march 5th

the tall man walks slowly through the small laneway between the tombstones. a somewhat peculiar person; he seems almost otherworldly with his messy gray-white hair, though he looks barely forty. the way he walks has a certain sway—deliberate and very clearly laid-back, but not so much slouching. his hooded lids hide a pair of sharp eyes, and on his left eye, unnoticeable to the ignorant, runs a scar the same color as his skin. despite all his rather peculiar general appearance, he's incredibly handsome with his nicely fitting dark two-piece, white button-up and no tie; a raggedy haggard charm. kakashi hatake has always been a good-looking man.

kakashi stops by a tidy grave with a plain-looking black marble headstone and crouch down to put a bouquet of white lilies below it before straightening himself back.

"it's getting warmer. been great, these last few weeks. winter's already long gone," he says without any sort of preamble. for barely a split-second he smiles as he looks up and around at the sky and the trees, lines outside his eyes crinkling just slightly, "rin loves this season a lot, remember. always standing under sakura trees, gaping like a stupid fish."

yet we both love that stupid fish, he thinks candidly. probably you more so than me.

kakashi brings his sight back down to the black marble, embossed with the silver letters of obito uchiha. it's almost as if talking to his living self, he muses, as his friend's coloring—his hair, his eyes—were as dark as the stone. kakashi's eyes were black himself, but their eyes had always been different despite being the same shade. though equally shrewd, obito's eyes had always been bright and twinkling with mischief, and kakashi's were—and still are, might be even more now—melancholic and tired.

he stands there quietly, staring at sometimes his friend's stone, sometimes the open sky for some time, barely realizing another person's presence approaching only a distance away.

she is so different than himself in the way that she carries herself—the pale blonde woman looks a frightfully colorful creature compared to kakashi with his monochromic appearance. she has a lavender dress on with a belt, with the long sleeves rolled up to her elbows that goes gracefully on her and compliments her clear blue eyes. she stops about six or seven meters away and they briefly make eye contact before nodding their heads politely and looking away, both internally noting, and approving, of the other's.

she's someone who has people staring, and kakashi is of no exception. she has that kind of irrefutable beauty that any one would easily admire—her glistening long blonde hair that falls and covers half of her face, the way she tucks the strands away; her slender figure; her fluttering lashes framing wide blue eyes. there's simply something about the beautiful, lively woman standing in-between the gravestones that has kakashi staring at her, forgetting the words he was about to tell his deceased friend. though kakashi can't see it, the office name tag she has hanging from her neck says ino yamanaka, md.

ino also crouches down to lay her bouquet—a big one, colorful with oranges and peaches and pinks and whites amidst the green, and unlike kakashi who has simply lilies tied together with a slim ribbon, she wraps it with striped paper and has a red ribbon around. kakashi notes the flower amusedly, thinking it more suitable for a romantic gift or perhaps a cheerful wedding instead of sitting below a gravestone—and he vaguely thinks of how the same applies to the person as well. as ino clasps her hands together and made a cross, he politely reverts his gaze and departs, passing behind her.

she smells like flowers.

august 10th

this time, kakashi finds the woman has arrived first, again washing him with a sense of déja vu. ino looks simpler, this time, with a white short-sleeved shirt and skirt that hangs right above her knee. and unlike last time when her long hair is down, she has it tied up now, but still wearing her nametag, he notes, as she turns towards him after her prayers. this time, his good eye catches her name.

ino looks slightly surprised at the familiar stranger approaching her and again, they both nod and smile politely at eye contact. he doesn't bring flowers and has his suit jacket off, this time, as with her hair—they're adjusting with the season. though he could have passed the next alley, kakashi doesn't—and they pass each other as he walks toward obito and as she leaves the grave she's just prayed upon. as kakashi smells flowers, ino catches a waft of musk.

kakashi can't help but peek at the grave, again, adorned with a hefty flower bouquet; more yellow this time with sunflowers; and sees a name so familiar with the one written on her nametag.

january 3rd

ino's almost not surprised when she sees a familiar figure hovering not far away from her father's grave. it's been especially chilly that day, with the temperature dropping to -9 at its warmest and the biting wind. just like her, the tall, white-haired man is wrapped in a bundle, nose deep buried inside dark red shawl. without realizing, she smiles in slight amusement. the man's hair aside, he looks like a stick in the mud with his dark coat among the barely-swept snow covered cemetery.

kakashi sees her coming up—almost expects it, even—and smiles—without ino noticing, as his lower face is completely obscured. again, she has a large bouquet—wrapped in white this time, filled with greens and whites and reds with things that looked like berries and small flowers, and tied with a brilliant green-and-gold ribbon. in effect of christmas, he figures—last time in the autumn he hadn't found her, but saw a large, plum-and-orange bouquet on inoichi yamanaka's grave and several similar orange roses and purple flowers on obito's own.

as usual she prays after she puts her flowers down, gloved hands clasping together as she does so. her breath comes in smokes as she whispered her prayers that kakashi cannot hear. ino's wrapped tightly, warmly—she looks lovely in her pale blue coat over a white sweater, a matched scarf around her neck and a white beanie over her hair.

not your type, i'm afraid, obito, but i'm sure you'd appreciate her all the same, kakashi thinks with amusement—mostly at himself, and the way he finds her a lovely sight. ino yamanaka leans toward whom he supposed was her father's headstone and wipes the snow away, her name tag dangling. with his bare hands deep inside his pockets, he has a rather hard time to convince himself to do the same with obito's.

