Ikumi walked down the road that lead to her one bedroom house near the outskirts of Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. She was heading home from the grocery store, having bought dinner for herself. She also had stopped at the book store near Ichiraku's for a new book to read. She had spent a good while browsing before coming across a fairy tale about the trials and tribulations of love in the world of two shinobi, a man and a woman. It wasn't something she would normally have picked up, but the prologue intrigued her when she skimmed it, testing to see if the book would prove a worthy buy.
Deep down, she related to it's premise.
She smirked to herself as she walked, looking down at the book nestled in her bag of groceries. Her thoughts drifted to Kakashi Hatake as she looked back out at the road ahead of her.
He was her childhood teammate, fellow jonin and friend. She was a year younger than he, Kakashi 26 and she 25 years old. They had learned how to survive in the world of shinobi on their first missions together, having been paired on their first team with the then future Fourth Hokage and Obita Uchiha.
They had lost Obito on their first A-rank mission together, which was to infiltrate and destroy the Kannabi Bridge in the Third Shinobi World War Effort. It had torn them apart at first to lose Obito, but in the end tied them closer together, closer to anyone they would know from that point on.
They always managed to make it to the end, to continue fighting for their village and it's people. For the dream of peace.
Her thoughts momentarily drifted to her other fellow jonin, and her kinship with them. But they quickly returned to Kakashi. He had a deep place in her heart.
They had been through almost everything imaginable together, from becoming genin, chunin, jonin, to completing missions and serving the village as it's protectors. They both also served in the ANBU Black Ops, each heading their own units as captains throughout their time spent in the order. Ikumi left ANBU a few years after Kakashi, joining him as a field instructor almost a year prior to the present.
Her smile waned as her emotions began to take her over at her thoughts of Kakashi.
She had vowed to herself to never let it be known, but she loved him. She loved him more than life itself, and that was why she had to keep it secret. Love in the world of a shinobi always ended in tragedy, and she was convinced they had survived this long together because she hadn't made it known. She was convinced it would bring nothing but harm to Kakashi if she ever admitted her love for him. So she didn't.
Her stomach suddenly grumbled, pulling her from her thoughts. She placed a hand over it and sighed as she felt it tighten in hunger. She wondered what time it was. She had had lunch that day. Her curiosity grew at her sudden appetite.
Her appetite had grown recently. She was eating more, but not gaining any excessive weight. She'd felt a little out of sorts as of late, but attributed it to having been out on missions with her team non-stop for the past 4-5 weeks.
She shrugged the thought and her grumbling stomach away, thinking it had to be her body craving more of what it needed due to her constant activity. Or something like that. She looked up at the sky and went back to thoughts of Kakashi, wondering what he was doing at that moment.
Her ever-present worry for him surfaced as she recalled that he was away on a mission. She bit her lip and hoped he was alright. He was formidable enough and she knew that, but she worried none-the-less whenever they were apart.
She reached the narrow path that lead up to her house, quickly noticing the outline of someone sitting on her front steps. She instinctively activated her Byakugan, recognizing immediately that the chakra signature was Kakashi Hatake's. His unexpected presence almost caused her to stumble over herself.
Her curiosity mounted as she wondered why he was there, seemingly awaiting her return. He was supposed to be out in the Land of Water on a mission, not returning for at least another week or so.
Unknowingly, she clutched her groceries tightly against herself. How coincidental it was for her to be thinking of him and have him seemingly appear, as if her thoughts brought him to her...
She watched as he looked up at her approach. He closed the book he was reading and stood, a smile escaping her as he reached his full height and slid his book into his ninja tool pouch.
She felt her fierce curiosity dim as she read the bleak expression in his revealed right eye. Even though his face was covered by a mask, his headband hiding his left eye, she could tell something weighed on him as she neared him.
"Hi, Kakashi-kun," she greeted him warmly, pausing a couple feet away, "What are you doing here?"
"I got back early from my mission," he said as he rolled his shoulders, his eye glued to hers. "Are you busy?" He glanced to her groceries in hand.
"No, not at all. I just stopped at the store to get dinner for myself. Is everything alright?" she asked, sensing he was on edge. "You look... tense."
He smiled under his mask at her perception. "I'm fine. I just..." he paused, looking away for a brief moment before looking back at her again, "I wanted to see a friendly face."
