Kakashi misused his authority again to let a chunin carry Venna's metal vehicle down the stairs. His friend's face was still a bit red from her fury and adrenaline for the heated moment, but the huffing and puffing slowly stopped.
"I am surprised you did not stop me in there."
Kakashi raised his eyebrow in faked indignation.
"You think I would stand against you in front of those old goats? Tsk, I am disappointed in your lack of trust."
"Oh, you," Venna managed a lopsided grin and softly punched his shoulder before resting her head against his shoulder. "Thank you, Kakashi. For being by my side."
Said man just hummed and enjoyed the warmth of Venna's body against his chest.
Ever since she had started to lean on Kakashi when he had lost Obito after becoming a jonin, this gesture became something he silently found comfort in. Her warmth had a soothing effect.
The walk home was quiet. Kakashi kept his face carefully blank, and Venna was glaring at her hands resting in her lap for all the shinobi could see of her. Both knew the meeting ended in a different way than it had been planned, whether or not this would come back to bite them they did not know yet.
People on the streets were talking and laughing, unknowing to the scene which had occurred in the council room or on how many toes the young woman had just stepped- or rolled on.
The shinobi quickly pushed them to their new apartment and parked his friend at the kitchen table, letting himself fall into a chair with a loud sigh.
Kakashi was about to remind Venna of her emotionally controlled stupidity (not that he would have done that in front of other people), when the woman looked at him with wide eyes and for the first time since the meeting the man noticed the tremble in her hands. The adrenaline in her system was wearing off, leaving her nerves bare.
"Man, I thought I was going to shit myself in there! How did you manage to stay cool? Didn't they scare you?! I am so envious of your attitude, envious! And I was so fucking sure they would behead me with a sneak attack or something when that bandaged bastard looked at me… Holy shit, Danzo is one scary motherfucker!"
Venna started talking and actually shivered when she said the man's name. Kakashi blinked in surprise at his friend's antics, but then he just shook his head. This was so typical for her.
What words had he used to compare her to before? More smoke than fire? Yup, about right.
"If they scared you so much, why did you explode into their faces?" The question wasn't one to need an answer, Venna's strong emotions and her tendency to act on them in heated moments found a new practical example.
The sheepish grin the woman gave the elite shinobi caused him to roll his eyes and he lightly hit Venna on the back of her head.
"Bad, very bad! Don't do that again. I am trying to protect you from danger and here you are heading straight towards it. Just be grateful Sandaime-sama had our backs," Kakashi said in a strict tone, but his body was too relaxed to turn it into a lecture. This was more of a talk in the middle of puppy training.
Judging by Venna's signs of stress and the post-fear behaviour of her body the lecture could wait a bit. Gai and the merry band of idiots were still planning to come over for dinner, and Kakashi was too thankful for their efforts to welcome Venna into Konoha than to destroy the evening with wise words.
One would call Kakashi out on being too soft with her again… but who could judge him, right? He would be stricter with her tomorrow morning…
.
Kakashi had just finished sweeping the floor after Venna had tried using the broom by tying it behind her wheelchair to clean while rolling through the room.
It was not working and the woman had just managed to spread the dust even more.
The young traveller was then ordered to place the teacups on the table and start heating a kettle with water.
"Geez, I could have done it. You didn't give me enough time! My plan was great."
"If your plan included more work for me, it did. Please, be useful somewhere else," the elite shinobi said while starting to clean up all the work his friend created for him. "Do you want me to fill the kettle for you?"
Venna threw him the most indignant look she could muster.
"I am not some weak child you have to mother nor am I disabled. I'm just sitting in a wheelchair, Kakashi. Stop underestimating me!"
"I am not underestima-"
"You want to carry a stupid kettle for me!" Venna crossed her arms and gave Kakashi a pointed look.
The shinobi took a moment to think about her statement and the young woman observed his expression when it dropped and her friend scratched his gravity-defying, silver-haired head.
"Maybe I did."
Rolling her eyes, Venna crossed the short distance between them and shook her head, before quickly squeezing his hand.
"It's alright, I get it."
She rolled back to the kitchen counter, filled the kettle with water, and placed it on the stove to boil it. If the kettle had been a little bit heavy, Venna was too proud to mention it.
While the water stared to heat up, Kakashi quickly finished cleaning the floor and Venna started placing the cups on the table.
Kakashi would not admit it with their peers around, but he actually did like the thought of them sharing daily tasks and having Venna around in his new home.
Home… he did not have a real home since-, yeah, since then, but now the apartment felt homey already.
The bell rang and distracted the traveller from her task. She dumped the last two cups onto the table with a bit more force than necessary and pushed herself towards the apartment door as quickly as she could.
Kakashi was entering the short corridor, when the wheelchair came dangerously close to his foot and he had to take a step back.
