The Monkey King's Legacy

Part Two

The Legend of the Key

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
Journey to the West belongs to Wu Cheng'en

This story and characters are purely fictional and every resemblance to real life is purely coincidental.

This was written from a role-play with a friend, and we make no profit whatsoever from writing it.

Chapter 03: Sasuke's New Technique

"You want me to fight you now?!" Wukong asked, shocked. "But what if I hurt you?!"

"Wukong." Ebisu began patiently. "How am I to grade your ability if you don't come at me full force? A short taijutsu round will be perfect. Then we'll work on longer range attacks. Now are you ready?"

"I fractured Kakashi-Sensei's hand in taijutsu training." Wukong said, still uncertain if this was a good idea.

"Which is why we're in this clearing near the hospital. Now come on. Let's begin. We have a lot more to cover after this." Ebisu said.

"Well, ok." Wukong said before taking a battle stance. The two of then sparred for a bit. Ebisu quickly learned to avoid letting Wukong make contact, and was hard pressed to keep up. In the end, he was pleased with Wukong's taijutsu and called off the match. "Okay. What next?" Wukong asked.

"Well it would usually be genjutsu. But I'm led to beleive you're immune to it. So instead, I'll just test your knowledge." Ebisu pulled out a paper. "I will give you half an hour to do this, under exam conditions. No help is allowed. And since it's such nice weather, you can do it out here."

"Well I have no idea what exam conditions are, given that I've never done an exam before. But I take it I sit down, answer the questions, end of?" Wukong asked.

"Yes, that's about it." Ebisu replied.

"Okay." Wukong sat down and easily answered the questions. "Here." He said, only a few minutes later and handed back the paper.

Ebisu sweatdropped, shocked. "That was... quick..." He commented.

"Kakashi-Sensei told me all about this stuff just incase." Wukong replied. "And I learn good enough."

"Well that's good to hear. Now then, on to ninjutsu. The clone jutsu is what Sasuke and the others were tested on. But I already know how skilled you are with clones." Wukong giggled and asked Ebisu what he wanted him to do instead. Wukong mentioned that Kakashi had taught him the basics and a few more jutsu besides. "Yes. Like the tree climbing exercise." Ebisu said. "I'd like you to demonstrate it to me, first at running pace. Then walking."

"No problem." Wukong replied and focussed his chakra. "How high Ebisu-Sensei?" Wukong asked suddenly, looking at the Jônin. Ebisu told Wukong to go to the top. "Piece o'cake." Wukong said, and ran up the tree. "Come down and walk up up now?" Wukong asked. Ebisu nodded. Wukong ran down the tree, then walked back up it to the top. "How am I doing then Ebisu-Sensei?" He asked.

Ebisu pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "Very good. Come here." He said. Wukong obeyed, hopping down the tree from branch to branch and landing on the ground gracefully. "I have made my decision." Ebisu announced and Wukong stood attentively waiting for it. "Your abilities are astounding Wukong, no doubt about that. But there is still room for improvement. However, taking everything into account, I am pleased to inform you that you have passed. Congratulations. You are now a recognized Genin Shinobi of the Hiddden Leaf Village." Ebisu presented Wukong with the headband. "And an official member of squad seven."

"Oh wow, thank you!" Wukong said ecstatically.

"No need to thank me. I consider it a pleasure. Now go and present yourself to your Sensei. I have paperwork to fill in for your graduation." Ebisu replied.

Wukong tied on the headband and bowed to Ebisu. "Yes Ebisu-Sensei." He replied and ran off to the Uchiha compound to track Kakashi down. He knew it was the place to start as Kakashi had gone to see Sasuke. "Not here..." Wukong mused, then noticed Naruto nearby with Neji, Tenten and Hinata. "Naruto! Where's Kakashi-Sensei?" Wukong called as he ran over to them.

"Uh, I think he went off with Sasuke somewhere. But I don't know where, sorry." Naruto replied.

"Try the quarry." Neji put in helpfully. "And congratulations on the Genin exam."

Wukong was a little confused for a brief moment then remembered his headband and reached up to touch it. "Thanks."

"Oh yeah, way to go Wukong!" Naruto congratulated also noticing it now.

