Chapter 14- Ramen

Yama was let out of his cell earlier than Shijin. A young Konoha ninja with silver hair and a headband covering a single eye walked him out of the building. The young man was obviously Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi was professional in demeanor as he informed Yama of the situation.

  "Due to your former status as a ninja and our inability to search your memories, you are hereby placed under observation for the foreseeable future. I am your observer, Kakashi Hatake,

  During the next few weeks, I will be accompanying you."

Yama didn't seem to care or respond. He walked down the steps of the T&I HQ and stretched his arms and back. Yama squinted his eyes a little as they got used to the harsher daylight.

  "Say, Kakashi, you hungry at all?"

Kakashi was deadpan.

  "No, and if you'll let me finish. While you are under observation, you are under no limitations other than you are forbidden from leaving the village.

  I have not yet been informed of your intentions while in Konoha, please share them."

Yama was groaning as he continued to stretch out his back.

  "Urrgh, these old bones of mine. Must be nice to be young, huh?"

Kakashi sighed. It seemed like his mission for the foreseeable future was going to be dull, irritating, and cumbersome.

Yama continued.

  "Well, why don't we mix business and pleasure. Know any good bars around here? Wait, you're too young to drink right?

  I've heard there's a good ramen place nearby, we can go there."

Kakashi was annoyed, but it seemed like this old codger lived at his own pace. So Kakashi followed the man as he walked through Konoha.

They had been walking for around five minutes, and something that Kakashi couldn't put his finger on was putting him ill at ease.

It wasn't until Yama cut through an unmarked, unnamed alley between two large buildings that Kakashi knew.

Yama had not once asked for directions. The man obviously knew where he was going, which rang a few alarm bells.

Yama had no background, and was never before registered as a foreign shinobi, had never visited Konoha, yet here he was, taking shortcuts like a local. Kakashi's guard went up, and he understood a little better why he was asked to keep this man under observation. The fact that T&I couldn't read his memories meant that all the information they had on this man came from the man himself. Though the ANBU over there were good at their job, there were still some very good liars out there.

Kakashi threw caution to the winds and decided to ask, he wouldn't get answers any other way. If the man was infiltrating, he wouldn't do something so obvious to blow his cover, and the Hokage himself had vouched for Yama's intentions.

  "Have you ever been to Konoha before, Yama? Our records had indicated not."

  "Huh, whatdoya mean? Besides, we're already here."

Yama and Kakashi were standing in front of Ichiraku Ramen. Kakashi was actually somewhat surprised it was open. Many restaurants had closed following the Kyuubi attack, and more than a few civilians had fled from the village. A voice welcomed them in.

  "WELCOME TO ICHIRAKU, HAVE A SEAT PLEASE!"

Yama and Kakashi stepped into the restaurant and sat at the counter. An middle aged man stood behind the counter and smiled at the new customers.

  "What can I do you for? There's our menu."

And he gestured at the menu written on the wall behind him.

Yama ordered immeditealy.

  "Chef's choice, extra big bowl, one for me and my young friend here."

  "Coming right up!"

Yama turned to Kakashi and smiled.

  "I ordered for you, hope you don't mind."

Kakashi shrugged before restarting his line of questioning.

  "How did you know where this place was?"

  "Told you, I heard about it from some travelers."

  "But how did you know how to get here?"

Yama looked up for a second to think.

  "Mainly intuition, I knew it was in the western district close to some of the slums, so I just walked west and followed my instincts."

Kakashi wasn't happy with the answer, but it was all he would get from the man. Kakashi sighed before asking a few more questions.

  "Where will you be staying during your time here and what do you plan on doing?"

Yama gave a wry grin.

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  "Well...

  I don't have any money, so I guess I'm homeless until I find a job?"

Kakashi was annoyed, though he didn't show it.

   I have to follow around a homeless bum? Do I have to be homeless too? Fuck this.

  Father, please forgive me.

  "Why don't you stay at my family's compound until you find a job. I have to keep watch over you and this will keep it convenient."

Yama grinned again

  "That'll work!"

and Kakashi couldn't help but feel like he'd been played.

Kakashi continued.

