#just one oc named after a blue flower and another one after a hard ware feature

[imunderyourfeet]

Welp last art post of the art dump! (i really like this image heeh) Heres lupine on a cliff somehow messing with byte as he glares at him from the ground :D

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

For the Love of Shell- Chapter 38

Here is chapter 38 of my Oc story! 

Full Story here

With winter come and gone, spring and summer came rushing in. The dreary slush and ice melting away to flowers and flowers gave way to hot summer nights. It was hard to believe the year was already half way over with.

They continued to keep the purple dragons check with the police, their mutant presence known within its ranks. They had yet to meet the brains behind the operation, Hun, but it was only a matter of time before he would make himself known and deal with them himself. They looked forward to that meeting maybe that could end this foolishness with his downfall.

The battle nexus championship was a just a week away, and everyone was beside themselves with excitement. Leo looked forward to seeing his friend Usagi again, along with showing what he and his brothers could do in the tournament. He was determined to have at least one of them win the championship, they had been training hard and hoped they deserved to at least make it to the finals.

Master Splinter was going to accompany them to the Battle Nexus but was not going to participate in the tournament, but he was looking forward to seeing his old friend the Daimyo. Leo sat on his bed sharpening his katana when he looked to the side of his bed and rested his eyes on the special bonsai tree that sat proudly on his night stand. Well maintained, green and lush, he took pride keeping the tree alive and well. It had been almost a year since they had seen Aurora last; her last painting had sold in Egypt for a substantial sum. Most of the proceeds were given to a local charity which didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

He hoped she was well and happy. Maybe she had a boyfriend? Maybe she was married? The thought suddenly made his heart drop into his stomach, rolling over on itself at the mere thought of her in someone else’s arms.

Shaking the unpleasant image from his mine he didn’t need to think about that. Besides he was the one to let Aurora go so foolishly, so he needed to stop thinking about her and learn to deal with the consequences. He allowed the tree to remain by his bed side as a reminder of the love they shared, that he had, had a glimpse of happiness for at a moment in time. He never wanted to forget the smell of her, the taste of her lips, the sound of her voice. Each of those precious memories were slowly slipping away as time went by. Vanishing from his senses like dust in a storm. It hurt to lose them like he was losing a part of himself as they faded from his mind. Selfishly he hoped she would attend the Battle Nexus championship, so he could see her once more, maybe refresh the happy memories of her sound and smell but knew she most likely wouldn’t. He imagined she had moved on making a new life for herself and wouldn’t trouble herself with a championship of mutants and aliens.

Leo imagined her lying on a beach in Egypt curled up on someone’s arms nuzzled into their armpit like she once did with him, kissing his lips. Shaking his head of the unpleasant thoughts again he finished sharpening his katana and made his way to the kitchen were Mikey had just finished preparing dinner for the family.

The entire family sat down at the kitchen table as Mikey set the large casserole dish filling with something delicious smelling on the makeshift trivet in the middle of the too small for four mutant turtles kitchen table.

Splinter leaned forward taking a low pull of the pleasant aroma his eyes closing in delight. “My son, your cooking skills have much improved over the past year. What is this dish called?”

“Shrimp and White Bean Cassoulet sensei.” Mikey smiled sitting down next to Raph who was already dishing up a sizable helping for their father.  

The old rat took a spoon full of the helping he was given and took a tentative bite. Mikey watched his father chew the food he made and waited with baited breath to see if he liked it or not. After what seemed like forever his father’s swallowed what was on his mouth and a giant smile broke over his face and took another bit bite. “You have outdone yourself Michelangelo. It is very good.”

After the approval of their father the rest of family eagerly dug in filling their bellies with Mikey’s new talent.

Raphael leaned back rubbing his now fully belly and gave his little brother a thumbs up. He could get used to the home cooked meals; he was beginning to get tired of pizza nearly every night. His eyes wandered over to his eldest brother, their leader. He seemed a little distracted as he played with his fork from across the table.

He was still angry with him but after time passed he begin to understand why he did what he did. Aurora deserved to be happy and if it was without them then he was ok with it. But damn did he miss her. “Penny for your thoughts fearless?” he finally asked tossing his napkin at the distracted turtle.

