Finding Love
By Tower of Peace
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto characters, just my own that I've created for this fan- fiction.
--Sorry if there are any mistakes...I'll find some way to fix them if there are good reviews. Enjoy!--
(This is also after timeskip so everyone is in respective ages as of Shippuuden series)
Chapter 1
It had been a long day. Frankly, it had been overly hot, dry and they had been traveling for six days on little food and water. The older of the two glanced beside her at her younger counterpart to see how she was doing. The sweet rose color on her cheeks and the mist upon her face spoke of the heat so the older sister didn't need to ask how she was doing.
"We will rest for this hotter part of the day so that the heat doesn't cause us harm," she said as she headed for the shade of an oak tree. Surprisingly the younger one didn't object. Parched, the two gulped down the last of their water and hoped they were close to Konoha. Judging by her calculations, Ayaka knew it should be within a couple miles. 'Thank God. We barely made it this far…'
"Aya, do you think that getting to Konoha will get those men off our backs?"
"Sure. We have friends in Konoha, and Tsunade wouldn't turn us out, not when we go so far back."
"Is she truly their Hokage? I just can't see her doing all that paperwork."
"She has talents where they're needed and she has Shizune watching her every move so I don't worry about it."
"True enough…"
"I just can't wait to see the look on her face when we tell her we are being followed by those men. That ugly man has some nerve."
"It was bound to happen…we are the last." Nyoko fed her partner as he meowed loudly for some of his food.
"Regardless, there is no way I'm letting him get away with his ridiculous plans. Even if Kabuto threatened to take my very existence he isn't getting it."
"Let's not worry about it right now and get to Konoha. We need a nap, don't we Takahiro?" she asked as her cat echoed his agreement eagerly.
"Not only a nap for me. A cool shower sounds amazing right now." The sisters grinned at each other before exiting the shade and strapping their things to their backs. Quickly they jumped onto a rock then into the treetops as their last boost of energy got them to their destination.
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Ayaka smiled as they landed in front of the Konoha gates.
"Just smell all the venders, Nyoko. Has food ever smelled so heavenly?"
"Not that I can remember…" she said as they approached the check-in desk.
The two men behind the desk looked oddly at the two and the sisters glanced at each other in question. Nothing seemed out of place…
"Is something the matter?" Ayaka asked in slight agitation.
"N-no. Not at all. Papers?" the one on the left said. His hair was spiky and dark as well as his eyes but there was a wrap across his nose and cheeks.
As they checked out their papers they realized they were guests of Tsunade and allowed them to pass. Eagerly they asked if they needed escorts but Nyoko turned her head back to reply.
"Not at all, sir, we know the way." She grinned happily as her cat jumped down and walked beside her now that they were in Konoha. The cat sang his farewell as it swished its tail contentedly behind him.
"Stop flirting little one, or they might think you're interested."
"Stop calling me 'little one', I'm 14 years old you know, and besides its harmless friendliness."
"Yea, well, don't come crying to me when one asks you to meet him somewhere for dinner."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. 'No' is an easy word for me," she said as she giggled at the truth.
"I know, but I also know how bad you feel when you break their hearts with that little wor--!"
"Ahhh!"
"What in the world?!" Aya yelled as a blonde-headed youngster fell on top of her - right in the middle of the street.
"Oh! I'm sorry miss, I fell……." Naruto left his sentence hanging as he saw who he bumped into.
"Naruto, how can you be…?" Sakura started until she saw the two ladies who had different forehead protectors from Konoha.
The older sister dusted herself off as she regained her sack from her sister.
"Who are you two?" Naruto asked before getting pounded in the back of the head by his pink-haired teammate.
"Baka! Don't be rude. Good day, my name is Sakura, and this is my teammate Naruto."
"Pleased to meet you," Nyoko said before noticing her sister was studying the boy in front of them.
"You can't be serious," Ayaka said before Naruto or Sakura turned to her for her name.
Naruto, open-mouthed and scratching his head made a noise that sounded like 'eh?'
"Sakura, you've grown a lot since I last saw you, and Naruto, I figured you would be shorter considering how small you were as a baby."
Both Konoha ninjas looked so confused that it made the sisters laugh out loud.
"It doesn't seem like they remember you, Aya," the younger one said between giggles.
"It can't be helped; it's been a long time." Ayaka introduced herself as the older sister and her little brunette friend was her little sister, Nyoko. "We are on our way to Tsunade if you would like to join us. I can tell you how I know you."
"Baa-chan? You know her too?"
"Naruto, if she knew us, why wouldn't she know her, baka?" Sakura said as she seethed through her teeth.
