Author's Note: Phew! I am back from a looonnnggg hiatus! For anyone that follows me or knows of me or follows my other stories, I am extremely sorry. Life got BUSY and just took me away. But, I have some down time again and I've been lurking on FanFiction again for quite some time and this idea has been in the back of my head for a couple of months now so I decided, why not? I'm ready for a new story, and to finish this one this time. And if you happen to follow Abstract Disappointments, just know that I am completely re-editing the first few chapters and then I will be finishing that one as well. This is a Kakashi/Sakura Fic. I hope you guys enjoy! Leave me reviews and let me know if you want me to continue!
Chapter One
Is this supposed to be fun?
Kakashi let out an annoyed sigh as another bell rang out through the kitchen, signaling another order. The kitchen was hot, steamy and bustling with activity. Cooks ran in a quick pace to get their ingredients, servers bustled in and out to take out plates to their tables, and Kakashi just stood there and watched over everyone. Making sure everything was running in an orderly fashion. It was dinner rush and it always got busy around this time and this was when Kakashi's annoyance went from a four to a ten.
Leaning against the door frame to his office he saw a new cook panicking as he dumped a burnt steak to the side and got out another to redo it. Normally Kakashi would just watch and laugh but tonight was Saturday and there was no time to mess around. Squeezing through the line of cooks he made his way over to the newbie, stepping in.
"Let me handle this." He ordered as he took the pan from his hands.
"S-Sorry Chef. My mistake." He stuttered out. "I will do better."
"Go help on the fish station for now. I'll let you know when you can come back."
"Yes, Chef." He said as he scampered off.
Kakashi proceeded to cook the steak as he heard a familiar voice next to him.
"Ah, Kakashi. What's the head chef doing cooking in the line, huh? Didn't feel like hiding out in your office today?"
Kakashi knew it was Shikamaru without looking over. Shikamaru was a good cook and they've been friends for a good few years now. He was valuable to the team and Kakashi had complete trust and faith in him to run this kitchen all by himself if need be. With another sigh he replied.
"Yea, well, we need to get these orders out and this isn't a five star restaurant for nothing. Can't have cooks burning all of the food and wasting it."
Shikamaru chuckled in response. "Look at you, doing the right thing."
"I try." Kakashi said as he poured some sauce onto the steak.
A couple of hours later when the dinner rush was over and the restaurant was closing down, they all were hard at work cleaning up the kitchen. Shikamaru was smoking on a cigarette as he was cleaning out the stove and Kakashi was wiping down the counter tops.
"I thought I told you I didn't want you smoking in here Shikamaru."
"Yea, well, you have yet to enforce it." He said as he paused to look up at Kakashi.
With a roll of his eyes Kakashi sighed and rang out the rag in the nearby sink.
"Hey." Shikamaru spoke up. He was standing, leaning against the counter now. "I have something for you I wanted to talk to you about."
Kakashi eyed him suspiciously as he brought out his favorite Icha Icha Paradise novel and began to read.
"Mmhmm?" He said as he gave up cleaning.
"This job came up, a good one. I was offered to go and apply for it, but I don't want it."
Kakashi didn't look away from his book.
"If it's such a good job, then why don't you want it?"
"Because it's not my style. I don't have the patience or will to deal with it. But, I know that you can. And you deserve it." He flicked some ashes off of his cigarette into the nearby sink. "We're talking six figures."
This caught his attention. Kakashi closed the book and looked him directly in the eye.
"What's the catch?"
"Look," Shikamaru said as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Just hear me out. It's a personal chef for a woman named Sakura Haruno. There's no real catch besides the fact that she has a bit of a reputation of being kind of a—"
"A bitch? No, thank you." Kakashi finished for him.
"Hard to deal with." Shikamaru finished. "But it's pretty simple if you can just get past it. All you have to do is show up and cook. And you get paid six figures. Easy, right?"
There was a silence as Kakashi opened his book and began to read again and Shikamaru bent down to finish the stove.
"How does she have a reputation if I've never heard of her?" Kakashi wondered out loud.
"Because she's on a different pay grade then us. Lives out in some rich neighborhood. Her class of people don't talk to our class of people if you get what I'm saying." Standing up he flicked his cigarette in the sink. "But, I've heard talk of her around town before. Word travels fast around here and I have buddies who've dealt with her before. They're not a big fan."
"And you somehow think that I will have the ability to deal with her?" Kakashi asked as he turned a page in his book. "How'd you even find out about this job?"
