He would never be able to express it in words

He would never be able to express it in words. His admiration for her was too great. She was such a strong person. Kakashi knew she didn't realize how much he relied on her for strength. She never gave up, no matter how hard something was. Her determination and confidence were just outward expressions of her inward strength and he had been struck by that from the start. As they had grown closer, his admiration for and reliance on her only continued to grow as well. Maybe it had grown into something more, but Kakashi did not allow himself to think of that.

However, his resolve not to think of it was quickly diminishing as he watched her sleep.

Her hair cascaded over she shoulders and Kakashi wished he were able to touch it. Even in her sleep, she seemed to have a small smile on her face. As he studied her, Kakashi closed his fingers tighter around hers and slowly rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. Even that innocent little action when she was sleeping made his heart rate speed up.

He allowed himself to ponder what it would be like to have her around all the time – forever. He savored the idea of being able to hold her hand whenever he wanted to, of her always being there to care for him when he needed caring for, and of coming home to find her eagerly waiting for him with open arms.

With these happy thoughts, Kakashi slipped back into unconsciousness with a slight smile on his face.

He hadn't even noticed the pain.

For some strange reason, it had been hard for Kakashi to get the girl out of his mind after the day they had met. She always seemed to be lingering just on the edges of his thoughts, and he often found that he was rubbing his right hand without even thinking about it. He couldn't be described as absentminded – Kakashi had never been described that way – but the girl he had met definitely lingered. Without even thinking about it, he began looking for her around the village. He did glimpse her a few times, and each time he remembered the feeling when they had shaken hands. When he had to take his students to the hospital, he always hoped to see her, but it was only Lu that they saw. A couple of weeks passed, and his desire to see the black-haired girl with the sparkles in her eyes only increased.

He was just thinking about that one evening when all of a sudden, there she was standing in front of him. Kakashi stopped, causing Naruto, whom he had been about to treat to ramen, to get a few steps ahead. Yunjia was standing in front of a house, surrounded by several small, laughing children. Yunjia was laughing as well, and holding out her hands to receive the flowers they were presenting to her. He stood and watched her for several seconds, and it took her that long to finally see him. Kakashi knew it as soon as she did. She stopped laughing and the smile faded from her face until only a shadow was left. Her eyes still sparkled, though, and after a few more seconds, she lifted a hand and slowly waved to him.

By now, Naturo had realized that his sensei was no longer beside him, and had turned around and begun calling to him. Before Kakashi could react, Naruto caught sight of Yunjia and yelled, "Look, it's Yunjia!"

Kakashi nodded. As if he hadn't noticed, when it seemed that every fiber of his being was attuned to her presence. Naruto took off in Yunjia's direction and Kakashi followed at a slower pace. By the time he reached them, Yunjia and Naruto were talking animatedly, with frequent interruptions from the children surrounding her.

"…will you com, too?" Naruto was saying, looking up at Yunjia with wide eyes.

"Hello," Kakashi said, also looking at Yunjia.

Yunjia smiled at him. "Good evening – "

"Tell Yunjia to come with us!" Naruto interrupted, turning to Kakashi.

"While Yunjia is most certainly welcome," Kakashi replied, still looking at her, "I will not 'tell' her to do anything. She is fully capable of making her own decisions."

Yunjia laughed. "Thank you, I appreciate that."

"But we really, really hope you will come," Naruto countered. Yunjia patted him on the shoulder in a silent attempt to calm him down and looked at Kakashi as though to verify Naruto's words.

Kakashi, who had yet to take his eyes off her, nodded.

"Well, then, I would be pleased to accompany you gentlemen to dinner," Yunjia consented with a bright smile. "I just need to walk my nieces and nephews home first. They live just a few houses down, so it will not take long."

"We'll go with you!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi walked along with the rest of them and, though he participated in the conversation, he was somewhat in awe of the fact that he was going to be spending the rest of the evening in Yunjia's company.