"It's alright Sakura, but yes, we know her as well," Ayaka said suppressing her laugh to the best of her ability. "Walk with us."
They explained that their country had helped watch over the women and children of Konoha during the Nine-tailed Fox invasion. Ayaka had watched over Sakura along with a couple other infants that they knew as their fellow ninjas such as Shikamaru, Shino, and Ten-Ten. Ayaka had also been present for the sealing of the nine-tails and that was why she knew Naruto. Sakura was impressed that Ayaka was as much help at 12 years old and past the genin stage by then. The group had arrived at the Hokage mansion when she was done summarizing the details.
"Thank you for escorting us."
"I'm glad to have met you, again," said Sakura.
"Will you be here long?" Naruto asked without hesitation.
"I have no doubt you'll be seeing a lot of us because we'll be staying in town," Nyoko said as she gestured toward downtown Konoha.
"Oi, then tomorrow for lunch I will take you to the best ramen restaurant in the world!" Naruto said as he smiled excitedly.
The sisters laughed. "Thank you, Naruto. We look forward to it," Ayaka said as she turned to wave them good-bye. After the two rounded a corner the sisters headed for the Hokage's office.
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"Just in time, friends," Shizune said as she gave the two a quick hug outside the office.
"We hoped we were," Nyoko replied pleasantly as they were escorted in.
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"I have appointed a jounin for the two of you, particularly to help you see more of the city and how it has changed but also to help you, Ayaka, with your work."
"Thank you, Tsunade. When do we meet this jounin?"
"Am I late?" a masculine voice asked from behind the two sisters. Ayaka turned a questioning brow in the direction of the voice.
"Right on time, Kakashi. Ladies, this is who you will spend time with here in Konoha, Hayate Kakashi. If you have a question he has your answer."
"Pleased to meet you, Kakashi," the sisters said at the same time.
"Oh? No, no, it is my pleasure to finally meet you," Kakashi said, apparently grinning from under his face mask.
"Well, you are dismissed," Tsunade said smiling strangely at Ayaka but Ayaka ignored it. She and her sister followed the masked man into the hall and then they were told to wait. Kakashi went back into the office and shut the door quietly. Ayaka couldn't make out what was being said but she didn't want to eavesdrop so she leaned up against the opposite wall as he sister sat down on the floor next to her. Takahiro curled in Nyoko's lap and got comfortable just in case it took a while.
After fifteen minutes passed Naruto came running down the hallway this time seeing the sisters and stopping quickly. "Is Baa-chan busy?"
"In there, Fish-cake," Ayaka said teasingly because she was tired and was running out of patience for the jounin.
"Oi!"
Ayaka was laughing at his expression when the door finally opened. Ayaka took another look at the man that was going to be their "tour-guide" but was surprised to see a tint of blush rise above his mask.
"Nani?" she asked before thinking about politeness.
"You are going to have to stay in the apartments near my place. I hope that's alright."
"I suppose so, as long as they have soft beds and nice showers," Nyoko said from her position on the floor.
Naruto entered the office and closed the door behind him.
"Okay, let's go," Kakashi exclaimed but waited for Nyoko and Takahiro to get up.
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When they reached the apartments of which Kakashi had spoken, the small-talk ended…abruptly.
"Anou…" Nyoko said before looking at her sister for a comment.
"We're going to be staying above a bar?" Ayaka asked with her brow raised and her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, I tried to convince Tsunade you'd prefer something else but she insisted that you be close to me and this is the best we could do."
'In more ways then one if I know her…' Ayaka thought exasperated. Tsunade didn't care the least for anyone else's love life but apparently had taken it upon herself to find Ayaka a handsome…no that wasn't the word—Talented- and wise ninja that would treat her right and help carry on the lineage that was so important to Mr. Ugly himself - Orochimaru. The evil man had disappeared from sight for the length of time that the Akatsuki was causing issues but now that they were taken care of Ayaka had a feeling he was back to his old games. Ayaka cringed at the thoughts that assaulted her once more. Too many things that were starting to give her stomach ulcers.
"Well, it's definitely not my preference, and it worries me about the atmosphere with Nyoko. Don't get me wrong, she can take care of herself, but it still bothers me."
"I understand. What if you two took my apartment and I took this spot?" Kakashi offered generously and again with a cheeky, covered-up, grin.
"Well, if you're okay with the switch then I'm all for it, Kakashi," Ayaka said politely as relief settled in her stomach. She looked into his only-showing-eye and didn't expect to get caught in it so suddenly. For a minute in time she couldn't comprehend where she was or why she was there. The only thing she knew was – he was going to be dangerous to her on a personal level.
