Silver shimmered and leaves rustled as a figure glided through the otherwise still forest. Violet eyes scanned, finding nothing wrong until they focused on a decidedly human shaped lump. The owner of said eyes frowned, and slowed, cautiously approaching the unfamiliar lump. The previously mentioned object let out a groan, causing the young kunoichi to stiffen, though only momentarily.
"Who are you?" The question was firm, the voice unwavering, but the addressed shinobi made no attempt to answer. Deciding to continue her advance, the now attack ready girl walked purposefully to the mystery man and poked him with her foot. He groaned again, and turned to look up at the source of his disturbance. His face was covered from his nose down, his hair white and disheveled, and his eyes dark and bored.
"What?" The young woman narrowed her eyes and kicked him again, showing obvious irritation with his lack of respect.
"I asked who you are, and while you're at it, an explanation as to why a Konoha ninja is in Getsugakure would be greatly appreciated." She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling he was frowning at her.
"Hatake Kakashi and Konoha chuunin. I was on a mission to deliver something to your village council when I was attacked by some of your ninja. I managed to fight them off and make it to... wherever we are before collapsing." Her head nodded as she took in what he said, understanding his story to be the cause for his rough look.
"I am Tsukino Yuzuki, a chuunin from Getsugakure. Come, I will escort you to the council." She offered him her hand, but he ignored it, rising on his own and leaving her feeling annoyed and ready to punch him in the face. Instead, she turned brusquely, and stalked off, not caring if he could keep up.
They made it the village without incident, but as soon as they passed through the gates, They were surrounded by people. Though she loathed being of assistance to the rude boy beside her, Yuzuki blocked their advances and glared at the crowd of curious citizens.
"We have important buisness with the council. Back off." Her authoritative voice surprised Kakashi, though no one could tell, and the reaction of the mob was even more startling, as they all dispersed, save two teenagers just a little older than his escort. "Nee-chan, you and nii-san go and check for Wakehise Saburo, Yuuki, and Isamu. I think they were the ones responsible for attacking scarecrow here." The boy snorted, and Kakashi leveled him with a glare that he pointedly ignored.
"Scarecrow? I guess he is kinda skinny, but, isn't that a bit mean?" The girl bit her lip and turned, trying to hold back a giggle.
"His name is Hatake Kakashi." The blunt answer sent the pair into peals of laughter. "Just go." They nodded, still trembling with mirth, as they made their way out to the forest. Yuzuki turned and gave an apologetic look to the irritated shinobi behind her. "Sorry, they aren't house broken yet." He snorted, and a little bit of her anger at the Konoha boy bled out of her.
With that, the two continued their journey, or rather, walked a few more blocks, to the council room. They were all gathered, sending the pubescent soldiers withering looks, as if doubting the urgency of their plight. "Why have you brought this outsider here?" It was one of the elders, the voice raspy and weak.
"I am here to deliver these papers from the Hokage." The group of twelve looked at each other and began murmuring, things like 'peace', 'war', and 'conviniance' were prominent. Kakashi took this as an opportunity to take in the darkened room. The council was sitting on tiered seats, similar to a stadium, though not as grand, with on ornate desk in front of the first four, who were apparently the oldest. Drapes in a dreary indigo kept the bright sunshine from reaching the pale occupants of the room. Rich wine colored rugs covered the floor, all together, it was depressing.
The one who spoke finally held out an impatient hand, and Kakashi complied, giving him the documents. "We shall read and discuss this, Tsukino-san, take him to your home while we deliberate." Yuzuki gave a firm nod, and grabbed the unsuspecting Kakashi by the arm, dragging him out of the room. It wasn't long before they were outside of her house.
"Well, this is it." No sooner did those words leave her mouth than the boy beside her collapse.
Kakashi awoke to the sensation of a hand ghosting across his face. His eyes opened to see the owner of aforementioned hand was none other than Yuzuki. Her, that he knew to be violet, eyes were closed as she seemed to be concentrating on gaging his temperature. Her silver hair fell over her shoulders, brows furrowed in concentration, her lips pink and parted as- He snapped out of that train thought as a blush spread across his thankfully covered face.
Except it wasn't covered. His eyes flicked wildly over the small room, looking frantically for his missing mask. It wasn't until he heard a light chuckle that he realized Yuzuki had opened her eyes and was giving him an amused smirk.
"Looking for something?" He glared, and she laughed outright, causing his cheeks to dust pink, which of course caused her to laugh harder. He grabbed the sheets resting near his waist and drug them up to cover his face.
"Where is my mask?" Her laughter slowed, and she cocked her head to the side, giving him a warm smile that did weird things to his stomach. Which he wrote off as indigestion of course.
