Just A Kid

Chapter 35

Day 5 came with a clean and crisp wind blowing as the sun shone brightly through Araile's window.

Takumi, resting his head on her stomach, opened one eye lazily. Yawning widely, he stretched his front paws forward and arched his back. He separating each individual toe as he stretched his paws as much as they could go.

Tendrils of sunlight streamed through the window.

Twitching his ear, Takumi sensed a change in his companion. Looking at her, he noticed that her skin no longer had beads of perspiration, or that her breaths came out in pained, shallow gasps. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking away some remnants of sleep that still clung to her eyelids. Smiling weakly, she looked at Takumi and slowly ran a hand through his fur. Takumi's tail began wagging as happiness coursed through the dog.

His companion's fever had finally broken! She was going to be okay!

Takumi yipped and rubbed his head furiously against her arm. Araile giggled quietly as she saw her friend like this.

"What did I miss?" Araile croaked, her throat as dry as parchment paper.

"So, you're finally awake," someone said from the doorway.

She looked towards the voice, and smiled widely as Kakashi came in. He placed a hand gently on her head and smiled down at the nine year old through his mask. Even though his mask covered the majority of his face, Araile could always tell when Kakashi was smiling and when he was angry or deep in thought just by the look in his visible eye.

He handed her a cup of water, which she accepted graciously.

"How long have I been asleep?" Araile asked, rubbing an eye.

"Five days," Kakashi answered.

"Wow..and I was asleep for all of it?" she murmured as she handed the cup back, causing Kakashi to chuckle.

"Like a rock," Kakashi chuckled and ruffled her hair, before turning and walking out of her room.

She glared mildly at Kakashi's back and straightened her hair.

"Why does he always do that? I'm not a little kid anymore," she grumbled to Takumi, but the dog was too busy scratching behind an ear.

Just outside her door, Kakashi smiled to himself and walked down the hallway to the kitchen, once again letting his mind wander back to when she was a toddler.

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"Ashi! Ashi!" a two year old Araile cried as she ran over to the Jonin as he walked through the front door with an arm full of groceries.

Putting down the groceries, Kakashi scooped the excited toddler up as her short term babysitter walked out the door, her job done.

"Did you have fun?" Kakashi asked as he somehow juggled her and the groceries.

"Uh huh! We play!" Araile said happily and pointed to the living room.

Kakashi sighed as he put her down and the excited toddler ran into the living room, now in complete disarray. She giggled and jumped up and down on a couch cushion that had landed on the floor.

"Looks like I'll be cleaning today," Kakashi muttered to himself as she continued playing, crawling under the cushions and pillows.

"Hi Ashi," she giggled from her little fort of pillows and cushions.

She hadn't really gotten a grasp on pronouncing his name, but it was a good start.

"Hello there, Araile. Is this your new home?" Kakashi jokingly said as he crouched down to her level.

Araile nodded vigorously and continued putting things in her 'new home' as Kakashi put it. Anything she could get her hands on went into her fort: blocks, spoons, papers and her toys. It was a good fort, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. As she walked to grab one of her stuffed animals to add to her collection, Araile tripped over one of the many pillows that still lay on the ground. She landed on her hands and knees, and the stuffed animal was knocked from your grasp.

"Oh!" Araile exclaimed as she watched the stuffed animal soar through the air, and hit the side of her prescious fort.

The cushion wobbled, then toppled over and hit the other cushion, making that one fall as well. She watched as the cushions fell over and onto her treasures that the toddler had painstakingly gathered.

Whimpering, she stood up and ran over to the pile, pulling at the cushions.

"Ashi!" she called, sniffling.

"Hm?" Kakashi answered, poking his head around the corner of the hallway.

"Pillow," she said frowning, and pointed towards the fallen cushions.

"Oh, did it fall down? That's not good," Kakashi laughed and came over.

He picked up the two cushions and noticed her gathered treasures.

"You have quite the little collection here, Araile," Kakashi said and Araile smiled at him, her little tail twitching happily.

"Mine," she giggled.

"Now, let's put this back now shall we?" Kakashi stated.

For the rest of the day, he spent time building forts with her. Her little laughs somehow lifted the heaviness that the Copy Ninja had carried with him every day.

Who knew something so small and innocent had the power to make him act this way?

Not that he would tell anyone of course. The feared and famous Copy Ninja building pillow forts with a toddler? He would never hear the end of it. He knew his actions were safe with the toddler.