I woke to the sound of someone pounding on the door, startling me into jumping to my feet.
"Wake up!" Shane shouted through the door. "Come ON!"
I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the blur as I yanked open the door, furious.
"What. The. Hell. Shane?"
"You wouldn't wake up... Whoa... What are you wearing?"
"Shane. Why did you wake me up?"
"I...uh... Takeo needs to talk to you two. He says it's urgent."
"Tell him we'll be out in a minute. And they're pjs!" I was flushed lightly, recalling that I had on very short shorts and a really tight top.
"..'Kay." He backed off, closing the door.
I hissed quietly in annoyance, grabbed my bag, and went to my side of the futon.
"Turn around so I can change," I ordered Kakashi, making a spinning motion with my finger. "No peeking either, or you'll never be able to peek again."
"Wasn't going to..." he muttered, crossing the room to rummage through his own bag, his back carefully turned.
"Uh-huh. Perv..." I said under my breath, pulling on a white tank top.
"...You should talk." I heard his clothes hit the ground behind me.
I turned red.
"Wasn't like you were naked or anything," I mocked him, smirking slightly as I pulled on my blue jeans.
"You were undressing me with your eyes, Whisper," he replied, and I could almost hear his eye roll.
"Nope!" I popped the 'p' and slipped my arms into my leather jacket, then continued to brush my hair out.
"If you say so." He turned to face me, zipping up his vest.
I rolled my eyes.
Hm...
"Do you know how to braid?" I asked hopefully.
"...Gerilynn does."
I frowned, "Great. Now I have to trust her with my hair..." I threw my brush into my bag, zipping it up.
"Oh, come on. She's not that bad."
"..." I walked out the door.
Takeo stood conversing seriously with the toothpick in question and her older brother, Shane sprawled on the couch. All looked up when we entered.
"Hey, Toothpick... Will you braid my hair for me?" I blurted, hating to have to ask her.
"Uh...Guess so." She gave me a weird look but beckoned me over.
I quickly stood in front of her, handing her a hair tie, then turned to face Takeo as she started.
"Whaz up, buddy?"
"As soon as you're finished, you and Kakashi are to come with me to see Lord Hokage. He has a mission for us," Takeo said seriously, smiling briefly.
"'Kay. Where's Shira?" I asked Gia curiously, not seeing her anywhere.
"She said something about hunting really early this morning," Gia answered. "I think she's out back right now, eating."
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. I pointed at Kakashi, "You. Go back there and see if she is done."
"Why me?" he asked, a bit amused.
"Because Shira likes you. And I will get sick if there is blood. Have fun."
"...Fine." He stalked out, reappearing in the doorway a moment later. "She'll be in in a second."
"'Kay! Thank you!" I chirped, giving him a grin.
"Yup." Kakashi took a seat on the stool next to me.
"Done," Gerilynn remarked from behind me.
"Of course. I just sat down," Kakashi grumbled, sighing dramatically as he stood up.
"Are you implying you're old? Cause, old people complain about that a lot," I told him, dead serious.
The look on his face was priceless, and I burst out laughing, heaving on the counter.
"I am not old."
"I-I k-k-know!" I choked out, Gerilynn leaning on the back of my chair for support.
"...Don't we have somewhere to be?" the shinobi asked Takeo in a dignified manner.
"Yeah, but this is amusing!" he chuckled lightly, watching me and Gerilynn try to stop laughing.
It wasn't working. We would stop for a second, look at each other, and burst out laughing all over again.
Kakashi huffed, then started chuckling slightly.
"You two have problems..."
We stopped, staring at him blankly. Then, we made the mistake of looking at each other and cracked up all over again.
"Okay. I'm tired of this." Kakashi came over, picked me up upside down, and walked out the door, following Takeo.
"H-Have fun!" Gerilynn called after us, still...giggling?
I struggled, yelling profanities at Kakashi as he continued to carry me upside down.
"You have a potty mouth," Takeo commented, apparently unflustered by the fact that I was being forcibly transported.
"Only when I'm pissed!" I snarled, swiping at Kakashi's legs.
"Hey. Careful. You might actually scratch me," the shinobi remarked, shaking me gently.
I hissed, "Don't shake me!" I swiped again, missing only because he stretched his arms out.
