Chapter 35

The Next Morning, Five Days Until the Chunin Exams

I wake up in a mildly surprising predicament. Tayuya decided to steal my body heat again, she's clinging to me in her sleep.

"I hope this doesn't become a routine. I like having my body heat to myself, thank you very much." I grumble quietly. No need to wake her up, I'm content with laying here.

"I could see her making it one. You'll need to install locks when we go back to Sound." Sasuke chimes in from the kitchen side of the room. He's pouring himself a steaming cup of coffee. He wiggles the pot in my direction. "Want some?"

"Hell no! Coffee is gross, I have no idea how you can stand to drink that stuff." He rolls his eyes at me. What a jerk. "So, anything you want to do today? Wander the village, mess with Tayuya, spy on the Konoha gennin?" I ask from my reclined position.

Sasuke sips his coffee and gracefully sits down in one of the two chairs. "The last one sounds fun. It would be... interesting to see if the others have changed."

This is probably a bad idea, but I want to at least see my friends before I'm forced to oppose them in the Chunin Exams. Even if it is from afar, a fleeting glimpse will be enough. "There will be one minor problem that we'll have to deal with first."

"What? I can act professional around the Konoha gennin. It isn't an issue." Sasuke scoffs.

"It isn't that, I know you can. It's... well... I'm stuck." How embarrassing.

Sasuke chuckles at my expense. "Yes, that is a problem."

"Any ideas for my escape?" He's good at worming out of tight situations, he's got to have something to help me. "Can't you hit her with a genjutsu or something? Turn off a few of her senses?"

A smile splits his face. "No, I'm fresh out. Good luck!"

"You bastard." I can't blame him, I'd do the exact same thing if our roles were reversed.

Well, might as well try to be nice about it. "Tayuya." I give her a little shake. "You need to let go of me. I need to get up."

Tayuya doesn't open her eyes, she slightly loosens her grip on me. "Mkay."

I try to wiggle out of her grasp. In response she tightens her grip, trapping me again. "Tayuya, release me." I say firmer this time.

"No. Warmth." She squeezes me tighter still. She still hasn't cracked an eye open, I'm impressed.

"Either release me now, or this is the last time I'll be your personal heater." I lay down the law.

"Mmrgl. Fine." Her grip goes slack and I escape from my prison. She scoots over to where I was laying and curls up into a ball. "Mmm, still warm."

"I can't believe I let her get away with that." This makes two times in a row that I've woken up with her clinging to me.

"I can." Sasuke is still sipping on his coffee. "It is obvious why."

I raise an eyebrow at him in question. "Do tell."

"You like each other." He says in his patented arrogant Uchiha tone. "Anyone can see it."

My face flushes red. There is no possible way. She's just overly affectionate. Likes to be super touchy and always goes out of her way to be aggravating or teasing.

To me. Just to me. She jumps on my back. She steals my body heat. She teases me about many things. She always is the one to wake me up. Maybe she volunteers to do it? Whatever, that isn't important. It isn't like I like her back.

Except I let her do all of those things. I don't dodge when she jumps on my back. I tease her back when she teases me. I didn't even try to get revenge for the buckets of water. And I let her sleep next to me.

I'm forming an attachment to her.

Not good. Very not good. There is a very strong chance I'll have to leave Sound at a moments notice, I'll have to leave everything behind. I need to be able to do that, to drop everything and run for my life.

Right now there is one thing chaining me to Sound: Sasuke. Even then it is a very loose thing, he's only there to get stronger. If someone has a better offer or if I can convince him to he'll leave. I can't afford another attachment, an anchor keeping me pinned down. I've abandoned friends before when I left Konoha. It is something I never want to repeat.

"I thought we were going to go spy on people?" I hurriedly say as I scoop up my clothes an bolt to the bathroom. "I'll be ready to go in ten minutes! Stupid bandages take forever to put on."

I slam the door shut, separating me from my allies.

"I knew it." Sasuke smugly says from the other side of the door. "He didn't try to deny it. Things just got much more interesting!" Great, just great. He's never going to drop this now.

"Alvarcus, you're in too deep." I say quietly to myself in the mirror. "You're in too deep. How the hell am I going to get out of this one?"

I get dressed and exit the bathroom. Sasuke has a very conceited grin etched onto his features. We make eye contact.

