So this is a thing I've got loose ideas for, I'm just gonna leave it here. :D

To my One Piece readers, I'm sorry I have ADHD. I suck. I haven't forgotten, I'm just distracted and trying to make it perfect.

Chapter 1: Just Mamoru

Mamoru watched the steam rise from her tea cup in a sort of drowsy trance as she waited for the genin team she hired to arrive. When a friend had first suggested she hire genin to help with her tea house renovations, Mamoru had been strangely hesitant to follow the suggestion.

The thought of hiring shinobi for such a job just seemed like overkill. After all, weren't they supposed to be doing more important things than painting cafes and moving furniture?

But then her friend said something that made Mamoru quickly change her mind.

"You know it's easy and cheap right? All you have to do is turn in a request to the mission assignment desk."

"Stop right there," Mamoru had said, holding a hand out. "Did you say cheap?"

Cheap was the key word, and really, her friend should have led with that instead. All qualms aside, Mamoru had gone straight to the mission desk to make her request the next day. Only a few days later, she had gotten a message that her request would be fulfilled. The genin team would meet her at her tea house in the morning just as requested.

So, as the morning dawned, casting a filter of light through her tea house windows, Mamoru sat at the bar and took satisfying sips of hot green tea. With a soft smile, she surveyed her pride and joy, the Mugen Tea House.

The renovations had taken a more open garden concept when she designed them. Most of the heavy work was already done by her contractors. As she waited for the genin, Mamoru pictured the scene her customers would come back to once Mugen reopened.

Upon entering the establishment through a heavy set of screen doors, the customer would be met with the original cafe layout. Hard oak floors with casual wooden tables arranged for the come-and-go customers. The bar Mamoru sat at was newly constructed and located to the left of the entrance. Behind the bar, glass jars of tea were lined along shelves, serving to make it easier for her workers to access, but also as decoration for the cafe. As a rule of thumb, tea should be stored in dark containers to avoid losing their flavor, but since the cafe went through tea so quickly, that rule didn't apply for them.

While the new bar was great, it was the renovations beyond the cafe that really excited Mamoru. Opposite the entrance was a wide door frame that led deeper into the tea house where the open roof patio lay. The patio flooring was a lighter wood compared to the cafe's, to better coordinate with the decorative plants and the large tree that hung over the tea house. The canopy leaves filtered the soft morning light, casting a mosaic pattern against the wood floor and tables.

In addition, the patio was framed on four sides by tatami hallways and rooms full of low tables and cushions. The rooms had the option for closed screen doors for more private parties.

Truly, it was an expansion and renovation worthy of ten years of business. Ten years of hard work, sweat, and number-crunching. If Mamoru could go back in time to tell her younger self about her current life, she was sure she wouldn't have believed it.

Most of the reconstruction had already been done in late winter, and the spring season had entered with a flourish of blossoms and brisk mornings. Mamoru didn't notice how much warmer the season had gotten until she found herself sweating from being bundled in her winter clothing, a layered kimono over tight-fitting clothing. Her friends would laugh if they knew she had gotten into the habit of wearing shinobi clothing under her kimono, but honesty, it was comfortable and well-made. If she could, she would have wanted to wear it all the time. Now she easily shed the layers and just kept to a lighter kimono.

As Mamoru became lost in a daydream, a loud ruckus outside shifted her attention to the entrance. She could see through the glass window panes a colorful set of genin loudly arguing with each other.

"I'm telling you Naruto - we're gonna be late!"

"I know- I know! But did you see me beat teme? I was like a flash! Whoosh!"

"Ugh, it doesn't matter we need to meet the client."

"Sasuke! Admit I beat you!"

"Hn."

Mamoru watched the arguing genin outside with doubt slowly creeping into her mind. Maybe she should have kept the contractors on. The serenity of her morning had disappeared as quickly as the arrival of the shinobi.

"Now, now." An older voice said, "Let's go meet our client, shall we?"

"Yes sensei!"

The screen doors slid open, and a tall man entered her tea house. He noticed her immediately, blinking his single, visible eye at her slowly, before it curved with his polite greeting.

