Notes:

Hello! It's a tad bit earlier than planned, but I won't have as much time in the coming week. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging, especially not with this chapter. So, I decided to upload it now.

This does mean I can't be sure I'll be able to upload before next Saturday, but I'll try my hardest!

I'm not entirely sure I'm okay with what I've written, but it is what it is. As always: apologies for any and all mistakes made in this chapter! Also, the formatting has been working against me in this chapter. I tried to fix it, but just know, there's a possibility it's still there.

Either way, I hope you guys enjoy! 3

Chapter 35: Finally

He couldn't believe it. Hermione Granger walked into his bar. Hermione bloody Granger. In his wildest dreams he didn't think he'd ever see anyone from the Wizarding World again, especially not someone he actually knew. When he had arrived here years ago, he'd honestly thought he had died. He had been hit with the Killing Curse after all, right? Damn his cousin for firing that curse. Imagine his surprise, however, when he woke up in a field, carefully being shaken awake by a dark-haired woman.

He had glanced at her, confused, before taking in his surroundings. He hadn't expected this. Not that he knew what he had actually expected of dying. But being woken up like this, definitely wasn't it. She had been talking to him, yet he hadn't understood a word that was being said. She then had turned to the side, speaking to someone else, causing him to follow her gaze. There had been another woman there and Merlin's beard, she was beautiful. He'd never seen anyone like her. To this day her image was engraved in his mind. The blonde woman had been carefully watching him as the dark-haired woman checked him over, not saying a word.

Shaking his head, Sirius brought himself back to the present. He still couldn't believe Hermione was here. He'd have to talk to her about how she got here. Had she fallen through the veil as well? Sirius still wasn't entirely sure that had been the way he had gotten here, but honestly, was there another option? He had fallen through it, remembered all the whispers on the other side. He fully expected to become one of those whispers, yet everything had turned black instead. Damn it. He needed to stop living in the past. The present matters more now, especially since those damn shinobi's ordered him to come with them.

He glanced to the side, eyeing the shinobi that had been ordered to stay with him as the others left. Genma, right? He was a cocky bastard, that's for sure. The way he held himself was very familiar to him, he acted the same way. Confident, fully trusting his abilities. Did he have experience with magic, he wondered? He was quite familiar with Hermione, it seemed. And none of the shinobi seemed surprised at their wands. Maybe they did know more.

Once the arrangements had been made, Genma had led them through the different streets he had called his home for the past two years. The moment he walked into the room at the inn, he knew something was up. Hermione was nowhere to be seen, neither was Crookshanks. "Where is she?"

"She locked herself in the bathroom." The guy with the green jumpsuit said, with a frown on his face.

"What the bloody hell did you do?" He had to hold himself back to not start firing hexes for their incompetence. He knew he shouldn't have let her leave with them.

"We needed to make sure she was telling the truth," the boy supplied. "So I asked her some questions. Apparently she didn't like that, and now she refuses to come out."

"Fuck," he said as he scratched his cheek. "Bathroom's this way?" He said as he pointed to another room. With a nod from the shinobi, he made his way there while silently cursing the shinobi. There weren't any sounds that indicated she was upset, then again, he didn't doubt she'd put a Silencing Spell up to keep them from hearing her.

He knocked on the door, "Hermione, love, open the door." He said, leaning against the door. He waited a short moment before the door unlocked. Of course he could've easily opened it, but didn't want to upset her even further. The door slowly opened, revealing Hermione with flushed cheeks. He frowned at her, "are you-"

"I'm fine. It's fine." She said, giving him a small smile that was no doubt supposed to be reassuring. He wasn't reassured though, the dried tear streaks on her cheeks said enough. "Nothing to worry about."

"You sure? I don't mind firing a hex or two," Sirius said in a joking matter with a small chuckle as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"I have no doubt, but it's alright. Ready for some adventure?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Darling, I'm a Gryffindor and a Marauder. I was born ready." He said with a drawl. He then looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Are you?"

"Did you forget with your old age, Padfoot?" Oh no, she didn't. He scowled at that. He wasn't old. Was he? He was only thirty-eight. "I'm a Gryffindor too, remember?"

"I'm not that old." He said with a whine.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," she said with a laugh, patting his chest.

Sirius held out his arm in response, waiting for her to take it. She slid her hand through the opening and smiled in thanks. "Ready?" He asked.

"Ready."

"Let's go on an adventure." Sirius said as he pulled her along, going back to the others. He'd stick close to her, making sure no one would hurt her while he was there.

