Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Snippets of KakaSaku ❯ Play Date ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Written for KakaSaku Month on tumblr. Originally started writing this from the prompt 'Hunted' but switched to the prompt 'Family' because I figured it fit better.

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Play Date

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Pakkun skulked in the underbrush, slipping through the foliage with less agility than usual and making a fair amount of noise. After all, he was teaching pups; he didn't want to make it too hard for them to find him. Still, they should have a keen enough sense of smell by now that they should be able to find him with ease regardless of how many twigs he stepped on.

After a few minutes with no pups on his tail he began to grow suspicious. Peeking his head out into the clearing he rolled his eyes. Really, he should have known. There was Sakura, who'd promised to behave, support the ninken's training, and not be a distraction, sitting in the middle of a pile of puppies, laughing and cooing as she scratched as many heads and bellies as she could at once.

Growling in a resigned sort of frustration he untangled himself from the shrubbery only to be tackled by a bright eyed pup he hadn't seen coming. Rolling on the grass and play-wrestling with her, he eventually stood up, shaking out all the debris that had stuck to his fur. Smiling down at the tiny tyke he gave an approving 'woof' that perked the ears of the rest of his pups. Giving them a disapproving stare that made sure to encompass an embarrassed looking Sakura, he turned back to the daring pup in front of him. He should've thought to look for her in the group at Sakura's feet before coming out; if any were to stay on task, to really get the feel for the hunt, he'd known it would be this one. She was definitely the most promising one in the litter and he was sure she'd be a top ranking ninken by the time she was grown. Making sure she understood his pride in her before nodding his head toward the group, he smiled as she loped off toward them a bit sloppily, her paws still far too big for her.

Sakura sent him a sheepish glance before tentatively reaching down to pet the little female pup, a type of reward for a job well done. A loud bark - they wouldn't be able to pick up much human language until they were older - brought all their attention back to him and while the little girl pranced back to him playfully the rest slunk back on their bellies. He chuffed a laugh. Served them right, getting distracted almost from the get go.

Trying for something a little simpler, he had the litter follow him and try tackling him to the ground. He played it up, pretending to slip here, letting one catch onto his ear or jacket there, and pretended not to hear Kakashi's laughter in the background. After about five minutes he was under a squirming pile of yipping little bodies, now playfully attacking each other just as much as they were trying to stay on top of him.

Wiggling out from under them he simply shook his head as the group, while still attacking each other, managed to make their way closer and closer to Sakura and her waiting lap. With a disgruntled harumph that was half for show, he plopped down next to Kakashi. Sakura, taking that as her cue that training was done - at least for the moment - and that she could play some more without getting scolded for it, eagerly gathered the excited pups in her arms.

Pakkun tried not to smile at the picture they made - he had to think of appearances after all - but it was hard not to turn just a bit warm inside as she cooed at his pups, scratching them behind the ears, and laughing as they climbed all over her, licking at her fingers and face. He sighed. He supposed having Sakura spoil them rotten was better than his litter not getting along with his - and potentially their - summoner and his significant other, or whatever humans preferred to call it these days.

"You know," Kakashi started in a conversation way that Pakkun just know meant trouble, "if you're feeling that left out I could be persuaded to give you a belly rub."

He growled lowly. "Screw you."

Kakashi laughed at that. "Come on, like you didn't know this was going to happen when we planned this training exercise together. I'm frankly surprised you planned to get anything done at all, what with having me summon you here and having Sakura around. You know how she is around anything small and cute. Especially if it's soft and furry too," he added needlingly.

"My pups aren't cute," he groused just to be contradictory. Of course they were beyond adorable, to him as their dad if to no one else, but they were also ninken, who could be vicious, stealthy, and deadly when need called for it. "Besides, they have to train in this realm to accustom themselves to the different smells and environments. Plus they really need to learn how to work through distractions."

Kakashi laughed again and, even though it was partly at his expense, Pakkun was glad to hear it. It had been absent from his life for far too long. "Well I think that particular distraction," he pointed a thumb at the tittering pile of human and pup playing a few meters away from them, "is going to have a hold on them for a good long time to come still."

Pakkun groused at that; he couldn't deny that Kakashi was right. Truth be told he couldn't say he honestly minded all that much but he had to do something about the smirk on Kakashi's face. Even if Pakkun hadn't long ago learned to read his expressions in spite of the mask, right now the man radiated smugness so thoroughly he could practically smell it.

"Just wait 'til you have on of your own. Imagine what a nightmare it'll be trying to train your kid with not only Sakura around, spoiling the hell out of the kid and kissing all his booboos, but having a passel of perfectly pettable ninken around to serve as distraction as well."

Pakkun had been looking at his own kids as he spoke and when he turned to regard Kakashi he was startled at what he saw. Eyes bulging and mouth wide open, he looked like a cross between horrified and panicked, and ecstatically, astoundingly elated. His gaze seemed to glaze over for a second as he stared at Sakura, at he tableau before him, before he turned back to Pakkun.

"You really think so?" he asked quietly, subdued shock still evident in his tone.

The ninken was flabbergasted at how his threat had seemed to turn around into something that, while still frightening in its own way, was anything but. Tongue lolling in satisfaction, he moved just a bit closer to Kakashi, still parsing out the subtle, varied, and intense gamut of emotions he could smell rolling off of him in waves.

"Most definitely."

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*Sits firmly in the 'the-ninken-are-Kakashi's-family' camp*