"I get it! I can open a door!" Venna sounded as eager as a child to welcome its first friends over.
There was a strange normality in the act of welcoming people into one's home, and Kakashi decided to let his friend just do what she wanted to.
Waving his hand in a dismissing manner, he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and watched the woman quickly check her scarf around her head before she opened the door with some trouble, because the wheelchair had to roll backwards while the door had to be pulled open by Venna simultaneously.
For a short moment the copy-ninja thought about helping her, but she had cut him to reach the door first and just asked him not to 'mother' her, so it was on her to solve the small problem.
Venna had to tell their guests to 'wait a moment', when she opened the door in bits.
Finally having finished her little exercise, she grinned up at Gai, who, for his part, beamed down energetically with thumbs up and he had his sunset going.
"Ah, my dear blossom of Youth! How great it is to see you once again! I am most delighted to see you in high spirits after such an eventful day! Please, allow us to celebrate your first big step of your recovery and welcome you back into our beautiful Konoha properly! I hope you can find it in your youthfulness to forgive us for the late date!"
Rolling a bit to the side to allow the small group to enter the apartment, Venna nodded at the enthusiastic man.
"I am happy to see you again this soon. Please, come in and make yourselves at home! It is great to have you over."
Genma, Raidou, Anko, and Kurenai followed after their bowl-cut wearing friend and they started hanging up a self-made paper chain with the word 'Congrats' written on it.
A small but pretty bouquet was handed to the young woman by Raido, who quickly poked Genma's side when said shinobi complained to never get such nice gifts when he came home from a mission.
The senbon user started filling half of the table with different beverages and soft drinks, while Anko and Gai filled the second half with different containers of food.
Kakashi's teacups were pushed into a corner, sake bottles towering over them.
Kurenai had only been notified of the dinner two hours ago, so she brought a box of chocolate.
"Asuma had to take a mission, so he can't be with us. He wants me to tell you he is happy to know you are better, though."
"Oh, that is very nice of him, and thank you for coming! I- ah! Kakashi, the kettle," Venna called over to her friend, who was still only watching, when the kettle started to whistle.
"I told you to make tea, it's your job now. I cleaned the floor," he just said back with a hidden grin.
Venna hmpf-ed, but reached out for the kettle and put it to the side. On a lower board the copy-ninja had stored a small choice of tea brands, Venna grabbed a few bags and dumped them into the hot water.
With her back to the group of shinobi, she could not see the horrified looks she got from Kurenai and Raidou, caused by her loveless way of 'preparing' tea.
Kakashi grinned under his mask at the clear cultural shock they were witnessing and Gai seemed to puzzle the tiny pieces together, too.
"Let me carry the kettle to the table, Venna-chan! I could not allow myself to watch you struggle with such a hot object when you need both hands!"
Being the nice and kind soul Gai was, he used the opportunity to usher his friends to the table.
"Huh, don't you like our dinner party? Or tea?" Genma watched the kettle with the ends of the tea bags poking out from the rim.
Giving the man a confused look, Venna's eyes went to the kettle and then to the man.
"I do, and I like tea, why? Did I use the wrong brand? You like a different one?"
Noticing the cluelessness of the young woman, Genma decided to explain what he meant.
"No, no, that's not it. You just, well, the way you did this is usually a sign for the host to not like what he or she is doing… or an insult for the guests. Preparing tea is a big deal in a normal home."
The woman's face paled slightly and her green eyes quickly shot to her silver-haired friend, who had finally managed to part himself from the wall and sit next to her.
Helpless eyes looked up and Venna pulled on Kakashi's shirt.
"Can I do it again? We can just dump the tea and make it new, right?"
"Aaah, don't worry, Venna-san! We don't take it personally," Kurenai's eyes gave Genma a sharp, warning glance at those words, "You clearly did not know about it and this special snowflake here just wants some attention."
"I- hey! I do not want-," Genma started, but Anko just waved him off.
"Oh, please. You can be worse than a woman on her period, so don't get your panties in a twist."
The senbon used shortly glared at the kunoichi and let out a breath through his nose.
"Look who's talking. You nearly castrated Ebisu last week, just because he bought the last dango. And the only reason Ibiki tolerates you on your bad days is because you two talk about torture methods like others do about the weather."
Venna leaned over to Kakashi and gave his friends a doubting look.
"Is he serious right now?"
"About the castration or the torture?"
"… yes."
"Both are true." Kakashi gave her one of his eye-smiles, while the woman swallowed the small lump in her throat down. Right, ninjas.
"This is no indicator for good mental health, you know?"
Anko snorted in amusement, having easily picked her words up.
"Who said we needed to be healthy in our minds to do the job?"
This gained the kunoichi a slightly pitiful glance, which went to all of the guests.