"A buddy of my Dad's approached him about it, knowing that I was a cook and all. Thought I might be interested in it." Throwing the dirty rag into the bucket that said "dirty" in big bold letters on it he turned back to Kakashi.
"And you're just going to hand over a six figure job to me when you could easily have it?" He questioned as he flipped another page in his Icha Icha Paradise.
"Yup. Besides, once you leave I know I'm getting your job. And I would much rather be head chef here then anything else. You know I love it here." Shikamaru said as he washed his hands in the sink. "Look, don't think about it too long." He said before walking off to help the other cooks finish up the last bit of cleaning.
Snapping the book shut Kakashi went to stand up when he noticed a piece of paper on the counter next to him. An address and a time with the words "Don't be late" in bold. Eyeing Shikamaru from across the room he picked up the slip of paper and thought about it. Stuffing the paper in his pocket he snuck out the back door to head home, leaving the rest to close up. It was official, Shikamaru knew him too well.
Kakashi sat in his car, staring up at the building in front of him. The house was huge, so big in fact he wondered if there was a whole family living in there. When Shikamaru said rich neighborhood, he didn't think he meant this rich. The house was three stories and expanded to it's left and right, almost like two different wings of the house. There was a gate that closed the building in and Kakashi suspected it was closed more often than it was open.
The house has plenty of yard with more than enough room between the next couple of houses to it's left and right. There were flower bushes everywhere, decorating the front of the house with a big cherry blossom tree in the front yard and Kakashi wondered if the Haruno woman took the time to actually work on the yard herself or if she just paid someone to do it for her. Stepping out of his car he walked across the street and up to the gate, looking around for a way in. There was a camera to his right and what looked to be an answering machine to speak into. Just as he was about to push the button to ring for entrance, the gates opened. He was being watched.
Stepping in past the gate he had another look around. The driveway was one big circle with a fountain in the middle. The water trickled down peacefully as birds flew here and there, basking in the fountain. Kakashi wondered how far back this property went but he wasn't going to ask that out loud. Stepping up to the big double doors he knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered he groaned to himself and rang the doorbell. Why did he feel like this was going to be an extremely tiring day?
Just as he thought no one was going to answer again the door cracked open. A blonde haired girl dressed in what seemed to be a maid outfit and a frustrated look on her face peeked her head through. "Who are you?" She questioned through squinted eyes.
"Uhm, I was told to be here for the job opening—"
"You that Nara guy?" She interrupted.
This caught Kakashi by surprise and he jumped to make up a lie.
"Uh, no, I'm Kakashi Hatake. I was told Shikamaru Nara couldn't take the job and I was sent instead."
"Follow me." She said quickly not appearing to really care who he was.
He stepped through and closed the door behind him, taking a look around inside. There was a big stair case to the end of the room that parted in two different directions. To his right was what looked to be a greeting room and to his left was a dining room.
The girl was moving at a much quicker pace than he was and he quickly caught up, not able to get a good look around. She led him through some twists and turns before leading him through a door. What appeared before him was a marvelous kitchen. Everything was stainless steel, the counters were a nice black and white marble and the drawers and cupboards were a nice black finish. There was more than enough appliances as well as three sinks. One on the island and one on the other end of the kitchen. And two refrigerators. There was a place for anything you could think of to cook with in this kitchen. To put it mildly, this was Kakashi's dream kitchen that he always hoped to have one day.
"This is the kitchen. This will be your domain. Everything you will need will be in here." She stated before pointing out a few places and listing off what went where. "The silverware is here, the pots and pans go here, cooking utensils over to your left."
Kakashi quickly made a mental note of everything she was saying to him before another girl stormed into the kitchen. She had really short red hair and looked to be out of breath.
"Ariel, Miss Haruno is requesting you." She said before eyeing Kakashi. "Who's this?"
"Of course she is." She said as she rolled her eyes. "And he's the new chef. That is if he passes the test and she decides it to be so."
"Test?" Kakashi said out loud for the first time in a while. Shikamaru never said anything to him about a test.
The supposed girl named Ariel spoke up.
"Yes. I was just about to get to that. Miss Haruno is very picky and she won't let just any ordinary chef cook for her. She knows you are here and will be expecting dinner in two hours. That should give you plenty of enough time to cook something up. Once dinner is finished, she will decide if she likes you or not."
With a roll of his eyes Kakashi sighed and began to think twice if this job was really worth it. Kakashi loved cooking and he didn't know if he was willing to give up that love for money. He didn't want anyone or anything souring his passion for food and if things were going to be as bad as everyone made it out to be, he imagined that he would hate cooking in just a few months.