Hermione had so many questions to ask Sirius. There just didn't seem to be a right time to ask everything she wanted to ask. They'd have to stop during the night, she would have to use that time to ask some of the questions that were on the tip of her tongue. They had been walking for a good while already, mostly in silence though. Looking up at the sky, she noticed it started to get dark already. Glancing to the side, she studied the man. She knew he must have a lot of questions for her as well, but up until now he kept it light. Asking her about her time here, instead. About Konoha, what it was like. What she thought of it all.

"It's complicated." She ended up saying. And it was. There was so much that had happened.

"Complicated?" Sirius responded with a hum. "Well, it would seem I've got quite a bit of time on my hands at the moment. If you want to tell me about it."

"I don't even know where to start." She put a hand against her forehead.

"I find that the beginning is usually a good place to start," he said, bumping his shoulder against hers.

"Funny," she said dryly, rolling her eyes. She then thought about what the beginning of her tale was. Shit, she was going to have to tell him about Remus, wasn't she? Fuck, she'd have to tell him about Teddy too. And Tonks. And the war. Hermione slowed her pace before stopping entirely.

"'Mione?"

"I have to tell you something. And- honestly I don't even know how- I'm- Shit."

"Calm down, love." He stopped in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Take a deep breath for me. Go on." She did as he instructed, taking a deep breath before letting it out again.

"It's just- There's so much you don't know. So much I have to talk to you about."

Behind her she could hear Genma speaking with Itachi. "We'll stop for the night." Itachi called out, studying both Hermione and Sirius. "It's a bit sooner than I had planned, but I understand you've got to talk." With a nod, they walked a little while before reaching a place the shinobi were satisfied with. She reached into her bag and took out the tent. This time, Sirius helped her set it up.

He let out a whistle as he walked in. "Not bad at all, 'Mione."

"Arthur had lent it to me when-" Shaking her head, she didn't finish her sentence. "I never got the chance to give it back."

Sirius sat down on one of the couches in the sitting area, making himself comfortable. All the while he kept his eyes on her. Letting out a sigh, she moved to sit across from him. Hermione fiddled with her fingers, a frown on her face. She appreciated that the shinobi stayed outside, even if she did know they could probably hear them. She contemplated putting up a Silencio but knew that they probably wouldn't appreciate that. They weren't that trusting of her at the moment, save for Genma. She knew they would barge in the moment they sensed something had changed.

"After you-" Merlin, couldn't she even get this out of the way?

"Fell through the veil," he supplied kindly.

She smiled in thanks, before her smile fell again. "Harry was inconsolable. He had just gotten to know you," she said. They all had been sad, but Harry had it worse. He finally got something even resembling a family and then it was taken from him. Again. It was like the universe itself was fighting against Harry having a proper family. Which is why she was relieved he found someone in Ginny.

"Yes, I imagine- it must have been very hard for him." He said calmly. As she looked at him, she could see the hurt on his face as well. No doubt he missed Harry just as much as he was being missed.

"Yeah," she said softly. "A lot has happened since then." She took another deep breath, calming her nerves. She'd be dumping three years of shit on him and she could only hope he was prepared for that. She was going to have to summarise everything and hoped he would wait until after for any questions. She doubted it, though. Hermione started talking about her sixth year at Hogwarts. Telling him about the death of Professor Dumbledore, before continuing on about the events that had happened since then.

She explained in great detail about them moving Harry to the Burrow, that they had been betrayed, which had cost Moody's life, as well as Hedwig's. She then went on about the wedding of Bill and Fleur and the news that the Minister had been killed, which led to the three of them not returning to Hogwarts for their seventh year, but hunting Horcruxes instead.

"Hold on," he said, holding up his hand in confusion. "Hunting what? Horcruxes?"

"Yes. Voldermort had created Horcruxes, splitting his soul into several pieces. Seven it turned out. We didn't know about the seventh, until- anyways, I'll get to that." Hermione responded before continuing to explain what had happened, where they had gone and what Horcruxes they had found. She explained the whole thing. Their troubles, their findings. The battle at Hogwarts and about Harry turning out to be an accidental Horcrux, that he had gone and sacrificed himself but ended up alive somehow. About Voldemort's demise, his body dropping dead on the school grounds. So many people had lost their lives during that war. So many good people had died. She shivered as she thought about all the bodies she had seen laying there. Lifeless. Soulless.

