Notes:

Hello my lovelies! I'm baaack! I didn't forget about you!

I'm so terribly sorry for disappearing on you guys, even if I did warn you in advance :')

While I thought I'd only be away for a week, it turned out to be close to a month. I could tell you all about what has happened, but I don't want to bore you guys with the details. You're not here for that, eh? xD

As always, please ignore any and all mistakes. I wanted to get this out as soon as I could, so I may have missed a couple more than usual.

My plan for this chapter was to make it a big one, but I'm afraid that didn't work out the way I intended. Either way, it's still pretty long so I hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 36: What do we do now?

Hermione let out a relieved sigh as she stepped out of the bathroom. She was happy she was able to freshen up a bit after all of the traveling. It gave her some time to think as well. The kiss she shared with Kakashi was something that kept playing through her mind. Her fingers touched her lips softly, remembering the feel of his lips on hers. Never in a million years had she thought that he would kiss her. Not like this.

Hermione really wasn't sure what to think of all of this. She could logically explain all of this to them being bonded, for better and for worse. In her gut, however, she knew it wasn't all because of the bond. There was physical attraction as well, undoubtedly for the both of them, if his reaction was anything to go by. But still…

All of this bothered her more than she had expected. Kakashi had kissed her, but she wasn't sure why. He had been frustrated with her when she had been angry with him. Accusing him of using women left and right. It had been wrong to accuse him of that. Who was she to demand all that? In all honesty, she'd been jealous. Did she have any right to be jealous however? Then again, did he have a right to just kiss her like that?

Rubbing her temple as she walked towards her room, she let out a soft groan. This was all so confusing. She would definitely need time to think all of this through. Because despite her accusations, Kakashi didn't seem like the kind of guy that would just kiss a girl once for the hell of it. He seemed like the kind of guy that would be invested in a relationship, if he would choose to have one. The question was; was she open to that? Was she willing to have a relationship with someone she met only a few months ago? Was she willing to start something that would be incredibly intense due to their bond, when she wasn't sure if she could stay? Then again, would she be able to leave? Hermione didn't know nearly enough about the bond to know if someone could live apart from their other half. If that wasn't the case, it would make things that much more complicated for her. For them.

With another sigh, one that was nothing like the one before, Hermione grabbed her clothes and got dressed. She dreaded going back downstairs, not at all ready to see Kakashi again. Or Inoichi for that matter. When she had gotten home almost an hour ago, he saw something had happened immediately. She didn't even have to say anything, somehow he just knew as he smirked at her. "Had fun?" He had said knowingly. Damn that guy. He was way too observant. After quickly explaining that she had someone coming over with Kakashi in an hour for some food among other things, Inoichi stood up and said that he'd take care of it and ushered her upstairs, telling her to clean up. He didn't ask anything else, although she had a feeling he did know who to expect.

So here she was, sitting on her bed. Acting like a bloody teenager, which she was, she was very much aware that she was, but this part of being a teenager she wasn't familiar with. Hermione had no idea what to do with this. No idea how she was supposed to act around Kakashi now. This was going to be awkward as hell. Damn it. She didn't want this to be awkward. She didn't even want to think about this, there was already so much to think about. So much to work through. Shaking her head, Hermione stood up and steeled herself, before opening the door and walking downstairs. The sight before her, made her stop. What the- How in the world did Inoichi manage this? And in one hour?!

The man in question looked up as she entered the living room, "ah, Hermione! Right on time!" He said with a smile. His smile fell from his lips as he looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? How did you manage to do this? In just an hour!" Hermione looked around the room, wide-eyed. It was that she knew he didn't know how to use magic, otherwise she'd blame it on that. The dining table had been moved to the side and it was chock-full of different trays of food.

"I called in a favor, is all." He said with a small shrug and a wink.

"Not with Shikaku this time, I'm sure." She responded with a raised eyebrow.

Inoichi laughed at that, "no, not Shikaku. I fear I actually owe him a favor after that meeting the two of you had." He shook his head while still smiling. "No, Chouza this time. Remember him? From your birthday?"