"Don't do that out loud around Miss Haruno or you'll be fired on the spot." The red headed girl giggled. "She is very particular and likes things a certain way and she certainly doesn't stand for rude behavior. Here's to hoping you stick around." The girl said with a raise of her eyebrows before whisking out of the kitchen.
"She's right." Ariel said. "I'll go over all of that later. Right now, I don't really have the time." She walked to a door on the other side of the kitchen and opened it. "This is the pantry. Anything food related that you need should be in here."
Kakashi took a peek inside and furrowed his brows. Pantry? This was more like a small grocery store with the amount of rows of items that were in here. He could see that everything was extremely organized by spices, vegetables, mixtures and other ingredients of all kinds.
"I have to go. I take it you can handle it from here." She said before heading to the exit door. "I'll be back in a bit to help you the rest of the way. Oh," She paused and turned around. "And Miss Haruno doesn't eat seafood."
And just like that Kakashi was alone in the kitchen with the sound of soft footsteps padding away and the door whisking back and forth. Letting out a low whistle he looked around again. Well then, that was interesting, he thought to himself. Kakashi wondered what he was supposed to cook for a woman who he had never met before. He knew close to nothing about the types of foods she liked aside from the whole seafood bit. Should he go for a meat dish with some sides or a simple elegant pasta dish? Should he go simple or all out?
Kakashi knew that what he was best at cooking was a steak and decided to play it safe. Grabbing all of the utensils and necessary ingredients he would need, he got to work and hoped for the best.
Some time later when he was almost finished, Ariel popped back in the kitchen, looking over his food choices with scrutiny.
"What did you decide to make?" She questioned. "It smells delicious."
"I've got a nice alcatra steak cut into thin slices here, seasoned to perfection if I do say so myself," She rolled her eyes at this. "some marinated artichoke hearts, and a simple gourmet salad."
"Hmm. Hopefully she'll like it. Grab a wine glass." She ordered as she left to get a bottle of wine.
Doing as he was told he laid out the glass and began preparing to lay the dish. She came back with a bottle of red wine and Kakashi wondered how much that one bottle cost.
"Miss Haruno only drinks red wine. The more bitter it is, the better she likes it. This is a personal favorite of hers."
Kakashi said nothing as he watched her poor the wine. When she was done she slid the glass over to him and turned to him directly.
"Alright. Miss Haruno is already seated. She will always be seated five minutes before serving time. If you aren't out there on time, you're fired. So, always be prepared and plan ahead. Do not speak to her unless spoken to and don't forget, serve from the right."
Kakashi always considered himself to be a laid back guy. Never really caring much about anything and he couldn't remember the last time he had been nervous. But there was a tiny part of him that was almost scared to go out that door and to finally see what all of the fuss was about. And there was a part of him that didn't want to fail either. While he had always been a good cook, he had to admit he didn't know much about serving and people skills weren't his strong suit.
With an annoyed sigh that he kept to himself this time he grabbed the plate of food and the glass of wine and figuring that he didn't really care if he got the job or not, he headed out the side door. Kakashi was greeted with a very big dining room. Much bigger than the first one that he saw earlier. There were candles lined all over the places that were already lit, which he suspected had something to do with Ariel and that red headed girl. There were paintings adorning the walls that he suspected cost a fortune. The table was extremely long and while there were many seats at the table, only one was occupied.
There was the sound of a throat clearing before he realized that he had paused in his steps and was too busy looking around. "I'm over here."
His eyes fell to the woman sitting at the end of the table. Kakashi didn't know what he was expecting to see but a strikingly young woman with even more strikingly pink hair wasn't it. With the way everyone had been calling her "Miss Haruno" he had assumed that she was a woman that was closer to the older side, far older than him. This woman looked to be in her early twenties maybe. She was dressed in what looked to be an expensive black outfit, jewelry adorned her wrists and neck and her hair fell to her waist. Her face was clear of any imperfections and her green eyes were staring at him as if he was an annoyance.
Gliding over to where she sat, he laid her plate of food in front of her and her glass of wine without saying a word. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Was he supposed to stand there and watch her eat? Go back to the kitchen? He looked around for Ariel so that she could hopefully direct him in what to do but there was no one around except for them.
"You can stay put for now." The voice rang out through the empty dining room.
She had the type of voice that made people stop what they were doing and pay attention. An authoritative voice. A type of voice that demanded to be heard. Kakashi did as he was told.
