Kakashi's Pet
by Aimless
The silver haired Nin looked up as a little window was slid open in the bottom of the door. A battered metal tray was slid inside and the opening was slid shut again. The tray contained a bowl of thin broth, a few slices of coarse bread and a small cup of water. Twice daily, his unseen jailors delivered the same measly meal. Kakashi could be nothing but embarrassed as his first solo mission had gone so spectacularly wrong. A Kunai to the leg then a totally clumsy fall had landed him right in the middle of the enemy camp.
He’d woken in this dark four foot by six-foot metal and stone box. The door bolted from the outside and after hours of trial impossible to open. His leg had been neatly bandaged and hardly throbbed much at all. But being in here was frustrating and boring. Kakashi berated himself hourly as he thought about all the things he could have done differently. He’d failed to thoroughly check the perimeter for guards. Kakashi had gotten so excited at the prospect of succeeding that the young ninja had gotten careless.
Totally unenthusiastically the ninja picked up the bowl and sipped the lukewarm broth. Right on cue a small, furry brown shape scurried from a hole between two of the stones in the wall. It cautiously approached whiskers quivering and stopped what it judged a safe distance away. Kakashi smiled at the small mouse and tossed it a few crumbs. He watched it daintily pick up the morsel in its paws and nibble till it was gone. Then it would inch closer till eventually he could feed it from his hand. This trusting creature did much to break the monotony of his imprisonment. The mouse had gotten so tame that it would sit docilely in his hand. At least for a little while until some stray noises would send it scurrying back to its hole.
It became routine as the days passed and soon the mouse was so tame that it rarely hid in the wall. The silver Nin found it endearing how the creature would run and play without any signs of fear. Its antics amused him and kept the usually solitary ninja from going stir crazy. On the seventh day as Kakashi was pacing around the chamber like a caged animal the door grated on its hinges and started to open. He immediately leapt upward to cling to the ceiling supports and waited to drop on his jailor. A man entered the room and was attacked by the young ninja. Kakashi’s eyes widened in surprise, as all he ended up grabbing was an armful of smoke.
“Not fast enough Kakashi.” The man stood in the corner with his arms casually crossed over his chest grinning.
“Sensei... I’m sorry. I failed you. I failed the mission. I was careless.” The silver Nin hung his head and waited for chastisement. He looked up and startled as his hair was fondly ruffled by his team captain.
“You made mistakes and you learned from them. I trust you had a lot of time to think about what you did wrong. It won’t always be this easy. You won’t always get ransomed back to Konoha. Just be glad that we are on neutral status with the village you were set to watch. Although I’m afraid you owe the Hokage quite a large sum for getting your butt out of that cell. Now are you ready to go home?” Yondaime slung his arm around his student’s shoulders thankful that he had not been captured by any of the more violent enemies of Konoha.
“Yes Sensei. I learned my lesson and I know it could have been much worse. I want to go home.” As he turned to go and walk out the door Kakashi suddenly went back into the cell.
Yondaime looked on in surprise as Kakashi coaxed a small brown mouse out of hiding and let it run up his sleeve. “A friend of yours?” He asked with amusement lacing his mellow voice.
“Yes he kept me company while I was in here. I’m taking him with me.” Then Kakashi followed his sensei out of the small cell, up a flight of stone steps and out into the cool night air.
The silver haired Nin took a deep breath of the clear air and leapt after his leader into the trees. Towards home and the likely teasing of his teammates. It would be a long time before he lived this one down.