This is just a little chapter for you today.
Fun fact: the song that inspired this entire story is called Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy.
A few small PSAs
To the guest reviewer that asked why Kakashi is so romantic: Outwardly he is not and I am trying hard to stay true to his character while also writing about the romantic relationship between these two. But he is a very intelligent man and I am trying to do him justice when writing about the things that go on in his own head. He asked her to close her eyes, not to be more romantic, but so she wouldn't see his face. He was only trying to give her a quick kiss as a birthday present and accidentally took it a bit too far.
to XoxSakurax3: Thank you again for all your positive feed back. I am so glad you love the story so much.
To all readers wondering about Emma as a housekeeper: Where I come from housekeepers, maids, cleaning personnel or whatever you would like to call them are workers hired for their services as is depicted in this story. One of my readers pointed out that housekeepers are treated more like slaves where they are from. The way she works in the story is the only way I know and they only way I saw fit to depict Emma as a housekeeper. She provides a cleaning service and her clients pay her for her time and effort.
To Bijuu lord: You are very right! You should never ignore the ones you love. Unfortunately for Kakashi, he thinks this is better for both of them.
Kakashi passed each day by going to the Hokage tower and asking for a new mission. Emma was getting increasingly distressed with his treatment of her. He avoided being around her as much as possible. When he couldn't avoid her she always offered to do something with him. She asked if he would like to go out to eat once. She invited him over for a meal six times and asked him to come over to read four times in the last week. She was much too polite to ask him why he was avoiding her. He had taken to keeping his precious book in front of him whenever she was around. This seemed to distress her more as she knew it was a symbol meant to keep her at arms length. One that he had not used in the months they had been friends. The only time he had his nose buried in the book before now was when they would read on her couch together.
He no longer made eye contact with her. The hurt and disappointment in her eyes were too much each time he had rejected one of her offers.
He was relieved one day when she didn't come to his home at all. She was quickly becoming a stranger to him. He left whenever she came to clean his home and left her payment on the table for her to retrieve.
Now, he only saw her on the rare occasion they would pass each other on the street. On those occasions she attempted a friendly and brief 'Hello, how are you?'. He always replied with aloof kindness before they quickly parted ways.
It was March before he finally got a longer mission. Others before that had only taken a few days. This one would guarantee at least two weeks, if not longer. He had packed up, left Emma her payment for the next few weeks and left his apartment.
"Hello Kakashi." He turned to see Emma leaving her apartment as well.
"Hello Emma. How are you?" The air was thick with tension.
"I'm... alright. And you?"
"I'm well. I'll be off on a mission for the next few weeks. I put your payment on the table." She nodded at the ground.
"Kakashi, I'm..." She sighed and toyed with her fingers. "I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. You have been avoiding me for weeks."
"It's nothing. It's just clear that we shouldn't see each other anymore."Her disappointment showed physically. She had slumped where she stood.
Had she done something wrong? She thought their last night had ended on a high note. It appeared he thought differently. Did she do something that night that had upset him?
"It's nothing you did," he continued. He saw her stress and self depreciation from where he stood. She was always so easy for him to read. He didn't want this to be difficult for her. He wanted to break it off before she got hurt. But it seemed she was blaming herself for something she didn't do. She did nothing but stare at the ground with a pained and puzzled look. There was nothing he could say now that could make it better for her.
"Goodbye, Emma." He took off, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Numbly, she made it back to her door and let herself in. She closed and locked the door before slumping against it.
Kakashi wanted nothing to do with her. She had no idea what had caused him to do so. They became great friends and briefly something else. Now, he wished for her to be nothing more than his housekeeper.
He had kissed her though. Why would he kiss her and then ignore her? He had taken her out for her birthday and for a birthday gift he had kissed her. Was it that he thought her past was too much to handle? Did he not want to deal with a girl so emotionally damaged? Or was it that he didn't want someone that had been... defiled over ten years ago? She began to sob as a horrifying thought struck her. What if that kiss had just been a pitying goodbye from him? Maybe it was just one last high note before he told her to get lost. She choked on a sob as her heart clenched painfully. Why did both men she had thought she loved left her feeling unwanted and inadequate?
She didn't understand Kakashi, though. If he knew he was saying goodbye that night, why hadn't he taken what he could get from her before he left her like her ex-boyfriend? She buried her face in her hands. She would never understand Kakashi. She never had a snowball's chance in hell to ever understand him.
She stood and made her way out her apartment and into Kakashi's. She walked up to the table and stared at the money. If he didn't want to see her then she could make it easier on him. She separated his key from her key chain and left it on the stack of money. She locked his door once again and closed it behind her. She walked up to the Hokage tower and soon found herself knocking on the door.
"Come in," Tsunade called. She walked in obediently and stood in front of the only desk. "What can I help you with Emma?"
"I'm here to pay for a mission. I want to move to Suna." The Hokage's eyebrows lowered in confusion.
"Did something happen? Does anyone know your secret?"
"No. It's nothing like that. Honestly, I am just trying to avoid someone."
"That's a long way to go to avoid someone."
"Please, I want to move to Suna. I'll keep quiet about where I am from and I won't tell any secrets. I can't stay here any more." Emma stared into the Hokage's honey colored eyes as she attempted to reason with her.
"If you are willing to pay for the mission then I won't deny you. But as you are a high profile citizen I won't accept any escort missions below A level."
"I'll pay whatever you ask. How soon can I leave?"
"I can give you three days to pack and get your affairs in order. You can meet the team at the gate at dawn on Thursday."
"Thank you." Emma turned to leave when the older woman's words stopped her.
"You should know that once you are in Suna they won't be so eager to let you go." Emma held a stubborn determination in her eyes after Tsunade's words.
"That's fine by me."
There are more chapters to come! Please review!