Shifter_Master

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Soft mumbling near Kakashi always served to pique his curiosity and grab his attention. That the voice was so close only served to make sure that the masked ninja would near instantly hone in on it. Once he did, he was left blinking in surprise as her wondered how it was he didn’t notice her there earlier. After a moment he decided that he didn’t really care, it was comfortable, and he was pretty sure he knew why he was waking up next to her.

The issue he was finding had much more to do with the fact that his students were still in the house. Mix in the fact that Naruto rarely seemed to be able to be quiet and Kakashi was faced with a minor dilemma. He could wake Airi up, and progress with his day as he had planned yesterday, or he could stay here and almost certainly have the rest of team seven walk in on them.

It takes him only a handful of seconds to decide his course of action. He was going to do both, stay in bed and go about his day as mostly planned, by making use of clones. His plan of action chosen he silently set about making it happen. Step one was making a single shadow clone without the normal poof of smoke and pop of sound.

Step two was switching places with it by use of the Substitution Jutsu, a technique he had long since mastered. The trick was making sure that Airi wasn’t woken up by the switch, so rather than remove her grip form his shirt he just left it behind while his clone kept his place.

Steps three and four involved Kakashi getting ready for the day as normal, albeit minus a shower and adding in fresh bandages. Then, after making another clone, which would also be ready for the day as his first was simply a clone of him from waking up, he would once again prepare for laying down, while the clone would get ready to wake up his students.

Step five was Kakashi would once again swap places with his first clone, using the Substitution Jutsu once again, before having that clone silently dispel itself. The feedback from the first clone dispelling was the sign for the second clone to set about with the original plans for the day. While the original just made himself comfortable, wrapping an arm around Airi as he did so.

All in all it took him at most five minutes to do this. And anyone who figured out would likely just stare in bafflement at the blatant misuse of a dangerous technique and deception of his team all for the sake of sleeping in and not getting caught with Airi in his bed.

Kakashi, on the other hand, would think it was a rather inspired plan. Besides it would keep him from having a clone shadow her all day, as well as make sure that they would be able to talk in private without the disruptions and distractions that the rest of team seven would cause.

Because they needed to have a private conversation, for a couple of reasons really.

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Were it anyone else in the village Kakashi wouldn’t have gone along with the urging to get some rest, to finally get a full night’s sleep, but this was Airi and that made all the difference. So he didn’t stand firm against her push, instead he just fell back on to his bed, and stopped ignoring his body’s demands for rest. While Airi was grabbing his chair he just got comfortable, and was infact nearly asleep in the moment he cot under the covers.

It was Airi running a hand through his hair that kept him awake, because it was a foreign feeling for the masked ninja. He never had anyone in his life that would play with his hair, his mother passed shortly after his birth, his father was a ninja, and there had never been a person in the corp that Kakashi trusted or that trusted him for them to be close enough for such a simple act of affection and care to come about.

Kakashi decided he enjoyed the feeling.

“Wasn’t going to lose you” He mumbled as he was again on the verge of sleep “Too important” He cracked one of his eyes open as he smiled softly at her, before he finally relinquished his grip on the waking world, making her sincere and honest expression was the last this he saw before he slept and it was his gifted eye that he had unknowingly used. Thus her soft smile as he drifted off to sleep was forever etched in to his memory.

It would lead to one of the most peaceful and restful nights Kakashi had ever known.

---

~The next morning~

There is any number of things that could have led to Kakashi waking up when he did. The late night, the harsh week he had been subjected too, his injuries, the fact that his sleep had been so peaceful for once. All that and more, but in the end it was still a bit surprising to the silver haired Jonin that when he woke up it was 9:15, hours later then he would normally wake up. He gave a small shrug at that after a moment, after all it was a day off, more or less, so he was entitled to sleeping in.

‘Wonder if anyone else is awake?’ he wondered silently.

