"Love me when I least deserve it, because that's when I really need it."
"Can't you just drop it? You can't even prove it!"
Kakashi was inevitably calm and laid back, not to mention popular with the ladies.
Women secretly stole a glance or two at him whenever he walked down the roads of Konoha. But he wouldn't know something like that, his nose was always stuck in that dirty book of his.
Nothing could steal his attention once he got into reading.
Except for Kyoko.
Standing at five feet and nine inches, she was quite taller than most. Her thick black hair was the first thing you would notice since it was long and wavy, always wavering in the wind or framing her face. She always held a friendly expression and was never seen as the hot headed type.
The two were the epitome of peacefulness.
But they obviously brought out the real ugly sides of each other.
"Wasn't it obvious to both of us?" Her cheeks were flushed from yelling. "And I have tons of people that could come here and back me up."
A frustrated sigh fled Kakashi's lips, escaping through his thin mask. "Look, we just can't be together."
Her eyebrows twisted together in confusion and anger. Was this the same man that had held her hand so tightly days ago?
"And why would that be?"
His fingernails dug deeply into his hands as he clenched them into fists. If she simply just let go of him, he could do the same.
But you can't end what never started.
Kakashi and Kyoko never did officially call their selves an 'item'.
Over the past months, they had grown closer. Close enough to know what kind of foods they like or dislike and weird habits they might have. Soon, they felt mutual attraction towards each other, and everybody could tell.
Instead of reading, Kakashi would be searching for books Kyoko might like to read, or even training his students. Kyoko always had a love for children, and it seemed as if he tried hard to be on good terms with the kids for her sake.
When the female Jounin noticed him going through all this effort just to make her happy, she gladly returned his feelings.
"I don't need a reason. You just need to get out of your fantasy world."
Maybe she jumped to conclusions.
But then again, how could he explain the twenty six pink daisies he left on her door mat when she celebrated her birthday?
Or the time he kissed her quickly on the cheek when Valentine's day came around?
"And you should just face facts."
It seemed like either Kakashi was in denial, or Kyoko was assuming things after looking too deep into his actions.
The twenty five year old woman felt infuriated by the man's sudden change in attitude towards her, even a bit humiliated. This whole time, was she dancing around in his hands? Could it be that she fell right into his stupid game?
"Don't get ahead of yourself Kyoko. It's not my fault you immediately thought I was interested in you."
Best friends for two years, secret crushers for weeks. Now was this a start of day one of being strangers again?
"I didn't think you were interested in me." She wanted to yell for him to get out of her house and never come back again. "I know you love me, just like I love you." But that would probably hurt her more than it would hurt him.
Irritation could be read all over his face. "Don't use such a strong word like love with me, especially in this situation."
Her friends noticed it, his students noticed it, everybody noticed it.
The way the two looked at each other was naturally amorous.
"Was I some kind of a joke to you?" Her tone was quiet, but it held powerful emotions. "Was it fun to play around with me?"
Hatake was her number one weakness, as she was his.
The two were well known to be prodigies when they were younger and top ranked ninjas now. They weren't scared of anything or anyone. That is, until love came around.
"I didn't play around with you. You just can't get it through your thick skull that there's not going to be an 'us'."
But that didn't hurt her.
He wasn't directly looking at her, a clear sign that he was nervous.
"Kakashi." She took a hesitant step forward. "Why do you have your mask on?"
He almost flinched when he noticed how observant she was. But more than that, it scared him that Kyoko knew him so well. Too well.
Whenever he was over at her house, or Kyoko at his, Kakashi would never wear his mask. One time, he told her about how he doesn't like wearing it when she was around so Kyoko could see his smiles. It was rather odd to see him wearing it now.
"This is ridiculous. I'll wear what I want, when I want. Now if that's all, I would like to end this useless argument now."
The intense fire in her emerald orbs died down, now replaced with concern. "Kakashi…" Knowing this was a forbidden subject, she brought her voice down into a hush. "Are you afraid?"
His heart skipped a beat and the first thing that came to mind was to shut the idea out completely. "No, I'm not!"
Oddly, Kyoko felt a hint of relief by him denying it. Him protesting so boldly was proof that she was dead on.
"You think I'll leave just like the rest…Right?" Her lips pulled back into a sad smile. How could she have been so blind?
"So why do you wear your mask anyway Hatake?"
They were a bit younger back then and were just starting to warm up to each other.
"…Because I don't want people to read me like an open book. Who knows who you'll run into tomorrow? Humans are terrifying and disgusting creatures."
That was the day they fully understood each other.
Soon after, he stopped wearing his mask around her.
"Whoa!" Kyoko could almost feel the impact of when her leg hit the floor as she fell off the couch in surprise. "Why don't you have your mask on?"
His chuckle was still the same back then, crisp and mellow. "Because I trust you."
And that was the day they completely accepted each other into their lives.
"I'm scared too." She whispered and stepped towards the frozen Kakashi softly. "Funny, we're scared of each other."
"Stop." His voice was firm but it shook with shock.
"Once I'm yours, you're afraid someone might take me away, right? Death, another man?"
"I'm leaving." He forced his legs to scramble over to the door.
"And this is the part when you deny it." His footsteps came to a halt. "You would lie to yourself to feel better. Then you bury those emotions and feelings away like they were never there."
And Kyoko dug them right back up.
"But they are there, aren't they Kakashi? No matter how deep you dig, it won't be enough to completely shut them out."
The tears couldn't be eclipsed by lies anymore. They rolled down his face and his eyebrows wrinkled together.
Now, Kyoko stood in front of Kakashi with her eyes fluttering. "We'll be each other's weakness, and each other's strength."
Her hands held onto the top of his indigo mask, and she felt tears gliding onto them. Just as she started to pull down, Kakashi placed his hands on hers. Instead of stopping her, he just held them, almost like encouraging her.
He needed to be strong now. And Kyoko was the push to do just that.
It slid off and rested around his neck.
Immediately, she leaned in and kissed him softly.
"You're free now."