Her mind went back to the party they had thrown her. It had been a lot bigger than she had expected, but she did remember who he was talking about. Akimichi Chouza had been another family friend, along with Shikaku. From what she had gathered, they had known each other since they were kids. "I do. It's hard to forget a man like him," Hermione replied with a chuckle. It was quickly clear to her that Chouza was a very wise man. Maybe not as intelligent as Shikaku was, but whenever he said something it was clear that everyone listened. Including Shikaku. And that meant a lot, she was sure. "So, the favor was to arrange some food?" She hardly thought that was all.

"Ah, well. Initially, yes. But Chouza refused to let me just have some food, insisting his wife would make more and inevitably inviting himself and his family over as well. Which meant I had to invite Shikaku as well, who's bringing his family too and- I may have gone a bit overboard." Inoichi said sheepishly.

"May have?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Just a tad, Inoichi-san." As Hermione shook her head with a smile, a knock was heard.

"You mind?" Inoichi asked as he nodded towards the door while still working on the room to make it presentable.

"Sure," she said as she made her way to open the door. Opening the door, she paused at what she saw. Or who, more like. "G-genma-san? What are you doing here?" Hermione stammered as her gaze fell on Gai and Itachi. "What are any of you doing here?"

"Well, we heard something about a party. So we figured we'd come as well!" Genma said as he easily walked past her, ignoring her baffled expression.

"Please excuse our intrusion, Hermione-san," Itachi said with a bow. "But we were asked to come."

"Right," she said slowly. "By who, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Yamanaka-san." The young Uchiha responded. His answer didn't make sense at all, however. Why would Inoichi invite them? What was he up to? Before she could even question his answer, however, Gai stepped forward.

"This is such a joyous day, my dear friend! Thank you so much for the invitation!" He exclaimed.

"But I-" once again, her protest went ignored as both Gai and Itachi made their way inside. At least Itachi had the sense of offering her an apologetic smile and a nod before slipping past her.

What on earth was going on?

Kakashi jumped into the shower the second he got home, ignoring his unwanted guest roaming around his house. As he scrubbed the sweat and grime from his body, he tried to stop his mind from wandering. He was entirely unsuccessful, of course. It hadn't been his first kiss, not at all. But it had been the first he had voluntarily given. The others had been on missions. It was one of his least favorite kinds of missions and he avoided them as much as he could.

He hadn't meant to kiss Hermione. Not at all. While he knew that it was something that would maybe have happened somewhere along the line, with the way they had been acting around each other, but not at all now. Had he even wanted to do it, now that he thought about it? Had she? Hermione hadn't pushed him away. She had even continued the kiss, so he figured she did. But maybe it had been as overwhelming as it had been for him. And if that was the case, what would she think about it now? And honestly, did he even care?

No, he didn't, he told himself. He didn't care. Even if a little voice in the back of his head said he was most definitely lying to himself, he still didn't care. Kakashi couldn't afford connections like this. The fact he got himself bonded to her had already been something that was too dangerous in his line of work. It was a liability. Something that could and probably would get him killed and that wouldn't do. So now what?

Well, first things first. Meeting up at the Yamanaka residence so that Sirius can meet Teddy. He still wasn't sure about the man, or about his relationship to Hermione. Really, he hardly knew anything about it. Kakashi got out of the shower and dried himself, wrapping his towel around his waist as he moved to his bedroom. Once dressed, he tracked down the wizard who was patiently waiting in the living room. The item in hands made him pause, however.

"You have a kid?" The man asked.

"No." Kakashi figured now was a good time to let the man know he spoke English as well.

"Whose is this, then? If you don't mind me asking." He didn't blink as he too switched back to English.

Kakashi didn't answer straight away, instead keeping his eyes on the item in his hands. It was one of the blocks Teddy had played with. Hermione must've left it in her hurry to leave his house. That thought triggered the memory of that night. He still felt bad about that. She shouldn't have had to deal with that, not after everything else.

"I think it's Teddy's," he ended up replying. Kakashi was glad he managed to keep his voice level, not giving any of his feelings away.

"Teddy? But Teddy lives with Hermione. And she doesn't live here." Sirius concluded easily with a raised eyebrow.

"No, she doesn't." Kakashi responded, stopping himself from saying "not anymore".

