Chapter 13: Coming Clean

Kakashi flipped a page of the book he was reading as he leaned against a tree, enjoying the morning sun. He finally had a bit of free time in between his missions. After learning he now had a 'house-guest', he experienced some issues with sticking to his routine, which made his performance on his missions a bit less. His team hadn't mentioned it, but still. In all honesty, he figured it was best to communicate as less as possible with his new charge, leaving most of the guarding up to the rest of the team.

It had multiple reasons, really. First of all, if he didn't talk with her, he couldn't argue with her. Also, it kept him from feeling anything that was foreign to him. And third, making it a Team Ro mission, allowed him to ignore any questioning, simple answering that they didn't need to know anything more. It did break up the team a little, because now they weren't leaving with a complete team, but it also gave them a bit of rest here and there.

Admittedly, he maybe wasn't going about it in the right way. She was getting angrier by the minute, no doubt, with him not cleaning up or sticking around. But if he wasn't there, they wouldn't be confronted with whatever it was between them and that suited him just fine. Although, it probably was a bad decision to eat the last remaining food and not leave any money. Then again, even if he did leave money, he never told her she was allowed to go outside, so leaving the money didn't really matter in his book.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he felt a familiar chakra approaching. With everything going on, he was glad he had been able to avoid him up until this luck had to run out at some point. He wondered what his so-called rival wanted now. Sitting up straight and closing his book, he made way to stand up and greet him.

"RIVAL!" Oh, man. He was in a mood, huh? He must be if he was using that volume.

"Yo," he held up his hand in greeting.

"You have some explaining to do, rival! So much explaining!"

"Hm? What are you talking about?" Kakashi did not like where this was going. Not that he ever did like it when Gai came up to him like this.

Suddenly Gai was on his knees before Kakashi, making him take a step back, "Uh, Gai?"

"Kakashi!" He cried out, tears streaming down his face. "How could you not tell me? Are we not friends?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked flatly.

"How could you not tell me you have this beautiful flower; a beautiful, young maiden, live with you?! I didn't even know you were looking for someone! GAH, that's another challenge you've won, without me even knowing it!"

Kakashi felt his uncovered eye widen at that. No way. Surely he didn't- But of course he did. He hated to admit it, but it was a logical explanation, especially for someone like Gai. Given his age and the fact he was the last of his clan. The council had been pressuring him to look for a wife the moment he turned eighteen, which he had no interest in whatsoever. He was perfectly fine with just living his life as a shinobi. He felt nothing for the idea of starting a family. Not that he ever would. Everyone just kept on dying anyway, so why put effort into something he was sure to lose?

"No, Gai. That's not-"

"Don't deny it, Kakashi! I've seen her! I'm so happy for you, rival! She seems to be just right for you, from what I've seen!"

Kakashi felt like hitting his head against a tree. Repeatedly. This wasn't something that he could use now. Think, Kakashi, think. What was the best way to get him to back off? Well, he supposed the best way was to do as he always did. Shaking his head, he turned and walked away. He did have to make his way home soon anyways, if he didn't want to be late for his meeting.

"Kakashi! You can't just ignore me!" He heard from behind him and he disagreed with that, because yes, he could. Suddenly, he felt Gai grabbing his arm and a second later they appeared right in front of his house.

"Let it go, Gai," he said in a flat voice with anger seeping through, as he ripped his arm from Gai's grip. This got old, real fast. He really needed to learn to take a hint.

"Rival! Do not think I will do such a thing! I will not quit until you've told me all about your lovely maiden!"

Kakashi made his way towards the front door and opened it, not bothering to respond to Gai's ridiculous request. Slamming the door in Gai's face, he made his way inside. A moment later, the door was kicked open again.

"Damn it Gai, take a goddamn hint, will you?" He groaned loudly, as he made his way further into his house. He was tempted to just leave and not come back. Maybe he could request a long term solo-mission. That sounded like music to his ears. "I don't want to talk about this. So let it go, for fuck's sake."

