Star Shadow: Well… After about a week, we finished it…
Dark Stratos: We really do hope that you'll enjoy our fic.
Star Shadow: It was fun to write.
Dark Stratos: Also, before we forget, we're looking for Beta Readers for any and all of our fics. If you'd like to read our stuff before we post it and help with grammatical/OOC problems/spelling cr--
Star Shadow: ::sends pointed glare::
Dark Stratos: --stuff, please e-mail us at dreamingimposter(at)sbcglobal(dot)net .
Star Shadow: Or if you just feel like e-mailing us, please do. We love the attention. Now on with the fic!
Disclaimer: ::Stratos holds up shreds of paper:: You know… This used to be our declaimer telling you that we don't own Naruto, but somehow Star got a hold of some throwing stars and coffee. Don't ask me how she got the coffee. I never let her have it, she's hyper enough anyway… I understand the throwing stars, but I'm still a bit frightened about the coffee…
Trapped
(also known as Kakashi and the Chinese finger trap)
Star Shadow and Dark Stratos
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed as he looked down at his index fingers. Hm… This could be a real problem… He experimentally tried to pull his fingers apart again only to find himself still trapped. He pulled harder. The devise on his fingers became tighter. How strange… Maybe he shouldn't have stuck his fingers into this… What did Tenten call it again? Ah yes! It was a Chinese finger trap.
When the girl had shown it to him, the Jounin couldn't help himself. He asked for the red and crème colored thing, if it wasn't too much trouble on her part that was. She had looked so happy when he had asked for it. Before he had left with the strange tube, he hadn't known what it was called at the time, Tenten had given him one, and only one, warning.
"Kakashi-san," she had said, looking at him like a mother would look at her children when she told them not to get into the cookie jar right before dinner even though it was obvious tat her children wanted cookies., "Whatever you do, don't stick your fingers into the holes until you figure out how it works."
"Hm?" he asked only half paying attention to her. He was suddenly very tempted to stick his fingers in it. Who wouldn't be? "Okay, Tenten-chan!" he smiled beneath his mask as he turned away, immediately sticking his fingers into the forbidden holes of doom. "Thank you!"
"Have fun with your Chinese finger trap Kakashi-sensei!" She waved as he walked off. His visible eye had widened as he remembered looking down at his fingers. Chinese finger trap!?
This was why Hatake Kakashi, A Konohagakure Jounin, was now walking down a busy street trying to free his fingers. Damn him for falling victim to temptation so easily! Stupid Tenten and her stupid warning! Why didn't she tell him what it was called before he had stuck his fingers in it?
He knew it wasn't really her fault, but it felt better to blame her than it was to blame himself… even though in reality it was his own fault… Maybe this was why Naruto blamed and everything on Sasuke; tripping on an empty bottle, setting off an explosive tag, getting ambushed by Sound nin, people ignoring him, getting caught up against the wall of an alley with the other boy almost on top of him while they were making out… everything was Uchiha Sasuke's fault…Well… to be fair, that last thing was Uchiha Sasuke's fan club's fault, but who really cared about little details like that…
Kakashi snickered at the memory. That had to have been one of the funniest things he had ever seen. Oh what he wouldn't pay to see them getting caught in another alleyway with their tongues down each others throats while Sasuke's fan girls and the occasional fan boy rounded the corner. Sasuke had been mortified, Naruto had been mortified, the fan club had been mortified, and he had been doing nothing more than laughing his ass off. Tsunade had been laughing too, but the look on Iruka's face right before he fainted, he had thought the two were killing each other when they couldn't be found, had been priceless.
"Ohayo Kakashi-sensei!"
Well speak of the devil…
"Ohayo Iruka-sensei," he said and tried to raise a hind in his normal greeting. His other hand followed. Kakashi scowled at the finger trap. He tried to wiggle his left hand free. His right hand jerked around. Iruka watched. Just what was the man doing?
"Er… Kakashi-sensei?"
"You're well read, right Iruka-sensei?"
"I like to think of myself that way…" the school teacher replied.
"Have you ever heard of a Chinese finger trap?" Kakashi asked hopefully. Maybe he would be free just in time for training…
"I'm sorry," Iruka said. "I don't believe I have."
"Damn…" he said, unsuccessfully pulling his fingers apart again. "Thanks anyway Iruka-sensei…" he walked off, attempting to wave again. He growled in frustration as he left, leaving a confused Iruka behind.
Kakashi kept walking ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from pedestrians on the street. He just kept walking, not sure where he was going and just barely side-stepping anyone or anything in his path. Before he knew it, he was at the memorial.
