a/n okay, so this a new story I've been planning on making for a LONG time now. Its main character is Mutsuko--the sensei from Sunrises. It is to be a romance between her and Asuma and Genma--hence the fact that their names are int he title. after I am finsihed with this, I am going to make a prequel for it, and maybe even a sequel. haven't thought THAT far in advance xD anyway! I hope you enjoy!
summary: Warai Mutsuko, sensei to Team 15, has to deal with more than the young ninjas and their varying personalities. She has more to deal with more than being a ninja and putting her life on the line. She has to deal with the fact that she, like most everyone in the world does, is falling in love, but with two people. But not with just any two people. No, she had to go and fall in love her two best friends. And if that isn't enough, they're also falling for her, even though ones taken. And when you're a ninja like they all are, being in love isn't easy.
S M i L E
Chapter One--Tea
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"...I need tea," a young woman muttered, flicking her light brown hair out of her eyes. She glanced over at her two companions, who were chuckling slightly at her.
"What?" she demanded, coming to a halt and placing her fists on her hips. The two men looked back at her, exchanged a glance, and started laughing again, only causing her to frown even more.
"What," she demanded, "is so wrong with needing tea?"
"Nothing at all Mutsuko," the younger of the two men replied in all seriousness. "It's just as normal as me needing a smoke."
The woman ordained Mutsuko frowned. "I don't exactly like that comparison. I am not addicted to tea, as you are to smoking, Asuma," she said disapprovingly.
The Asuma chuckled appreciatively along with the other man. "You're right there," he said.
"I know I am," Mutsuko replied, smiling. "Now, changing the subject, I have two favors to ask you two."
"Oh?"
"Yes, Genma, I do. Are you two willing to accept them?"
"Mutsuko, we aren't going to be fooled by that," Asuma sighed, "again. Last time you had us agree before hearing it, we ended up running all around Konoha catching butterflies for you and Kotori."
"And you'd think you two would have been smart enough to see therough my plan last time!" Mutsuko laughed, brushing aside her hair. "Anyway, the first favor is to go check up on Hato's spying. Do you accept this challenge?"
"Yeah, sure," Genma said indifferently, repositioning his senbon. Therusting his hands in his pockets, he looked up at the sky to await the second task Mutsuko had planned for him and Asuma.
"You want us to spy on Hato spying on the Academy students?" Asuma asked curiously.
"Hai, that is correct."
"Okay then..." Asuma said, voice drifting off. "And I assume you want us to because he doesn't know us and will suspect nothing?"
"Exactly!" Mutsuko chirped.
"Alrighty then..." Asuma pulled a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. He quickly lit it and stuck it into his mouth, inhaling. A moment later, he pulled it out and puffed a ring of smoke from his mouth. Mutsuko coughed and moved over next to Genma to escape the smoke he let out.
"Now what's the second thing?" Genma asked carelessly, looking down at Mutsuko's head.
"I'd rather tell you once you performed the first."
"Well at least say what it involves," Asuma requested of her, exhaling smoke again. Mutsuko coughed and swatted the smoke away with her hand.
"Seiko and Sakai," she replied, speaking into her hand. "But I can't say anymore until later. And please, for the sake of all of our health, put that forsaken thing out!"
Asuma growled and dropped the cigarette to the ground, stamping it out with his foot. "Happy?"
"Delusional," Mutsuko replied, smirking. "Now I'm going of to Kotori's place. Meet me there when you're done!"
Mutsuko smiled brightly at the two men, who smiled slightly in return.
"Right. Well, see you in a while!" the young woman exclaimed, giving a short wave to the two.
The two men then headed off towards the Academy, one with his hands in his pockets, senbon poking out of his mouth, and the other smoking a new cigarette, contaminating the air for those around him but calming him at the same time.
Mutsuko flashed a small smile at their backs before turning on her heels and running swiftly down the dirt roads to her apartment building to have some tea with her Kotori.
"Here you go," a purple haired young woman said, smiling. She carefully placed a teacup and saucer on her glass dining room table. "You need sugar?"
"Always," Mutsuko replied, accepting the sugar bowl from her friend. She scooped a few small spoonfuls in then stirred it absently.
"So what's up? Why are you here?"
"Can't I just visit my friend?" Mutsuko asked, smiling innocently.
"I suppose..."
"Plus you make the best tea," Mutsuko added as an afterthought, taking a sip of her scalding tea.
"I knew you had some ulterior motive," the purple haired one sighed, slipping into a chair across from Mutsuko.
Mutsuko grinned sheepishly, brushing her bangs from her brown eyes. "Oh you know I love you, Kotori," she said.
"Not as much as you love your boyfriends," the woman ordained Kotori teased, leaning across the table to poke Mutsuko's forehead.
"Well that would just be un--wait. What did you say?"
"Your boyfriends," Kotori calmly replied, taking a sip out of her tea cup.
"I don't have a boyfriend."
"I didn't say you had a boyfriend. I said boyfriends."
Mutsuko exhaled, blowing her bangs out of her face. "You're talking about Asuma and Genma, aren't you?"