  "What kind of job are you looking for here? Not much work available unless you're a ninja, catering to them, or manual labor. To be honest, none of them really look like they'll work for you."

  "You got that right, I'm way too old for that crap. I think I'm gonna try to be a teacher."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows, this was new information to him.

  "Teacher?"

  "Yeah, I'm not the strongest ninja around anymore, but I've had quite a few experiences in my time. I hear there is a Ninja Academy here, maybe they have some openings?"

Kakashi paused, the ninja academy did always have openings. It was annoying work, dealing with brats, and the hours were long and the pay poor. About the only people that worked there were retired ninja, whether it be from age or injury. This Yama, old and crippled, would fit right in.

  "I don't know if that will work out since you're a foreigner and all, but I'll bring it up to my superiors."

  "Many thanks, young man, look alive, our food is here!'

The middle aged man had a large bowl in either hand and he set them down in front of his customers.

They made an odd pair. They didn't much look alike, but they had similar hair colors. Maybe a grandson and grandfather? But they didn't seem very close? Teuchi cleared his thoughts and introduced the dishes.

  "I actually got two specials, one for each of you! Young man, yours is a pork miso ramen with extra meat and an egg, gotta have protein to grow up strong. And you distinguished sir, Fishcake Ramen with extra vegetables!"

The boy didn't react but the old man let out a deafening guffaw.

  "Distinguished sir, huh?"

The old man was laughing.

  "Extra vegetables? AHAHAHAHAH, people are always getting on my back to eat more of those too. And you even got the fishcake!" (A/N translates as narutomaki, is the food that Naruto is named for)

Yama reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes. Kakashi looked on, and though the man hid it well. It seems that it wasn't just the laughter that got to him.

The man behind the counter smiled; it seemed like his customers were happy with their food, which was all that he could ask for.

  "If you need anything else, call for me! Name's Teuchi by the way."

Yama and Kakashi thanked the man for the meal and silently began to eat. Yama started digging in with gusto. Kakashi realized the man's attention was completely on his food, so he pulled down his mask and ate quickly.

Kakashi was a fast eater and was done before the older man looked back up from his bowl. Yama sighed and patted his stomach.

  "That hit the spot, how's yours comin---

  You already finished?! Where the hell did you even put it?!"

Kakashi was loath to humor the old man and simply ignored him.

The duo stood up. Yama froze when he put his hands into his pockets. 

  "Hey Kakashi, the whole no money thing..."

Kakashi was seething as he handed over the money to Teuchi for both their meals. Kakashi walked out without another word and Yama followed.

Yama grunted in surprise at who they saw. Shijin approached them before nodding at Kakashi and turning to address Yama. Yama beat him to the punch though.

  "Shijin, what's up? How'd you find us?"

  "My interrogation was paused due to unforeseen difficulties, but they decided to let me go on temporary papers with orders to not leave the village for the time being.

  As for how I found you... "

Shijin looked up at the sign of the Ramen shop Yama was just at. "Ichiraku Ramen"

Yama chuckled and scratched the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

  "It had been a while."

  "Predictable as always."

  "Hey! take that back, I pride myself on my unpredictability!"

Kakashi watched the two bicker a bit more. This new fellow must be the companion of Yama. Kakashi was surprised to see it someone so young. The new person, Shijin, was about the same age as Kakashi.

It was somewhat curious how an old man had formed a friendship with a teenager. They treated each other as equals, which was somewhat unusual with their apparent age gap/

Yama was fairly animate, but Shijin was flat. Kakashi watched on in profound disinterest until he was dragged into the conversation.

  "Why do you have to be like this Shijin, all stoic and unfeeling? You're like Kakashi, except he's just pretending."

Yama waved a hand at gestured at Kakashi while arguing with Shijin. Shijin countered.

  "Like Kakashi?"

Yama enthusiastically agreed.

  "Yeah, look at him, all dour and gloom and serious. He's got that mask. He's like a cool cat. except..."

The two turned to face Kakashi, who was now thoroughly annoyed by their antics. Shijin spoke first.

  "You're right, he doesn't hide it particularly well at all."

