Hello there. :)
Just in case some of you are wondering why I am updating this week so much and in an overall irregular pattern: university has the tendency to keep me busier some weeks and others not. Please excuse the irregular updates and enjoy my new chapter.
The ninken calmly watched the woman make a strange happy dance on her pillow, while her hands repeatedly knocked against the shinobi's upper arm.
"Kakashi. Kakashi, they are here. This is so cool!" Their boss had an amused gleam in his eye at her delighted and bubbly reaction.
"I know, I summoned them," the shinobi said with a light chuckle. "Calm down a bit and I introduce you to them, ne?"
She nodded eagerly and the ninken decided to sniff the air and get a feeling for her scent while their boss tried to calm his companion down.
Her scent, Buru noted in silence, was pleasant. It was mixed with his boss's scent, but the ninken could still distinguish it effortlessly. Where the shinobi smelled of sandalwood and steel, an earthy tone under it, the woman's scent was lighter, like a fresh day of spring in the forest.
The ninken had some trouble finding a better comparison, this was the only thing popping up in his mind.
"Took you long enough," Pakkun commented drily. There was a reproachful tone in his voice, not hidden at all. Kakashi had the audacity to scratch his head with the usual eye-smile.
"Maa, I was busy avoiding black cats when we were out. Did not want to curse us with bad luck, you know? Took us quite some time, too."
"It took you over two days to walk here from the hospital? Tsk. Anyway, you got a new apartment, boss. It is not nice to keep us away for so long," Shiba scolded lightly while curious eyes wandered around the living room and kitchen area.
"It certainly is nicer than the other place."
"Oh. My. God. They talk." The breathless whisper was caught by all dog ears and the young woman gained their attention.
The boss had mentioned her a couple of times while growing up, never talking about her to other people but his trusty pack of ninken.
Sometimes, a short comment about her fitted with an attitude-change of the copy-ninja, making them question just how strongly humans could be influenced by dreams.
Unexpectedly hearing the news about the appearance of the person their boss had spend so much time with in his dreams after his sleeping pills stunt, the ninken had been interested to gather more information about her.
Pakkun had told the rest of the pack about the plan to have her live in Konoha, causing them to discuss about possible inter-dimensional meetings. If one could summon creatures, why not communicate in their sleep?
The fact, that Kakashi had spend time with the woman for just over two and a half weeks without introducing the pack made them take offense, though. The man was covered in her scent! He had to be around her non-stop to achieve that, and the thought to call them did not cross his human mind at least once?!
Venna took in the sight in front of her, marvelling at the dogs. She managed to calm down quite a bit, not wanting to come off as too childlike or silly in front of the pack – to make a good first impression.
Pakkun the pug was the smallest, sitting on the head of a gigantic, uhm, bulldog?
Said animal had dark fur and the spiked collar gave him even more reason to be respected in the woman's humble opinion.
The ninken to their right had bandages wrapped around his head and neck, causing the young traveller to search for injuries, but the dog seemed fine. Thank god.
In the front sat a light brown dog with sunglasses, his facial features making him look like one cool dude. Venna would probably compare him to an old-school biker.
Two of the dogs had long ears with a darker shade of brown fur. Venna could easily distinguish them because one was smaller and did not wear a headband but had a sign or word written on his forehead. The taller one also had a white-furred muzzle.
A shaggy dog with lighter-colour furred had a longer patch of hair on top of his head and had sharper formed eyes than his pack mates, making him look angry. Whether or not the dog was in a bad mood, Venna did not know. Was he mad with Kakashi for seemingly taking his time to summon them?
The dog who had talked after Pakkun looked wild, like a punk. The hair on his head was styled in a darker coloured Iroquois, and combined with his white muzzle he gave a strange sight. Well, they all looked a bit odd if you compared them to the dogs Venna knew from her world.
The pack all wore the forehead protector of Konoha and a blue vest with the strange face Kakashi had sometimes drawn into the dirt back on their clearing. Did it have a meaning? And had the shinobi made the vests himself? Imagining a young Kakashi sitting on his bed and trying to sew little vests for his pack was adorable, causing the woman to smile.
Kakashi cleared his throat and sat a bit straighter.
"Alright, listen up. This is Venna, as you all know already. Venna, those are Pakkun, Buru, Urushi, Shiba, Bisuke, Akino, Uhei, and Guruko – my pack."
The last two words made a little, proud smile appear on the man's lips.
The young woman smiled at the ninken like they were hanging the stars into the sky, positively overwhelmed by the fact that those dogs just popped up in the room with a few drops of blood and some chakra. It ignored every law of physics she ever knew.
"Nice to meet you… I would ask you to pinch me, Kakashi, but I know you will do it," Venna said with a side-glance to said shinobi, while the excitement in her body crawled its way back to the surface. Was her friend really expecting her to not visually be psyched when she met the ninken? Probably not, he knew her for too long now.
This meeting was something special for her, because in front of Venna sat the pack of dogs her friend had partnered up with when he was just a small child and helped him in more ways than just while fighting.
Venna wanted to pet the dogs. There had to be a gene in the human body made just to love animals, and the woman was willing to give in to it. One should not fight their instincts.
Watching the man next to her talk with the ninken like it was nothing extraordinary while the pack's cute noses twitched once in a while to sniff around, Venna thought again: 'I want to pet them!'