Raph smiled when his older brother caught the flying projectile without even looking up, his senses had definitely gotten better over the past year. Leo had been training pretty much nonstop most likely to keep his mind off of the forbidden subject in the lair. Aurora’s name had barely been mentioned since last Christmas. Leo took care of that bonsai tree like it was his child, tending to it every day without fail. He would admit he had spent a few times sitting on Leo’s bed staring at the tree imagining Aurora near death laying beside the small fragile sapling fighting with her body to stay awake, to stay alive. He would give the tree a mist of water before running his fingers over the green foliage before returning to his day. He knew Mikey and Donnie did the same, he had caught them both staring at the tree several times as well.

Finally Leo looked up from his fork and locked eyes with his hothead brother.

“Just thinking about the Battle Nexus Championship, trying to mentally prepare for it I guess. Looking forward to seeing Usagi as well, it’s been a year since we’ve seen him.”

“What about little bunny foo foo?” Mikey playfully cooed running his fingers up his older brothers arm. “I’m sure she’s gonna be happy to see you bro!” His eye ridges waged suggestively.

“Yeah she’s gonna be happy to find out your single.” Donnie chimed in taking another bite of casserole directly from the dish still sitting on the table.

Leo grunted in frustration at the nickname Aurora gave Asuna and shook his head letting his fork drop with a clang onto his plate. “Not interested, she’s the one who put doubt in my mind when we were there last.”

“What?” Raph suddenly got irritated eyeing his brother. “What did that fucking rabbit say about Aurora?”

“She asked me how long it would take for Aurora to realize that I couldn’t give her a normal life. I can’t marry her, can’t give her children. I can only offer seclusion and a sewer.”

“That bitch.” Both Raphael and Mikey growled.

“What makes you think you can’t give her a child?” Donnie cut in questioningly.

“Um..I’m a mutant turtle and she’s human.”  

Donnie leaned back in his chair and hummed his disappointment in his brother, “In theory there is no reason we can’t have children with humans. You forget we ourselves are half human with human DNA. I’ve analyzed my semen and found it nearly identical to humans. There’s no guarantee but it’s not impossible.”

“Donnie my boy, I don’t wanna know how you got your hands on human sperm to compare to your own.” Mikey laughed gathering up the remains of dinner before shuffling it off to the sink to soak the dishes.

“Sperm banks Mikey.”

“Ewwww!” the orange banded turtle grunted in disgust from the sink.  

Donnie shook his head pushing himself away from the table and began helping Mikey with putting away dinner. Gently nudging his younger brothers from the sink he took over the duty of washing the dishes.

Leo ignored his brothers, his thoughts lost to the pleasant thought of Aurora’s belly swollen with child…. their child. Lying in his arms her back resting against his plastron as his hands rubbed lightly across the taught flesh of her extended belly feeling their unborn child shift beneath his fingers. A genuine smile tugged at his lips as his fingers splayed across the table rubbing the formica top.

“Leo?” a deep voice broke him from his thoughts.

“Hmm?” Leo looked up to see Raph eyeing him cautiously.

“After we digest all this shrimp you wanna train?”