"Nobody, apparently. I think I prefer Gai's youthfulness to your interests, though."
The green-clad man started beaming like he just won the third time in a row against his eternal rival, while Genma barked out a laugh.
Raido gave the snake-using kunoichi a lopsided grin and decided to start eating before someone threw it all off the table in enthusiasm (Gai) or a result of outrage (Anko).
The kunoichi stared at Venna for a long moment, before a wide grin spread over her face.
"I can live with that. But seriously, where have you been living that you are so clueless? Nobody in their right mind expects ninjas to be healthy individuals."
Venna frowned at the other woman while gratefully accepting a plate with different foods from Kakashi. A smaller plate with mochi followed.
"Oh, please don't misunderstand me, Anko. I do not expect any of you to be healthy with the nature of your profession," she made quotation marks with her hands at those words, "and I would be foolish to do so, but a lack of violence as a coping mechanism would be preferable in my opinion."
The honest words shortly dampened the mood in the room, but Kurenai gave a soft smile and started to talk about her day and how the grocery shopping ended with the rescue of three little kittens on top of the pet food factory.
"-and the worst thing is: those kittens are the children of Tora."
Immediately the Konoha ninjas paled and Anko spat her mouthful of sake on Genma's shirt. Even Gai had to swallow heavily.
"Tora? The Tora," Raido asked just to be sure.
"As in the-devil-is-on-vacation-to-wander-the-earth-for-the-next-millenium-in-shape-of-a-cat-with-a-bow Tora?" Genma started to nervously rotate the senbon between his lips while he tried to clean his shirt with a napkin.
"That thing can reproduce," Gai asked in a subdued and miserable tone, all his youthfulness gone through the window.
"We have to kill them," Anko decided loudly with a fist to the table. "Konoha barely manages one of them, how could we survive four?!"
"Let's ask the Inuzuka clan for their support," Genma suggested, and Kakashi nodded in agreement, thinking of their reactions as hilarious, though.
Venna looked at the shinobi with a clueless expression.
"Who is this Tora again?"
Suddenly Anko, with alcohol on her breath already, had her arms wrapped around the young traveller and pulled her against the kunoichi's mesh shirt and bosom.
"Sweet, innocent child, you shall never know."
The rest of the group quickly agreed, but a look to Kakashi told the young traveller he would explain it later.
The eating and drinking continued – Gai was thoughtful enough to only get foods edible with fingers, so no chopsticks –, while Genma and Anko tried to ask a few questions about Venna's life again.
Most of them were answered by a very loud and green taijutsu master with many adjectives, strong gestures, and a lot of youthfulness here and there.
The man did it not only to help the woman out, because she was talking with high-ranked shinobi – no way would she be able to repeat their made up story in this private circle and dodge a few trick questions – but the fashionably confused man also wanted to prove their developing friendship to some degree.
The thankful smiles from the traveller were another bonus.
This time, when it came to Kakashi's and Venna's birthday gifts for each other, both men thankfully left the ugly, old card out.
The conversation drifted off to other topics and the young woman showed her interests in the idea of travelling by roof and tree with the help of chakra. Kakashi had explained and even showed it to her on their clearing, but it was still an abstract concept to the woman from a different world.
All the foods, with exception of the huge amount of mochi, had been eaten after three hours. The teacups were being refilled with sake only, except for Venna, because her friend decided she should not consume any alcohol yet and the woman did not protest.
The group laughed at a story Genma shared with them from one of his last missions.
"-he never tries to go into any casino in his free time again."
"What a stupid idiot!" Anko was holding her side in laughter, too amused about the misery of Genma's teammate for the mission. "He has worse luck than Tsunade-hime!"
"Well, he can spend his money elsewhere now. Maybe he should start fishing, less probable to embarrass yourself there," Raido agreed with a smirk.
"True, true." Kurenai nipped on her cup of sake, while she observed Kakashi from the corner of her eye how the man refilled Venna's teacup.
"What do you like to do in your free time, Venna-chan?"
Green eyes looked up in surprise at being addressed.
"Oh, uhm… I like reading books, or going out for a swim in the summer. And other ordinary stuff like listening to music, watching stuff on the intern-"
A light nudge from the copy-cat ninja interrupted the woman and she gave him a confused look, before understanding filled her eyes and the woman grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah, stuff everybody does, really. What about you? What are you guys doing for fun?"
Four ninjas decided to ignore the strange slip-up.
"Eating dango."
"Training most youthfully!"
"Raido."
"Reading bo- Genma, you pervert!"
Appalled by Genma's bluntness, the other man hit him against the back of his head while he tried his best to hide his blush. Well, he tried. Anko gave a shit-eating grin and high-fived the senbon user, while Kurenai offered Raido a sympathetic smile.