She could tell he was smiling, but sensed something bigger had brought him there besides want of a friend. She decided she wouldn't press him on the matter. If he had come to talk, he would talk.
"Well you're more than welcome to join me? I'm making saury and greens," she smiled up at him.
"I wouldn't want-" he began but was cut off.
"Kakashi-kun," she waved his words away, "come inside." She walked passed him and up the steps to her door.
He turned and watched as she slid her key into the door and stepped inside. She looked back over her shoulder and frowned.
"Come in," she insisted.
What am I doing here? I can't... he started mentally to himself. He felt his heart sink in his chest as he followed her inside.
"Do you want something to drink while I make dinner?" she asked as she quickly slid off her black open-toed sandals. She looked back at him as he stood in her walkway. He looked on as she disappeared into her kitchen.
"I'm fine." He slid his sandals off and followed her, sliding his hands into his pockets as he stopped at the entrance of the kitchen.
He'd been to her house a few times before. She had only moved in about a year or so ago, around the time she became a field instructor.
It was decorated more so than he remembered it from the last time he had been there. Her kitchen had an ivy plant hanging over her sink that had wrapped itself around her curtain rod, and ran down the sides of the window behind the sink. Her kitchen was painted a light lavender color, almost as pale as the color of her eyes, he noted. She had a fruit basket hanging to the right of the sink, hovering over her dish rack, which was empty. Everything was very clean and looked to be in pristine condition.
He turned his head to look around at the rest of her house. He noticed the large stack of books, scrolls, tomes and other papers sprawled out all over the floor near her television and coffee table. It looked as if she sat there most of the time, reading and studying. He noticed some plants in her living room as well. A medium sized palm-tree like plant that had three skinny trunks sat next to her TV. Another fern-y looking plant sat next to the small couch she had that was pushed up against the divider that separated her bedroom from the living room. Her bathroom was down a tiny hallway, where another ivy plant hung almost to the floor.
Her living room was painted a pale turquoise color. The walls were adorned with art and little home furnishing's here and there. He felt relaxed and at home as he looked around at all the little pieces of her that stood out to him.
"Here," she stepped up to him, having made him a cup of tea despite his earlier refusal. "The tea is from the garden," she smiled up at him as she held it out to him.
He looked down at the piping hot tea in her hands, then into her big, lavender eyes. He felt the weight in his heart lift a little as he took the cup from her. "You grow tea?"
"Mm-hmm. Gardening is surprisingly relaxing," she said as she turned and went to unpack her groceries and begin cooking. "Go ahead and sit down. Do you like mustard greens?" she asked as she ruffled through the bag of groceries.
He nodded as he went to pull down his mask to blow on his tea. "I do."
"Me too," she smiled to herself as she emptied everything out onto the counter. She looked to see Kakashi was just pulling his mask back up over his face as he sat down.
She folded the empty grocery bag and stuck it under her sink next to the other's she had saved. She had seen Kakashi's face before, but only a handful of times. She became rather excited at the inevitability of seeing his face as they ate together that evening. He was an extremely handsome man, she girlishly recalled to herself.
She was about to turn back to the task of making dinner when the faraway look in his eye caught her attention again as he seemingly stared on at nothing. She could definitely tell something was wrong, and it worried her.
She walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kakashi-kun?"
He looked up into the familiar, understanding look she always had and knew she could sense his unrest. He assumed his words of wanting to see a friend had also set her off thinking something was wrong.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He enjoyed the feeling of her hand on his shoulder, and the light, alluring nature of her voice. It all felt so good inside to be near her. It felt good to know he could go there, to Ikumi's, and be welcomed without question and treated as a treasured friend. It felt good to know such a place existed in the world for him.
"I'm tired," he said quietly. He looked at her with a sad smile she couldn't see. "I have always lived my life as a protector, but today... I just feel so tired."
Ikumi knew exactly how he felt. She brought her other hand up to hold the small Uchiha pendant at her neck as she sat down next to him, laying the hand on his shoulder on his arm and squeezing gently. The necklace was from Obito, their childhood companion and teammate that died saving them.
"I know," she replied solemnly.
