I wrote this for my friend Grace. She loves this kind of romantic fluff. I don't even really like the show, (Hey, she's never seen it...) but I love the character of Kakashi. I figured I'd mess with him.

I have NO idea when in the timeline this story would take place. Put it wherever your imagination wills it to be.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Thank God.


Chapter One

Destiny's Match

Natsko stared blankly at the matchmaker. She only saw a large woman, outlined in a blue light. She couldn't see the room with it's elaborate screens and low table, and she couldn't see the three stairs in front of her that were sure to be a problem. All she could see was the blue outline of a large woman, standing menacingly in front of her and in her way.

Natsko was born blind. She had never seen colors other than that vibrant blue that outlined every human she came in contact with. Even though she could not see anything else, she could see the chakra of the people she came in contact with. This made it hard for the observer to notice her blindness; she could stare you right in the face, but walk straight into a wall.

"Well, you look a little old to be looking for a match." The woman said in a gruff, abrasive voice. "Did your father not want to give you away yet? Still hooked into the 'Daddy's little girl' belief?" She started walking into the house, ignoring Natsko's confused look.

"Um…" She said quietly, hoping that she wasn't intruding too much.

The woman whipped around suddenly, and addressed her in a low growl. "What?"

"I…" She hesitated.

"Yes?"

"I… Don't know how to follow you!" Natsko blurted suddenly, as if she needed to get it all out in one breath.

"What do you mean girl?" The matchmaker growled at her again.

"I can't see the way." She said, a little bit more confidently. "I'm blind."

The matchmaker stepped down towards her and roughly grabbed her arm. "That will be a hindrance, I don't have a man in my list that wants a girl who can't see her own two feet."

Natsko began to correct her, but thought better of it and just followed her quietly into the house.

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Iruka sat down at the small kitchen table and sighed. His friend's house was a mess. There were books stacked everywhere, and several pots were still on the stove, caked with an unknown substance that, judging by the color, had been there for at least a week.

"You know Kakashi, your place is becoming unbearable." He moved several stacks of books and put his feet up on the table.

"You don't help." Kakashi sat down across from him and moved another stack of books to the floor. Iruka laughed. He had been spending a lot of time at Kakashi's. He was still trying to get over losing his three favorite students and he always hoped that Kakashi would ask him for help one of these days, even if he was just Chunin.

"Well, you don't stop me." Iruka was never good at comebacks.

Kakashi picked up one of the books off the floor and began reading. He didn't ever want to admit it, but he enjoyed company. He buried his nose in the book, hoping to hide the fact that he was actually interested in what the young Chunin had to say.

"Hey, I know what would cheer this place up!" Iruka took his feet off the table and stood up quickly. "You should hire a maid!"

Kakashi looked up at him and grinned slyly. "Where do you think I have the money for a maid?" He looked up at him from over the top of his book, waiting for the suggestion that always came.

"Well then get married!" There it was. "I've been telling you this for a month now, you are stuck her all alone, you just train those kids and read. It's not right for you to be living alone in this…" Iruka looked around the apartment, not wanting to call it a mess, but not knowing what else to say. "…Place." He ended lamely.

"Simply put, I don't have the time to devote to marriage." He gave the same answer he had always given. "With teaching, and missions, I don't want to be tied down to anyone or anything. It's why I rent."

"One interview with the matchmaker. That's all I ask." Iruka pleaded with him.

"Fine. If it will make you happy." Kakashi set down his book and stood. "But I make no promises."

"Fair enough!" Iruka practically jumped with joy, leading Kakashi out by the arm.

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"So, lets get this straight, you can't cook, you can't clean, and you can't go anywhere on your own." The matchmaker sighed. "Some catch you are."

"I can clean, a little, and I'm an ok cook if everything is labeled correctly, and I can go places by myself, I just don't like to." Natsko tried to defend herself. It was hard to get people to see her as anything more than a blind mouse or a helpless little girl.

"Well, lets move on." The woman leaned forward in her seat on the large, overstuffed paisley couch. "What do you want in a man?"

"Well, I haven't thought about it that much." She stared down at her hands, watching her own energy pulse lightly. "I guess I want him to be interesting, I mean, I don't want to be bored when talking to him. Not too old, I guess." The matchmaker nodded; apparently she had heard these things before.

After a minute of silence, Natsko whispered, "Kind. I want him to be kind."

"No specifics? Don't want to ask for a certain height, or income? Most girls want to marry a handsome rich prince of some kind." She seemed disappointed in her.

"Well, I don't care that much about looks, and I don't really expect to get much, I mean… I'm blind, who would want me?"

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"Well sir, I don't usually do interviews this late in the evening. But, I guess I could make an exception." The woman was short, and overweight, and her clothes were garishly out of fashion. Kakashi couldn't believe he was actually doing this.

"Thank you, as long as it's not an inconvenience." He pulled out his book again, but Iruka smacked it out of his hands almost instantly.