Lunacy of Love: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

_{-Winter games-}

Penny was grinning as she watched the battle swing in their favor with the airborne cat getting hit, to one of the opposition getting launched in to the lake below and the ice breaking away from their vessel. The grin turned blood thirsty as she heard her gauss round strike home. Even if Umeko wasn’t dead, which penny doubted, she was going to be out of the fight for a while.

Seeing as things were going in their way for the moment the cyborg had no qualms about focusing on the more obvious threat “Will do and offer stands as long as you need, just keep an eye on the windbag while I’m at it” she replied to Alicia moving towards the large blocks of ice that were lying about on the deck. She might not haver her cannon at the moment, but that didn’t mean she was useless against the airborne enemy.

Taking a moment to guarantee her footing, Penny gripped the first block of ice she came across before making use of her monstrous strength to whip the block of ice around pivoting on her heels as she did, a few rotations later Penny launched the oversized ice cube at Curie at high speed.

Shortly after letting go an electric whine began emanating from Penny, signaling that her next shot was ready and waiting.

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Kakashi couldn’t help the small smile that graced his features as his students settled in for the night. The fact they felt comfortable to fall asleep shortly after laying down told him he made the right choice in offering to let them stay the night. He could hear Sakura also settling in; she had chosen the spare room down the hall, opting not to venture too far from the team. He sat there musing about them when Airi wondered over and surprised him with her offer, though he realized quickly that he shouldn’t have.

“You are too kind, offering to lug me up stairs after dragging me back” he joked softly as he accepted her offer. He wouldn’t have minded sleeping on the couch, but he wasn’t going to turn down the offer to sleep in his own bed, nor the chance to spend some more time with his closest friend.

The short trek to Kakashi’s room would inadvertently emphasize the Spartan nature of his furnishings. There was no paintings hung up, nor were there any tables with knickknacks or shelves of books to be seen anywhere in the house. It was also spotlessly clean. It had an almost unlived in quality to it, despite the fact that Kakashi had been living here since he was thirteen.

His room was different; it held a few things to prove that someone did in fact live here, a small book shelf that surprisingly had more on it than just the icha icha series, a desk that held a small assortment of tools and brushes on it, along with a sheathed dagger in an odd cylinder shaped sheathe, and a nightstand next to the bed that held what seemed to be the only picture in the entire house.

It was a team picture; in the back with a sheepish smile was a man instantly recognizable as the fourth Hokage. He was leaning forward slightly resting his hands on the two of the young kid’s heads that were in front of him. Kakashi was one of them, though he was nearly unrecognizable if not for his silver hair and face mask as he stood rigidly, a near scowl on his face. The boy next to him was much more relaxed an easy smile and goggles on his face with short spikey black hair. The last person in the photo was a young girl; she had shoulder length brown hair and a laughing grin on her face as she held up two peace signs to the camera.

Kakashi shuffled in to the room quietly, breathing an audible sigh of contentment at seeing his bed. He removed his headband tossed it lightly on to the desk, before moving to sit on the surprisingly large bed that was pushed up against the wall under the window. “Thank you” he said honestly one he was seated on the edge of the bed “There is a room just across the hall if you are feeling exhausted, or you can pull up the seat if you want to talk a bit.” He offered knowing from personal experience that some encounters make it hard to sleep despite the exhaustion that cause and kidnapping tended to be one of them. Besides he could put off sleep for a bit longer if needed, he had done so before for less important reasons.

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Kakashi was gald that Sasuke was quick on the uptake, as he very much wanted to sit down and finally relax. He sat for a few moments just basking in the fact that things had turned out for the better for once, but such relaxation could only last for so long in the proximity of Naruto. As the young ninja was bursting with curiosity, which only got more intense as Sakura’s exclamation drifted down the hall.

“What happened?” Naruto asked again, trying his level best not to shout at his obviously worn out teacher. Sasuke shook his head at his teammate’s actions but didn’t stop himself from look at Kakashi in curiosity afterward.

