Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Parenting Skills ❯ Rumors are great ( Chapter 9 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Chapter 9: Rumors are great, aren't they?

After the too long treasure hunt…

“Yes! I so A'd your butt Shika!” Taki just whipped Shikamaru in DanceManiaX and got an A for her score.

“Maybe Taki's the better monkey,” Shika's eye twitched.

“I want another rematch!” he wasn't lazy now. No one takes his nickname and gets away with it.

Taki took a glance at him, “Nah, I'm tired. People are watching me.”

It was true people were sneaking glances at her and whispering to whoever was next to them. Perhaps the rumor I was speaking of?

The group walked out of the arcade and went to park. They sat in a sandbox doing nothing but shifting the sand a bout. Taki stood up.

“I'm bored. I'm leaving and I'm taking Shino with me,” she grabbed Shino's arm.

“Just like that she leaves,” Sasuke said.

“She's more troublesome than other girls.”

“At least we won.”

“Thanks to her that is.”

----

“Shino, my friend, today we're going to find Neji and make him play with us. Haven't seen him in ages.”

Actually it was only a day and a half ago.

“He's probably training.”

“Well. We could train with him. If you don't want to, I guess I'll go by myself.”

He thought of Neji and Taki being together. His cheeks tinted, he didn't know what was happening to him, but he was getting a little rumbling in his tummy. It was jealousy by the way.

“I'll go with you.”

----

Shino showed Taki the way to the Hyuuga estate. They heard slashing noises and perked up. Following the clings and clangs they stared at a high wall.

“Security is tight so we will go in the sneaky way,” Taki had a cat-look upon her face.

She jumped on a tree and leaped over the wall. She made it and landed next to Neji. Shino appeared next. Neji stopped what he was doing, which was training, and put down his wrapped up fists.

“You're not suppose to be here,” Neji wiped off the sweat on his face with his shirt.

“Like I care. We're checking up on you,” Taki smiled.

“Because?”

“Checking if you were really training or just playing with your other friends.”

Of course at that age he didn't have friends but them and maybe Tenten.

“I'm training. Wanna see?” he gave Shino an I-challenge-you look.

Taki nodded, “I think Fro wants to help too don't you?” she nudged Shino.

He already had his kunais out. Taki automatically was the referee made them start.

----

Neji won. He was still a little disappointed though. He didn't use his poke technique because he didn't fully master it yet and he still needed to practice his defenses.

“Good work Neji-chan. You whipped Fro good,” Taki gave him a low and then a high five.

Shino was okay. He picked himself up, no rips or cuts on him, he dusted himself off. He added this to his `Neji hate' list.

----

“Kakashi are you even going to try to train Taki?” Iruka asked him.

Kakashi shifted his leg up on the chair, “Maybe why?”

“It might be good if you taught her,” he looked at him earnestly.

“Why so she could get out of your class faster?”

Iruka turned his head away at the truth. He really didn't like Taki for some reason. They were sitting in Iruka's classroom.

Kakashi put his book down, “Do you like Taki or not?”

Iruka still didn't say anything. Kakashi's eye was seriously staring at him. Like through his soul or something.

“She's with me whether you or I like it or not and I happen to like Taki. You're going to have to deal with this on your own,” he got up and left.

Something in Iruka's head panged. He hoped this didn't ruin their friendship.

----

Hands in his pockets he walked through the market.

“Kakashi-san!”

Kakashi slowly looked back. It was Akamori Shiori. What a lovely thing to see with his eye after a long day.

“Shiori, still looking lovely as ever,” he flattered as he looked at her attire.

Shiori wore a light green dress with dark green leaves printed all over, with getas like a wooden sandal, and a clear Buddha bracelet. She was holding her purse.

“Thanks, we finally meet again. So where you headed?” she blushed.

Today was a sale day in the market. So it was getting crowded. They stood against some wooden boxes.

“Nowhere in particular. You?” he stepped closer.

“You're getting pretty close Kakashi. Could you take a step back?” her back was touching the boxes.

“Sorry someone pushed me. But isn't this better than being crammed?” he had a delightful twinkle in his eye.

Her mouth twitched upwards, “Good point but I was going to go grocery shopping.”

Kakashi straightened up, “Make it easier and let's go to the supermarket instead.”

She thought about it, “Well okay. It's better than squishing my food here.”

----

“You cooking for an army or is your refrigerator just big?” he looked at the filled up cart he was pushing.

“No, just stocking up. I met some new friends and they finished all of the food in my fridge. They're coming over today too, so I'm going to be prepared,” she tossed some cream cheese in the cart.

“Why don't you just go out?”

“Then they'll probably want to go somewhere else when I could be doing something else.”

They headed to the checkout line.

----

“Thanks again for helping me Kakashi,” she beamed at him.

He picked up the heavy bags, which were a lot of heavy bags.

“No prob,” as he pictured that smile and white lace somewhere.

He shook that thought away as soon as he figured out it was a wedding with her in it.

“Why don't you and Taki join my `little' dinner?”

“Okay,” he tried to hide the excitement in that word, “you don't have to you know,” then trying to be polite.

“I know I don't have to. But hey, the foods better when there are more people. You're going to come and Taki is too,” she decided.

She lived in an okay neighborhood. They stopped at her doorstep.

“Dinner's at six,” she took the bags he was holding and closed the door.

Shiori opened it and poked his chest, “You better be here at six,” she closed it again.

`Too cute,' he shook his head and walked off and wished it was six already.

----

“Taki be good when we meet Shiori's friends.”

“Yup so she can see that I'm cool enough to allow her to go out with you,” she combed back her hair and pretended to shoot Kakashi.

Kakashi chuckled, “Right,” he knocked on the door.

They heard a chair knock over and a “I'll get it!”