"If I did that every time, rival, we would've never become friends. So, no! You will not get out of this conversation that easily!"

"Where the hell were you?!" Came from his right.

You have got to be kidding me, Kakashi thought, feeling a headache appear with all this shouting going on. Okay. That's it. He had enough of this shit.

"Shut up! And stop pretending you own me and this house, because you don't. This is my house. You're still in our custody, so don't pretend otherwise."

Two gasps were heard after his outburst. It did finally shut Gai up, for which he was grateful. A small part of him wondered if Gai spoke English. As far as he knew, that wasn't the case. But you could never be sure.

"Where's the kid?" He asked angrily, addressing Hermione.

"Wha-"

"We don't have time for this, we have a meeting to get to. So, again, where's the kid?"

"In his room, but-"

He didn't let her finish whatever she was going to say, flickering to the bedroom to pick up the boy. As he bent down to grab him, he paused.

"What the-"

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could've sworn that the kid's hair was brown, quite like Hermione's. It was most definitely not anything like his, so how? He shook his head, they didn't have time for this. The Hokage wouldn't be pleased if they showed up late, and he would already have to do some sucking up for the stunts he pulled this past week. He picked up the child and shifted him in his arms, making his way back to the living room.

He passed Gai from behind, shielding the child from view. He did not want another one-sided shouting match from him.

"Alright. Let's go." He said, as he stretched his arm towards Hermione. He braced himself for the shock that would go through them, making sure his grip wouldn't be too harsh this time around. With a poof of smoke, they disappeared, leaving Gai behind in his home.

A moment later, they appeared in the hallway right outside the Hokage's office, his arm still tingling. He didn't think he would get used to this sensation anytime soon. He glanced at the woman beside him, who was looking away from him. Softly nudging her, he held the boy out for her to take, which she did right away. Cradling him in her arms, she gave him a small nod in thanks.

Kakashi turned towards the office, knocking on the door twice to announce their arrival. After a soft, but commanding "Enter" from inside, he opened the door, letting himself and the pair beside him inside the room.

"Ah, right on time, Kakashi," the Hokage greeted, turning to Hermione to greet her as well, in English.

"How have you been Hermione-san?" The Hokage asked, while signalling for them to take a seat.

"I've been alright, thank you."

"I'm glad to hear that. How do you find the village so far?"

He glanced at Kakashi when he asked her, with a knowing glint in his eyes. Kakashi stiffened slightly in response. He knew that the Hokage had known. He mentally prepared himself for the explanation he was going to have to give to his leader. In his mind it made sense and it was definitely justified. He just hoped the Sandaime would agree with him.

"It's quite different from back home, but it seems like quite a peaceful village from what I've seen. The villagers have been very nice and helpful, for which I'm grateful." She responded, which made Kakashi look at her in surprise. She stubbornly avoided his gaze and kept her eyes on the village leader.

He'd expected her to just rat him out and say she didn't know she had been allowed out until today, which was the case. Genma had informed him he had given her some money so that she could do some grocery shopping, claiming that Kakashi now owed him several drinks the next time they went out. The only thing stopping Genma from giving him a harder time was that Kakashi was his captain. But it was quite clear his decisions hadn't been appreciated by the senbon-user.

"I can imagine. I'm happy to hear you've been doing alright so far. And how have the language lessons been going?"

This time, Kakashi did decide to interfere. "We haven't been able to get to those yet."

"I wonder why," she muttered under her breath, but both shinobi still heard.

"Oh?"

Fuck. Of course now she does rat him out. Couldn't she just have shut her mouth the rest of the conversation?

"Care to explain, Kakashi?"

He really didn't want to explain, because he knew he couldn't just stop at the fact they were arguing a lot. Which would mean he'd have to go as far as explaining whatever it was she made him feel, and he did not want to start talking about emotions. Especially not with the one person who could order Kakashi to take time off if he deemed it necessary.

