Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 135

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 135

"You sure you are fine? I can stay for a bit longer, you know?" Eiji asked, giving Sasuke a concerned look. He didn't want to coddle the boy too much, but on the other hand... He totally did. In his defense though, he thought it was somewhat justified. Sasuke had gone through something hard and was still getting over it.

"Eiji, I'll be fine," the Uchiha told him with a slight smile. One that didn't really help his case, with how strained it looked. "Naruto won't leave me alone and neither will Sakura or Kakashi-sensei. I appreciate the concern, but I have a team."

"Right... Right, of course..." Eiji muttered, hearing Tayuya snickering next to him. "Oh, shut up."

"Come the fuck on, Mama Eiji, we gotta get moving sometime today or not at all, choose one," his girlfriend told him, making his eye twitch. She wasn't wrong, however. So, he took a deep breath in and sighed.

"Fine," he agreed, turning towards his friends, especially Sasuke who was now grinning like he meant it for once. "Take care and send a message if you need anything."

"I will, take care yourself, yeah?" Sasuke told him.

"Say hi to Hinata for me if you get to Konoha before us, ok?" Naruto asked him, getting a grin from Eiji and a laugh from Tayuya. "And thanks... for everything. You can bet the future Hokage appreciates it."

"I'm sure you do," Eiji replied, shaking his head. Then he gave both boys a long look. With a sigh, he turned towards Sakura. "Keep them out of trouble, will you?"

"I'll do my best," the pink-haired girl answered, which was as good as Eiji would get. That was fine. He knew they were a handful, after all. "Take care, Eiji, and thanks for the training... Even if I hate Kabuto."

To that, he chuckled. While they were dealing with Sasuke's... family problems, as it were, Eiji had pushed Sakura towards Kabuto and told the guy to get as much medical knowledge into her head as he could. He'd done exactly that, from what he gathered, even if it probably had been a miserable experience for the girl. He probably would do it again sometime in the future though. She'd be grateful for it at some point.

Maybe.

"And you... Well... Don't read too much porn in public, yeah?" Eiji asked Kakashi with a slight grin.

"Hm, did you say something?" the man asked back, looking like he was just now looking up from the book in his hands.

Eiji just shook his head. It wasn't like he'd interacted much with the man except for indirect meetings like this one. However, the man had a reputation, that was for sure. Anyway, that was enough delay-

"Let's go Fearless Leader," Tayuya told him, grabbing his upper arm and dragging him away. "Before you start crying, yeah? Take care, bunch of bastards!"

"Keep an eye on him, Tayuya!" Naruto called after them.

"See you later," Sasuke told them with a nod, while Sakura and Kakashi waved at them... with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

[}-o-{]

"He wasn't going to come here, at least not first, I hope you know that," Temari said, drawing a huff from Eiji. Sure, she wasn't wrong, but there was no need to say it. Honestly, was she just trying to make him look bad? Good luck with that. People didn't think badly of Kakashi or Maito Gai despite their rather... colorful personalities. They weren't going to care much for his eccentricities.