“Bandits, slavers really from what I heard. I showed up with a few moments to spare” Was the masked man’s reply “Can’t say much more than that, I’ll tell you more tomorrow after I get debriefed” he added before he shifted to sit up a bit more as Sakura and Airi returned.

“So am I” Kakashi echoed his friend’s sentiments as he gave everyone another look, before letting out a sigh of exhaustion. “I’m in need of sleep as are the rest of you I would imagine, feel free to crash here if you need.” He offered and for a moment the kids looked to protest, before deflating as they realized just how exhausting the day had been for them. Thiers was as much a mental exhaustion as Kakashi’s was, but for different reasons.

“I’ve a few spare rooms, you three can use or you can set up you bedrolls here, either is fine. Tomorrow is going to be a light day in regards to training, team building if anything.” He explained as he started to take off his unneeded equipment. The three genin shared a look for a moment before Naruto and Sasuke started to unpack their bed rolls while Sakura moved to find one of the spare bedrooms Kakashi had mentioned.

“Airi the offer is extended to you as well, I’m fine with the couch, not going to try and make the trek to my bed at the moment, too much risk I would end up sleeping against a wall if I did. So you can take my room or one of the spares if you want” All of the students seemed to think it was a good idea if Airi stayed here, if their looks of hope and worry were anything to go by as they waited for Airi to answer.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

917

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Don't worry about it, off days happen.

I'm likely going to work the first of the two ideas in to my next post, the kids at least will ask that, maybe a dog if I have them show up. Kakashi is just tired, so his capabilities at being a host are going to be gone.

People showing up to ask Airi about walking with Kakashi a bit after seeing would only have more questions if they try and she happens to not be at home.

Lunacy of Love: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

_-Defense-

Penny couldn’t help the vindictive smile that spread across her face as she witnessed Umiko getting ambushed, and fired off another gauss round at her for good measure before she started moving to cover Alicia as she recovered. The turret firing off a massive beam gave the cyborg hope that at least one more of the guards had been taken care of, possibly two, but the light of the energy made it hard to verify.

That left only one target easily visible, the airborn catgirl throwing wind at them. Seeing as Scout had been down by this nuisance earlier and Alicia had already been pegged by a sniper round that the mechanical girl knew from personal experience hurt a lot more than it should. Penny opted to act as moving barricade looking to intercept any incoming attacks while she waited for another Gauss charge to become ready.

“Don’t be afraid to me as a shield if you need to, I can tank the hits easily and I’ll heal faster than you” Penny nearly growled out as she kept her eyes on their current target, while also trying to keep an eye out for any other potentially incoming attacks.

Her hands keep flexing in to half claws in irritation as she vastly preferred close quarters combat, but knew that it would be unlikely that she would get her wish to beat one of the opponents bloody any time soon. Part of her wished she had went with the infiltration team, feeling that she would be of more use there as she had a rather limited ranged combat capability but another part vastly preferred to be here helping out Alicia as at the very least she knew she could trust the light user.

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

Kakashi was more than happy to play the verbal game of cat and mouse with Airi, for no other reason that it was an affirmation that she was okay. The fact that she was willing and able to play along with such was just the icing on top. By the time they encountered the rescue squad the only facts that could be said for certain was the fact that the argument was a new one, a couple weeks old at most, had nothing to do with the mission they just got back from and that the Genin were unaware of it.

While Airi was dealing with the chunin, and as his clones helped transfer the still sleeping girls over to the active squad Kakashi was was also engaging in a conversation. His was with the Anbu shadow that was tailing the search squad. The Anbu member was there mostly to try and learn how this group of bandits had bypassed the security of Konoha and in part to monitor Kakashi, as his rapid departure hadn’t gone unnoticed by the elite defenders.

‘Targets terminated?’ signed the Anbu hidden in the trees.

‘Four terminated, one captured. T&I to receive’ Kakashi signed back ‘Bodies half click behind no jutsu useage.’