"Not a word." I order him in my best professional tone. "Not. A. Word."

Sasuke rises up from the chair and puts on his mask. "Of course. This promises to be too entertaining, I don't want to ruin it. Who will crack and confess first? The stoic Al-Green or the vulgar Tayuya?"

"Shut up. I believe we were going to go spy on some gennin?" I prompt Sasuke, baiting him to leave the room and hopefully our current topic behind.

"Yes, I believe we were." He opens the door as I put on my own mask.

We both leave the room to go see our friends from a distance.

Unbeknownst to both Sasuke and I, Tayuya opens her eyes after the door closes. There is not a hint of tiredness in them, she's wide awake.

"I have a chance!" She happily squeals out.

"Alright Green, lead the way. You're the one with the information." Sasuke generously lets me take the lead. I would have anyways, we both know it.

"Don't get lost." I start walking through the village with Sasuke right beside me.

I'm not planning on brazenly walking into their hotel and asking if they're in, that would be crazy. We're Sound shinobi, Konoha shinobi must hate our guts. As far as they know we were part of the invasion force that attacked them, we could have killed people they know. That's not even mentioning the risk we're taking by being seen by them, especially our friends. They might approach us to ask about us. Kami that is confusing.

I take us to a restaurant that is on the same street as Konoha's hotel. We have a nice view of the entrance from where we are, we will be able to see almost everyone who walks out of it.

"Hello ninja-sans!" A rather bubbly waitress approaches our table with a notepad at the ready. "Can I get you two anything?"

"Coffee, black." Sasuke barks out. I've got to give the waitress props, she isn't phased by Sasuke's brisk words.

"Milk and some toast please." I politely say my order. One of us should be nice to the waitress.

"Coming right up!" She leaves us in silence.

"Red. You know that we can't approach them, right?" I have to make sure he doesn't screw anything up.

"Of course. I just want to see her." He says back to me without taking his eyes off of the doors to the hotel.

"Good." I smile under my mask. He said her, not them.

We wait in silence for a few minutes before the waitress is back with our order. "Toast and milk for you, and coffee for you. Anything else I can do for either of you?"

"We're fine, thank you. We might be here for a while, we'll flag you down if we need anything." I kindly respond to her. She leaves us alone again.

Over the next couple of hours Sasuke and I idly wait in the restaurant. We have to be very peculiar, but no one is making a big deal out of it. Our waitress isn't bothered that we're commandeering one of her tables, rather she seems vaguely pleased. We are pretty low maintenance and relatively nice to her.

In an instant our quaint stakeout becomes treacherous. Two teams of Konoha gennin walk into our restaurant.

"Green." Sasuke urgently says.

"I know." I respond. We should leave while we're unnoticed.

I flag down our waitress and ask for our bills. This caused two things to happen, the first we are one step closer to leaving. The second, it caused one of the Konoha gennin to notice us.

"Oto shinobi." They hiss out.

Sasuke and I watch them all collectively tense and fall silent. The atmosphere has changed, before it was friendly and warm. Now it is harsh and frigid.

No one talks, no one moves. Sasuke and I are being stared down by six gennin.

A tense minute passes.

"Is there a problem?" A deep gruff voice cuts through the air. One of the cooks from the back, if his apron is anything to judge by, breaks the silence. He's a tall imposing man with a few scars marring his arms. He is missing the lower part of his left leg, he's wearing a prosthetic. Ex-shinobi, without a doubt. He has an air of danger about him.

"We're waiting for our bill, then we are leaving." I calmly speak out. "We don't want to cause you any problems. Especially since you treated us nicely."

One of the more rash Konoha gennin scoffs. "Running away just like before. Is all of Sound cowards, or is it just you two?"

Sasuke's body coils in anger. His hand reflexively reaches towards his kunai holster.

"Red!" I harshly bite out. We can't afford to do this. "It's just words. Let it go."

With visible effort Sasuke stills his hand. He doesn't move it any further away though.

"Weaklings." A new voice, one of the other gennin this time, insults us again. "Still running scared from the last beating."

Sasuke's hand darts to his kunai. I move and grab his wrist, clamping down on it so he can't fully draw the weapon. If he does, it will end bloodily.

