Bring the Hammer Down

7

Naruto cringed when he heard TenTen shout his name. He ducked his head, closed his eyes, and waited for the punch, but it never came. Opening his eyes he found TenTen in front of him with her arms crossed and her foot tapping a mad rhythm into the dirt. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"Um, well what?"

"Don't you have something to say?"

"Um, no?"

Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, jerking him forward so that their noses touched and his eyes were locked to hers. His vision darted back and forth, looking at the people who had stopped on the street to watch the spectacle. He turned his gaze back to the front and prepared himself for whatever she had in store.

"You asshole, I told you when I was leaving to go on a mission, but you have the gall to just leave without notifying me. I thought you were better than that."

"But...but TenTen, I had to leave quickly. I didn't have time to find you."

"You couldn't have left a note?"

"Well, I..."

"You couldn't have sent a toad?"

"You see..."

Deciding that she had punished and humiliated him enough, TenTen let him off the hook. Leaning in, she captured his lips in hers, leaving him with wide eyes and a very shocked expression. Letting go of his collar, she stood back with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

"You ever go off without telling me again and I'll pound you into the ground at our next training session. Now for punishment, you owe me a nice dinner of my choosing, whenever I want. Ok?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good, now follow me."

Naruto trailed after the brown haired bombshell, leaving many confused spectators in their wake. The girl looked like she was going to kill the blonde only moments before and then let him off with a kiss and a promise to buy her dinner. Why couldn't the women in their lives be like that?

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Kakashi had finally finished giving his report to Tsunade and she had dismissed him, but he wouldn't leave just yet. She raised an eyebrow and put her cheek in her hand, while leaning on the desk.

"You have more to say Kakashi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I do. I want to plead with you not to transfer Naruto to another unit. Sakura and I need him. We're not a fully functioning unit without him."

"Why can't you do without him? From what I've seen of your missions over the past few months, Naruto is your go-to guy, the frontline fighter. If he's not comfortable with the two of you anymore, why make yourselves and him miserable? I can place another heavy-hitter on your team to replace Naruto and everyone will be happy."

"I won't be. Naruto is my student, my responsibility. I've taught him since day one and I won't have him taught by anyone else."

Tsunade sighed and took a deep breath, thinking of how she wanted to word this.

"Kakashi, no offence, but the only things you've taught Naruto were tree-walking and the Kage Bunshin method of training, and that was a joint effort with Yamato. Sakura might have warmed up to him some over the years, but as far as I can tell, she still harbors feelings for the Uchiha, regardless of the fact that he's a traitor. Naruto, in recent days, has told me he no longer wants to pursue him and that is a major factor of your unit. Give me one good reason for not allowing him to transfer."