing themselves more than they should have just to keep going. When I leap down I catch Sai seeing him stumble forward. His will power had kept him moving so now it took him a moment to adjust to stopping. I knew this feeling all too well. I had fought Deidara before when I was training. His detonating clay even if you don't actually get hit by it still sends off a shock wave that not only disorientates his opponents but it also inflicts damage. The doves that exploded and destroyed his hawk with enough force it sent him flying. I am sure his body is screaming at him as loudly as mine is.