"But she used to stay here?" He guessed. Kakashi didn't respond to that, knowing Sirius already knew the answer to that. "Yeah, I figured as much. Your reaction at the, uh, Hokage's office was kind of telling." The silver-haired teen watched Sirius as he walked around, tossing the block up in his hands several times and catching it again. "I'm guessing her leaving your house wasn't planned either. I mean, I know 'Mione. She doesn't seem like the kind of person to leave stuff behind if she knew she was leaving."

Kakashi didn't particularly like where this was going. It was quite clear that the man wasn't stupid. He paid attention to his surroundings and was able to deduce this much from only a block. Well, not just a block, but the guy didn't necessarily have a lot to work with either way.

"Look, kid." Kid? Really? "I know you and I don't really know each other, and that's absolutely fine. But let me just ask you something." Sirius said.

"Ask me what?"

"How do you feel about slugs?"

What? "Slugs?"

"Mhm, slugs. How do you feel about them?"

"Well, I don't particularly feel anything about them." Kakashi said slowly, not entirely sure on where this was going.

"Hm. That's a shame." He responded lightly. "Well, let me just say, that if you ever hurt 'Mione, I'm gonna make sure you're gonna be feeling something about slugs. And it ain't going to be good. You hear me?" Kakashi had never in his life come across a civilian who came across in a way that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. But Sirius managed to do just that, with a threat that didn't make any sense on top of that. Of course, Sirius wasn't a normal civilian, but still. He'd have to watch his own back around the guy.

"Noted."

"Good! Now. I'm still starving, so let's go get that food." He said with a wide smirk. "Lead the way!"

Oh, yeah. He was definitely going to be watching his own back around him. This man was cunning as fuck.

"Sure. Give me a second and we can go." He said as he turned away, walking back into his bedroom. He was not going to leave without his weapons, not a chance. He should've really paid more attention to Sirius though. It was a mistake he was going to regret.

He wasn't sure what to expect when he got to the Yamanaka residence, but it sure as hell hadn't been this. Had he missed a memo? Then again, his mind was still back at the house. It turned out the man was a lot smarter than he had given him credit for. And very crafty. He shuddered just thinking about it.

The moment he appeared in front of the house with Sirius, he was greeted by his team. Shisui, Yugao and Tenzou looked at him as he walked up to them. "Ah, boss, you're here! Ready for the party?"

"Party? What the hell are you talking about? What's going on?" He asked, looking at Tenzou. At least Tenzou would give him a straight answer.

"We received an invite for a party from Inoichi-san."

"Wait. There's actually a party? For what?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't say. Just asked us to be here at this time," Tenzou said as he shrugged.

"Told ya there was a party," Shisui said, giving Kakashi an unimpressed look, which Kakashi pointedly ignored.

"Have you knocked yet?"

"Not yet," Yagao responded this time as she turned to knock on the door. "We felt you coming, so we decided to wait."

"No, you deman- Hey!" Kakashi smirked as Yugao elbowed Shisui to shut him up. He should know by now not to piss Yugao off.

A moment later the door opened to reveal a flushed Hermione. "Oh! He really went all out, didn't he?" She said with a sigh, putting a hand against her forehead. "Come on in," she then said, sounding resigned, moving to the side to allow everyone to pass.

As Kakashi stepped up to her, she avoided his gaze, her face turning red. Oh. Right. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "hi."

"Hi."

Hermione met his gaze for a second before looking away again. Get it together, Hermione! Stop acting like a stupid teenager, she told herself. It didn't help that Kakashi was pretty much acting like that as well. This was so-

"This is nice and awkward." Sirius commented from behind Kakashi. "Well, go on. Move out of the way so I can meet my little cousin, will ya? I'm not getting any younger over here." Sirius stepped up to them and pushed himself past them, "oh, and don't forget about the slugs, brat." Sirius told him in what seemed to be a warning.

Hermione watched as Kakashi glared at him but didn't respond. Both Hermione and Kakashi watched Sirius move into the house. "What was that about?" She said, looking at him. "And what the hell happened to you?" He looked terrible. What had happened to him in the time they had been apart?

"...I hate him. So much."

Hate him? "Who? Sirius?" She asked in confusion. "Why? What did he do?"

"It doesn't matter what he did." Kakashi snapped at her, annoyed. "But honestly, how can you stand him?"

