Notes:

Helloo!

Here's another update! It's a bit sooner than the others were, but I've got a bit of extra time on my hands. Again here to remind you to check chapter 9 first, if you haven't already :).

Also, I'd love to hear what you guys think of this story so far. Do you like it? (yay!) Hate it (Why are you still reading it?). Or if you have any questions.. let me know by reviewing!

Without further ado: Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Unexpected Houseguest

As soon as Team Ro got back to the village, Kakashi sent his team off while making his way to the Anbu facility. He knew the Hokage wouldn't be in his office at this time, seeing as it was about six in the morning. In that case it was best to just write the report and file it. He knew it would be delivered to the Hokage later today. Besides, there weren't any anomalies, so there wasn't much to report than a simple 'mission accomplished'.

After filing his report, he used the Anbu changerooms to take a shower and dress in one of his spare jonin uniforms that he kept there. The clock showed it was a little past eight in the morning. Debating on whether he'd go home or to a bar, he chose the latter. They had at least four days off after a mission like this and he wasn't lying when he said he needed a drink. Luckily there was at least one bar in Konoha that was open 24/7 and frequented mostly by shinobi.

He made his way inside and spotted his team, all of them changed out of their Anbu uniforms, at a table in the back. Shisui sat next to Yugao as they shared a bench and Genma en Tenzou were on the other side. Shisui spotted him as he entered and enthusiastically waved at him. "Yoo, senpai! We saved you a seat!"

Kakashi let out a sigh. He really rather be drinking alone at the moment, but he knew that if he sat down elsewhere, they'd just join him. He gave Shisui a nod and went to the bar to order a bottle of sake. He wasn't lying when he said he was going to get shitfaced. Paying for his order, he grabbed the bottle and cup and made his way over to his team.

"I see you're all making good use of your free time." He commented as he set his drink down and grabbed a chair from another table. Turning the chair around, he sat down, leaning his arms on the backrest of the chair.

"Well, we figured that the least we could do is support you with your mission of getting drunk." Genma replied.

"Oh? Support how? I don't suppose you'll be buying, hm?" Hook.

Kakashi looked at Genma with a raised eyebrow. He already knew the answer to his question. Everyone knew Kakashi didn't pay for anyone else, so he usually received the same treatment, which was fine by him. But he sometimes managed to get his team to pay for him and he'd be stupid to say no to free alcohol on days like these.

"Ehh, more like moral support, y'know?" Genma corrected himself, waving a hand around to make his point. "I mean, we all know you don't need actual support with getting drunk, right boss?"

"Maa, you're just afraid I'll drink you under the table." Line.

"What? No way! I can easily outdrink you! You know what? Let's have a challenge, then. See who can drink the most!" Genma stated. He then turned towards the bar and yelled; "Can we get a couple bottles of sake here? Put it on my tab, will ya?" And sinker.

"Oi,oi, Genma. Tone it down, man!" Tenzou called out, grabbing his arm before he got hit in the face.

"Are you sure about this, though? Senpai barely loses in a drinking competition, you know that. Actually, he barely loses in any competition." Shisui said as he leaned against the backrest, putting his arm around Yugao's shoulder.

"I don't care! I will not run away from a challenge like this!" Kakashi raised his eyebrow at his subordinate. It was quite clear he'd been here a while, drinking. He was getting louder by the second.

"You do realise that you were the one to challenge the captain, right?" Yugao supplied, looking at him with a smirk on her face.

Kakashi looked at Genma as well, as he processed this information. He looked ready to say something, opening his mouth, before closing it again in defeat. In the meantime, Kakashi took his time pouring his sake into the cup and slowly sipping it through his mask. Tenzou may have seen his face. Didn't mean he wanted everyone else to see. Besides, it tastes just fine through his mask, so why would he bother lowering it?

While he did that, it seemed Genma had given up on trying to say something. He just shrugged and downed his beer, before grabbing one of the bottles of sake the bartender had brought over. "Whatever, man. I'm still not losing tonight."

Letting out a chuckle, Kakashi replied before taking another sip, "Whatever you say Genma, whatever you say."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best idea in the world to challenge Genma to a drinking contest. Or, to challenge Genma to challenge him to a contest, or… yeah. Whatever. It didn't matter. It wasn't one of his best ideas, that's for sure, Kakashi thought as he stumbled out of the bar.

