A/N: Hello, Ágnes here! In all honesty, I intended for this to be a one-shot, but after I saw how many of you followed the story (some of you even left a review voicing their desire for the story to be continued), I decided to expand it. I was never good at romance, but I'll use this opportunity to practice this genre.
I changed the title and the summary to fit a multi-chapter story better. The first chapter is now kinda like a prologue/teaser, and it is very similar to this one in some aspects, but I just wanted to give this story a proper beginning. Updates will come sporadically; I still don't know where I'm going with this…
Anyway, thank you for those who reviewed so far! Enjoy!
Chapter One: An unexpected visitor
Five years after the Fourth Great Shinobi World War, things were slowly getting back to normal in Konohagakure. The scars have healed, both physical and emotional ones, and everybody has settled down in a seemingly peaceful era. Kakashi Hatake, too, enjoyed these quiet days. He went on a couple of missions every now and then, but they weren't thrilling like before. After his former students went their separate ways; Naruto became an excellent ANBU, Sakura was nominated as Head of the Konohagakure Hospital and Sasuke decided to travel around, becoming a spy for his home village, much like Jiraiya-sama; Kakashi was given a new squad of Genins. They were a handful bunch, often reminding the silver haired Jounin of the former Team 7. During the day, the obnoxious chatter of the three gave him headaches, so it was no wonder that he went home as soon as possible, declining any kind of invitation to socialize. He would just lie down on his couch and enjoy the silence, possibly read a book or two.
That night he did just that. The 36 years old man stretched across his old couch, a content sigh escaping his lips. Using one arm as a pillow, the other hanging nonchalantly in the air, Kakashi soon found his consciousness slowly drifting away. The tranquility of the night made him relax and let his guard down, even for just a second.
Maybe that's why he didn't feel the familiar chakra signature coming his way.
The soft knock startled him. Slowly sitting up from his comfortable position, Kakashi walked over to the front door, surpassing a yawn on his way. With his foggy mind, he didn't recognize the person's chakra at first, so when he opened the rusty door, he was quite shocked to find a certain Hyuga heiress standing in front of him, soaked to the bone and with a disturbed expression planted on her features.
"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Raising an eyebrow, he took in the young woman's appearance.
Half a year ago, they met by chance in the cemetery. She was really upset; it was evident that she was suffering. They talked for hours, and only then did she tell him about her pain. He knew the feeling of losing someone dear; God, he really knew. Right then and there, Kakashi decided to help the girl and provide the emotional support she needed. He spent time with her, tried to get her mind off of her loss; he even let her into his apartment, which was a miracle in itself. But never would've he thought that she would show up at his doorstep in the middle of the night.
At his question, the young woman grimaced. She opened her mouth, but the words died in her throat. After a moment, she finally found her voice.
"Will… will this pain ever g-go away, Kakashi?"
He wasn't sure when had she stopped referring to him as 'sensei', but the thought quickly left his mind. His expression softened at her words.
"No, it won't. But you'll get used to it."
The silver haired Jounin blinked in surprise as he found himself in the Hyuga's tight hug. Nevertheless, he continued to give her emotional support, repeating himself over and over again. She would get used to it. She had to.
It felt like an eternity has passed before Hinata loosened her grip; she was relatively calm now. Kakashi couldn't hide his relief, his eyes beamed with what felt like happiness, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. Even though the lower half of his face was hidden, the young woman saw his smile. She wanted to, but she couldn't return it, so she lowered her head instead.
The man found himself at a loss now. He couldn't possibly send her away in a storm like this, not to mention that it would hurt her feelings greatly. But he couldn't invite her in either; it felt just wrong to have her in his house in the middle of the night. The neighbors would surely misunderstand if they saw her walking out from his apartment in the morning.
Hinata hugged herself self-consciously, the silence between them became suffocating.
"Thank you. I'll… I'll be on my way now."
"Wait." Just as she was about to leave, Kakashi put his large hand on her fragile shoulder. He couldn't blame her for being surprised; even the Jounin himself couldn't comprehend why he stopped her. "I can't have you wander around in the rain at such a late hour."
Looking into Hinata's large lavender eyes, he reluctantly made up his mind.
"Come in."
The young woman didn't need to be told twice, she stepped into the small apartment, her footsteps soft against the wooden floor. She looked around in the dark, somewhat curiously; this familiar place was so much different in the nighttime. During the day, it was welcoming and soothing, but now the atmosphere held an unmistakably mystery to it. Frankly, she didn't mind; if anything, she liked it.
As Hinata walked towards his living room, she heard Kakashi close the door behind her. She noticed the slightly disheveled sofa; he was most likely asleep when she got here.
"Sorry," she started. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
The older man smiled at her softly.
"You didn't. I was just reading."
Eyeing the books on the coffee table, Hinata nodded, but deep down she knew he told her a white lie just now.
Looking her over, Kakashi frowned. If she stayed in her wet clothes much longer, she would catch a cold. Mentioning for her to wait there, he walked into his bathroom. After snatching a couple of towels and some clean clothes, he walked back to the young woman. Hinata watched him curiously as he handed her the fabrics; smiling, he unceremoniously dropped a towel onto her head.
"Get changed. You can sleep in my bedroom tonight, I'll take the couch." Hinata was about to voice her protest, when the older man put up his hand. "Don't worry. I sleep in the living room every night either way."
Hinata nodded hesitantly, and after another second of eyeing Kakashi's kind smile, she disappeared into the said bedroom.
Making sure she didn't hear him, the Jounin let out a long sigh. He dropped down tiredly onto the couch; the worry gradually invaded his thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder: what had upset the heiress?
Rubbing his eyes roughly, he realized something.
If Hiashi Hyuga was to find out about his daughter spending the night there, Kakashi would be seriously in trouble.