"You know, I wasn't sure if you wore it to hide a major deformity or to make girls swoon from the mystery that is your face, but I never suspected you just sucked at hiding emotions." His face flamed as he glared impossibly harder. "It's kind of adorable, really." More indigestion. She just shook her head and pulled the piece of fabric he had been looking for out from behind her and held it over his head.
He snatched it from her, leaving a smug smile on her face. She really found his reactions adorable. "Tell me, Hatake-san, why didn't you tell me you were suffering from two broken ribbs, three cracked, a sprained wrist, ruptured spleen, and several scars?" He had just finished replacing his beloved mask and gave her an exasperated look.
"The mission came first." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, a lot of good you would do for your village incapacitated." He glared and she smirked.
"Where am I, anyways?" Just as those words left his mouth, the door flung open revealing the two from earlier.
"Yuzu-chan!" She turned to the pair and frowned.
"Sora-chan, Kyou-kun, he's injured, don't be annoying." Her scold was half-hearted and all together ineffective as the filed into the room.
"We just wanted to tell you that we found the people you asked about, and you were right." Yuzuki nodded and looked down at her patient.
"Well Kashi-kun, what do you want to eat. We can make Kyou cook for entering without knocking." She sent him a conspiratorial wink and he blushed, though no one could tell, thankfully.
"Miso with eggplant." She smiled and waved her hand towards the door, signaling for the boy to leave. Which he did... huffily. The other left as well, thankfully, and Kakashi focused on the girl in front of him. "Who are they?"
She snorted, amusement in her eyes. "My older brother and sister." He frowned and turned away from her, eyes traveling over the lavender room. It really was small, only the twin sized bed with lilac covers and a small bedside table. As he studied her room, Yuzuki studied him. He was almost endearing as he took in everything. She wasn't quite sure what it was about his face that rid her of most of her irritation with the young boy, but one look at the sweet face and she couldn't help but find him cute, in a puppy sort of way.
"Where are your parents?" The question broke Yuzuki out of her revery, causing her to blink furiously.
"Nani?"
"Where are your parents?" She shook her head to clear it, and put on a neutral look.
"My mother is on a mission in Amegakure, and my father, well, he is no longer with us." He had the courtesy to look chagrined, but, it didn't really matter, as Yuzuki was looking down at the ground.
"I'm sorry." She looked up and smiled, pretending that the question hadn't upset her.
"It's okay, I'm gonna go help with the food. You get some rest." With that, she left, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts. He took full advantage of this opportunity, pulling out the book Minato-sensei had given him. The cover was a cheerful yellow, with a depicting of a shirtless man holding a disheveled woman. 'Icha Icha Paradise' was written by Minato's sensei, Jiraiya, and Kakashi was curious as too why The Yellow Flash was so captivated by an obviously romantic book.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Yuzuki was stirring the broth as Sora chopped the eggplant and Kyou set the table.
"So, Yuzu-chan, where are you gonna sleep?" The silver haired girl frowned, not having anticipated this problem.
"The couch, I guess..." Kyou snorted, and Yuzuki sent him a glare. "Just shut up." His black eyes flashed in mischief as he slowly crept up behind her. She had just decided to turn when he pounced on her, knocking her on to the floor. A yelp escaped her startled lips and the two started wrestling on the floor. Kyou managed to pin her to the ground, effectively maneuvering her hands beneath his knees. She pulled her legs up, wrapped them around his neck, and proceeded to strangle him.
All the while, Sora just looked down on her siblings and sighed.
"Come on guys, you're gonna scare the invalid..." Right on cue, the white haired boy dashed into the kitchen, frantically searching for the source of the disturbance. His eyes narrowed in on the two on the floor.
"Hey Kashi-kun, wanna lend me a hand here?" He blinked. Then blinked again. And then he laughed, laughed so hard he doubled over and fell on to the floor. He could tell his stay here was going to be an adventure.
Dinner was surprisingly quiet as everyone dug into the soup. The silence was, however, broken when Kyou let out a huge belch. Yuzuki snickered as Sora covered her mouth in amusement. Kakashi frowned, offended by his behavior. "You're worse than Obito." Kyou smirked, causing Kakashi to glare.
"Coming from the wierdo who eats with a mask, that doesn't really hurt." Kakashi scowled as the two girls laughed harder.
"Don't be so mean, nii-san. He obviously has a stick up his ass." Kyou snorted, and the white haired boy turned his frosty glare towards the new, violet eyed offender. She just grinned, uncaring of his agitation. "How do you eat with that mask on?" Sora snorted and Kyou chuckled, leaving Kakashi to flounder for a response.