"I still can't believe you broke out on a bloody dragon. A dragon?! Are you mental?" Sirius exclaimed, looking at her wide-eyed after she had finished the story. "Merlin, Hermione. That's bloody brilliant, that is. A fucking dragon," he said as he fell back on the couch. "I wish I could've seen that. Merlin, I'd pay to see that. I don't suppose you have a pensieve in that nifty little bag of yours?" Sirius jokily said, which made her pause.

Pensieve, she thought. Remus had had a pensieve, hadn't he? She remembered him saying something about that when she stayed with him. He had said that Andromeda had loaned him a pensieve to store memories of Teddy and Tonks in there, for when Teddy was older. Hermione was up on her feet a second later, grabbing her bag off the table and rummaging through it. The plastic bag containing all of Remus' personal effects had sunk to the bottom of her bag. Once she found it, she slowly pulled it out, placing it on the table.

"'Mione,' he started. "Is that Moony's- it is, isn't it? Why do you have Moony's stuff in there?" She felt his eyes on her, making her bite her lip.

"I- After the war and after having found my parents again, I went back to school. I wanted to finish my seventh year. So I did. Everything was different, of course. But it still felt like home. Hogwarts would always feel like home to me. During that time, I had a lot of contact with Remus. He was busy raising Teddy and was at a loss a lot of the time. So during the holidays, after I had spent some time with my parents, I spent time with them as well. We became quick friends. Anyway, at the end of the final term- I had just completed my N.E.W.T's when I was called into the Headmistress' office. Professor McGonagall told me there had been a fire at my house. My parents had been sleeping- they-" She couldn't say it, shaking her head instead. It was weird that there were times where she could utter the words and times when she just couldn't.

"Shit, 'Mione." Sirius immediately got up and walked over to her, sitting beside her, knowing what she had been trying to say. There weren't a lot of things she wasn't able to say out loud. She felt him put an arm around her, pulling her towards him and she let him. She let him hold her, comforting her. "I'm so sorry, love."

"It's fine. I mean, it still hurts, obviously. But, I'm dealing with it. After that I went camping. By myself. I needed to grieve, I suppose." She said with a shrug. "It's why I have this tent. Arthur had lent it to me after the funeral. Molly had been kind enough to stuff the cabinets full of food. There's still so much food left." Hermione let out a soft chuckle.

Sirius hummed in reply. She was glad he was this supportive, thankful too. He had been nothing like she was used to, besides the comment about the dragon, of course.

"But, yeah. After spending time in the forest, I made a quick stop at the Burrow for Ginny's birthday and after that I went to Remus' home. Like I said, he and I had gotten quite close after the war. After Tonks had died. He was a really good friend."

"Was?" Sirius softly asked. "'Was' a good friend? Not 'is'?"

"No, he-" Hermione moved away from Sirius' hold. "I spend the night there. Until- There was an explosion. Remus and I rushed outside, Teddy in his arms. There were Death Eaters. They did something, Merlin, I still don't know what, and suddenly we're here. In another world." She shrugged, shaking her head again as if she still couldn't believe it. "We tried to get away, to Apparate, but we couldn't. They chased us through a forest and once we had gotten out-"

Tears fell down her cheeks at the memory of Remus' face. The look of shock as he was hit with the Killing Curse. His lifeless body after he had fallen to the ground. She put her face in her hands. "They killed him," she cried into her hands. "He was gone in an instant. He-"

"They-" she heard Sirius breathe out. "Moony's dead." He said, sounding resigned. Next to her she felt him sag on the couch. "Fuck."

Hermione removed her hands from her face, wiping the tears. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you like this. I wished I didn't have to tell you this at all, but-"

"I know, love." He said, moving to wipe away her tears. "It's not your fault. But- I have to know, 'Mione." She looked at him in question. "Teddy, is he-"

"He's fine." She rushed to tell him. "He's absolutely fine. Teddy's back at Konoha, staying with the people who have taken me in for the time being and, blimey Sirius, he's wonderful. You're going to love him, no doubt." She said with a smile. "He's like Tonks, you know."

"He is?" He said in disbelief. "That's brilliant."

Hermione moved her gaze from him back to the table, where the plastic bag still sat. She reached out and opened it carefully. Taking out the different items that were given to her. "Everything he had on him is in here. Besides his wand. They had taken mine and I needed one, obviously. I- something happened and I was attacked. My attacker took it and snapped it."

"It is what it is, love. We still have ours, right? So we're not completely defenceless." She locked eyes with him, he tried to tell her something through that look. Hermione could definitely guess what he tried to say. They had the possibility of wandless magic. She was able to do some small things without using her wand, but hadn't properly practiced yet. It was something she would have to start practicing.