"Dude, I think you should put her down," Takeo said, alarmed.
"Maybe," Kakashis mused, carefully holding me at arms length. "If she apologizes for calling me old."
Ew... Why would I like an old guy?
"Course you're not old!" I exclaimed, still squirming.
"I'm afraid that's not an apology."
A feral growl erupted from my throat.
"Neither is that."
"... I'm sorry for 'calling you old', even though I didn't. I said you were-Gah!"
He immediately flipped me upright and dropped me on my feet, catching me by surprise. I grabbed the back of his vest (he had kept walking) to steady myself and was dragged several paces.
He looked back at me.
"You okay?"
"..." I managed to catch up and blew past him to Takeo, linking arms with him. "Walk this way, my man." And that is how we ended up strutting stupidly down the street, swaying our free arms.
"...I'm glad you didn't ask me," Kakashi muttered, speeding up to walk past us, his hands in his pockets.
I quickly linked an arm through his, pulling him to my side as we strutted. "You too, or you'll hurt my feelings."
He sighed, simply walking alongside me, refusing to strut.
"I do have some dignity."
I looked over at Takeo, and he shrugged, mouthing 'loser' and pointing at Kakashi.
A moment later, we released our holds, having reached the headquarters. Takeo led the way to the Hokage's office.
The old man was behind his desk, Kell once again leaning against the wall in the corner.
"Good morning," the Hokage greeted us.
"Lord Hokage," Kakashi and Takeo chorused, bowing slightly.
"Morning," I answered, inclining my head.
The Hokage chuckled, shaking his head, "I've got a few people working on your apartment, Kakashi."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage." There was the bow again.
Goody-two-shoes...
;YOU LEFT WITHOUT ME! BISHY!!!!;
"Ah!" I shouted, falling to the floor and clutching my head. "What the hell Shira?! I can hear you without you breaking my brain!"
"What?" all of the men chorused.
;Open the GOD DAMN WINDOW!;
I winced again, clutching at my head, "Somebody open the #$%&*^% WINDOW!"
"...Potty mouth," Takeo grumbled, walking over and opening a window, ducking an instant later to avoid a very upset Shira.
"How do you forget a dragon?!?!?!" she snarled, advancing on me.
"I'm sorry!" I whined, scooching behind Kakashi. "Don't let her eat me!"
"...No. Bad dragon. You don't eat Whisper," Kakashi said slowly.
Shira growled at him, continuing her advance.
"...I'll let you read my books when she's asleep again."
"What?!" I choked, staring daggers at him.
"Do you want to be eaten?" he demanded, Shira suddenly giving him a suspicious look, as though suspecting foul play.
"Really?" she rumbled.
"...Not really..." I mumbled, pouting on the floor.
"Deal," Shira said, turning to face the Hokage and settling on her haunches, apparently mollified.
"Well, that was an amusing show," the old man commented.
"Amusing?! I was almost eaten!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands down on the floor beside me.
"On a darker note," the Hokage began, choosing to ignore my pouting. "I have a very dangerous mission for the three of you."
"Oh great. My life gets to be threatened continuously throughout the week."
"...Right. It's an S-rank mission. Kell here has kindly been gathering intel on a dangerous group of rouges that have been collaborating with the sound. They have been getting bolder in their actions against us; there have been several chunin captured and killed, presumably after being tortured. I want the three of you to remove this problem. You are to kill all of them except the leader and his second-in-command, who you are to bring back alive for questioning. However, I want them presumed dead. They will no longer exist. Am I understood?" He stared at each of us gravely.
We nodded collectively.
"Good. Kell here will brief you on the details." The Hokage gestured the other silver haired man forward.
"Their base camp is about twenty klicks west of the Sound borders. There are twelve of them, not including the leader. Nine males, four...four females. The leader is male. The males specialize in nin and tai jutsus, with an emphasis on fire style techniques. The females specialize in gen jutsu." Kell paused, allowing us to digest the information. "Leader's name is Goro. Second in command is Kiku. I'll take you to our borders and point you in the right direction, but that's as far as I go. I've marked their location on this map." He held up a scroll.
I stiffened.
My old clan... 21 klicks west of the Sound... Goro... familliar name...