The snake-using kunoichi fixed the copy-ninja with a gleam in her eyes and she wiggled her eyebrows.
"Kakashi, what are you doing in your free time?"
"Hn," Kakashi made the sound in a mocking way and gave her an amused look from his narrowed eye. "I bet, you'd like to know that."
He did not say more and just went back to pile mochi on Venna's plate.
"Oh, your trendy and hip attitude beats mine once again," Gai yelled loudly and threw an arm over his teary eyes.
"What trendy and hip attitude of yours," Genma mumbled into his imaginary beard.
"Nah, Kakashi is just shy," the new woman in the group commented with a chuckle and nudged her friend in his side. "Isn't that right? You always needed more time to open yourself up than others."
She munched on her nth mochi of the evening.
"Yes, you are right. It is true. I am shy," the elite shinobi said with a deadpanned look and his trademark bored voice, causing Venna to laugh out loudly.
The pieces of mochi thereby got stuck in her throat, making the woman cough with strangled noises, and knock against her own chest. Kakashi quickly patted her back as strongly as he dared to, simultaneously grabbing the cooled down tea.
When the young woman finally managed to swallow the snack, she emptied her cup and continued laughing. Wiping away the tears in the corners of her eyes, Venna tried to talk again.
"Oh, man," Giggle. "You and-," A snort. "-and shy." Another laugh. "I haven't seen you with that expression since we were kids!"
She rested a hand on her friend's shoulder and tried to compose herself.
"I am certain I was unimpressed by quite the number of things you did and said. You haven't been the smartest of children. Or graceful."
Venna gave her own version of a flat look and crossed her arms in front of her chest, still chuckling under her breath.
"Excuse me, if I cannot compete against a professional ninja, mister. And you only say that because you don't see my genius."
A mocking dark eye looked down to her and Kakashi patted her head lightly.
"Indeed, I don't see it."
"Hmpf. I say 'hmpf'!"
Venna tried to push the hand on her head away, but she just fuelled the man's amusement, until a yawn interrupted the young woman.
Immediately the copy-cat ninja dropped the light teasing to check on the time. It was 11pm already and Kakashi decided for the day to be over.
It had certainly been an eventful one with a quick healing session in the hospital, the creation of Venna's background story, the damn council meeting, and the dinner party.
"I think it is late enough, we all have things to do tomorrow," Kurenai said quickly to not force their hosts to ask them to leave. The all knew Kakashi had no qualms kicking them out in a more or less civilised way.
The silver-haired man nodded in agreement and the group of shinobi and kunoichi quickly gathered all the bottles and take-out containers in the bags they had come in.
Venna put the teacups into the sink and started to fill it with warm water, but she'd have to ask Kakashi to take over the washing part, because she had some difficulty reaching the bottom of the sink while sitting in her vehicle.
"Kakashi," Kurenai said in a quiet voice and pulled the man to the side in an inattentive moment. "Uh, I don't want to pry into your private life, but if you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask me, alright?"
The elite shinobi met his comrade's eyes and gave a quick, honest eye-smile.
"I appreciate it…" He scratched the back of his head and gave a side glance to the woman in the wheelchair exchanging a few words with his fashion fiasco of a friend and rival.
"If you have a few minutes, would you mind helping Venna change her clothes? The nurse only comes in the morning and- you know?"
The red-eyed woman smiled warmly at him and nodded happily.
"Sure, that's why I asked. Let's just get the others out first."
Nothing could be easier for Kakashi: he pushed the bags with the trash into Genma's and Anko's arms to have the most annoying people occupied.
Raido and Gai were compassionate enough to push (or butt-kick in Raido's case) the troublesome duo out the door with a few nice words and some youthful vowing by Gai about definitely getting Venna up on her own feet and helping her become the blossoming image of a graceful swan of the Spring of her Youth to prove Kakashi wrong about his earlier comment.
The copy-cat ninja closed the door and activated his seals to reinforce the wooden object and keep his friends out. He appreciated their idea to have the dinner, but Kakashi's socialisation needs were filled and had reached their limits!
"Uh, Kakashi, not to ruin your efforts, but Kurenai is still here," Venna said with a confused look between both ninjas.
"Maa, this was planned, actually," he went over to his friend to take the plates out of her hands and put them into the sink. He grabbed the sponge and started cleaning the dishes with a glance to both women.
"I asked Kurenai to help you get dressed for the night if that's alright with you."
Green eyes went over to the kunoichi and Venna pulled her eyebrows – which had been the first to fully grow back – together for a moment.
"I don't want to step over your boundaries, Venna-san! If you don't want me to, just tell me, please." Kurenai offered her usual smile and slowly turned her body towards the door to show her readiness to leave.
