The Moon Country

[*starfruits*]

*For Hrt*

The moon shone on high in the rich blanket of pink, yellow and violet in the distance, narrowly missing the sun as it fled down into slumber behind the covet of the whispering clouds, yet all this earthly beauty went unheeded by two young Konoha shinobi recruits as they both focused on their evening meal of potted ramen noodles.

A fox-whiskered blond growled as he nosily slurped up a third round of ringlet noodles from the pot in his hand, and turned to the the raven-haired boy at his side, "Eh, the brat deserved it! You heard the way he was talkin’ to me, na, na, Fuzzybrows?"

The hot-blooded youth at his side nodded earnestly, touching his bare ankles, savouring his summer clothing as opposed to his oft despised green jumpsuit, and he chirped in reply, "Hai! He should have respect, anyway, Naruto-kun... to just toss all your hopes and dreams in your face... it was unfair! Especially when we're his bodyguards..." he pouted somewhat, feeling the kyuubi-host grin in agreement at his side, before he clipped down his wooden chopsticks into his bowl to seek out the noodles beneath the surface, "Ne, I always thought princes were supposed to be honourable and just. Like in the fairytales."

The rebellious blond at his side huffed, and brought his bowl to his lips, "Yeah, well, ya can't believe what you read, 'tebayo. He' no honourable prince. He's just an annoying little brat!" Naruto crowed, his statement perfectly hypocritical.

The two brought their ramen pots away from their mouths, and turned to one another hotly, exclaiming in unison, "He just needs a spankin' (dattebayo)!" The two blinked their wide eyes, and soon burst into fits of youthful laughter.

[Hrtofdrkns]

"Something funny?" Kakashi asked as he appeared suddenly behind them, hands on his hips.

[*starfruits*]

Both young nin were startled by the lackadaisical jounin's 'poof' arrival, and soon shot their glances of surprise over their shoulders, as the fox-whiskered blond heaved a gasp, and knitted his eyebrows, "Na, Kakashi-sensei, why do you always have to pop out like that, dattebayo?!" The rebellious kyuubi-host soon frowned shortly, pursing his lips and shaking his ramen bowl, "You almost made me drop my ramen!"

Seeing his sensei's expression, the rebellious boy soon gritted his teeth into a strained fox-like grin, "Naaa, but that's okay, n-no harm done, 'tebayo!" Kuuuso! Had he found out about their prank already?! Naruto pouted mentally within himself as he mulled over the question. Geez, they were gonna let the kid out when he apologized already—!!

The youth with ebony tresses glanced to his fox-whiskered teammate, and tilted his head somewhat as he placed down his half-eaten ramen, turning his regards back to the jounin behind them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Lee crowed energetically, before he stood with swift haste, and jogged over to a large leather backpack which sat beside a level topped boulder beside their set bedding, and he dragged it back towards the kyuubi-host and his summer sensei. Squatting as he dug around in the confines of pelt, the hot-blooded youth smiled cheerfully as his hands located the sealed bowl ramen bowl that he had sought after, and soon turned and stood, holding it up eagerly and politely for the silver-haired shinobi, seeming like a puppy who had brought its master’s slippers, "Ne, ne! We saved you some, sensei!"

His endearing dark eyes soon glittered like the moon reflecting from the surface of a deep lake in the bosom of night as he noted the Copy-Ninja's scolding look, and his head bowed somewhat. His hands returned to coil just above the seat of his green and white shorts, as his left ankle in its ochre legwarmer turned and shifted guiltily. Had they been found out...?

[Hrtofdrkns]

"You both might as well drop the act." He began. "I found the prince."

He let that sink in for a moment, then continued. "Do you realize what could have happened? Not just to him, but to you, to the reputation of our village? I really don't want this simple bodyguard mission to turn into a diplomatic crisis."

[*starfruits*]

As soon as the words had been uttered from the masked shinobi's coveted lips, both young Konoha genins' stomachs began to flutter, and wheels began to turn and spark within their heads, the silence forcing them to reflect on the meanings, both hidden and blatant, behind Hatake Kakashi's words.

Lee stared at his azure summer sandals, his lips forming their token tentative pout, as he reflected on the announcement of his sensei's rival, together with his actions. How could have Kakashi-sensei gotten to the scene so soon? He mulled further, dark eyes narrowing slightly. Then again, they did keep the caravan in line and kept if snugly within the camp. Even Naruto had the sense to keep his highness perfectly in the bosom of safety. The kyuubi-host had placed a ninjutsu bind upon the doors and windows of the colourful wooden wagon, keeping those foreign to the technique from venturing in or out of the furnished space. But still, for the Sharingan-wielder to have found that out so quickly and effortlessly...! The raven-haired nin smirked impishly despite his predicament, and clenched a bandage-clad fist before him in carefree eagerness. Yosh! Copy-Ninja Kakashi is really Gai-sensei's rival!