The Anbu nodded and looked off in the direction they had come from. Kakashi couldn’t be sure, but wouldn’t be surprised if there was now a clone on its way to give the place a through look over, returning their gaze to the half masked ninja below. ‘You’ve gotten slow’ they signed before disappearing.

Kakashi held back the sigh that wanted to escape at that, because he knew it was true. Before he could dwell on it he felt Airi leading him back to home. “He felt I was deluding myself about something” he answered as they picked up their conversational game of cat and mouse again.

---

Once they were safely behind the walls of Konoha, Kakashi let out a sigh of relaxation. He no longer felt the need to hold on to his battle awareness, the feeling of dread was no longer haunting him, and everyone he cared about was safe. It was almost enough to have him fall asleep on the spot, but that would leave Airi to carry him to his house. So he pushed the need for sleep to arm’s length, and kept walking, still leaning on Airi.

Neither of them noticed Ino Yamanaka staring at them as they walked down the road, nor any of the other people who would stop and watch the two as they passed by.

They were about half way to Kakashi’s home when he felt comfortable enough to talk about the mission they had just come back from. He hadn’t really meant to start talking about it, it just spilled out instead of the next vague deflection he had prepared, he would blame it on being so tired later “They really showed their mettle when we were out there, they stared down The Demon of the Bloody Mist and refused to back down. They faced danger and desperation, yet not a single one of them faltered.”

“I should probably up their training, now while the mission is still fresh, second best way to get a lesson to stick. Wouldn’t hurt for you to start it back up again as well, I’d be willing to help if you wanted” Kakashi rambled on as the exhaustion and relief finally started to settle in. His pack had gone through hell, his pups had survived an A rank on what should have been their first C, Airi had been kidnapped and nearly killed, but against the odds that seemed to define his life they were okay.

He pulled Airi slightly closer to him, just enough that he could feel it. He had lived through a week of his own nightmares, but at the end of it he still had everyone. He had come so very close to losing everyone again, and it had shaken him to his core, but they were okay.

‘When I wake up, I’ll tell her tomorrow after I wake I up’ he promised silently.

Inside the Hidden Leaf Village. |Shifter_Master & EasilyAmused|

“The bandages make it look worse than it really is” Kakashi said with a soft chuckle “Just a bit tired really” And that was the closest he was going to get to admitting just how exhausted he was. As he was rather lightly injured considering his fights with Zabuza, with the stab wound through his hand being the worst injury. The slash on his chest had been a lighter wound by comparison, due to his vest despite what it looked like at first. Still, his grip around Airi tightened ever so slightly as he partook of her silent offer.

“That was just Akino being smug. We got in to a disagreement a bit ago; recently he was proved to be right.” Was Kakashi’s casual reply “He always was a troublesome pup” The disagreement Kakashi and Akino had delt with Airi, and the fact that the masked ninja was falling for her. Akino was of the opinion that it had taken Kakashi far too long to admit this fact and liked to state that it was fallen for not falling. Kakashi had wanted to bury the dog up to his neck and tried to disabuse him of that notion. Now he just wanted to bury the dog mainly for being right, but also for bringing it up in front of Airi, intentionally no less.

But trying to get back at his oldest dog, and avoiding the questions his vague reply had undoubtedly caused, would have to come later as at the moment there were people to start transporting back. Taking stock of the other kidnap victims, he was glad to note they were fine, if laid about haphazardly. Still he took a slow centering breath, the shadow clone was jutsu that he was always careful about using as he relied upon quality as his Chakra reserves were nothing special, and splitting it always required careful consideration. Thankfully he didn’t need perfect clones, just needed them good enough to carry people.

It was short work to make the six copies he needed, at a glance they were easily distinguishable as Kakashi but each of them was grayed out and lacking fine detail. ”It’s always surprising how useful it is knowing how to cut corners with clone techniques can be” Kakashi said looking at his barely-there-clones before directing them to pick up the still unconscious victims.