To my friend, Mykhal.
Kakashi's Day Off.
The first beams of the rising sun pierce through the blinds of our favorite silver, gravity-defying haired ninja. He rose with a yawn and a stretch. Getting out all of the stress of laying still for eight hours. Deciding that he would go out into the village to grab some breakfast, he put on his usual jonin outfit and grabbed his signature orange book that barely passes as reading material.
As he made his way up the street towards his restaurant of choice he happened to hear commotion coming from a particular ramen stand.
"OI! Another bowl old man!" An elated Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed as he finished his tenth bowl of ramen.
"Yo Naruto." Said Kakashi as he pushed the through the flaps in front of the ramen stand.
"Mornin Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said through multiple gulps of his favorite meal. "Ahhhhhhh." Naruto said with content as he patted his full stomach.
"You can never get enough of the stuff can you, Naruto?" Kakashi said with clear amusement seeing his student rubbing his almost-pregnant looking belly.
"Nah, you know me Sensei! The more ramen the better!" He said with a cheesy grin. Naruto's eyebrows then widened as if he suddenly remembered something.
"Hey Sensei, have you ever been in love? Isn't it time for you to settle down with somebody?" He asked innocently.
"Well Naruto, in this business relationships are very hard to come by. As a ninja I risk my life in missions every day. So, to answer your question no, I don't think I've ever truly been in love and I don't believe I will be any time soon." Kakashi thought with a somewhat somber tone. He would like to maybe one day have plans of having a wife and children. But, being as powerful of a ninja he is, there may be some who would stop at nothing to get him for some of his past deeds, and he wouldn't be able to bear if one of his loved ones got hurt again because of him. It was unfortunate, but Kakashi had come to accept that.
"Okay Sensei. I was just wondering. Seems like a lot of woman have the hots for you." Naruto said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Even now as they were speaking he could see Ayame giving Kakashi very subtle glances and faintly blushing at the appearance of Kakashi. After all, Kakashi is still a fairly young bachelor and his deeds are known throughout the Elemental Nations.
"Aha… well since we're asking questions when are you going to get rid of that orange jumpsuit? It would probably make a few heads turn your way as well."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Naruto said taking a good look at his outfit. "Haven't you heard? Orange is stylish!" He said with another cheesy grin.
Kakashi sweat-dropped at the statement and decided that now would probably be the best time to leave before his student went into further explanation.
"Well that's… great Naruto. I have some business to attend to as of right now so I'll see you later okay?" Kakashi said with a wave and a turn as he heard his student order another bowl.
"Bye Sensei!"
Kakashi continued on his way of the street and entered a small tea shop that smelled of fresh breads and other delicacies. As he made his way to a table he heard the giggling of the service staff in the tea shop as they looked at him with small blushes on their face. As he sat down one of them made her way to him.
"Hello! My name is Akiko. How may I serve you today, sir?" She said with a bright smile.
"Hm… I'll just have the scrambled eggs with toast and a green tea please." Kakashi said with his traditional eye smile.
"Got it. Food should be out in about five minutes, kay handsome?" She said with a wink as she walked away.
It was just as she was walking away that a certain figure from outside the tea shop glanced inside and saw his eternal rival sitting down at a table reading his usual smut.
"YOSH! KAKASHI MY ETERNAL RIVAL! HOW ARE YOU ON THIS FINE MORNING!" Might Gai exclaimed in all his 'youth.'
"Gai, please not so loud. We are in a place of business." Kakashi said as he could the several other patrons in the restaurant were all a bit bewildered at the sight of a man wearing an all green jumpsuit, with the largest eyebrows they've ever seen, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"You must excuse me, my eternal rival. Seeing you always puts me in good spirits!" He exclaimed again but in a much lower tone.
It was now that Akiko returned with Kakashi's food. She turned to Gai as she asked if there was anything that he would like.
"Whatever he is having is fine with me!" He said with his traditional nice guy pose and brilliant smile.
She smiled as she went to put in his order. Where the masked man was a bit quiet and centered, this man was boisterous and friendly. They were a good match as friends.
"So my eternal rival! How have you been?" Gai asked as he looked back to see Kakashi had already finished the food on his plate and had already downed all of the tea.
'How in the hell does he do that? That speed puts mine to shame.' Thought Gai as he too was perplexed as to how his rival was able to eat so fast.
"Same old same old, Gai. If anything, I almost feels as though I've hit a rut in my life."