"No, I- I would appreciate it, really. I am just a bit uncomfortable with people seeing me with- well, less-, " the young traveller left the sentence open but pointed at her head with the blue scarf wrapped around it.
Red eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh! Of course. I will try to not take it off and promise to not stare if this helps."
"It would, thank you very much," Venna nodded and allowed the older woman to push her into her bedroom. When Kurenai opened the top drawer, she noticed the obvious lack of clothes. The other drawers were just as empty.
"I forgot I don't really have any clothes for sleeping... Or anything else. Kakashi has planned to take me shopping tomorrow, I think. Could you just help me out of the pants and bring me a washcloth and my toothbrush from the bathroom?"
Feeling the heat creep into her cheeks, Venna felt a bit stupid for forgetting about her few possessions. She wanted to change her shirt, but the other one was just as used as this one was.
"I'll get Kakashi to borrow you some of his clothes then," Kurenai quickly left the room, but to her surprise she nearly ran into said male with a short stack of fabric in his arms.
"Last night I already sorted them out," he said while faking indifference and pushed the kunoichi back into Venna's bedroom.
"Oh, that was quick," the younger woman said in surprise and turned around in her wheelchair.
"Uh, yeah," Kurenai smirked, but did not say more. They took a short-sleeved shirt and the pair of sleeping pants the shinobi had picked out for his friend, and the kunoichi pushed Venna through the short hallway into the bathroom.
The shirt and socks Venna took off herself, but with the pants she needed some help again. Admitting that she was more embarrassed with Kurenai helping her than with Kakashi, the young traveller decided to ignore it.
The dark-haired woman was as respectfully as she could be while helping clean Venna's back with a washcloth. Sharp eyes went to her left side and followed red lines – scars – in a root-like pattern until a thin arm restricted further inspection.
Not sure, whether or not Kurenai would be allowed to ask about her finding, the kunoichi decided to keep silent and she helped Venna into the shirt and sleeping pants, before reaching up to the shelf with the toothpaste.
"Thank you very much," a sheepish voice said and Venna brushed her teeth while Kurenai took the liberty to put the clothes into the washing machine next to the shower.
"You are welcome. I know we don't really know each other, but you are important to Kakashi, and this is enough for all of us to help out."
The kunoichi looked into the mirror to meet the other woman's eyes and gave a quick smile.
"I will be going now. Take care and… get well soon."
The young traveller was left alone in the bathroom and she could hear Kakashi and Kurenai exchange a few words, she could not hear what they were saying though.
The front door opened and closed once again.
Finishing in the bathroom, Venna rolled out into the kitchen where her friend was putting the last plates away.
"Hey, I thought we'd do the dishes together," she called out to him and the shinobi tilted his head to the side.
"I don't remember saying that. You can carry the bags tomorrow when we get you some clothes."
Venna raised an eyebrow.
"We both know that it is easier to just pile them up on my legs. I'd just get them into the wheels."
Kakashi shrugged his shoulders.
"Tough luck then, I guess."
Venna shook her head but gave her friend a smile.
"Yeah, tough luck… I had a lovely evening. Thank you for tolerating your friends for me. I am sure they were curious to see your new apartment."
"Maa, it is more our than just my new apartment, ne? And I can tolerate them just fine, the free food was a nice bonus."
Chuckling at the man's words and feeling a tingling warmth spread in her chest, the young woman rolled over to him and hugged his middle.
"You are hopeless."
"Aren't we all," Kakashi answered with a rhetorical question and wrapped his arms around the smaller frame, enjoying his friend's affection.
.
The next morning was an experience Kakashi and Venna were not sure how to think of it. The nurse's visit.
Venna had not slept well the first night in the new bed. It had nothing to do with her mattress, the apartment, or to know she had finally left the hospital.
After she had went to bed, the reality of today's events finally entered her mind. She had met the village's council to confirm a made up story about her identity, her lungs had been healed with chakra, and Venna had left the hospital to live with Kakashi.
It was official. She was living with Kakashi. Her life would progress here now, in Konoha. The life Venna had known until now, her family, her future plans, they were gone.
There was a certain finality the young woman had not felt before, too caught up in her own death, the miraculous recovery, and to see her best friend as a breathing human being, not just some dream or imaginary friend.
Her eyes stayed dry that night, but Venna felt her heart hurt and clench in silent sorrow. This was the official day her lung cancer was gone and it was also the day she realised she had lost and gained so much.
The nurse coming in the morning to help Venna get ready for the day was like a bad reminder to her. It reminded her of the scent of antiseptics, the ugly white walls and beds, the many faces looking at her body to slowly die, and of the last time Venna saw Eliza and Peter Meschnik and their sorrowful gazes directed at their daughter.
