[GUtW]—❈—38:: Hugs and Other Mushy Stuff

"The Nope Jutsu?" Sakura asks. "What kind of name is that?"

"Who cares about the name?" Naruto asks angrily. "Kakashi is teaching emo-brow such a powerful technique, meanwhile all I get is some stupid wind jutsu? How's that fair?"

Emo-brow?

… Wait, is that what this little shit calls me in his head?

"Don't call Sasuke names," Sakura fires, getting into the blonde's face. "And wasn't it you who was begging Kakashi-sensei to teach you that jutsu two minutes ago? How is it a stupid jutsu now?"

"Because Sasuke is learning something that blows that out of the water," Naruto screams, not backing down. "How am I supposed to surpass him if Kakashi teaches him all the good stuff?"

Sakura scoffs and sneers. "Please, like you could ever surpass Sasuke."

Naruto goes red with rage, but before he can say anything, I step in; especially since it seems like Kakashi has no intention to.

"That's enough," I say.

Both ninja look at me, one with embarrassment and the other with rage.

"Don't tell me what to do," Naruto snaps. "Just because I let you be team leader doesn't mean—"

"What are you doing right now?" I ask the blonde, managing to keep my own anger at his behaviour (and Sakura's) in check.

You know, I don't say it often, but having an extra nineteen years of life experience to draw on, even from someone as ordinary as Caleb, sure goes a long way at helping me maintain my cool in moments like these.

Moments like these of which there have been too many.

My question to Naruto seems to actually get through to him, and the boy appears to take a moment to reflect on his behaviour.

Choosing to capitalize on it, I pull Kakashi into the matter: "Kakashi, why are you teaching me The Jutsu Negation Technique and not Naruto?"

Just like I (and anyone with a working brain would) suspect, Kakashi says; "Because there's a lot of information to account for and everything has to be precise; in fact it wouldn't be far off saying that getting the jutsu right is like trying to count the hair on your head."

"And since Sasuke has the sharingan…" Sakura says, not needing to finish the statement.

"Exactly," Kakashi agrees, then he walks over to Naruto.

"You, meanwhile," he says, patting the boy on the head gently, "have a wind chakra affinity, and more chakra than you know what to do with, making The Wind Scythe Storm perfect for you since you can just spam it endlessly and blow away your opponents.

"So, no, Naruto, I'm not teaching you different techniques because I want Sasuke to be better than you. Okay?" Kakashi adds, but not unkindly.

Naruto nods, head hanging in shame.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles.

"What was that?" Kakashi asks, leaning in as though he didn't hear.

"I'm sorry," Naruto repeats, louder and with some attitude, but with genuine remorse.

Kakashi ruffles the boy's hair. "You're forgiven," he says, then looks at Sakura: "And you? Anything to say?"

Sakura's eyes widen. "What? But, Naruto's the one who—" Kakashi lifts an eyebrow and just like that, the girl deflates.

"I'm sorry too," Sakura says.

Kakashi shakes his head and sighs, and for a moment it seems like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.

"Anyway," the jōnin says, "the exam is in sixteen days, and if you want to be ready then we need to start sooner rather than later. So, I want all three of you to go home, pack a two-week bag, and flush your goldfishes down the toilet, because for the next thirteen days, I'll be putting you through individual training regimens that'll make hell month in The Academy feel like a walk in the park.

"Meet me at The Sannin statue in Serenity Park in an hour."

And with those words—and a thumbs up—our sensei vanishes.

I almost immediately begin to move right after Kakashi leaves, but I stop when I notice my teammates loitering awkwardly, both clearly wanting to talk to each other but too chicken to go first.

Perfect. I almost sigh.

"Look," I say, drawing their focus to me, "I know we have our differences; and I know we don't always see eye to eye; but regardless of all of that, we're still a team. Maybe not a good one, not yet, but that's fine, because we're going to get there; if we put in the work, and if we let ourselves grow from our differences instead of letting them tear us apart.

"Now, I for one am willing to put in the work, but I can't make a team alone. Are you with me?"

I expect Sakura to agree immediately, but she barely even looks at me, she looks at Naruto instead, just as he looks at her.

They observe each other for some seconds, complicated expressions on their faces, then finally, Sakura offers a hand in truce.

Naruto stares at Sakura's hand, then, ignoring it, he rushes in and hugs the girl.

It takes takes a bit, and she never fully gets into it, but eventually, Sakura hugs him back.

—❈—

"You did what?" Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of The Village Hidden in the Leaves and an S-rank nin known around the world as 'The God of Ninja' asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"I signed them up for The Chūnin Exams," Kakashi Hatake, Leaf idiot with zero sense of self-preservation replied lackadaisically.

The Hokage's Intent leaked out of him, and the atmospheric pressure of the room seemed to instantly quadruple, and the two ANBU on guard duty, consummate professionals that they were, used their super secret ANBU sign language to bet on whether today was the day The Hokage would finally snap and murder his grand-pupil and likely successor.