((The italics are thoughts/ memories and flashbacks.))
It's quite interesting how much each and every person changes throughout their lifetime. Constant evolution and change happening in every single person…every single day. You meet a friend then get torn apart, years later you come to see…they're not the person you once knew. It's painful yet exquisite how you can watch a person change so much over the course of a lifetime. I met him when it felt like his heart and soul were that of a rock -hard and cold- allowing not a single person to cozy up and see who he was behind the cold shell he wore. Darkness. Tragedy. Cruelty. You could feel it when close to him or even thinking about him.
I couldn't stand it. It left me scared one day the pain I harboured would eventually blaze into something so achingly cold-blooded. The past left me to wonder if he would still be that way. Blood and lives on his hands, not a moment of anguish as he took the lives of those he was told to hunt down. Eyes and heart algid. An anbu member with such finesse, only half the age of all those around him doing the same tasks.
However, there was a side to this man I was able to feel, though he refused to accept it…he had a moment of weakness, passion bursting from the seams of a cold figure. That was the man I one day wanted to meet, and possibly…share my life with. However, the reality to this rather foolish and childish desire was a mere Fool's Paradise.
As I grew…that delusion I once had shrunk into an oblivion.
I'd be seeing him after all these years, for the first time since that one occurrence, the one that nourished my childish plans to help a man and possibly fall in love.
I slowly strolled past the gates of Konohagakure, the pitter patter of my black boots was all I could hear as it was currently faint outside; the sun had set long ago. A soft sigh escaped my lips while I scanned the range set ahead of me, my golden eyes still seemed to glow in the dim silver radiance the half-moon gave off. Of course Izumo was stationed at the small hut to the left of the entranceway of the village.
"Hey, Maggio!" The raven haired man greeted, his hand raised into the air as he waved to me.
"Izumo! What a pleasant surprise to see you still out here." I softly responded as I approached the hut he was contently sitting in. I peered inside and noticed that Kotetsu was nowhere to be found. "Where's your partner in crime?" I asked with a small chuckle.
"He ended up going home early, he wasn't feeling too hot." The jounin muttered. "Anyways, have a great night Maggio. The Hokage is aware of your arrival so you're all set." He confirmed. I smiled and gave a curt nod before I continued on my way.
Walking down the roads I looked around for an inn which appeared to have workers who were awake. Moving to the Leaf was going to be a long and tiring process, tedious to say in the least. Of course I knew Naruto, Konohamaru, Iruka, Gai, and several others would offer me help, but I didn't want to be a distraction, they were all busy people with their own duties to worry about.
"It's a bit late to be walking…isn't it Dominique?" a familiar voice asked from the dark.
It was him…
"Kakashi…why are you still up?" I asked, a soft blush coating my cheeks as I looked over to the masked, silver haired man. He was roughly a foot taller than myself, his build slightly slim.
"Why not?" he asked back in a sly tone, almost as if he were challenging me to give him a logical reason. He was a superior shinobi, not to mention well over the age to have a curfew. Deciding not to give him a hard time, my expression softened and I gave a gentle shrug. His novel was held in his hand, it really was just like a fixture to his body. He quickly slapped the book shut using his hand before slipping it away into the pouch on his back left side.
"So, I heard from Iruka that you were moving here, is that right?" he asked as his hands slid smoothly into his pockets.
"Actually, yes I am." I answered before I went to sit on a close by bench. After walking all the way from Sunagakure, my legs were nearly ready to give out. I managed to make the nearly two day trip into a twenty-four hour commute.
"Glad to hear so, Dominique." He said, a smile could be heard in his smooth voice as he walked over to join me on the bench. A soft breeze cause the sakura trees around us to bustle and the trunks to groan under the pressure of various gusts. The crisp night air felt great on my skin, soothing the thoughts rekindled by the trees around us.
The branch of the tree sturdy as it held the weight of us both. After talking, meeting up again in the woods we decided to go sit up in a sakura tree, the sun starting to set.
"Let's sit on this one." His voice spoke as he pointed to a burly branch. Nodding, I hopped up to said branch with ease, standing I waited impatiently for the young man to come and join me in the tree. Shooting up the tree he sat at the base of the branch, his muscular back rested against the stocky trunk, one leg dangling off the side of the limb he was on. A blush coated my porcelain like cheeks before I noticed he was waiting for me. What a joke…was, Hatake, of all people, waiting for me to sit in his lap?