"Congratulations." Hinata said quietly.

"Well done." Tenten put in.

Wukong enjoyed praise, but to have so much in one go from so many sources felt a little like showing off, which he'd gotten into trouble in the past for. Wukong rubbed the back of his head with a bright smile. "You guys are gonna make me blush. It wasn't much." Wukong had faced many tougher challenges in the past.

"Tell that to all the ones who don't make it. Loads of kids are put back to the academy all the time." Tenten commented.

"Ah, don't rain on his parade." Naruto butted in. "Come on Wukong, let's go find Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei."

"They are?" Wukong asked Tenten. "Why?"

"They simply weren't ready to become shinobi. You see, for academy students, there's another test given by their Jônin leader." Neji explained.

"Oh." Wukong replied.

"But you don't need to worry about that Wukong. Kakashi-Sensei already knows you're capable of shinobi life. Now let's go. Sasuke will want to hear the good news." Naruto said. Wukong nodded and headed off to the quarry with Naruto. The quarry was an area where the power could be contained without too much damage. A perfect location for Sasuke to get his power under control.

"Kakashi-Sensei, I'm back." Wukong announced, dashing over to Kakashi.

Kakashi had brought a katana, kusenagi, specially made for Sasuke along with him, but hadn't shown it to Sasuke yet. "Watch out!" Kakashi grabbed both Naruto and Wukong and pulled them behind a rock just in time, narrowly missing being electricuted. "Phew... That was close."

"Ne Sensei, you know I'm an elemental?" Wukong asked, knowing that lightning couldn't hurt him.

"Reflexes. Easier to react than stop to think about it." Kakashi replied. He looked at Wukong's headband. "And if that had hit your headband it could have bounced back in any direction." He added cheerfully. "Well done by the way."

"Metal conducts electricity. Not reflects it." Wukong replied, being a smartass just to be funny.

Kakashi chuckled. "That's what I thought." He pointed to his own headband, which had a black mark on the metal. "Try telling Sasuke's chakra that."

"Ebisu-Sensei says I'm now a recognized Genin and an official member of your squad." Wukong announced cheerfully. "So what's going on here?"

"I'm helping Sasuke with his new jutsu. Or at least trying to." Kakashi replied.

"Hey what's this?" Naruto asked, finding the katana and picking it up.

"Put it down Naruto. It's not for you." Kakashi told him.

Wukong pulled a hair from his head and turned it into a katana. "Here Naruto. Go play with this over there so no one gets hurt." He pointed away from where Sasuke was.

"Hm?" Naruto looked at it. "Okay." He put down kusenagi and took the offered katana. "Thanks Wukong." He said and went off with it.

"Kakashi-Sensei? When we were speaking to Master Subhuti, you said you preferred to think of yourself as my teacher and guardian rather than my master." Wukong said.

"That's right. Why?" Kakashi asked.

"From the start, I looked to you as a master." Wukong replied, referring to when they first met.

"If that's what you wanna call it, it's fine with me." Kakashi replied.

"Master is an old term for teacher." Wukong replied, and thought of the trouble they'd seen so far from people thinking Kakashi was his master. A good reason not to mention it. Kakashi had been the first adult upon his newfound freedom, so it had been Kakashi he'd turned to. Sasuke may have been the one to free Wukong, but he was still a child. "I like Sensei better for you. It sounds better." Wukong decided. "I just wanted you to know that." Kakashi thanked Wukong for telling him, then they heard Sasuke swearing in the background through frustration. "What you done Sasuke-chan?" Wukong called out to him.

"I try and hit the rock in front of me, and the one behind me is blown to oblivion." Sasuke explained in calm fury. "Honestly..."

"So try hit the one behind you." Wukong said smartly.

"I tried that and hit the one to the left. It's completely random and infuriating!" Sasuke kicked a stone as he lost his temper and hurt his toes. "Ow!"

Wukong thought for a moment. "Try hitting them all." He egged as though it were a game.