"hasn't it been so cold these past few days?" she says, suddenly. kakashi had thought about thanking her for the flowers, but her conversation opener nonetheless caught him off-guard.

"it has," he says politely instead.

ino walks toward him. "our visits have coincided more than once," she smiles, stopping steps away. kakashi nods.

"it have," he muses, "three times today, i believe."

ino blinks in slight surprise; she has not expected him to keep count. "you counted," she laughs lightly. kakashi looks at her with interest. ino's voice is clear and sound, and he cannot really be sure if her voice is what he expected her to have. a part of him thinks of a ringing-bell and sweet sing-song kind, and yet with the way she brings herself, with the way she puts flowers and talks to him first, the crisp, clear quality of her voice is very fitting. kakashi lightly wonders why he tried to predict her voice.

"thank you for the flowers," he tells her, and thinks he sees a faint flush and a pleased surprise. "i suppose you put it last time."

"i did. so it was the right one—i apologize, i kind of just guessed, you see," she apologizes. "i'm not a creep, i promise," she adds, laughing as her hand flies to tuck away loose strands of her hair. on the other hand, kakashi's voice is almost exactly as how ino had imagined it to be—deliberate and smooth. she had thought he looked somewhat melancholic, even though there's a thin air of coldness and solitude about him. "your brother?"

"yes," he says without thinking, and immediately reprimands himself as a familiar pang hits him inside his chest; he then adds, "not by blood."

"boys can be so tight," she ponders, "girls are tight too, but not without at least ninety-nine dramas."

kakashi grins amusedly. "i imagine that's true. why did you ask?"

"i, well, i estimated the age," she vaguely says. kakashi hums approvingly; rather sharp, he thinks. "may i?" she asks; kakashi nods, she prays and makes a cross.

"your father?" he asks conversationally though he knows the answer is yes, as they somehow walk together towards the gate of the cemetery, both shivering. "i'm sorry, i peeked both at the headstone and your name tag," he tells her with a small smile when she looks at him with surprise. ino looks at her name tag and laughs.

"oh right, i never really bother to take it off," she says, and with childlike fascination picks the card up and reads it carefully—as if she's seeing it for the first time. "yes, it was my dad."

"you've had some grand bouquets with you," kakashi says pensively, "the one today is very christmas appropriate, i should say."

again she laughs, a little embarrassed this time at his remark. "well, i had my first part-time at dad's flower shop and i just want to show him that i've improved a lot in flower arranging—oh well, long story," ino answers cheerfully. "i saw you brought flowers, too, once."

there's a good-humored reprimand in her tone, as if she's saying that he should have always brought flowers every time he visits a grave. the notion rather amuses kakashi. "true," he agrees, then adds with a smirk, "then i saw yours and i got rather intimidated."

ino grins up at him. it's a nice discovery, to her, that he has a rather suave side to him—something she had predicted (she has quite a way in judging people), and surely not a surprise, considering his charming looks. "oh come, thank you." they stop right below the gate, smiling at each other—despite the biting frost, both feel an enveloping warmth among the air. "i didn't catch your name, you're not wearing a name tag," she says cheekily, to which kakashi laughs.

"kakashi hatake," he tells her.

ino beams. "i'm ino yamanaka, though you already know that."

"it feels more of an official greeting when said," he tells her, making ino chuckle, and impulsively he adds, "would you like to have coffee, miss ino yamanaka?"

the offer doesn't surprise her, but she pauses and risks a glimpse at his hand. no ring. he had always stuck his hands inside his pockets over their coincidences. "i'd love to, but not today, i'm afraid," she says, smiling apologetically. "but you can find me at konoha general," she adds cheerfully, winking, "well, i have to run now. it's nice to meet you, mr. kakashi hatake."

"likewise," he replies promptly.

she offers him a hand—takes off her glove first, even—and he answers it by grasping her hand. the contact is different to either—his had been cold, hers warmer from the protection of the gloves. both hands falling at the respective owner's sides, they share one last smile before ino turns around and walks at the direction of the subway, burying herself in her scarf and thrusting her hands into her pockets. kakashi does the same, and watches her until she disappears from his view.

author's note!

aight bitchazz i'm back after.. after what, 4? 5 years? oh my god. my internet provider blocked the ffnet site (well ok i can understand it, there's bound to be some weird shit in this site lol but come on!) and i forgot my password so i didn't try to open it! but i came back because honestly this thing is the only fanfic site i know that has such an easy and convenient filter & tagging system. also a huge ton of shit happened in 4 years, damn. most of the drafts of my stories have disappeared into thin air by now, so i'm so so sorry for that. the one i could probably still continue without the original draft is that fifty-two one.

in another note, i'm now here with a weird as hell ship ooooo yess rare-ass ships are my total jam (i can honestly ship ino with anyone though). kakashi and ino? who would've thought of them except my weird-ass brain. you gotta admit they'd be such a killer visual couple though.