"Right." She said. "Anyways, you mentioning a pensieve actually helped me remember. He had mentioned that he had a pensieve in his possession, to store memories of Tonks for Teddy. I remembered seeing this small package but I hadn't been able to open it yet." Shuffling through the items, she revealed the small package. "I just don't know how to open it. Maybe you do?"

"Well, let's have a look then. Maybe I can figure out how he wrapped it up. If anyone knows, it should be me, hm?" Sirius said with a small smile as he took the package from her. She kept his eyes on him, wondering if he would be able to open it. If there was actually a pensieve in there, it would resolve so many issues. She could simply show the Hokage, so that he had to believe everything she had explained so far. The same could be said of Sirius. Seeing something would be so much different than just hearing the stories.

Kakashi was out of breath. Completely out of breath. It had been a long time he had been this out of breath. He and his team had been pushing themselves for the past six hours, running as fast as they possibly could. After leaving the Princess and her bodyguards in Waterfall, they had made their way back to the Fire Country, back to Konoha. On their way out of Waterfall, however, they had run into a group of missing-nin's. Between the four of them, there was a chance that they would have been able to handle it. Probably. Kakashi didn't want to take chances however, instead telling his team to move. He didn't know if they were just there as a coincidence or if they had been after the Princess. He wasn't going to take any chances either way.

While they had been running, Kakashi had summoned Pakkun and the other dogs, ordering them to create a diversion. It had somewhat worked, only a few of the nin's were following them now. He still wanted to get more distance between them and Waterfall. Suddenly there was a loud explosion right in front of them, forcing them to split up. Kakashi moved left, as did Tenzou. He sensed Yugao and Shisui going left. He didn't want to exhaust anymore of his chakra, but it would seem he had no choice. His left hand moved to his headband, lifting it up to reveal his Sharingan.

"Tenzou, you good?"

"I'm good." His kohai responded.

With a quick glance towards him, he noticed Tenzou had already taken out a kunai, readying himself for any attack that would follow. From his left, he could hear both Shisui and Yugao fighting, metal hitting metal. Broadening his senses, he found it was going to be an even battle. Four against four. With a quick signal, he told Tenzou to take on the coming towards them on the far right. Without looking, he deflected a kunai that had been thrown at him, before turning to his attacker.

The man facing him had a crooked grin on his face, which was covered in scars. "Hatake Kakashi," he said with a smirk. "Oh, I'm gonna thoroughly enjoy decapitating you. There's a nice bounty on your head."

"That's some big words you're using there." Kakashi countered, twirling a kunai between his fingers. "Do you even know what they mean?" He moved into a defensive stance, ensuring he would be able to defend all angles but also counter when needed. He hated to admit he was too tired to go in a full attack. He'd manage, but he didn't want to risk unnecessary injuries.

"You calling me stupid?" The man hissed.

"I don't know. Am I?" Kakashi replied, sounding almost bored.

"I'm gonna kill you!" The missing-nin roared.

"You're all bark and no bite, huh?"

"I'll show you!" He shouted before rushing towards Kakashi. Kakashi was all ready for it though. He honestly almost rolled his eyes at how easy it was to aggravate his opponent. Men like him were easy to manipulate. Jab here, insult there and before you know it, they weren't thinking straight and attacking head on, leaving countless openings. For a missing-nin he was really very stupid.

An arm swung at him, which he easily dodged. He bent down, feeling the air move over his head as the other man missed. He quickly sliced through one of the tendons in his leg, making him yell out and falter in his steps. With a quick turn on his feet, he kicked out his left foot, kicking at the knee of his uninjured leg. The man dropped to the floor, unable to keep standing. He scrambled for a kunai, but Kakashi stepped on his wrist to prevent him from doing so. He then grabbed that arm, turning the man on his stomach and placed his knee in the middle of his spine, making sure he was properly restrained.

"Who hired you?" He asked.

"I ain't telling you shit," the man spat.

Kakashi then put a kunai against his throat, slightly pressing into the skin. It was enough to make him bleed. "I'll only ask one more time before I kill you. Who hired you?"

"Fuck you. That's my ans-" the rest was garbled as the man choked on his blood. It wasn't worth keeping him alive if he couldn't get any information out of him anyways. He wiped the kunai on the man's clothes before getting back up. From what he heard, Tenzou was already done as well, having his opponent trapped in his Mokuton contraption.