Hermione let out a laugh at that, shaking her head. She remembered feeling the same way about Sirius when she was younger. She knew, like no other, that Sirius could be a man-child. "He's a bit of a handful, I admit. Trust me though, he'll grow on you. Kind of like a fungus, I suppose." She joked. She almost felt sorry for Kakashi. Almost. "Anyways, let's go see what this party is about, because I haven't a clue." She said with a light chuckle as she grabbed his arm and dragged him along with her.

Once she entered the living room again, the room was filled with all the people she had met up until this point. Kakashi's team, the team she went on a mission with, Chouza and his family and Shikaku with his family as well. Of course Sirius, Teddy and Inoichi's wife and daughter were there as well. It was quite a gathering.

"Alright, may I have your attention everyone?" Inoichi called out, turning everyone's head towards him. "Thank you so much for coming, I know it's a bit last minute, for which I apologise." He cleared his throat, before he continued. "I have some news I'd like to share with you- I mean, we have some news." The man's gaze fell on Hermione with a gentle smile.

"Before I share this news, however, know that this is an official request from the Hokage. He's giving every single one of you special clearance in this situation." Inoichi looked at all the shinobi in the room, one by one. Hermione knew they all took this very seriously though, so she was sure there wasn't anything to worry about with them.

"As you all know, we have quite a special young lady in our midst." A blush appeared on her cheeks at that. Did he really have to word it like that? "Due to her extraordinary abilities, it's no surprise that there are certain people who are interested in her and Teddy. These are people from outside Konoha, but also inside Konoha. To make sure they will be protected from all of that, we decided it would be best to have a clan take them in, to at least make sure they're protected for the political side of things as well." Hermione had a hard time understanding what he was saying. Well, she understood it. She just hadn't expected it to be this soon. Had the paperwork already been approved? It would seem so.

"Simply put, I hereby introduce to you: Yamanaka Mai and her adopted son Takeshi." Then, every eye in the room turned to her, making her blush even more. Did they really have to stare? She met Sirius' gaze first, wondering what he thought of all of this. Hermione hadn't gotten the chance to tell him about officially being taken in, only that she had been staying with a family. And she was now legally the mother of his cousin. His blood. Any worry she had, however, dispersed as he smiled at her. He wasn't mad, even seemed happy for her. It made her feel so relieved.

That relief was short-lived, however, as a surge of anger came from her left, followed by betrayal and then hurt. Turning her head, she glanced at the source of those feelings. Kakashi didn't meet her gaze, didn't move at all, in fact. Was he even breathing? She became worried when she didn't see any indication of him taking a breath. This wasn't good.

While all this was happening, Inoichi continued. "Of course, she will still be known as Granger Hermione to us. But for everyone else, outside of this group, she's now officially a Yamanaka and thus under the protection of our clan." As Inoichi finished his speech, because that's what it turned out to be, really. Everyone stayed quiet, processing the information.

"This is wonderful news!" Gai exclaimed, a fist in the air, being the first to break the silence. Then, slowly, everyone else reacted to the news. All of it was positive and supportive. All but one. Hermione had kept her eyes on Kakashi the whole time, praying for him to look at her, but he didn't. Instead, as Chouza raised a glass for a toast, he turned in his heel and swiftly walked out of the room. Hermione didn't hesitate to follow him, determined to find out what was wrong with him.

Sirius looked around the room, taking in all the different people. He knew the three men that had escorted Hermione and himself to Konoha. A blonde man who was speaking with two other men he had never seen before, seemed to be the one to own this house, if the pictures he had seen had meant anything. Glancing to the side, he noticed four children playing with each other. The smallest he recognised easily, that would be Teddy. Surprisingly he did look a lot like both Remus and Tonks, despite being able to change his face features. Hermione had told him he had accidentally changed his face a couple of times, which was why she had put a glamour on him, keeping his features the same. The other three kids seemed to be the spitting images of the blonde man and his friends. Interesting.

As soon as Kakashi and Hermione joined everyone in the room, the owner of the house started speaking. He tuned out when the man warned the group, knowing he was pretty much in the same boat as Hermione, so he didn't care for any warnings about selling her out. He wouldn't. Instead, he took this time to observe everyone. He was very well aware that every single one of them were doing the same to him, albeit a bit more subtle. Which was fine. His presence would be mentioned sooner or later.