"Nonsense friend! You have the respect of all your peers, you're known worldwide for your famous endeavors, and all the woman have the hots for you! Speaking of which… isn't it time you settled down with a woman Kakashi?" Gai said in a surprisingly serious tone.
"...It's funny because you aren't the first person to ask me that today so I'll tell you the same thing I told them. In this business relationships are hard to come by. Those extra ties to myself would just hurt my heart far too much if something were to ever happen to cut them."
"Hmm…." Gai mused as he put a hand up to his chin, "If I had to guess that sounds more like an excuse than a valid reason. You believe yourself to not be capable of holding a relationship due to your status as a ninja? Ridiculous!"
"*sigh* Alright then. What about you? What's keeping YOU from settling down with a… lucky… lady? You're just about as strong as I am with a reputation that is equal to my own."
"Simple my rival! There is simply no woman in any of them lands who could possibly keep up with me! My springtime of youth is in full effect and as such I will have to wait for my passionate flames of youth to dim before trying to mate with the other sex!"
"Uh-huh…. Well what about Anko? She's just about as crazy as you are." Kakashi said offhandedly.
"YOSH! Because you have said it my rival I shall stop at no extent to try to get a date with Anko-san!" Gai said before leaping away from the table and speeding away from the shop all together to find his 'lover.'
It was at this moment that Akiko returned with Gai's food and with a confused expression on her face she turned to Kakashi and said,
"...uh didn't your friend want his food…?"
"Yeah… I'll just pay for both meals. Sorry for the inconvenience." He stated plainly.
"No problem!" She stated as he took out the necessary amount of money and paid the tab with a sizeable tip.
Kakashi left the tea shop and continued to make his way up the street on his way to the Hokage Monument. As he was walking he glanced inside the Yamanaka flower shop and saw one of his other students, Sakura, casually looking through the aisles of flowers. Deciding he had more time to speak he stepped inside the shop and walked directly behind her,
"Yo!" He said with an eye smile. Sakura turned around and greeted her sensei with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Kakashi-Sensei!
"So what's my only Kunoichi in training up to?" Kakashi said with a knowing look.
"Well… I was just getting some flowers for..." she trailed of as she blush and giggled as she thought about her 'lover.'
"Speaking of which..." she continued, "Sensei, when are you going to find yourself that special somebody?"
Okay. Now it was weird for Naruto and ESPECIALLY Gai to say such a thing on the same day. For this to be the THIRD time that day that he was hearing that same question was a bit perplexing. But, he denounced it seeing as it was Sakura and, as a female, those type of questions are a bit more normal to hear out of her.
"Ahem. I'll just say this. The shinobi business isn't one for making relationships. We all risk our lives ever-"
"Don't give me that, Sensei. You and I both know very well that there are several shinobi couples within our village that we see every day. How could you let something like our occupation stand in the way of your own happiness?" Sakura inquired. It was absurd to her. Nobody should feel like they can't have love because of what they do for a living. Especially shinobi. If anything, they should be more willing to accept the love at an earlier age since it isn't guaranteed. In her opinion, anyway. Kakashi let out a deep sigh before continuing where he was interrupted,
"Sakura. I've been a shinobi for over two decades. I've seen much, much more than you have seen in your entire life. Some that I hope you will NEVER have to see. I would never like to put any loved ones at risk due to my fame as a shinobi."
Sakura frowned at her sensei as she didn't, no, wouldn't accept that for an answer. As she was about to open her mouth to reply she was interrupted by Kakashi speaking again,
"Listen, Sakura. I know you care about this matter a great deal, but this is not something you can persuade me on. The decision is mine and mine alone. Understand?"
Sakura nodded her head reluctantly as it was true. Kakashi is a grown man, and she has no right to try to forced anything upon him.
"Hai, Sensei."
"Good." He said with another eye-smile. "Now why don't you buy your flowers for Sasuke and I'll see you later okay?" He said as he poofed away in smoke leaving a flustered, blushing Sakura in the shop.
Kakashi chuckled as he continued his way up the street to the Hokage's office. Upon finally arriving, he made his way up the stairs til he was standing face to face with Shizune who was calmly sitting at her desk sorting out papers.
"Good Morning, Shizune-san." Kakashi started, "is Hokage-sama available right now?"
"Good Morning Kakashi-san, yes she should be okay to see you."
After that brief interaction Kakashi made his way inside his office to find Tsunade trying her hardest to defeat any Kage's worst nightmare. Paperwork.
