Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

51. Retrieve Belongings Upon Arrival

The journey back is a long and tedious one. With Sasuke's still-limited movement, he was forced to ride home on Kakashi's back, something that made him practically inconsolable, despite Sakura's cries of 'I still think you're cool, Sasuke-kun!'.

I'd spent the whole journey just wishing to be there already, so I could lay down and sleep days away. At least, until the gates come into sight.

"Eek!" I squeak and hide behind Kakashi's back.

"Oh no..." Kakashi grimaces because there, stood in the middle of the path, is Kasumi. Her arms are clearly crossed, and I can feel the heat of her scowl from here.

"Do... Do we have to go back?" I ask tentatively.

"What're you so scared of? It's just some old lady." Naruto asks. Loudly. Even without looking, I know the intensity of Kasumi's glare has just increased.

"I've missed almost 3 weeks of work." I whisper, trying not to look at her. If I don't look, maybe she'll go away.

"What?! You work in the bathhouse?!" Sakura cries, and I clamp a hand over her mouth.

"Keep it down!" I hiss, glancing desperately towards Kasumi, who is looking less and less impressed with every second.

"She's going to kill me." Kakashi groans, and Sasuke huffs.

"Here's hoping..." He mutters, and Kakashi drops him on his butt.

"Ouch!"

"And you call me stupid!" Naruto cackles, mine and Kakashi's plight already forgotten.

"What're we gonna do?" I ask Kakashi softly.

"We're dead no matter what." Kakashi looks pale.

"Protect me?"

"Are you kidding? I'm in even more trouble than you! What do you think she's going to do to me when she sees the mess you're in?" He whispers, backing away slightly. The moment Kasumi spots us moving away, however, she marches towards us. The guards make an aborted movement to stop her, realising her anger quickly and hanging back, leaving me and Kakashi to fend for ourselves.

"3 weeks." She snaps, face contorted into a vicious scowl.

"I'm really sorry-" I start, holding my hand up in a futile effort to protect myself. My other arm is still in a sling.

"Hush! The land of waves is, at most, a 2 day journey! You should have only been gone for 5 days! But no, instead you're gone for 3 weeks!" It's then that she notices the state I'm in. My arm is held up by a simple sling and my kimono hangs off my shoulder, exposing the tightly wrapped bandages around my chest and stomach. Her face goes completely blank.

"What happened?"

"Um..."

"We ran into some trouble. If you'll excuse us, Maya and Sasuke need to go to the hospital, and I need to report to the Hokage." Kakashi abandons me and vanishes. Kasumi keeps staring at me.

"What. Happened?" She hisses, and I lean back a little.

"I-uh-I-" Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke slip around us, only Sakura pausing to grimace at me before making a break for the gates.

"Out with it."

"There was- um- an assassin- he- after the- um- after Tazuna- and- um- he- he- well- and- um- thugs- working for- um- this crime boss and- they- um-" I stutter out something that in no universe could ever be seen as an explanation, but with every stammered syllable Kasumi's expression grows more thunderous and I find myself wishing that there were someone - anyone - for me to hide behind.

"And where was Kakashi during all of this?"

"Well- um-"

"I see." She says shortly, then turns on her heel and stalks back towards the village. I think I've just signed Kakashi's death warrant.

A/N: I have no excuse for not updating sooner. None. I've been doing fuck all these past few days. Thank you all for your feedback and input! If this chapter's shit it's because I was watching readings of the most infamously bad fanfics ever written (My Immortal and Forbiden Fruit (it's actually spelt like that oh my god I DIED)
Ta-ta~