We nodded, and Kell handed Kakashi the map after giving me a doubtful look.
"With all due respect, Hokage, are you sure it's a good idea to send a chunin on this mission?" Kell asked, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the old man.
"I believe her to be capable enough to handle this, yes," the Hokage replied firmly. "Kakashi, you will be team captain. Good luck." He waved to the door dismissively.
I turned and followed the two men out, still stiff.
"You okay?" Kakashi asked quietly as Kell closed the door behind us, ambling along in our wake.
I rubbed my face, not sure what to do about this. "Just peachy."
He watched me closely, concerned.
"I can ask him to send someone else in your place. You don't have to do this, Whisper," he offered, even more quietly.
"I'll be fine... I think..." I breathed the last part, dragging my feet as I sorted through old memories, trying ti figure out who 'Goro' was.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, but didn't say anything as we left the building.
"Meet me outside the north gate in ten minutes. We leave today," Kell ordered tiredly.
We nodded, and then took off, heading to our apartment to grab some weaponry.
"Pack light. We're going to be moving fast," Kakashi advised, rummaging around in his closet.
"Mmkay," I muttered a bit distractedly as I was still trying to work out 'Goro'.
Five minutes later, we were hurrying across the village, headed north once more. When we arrived, we saw Takeo leaning against the wall looking carefully blank, Kell arguing quietly with a dark haired kunoichi I had never seen before. Shira was flying circles overhead.
"Oh, thank God you're here! Shut them up," he pleaded, looking distinctly uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"...You're not even listening to me, Kell. Don't try to coddle her because her rank is lower. SHe won't want-"
"I'm not going to coddle her, I just don't want her getting freaking killed, Ray."
"You're going to get her freaking killed if you interfere, Kell."
"SHUT UP!" Takeo roared, apparently having had enough of their bickering. "She'll be fine, Kell. Rayna, I'll make sure he doesn't interfere. Happy?"
"Would this 'she' happen to be me?" I cut in, a bit awkwardly.
They both looked over at me, blinking owlishly. Then they looked back at each other.
"It's your fault."
"Not. You're the one who wouldn't shut up and trust me-"
I stepped in between them , shoving each back away from each other. "Now. Am I this 'she'?!"
The woman looked at me uncertainly.
"Are you a chunin named Whisper Nakurama who is part neko and about to go on an S-Rank assassination mission?"
I face-palmed.
"I'll allow it that time," I heard Kakashi comment.
"1: Why would I be here with Kakashi if I am not she? 2: I have fricken ears!"
"...It's polite to ask."
"Told you she's a bit dramatic for her own good," Kell commented, giving her a smug look.
"Don't act like you've won just because you knew that she's dramatic. That doesn't necessarily have anything to do with a kunoichi's skill," 'Rayna' pointed out stubbornly.
"Don't we have somewhere to be?" Kakashi put in pointedly.
"Yeah. Excuse me, Rayna, but I have to go help them kill someone now. Have a nice day." Kell turned on his heel, a stubborn look on his face.
She caught his arm before he could go far.
"Wait. I'm sorry, alright? Please be careful." She stared him down, concerned.
"Yeah."
I looked between the two, confused.
What...?
"Don't worry aboout it. They are like this all the time," Takeo whispered in my ear sounding quite annoyed.
"...I shouldn't have argued. Sorry." Kell pulled her close to him in a hug, kissed her lightly, then darted off to the forest. "Come on!" he called back.
I shrugged and followed him into the forest.
"Stupid ass..." Rayna muttered to herself as I ran past her.
"But, you like his ass!" I sang as I dashed past her, grinning as her face flared.
"You better run, you little..." Her voice faded as I entered the trees, Kakashi and Takeo chuckling on either side of me.
"What? It was true," I whined.
"...You shouldn't antagonize her. She's the type to take some subtle, cleverly thought-out revenge that you won't realize until it's too late to avoid it," Takeo advised, shuddering.
"Meh. I'm a kitty. My instincts will help me," I brushed off.
"Mmm... But she's not a guy," Kakashi pointed out.
"I do have non-guy related instincts, you know," I replied huffily.
"Keep up!" Kell shouted, several yards ahead of us.