"All of them? At once?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. You can't miss that way." Wukong replied. Sasuke agreed to this suggestion and gathered and charged his chakra again. He closed his eyes in concentration and the chakra came to his left hand, then to his right hand and finally around his whole body. The chakra suddenly flashed out in all directions. Sasuke missed one rock but hit the others on target. "Way to go! You got all but one." Wukong congratulated Sasuke. Sasuke nodded and sat down to catch his breath. "That's a good attack." Wukong commented.

"It'll be better when I can control it..." Sasuke replied, rubbing his left arm which was throbbing from having so much chakra concentrated in it.

Naruto ran over to Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei, can you teach me some moves with this, please?" Naruto held up the katana Wukong had given him to play with and unleashed the ultimate weapon, the kicked puppy eyes of doom.

"Maybe. I'm not sure if a katana is your style Naruto." Kakashi replied. "And I don't have one for you at the moment." He added, aware that Wukong would want the hair back when Naruto was done. Naruto turned round, sat down and sulked, which puzzled Wukong "Don't be like that." Kakashi said.

Always playing favourites with Sasuke... Naruto thought pouting. Wukong decided to try help Kakashi and asked Naruto if he wouldn't rather concentrate on a weapon that suited his style. Considering Wukong's words, Naruto turned to Kakashi. "What weapon suits my style then?"

"That's what I intend to find out. I want to find weapons for all of you." Kakashi replied. Naruto groaned pitifully and hung his head in dejection. "Naruto. Please don't be difficult. Jiraiya has already agreed to help me out. He's looking for a weapon for you as we speak. Alright? Now, I have a lot of work to do just now... where is Sasuke?" Wukong pointed where Sasuke was. "Right. Well best back to-- uh oh..." Kakashi started walking towards Sasuke. Wukong commented that he thought Sasuke was just tired apart from a few mild burns. Kakashi kneeled next to Sasuke and shook him gently. "Come on Sasuke, wake up." Sasuke grumbled and came to. "You need a break." Kakashi told Sasuke cheerfully. "Come on, up you get." He then helped Sasuke to his feet. "You okay?"

"My left arm kinda hurts." Sasuke said, holding it with his right. Wukong rushed over and offered to take a look. "If you want." Sasuke replied, being supported by Kakashi. "I think it's my chakra network in my arm. Probably slightly swolen from all the strain."

"I don't see a problem with it, but I can sense one. Maybe you should take it easy." Wukong suggested. Sasuke commented that it was a good idea, but was a little worried and wondered what exactly it was that Wukong could sense. "I'm an animal." Wukong shrugged unable to explain it. "I just sense that it's not normal." Sasuke told them that it hurt to move it. "Probably some sort of strain." Wukong replied.

"Try not to make it worse." Kakashi commented. "If it still hurts when we get back I'll put it in a sling for you. Anyway, let's head back."

"Naruto! Don't make me carry you. I'll sling you over my shoulder." Wukong called as Naruto had yet to budge.

"What's he done?" Sasuke asked.

"He's sulking or something." Wukong answered as they approached Naruto. Sasuke asked why and what was wrong with him. Wukong explained that he'd given Naruto a katana to amuse himself with so he wouldn't get in Sasuke's way, but then he had wanted Kakashi to teach him some swordplay. Sasuke asked why Wukong had given Naruto a katana. "To amuse himself with." Wukong answered, repeating himself as Sasuke hadn't paid much attention.

Naruto sighed dejetedly. I'll never be anyone's favourite.

"Have I done something wrong?" Sasuke asked, looking to Naruto.

"No. Why would you think that?" Naruto asked.

"You look kinda down." Sasuke replied and flinched as his arm throbbed. "Oww. I think I will need a sling for this. For today at least."

"Right. Let's go back. Shizune said something about being back in time for dinner." Kakashi commented.

Naruto perked as he realized what time of day it was. "I'm getting hungry. Time to head to Ichiraku's."

"Alright Naruto. I think Iruka is wanting to see you. He'll probably be there already." Kakashi commented.

"Huh?" Naruto asked. "He never said anything to me about that." Naruto shrugged and ran off.

"Now I see." Wukong mused.

"See what Wukong?" Kakashi asked. Wukong smirked and said that he now knew what word to use in future to get Naruto out of a downer. Ramen always seemed to cheer Naruto up. "Pretty much. Though in this case, I think it's more the thought of seeing Iruka. Naruto looks up to him more than anyone."

