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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 2:59:33 GMT -6
Sakura walked outside with Sayuri trailing behind again, both of them carrying random dishes and setting them onto the table. "Okay, everyone! Here it is if you want it." "Hungry, dear?" Hinata asked Naruto, nudging him and pointing at the table; "There's the food your stomach so desperately wants." She laughed and sat down. "Toshiro," Sakura said, settling into a seat as well and eyeing her husband; "Stop antagonizing Sasuke and eat." She hid an entertained smile the best she could.
Ashitaka nearly fell over when the voice suddenly spoke. Uttering a swear, he straightened back up, eyeing their sensei in a jokingly cross manner. "Exactly what I mean," he said, glancing at Kushina as she burst into laughter, most likely at him for having been so spooked. "Yeah," the Uchiha said afterwards, jerking a thumb over his shoulder; "Besides, you're like a parent-muzzle; you might wanna hang around in case something 'bad' happens." He couldn't help but chuckle a little at the sour expression on Sasuke's face.
"...Yeah..." Almost as soon as Kazuo's gaze drifted to the sky, Keiji's face fell a bit from the cheered up demeanor he'd been putting up. Easy for you to say... he thought somberly, looking to the smiling faces of the boy's parents, then to the lackluster expression of his own father. Even now, the reason Sasuke was so annoyed had something to do with Ashitaka; he knew it was over the ANBU thing, over Ashitaka's slightly-less-than-perfect success.
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 3:12:18 GMT -6
Toshiro sat down, the grin still plastered onto his face. It probably wasn't going to be leaving him any time soon. He was having way too much fun. "Alright, dear." he said before he started to dig in. "I'll be good." he added.
Naruto nodded, pulling out a chair for his wife. "There you go!" he said with a smile before he settled into his own seat. "Itadakimasu!" he exclaimed before he began to eat his own food. The man really hadn't changed. It was slightly amusing.
Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "Alright. I guess I'll stay for a bit." he said as he was led to a seat by Takashi. "There you go. Now dig in!" he said. Eyes were on the new guest. Naruto and Toshiro nearly spit out their food when they seen him. "Kakashi-sensei!" shouted Naruto, grinning. Kakashi sighed, "You don't need to call me sensei anymore Naruto. Those days are long gone..." he said.
"Haha! You're still my teacher. No matter what you say!" replied Naruto. Sasuke looked over at the man. "Hello, Kakashi..." he said. Kakashi nodded. "Hello, Sasuke. It's good to see you." he replied.
Kazuo sighed. "Besides. Hard work means a lot more than just natural talent anyway." he said. "And that's the truth. My dad told me." he added. "So cheer up, Keiji. Don't let your gloomy dad get you down."
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 3:21:15 GMT -6
"Kakashi!" Sakura exclaimed as well, smiling down toward the newly arrived man; "What a surprise. It's great to see you again, though." "Don't feel too old," Ashitaka said, flashing a grin at Kakashi and settling into a seat beside his parents. "Ashitaka," Akane said in a half-scolding tone. He grinned and fell silent, starting at his own food. Kushina stifled her laughter as she sat down, looking toward her younger brother and motioning for him to come eat.
Keiji almost laughed; Kazuo didn't know as much as he'd thought the boy did. He just sounds like everyone else, saying I should work harder... he thought; Kinda hard to in my case. I even have trouble freaking reading, let alone doing jutsu... "Keiji, you too," called the boy's mother, waving for him as well; "Come eat." Keiji looked over his shoulder briefly. "Not hungry..." "Keiji, come sit down. You didn't even eat breakfast this morning." "Mother, I'm not hungry."
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 3:31:21 GMT -6
Sasuke looked over at the boy. "Keiji. Get over here and eat. This isn't open for discussion." he said. Toshiro looked from the Sasuke to Keiji...and then back to Sasuke. "If the kid's not hungry, I don't see why you'd wanna make such a fuss." he said. "Shut it, Toshiro." said Sasuke. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at the man. This was going to be a lot more fun that he had thought. He and Naruto exchanged glances before they continued their meal.
"Seriously. Come eat." said Sasuke.