All of that happened in a fraction of a second. One moment we're sitting across each other, the next I'm standing between him and the Konoha gennin and restraining him with an ironclad grip.

"He's fast." A gennin says.

"Red. Stand down." I order Sasuke.

"They called us weaklings." He says in a menacing tone. He wants to hurt them. He wants to prove he's stronger than them. "Weaklings. They deserve a beating."

"I know. This isn't the time or place to teach them otherwise, you know that. Do it in the Chunin Exams when we are given permission to attack them as we see fit." I don't release his arm yet.

We stare each other down for a minute. It is a very tense minute. I have no doubt I can restrain him if I have to, but I can't restrain him and fight off six gennin all at the same time without using something recognizable. My two best tools to do that are my chakra strings and the Jiongu. Both of those are off limits. I could maybe get creative with a spider's web, but that would reveal skills that I want to keep hidden. Plus I have no idea how I would actually go about doing that.

"Fine. During the exams." He releases his hold on his kunai. I let go of his arm and turn to the cook.

"I apologize, we have caused you trouble. Once we pay we will leave." I diplomatically say. I don't want to offend the locals. That would reflect badly on Otokagure. That means it would reflect badly on Orochimaru and I really don't want to be the reason he's pissed off.

"Nonsense!" The cook roars out. "You've been here for hours and we've had no problems. It is them who caused this mess." He gestures accusingly at the Konoha gennin. "I'm going to have a word with your jonin. Not everything has to be a fight, they were willing to leave so you idiots could eat in peace. Disgraceful. You two are welcome back anytime, this meal is on the house."

"We can pay." I assure the cook.

"No." He points threateningly at me. "You eat free and you'll like it. Got it?"

"Yes sir." Where the hell did that come from? "Red, let's go."

Sasuke and I walk out of the restaurant onto the rather crowded street.

"That went well." I dryly say to Sasuke. "Totally blaming you for that."

"Green. They're coming out." Sasuke eagerly says to me. "She's okay."

Sure enough, our friends are walking out of the hotel together. Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Hinata, Ino, Choji, even Neji, Tenten and Lee. Only Naruto and Shikamaru are missing, Jiraya must have taken Naruto again and Shikamaru has no business here since he's already a chunin.

They're all happy, each one has a smile on their faces. They're enjoying themselves. Good, I'm happy for them. They shouldn't have to experience what Sasuke and I have been through, they aren't ready for that level of exposure. I'm still not ready for some things Orochimaru forces me to do.

I didn't want to believe it. You really did go to Orochimaru willingly. I thought you were better than that. I thought you were a good person.

That's right. If they knew the things I've done they would hate me. If they knew what I did to one of Konoha's shinobi I would be shunned by them forever. Even if I go back I'll never truly be back. A piece of me is gone, torn and shredded by Orochimaru. I'm tainted now.

"Green." Sasuke's voice sounds strained. "Look."

Exiting the hotel behind our friends is a shockingly familiar mop of silver hair and a brightly colored book. Kakashi is here. Why is Kakashi here? All of his gennin are gone from Konoha. Is he the extra jonin Shirokumo told me about? Why him? Did Tsunade tell him that Sasuke and I will be here? She isn't planning on extracting us, is she? I explicitly told her not to.

"We should leave." Sasuke urgently says. "If anyone will notice us, it is him."

In unison we calmly turn and start walking away. We got what we came here for, we saw our friends.

We hurry back to our hotel.

One thought keeps passing through my mind: Why is Kakashi here?

Back at the Hotel

"Summoning Jutsu!" I slam my hand to the ground.

"Sup Al? You need something?" Shirokumo asks once the smoke clears.

"Yeah. I have information on our mysterious extra jonin." I say.

"Really? I thought I was the information provider. Let's hear it, I've found out some stuff on my own already. We can pool resources."

"His name is Kakashi Hatake. Also known as Kakashi of the Sharingan and the Copy Nin. One of Konoha's elite jonin, he was considered for the position of Hokage before Tsunade stepped up." Sasuke explains for me. "He is without a doubt one of the most deadly people Konoha has to offer. His skills are almost unparalleled. Don't trust his lazy demeanor, it is simply a cover to hide his true skill level."