As Kakashi stayed silent, it was Hermione that decided to speak up this time. "If I may, sir?" Stopping momentarily until she was allowed to continue, "I think both of us have had some issues with getting used to this whole situation."

"I understand, Hermione-san." The Sandaime acknowledged. "Would you please wait in the hallway for me? There's some things I have to discuss with Kakashi. Afterwards, you and I will talk. I'll call you back in when he and I are done."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, sure." She said as she got up and left the room.

Kakashi glanced behind him as she left the room. Turning back to the Hokage, he figured he might as well start explaining right away. Coming clean would be a lot better than making up some bogus story, which the Hokage would know wasn't real, if the looks he had received were anything to go by.

"Our communication hasn't been that good. To be honest, there have definitely been issues. It's as she said before, we both have been struggling with coming to terms with this situation."

"What issues?"

"Well, besides the fact I'm not happy with living in the house, something happened that I don't quite understand. When I grabbed her to take her to T&I, the moment I touched her arm a shock ran through me. And not just an electric shock like with lightning style jutsu, this was something else entirely." He looked at his hand, clearly remembering the feeling that went through his arm.

"I wasn't the only one to feel it. She felt it too, if her reaction was anything to go by. And while this isn't something worth mentioning... Honestly, I wouldn't have, only- It happened again, at the house. And once more on our way here."

The Hokage hummed. He wouldn't be surprised if his leader hadn't heard of anything like this before. Or, maybe he had and this all had a simple, logical explanation.

"Is that all? Only the shocks when you touch?"

"Ah, well. No." Kakashi started, "when we were talking last week-"

He looked up as the Hokage cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, clearly not buying it.

"Okay, we had an argument." He sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "And I- It was almost like I felt what she was feeling. And when I confronted her, she denied knowing anything about it, while it is obvious she does know. I must admit, it bothers me. I don't know if she has this effect with other people. I haven't heard Inoichi or Genma about it, but I'm fairly certain it's just with me. Which is quite troublesome, since the first time it happened, I was on duty as Hound."

He stopped at that. He knew the Hokage was very much aware of the risks of this situation. If Hermione only experienced this with him, it would only be a matter of time before she puts two and two together.

"Is that why you didn't tell her she's allowed to leave the house?"

"Yes."

"Because you figured that if she couldn't go out to run into others, she wouldn't connect those dots?"

"Yes."

"And this is also the reason you haven't been teaching her?"

Kakashi nods.

"I agree. This is an issue. And this shock you mentioned, you get this when touching her skin, or?"

"Not only with direct skin contact. I was wearing gloves the first time."

"Right. Okay. We'll have to look into this, see if we have information on this happening before. Was that all, or is there anything else?"

Kakashi stayed silent at first, thinking if he should mention the wand she has with her. While it was wrong to keep this from the Sandaime, for some reason he didn't want to betray her trust, giving her the opportunity to come clean herself. Besides, it wasn't that she had used it to try and get away or attack any of them.

"No, that was all."

"Alright, we're done, then. For now, the given orders still count. While I know you'd rather not let her have any contact with others, I do want you to teach her our language."

"Yes sir, understood." Kakashi stood up, getting ready to leave.

"Okay, please get her. Come collect her in an hour. Dismissed."

"Sir." He bowed before leaving, his mind already going in overdrive, thinking on how to make this work for both of them.

As he exited the office, he looked to his left, his eye searching for the now familiar brown-haired female. He spotted her down the hall, playing with the boy that was facing her while sitting on her lap.

"Hermione-san," he called out, getting her attention. "The Hokage is ready for you now."

As Hermione walked up to him, he moved out of the way. "I'll come collect you once you're done."

"Oh, uh. Right. Yeah, okay," she stammers, not looking him in the eye.

What was up with her? Did she think he told on her? Probably, seeing as he never answered her inquiry whether or not he reported the fact she had a wand. That was up to her now. She had a lot of secrets, which wasn't uncommon in this village, naturally. But for someone who was considered to be a spy, it was quite dangerous to have this many secrets.

