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Chapter 12
I had stayed up all night, long enough to see the rays of the sun peeking up over the carved mountain, not usually a good idea, but I had three good reasons.
First, I was at the hospital and was watching over Naruto the whole night.
Second, I had a day off tomorrow, so I could afford to sleep in tomorrow.
And third, that damn Hatake wouldn't leave my mind once again.
Again.
Azami had had a long talk with me about the whole thing, after I calmed her down of course. She had seemed ready to set Gai on him, but I managed to stop her. We had reached no conclusion in our talk.
On the one hand, he was the damn shinobi that seemed to have stolen at least part of my heart, the soon to be sensei to my brother, a good shinobi and a loyal person by nature. On the other hand, he was lazy, perverted and had betrayed the trust I had in him as a friend a long time ago, something which still hurt me. I had accepted his apology, but it didn't mean I forgave him. He had a long road ahead of him to get my forgiveness, and an even longer one to regain my trust. Did I want to trust him again? That was the question Azami had asked me, and surprisingly my answer was instantaneous.
Yes.
And then there was the whole dilemma I had to face with my own feelings about the whole matter, which trying to sort had given me a head and stomach ache.
Where had my simple life gone?
Seven years ago the day Kakashi walked off.
Tomorrow Naruto would be placed with his team and he'd meet Kakashi. I wondered if he remembered Kakashi, and if he did, how he would react to seeing him again. Then the day after tomorrow, he'd take part in Kakashi's bell test and pass, and be at the start to his ninja career. Without me.
It was a sad but happy day for me. I wanted to both laugh and cry... must be the hormones, it's probably my time of month or something. I'd just rest my head on Naruto's bed for a while, just until my headache goes away. Too much had happened today. Stupid Hatake. Just need rest my eyes. A minute or two... my head...
I had fallen asleep, and woke up clutching a sunflower with a blanket around my shoulders and Naruto awake and digging in to a huge bowl of... ramen, what else? I couldn't tell if it was lunchtime though, given the chance, Naruto would eat ramen for breakfast. I just hoped it wasn't as late as dinnertime.
"Natsuki-chan! You're awake! Are you hungry? Azami-chan got me some ramen for lunch, maybe she has more for you."
"I'm fine Naruto-kun, are you feeling better?"
"I feel great! And all those cuts are already healed. I'm a fast healer, ne Natsuki-chan?"
"Yeah..." because of that Kyuubi in you.
"Natsuki!" I turned my head to see Azami stood at the door, a tray of food in her hands. She brought the bowls of steaming ramen to Naruto and me, clearing up Naruto's empty bowl and sitting on the bed. "Have a nice nap Natsuki-chan?"
"Yeah," I said between hungry slurps of ramen, "Thanks for the ramen, and the blanket."
"Blanket? I didn't put that on you. Hatake-san did."
I paused in my eating, looking up at Azami, "Kakashi? He was here? When?"
"He came really early this morning apparently. I was still at home with Gai, but you know Mai? She had the night shift and was here long enough to let him in. He didn't stay long I heard."
I wonder what he came here for... I shrugged and went back to my eating. No reason to linger on such thoughts. My eye caught the sunflower though. If it hadn't been there when I went to sleep, and I wake up and I have it, Kakashi having visited during my sleep... god I was slow at times! I handed the rest of my ramen to Naruto, who happily dug in no questions asked, and gathered my things, "I got to go somewhere to do something for a while. I don't know when I'll be back, but don't wait up. Azami can Naruto stay with you until I come back?" she nodded with a bewildered look, well, I was a bit of a mess struggling into my shinobi vest while holding the blanket and sunflower in my teeth and tying my shoes on, all at the same time. "Got to go! Love you both, bye!"
I rushed out of the hospital and paused at the entrance. This dilemma again... where to find a Kakashi... a-hah! I spotted a billboard advertising the future publication of the latest edition of the Icha Icha Paradise series, and hurried to the one bookshop I knew would already have the book. Hopefully I'd catch him there.
There he was the little pervert, drooling I think outside the shop, closed on a lunch break.
Perfect.
"Oi! Kakashi!"
He spun round at my voice, and strolled over towards me. I was about to speak when he interrupted, "You called me by my name, do you forgive me already?"
I blushed, damnit! Hatake, got to call him Hatake, "No, I haven't forgiven you-"
"Yet."
"-I just forgot for a second."
"So, you called?"
I raised the blanket and the sunflower so he could see them, if he hadn't already, "I came for two reasons. One; to return this, thanks for the blanket." He nodded, but didn't move to take it from me, "And two; to ask if you're the one that keeps sending me these sunflowers."
He took the sunflower from me for a moment, looking down at it, "Yes. I remembered they were your favourite." He held it out to me again, "Did you like them?"
I took it from him and stared down at the flowers colourful, cheerful face, "Yes, I loved them. Thank you. How did you know they were my favourite? I don't remember telling you."
"I remembered that you always kept the flowers that Naruto got you, and any sunflowers that you got. Plus you seemed distracted every time you passed by sunflowers, even during our spars."