"How do you fight for your village if all you do is mess around?" The words were meant to be biting, but the girl just grinned wider and shrugged. It wasn't until he looked into her eyes that he saw that they had hurt.
"Some of us know how to balance work and play." He was battling between keeping silent and apologizing, when Sora interrupted.
"So Yuzuki-chan, since Hatake-san took your dinner night, what do you want tomorrow?" The silver haired kuniochi pondered this, muling over all her options.
"Deep fried ice cream." Kakashi groaned, causing the siblings to give him an odd look.
"What's the problem scarecrow, watching your figure?" The annoyed boy rolled his eyes.
"I hat fried foods and things that are sweet." Yuzuki smirked.
"Definatly deep fried ice cream."
Dark eyes glared at violet, as an indignant boy wrapped his arms protectively around his body. "Come on Kashi-kun. You know, I did this while you were knocked out." His gaze narrowed.
"That doesn't help." She just rolled her eyes and, before he could blink, he was pinned to the wall with a kunai to his throat. He tryed writhing and bucking, but no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't get away.
"Sorry Kashi-kun. It's my jutsu. Just relax, and it will go by quickly." He scowled, though when she pulled off the mask it looked more like a pout. "You're injured, you need help with stuff." With that she pulled off his shirt and undid his bandages.
"Why isn't your brother doing this?" His question didn't even faze her, as she careful unwound the stained strips of fabric.
"He would be to rough." Kakashi sighed, and wished he had his mask as her hand brushed against his abdomen. "Let's play twenty questions." He frowned, but didn't decline, so she took that as a yes. "What are your parents like?" His frown deepened.
"Okaa-san died when I was young. Oto-san was an amazing Shinobi, renowned as the 'White Fang'. During a mission, he was given the choice of saving his comrades and completing the mission. He chose his teammates. Soon after, he commited suicide, since the village was so condescending." Yuzuki paused in her menstruation, her breath catching.
"Gomen." He sighed, so use to the throb in his chest, he didn't react.
"Whatever. How about yours?" She smiled slightly, a nostalgic look on her face.
"Oto-san died when I was ten. He was on a mission, and perished honorably. I remember vividly, him coming home after one of the longer ones, exhausted and sweaty. He always was able to pull Kyou on his back, swing Sora and I up on each one of his arms, and kiss Okaa-san senseless." She paused, lip trembling a bit. "Okaa-san broke a little when he died, but she does her best not to show us." She was blinking back tears, hands quivering as she finished unraveling him, and began washing the cuts.
"You mentioned Obito, what's your team like?" He snorted in irritation, despite the now strawberry pink dusting on his cheeks.
"Minato-sensei is famous, you might have heard of him, the 'Yellow Flash'", he glanced at her to see her nod in recognition. "He was trained by the legendary Sannin Jiraiya. Obito is a moron, regardless of the fact he's an Uchiha. And Rin is an overbearing twit, who is to busy drooling over me to be useful." By now, Yuzuki was shaking with laughter. A small smile graced the young boys face. "What about your teammates?"
"Sora is the oldest, fifteen and just like dad. Then Kyou, he's fourteen and identical to mom. Personality wise of course, in looks it's the exact opposite." Kakashi snorted, causing Yuzuki to look up from the medicine she was spreading on his chest.
"Your dad was a shy, blushing, sweethaert while your mom is a sarcastic jerk?" She grinned and nodded.
"Yep. The whole relationship dynamic was a bit awkward, but it worked." He contemplated that, and she began wrapping him up again.
"You taking the couch?" She nodded. "Gomen." She shrugged, used to worse sleeping conditions. "Not about the couch." She looked up, confusion in her eyes. "I get it. You guys joke around to stick together. Besides, you'd have to be a good shinobi to pin me down like that."
"Arigato." They finished up in compananable silence, enjoying each others company.
"Hatake-san, what type of games do you like to play?" Kakashi looked over to the one called 'Sora'. He wasn't sure how to answer the question, as he didn't play games. His lips parted for him to respond accordingly when the other, Kyou, interrupted him.
"Don't be silly Sora-chan, Scarecrow here's to uptight to play games." The affronted boy glared at the blond offender, who once again ignored his aggravation.
"For your information, I do play games." The words left his mouth before he could stop them, though the taken aback expression on Kyou's face brought a smug look to his.
"Oh really?" His face fell as Yuzuki entered the front door, groceries in hand. "Then, prey tell Kashi-kun, what game do you want to play?" He turned sheepishly towards her, one hand behind his head, as he chuckled.