"I'm going to check on the others. You good here?"

"Yeah, he isn't going anywhere, senpai." Tenzou responded calmly, ignoring the shouting that came from the contraption.

"Good. Stay sharp." He said before jumping towards the rest of his team.

He listened closely for any sounds and only heard some grunting but wasn't able to properly discern who it was. Stealthily moving through the trees, he followed the sounds and spotted Yugao exchanging blows with one of the other nin. He dropped down, alerting her opponent and switching his attention to Kakashi, which allowed Yugao to knock him out. The moment she glanced at him he signalled her, asking where Shisui was. "Not closeby," she answered. "Shisui lured him away. The guy was more interested in working together with this one."

"Fair enough. I'm surprised they managed to keep up with us, however. They weren't much of a fight."

"It's a bit odd, yes."

"It's straight up weird, captain." Shisui said as he landed next to them. "Mine's dead. He wasn't going to cooperate."

"Same," Kakashi said with a nod. "Yugao, we'll bring yours to Tenzou's. See if the two of them will give us anything."

Yugao picked the nin up and slung him over her shoulder before jumping towards the area where Tenzou was waiting. Kakashi gave Shisui a quick look, checking for any injuries. He couldn't see anything that seemed life threatening so he turned to jump after Yugao, sensing Shisui follow him as well.

"Oh, you got another one?" Tenzou responded as Yugao dropped the man in front of him.

"Yeah."

"Tenzou, you know what to do. Yugao, stay with him. Shisui, with me. We need to check the area, see if we're good to stay here for a bit."

"Yes sir."

Finally, he was back home. After the fight and the interrogation of the missing-nin, Kakashi and his team had a fairly uneventful trip back. During their way back, Pakkun and the rest of his pack had rendezvoused with them, reporting they had successfully shaken off their pursuers. With a pat on the head and a promise of some steak, he dismissed the ninken who disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I'd love some steak too, senpai." Shisui joked. "I'm so hungry it's not even funny."

"You're always hungry, Shi. You'll get over it." Yugao retorted with an eyeroll.

"Go eat after you've dropped those two off at T&I," Kakashi said, dismissing them. "I'll report to the Hokage. I want your reports first thing in the morning though."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, go."

He waved them off as he made his way to the tower. He longed for a nice hot shower. And he'd definitely be lying if he didn't want to go check on Hermione. He didn't like being away from her for so long. Not to mention the spike he had felt when he was away. Something had happened. Something- no, someone had hurt her and he wanted to know who, so he could kill them or at least hurt them a great deal, making them pay for whatever it was they had done. With every day they were apart, he understood more and more that the bond was not something they should mess with. The hurt he had felt come from her and the way it affected him was proof enough of that.

With a soft knock he announced his arrival at the office of the Hokage. After hearing his leader call him in, he opened the door and walked in. He knew he must look like shit, but he didn't care. His mission had been successful. That was what mattered more than anything at the moment. That was, however, until he noticed the other occupants in the room, which made him stop walking.

"Great timing, Kakashi." The Hokage called out. "Please close the door behind you."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He replied. He turned to close the door and moved to stand next to Hermione. From the corner of his eye he saw her turn to him in question. With a small shake of his head and a nod to his leader he told her that they'd talk later.

"Itachi, I expect a report on my desk tomorrow."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"Good, you, Gai and Genma are dismissed. Hermione-san and Black-san, please take a seat in the hallway for now. This shouldn't take too long."

"Okay," Hermione said with a nod. She flashed Kakashi a small smile, and whispered "I'm glad you're back." Before dragging along an older man who he'd never seen before.

He let his gaze follow them as they walked out of the office. As soon as the door closed behind him, he turned his attention back to his leader, who had a knowing smile on his face. A second later, the smile disappeared as his face grew serious. "Report."

"Mission completed. The Princess has successfully been taken out of the Land of Snow."

"Good. Anything else?" The Hokage didn't outright ask where they had taken her. Not that he knew where they were now, which was good. The less people aware of her whereabouts, the better.

"On our way back, we were followed by a group of missing-nin. Nothing we couldn't handle. We ended up capturing two of them but unfortunately they couldn't tell us much. It seems they were low-level lackeys that were told that we were going to be there. My team took them to T&I for further interrogation."

"Very well. Good job, Kakashi. No injuries?"

"Nothing but a few scratches." The Hokage nodded at that, leaning back in his chair. "Sir? Who was the man with Hermione?"