Tsunade looked up from her paperwork and was relieved that she would get a momentary break from it by talking with Kakashi.
"Good Morning, Tsunade-sama. Are there any missions available?"
While Tsunade would like to give her, arguably, strongest Jonin a high-ranking mission to make her job easier, she decided that his mental health was more important than her backload of missions. Even Tsunade has noticed that Kakashi had been feeling a bit down lately, and that he was slowly, but surely getting to the point where he had nothing to look forward to but mission after mission. What he needed was a good woman. In Tsunade's opinion anyway.
As if Kami himself had decided to answer her thoughts, she got a knock on her door once again, however this time upon beckoning the person in she was shocked at whom it was.
Mei Terumi, the Godaime Mizukage, walked through the door radiating the same aura that any shinobi of kage-level seems to have.
Mei is a tall, slender woman in her thirties. She has green eyes, and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and two are long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She wears a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. The dress only covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her breasts.
"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry to intrude upon you like this, but this is a matter of complete urgency." Mei stated. "I won't try to beat around the bush here. My country has just gotten out of a grueling civil war and we are in need of desperate help in any form. I was hoping to come before you today in the hopes of being able to form a unity between our nations in the form of a treaty."
Tsunade looked gobsmacked as she listened to what the Mizukage said. At the end of her declaration Tsunade had a very pensive look on her face, which then turned into one of excitement as her brain got to working.
"Kakashi. We'll talk later. For now, you are on leave of any assignments until further notice. Dismissed."
With a quick salute Kakashi shunshinned out the building and back out to the street below. His mind racing a mile a minute as he thought of what the Mizukage said. As he pondered what could possibly be going on inside the Hokage's office, he would be surprised to know that the topic of conversation was none other than himself.
"So Mei-dono… You came to the Leaf village in hopes of a treaty between our nations? Well, I can't promise you anything up front without the consulting of the elders, and Daimyou. However, I do see a way of making sure that we can rectify this 'problem' in a very simple way."
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes for the safety and security of my country in our upcoming years Hokage-dono. What is it that you have in mind?"
"Anything you say? Perfect."
As their conversation continued, we find Kakashi where he can usually be found. The Memorial Stone. Kakashi, as he has been doing for years on end, is currently berating himself over the deaths of his long-time rival and friend, Obito Uchiha. Thinking of Obito, in turn, always made him start to think of Rin. The girl who he promised he'd protect with his life, who instead ended up giving up hers to save him. Thinking of those two got him to start thinking of his sensei, Minato Namikaze, and how he sacrificed himself to save the whole village. Thinking of his genin squad always made him realize just how alone he was in this world. No family, no wife/girlfriend, nobody who he can share some of his most precious moments with or whom he can at least vent his feelings to.
The only ray of light in his life are the small amount of comrades that he considers his friends on the ninja force as well as his genin cell under him. Thinking of people like Naruto constantly brings a small smile to his face. Even at a young age, Kakashi can tell that Naruto is going to grow up to be something special. Especially since Kakashi is one of the few that know that he is the son of his late sensei as well as one of the top kunoichi this village has ever produced, Kushina Uzumaki. He also began to think of the last Uchiha under his wing, and how he was sure to mature into a fine shinobi. Kakashi could even see that he has the potential to pass his older brother, and that's saying something. He frowned slightly as he thought of Sakura, as she hasn't really amounted to anything much in her ninja career as of yet. He had hoped that having such a strong female figure in the village such as Tsunade would take her out of her fangirl ways, yet somehow Sakura still managed to stay Sakura.
Speaking of his genin cell, Sasuke had finally found his target, one Kakashi Hatake, once again standing in front of the Memorial Stone. As he looked on at Kakashi he remembered the mission he was given.
Flashback Start
"So let me get this straight..." Sasuke started, "you just want me to distract Kakashi for a couple hours?"
"Yes, Sasuke." Tsunade said with her hands crossed in front of her, "this is a matter of grave importance on account of two reasons. One of which you already know and the other which you will be made known of later, WHEN you complete the mission. We need some time to prepare so this is where you come in. Failure is NOT an option here. Am I clear?" Tsunade said in a sickly-sweet tone.
"Hai Hai. The veiled threat is unnecessary."said Sasuke
"Good. You have your mission now get to it. And remember that you're also going to be at the event later."
Flashback End
"Kakashi." Sasuke stated as he jumped down from the branch he was standing on. "I want you to train me."
