Unlucky

Chapter Three

Revealing A Few Things

"So, do you like ramen?"

"..."

"Awwwkwwwaarrrrrrdd..." I dragged out and deformed the word, changing pitches as I went, after a long moment of silence. The goal was to make my captive, as I'm sure that's what he felt like, smile. The only result was his finely arched silver brows raising a tad.

My lips drooped, bottom one sticking out in a pout. "Ramen's my favorite food, you know...you could at least react..."

The silence continued on, and I felt even more so than before that I was treading a delicately carved path. Metaphorically speaking, of course; Hatake-san and the course we were taking back to the village appeared very sturdy. It just seemed like the masked ninja would very easily pull away if I pushed too hard. And that was the real feat. So far it looked like he really didn't like me in the least.

"Come on," I pleaded, "even monosyllabic answers will do." I made my best puppy dog face, and I think his black eye softened a teeny bit.

"Surprised you know such a word," he said with the barest trace of sarcasm.

My grin came back full strength, completely real. The one fake smile I had used didn't go so well, so I decided to try and keep them natural. The impostors were really good imitations, but I suspected Kakashi was especially sensitive to those things. If I could keep him with me, I could learn enough to actually befriend him rather than force my way in. Hopefully the latter wouldn't be necessary, because I was pretty sure Sarutobi-san would end up requiring me to be close to Hatake-san. Tons of reasons behind that.

"Yay!" I cheered childishly. "That means we're gonna go!" My joy startled him a tad, enough to get a response.

"Where?"

"Ichiraku's Ramen Stand!!"

I knew he was thinking something like, 'Excuse me,' but he sadly deprived me of hearing such a thought. I had no idea how I was gonna get my social hours in with this guy.

I'll have to take him on walks. Regularly.

"I figured you would want to eat out, you know, and since I'm gonna pay for it I get to choose." Again, Kakashi didn't respond verbally, but I could feel his thanks.

Hmm, maybe this isn't such a lost cause after all.

We arrived pretty quickly, somehow turning the trip into a race. It may have been my doing, for I did egg him on a bit. I had decided to give him a chance to recapture his pride and beat me, but I ended up getting competitive. At least I took him with me when I raced away. Otherwise I am sure he would have gotten lost or run away again. Though I would have willingly accepted his excuse, I didn't want to give it to him.

So I kinda grabbed his hand and blazed through the streets of Konoha. They don't call me the Yellow Flash for nothing.

When we had arrived I prepared to apologize, but to my surprise Kakashi was grinning. You couldn't really tell because of the mask, but I felt it. Don't call me weird, I know what smiles feel like because of a short period of time in which I studied them. That's why I can mimic them so well. Though that is besides the point.

I jumped up and down joyfully, still holding Kakashi's hand and thus bringing him with me. His visible eye widened, and then the one hidden by hair was revealed on the way down. This eye was not the same black as the other. A scar ran straight through it, and the iris was red with three black tomoes (comma shapes) in it circling the pupil. I had seen the eye before, on the first day we met, but I took this opportunity to examine it.