Happy February, even though it's already the tenth. Valentine's Day is soon. Regardless of whether you have someone special or if you're single like me, I hope you get lots of chocolate and love. Speaking of chocolate, I need to invest in some. Valentine's Day + chocolate = love. And Prisoner of Azkaban? Ahahaha, that's how I'm spending my Valentine's Day, along with a Poe program at the library. Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this chapter~

Summer Love

Chapter 10 – Leaf vs Rain

Kakashi, along with several other Leaf ninja, were hidden in the trees surrounding the village. They had some time to spare before the Rain ninja came to the village to attack, but Kakashi wanted to be prepared early. He and the rest of his team of shinobi were going to ambush anyone who came through his path. Anyone that managed to slip through the defenses or took an alternate route would be taken care of by several other teams that had been placed around the surrounding area and within the village.

Suffice it to say, Kakashi was nervous. He wanted to be with Tamaki, but he had to be here. He had to be away from her. At least he knew that Kyra would be protecting her and keeping her calm; he could only hope that Tamaki wouldn't leave Kyra's apartment.

A static sound in Kakashi's ear brought him back to reality. He could hear someone speaking, but it was still rather unclear as to what they were saying. Kakashi sighed quietly and shook his head; the least these people could do is learn how to not talk over each other with the walkie talkies.

"Could you guys please not talk over each other?" Kakashi growled quietly into his microphone, pressing a button on his walkie talkie before speaking.

"Sorry, Hatake-san. Some Rain shinobi have just passed the first checkpoint though. The person that's been watching them is on their way back this way," a masculine voice said in Kakashi's ear. He tensed up a bit; he wasn't ready for this, but he had no choice. It was this or letting them get Tamaki; he certainly didn't want to lose Tamaki. He loved her too much to just let her go.

"Alright. Everyone, get ready. They'll be here soon," Kakashi announced quietly. He took in a deep breath before releasing a quiet sigh. He was going to protect Tamaki, even if it cost him his life. Kakashi nearly closed his eyes, but he saw several people starting to walk by him.

"Now," Kakashi breathed into his microphone as he leaped out of the tree, landing on a Rain ninja. Several of his fellow Leaf ninja had followed his fashion, and the fight had begun.

/\/\/\/\/\

Tamaki had her face buried in a blue tear-stained pillow. She hadn't moved from Kyra's couch since Kakashi left, and all Kyra could do was sit and watch Tamaki cry. There was no making her feel better; she just wanted Kakashi to be around. Thankfully, her sobs had turned into light breathing, and Kyra had stepped out of the living room moments ago and was now returning with a light blue blanket.

"He'll be back, Tamaki... I just know he will," Kyra whispered as she lightly threw the light blue blanket over Tamaki. She noticed Tamaki shift slightly, and Kyra was now able to see her tear-stained face. Tamaki was still asleep though, allowing Kyra to breath a sigh of relief.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Hatake-san, we've finished them all off. Perhaps we should go help the other teams?" a male ninja said. Kakashi shook his head. "Why not?"

"There might be more coming through here," Kakashi mused aloud. Just as he finished speaking, another Leaf ninja came flying through the trees, stopping next to Kakashi.

"We need some help in the village, Hatake-san. We've lost a lot of men already, and some have been taken to the hospital for their injuries," the man said nervously.

"Alright. Here's what we'll do," Kakashi said. He pointed to four other shinobi. "You four along with myself will head into the village. The rest of you will stay here, and Aiken will be your leader."

"Yes, sir!" the other shinobi stated.

"Is there anything specific that I need to do, Hatake-san?" a man with spiky black hair asked.

"Just make sure that no Rain ninja slip through your defenses," Kakashi replied. Aiken nodded and turned to the men that were left in his command. Kakashi gestured to the ones that were in his control as well as the man who had come for Kakashi.

"Let's go. The sooner we get to the village, the better," Kakashi said to his team.