Looking ahead, he saw Tenzou carrying a barely coherent Genma, who apparently decided it was a great idea to start singing. In the middle of the street. At midday. Shisui and Yugao had left about an hour or two ago, which he should've done as well. He planned to do so, but Genma just had to call him a coward and a quitter. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but his drunk-self didn't think like his sober-self. No, drunk Kakashi didn't take kindly to being called out like that, so of course he had stayed to continue the challenge.

Kakashi stumbled as he missed a step while walking towards Tenzou and Genma. Tenzou looked at him, wearing a small blush on his cheeks which indicated he also was reasonably drunk.

"Take him home, will you?" He told Tenzou.

"What about you?"

"Maa, I'm perfectly able to get myself home. He looks way worse, so make sure he doesn't end up falling asleep in the gutter."

"BOSSS, boosss," Genma called out, slurring his words as he noticed Kakashi. "Bosss, wait. Why are there two of you? Stop moving, man! You're getting me all dizzy. Oh shi-" A second later, Genma had puked all over his feet, and unfortunately for Tenzou, his feet as well.

"For fuck's sake, Genma!" Tenzou groaned.

"Yeah, good luck with that, kohai. Later!" Kakashi said with a smirk as he eye-smiled at him before poofing away.

Appearing on a roof a few blocks, Kakashi barely managed to catch himself at the edge. Groaning as he held his head, yeah, that probably wasn't one of his best ideas either. Glancing around to see where he had ended up, he noticed he had successfully managed to go in the complete opposite direction of his apartment. However, he was only a block or two removed from...

"Fuck this shit," he mumbled to himself. He swore he wouldn't go back there, but he really didn't feel like walking all the way back to his apartment. And sleeping on some random rooftop in the sun wasn't exactly a smart move right now. Admitting defeat, he turned around and made his way to the outskirts of the village.

As he reached his childhood home, he paused. He hadn't been here in over ten years. The state of the house showed as much. However, were those footprints in the dirt leading towards the house? The thought made him frown in confusion. Broadening his senses, he knew the old wards were still active. But… Someone was here. Someone was in his house. Confusion quickly got replaced by anger. No one was allowed here without his permission. Whether he lived here or not.

With three long strides, he reached his front door, silently opening it. Looking around, he spotted someone sitting on the porch in the back. What the-. He slammed the door shut.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" He demanded, before actually noticing who it was. As the person stood up in shock and turned to him, he felt his eye widening. His thoughts were all over the place, especially in his intoxicated state. No way. Why was she here? And did they actually give her her weapon back? Are they insane? Is she actually considering attacking him? He raised his eyebrow at her stance. Wait, she doesn't know who he is. Of course. She met Hound. Not him.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked as she shakily pointed her stick at him. He noticed her nervously glancing to where the bedrooms were, before shifting her eyes back on him. "Well?"

He raised his eyebrow at her, switching to English. "Don't you think that's something I'm supposed to ask you?" He retorted with a slur. "After all, it's you that's in my house." He pointed out.

As he looked at her, he watched her eyes grow comically large at his response. "Th-this is y-your house? Right. Right, I- I'm sorry. I didn't know and. Gosh, you just barged in here and, of course you did. It's your house after all. I'm really sorry. I had no say in this. I was brought here with the news that I would be staying here and-"

"Shut up!"

Kakashi shouted, groaning loudly he lifted a hand to his head and closed his exposed eye. This really wasn't a good time, his headache got worse by the second. All he wanted was to sleep and hopefully not deal with a hangover when he woke up. A blabbering woman wasn't on that list. He slowly opened his right eye again, taking her in as she no longer looked as nervous as before. Nope, she was definitely angry now.

"Excuse me?!" She yelled back, "I will not be spoken to like tha- Wait. Are you drunk?!"

Of course he was drunk, he thought as he refrained from rolling his eye at her. He had just spent the last four hours getting wasted. He knew, though, that he had to tread carefully now. Making sure he didn't say or do anything that would reveal to her that he knew who she was. And to also keep his own identity hidden. Well. One simple solution for that.

"I'm going to sleep." He said, slurring slightly, ignoring her previous question as he walked past her to his room. He knew it would be a dirty mess, but his futon should still be stored in the closet and should be clean. "Oh," he turned around to look at her, "while I appreciate it that you cleaned... If you touch anything else, I'll make sure you'll regret it. Oh. Right. Name's Hatake Kakashi by the way. Pleasure meeting you."