"Hel-"

"Hey!" An orange-clad genin interrupted his sensei, pushing past him to greet a bewildered Mamoru. "Sorry we're a little late! It's because Kakashi-sensei was taking his sweet time to meet us, he said he saw a black cat and had to take the long way around." All the while, he looked around the cafe eagerly. "I've never been here before! I heard the tea and food are great!"

"Naruto!" The pink-haired girl scolded. "We need to introduce ourselves! H-Hi, we're here at your request for the D-rank mission. I'm Haruno Sakura." She shyly twisted her fingers behind her back, looking over to the only dark-haired boy. "Sasuke-kun, you need to introduce yourself too."

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke."

The girl seemed to squeal internally at his cool introduction. Naruto, Mamoru had gathered, was glaring at the other boy. He turned to her with his sour face, but which immediately brightened.

"Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage!" Then, as if remembering something, he pointed his thumb at a dejected-looking man behind them. "Oh, and that's Kakashi-sensei."

Mamoru couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. A rowdy bunch full of interesting characters. They looked like a lot of fun to her. Mamoru placed her empty tea cup on the bar and slid off her seat. She supposed it was time for her own introduction.

Brushing the wrinkles off her kimono, Mamoru then clasped her hands together and gave them a well-practiced bow. Her dark hair fell gently to the side and her eyelashes lowered as she gave them her greeting.

"It's nice to meet you all, thank you for coming. My name is Mamoru, and I am the owner of Mugen Tea House."

"You're the owner nee-chan? But you look so young! I thought the owner of this place would be some hag or whatever." Sakura deftly hit him and ignored his yelp of pain.

"Idiot- didn't you read the mission scroll?" Then, in a one-eighty, "I'm a huge fan of your tea house Mamoru-san! I used to come all the time when I was at the Academy. All the kunoichi say its the top cafe date spot!"

Mamoru chuckled. "Yes, I remember." She has often seen a pink-haired student at the cafe.

"Really?" Sakura said excitedly. It felt so long ago, coming to the cafe with Ino-pig, but they were happy memories nonetheless.

"I remember all my customers." Mamoru said proudly. Then she turned to Naruto. "And while I can't say I'm that young anymore, I've been in charge of this place for ten years. So thank you, both of you, for your compliments." She winked at Naruto and Sakura with a grin. "Anywho, let's get to work shall we? You'll be helping me for the next three days, since that's as long as I can keep the shop closed."

"What will we be doing?" Sakura asked. The mission scroll had simply said renovation assistance. She was curious to know what they would actually be doing.

Mamoru went behind the bar and lifted up pails of paint, varnish, and brushes. "First, painting!"

The genin visibly deflated.

"For three days?" Naruto whined. "I thought maybe we could do something more exciting."

Sasuke seemed to agree with his genin teammate, based on his pinched expression.

"Well what did you expect from a tea house owner? It's not like I need escorts or anything in Konoha."

The genin sighed.

"After we finish for the day, I'll make you some tea and you can try some of my new pastries. How about that?"

They perked up immediately.

"Yes! Let's do this!" And they set off to work while Mamoru instructed them to paint the wooden furniture with varnish. Once she was done assigning tasks, she remembered there was one more person on the team. She turned to the silent jounin sitting in the corner reading an orange book. He flipped a page.

Mamoru wasn't too familiar with the shinobi-side of the village's social circle, but she was pretty sure this was the infamous copy-nin. It was a little intimidating to be left alone with a high ranking ninja, but Mamoru pressed on. "I'm sorry, what was your name again? I don't believe I caught it all." Naruto had only said it was Kakashi-sensei.

The man looked up at her, wrinkling his eye in a disarming expression. "Ah, that would be Hatake Kakashi. It's a pleasure, Mamoru-san." He went back to reading his book. It was almost as if he didn't want to talk to her. He flipped a page. Was he ignoring her?

For some reason, it annoyed her. This was the infamous copy-nin? She didn't know why she felt a little annoyed, it was a feeling that seemed to well up from nowhere, like an echo of a memory. But she supposed shinobi were strange after all, it could just be that they didn't bother with civilian niceties.