I blushed, "You remember from that long ago?"
"I hardly forget anything."
"How?"
"Sharingan, remember?"
My cheeks flushed red again, doof! You should remember that you idiot! "Right..."
"Why do you like them so much?"
"Huh?" Kakashi chuckled at me, repeating his question to me. "Oh, well, they're so pretty and bright, and the yellow petals reminds me of Naruto," and the dark centre reminds me of you, "I just love them." I looked up and saw Kakashi watching me with a smile, I think. "What?"
"Nothing. Let's get you back home, you must still be exhausted."
"Yeah, alright. We have to go get Naruto though; he'll be in the hospital or at Azami's."
Kakashi just nodded, before taking the blanket from me and wrapping an arm around me in that familiar one-armed hug. We walked at a leisurely pace to the hospital first, really catching up this time on all that had happened during those Missing Years. Kakashi told me of all the horrors, or most of them, that he had faced as an ANBU member, thoroughly putting me off that occupation. I still thought the masks were cool though. "Do you still have you're ANBU mask?"
"Yes."
"Can I see it sometime?"
"Sure, just come round anytime."
"Can you describe it to me?"
"It's a wolf mask."
"Oh really, that's pretty cool-" hold it... a WOLF? "Hideki?"
"Hi." I punched him in the shoulder while he kept laughing at me. Huffing at him now, I stuck my tongue out at him. I then had a sense of déjà vu when I felt his fingers holding my tongue again, like being back to our first training session, "I thought I warned you about stopping that. You really could lose that one day."
He let go of my tongue and slung his arm around me again, slouching only slightly due to me still being a quite a bit shorter than him. I had never blushed so much in my life because of one conversation, but he had held my tongue, I had a good reason to blush I think. We kept talking as we walked, and continued all the way to Azami's when we learnt Naruto had been discharged. "So what's your favourite flower?"
He grinned down at me through his mask, "Ahh Natsuki-chan, you'll have to find that out by yourself."
I just resisted sticking my tongue out at him again, annoying man.
Well the grin Azami had had when she had greeted Kakashi and I at the door had been downright Jiraiya-style creepy. I waved her off to get Naruto, before saying goodbye to Kakashi; I didn't want Naruto to see him again until tomorrow when he met him as a sensei. I handed the blanket back, but he pushed my arm back, "Keep it." before he went up in a puff of smoke and vanished.
"Natsuki-chan!"
"Naruto-kun! Ready to go home?" I hurriedly tried to leave the house before-
"Wait just a second Natsuki-chan!" Azami's voice rang out, "Let's have some tea. Naruto-kun you can watch TV if you want."
"YAY!" and off went my last defence...
"So... you left the hospital alone, and came here with Kakashi... OH MY GOD!-"
"It's not like that Azami-chan!-"
"Sit." I sat. "I'm making some tea. You can both stay the night; I can tell that this'll take a while to convince you."
"There's nothing to convince."
"Yet."
"Oh you're impossible!"
"Stubborn my dear." She said with a smile while she put the kettle to boil before turning to face me, "Now spill."
"I met Kakashi on my way here, and have spent the last two hours having passionate sex with him in an alleyway in every position that was described in his book, after proclaiming our undying love for each other of course." I said with a perfectly straight face.
"REALLY?"
"No! What kind of girl do you take me for?"
"One that needs to get laid."
"Azami!"
"Okay, okay, sorry. But you looked so serious."
"I was being sarcastic."
"Really? I never understand when you do that."
I smirked, "I know."
"So tell me what really happened then. And don't leave anything out."
So I did.
I told her everything. And her grin just kept on growing. There was a quick pause in our talk when I went to put Naruto to bed in one of the spare rooms, but then Azami pounced on me, spewing all her romantic ideas she picked up from the multitude of romantic books and movies she loved, "It's just like in the movies!"
"This is nothing like the movies."
"It is. He loves you – don't interrupt me Natsuki-chan! You love him, don't even try to deny it to me, I know you. Then there have been all those years apart which made you love each other more, and when you eventually forgive him for his stupid mistake, and I knock enough sense into both of you to confess to each other, you can live happily ever after and make lots of little Kakashis and Natsukis for me to adore while you try every position in that book of his-"
"AZAMI!"
"What? I can already see it now."
"Don't say things like that! And I do not love Hatake."
"Denial."
"I'm not denying anything!"
"You just denied denying something."
"...Shut up."
We finished our tea, before heading off to bed. The next few days would be hectic. And I now pondered the truth of my denial. Did I love Kakashi? No. But did I like him? As more than a friend should... Yes. Could I fall in love with him? Yes. Would I let him take any larger a part of my heart? I don't know... what if he left me again? I don't think I wanted that to happen if he did leave. Besides, I remembered, he had his Rin.
His Rin.
Not his Natsuki.
Just... Natsuki.
Always 'just Natsuki'. I would be in the background, supporting and helping, but never in the forefront. Little Natsuki; it was like being back home again.
And I hated it.
