Thick Walls And A Solid Roof.


"Just the person I wanted to see. Naruto." The famous Uzumaki choked on his ramen, startled. Actually, Kimiko was the last person he wanted to see, and had been avoiding her all week.

"Oh, hey Kimiko…" Clearly, he was nervous, and couldn't even make eye contact with her.

While he fidgeted in his seat, her crimson eyes took in every flaw of his body. The way his shoulders slumped and the heavy bags under his eyes hinted he wasn't getting enough sleep lately. He even had a bit of stubble poking out the surface of his skin. Of course she knew right away this whole situation bothered him, and she had to figure out why.

"I've got a few questions to ask you." Naruto mentally punched his self in the face. He knew he should have just stayed home where he could have kept well hidden away from Kimiko. But he just couldn't resist the urge to have fresh ramen rather than cup ramen.

"We both know you're hiding something." Her stare made the blonde shinobi edgy and he continuously made an effort to not make eye contact. Even if they were considered friends, the young Uzumaki couldn't help but feel intimidated by her. "So spill it."

His orange jumpsuit suddenly felt a lot hotter and he seemed to have broken a sweat. "…What are you talking about?"

"Tch." But there was no such things as 'friends' when it came down to serious business. "Don't play dumb with me."

Of course he knew what she was talking about. Rarely would she ever talk to him out of the blue like this, it had to be about something important if she did. And the only thing on both of their minds was Sasuke.

"You think I'm hiding something?" His tone was unusually snappy, and his whole aura seemed a bit too dry to belong to Naruto Uzumaki.

"Yes, I do." Truth be told, she wasn't expecting for him to still be upset. Obviously, the Uchiha had left some side effects for Naruto to suffer through. "And your attitude right now is enough to prove you're angry about something."

The heaven's started to cry, creating moisture in the air. They sounded like bullets trying to destroy the roof of the ramen stand as the rain drops fell harder. The lamps outside started to blink, indicating the day was growing older.

"…I don't know if I can tell you."

No one else was around, since eight o'clock was the time the husbands ran home to their wife's open arms. Kimiko double checked to make sure no one was in ear shot of their conversation. "And why is that?"

She asked in a much calmer and maybe even friendlier voice when she saw how solemn he was. It was so unlike him to not be bouncing from wall to wall.

Knowing Naruto was the closest person she had, she became secretly worried about his condition. Suddenly, he shut his eyes tight and shook his head, making her onyx eyebrows to furrow.

Nothing but the rain diving into the puddles of water could be heard, creating a quiet but dreadful environment for them.

"It's too much for me to tell." His lifeless blue eyes could be seen again, but they were clouded by tears. "I just..."

Kimiko could see he was struggling from just breaking down right there. He was so close to just giving up on everything.

"It's okay Naruto." It took every ounce of courage and confidence she had to let him go. "I'm an interrogator, remember? If you don't want to tell me, I'll probably get it out of Sasuke anyway."

He nearly flinched when she said the Uchiha's name. "…I'm sorry Kimiko."

She thought it'd be humiliating to pick a person's comfort over work but the outcome was ironic for her. The intelligent girl almost felt happier not knowing the answer. Because knowing the answer would mean sacrificing Naruto's happiness.

And that's the last thing she wanted.

"Go home and sleep." It sounded more like a command rather than advice. "Or I'll knock you out myself."

After a long pause, the ambitious shinobi got up and dragged his feet home. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his head hung low, ignoring the rain.

The weather seemed to match him completely.

"I suppose right now would be a good time to talk." The ambitious kinoichi glided her fingers over the notebook, not startled by his surprise entrance at all. She felt his chakra getting closer a few seconds ago.

"Kakashi Hatake." Without even looking back, she could tell who it was just by the chakra alone. But she had to admit that the muffled voice from the mask was a huge giveaway. "What brings you here?"

The famous copy cat ninja took a seat next to her, resting his arms on the table. "I think we both know the answer to that question. I'm Kakashi by the way, but I see you-"

"Kimiko. No need to drag out introductions."

"Right. And I can assume we both do know why I'm here."