Naruto, for the most part, did not utter a word, and simply frowned and huffed as Prince Hikaru was mentioned, snapping his chopsticks in halves and tossing them into his empty bowl of ramen noodles. He then squinted to his side to note the half-eaten bowl at his side, and glanced hopefully up at his young team mate, anticipation singing in his blue eyes. Rock Lee blinked for a moment, before he nodded, with a shrug. At this, the fox-whiskered blond grinned toothily, and snatched up the snack food, shoveling its half-eaten contents into his mouth with Lee's forsaken chopsticks, slurping up the stock which came with it as the silence drew on. He cocked a lone blue eye up at his sensei from the noodle fare under his nose as he chewed coarsely, trying to decipher if Kakashi would continue on or even better: drop it. The gentle but staid look of reproach kinda aimed against that... Naruto gulped down the last of his friend's ramen, the action instinctive as much as it was out of anxiousness. His teeth soon clenched together as the Copy-Ninja's dark eye bore into his more deeply, and the blond swore for a moment that he saw himself twisting bare-ass over the jounin's capable lap as his bubble butt was methodically pounded to a ripe red, flexing and twisting as he wailed frantically for it all to stop— 'Ahhh, kuuuso! No way do I cry like a little baby, dattebayo!!' Naruto squawked indignantly, arguing with his own thoughts, 'I'm not a kid anymore, damn it!'

Both nin flinched under the older shinobi’s second round, particularly at the mention of the HiddenLeafVillage's Reputation... that’s what the 3rd always used to say before...

"Geez, sensei! We didn't even do anything that bad! A little timeout in some wagon isn't gonna kill him, 'tebayo!" Naruto flared, thrusting out a fist into the air savagely, "It's what a spoiled, pampered brat like him needs!" The youth soon frowned, and shot a glare to the side, "'Sides, at least he had some time to finish that dumb game he has, dattebayo..." There was an obvious hint of resentment in that note, as the dark-haired, spectacle-wearing prince had ignored the Uzumaki boy's half-hearted attempts at making conversation concerning the little games device, which had sent Naruto in a fit of livid frustration before he was promptly hauled up by his sensei and taken off to the side to be given a talking to.

Lee understood and knew well the Team 7 genin's feelings, and he nodded heartily, having reared into a kneel by his friend, hands on his knees as he stared up at Kakashi, trying to make sense of Naruto's ramblings, "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, Hikaru was picking on Naruto-kun..." the boy soon shifted a little, blushing as he continued, his own look of irritation melting into his features as the insults hit his heart, too, "he said that someone like him would never become Hokage, and that he may as well give up and be his servant... that we shouldn't have even been assigned...! It was annoying..." Lee soon looked down, sulking somewhat at the little prince's remark.

"I wouldn't be his servant in a million billion years, dattebayooo!!" Naruto barked, thrusting out an arm and waving it around heatedly, "I don't care what that royal brat says! I'm gonna be Hokage no matter WHAT! Then he'll have to show me the respect I deserve!"

Lee could not help but get drawn into the other youth's brisk energy, and laughed vibrantly, raising his own arm up high, "Haihaihaihai, Naruto-kun!"

[Hrtofdrkns]

"But he is still the prince around here, one day he will be king." Kakashi reminded them. "This place is one of our top clients. Now what if he decides to go to a rival village?"

He turned from them for a moment. "The village hidden in the leaves has fallen on hard times. Many trusted clients are abandoning us. We can't afford to lose this one."

[*starfruits*]

The two young nin, by the end of Kakashi's sombre piece, were weighted with a veiled sense of guilt and shame, and both stared down at the earth under their knees. Naruto absently poked at the empty ramen bowls which he had devoured, and he swallowed down the concrete lump that had taken his throat, bottom lip thrust out in a pout of frustration. Man... we really blew it up big time, 'tebayo...

Rock Lee, at the fox-whiskered kyuubi-host's side was seemingly silent, yet he drew lines in the dirt with an exposed finger, staring up narrowly for a moment to sneak a glance at the silver-haired jounin, only for his dark, saddened gaze to fall once more as his cheeks hued scarlet. He felt awful all of a sudden...

The two hot-blooded young shinobi were not given to think first before doing something so reckless. They were not genius nin, like Nara Shikamaru, or Arubame Shino... they were not given to precision, and merely thought with their hearts and not their heads. It was a characteristic that often desired correction by a firm palm willing to turn them to the right path, or to teach them that pranks, and unthinking acts of rebellion did not settle their problems, and merely resulted in a hot, painful bottom.

Both Konoha genin shifted around uneasily, both unwilling to speak up first.

[Hrtofdrkns]

"Get up and follow me." Kakashi ordered. "I should make you appologize to the prince, but instead I'll be merciful and discipline you both myself."

[*starfruits*]

Naruto groaned and clenched his ivories together, his fists following suit by his sides... kusooo! Why the hell did this have to happen, dattebayooo?! The blond was justly relieved, however, due to his sensei's decision to go against forcing him to apologise... he frowned. No WAY was he going sniveling to Hikaru until the spoiled little... "Discipline?" Naruto's ears suddenly perked up in dismay as he sauntered behind the silver-haired Copy-Ninja, hands laced behind his barbed tresses casually, "Aw, come on senseeei! How is that merciful, dattebayo?"

At his side, Lee sulked, dark eyes facing the ground as he reluctantly pursued the jounin who was 'in loco parentis' in this summer mission, and huffed somewhat, mimicking Naruto’s stance at his side.

[Hrtofdrkns]

He made them go inside, then shut the door. "Naruto, go get the brush." Kakashi ordered.