He gave her a mock bow before turning back around. As he walked away, he heard her huff out a soft, "ungrateful arsehole." He smirked at that. She's got spunk, that's for sure. But, he'll deal with that later. He really needed to sleep his oncoming hangover off.

Who the hell did he think he was?! Sure, she was in his house, she knew that. She recognised his hair immediately, how could she not? He looked exactly like the boy from the framed photos she had found. And from the looks of it, he had no idea she would be there. So, his reaction was somewhat expected. But honestly, did he really have to be such a dick about it? Talk about being unappreciative.

Hermione waited for him to close his bedroom door, before making her way to the room she had claimed as her own. Locking herself inside, she looked at her hand and... Merlin. No. How could she have been so stupid?! Although he didn't seem to know she wasn't supposed to have it, there was still a good chance he would report this to the Hokage. Shitshitshit. Oh, she had really fucked up now, hadn't she?

She looked at Teddy, biting her lip as she tried to keep her tears at bay. Right. This was it then. The only option she had now, was to leave. She couldn't stay now, they'd take her out for sure. Idiot, she berated herself.

"Okay, Teddy. I guess we're going to go, huh." She whispered softly. She started grabbing her stuff, shoving it in her bag as she made her way through the room. Picking up a few books that she had taken out, she started putting those in her bag as well. One slipped from her hand, falling on the floor with a loud 'thump'. Hermione froze, staying still and listening for any indication that he was coming out to check what was going on. It stayed silent.

She let out a small sigh in relief as she picked the book up and put it in the bag. Looking at Teddy, she was happy to see that he hadn't woken up either. Okay. Good. Suddenly the door was kicked open, making her whirl around in surprise and causing Teddy to start wailing.

"What the-"

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" He called out, interrupting her. He was still slightly slurring his words but he did seem a bit more coherent though.

"None of your business." She stated, as she reached for Teddy to grab him so she could apparate away.

"Oh, no you don't," he interrupted lunging at her, but it seemed he still was very much drunk as he tripped over the rug on the floor and fell against her, causing them both to fall to the floor.

"AH!" Hermione shrieked as she landed on the floor, feeling the air escape her lungs as the man fell on top of her. Merlin's beard, just how heavy was he? She tried to push him off, feeling a rush of electricity go through her, but couldn't even move him an inch. She looked at him in shock. How? She thought this only happened with Hound. Although, she hadn't exactly touched any other shinobi. She didn't think the doctors and nurses counted in that case. Maybe it wasn't just Hound, but every shinobi?

She felt the man groan and waited as he slowly placed his hands on both sides of her and shakingly lifted himself up.

She followed his movements, as he stopped moving and hovered above her, his right eye wide as he stared at her. They stayed like that for several moments, just looking at each other. Hermione noticed he had a dark grey eye. She wondered why his other one was covered. Had he maybe lost it? Why else would someone cover it up?

Then, out of the blue, a thought entered her mind as she felt the tingling feeling slowly disappear. There's no way, is there? Did this even happen outside of the wizarding community? Did he know what was happening? Was it even happening though, or did she just think it was? Hermione wasn't sure, after all, this was something she had only read about in a book. She'd never expected it to happen to her, let alone with someone who was anything but a wizard.

Damn that fucking rug. And damn him for being drunk. What the hell was she thinking though? Was she really going to run? He didn't quite understand why, then again, his brain was really foggy.

Kakashi groaned as he tried to move after falling on top of her. Something in the back of his mind told him he was crushing her, so he knew he had to move. Suddenly there was a shock going through him as she tried to push him off. What was it with that damn tingling feeling every time they touched?

Placing his hands carefully beside her, he slowly lifted himself up. He noticed her watching him as he did so. As he made eye contact with her, he froze. He really did not understand what it was about her. But all logic flew out the window when it came to her and he didn't. Understand. Why? Why her? It frustrated him. He searched her eyes, as he noticed her do the same with his. The confusion in her eyes slowly changed to wonder, which only confused him more.

He couldn't move. He tried, he really did. But it was like she had captivated him. Like nothing mattered but her. Kakashi didn't know how much time had passed, as they looked at each other.
His eye shifted down her face, to her lips, before darting back up to her eyes. The moment then ended abruptly by a door closing and a voice calling out in the house, "Hermione-san?"

A second later, Kakashi was back on his feet, looking down at the stunned woman, as he schooled his expression. There was no need for Inoichi to see him like this. He turned to the door to greet the blond-haired man before pausing. Looking over his shoulder, he softly said "Please don't do anything stupid. Stay. We'll talk about this later," before slowly making his way to the living room.