"Who else?"
Mutsuko rolled her eyes. "They're just my friends."
"Right," Kotori smirked. "They do everything you want."
"Because they're my friends and like doing me favors!"
"You take advantage of them."
"I do not! And to prove that, I'll pay them when they get back!"
"They're off doing you a favor right now?"
"Yeah. They're checking up on Hato and his spying."
"Why couldn't you do that?" Kotori asked. She took another sip of her tea and then paused. "Oh, no. Don't tell me because you needed tea too much?"
Mutsuko laughed. "No! It's just that Hato would know I was spying on him spying if he saw me, but if he sees those two around, he won't suspect anything. And I don't want him to feel that I think he needs checking up on. He's already annoyed that he keeps getting stuck spying."
"Why do you do that to him?"
Mutsuko sherugged. "It's training. He needs it. Back when they were first assigned to me, they were supposed to hide..."
"Okay! So you all decided to show; good. That shows courage."
"Courage? How so?" the rusty-haired boy snorted, folding his arms over his chest. His twin sister, a blonde with a temper, glared at him and elbowed him.
"Stop being stupid, Sakai. This is our sensei! You don't back talk her!"
"No, no, Seiko. It's okay," Mutsuko said absently, waving it off. "You want to know why it showed courage, Sakai?" At this she leaned in really close to him. "Because today you're going to do a task so hard that barely anything else will ever compare. Plus," she added thoughtfully, "you have to do it without these!"
Mutsuko took each of their weapon pouches and stuck them in her bag.
"This will test you on what you know about jutsus and...Well, I'm getting ahead of myself." She smiled at them, ignoring their disbelieving faces.
"Now the mission is to find where in these woods I've hidden this glass figurine." She held up a photograph of a small teddy-bear figurine. "But once you find it, it'll be tricky to get it. There are hidden traps all over. And you must not be seen as you progress therough the woods, alright? Or my minions will attack. Understood?"
"Hai!" Hato exclaimed, grinning at his sensei; his response was much more energetic than anything the other two could muster. So the Noriakos merely nodded.
"Good! Now go!"
The theree stated running off in different direction, and Mutsuko shook her head. Sighing, she then jumped into the trees and hurried towards the hidden figurine.
As she moved, she past Hato, who was walking easily therough the forest, not bothering to hide. Mutsuko sighed. This kid had a lot to learn.
"Oh, I see what you mean. Was he like that the rest of the time?"
Mutsuko laughed bitterly. "Oh, yes. I caught glimpses of the other two a couple times, but I saw neither of them as much as I saw him."
"Well, he's a good kid," Kotori said, and that settled the matter. Not that Mutsuko disagreed or anything. Hato was a great kid and a good subordinate, most of the time, but there really was more to the matter than being 'good'; there was no arguing with Kotori, though, and she didn't even try.
"So where are the other two while he's off doing that anyway?"
"Seiko and Sakai? They're training in a different way. Jutsus and stuff."
"Is that the area they need help in? I always thought they were really good."
"Oh, they are, but I cant think of anything else to do with them, so there they are. In fact, that has something to do with the next favor I'm asking of our two favorite guys."
Kotori cocked an eyebrow and stopped stirring her tea. "You're having them do something else for you after this? They aren't your slaves, Mutsuko."
"I'm aware of that fact. But it will be training the two more, and Hato; if he gets to them in time."
"How are they going to help?"
"You'll see. When they come by--"
"Wait, wait! They're coming over to my apartment? Why?"
"To meet me. Why do you really care that much?"
"My home is not a rest stop, nor is it for you to bring people to!"
"You gave me a key!" Mutsuko defended, causing Kotori to sigh.
"For emergencies, Mutsuko. Emergencies, not for your friends to come to because it's closer than your place."
"I actually didn't do it for this reason...this time. I thought it would be nice for the four of us to hang out for a couple of minutes."
"That's sweet, Mutsuko, really, but you know I have to get going to my class."
"Oh yeah. Special Kunoichi lessons...Sometimes I wish I had your job. So much less demanding," Mutsuko sighed; she stirred her tea absently gain, supporting her head with her hands.
"I thought you enjoyed being an instructor." Kotori frowned, grabbing Mutsuko's half-full glass and moving to the kitchen with it.
"Of course I do! It's just...you know. Never a moment's peace."
"I thought you enjoyed that sort of thing. You know...you're never bored, you're always active..."
"You don't have to spend time with the people I do. Don't get me wrong, I love the theree, but..." Mutsuko stopped short and laughed.
"You got quite an interesting team, hm?"
"Oh yeah. Each one is a surprise ever day. You got hyperactive, yet somehow lazy, flirty Hato; then there's short-tempered, hard-working, confused Seiko; and lastly Sakai, who at one moment can be friendly and somewhat loud, but is usually quiet, untalkative, and 'too cool' though nice all the same. I got a variety I did."
"I like them," said Kotori after a moment. "They're nice. And Hato...it certainly is fun living in the same apartment building as you two...And seeing you four around town. What does he call the Noriako kids again? The Nin-twins?"