“Sure Raph.”

~~~~~~~~~

The four brothers sat in the poorly lit alleyway and watched their father draw the mystic symbols across the old bricks of the vacant building with white chalk. Each swipe of the chalk was smooth and calculated as his furry fingers drew the symbols from memory. Finally finished Master Splinter handed the chalk to Donnie who quickly placed it into his duffle bag. Taking a deep breath the old rat pressed his palms together in a praying pose and began to recite the incantation.

Slowly the water that lay in the alleyway rushed towards the symbols rolling up over the chalk outline merging and swirling into what looked like a water door. After a few moments the water congealed into a watery doorway and began to glow with a light blue hue. Splinter wasted no time and passed through the liquid passageway followed shortly by his four sons.

As the white light of the portal faded they found themselves in the bustling city of the Daimyo’s kingdom. The streets were teaming with anthropomorphic animals buying and selling wares seeming unfazed by the sudden appearance of five bodies through a portal.

Hoisting their bags over their shoulders they made their way through the market towards the Daimyo’s palace. They were invited by the Daimyo himself to stay in his home as they attended the battle nexus championship.

As they passed by the carts of goods eyes began to follow them, fingers pointing in their direction followed by excited mumbles. Young females of all species lined up on the street to stare at them eyes bright with enthusiasm.

“What was that about?” Mikey whispered to his older brothers eyeing the eager gazes in the crowd. The young turtle could feel the adrenaline start to race through his veins. This was exciting; it looked like they had been expecting them and thrilled to meet them, his baby blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Reaching the gates the large doors opened allowing the passage into the court yard. The main door slide open revealing the large ruler his arms outstretched in welcome as they approached.

“It is good to see you old friend.” The large man rumbled with laughter as his eyes beamed with happiness.

“My old friend it has been too long and for that I apologize, the past few years have been….busy. And I am sorry it wasn’t me that introduced you to my sons last year. How have you been? How is your son?” Master Splinter grinned up at Daimyo his hips tiling as he bowed out of respect.  

“Nonsense Splinter, there is no need for apologize our meeting a year ago was destiny I am sure of it. Ue-Sama is good, healthy and eager to learn. His skill advances everyday and looks forward to his time as Daimyo. Sometimes I think he’s a little too eager to take over. But that is here nor there. Now I’m sure you’d like to see where you’ll be staying for the tournament? I hope you don’t mind sharing a room, it is big enough to accommodate all five of you and has been set up with five beds but rooms this week are scarce in the palace as you might have guessed.” The Daimyo smiled ushering them into the large door of the large palace.

Leo stepped next to his father and spoke up, “We are grateful for your hospitality Daimyo and will take whatever is available to us. We are used to sleeping in the same room so it is no trouble.”

The Daimyo slowed and looked down on the blue leader while he led them through the great hall. His aged eyes flashed with something but quickly returned to his joyful demeanor before answering him. His large came down resting on the top of his carapace, “Leonardo I look forward to seeing you and your brothers competing in the tournament this afternoon. There have been stories of you four and your skill and bravery from last year’s battle. You four have become rather popular with the ladies.” A deep rumbling laugh escaped the ruler’s throat opening a door to what looked like their quarters for their stay.

“Yes we noticed the stares as we passed through the market. We were wondering what that was about.” Donnie said setting his duffle bag on one the farthest bed from the door.

“Yes don’t be surprised if you become very popular very fast. Now if you will excuse me I need to make final preparations for the tournament this afternoon. Please make yourself at home and don’t hesitate to ask Gyoji if you require anything. Please present yourself to the battle arena for registration at 2pm your time. You all must take part in the qualifying round before you enter the tournament. But I have no doubt each of you will succeed. I’ll see you all on the arena. Good luck turtles.” And with that the Daimyo exited their room disappearing down the hallway.    

Leo sat down on the bed he chose and set his bag down next to him. His eyes moved to his brothers as they settled in. “Does anyone want to join me in the market? I’d like to wander around for a bit before we register. I’m hoping we can run into Usagi, would be nice to see him before we go.”

All three of his brothers were happy to go but Sensei wanted to stay behind to attend to a small matter, but promised to meet them at the arena at the given time of registration.

The street loud with conversation they looked over the wears and food for sale. Every once in a while they were stopped and gushed over, random hands brushing up against their shells and fingers lingering on their arms. Most of the admirers were female but they did get a few males come up to them shaking their hands thanking them for their help last year.  

Mikey and Raph soon broke off from the other two wanting to find something warm to eat and Donnie got distracted by some old artifacts.

“I’m gonna be a bit, go ahead and keep going I’ll meet you back at our room in an hour.” Donnie waved his eldest brother on turning an ancient metal tool over in his fingers.

