It was curiosity-he surmised as he walked leaned his shoulder against the willow in the school yard and waited for Shay to appear in the throng of bodies while trying to remain inconspicuous- He was curious about her. And was in direct violation of the line that had been drawn for him by his master. He was never to have contact with someone he had helped, he wasn't to learn their name. Wasn't supposed to speak to them, or ask them questions. Or try and learn what kind of person they were.
He was to keep his distance at all times. Because becoming attached to them was bad.
Because he would never know if he would end up having to kill them tomorrow.
Yet he found himself mysteriously drawn to the Shay since the moment he had jumped to his feet in the cafe and realised that he had just been kissed by one of the people that he had helped. Even if she didn't know it, the irony wasn't lost to him. He wondered what she would say if she knew that he was a killer. Would she give him that shy smile again?
He doubted it, but he would love to be wrong. Shay walked out of the red brick building and looked around for him for a second as he straightened to his full height. And the second their eyes met he suddenly felt as if he had been punched in the gut. All of the air simply left his lungs as she walked over to him and he took her backpack like he had earlier that morning and slung it over one broad shoulder.
"Ready?"
He made a humming sound and glanced down at her just for a second as she started to lead him away from her school, and was tempted to pull her into the nearest dark alley and see for himself just what kind of person she really was. Would she look at him like a monster? Break down and cry? Beg for her life?
He wanted to know. And if she didn't? If she accepted him, bloody hands, flaws and all? What would he do then?
He wanted to know because maybe it might be nice to have someone to comfort him for once, a companion to come home too. To live and die for. She reminded him of the things that others had, his brothers and sisters back home in the wilderness. Each of them had a companion, some of them even had children.
And while he was happy to know that they had found their safe haven, at the same time he envied them. He had been looking for his companion for years, and had come up empty. Dishearted he had started to think that maybe he was simply undeserving of a companion.
He looked to the left and was so tempted to do something terrible to her that his palms itched. He had to keep reminding himself that she was a child and undeserving of bearing the brunt of whatever issues he needed to work out. He wasn't a brute after all. Nor was he such a monster that he would harm an innocent just because she reminded him of his petty jealousy's.
"How much further?" He asked curiously.
Shay looked over her shoulder at him and pointed to the red brick house just up ahead.
It was a cozy little place, just a little bigger than the home that he had grew up in as a boy. The yard was only a bit bigger than the house and had several flower beds a bird bath, a small half wrap around porch with a swing on it. His lips tilted up in a smile, he could easily imagine Shay laying on her back on the swing sunning herself like a cat on a nice day.
He walked up the steps behind her and watched as Shay reached out to open the door when it swung open and a very cross looking man with long brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose stepped out, Shay stummbled and would have fallen on her butt if Kakashi hadn't reached out and slipped one of his arms around her and redirected her momentum so that she fell against him instead of falling down the steps behind him.
The dark haired man smirked at Shay, making Kakashi frown.
The man had such a devious look on his face. "Well, introduce me to your teacher Shay-Shay." The man said as his body slowly relaxed, ah so he was that kind of person. The kind that he had been warned about by his brothers and sisters. The sneaky kind.
Shay looked up at him and blushed at the position that she was currently in, her head resting against Kakashi's stomach while he was doubled over with his hands firmly on her back, though the touch was light, and his face...was so close to hers that she could feel heat of his breath on her face. She made a funny little 'Eep' sound and with Kakashi's help pushed upright so that she was standing again.
"Uh, daddy. This is Mr. Hatake, my new teacher." The brunette smiled at him as he straitened to his full height to tower over the man, by about a foot and three inches.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you Mr. Hatake. Would you like to come in?" The man asked politely as he grasped Shay's wrist in his hand and pulled her closer to him. It was subtle but his stance clearly screamed possessive, protectiveness.
He was trying to warn Kakashi off. Fuck that- Kakashi thought as he narrowed his eyes at the man from behind his shades.
Kakashi gave him an equally devious look, making it brief before he smirked and said, "That would be wonderful, thank you." Leaving the man gaping at him for a moment as he brushed by him. Of course he knew that the invitation was faked politeness, the guy wanted to be alone with Shay so that he could punish her, and Kakashi wasn't feeling all that inclined to leave him alone with her until he got a good feel for the his character. Father or not.
The man moved aside and pushed Shay inside of the house and waited for Kakashi to walk in after her before closing the door.
Kakashi followed Shay down the short hall to the living room and looked around as she stripped off her back pack and dropped into a seat across the room, next to a large book shelf that was leaning against the wall. It must have been her favorite spot in the entire house due to the easy access to the books lining the shelf. There were some pictures lining the wall to his left, pictures of Shay as a young girl of ten. All the way up to the age she was now. He counted a picture for each year and frowned when he couldn't find any baby pictures of her.
Didn't parents usually take pictures of their young ones early on? The man walked into the living room and stopped beside Kakashi. "Would you like something to drink Hatake?"
"No, I'm fine." Kakashi said politely as he sat down in the chair close to Shay and carefully took note of how many escape routs there were. Seven in all. Not many but it was enough. He heard the faint sounds of a car pulling up into the drive way and a car door closing.
"Mmm, looks like your father is home Shay." Shay jumped to her feet and ran to greet the one opening the door down the hall.
"Hey baby, where you been-ooff!" There was a dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor just inside the door followed by laughter. Kakashi turned his head slightly to look down the hall and noticed that the dark haired man was smiling faintly. Shay had two fathers? How odd.
A slightly taller brunette than the one standing next to him walked down the hall with Shay slung over his shoulder laughing. "Hey honey, look what I found." The guy said cheerfully as he poked Shay in the side causing her to giggle.
"Yes, you found our stray daughter at our front door." The scarred man said in wary amusment as the other guy put Shay down and kissed the rude man on the cheek before looking at Kakashi and letting his jaw drop. Holy ever loving hell, the silver haired man sitting in the small recliner was one of the most beautiful men he had ever seen.
"Oh my god, did you bring him home, Ruka?"
"No."
"Did Shay bring him home with her?" The guy asked in shock, the one he guessed was named Ruka shrugged. Shay turned pink. Oh god here it comes. She thought as Genma turned to Kakashi and offered his hand as he introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Genma; Shay's other dad and you would make the perfect son in law." Kakashi felt his face heat up as he glanced at Shay, she looked absolutely mortified.
"Uh, thanks. I think." Kakashi said as he gave Shay a 'couldn't you have warned me' look as he let his hand fall back to his lap. His visit with Shay's parents seemed to go much better after that. By the time he left to go do his work he had silently sworn to himself to swing back by the house later that night and check on Shay's well being.
