Sholpan ambled after Mari, unable to contain the near constant whine leaking out of her mouth. What was she supposed to do anyway? It had been a little over three weeks since she'd been able to really go for a walk, or crunch a squirrel, or run through the treetops, or sniff another dog's butt.

Most boring place. Ever.

She didn't know what was happening to her body, but there was a heat between her rear legs that had been building for the past couple of weeks and if she didn't get relief soon she was going to snap. Sholpan trotted to the door and pressed her forehead against it, breathing out another nasal whine.

Akamaru would know what to do about it. She missed him. His long white fur that smelled like trees and blood, the way he peed on things in mid air, the jokes they played on Kiba. She scratched at the door, wondering if Mari would notice her digging her way to freedom through the heavy wood.

"Sholpan," Mari hissed. "Be quiet. Kakashi is trying to rest."

She groaned and dramatically flopped on her side in front of the door. Some air leaked in through the gap underneath. She inhaled deeply, the tantalizing scents of neighboring dogs tickled her nose. It wouldn't even have to be Akamaru. At this point she'd settle for literally any dog in Konoha.

Any dog.

Even those old farts, Boone and Pakkun.

She smashed her nose against the gap under the door, and sighed. Eventually, someone would slip up. Then she'd escape. She'd make all those squirrels so dead, meet every dog, and have a giant hump party. It was going to be grand.


The first thing I'd done after getting home and making sure he was okay, was take a long shower. There weren't any hair dryers so I just made a damp ponytail, put on some knee length leggings, and a red sundress that was just long enough to cover them. In my old home I wasn't usually a dress wearing person, but leggings were comfortable and they didn't really have jeans here. Hana had helped me pick out new clothes a while ago since my original pants were ruined in that first ninja attack.

Sheesh. How long had it been now? It seemed like forever.

Looking after Kakashi wasn't very involved as long as he was sleeping. It gave me way too much time to think.

I sat cross legged on the floor in the dining room, cradling the smooth neck of the ninja banjo in my left hand. Sholpan was laying with her face mashed against the threshold of the door. She looked absolutely pathetic.

It turned out I was mistaken about the strings being hammered. The thing that looked like an ice scraper was really like a mega guitar pick. It took a little bit of trial and error to figure out how I wanted to tune the strings, but eventually settled on G, D, and G.

I set the ice scraper thing down, and just concentrated on slowly moving my stiff fingers through some scales. The last thing Kakashi probably wanted to wake up to was crappy music noises.

This instrument didn't have frets on the neck like a banjo. That was a little bit of blessing and curse at the same time. It made finding the right place to put my fingers harder, but was a lot softer on my poor scarred fingertips. The strings were made of silk or something too, instead of steel like papa's old banjo.

As the tendons in my fingers loosened my thoughts started to drift. I leaned against the wall and sighed.

Waking up next to him had thrown me for a loop. I'd been trying to convince myself that . . . I don't even know what. Maybe that I was just lonely here. But I was lonely back home too and didn't fall for every guy who glanced at me. Or any guy really. They were all either meth addict hicks or stupid jock types. Both were only interested in one thing, and it wasn't my personality.

Maybe it was because he kept rescuing me. It was probably normal to have a crush on someone who rescued you from having your hand flayed off in a torture chamber, carried you across rooftops in their muscular arms, smelled really good, saved your dog's life, brought you a ninja banjo for a present, and shielded you from exploding park benches with their body.

He was basically like Spiderman, except he was actually hot. And real.

I swallowed, and remembered the lean muscle under my hand where I expected Boone to be. The heat that gathered in my face and between my legs.

There was another awareness in the corner of my mind. Awareness of a sensation, like someone was watching.

Casually as I could, I glanced at the doorway to the kitchen. Kakashi leaned against the doorframe, one eye barely open. His hair adorably tousled the way it fell into his eyes.


Kakashi had been awake for a while, but hadn't moved to get up. Or even open his eye really.

Mari was in the house. Sometimes he heard her moving around in the kitchen. After a while, she went into the dining room. Sholpan's nails clicked on the hard floor as she followed Mari from room to room, sometimes whining.

A few quiet minutes passed and the soft, hesitant tones of the shamisen wafted through the building. At first some experimental notes. Then a slow, rudimentary scale.

Kakashi smiled faintly to himself. He turned on his side and drifted in and out of consciousness. Eventually the grumbling of his stomach won out and he opened his eye. He rolled over and managed to get upright, then shuffled into the kitchen.

