So this is a thing I've got loose ideas for, I'm just gonna leave it here. :D

To my One Piece readers, I'm sorry I have ADHD. I suck. I haven't forgotten, I'm just distracted and trying to make it perfect.

Chapter 1: Just Mamoru

Mamoru watched the steam rise from her tea cup in a sort of drowsy trance as she waited for the arrival of the genin team she hired. She took a deep breath, inhaling the soothing aroma of jasmine green tea. Idly, bits of last night's dream came to the forefront of her mind, as it often did in the soft light of dawn when she was alone.

A dark figure. Angry and demanding. Cold metal. A twist of fear.

She released her breath in a shudder, sending wisps of steam from her cup curling in separate directions.

Just a dream. Her thoughts changed to the day's responsibilities.

It was her friend that suggested she hire the genin to help with her tea house renovations. At first, Mamoru resisted. The thought of hiring shinobi for such a job seemed like overkill. After all, painting cafes and moving furniture didn't seem like a worthwhile job any shinobi would take. But her friend convinced her otherwise with a few simple words.

"It's easy and cheap, you know? All you have to do is turn in a request to the mission assignment desk. Then-"

"Stop right there," Mamoru had said, holding a palm up with a serious look. "Did you say… cheap?"

Cheap was the key word, and really, her friend should have led with that right from the beginning. All qualms aside, Mamoru had gone straight to the mission desk to make her request that very day. Only a few days later, she had received a response that her request would be fulfilled. The genin team would meet her at her tea house in the morning just as requested.

So, as the brisk morning dawned, casting a filter of light through the wide windows of her tea house, Mamoru sat at the bar and took satisfying sips of hot jasmine green tea.

Just as her thoughts strayed back to the shadows of her dream, lost once again in a daydream, a loud ruckus outside shifted her attention to the entrance of her cafe. She could see a colorful set of genin through the windows arguing rather loudly with each other.

"I'm telling you Naruto- we're gonna be late!"

"I know- I know! But did you see me beat teme? I was like a flash! Whoosh!"

"Ugh, it doesn't matter! We need to meet the client!"

"Oi- Sasuke! Admit I beat you!"

"Hn."

Mamoru watched the bickering genin outside with doubt slowly creeping into her mind. Maybe she should have kept the contractors instead. The serenity of her morning had disappeared as quickly as the arrival of the shinobi.

"Now, now." An older voice said, "Let's go meet our client, shall we?"

"Yes sensei!"

The screen door slid open, and a tall man entered her tea house. He noticed her immediately, blinking his single, visible eye at her slowly, before it curved with his polite greeting.

"Hel-"

"Hey!" An orange-clad genin interrupted, pushing past the man to greet a bewildered Mamoru. "Sorry we're a little late! It's cause Kakashi-sensei was taking his sweet time to meet us. Said he saw a black cat and had to take the long way around." All the while, he looked around the cafe eagerly. "It's my first time here. I heard the food and tea here are really good!"

"Naruto!" The pink-haired genin scolded. "We need to introduce ourselves!" She turned to Mamoru. "H-Hi, we're here at your request for the D-rank mission. I'm Haruno Sakura." She shyly twisted her fingers behind her back, looking over to the only dark-haired boy. "Sasuke-kun, you need to introduce yourself too."

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke." He folded his arms and looked away.

The girl seemed to squeal internally at his cool introduction. Naruto, Mamoru had gathered, was glaring at the other boy with a sour face. But when he turned to her it brightened.

"Well I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage!" Then, as if remembering something, he pointed his thumb back towards the dejected-looking man behind him. "Oh, and that's our sensei."

Mamoru couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. She didn't know what to expect from the shinobi she hired, but they seemed like good kids. Not the stoic trained killers she somewhat expected them to be. Well, they were genin after all. She didn't know about their sensei though.

Mamoru placed her empty tea cup on the bar and slid off her seat. Brushing the wrinkles off her kimono, Mamoru then clasped her hands together and gave them a well-practiced bow. Her dark hair fell gently to the side and her eyelashes lowered as she gave them her greeting.

"It is nice to meet you all, thank you for coming. My name is Mamoru, and I am the owner of Mugen Tea House." She righted herself and smiled at the genin team.

"Woah, you're the owner nee-chan? But you look so young! I thought the owner of this place was some hag or whatever."