"Well some people's legs are a lot shorter than others!" I shouted back at him, trying to speed up even more.
"..." He slowed his pace slightly.
"Are you seriously running as fast as you can right now?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"Probably not if I took off my 'weights'. But Shira doesn't let me."
"No, I don't. You're dangerous when you're fast. You knocked off one of my scales once, you ran into me so hard," Shira sniffed, gliding along beside me suddenly.
"Are you serious?!" Takeo exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Yes. It took weeks to grow back. I had this ugly bald spot on my side. It was terrible. I hid under a rock for days," she commented, pointedly not looking at me.
"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad. Just a bit... pink!" I tried to get her to lighten up about it, giving her a smile.
"Pink? PINK? You think that just because you tell me my side was pink, it'll make it better?" she demanded.
"Um... No?"
"ARGH!" She flapped harder, catching up with Kell and sitting on his head. "Faster, slave. I don't want to deal with her right now."
"Slave?" Kell asked irritably. "You sure you're not related to Rayna?"
"Positive... Unless she has a tail..."
"She doesn't...Thank God for that," Kell mused.
I took off one of my weights, handing it to Kakashi, and darted forward, smacking Kell's head while snarling.
Falling back, I took the weight and replaced it.
"...How many of those do you have?" Kakashi asked, slightly surprised.
"Quite a few. Shira kept adding more as I got used to them. I think we're up to twenty four..."
"Shira, does the name Might Gai ring a bell?" Kakashi rolled his eye.
"Yeah, the drunk idiot that you were singing with."
"...You didn't tell me about the singing..."
"You sang Achy Breaky Heart. That's another bet I won," I informed him.
"It wasn't half bad, all things considered," Kell grinned back at us over his shoulder.
"You got...drunk?" Takeo added incredulously. "I thought you said you wouldn't let that 'bushy browed moron' talk you into that again?"
"... Can we run faster now?" Kakashi said uncomfortably, speeding up to run just ahead of Kell.
"Poo..." I mumbled.
;No.;
)Then how so I keep up?!?!(
;You don't;
I pouted as Takeo caught up with the others.
"Why is it always me that's left behind?!" I mumbled, still pouting.
"'Cause you're a girl," Kell yelled back.
"...... Poo faces."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm glad you're a girl," Kakashi commented, running backwards to look at me.
"Oh, so you're a suck up and a show off!" I rolled my eyes, blushing lightly.
"Nope. Merely stating a fact. I'd feel awkward cuddling with you if you were a guy."
I wrinkled my nose, "Ew. If I were a guy, I'd kill myelf. No offense."
"...None taken?"
"Kool. You're about to run into a tree."
"Nope." He flipped backwards, jumping right over the tree to reappear on the other side, running forward once more.
"Jerk..."
"I try." He turned back around.
We made the rest of the trip to the border in silence.
I collapsed on the ground next to Kell's feet, panting.
"I hate you so much, Shira," I gasped.
"Sure."
"This is as far as I go. I'll remain here. You'll check in with me on the way back," Kell said, taking a compass from his pocket. "You'll head north-northwest from here. There's a cave in a group of hills that they use as their camp. It's only got two chambers, but they are relatively large. Be careful." He looked at me when he gave the warning.
"What?"
"...Good luck." He waved, melting into the shadows at the edge of the forest.
"Well, that wasn't creepy at all," I commented, attempting to completely ruin his effect.
"Then you'll find this hilarious," he muttered, grabbing my shoulder suddenly from behind.
I squeaked in surprise, my instincts 'kicking' in. Heh, heh. See what I did there?
"You little mother @&#$%*! WHY?!" he cried from behind me.
I stared up at Kakashi, not sure whether to laugh or fear Kell...
"He won't hurt you. You just wounded his pride a little," Kakashi said. "We're going to get to this copse of trees here," he continued, pointing at one on the map. "Then we'll make camp."
"Okay," I nodded, then turned around to Kell. "Sorry..."
"Just get out of here, you crazy cat," he grumbled, though he gave me a playful look.
"Yup." Kakashi grabbed my arm, pulling me away before I could comment. "Just a bit further tonight. Then you can sleep."
"B-but..." I started, staring at one of the places my weights had been placed.