The shinobi had trouble letting the stranger into his new home and roam around freely, if you could only call the bathroom and Venna's bedroom that. To let someone you did not know into your home was something no shinobi ever wanted, his instincts yelled at him to throw the woman out.
Leaving only the nurse with his friend for support in the shower also rubbed him the wrong way.
Sure, the high caloric diet, chakra transfer, and Gai's rehab exercises started showing results, but Venna was still too weak to stand. The stool in his shower for her to sit on was not easing his mind either.
Every time a loud noise or cursing from Venna reached the shinobi's ears, the man wanted to kick in the door and tell the incompetent nurse to beat it.
He did not, though, because just before he had opened the door for the woman, Venna had given him the look, telling Kakashi not to be difficult or stupid.
Pff, as if Hatake Kakashi was stupid. A bit difficult at times, maybe, but stupid? As the woman had said years back herself: he was a genius.
So the genius obediently sat on the chair closest to the hallway and kneaded the kitchen towel in his hands, mentally going through all the places he had hidden weapons, seals, traps, and poisons. All out of Venna's immediate reach, of course. He'd show her where to find them in an emergency, though. Just not today.
After antagonising twenty minutes the door opened and Venna was pushed out with a big grin on her face.
"Guess who managed to drag herself back into her wheelchair," she asked with pride in her voice and fist bumped the air. Lifting herself from the stool into her vehicle after a long night had been exhausting, but the success was enough to shoot Venna's mood up again.
Kakashi tilted his head to the side and took a moment to look at her.
"The old lady down the road?"
"Har. Har. Kakashi. Not funny," the young woman pouted and allowed the nurse to quickly check up on her recovery with the strange glowing hand jutsu, should something have strained at Venna's small shower-accomplishment.
"Your lungs do seem healthy, but please come by for a thorough check-up in two days. Dr. Takahashi will be your attending physician since he is familiar with your case and he stays in Konoha for another two weeks. Tomorrow I will tell you the time you need to be there. Have a nice day, Miss. Hatake-san."
With a quick nod she was gone and turning back to Kakashi, Venna could already guess why he was pulling a face all of the sudden. His mask was not hiding as much as he might be thinking.
"Write books with that imagination of yours," Venna commented and watched her friend get ready to leave the apartment.
He crossed the room, pulled on his vest, and stopped next to her.
With a look in his eye the woman had never noticed before, one of his gloved hands caressed her head. Venna's brown hair finally started to show and by now she had an uneven army cut.
"I missed the feeling of your hair," he said softly, and his whole demeanour reminded her of the last few weeks they spend together on the clearing. Where he always held Venna, talked for hours just so she could hear his voice.
Immediately, tears shot into her eyes at the memories, alerting Kakashi.
"What is wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?" He kneeled down next to the young woman and pulled his Konoha headband up, the red eye spinning.
Venna looked directly into it with amazement. Kakashi had only showed Obito's gift once after she had begged him three weeks straight. Whenever he had pulled down his face mask, he still kept the eye closed or the headband over his eye.
A wobbly smile formed on her lips and Venna tried to push her emotions and memories away.
"Nah, just remembered what a lucky idiot I am to know you," she quickly whipped the tears out of her eyes and then hugged her friend.
When his arms wrapped themselves around her, the wholesome, protective feeling came back and Venna pushed her face into his shoulder, enjoying the proximity.
Kakashi had never been the most touchy-feely person, but over the years he had allowed her some leeway and since the young woman had gotten diagnosed, it had changed quite the bit again. Venna was not ashamed to exploit it.
Breaking the embrace slowly, Kakashi got back up and wrapped the thin scarf around her head with practised movements. The soft expression stayed in his face.
.
The elite shinobi pushed his friend through the streets towards the shopping districts, careful to avoid the training grounds, academy, and all bars where drunks could already be found in the late morning.
Venna was humming a tune under her breath, and even though Kakashi did not know the original song, he could easily hear her being off tune and with an everchanging beat. He guessed she was one of the people who were good at listening to music, not at creating it.
They passed the stores with shinobi wear and the weapon smith, and after turning another corner, the civilian stores finally greeted Kakashi's sight.
The first store, well, it was a small disaster.
Venna's wheelchair permanently got stuck on some rack or in the fabric of the clothes. One time, Kakashi had to pick up a fallen pile of shirts, then he tried his best to get the young woman towards the clothes, but quickly decided to bring them to her.
The store owner, a grumpy, old man, looked like he could not have a worse day to have a complicated customer. Venna also did not like any of the clothes they had, so Kakashi did his best to leave quickly.
When Venna was pushed through the doors of the second store, the shinobi felt her take hold of the wheels to stop.
"No, we are not letting a single penny here! Put my trusty metal steed into reverse. Now!" Kakashi poked his head through the open door and noticed a more or less familiar face behind the checkout. The man who had chased Naruto and hit the boy with a broom.