The house was quiet. There was some fruit in a bowl on the counter. He snagged a banana and inhaled it as he passed through the room. That should help.

He blinked slowly and moved toward the doorway. Mari was in there. She sat near the table facing away from the door, holding the shamisen. Her hand moved deliberately over the neck, practicing something silently.

She must have felt his presence, because she froze and looked over her shoulder. Her expression softened when she saw it was him.

Or maybe it wasn't because it was him, he chided himself. Maybe after all that had happened she was just relieved it wasn't the ANBU again. He lifted a hand.

"Yo."

Mari smiled then. She motioned for him to sit down.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." His stomach snarled again. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "A bit."

She carefully put the instrument back in its case, left the room and returned with a bowl of hot broth a few minutes later.

"Shizune-san said to take it slow. I hope this is okay to start with."

He knelt at the small table and she placed the little red bowl in front of him. Steam rose in tantalizing spirals. He pressed his hands together. "Itadakimasu!"

After he'd drained the bowl he looked at her carefully. He hadn't made a huge effort to hide his face, but she'd politely looked away. "Did you work at the hospital today?"

She nodded. "I went in a little late and ran into Shizune-san. She sent me home after an hour, and said to tell you that if you go out alone again Tsunade-sama is going to personally drag you back to the hospital."

He visibly cringed.

Mari looked a little confused at his reaction but didn't push it. "Who takes care of your dogs when you're not home?"

"Oh." He set the bowl down. "They're pretty independent. Besides, they don't always stay in my apartment. They have their own home too."

Mari nodded, her mouth turning down at the corner. "I miss Boone. This is the longest we've been apart."

"How long have you had him?"

"Since I was small," she said. "Before my father died, our kennel was dispersed among his friends. Most of our dogs were descended from Boone."

"You weren't able to keep them?"

Mari shook her head. "No. It was so hard, but better for them. Papa was," her voice wavered, "-very ill, and I had to focus on looking after him. They really loved papa's friends. They'd all been hunting together many times, and made good teams with his friend's dogs. He wanted to be sure that they could keep hunting after he was gone."

She looked away. "I just couldn't let Boone go though. Maybe that was selfish."

The deep anguish he'd buried decades ago tried to stir inside of him. If only he had mattered as much to the White Fang, for him to consider what would happen to his only son after his death. He quickly pushed down the memories trying to surface before they overwhelmed him, this time only glimpsing his father curled in a dark, sticky pool on the floor.

On the surface he remained placid. "Eh, I don't think he wanted to go. It's a little surprising he hasn't tried to find you."

Mari folded her hands in her lap. "I told him to stay with Hana for now. He wasn't very happy about it." She looked up suddenly. "Do you need groceries? I can bring some food for you to have at home so you can stay in and rest."

The offer surprised him. Her cheeks colored up. "I mean, you don't have to leave if you want to stay here. I-if you need to rest some more you can. I wish there was a proper bed to offer you but-," her face went redder at that. "I mean, to sleep in. Because you'd get better rest that way."

He grinned, seizing the distraction that was this new, flustered Mari. "Thank you. I hope you were comfortable last night."

Her mouth opened and closed and she didn't look directly at him. "Yes," she managed in a small voice. Her face was burning even more than before. Interesting.

"Good." He was still smiling. "I probably should try to return home though. Thank you for hosting me so unexpectedly."

Mari managed to look at him this time. "It's the least I could do after everything. Now, tell me what you'd like to eat and I'll pack it for you to bring home. There are onigiri and still lots of gyoza."

He followed her into the other room and leaned against the smooth butcher block counter. She neatly packed an assortment of things that would be easy for him to heat or just eat cold at home. "Do you mind walking with me?" he asked. "So Tsunade-sama doesn't take me back to the hospital."

"Of course." Her dark hair bobbed as she set the boxed food inside a plain canvas bag. She'd brushed off her earlier embarrassment and her movements were brisk and efficient. "Let's go."

It was early evening on the streets of Konoha. Sholpan had whined and pleaded when they left her behind, but Mari resolutely locked her in. Together they walked slowly, so he could avoid the dizzy spells and potential fainting from trying to do things too quickly. Mari hugged the bag to her chest with both arms.

"What is the thing you got me?" she asked.

"Eh?"

"In my language, it's like something we call a 'banjo'."

"Oh. It's a shamisen."

"Shamisen," she repeated to herself. He was briefly mesmerized by the way her mouth shaped itself around the word. "Thank you. I really love it."