----

“Hell- oh Kakashi I didn't know you knew Shiori too,” it was Iruka.

Taki cleared her voice and smiled up at the bad Iruka.

“Taki you came too,” he tried to sound happy but failing.

She bared her teeth at him.

“Come in. Shiori's still cooking so we're playing some Scrabble.”

Taking off their shoes, Taki ran into the kitchen first, and Kakashi followed Iruka. A huge gasp entered at this point.

“Well if it isn't my eternal rival Hatake Kakashi!” Gai stood up, still in his one and only thing he wears, that stupid green outfit.

Kakashi turned around, he really didn't want to talk to him, and headed to the kitchen instead.

“Taki don't forget this,” Shiori handed her a bag.

“Shiori.”

Taki hid the bag behind her back.

“Kakashi glad you brought yourself and Taki. Now if you mind go and play word games with Gai and Iruka,” she pushed him out.

“Ddddid you say Gai, Shiori-san?” Taki trembled.

“The one Gai I know is Gai,” she said.

Taki screamed and tried to open the window but didn't see that it was still locked on the top. Kakashi stopped her and sat her on his lap.

“ Taki the Gai we're about to see isn't the one in the story okay?”

She nodded. The other men stuck their heads in.

“We heard some screaming. Did anyone burn their hands?” Iruka asked.

Taki stared at those eyebrows and screamed again and hid behind Kakashi.

“A child? So that's where the youthful screams were coming from,” Gai picked her up, “she looks I someone I know. Hmmm.”

`Big. Eyebrows…' she watched them wiggle.

She panicked, kicked Gai's face, and landed in Shiori's arms.

“What a scary face Gai must have to scare little kids,” Kakashi put a hand on Gai's shoulder.

Gai's footprint face was red. He touched his face, his eye hurt, and then laughed out loud.

The others took a step back from him. He still was laughing.

“I think you kicked him a little bit too hard Taki,” Shiori said, she turned back to her cooking.

“This youthful sprout will become a good ninja when she grows up!” Gai mess up her head hard.

Taki huffed and tried to fix the mess he made on her hair.

“Anyways, back to Scrabble,” Iruka sweat dropped.

“I challenge you to a game of Scrabble Kakashi. I am sure to win since I know many complicated and long words,” Gai laughed and ran to the living room.

“I want to play too, Uncle,” Taki tugged on Kakashi's pants.

----

“How could a spring of youth defeat me?” Gai grieved out loud shaking his head.

“She beat you with 30 points more than you. Very impressive,” Iruka said checking the scores again.

“Hee hee,” Taki grinned and gave thumbs up to Kakashi.

Shiori walked in and stared at the Scrabble board

“What word did she beat Gai with?” she asked.

The board was nearly covered up.

“Taki used `Didaskaleinophobia' to beat him,” Kakashi answered.

Didaskaleinophobia, the fear of going to school.

“How do you know that word Taki?”

Taki looked up at Shiori and shrugged, she went back to picking up the letters off the board.

“Then how did she win?”

“Taki put `did' on one side and Gai put `phobia' on the other side.”

“What did you do Taki?” Iruka asked.

“I just put all my letters in between,” she easily said as Gai cracked.

“So you didn't even know if it was a word or not?”

“Nope.”

Gai cracked some more, “The youthful spirit helped her. Beginners luck,” he tried to believe in his own words.

`Now I have to compete with two Hatake's?' Gai cried out in thought.

“Anyhoo, dinner's ready.”

Taki ran to the kitchen first.

----

“So I've been hearing…” Iruka started off.

“Yes, Iruka?” Shiori said.

“Taki's been the talk of Konoha.”

Taki's head went up when she heard her name and went back to eating.

“What kind of talk Iruka?” Kakashi asked, he didn't know her reputation was growing already.

“She has four suitors already in waiting,” Iruka announced.

Gai choked on his food, Shiori blinked a couple of times, and Kakashi raised his brow.

“What? As in a wooer, a boyfriend, a BOY?” Shiori inquired.

Iruka nodded quickly.

“The lovely flower is beginning to blossom early this year? Who are her suitors in waiting?” Gai questioned.

“Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and some people are even saying Uchiha Itachi.”

The adults were quiet. Taki picked up her head again.

“You talkin' about my friends?” she wasn't listening to their conversations, she had a song stuck in her head.

“Yep, did they give you anything nice or said something to you?” Shiori asked nicely.

Taki bunched up her lips, “Shino gave me and Neji-chan lollipop, Neji-chan showed me his kunai, Sasuke didn't give anything to me. He wasn't looking where he was going and knocked me over. Itachi…” she put on her dark look, “he was pretending to be a stranger and offer candy to me. Then he tried to scare me and I punched him in the eye,” she punched her hand.

They sweat dropped. But wait, Itachi, anbu member, being punched in the eye, by Taki? Outrageous.

“Um, I guess that could start a rumor,” Kakashi said slowly.

“Rumor? What's that?” Taki looked at him.

----

“Thanks for coming Kakashi,” Shiori watch him lean on the doorway.

“Well you did tell us to come.”

“Yes you're right about that. So,” she drifted off, “another dinner sometime?”

“Right.”

Now their heads were getting closer.

…

“Hey!”

They kissed…

“I said `Hey!'”

…Each other's cheeks.

“Let's go Uncle. We're going to take a bath so we can wash that `love' out of your eyes,” she pulled Kakashi away.

“Bye Taki,” Shiori looked at Kakashi and smiled a secret smile.

“Bye Shiori! Next time I'll watch my bad Uncle from doing baka things,” Taki waved back.

“Don't I get a say in this?”

“No you don't Uncle.”

This was a quick one. Taki knows a lot of hard words but she doesn't know some of the smaller words. time to sleep. finish 12:56 am. good timing.