Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story is purely a work of fanfiction.

Chapter 40

The embarrassment from her stomach's outcry quickly dissipated, the pair of them settling into the ease of each other's company. There was a sense of placidness, and not just tonight, but whenever they seemed to interact. He was wearing an ensemble of monochrome, not much of deviation from his usual attire but she didn't mind. She couldn't imagine him wearing something flashy like Guy… what a terrible image, Kakashi in green spandex.

"What's with the face?"

Although, her eyes were not on him while they ate, his were on her, and her face had screwed up suddenly.

"Oh, nothing really, just a rather disturbing image popped into my head."

"Hmm, care to share?"

"Not sure you'll be particularly happy about it, but I was just imagining you wearing one of Guy's green spandex outfits."

"I see. I was worried it may have been the food."

"No, this is delicious. Where did you get it?"

"I made it, actually. Well, Kimi and some of the children helped."

He had gone back to the orphanage and he had cooked all this food, he continued to surprise her.

They finished up their meals, and she helped by collecting the dishes and handing them to him, so that he could pack them away in the basket.

"Kakashi…"

"Excuse me for a moment, I'll be back."

He stood up and disappeared into the trees, undoubtedly, to answer nature's call. She lazed back, on her arms, stretching out her midsection to work the food down. In the distance she heard croaking and splashes, remembering they were close to the lake. She got up and wandered down to the edge where she had sat yesterday, stewing over what had unfolded in the kitchen of the orphanage.

The sky was mostly clear, barring a few scattered clouds, making way for the glow of an almost full moon and the mass of stars. The water was still and reflected the glorious night sky, and Nina inhaled, closing her eyes. None of her previous dates had been this relaxed, but tonight, with Kakashi, it was easy. Aside from being full of scrumptious food, it was also full of butterflies. Sure, there were things that pertained to the mission, but others weren't, and she still wasn't entirely convinced about yesterday even though she had handed over 5,000 Ryo for it. It was fleeting but there was something there and she had felt it again tonight at the flower stall. But… this was a mission and it could simply be chalked up to their humanness. He was still Kakashi, Kakashi Hatake, who didn't date. She was his exception, no, the mission was the exception. Mission.

A stick cracked under his foot, alerting her to his incoming presence.

When she hadn't been on the rug where he had left her, he had simply followed his nose in the direction of the lake. Master Jiraiya had captured many elegant women in his series but nothing quite like what stood before him. It wasn't anything sexual, more sensual. Nina, as she stood there at the water's edge, was beguiling. Understatedly perfect.

"Kakashi, I wanted to apologise for something."

His feet moved on their own accord to her side, handing her a cup of sake.

"Last night when you fell asleep, I moved your book to the bedside table and the photos fell out. I don't know if I put them in the right place. I'm sorry."

Strange girl…

"No need to apologise. I usually just have them in the front or back page."

He'd never told anyone that, however, he'd never had anyone stumble on his book during a mission, so this was a first.

"I spend a great deal of my time at the cenotaph when in Konoha, having their photo enables me to talk to them whilst on missions."

He took a sip from his cup, then standing behind Nina, taking a few steps backwards, before sitting them both down, with her in front of him and his legs either side of her, shielding her from the cool breeze.

"Is that why you're always late?"

"Hmm something like that, I suppose. I guess, Obito gave me more than just the sharingan."

"Blaming your comrades for your bad habits?"

"Not at all. I used to frown upon them but kindness, compassion well, I'm still learning it all."

It was what she had thought, but there was one other that she wanted to ask him about, she kept her voice quiet and even.

"What about your …"

"No. I haven't got any of my Dad, even if I wanted to."

Nina shuffled back into the space, closing the gap between their bodies, as his hands gathered her hair to the middle of her back, exposing both shoulders.

Her skin was silky and supple under the roughness of his own fingers, and he could feel her every movement contracting and relaxing at his touch. He dug two fingers along the cuff of her right arm, pulling it away from her skin.

"No tattoo?"

"Yes, but in a slightly different place."

It was normal for male Anbu operatives to have the tattoo on their left shoulder, and females on their right.

"Oh?"

He watched her hands retreat from where they had been resting on his legs, shifting so she could pull up her shirt from the bottom right hand corner, barely covering her breast.

He angled himself so that the moonlight shone on her side, showing the tattoo etched into her skin on her ribs, in line with her breast. He ran his fingers over the outline, Nina remained composed, before she dropped her shirt and repositioned herself.

"I'd like to say it was for some incredibly cool reason but it's nothing more than a secret kept from my father."

"Your Dad didn't know you joined Anbu?"

"No. Not at first."

Nina absentmindedly plucked at the blades of grass in front of her.

"I wasn't some prodigy, nor was I his son."

Her father, the Third Hokage, had effectively relieved Kakashi of his Anbu duties following the Uchiha massacre but had saved him from Danzo's Root division.

"I know you saved Tenzo, Kakashi. I was there."

She could feel his fingertips flinch against her shoulders.

"I loved my father, and the village. I still love the village. But I was lured by Orochimaru."

"Nina…"

"Asuma had that argument with Dad and took off to be one of the twelve guardian ninjas, and Dad was preoccupied with Orochimaru."

She had been alone. She may have had a father and an older brother, but Nina had been just as lonely, if not more so than him, and that was very disheartening.

"What about your team members?"

"I was bounced around several people, for one reason or another. I owe the range of my abilities to that, I suppose."

"When all three of us arrived back in Konoha, I was subject to Ibiki's interrogation, at my father's request. However, having survived the incident and given my growing medical knowledge, Ibiki invited me to join Anbu, without my father's knowledge."

She reached for her cup, finishing the last of her drink. Ibiki's interrogation tactics were brutal and that was putting it lightly.

"Hence my tattoo was placed in that position. It was easily covered from his view."

"Why Orochimaru?"

"Why Root?"

"Well, looks like neither of us have lived a charmed life exactly, have we?"

"No, but we're lucky I suppose. We've found new comrades. You have your very own Team 7 now. You've certainly come a long way since the 'cold-blooded Kakashi."

"Hmm."

Wrapping his arms across her front, cocooning her against his own body, and dipping his head so their cheeks were touching.

His embrace was warm, tender, and chaste. Her hands curled over his forearms, and as she brought her knees up, he lifted his forearms so that he could lean on them whilst holding them in place.

"Good karma, I suppose."

"Huh?"

"My father helped you step away from Anbu and you saved me from the throws of Orochimaru."

"Lucky that. Wonder who I'd have to date if you weren't here?"

"Anko or Guy."

Her body wriggled with giggles, as he let out a ragged groan.

"Not funny. I've dated both and-"

"You've dated Guy?"

"Unfortunately, for a mission, but I didn't willingly have sex with him like someone else."

"No one but you and I know that."

"True. Which reminds me, you will have to teach me that genjutsu."

"What, planning on wiping my memory of this?"

He turned his masked mouth into her ear, scraping any of her hair out of the way.

"Do you want me to?"

It was the low, husky tone and the chafe of his masked lips against her lobe, that caused her body to erupt in a layer of goosebumps. She had fallen silent.

"Nina?"

Damn.

"Boss, he's arrived, and waiting."

"Right, I'll be there soon."

The pug didn't stay long, padding passed them back into town.