"And on top of all that, he was our first sensei. Him being here makes our situation more difficult. We can fool gennin easily. We can fool jonin who didn't really know us. But our old sensei? That will be considerably more challenging. We should avoid him at all costs." I add on.

"We will leave the instant the Chunin Exams are over." Tayuya orders. "We will go back to Sound as soon as possible. Why is he even here?"

"I don't know and that's really worrying me. By all rights he shouldn't be here. He has no gennin that he could send. There's plenty of other jonin here to make sure the gennin don't get into trouble. It doesn't make sense." I tell her. "Shirokumo, any ideas?"

"Rumors at best. I've heard that he's in charge of all the Konoha shinobi sent, gennin and jonin both. I've also heard that he made his way onto the Hokage's bad side so she stuck him with babysitting duty as revenge. Another version has him happily volunteering to chaperon because there is a rare version of some book in the stores here."

"They all have one thing in common: Kakashi is here to lead the Konoha shinobi." Sasuke dissected Shirokumo's words better than I did. I missed that they all had that in common, I was busy envisioning Kakashi going through all of those situations. Sadly, I could believe any one of them to be the truth.

The real question is does he know that Sasuke and I are here? I can't ask Shirokumo that in front of anyone else. No one can know that I'm in touch with Konoha in any way.

"You two can't wander off anymore. Consider yourselves on lock-down, you only leave the hotel if I go with you. We're taking zero risks from here on out." Tayuya demands. It does make sense, that way we at least have someone else to speak for us and run interference.

I won't have a chance to get a letter to Tsunade to ask her about Kakashi, there is no way I'll be left alone now.

"You want us to be stuck in here for four more days?" Sasuke says in disbelief.

"We'll go out for food and things. You two just can't go out without an escort anymore. It is too risky." Tayuya isn't budging at all on this.

That's fine, it doesn't affect me that much.I am content with being lazy, I don't need to go do anything. Besides, Murasakino's hammock is simply amazing and I'm due for a vacation.

"It won't be that bad. Fair warning, I may visit the Nest if you two get on my nerves." I tell the others.

That is actually a good idea, if I go to the Nest I can talk freely with Shirokumo and get him to take a message to Tsunade. I'll have to be patient, I can't decide to go right now. It will have to wait a while.

"Whatever. Just tell me before you leave." Tayuya dismissively waves an arm in my general direction.

"Can we go to a bookstore before you both get cozy?" Sasuke asks. "I need something to do if I'm going to be stuck in here for days."

"Fine." Tayuya says.

At a Nearby Bookstore

"I already have books. Why did I come along again?" I ask rhetorically to Sasuke and Tayuya.

"Because we need to stay together." Tayuya lazily replies as Sasuke skims the selection of literature.

"What? I could have stayed in the room. No one would come in there. I would have been fine. It isn't like the guy is going to randomly pop up out of nowhere."

"Not risking it. Deal with it." Tayuya lackadaisically dismisses me.

"Red back me up on this."

There's no reply.

"Red? Wow, that's unexpected." For reasons that escape me, Sasuke in the poetry section. I never knew he liked poetry. Not only that, he's already visited the history section, the bibliography section, and strangely enough the romance section. He hasn't visited the fantasy or the action books yet.

Well, we practically live those books. Our lives have to be way more exciting than books. Maybe one day I should write a book? Not only do I have stories from my first life in my head, I could make one about my experiences here. Nah, it probably wouldn't sell. Why would shinobi read a book about another shinobi?

"Fine. Stay together, yeah yeah I get it. I'm going to see if there's anything good in the fantasy section." I tell Tayuya.

I walk over to the corner of the store where the fantasy books are. After I exhaust my interest here, I can pop over to the Icha Icha section and see if there's a new book out. Say what you will about them, Jiraya writes an excellent story.

I idly start browsing titles while humming quietly to myself. "That one looks boring. Totally not reading this one with a title like that. Hmm... nah. None of these really interest me. No wonder Red didn't look at them."

Thud

The sudden noise startles me and I reflexively look towards the source. It came from the Icha Icha section, someone swatted their hand down on one of the bookcases. Someone I know. Someone who I decided to avoid at all costs. Someone who I literally just said wouldn't pop up out of nowhere did just that.

Kakashi Hatake, my former sensei, is browsing books barely two meters away from me.