"Just take two off for now. If you hit me though..." Shira trailed threateningly.
I fist pumped, and took off two weights, handing them to Shira, seeing as they wouldn't slow her down.
"Oh good. Now we can make some real progress," Kakashi muttered.
"I'm not that slow..."
He and Takeo exchanged a meaningful look.
"Hate to break it to ya, but you kind of are," Takeo said.
I harumphed.
"We'll see..."
We took off again.
I acciedently blew right past them, and that was only a light run...
"Oh. Okay then," Kakashi remarked, lengthening his stride and catching up with me.
"Maybe I should practice on this a bit more..." I mumbled.
"Yeah, maybe," Takeo said, rolling his eyes as he came up on my other side.
"I can't help it!" I complained, giving a pointed look to Shira.
"Hush. We're in enemy territory now," Kakashi put in, stopping any potential argument.
I huffed quietly, but stayed silent.
Goro... Goro...Goro............GORO?!?! Holy mother f-
;What's wrong?!?!;
)Goro! That's the a-hole who locked me in that cell thing and always beat the crap outta me!(
;Oh. Suck. Well, I'm pretty sure he's got worse than that coming to him, considering we're supposed to bring him back for 'questioning'.;
)But... What if he recognizes me?(
;You really think Ka-kun will let him hurt you?;
)... He doesn't even know, and I don't intend on telling him... Ka-kun?(
;...What? I don't get to nickname him? At least I don't call him 'Kaka-baka'.;
)Stop changing the subject. Besides, he deserved it.(
;Do you really think I'll let him hurt you?;
)... No...(
;Then don't worry so much.;
"Why do you look constipated?" Takeo's voice cut me off from my thoughts.
I blushed slightly.
"Why are you blushing?" Takeo questioned again, poking my cheek.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about something and you're comment caught me off guard."
"What were you thinking about? You've been distracted all day," Kakashi asked glancing over at me concerned.
"It's nothing important. Don't worry about it," I shrugged keeping my eyes forward.
"Mmkay. But you just ran past our campsite," Kakashi told me, grabbing me and gesturing back at Takeo, who was standing a ways behind us looking confused.
Dang... I really did get distracted...
"Oops..."
"Come on." He led the way back.
"You okay?" Takeo asked.
I nodded, not looking at him.
God... I'm a terrible liar...
"...If you say so." He dropped his bag, a messenger style thing that had been slung over his shoulder, and sat down with it. "Home sweet home."
I rolled my eyes. I swivled my head around, looking for a good place to sit. I shrugged, and plopped down behind Takeo, using his back to lean against.
"...Okay then." He started rummaging through his bag, muttering to himself. "...Glycerin, sulfer, nitride, saltpetre, seismogel..." His head bumped against mine as he looked up. "I can't believe this...."
"What'd you forget?" Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Ow..." I mumbled, rubbing my head.
"I didn't bring any magnesium. How am I supposed to do flash-bang without magnesium? Stupid dog ate my last batch..." Takeo grumbled.
"... What do you need?" I asked, starting to get up.
"Magnesium. What are you doing?"
I sighed, starting to take off in the direction of a cluster of boulders, "finding you your magnesium."
I pulled some water from the ground, and pushed it into the boulders, searching. I walked around behind them...
"Well, well, well... What do we have here?"
"I dunno, Cato. Looks like a wittle Weaf chunin out away fwom the borders."
"Well. This is convenient. Thanks for saving us the run."
"Huh?" I looked up in time to receive a fist to the face, and then I blacked out.
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!! Ah. I think that you are probably mad at us. Oh well. Now you must comment if you want to see what happened to dear Whisper... Remember she is Saphy's character, not mine. I have no qualms about her well-being... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Ahem. Anyway, read, comment, vote if you want Whisper to ever see the light of day (or Kakashi's butt) again!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! (I'm feeling especially evil today, in case you didn't notice.) Thanks. -Prodigious ^.^
1: Pro, I hate to break it to ya, but she won't die. I won't let that happen.
2: Now... never seeing Kakashi.... well... I'm feeling evil too... You vote, comment, she may see him again... MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!
Seriously, vote and comment, or something... BAD will happen... Heh heh.... thnx for reading! -Saphy ;P