"Sure, Sasuke. On what specifically?"
"...Taijutsu" Sasuke said as he went into his fighting stance.
"Better prepare yourself."
A few hours later we find a worn-out Sasuke nursing several injuries as Kakashi had been a little… 'enthusiastic' in the training session today.
"Man… you didn't pull any punches today, did you?" Sasuke said with in annoyance.
"Nope." Kakashi said with an eye smile.
"Well, thanks for the 'lesson,' Kakashi. See ya later." Sasuke said as he leaped away rather slowly.
Kakashi sighed as the sun made its final descent and the sky started to get orange-pinkish in preparation of the night. He decided that would retire to his humble abode for the night with his trusty smut to take to sleep.
Upon arriving at his house and opening the door his ninja sense went haywire. After all, his house was completely dark due to it being daytime when he departed, he was about to investigate, but suddenly the lights flickered on and he heard a loud chorus of,
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAKASHI/-SENSEI/-SAN."
Kakashi looked around the room with his lone eye completely raised in shock as he saw the rather large amount of guests in his house. From his own genin cell, to Teams Gai, 10, and 8 with all of the respective Jonin. As well as the Hokage, Shizune, Anko, Ibiki, Iruka, Jiraya, and for some odd reason the Mizukage and two other shinobi who he assumed were her bodyguards.
As it finally settled in his mind as to why he they made that declaration his eye closed in what probably looked to be the best eye-smile that they'd ever seen. As the party started going most of the genin decided to hit the unofficial dance floor made up by Kakashi's living room. It was quite a sight to see Ino and Sakura pull an exhausted Sasuke to the dance floor all while he protested in a very Uchiha-like fashion.
Naruto, in a surprising twist of events, asked Hinata to dance with him as when he looked over he saw her sitting alone. About ten seconds into the dancing Hinata promptly fainted after being pressed up against Naruto. Gai and Lee preferred to sing along to the music that was playing in a very, very horrible way. Which ended up getting them both duct-taped to a chair by all of the females in the party.
Anko took the pleasure of nearly castrating Kakashi for causing Gai to pursue her in a romantic way. After finally persuading Anko that harming the birthday boy would be very… unpleasant to the atmosphere of the party she finally withdrew her kunai. But, not before promising Kakashi a world of pain sometime in the near future.
Shikamaru, at some point, made his way to Kakashi's room for a nap while Choji took to eating as much food as possible. Kiba spent most of the night ogling the beautiful Mizukage from a distance. Neji and Tenten sat back casually while enjoying the music. Shino stood in the corner of the room watching everything going on around him. Everyone else had a fun time just enjoying each other's company as well as being on the dance floor if they so choosed.
However, the most interesting part of the entire night revolved around the reason that the Mizukage was attending the party. It involved the situation that Tsunade was mentioning earlier to Mei while they were inside her office.
Flashback Start
"So the way I see it. The easiest solution to both of our problems would be a political marriage between our two countries." Tsunade said with her arms folded.
Mei blushed a bright shade of red before speaking, "Hokage-dono I'm flattered that you'd even think of that as you're also beautiful, but I didn't know you swung that way."
Tsunade face palmed and slightly blushed before continuing, "No. I don't. I meant with one of our BACHELORS in the Leaf village."
"Oh… Well… I am no opposed to such a thing, but whom would you have in mind?" Mei asked curiously. As she said she would do anything for her country, but she wouldn't marry just ANYBODY.
"Well. You got a good look at him earlier. One of our elite Jonin in the field, Hatake Kakashi." Tsunade said firmly.
Mei blushed slightly again while nodding her head. It was no secret to any women in the Elemental Nations that Kakashi Hatake was one of the most esteemed bachelors to grace the land. There are also several rumors of what Kakashi was supposed to look like behind the notorious mask, and most of them just drove the women population even crazier with lust. Mei had no objections with having such a powerful man as her husband in the future so she accepted Tsunade's offer.
"Great. I'll need you to be here tonight at 9 so that we can discuss this with Kakashi himself."
"Alright then. Until tonight, Hokage-dono."
Flashback End
"So to make a long story short. I've set up an arranged political marriage between Mei-dono and yourself, Kakashi. Should you accept it of course." said Tsunade
Kakashi could only have his lone once again raise to epic proportions and his jaw drop to the ground at what his leader just said. He was supposed to get married…? To the MIZUKAGE?! Kakashi sputtered a bit before finally making his retort,
"W-wait it can't be that simple right? Don't we have to have some type of approval by the Daimyou?" asked Kakashi
"Yes of course. However, your response to the offer would have to come first, as it would be pointless to try to even start the agreement up if you reject it."
