Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or an office actually. An office would be interesting, except for that whole working factor (rambles on about ownership…)
Author's Note: Request from A Crazy Girl of Many Names for a KakaShizu. This is probably very OOC, but I really tried!
Light Up
by MT Pocketts
"Light up, light up, as if you have a choice... Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear..."
Shizune was humming to herself as she shuffled through the mission reports Tsunade had requested. It was a particularly slow day for the Hokage today, which worked for Shizune as it meant she had time to relax for once. But… it seemed like it was just too quiet at the moment. She frowned slightly and set the paperwork in a neat stack as she reached for her schedule.
Sure enough, it said that Hatake Kakashi had an appointment with Tsunade an hour ago.
"Of all the nerve…" she huffed and put the schedule back into it's place. Shizune grabbed the reports once more and sorted out the ones the Hokage wanted. She was about to rise when someone walked up to her small desk.
"Hello, Shizune-san," Kakashi smiled through his mask at her. She blinked in surprise at the sight of him, wondering how he could just walk in without so much as an excuse.
"You're late," was all she could say.
"Ah yes, you see I was lost on the road of life when--" he began but a yell from Tsunade's office stopped him mid-sentence.
"Is that Kakashi?" the Hokage yelled, and Shizune looked slightly embarrassed when she yelled back an affirmative.
"Were you going to take those to Tsunade-sama?" he asked, not the least bit fazed by all of the yelling.
"Well, yes, but--"
"Here, let me save you a trip," Kakashi gave her another friendly smile before taking the documents and heading into the office. She blinked in surprise once he was gone as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.
He showed up an hour late, and acted like it was nothing. She found herself sweating with nervousness when she was only a quarter of an hour late, and Tsunade tended to frown on that. What would she do to someone who was a whole hour late?
Shizune glanced towards the Hokage's office, seeing that the door was ajar. From what she saw, they were talking as if everything was perfectly normal. Where was the vein that usually throbbed in Tsunade's forehead when someone made her wait? Something just was not right here.
The brunette sighed and shook her head, letting the thought go before getting back to the unlimited paperwork that adorned her desk.
-x-X-x-
It was the next day, and the nice weather shone through the window that Shizune could see through from her desk. Today was another one of Sakura's training sessions, and Shizune could feel the chakra being used. The girl had excellent control, thankfully, as Tsunade pushed her to the limit constantly. There were no scheduled meetings or appointments, yet Shizune still found herself facing the window. Inside on a lovely day, manning a schedule that was empty until tomorrow.
"Wouldn't you rather be out there?" a voice made her nearly jump out of her skin, and Shizune looked up to see Kakashi smiling down at her.
"Kakashi-san!" she sounded surprised.
"Shizune-san," he seemed happy to have caught her by surprise.
"I don't think you have an appointment today," Shizune looked at him, slightly confused.
"I can't stop by and leave something for my old student, Sakura?" he held up a small book, which Shizune carefully looked over. It was a strategy guide, which was certainly not what she expected to see him holding . She nodded with a sigh and he entered the office carefully, with only mild confrontation.
Shizune just did not get it, how was he able to go around without problem like this? Late, laid back, and care free… Things she had always wanted to try. She found herself staring out he window again, ignoring the small pile of paperwork she had been sifting through earlier.
"On a day like this, you should really be outside Shizune-san," he startled her again and she looked up at him with wide eyes.
"But I'm working--"
"Tsunade-sama will be busy the rest of the day, we both know it. Come on, just this once," Kakashi held out an inviting hand and she thought it over. In the office, Tsunade was too distracted to notice. Outside, the sun was shining and birds were singing.
Had she not just thought about how to be more laid back?
Shizune smiled nervously and took his hand. His visible eye seemed to brighten as he guided her around the small work station and away from the Hokage's office.
-x-X-x-
"Here?" she stared in surprise at the lush forest just outside the village's gates.
"Yes, I have something to show you," he pointed towards a path and started walking, leaving Shizune to jog to keep up. Kakashi just smiled more when she caught up to him, making her wonder why they were in the woods on such a bright day.