Kakashi tried to ignore the two, even though it was mildly disconcerting that they could read his emotions, and he was somewhat successful until Yama spoke again.

  "By the way, Shijin, Kakashi offered to let us stay at his house."

Kakashi's eyes snapped open.

  "I most certainly did not!"

Yama tried to throw his arm around his shoulder and cajole him, but only grasped the air as Kakashi dodged with immense speed.

  "Oh don't be like that Kakashi, I just treated you to a meal."

  "You didn't treat jack shit! I paid for it you old codger!"

Kakashi was fairly upset. No one had gotten under his skin like this since he was a young child. He was reminded of when he was young and his father would tease him. In fact, that was exactly what was going on right now, this old coot Yama was treating him, a member of Konoha ANBU ,like a child.

  "Let me be extremely clear about this Yama, I am an elite jonin sent to watch over you by the Hokage himself. I am your warden, and your situation is essentially a prisoner. You should consider your words and demeanor much more carefully."

Even though Kakashi didn't leak any of his killing intent, he was deadly serious.

Yama softly and politely clapped.

  "A jonin at your age, how impressive. Oy, Shijin, you too."

And Yama jabbed Shijin in his side with an elbow. Shijin also brought up his hands to politely clap, but while Yama's facial expression was one of sincere adoration, Shijin's face betrayed nothing. It was almost mocking.

Kakashi wanted to strike them down on the spot.

  How much trouble could I actually get into for cutting them down? What if it was just a little bit? Just an arm maybe? A hand is fine right?

Kakashi swallowed his emotions back down and was about to retort when he saw it.

An Emergency Flare flew into the air from somewhere in the village outskirts. Kakashi quickly scanned his mind, the only thing out there in that direction were farms and the Uchiha clan grounds.

Kakashi cursed under his breath. The Kyuubi had just attacked the village and now something was going on the probably involved the Uchiha.

He quickly performed a few hand seals.

  "Summoning Jutsu"

And with a poof a small dog appeared.

  'Pakkun, take these two to my house and keep them there. Lethal force allowed.

  You two, this is Pakkun, don't try to run away, he's already got your scent and can track you anywhere. You will do as he says."

With that business out of the way, Kakashi disappeared and chased towards the emergency flare at best speed.

Only a select few people could carry a flare like this, and when anyone saw it, it was the equivalent to an order that said Drop ALL Missions and concentrate on my position!

Yama and Shijin looked at the puppy on the ground in front of them. The dog was obviously young, with big beautiful eyes and a coat that shone in the sun. Yama reached down and picked up the dog.

  "Oh wow look at you, what a handsome dog! Nice shiny coat! Good teeth too! You must be one of those famous Ninja Hounds!"

Pakkun could have easily evaded the man, but his aura was very stable and calm. Pakkun's animal intuition told him that Yama was a pretty good guy. Pakkun wondered to himself why Kakashi was so hostile.

Yama continued.

  "Let's get you in a good spot where you can show us the way home."

He lifted the dog a bit higher, and was about to put Pakkun on his head when a dense killing intent blanketed the three of them.

Pakkun wriggled from Yama's grip and fell to the ground.

Pakkun's hackles were immediately raised, and his eyes focused on the newcomer.

A small silver fox was now atop Yama's head. He stared down at Pakkun with chilling eyes.

  "This is mine, pup. Know your place."

Yama interjected.

  "Oi, Ginou, what are you being all crabby for? And where have you been?

  Wait a minute, are you perhaps jealous?

  Oh to think that the mighty Gin--

  AHHHHHHHHH, that's my ear you son of a bitch, you freaking fox! LEMME GO!"

The silver fox had latched onto one of Yama's ear mid sentence, and Yama had begun to thrash around, but the fox stayed firmly locked in position.

The killing intent slowly faded away, and the normal calm aura the man projected slowly came back into focus.

Pakkun looked over to Shijin.

  "You and your friend should follow me."

As soon as Pakkun spoke though, Yama froze before locking eyes with Shijin, their thoughts were parallel

  Oh my god, I guess he always sounded like that!

  Does he smoke 80 cigarettes a day? What gives?

  Where does a dog even get cigarettes?