Wukong was suddenly inspired with a new game. Ask difficult questions until the grown up couldn't answer, just to see how long they'd last. "Who do you look up to Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Who do I look up to? Hmm... Never really thought about that. Sorry..." Kakashi replied.

Wukong was a little disappointed that Kakashi hadn't even lasted one question, but then decided that Kakashi was the sort who'd need to be drawn in a bit more than that. He took on a shocked expression. "Never?"

"Well, a little. Just not much." Kakashi said as they headed back to the house, Sasuke still cradling his arm.

"Did you, or did you not have someone who you thought was amazing and you wanted to be like them then?" Wukong asked, using a closed question in order to try get a straight answer. But it was Kakashi he was dealing with.

Kakashi thought briefly of his father. "You could say that..."

He's got an answer for everything without giving much away. Wukong thought to himself, realizing he should have known better. He then realized something. An important clue. "Hey, I bet you can withstand interogation!"

"I was in the Anbu. I've been trained to." Kakashi replied.

Wukong smiled. "But you give that away in everyday life."

Kakashi shrugged. "Force of habit I guess."

I found an effective method of learning about Kakashi-Sensei! Yes! Wukong mentally cheered, abandoning his previous game. "Force of habit? Then you've got years of experience?" Wukong glanced at Sasuke with a hinting expression to let Sasuke know what he was up to. Sasuke smirked, scratching an itching burn under his left sleeve. "But you don't look very old." Wukong continued to Kakashi and looking puzzled. "Which means you must've started pretty young."

"You could be right." Kakashi replied not giving anything away.

Wukong winced and cursed himself silently. Idiot. That was far too direct. "Hey, what's the minimum age restriction on children becoming shinobi?"

"It's more based on when the council think a child is ready to become a shinobi. Not so much in age." Kakashi replied.

"Na-a-aw." Wukong chanted respectfully. He found the village even more impressive now. Kakashi chuckled at Wukong's response, and Sasuke quietly hissed as he scratched off a scab form the burn causing it to bleed. He futiley tried to hide this. "Sasuke, you okay?" Wukong asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke asked. Wukong commented that it sounded like Sasuke had hurt himself. "No." Sasuke replied and smirked. "You must be hearing things."

"You gonna tell me, that with my fiery eyes with golden pupils, I'm seeing things too?" Wukong asked. At Sasuke's confusion, Wukong pointed at Sasuke's sleeve where the blood had seeped through. "That'll stain." Sasuke looked at the sleeve and covered it with his hand, flinching as he touched the burn, and claimed it was nothing. "If you say so." Wukong replied, unconvinced. Sasuke grunted and started scratching again as they reached the Uchiha compound. Wukong went into a little singsong to wind Sasuke up. "You're gonna make it worse, then it's gonna hurt, that's not very smart."

"Shut up... It's itchy... Oww..." Sasuke complained.

"I'm gonna say it." Wukong chimed.

"Don't..." Sasuke replied. Wukong teasingly insisted that he would and Sasuke ignored the bleeding.

"Told you so." Wukong said, carrying out his little threat of saying it. Sasuke hesitated then told Wukong he couldn't help it. "You should try having fleas. Then you'd know what it's like not being able to help scratching." Sasuke sighed in defeat and admitted it was worse than he was making out and revealed he had quite a big burn. Wukong healed the burn. "Nothing I can do about the chakra though." He commented. Sasuke hissed a little as the burn healed, then thanked Wukong. A spark ran down Sasuke's arm and he froze. "What's wrong?" Wukong asked. Sasuke told Wukong that his chakra was blocked and that he needed to sleep, then collapsed, out cold. "Ah!" Wukong cried and caught Sasuke. "You're supposed to go to bed then sleep. Not the other way round."

"But that's Sasuke for you, always awkward. Looks like he'll be missing dinner then. I'll take him something up later. Can you manage him Wukong? His arm needs put in a sling too." Kakashi said.

"Yeah, I got him." Wukong replied, holding Sasuke in the cradle method. "And I'll put the sling on him when I get him to bed."