"But what if I can't protect her?" Kakashi said as he started his own brand of excuses.
"I have a whole nation of shinobi to protect me Kakashi-kun" Mei said with a giggle.
"I know, but still! Isn't ther-"
"Aww, do you not like me Kashi-kun?" She said with a cute pout as she pressed her ample breast up against his chest.
The visible part of Kakashi's face immediately began to turn the same color of his Sharingan eye as he got the greatest view of the top side of Mei's chest. No surprise that Mei doesn't wear a bra.
"N-n-NO. I-it's not th-that I ju-"
"Am I not sexy enough?" Mei cooed seductively in his ear. Her hot breath on his neck causing a great amount of stimulation for Kakashi.
"NO! NO! That's not it at all! It's jus-"
"C'mon, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto interrupted. Practically the whole party at this point had their attention focused to the 'main' event that was Mei and Kakashi. Naruto continued, "I'm considered an idiot by many, BUT even I wouldn't even dream of turning down such a beautiful woman." Naruto said honestly. Most of the room raised their eyebrows at the statement, but agreed nonetheless.
If Kakashi was being honest with himself, then his primal instinct was telling him to drag Mei into his bedroom and ravish her gorgeous body. However, his rational mind(which Kakashi would like to think he uses FAR more frequently) was telling him to pump his brakes before he does something irrational.
However, he could not deny his young student's words. Mei was breath-takingly beautiful, and if she was willing to go through this ordeal with him… who was he to refuse?
"Okay," Kakashi started as he finally calmed down, "before we rush into ANYTHING let me just ask one question. How do you feel about all of the Mei?" Kakashi inquired.
"Kakashi, for the future of my nation, I would do almost ANYTHING to make sure that we could be more secure by having another great nation as an ally. I HARDLY see marrying once of the finest men I've ever met in my life as difficult. Not to mention you also match me in strength. Kakashi, you're everything that I could ever ask for in a future husband. Granted, I haven't really gotten any type of chance to get to know you personally, I doubt your Hokage would try to pair me up with some pervert." Mei finished. From the back of the room Jiraiya sneezed as he continued jotting down notes in his notepad for his next issue of smu- I mean… Icha Icha Paradise collection.
"...If that's the case then… Hokage-sama, I humbly accept your offer," Kakashi turned to Mei, " and I would like nothing more than to have such a beautiful woman as my future Queen." Kakashi stated with sincerity.
The whole party erupted into cheers as everyone in attendance began to congratulate Kakashi and Mei on their upcoming nuptials that was sure to command the attention of the whole Elemental Nations.
After a few more hours of dancing, drinking, laughter and merriment, everybody had finally bid adieu to Kakashi's home and all made their way back to their respective homes. The last ones to leave happened to be Mei and her two bodyguards, Ao and Chojuro, both whom stepped out the door first only to have it slam behind them with Kakashi and Mei still inside.
Inside the door we find Mei sharing a sizzling kiss with Kakashi. As soon as she slammed the door closed she immediately pulled Kakashi's masked down and proceeded to try to suck his lips off of his face. After about a good minute of tongue dueling Mei and Kakashi finally ended this kiss, both panting, and eyes clouded with lust. Mei traced her finger across Kakashi's face as she commented,
"My… I was correct… You truly are one of the most handsome men to have ever graced these lands. Sorry to disappoint you Kakashi as I would love to spend the rest of the night in your arms, however I must make my way back to Kirikagure(Hidden Mist Village) as quickly as possible to start the treaty agreements and inform them of our upcoming nuptials. Until next time… my love." She said with a dazzling smile as she made her way out of the door into the night.
Kakashi stood staring at his door for about a good five minutes before the events of tonight finally began to completely sink into his brain. He chuckled as he walked to his bedroom, taking off his uniform and getting into his bed he couldn't help but think,
'This was the best day off… and birthday EVER.' Kakashi thought as a huge smile crossed his face as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Done! This one-shot is dedicated one of my best friends, whom I have the thank God above for meeting, Mykhal. It's also dedicated to his favorite character and pairing.
Hope all of you enjoyed!
Stay tuned for the next chapter of "The Way Things Should Have Been" that should be hitting the updates within the next week.
Until then, Ja Ne!
-A1