Bump Buddies: Take Two

|Part Three|

|YOU|

It was some sort of cliche. Sleeping in a bed with someone only to wake up and find yourselves intertwined. In that scenario, both parties would be clinging to one another with their legs laced together. A romantic scene to which I did not wake up to.

My eyes fluttered open just as the sun was beginning to set. I knew I needed to get up, but I was so warm and comfortable that I couldn't bring myself to move.

"(Y/N)."

My eyes widened as I felt the vibration of Kakashi's voice beneath me. I slowly lifted my head to find that it had been resting on his chest, my arms and legs wrapped around him as he laid as close to the edge of the bed as possible.

Horrified, I jumped up and brushed off my clothes. An embarrassed heat crawling up my next to the tips of my ears.

"I'm sorry," I spoke sheepishly. "I've never shared a bed before. I didn't know that would happen."

Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed and rolled his neck. "It's all right. Lesson learned. I'll take the floor next time."

To say I was mortified was an understatement. But we continued on and collected our things before making the last stretch of our journey. Which we made in complete silence.

We reached our destination when the moon was at its highest point. It was a small, abandoned homestead with a rotting roof and broken windows. Perfect for a discreet meeting between two nations, but something didn't feel right.

Kakashi held his arm out to keep me from advancing as we both watched the building. It was eerily quiet —which was to be expected— but there was light coming from inside and a shadow moved from room to room. It seemed a bit novice for skilled shinobi to be so unaware.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, looking over to see Kakashi's one visible eye scanning the area.

"I don't think that we'll be greeted by sand shinobi when we go in there," he said. "You go around to the back entrance. I'll head to the main door and follow through with the knock pattern that was planned."

I nodded in confirmation before doing as told. Kakashi had many years of leadership experience under his belt, and even though as jonin we technically stood on equal ground, I knew better than to question him. He was put on this mission for a reason, and I was going to do as he said.

I ducked under the windows and stayed squatted down as I reached the back door. My back pressed against the wall. From where I sat I could hear Kakashi's knuckles rap on the door in a rhythmic pattern. There was no answer and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

The plan was that after a seven second pause, a shinobi would let us in and ask a specific question, looking for a specific answer. But as time ticked on to ten seconds, then fifteen and twenty there was no doubt that something had gone wrong. Then, just as I finished that thought, the back door slammed open and a large, thick man ran past me.

I created the hand signs for my personal jutsu. "Water Rope!" And used it to try and lasso him, but he used a gust of wind to send my water spraying over the grass.

Jumping from my spot by the door, I chased after him. Kakashi was soon at my side, running with a kunai in one hand.

Our target sent another blade of wind in our direction and I let loose a fireball. It wasn't a jutsu I used often, as it felt it wasn't mine to have, but in a situation like this it was necessary. It rolled through the air and towards the man. He was forced to stop running and face my fire head on, focusing on his own jutsu.

It gave Kakashi the perfect opportunity to get behind him unnoticed. The kunai went to the man's throat and he growled like an animal. He gripped Kakashi's wrist and tried to throw him over his shoulder and into the flame, but Kakashi was faster. Using his weight to swing around the man, his knee connected with our opponents face. Breaking his nose and knocking him unconscious.

It all happened within seconds, and Kakashi jumped out of the path of my flames before it could engulf the two of them.

I walked over to where Kakashi stood over the man. He was laying face down in the grass, his body motionless.

"What do you think is inside?" I asked Kakashi, genuinely curious. Also a bit hesitant to find out.

Kakashi knelt down and used a rope to tie each of the man's hands to the opposite shoulder. That way he wouldn't be able to use any jutsu if he became conscious. He then tied his feet together to keep him from running away.

Once we were sure our target was secured, we headed back to the house. The sight inside made a lump form in my throat. It didn't matter how many times I had seen something like it before, it was never easy to see a lifeless body. Let alone three.

I took in the red stains on the wooden, plank walls and the unnatural positions of the shinobi inside before deciding to look away. Kakashi stared on.

"How did he manage to take down three sand shinobi but lose to us so easily? They must've been strong if they were trusted for this mission," I wondered allowed.

Kakashi gripped my shoulders and guided me back outside. "He's a war criminal, so he's more than likely a ninja worth his salt. He most likely depleted his chakra reserves fighting these three before we got to him."

That would explain why he tried to run instead of fight. He must have known he didn't have the power to fight off any others.

"What do we do now?" I asked, turning to face Kakashi as his hands dropped from my shoulders. "The hidden sand knew we were coming. If these three don't report back and the criminal is gone, it won't look good."

Kakashi glanced back and forth between the man in the grass and the homestead. He seemed to be just as uneased by the situation as I was.

"We don't have many options. The best I can think of is that we get back to the leaf as quickly as possible and report what happened. That way Lord Third has time to handle the situation before anything comes of it," he explains. "But if that's the case we need to get back in record time. Meaning we have to leave now."

We both look down at the man. "And how do you propose we move him?" I asked.

Kakashi took some more rope and tied it around the man's chest,  creating two long pieces and handing one to me.

"Hope you're good at pulling. It's a long way to go."

I sighed and took the rope, dreading the journey ahead.