Impossible to Foretell

Chapter 17: On the Road

Oh my god was I behind on my work. All of this moping around and sleeping had really taken out of my work time. I looked at the towering mound of scrolls that I had to deal with and sighed, it was going to be a long day. Especially since I was expecting Kakashi to come by any minute so that we could leave together to go and visit Kabuto, and that was only going to shorten my work time further. The looming pile seemed to taunt me with the fact that there was no way that I could get it all done with the amount of time that I had. I really wished that I could make Shadow Clones to help me get everything done, but ninjutsu has never been my thing. I'm much more skilled at taijutsu.

There was a knock on the door followed by Kakashi sticking his head in the room. "Kaiyo, are you ready?"

I put a marker on where I was in my paperwork and stood up slowly with a sigh. "Yep." I would have said something abrasive, but I just didn't have the strength to be caustic right now.

As we walked out of the building, I pulled a scroll out of my weapons pouch.

Kakashi looked over my shoulder, "Hm, what's that?"

"The latest report on the Shinobi Union's mission roster. I really need to catch up on work, and since I can't run there, I figured that I'd get some reading done along the way."

He sighed, "You really are a workaholic. Ever thought about just taking a relaxing walk once in a while?"

I raised a single eyebrow, "A relaxing walk? You do realize that we're on our way to gather intel from a former enemy about a string of kidnappings that's lasted almost three months, right? Not exactly the reason that you'd be taking a leisurely stroll."

"Well, you might feel the need to do work, but I'm going to enjoy myself."

I scoffed, "You would."

But Kakashi didn't answer, instead he had his nose in a red book, Icha Icha Violence.

"Isn't that your least favorite of the Icha Icha series?"

He looked over at me in shock, "How did you know that? I love all three books, but this one I love a little less than the others."

"You read it the least."

He lowered his book some, and I could have sworn that he was smirking under his mask, "And why were you paying attention to which of these books I prefer reading more? Interested in borrowing a copy?"

"What?! Never. I don't have time to read, and if I did then I certainly wouldn't waste it on trash like that."

Kakashi chuckled, "Just wondering. But if you ever change your mind, I have more than one copy of each."

"That's really pathetic."

He gasped and put a hand on his chest, "That hurt."

I glared at him, not at enjoying his playful attitude.

The report from the Shinobi Union finished and memorized, I pulled out the next scroll.

Without even looking up from the weapons manufacturing report, I addressed Kakashi, "You haven't flipped a single page in twenty minutes. Did you forget how to read?"

"No, I was just thinking."

I sighed and looked over at him, "About what?"

Kakashi pulled out a scroll of his own, and I recognized it as the letter that Kabuto had sent him. "How were Kanaye and Kabuto associates?"

"I'm pretty sure that that's the entire point of this meeting."

"I guess that you're right about that."

A few seconds later, I heard him flip to the next page of his pervy book, and we spent the rest of the journey in silence.