Edit note: Went back and did some quick edits along with fleshing out a scene a bit. It's actually good to go back and revise sometimes. Who knew? Anyways, nothing of substance to the plot was changed.

...

The apartment was slightly bigger than a room at a roadside hostel. It could be described as a cube containing the bare minimum for a single human being to live safely. Kakashi did have a table and bookshelf beside his bed. A closet, bathroom, and something resembling a kitchen nook without a fridge.

Yuka carefully unzipped her boots, attempting to wriggle free of them as dignified as possible. She was going to have to walk home in them at some point. Fun.

Meanwhile, Kakashi wore the same sandals every ninja wears. They looked comfortable. Did they have an outlet somewhere?

Soon she was overcome with curiosity. How did this man live from day to day?

Hastily installed outlets were placed in unideal places along the walls. This place didn't always have electricity. Interesting.

Everything was very clean, to the point the apartment looked a bit 'unloved'. This wasn't the place of someone who intended to have company over very often. 'Intended' being the key word. A deck of cards on the table. Photos pinned to the cabinet and propped up on the bookshelf. Yuka spied a bottle of sake with a note tied to it, sitting on top of the counter. Kakashi's home resembled that of a responsible college student.

Home. How often did he really sleep here? The bed looked untouched.

If everything went well, maybe she'd invite him to her place from now on. There was just more room. But for now…

"There's a bathroom right there. Feel free to rifle through my things when I'm not looking. I don't own anything interesting," he looked down at her, bemused, "Do you need help?"

Yuka huffed, having sat down on the floor to yank the last boot off, "These things are not practical at all."

"They didn't hurt your feet, did they?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit jealous of those sandals. Better keep those locked up if you expect me to dig around in your stuff," she smirked through the pain. Her feet did hurt a little. No blisters, thankfully.

"You'll have to fight me for them. Winner keeps all the sandals."

He probably didn't think twice about that offhand joke. Or the subtext that he was so much stronger and faster. Without comment, he pulled off the white top, revealing the tight black undershirt. It practically contoured his entire upper body.

Yuka's heart beat faster. Was he looking at her the same way? He seemed hesitant about physical contact in a way he himself didn't expect.

She didn't mean to, but she caught a glimpse of another scar. What might've once been a gash across the top of his forearm. A blocking injury?

Alright. Time to focus on something else. Yuka stood up, her attention switching to the bookshelf. "You're a reader, huh?"

She meandered over to the shelf and started scanning titles. Not before she noticed a picture of Kakashi and Guy. Guy threw his arm around Kakashi's shoulder, while Kakashi appeared completely indifferent. Seize the day with youth! From the Effort Ninja, your rival.

'Make-Out Paradise Volume One'. Volume Two. Three. Four. Five…. Twelve. She'd seen these books advertised before, but twelve volumes seemed excessive.

'I Can't Date Five Samurai at Once!'

'Goddess Girl', volumes one through three.

Towards the bottom, there were some cheap military/adventure/sci-fi thrillers.

He was an avid reader, alright.

"Don't judge me," he called out idly.

"But you have such great taste, Kakashi. 'Attack of the Three-Breasted Women'?"

"Someone left that one here."

Yuka smiled over her shoulder, glancing at him, "There's nothing wrong with reading what you like. Can I…?"

"Help yourself."

She opened Make-Out Paradise and flipped through the pages. It was trash, but not the kind she had expected. Pages and pages of petty drama interspersed with only an occasional sex scene. Granted, the descriptions of the characters were gratuitous. Lots of purple prose about breasts, and that was from a cursory look.

A similar investigation of 'I Can't Date Five Samurai At Once' showed a similar writing style, but this time the focus being men and their washboard abs. It was also raunchy as hell, with occasional odd attempts at humor and drama. What do you know? It was written by the same pseudonym as 'Make-Out'.

Looking at the other books, she noticed that Kakashi seemed to have an affection for vanilla romance novels. That was… adorable.

"What do you like to read?" he peered over her shoulder.

"Nonfiction," Yuka carefully put the books back just as they were, "Mainly stuff that has to do with social issues."

"Nothing wrong with that, but isn't reading stuff like that more work? I can read nonfiction if I have to brush up something, but it's never been for fun"

"I like to educate myself… I admit, I don't read as much as I used to. I spend so much time doing things for the school, you know? If I'm reading anything, chances are its for work."

"You really do care about teaching," he sat down on the bed.

"Why wouldn't I? Kids are the future. And growing up and getting educated is so hard. It was hard for me," Yuka sat next to him. The bed creaked, like it was protesting the additional load, "But I don't think we're that different. It's actually really obvious, just how much you care about… well, everything you do."