"Alright. See you later." He replied, softly.

Nodding at her before flickering away as she entered the office. Time to face the music that came in the shape of an annoying teen in a green jumpsuit. As he entered his house, he noticed his friend sitting on the couch, looking at the highchair the boy- Teddy sat in when eating.

Gai looked up as Kakashi walked towards him, with a frown on his face. His eyes darted back and forth between him and the highchair.

"Kakashi-"

"There's nothing I can tell you, Gai." He interrupted with a sigh. "It's a classified mission. So, again, let it go. You being here already compromises the mission."

The black-haired teen met his gaze with a serious look on his face. For a moment he thought there was going to be an argument, but honestly, he wasn't allowed to talk about this. Gai being here was already in violation of the rules. Kakashi knew he would keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't risk him getting more information about this.

"Alright." Gai said, backing down. "I apologise, my friend. I didn't mean to make this difficult for you." He stood up, facing Kakashi. "Promise me you'll tell me if you do find someone? For real?"

Kakashi sighed and rolled his eye at that. "Sure, Gai. Just don't expect it to happen. I have no plans whatsoever to settle down, you know this."

"Ha, you just wait, rival! There will be a time when you'll meet someone, the right one, and that person will make you eat your words. You'll see!"

He gave the silver-haired teen a nod, making his way outside. Before he left, he turned back, "how about a challenge? It's been a while since we had a proper one, don't you agree?"

"I can't. Another time, perhaps."

"Very well. I'll think of a good one! You're not going to win this time!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Kakashi said with a dismissive wave as the other teen left, leaving him alone in his own home.

He sighed again as he looked around the room. He knew he hadn't been home a lot, but still the room looked properly lived in. He felt a pang of loneliness in his heart. Really, how long had it been since he lived with someone like this? His mind supplied the answer for him, thirteen years.

Kakashi mindlessly made his way to one of the backrooms, one he had forbidden Hermione from entering. He unlocked one of the doors, opening it slowly. He steeled himself, taking a deep breath while closing his eyes. He wasn't even sure why he was doing this. What was he gaining from this? Fuck if he knew. But dealing with all this and thinking about everything that's happened, he just felt like he needed to come here.

Nodding to himself, he fully opened the door and stepped inside. His gaze automatically turned to a spot on the floor. It didn't matter how many times his father entered his thoughts. He would never forget the moment he entered this room, finding his father on the floor. Kakashi knew his father had struggled, months before he had resorted to ending his own life. Many times he had wondered if his father had thought about him. If Kakashi had actually mattered so little to his father, that he couldn't even try to keep on living, for him.

It was safe to say that Kakashi had been angry and resentful for a very long time. He felt abandoned by his father, left to deal with the aftermath of his decision. Mainly because of this event, followed by the loss of his team, he had learned the hard way that letting people close would only end in heartache.

He shook his head, bringing him back to the present. It didn't do to dwell on this. It was time to focus on the future. He had made it this far, so he might as well continue moving forward with his life. He was still against starting a family. Seriously, what was the point? Sure, he was able to continue the Hatake-clan. But was that really something worth fussing over as much as the council did? Hardly.

As he turned to leave the room, his eye caught one of the photographs he had hidden away. Looking at himself when he was a toddler, he was reminded of Teddy. How was it possible that the kid had a strand of silver hair? It shouldn't have been, he was absolutely certain there wasn't a silver strand before, so how? Had it been a trick of the light? It's possible, but not logical, it had only been a single strand. Not that anything that concerned her had been logical so far.

He knew this was going to bother him for a very long time, unless he figured it out. Did it have something to do with this whole magic thing? But if that were the case, he would've seen something with Hermione as well, right? He groaned at his thought process. This was going to bother him so much. He wasn't a genius for nothing though, he would figure it out. He will figure it out.