Further down the street Leo was buying a sharpening stone when his name rang out behind him. Turning around after completing his purchase his eyes narrowed in on a familiar female rabbit.

“Asuna.” Leo forced a smile waving to the cheery rabbit as she jogged towards him her arms outstretched for an apparent hug. Bracing himself he let the rabbit practically knock him on his shell wrapping her arms around his carapace.  

“It’s so good to see you Leonardo. It has been too long! Are you and your brothers here for the tournament?” She smiled sweetly up at him her chin placed on the top of his plastron her eyes sparkling with adoration.  

Returning the hug awkwardly he gently pushed her from his body. “It’s good to see you too Asuna. Yes my brothers and I are here to participate. Hey have you seen Usagi? I was hoping to chat with him before everything starts.”

Her fingers remaining touching his forearms and nodded quickly pulling at his arms. “Yes he’s down by the stables talking to Gen. Here I’ll take you to him. He will be very pleased to see you. He has also expressed his excitement in seeing you today.”

Being led by his arm Leo had no choice but to follow the eager rabbit doing his best at keeping the young female from brushing up against him as they weaved through busy streets. He was finding it very difficult to keep her from touching him, her hips brushing up against his, her grasp pulling a little too hard so his arm would brush across her breasts. She was incorrigible.

After a few silent moments being dragged by his arm she finally slowed giving his arm reprieve. Her white furry fingers began dancing across his pebbled skin of his bicep and he could tell she wanted to ask him something. He didn’t have to wait long.

“So is Aurora here? I figured she’d be by your side.” She asked almost in a whisper her eyes training on his looking for any emotional reaction.

Letting out deep sigh he shook his head. “I have no idea, I broke it off with her a year ago and we haven’t seen her since. And that’s all I’ll say about it so I would appreciate the topic not being brought up again.”

Her head turned no doubt keeping the happy grin to herself at the news he was no longer with Aurora. He really didn’t want to see her nor spend any time with the meddlesome rabbit. She was conniving and calculating her mind scheming, she was nice enough but he didn’t trust her. True it was still his fault his relationship with Aurora ended due to his poor judgment but she had planted the poisonous seed of doubt that grew into a snarling demon in his mind.  The sooner they got to Usagi the sooner he’d been free of little bunny foo foo.

As they rounded the corner Asuna’s body tensed and pushed him back around the corner pressing him carapace back against the brick building. Her eyes darted to him and back to the looming corner they had just been.

“What? What’s going on?” He asked feeling annoyed at the close proximity to the female rabbit.  

A smile spread across her face and she struck with a quickness he couldn’t prepare for. Her furry hands cupped his cheeks and leaned forward her lips slanting over his. Her tongue pressed into his mouth catching him off guard he couldn’t even make his mind move fast enough to push her away. Her warm body pressed firmly to his her breasts compressing against his plastron.

His mind began to process what was going on and his hands rested on her shoulders ready to push the conniving rabbit from his body when he saw why the rabbit was kissing him.

In what seemed like slow motion Aurora in all her glory rounded the corner nearly running smack dab into them. His mind still in a confused fog he was unable to react fast enough as her purple eyes focused quickly in on his.

Not quite registering what she was seeing she smiled awkwardly at the kissing duo but realization struck her like a runaway bull hitting her in the stomach. Her eyes widened in shock then pain watching helplessly as the rabbit’s mouth assaulted his. Leo noticed her body go rigid her hands clenching into fists at her side as her breath hitched in her throat. The sorrow that played over her startled features soon was replaced by anger as her purple eyes flashed for a second with their brilliant light.

It all seemed to happen slowly dragging on before his very eyes as he tried to get his body to respond with his minds commands but in all reality it all happened in a matter of a few seconds. Getting his hands to move Leo finally pushed Asuna from his body their mouths popping as their lips parted.

“Aurora.” Leo gasped for breath wiping their mingling saliva from his mouth with the back of his hand. But time began to run at normal speed again and as quick as she was there she disappeared back around the corner leaving his eyesight.

“Asuna, what the shell were you thinking?” Leo growled trying to go after the retreating Aurora but was slammed back against the wall by Asuna who pressed back into him her eye hooded with excitement no doubt pleased with her display.

“Let her go Leonardo. She’s human, your animal, you should be with an animal, you should be with me. I’ll treat you right, I’ll love you, I’ll obey you.” She cooed trying to run her fingers down his cheek but was abruptly stopped by Leonardo crushing grip. A yelp of pain pushed past her lips as her smile faded from her face.

“I can’t believe you did this, your advances are unwarranted. I told you before I was not interested in you Asuna but you still pulled this inappropriate display to blatantly hurt Aurora. Please leave me and my family alone.” Not giving her a chance to object Leo pushed Asuna with force nearly sending her into a cart behind her.