Eight and a half pairs of eyes suddenly were fixed on her. Confused by the sudden attention she had, the woman looked at her friend to confirm a small suspicion.
Yup, she had blurted those words out. A request the shinobi told her not being a service his pack did, but they were dogs! Talking dogs, even cooler.
The man shook his head with a hopeless sigh.
"You can't put dogs in front of me and seriously believe I stay calm and collected, darling," Venna defended herself quickly, not even trying to sound apologetic.
The long-eared dog with a kanji – that was a kanji, right? – on his forehead came forth and smiled up at her, the tip of his tail wagging just the tiniest bit.
"It is nice to meet you. I am Bisuke. You are welcome to pet me if you want to."
His voice sounded younger than those of Pakkun and the other one who had commented on Kakashi's new apartment.
Not waiting to be asked twice, Venna held out a hand to let the dog smell her fingers before she rested her hand on his soft fur.
Kakashi watched the smile on her face grow even wider with an audible intake of air.
"So soft," he heard the woman next to him mutter in astonishment.
Her hands stroked over Bisuke's head and scratched behind his ears, where the ninken's special spot was (most of them had it there or just a bit down the neck), causing the dog to simultaneously scratch the air with a hindleg.
The copy-ninja decided to just give up on trying to have his pack resemble anything like a serious group of ninja dogs, when Shiba crossed the short distance to sniff the woman closer up and get a little bit of affection as well.
Buru, and Uhei came closer to meet the person their boss had obviously decided to live with.
Meanwhile, Pakkun had jumped off the giant dog's head and sat next to Kakashi, observing the scene. Akino, Guruko, and Urushi sat around the whole bunch, being the ones who had silently decided to wait for a calmer moment to meet the woman properly.
With Buru in the middle, the other dogs had some trouble squeezing into the free spaces.
Bisuke jumped on the couch and laid down between Kakashi's and Venna's heads to be safe from getting flattened by their biggest pack member, peacefully sniffing at the woman's face some more.
When his cold nose poked her neck, she giggled loudly and quickly pulled up her shoulder at the tickling sensation.
Being so close to her face, the ninken could smell traces of their boss on her skin. Huh, he had denied being mates when Pakkun asked some time ago, right?
The youngest ninken and Shiba held a light conversation with the woman, trying to get more information out of her.
"You better let us roam the apartment and don't send us back tonight, if you want your sandals to survive and to stay on our good side," Pakkun told Kakashi in a deadpanned voice.
"I doubt I would be able to send you back even if my sandals had to suffer. Look how they hog here! And here I was, telling that woman you are no lap dogs."
"Lap dogs! Are you trying to get your sandals destroyed?" The pug gave his partner a pointed look, asking what the heck. It was kind of obvious to the small ninken why his partner said it, but he wanted to hear none of that. Dogs and their existence as pack animals or not, to label them as lap dogs was just preposterous!
Meanwhile, Buru had helped Venna to spread her legs wide enough for him to lay between them and rest his head on one of her thighs – or over it, since the limb got buried under his massive head. This way, his pack members had an easier time to get closer around his sides.
The shinobi just hummed at Pakkun and watched Venna's legs disappear under Buru's head. Maybe they would stay seated on the ground for some time now.
Akino rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses at the scene. Everyone seemed fine and occupied for the moment and with their biggest comrade resting on the woman's leg, she'd go nowhere for some time. Well, not that she could go anywhere either way with the wheelchair next to the couch.
Pakkun had told them of the very short meeting he had with Venna and how it was obvious that she could not walk right now.
To properly meet the friend of their boss, Akino would have time later on. He stood up, deciding to look around the apartment, when he gained the attention of Urushi.
"Where are you going?"
"Looking around to check this place out," his dark voice answered. The other ninken nodded and stood up to do the same. All the doors were open, thankfully.
At first the duo inspected the open kitchen area. The shelves under the counter were filled with different things from can openers to tea bags and cups to different snacks. All in low reach for obvious reason.
Hidden right under the counter of the kitchen, Urushi noticed the two kunai Kakashi had taped over a jar of pickled kimchi.
Judging from its position, it would be easy to grab, but still save from civilian (Venna) hands and untrained eyes.
The fridge was giving off a hint of sugar and tea - sweets. Both dogs took a few deep sniffs, concluding that a considerable amount of mochi had to be stored in there. Knowing their human partner and his dislike for them, a knowing smirk came to Urushi's lips, while Akino huffed out loudly.
The kitchen was fully equipped, not like the old, small one. Did Kakashi seriously plan to cook something? A puzzled pair of eyes hidden behind sunglasses went to the openly stored utensils and cupboards.
In the bowl containing one apple and some grapes, it had been pushed into the corner of the kitchen counter next to the fridge and thereby out of the woman's reach, the ninken noticed the sharp end of a senbon.
It was a nice kitchen, the dogs decided and went on into the next room.
"Wanna bet I can find the weapons and traps boss hid faster than you," Urushi grunted out with an amused gleam in his eyes.
"A competition who finds more. We bet the steaks boss will give us to apologise," Akino decided and sparks appeared when they faced each other.
The bathroom was generic for humans. The only things standing out were the barrier-free entrance into the shower and the stool standing between it and the sink.
Two sharp pairs of eyes shot through the room.
"A whole bunch of senbon hidden behind the top of the towel warmer," Akino immediately said.