Kakashi looked at the stone before smiling. "Ohayo, Obito-kun!" he said to the stone, sitting cross-legged on the ground. This was just one of those days where he felt like speaking to his old friend instead of praying to him. "I hope you're well whoever you are," he smiled, tugging at his finger, oblivious to the stares he was getting from some of the people walking by.
Kakashi continued talking, caring less about hat people thought of him. If they said anything insulting, he would find a quick way to kill them without a second thought, Chinese finger trap or no. "I think you'd be laughing at me if you could see me right now." Tug, tug, tug… "I can't seem to get my fingers apart! You remember when I told you about Tenten, right? Well, today she gave me this really weird tube. She told me not to stick my fingers in it… Well, it seems you, even after your death, are still wearing off on me. If you haven't guessed by now, I stuck my fingers in it. It's called a Chinese finger trap. Any ideas on how to get it off?"
Kakashi sat in silence for a few minutes, as if he was waiting for a reply of some sort. If he really was or not is up to you, because we really have no clue.
"I see,
Kakashi said. "Well, I have to go figure out how to get this off before noon. I have to train your nephew. He's far too serious for his own good you know. It's hard to think that he's related to you sometimes…" Kakashi said, standing with little difficulty seeing as how use of his hands was limited. "Ja na, Obito-kun!"
Kakashi sighed as he pulled his fingers again out of habit. He looked down at them and stared as he walked. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't even notice someone calling his name until two hands clapped down on his shoulders. He almost attacked.
"--sensei!"
"What? Did you say something, Gai?"
Damn you my eternal rival, Kakashi! Gai thought. Trying to act cool like it was no big deal how you just ignored me! "I challenged you to a match!"
Gai thought. "I challenged you to a match!""Ah… not today, Gai."
Why is he so cool!? "And why not? Are you afraid of my youthful knowledge and su--"
"Do you know what a Chinese finger trap is?" Kakashi asked, cutting off his soon to be rant about youth and some of that other crap he always went on and on about.
"A Chinese what?"
"What about you, Neji-kun?" Kakashi asked, brushing off Gai. Maybe if he was lucky…
"I know what they are," the boy said, glaring down at his own fingers that happened to be encased in blue and white. Well that answered his question…
"Come up with anything?" Kakashi asked, walking over to the boy behind Gai. Hm… Lee wasn't with him today… How odd…
"No," he growled, tugging his fingers apart/ "You?"
"nah…" he said with an aloof expression, pulling his as welling, not really paying attention to his hands. They both stood there as Gai watched them preempting to pull their fingers apart. "These would make great handcuffs…"
"Maybe this is fate's way of torturing me… Stupid Tenten…"
"So she gave you one too?" Asuma asked, joining the other two, and Gai, but he didn't really count because he didn't have a finger trap. Asuma's eye twitched as the pink and baby blue on his fingers. "I can't even do jutsus with this damned thing on!"
"Aa…" Kakashi said, thinking before reaching for his book. He twitched.
"Kakashi?"
Kakashi reached for his book again. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of nightmare. There was no way this was really happening. He twitched again. This had to be hell…
"Kakashi-sensei?"
He, Hatake Kakashi, could not get to his porn novel…
"Neji-kun, I think it would be wise for you to step away from Kakashi-sensei."
A truly manic look gleamed in Kakashi's visible eye as the Chinese finger trap look back up at him innocently.
"I'm going to get Homage-sama… Now!"
Kakashi wanted his porn… Now.
"Now Kakashi-sensei, don't do anything rash…"
Then, sensing something was amiss with her uber Tenten powers, Tenten walked up. Calmly, she put her hands on Kakashi's, right out of view from the other three and pushed his fingers together. Slowly, she pulled his fingers out of their brightly colored prison.
Kakashi wiggled his index fingers.
"I told you not to put your fingers in the holes until you figured it out," she said as she walked off. The others could suffer. She feared what the Jounin would have done had he not been freed.
"MY PORN!" Kakashi cried loud enough for all of Hidden Leaf to hear. He happily pulled out the latest issue of Come Come Paradise and snuggled it. Asuma, Neji and Gai sweat dropped. "My beautiful, beautiful porn!"
"How did she--" Asuma started to ask, but the man was already skipping, yes skipping, away.
It took him less than five minutes to get to the bridge.
"YOUR LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled. Sasuke said nothing.
"I'm sorry," Kakashi smiled. "I got held up by a Chinese finger trap!"
"LIAR!"
"Sasuke scowled. "I don't think he's lying this time," he mumbled.
"What do you know, Teme?"
Sakura looked at her dream boy in shock. "W-What do you mean Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke's scowl darkened, knowing he would get no information from his porn-snuggling sensei. He pulled at his fingers, inwardly cursing Tenten. He glared at the pink-haired girl when she asked. "Just call it a hunch…" he said, growling at his orange and blue Chinese finger trap.
END
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