Kazuo sighed. "C'mon, Keiji. Let's go grab a bite to eat. Truth be told, I'm not too hungry either." he said before he headed over to the table.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 3:40:27 GMT -6
Keiji glared over his shoulder. For a moment he debated just standing there, but instead turned on a heel and strode to the table, sitting huffily at the end. "This is so stupid..." he muttered in an undertone, gaining a wordless look from his mother; "I can't even not be hungry without doing something wrong..." "Keiji." Akane shot him another look. Ashitaka ran a hand through his hair, clearing his throat loudly. "So, uh..." he began, looking around for a desperate change of subject; "How about this weather?" Kushina looked at him across the table, giving him a look of pity. Not helping, she mouthed, shaking her head and half-smiling.
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 3:50:19 GMT -6
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "We can do without your attitude, thanks." he said. Toshiro could tell that this situation was growing out of hand...and quickly. "Hey...let's just calm down. This is supposed to be a happy time." he said with a small smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Hard to do when I've got to deal with crap like this." he said.
Naruto sighed, "You're upsetting my appetite, Sasuke. Just cool it." he said. Takashi looked around at everyone. He didn't want to say anything...but if this persisted...he was going to put a boot in Sasuke's face. He was only making matters worse with his own attitude.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 3:58:49 GMT -6
"Just...leave him alone, Sasuke," Akane said finally, shaking her head and going back to her lunch; "Forget it." Keiji scoffed, his gaze still locked on the air. "Yeah, do that..." he said suddenly, his voice louder than a mumble now; "You're good at not paying crap like me attention; so forget it like Mother said."
Ashitaka buried his face in his hands and let out a long sigh. "...Can we not do this here?" he said in a low tone, peering upward through his fingers. Sakura laid a hand on Toshiro's arm, looking up from her food at him. "Just let them handle it, Toshiro... He's already mad, and it's not our problem..."
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 4:09:11 GMT -6
"That's it, I'm sick of this, Keiji." said Sasuke dropping his chopsticks. "You just wait until we get home. I'm going to fix your attitude problem." he added. Toshiro shook his head at his wife. "Oh no. This is going on in our front yard. If you people are gonna act a fool, then I'm getting in on this." he said. "Sasuke, shut your damn mouth and leave your kid alone." he added.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You shut up, Toshiro. This has nothing to do with you." he said. "Now get out of my business." he added. Toshiro rolled his eyes. "This is happening in my front yard. Of course it's my business. Now chill out before we have a problem." he said. "Oh yeah?" asked Sasuke.
A small cough broke up the mini argument. "...can you all please shut up? I'm trying to enjoy this wonderful meal." Kakashi said. Sasuke sighed, casting Keiji another look before he turned his gaze to the ground.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 4:19:36 GMT -6
Kushina almost laughed at Kakashi's sudden interruption, but killed it quickly with a glance from her mother. Ashitaka still had his face buried in his hands, exasperated with the situation. Of all the days and times...
Great. Now he was in trouble. Again. Keiji hadn't said anything more after that. Now that his anger had partially subsided, he was no longer blinded, and now a bit embarassed. He felt his face turn a bit warm, and he stood up quietly, giving no one any looks as he walked to the front of the table, across from Toshiro and Sakura. There he dipped his head in respect to them, his gaze locked on his feet. "...I'm sorry for ruining your planned lunch..." he said simply, his tone apologetic; "I'll leave you all in peace to eat..." With that said, he turned and started back down the street. Maybe if I'm gone he'll calm down...
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 4:26:15 GMT -6
Toshiro sighed slightly as he watched the poor kid leave. He looked over at Sasuke to see if he was going to at least try and stop him. Seeing that it wasn't going to happen, Toshiro shook his head. "Try going easy on the kid, Sasuke. He's got a lot to put up with." he said. Sasuke sighed, pretending he hadn't heard Toshiro.
Takashi patted Ashitaka on the shoulder. "It's okay, pal. Stuff like this happens all the time to other people." he said.
"May I be excused?" Kazuo asked. "Why?" asked Naruto. Without a moment of thought, Kazuo replied. "I want to go talk to Keiji." he said. Naruto looked over at Sasuke for a moment, and then back to his son. "Sure. Go for it, kiddo." he replied. Kazuo jumped up from his seat and took off.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 4:43:50 GMT -6
Akane heaved a very heavy sigh, putting down her chopsticks and looking down the table. "I'm...so sorry about this," she said after a bit; "This was supposed to be a good day..."