"What he means to say is that he is anxious to find a perfect match." He smiled a little to big, and didn't notice Kakashi rolling his eyes at him.

"Excuse me sir," She directed her death-glare at Iruka. "But I wasn't talking to you. I would like to get to know the eligible man, not his friend." She summoned Kakashi into her living room, conveniently closing the door before Iruka could make it through.

"Now, tell me a little bit about yourself." She sat on the large couch and gestured for him to sit in the chair.

He sat and whipped out his book again. Speaking in a bored tone as he read. "Jonin, twenty-six, my friend thinks I need company."

"Now, sir, there is always something more than that. You wouldn't have come if you didn't believe him." She practically sang at him.

"That may be, but I still don't have high hopes for this process." He held the book higher, blocking his face.

"Well then, let's move on. What are you looking for in a wife?"

He lowered the book slightly, and then put it down completely. "To be perfectly honest, I haven't ever really thought that much about it. I guess the first thing would be that she be interesting, and smart, I don't want to be married to some young floozy." He looked away for a minute, and then continued. "I don't want her to be centered on looks. I don't want her to care what I look like, and I certainly don't want her spending hours in front of a mirror each day."

"Any skills you want her to have. Most men desire a good cook, or someone who can clean house."

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Not really. Iruka would be happy if someone cleaned up my apartment, and I could live without that smell coming from under the kitchen sink, but I would rather have a good conversation."

"I see." She wrote something down on a clipboard in her lap. "What about children?"

Kakashi's one visible eye almost popped out of its socket. "You're joking, right?" His voice cracked as he said it.

"Of course not. Many men want children within the first two years; that can be very handy when it comes to choosing a bride for them. If she is too young or too old for bearing children, then most men won't marry her. Likewise, some men want boys, and a woman has to be built right for bearing sons."

He couldn't believe that she was able to say all that with a straight face. This was getting ridiculous. "I don't care if she's barren, blind, or bull-headed! I just want some company, that's all!" He stood and made his way to the door.

"I'll be contacting you within a few days, have a wonderful evening." She said almost mechanically as he walked out of the house, dragging Iruka by the ear.

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The matchmaker stood, and Natsko could tell by the position of her hands that she was holding something long and skinny. "I just have to get your measurements now. I need to know if you are the right size for bearing sons."

The girl turned bright red. It had never occurred to her that children would be involved. She fiddled nervously with her hair. It was chocolate brown, braided low and slung over her left shoulder so that it hung down in front of her.

"I…" she stammered. "I'm not sure if I can have kids."

The matchmaker looked astonished. "Why not? You are a healthy young woman, and except for the blindness I see no reason why you would be unable to bear children."

"Well…" She hesitated again, unsure of how to explain her handicap. "I… I was burned, about four years ago."

"Scars are no reason to not have children."

"Along my upper right thigh." She stared down at her feet, which glowed blue in the darkness.

"Oh, I see." The woman came closer and wrapped her arms around Natsko. "I'll take your measurements anyway, labor might be difficult for you, but I'm not going to put you down as barren just because you think there is a small chance of complication." She was finished measuring in a manner of seconds, and she walked Natsko to the door.

"I'll check over my aspiring men, and get back to you in a few days." She waved as Natsko shuffled her way down the street, following the faint haze of people in the distance.

"Grey hair wouldn't be all that bad," she said aloud, almost reassuringly. "I can't see it anyway."

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The matchmaker watched as Kakashi and Iruka walked down the street. "This will be difficult." She muttered to herself. "It's easier when they have the girl described completely, right down to her eye color."

She walked back into her home and locked the front door behind her. She sat with a cup of tea and her two books. The red book was filled with girl's profiles, the blue one with men's.

She flipped to the last page in the men's book and began filling out Kakashi's information. Her mind wandered over the day's clients, and she curiously flipped to the last page in the girl's book.

There, as if by divine intervention, lay the two profiles. Perfectly matched. She smiled down at the picture of Natsko, and the half-finished profile of Kakashi. "They even look good together!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together in glee.

She pictured Kakashi in her head, his spiky silver hair sticking up over his ninja headband. It covered half of his face, hiding his left eye from the world. He wore a navy blue mask that covered his mouth, nose and the rest of the left side of his face. In her mind she saw him standing next to the shy little blind girl she had met that afternoon.

"Her hair compliments his so beautifully!" She said quietly to the picture in her head. "And no matter what he is hiding under that mask, she won't care!" She practically danced around the room. It was a rare thing to find a perfect match for someone the same day they came in. It was hard enough to find a perfect match period.

"I'll have them both come in tomorrow!" She told the empty room. Smiling, she closed both books, dumped her tea down the sink, and went to bed with a feeling of complete satisfaction.


Ok, quick explanation: Natsko was there in the late afternoon, Kakashi in the evening. (Just barely crossing paths.)