"Hm? Oh, that was a friend of hers. He's someone she knew from the place she came from." The older man said with a twinkle in his eye and a small smile.

"He's a bit old to be her friend, isn't he?" Kakashi grumbled. "Hold on, he's from the same place?"

"Yes."

The gears in his head started turning. What did this mean? Had she lied, then? If there was someone else here, who hadn't arrived with her… "But I thought she said she didn't know how she had gotten here. If he arrived here too, does that mean-"

The Sandaime held up a hand, stopping Kakashi from finishing his sentence. "He's been here longer than she has and has arrived in a different way as well. Both of them claim they have no knowledge of how to get back. Now, if you have nothing else to say about the mission that can't wait, it's best if I call them back in. We need to figure out what to do with Black-san."

Kakashi nodded as he looked down and heard the Hokage call both Hermione and the man back in. He felt strangely relieved at the thought Hermione had no way of going back home. He wasn't sure what to think of the man, though. Knowing it was too soon to have an opinion on the matter. For now, he would have to observe and form an opinion on whatever would come to light.

The moment he felt Hermione stand beside him, he looked up and turned to her. He met her gaze, which she returned with a small smile. It looked like there was something she wanted to ask him, but refrained herself as she turned back to the Hokage. He did the same. Reluctantly.

"Black-san," his leader started. "You said before you had proof of someone vouching for you, if you were ever to set foot in Konoha?"

That was something Kakashi hadn't expected to hear. The man had someone vouch for him? Who? Why? And more importantly, how? Had he forced them?

"Ah, yes sir. I did. I have it right here," the man - Black, he reminded himself - reached into his pocket and produced a small scroll, placing it on the desk. That scroll looked far too small to be something useful, it was only two inches wide. The man then pulled out his wand, which made Kakashi stiffen. Glancing at the Hokage, he noticed him warily regard Black as he pointed the wand at the small scroll. "Engorgio." He said, and not a second later, the scroll was a normal size. With a small nod, he put the wand away again, looking back at the Hokage.

His leader tentatively reached out for the scroll, studying the seal which made him frown. "Hokage-sama," Kakashi interrupted him. "Shouldn't you let the intelligence squad take a look at that?"

The Sandaime turned to him, with a smile. "What seal do you see here, Kakashi?" He asked instead. With a frown of his own, he looked at the seal. What the- "Exactly." He replied. There was only one time he'd seen a seal that intricate. It was, without a doubt, Jiraiya's seal.

Realising this, he turned to the man standing next to Hermione. He never expected Jiraiya of all people to vouch for this man. If that were the case, he held this man in high regard. Enough so that he would vouch for a stranger, a foreigner, so that they were able to stay within Konoha's walls. He glanced back to his leader, trying to read his expression as the man read the scroll but of course, he couldn't. Kakashi schooled his own expression as well, as the Hokage met his gaze.

"I will need to verify this." He said, addressing Black.

"Of course," he said with a nod.

"I'll arrange for you to stay somewhere for the time being."

"Thank you, sir. That is very generous of you." He easily replied. Kakashi was surprised at the way the man spoke and held himself. It was very unlike Hermione acted. Which wasn't bad, by any means. Just different.

"Kakashi,"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

His leader gave him a look. He knew that look, he thought with a sigh. Why was it he had to open his home to a stranger, again? Honestly, Kakashi wanted to object more than anything. He didn't know this guy. Then again, he didn't know Hermione when she first came to stay with him. But he hadn't agreed with that either, had he?

"Yes, Hokage-sama." He replied.

"Good. That's it for now. Dismissed." His leader said with a nod. He gave Kakashi another hard look, before looking back down at the scroll in his hands. Kakashi turned without another word and walked out of the office, Hermione hot on his heels and the older man as well.

"Kakashi?" Hermione asked as she caught up to him. "What did he mean?"

"He meant the same thing as he had with you."The same thing as he had with her? What did he- oh! "You mean Sirius will be staying with you, then?"Kakashi grunted in response, clearly not happy about this. She turned to Sirius instead, who followed them with a small distance between them. He flashed her a knowing smile, before shifting his eyes back at the back of Kakashi's head. As she turned back to look at Kakashi, she suddenly stopped, seeing he had stopped walking as well. With another sigh coming from the silver-haired teen, he turned to her. "This is taking too long." He then turned to Sirius. "Ever traveled through Body-Flicker?"

"Can't say that I have," Sirius replied with a frown.

"You'll learn. Don't let go." He said as he grabbed both Sirius and Hermione and disappeared from the streets. A second later they stood in front of the Hatake family home. He released them as soon as they landed and made his way inside.