Glancing at the silver-haired teen he had to suppress a smirk. Poor lad hated his guts, no doubt. Well, at least he would think twice about hurting Hermione, wouldn't he? It wasn't that he did anything that resulted in permanent damage, what he did was just enough to issue his own kind of warning. That one shouldn't mess with him. Or Hermione. Sirius knew he was determined enough to follow through with any and all warning he issued. And cunning enough to do it in a way that he wouldn't get into trouble for it. He was a Black, after all.

Tuning back into the small speech the blonde man was giving, he heard the man introduce Hermione and Teddy as Mai and Takeshi. He had to admit, it was a smart decision. During his time here in the Fire Country, he had learned that while shinobi protected the lands, the politics ruled them all. If word got out that there were people here that had the ability to use magic, no doubt the higher ups would want it in their possession. Giving her a name from a clan that was well-respected, it gave her a lot of protection. Any movement made against her, would anger the entire clan. And in turn, anyone who took their side.

Hermione met his gaze, looking uncertain. Surely she didn't think he'd be mad about any of this? This was a good thing. It would keep both her and Teddy safe, which was exactly what he wanted. He smiled at her reassuringly, to which she smiled in return, looking relieved. Sirius turned his attention to the teen with the bowl cut. While he didn't understand some of the outfits the shinobi wore, he definitely didn't understand the green jumpsuit. The kid seemed incredibly enthusiastic, all the damn time. But he did seem genuinely happy for Hermione, which was good.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Kakashi leave the room, Hermione hot on his heels. He contemplated going after them, but before he could make the decision, the blonde man approached him, followed by the two other men. "We haven't met. I'm Yamanaka Inoichi," the blonde man said. "These are Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chouza." Both men gave a nod at the mention of their name.

"Black Sirius," Sirius responded easily. "Although I'm quite certain you already knew that."

"We did. You're a friend of Hermione?"

"Something like that, yes."

"And you are like Hermione?" The man to his left, Shikaku, asked. "You have the same abilities?"

"Yes and no."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning we are each our own person. She's better at some things, I'm better at others."

"But the basics are the same for the two of you."

Sirius turned to the turned man, a large man. Chouza, if he had heard right. He didn't ask a question, however, so Sirius didn't answer, only met his gaze. The three of them knew each other well, he noticed. Trusted each other as well. This knowledge eased his mind a bit more, knowing Hermione and Teddy would definitely be in the right hands during their stay.

"Shiranui." Chouza then said. Making Sirius and the other two turn to look at Genma.

"Chouza-sensei! How's it going?"

"Genma, a word?" The older man said, not responding to Genma's question. With a nod to Shikaku and Inoichi he moved Genma to the side. Before Sirius could listen to anything that was being said, Inoichi spoke up.

"So, given your connection to Teddy… I can't help but wonder how you feel about Hermione being Teddy's legal parent. I mean, you're related by blood, aren't you?"

"I am, yes. He's my cousin."

"But you're not upset about-"

"No," Sirius immediately responded. "Don't get me wrong, I feel very protective of him, and Hermione as well. Especially now that I know they're here. But… trust me when I say that I'm not father material. So I think it's for the best that Hermione takes up that role, seeing as she's willing and able."

Inoichi gave him a smile, "I'm very happy to hear that. I'd hate to come between any of that."

"No worries," he shrugged. "Besides, I'm more of a fun uncle." Sirius said with a chuckle. "So it'll be fine, I'm sure. Anyways, I'm absolutely famished, so I'm going to grab a bit of food before finding Hermione and meeting Teddy. Please excuse me."

Unbelievable. Un-fucking-believable. He wasn't even sure why he was so mad. No, that's a lie. He knew why. She hadn't told him anything about it. You'd think this was something worth mentioning, right? He'd think so.

"Kakashi, please wait a moment."

He didn't. He kept walking, he needed to get out of this house, it was suffocating. The smell of slugs still lingering around him didn't help either. Kakashi passed one more room before he found the door leading to the garden. As soon as he stepped outside, he released the breath he was holding as he leaned against the railing of the porch. He knew he would have to talk to her, in a normal way. While he was mad, she deserved that at least, didn't she? Did she even realise why he was so angry?