"Sorry about that." Kakashi drawls out sheepishly. "Thought I saw a spider. I think they've been following me around."

I can't help but grin under my mask. Of course Kakashi would notice that, he's paranoid to the extreme.

"Who knows, maybe you've attracted their attention. If you ask them to, they might leave you alone." I say in a changed voice. I sound younger, squeakier.

"Maybe, but I like their presence. Just not on my Icha Icha! You know, I used to have a Spider. Funny thing is, I didn't know he was one for the longest time." Kakashi blandly says as he's flipping through the selection of Icha Icha. "Damn. I don't know which one to pick."

Tsunade told him I'm the Spider Summoner. There is no other explanation for his reply, he has to know.

"Funny how that works. What happened to him?" I gently probe him for information. I want to know more.

"He wandered off to play with a Snake. It is sad, I miss him terribly. Every day he's gone could be the day I lose him forever. I just hope he finds his way home in one piece. He'll come back eventually. Who knows, he might bring his friend home with him. Unfortunately, I think he has picked up my habit of being late." Kakashi says in his lazy drawl.

He knows everything. He knows where Sasuke and I went. He knows that I'm the Spider Summoner. He knows that Sasuke is a Snake Summoner. He knows that I'm trying to bring Sasuke back, that I'm protecting him in my own way.

"Your spider sounds like a handful." Kami I sound weird, I can't wait to use my normal voice again.

"He is. Without a doubt he causes trouble or trouble finds him. But it is okay, he's my favorite after all." Kakashi smiles forlornly. "Although I admit, he's a tad obsessed with fire. No idea how that happened."

"I'm sure he'll come home. He must miss his friends dearly."

"I'm sure he does. It is hard being out on your own. Sometimes writing a letter can make all the difference." Kakashi turns away from the books. He pins me with a serious stare, one that is determined. I have his full attention is on me.

Slowly, he reaches into his jonin vest and withdraws an envelop. Written in his nearly illegible scrawl is one word.

Spider

He extends his arm towards me. I reach out and grab it. He knows exactly who I am.

"You should try Icha Icha Beach. It has a very interesting twist at the end." I say in my normal voice.

"My favorite student." Kakashi whispers, barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Sensei." I respectively whisper back with a tinge of forlornness.

I walk away. I leave him behind and go rejoin Tayuya who is still waiting impatiently for Sasuke to purchase a ridiculous stack of books.

"Didn't find anything?" She asks once I'm by her side again.

"Nothing worth mentioning."

Back at the Hotel

I calmly walk into the bathroom the instant we're back at the room. It is the one spot I'm guaranteed to have privacy to read Kakashi's letter.

I tear open the envelope.

Alvarcus,

I miss you. You didn't have to leave for Sound with Sasuke. You didn't have to play spy for Konoha. You didn't have to leave your home. You didn't have to leave me.

I know why you did. You're looking out for Sasuke, for everyone, as best as you can. I can't blame you for that. Maybe you'll do a better job than I did. I've lost so many people, I don't want to lose you too. Just come back. Whether it is tomorrow, a month from now, even years, come back. I want you back home where you belong.

Now, knowing you you're probably freaking out about why I am here. Let me easy your worries, I'm not here to bring you and Sasuke home. Not this time. I'm here to control the gennin and keep them from trying to ask you about you. Tsunade wanted someone who knew what is going on to be present, that way I can diffuse any potential catastrophes and help keep your cover. Basically I'm a glorified babysitter.

Tsunade also wants me to tell you to not kill anyone. I don't know why she is having me tell you that, I know you have enough common sense to know not to do that. She's very worried about you, especially since you're around your friends. She thinks they'll cloud your judgment. I'm not worried about that, I know how skilled you are.

If things do turn sour and your cover is compromised I want you to come find me.

I don't care if it is in the middle of the Chunin Exams, if your talking with a Sound shinobi, if you're eating dinner with the Kusakage himself, drop everything and get your ass to me. I'll protect you.

Kakashi

PS: Be extra wary of Konoha's pale artistic gennin. He's been asking your friends about you specifically. He wants to know what you're like, who you are as a person, why you left. I don't trust him, he has to have a motive.

I torch the letter as soon as I am done reading it. I can't risk it falling into Sasuke's or Tayuya's hands.

