26.
Inari's outburst had quite the opposite effect on Kimiko than what would have normally been anticipated. Two hours into travelling back and Inari's blank expression slipped on without explanation or excuse. But after Kimiko had seen what was underneath, that Inari did in fact have a boiling point and that (upon remembering her reaction to meeting Shinji again) there was something undeniably human that Inari was intent on keeping sealed off around anyone she wasn't already close with. This began some morbid fascination with the crimson haired, grey eyed girl for Kimiko. She wasn't sure what it was, maybe a Genjutsu users innate desire to tinker about in the workings of people's minds but Kimiko was fascinated by the idea of gaining access to whatever intricacy existed inside Inari's head. Of course when she got back to Konoha she was far too shaken to even say goodbye correctly but after a night of lying there churning everything over and over while Kenta, Akira's Chow, lapped a sand paper tongue affectionately over her palm she had found herself a new hobby.
"There ain't no glory in this?" Kimiko muttered to herself before eyeing her phone and dialling some numbers.
"Yo, Inari-chan."
Inari turned from where she had been exiting the Jounin centre. She'd just handed her mission report over after two hours of painstakingly including every detail and was in precisely the right mood for a long, long visit to the Hot Baths. The Hokage had stated the mission successful once Rikuto's body had been secured but all Inari could see was failure. Kimiko had very near died. And her death if Inari hadn't had made it in time would have been completely needless. She'd seen it in Kimiko's eyes, the unadulterated simple desire to overpower someone bigger and honestly better than you. She couldn't understand it and it frustrated her to no ends that a shinobi could throw away the one life they had on the premise of glory. What did that even mean? What was it worth? Sensei had always come across as smug and completely full of himself and in essence he was but in battle he had never underestimated an opponent and never put himself at risk like that. Bar one exception and Inari was coldly aware of how that had ended.
So startling even herself Inari sighed with relief at the sound of Kakashi's voice. Her outburst at the edge of the lake had left her slightly raw and the fight beforehand had drained a quarter her chakra, she hadn't the composure still to be guarded.
"Kakashi-chan," Inari smiled.
Kakashi for his part seemed as equally shocked by Inari's reply as she was but as always managed to hide it as soon as it passed continuing to lean idly against the wall.
"I believe you owe me a meal," Kakashi smiled, eye crinkling in a crescent.
Inari nodded.
"So how did your mission go?" Kakashi asked pushing off the wall and falling into step beside Inari, hands stuffed into pockets and a laid back slump to his shoulders.
"It's confidential," Inari replied, "besides if I told you I'd ruin 'the air of mystery'."
"Heh," he chuckled softly, "I'll just have to imagine then."
Inari picked up some food to go at a stall and with Kakashi following made her way towards the top of the Hokage monument. They scaled it quickly; the only sound the usual twittering jumble of birdsong and the heavy thump of the plastic containers against the side of the bag. The head of the Hokage monument was nearly always scarce of visitors which confused Inari but she supposed that the villagers preferred the Hokage's watchful gaze rather than seating themselves above it. Inari settled herself and looked out across Konoha mapped below, the veins of people and streets that tugged at her heart. Kakashi bent down to shuffle about in the plastic bag and Inari spied something small, bulky and suspiciously book shaped protruding from his back pocket. Inari gingerly reached up and slipped the book free.
'Itcha Itcha Heat' Inari mulled, 'I've never heard of this.' She fingered one of the multiple folded corners. Kakashi must really like it to book mark so many pages. Inari glanced up at Kakashi still rooting around in the bag and shrugged, 'our taste in books was similar maybe I'll like this?'
Inari flipped the small book open and began at the first marked page.
'His hand fisted in her crimson hair the colour of the desire in his belly as he spread her naked form across the bed.
"Oh, you're so strong Ryu," she blushed then slowly ran a tongue over her lips, "I hope you don't make me scream, my parents are in the other room."
"This will make you scream dear little Yuki," he smirked, his lips against the soft exposed skin of her throat. Ryu reached down, brushing his fingers against Yuki's quivering skin and grabbed her-'
Inari made a tiny noise and Kakashi twirled on his heel. Inari slapped the book shut and presented it to Kakashi with her head bowed and her face the same crimson as her hair. Kakashi's eyes trailed from his book to Inari's blaring blush then back again. Without a word he stuffed it into his back pocket.
"Erm...I'm sorry...I didn't realise," Inari mumbled.