"Thanks. I'll let Shizune know what's happening." Kakashi replied and Wukong headed upstairs with Sasuke as Kakashi went to the kitchen. There was some paperwork on the kitchen table. "The paperwork is here already?" Kakashi asked looking through the sheets of paper.

"I brought it back with me. And I'll hand it in tomorrow so that it's on time." Shizune replied. She knew that the sooner Sasuke and Wukong were legally under Kakashi's guardianship, then the sooner they would be safe from Homura's accusations. So she and Tsunade had worked with all haste to get things ready. "I've been through it. You just need to fill in the blanks, sign and date it." Shizune looked at Kakashi pointedly. "Tonight Kakashi." She added firmly. Arriving at meetings late was one thing, but Kakashi had a habit of handing in paperwork late as well. The people who knew where Kakashi spent his time becoming late for meetings wondered why his paperwork was also late, but others thought Kakashi just had no sense of time at all.

"Oh don't worry. This is one thing I will not be tardy with." Kakashi replied flippantly as he sat down to read over the papers.

Shizune burst out laughing. "You're unbelievable!!" She exclaimed. "I knew you did it on purpose!"

Oops. Kakashi laughed nervously.

"What's going on?" Wukong asked as he walked in. "What's so funny?"

"Just having a suspicion confirmed. Congratulations on becoming a genin. You need your photo taken tomorrow for your ninja ID." Shizune told Wukong.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Kakashi remarked. "How's Sasuke?"

"Arm in sling, checked him for any other burns or anything and healed them. He's sleeping like a baby now." Wukong glanced at the paperwork curiously before sitting down and wondering what to do with himself. He felt thoroughly bored, but didn't feel like doing much.

"Sasuke was working hard during training. Wore himself out a bit. But I'm sure he'll be fine." Kakashi told Shizune. Shizune volunteered to keep an eye on Sasuke, deciding that she'd get Tsunade if it was bad. "Right." Kakashi replied and turned back to the papers and signed them. "Well, that takes care of that. Once these are given to Lady Hokage, it'll be official." He announced cheerfully. Remembering the discussion with Tsunade earlier, Wukong asked if that was the paperwork she'd mentioned. "Yup. This is them alright." Kakashi told Wukong and stood up. "You know, I think I'll just take these over right now. The sooner the better right? I won't be long."

Shizune's eyes widened in shock, which puzzled Wukong. "You're gonna take those to the council? Right now?" Shizune asked. "You? The man notorious for being late, handing paperwork in early?! This isn't some stealty assassination attempt on Homura is it?" Shizune asked in sudden mock suspicion.

"Damn you've figured it out." Kakashi said cheerfully. "But I won't tell if you don't." He waved. "Ta." Kakashi disappeared leaving a very confused monkey behind. Shizune sweatdropped and sighed.

~*~

"Iruka-Sensei! Kaka-Sensei said you wanted to see me." Naruto said as he joined Iruka at Ichiraku's Noodle shop.

"Hey Naruto. 'Course I want to see you. How you been? Just back from your time away in the land of waves huh?" Iruka asked.

"Yeah. It was supposed to be a holiday but we ended up having to fight those creeps Orochimaru and Kabuto. But apart from the bad stuff it was fun. I learnt to ride a horse!" Naruto told Iruka, delighted with himself.

"That's great. Come on. I'll treat you to ramen and you can tell me all about it." Iruka suggested.

"Mm-mm." Naruto shook his head. "I want to treat you this time!"

Iruka laughed. "Oh alright. Let's go then shall we? I wanna hear all about your trip." So they entered Ichiraku's and ordered their ramen. Naruto told Iruka about how Wukong had been in bad shape to begin with and that made travelling difficult. He told Iruka about how they'd almost drowned on the way, about Kakashi's dogs being evil, about how Wukong died saving Sasuke then came back to life. He recounted the battle against Orochimaru, delightedly telling Iruka about Sasuke going mental and pummeling Orochimaru until Kabuto decided they should retreat. Then he told Iruka all about the ranch he and the others had been working on. "Wow, you have been through a lot. But I'm glad you're all okay now." Iruka replied, then told Naruto what he'd been up to, though none of it was nearly as exciting as Naruto's tale, but Naruto listened happilly anyway. "I'm glad you're back Naruto." Iruka said once he'd finished. "I missed you."