Doing as his friend oh-so-kindly asked of him, the copy-ninja turned them around and kicked the door with a slightly chakra-enhanced kick for good measure.
The third store had wider aisles and Venna looked around the clothes in display. Everything was made in the typical 'Eastern Style' as the woman called it and she did not like it.
Kakashi, meanwhile, was battling his inner voice and shinobi instincts which were basically pointing neon signs at the shop window where a small, blond-haired boy tried to sneak a peek at the man's friend.
Ignoring Naruto and not telling Venna about their little follower was hard for the man, because he could see how badly the boy wanted to come closer, but he was not brave enough. Was it because of Kakashi? He had dismissed the child when Venna had tried to help him out.
Guilt was eating him up again, so the copy-ninja did not immediately notice when Venna was asking him something and looking up.
"-shi."
He should have been there for Naruto, no matter, what the council had told him.
"Kakashi."
The boy should have known a loving touch, an embrace, even if his teenager-self could not have given much more.
"Hatake Kakashi, are you there?"
"What?" His dark eye wandered down to meet green ones, her eyebrows furrowed in worry.
"Are you alright?" Venna reached up to press her hand on Kakashi's forehead, even though the forehead protector was in her way.
The shinobi caught her hand with his, engulfing hers easily and lightly squeezing it.
"Perfectly fine. What were you saying?"
"I was asking where you and your friend got your clothes from. I like them more than what your civilians choose from."
"You want to wear clothes for shinobi?"
Venna tilted her head at his question and she hesitated with her next question.
"Am I not allowed? I have to wear those?"
With disgust she pointed at a rack with different yukatas, in the front a very ugly specimen of its kind. Kakashi pulled a face at the visual assault of a piece of clothing.
"I know I don't want to see you in one of those… They are too foreign compared to the things you are used to, huh?"
"Uh-huh. I just want a couple of shirts and pants, nothing special, I swear!"
Round, green eyes looked up at the shinobi pleadingly and the man knew he had lost whatever argument Kakashi's brain could have spat out.
Letting out a deep sigh and scratching his head, the man clicked his tongue and made a wide U-turn through the store to hopefully give Naruto enough time to hide out of Venna's sight. He also hoped the boy would stay rooted on the spot and for the young woman to notice him. This one was secondary, though - too many complications.
Naruto had left the main street when the duo started going back where they had come from and Kakashi tried to stop his mind from having his worries spoil the time he had with the young woman before he had to take missions again. Urgh, D-rank even.
Venna was happy to notice that Kakashi pushed her into a store they had passed on their way to the shopping district for civilians.
The clothes were much more to her taste and the woman quickly found a few shirts she wanted to try on. The shinobi pushed her into the dressing room and let her struggle with the clothes.
Trying on the first top, Venna stared into the mirror in disbelief.
Oh, yeah, she had to gain weight. Seeing the thin woman in her reflection was still strange for her, because Venna had never been one of the thin little twigs she had as classmates nor had she been overweight, just plain average.
Now, her arms were slowly gaining curves where muscles and fat started to develop, and her body needed more mass, too.
The healthy skin tone was back, and her collarbones did not stick out as strongly anymore. Venna still thought she was resembling a zombie.
The top quickly went onto the 'No'-pile and she put on the next shirt with short sleeves. It had a dark blue undertone with white seams, a V-neck, and it was loose enough to fit with a bigger body while not drowning her now like Kakashi's clothes did.
A small smile came to Venna's face. She liked this one.
"Hey, Kakashi. What do you think?" She turned around in her wheelchair and pulled the curtain to the side. The silver-haired shinobi took a step closer to look into the mirror and inspect the shirt. His eye wandered over her reflection in silence, and Venna could nearly see the man's brain work.
Why was he thinking so much? This was just a shirt.
"I like it," he said with a short nod and pulled the curtain close. "Next."
"Aye, aye, sir!"
Venna pulled the shirt off and took a second look at it. Yup, she liked that one.
Then her eyes fell onto her reflection, without a shirt covering the sad appearance she was. The young traveller had started to avoid looking into the mirror lately, not seeing positive developments quickly enough. Had she ever looked so fragile before?
Her eyes wandered over the familiar pattern of her scar. By now it did not really bother Venna anymore to see the red lines. Yes, she had the accident, but it was also the start of the dreams where she met Kakashi. A blessing in disguise, really.
After she had recovered, Venna would show them to her friend. She knew from the council meeting when the clan woman with the canines had asked about them that Kakashi had become a bit curious.
Technically, he could have seen the scar when Dr. Tahashaki (something like that) had checked her up, but the shinobi had been occupied by glaring at the doctor that moment.