"Ano... why don't you pick, Yuzuki-san?" She smirked, dropped the bag of groceries on the counter, and proceeded to flop down on the couch beside him.
"If you insist, Kashi-kun. Truth or dare!" Sora and Kyou began cheering as Kakashi groaned. "Or, are you to uptight?" With the threat of looking like an idiot, he put on a brave face and smiled.
"What ever you say, Yuzu-chan." She grinned triumphantly and pulled a bottle out of thin air. "Where- never mind." Kyou slapped him on the back, and Sora giggled as they formed a circle.
Placing the bottle in the center, Yuzuki grinned at her siblings and guest. "All right, let's see who goes first." She spun the bottle and everyone watched it intently. Finally it stopped on Sora. "Truth or dare, nee-chan?" The black haired girl giggled, and replied thoughtfully.
"Truth..." Yuzuki smirked, and winked at her brother.
"So Sora, who do you think is hotter, Yuuki or Isamu?" The girl in question blushed, and looked down at the ground.
"...Neither..." Kakashi grimaced at the squeal Yuzuki let loose, and Kyou's jaw dropped.
"You like Saburo?" The silver eyed girl shook her head furiously. Kakashi sighed in frustration, not understanding how he was supposed to enjoy the game if he didn't know who these people were. Yuzuki gave him an odd look, and passed the bottle to Sora.
"Your turn." Sora flashed her sister a grateful look and hurriedly spun the bottle. It landed on Kyou.
"Truth or dare?" He grinned triumphantly.
"Dare." Sora gave Yuzuki a conspiratorial look, and whispered something in her ear. Yuzuki nodded and Sora looked back at her waiting brother.
"Kiss Hatake-san." Kyou's face blanched, and Kakashi waved his hands in front of his face in panic.
"Hell no!" Kyou gave Kakashi a worried look.
"Come on man, if I don't do this, they won't let me live it down." He was pleading, eyes searching.
"No!" Yuzuki laughed.
"Scaredy cat." He glared and turned to face Kyou.
"Fine." With that, the two boys leaned in, let their lips touch for a nanosecond, and broke apart, wiping their mouths in disgust. Kakashi then turned a milk curdling look on the hyperventilating sisters. "I hate you." She grinned.
"Love you too, Kashi-kun." He growled and watched as Kyou spun the bottle, then grinned sadisticly as it landed on Yuzuki.
"Truth or dare, imooto?" She smirked at his challenge.
"Dare." He grinned at Kakashi, then turned back to his sister.
"I dare you, to walk around the village... naked." Her eyes widened as her face paled.
"What the hell Kyou-kun? All you did was kiss a cute guy! Why do I have to walk around in front of everyone naked?" He just smirked as she fumed. Sora put a comforting hand on her shoulder, which was just shrugged off.
"You don't have to. You could always decline... scaredy cat." She growled.
"Fine." And with that, she spun the bottle.
"So you give up?"
"No. You didn't specify time. I'll do it tonight." He scowled, and the bottle landed on Kakashi. "Truth or dare?" He gulped. He didn't want to look like a coward, so he uttered his only real choice.
"Dare."
"I dare you to say 'in my pants' after everything you say until I say stop." His brows furrowed in confusion.
"Why in my pants?" The room erupted in snickers as a blush painted across his face. "It's not funny in my pants!" He frowned as once again it sounded wierder than it was and the laughter grew. He resigned himself to silence as he spun the bottle, which promptly landed on Sora. "Truth or dare in my pants?" She smiled lightly at him, understanding his intentions and irritation.
"Dare." He frowned in consideration.
"I dare you to sing a song in my pants." She blushed as her sibling broke out into fresh laughter.
"Ano... which song?"
"I don't know", he thought back to one of the stupid songs Rin was always listening to, "Touch me in my pants?" Even she couldn't keep from laughing at that.
"We're starting it over, we're making way for destiny. A time to turnover a better life for you and me. A new recreation to channel all this energy. Let's solve the equation, I need to feel, you close to me. So baby let your conscience go. There's no turning back when love takes hold. Hold me baby, drive me crazy. Touch me all night long. Make me love you, kiss and hug you. Touch me all night long." Kakashi's eye began to twitch as he recalled Rin calling this their song.
"The more that I see you, the more I know that love belongs. With you in my mind boy, I wouldn't know what's right from wrong. Cos love will takeover, and leave you out of sight and mind. You've got to go with the feeling, and trust fate to be kind, and baby let your conscience go. There's no turning back when love takes hold. Hold me baby, drive me crazy, touch me all night long. Make me love you, kiss and hug you, touch me all night long. Hold me baby, drive me crazy, touch me all night long. Make me love you, kiss and hug you, touch me all night long." Both of Kakashi's eyes were currently twitching, and both Yuzuki and Kyou were doubled over in laughter at his dilemma.
