Fascination: Sequel

Fascination: Sequel: Part 4

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Fascination: Sequel

Part 4

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“Oriko,” The voice called again, although she wasn’t really able to pinpoint who or why they were speaking to her; “Oriko!” Forcing her eyes open at the sound of such a desperate voice, as well as pressure on one of her shoulders,

“Huh?” The confusion was almost as thick as the sleep in her voice; she opened her eyes to the sight of almost blindingly shiny teeth, “W-Wha- Gai?”

“Oriko! You were asleep on the grass this fine morning... were you here all night?” Oriko tried to sit up and was easily pulled to her feet by a cheerful – but concerned looking Gai – she swayed on her feet for a moment; trying to overcome the sickly feeling that came with sleeping restlessly,

“Y-yea I suppose I must have done; what time is it?” She looked over to see Neji and Lee behind him, both looking a little concerned,

“It is almost ten in the morning, would you like to me escort you home? You do not look very well,” Oriko blinked forcefully, trying to get her mind to adequately focus before shaking her head,

“N-No, I’m alright, thank you Gai, besides you all look as though you’re off somewhere,” She finally took notice of their packs, as Gai kept a hand on her forearm, certain than if he let go, she’d fall over;

“Yes, we have a mission, but I am certain Kakashi would understand the delay if I paused to ensure your safety,” Oriko took a deep breath, her head clearing and her body feeling more like her own by the second; it did always surprise Oriko just how chivalrous Gai could be – it struck the kuniochi, at first, that he looked like the sort of man too busy being ‘hip’ to be honourable, but that really couldn’t have been further from the truth;

“Eh? Kakashi? Is he in trouble?” Gai gave her a merry ‘thumbs up’ and grinned broadly,

“You are indeed kind to care so much for your ex-sensei, but you should know that my eternal rival is not to easily defeated! Our presence is merely a security measure and provide additional strength should it be needed,”

Apparently Gai was also one who didn’t know of Kakashi and Oriko’s change in relationship, the kuniochi nodded,

“Good, well, if the situation is as serious as it sounds, I don’t want to keep you, thank you for waking me up but I’m sure I’ll be fine; you guys are needed elsewhere,” She flashed a grin in reassurance and took a step away from Gai, unfortunately her knee almost buckled as she didn’t tense it properly, Neji stepped forward to prevent her hitting the deck.

“Oriko-san, your Jounin exam is in three days, you should not be so careless with your body,”

“I know, Neji, thanks, it just took me a moment to wake up, was all, sleeping on the ground with no protection or fire as a result of charka depletion tends to make me a little groggier than usual.” She stood up again, more successfully under her own steam this time and turned to walk away, having thrown in another smile for good measure;

“Neji, see that she gets home safely, we’ll be waiting by the gate,” Neji nodded at Gai’s instruction, stepping beside Oriko and holding out a hand as though to direct her,

“Neji, you really don’t-”

“No, there is no use arguing, I insist upon Neji accompanying you,” Oriko sighed, knowing that there was no way she’d win this battle,

“Very well, thank you, Gai, Neji,” She nodded to each in turn as she set off towards her home, with Neji keeping a close pace.

As she bid farewell to Neji and closed her front door, she made her way to her shower to wash away the fatigue, grime and chill of her body.  She reflected on the past four days of training, her space-time ninjutsu still not having really improved much, her reaction time was much faster, but she was still constantly being hit by the leaves.