"A little smug, are we?" asked Kakashi.
"She's a cat," pointed out Sasuke helpfully.
"Okay," said Kurochan, wiping a blood spatter off her little white uniform, then flicking it off her fingers. "He's attacked us three times now. Once with the Demon Brothers, second with the ninja, third with these mercenaries. I think we should meet this 'Gato' and indicate our displeasure."
Nobody needed to hear any promise of violence, something in her tone indicated that Gato might be less than fully functional after that meeting.
"Kurochan's bloodthirsty?" asked Naruto.
"She's a cat," helpfully pointed out Sasuke.
"The mission is to keep Tazuna safe," pointed out Kurochan. "Eliminating him would make it a lot easier."
"We were not hired for an assassination mission," pointed out Kakashi.
"Hmph," hmphed Kurochan.
"Sasuke, you're hurt!" said Sakura before stopping and considering him briefly.
"Pfeh," said Sasuke. "This is nothing."
"Oh," said Sakura, fidgeting.
"Now now," said Kakashi, not accidently putting himself between the simmering Naruto and the dismissive Sasuke. Maybe he ought to have the two work it out in a sparring session after Sasuke had healed? "Training for now. Later we'll settle a few things and run an analysis of this fight."
Kurochan shifted back to cat form and proudly walked off, tail high.
"She's leaving before the clean up?" noted Sakura, glad to be able to focus on something besides Sasuke.
"Cat," repeated Sasuke, who was familiar with felines.
"You want to attend the Chunin Exam?" asked the Hokage.
"Well, yes," said the blonde girl, fidgeting a little.
"Something wrong?" asked the Hokage. "If it concerns Naruto, I should know about it?"
Fate considered something, then held up a metal triangle. "Bardiche?"
[Unable to detect any nearby presences.]
The Hokage raised an eyebrow at this.
"It's... You know that when Naruto ended up in TSAB custody, he was given full medical and magical scans?" asked Fate.
"Yes," said the Hokage. "I had heard that detail before."
"So we not only know of his prisoner, but we know his genetic potential," said Fate.
"All right," said the Hokage, following the basic idea so far.
"So," said Fate, taking a deep breath and another nervous look at the windows. "I want to keep my options open."
"'Options'?" asked the Hokage, now lost.
"Everyone talks about me and Nanoha and Hayate, and I love them, I truly do, but -" Fate paused, turning red and looking flustered.
The Hokage thought he might have an idea what was going on here, but that couldn't really be it, could it?
"So, just in case, you know, I might like guys that way," said Fate. "Naruto has a good heart, he can be nice, and he's genetically compatible, and..."
It was just as well the pipe wasn't lit because it fell from the Hokage's slack mouth. "I... see."
"So... if I attend his exams, then I can sound him out about such things," said Fate.
"There might be another girl..." said the Hokage. Hadn't there been something about an engagement?
"Oh yes, his two fiancees," said Fate, nodding. "That's fine."
"He has two fiancees?" asked the Hokage. "And, you're okay with that?"
Fate shrugged a little. "It's a little unconventional, but I expect I'd spend a lot of time away with other duties and missions anyway."
Then and there, the Hokage decided to issue a special Ambassadorial Observer status to the girl. And write Jiraiya. Because if anything would get Jiraiya to stick around the village for awhile - this situation certainly promised it.
Kakashi went through the hand signs, slapped one hand down, and a cloud of chakra-smoke appeared.
"Yo," said the little dog.
"Don't even think about it," Kurochan said from her position atop the mantle.
"Don't even think of what?" asked the dog.
"Good," said Kurochan, apparently satisfied.
"Uhm, right," said the dog.
"Pakkun, I need you to track someone," said Kakashi, interrupting the discussion before it could degrade into paired comedy.
"I didn't think it was to share a bowl of Korean barbeque," responded Pakkun. "Though it would be nice if that was the case once in awhile. Where's the scent?"
"The ropes there should have his scent," said Kakashi, indicating the ropes that had been used to hold Haku.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:31)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.