"Shuriken behind the mirror," Urushi countered. "And a paralysing seal with chakra-detection under the rug."
"A paper-bomb trap under the sink, another one under the toilette." Akino's eyes searched further, his sunglasses allowing his to look into the bright light bulb.
"Three senbon up there with a scentless but visible coating. Poison."
"Damn it," Urushi cursed under his breath, while the ninken tried finding more weapons, sniffing once again. The stool was completely trap and weapon free.
"Kunai under the stack of towels on the top shelf, and the shaving cream is fake. That's some sort of poisonous gas, I think."
"In the soap bar labelled 'For missions' is a hidden razor blade."
For the moment, both ninken did not find any more. Re-entering the short corridor, their eyes fell on the entrance area, then quickly wandering to the window behind the couch. Those were heavily armed, making it seem like the boss was storing Konoha's secrets in his apartment, not a woman.
"I think it would take us an hour to sum up what boss hid there. Let's ignore the front door and all the windows."
Akino nodded.
Next was the room with a stronger smell of the woman, her bedroom then.
"They sleep in different rooms?" Urushi just gave the dog-equivalent to a shrug for an answer.
"One barrier seal on the floor under the bed," the sunglasses-wearing ninken shot out.
The shaggier dog went to the dresser and carefully eyed and sniffed the piece of furniture.
"A whole bunch of senbon and a few kunai behind it, a seal-trap below."
"The bedside table is wired," Akino pointed out.
"That doesn't count. It is connected to the detection seal under the windowsill," Urushi immediately argued for the sake of his steak.
"It is not at the window, just connected to it."
"Exactly! It does not count."
"What are you two bickering about?" Guruko appeared in the door frame, watching his pack members with a curious tilt of his head.
"The small table is wired and connect to the seal at the window. If the traps, weapons, seals, and poisons on the front door and all windows don't count, does this trap?" Urushi quickly explained and two intense stares zeroed in on the third ninken. It was a fight for the steak, both not intending to lose.
"Uh," Guruko took a step back at the determination clashing against him. "Well… the wire trap gets triggered by the seal, I would not count it in."
"Hah," Urushi barked out victoriously.
"Traitor," his opponent huffed under his breath, but his face stayed calm and serious behind the sunglasses.
"So, what's going on?"
"A competition who detects the most hidden traps and stuff," the shaggy ninken answered with a smirk on his face.
"Oh. What's the score?"
"6 for both of us," Akino mumbled.
"Good luck then." Guruko left them to their game and went away to look around himself.
"Two more seals! One camouflaged behind the door and the other one around the ceiling lights."
Urushi grunted out his displeasure at the two points going to Akino.
"Boss has more seals than traps in here."
"She is a civilian, no way would he let her walk into one with weapons."
"Shuriken hidden between the books on the highest shelf. A poison is hidden in the small box next to them. And some more wire," Urushi detected with a grin.
The rest of the traps were all centred around the window, making them useless for the duo to point out.
Kakashi's room was next.
To a certain degree of satisfaction, the ninken noticed the nicely furniture room. It looked way more comfortable for a human to live in than the small one-room apartment boss had owned before. There were also many more weapons to find!
"A sword under the dresser." Urushi.
"Poisons hidden in the earth of the plant pot next to the bedside table, a senbon between its leaves, and a wire-based trap around the dresser." Akino.
"Kunai under the pillow, a few senbon sticking out of the filling of the mattress," Urushi commented after he had inspected the neatly made bed. He crawled a bit under it and grinned with glee.
"Two stacks of paper bombs, one seal, some kunai, two storage scrolls to hide bodies, and poison-coated shuriken."
"No way," was the protest behind him and Akino quickly joined his pack mate under the bed, inspecting the hidden weapons. "Damn it."
"What do you think you two are doing there?" At the voice suddenly talking behind the dogs, they nearly jumped out of their fur, quickly crawling out from under the bed.
"Oh, hello boss," Urushi grinned a bit sheepishly. Kakashi stood over them, his hands shoved into his pockets, and an unimpressed eye looking down.
"They are having a competition who finds more traps," Guruko answered from the door with a shit-eating smirk on his face from when he saw his pack mates' butts high in the air and their heads stuck under the bed.
"Snitch," was the simultaneous answer from the duo.
"The score," the shinobi asked, still using the flat tone.
"17 to 11 for me, boss," Urushi grinned proudly.
"Just because you looked under the bed before I did. Don't cram so many weapons in one place, boss," Akino complained, because he mentally saw his nice steak disappear in the other ninken's belly.
"And you interrupted us! I could have won."
"Yeah, sure," Urushi mocked him.
"Kakashi, is everything okay over there? Are you having an argument," a worrying female voice called from the livingroom.
"Nah, everything's fine," the shinobi called back, facing his ninken. "Come on, Buru finally made some space and I want you to properly meet her, too."
Guruko already turned around, but he quickly stopped in his tracks, when he heard Akino's voice.
"Boss, why does she have her own room? Aren't mates supposed to share a bed?" Kakashi nearly choked on air when memories from the late afternoon assaulted his mind, courtesy of the sharingan, but he managed to collect himself.
"We are not… mates," he answered in a low voice, his dark eye shooting to the open door.
"But the whole place smells of you two. Hell, you smell of each other like bonded mates and you show her your face."
"Humans take much longer to get their arses up and approach their mates," the pug commented, having joined them to see what took them so long.