Sakura deftly smacked Naruto and ignored his yelp of pain.

"Idiot- that's rude! Didn't you read the mission scroll?" Then, in a one-eighty, "I'm a huge fan of your tea house Mamoru-san! I used to come all the time when I was at the Academy. All the kunoichi say its the top cafe date spot!"

Mamoru chuckled. "You both flatter me, thank you for your compliments." Clapping her hands together with a brighter smile, "Now then, how about a bit of a tour before we get to work? You will be helping me for the next three days so it is best if you know your way around the shop."

Mamoru gestured around the cafe, pointing to various fixtures. "The renovations for this area have already been made as you can see. We added a new wooden finish to the bar, and replaced the floors with hard oak." As planned, the contractors had already done a lot of the heavy work. Upon entering the tea house through a heavy set of screen doors, customers would be met with the original cafe layout. Casual wooden tables and benches were arranged for the come-and-go customers across from the new bar, which was located left of the entrance and its widen glass windows.

"Ooh, are those the tea to be brewed Mamoru-san?" Sakura pointed to the glass jars lining the shelves behind the bar. It was pretty to look at, as well as convenient for the workers to access.

"Yes, that's right. Normally, tea should be stored in dark containers and cool areas to avoid losing their flavor, but since the cafe goes through tea so quickly, that rule doesn't apply." Mamoru added. "I'll brew you all a tea sample of your choice as a treat later."

"Aw yeah!" Naruto exclaimed. "Thanks neechan!"

"Don't thank me yet! Before that, your jobs will be out here." The tea house owner led them through a wide door frame opposite the entrance that led them deeper into the tea house. Unexpectedly, the genin team found themselves standing under an open roof patio with a large tree in the center. It's canopy leaves filtered soft morning light, casting a mosaic pattern against the patio's light wooden flooring and tables. Decorative plants were placed at each wooden beam along the tatami hallways that framed the open space. Along the hallway, opposite the patio, were rooms full of low tables and cushions. The rooms had the option for closed screen doors for more private parties.

The two more excitable genin looked around the area with curiosity. Sasuke and Kakashi followed at a more sedate pace. Sasuke observed the tree branches hanging overhead, noting that it was from the tall tree he saw from the storefront. He didn't expect the cafe to hide a larger interior from just looking at the entrance outside. It was almost like an illusion.

"Mamoru-san, this place is amazing!"

"Yeah, its really cool!"

Mamoru couldn't help the proud grin that spread across her face from the excitable genin. "This is where the majority of the renovations were made. After ten years of business, it was time to expand. I'm happy you think it's amazing. This tea house is my pride and joy after all!" Truly, ten years of hard work, sweat, and number-crunching. If Mamoru could go back in time to tell her younger self about her current life, she was sure she wouldn't have believed it.

"Most of the reconstruction was done in late winter. All that is left to do before Mugen reopens is the work I hired you all to do."

"What will we be doing?" Sakura asked.

Mamoru went behind the large tree and lifted up pails of paint, varnish, and brushes. "First, painting!"

The genin visibly deflated.

"For three days?" Naruto whined. "I thought maybe we could do something more exciting. Like protection duty or- or food tasting!"

Sasuke seemed to agree with his teammate, based on his pinched expression.

"Well what did you expect from a tea house owner? It's not like I need escorts or protection in Konoha."

The genin sighed.

"How about this, after we finish for the day, I'll make you some tea like I promised, and you can try some of my new pastries."

They perked up immediately.

"Yes! Let's do this!" And they set off to work while Mamoru instructed them on which wooden furniture to paint with varnish. Once she was done assigning tasks, Mamoru remembered there was one more person on the team. She looked around to see the silent jounin sitting under the tree reading an orange book. He flipped a page as Mamoru approached him.

Mamoru wasn't too familiar with the shinobi-side of the village's social circle, but she was pretty sure this was the infamous copy-nin. It was a little intimidating to be left alone with a high ranking ninja with so many rumors circulating about him. However Mamoru pressed on. "Hello jounin-san, I do not believe I caught your name. Naruto only introduced you as his sensei."

The man looked up at her, wrinkling his eye in a disarming expression. "Ah, that would be Hatake Kakashi. It's a pleasure, Mamoru-san." His attention went back to the book in his hand. A pause. Then he flipped a page.

