The Great Medic

25: Placating Anger

A/N - Oh geez, sorry for the late update, my new job has been physically and mentally taxing. I also had a rather unfortunate situation at work where a customer sexually harassed me and then my manager laughed at me when I told her. And then this conversation with my mom didn't go well when I told her the details of what the customer had done to me and she'd been... almost accusatory? I haven't spoken to her about how it's made me feel because it almost feels taboo. I don't know, but I've been reeling from the situation.

My new job has me on five days straight, two days off schedule - days off being Sunday and Monday - so that's when I'll likely be posting from now on. Now that I've settled pretty comfortably in my new position, I'm hoping I can start whipping these chapters out every weekend or every other weekend! Thank you for your patience and it's been nice to be back <3

"You know, Kakashi-sensei..." Naruto turned his head to stare back at the older man, "You don't need to walk me home." Kakashi merely chuckled, continuing his quiet walking, nose buried in his pervy book. "Seriously, I'm fine." He reiterated with a firm glare, "I don't even know why you insist on doing this!" The medic-in-training found himself throwing his hands in the air, an exasperated look on his face. He tried to walk faster to escape the prying eyes of his teacher, but the silver-haired jonin merely kept pace right behind him.

"Oh, I'm sure you're fine." He shrugged half-heartedly before peeking up over his book to give his student a sly-eyed smile, "But I'm still walking you home."

"Ugh!" His nose flared, all of his self-control being used to stop his foot from stomping in his frustration which wasn't much. His whole body felt like it was vibrating in his irritation, teeth clenched together and jaw tight as a fiddle.

Kakashi paused for a moment, looking down at his student, "Naruto."

"What?" There was a fine line of attitude in that one word said behind gritted teeth.

Kakashi easily ignored the tone. "Why are you so upset about this anyway?" He couldn't help but ask, searching the boy's stiff body for any kind of nonverbal answer, "Is it so bad that a teacher can't make sure his student gets home okay?" The silver-haired jonin was trying to play nice, but the way Naruto's shoulders were hiked up to his ears made him wary, balancing delicately on tipping the boy the wrong way with his actions.

The blond rolled his eyes, his whole body rocking with it; he was feeling extra sensitive today, "Stop playing dumb, Kakashi-sensei. I know why you're doing this..." His tone fell flat, turning his head away from his teacher, a grimace on his face. A few moments of silence passed between them, Naruto nearly believing his teacher was about to drop the conversation and leave him alone. But that would be too simple, wouldn't it?

"And?"

Naruto groaned out loud, frustrated beyond belief, "And I don't like it!" His head whipped around, practically staring daggers at his teacher. Why was he so mad? He felt like he was going to combust with the brewing anger underneath his skin.

"Too bad, don't care." Kakashi shrugged, ignoring the clear aggression on his student's face, "I'm still walking you home."

The rest of the walk back to the Nara compound was uncomfortably silent save for the small irritated grumbles coming from the blond-haired teen here and there. Kakashi would chuckle here and there, trying to keep the atmosphere light and breathable, but Naruto's aggression was palpable. The air was tense, electrifyingly. So much so that it made Kakashi's jaw lock up, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He eyed the teen carefully, having continuously trailed after him. While the Kyuubi's chakra was not in effect at the moment like it had been with Neji, Kakashi could swear the demon's impression had been made between them. If it was under different circumstances, he might've poked and prodded at Naruto to see what would've happened, but he had to be a teacher right now.