Mamoru frowned, watching him read. "You're not going to help your students?"

"Mah, they can handle it. I'm confident in their abilities."

Almost immediately, they heard a loud clatter in the patio. Then, "Everything's okay!" Naruto yelled.

Mamoru turned back to the jounin and raised her brows. "Is that so?" She placed her hands on her hips.

He seemed unabashed. "Yes."

She supposed the children's help was enough. The jounin was merely here for supervision of his team anyways, probably.

Mamoru hummed. "All right. Well, would you like some tea while you read-" And she paused to read the title of his book, "-Icha Icha Paradise." She colored almost immediately. "Uh-"

"Why yes, tea would be lovely." He didn't miss a beat, looking up at her with a friendly, if not amused expression. "Do you have any oolong?"

Mamoru opened her mouth, and closed it. She nodded abruptly, turning away to hide her inflamed face. Who reads porn in public? She asked herself. She quickly walked to the bar to set about making tea for the white-haired ninja. As she muttered to herself under her breath, she didn't notice the man watching her with interest from behind his book. He turned a page almost instinctively when she approached with his tea.

"Here you go, careful, it's hot."

He smiled up at her, accepting the cup, then looked back down to his book, turning another page.

She got red again, and walked away towards the kids to help them.

Kakashi's eye followed her.

Hours passed and they had gotten a lot done for the day with no further incidents and only minor fights between the boys. Mamoru was quickly learning the social dynamic of the group. To sum it up, Sakura had a crush on Sasuke. Naruto had a crush on Sakura. And Sasuke was determined to be unaffected by the both of them, but couldn't help picking fights with Naruto, and likewise. Meanwhile, their benevolent sensei let them do all the work and read Icha Icha Paradise.

Mamoru made some iced tea for the kids and refilled Kakashi's cup. Then she brought out the pastries for everyone in the cafe area.

"These are so good nee-chan! Did you come up with these yourself?"

She nodded. "Yup, those are going to be my new line of matcha pastries once the shop reopens. I'll be holding an anniversary party, so come by to celebrate with me. As thanks for your help with my renovations."

"Absolutely!" Sakura said. She snickered, thinking about Ino's reaction. "Ino-pig's gonna be so jealous that I got to try Mugen's pastries for free!"

"Weeelll it's not really free if we're working for it right?" Naruto asked, looking like he was thinking hard about it.

Sasuke smirked. "So the dobe can think."

Almost immediately, Naruto flared up shouting. "That's it teme, you wanna fight?" He stood abruptly, and roughly brushed against the table they sat around. The glasses of iced tea jostled, and one tipped over the side of the table.

Mamoru watched as the glass fell. Without thinking she reached down to catch it, but missed, and the glass shattered, nicking her fingers and drawing blood.

"Oh-" She murmured.

"Look what you did Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

"Yeah, dobe."

"Sh-shut up! Agh, sorry nee-chan!"

But their voices seemed so far away. The shatter of glass didn't startle her- no, it was the sudden pain and the blood that drew from her finger. Strangely, it reminded her of something.

Her first memory was the sharp sting of pain. But it was different. Harsher. More painful. Then it was the smell of blood. An angry voice shouting. Confusing demands. But above it all, she remembered the chilling fear with no discernable root cause.

A low voice addressed her, "You will tell us what you know."

She was so afraid. She could feel her lips move to answer, "I can't- I don't know."

"I won't repeat myself."

Somebody shook her slightly.

"Are you all right, Mamoru-san?"

She startled, raising her vacant gaze to Kakashi's concerned face. For just a moment, she imagined another, more looming figure overlapping him. She swallowed, but quickly wrapped her finger in a towel and smiled. "I'm fine- sorry about that. I'll get this cleaned up."

She quickly got a broom and swept up the pieces of glass. Almost immediately after, she excused herself to the back room to wash her cuts.

"What was that?" Sakura asked with concern, whispering, "she got so pale."

"It... looked like she was afraid of something." Sasuke said. But he couldn't think of what. It was merely a cut after all. If not for the fearful look in her eyes and the noticeable tremor of her hands, he would have thought it was just fear of blood. But something was telling him it wasn't that.