"The Twinjas," Mutsuko corrected, barely stifling her laughter.
"Right, right..." The purple-haired woman glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "When are those two coming anyway? I do need to get going."
"Whenever they're done. Please stick around!"
"But my class! I need to get it planned out..."
"That can wait."
Kotori sighed. "Fine! Come on, let's go occupy our time..."
Some time there was a knock on the door. Kotori and Mutsuko both jumped to their feet and ran towards it, shoving to see who would get to answer it like the little children they were inside.
"Ha! I beat you!" Kotori exclaimed, looking over her shoulder at a pouting Mutsuko. She then looked forward again and flashed her most charming smile at the two Jounins who stood before her.
"Ah! Asuma, Genma! Please, please, come inside!" Kotori graciously stepped aside and allowed the two men to pass.
"So, get any more butterflies, guys?" she asked wryly, dropping her excellent hostess act, closing the door.
Asuma frowned and put his cigarette out in the cigarette dish Kotori had just for his visits.
"Sorry; didn't come across any," Genma replied, smirking.
"Besides," Asuma added, "we didn't want to put any more therough the torture of being owned by you. How long did the last batch last? A day?"
Kotori flushed, the purple of her eyes and hair looking odd against the vibrant red color her face had taken on. "Very funny you two," she scowled.
"One of mine is still alive!" Mutsuko cheerily exclaimed, earning a hearty chuckle from Asuma and a wink and a smile from Genma.
"Anything I can get for you two while you're here, or do you have to rush off to Mutsuko's other task right away?" Kotori said, changing the subject.
"I'm good," Genma said, moving his senbon around with his tongue.
"Is sake out of the question?" Asuma asked, earning a groan from Mutsuko.
"Smoking, drinking, being a ninja...it's a miracle you're still alive!" she exclaimed, therowing her arms in the air.
"It's a miracle you are, too, the way you go commenting on everyone's behavior," Asuma shot playfully. "I hope you don't talk this way to your opponents. You'd be dead in a heartbeat."
Mutsuko grinned sheepishly. "Technically, you do die in a heartbeat--your last one. As you know when the heart fails to continue pumping, its owner dies."
Genma groaned. "Here we go again. You just had to use that pherase, didn't you Asuma?"
Kotori laughed and handed Asuma a shot glass of sake. "You're lucky you just came then, Genma, if you're going to get annoyed just by that comment. Ever since she came, it was one thing after another!"
"Am I really that annoying?" Mutsuko asked, frowning.
Asuma refrained from answering, but Genma and Kotori nodded and simultaneously said," Yes!"
Genma winked afterwards, and a small smile flickered unconsciously across Mutsuko's face.
"Right! Well, thanks so much for doing that favor for me? How was he doing?"
"Not a soul noticed him," Asuma replied, wiping his upper lip with his sleeve. "More, please?"
"Of course!" Kotori replied, smiling again. She ran off with the empty shot glass and returned a moment later with it.
"He moved around a lot without being noticed," Genma commented, taking a seta on the couch. "He even joined the crowd the class made..."
"And no one saw him?" Mutsuko asked skeptically.
"Not a soul," Asuma piped in. "Of course, they were all too busy watching the fight between two students to notice. Oh don't get all into a tizzy! It was field practice."
"Those kids were good," Genma whistled, shaking his head. "I'd like to see how they turn out when they're older."
"Who were they?" Mutsuko asked, straightening up.
Asuma laughed at her reaction. "According to Iruka, they were Shirogane Cho and Tonkatsu Seiichi."
"Shirogane and Tonkatsu...Got it!" Mutsuko said, making a mental note to write those names down later.
Genma smirked. "Going to start a list of people to look out for at the Chuunin exams?" he questioned, eyebrows raised.
"Maybe," Mutsuko uncomfortably replied, picking at the hem of her dress.
"That's one of the reasons you're having Hato spy, isn't it?" Asuma asked, handing Kotori his glass and mouthing a 'thanks.'
"Maybe," the brunette said again, glancing at her two friends.
"So you can know about the competition?"
"Yes, it is," Mutsuko admitted. "I want my guys to know what they're up against. Not only at the Chuunin Exams, if any of the new Genins should enter, but also at missions and stuff. You know..."
"Yeah; we get it," Asuma said for both of them, accepting the shot-glass from Kotori once again.
"Kotori, why don't you just bring the bottle out next time. There's no point in you running back and forth."
"Right," the purple haired girl said slowly.
"Anyway! You two...I'd like to discuss my next favor."
"Oh?" Genma said, eyebrows raised.
"Yup! Okay, so this one deals with the Twinjas!"
"The who?" Asuma asked blankly.
"The Twinjas," Mutsuko repeated, only for the two men's confused looks to increase. Sighing, she said, "Seiko and Sakai! You know...the twins on my team."
"Oh! Of course!" Asuma exclaimed.
"Why didn't we get that?" Genma shouted, just as sarcastic as Asuma.
"You two don't hang around Hato enough," Mutsuko muttered. "Anyway! Yes. This favor requires a lot more of you two. It will help the two train."
"How?"
"You'll attack."