Wait… he wanted to show her something?
Bells went off in her mind as various stories went through her head. Kakashi did read those perverted books Jiraiya wrote, would it be that much of a stretch? Then again, she was a medical ninja. If it was a problem she could disconnect all kinds of nerves.
Stop it, you're worrying about things that will never happen.
She bit her lip and tried to push the thoughts from her mind. Work. That would definitely distract her. She thought back to whether or not she had gotten those papers filed away. There was still a stack on her desk, hopefully it was nothing vital. But what if she forgot what it was and--
"Are you alright?" Kakashi asked calmly and she smiled up at him.
"I'm fine," she replied.
"Really… You look like you're organizing a library in your head," he pointed out.
"Not a library… Jus the office paperwork."
"I think you work too much," he spoke plainly and they stopped. She looked up to see a memorial with many names and there were fresh flowers laid down in front of it. Shizune studied his serious expression and said nothing, wondering if someone close was listed there.
"My mother," he said. "Her name is the third one down in the far left column. She died when I was very young, I barely remember her."
"I'm sorry…"
"She worked as a secretary to the Third, much like you do for Tsunade-sama now," Kakashi turned to her. "She died sitting at her desk during a raid. They went for the Hokage first, and she was the closest to the door once the guards were taken out."
"I'm sorry that's how it happened…" Shizune said.
"Don't overwork yourself, have a little fun sometimes," Kakashi said, "She tried to, but it didn't always work out. I just want ed you to see this."
"Thank you, Kakashi-san…" she found herself not knowing what to say.
"You don't need to be so formal with me," he said, and managed to brighten up once more. She smiled at him.
"Why did you want to show me this?"
"I didn't want you to be the same way, you just seem like you needed to loosen up," he explained. "And… you seem the same way. She was so opposite of me, she woke me up and made me leave for the academy early. She made me get my homework done right away, she would keep at me until I'd done it all."
"And I'm so organized and punctual I reminded you of her?" Shizune laughed.
"Well… yes," he laughed slightly. She watched his visible eye and he stared deeply back into her own eyes. Slowly, Shizune reached up and pulled him down to meet her and he bent to her will. She kissed him, not bothering to remove the mask. He parted with her briefly, putting a hand on the small of her back and used the other to gently tug down his mask. Shizune silently studied is face, and was then met by his lips touching hers softly. It was a moment she would not soon forget.
-x-X-x-
A few days later…
Shizune was once more in the office, with the paperwork stacked in neat little piles. To the untrained eye, it looked like things were back to what they were before. To the eye that knew better, it was clear that Shizune was actually playing tic-tac-toe with one of the guards via a shuriken with the paper attached. Anytime someone asked, both would reason that it improved their aim as well as their strategic thinking.
Even Tsunade had been surprised by the sudden change. Just the day before, Naruto had been early for an appointment but when he had taken ten minutes to enter the office the Hokage had investigated. She found him, Ton-Ton, and Shizune gambling with scrolls, and of course had to join in. It was a thankful change, as now Shizune seemed more like the tough little medic Tsunade had kept with her over the years.
But today the office seemed more dull than usual, even as Shizune returned the shuriken to the guard. It was another nice day outside, and the sunlight streamed in through that same old window. Shizune sighed and placed another stack of paperwork in it's appropriate pile as she watched the fluffy white clouds go past.
Then a kunai came through the window and stopped perfectly in the side of her desk. She blinked in surprise and grabbed the note that was attached to it.
"Picnic at the lake?" was all that it said. She smiled and scribbled a reply before tossing it out of the window once more. Shizune then poked her head into the Hokage's office and said she would be leaving early.
It was not long before Shizune found herself on a white and red checkered blanket with Kakashi, finding out that it was a lot easier to be laid back than it had seemed.
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A/N: The italicized line at the beginningis from a song I know, but I don't know the title or the artist. It was featured in "Shrek 2" and in the preview for "The Guardian", so I clearly don'town it.