"Not every single day," Ashitaka answered Takashi, finally looking up and dropping his hands back to the table; "Or every time they try going and doing something pleasant..." He looked up, watching the distant back of his younger brother for a few silent moments. The boy disappeared around a bend. "It's like I don't even know him anymore..."
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Keiji trudged down the street, dragging his feet in the dirt with his hands stuffed into his pockets. After a few minutes, he turned off the street and headed toward a small patch of trees, where he found a place to sit near a small stream. His eyes stung, but he held everything in, accustomed to corking the top of the bottle whenever something happened. He leaned back against a tree and let his arms fall to his sides. His hand fell upon a rock, which, absentmindedly, he picked up. Sitting back up, he looked at the rock, then with all the force he could muster, chunked it into the stream with a spray and splash.
A tear escaped the bottle, and a few others followed it, relishing in the freedom of the outside world.
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 15:08:07 GMT -6
Takashi sighed slightly, looking around the table. "The kid's obviously got some emotional problems....and yelling at him like that isn't going to do a bit of difference, Sasuke." he said quietly. Sasuke looked over at the Akisaka boy. "I'll warn you not to tell me how to raise my son." he replied. "I'm not! All I'm saying i-" said Takashi before he was cut off by his father, who had placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just forget it, Takashi. Let's just enjoy the rest of our meal." he said.
Naruto, deciding to change the subject, opened his mouth to speak. "So, Takakashi! How did you first day as ANBU Captain go?" he asked. Takashi smiled. "It went pretty well, actually." he replied. "That's great!" said Naruto, grinning still. Sasuke rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed over that still. Toshiro noticed this and started laughing. "What's the matter, Sasuke?" he asked. The Uchiha mumbled something mean about Toshiro under his breath and continued his meal.
Kazuo had finally caught up to Keiji. "Hey." he said as he walked over to the boy. "You okay? That was pretty rough back there...." he added.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 15:33:36 GMT -6
Ashitaka forced a smile, trying to cheer up. "Yeah, he gets to order me around for once," he said with a small grin; "I'm content with what I got... Takashi worked hard for his spot." "Oh, boy..." said Kushina through a sigh. Ashitaka lifted an eyebrow at her, and she laughed a bit, playing with her food. "The blind leading the blind..." Ashitaka rolled his eyes. "Eh, Lieutenant wouldn't fit well with your name anyway," he teased; "Gotta be Takashi and me that pick up your slack." Kushina laughed, shaking her head. "Say what you want," she said, suddenly becoming a bit smug; "I'm working on my own ideals."
Hinata smiled at the younger ones before turning to Naruto, dropping her voice to a lower tone. "Naruto... Do you think Kazuo can help...?" she asked quietly; "Keiji seemed really distraught..."
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At the sound of footsteps, Keiji hurriedly wiped his face dry with his sleeve, regaining his composure as quickly as he could. He glanced briefly at whoever was approaching, looking away when he saw it was Kazuo.
"I'm fine..." he answered quickly, taking a breath; "I just want everyone to leave me alone..."
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Post by Luke on Jun 7, 2010 16:00:42 GMT -6
Takashi nodded, "Of course you are." he said with a small smirk on his face before looking up at the sky. He yawned slightly, still tired after a long days work. "I'm just glad to be doing my part to help Konoha." he added.
Naruto looked over at Hinata. "He's Keiji's best friend. If anyone can calm the boy down...it's him." he replied with a smile, patting Hinata's hand. "It'll be okay." he added.
Kazuo sighed slightly. "Well...that's not gonna happen. Not me anyway." he said, shrugging. He took a few more steps over to him and sat down on a rock, staring at the water. "You really shouldn't let them get to you. They'll understand how much you mean to them soon." he added.
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Post by foxx on Jun 7, 2010 16:19:28 GMT -6
"Just..." Kushina began, pausing to choose the right words before smiling slyly; "Just don't burn it down first or something."
"He reminds me of you a lot of the time, y'know?" Hinata asked after a moment's silence. She smiled, looking up at the spot where the boys had disappeared; "...Maybe he can help."
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"No one is going to understand anything I do," Keiji retorted, shaking his head and watching the water as well; "Not with my brother around stealing all the shine. They don't care about me, or they would have come after me; if I know them, everyone is probably having a good time and laughing with me gone." He sighed, flicking another stone into the water with a messy splash.
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