Kakashi's letter is both relieving and worrying at the same time. On one hand, he wants me home. He misses me, but he knows why I left. He understands and doesn't hold it against me. On the other, he told me Tsunade is worried about me, that she thinks I might end up killing someone. I haven't changed that much, I'm not a blood thirsty beast now. Orochimaru hasn't turned me into a crazed lunatic yet, not for lack of trying.

But the most concerning part of his letter is the last bit. Be extra wary of Konoha's pale artistic gennin. That could mean Sai, he's the only one I can think of that would fit that description. If it is Sai asking about me then he was ordered to by Root, by Danzo.

Why would Danzo order something so ridiculous? Danzo is an intelligent man, one who plans every move with the utmost delicacy. He wouldn't gamble on something like this, gamble on the odds that I'll show up to the Chunin Exams. I don't believe Danzo would redirect one of his assets on a slim chance. That can mean only one thing.

He knows I'm going to be here.

That is the only explanation. Somehow Danzo knows that I'll be here. Right now how he knows isn't the biggest issue. It's how much does he know? What worries me is if he knows that I'm still loyal to Konoha or not. Danzo is a die hard for loyalty to Konoha, if he doesn't know that I'm still working in Konoha's interests Sai might be here to eliminate me.

That could make things awkward. I have no intention of dying anytime soon, but I know what Sai can become. I know that he's really a good guy. I don't want to have to kill him to defend myself. Maybe I can get away with an epic beating instead of a kunai to the jugular?

"Oi. How long are you going to be in there for?" Tayuya's voice pulls me from the thoughts.

"Sorry, I'm coming out now." I exit the bathroom. "All yours."

I lazily walk to my hammock and plop down on it. I have four days to get a plan together to deal with Sai and whatever he wants with me. That's plenty of time.

Four Days Later

"I don't understand it. How are you not excited right now?" Sasuke asks me as we walk outside of our hotel for the first time in days.

"Why would I be excited? Do you not remember our last Chunin Exams?" I dryly respond. "Cuz that wasn't a cluster fuck at all."

"Not that. How are you not excited to be outside of that dreadful room?" Sasuke's body shivers minutely.

He had a rough time of it. Sasuke always wants to be doing something. Training, taking a mission, training, planning out what he will be doing for training, training, plotting his brother's demise, and more training. He can't sit still and relax for extended periods of time. Honestly I'm surprised he didn't push Tayuya and I to take him outside during our four day interlude.

"It wasn't that bad. I don't remember the last time I could relax like this. I finally got caught up on my reading." I idly reply as our group strolls towards the Exam location.

Tayuya rolls her eyes. "I can't believe you read those books. Disgusting."

"Have you ever read Icha Icha? They're surprisingly good, it isn't just porn like everyone thinks. There's a very intricate story. Don't judge a book by it's cover." I sass back at her.

"Whatever. Now you two need to be quiet. We're getting close, we might run into someone." Tayuya orders.

Sasuke and I both fall silent as we approach the building. There is a table set up on one of the sides of the building with a pair of shinobi sitting at it. Tayuya leads us over to them.

"Otogakure has two shinobi for the Chunin Exams." Tayuya professionally says.

"And their paperwork?" One of the desk shinobi dully replies. He's bored out of his mind.

Sasuke and I present the required paperwork. It basically says that Kusa isn't held responsible for any deaths or serious injury.

"Great. You're numbers 131 and 132." The other desk shinobi tosses Sasuke and I white circular badges with the numbers written in black. "Good luck."

Sasuke is number 131 and I am 132. We pin the badges onto our front. Interesting, is this what the Kusa shinobi's hint was about? The numbers are more important than you think.

Sasuke and I share a meaningful glance. He's drawn the same conclusion as me. Good, we won't have to say anything.

"Proceed to the field. Wait there and don't do anything provoking. A proctor will be there eventually, within the hour." The left desk shinobi gestures over his shoulder at a mob of waiting gennin.

"Green, Red." Tayuya calls out to us before we leave. "Don't do anything rash. Avoid who you have to and make our Kage proud."

"Of course." I say to her and Sasuke nods his consent.

It is time. We're going to take the Chunin Exams again. I hope it isn't as crazy as our first time through.