"Inoichi-san." He greeted, "what can I do for you?" He was glad he actually managed to not slur his words this time around. For some reason the previous incident had definitely sobered him up substantially.

"Ah, Kakashi-san, I wasn't aware the Hokage had already informed you of the current situation."

"Informed me?" Kakashi cocked his head at this.

"You-" Inoichi sighed, "you didn't know Hermione-san would be staying here, did you?"

He slowly shook his head at the older man. Was this something the Hokage had ordered? That she would be placed here, under his supervision?

"Maybe you should go and get briefed then. And, well, I suggest you probably take a shower first. It seems you had quite the morning, Kakashi-san." Inoichi said, giving him a stern look.

Kakashi felt a pang of annoyance at that and narrowed his eye. He didn't need to be judged like that. If he wanted to get drunk to unwind from a mission, he had every right to do so. "What are you doing here, Yamanaka?" He demanded, not accepting the way he was being talked to, in his own home no less.

Inoichi frowned at the change of his tone but replied nonetheless "I'm here to check in on Hermione-san. I was told you wouldn't be available for another day or two. And while I understand this is unexpected for you, I don't appreciate you talking to me like that, Kakashi-san. Now, where is she?"

"Back there." He said, pointing towards the bedrooms. "And I don't appreciate people barging into my house. Next time, knock before entering someone else's property Yamanaka, and we won't have any issues. Now, if you'll excuse me, I apparently need to get briefed about the fact that there's someone living in my house without my knowledge." He stated as he flickered away. Despite the situation, Inoichi had been right. He really needed a shower, he thought as he appeared in his apartment, but not just because of the stench of alcohol that surrounded him. He readjusted his pants as he made his way to the bedroom, glad Inoichi hadn't noticed the bulge. One cold shower coming right up.

Hermione blinked at the speed the man had stood up. She didn't know what to think about him. One minute he was extremely aggressive towards her and the next he's asking her to stay? So they can talk it out? She really didn't know what to do with that. She wondered what made him break away so suddenly, as she stood back up. Walking towards the door, she could hear voices. Ah, a visitor then.

It only took her a moment to realise who had interrupted them. She honestly wasn't sure whether to thank or curse Inoichi for the interruption. Absentmindedly she picked Teddy up, who had surprisingly enough calmed down again, after their tumble to the ground. It seemed he somehow realised nothing was really going on for him to be upset about. He turned out to be a very smart boy, that's for sure.

Holding him up to her chest with one arm, she raked the fingers of her free hand through her hair. Right, time to go great the visitor then. She walked towards the living room, where she saw the man and Inoichi staring at each other. The silver-haired man said something angrily before disappearing from sight.

She watched as Inoichi let out a sigh and scratched his head, mumbling something.

"Inoichi-san?" She tentatively said.

He looked up right away in surprise, "Ah Hermione-san! There you are, are you alright?"

Slowly nodding her head, "Um, yes, I'm fine. Are you?"

"Nothing to worry about, Hermione-san, just a small argument. I assume you've met Kakashi, the one that owns this house?"

"Yeah, I've met him alright." She couldn't help the way her voice sounded.

"Not the best introduction, huh?" Inoichi asked as Hermione slowly shook her head in response.

"No, he- I mean, we- well. No. It wasn't." She felt a blush appear thinking about what had just occurred before. She didn't dare to look Inoichi in the eye after that, shuffling on her feet. "Um, would you like some tea, maybe? I was about to make myself some as well. I was also going to feed this man, right here, but I wouldn't mind the company?"

"Sure, I'll have a cup of tea, how about I prepare the tea while you feed Teddy? Oh, good job on cleaning by the way, it looks great!" He complimented her as he followed her to the kitchen, which made her smile.

"Thank you, I did my best, it was definitely needed," she laughed as she carried Teddy over to the highchair and strapped him in. Grabbing a small bowl of pureed food for Teddy, she heated it up a little before sitting down and feeding him. While she did, Inoichi placed a cup of tea in front of her as he side down across from her,

"So, tell me about the meeting you had with Kakashi. It must've been interesting if it got you to respond like that." He said while looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, right. Yeah, it was quite the meeting," she said before explaining to him what had happened. However, she was not going to mention anything about the wand. Or them falling on each other, quite literally. That was something the two of them needed to talk about first. If he hadn't already told the Hokage. If that was the case, she was still going to run, no matter who came after her.