'Not if I can help it…' she thought stubbornly.
"I'll pack my things and show you around the area. The apartment is this way…" he escorted them into a three-story building holding many apartments. "These are most of the single special jounin and skilled chunnin's apartments."
The sisters settled easily as Kakashi packed and explained some odds and ends. He was ready to leave within an hour but Ayaka wasn't done talking to him so she said she would walk with him to the place above the bar.
"No need, Ayaka."
"I want to discuss some things with you, if now isn't a bad time."
"Of course. Nyoko, if you or anyone needs me I'm above the bar on the corner in room 211."
"Okay Kakashi-sama. Thank you again!"
"No problem at all," as he shut the door behind them and started down the hall with the tall blonde. He noticed her height just three inches shorter than himself.
"Business?" he asked after a minute of silence.
"When do we start?"
"Monday."
"Do I need anything special?"
"No, just your usual equipment - and that pretty smile you keep hiding," Kakashi said candidly when they reached the staircase.
"I'm not hiding anything," Ayaka said seriously but knew it wasn't the full truth. "So how many are involved with this little project we are assigned to?"
"Just you and me." Kakashi opened the door to the room and entered after her.
'Oh, dear me…this might be harder than I first thought.' Ayaka smiled casually as she scanned the room. "I'm sorry to be putting you out here like this…"
"It's okay, no problem."
"Is nothing a problem for you?" she asked teasingly.
"Nothing I can think of," he commented with a smile to his voice and started to put away his clothing.
"Good to know. So how long do you think this will take?"
"I'll be done in two minutes."
She laughed noticing his joke, "You know what I mean."
"Two, maybe three, weeks if we're quick about it."
"I see."
"Anything you want to see or show your sister before we get started on Monday?"
"A tour of the mountain would be great and maybe a visit to the Academy."
"Tomorrow then, what time is good for you?"
"Oh, anytime I suppose, but I have a date for lunch so we'll have to work around it," she said as she looked out the window and down to the people around the outside of the bar.
Kakashi was behind her so she didn't catch him hesitating at the news, "A date? Already?"
"Yea, he's a persistent little guy, but he's a sweetie."
"Who?"
"Fish-cake."
"Naruto?"
"Yep, he told me he was going to have me taste the world's best ramen. I can't pass that up, I have a weak spot for noodles and cute guys," she said jokingly. From her position at the window she could see his reflection and the look that came across his mostly-covered face. 'I'm glad he can take a joke…but what is he staring at?' Ayaka turned toward him to catch him staring at her butt. Giving him a questioning stare made him stutter, embarrassed that he was caught, and apologize.
"But it's not what you think; I was looking at the imprint of the thing in your back pocket."
"Oh, you mean this?" she asked as she pulled out the book she was currently reading. Finding Love was a good book so far but it was by a new author so she wasn't sure how to judge it. As she explained to Kakashi about the main plot he grinned and nodded.
"It sounds good! I will pick that next to read."
"You read, too?" she asked skeptically.
"Off and on," he remarked knowing he seldom was without a book.
"It's rare to find guys that like to read, or at least admit to it."
"It keeps me from being bored and it's good for training."
"What kind of books do you read?"
"My last book was Flirting Paradise," he said as he sat on the end of the bed. Ayaka was more than shocked and tried to hide it from her face but it just couldn't be helped. "Nani?" he asked after she didn't comment.
"What kind of training do you speak of when you say its 'good for training'?"
Before Kakashi answered he laughed, "Ninja training. It makes the younglings think I'm not paying attention."
"I see. Well, I should get back to Nyoko, thanks for the information."
"See you tomorrow," he stated standing up to walk her to the door.
"Yea, oh, by the way, my sister and I are late sleepers so what if we left around ten?" she asked as she stepped into the hall but turned back to him.
"Works for me," Kakashi gave her a nod with his head in agreement.
"Great, see you then!" Ayaka turned to go and then stopped, "Another thing, Kakashi…"
"Hm?"
"Does the conversation you had with Tsunade concern my sister and me?"
"No," he said nicely before echoing a goodnight.
When Ayaka arrived back Nyoko and Takahiro were sleeping on the floor on layers of blankets so she tried to remain as quiet as possible. She sighed hoping she would be able to get a good rest before she had to walk any further. Pushing back the covers on the bed after her toiletries were done she crawled in, loving the feel of the covers. She rolled onto her side and was aware of a soft and masculine musk smell from the pillow. Inhaling it in deeply Ayaka calmed almost immediately. She flipped her long blonde hair across the pillow and was asleep before she could process much more.