"He's not a talkative lad, is he?" Sirius commented.

"Not really, no. I'm sorry, I'm sure he doesn't mean to."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, 'Mione. He's got a rather large stick up his-"

"Sirius!" Hermione hissed. She couldn't believe him. She needed to make him understand that it was not a good idea to anger Kakashi. After all, if anyone knew what he was capable of, it's her.

"Relax, 'Mione. It's all good."

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Kakashi asked, leaning against his open doorway. Hermione didn't like the way he was acting, not at all. It was like their last meeting hadn't even happened. Merlin, it was like they were back to square one.

"My apologies," Sirius supplied. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to come in without an invitation."

"Hokage's orders." Was all Kakashi said before he disappeared back into the house.

"Yeah, charming lad." Sirius mumbled. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, 'Mione. I'd love to meet little Teddy."

"Of course," she replied with a smile. "I'll make sure he's on his best behaviour."

With a wave, Sirius turned around and followed Kakashi into the house. Hermione waited outside for another moment. She really wanted to speak with Kakashi before going back to the Yamanaka residence but she wasn't sure if now was the right time. "Why do I even bother?" She murmured. Turning around, she made her way back to the center of the town, determined to go back home when suddenly her arm was grabbed and she was whirled around, facing Kakashi once again.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." She replied curtly.

"You're not going back there by yourself. Who knows who you might run into." Kakashi stated.

"And that's any of your business, how?" Hermione was fairly certain the anger she felt was coming from him, rather than coming from herself. Once again she was reminded of their bond and how it affected the both of them. The way her arm tingled at the feel of his touch. Kakashi didn't respond to her question, which she was glad for. She hadn't meant it. "You're wearing the scarf," she said instead, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I- thank you, again. It's been very helpful."

She smiled at him as she touched the edge of the scarf, working it between her fingers. Hermione was glad she decided on gifting the scarf, voicing her thoughts to him. As she moved her hands over the scarf, surprised that Kakashi was even letting her do it, she paused and frowned at what she saw. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, retracting her hand as if she was burned. "I can't believe it."

"What?" Kakashi replied, confused.

"Did you have fun on your mission?" She asked instead, eyes hard. She was not going to cry about this.

"I wouldn't call it fun," he replied. "It was a mission, not a vacation." She wasn't going to cry.

"Right. Well. You should head back inside. I can get myself home." She was not going to cry.

"Are you deaf?" He asked instead. "I just told you, you're not going home by yourself. I'll take you." He reached out again, trying to grasp her, but she wouldn't let him as she took another step back.

"No, thank you, Kakashi. I can easily get myself home without running into anyone."

"What is your problem?"

"My problem?" She called out, a lot louder than she intended. "My problem is that I can't believe I thought you were any different."

"You're not making any sense," he groaned. "What the fuck did I do this time, huh?"

"You've got lipstick on the bloody scarf. It's even on the side of your neck!" She called out. "So, I'm sure the mission wasn't fun at all." Before Kakashi could reply to that, she continued. "Don't. It doesn't matter. It's my fault for thinking you were any different. Well, I refuse to be one of many. I learned my lesson the first time and I'll pass, thank you." She turned around and started walking away from his home. She couldn't even look at him without thinking about the kiss on her cheek. Damn it, all that time she spent worrying.

"Hermione-"

"You know," she said, facing him again. "When you kissed me on my cheek, you had me believing you liked me. Like, that you actually liked me."

"Hermione, please just liste-"

"I can't believe I fell for that." Again, she turned around. She said what she had needed to and was done with it. She just wanted to go home, have a nice hot bath and forget about all of this.

"Goddamn it, Hermione." Kakashi said as he stepped up to her far more quickly than she had expected. She felt him grab her, turning her back around to face him and before she could utter another word, his lips were on hers.

Her eyes were wide in shock, looking at Kakashi as he kissed her. His eye was closed, a small frown was on his face, from what she could see. It all seemed very hesitant, like he didn't know if he should be kissing her. It took a second longer for her to process what was happening, before she tried to push him away. He went rather easily, which surprised her. Hermione couldn't believe he did that, that he kissed her and Merlin's beard, Teddy had gotten it completely right, hadn't he? Now seeing Kakashi's face, or most of it since a part was still concealed behind the headband, she wondered what made him cover it up in the first place.