"I've felt like this more and more lately," he admitted, meeting her eyes. "I don't know what's come over me. But I can't shake it." He looked down at her hand on his arm, and again felt a rush of happiness course through him. "I knew if I came here, though... I knew seeing you would make me feel better."
She couldn't hide her smile at his words. It excited her and filled her with glee. She brought her other hand to his arm and squeezed again, "I'm always here for you, Kakashi-kun."
He smiled at the sound of his name on her tongue. It was endearing to know she still felt so close to him, despite the distance truly between them. He laid his free hand over both of hers and squeezed tenderly.
As his gaze lifted from their hands to her face, he was sweetly overwhelmed by her. The way she looked back at him, her lavender eyes looking into him and understanding what it was like to isolate yourself from the world in order to protect it. She understood completely how he felt. And her power; he knew she held the ability to see everything, but with him she didn't need that to understand, to feel how he felt.
But he realized that, in truth, she had no idea how he felt.
Kakashi had feeling's for her, as well. He feared if they were to ever be known, it would only bring harm and complication to her life, as well as his. He didn't want to think about what it would be like to lose her...
But maybe she already knew? he asked himself. He was close with no one else. There was a huge possibility that she had noticed this, but she never spoke of it if she did.
His heart skipped at the hopeful thought that she, too, might feel as he did. Maybe she also hid her emotions away in order to protect them.
Does she think on me? he wondered silently to himself. His heart soared at the possibility.
Ikumi could see he was thinking as he looked back at her. What about, she couldn't guess. But knowing he came to her for comfort made her endlessly happy. She felt confident in her ability to make him feel better. She cared greatly for him and so she knew she couldn't fail.
"I..." he began but cut himself off.
He almost said I love you, but couldn't bring it out of him. He saw she waited patiently to see if he would indeed say something. He wanted to tell her...
Seeing her before him, feeling the warmth of her hands under his... he began to think maybe this is what was missing. Maybe the heavy weight in his heart was the loneliness he knew he didn't have to feel because, well, here was the one important person in his life sitting right in front of him.
Their lives and their positions as Leaf jonin jolted his thoughts. His mind flashed to the potential danger she could be put in if how he felt for her reached the ears of his enemies, and he immediately brushed it all away. He lifted his hand from hers and sat back in the chair with a small sigh.
"I think I've just had a really long week," he chuckled. He hoped he could lighten the tension he'd created in the air about them. He hoped she didn't notice his dark contemplations.
She was disappointed, but could see he didn't want to talk about what he came there for anymore. She just hoped it wasn't because he couldn't tell her.
"Ha, tell me about it," she smirked, going along with his obvious want to get away from what he was previously thinking about. She took her hands back and slapped them lightly on the tops of her thighs, "Well. Are you hungry?
"I am. But I don't want to intrude," he tried to be polite again. He was relieved to see she didn't seem to notice his change of subject too much.
"Your not intruding, Kakashi. It would be nice to eat with someone for a change," she smiled at him as she stood, waiting for him to accept.
He nodded, "How can I say no, then?" He followed her with his eye as she entered the kitchen. She had began talking about how she was going to go to Ichiraku's for dinner, but decided she ate too much ramen and went to the store instead.
'It would be nice to eat with someone for a change,' he replayed her words in his head, watching her put away vegetables into the fridge, then pull out a pot and a pan from under her stove. Those were lonely words disguised by a beautiful smile.
He looked on the table to see she had stopped by the book store as well, the bag with the book still tucked away inside lying next to his arm. He was curious at what book she had purchased.
"Sarutobi-sama has been pretty relentless with missions lately, hasn't he?" she asked as she turned the large burner of her stove on. She looked over at him as she went to open up the package with the fish.
He nodded. "Yeah. I really wasn't expecting to be finished with this last one so soon."
"Mm," she nodded as she ripped open the plastic wrap on the fish, reaching then for a cutting board to put them on, "well at least you get a night's rest before you have to head out again, right?" she chuckled as she pulled a large knife from her knife holder.
He watched on as she cut off the heads of the fish and tossed them into the trash under the sink, continuing to gut the fish and throw the insides into the trash as well. She carried the two fish over to the sink and began rinsing them.
He felt foolish watching on as she did everything.
"Can I help you?" he stood from the table and stepped up next to her, looking over her shoulder as she rinsed all the guts and blood off of the fish.