"Hatake…A-Are you—" he cut me off before I could finish. "Just sit." He said, his usual cold demeanor hinting in that single phrase. 'Control freak.' I thought to myself.
Deciding to just go with it, I slowly sat between his legs and chewed my lip lightly, the thrill of seeing this rare side made me wonder…was he letting me in? Was he allowing me to meet the very core of his stone cold self? I remained silent as I sat there, my head leaning against him as I rested. To think, after this, it would be the last time him and I saw each other for quite some time. My skeptic side was starting to show. He was up to something.
"Don't make this out to be something more than it's meant to be." He finally mused out to me. Of course…this wasn't anything more than just sitting and relaxing. 'Don't get your hopes up Dom. Don't bother, he will never change.' My thoughts intruded the calm moment.
I ended up closing my golden orbs before I oddly found enough peace with myself to fall asleep. A few hours later, the sun was gone and skies were dark aside from the sparkling specks of stars and the crescent moon. I was now resting on the ground, leaned against the tree's trunk. I was alone, he left me. That was our farewell…one I'm not sure anyone could easily forget.
"Dominique?" His voice broke my cogitation.
"Oh, sorry." I apologized.
"Are you alright?"
"Just a little tired is all." I spoke before shining him a closed eye grin, conveying the feeling I was just peachy. A small voice in my mind piped up, 'as if.'
"Oh, well are you in need of a place to stay? There's an inn that I can show you to." He offered. He changed…he was no longer the man I knew years ago. That encounter compared to this one was quite diverse. His voice held a different tone, a new way of life it seemed. Interesting.
"That'd be great, thank you." I said with a nod before I stood up and stretched upward. It felt like a good part of me was a little sore and tired from the damned walk. I was a bit weaker due to the small crescent moon, my chakra and body's limits were lowered.
Kakashi got up and started to walk along the alleyways, he glanced up to the sky and seemed to be admiring the perfect glow given off by the stars and moon. The breeze that accompanied it along with the rustling of trees, it was quite relaxing; if I couldn't find an inn to stay at for a few nights, I wouldn't mind sleeping out on one of the benches.
"So, I'm guessing you've made a lot of friends here hmm?" he asked glancing back to me, turning his head so his exposed eye could take notice of me walking behind him.
"Yeah, I guess. I am more so moving here to help Iruka and to help with Chunin exams. I'm a Special Jounin, I specialize in helping kids perfect chakra techniques and help them learn new jutsu. If needed, I also accompany squads as backup or can be the captain of a three man squad." I explained. I wasn't as talented or high ranked as him of course, but I enjoyed what I did, that's all that really mattered.
"Interesting." Though he only spoke one word, the certain pitch swing in his voice gave off the feeling he was genuine.
"Thank you."
Approaching an inn, I noticed that there were dim lights on, the luminance evident through the curtain covered windows. "Here we are." Kakashi announced as he waked up to the door with me.
"It was nice seeing you again, we obviously booth have a lot to catch up on." he said gently rubbing the back of his neck, a small grin could be seen through the slight shifting in his mask.
"Well, thank you again for walking me here...Good night, Hatake." I said, before turning and walking through the french styled doors, the tan curtains which seemed to glow a gold hue swished as I swung the door open. Kakashi stood watching me enter before I slowly closed the door behind me, entering the inn.
Kakashi stood there a moment, staring in what he felt to be, disbelief. After taking a moment to regather his thoughts, the man turned and started on his way back to his own apartment. Arriving at home, the jounin stripped his green vest off and hung it over the back to a wooden chair, he removed his hitai-ate with a single quick motion, the metal clinking against the table. Next off were the man's gloves and next he pulled his mask down before he headed to his bedroom. He stripped his long sleeve shirt off followed by his pants, wanting to get comfortable in his green pawprint boxers before going to bed. His thoughts still seemed to buzz around, his memories of me still burnt into his cranium. However, that's when he decided...he would need to avoid me at all costs.
I was everything, yet nothing.