She peeked over to him to see he meant business. Heck, he didn't even have his book on him! "Wow, I'm impressed Kakashi. You left your dirty book at home and got rid of that carefree attitude. All that, just to talk about Sasuke, right?"

"That's exactly why I'm here." The older man noticed how comfortably she talked with adults, maybe even too comfortably. "It seems you forgot your manners. It's Kakashi-san to you, Kimiko."

She didn't use honorifics with anyone except for the elders and Tsunade. They were the only people she had true respect for.

"Well you can't lose what you never had." A chuckle escaped her lips when she saw the amused look on his face. "And you have to earn respect Kakashi."

He nearly groaned when she didn't address him correctly, but decided to let it slide. They had more important things to discuss anyway. "But let's get serious. If it bothers you, we can talk somewhere else in-"

"No one's around to eavesdrop." Kimiko double checked, and didn't feel anyone else's chakra. "Moving would be a hassle anyway."

"Right, you're quite gifted. Even I have trouble sensing other people's chakra."

"I was born with it. I can't even do a simple ninjutsu for my life so what's the point of having great control over chakra? I believe it's not an achievement if you're born with it, it's almost like a curse."

And that's when he knew why Naruto would complain about her all the time.

"Of course I love Kimiko! But sometimes, when I'm talking to her, I get lost." His fingers scratched the side of his cheek, running them over his fox whiskers. "She's like an eighty year old lady stuck in a body of a sixteen year old!"

"A curse you say?"

Kakashi could see how she tried to gulp her emotions down, not wanting to show him openly how uncomfortable she suddenly felt. "It's not like I chose to be bad at being a ninja." Her coral lips parted, letting out a sharp sigh.

He took a long and good look at the girl who seemed to be an enigma to everybody.

They say people like her build walls around their selves so no one could get in. Sasuke was just like that too.

But Kimiko didn't just build walls, she built a roof too. This way, even if people cared enough to climb those walls, they wouldn't be able to get close enough to her.

She was unreachable.

"But never mind that, you're not here to listen to me complain." She tried to brush it off. "What about Sasuke did you want to talk about specifically?"

He decided to save their previous talk for another day, and focused on the subject at hand. "You probably already know I was his sensei." The workers at the ramen stand must have realized the two wanted to be left alone, seeing how they were all huddled in the kitchen. "Your mission is to save him, am I right?"

She gave him a small nod before he continued. "Out of complete curiosity, I just want to know why he was near Konoha. Naruto found him near the entrance right?"

"Complete curiosity? I won't waste my breath to tell you information I collect just for your own entertainment." Her right brow pulled up, knowing he was wasting her time by beating around the bush. "You're not just simply curious are you? I'm sure you want to save him too."

She left him speechless. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you tried to save him before. Didn't turn out the way you wanted it, did it?"

Kimiko approached his weak points immediately. She had some back ground information on him, and shame seemed to come to him easily. "Don't be too down about it. See this as a second chance."

"But I'm not an interrogator like you." He seemed dejected, no matter how hard he tried to cover it up. "I was born to be a great ninja." He turned to face her, putting on a forced smile. "I guess we're opposites huh?"

The raven haired girl didn't really like being compared or connected to another person but she let it slide. "I suppose so." When she realized her eyelids were growing heavier, she grabbed her notebook and stood up. "I'll keep you informed about anything that I find. Tsunade seems to trust you, seeing how she told you of his arrival."

"Thank you." The strong sense of stigma lingered in his voice. "…And I really do want to save him Kimiko, but I obviously can't do that without your help."

Seeing a Jounin being so weak and vulnerable like this surprised her, especially since Kakashi had a lot to live up to. He seemed so genuine about wanting to prove Sasuke's innocence, even if he knew Konoha was well against it. It made Kimiko think twice about him just being an arrogant adult.

"You can't take back actions, you can only make up for them." Her arms extended towards the ceiling, yawning as she stretched. "If you really are dedicated to saving him, meet me here tomorrow, five o'clock sharp." Lucky for her, it stopped raining, assuring the trip home wouldn't be too troublesome.

With a spin on her heels, she walked away, waving her hand at him. "Hold your head up high, Kakashi-san."