Title : A Field Full Of Strawberries
Chapter : One
Pairings/Characters : Hatake Kakashi x OFC, Tsunade.
Rating : T
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto. How bout you?
Comments : My first chaptered fic! I've been working on this one for quite a while, so I have a good idea about how the story is going to go. I warn you now: the plot is absolutely superficial. It's merely an excuse to write a fluffy Kakashi romance, so don't be fooled. Yup - shoot me now. Now that that's over with, I'd like to make some acknowledgments. First off, this story was inspired by an absolutely brilliant piece by The Master Weaponsmith called 'Misunderstandings'. If you want to read a really good Kakashi x OC, I command you to check it out. Secondly, I'd like to thank Novanator on deviantART for her awesome Kakashi-with-pancakes stuff. I actually wrote out the pancakes scene before she posted her first piece, but it's terribly amusing, none the less. And now... on with the story!
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A Field Full Of Strawberries
Chapter One: Bed and Breakfast
by
Se-chan
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I inhaled deeply, enjoying the feel of the cool, damp air entering my parched lungs. The mottled shade cast by the leafy green canopy above me felt wonderful on my skin, and I decided that there was absolutely nothing I'd rather do than just settle down at the bottom of the tree and drift off to sleep.
Problem: I was expected in the Hokage's office for my mission report in approximately 10 minutes.
Feeling a small, unnecessary thrill of nerves, I hauled myself off the floor and onto my feet, wincing slightly at my stiff, protesting muscles. Mission report, hot bath, bed.
With these enticing thoughts running through my slightly foggy mind, I set off on my slow walk towards the Hokage's complex.
Predictably, I arrived about 5 minutes early. Call it obsession, but I arrived early for everything. No matter what my intentions were when I set off, I subconsciously picked up the pace so that I got there well before the prescribed time. Perhaps I was just conscientious, or maybe I was more nervous about the Hokage's reaction to my report than I wanted to admit.
I stared at the ceiling, distracting myself by watching a beetle make it's way from one corner to the next, and daydreamed about steaming water and fog. I guessed that was one of the side-effects of spending extended periods of time in the Wind Country - water suddenly seemed like something amazing, beautiful, wonderful, rather than everyday, ordinary H2O. I'd have to ask somebody else, because it had been my first mission in Suna. Maybe you got used to the lack of moisture after a while.
'Hamasaki!'
I snapped out of my musings and entered the Hokage's office, suddenly feeling much more alert. The Gondaime was seated behind her desk, finishing off a slip of paperwork. Slightly unusual...
'Tsunade-sama.' I bowed a greeting and then stood to attention.
Liquid amber eyes settled on my face. Her lips curved in a small smile, before her face settled back to it's usual business-like expression.
'Ah, Ichigo-san. I trust your journey back from Suna went smoothly?'
'Yes, thank you.'
'And your mission report?'
I handed her the scroll I had completed on the journey back. A small knot of nerves had appeared in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn't help being apprehensively aware of her expression as she read.
After she had browsed it for a while, she looked up at me again with a much warmer smile.
'Well, Ichigo-san, I must say - good work. Congratulations on successfully completing your first mission as Jounin. You've come a long way, and you're progressing well. Reaching Jounin at 17 is a big achievement, so you should be proud of yourself. I think a few days rest would do you good - give you time to recover. You have my leave.'
I tried to contain my wide grin in an attempt to look modest. 'Thank you, Tsunade-sama!' I bowed once more, and, feeling exceedingly more cheerful, made my way out.
Walking with an extra spring in my step, I headed off towards home, fully intending to have a few hours soak in the bath as a reward for absolutely blitzing my first Jounin mission. I was aware that I was grinning like a complete and total maniac, and a few people I passed gave me rather disturbed looks, but even then I didn't feel like that much of an idiot. Sure, I'd been on plenty of missions, but this had been my very first as a Jounin - and it had gone amazingly well. Why shouldn't I be proud of myself?
I rounded the corner with an extra bounce, still grinning - and smashed headlong into a rock hard something. Naturally, I went flying. However, one of the perks of being an elite shinobi is that your body tends to react to things like flying through the air instinctively, and I rolled to land in a well-balanced crouch. My muscles screamed in protest at the violent movement, but it was better than getting my brains splattered across the sidewalk.
Good mood momentarily ruined, I glared at the offending object. Which happened to be a pair of navy blue shinobi sandals. My gaze continued up, taking in the standard Jounin navy trousers, flack vest, shinobi mask... my expression froze when it reached a pair of lazy, steel grey eyes. Well, to be more accurate: one lazy, steel grey eye.
'Yo, Ichi-chan.'
I groaned inwardly.
On perhaps one of the best days of my life, it was just my luck to crash into the most irritating man alive - Hatake Kakashi.
Who was currently offering me a helping hand up.
'I've told you - don't call me "Ichi-chan." ' I said stiffly as I scrambled to my feet, rejecting his offered hand, which was slowly replaced in his pocket. He pointedly ignored me.
'I didn't know you got back today. How did the mission go?'
I regained my balance, wobbling slightly due to my exhausted muscles, but managed to throw a haughty smirk at him all the same.
