Quietly

Edited on: September 17th, 2014

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give

-Katherine Hepburn, Me: Stories of My Life

~xXx~

Listlessly tramping the streets of Konoha, Kakashi doesn't expect anything at all. No one will appear before him with a smile. Nobody will open a shop or eatery door to call for him to join them. Not a soul will come running up behind him; feet pounding like a heartbeat, fingers yearning and grasping for his shoulder-reinforcing the reality of the dirt beneath his feet. His teacher is six months dead, Rin several more and Obito nearly a year. He has no team, no family; not a single friend in all of this spiteful little village.

Fingers caressing the sharp end of a shuriken concealed in his pocket, Kakashi is reminded why he doesn't have a mission even though he is quiet possibly, one of the best jonin Konoha has at hand; he over did it. He used Obito's sharingan too much and exhausted himself. Now he was on "recovery", but with enough bullying, he'd be back on missions in a couple days-not a week like the medic advised. Shaking his head, the boy ran a hand through his hair and was just about to turn a corner when a quiet hiccup caught his attention.

It sent the hair on the back of his neck on end. It made him think of the baby he wasn't allowed to see. He bet the baby-Naruto-sounded like that when he was upset...chest filled with a compassion for someone else, Kakashi spun around and approached the sniffling body.

"Hey," he whispered.

Big brown eyes looked up past a curtain of brunette locks. The young jonin felt his compassion well over; she was a bit longer of face, her eyes a fraction larger, but if he truly wanted to, Kakashi could pretend she was a small Rin.

"Shinobi," she murmured; little fist rubbing at her puffy red eyes.

Kakashi didn't know what to say. She looked to be about nine or ten, but he'd never cared to learn how to estimate the age of children (after all, even as a toddler, he'd been looking up discerning years from grown faces-not of those his stature). Finally, he settled on telling her; "I'm Kakashi, not shinobi."

"And I'm Ayame," the girl replied in kind.

Offering his hand, he pulled the skinny girl to her feet. "What are you crying for?" He felt her give a shrug and keenly eyed the way she kicked at the dirt. Noting with peaked curiosity that this wasn't an unfamiliar show-but one like his own-of embarrassment, the young jonin allowed Ayame her silence. "That's fine," he said instead. "Let's just walk for a bit."

And they do. It's a lot more pleasant than Kakashi expected. Just having someone to hang on to makes everything brighter-better. Strolling along the little used walks, the boy occasionally squeezes the girl's hand and with time, she begins to look around-at the trees, clouds, buildings, him-and like he hoped, his patience pay off.

"I was mad at my dad," she admitted.

Kakashi attempted for a sympathetic hum. "I see."

"He wants me to stop giving food to the all the lonely-eyed kids that come by Ramen Ichiraku," face troubled, her dark gaze finds his and she went on; "But, I can't. They don't have anybody, how can I not feed them?"

"Steal yourself, harden your heart."

The young girl looked scandalized. "I'm sorry Kakashi, but I'm not a shinobi."

He chuckled. "No, you're too soft;" he agreed. The young jonin doesn't know why, but he asked; "It's because it's too expensive, right?"

"Yeah."

Tilting his head and crinkling his visible eye at Ayame, the boy offered; "I'm making a lot on missions right now...what if I gave you enough money to cover some dishes? Would that help?"

Her eyes glinted with joy and adoration. "You are very kind Kakashi," she told him.

"I know what it's like," he replied simply.

The glimmer dimmed and she gave him a wan smile. "It's quite awful to lose an important person, isn't it?"

"I have yet to discover anything more painful," Kakashi said back.

Little Ayame reached around and hugged him. "I'm glad you asked me why I was crying," she muttered into his vest.

He stood there awkwardly in her embrace, but soon enough old instincts kick in and the young jonin patted her back. "It was the right thing to do," he whispered.

She pulled away with tears in her eyes, but Kakashi could see they were the good kind this time. "Right or not, I appreciate the gesture." Ayame stubbornly declared, little frown daring him to rebuke her.

Chuckling, the boy just took her hand again and began to take them in the direction of Ichiraku. "C'mon," he urged. "We'll have to discuss the terms of this 'fund' with your father."

After a moment, the girl was skipping at his side as they hurried off to the eatery. Eyes on the setting sun, Kakashi stopped; Ayame knocking into his shoulders. Dark stare questioning, Kakashi simply curved his lone eye and crouched. Offering his back for her to ride.

Hesitantly, she reached out. Taking the acceptance as reason to hasten along Ayame's actions; the young shinoni swung her up on his back causing her to squeal. "Let's make this fast, shall we?" He muttered. Jumping up to the roofs, he dashed along them drawing a stream of shrieks and laughter from the girl.

"It's like flying!" She shrilled in his ears as her skinny arms cut off circulation.

Giddy himself, Kakashi yelled back; "I know!"

When the pair land in front of Ramen Ichiraku, her father shook his head in exasperation at the grin on his daughter's face as she shouted "We're setting up a ramen fund for the children who lost their special people!"

Seemingly used to these grandiose decrees, the man went back to his cleaning. "Okay," he agreed.

Letting her slip down, Kakashi wasn't prepared for her to snag him by the sleeve and for Ayame to drag him to one of the stools. In the last of the day's light, her eyes half-lidded and partly hidden by her wind-mused hair; the girl's inquiry was more than welcome.

"You like eggplant in your ramen, right?"

For the first time in months, Kakashi felt like he had an important person once again.

Hey there guys! This was the winner of the latest poll :) So, I know that Ayame was like, eighteen/nineteen at the beginning of Naruto, so she's closer to half Kakashi's age, but I bumped it up a little for the fic's sake. I have several chapter ideas in mind, but if anyone has suggestions, they're welcome to offer them! I can't say how many chapters I will have this fic be in all, I'm thinking around twelve, but that can change depending on your suggestions and how writing this goes.

Remember to let me know what you guys think!

Thank you all so much for reading and pretty please review :)