A warmth settled inside him, and he was glad he'd ventured out to get it for her even if the outing went against medical advice.

"Kakashi, what is this?" bellowed a familiar voice. Gai leapt out and put his hands on his hips. "Where are your gentlemanly manners? Can't you see this lady is carrying a heavy load?" He gestured at Mari.

"Gai-san," Mari interjected. "Kakashi just got out of the hospital. His activity is restricted right now."

Gai slapped his forehead. "Of course! In that case, let me carry them for you. It's the least I can do for a friend." Mari glanced at Kakashi.

"I don't mind it. This is part of my training," she said brightly. "You told me to make sure I carry an equal load with each arm."

Gai's eyes watered alarmingly for a moment, then he punched the air with way too much passion for someone offering to carry a bag. "That's the spirit Mari-san! If you ever need help training just ask and I will assist!"

Mari bowed slightly. "Thank you. I will remember that."

Kakashi watched with some relief as Gai launched himself onto the nearest rooftop and bounded into the distance. He loved his friend dearly, but sometimes it was a bit much. Right now was one of those times.

"You've learned to handle him well."

She smiled and looked at the ground. "He's a little intense, but seems like a kind person. He was really worried about you."

Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded with a grunt.

The jounin apartments loomed ahead. It was a white building several floors high with a Konoha leaf banner hanging from the roofline in the center. He led her to the narrow stairs where she dropped behind him, keeping exactly three steps between them. His left hand clutched the steel handrail and he fought another wave of vertigo as he climbed. Luckily it wasn't far to his door.

He pulled a key out and turned it in the lock. The lights were already on. Bisuke stood up from where he'd been laying on the couch and stretched before trotting over to them.

"Hey Kakashi." Bisuke sniffed his pants. "You smell good. I mean really good." The little dog glared up at him accusingly. "Why didn't you bring the bitch along too?"

Kakashi regarded him lazily. "She's too young for you."

"Hey, I know how to treat bitches. Right Pakkun?"

Pakkun gave him a look. "The last one bit your face."

Bisuke wagged his tail and grinned. "It was just a little foreplay. That's all."

Kakashi turned suddenly to Mari. "Sorry about him. He's not usually this bad."

"Actually, he is," Pakkun corrected.

Bisuke bounded over to Mari at that point, intently sniffing her as well. "So you're the one I've been hearing about."

She crouched next to him and held out her hand. "Good things I hope. Can I pet you?"

He sneered but moved closer anyway. "Usually I would say no, but I want to see if Pakkun is exaggerating about your ear massages."

She giggled and gently stroked his left ear. Kakashi sighed and carried the sack of food the rest of the way to the kitchen and shoved it into the empty refrigerator. When he returned, Bisuke had shamelessly melted into her arms.

"Kakashi, can we keep this one?" he said. "Pakkun was right. Remember how he said her chest is much more comfortable than yours?"

A wave of panic swept through him. "What are you-," he choked, his throat constricting when he saw Mari silently shaking with laughter. "That's not, not something we discussed!"

"What are you talking about? Her scent is all over you. I bet you got some firsthand experience last night," he grinned cheekily, showing off pointed teeth.

"N-no, I-" he stammered. Kakashi's face felt hot. He put a steadying hand on the back of the couch.

"Don't tease him too much. He's still recovering," Mari said softly. She eased the disappointed dog down and moved to Kakashi's side. "You should lie down. You look terrible."

"Yeah," he croaked. "Okay."

"Do you prefer the couch or the bed?"

He pointedly ignored Bisuke's snickering. That dog was going to pay.

"Oh uh, the couch is fine."

She steadied his arm. He tried to ignore the fact that it was pressed against her soft chest.

He failed miserably.

Heat climbed his neck, spread across his face and over his scalp. He fought to retain consciousness because he'd be damned if he was going to faint twice in front of her in two days.

"Kakashi," her brows knit together. "You seem really flushed all of a sudden. Should I tell Shizune?"

"Eh?" he choked. "No! No, I'm all right. Just, need to rest," he said thickly. He would die if one of the iryo-nin showed up for a diagnostic and discovered he was just suffering from acute embarrassment.

"Is it because her chest is touching your arm?" Bisuke slyly grinned at them. This time a slow look of realization crossed Mari's face.

She hurriedly helped him to the front of the couch. Bisuke opened his big fat mouth again. "Kakashi might get cold there all by himself. You should stay and keep him warm."

He was going to murder that dog.