"They live together," Guruko pointed out.
"And I think their scents say it all," Akino agreed.
"The circumstances are different. Boss hadn't just met Venna-san and she has no other place to stay, right," Urushi shared his thoughts, earning him a nod from the copy-ninja.
"As if he'd let her live somewhere else," Pakkun said with a flat voice. "You humans waste your time. Show that female how good you can protect her and what a capable pack alpha you are. She'll be all over you in no time."
"Venna is no dog," Kakashi argued back in a defensive manner. "And who said we'd want to be in a relationship?"
Four ninken gave the man very unimpressed looks basically screaming yeah, sure, before they wordlessly went back into the living room to join the others, leaving the shinobi behind.
.
The evening had been a great one for Venna. Not only had she gotten the chance to meet and pet the ninken Kakashi had told her much about, the woman was also able to talk to them. This still marvelled her and blew her mind.
Kakashi was feeding her body some of his chakra again. By now it had become a comfortable sensation when the unique energy entered her system, strengthening her body.
It had gotten late, and the shinobi had to remind her that the nurse would be back in the morning, urging the woman to get ready for bed.
Venna was very proud of herself. She had managed to take one step from the wheelchair to her bed with Kakashi supporting most of her weight and while rolling around on her bed, she even succeeded to change her pants on her own.
There had been nothing graceful in the tiring act, but Venna had done it by herself! She needed the man's help to get the pillow and blanket back onto her bed, though, because they had fallen to the ground in all her wiggling and struggle.
When Bisuke asked if he would be allowed to sleep in the woman's bed, she felt like winning the lottery.
The youngest pack member was by far the most affectionate, just before Buru. As massive and frightening the ninken looked like, just as gentle was the bulldog behaving around her.
The whole pack seemed to be nice. Some of the ninken were more approachable and open to affection than others, while some would be more talkative. It was a diverse mix.
Laying in bed now with Bisuke resting at her legs, Venna listened to Kakashi and the other dogs still roam around the apartment. Her bedroom door was not fully closed to give the dogs the possibility to change locations and for Bisuke to leave if he wanted to.
The shinobi was getting ready for bed after he had cleaned up the living room floor from the impressive amount of dog hair, muttering the need to brush his dogs under his breath.
Forming the plan to do this task for her friend when he was out to train with Gai, Venna absent-mindedly started scratching the young ninken's head, coaxing a relaxed sigh from him.
When the silence of the night and soft snoring from the ninken all around the apartment started to fill the place, Venna's thoughts started wandering back to her reflection in the bathroom mirror after Gai had left.
She had never crushed over anyone back home. No boy had ever caught her interest, but the woman had also never questioned herself in that manner. The nights were spent with Kakashi, who was like a package deal together with her sleep.
Seeing him grow up into an attractive specimen of the male population, Venna had never really thought about being attracted to him.
For all she had known, he was her imaginary friend, so why would she picture him to turn into an ugly adult with the face of a toad?
Okay, maybe she had started to notice the certain way they interacted with each other after the Dark Period and how the distant, cold boy turned into a man who could sometimes share his thoughts with Venna, let her get further into his personal space with passing time.
The woman was aware of how he had cared for her in her time of dying, the distance he would go to spend so much time with her, just to hold her in his arms. This had been a completely new side Kakashi had shown to her, allowed Venna to see.
Never had she imagined her friend to be this affectionate, or to accept her tears when there had been so many of them. Usually the shinobi could not handle strong, sad emotions, but he did then and in the hospital.
Every time he had to leave the clearing, his lips had found their way to Venna's temple or her forehead. The loving way Kakashi had treated her was something the woman had secretly hoped to find in a future partner. Her friend did so in the last weeks they shared together.
But it had not just been her wish, those were Kakashi's conscious decisions.
He had decided to hold her close. The shinobi chose to take a vacation and got himself back to sleep with pills again and again to be with Venna.
It had been Kakashi, who gave her affectionate kisses of goodbye, who kept giving them after she came back to life as her own being in his world.
The woman understood that this society was way more prude, and the act of hugging others or showing affection was not as natural as it had been back home. The man had still adopted a few things Venna had often done, like finding physical confirmation by taking her hand or a caressing touch here and there.
Whenever Kakashi's friends had commented on them being in a relationship, the elite shinobi had not denied it either, focusing his comments on the other things his peers had said. Should Venna understand this as evidence for the thoughts her mind was spinning?
A few hours ago, when she had looked up at the man leaning over her, there had been a certain happy tingle in her stomach and Venna was not too surprised to feel his lips again after Gai had broken the moment.
Oh god, had she just called it a 'moment' between them?
Grabbing her pillow and pressing it over her face, Venna groaned out in frustration.
She was no genius but also not stupid either, being in touch with her emotions to know enough. Having read books and suffered through one or two teeny-drama-comedies, the woman easily figured out that she was developing feelings for Kakashi. Well, maybe not develop but more of recognise them as such.
But could Venna accept them?
What she and Kakashi were having was a certain degree of attraction to each other. Hm, maybe not each other per se, but the woman knew she liked the shinobi. How or if he could like her, still looking more like a stick with a lack in muscles, hair, or a body shape, was a question only Kakashi could answer.
Somewhere in Venna's mind a small voice was whispering that he just might feel the same, knowing her long enough to ignore the fading evidence of her illness. It would explain the affectionate behaviour, the rare adoring glances, the little kisses, how Kakashi ignored his friends' teasing about their relationship.
