Disclaimer
My box of cool disclaimers is empty… Have to go buy some more…

Chapter Nine: Of Evening and Morning

Still subdued from the funeral, Kakashi allowed himself to sink onto Motoko's soft bed. He closed his eyes beneath the mask as he heard her gentle footsteps echo in the back of the room, then a small pressure on the mattress beside him.

He sighed deeply while wondering seriously if he was somehow cursed. Both of his parents, Obito, Rin, his old sensei, and now Iruka. Everyone he loved was dying.

The same cool touch he had felt at the funeral came upon the skin of his arm again. Comforting, yet at the same time sorrowful. Cracking his normal eye open, he peered at her through his mask and noticed she was looking down at him with a soft frown adorning her features.

'I shouldn't do this... she's a missing nin now, she ran away from her village, and she'd being chased by the Akatsuki. I can't take that chance to get close to her...' he tried to tell himself before he tugged his hand away and fell backwards on the bed.

His eyelids lazily shut themselves over his red and black orbs, shutting the once colorful world into oblivion. His tired muscles weighted as if he had trained for hours upon hours and his head thumped painfully as he sighed. Soon, all his tight muscles relaxed as he fell into a deep sleep.

Motoko grinned softly as she saw his head lightly fall to the side and heard his shallow breaths slow down. Standing up quietly, she crept out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. If anyone was to see a sleeping ANBU in her bed… she'd have a lot of explaining to do.

Sinking down on one chair, she leaned forward and dropped her head on her arms which were resting on the table. She was also exhausted from the long day she'd just had, but since the man had taken her bed she didn't have much choice than to sleep on the dining table.

----------

Kakashi woke up the next day feeling much better. The tension in his body seemed to have melted away into a reluctant acceptance that Iruka was gone. Sitting up weakly, he realized that the mask was still faithfully on his face and his cloak still draped over his shoulders.

Getting out of the bed, he walked towards the kitchen, where an interesting sight met his eyes. Motoko was literally sleeping on the table. Her face was propped up in her arms, but she was sleeping heavily nonetheless.

Smiling, Kakashi gently leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder to wake her up. She stirred slightly once or twice, but still didn't arise.

Leaving her be, the Copy Nin walked over to the counter and in under three minutes had a boiling coffee ready. Setting it gently in front of Motoko, he once again put his hand on her shoulder and shook it in a firm manner. This time her grey eyes opened slowly before blinking in surprise, but then she smiled and closed them again while muttering something that resembled, "Good morning."

"And good morning to you too," he said rather cheerfully, sitting beside her as she peered at the coffee cup in front of her. The look on her face was one of pure suspicion as the fuming liquid seemed to stare back at her.

"I just made it," he reassured her with a smirk. "It's drinkable, don't worry!"

Grinning, she reached over and touched the cup with sleep-numb fingers. The warm feeling surged through her frigid body as she held it with both hands.

"Hm, I'm not sure if I want to drink it or hold it," she grinned lazily, "It's rather cold here, don't you think."

When the Jounin didn't answer, a soft laugh slipped from her throat. "No pick up lines, don't worry. I won't ask you to hold me in your arms to warm me up either."

Smirking lightly, Kakashi nodded and waited for her to sip the coffee. Only five minutes later did she finish the cup, and the ANBU stood up once she had done so.

"I should return home," he said lightly, turning his head to avoid her sorrowful eyes.

Remembering her thoughts the day before about him being maybe a husband or a father returned full force, she nodded quickly and also stood up to show him out of the door.

Just as the Jounin touched the doorknob, he stopped and turned his head lightly. The woman was looking at him with a smile plastered on her face, and he couldn't help his next actions. Leaning over, he wrapped his arms around her for a second time and held her tightly against his chest. Her hands quickly found their way around his back, erasing whatever distance there might have been between them.

Lifting one hand, Kakashi gently tugged off his porcelain mask. His blue cloth one he always wore was loyally covering his face and a sudden burst of details met one half of his vision because of the Sharingan.

Raising her head to bid him goodbye, she couldn't help staring as an actual face stared back at her. Blinking in surprise, she murmured, "K-Kioshi?"

Pulling back his hood and easily ripping off the ties that held his hair, he shook it out and whispered, "I thought you deserved to see who I really am. We're both the same, Motoko. Two lone beings with something to hide…"

With those words, he turned around and left the apartment, being careful to slip his mask back onto his face.

Staring at Kakashi Hatake had been a definite surprise. As she rushed to the window to see him retreat towards his home, she couldn't help but smile. A smile that was crushed with a sigh as she murmured to herself, "I can't believe it… I have him take off one mask only to find a second one under it…"

A/N: Yeah I know it's short and probably riddled with errors. I've only scanned it once or twice for mistakess, I didn't proofread it like usually and I'm gonna stop the chapter here for many reasons. One, writer's block. Two, I've just had an awful emotional roller coaster these last few days and I don't really feel like writing. Three, I had to rewrite the entire chapter because the document editor ate out half and I lost the original document. Sarcastic 'yay' time.

Yeah, it's short. Bear with me.

Take care!