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What he wanted to do was take Kagome out for a nice sit down dinner to chat over and show her that he was not as bad as she thought.
Kakashi's plans immediately changed when the medic slogged her way out the front door, looking ready to collapse at any given second. Or from a strong breeze. Instead, he carefully guided her down the street to a stand that he knew, from questioning her brother Souta, she frequented. The Copy Nin watched her dull blue gaze light up and let a smile bloom under his mask as he heard her chant "Oden oden oden!" under her breath.
'She really is adorable.' Plopping down in a booth, the Higurashi girl immediately called out and waved to the owner, an older man that gave her companion a look for a moment before winking at her. He disappeared into the back for a moment, and Kagome scowled.
"He better not be getting any ideas..." she muttered, leaning her elbow on the table and her head on her hand. A few moments later, the two shinobi ordered and the medic inevitably turned her attention to the silver-haired Jonin sitting across from her. He was passing a disinterested eye over the building, lazily making note of escape routes in case of an emergency.
"So... What was all of that in the hospital about?" Kakashi fixed his attention back onto her.
"Too long of a shift and not enough breaks in between healings. It's been a madhouse all day long," Kagome sighed, finally just deciding to be honest. It wasn't going to hurt anyone.
"So, you're running on the absolute bare minimum chakra levels." Maybe it was the massive depletion she'd suffered from today, but that single-eyed stare was really starting to get to her. It was making her feel guilty. No! It was making her agitated! She didn't need to feel bad about doing her job, damn it!
"It doesn't matter. I saved lives today, so I don't regret a single thing I did." Her pride always seemed to get in the way with this guy. She didn't want to be seen as someone weak to him! Especially since she was the one that had initially begged Mama to adopt Naru-chan.
A moment later, he gave her what she assumed to be a smile. His eye crinkled, but that was all she could determine. "Of course. Putting everything you are and all of your energy into saving anyone that comes to you is just what you would do."
Kagome was nodding in agreement, but spluttered when he pulled the rug out from under her. "Even a Genin could take advantage of you in this state. But you kept another person alive at the risk of your own health. So, I suppose that makes up for your lack of self-preservation."
The medic stared at him, shocked that he'd said it in such a way. Though the words had been nice enough, there was an edge of steel to his voice that she'd never heard before.
"I'm also equally positive that once you hit your reserves, you're supposed to alert your supervising medic in case you overdo it."
Kagome wanted to squirm, because she hadn't done that at all. Why was he judging her so harshly!
Instead of responding, she grumbled under her breath and crossed her arms across her chest defensively, leaning back into the booth. "Whatever. Food will help replenish my levels. And sleep."
Kakashi nodded lazily, for once not pulling his little orange book out. He really wanted to get his point across to her that she shouldn't be taking these kinds of risks. "And that's why we're here. You need something, even if it's not entirely the most nutritious thing, but I also heard from a little blonde birdie that this is one of your favorite haunts."
"Geez, how did you manage to bribe that out of Naru-chan?"
"Ramen," the Copy Ninja replied in the most bland tone he could muster. Kagome snorted and shook her head slowly.
"That boy is entirely too addicted to ramen, despite our best efforts," the medic groaned.
"I have this feeling I'm going to have to check his packs when we go on the first couple of missions outside of the village," Kakashi joked, keeping the mood light and desperately trying to not screw this small window of time with her up.
Kagome blinked a few times, tilting her head slightly as she took an extra moment to process what he'd said. It seemed her food was beginning to reboot her brain.
Then, she smiled and laughed softly.
It was sweet, bright, and damn near the prettiest thing he'd ever seen in his life. This single moment would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life.
"Yes, you probably will. None of us are going to help him pack either. We'll make reccomendations if he asks, but Naru-chan will have to learn what to do himself."
"Good, good. It's best for him to ask questions but not take advantage. Of course as his sensei, he can come to me for advice also."
She gave him a slightly disbelieving look but focused back on her food to pass the time. Kakashi let the conversation taper off. It was fine. Little tidbits of himself would be easier to process than shoving his whole life at her in one go.
After all, there was still plently of time.
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A/N: Okay, First, a Hi to everyone that has actually stuck around after I've been gone for so long. Second, I can't guarantee I'll be able to update again for a while partially because I have almost no time to type up chapters. And Third, if you have managed to stick around even after all this time of not updating on my part, then thank you. I appreciate all of you. Much love, and here's to hoping it doesn't take me another however many years to get back into this!