A louder voice immediately piped up, reminding Venna to not hope for miracles.
What if they both fancied the other one and they decided to act on it just for time to prove their incompatibility? They could discover that their feelings had only been those of relief to know Venna was alive. The possibility that it could end up in a big fight and break-up was there, too. There could be heartbreak.
Their friendship of over a decade could suffer, maybe even end – not strong enough to deal with a failed relationship.
A cold feeling pooled in her stomach.
The small voice argued back. 'Could, could, could. The sky could fall onto our heads. Gai could have a change of heart and decide to prefer the standard jonin attire, or he could decide that the Youth of Spring was just an illusion.'
The voice of doubt was louder though, Venna's fear to lose Kakashi stronger, their friendship too important.
The young woman was about to cry from her own thoughts, forcing herself to keep her breathing calm and deep.
A light nudge against her side made Venna inhale sharply and slowly she pulled the pillow down. Bisuke had stood up, his tail was twitching nervously, and his eyes searched something on the woman's face.
"What's wrong," the ninken asked in a soft but worried voice. "You smell stressed. Do you need me to get the boss?"
Venna quickly shook her head and reached out to pat the dog's soft fur.
"No, I am fine. My brain just made up some thoughts about something sad," she said while swallowing the lump in her throat back down.
"Oh," Bisuke said in understanding and he laid back down, this time next to the woman's chest. "Is it about the place you came from?"
The woman just gave a hum, not agreeing nor denying the ninken's assumption. Her hand kept stroking the soft fur, finding the act to have calming properties. Both stayed silent for the rest of the night.
.
The next morning was a new experience for the ninken.
There was a nurse in the apartment.
Of course, they have been informed about the woman beforehand, but to see one of the people regularly chasing after their boss when said shinobi repeatedly sneaked out of the hospital in their apartment was strange.
Venna had groaned after waking up, telling Bisuke about her aching muscles from the training she was to enjoy last evening. It caused the woman to move slower than she usually would and the nurse needed longer to help out in the bathroom.
This clearly bothered her to some extent, which she did not hide from Venna. The younger woman did her best to make the nurse's task easier, but the pressure of the frowning face caused her to be clumsier, need longer to move her aching limbs.
When a stressed out Venna and a nurse in a bad mood left the bathroom, Kakashi shot them a suspicious look that darkened when his ears picked up a tired sigh escaping his friend's lips. Not only did they need over half an hour to shower - twelve minutes longer than yesterday, and that was just the showering part -, Venna had a sad and disappointed expression on her face.
"What did you do?" A hard glare accompanied the sharp words directed at the woman in her white uniform.
"I did nothing, Hatake-san. But I already lost over twenty minutes which other patients need back in the hospital. If Venna-san would stay in there too, until she could properly take care of herself, it would not be such a bother."
Bisuke and Buru took the liberty to growl at the woman.
"What," the man snap the word out, momentarily not believing what the old harpy just spouted. Venna's face fell even more at her comments.
"This is part of your job. You decided to work with sick people, so I expected you to behave appropriately and with professionalism. Get out of here and don't dare to show your face again," said the dark, emotionless voice of the elite shinobi, causing the room temperature to drop below freezing point.
The face of the nurse went ghostly pale and without loosing a second, the woman grabbed her things, left the note with the time of Venna's appointment at the hospital, and she was out through the door.
Kakashi stood up and quickly crossed the distance to the young woman clenching her fists in her lap. Kneeling down in front of her, he covered the trembling digits with his hands while searching for her eyes, but Venna avoided his, biting her lower lips.
A sobbing intake of air shook the smaller frame and the traveller audibly swallowed.
"Hey, look at me," Kakashi said with a soft voice, but green eyes kept staring down to her lap with the shook of her head. Reaching up, the shinobi carefully took hold of her chin and lifted it with gentle force.
Venna still avoided looking at his face, so the copy-ninja cupped her cheek with his other hand, finally getting the attention he asked for.
"Don't listen to that witch. You are doing great, and it was mine and Gai's fault to make your training more strenuous. If someone is bothering others, it is her."
Another sobbing breath was the answer he got and Venna started rubbing the few tears away that escaped her eyes with harsh movements.
Grabbing her wrists and pulling them down, Kakashi pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned the sad face in front of him. When teary eyes wandered back down, he did not mention it.
It took the woman a few minutes to calm down, her feelings quickly turning into shame to react this weakly to some stupid words. They had hit her completely unprepared, but usually Venna was stronger than this.
Getting angry at herself, she wrapped her hands around the bigger one still resting against her neck and stroking her skin with a scarred thumb from cuts and summoning the ninken.
She pulled Kakashi's hand down to her lap, squeezing it lightly and looking up again.
"I would like to take a short nap. I am tired." The woman did not like the hoarse tone in her voice.
Kakashi nodded, stood back up and pushed Venna back to her bed, understanding that she needed the privacy of her room. The shinobi quickly pulled the blanket off, helped her lay down and pulled the soft fabric over her legs and middle.
Tired eyes watched the man park Jolly at the end of her bed, and Venna softly patted the open space next to her, where Bisuke immediately curled up.
Kakashi left the room for a moment but came back with a steaming mug and small plate in his hands.
He put the tea and plate with a few mochis on the bedside table.