Naruto looked at the back room in worry. "Maybe Mamoru-neechan's in trouble? Like a damsel in distress!" Naruto grew excited at the possibility of a more exciting mission.

"No," Kakashi said. "You all are dismissed for the day. I'll stay to help Mamoru-san bandage her cut."

"But sensei! We can't just leave right now!"

"I'll tell her I excused you for the day. Be back tomorrow morning." The jounin said with finality.

Naruto grumbled. The other two knew a losing battle.

"Fine, Kakashi-sensei! But you better not be a creep to nee-chan!"

Kakashi pretended to be hurt. "I'm a respectable shinobi Naruto, I'd never be a creep."

The genin leveled him with a dubious stare. Somehow that actually hurt him. But they soon left after calling out that they were leaving. As they left the tea house, Naruto turned to the others. "So that was weird right? Sensei never stays with the client after."

Sakura squealed. "Do you think he fell in love with her at first sight? Mamoru-san is pretty after all!"

Sasuke furrowed his brows. "Did we ever catch her last name?"

"Huh..." The other two said.

Hearing the children leave, Mamoru came back out with a towel wrapped around her hands. Her thoughts were still scattered, but for the most part, she shook it off.

"Already? I was planning to send them home with pastries." Suddenly she realized she was alone with the jounin. It wasn't that she thought he was intimidating or anything, just… she was having a difficult time talking to him. Which was strange for her since talking to customers and business partners came so easy for her.

"They'll be back tomorrow." Kakashi said. He approached her and asked her to hold out his hands. "May I?"

"Uh, sure?" She did so hesitantly.

His hand were large and cool, his fingers slender and steady. She was surprised by how gentle he was in unwrapping her hands and examining the small cuts.

"Are you alright?" He asked. His voice was a low murmur. He held her hands as if they were fragile glass.

Mamoru swallowed. She never noticed it the entire day, until now, as she looked up at him. This man standing in front of her was actually really good-looking. His eyelashes were longer than hers, unexpectedly, and when he looked at her from under them she felt like he was staring straight through her.

He was a good head taller than her, and was clearly in good shape from his occupation. Mamoru never really paid attention to shinobi gossip or news, but even she knew this man was well-known for a reason in his field.

"Mamoru-san?" Now he looked at her as if he were amused.

She realized she hadn't answered his question. "Oh- yes, I'm fine. Th-thank you for your concern." She muttered. What was wrong with her today? She pulled her hands from his grasp. "I just need to wrap them in bandages now that I cleaned them. No big deal, Hatake-san."

"Kakashi."

"What?"

"It's only fair. Since we've been calling you Mamoru-san."

"Th-that's well, you don't really have a choice since I don't have a last name."

"Just Mamoru, then?"

"That's right."

"Either way," And even under that mask, she could tell he smiled at her, if the glint in his eye wasn't enough. "Kakashi is fine. We'll be working together for the next two days."

Mamoru swallowed again. She suddenly regretted putting in that request for help now. Two more days with this strange, confusing man. "I understand... Kakashi-san." Then she really thought about it. "Wait- you didn't do anything today!"

"Moral support."

"All you did was read Icha Icha Paradise!"

"Well- it's time for me to go, jounin duties and all." He waved his hand and with a polite smile, and left quickly after through the entrance.

A moment later the screen doors opened again, and Mamoru's friend came in with a shocked look on her face.

The short-haired brunette looked as if she was barely containing her excitement. "Was that Hatake-fucking-Kakashi?"

"Rena-chan! Uh, yes?"

Rena shook Mamoru by the shoulders. "What the heck was he doing here?"

"Remember when you told me about hiring genin teams? Well I did, and he's their sensei."

Her face looked beyond shocked. "Mamoru-chan, he's like, the hottest shinobi next to Genma and Asuma."

Mamoru turned red. "O-okay."

"That's it? That's all you got to say? Give me the details! You spent the whole day with him!"

"Rena-chan, it wasn't that big a deal."

The woman threw her hands up in the air. "Bull, so much bull."