'Fantastically. It was a one hundred percent success, actually.'
He smiled. At least, I thought he smiled - it was hard to tell when all you could see was a single eye, but that eye crinkled up a little, and I figured that was as good of a smile as I was going to get. 'Well done! I'm sure those Suna democrats provided quite a challenge.'
My mouth half-opened in a snarl. So my first mission as a Jounin wasn't exactly the most exciting ever to have been assigned, but that didn't make it unimportant! The bonds between Konoha and Suna had to be kept strong, and they had to have representative shinobi there from both villages on occasion. Admittedly, a lot of it had been just sitting around listening to political babble, but there had also been quite a few attacks on the 'Suna democrats' as it was, the last of which had resulted in a all-out battle between the hired assassins and the shinobi bodyguards. Such an eventuality was, effectively, why I was there.
He did this sort of thing all the time, as if he enjoyed pointing out how inferior to him I was, how pathetic a shinobi I was in comparison to his legendary skill, despite the fact that we were now the same rank. I refused to let him see how much it riled me. I forced my mouth shut, and shot him a cold look.
'Quite. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a hot bath somewhere with my name on it.'
With that, I brushed past him, good mood completely ruined. I didn't know why his stupid comments got me so irritated. Honestly, he was the most insufferable man in the entire village.
I stomped all the way back to my house, feeling morose and moody. If I was completely honest with myself, what I really wanted was for him to recognise my skill.
But what was I expecting him to say? 'Well done, Ichi-chan! I knew you'd do great!'
No. That was just completely... not Kakashi. Might as well expect the Gondaime to volunteer to do the entirety of the village's paperwork for the year.
I sighed, unlocking the door. This foul mood was completely pointless. That being decided, I focused my attention on the idea of a nice, hot bath.
Ahhh... that was more like it.
Unable to suppress the smile that was creeping onto my face, I slipped off my shoes and made my way towards the bathroom. I set the tub on to fill, and then went to make myself a cup of tea.
Half an hour later, I was soaking in the hot, bubbly, scented water of the bath tub, feeling completely relaxed and at peace with the world. Well, most of the world... with the exception of one irritating, grey-haired Jounin.
I smiled, despite myself. Trust him to be the first person I saw when I got back (the Gondaime not included). Thoughts wandering, my eyes slid shut, and I slowly drifted off.
x
When I woke up, the sun had set and the water was tepid. Still half-asleep, I dragged myself out of the water and slung a towel round my shoulders, draining the bath as I did so. I stumbled to my room and collapsed on my bed, not even bothering to dry myself off, and immediately fell into a deep slumber.
x
I rose with the dawn, as the saying goes. The birds had just started their morning chorus as I roused myself, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the milky light you get just before sunrise. I smiled, loving the thick, jasmine-scented air the morning brought.
Sliding off the bed, I let the damp towel fall to the floor. I winced as I put my whole weight on my feet - my muscles were still bunched and aching from the battle I'd had at Suna, and then the long journey home. Apparently lying around in tepid bath water for hours wasn't the best remedy for tight muscles.
Yawning, I fished some clean clothes out of my cupboard, slung them on and wandered out into the kitchen. It was clean and tidy, just as I'd left it. The flowers I'd left in the vase at the centre of the table had wilted, so I took them out and threw them in the bin. Grabbing a pair of scissors, I walked over to the window and leant out.
The overpowering scent of jasmine hit me as soon as my head left the house, and I smiled, utterly relaxed, looking out among the small white flowers at the lightening sky. I'd really missed this. After spending a few moments just enjoying the morning, I leant further out of the window, reaching for a likely spray of flowers. They were just out of the reach, so I edged closer to the windowsill and leant out further.
Just a little further...
As soon as my fingers connected with the flowers, I realised my mistake. I toppled out of the window head first, and due to the vines surrounding me all I could do to protect myself was curl into a ball and hope for as soft an impact as possible. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact.
... which didn't come. Instead, I felt myself being scooped out of the air by a pair of warm, strong arms, and pressed against a solid, hard chest.
I opened my eyes, staring up at my saviour. His grey hair was falling into his eye, which was regarding me with quite an amused expression.
'Aah... um, morning, Hatake.' I said meekly, feeling my cheeks heat up and cursing the stupid blush which was probably making it's way onto my face.
He chuckled, his chest moving slightly against my side, and I felt my something deep in my stomach move. Suddenly I was uncomfortable, and he seemed to notice, for the next second he had set me gently on my feet.
Even standing at my full height, I still only reached Kakashi's chin, and at the moment I wanted to melt into the ground. Not expecting to be accosted - no, rescued, I should say - by a tall, built, male shinobi, my selected clothes of the morning had been a pair of plain white bikini briefs and a loose white vest, leaving me feeling completely exposed under his dark gaze. Not that I was particularly self-conscious about my body. I had been blessed with naturally long legs, and my shinobi career had given me a slim, athletic figure. Even without the ample bosom and defined curves many of my colleagues sported, I still had enough shape to be feminine in appearance, if rather petite. What was making my cheeks turn a rather vivid pink was not the fact that I was standing almost naked in front of a man - it was the fact that I was standing almost naked in front of this man, who's eyes I could feel trailing an almost tangible path down my body. And it was making me decidedly uncomfortable.
