Naruto Fanfic - Prisoner of Nightmare - Chapter Thirteen[XIII]: Red Teacher - I - Page 3 (2024)

 
 They had on thick coats, some mittens, and scarves, backpacks slung across their shoulders with the list of supplies Kenko had given them before them going home with their respective parents. He had emphasized, mainly to Yamanaka and Akimichi, that bringing extra supplies would only slow them down, but he added that, if they wanted, they could bring three unlisted items that weren't too large or heavy.
 
 Kenko took a step toward them and smiled, beckoning them over with the wave of his hand. The three sped up their pace a bit, with Nara sending Kenko a disapproving look and Yamanaka squinting through her eyelashes at him, not looking very amused with everything happening. "Good, you all made it," Kenko said, walking towards Izumo and taking the pen offered to him, quickly signing himself and the three pre-genin out.
 
 He waited for the three to stand in front of them before turning around and walking out of Konoha. He kept his pace slow, allowing the children to get used to the cold and warm up their limbs. "Where are we going? I've never been outside of the village before." Yamanaka asked, ever the talkative one, even in the mornings.
 
 "We aren't going far," Kenko started, glancing back at her, "I don't usually train inside of the village because of the collateral damage it could cause, so I made myself a training ground in the middle of an oak forest. It's only around three kilometres away, a thirty-minute walk if we speed up our pace a little."
 
 Nara groaned but complied, speeding up right alongside Yamanaka and Akimichi. "This is so troublesome."
 
 "How aren't you cold?" Yamanaka shivered a little.
 
 Kenko's lip quirked up a little at the questioning, he enjoyed speaking with people when they weren't blatantly despising his entire existence. "I always apply a layer of chakra around my body during the winter, it allows me to keep the warmth in and most of the cold out, a shield of sorts."
 
 "Could you teach us that?" Akimichi asked, crumpling up the now empty bag of chips and shoving it into his coat pocket.
See Also
Wave At A Distant Shore - MotivationIsDeadThe Conqueror of The Shinobi World - Chapter 2 - Drinor_SecondNot Fate But Destiny - VeilSlideThe Conqueror of The Shinobi World - Chapter 1 - Drinor_Second
 
 "Of course, I don't see why not. I'll teach that to you all first so the cold isn't that large of an issue." Kenko felt for the marker inside the small log cabin he had built near the training ground, they only had around twenty-three minutes left of walking. He glanced around at the scenery, admiring how the leaves were covered in frost that glinted in the light, the ground covered in a thin layer of snow that made the whole world seem like a snowglobe.
 
 He closed his eyes, spreading out his chakra and simply listening to the crunching of snow under their feet and the chirping of the morning birds. Kenko opened his eyes and turned his head to the side, motioning for the three academy students to stop. He tilted his head to the side, examining the snow-covered foliage as it rustled, thin brown branches sticking out of the white blanket.
 
 A small smile made its way onto his face as he walked forward, right to the edge of the crudely marked road before crouching down and opening his arms. A white blur jumped from the bushes and into his arms, a happy yip coming from the white-coated fox now snuggled close to Kenko's chest. He stood up and turned around to see three expressions of surprise and slight confusion.
 
 Kenko walked back over to them and gave a slightly embarrassed half-smile. Yamanaka leaned closer to his arms, staring intently at the white fox. "Kitsune has a kitsune," she said, giggling to herself as Kenko chuckled.
 
 "Yes, I do." Kenko reached up with one of his hands and scratched the fox's ear, the fox playfully nipping at his wrist. "His name is Kohaku, I saved him from a bear trap a few months ago. Whenever I come down this road he usually greets me."
 
 "Amber?" Nara mumbled in slight question, glancing at Kohaku.
 
 Instead of responding, Kenko tapped the fox's forehead, which made Kohaku open his eyes. They were amber-orange in colour with speckles of glittery silver. Yamanaka gasped slightly. "His eyes are so pretty."
 
 Kohaku wiggled out Kenko's grasp a little, small head tilted in Yamanaka's direction. "Could we. . . pet him?" Akimichi seemed a little hesitant when asking.
 
 Kenko nodded. "I don't see why not, just don't all come near him at once, he doesn't like that very much."
See Also
RAYQUAZA_0008's Reading List - RAYQUAZA_0008
 
 Yamanaka was the first to brave reaching out to pet Kohaku, who pulled back a little at first but quickly leaned forward at Kenko's comforting scratch. Yamanaka giggled quietly as Kohaku allowed for her to pet his head, her fingers slowly moving down his body before coming back to his head.
 
 She stepped back and Akimichi reached out next, this time, however, Kohaku licked at the fingers coming toward him, making Akimichi smile. It seems like Kohaku likes the taste of chips, Kenko noted. Akimichi stepped back, wiping his wet fingers on his pant leg. Nara stepped forward next and hesitantly reached out to pet Kohaku, who tilted his head for a better angle.
 
 After everyone was done petting Kohaku, Kenko placed the fox down and watched as he retreated into the bushes with a small goodbye yip. They continued to walk, Yamanaka and Akimichi talking about how cute Kohaku was. Nara was silent, and when Kenko glanced back at him, he saw contemplation in his eyes.
 
 "Kitsune-sama?" Nara suddenly spoke, the two others going silent as Kenko hummed. "Isn't it ironic?"
 
 Kenko looked to him briefly and continued to walk. "What is?"
 
 "That the village hates foxes but loves you, a fox." Kenko winced at the statement, memories flooding into his mind that he wished he could forget. He felt his breathing speed up a little and regained ahold of himself, clenching his fists and roughly shoving away the horrid images that dared to enter his mind again. He was not weak anymore, he would not fall victim to them again.
 
 Relaxing his hands, he shoved them into his pockets to hide the slight shaking of them. Kenko hated remembering, but he could not allow those memories to hinder him, not anymore. "Yes, it is," Kenko said, a sharp undertone to his tone that he failed to hide. "And believe me when I say that people are blinded with that hatred."
 
 There was a tense silence as they trudged on, Kenko's jaw clenching slightly. The memories made him angry, but, even so, he did not blame them. He only blamed the ones who were clearly torturing him for the fun of it, and those ones he delt of quickly once he had gotten permission from the Hokage.
 
 "What do you mean?" Yamanaka asked, her tone soft and quiet, unsure. She sounded a lot like Hyūga, and Kenko forced himself to push down any anger, any dread, and any emotion that could make them uncomfortable.
 
 "You will be getting a new student two days before graduation," Kenko finally said after a pause, "his name is Uzumaki Naruto. If you manage to befriend him, then ask the same question, it is not my place to tell." Like hell it was, but Kenko needed to keep his two personas separate. Before any more questions could be asked, he said, "We're here."
 
 Kenko looked at the medium-sized cabin and smiled.
 
\ (˚▽˚) /
 
 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐!
 
 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚛.
 
 𝙱𝚢𝚎, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠!
 
 :𝙳
 
 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝:𝟸 𝟻𝟼𝟻
 
 ~ 𝙵𝚘𝚡 𝙾𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚃𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