Now, he would have to wait. The young woman planned to gain a few kilos before anyone but the nurses and Kurenai would see her poor state in all its glory.
Shaking her head to push her thoughts away, Venna tried on the next shirt with long sleeves. It was grey and had pockets sewn into it. A big, positive point! The fabric was surprisingly soft and stretchy, too. If the woman remembered correctly, Kakashi had thrown it at her.
"Hey, I've got your shirt."
A confused shinobi poked his head through the curtain.
"You wore it when we entered the store, so you better have it."
Rolling her eyes in faked annoyance, Venna pointed at the one she was wearing.
"Oh, this one. Hm… Whoever picked it must be a genius. We'll take it." With a grin stretching his mask, the copy-ninja disappeared behind the thick fabric again.
Venna tried on a few others, but only a basic black short-sleeved shirt joined her 'Yes'-pile. When it came to pants, Venna grabbed two pairs of comfortable shinobi pants and one pair of black sweatpants in her own size.
Four pairs of socks also joined the chosen ones.
Kakashi paid for the clothes, while Venna made a mental note to pay her friend back as soon as she earned some money.
When Venna had called the shinobi to look at the shirts, he was surprised how much the clothes she wore could influence her appearance. The copy-ninja had never really thought about it before.
The blue shirt reminded him of the dress Venna had worn at the start of her third grade and the mental image of the small girl from his memories came up.
Dear kami, she had grown. As did Kakashi. He was getting old.
The shirt was a bit loose, but fitted her nonetheless, giving a nice contrast to her green eyes. Kakashi liked this one. He liked Venna in it.
The grey shirt with the long sleeves had been a spontaneous pick from him, but the copy-ninja was surprised how nicely it actually fitted.
On the hem in the back of the shirt were two paw prints from a dog stitched into the fabric. They had reminded the shinobi of Pakkun and his strange fable for his soft paws. It would be a discrete indicator who its wearer should be associated with.
Maybe Kakashi should sew a small henohenomoheji next to the paws? The man nodded to himself; he liked the idea.
The third shirt was a simple black one, nothing special about it. The pants would definitely fit, they were wide enough. Venna did not want to go through the trouble of trying them on in the store and the shinobi agreed.
Happy with their purchase, Kakashi pushed his friend out of the store, already planning where on her new clothes he would sew the henohenomoheji on to, when the young woman pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, hello there, sweetheart!"
To their left stood Naruto, his hands behind his back, one foot lightly kicking the ground, shoulders up at his ears, and his eyes shined in a bright blue to challenge the sky, a hopeful expression on his little, round face.
"H-hello, miss. Uhm," his eyes went up to Kakashi in hesitation, who immediately wanted to kick his own ass.
Great, the boy was afraid of him, or at least reserved judging by his openness towards the copy-ninja. Urgh, at least now Naruto could talk to Venna without Kakashi having to break any rule.
"How are you doing, Naruto? We were just about to have an early lunch, do you want to join us?" Venna gave the boy a kind smile and her words made the shinobi raise an eyebrow.
"We were?"
"Yes." The tone of her voice did not allow any arguments.
Back on the clearing the woman had used this tone when their bickering would turn into an argument – 99% of the time concerning childcare and Konoha's power-hungry citizens harm their youngest – to shut the whole conversation down. Now, it was a silent command. Venna had spoken.
To be honest, Kakashi did not want to get on Naruto's nor Venna's bad side, so he complied with a sigh and nodded once.
"You- you want me to join you," the blonde boy asked timidly as if any wrong word could destroy his chances of the statement to be true.
The copy-ninja felt his heart get heavy with the familiar feelings of guilt and self-hatred.
A soft, warm hand resting on one of his and a thumb softly caressing the back of his hand through the glove. It managed to pull the man out of the mental hole when he just stood on its edge.
Green eyes waited for his to meet them, and after a silent conversation Kakashi managed to squeeze her hand back.
"I would love to be in your company, Naruto. You can even choose where we eat if you want to," Venna turned back to the child, offered the invitation, and thereby earning a smile so bright not even Gai could beat on his best days.
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First of all: Happy (belated) New Year!
I really want to thank all of you for supporting my fanfiction by sending such nice reviews!
I love reading them and hearing about your opinions about the story in general or a specific chapter!
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To PowWow22 whom I sadly cannot reply in the PMs:
Thank you so much for taking the time and write such a long review!
I have to admit, your kind words gave me a little ego-boost here and I enjoyed rereading it to give you a reply. ;)
I am glad to know that the relationship between Venna and Kakashi is conveyed so nicely to you and that my writing seems to be sound when it comes to their personalities!
To get to know the thoughts and impressions of my readers when they take their time to read my storiy is something I enjoy very much, so thank you again for giving me such a long and interesting text to read through!