"Well, his genin painted the furniture. And he read Icha Icha Paradise." If possible, Mamoru turned redder. "And then I cut myself on glass, and he checked my cuts. That's all. Really."

Rena looked unconvinced. "Okay, well, I mean- at least with porn, he might actually know what he's doing in bed. But he checked your cuts?" Her tone quickly changed to worry, "You're hurt? Let me see that. It's not like you to be so careless." She turned Mamoru's hands this way and that with a scrutinizing gaze and tutted. She was such a mother hen. Mamoru sighed.

"Why aren't you more weirded out about the porn thing like me? And the cuts aren't that bad, I was just distracted, simple mistake."

"Eh, well you know, sex is normal and all that." Satisfied with her checking, Rena nodded, they weren't too bad. "Clean cuts, easily bandaged. Did something happen for you to cut yourself like that?"

Mamoru shook her head. "Just remembered something I didn't want to."

Rena looked concerned, but she changed the subject as she went to be back room to get bandages. "By the way, how did your date go the other day? That guy with the silk business, he seemed all right when he came by." She came back with a few bandage rolls.

Mamoru watched as Rena wrapped her hands in bandages. She winced, not from the pain but the memory of the date. "Actually, he didn't show."

"What- are you kidding me? He stood you up?" She looked like she was going to kill someone and began muttering angrily to herself. "How could this happen, again!"

Mamoru sighed, long used to it by now. "It is what it is, I suppose we didn't connect well enough. Just like all the other men."

"Don't give up Mamoru, you're a freaking angel! What man wouldn't be interested in you? Look at this place," she gestured around, "You're the successful owner of Mugen Tea House, you're a total catch!"

Mamoru groaned. "Apparently not, judging by the dozens of men that left me hanging. Honestly, I don't even know why I bother. I wasn't exactly enamored by any of them."

Rena sighed, "Well, look. It's not all bad. You just haven't found the one yet. They all sucked anyways. They were probably intimidated by you. But Hakate Kakashi though," She winked. "He's like the hottest bachelor amongst the shinobi in Konoha, and I doubt he'd be intimidated by a successful woman like you."

"Rena, please." Mamoru whined, it was just like her friend to do and say these things. "I doubt he's interested. I'm sure he's busy being a ninja and all that. Besides, he's just so… difficult to understand." She thought about how he ignored her for most of the day, nothing she was too worked up about, but then she remembered the feeling of his hands holding hers. She turned away so Rena couldn't see her blush. She went about cleaning up the plates and cups from earlier.

Rena sighed, putting the bandages away and helping Mamoru. "Just get to know him. You got him for what? Two more days right?"

"Yes, I hired them for three days total. Their sensei is strange, but the kids are great." Mamoru smiled. "It's a good change of pace."

Rena lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Well I expect full updates." They finished up their cleaning. "Now come on, let's get dinner."

Mamoru really had regrets now, looking at Rena's obvious pleasure at her discomfort, but she chuckled. All in all, things were going to get busy again, Mamoru felt. They locked up and headed to the village center, talking all the way about their day.

Elsewhere in the village, the sun was setting in a way that colored the sky in orange and red hues. It painted Konoha and the villagers gold in the dimming light, and the Third Hokage watched it all from his office windows with his hands clasped in back of him. He was contemplative, his thoughts leaning towards the nostalgic.

Behind him, a masked figure stood at attention, waiting for the Sandaime to address him.

The Hokage thought of all the moments that really mattered in his life. The decisions he had to make to protect the will of fire. The sacrifices he had to make for the sake of the village. He wondered if they would be worth it in the end.

Finally, "Report."

"Yes sir," said the Anbu operative. "The target has been contacted as of this morning. Nothing worthy to note, however the target's episodes are becoming increasingly regular."

The Sandaime sighed. "Continue to keep watch. Report if the episodes get worse, but don't interfere. You are dismissed. Good work."

"Yes sir!"

The Anbu operative disappeared.

The Sandaime sighed again. "Biwako… what should I do?"

*Biwako is the Sandaime's deceased wife.

I'll be loosely updating this, probably more of a slice of life drama if anything.