Mamoru didn't quite know what else to say. It seemed as though he didn't want to talk to her, and she was conflicted with interrupting his reading versus asking him if he was going to help his students. After all, they were a team and Mamoru had hired a team to help her in her renovations.

Mamoru frowned, watching him read. "You're not going to help your students, Hatake-san?"

"Mah, they can handle it. I'm confident in their abilities."

Almost immediately, they heard a loud clatter on the opposite side of the patio. Then, "Everything's okay!" Naruto yelled.

Mamoru turned back to the jounin and raised her brows. "Is that so?" She placed her hands on her hips.

He seemed unabashed. "Yes." He flipped another page.

Was he ignoring her on purpose? Normally, this wouldn't bother Mamoru much. But for some reason, this brought out a small feeling of irritation in her. Welling up from nowhere, like an echo of a memory. However, she brushed the feeling away. Shinobi were strange after all, they probably didn't care to bother with civilian niceties. She supposed the children's help was enough. The jounin was merely here for supervision of his team anyways, probably.

Mamoru hummed. "All right then. Would you like some tea while you read your book-" She glanced at the orange cover, titled Icha Icha Paradise, and colored almost immediately. "Oh-" Porn? In public? She felt second-hand embarrassment, but somehow that felt incorrect. The copy-nin didn't look embarrassed at all, so really it was just first-hand embarrassment on her part.

"Why yes, tea would be lovely." Kakashi didn't miss a beat, looking up at her with a friendly, if not amused expression. "Do you have any oolong?" He asked innocently.

Mamoru opened her mouth, and closed it. She nodded abruptly, turning away to hide her inflamed face. She quickly excused herself and walked back into the cafe to set about making tea for the white-haired ninja. A moment later, he turned a page almost instinctively when she approached with his tea.

"H-Here you go. Be careful, it is hot."

He smiled up at her, accepting the cup, then looked back down to his book, turning another page.

She got red again, and walked away towards the kids to help them.

She didn't notice the man watching her walk away with interest from behind his book.

Hours passed and they had gotten a lot done for the day with no further incidents and only minor fights between the boys. Mamoru was quickly learning the social dynamic of the group. To sum it up, Sakura had a crush on Sasuke. Naruto had a crush on Sakura, and Sasuke was determined to be unaffected by the both of them, but couldn't help picking fights with Naruto, and likewise. Meanwhile, their benevolent sensei let them do all the work and read Icha Icha Paradise.

Mamoru made iced tea for the kids and refilled Kakashi's cup of oolong. Then she brought out pastries for everyone in the patio.

"These are so good nee-chan! Did you come up with these yourself?"

She nodded, "Yes, those are going to be my new line of matcha pastries once the shop reopens. I'll be holding an anniversary party, so I'll be expecting you all to come by to celebrate with me. As thanks for your help with the renovations."

"Absolutely!" Sakura said. She snickered, "Ino-pig's gonna be so jealous that I got to try Mugen's pastries for free!"

"Weeelll it's not really free if we're working for it right?" Naruto said, looking like was thinking hard about it.

Sasuke smirked. "So the dobe can think after all."

Almost immediately, Naruto flared up shouting. "That's it teme, you wanna fight?" He stood abruptly, and roughly brushed against the table they sat around. The glasses of iced tea jostled, and tipped over the side of the table.

Without thinking, Mamoru reached out to catch one, but missed. The glass shattered, nicking her fingers and drawing blood.

"Oh-" She murmured.

"Look what you did Naruto!" Sakura shouted.

"Yeah, dobe."

"Sh-shut up! Agh, sorry nee-chan!"

But their voices seemed to fade away into the background. The shatter of glasses didn't startle her- no, it was the sudden pain and blood that drew from her finger. A ghost of a memory came unbidden with the sharp sting of pain. But it was different. Harsher. More painful. Then it was the strong smell of blood. An angry voice shouting. Confusing demands. But above it all, she remembered the chilling fear with no discernable root cause.

A low voice addressed her, "You will tell us what you know."

She was afraid. She could feel her lips move to answer, "I can't- I don't know."

"I won't repeat myself."

Somebody shook her slightly.

"Are you all right, Mamoru-san?"

She flinched, raising her vacant gaze to Kakashi's concerned face. For just a moment, she imagined another, more looming figure overlapping him. She swallowed, but quickly wrapped her finger in a towel and smiled. "I'm fine- sorry about that. I'll get this cleaned up."