"And baby let your conscience go, there's no turning back once love gets hold. Hold me baby, drive me crazy, touch me all night long. Make me love you, kiss and hug you, touch me all night long." At the end of the song, all three siblings were rolling around on the floor, unable to breath properly while Kakashi was planning ways to avoid Rin for the rest of his life.
"Ooooh! I know! Karaoke! Sora and Kakashi gave Kyou a questioning look as Yuzuki nodded fervently.
"Yeah! Let's sing songs, It's way more fun. Go on Sora-chan, spin for who goes next." The dark haired girl complied, and the bottle stopped in front of Kyou.
"Alright, sing-" She was cut off with a knock from the door. Every one turned to look at it as Sora rose to answer. A solemn man was standing there, his indigo hair sweat covered and sticking to his skin. "What's wrong, Akiyama-san?" His gaze, which had been focused on the ground leveled with hers. "Sora-chan, I need to speak privately with you and your siblings." The remaining two rose, and left Kakashi with a sense of dread.
"No!" He cringed at the shout, and turned away from the door, attempting to give them some privacy. "Who?" The seething question made the white haired boy freeze. When the door opened, only the two female filed in.
"I'll start dinner." Kakashi nodded as the eldest trudged into the kitchen. He glanced at the girl still standing in the entry way, expecting to see tears in her eyes. Instead, it appeared she was trying to force a smile on her face. His face softened, and she looked up at him, lips curved in an obviously forced way.
"Come on Kashi-kun, we'll go for a walk." He nodded, rising to join her at the door. She just grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the house. He wasn't sure where she was taking him, but at this point it didn't really matter. They left the village gates and, when they finally stopped, they were in the clearing where they first met.
She plopped down on the ground, slumping over so her silver hair hid her face. Kakashi sighed, and sat down next to her. Noticing she was trembling, he pulled the crying girl against him, understanding what she was going through. He bagan to stroke her back when, abruptly, she looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks.
"She wasn't even on a combative mission. She was just supposed to bring a peace offering to Amegakure. A peace offering!" Kakashi just pulled her closer, wishing this didn't happen. "And now Kyou's run off, to kami knows where." She was looking down again, hugging closely to the boy next to her. He glanced down at her, wondering what was going on in her head. "Arigato, Kashi-kun." He stiffened at that. "I know that as shinobi, this is just a part of the life we chose." Her voice was no longer the strangled, weeping mess of a few seconds ago. It was now detached, void of her earlier passion.
He lifted her chin, and looked into her watery eyes. "Yuzu-chan..." Her eyes widened, and she reached up to cup his covered cheek as his other hand rested on his hip. Remembering the book his sensei gave him, he leaned in, gently kissing the distraught girl on his lap. She gasped and threw her arms around him, effectively melting into the embrace. As soon as they broke for air she pulled down his mask, and gave him a small, chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"Arigato, Kashi-kun." They were the same words as before, but now, they were spoken with real emotions, gratitude and slight melancholy lilting in her words. He smirked down at her, and replaced the fabric, glad he would be able to smile like an idiot without her knowing. The couple sat there a while, enjoying the silence and company. As the sun started to make it's way back down to the horizon, the rose, and walked back to the home.
Sora was putting the plates on the table as Kyou was sitting and glaring at the silverware. Everything was silent, no one even attempted to break the tension. Halfway through the meal of shoyu ramen, another knock sounded on the door. Kyou slammed his fists on the table and stormed out of the room. Sora clenched her hands together, leaving Yuzuki to answer it. A blond man stood there holding an envelope and smiling politely.
"I'm here for Kakashi." The kunoichi nodded, and made room for him to enter. He complied, noting the dinner on the table.
"I am Tsukino Yuzuki, this is my sister Sora, and my brother, Kyou, is in his room. Please take a seat and join us." The smile on her face was convincing, keeping up the illusion for the unfamiliar visitor that they had not in fact just lost their mother.
"I am Namikaze Minato, Kakashi's sensei." She just smiled and went to the kitchen to retrieve another bowl. The dinner was just as silent as before, and when it was over, both Konoha ninja rose, thanked their hosts for the dinner, and left.
AN: I just wanted to write a oneshot with Kakashi when he was still young and more likely to react the way I portrayed him. Feel free to review, while this will remain a oneshot, if people like reading it as much as I did writing it, a sequel may arise... Also, flames are welcome. I want to know what you think, even if you hate it, that's how an author improves.