She looked up at him with a smile, "Of course. Here," she handed the fish over to him as he shoved his gloves into his pockets and pulled his sleeves up, "rinse these, then you can put them back on the cutting board. I'll start the soup."
"Soup?" he asked as he stepped where she had been standing in front of the sink and took over rinsing the fish.
"I'm going to make miso soup. I know you like it," she added as she grabbed a big pot from the stove and came back to the sink. "I need to steal this for a moment," she moved the faucet over to fill the pot up.
Kakashi watched as she blew a piece of hair from her face. It fell back down where it originally was. Grumbling, she used the back of her arm to push it out of her eyes successfully. It made him smile how adorable she could be sometimes. The fact she recalled foods he liked endeared her to him as well.
"Okay, sorry," she moved the faucet back to where he could use it. She bumped him a little as she turned to go back to the stove. "Ooh, sorry, again," she giggled.
"It's alright." He finished rinsing the fish and turned the faucet off. He laid the two dead fish on the cutting board and turned to face her, leaning his back against the counter. He didn't see a towel around, and began to wipe his hands on his pants.
She noticed and let out a tiny gasp. "Shit, I'm sorry. Here," she scrambled for a towel from one of the drawers next to him, pulling one out and handing it to him, "I just washed them all and forgot to put one out."
He laughed at her urgency and expletive. "It's alright. Thank you... is there anything else I can do?"
"Um... do you want to chop greens?" she asked, unsure of what else he could help with.
"Yeah. Are they in the fridge?" he asked, laying the towel down on the counter behind him and pushing away to go to the fridge.
"Mm-hmm. I pickled them myself. They're in the big jar on the top shelf, near the back," she peered over the open fridge door as Kakashi reached in to grab the greens. "Oooh, could you hand me the miso, please?" she reached an arm over the door. He spotted it on the bottom shelf and handed it to her. "Thanks!" she pulled it open as she pulled a ladle from a drawer and began stirring miso into the already bubbling water on the stove.
"You pickled these yourself?" he asked as he set the jar down on the counter to open it. I knew you liked gardening and stuff, but damn, he smiled to himself as the jar popped open. He was impressed with her obvious love for cooking.
"I like it better when I do it, cause I can alter the amount of salt and seasoning's added. I don't like them too strong, you know?" she looked over her shoulder at him as she stirred in more miso. It made her smile to watch him begin pulling the vegetable from the jar and laying it next to the fish. The fish.
She rested the ladle on the handle of the pot and walked over. "Here, let me get these going," she picked up the fish, again brushing up against him as she turned away. She didn't apologize this time.
They were in the kitchen for another 20-30 minutes before everything was ready to eat. Together they made potato and onion miso soup, saury with greens and rice. Ikumi also made a pot of her homegrown tea for them to drink.
"Yay! I'm starvingggg," Ikumi exclaimed giddily as she sat down at the table and looked over all the delicious food they had made.
She watched as Kakashi pulled off his forehead protector and shoved it into his pocket. He then picked up his chop-sticks with his right hand and pulled down his mask with his left. She felt a rush of attraction sweep over her at the sight of the rest of his face. He kept his left eye closed, as the Sharingan was constantly active and it was tiring for him to have to keep that eye open.
He noticed her looking at him and smiled, "You're the only one I trust enough to see how beautiful I really am," he quipped as he reached out to pick up a piece of fish.
His joke made her laugh. "I'm speechless," she joked back, playing along as if his beauty was beyond anything she had ever seen. Deep down, she was ecstatic he trusted her so.
"Heh," he chuckled at her playfulness. He reached out for his tea and took a few sips before going for the soy sauce.
"I hope it tastes good," she looked to him as she lifted her bowl of miso soup to her lips. She paused before drinking her soup, watching him for a reaction. She hoped he liked her cooking.
"I have no doubts," he gathered a piece of fish, greens and rice in his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and smiled as he groaned happily and chewed. "This is delicious, Ikumi-chan."
She grinned. "Good! Eat up!" she slurped her soup, filled with pure joy at his liking of her cooking.
Kakashi felt his cheeks flush as he recalled her eyes at him when he removed his mask. Despite not knowing how she may have felt towards him, her look definitely gave him an inkling of assurance that she found him attractive. He picked up his tea to hide his smile.