He wiped around the corner fully intent to find Aurora as she retreated but found her gone. As fast his legs would carry him he darted down the street searching the busy crowd for her. How difficult would it to be to find a human in a street filled with animals. Very, apparently, he had no luck locating her doubling back twice to make sure he didn’t miss her.

True to her nature she had vanished into the shadows like the skilled kunoichi she was. At least he knew she was there, no doubt getting ready to take part in the battle nexus championship.

@imthegreenfairy88​ @bluesakurablossom​ @alonia143​ @ravn-87​

[sosaidthedragon]

Oshogastu

(In honor of it being the new year, have a sappy, somewhat New Year’s themed one shot. Oshogatsu, by the way, is the Japanese New Year holiday/festival.)

Guy X OC

Rated E

For three days, Konoha was home to one of the world’s largest New Year’s festivals. Tourists flocked to the village from all over not only the Land of Fire, but other neighboring countries, in order to enjoy the specialty foods and festivities the village had become famous for over the years. Genin decorated homes with beautiful ornaments and strung warm, decorative lights throughout the main thoroughfares, where merchants rented storefronts or opened stalls to ply their wares.

Mitsume hadn’t been able to attend the festival since her days in the Academy. It seemed fate always conspired to see to it she was away on a mission of one sort or another whenever the holiday came around, returning home in time to see the vendors packing up and genin cleaning trash off the streets. For once, however, she had managed to avoid being saddled with any such mission – largely because Tsunade hadn’t cleared her to return to active duty, but she was free, nonetheless.

Unexpectedly, Guy was as well. He had actually been given a week long mission to the Land of Waves, however, Kakashi had kindly volunteered to take the escort mission instead, claiming he was going stir crazy after two weeks in the hospital himself. Even Tsunade had realized what he was doing, and once he and Guy – who was sobbing and thanking his rival for his sacrifice – had finally left her office, she had handed Mitsume a few ryo to buy Kakashi some sweets for his return, since he would have to leave before the festival actually started.

The hardest part about getting ready was prying Guy away from his rival, which took not only Mitsume but Lee, Neji, and Naruto - after Lee stopped crying about how beautiful it was for Kakashi to give Guy the opportunity to spend New Years with his loved ones, anyway. She still had the kimono her mother gave her a couple of years ago, the one made of dark purple silk, that she hadn’t yet had an occasion to wear, hanging in a clothing bag in her closet, beside the montsuki hakama Guy tended to forget he owned. She briefly thought about trying to get him to wear it, but it was a bit too formal for a festival, and it was generally not a good idea for Guy to not wear pants in public.

They had both learned that one the hard way – four years later and they still weren’t allowed back to that restaurant. Or that bath house.

It was really just better for everyone if he wore his jumpsuit.

After a fair bit of struggling to get everything to lay properly, she stepped out into the living room, where Guy was waiting. His hands were tucked behind his back, and his cheeks had a suspicious red tint to them – combined with the fact he was staring at his feet told her he was up to something. She would have thought that, after four years together and nearly ten more of him chasing her, he would have gotten over being shy about something as simple as giving her a gift, but he still acted exactly as he had that first time he asked her out in the school yard when they were kids.

He lifted his eyes briefly, looking her over from toe to head, his tan face growing even darker before his gaze traveled swiftly back to the floor, and his hands suddenly shot forward. Held tightly in one fist was a boquet of flowers, their stems half-crushed by the pressure – anemone, lavender, and forge-me-not blossoms were among the ones she recognized immediately, though there were several more she couldn’t immediately identify. In the other he held a piece of paper, folded into a lover’s knot, or what one looked like after a nervous Might Guy held onto it for too long.

“Arara,” She drawled in surprise, carefully tugging the items free. “What’s this now?”

Laying the flowers down on the table, she carefully unfolded the note, revealing the poem on the inside. It didn’t quite look like Guy’s handwriting, mostly because it was actually legible, and there was a wiggling in the lines that almost made it look like he’d been trembling when he wrote it.

Passionate heart

Soft touch of a flower

In its fullest bloom

For a moment, she wracked her brain to try and remember if she had ever heard that particular haiku before, but no author sprang to mind. Curious if he had put the author at the bottom, she unfolded the bottom seam, only for something to tumble out. She caught it without thinking, not quite recognizing the small, round item in her hand by sensation alone, but before she could figure it out, Guy stole all of her attention.

“I wrote that.”

Guy still had his head bowed down, fists clenched and trembling at his sides. He was clearly uncomfortable, eyes screwed up tightly so he wouldn’t accidentally look at her, something he only ever did when he was about to do or say something he was seriously worried someone wouldn’t approve of.

“Back in the academy,” He continued. “When Joben-sensei asked me to deliver some forms to Keitaro-sensei, I saw a girl, sitting in the front row of his class, and she was so beautiful I forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t know her name, but I knew the moment I saw her, she was the only one I would ever want to be with. So I promised myself, if I didn’t confess to her the next day, I would do three hundred laps around the school yard, and I wrote that poem intending to give it to her. But I lost my nerve, so while I was running those laps, I promised myself if I didn’t confess the next day, I would do three hundred and ten laps around the school yard.”