Naruto smiled, feeling as though a hole had suddenly been filled. "I missed you too, Iruka-Sensei." He replied. "You and me should do a mission together one day. That would be cool." Naruto commented. Iruka laughed, and the two continued to enjoy each other's company.

~*~

Back at the house, Shizune had finished making dinner. Kakashi wasn't back yet and Sasuke was still in bed. "Do you need help clearing up Shizune?" Wukong offered, feeling bored.

"No, it's okay Wukong. You just get your dinner. I'm going to go up and check on Sasuke, okay?" Shizune replied.

"Okay." Wukong replied. Odd though. I'm more tired than hungry. I thought it was just the boredom... I wonder what Kakashi-Sensei is doing?

"I'm back." Kakashi announced cheerfully. "And it's all taken care of."

Wukong had eaten about half of his dinner by now and wasn't really eating anymore, just pushing at the food on the plate with his chopsticks. "Shizune is up with Sasuke just now." He told Kakashi.

Kakashi took his own plate and sat down with it. "Well you finish up and then think about going to bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow getting the house sorted out. Shizune and I will be bedding down in the livingroom on futons for tonight."

Wukong put down his chopsticks. "I've had enough to eat. I'm going to bed now." He told Kakashi.

~*~

Shizune gently shook Sasuke's shoulder, and Sasuke woke up from a dream. Still half asleep, Sasuke became confused. "... Mother...?" He asked. Shizune's eyes reminded him of Mikoto's. Shizune didn't want to embarrass Sasuke, so she decided not to visibly pick up on it, asking how he felt instead. Sasuke woke up a bit more fully and blushed, turning away, embarrassed. "S-sorry... I thought..." He sighed. ".... Never mind..."

"You don't have to apologize. I don't mind. And Kakashi's taken the paperwork back, so pretty soon I'll officially be your adoptive mother. It wasn't due until tomorrow. Here. I brought you dinner." Sasuke sat up and thanked her, looking a little upset from what he'd said. "I'm not trying to replace her, but I hope you can someday look to me as a second mother." Shizune said, trying to cheer Sasuke up.

Sasuke nodded. "... I just didn't think it would happen... That you and Kakashi would be allowed..."

"Well Homura didn't like it. Said we were too young. But my lady gave him such a lecture that he didn't dare protest again." Shizune replied.

"... Is it... Is it true that he, you know... wants me dead?" Sasuke asked.

"... I wouldn't bother myself with any of the rubbish he says if I were you." Shizune said carefully. "He's making himself very unpopular."

"... Okay. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble. It's just... I'm still getting used to showing my emotions... Wukong taught me it's nothing to be ashamed of... But I still get embarrassed.

"You're no trouble at all. Don't worry. It just takes time." Shizune told Sasuke pleasantly.

Sasuke nodded. "Okay... Can I show you something?"

"Sure, if you want to." Sasuke got out of bed and out into the hall, stopping to wait for Shizune who followed him. Sasuke led her down the hall to the last door and opened it, stepping back to let Shizune in. He nodded to the room as Shizune glanced at him enquiringly. Shizune entered the room and found the light switch before looking around. "Your parents' bedroom?" It looked like the room had never been touched, and the air was stale.

"Yeah... I said you and Kakashi could have a place here. This is the only room big enough. And it's just gathering dust now..." Sasuke said and looked down. "I thought you'd like it..."

Shizune smiled and pulled Sasuke into a hug. "Thank you Sasuke."

"... You're welcome..." Sasuke replied, hugging her back and gripping at her robes as he trembled slightly.

"Let's get you back to bed so you can rest up." Shizune suggested and turned off the light. Sasuke nodded and followed her, getting back into bed and eating his dinner.

~*~

"I give up." Kakashi said at the kitchen table to Wukong. "What's wrong?" Wukong had only eaten half of his dinner, which wasn't like him at all, but he claimed he wasn't feeling sick.

"I'm just tired." Wukong replied.

"Working hard today? With the exam?" Kakashi asked. "You usually have a lot more energy."