"Someone once told me sugar causes your body to release endorphins," his mask stretched with a crocked smile, but before he left Venna to get some rest, his thumb found its way back to her cheek and caressed the skin where tears had been only minutes ago.
"Call me if you need something," Kakashi said and Venna once again saw the soft expression on his face. Without making a sound, the shinobi stood up and closed the door behind himself.
The woman curled into herself, feeling her body ache with every movement, and she pulled Bisuke against her chest. With a protesting grunt the ninken wiggled around to find a more comfortable position in her iron wrap, but he accepted being misused.
There it was again, the warm, tingling feeling, pushing part of the sadness away, embracing the woman with a protective warmth.
The hold on the dog tightened slightly, and Venna pushed her face into Bisuke's fur.
If this were to be a film, the protagonist would struggle a few days, but risk everything and get a happily ever after. This is no film, though, the voice of doubt said. No matter how safe and wanted Kakashi made the woman feel, it could end.
'"If Venna-san would stay in there too, until she could properly take care of herself, it would not be such a bother."'
Was she bothering Kakashi, too? She kept him from visiting the memorial stone, training, taking missions as one of Konoha's shinobi.
'No, he is an adult and chose to do those things. Kakashi wants to be near you. That is why he took you out of the hospital as soon as you were allowed to leave,' the smaller voice tried to argue.
'It was given, an obligation. The loss he experienced when you died is too fresh for him to realise it yet. He does not feel the way you wish him to. Remember, he is not your imaginary friend but Hatake Kakashi, the elite shinobi who lost all people important to him. He does not want to lose the civilian who managed to survive being his friend for twelve years. Don't risk your friendship for that.'
The smaller voice stayed silent.
The jonin walked around the living room in circles, a kunai spinning in his hand. He was angry, at the damn nurse but also at himself.
The harpy had been right to some degree. Kakashi had acted in haste to get Venna out of the building he despised as soon as they got the green light.
It did not come to his mind that the care the young woman needed might not be what he could provide without crossing personal boundaries. The man had expected it to be much simpler.
Through her upbringing Venna was used to more physical interactions between people, but there were some aspects the shinobi had not thought about.
Well, there was no use to cry over spilled milk now, because she showed great improvements. The young traveller was able to push herself in 'Jolly' around the apartment already, she managed to get herself into her wheelchair, and with some help she had made the first step on her own feet again.
How this situation had turned out might not be preferable in some aspects, but it was working and Kakashi could easily have an eye on Venna in his own apartment.
Sitting down on a chair, the man let his head fall back, he pocketed his kunai and rubbed his face with a loud sigh.
"What am I even doing," he said to himself.
"Letting someone's words get the best of you. Stop brooding, it doesn't suit you," Pakkun huffed out from his spot on the couch. "You protected your mate and proved that you can care for her. Just do your human mating dances or whatever you call it already."
The ninken around them nodded in agreement.
"Take her on one of those dates tomorrow after the doctor's appointment. Or let her watch you and the green man spar, just make sure you win. Strength impresses females," Uhei added his two cents.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow and turned his head slightly to see his pack from the corner of his eye.
"Am I getting dating advice from dogs?"
Pakkun huffed and looked like a goose with ruffled feathers to be called 'dog' from his partner.
"Not our fault if you are incompetent with the female sex."
"I am not incompetent," Kakashi shot back. "Do I need to remind you that I have the largest fanclub in all of Konoha? And I had my fair share of success."
"After-mission sex is no success, it is your strange ninja-human way to get rid of frustration after difficult missions," Shiba commented matter-of-factly.
"Nor have your ever had a real relationship, boss. You don't allow people close enough for that," Akino mumbled in his dark voice.
"Are you guys teaming up against me?"
"You still have to apologise with steak to us. I think we are entitled to be a bit harsh, boss," Urushi reminded the shinobi, secretly anticipating getting Akino's piece of the meat too from their little competition.
"Let Bisuke work his youngster-magic with your mate and use the time to come up with a plan to claim her the human way," Guruko said from under the kitchen table where he was busy gnawing the shinobi's sandal.
"How did all of you get the impression I want that kind of a relationship with Venna?"
"Boss, your expectation about our intelligence is insulting and lies stink. Right now, you are reeking all the way over to Iwa. Let yourself have this. We know you are sick of the loneliness," Pakkun responded, giving an expression saying 'stop asking stupid questions'.
Kakashi shook his head, but he did not protest any further.
.
An hour later the bedroom door was pulled open with halting movements until Bisuke pushed himself through the gap and nudge the wooden object fully open.
Venna had managed to sleep for some time, calming herself down simultaneously. Feeling better and refreshed from her nap and cuddling the ninken, the woman had managed to get herself into Jolly and joined the group in the kitchen and living room area.
"Hey," she said with a rexaled expression on her face. "Did I miss anything?"
"No, nothing," Kakashi quickly replied with a pointed look to the ninken. He had managed to create a simple breakfast with store-bought miso soup and the leftovers from yesterday's sushi. Okay, very simple breakfast.
The empty mug and plate were resting in her lap while the woman rolled over to him, and she added them into the already filled sink.
"Thank you for the snack. I really appreciate it," she said and inspected the food the shinobi brought over to the table.
Pushing herself to her place at the table, the woman watched Kakashi sit down across her, and from who-knew-where the copy-ninja conjured up a small elastic band. He wrapped it around Venna's chopsticks before giving them to her.