She could remember that day clearly, although she never much thought about it. Keitaro-sensei had been droning on, as he so often did, and she had begun to drift off, listing off everything she could be doing that was more worthwhile than listening to Keitaro-sensei’s endless monologue. She hadn’t even noticed an upperclassman had entered the room, until Keitaro-sensei started telling him off for getting distracted, and she only managed to briefly glimpse a boy in a bright green jumpsuit fleeing the room as fast as he could manage.

“Although I did find the strength to confess, I was never strong enough to give her that poem, not even after she returned my affection. I’ve carried that note in my pocket every day since then, for almost twenty years, trying to work up the nerve. This morning, I made myself a promise that today would be the day I would finally give her that poem.”

As he finished speaking, she turned her hand upward and looked at the item she had caught. It was a ring, with a band made of silver and gold that swirled together like the marks in a wooden board, with a single, almost flower shaped diamond. Just as she began to comprehend what she was seeing, Guy’s massive hands took hold of hers, and pulled them towards his chest as he dropped onto one knee. He had apparently lost his battle with his tears, because they streamed heavily down his face, though he had finally managed to open his eyes, staring at her with obvious determination.

“Kedamonoshu Mitsume, please, do me the great honor of saying you’ll marry me.”

After a little more than a week on the road, Kakashi was relieved to see the familiar skyline of Konoha appear at before him. Hands in his pockets, he slowly made his way towards his apartment, taking every back road he knew of to avoid his students so he could get some much needed rest. This route just so happened to take him past the training grounds his “eternal rival’s” girlfriend often used with her genin squad, and he stopped to watch for a few moments as she put the kids through their paces, much to their displeasure.

Judging by the sweat, scratches, and general wear and tear, they’d been running drills since early that morning. The fact none of them had collapsed into an exhausted heap begging for a merciful death, however, told him she was probably in a good mood, though her scowl would have made most people think otherwise. She spotted him across the field, and motioned him to come over, something he did with great reluctance and a heavy sigh – he could just keep going, but then she would probably just sick her genin on him, and he’d spend the next week dealing with the little demons annoying him in unfathomable ways.

Some of his underwear were still pink, and he had yet to find a certain novel from his collection – he suspected it wasn’t so much hidden as one of the boys on her team had taken it and wasn’t about to give it back, but he had yet to figure out which one.

“How was your mission?” She asked conversationally, never taking her eyes off her students.

“Ah, pretty quiet, actually. We saw a few bandits on the road, but that’s about it. Did you enjoy the festival?”

“Yeah, it was pretty nice. Guy won a goldfish – we let Lee pick the name.”

“What did he decide?”

“Hire, The Great Hot-Blooded Golden Fish of Konoha.”

He resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment, and instead just rolled his lips between his teeth and gave a short series of affirmative grunts. She seemed to know exactly what was going through his mind, the corner of her lip twitching as she fought a smile, before she changed the subject, reaching into one of her inner vest pockets. She produced a large but thin boxes, which was wrapped in a bright blue piece of fabric, which was littered with an obnoxious number of cartoon cats. It was tied off with a bright yellow ribbon, and festooned with what he suspected was actually a hair tie, with a plastic white cat face attached to it.

“Here. Guy made sure we got all your favorites. We even got some specialty dog treats for Pakkun and the other ninken.”

Absolutely not to his surprise, the jubako itself was also primarily decorated with cats – even less surprising was the fact that nearly every cake and candy had been painstakingly carved or shaped into cat faces or paw prints. Silently contemplating his revenge, he snapped the lid back on the box, tied it back together, and stuck it into his pocket before accepting the three other smaller, plain packages.

As he did so, he caught a glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Although her focus was on her students, there was no question she had noticed his stare, as the smile she had been resisting finally broke through, tilting the corners of her mouth. Not unexpectedly, this mild display of emotion in front of her students immediately made her uncomfortable, and she slugged him in the arm as she walked towards the trio, who had apparently decided it was time to stand up to their sensei by sitting down.

“By the way, you might want to swing by the bookstore on your way home.”

“What did you do now?”

“I didn’t do anything. Guy, on the other hand, may have gotten wind that the ninja who so kindly gave up the opportunity to enjoy the New Year’s festival for his benefit has a little crush on a certain red-headed employee. He’s gotten it into his head that the best way to thank this kindly ninja for his help is to set the two of them up on a date.”

“You monster.”

“The new year is a time for change, Hatake. Besides – Guy and Lee worked really hard on that banner.”