Kakashi kept looking at his hands.

"There's a lot about you to like," Yuka added quietly, taking his hand into hers.

Another sideways glance. He now stared at their intertwined fingers. The gloves were off, and underneath a scar bloomed from the center of his right palm. What was it? A burn?

"…I want to take this further," he murmured, "But… there's a lot you don't know about me. Not warning you… it'd be a terrible thing to do."

"Everyone's got a past –"

"Not like mine, Yuka."

That sort of phrase would usually prompt a gentle scoff. Oh, it's probably bad, but not anything Yuka can't handle. But… something in his tone threw her off. The same way it seemed threatening when he reached for his headband back in the alley.

Which he still hadn't taken off, she noted.

"And you can't talk about it right now. For whatever reason. Maybe you're not even allowed to," Yuka scrutinized his expression, difficult to read under the mask, "Whatever it is, it's probably disturbing. Or maybe I'm making too many assumptions."

"Maybe you're making too few. I'm not trying to be vague, but you're right. I can't talk about it," he sighed, "What I can talk about… I don't want to. Not yet."

Yuka squeezed his hand, "Obviously, I have no idea what fucked up ninja shit you have on your record. But… you're underestimating the limits of my imagination. I used to be politically involved. If you met me even just five years ago, you would've hated me. I was out on the streets, literally throwing red paint on anyone with a flack jacket. Screaming at people. Calling them murderers. Why? Because I was… so… angry about things I personally saw. During the war."

With her other hand, she gently directed Kakashi's face towards hers, "Look at me. I can't guarantee you everything will work out between us, indefinitely. But I'm not going to accuse you of exposing me to something I can't understand. If things… if things ever do get that serious."

"You would've hated me five years ago, too. Funny how that works out."

"But I think I really like the man I know right now."

His expression softened. Everything seemed to relax a little. Especially his shoulders. So much tension goes into upper-back… And then he removed the mask.

Yuka felt her face get hot, "Can I ki–"

Before she could even finish that sentence, he kissed her.

He pulled her close. It was warm. Safe enough. Then he kissed her forehead and cheek.

Yuka idly ran her hands over his chest. Just skin and human muscle, a heart beating quickly underneath. He sighed.

Romantically inclined and compromised by desire, she considered the coexistence of two realities.

Reality One: Mere moments ago, she examined Kakashi's collection of romance novels. They sat on a twin bed together, discussing their feelings. Now his lips traced her jawline. It felt wonderful.

Reality Two: Kakashi definitely killed people.

There wasn't any time to either Yuka or Kakashi to wrestle with their conscience. The space issue with the single bed was becoming very apparent, though that only fueled their determination to make something work. That 'something' being reckless intimacy.

Suddenly, they pulled back from each other. Both considered another, more obvious, problem.

Yuka was on birth control.

Though she highly doubted he was a 'womanizer', there was no way of knowing where he'd been. And he didn't exactly have a copy of her prescription on hand, or proof that she was taking them regularly.

"Be back in a second," he muttered.

"Do you want to switch to your eyepatch while you're at it? Or just take it all off? My forehead keeps hitting the metal ridges on your headband."

…

A different argument every time. She couldn't remember what they were so upset about anymore. Yuka took too long to get ready. Aiko didn't want to have fun. Yuka should be doing more chores. Aiko yelled too much.

It got them to stop in the middle of the street.

It was enough to make them ignore how the energy changed.

The energy always changes.

A gathering of shadows, but nothing seemed wrong.

Except for the dishes that needed to be done. Or the book that got stuffed into a drawer during a cleaning. Stop bringing Mom's camera everywhere. Don't you even miss Mom?

Just outside a sweets shop.

Yuka, you're wasting money.

Two school-age girls standing outside a sweets shop. They knew they were supposed to keep moving, but that only made their voices shriller, their anger sharper. Why was Yuka being so irresponsible? Why couldn't Aiko let it go so they could go home?

It looked like a solid hit, like she was struck with a ball. No sound. A flash of red.

Get on the ground.

Pinned.

Screaming. Yelling. Anger, fury, like nothing Yuka had ever heard, and for once, not directed towards her.

She's not the infiltrator. Why did no one confirm? We always confirm before…

Fuck you, I'm not the one who did it!

Where was Aiko?

Yuka couldn't lift her head.

He wouldn't let her look around.

He wouldn't let her see.

…

Kakashi tucked a strand of hair behind Yuka's ear.

She'd fallen asleep on his chest, and he didn't have the heart to wake her up. Not that there was anywhere else to go. The weight felt nice, anyways. And though he was a light sleeper, his eyes got heavy.

Suddenly, she started crying.

It scared the hell out of him.

…