Kaede glanced at Rin and Kurenai, then leaned back on the sofa with a sigh and tapped his forehead.
You think this is the end?
No!
Of course not!
He could already sense someone else approaching.
Sure enough, less than ten seconds later, someone knocked at the door. Kurenai was slightly surprised. She walked over to open it, and two figures stepped inside.
"Yo, dinner looks fancy," said Tsunade as she walked in first, glancing at the dining table in the living room.
Behind her was Shizune, smiling softly.
Kaede let out a breath, stood up, and said, "Perfect timing. Have a seat. Rin, can you prepare two more servings of tea and snacks? Looks like we've got a full table for mahjong tonight."
Tsunade picked up the wine glass from the table, downed it in one gulp, and grinned. "Mahjong, huh? Great. Sounds like you're ready to be wiped out."
Creak.
Anko, who had been hiding in Kurenai's room, sighed and pushed the door open, drawing the others' attention. She awkwardly raised her hand. "Uh… hey, everyone…"
Kaede glanced at her, then looked away. "Alright, now we've got enough for two tables."
"Aren't we still one person short?" Tsunade looked at Kaede.
Kaede took the cup of tea Rin handed him, sighed, and said, "There's still a certain fox… no idea which idiot taught it how to play cards."
Tsunade: "…"
Shizune: "…"
Two hours later.
Dinner was over, and two mahjong tables had been set up in the living room.
Kaede played at the east table with Tsunade, Rin, and Kurenai. At the west table sat Shizune, Anko, and a forcibly conscripted Kakashi.
And finally, there was a slightly oversized humanoid form on the floor, most of the chakra concentrated in Kaede's body, sitting on the floor with a pair of cards in its front paws and nine tails sprawled out behind it.
"Hmph, with this hand, I can wipe all three of you out," said the Nine-Tails, holding cards in one paw and stroking its chin with the other, grinning menacingly as its gaze swept across Kakashi, Shizune, and Anko.
"One Dot," said Kaede, playing a tile and glancing at the fox. "Hey, Fox, keep it down. You're too loud."
The Nine-Tails snorted, one of its middle tails flicking. "Tch, so noisy… The room's soundproof anyway. I can barely hear what's happening outside."
Kakashi held his cards in his left hand, his dead-fish eyes shifting between the Nine-Tails and Kaede.
It's supposed to be a festive evening.
Getting dragged here to play cards with Kurenai and Kaede is one thing, but why is there a damn fox involved?!
"Bomb," Kakashi said, throwing down seven sevens, blowing up the Nine-Tails' six nines.
"You little brat had seven sevens?!" the Nine-Tails shouted, its booming voice ringing in Kakashi's ears and blowing his hair backward with a gust of wind. He could practically feel spit hitting his face.
Kakashi lost all hope.
Shizune and Anko exchanged awkward looks.
The Nine-Tails' tails were splayed out nearby, and both of them were a little tempted to pet them, but they didn't quite dare. Their hands froze in hesitation.
"I told you, you're too loud. No wonder no one wants to play with you," Kaede said with a side glance.
"Nonsense!" the Nine-Tails huffed. "They just couldn't beat me, that's all!"
The bizarre game went on.
About half an hour later,
"Bomb," Shizune said, tossing out another bomb.
The Nine-Tails glanced at her remaining cards and snorted. "Give it up already… you think you can beat me with twenty cards left?"
Shizune looked down at her hand, then nervously looked back at the Nine-Tails, hesitation in her eyes. After a moment's pause, she set her full hand of twenty cards down on the table.
"Double sequence."
The Nine-Tails was struck dumb.
Shizune, Anko, and Kakashi all leaned back slightly. Anko even raised a hand to shield her face.
But the expected eruption didn't come.
The Nine-Tails slowly looked toward the window, as if sensing something. A few seconds later, it turned to Kaede and said, "Malice."
"Yeah, I felt it too," Kaede replied, glancing at the Nine-Tails. A blue light flickered in his eyes, then faded just as quickly. "It's fine now."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"
"Just someone being a bit reckless," Kaede said casually. "Ignore it. Let's keep playing. We'll deal with it tomorrow."
Since Kaede didn't seem concerned, Rin, Kakashi, and the others just shrugged and returned their attention to the game.
Kakashi, noticing the Nine-Tails' mood shift, raised a hand. "I'm gonna hit the bathroom…"
Whoosh!
He vanished.
Leaving Shizune and Anko to nervously glance at the Nine-Tails.
The Nine-Tails froze for a moment, then tossed its cards onto the table with a snort. "Whatever. Just lucky. I'm not some sore loser or anything…"
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Kakashi let out a sigh of relief at the silence outside. Just as he was thinking of slipping away, his expression changed slightly, and he looked up at the ceiling with a smile.
=============
On the rooftop.
Konan stood there, frowning slightly as she looked off into the distance toward the Hyuga compound.
Whoosh!
Kakashi appeared beside her.
Konan's eyes narrowed as she turned to face him. "What's going on? Do we need to act?"
"Yeah, there's a task for you," Kakashi said with a nod. He explained briefly, then watched as Konan, after a moment of hesitation, turned to head toward the Hokage building. He smiled.
Perfect.
Now I can slip away, and toss another one into Big Bro's lap while I'm at it.
Whether I get beaten up tomorrow is none of my business. I'll just take a mission and leave Konoha for a few days.
Back inside…
With Kakashi gone, the Nine-Tails started grumbling. "Where'd that brat run off to? What's taking him so long?"
Kaede heard the fox's complaint and closed his eyes briefly, activating his Rinnegan to scan outside. Then he looked toward the door, and his expression froze slightly.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Looks like Kakashi still doesn't think it's chaotic enough in here.
Knock knock!
There was a knock at the door. Rin blinked, then went over to open it, only to see Konan step in, locking eyes with everyone in the room… and a certain fox.
Rin stiffened. "What are you doing here?"
"Kakashi said the Hokage wanted to see me," Konan replied, her gaze passing Rin and landing on Kaede.
Kaede's eyes flashed with a trace of helplessness. "Come in. You know how to play cards? Fill in for Kakashi."
She stared at Kaede in disbelief. This was the "urgent task" Kakashi mentioned?!
The Nine-Tails glared. "Hey! Don't just stand there! Hurry up and sit down, we don't have all day!"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria