This is in some ways Americanized. I am using inches and feet because that is what is most familiar with me. I also made the bathroom much like the ones in America, with the toilet, sink and shower all in the same room. Although I am keeping the names "backwards" for instance: Hatake Kakashi. It just sounds better that way.

Chapter One: Vesuvius

"I must say, it is a big difference," the Hokage smirked lightly and puffed on his old pipe.

"But?" The boy stood tall though his height showed nothing of his pride. A mere five feet, six inches the boy of eighteen could have easily been mistaken for one of fifteen years. This was the point of his assignment. Although various things about the boy made it too apparent that he was not just some average citizen. His current civilian attire did not hide the scar that ripped his left eye in two halves. His hair was another thing. The boy was well known in his young age and his messy gray hair would give him away almost as well as the famous scar.

"Your hair is going to have to be dyed," the Hokage was a calm man well past his prime unlike the one before him. His hair was also gray but with several black streaks doing their best to survive turning from old age.

The boy flinched and ran his fingers through his hair subconsciously and pulling some down over his right eye to examine it.

"Is it really that obvious? What about my scar?" The boy was born gray, as was his father and his father before him. His anger had long passed since the death of his father and he now accepted that he was, in fact, a spitting image of Hatake Sakumo.

"A good story can easily justify your scar, Kakashi," he took another puff from his pipe. The room was beginning to look permanently hazy from the years in which the Third Hokage had spent smoking almost non-stop.

"As can my hair, I mean... I could have been thoroughly stressed in my early years," Kakashi was still twisting the threads of his hair in front of his eye.

"You're supposed to be in your early years," Kakashi frowned and sighed as he let go of his hair. "And of course, you must dye it all," the Hokage waved his hand up and down in front of him, indicating that he meant ALL of Kakashi's body hair.

At the moment Kakashi was extremely ungrateful for his civilian clothes, there was nothing to cover his face. It now stood bare and showed his embarrassment. His cheeks were lightly blushed with the mention of being so thorough. But he had to act mature, it was his duty, and especially when referring to this particular mission.

Kakashi nodded and swallowed down his embarrassment.

"What color do you think is best Hokage-sama?" The Third shrugged and set his pipe down onto his desk.

"Nothing neon," he tried his best at a joke, noticing Kakashi's uneasiness. "Something dull would be best. I don't want you to stand out too much," he paused for a moment, looking away from Kakashi and down at something on his desk. "These are for your eye," he held out a plastic contact case for Kakashi to take. Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed together as he walked forward a few steps to take them from the Hokage's hand.

"They really found a way to cover my eye?" Kakashi said while looking down at the case and unscrewing the top. The contact inside matched almost perfectly to his normal eye color.

"It's only temporary, and you are to take it out as often as possible," Kakashi looked up, confused.

"Why? Isn't that just as unsafe?"

"I'm afraid it's the best that could be done. You will be able to see through it, though barely. It should be able to block most of the chakra from escaping, but only for a couple of hours. You will drain all your energy if you keep it in all the time."

"Can I still use the Sharingan then?" Kakashi screwed the top back on and placed it into his side pocket. The Hokage shook his head and Kakashi frowned once more. "I don't understand. If my chakra can escape through the contact then how can't my Sharingan be used?"

"I'm not all that clear on the circumstances, as I am not a medic, but it's something like this: there is light shining through the contact which in turn allows you to see, unlike when you cover it," he paused and Kakashi nodded. " But in turn, if you attempted to use your Sharingan while the contact is still in its place then it will be deflected onto yourself,"

"But-" the Hokage held up his hand, and Kakashi stayed quiet.

"The contact acts as a shield, which is why you can keep your eye open for a few hours at a time. That has to be a very strong block in order to control the chakra that escapes from the Sharingan. Thus, if you attempt to use the Sharingan, the block will quite easily deflect it, perhaps even onto yourself. Also, because of the strong block it is not safe to keep in all the time. So you are not permitted to sleep with it in. It could cause serious damage to your eye, or something like that. I didn't catch all the medical terms but that's the jest of it." Kakashi sighed and fingered the case in his pocket. It seemed quite useless especially during times when he might really need to use the Sharingan and his hands are tied.

"I'm serious about taking it out as often as you can, Kakashi. I do not want you weak around that man," The Hokage's voice had lost its lightness; it was now deep and serious. Kakashi bit his lip and nodded, not meeting the Hokage's gaze. He knew what was to come, but he was to do his best to prevent it, but if all other means failed and he if he is unable extract information from the Commander, then the only other option was to use his body.

The Commander of the northwest territory, Iwa, had a secret fetish for young boys. This was only known because of past findings around bases in which Commander Takashi had controlled and been invaded by Konoha. Caves where the boy's bodies were found, several fresh in death with obvious bruises from sexual assault. It was a terrible heartbreak to find some of their own genin as the victims.

With a sudden break in the current war and a threat of another invasion soon to come by Commander Takashi, Konoha was desperate to get any information, or even to get him right where they wanted him: at the mercy of the famous Copy-ninja, and hopefully not the other way around. Konoha could not afford to lose one of their top jounin, but they also would not dare send anyone else.

"I'd like you to leave by nightfall, please report to me beforehand for the final details, that will be all," Kakashi bowed to the Hokage and left his office, down the flights of stairs and out of the tower. He couldn't help but glance back up at the large windows at the top. He could not fail the Hokage, if he were to be found out, Konoha would definitely be at the mercy of Iwa.

Kakashi sighed once more and headed to a near by supermarket. Inside, he never expected there to be a whole aisle dedicated to hair color, it was rather overwhelming. He frowned while passing by the reds and pinks, realizing that that would definitely attract attention. He decided to go for a darker color, brown perhaps, or black. But wouldn't that be a pain to keep dying? And unsafe at that-

"Oof!" He blinked rapidly and tried to recover the dropped hair dyes, but his victim picked them up faster.

"Beautiful Brunette. Hmm.. I don't know about this one, Kakashi," she laughed while putting it back in its rightful place on the shelf. "Since when are you self conscious about your looks?" She never once met his gaze, instead reading the back of the other hair dye labeled, Youthful Sunrise.

"I'm not," he said simply while reading the box upside down from her hands.

"Then what's with the dyes? You're too pale for blonde," she also put that one back and looked up at him. Though he may not have been a staggering height he was still a few inches taller than her.

"Were you following me?" he turned away from her this time and continued to look through the aisle.

"No, definitely not. Too dark," he sighed as she pushed him to the side. "And I wasn't following you, I was buying veggies for stir fry tonight," Rin said as she raised her basket up as if to show she wasn't a stalker.

She used to be so shy and timid, but it was soon grown out of when their former Hokage and sensei, died. She turned into a strong, independent woman when Kakashi could hardly stand to get up in the morning. She would soon force him to live with her just so she could get him back on track. Without her, Kakashi would probably still be curled up in his bed, trying to forget his duties to the village.

"This one," she handed it to him and he examined the back not really knowing if it was a good pick, but she was fashionable and probably knew what would look best more than he did. He nodded and she moved closer, running her hands through his hair. His breath hitched slightly. "What is this for again?"

"A mission," he said while slightly distracted by her finger tips.

"Would you like me to dye it for you?" Her hands moved down to his neck and cheek and then back down to her side.

"If it isn't too much trouble," he smiled lightly causing her to blush.

"Well I can't resist when I can see your whole damn face," he smiled wider and followed her to the checkout. "Figures, a woman working. You'll probably get it free now," he laughed quietly and shook his head as they reached the front of the line. The cashier blushed heavily as she accepted the hair dye.

"Oh, dear you don't need this. Your hair is so beautiful," she smiled widely and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Well thank you, but she doesn't like it very much," Rin glared at Kakashi as he pointed toward her. The cashier huffed and sent daggers at Rin, but continued to scan it anyways. Kakashi handed over the money and waved at the cashier, making her blush harder as they left.

"Dick," Rin mumbled. He smiled and laughed as they passed many familiar stores. Their feet could practically lead themselves back to their apartment. "Why do you always make me out to be the bad guy? Now that chick is going to come and suffocate me with my own pillow tonight."

"If she somehow accomplishes that, then you really need to start retraining," he winked at Rin and she punched his arm in return. "Brutal."

0000

"How long does this have to set in, it's itchy," Kakashi whined as he sat on the toilet seat.

"Fifteen more minutes, stop being a baby," she slapped his hand away as it attempted to scratch his sideburn. Suddenly she moved really close to his face, her lips were mere inches away from his own. "Luckily your eyelashes are black, how strange." She stepped back just as quickly and began cleaning up the mess of brown all over the sink. "What's the mission anyways?" She said as she scrubbed the sink thoroughly.

"I have to go undercover in Iwa, I guess gray hair would give me away a bit too fast." Rin 'ahh-ed' and nodded.

The minutes ticked by almost too slowly for Kakashi as he tried to sneakily scratch anywhere he could without Rin slapping him.

"Under the faucet!" She announced and he got up off the toilet and leaned under the faucet. "Is the water warm enough?" He nodded as best he could as she gently began massaging his scalp free of extra dye. She placed a towel over his head when she was done and then began scrubbing his face with a washcloth.

"That was a good one too," Rin sighed as she tossed the now dyed cloth into the sink. She rubbed the dry towel over his hair and then moved back to examine her handy work. "Damn…"

"Damn?" He quickly turned to look in the mirror hardly recognizing himself. "Does… it look okay?" He asked and glanced at Rin in the mirror.

"I must say, brown is definitely your color."

"You think so?" He pulled randomly at parts and nodded in agreement. "How often do you think I'll have to dye it?"

"Seeing as your hair is now considerably darker than what it once was, I'm thinking your roots will begin showing after a week," he sighed for the who-knows-howmanith-time that day. He knew that he should have stuck with blonde. They, or rather Rin, had chosen a rather dark brown that, in fact, went quite well with his eye color, but would definitely be a bitch if he had to dye it every week.

Rin suddenly cleared her throat and Kakashi met her gaze in the mirror once more.

"What?" He asked, she blushed lightly and began to chew on her bottom lip.

"Well, seeing as you are going undercover. Do you have to uhm," she coughed once more, "dye… yeah know?" She waved her hand up and down much like the Hokage had earlier. Kakashi also began to bite his lip, something he definitely picked up from her.

"Let me worry about that," his face had also started to turn pink.

"I don't think this is supposed to be used… down there," she picked up the box and began reading the back but Kakashi plucked it out of her hands. "When are you leaving?" She tried to change the subject as quick as possible.

"Tonight," she blushed again; apparently the subject would be unavoidable.

"I'll just be.. out.. here. Just scream if you need me.. not that I'll help with… that..but," she quickly exited the room and closed the door. Kakashi was now nawing on the corner of his bottom lip as he read the bold printed words at the bottom of the box,

"Not for use on pubic region." He growled lightly knowing that it had to be done. He never had to worry about this stuff before, nor had he ever really thought about don't anything to the hairs surrounding his public region.

"Maybe I should just shave it off…" He whispered to himself, not wanting Rin to hear him. He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants before removing them and his boxer briefs entirely. He then lifted his shirt up realizing that he did have a happy trail, even if it was thin and gray, it was there and probably also needed to be dyed. "What a hassle…" He looked at all of the products on the sink and then back down at himself.

"Rin!" He called to her reluctantly. He could hear her shuffle of footsteps that also seemed quite reluctant to get near the door.

"Y-yes?"

"I need another pair of plastic gloves,"

"You're actually gonna dye it? What if it-" she trailed off in thought and then also walked away from the door and was back within a minute. She opened the door slightly and Kakashi shot to the far side to lean over and peek through. "Here yeah go," she said as she held then through the crack.

"Thanks," he smiled and closed the door as soon as her hand retracted and locked it for good measure. He didn't hear her footsteps retreat so he stood just as still. "Why are you still here?"

"I'm a medic, I have a feeling this is going to end badly," her voice was muffled from the door.

"Even if something bad happens you will not be getting near my parts, I'd rather walk all the way to the hospital then have you healing them," she laughed quietly but remained in place. Kakashi sighed again and removed his shirt and put on the gloves, trying to be as quiet as possible. He really did not want Rin hearing what he was doing even though she knew. He squirted some of the dye into his hand then took a deep breath as he began to rub it onto his abdomen and just above his penis.

It didn't burn too bad, not until he began dying underneath and he audible hissed.

"Are you alright!" Rin probably had her ear planted on the door.

"Fine!" Kakashi replied in a strained voice. It literally felt like someone had set fire to his balls and he bit his lip hard as he stood shifting his footing, waiting for the dye to set in.

"You probably shouldn't leave it on as long as you did for your head," he nodded even though he knew that she couldn't see him. He was also quite thankful that he didn't have to wait twenty whole minutes, and after about seven minutes he had had enough. He ripped off the gloves and jumped in the shower not even worrying about waiting for the water to heat up. He yelped again as the cool water hit his bare chest, but it felt quite good on his genitals. He quickly scrubbed the extra off, relieved that seven minutes appeared to be plenty.

0000

Kakashi sat down on a stool behind the kitchen island. His legs twitched and he rubbed his thighs together trying his best to make his parts feel better. They still slightly burned from the dye. He let out a long sigh and put his head down on the counter. The cool surface felt great against his hot forehead. Kakashi briefly thought of placing other hot parts of his body on the counter. Fingers came out of nowhere and massaged his scalp. They were also cool and he again thought of where those tips would feel best. He shook his head and Rin removed her hand. It wasn't really what he wanted; he only meant to shake his perverted thoughts away.

"Where exactly are you going in Iwa?" Kakashi only lifted his head up enough to allow his chin to rest on the counter. He kept his gaze away from Rin as he shrugged. He definitely did not want to tell Rin what his real mission was, or where it was he was going. Even the mention of going to that base and having to disguise himself would have made the mission obvious enough. Who knows what Rin's real reaction would be, but Kakashi couldn't take the chance of seeing her face looking at him in a disgusted fashion. He also didn't want her to kill the Hokage, because she probably would think that he forced Kakashi into it, when in fact the Hokage stated that there was a plan B that did not require anyone's body to be used that way.

"Why are you being so vague? You know I'm not going to tell anyone," Rin leaned forward, her elbows on the counter. She was on the shorter side, by the kitchen sink. Their apartment, or rather hers, it was in her name after all Kakashi just gave her rent every month, was extremely nice. Granit counters, stainless steal appliances and high ceilings. The bedrooms were also quite big. Kakashi could have easily slept in his closet. Rin, of course, wouldn't let him, so he was stuck with a very spacious room that was too obviously decorated by a woman.

Rin tried to get as much as she could for what money she had saved up. She had come across an ad in the newspaper for a newly renovated building that was trying to get as many tenants as possible to make their reputation rise. They offered a great price and Rin took full advantage of the opportunity. Though after a year her price went up considerably she didn't have the heart to move out, this was probably another reason why she forced Kakashi to live with her. That was a little over two years ago.

He shrugged again, and he could see her roll her eyes out of the corner of his.

"Well what about your eye then?" Rin was obviously annoyed with him.

"That's taken care of," he had yet to try out the contact and was a bit nervous to do so. She huffed and slapped the top of his head. He winced even though it really didn't hurt. "You drive me crazy Hatake!" A smile spread across his face.

"Are you worried about me Rin-chan?" He only used the "chan" to bug her even more.

"Hard not to be you fool," she mumbled as she walked away from the counter and to the fridge. He sighed and also retreated. He only had two hours until nightfall and one of them would be used in the Hokage's office. He checked his bags and packed away the dye. He had put it in an almost empty conditioner bottle. He never used conditioner, so it made sense in his mind. He had no idea how he would be able to dye his hair without being noticed or act like some homeless orphan with a contact case, but he was good at making up stories and he had a two days journey to do just that.

After double-checking his bags he picked them up and took them into the living room. Rin walked over to him with a brown paper bag in hand and gave it to him. He opened it and found that it was filled with food, mostly nutritious. Her hands came up and adjusted his scarf. She smiled softly as she zipped his jacket up further.

"Don't ever let me buy you clothes again," she said softly.

"Why? Do I look bad?" Kakashi looked down at his clothes trying to decide if he looked appropriate.

"You look fine," her voice was still quiet.

"Fine as in damn fine?" She slapped his arm lightly and giggled.

"Shut up," he smiled and placed his hand under her chin, making her look up at him. He thought about kissing her almost every time he left on a mission, but he never did, and he knew that he wouldn't this time either. Instead he moved his hand down to her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, missing her disappointment as he turned around to pick his bags up.

"Do you have everything?" She asked as he headed for the door. "Your hair dye," he nodded "toothbrush, toothpaste," he nodded again "clean underwear?" He turned around and gave her a stern look. "Can I walk with you to the gates?" He shook his head as he grasped the handle.

"I'm going to see the Hokage first, you'd be waiting for awhile," she nodded and looked at the floor.

"How long will you be gone for?" He hummed and was about to leave it at that when he saw her shoot him a glare mid shrug.

"A couple of weeks," she sighed and wrapped her arms around his midsection before he could turn to leave.

"Be safe," her voice was muffled as it was planted firmly into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her too.

"I will," though he said it only to reassure her. He broke away and she let go quickly, allowing him to leave.

When he left the apartment complex he felt something cool against his chest. Looking down at where his shirt wasn't covered by his jacket or scarf he noticed several dark circles.

He sighed again as the sun began its decent below the horizon,

"I should have kissed her," was his thought as he reached the Hokage tower. What he wasn't so sure of was if that would have made any difference at all, perhaps it would have even made things worse between them. Still:

"I should have kissed her."

0000000000

Each chapter in the story is based off a song. This one is from Sufjan Steven's new album The Age of Adz, track number eight: Vesuvius

I'm not sure how frequently I will update, classes start up again next week. The good thing is, is that I know what a lot of the chapters are about, and I wrote this one in about a day. Always good to think positively!

Happy New Year