"Kakashi?"

"I'm not really in the mood, Hermione." It was years of training that made him keep his voice level. He didn't dare to look at her, though. He could already feel her confusion and a little bit of hurt, no doubt due to his reaction. If he were to look at her, he'd lose his grip on his emotions.

"I'm sure you're not." She said instead, moving to stand beside him. "But- please just talk to me. Don't you think that's something we've learned up until now? That it's better to talk it out?" She bumped her shoulder against his softly and from the corner of his eye he could see her watching him.

"You didn't." Kakashi responded, "you didn't talk to me."

"I- yeah, you're right. You're right. In my defence, I only learned about Inoichi-san's intention to have me become a part of his clan after you left on your mission. And when you returned… well, I was a bit distracted." She explained, ending with a nervous chuckle.

Kakashi snorted at that. "That's an understatement." Hearing that she hadn't known calmed him down, luckily. He couldn't blame her for not saying anything before, could he? She was right. They both were a bit occupied at that moment. There was still another thing that bothered him, however. He'd seen the way she looked at Genma, and how she gave him a smile in return. "What about Genma?"

"What about him?"

"You seemed awfully friendly towards him." He hated to admit it, but that stung. Kakashi was still very much pissed at him. Genma would have to really show he was sorry and mean it, before he could even begin to forgive him.

"So, what? You're worried that I'm going to run off with him? That he successfully persuaded me and that I realised it's him I want to be with?"

No. He wasn't. Was he? "What are you- No. Don't be ridiculous." He denied.

"I'm not the one being ridiculous with his assumptions, Kakashi." He didn't need to look at her to see the disbelief on her face.

He held in the sigh that threatened to come out. "Last I saw you, you were just as angry with him, and now the two of you were fine? What he said was not okay. So, no, you can't blame me for thinking-"

"I went on a mission with him, Kakashi." She explained. "I had to spend time with him. Quite a bit as well. So I figured it was best if we cleared the air, so to speak."

Kakashi hummed at that but didn't respond. He wouldn't have, he knew. He would just treat it like any other mission and would keep his mouth shut. Then again, he wasn't at all like Hermione. Still, he couldn't help but be angered by it. It felt as if what Genma had done hadn't mattered to her.

"Kakashi, I don't understand why you're so upset with me. I mean, we had quite the shouting match, actually and- wait, are you pouting?"

"What? No."

"Yes, you are. You so are."

"Don't be-" Before Kakashi could finish his retort, Hermione had reached out and pulled his mask down. He didn't even bother to stop her. She'd seen his face already.

"See?" She said with a small smirk and poked his bottom lip. "That's a pout, right there."

"Stop it," he half-heartedly swatted her hand away which made her laugh.

"Or what?" Hermione said, a dare clear in her voice. She moved to poke his lip again, but before she could he had grabbed her wrist, skillfully turning her towards him and trapping her between him and the railing they had been standing against.

He could feel her excitement through their bond and he'd be lying if he didn't feel that same excitement. It was so weird. Earlier that day he had decided he wouldn't do this. Yet, standing here, he couldn't imagine himself not doing it. While he thought it wasn't the bond that caused this, he couldn't help but wonder if it did influence them. Was it their own decision, then? He didn't know. But standing here, in front of her and having her so close, he couldn't help but not care about any of that.

Kakashi moved to cup her cheek and his stomach fluttered at the sight of her moving her cheek against his palm. He leaned closer to her, dipping his head down. His lips grazed hers and he moved to press his fully to hers...

"I apologise for the intrusion, Kakashi-san, Hermione-san."

For fuck's sake, Kakashi thought. He placed his forehead against Hermione's, closing his eye. Hermione stood still, giving him the chance to get it together, which he appreciated. He really needed a moment before he would snap at the person interrupting them, which wouldn't be a smart move, considering who it was that had interrupted them. Sucking in a breath, he opened his eye and shot Hermione an apologetic look. She simply smiled in return, a blush visible on her cheeks.

"Kakashi-san, if you have a moment, Genma needs to speak with you."

Swiftly pulling his mask back up, he turned to Chouza in confusion. "About what?"