"The exam wasn't hard. And I had no problems with playing football or that taijutsu match with Lee. I felt fine earlier. I'm just tired now, and not hungry either." Wukong replied.

"Okay. In that case, go to bed and get some sleep. I'll check on you before I turn in." Kakashi replied.

Wukong nodded. "G'night."

"Night." Kakashi replied as Wukong left to go to bed. Kakashi finished his dinner, washed up then upstairs to find Shizune and to see how Sasuke was doing. As always, Wukong had left his bedroom door open. Opposite Wukong's room, Kakashi found Shizune, sitting with Sasuke, offering any comfort he needed. "How's it going in here?"

"He's just drifted off." Shizune replied and looked at Kakashi. "He's given us a room. He showed me a little while ago. It belonged to his parents."

"I see... How is he coping? That must have been hard." Kakashi asked.

"He's doing well." Shizune replied. "How did things go for you? Did Homura take a heart attack at seeing you early?"

"Pft, I wish. No, he was just wise enough not to say anything."

"Ah well." Shizune sighed playfully. "So much for that assassination attempt. Better luck next time."

Kakashi smiled cheerfully. "Sounds like a plan." He said and looked at Sasuke. "Come on. Let's give him some peace. Wukong is in bed as well."

"Already?" Shizune asked, surprised. "He's normally full of energy at this time. Is he alright?"

"I don't know. He may be coming down with something." Kakashi replied. "Could you check him out?"

Shizune nodded and quietly left Sasuke's room, taking his empty plate and shutting the door behind her. She put the plate to one side so she could check on Wukong. "Looks like a cold or flu." She commented as she quietly checked Wukong over. "A human one." She added with a wince.

"Is it serious?" Kakashi asked.

"Well he's not gonna take it well." Shizune replied and looked at Kakashi. "His immune system isn't built to tackle this string of virus." She stood up. "There's no cure for colds or flus, but I can get him some things to make it easier to endure." Kakashi asked how he could help. "Keep an eye on his temperature for the moment. I won't be long." Shizune said, about to close the door behind her.

"Don't shut the door. He prefers it open." Kakashi told her.

"He does?" Shizune asked mildly surprised.

"Yeah. He doesn't like feeling closed in." Kakashi told her. Guessing it was claustrophobia Shizune pointed out that Wukong had been fine at Tazuna's. "You didn't see. In that fight where we nearly lost them both, Sasuke put a barrier around Wukong and I to protect us. Wukong freaked, and then blacked out. I still don't know exactly what happened, but he doesn't like being trapped."

"After being trapped so long, not once but twice, I can understand that. We might have to try do something about that. It wouldn't help at all if he freaked out on a mission." Shizune commented. Kakashi shared her concern, but had no idea how to help Wukong.

~*~

Shizune collected some cold/flu remedies, then stopped by the Hokage mansion to see Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, I think we might need to make Wukong's appointment sooner. He seems to have caught that flu virus going around."

"Hmm. I was afraid of that. There are a lot of reports of this flu around the village. I may have to start putting a few places in quaranteen." Tsunade replied looking at a map of the village on her desk. "I've started taking record of where the worst affected areas are. You make sure you don't get it."

"Yes." Shizune replied, then decided to ask Tsunade's advice. "Do you know of any way to help someone get over claustrophobia?"

"Well it's not something I'm familiar with. But there must be some way. Hypnotism has been used to cure phobias before, but I don't know if that would work on Wukong. Intensive training might help, but he'd need someone he really trusts with him for that. And I have missions piling up for Kakashi now that you're all back. So I'm not sure..."

"How did you know it was Wukong?" Shizune asked amazed.

"Well I know Sasuke isn't claustrophobic, and it's a rather unusual request. I also know that Wukong was trapped in a rock for a long time. So by process of elimination I figured it must've been him you were talking about." Tsunade replied.

"I could have been speaking about anyone though." Shizune replied. "I'd better get back. I told Kakashi I wouldnt be long."

"Call it a lucky guess then. Just as well I didn't put money on it heh?" Tsunade laughed, then turned serious. "Take care of them Shizune. They all need you."

"I won't let you down my lady." Shizune replied, bowing and then leaving.