"Yeah," Kakashi sat beside her with a box already open and chopsticks raised.
"It sounded painful," Inari whispered and shuddered.
Kakashi blinked then chuckled to himself, "I guess but you have to take into account everything else as well."
Inari turned to face Kakashi with a questioning expression.
Kakashi took a deep breath.
"The passionate love a man has for a beautiful woman. The beating of their hearts and the joining of their souls as they meet and come together in an explosion of love," Kakashi finished his impassioned speech with his head dramatically bowed.
Inari blinked, "wow". That was the precise moment when Inari realised that Kakashi may have developed some…quirks since she'd left. Some worrying, amusing quirks.
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded.
"Does this mean you're a voyeur Kakahi-chan?" Inari asked sipping at her soup.
"Eh? No," Kakashi sighed, "a voyeur is a pervert."
"I'm aware," Inari replied and when Kakashi turned to face her he noticed an expression he'd never seen on Inari before. An impish lift to the corners of her lips and a playful crease to her eyes not quite a smile but balancing teasingly on the very edge. It was ever so slightly reminiscent of Kota Hikaru but there was too much of Inari there for it to be anything but fabricated.
"Ah," she sighed, "when you stated an air of mystery I must admit I wasn't expecting this though it does get rid of any doubts I had after seeing your cooking skills."
"A man can cook," Kakshi replied casually feeling her teasing mood seep into his own.
"I'm aware but men don't usually use pomegranate shampoo," Inari replied.
"Have you been sniffing my hair?" Kakashi asked casually.
Inari blinked then said in a voice that suggested she had come across some great hidden truth, "I guess that means I'm a pervert too."
Kakashi and Inari stared at each other until Kakashi's visible eye crinkled into a crescent.
"So you have been smelling my hair," Kakashi smiled.
Inari chuckled again and Kaskashi felt whatever shield she'd been placing about herself around him slip.
"Hmmm..." Kakashi hummed as he placed the now empty box down and Inari wondered when he'd eaten in the space of time they'd been talking. He folded his arms over his knees, "why did you choose up here?"
"It's peaceful, don't you think? You can see the whole of Konoha and that's soothing to know they're safe," Inari replied looking out across the expanse of the Village Hidden in the Leaves as Kakashi was.
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded, his eyes softer, "yeah it is."
They sat there staring out over Konoha and discussing Kakashi's love for books of the more…specialised tastes and whether or not Inari was intentionally sniffing men's hair for over two hours. They did not broach personal subjects, the conversation light; Inari found that Kakashi was impressively illusive with his words, when she asked about his experience of the last eight years he managed to speak without really saying anything at all and Inari was still left to speculate from marine biologist to covert basement dweller (anything really seemed a possibility). She didn't begrudge him because when Kakashi posed his own questions she would grow silent and her face would harden to that blank state. In essence she preferred it this way, chuckling to herself while simultaneously trying to catch Kakashi out at eating the rapidly and mysteriously disappearing food.
By the time an elderly group arrived Kakashi rose to leave for home with a leisurely backward wave.
"You still owe me a meal Inari-chan," he called over his shoulder.
"And you owe me my innocence," Inari called back. Kakashi and Inari were aware that she was referring to the earlier mishap with the book but if the shocked widening of the elderly group's eyes and the gossiping whispers that followed were anything to go by they weren't.
"Goodbye Kakashi-chan," Inari nodded.
"See you, Inari-chan," he replied and was already disappearing under the crest of the Konoha.
Inari continued to watch over Konoha with her legs drawn up under her chin and a sense of relaxation brushing through her and for the life of her could not remember what had made her so angry before.
a/n:
Next chapter up! Yeah, some Kakashi and Inari time I'm glad because I don't want it to get bogged down with too many OCs but it seems once you insert one, others start popping up like Shinji who was third member of their team then Hikaru who was their sensei and later on it'll be Inari's own team who I'll start worming into some of the later chapters so I hope I'm not pissing anyone off with all these, which reminds on regards to Inari's team (Team 6, so original I know -_- ) I've got two characters laid out already and another is waiting in the wings but I'm not sure whether to juggle around some of Naruto's existing Genin and have them in the team so it doesn't consist entirely of OCs. I'm kind of stuck on this so if you have a thought on whether yes or no or even a suggestion for who (there's already one girl and one boy so another boy would be preferable) I'd be really grateful if you stuck it in a review or PM your suggestion.
Thanks for reading ^_^