"Thanks." Kakashi was rewarded with the delightful sight of his friend's smile. Quickly saying their prayers, both ate in peace with eight ninken resting around them. This time, Venna even drank the shake with only mild cursing.
The shinobi mentally made the reminder to buy groceries on his way back. He had already broken the resolution to get the young woman on a healthier diet with the mochi, but he planned to get better food than the things he was giving her until now.
After they had finished eating, Kakashi started doing the dishes, but this time Venna rolled next to him and dried the plates and bowls with the kitchen towel. It was pleasant, being near each other and sharing the chore together, just like they did before the dinner party with the shinobi's friends. It gave the situation a normality the shinobi found to enjoy once again.
Neither Kakashi nor Venna lost another word about the incident with the nurse, more or less deciding to dismiss those words to some extent, having thought about it privately.
Half an hour from noon, Kurenai was knocking on the front door. When the shinobi let her in, his usual bored expression back in place, the kunoichi pulled out a small bag of treats, a speciality from the Inuzuka clan.
"I already expected you to let at least one or two of them with us," she grinned and greeted the small gathering. "Hello, everyone, Venna-san. It is nice to see you."
"Kurenai, hi! Uh, wait… it is Kurenai-san, right? Or was it the 'sama'-thing? Do I have to use your surname?" Venna scratched her head, remembered the rules, but she was not sure which form to address her was correct. With Gai it was easy, he told her to address him how she would have done in her world.
"Oh, no, 'Kurenai-san' is perfectly fine," the older woman quickly shook her hands in front of her, still a bit puzzled how this was such a foreign concept to Kakashi's friend.
Remembering what Venna (but mostly Gai) had shared about her life two days ago, it did not really answer the question for her or add up completely. Did people living on the road and in brothels really not use suffixes? The gen-jutsu user was not too certain, never having been to a brothel. The homeless people she came across on her missions did use suffixes when addressing her, though.
"Kurenai-san," Venna mumbled more to herself, an effort to memorise it correctly.
The copy-ninja was busying himself by gathering all the weapons he deemed necessary for his training session with the taijutsu master. Knowing the man loyal to his bowl-cut, they would both do some drills first before beating the living snot out of each other in a spar, ending with another 'most youthful' challenge.
At the door the man kneeled down to get his sandals, when he noticed he was missing one. With the roll of his eyes, Kakashi went into the kitchen, where Kurenai was already familiarising herself with his equipment while the kettle was heating up for tea.
The copy-ninja could see her searching through the lower shelves for something, when her hand came back with one of the kunai he had positioned over the pickled kimchi. A side-glance to him and a knowing grin were all she offered, before putting it back and finding the honey for their drink.
Kakashi bowed down and grabbed his sandal from between Guruko's white muzzle.
"Bad dog," he said and pointed his index finger into the ninken's face, before assessing the damage. The shinobi was lucky, because only a few small holes decorated the thick material, making the sandal still wearable. Standing back up straight, his hands went back into his pockets.
"Alright then, Gai and I will be on training ground 28," he informed Kurenai, knowing Venna had no use for this little fact. Turning to the younger woman, Kakashi allowed himself to give her a quick once over with his eye.
Was it really okay to go? Stupid question, of course, it was. Venna had said so herself, she was an adult and free of cancer. Feeling the urge to assure himself, he gave his usual goodbye kiss to her forehead, this time with his mask up - he saw the curious look on Kurenai's face - and one gloved hand shortly patted her scarf-clad head.
"Expect me back in six or seven hours. Those guys," he pointed at the pack of ninken, "might leave for a stroll or something. I instructed them that no more than five are allowed to be out at the same time. Safety in numbers, you know?"
Am amused smile played around Venna's lips.
"You and your shinobi paranoia."
"It is founded in experience."
"We are inside a ninja village, Kakashi."
"Exactly."
"This is the shinobi district. Who do you expect is stupid enough to try something with so many people around?"
"Stupid enough? A few, you never know," was the cryptic answer.
"Nobody will manage to get in and out of here without loosing at least a limb," Urushi snorted out with a gaze to the traps and seals hidden from a certain female's sight. "We are also here."
"What a darling," the young woman said to the dog with a grin on her face. "Your ninken will keep me safe. They are no lap dogs, after all."
"Aren't you forgetting someone," Kurenai asked with a raised eyebrow and a hand resting on her hip.
"Of course," Kakashi said and he turned to his pack with the indifferent expression reserved for the public. "You can protect that woman, too."
"Hatake!" Said shinobi ignored the flustered kunoichi, gave Venna another eye-smile, and went out.
.
Kurenai and Venna had a pleasant conversation while enjoying their tea, when the civilian woman suddenly sat her cup on the table.
"Right! I wanted to brush the pack for Kakashi!"
Eight pairs of eyes immediately fixed on the woman.
"You want to do what?" Akino gave her a doubting look behind his sunglasses.
"Yesterday Kakashi said he'd have to brush your fur, because you are losing quite a bit. I assumed I could do it for him, since he is doing so much around the apartment and I don't have to be standing to do it… Do you guys only allow Kakashi to brush you?"
"Who else would have bothered," Pakkun countered with a rhetorical question, causing the woman to scratch her chin.
"Do you allow it, though?"
Eight ninken quickly held a silent conversation with their eyes, before the pug suddenly stood up and pulled a small bundle from under the couch.
