The snake and the fox

Chapter 12

The sun slowly rose on the village hidden in the leaves; the villagers slowly woke; merchants opened their stores; restaurants fired up their ovens, preparing for the early customers; thrift stores went over their inventory. Although one blonde was up early—well, not really up, as he didn't get a minute of sleep—he was simply absorbed in his book. The little orange piece of literature he so adamantly called 'nothing but smut' had managed to grab his attention like only books on fuinjutsu had before. He was hooked after the first page; he swallowed the bait, the line, and the whole damn boat with it. He tried to put the book down and go to sleep, but he couldn't; he had to know what came next, and so he stayed up all night reading. His white bedsheets had gained a couple red spots from the small amounts of blood leaking from his nose.

The outside world didn't exist as his mind worked overtime to paint the most accurate picture it could through the descriptions of the settings, the people, the sounds, and the smells. He was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't even notice the head that looked over his shoulder at the page he was on.

Kakashi had woken up in a rather good mood. He didn't know why, but he felt like something great had happened. He shrugged it off for now; he'd find out soon enough; no need to press himself. The Jonin performed his usual rituals and walked to his little brother's apartment. He had an offer for the blonde, but he wasn't sure he'd take it; after all, it was his resting period, but he was sure eventually Naruto would get bored with it very soon. He walked with his book in hand, discreetly observing his surroundings, always keenly aware of any obstacle in his way. Soon enough, he reached his destination and put his book away, he opened the door before raising an eyebrow, looking at the clock, Naruto should be up by now. Curiosity grew when he heard an all too familiar giggle coming from the room, making his way over, only to see Naruto sitting on his bed, his back to the door, reading something. The Jonin noticed the color of the cover, and a bit of hope grew in his chest, along with some amusement. He went behind the blonde, who didn't even seem to react to his presence, he leaned in and looked over the boy's shoulder. He only read a few words before smiling under his mask, Naruto was halfway through the book, and a great scene was coming up.

"Mah Naruto, you seem to like the book after all."

The result was immediate. Naruto jumped, snapping the book shut, and tried to turn around, but in his haste he upset his balance, causing him to fall out of bed, his head hitting the floor hard enough to bounce. Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the blonde clutch the back of his head as he rolled around. It took a minute, but eventually Naruto stopped the rolling and sat up, pointing an accusing finger at his older brother.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Kakashi smiled and waved the blonde off, his lone eye going to the book, "I see you had a very productive night."

The slowly blonde got up and followed his brother's gaze, picking up the book, "Yeah, I got curious." No use in lying in now; he might as well come clean.

"So, what did you think?" The one-eyed ninja smiled when he saw the familiar spark in the blonde's eyes, Icha Icha had gotten itself a new loyal reader.

"The story, the characters, the plot....it's...it's-..."

"Incredible." Kakashi offered, knowing exactly how the blonde felt, seeing a younger version of himself discovering Icha Icha for the first time.

Naruto looked up and grinned, "Exactly! It's incredible!"

"What did you think of the scene in the cave?"

"It gave me shivers from start to finish."

"Yeah, it's my favorite." he said with an eye smile

The surrogate siblings got some breakfast, Kakashi looked up at Naruto while he was cleaning up the dishes.