She quickly got a broom and swept up the pieces of glass. Almost immediately after, she excused herself to the back room to wash her cuts.

"…What just happened? She got so pale." Sakura whispered with concern.

"It looked like she was afraid for a moment." Sasuke said. Yet something was telling him it wasn't the blood that caused the fearful look in her eyes and the noticeable tremor in her hands.

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Maybe Mamoru-neechan's afraid of blood? Or maaayybeee…" His imagination ran away with the promise of a mystery, "Maybe Mamoru-neechan's in trouble! Like a damsel in distress!" He grew excited at the possibility of a more exciting mission. "Let's go find out!"

"No," Kakashi cut in. "You all are dismissed for the day. I'll stay to help Mamoru-san bandage her cut."

"But sensei! We can't just leave right now!"

"I'll tell her I excused you for the day. Be back tomorrow morning." The jounin said with finality, leaving no room for argument.

Naruto grumbled. The other two knew a losing battle.

"Fine, Kakashi-sensei! But you better not be a creep to nee-chan!"

Kakashi pretended to be hurt. "I'm a respectable shinobi Naruto, I'd never be a creep."

The genin leveled him with a dubious stare. Somehow it wounded him. But they soon left after calling out that they were leaving. As they left the tea house, Naruto turned to the others. "So that was weird right? Sensei never stays with the client after."

Sakura's eyes sparkled. "Do you think he fell in love? At first sight? Mamoru-san is beautiful after all!"

Sasuke furrowed his brows, looking back at the cafe. "What was her surname again?"

"Huh…" The other two said, not remembering if she ever said it.

Hearing the children leave, Mamoru came back out with a towel wrapped around her hands. Her thoughts were still scattered, but for the most part, she shook it off.

"Already? I was planning to send them home with pastries." She looked around, suddenly realizing she was alone with the jounin-sensei in the cafe. It wasn't that she thought he was intimidating or anything, just… she was having a difficult time talking to him. Which was strange for her since talking to customers and business partners came so easy for her.

"They'll be back tomorrow." Kakashi said. He approached her and asked her to hold out his hands. "May I?"

"Uh, sure?" She did so hesitantly.

His hand were large and cool, his fingers slender and steady. She was surprised by how gentle he was in unwrapping her hands and examining the small cuts.

"Are you alright?" He asked. His voice was a low murmur. He held her hands as if they were fragile glass.

Mamoru swallowed. She never noticed it the entire day, until now, as she looked up at him. This man standing in front of her was actually really good-looking. His eyelashes were longer than hers, unexpectedly, and when he looked at her from under them she felt like he was staring straight through her.

He was a good head taller than her, and was clearly in good shape from his occupation. Mamoru never really paid attention to shinobi gossip or news, but even she knew this man was well-known for a reason in his field.

"Mamoru-san?" Now he looked at her as if he were amused.

She realized she hadn't answered his question. "Oh- yes, I'm fine. Th-thank you for your concern." She muttered. What was wrong with her today? She pulled her hands from his grasp. "I just need to wrap them in bandages now that I cleaned them. No big deal, Hatake-san."

"Kakashi."

"What?"

"It's only fair. Since we've been calling you Mamoru-san."

"Th-that's well, you don't really have a choice since I don't have a last name."

"Just Mamoru, then?"

"That's right."

"Either way," And even under that mask, she could tell he smiled at her, if the glint in his eye wasn't enough. "Kakashi is fine. We'll be working together for the next two days."

Mamoru swallowed again. She suddenly regretted putting in that request for help now. Two more days with this strange, confusing man. "I understand... Kakashi-san." Then she really thought about it. "Wait- you didn't do anything today!"

"Moral support."

"All you did was read Icha Icha Paradise!"

"Well- it's time for me to go, jounin duties and all." He waved his hand and with a polite smile, and left quickly after through the entrance.

A moment later the screen doors burst open again, and Mamoru's friend came in with a shocked look on her face.

The short-haired brunette looked as if she was barely containing her excitement. "Was that Hatake-fucking-Kakashi?"

"Rena-chan! Uh, yes?"

Rena shook Mamoru by the shoulders. "What the heck was he doing here?"

"Remember when you told me about hiring genin teams? Well I did, and he's their sensei."

Her face looked beyond shocked. "Mamoru-chan, he's like, the hottest shinobi next to Genma and Asuma."