She was breathing hard, as was he. But she didn't stop him when he approached her again, softly cupping her face in both of his hands. He looked her right in the eye and softly placed his forehead against hers. "Whatever it is you think I did, I swear to you, I didn't. I- I can't tell you about the mission for obvious reasons, but I didn't do anything like that." She barely understood anything he was saying. His touch was intoxicating, heightened by their bond, no doubt. It was clear she wasn't the only one that was affected by it, yet it seemed Kakashi was more in control of himself.

He slowly moved to kiss her again causing her to close her eyes in anticipation, his lips barely touched hers but it was breathtaking either way. His nose softly touched hers, making her breath hitch. She felt him move back, his hands still on her cheeks. Neither said anything and she opened her eyes in confusion, wondering what was going on. The moment she did, her eyes locked onto his. "Hermione," he said in a near whisper. "What is this? Is this- is it because of the bond?"

She didn't think it was. Somehow, it didn't feel like it was. Everything felt heightened, sure. But it was as if the bond only heightened what was already there. Which meant- she really did feel like this, didn't she? And that meant he did too? "No," she said just as softly. "No, I don't think it is."

"Good." A second later he was kissing her again, this time purposefully, not at all like the first time he kissed her. This time, she too let herself get lost in the feeling and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Somehow, knowing this wasn't the bond made it all the more real for her. Made it easier for her to accept. This was something that wasn't influenced by the bond, not in that way. This was something that was within them, something they could decide for themselves. And, Merlin, it was good. For someone with such an attitude like him, he sure knew how to kiss.

Kakashi let out a soft groan as she kissed him back, moving his hands so that one was on the back of her neck and the other was on her lower back. Turning her head, she felt his tongue trace her lips, asking for entrance which she gladly obliged to. Kissing him was rather addictive, she found after only having done so once before. She felt his arms tighten around her, prompting her to do the same as she stood on her tiptoes and held on to him.

"Now, now, kids. Don't forget to breathe." Sirius' voice piped up from behind them. Hermione's eyes flew open, watching Kakashi do the same as she stepped away from him, a hand in front of her lips, her face no doubt flushed. She was breathing hard, as she looked past Kakashi to see Sirius standing there with a shit-eating grin on his face. It gave Kakashi the time to pull up his mask, which he had clearly done as he turned to glare at Sirius.

"So sorry about that," he said, sounding completely unapologetic. "But I'm quite hungry and there doesn't seem to be any food in the house."

"I'll go to the market, after I've had a shower." Kakashi offered.

"Actually," Sirius glanced at Hermione now, making her flush once again. "I'd also like to meet my little cousin as well. Maybe we can arrange something where I can meet him, as well as get some food?"

"Uh, I guess. Look, I really need to take a shower, before we do that. I'll take Hermione home, she can inform the Yamanaka's and we'll meet up in an hour. Sounds good?"

"Works for me," Sirius said with a nod. "See you in a bit then, 'Mione. Behave yourself, hm? I don't think I'm ready to see little Grangers walking around just yet." He said, switching to English.

That bastard, she thought as she shot him a glare before watching him walk back inside. She turned back to Kakashi, starting to say she really could take herself back. "I don't want to hear it." He said instead. He took her arm, far more gentle this time around and flickered away, appearing in front of her home. "I'll, uh, see you in an hour then?"

"Yeah," she breathed, "I'll see you in an hour."

"Okay," it seemed he didn't want to leave her, it felt that way at least, which was a feeling she hadn't expected. She flashed him a small smile and dared to move her hand to the edge of his mask. She moved slowly, giving him all the time to pull back if he so wished. When he didn't move, she grasped the edge of it and slowly pulled it down. Stepping closer, she tiptoed in front of him, placing a soft kiss on his lips before pulling the mask back up.

"This is going to change everything, isn't it?" He asked.

"It doesn't have to, I don't think. We'll just have to see where it leads us."

Kakashi didn't say anything in response, instead cupped her cheek again, his thumb caressing her cheekbone. "I'll see you in an hour," he then said. "And I should probably tell your friend I speak English too."

"Merlin, please don't mention that. That was so embarrassing," she said as she covered her face with her hands. She heard Kakashi chuckle, making her glare at him halfheartedly as well. He gave her a mock salut before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. With a shake of her head, she turned towards the front door, a smile still on her lips as she thought about everything. Well, if there was anything she could conclude from this, is that her life was anything but boring. Walking inside, she took off her shoes. "I'm home!" She called, making her way to the kitchen where she could hear Ino talking. And she was. She was home. For now, at least.

End of chapter notes:

So, that happened :')

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