"What did you cook for me?" She asked as she grabbed her wine, tasting it.
"Alcatra steak strips, artichoke hearts, and a gourmet salad."
Picking up her fork and knife she cut a piece of the meat off and proceeded to taste it. Kakashi would never admit it out loud but the approving nod she gave made him smile a little on the inside. Too easy, he thought to himself.
"I hate artichokes." She said once she had swallowed the food she had been chewing.
The smile instantly turned into a glare. Kakashi watched as she skipped over the artichokes and scooped up a bite of the salad, chasing it with wine.
"Not bad." She said before taking another bite of the steak. "It's alright."
"Thank you." He said in reply. She eyed him up and down, studying him, before going back to her food.
"I have a strict schedule. Breakfast is at eight am sharp. Lunch at one. And dinner at seven pm on the dot. Can you make these times?" She paused in her eating to give him an expectant look, waiting for his answer.
Eight in the morning? Does she have any idea how early I would have to get up to be here in enough time to cook for her? This woman is crazy. He thought to himself.
"If you can't make the times, then say so, so that I can find someone who can." She barked out.
With an inner groan Kakashi replied. "Yes, that's fine."
Nodding she began to proceed eating. It was silent for the remaining time and it wasn't until she had finished her plate and sat back in her chair with her glass of wine that she spoke again.
"Ariel will explain the rest to you. I trust you can see yourself out." She eyed him over her glass.
With this Kakashi turned to leave, not uttering a word. Her voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"You're forgetting something."
With a roll of his eyes that she couldn't see he turned around to see her nod towards her plate. Returning to pick up her plate he left towards the kitchen. Ariel and the redheaded girl were waiting for him on the other side.
"What'd she say?" The redheaded demanded gleefully.
"Shhh, Mika, don't be so loud!" Ariel whispered fiercely.
With a giggle Mika covered her mouth with a smile and a small 'oops' escaping from her. Kakashi could already tell that she was going to get on his nerves. Setting the plate in the sink he shrugged.
"I guess I'm okay. She said Ariel would explain the rest."
There was proud look in Ariel's eyes. "Good." She said with a smirk. "Here's your key."
She held out a shiny object and handed it to Kakashi.
"That's the key to the back door. It leads through the small keeping room in the back. Don't lose it because that's how you'll be getting in and out every day." As she spoke she proceeded to wash the dish clean. "Miss Haruno also does not go grocery shopping so every Monday there will be a man here to drop off the food for you. He delivers at seven am so if you're not here in enough time, you'll have to make up for it and spend your own money."
Kakashi tried his best to listen and remember everything but all he wanted to do was go home and reach Icha Icha. It had only been a couple of hours of work and already he was exhausted. The comforting silence of his small apartment was calling his name and he was itching to get out of there.
"Don't worry about washing dishes, that's our job!" Mika spoke up as she leaned over the counter resting her chin in the palms of her hands. "As well as mopping, vacuuming, doing the laundry, folding the laundry, dusting—"
"Enough." Ariel cut her off with a roll of her eyes. "God, you never stop talking sometimes." Drying the dish with a towel she put it away in the cupboard. "You can head out now. It'll be a long day for you tomorrow."
"Oh, that's for sure!" Mika said with a giggle. "Here's to hoping you don't quit like the rest of them!"
"Quit?" He said out loud before he could stop himself.
With a sigh Ariel turned around. "Yes. All of the other chefs before you have quit because of Miss Haruno's short temper and pickiness. They eventually get sick of it and look for work elsewhere or they get fired for not meeting her criteria. I've been here for a year now and the longest chef I've seen made it three months before she fired him because he cooked her something that he forgot she didn't like to eat."
Kakashi just stared at this. Damn that Shikamaru. He never let on about any of this. Never said there would be a test. Never said the guy before him was fired. Never said it would be this demanding of a schedule. And he sure as hell never said anything about her being so young. He was going to have to grill him the next time he saw him. Kakashi knew that he could still opt out. It wasn't too late to quit now and go back to the restaurant. But, he knew deep down inside as well as Shikamaru that he had been bored at the restaurant and looking for something different for quite some time now. Maybe this was what he needed. Maybe this was the change he was looking for. A bit extreme yes but it could be it.
Mika interrupted his thoughts with an extended hand. "Welcome to the team!" She said gleefully.
Authors note: I enjoyed writing this chapter! Let me know what you guys think and if you want me to continue. Let me know what you love and hate. xoxo