"I think you know. I spoke with him. He has shamed himself with his actions. It's disgraceful." Kakashi knew Chouza used to be Genma's sensei, Gai's as well. He knew what kind of man he was and him saying that what Genma did was disgraceful, meant Chouza was genuinely disturbed by what had happened. The fact that Chouza knew about it, wasn't sitting well with Kakashi though. He knew Hermione wouldn't speak up about it, so it had to have been Inoichi. He'd have to keep this in mind. Having his personal life discussed wasn't something he was thrilled about. There was a good reason he was a private person.

"I don't-" Kakashi started as he felt Hermione move behind him.

She rested her hand in his shoulder, giving him support without saying a single word. "I think it's a good idea, Kakashi." She said softly. "He's your friend, isn't he? Give him the chance to apologise. You can always decide if you want to accept afterwards."

"Fine. Yeah, okay. I'll talk to him."

"Thank you, Kakashi-san. Shall I send him out?"

Kakashi nodded and watched Chouza walk back inside to get Genma. Turning his head to the side, he watched as Hermione smiled at him. She leaned against him, placing her cheek against his upper arm. "You'll be fine." She assured him. "Just hear him out. He is sorry, y'know? That much I know." Hermione stood back straight and kissed his masked cheek. "Do whatever feels right. Okay?"

He didn't know what to say to that, not expecting her to be like this. To be so supportive. They had never been in a situation like this but he had to admit, he didn't mind this feeling. Feeling cared for. Supported. Not alone.

Hermione patted his arm softly before moving back inside, giving him some privacy for his conversation with Genma. He turned his back towards the door, hopefully making it less awkward for either of them.

He knew the moment Genma came outside. Having been on so many missions with the guy, he didn't even have to think and he knew. "Hey," Genma said as he stopped next to him. Kakashi gave him a sideways nod in recognition. He wondered how he would do this. What he would say. And most of all, would he be able to forgive him? Time would tell. Kakashi just knew that he wasn't sure if he could.

As Hermione walked back inside she passed Genma. He barely looked at her as he passed. He did look extremely nervous and she couldn't blame him. It's easy to tell someone to apologise, but actually doing it? Admitting your faults? That took guts.

"'Mione! There you are! Done with snogging the brat, are you?" Sirius teased, making her groan. "I think it's about damn time I get to meet my little cousin, don't you think so?"

"You're incorrigible, Black." She replied with a roll of her eyes.

"It's my charm, 'Mione. You know that."

"Oh, shut it." Hermione playfully swatted his shoulder. "Come on then, mister charmer. See if you can charm Teddy into liking you."

"I could-"

"No. No magic in front of the kids." Hermione quickly hissed. As she dragged him along with her, towards Teddy and the other kids. "It's one thing that the shinobi here know, but it's still not-"

"Oh relax, Granger. I was just messing with you." He said as he squatted down next to the kids. Hermione did the same.

"Hey kids, you mind if I steal Teddy for a minute. I want him to meet a friend of mine." The three kids didn't seem to care much, but Ino gave her a pout. She winked in response and promised to bring him back to her shortly. She loved the fact that Ino was so fond of Teddy. She truly acted as if she was his big sister. It was adorable.

"Mama!" Teddy happily called out to her. Oh, how she had missed her little boy. She was going to spend a lot of time with him, she promised herself.

"Yes, Bubba. That's right. Mama wants you to meet someone." She was a bit nervous about Sirius meeting Teddy, which she knew was unnecessary. She knew Sirius and trusted him. But still. Teddy was now officially her son. The need to keep him safe only grew with that. She'd have to make sure that Sirius behaved himself. That would be a challenge in itself. Hermione had no doubt in her mind that it would be harder to keep Sirius in check than to do so with Teddy. But all in all, watching Sirius look at his little cousin. She couldn't help but feel relieved. She truly wasn't alone anymore. Wasn't the only person to use magic. Yes. They would be just fine, the three of them. She'd make sure of it. As long as she figured out what their place would be in Konoha. But that was something she'd worry about tomorrow. Today, Teddy would meet his cousin and she couldn't wait to see how he would take that.

End of chapter notes:

Please don't forget to leave a comment, they make my day! :D

Until next time!