"Boss has the brushes in here. We all have different types of fur, so everyone has their own brush. We'll tell you which is whose."
Kurenai and Venna went over to the couch, where the younger woman lifted herself out of Jolly but slowly slid to the floor, pushing her metal steed to the side.
" This way I won't have to worry about falling down," she said with a lopsided drin. The kunoichi copied her and pulled the brushes out of the small bag.
"Who wants to go first?"
Bisuke and Shiba stood up and sat themselves in front of the women at Venna's question. Both ninken pointed out which brush to use.
Shiba was calm when Kurenai started to brush his fur – with special attention to his Iroquois, the ninken said -, but the youngest kept wagging his tail while Venna started her task. Bisuke was happy to get such a nice treat, because to the pack a good combing was like a massage.
Chuckling under their breaths, the women listened to the soft tapping sound of the tail hitting the floor.
.
It took them three hours to finish combing all eight ninken. Pakkun had gone last, allowing Venna to touch the soft pads of his paw for a job well done.
By now, Shiba, Buru, Bisuke, and the pug had decided to stay, while the other four ninken went out for some time.
Pakkun would not admit it, but he had promised his partner to only leave the apartment should the call of the wild ask for him to relief his bladder. Until now the afternoon had been pleasant enough and the pug started to understand why boss liked the woman.
She was an oddity in their world. Even when handling the ninken there was a childish happiness accompanying her, and the woman would be very gentle with every brush stroke. Nin-dogs were expected to be tough, to be animals you have a contract with for battle.
Being treated with such a carefulness was a nice exception for the pack, causing Bisuke and even Akino to fall asleep in relaxation on their turns.
Venna was also unaware to some degree, Pakkun would not necessarily call naïve but maybe innocent and trusting. Just like earlier, when she could not imagine anyone daring to harm her in a ninja village or in Kakashi's apartment.
Kurenai stored the brushes back under the couch and helped Venna into the wheelchair the civilian woman had bothered to give a name. Both had fur stuck to their clothes and the kunoichi planned to clean hers in the bathroom while Venna would simply change her shirt.
The chunin closed the bathroom door behind herself and the younger woman rolled her way into her bedroom, when the ninken noticed a movement outside across the building.
Immediately, they were alert, but pretended to be unaware.
Buru stood up and trudged into Venna's room with slow movements to be near their boss' mate, while Pakkun rolled onto his stomach on the headrest of the couch, observing their surroundings with sharp eyes.
There it was again. The smallest movement, only visible because the shinobi district had less spots to hide in. The pug noticed the dark shape of a ninja in one of the few trees.
Calculating the angles the unknown person should have from his spot in the tree, Pakkun noticed that it was the best spot to look inside the woman's bedroom.
Spying into the apartments on the higher floors would be even more difficult, but Pakkun knew - whoever this was, they would not come inside - just how safe boss had made this place. Damn, why did Kakashi have to pick an apartment on ground-level?... Oh, yeah.
The small ninken huffed out a breath, but his eyes stayed fixed on the dark shape. Sniffing the air a few times, the dog caught onto the barest hint of a scent, but it was enough for him.
Pakkun knew this scent, the whole pack could distinguish the foul stench from anywhere. Root.
That damn Danzo dared to send one of his agents to spy. Of course, he would. Today was the first-time boss was out with Gai.
No way would this be possible with the jonin next to the woman. He might sometimes be unfocussed in the apartment, but inside it was extremely safe and it did not mean in the slightest that boss did not keep track on the movements around his home. Anbu and Root alike could not simply sneak up on the man.
The sound of laughter reached the ninken, and Pakkun, Shiba, and Bisuke watched their tallest pack mate push Venna in her wheelchair just with his massive head. The dark shape went back into its previous hiding place, not aware being caught.
"You don't like us to be separated from your friends, huh," she asked the silent ninken with a chuckle.
Oh, the woman had no idea how right she was.
Kurenai joined them too, and the women decided to prepare a simple lunch. Luckily, the kunoichi had brought a few things with her, already expecting Kakashi to lack food in his fridge with the man's poor cooking skills.
Shiba and Bisuke walked over to Pakkun, who jumped down the couch to meet his fellow ninken, Buru already sitting in hearing range.
"Who is that," Shiba whispered while scratching himself behind his ear to hide the conversation.
"Root," Pakkun whispered back.
His companions froze for a second, but Buru quickly let out a yawn, Bisuke shook himself, and Shiba let himself slide to the ground.
"Should we alert the woman? She did not notice the spy," Bisuke asked with a glance to the kunoichi chopping some vegetable to death.
"No. Kurenai is a chunin, no match for Root," Pakkun said, forcing himself not to automatically shake his head. "Bisuke, go and get the boss back. The green fashion disaster as well, that man is a strong ally. Just in case."
Said ninken nodded his head once, stood up, and told Venna loudly that he had to go out and search himself a nice bush to mark the new territory.
With the youngest of the pack out to get Kakashi and Gai, Pakkun and the other ninken walked over to the women.
Buru sat himself directly between Venna and the window, Shiba spread out his limbs next to the kitchen table, and the pug swallowed down his dignity and jumped up on Venna's lap.
"Don't ask," he huffed out and pretended to suffer through the affectionate stroking her hand did on his back.
It could not take long for Bisuke to reach training ground 28 and the boss to come back home.
.