/\/\/\/\/\

"When do you think he'll be back, Giodarni-san?" Tamaki asked softly. She was unable to sleep, her excuse being that she felt like there was something missing. That something referring to Kakashi, who was still out defending the village.

"Soon, hopefully. He'll come back. If there's anything I know about Kakashi, it's that he won't leave someone he cares about behind," Kyra replied, shifting in her armchair to sit with her legs tucked beneath her.

"Can we go look for him?" Tamaki asked. She appeared to have brightened up a bit, but Kyra looked as if she hadn't heard what Tamaki said.

"Wh-what?" Kyra breathed.

"Can we go look for him?" Tamaki repeated. Kyra couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did Tamaki really want to go out and look for Kakashi in this mess? Especially in her current condition?

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kyra replied nervously.

"Why not?" Tamaki asked angrily. Kyra wished that this conversation was never started. She regretted even bringing up Kakashi earlier. If there was anything she didn't want to deal with, it was an angry Tamaki.

"If you got hurt, Kakashi would kill me," Kyra replied.

"I can defend myself!" Tamaki said.

"What about your child?" Kyra said softly. "Certainly you don't want anything to happen to your child?"

Tamaki tensed up slightly at this revelation before laying back down on the couch and placing the pillow over her face. Kyra could hear Tamaki's quiet sobs from her armchair, so she got up and walked over to the couch, sitting down on the floor near Tamaki's head. She gently took the pillow off of Tamaki's face, who had turned to face Kyra, and placed it in her lap.

"I just want to know that he's okay. I don't want to lose him," Tamaki sobbed quietly. Kyra smiled softly as she wiped away some of the tears from Tamaki's face.

"I know, so do I," Kyra whispered softly. "Get some rest. If Kakashi comes back, I'll wake you up."

"Promise?" Tamaki asked.

"Promise," Kyra replied.

/\/\/\/\/\

Early the following morning, the door opened, making a creaking noise as it did. Kakashi had walked in and closed the door, wishing that it hadn't made that creaking noise. He hoped that he hadn't woken up Kyra or Tamaki, the latter of whom needed their sleep.

"Kakashi?" Kyra asked as she stood up from the armchair.

"I'm back," Kakashi said softly. "Where's Tamaki?"

"In my room, sleeping. I took her in there not too long ago," Kyra replied. "Is it over?"

"It's all over. They negotiated, and my mission is essentially over. The Hidden Rain isn't going to try and take Tamaki anymore. They're going to let her live here peacefully," Kakashi said. There was a smile on his face, and even though Kyra couldn't tell, she knew that it was there.

"I'm sure Tamaki will be glad to hear that," Kyra said.

"Can I go see her?" Kakashi said softly.

"If you want to. She's in that room over there," Kyra replied. She pointed to a door not too far from where they were standing. Kakashi nodded and walked over to the door, quietly opening it. He was thankful for the fact that this door didn't make a creaking noise; he didn't want to wake her.

"Tamaki?" Kakashi called quietly as he closed the door. Tamaki shifted slightly, but she didn't appear to be awake. Kakashi smiled as he walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. He gently brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face. He could tell that she had been crying, and he knew why; she missed him, and he missed her. She groaned quietly and rolled over to face Kakashi, slowly opening her eyes.

"Kakashi?" Tamaki asked sleepily. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," he replied softly as Tamaki slowly sat up. She started rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What time is it?" Tamaki asked. Kakashi glanced over at the clock; he hadn't even realized how early it was, and he didn't think of checking. He wished he had let Tamaki sleep some more; she looked rather exhausted.

"Half past one in the morning," he replied, hiding the regret in his voice.

"Is it over?" she asked quietly, looking at Kakashi with a hopeful expression.

"Yes, it's all over. They're going to let you live here peacefully," Kakashi replied softly. A smile instantly appeared on Tamaki's face as she hugged him.

"I'm so happy. Words can't even express how happy I am right now," Tamaki said softly.

"Trust me, I know how happy you are," Kakashi said as he pulled his mask down and placed a gentle kiss on Tamaki's forehead. "I know."