'So, your newest trend is to fall out windows at dawn? Interesting... I must say, Ichi-chan, I can't see the benefit of injuring yourself at the start of a few days leave.' I could hear his smile in his voice, and realised my heart was beating rather faster than it ought to have been.
Trying in vain to hide my rather confusing reactions to the situation I'd suddenly found myself in, I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. This turned out to be a bad idea. His eye immediately fixed on my lips, and I felt more nervous than ever.
'I didn't do it on purpose.' I said, and because I was feeling particularly flustered, I blurted out, 'I was trying to get that bunch of flowers up there.'
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to hide my face in my hands and scream. Of all the ridiculously childish things to admit to! I swallowed hard, hoping he'd simply pass it off.
No such luck.
'I see... here, give me those.' He gestured to the scissors which I still had in one hand. Oh dear, another household rule broken - never run with scissors. I'm pretty sure falling out of the window was just as bad.
I passed them to him, wondering what he wanted them for. Before I could react, he took a step closer, so that I was mere inches away from his chest. I froze.
He smelled... nice. A mixture of pine and something that was just... him. I closed my eyes, unable to stop myself from breathing him in. But then he had stepped back, and was offering me the flowers he had just snipped off the vine.
'Uh... um...' I desperately cast around for something to say. 'Why were you in my garden in the first place? Were you peeking at me through the window or something?'
Part of me knew that was a completely ridiculous assumption, but I needed something to accuse him of. This was just getting too strange.
He stared at me, and I almost shivered under his intense gaze. His voice, when he spoke, was without the smile I had been expecting. Instead, it was much more serious, deeper. 'Actually, I was reading. It's a nice place to sit on the morning, and I didn't think you'd mind.'
That was probably an outright lie. If he'd told me he was planning to sit outside my window at dawn yesterday, I would certainly have given him a piece of my mind. But at the moment all I could manage was to nod understandingly and say, 'Ahhh.'
Silence reigned for a few moment, and I could feel his eyes on me again.
'Have you eaten anything?'
This completely random question threw me off guard. 'No, not yet, I've only just got up.'
To my absolute surprise, Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly.
'Are you going to eat anything?'
To be honest, the last thing I felt like doing now was eating. Scream into my pillow about confusing copy-nins? Yes. Eat? Hell no.
'I'm not hungry.' I said, rather than explain my precise feelings.
In the blink of an eye, he'd hoisted me up, slung me under and arm, and jumped up through the window.
'What the hell?! Put me down RIGHT now, Hatake!'
He dumped me on a chair next to the table.
'You just sit there. I'll make something for you to eat.'
'But I'm not HUNGRY!' I yelled, feeling very ill-done by. What the hell was wrong with this guy?
He snorted. 'You didn't eat anything yesterday, and I'm not going to let you miss breakfast today. You've just been on an extremely physically taxing mission, and you need all the nutrients and carbohydrates you can get to help you recover properly.'
Uh... ok. So he had a point.
'Fine!' I groaned, flopping my head down onto the table. I heard him chuckle again, and pointedly ignored the tingles it sent down my spine.
He made himself busy around the kitchen. Honestly, I was surprised. Kakashi, as far as I knew, was completely disorganised, despite being virtually unbeatable in combat. I hadn't expected him to be able to cook. However, if I was expecting something spectacular, I was highly disappointed.
'Pancakes?' I said, poking at the plate he'd just set down in front of me, which was piled high with about 10 of the flabby bits of gunk.
'Yup.' He smiled happily at me, obviously expecting me to be happy about this. 'Eat up!'
I gave him a blank stare. 'For a start off, if I eat all this, I'll explode. You're going to have to have some.'
In the end, I beat him down to 4. Mumbling darkly about bossy people, I started drowning them in maple syrup, only to have it snatched out of my grasp.
'Hey, I hadn't finished with that!' I shouted, outraged. He merely gave me a mild look.
'I want you to be able to taste my cooking.'
Sighing, I gave up and ate, trying my hardest not to concentrate on the taste and get through the whole ordeal as quickly as possible. I'd always known Kakashi was a stubborn bastard, but still... I hadn't expected him to extend this trait to my eating habits. Seriously, you'd think I was a child, the way he was treating me. Only he wouldn't look at a child like that...
He realised I was watching him, and immediately averted his gaze.
'Well, Ichi-chan, now that I'm satisfied you aren't going to collapse from malnutrition, I'll take my leave. I've got a book to finish.'
He hopped up, his one visible eye curved into what I had to assume was a silly little smile.
'Under my window?' I asked, and was extremely pleased to hear the displeasure drip from every syllable. Things were returning to normal. Thank god.
'Yup.'
He only just avoided my punch as he jumped out of the window.
'Have a nice day!' I yelled spitefully as I slammed the window shut and ripped the curtains closed. That man...
I was only smiling because I'd succeeded in kicking him out of my house. Yup.
To be continued...