Mamoru turned red. "O-okay."

"That's it? That's all you got to say? Give me the details! You spent the whole day with him!"

"Rena-chan, it wasn't that big a deal."

The woman threw her hands up in the air. "Bull, so much bull."

"Well, his genin painted the furniture. And he read Icha Icha Paradise." If possible, Mamoru turned redder. "And then I cut myself on glass, and he checked my cuts. That's all. Really."

Rena looked unconvinced. "Okay, well, I mean- at least with porn, he might actually know what he's doing in bed. But he checked your cuts?" Her tone quickly changed to worry, "You're hurt? Let me see that. It's not like you to be so careless." She turned Mamoru's hands this way and that with a scrutinizing gaze and tutted. She was such a mother hen. Mamoru sighed.

"Why aren't you more weirded out about the porn thing like me? And the cuts aren't that bad, I was just distracted, simple mistake."

"Eh, well you know, sex is normal and all that." Satisfied with her checking, Rena nodded, they weren't too bad. "Clean cuts, easily bandaged. Did something happen for you to cut yourself like that?"

Mamoru shook her head. "Just remembered something I didn't want to."

Rena looked concerned, but she changed the subject as she went to be back room to get bandages. "By the way, how did your date go the other day? That guy with the silk business, he seemed all right when he came by." She came back with a few bandage rolls.

Mamoru watched as Rena wrapped her hands in bandages. She winced, not from the pain but the memory of the date. "Actually, he didn't show."

"What- are you kidding me? He stood you up?" She looked like she was going to kill someone and began muttering angrily to herself. "How could this happen, again!"

Mamoru sighed, long used to it by now. "It is what it is, I suppose we didn't connect well enough. Just like all the other men."

"Don't give up Mamoru, you're a freaking angel! What man wouldn't be interested in you? Look at this place," she gestured around, "You're the successful owner of Mugen Tea House, you're a total catch!"

Mamoru groaned. "Apparently not, judging by the dozens of men that left me hanging. Honestly, I don't even know why I bother. I wasn't exactly enamored by any of them."

Rena sighed, "Well, look. It's not all bad. You just haven't found the one yet. They all sucked anyways. They were probably intimidated by you. But Hakate Kakashi though," She winked. "He's like the hottest bachelor amongst the shinobi in Konoha, and I doubt he'd be intimidated by a successful woman like you."

"Rena, please." Mamoru whined, it was just like her friend to do and say these things. "I doubt he's interested. I'm sure he's busy being a ninja and all that. Besides, he's just so… difficult to understand." She thought about how he ignored her for most of the day, nothing she was too worked up about, but then she remembered the feeling of his hands holding hers. She turned away so Rena couldn't see her blush. She went about cleaning up the plates and cups from earlier.

Rena sighed, putting the bandages away and helping Mamoru. "Just get to know him. You got him for what? Two more days right?"

"Yes, I hired them for three days total. Their sensei is strange, but the kids are great." Mamoru smiled. "It's a good change of pace."

Rena lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Well I expect full updates." They finished up their cleaning. "Now come on, let's get dinner."

Mamoru really had regrets now, looking at Rena's obvious pleasure at her discomfort, but she chuckled. All in all, things were going to get busy again, Mamoru felt. They locked up and headed to the village center, talking all the way about their day.

Elsewhere in the village, the sun was setting in a way that colored the sky in orange and red hues. It painted Konoha and the villagers gold in the dimming light, and the Third Hokage watched it all from his office windows with his hands clasped in back of him. He was contemplative, his thoughts leaning towards the nostalgic.

Behind him, a masked figure stood at attention, waiting for the Sandaime to address him.

The Hokage thought of all the moments that really mattered in his life. The decisions he had to make to protect the will of fire. The sacrifices he had to make for the sake of the village. He wondered if they would be worth it in the end.

Finally, "Report."

"Yes sir," said the Anbu operative. "The target has been contacted as of this morning. Nothing worthy to note, however the target's episodes are becoming increasingly regular."

The Sandaime sighed. "Continue to keep watch. Report if the episodes get worse, but don't interfere. You are dismissed. Good work."

"Yes sir!"

The Anbu operative disappeared.

The Sandaime sighed again. "Biwako… what should I do?"

*Biwako is the Sandaime's deceased wife.

I'll be loosely updating this, probably more of a slice of life drama if anything.