Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Woe is me.
Comments: This is my first Naruto fan fiction piece, and it came to me earlier in the day while I was watching 'Someone Like You.' I didn't have a particular, er, plot in mind so I threw together something haphazardly. Anyway, I'd really appreciate comments on how to improve (characterization, plot…stuff like that).
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The ramen was getting cold. Ichiraku had closed shop earlier that evening, and the noodles were saturated to the point where there was hardly any broth left to savor.
Kakashi rolled his neck around until he was rewarded with a few pops. "Women," he sighed.
This all started because of them.
A few days prior, Hatake Kakashi's only female student, Haruno Sakura, had gone through some changes—behavioral changes. He'd always thought of her as moody, like every other female he had ever met, but something wasn't quite right. His suspicions, always kept under wraps, were affirmed when she'd snapped at the Uchiha during some boring D-rank mission the day before. When she failed to show up at the bridge at dawn to receive her daily assignment, Kakashi's suspicions morphed into concern. First an unwarranted snap at Sasuke then an unannounced absence? This was very unlike the responsible genin and Sasuke-lover he knew Sakura as.
Being her superior, it was only fitting for him to take the responsibility of stopping by the Haruno home. Her parents weren't there, which didn't matter because Sakura was. She had answered the door with a meek, reddened face. When Kakashi had asked her why she hadn't shown up at the rendezvous point with the other two members of Team Seven, she seemed to cower more behind the door. Kakashi had expected the kunoichi to go off on a tangent about family or even boy problems, and was more than ready to deal with them.
However, Sakura's reply was different. "It's a girl thing," she mumbled.
Prior firsthand experience with women mixed with common sense led Kakashi to the conclusion that, besides obvious anatomical differences, women weren't that much different from men. He could deal with it, he had thought, so he went ahead and asked her what was wrong.
It started with, "Cramps," and Sakura barely whispered the rest. She didn't need to speak up, though, because Kakashi didn't want to hear the rest. Give him sword-wielding psychopathic any day—a menstruating girl with 'cramps' and mood swings was something Kakashi could not and would not deal with.
Still, he could not leave his student in such a predicament without at least attempting to resolve it. No female relatives were around to help her at the moment, which made things a bit trickier for him to deal with. Kakashi thought about asking Yamanaka Ino for help but she and Sakura had some sort of rivalry going on and this only screamed blackmail; besides, he doubted someone as young as Ino would know exactly what to do.
He needed someone older…
Mitarashi Anko had come to mind after he'd thought long and hard about the women he knew. No, something about her made her seem like the type of person Sakura wouldn't be able to confide in. The fact that she was boisterous and loud had something to do with it.
Tsunade was too busy, as was her understudy Shizune. Yuuhi Kurenai maybe? He knew she'd handle the situation delicately and he was sure she was someone Sakura could trust.
That settled it for him and before long, Kakashi scouted out Kurenai and practically begged her for her assistance. It took some convincing but when he had uttered the magic word, "cramps," along with the assurance that he'd pay her back somehow, she agreed to it. The rest was left for Kurenai and Sakura to handle amongst themselves within the privacy of Sakura's house, sparing him details.
Naruto and Sasuke were allowed the day off, giving Kakashi the opportunity to think of a way to repay Kurenai as he patiently waited for her to emerge from the genin's abode. When she finally did, he hastily had her appointed to meet up with him later that evening atop Ichiraku's roof. Ramen from that restaurant could hit the spot and if she hated it, then she could just say so and he'd find some other way to thank her.
That so-called appointed time had been hours ago. Funny how he managed to make it on time yet she didn't. Luckily, he had his Icha Icha Paradise to kill the time.
"You're going to rot your mind silly by reading that junk."
The voice—silky and low, yet feminine—slithered out from behind him somewhere. Had it not been for the lifetime of training bestowed upon him, Kakashi would have leapt out of his skin with fright. He raised his free hand in greeting, not bothering to turn and face the visitor. He already knew who it was. "Yo, Kurenai," he droned, tucking away his reading material.
"You're late," he added in an unassuming manner.
The female jounin stepped expertly along the tiles of the roof to come over to his side for a seat not too far from him but not too close, just as she'd always been. "Mm. Well, I got lost on the road of life."
Although he wasn't looking at her, Kakashi could tell a tiny smirk graced her face. After all, he'd uttered those exact words toward her and many others, countless times, and was sure she was using the moment to get back at him. "Not funny."
"What is it that you wanted?" she asked, plainly. In spite of her reputation as being perhaps the strictest of the Konoha instructors, Kurenai was known as a very patient person. She was also very straightforward and curt, to a degree, anyway.
"Just wanted to thank you for helping me out today under such short notice," the silver-haired jounin finally looked at his female counterpart, idly noticing her wrap-like ensemble was gone in favor of her olive-green vest and red sleeveless jumpsuit combo.
"Your welcome, Kakashi. But really, you didn't have to call me out here this late."
"Actually, you were scheduled for an earlier time…"
Kurenai's jaw clenched slightly. "I had some things to take care of." She shook her head, sighing calmly. "Is this your strange way of repaying me?"
"No. This is." After a rustle or two of a plastic bag, Kakashi slid to her the take-out ramen.
Kurenai peered curiously at the bag's contents and wrinkled her nose. "When did you get this?"
"Couple of hours ago. Right around the time you were supposed to meet me—"
"It's all soggy," the woman said hastily, to avoid yet another guilt trip. "There's hardly any broth left."
Kakashi looked into the plastic bowl and saw nothing but a sea of faint yellowy noodles with the works, maybe a little speck of green here and there for seasoning and, as Kurenai hinted at, not much else. He shrugged. "It's still good."
"Says you. They look like worms." She slid the vat of ramen back to him. "And you forgot to get the chopsticks."
To Kakashi, that was more than just a bit fastidious. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have thought she was scoffing. Kakashi gave her about as deadpanned a look as a man with just one third of his face revealed could possible give. "You're Aburame Shino's instructor. I doubt noodles that look like worms are that big of a deal."
"The fact that I'm eating them without chopsticks is a big deal."
"Fine. If you must be that way," Kakashi removed the lid off the vat and dipped in, so to speak, capturing a plentiful amount of the noodles in between his fingers.
Kurenai watched him with suspicious ruby-red eyes. "What are you—"
"Tilt your head back, Kurenai," he said, plainly.
"You can't be serious."
"As a heart attack. Now tilt your head back," he urged her again, more assertively this time. "And open your mouth."
If only to silence his pleas, Kurenai did as she was told. She couldn't help but make a sound of amusement after picturing the scene in her mind; she must have looked as silly as she felt. Her eyes were on the inky sky above them, "I can't believe I let you talk me into helping Sakura with her first day as a woman and allowing you the chance to hand-feed me…"
"Quiet. Now eat." With that said, Kakashi carefully loaded the noodles into Kurenai's gaping mouth. He grinned behind his mask when she lowered her head to chew daintily and to make sure she didn't make a mess. Women were such strange creatures. "Good?" he asked her.
Kurenai nodded and chewed away.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it, Yuuhi?"
The woman brushed her knuckle over the side of her painted mouth. She shot him a brief grin. "Actually, that's the best ramen I've ever had."
"Good, because there's more coming." Kakashi gestured for her to tilt her head back as before, and she complied, allowing herself to be fed again though with less restraint.
This went on for one more round until Kurenai suddenly slid her form closer to Kakashi's and took the vat of ramen from his grasp before he could think to question her. When he saw her fishing out noodles with her fingers, his grin faded and a slight sense of dread began to swell in his stomach. The mischievous look she bore affirmed his fears.
"All right. Your turn, Hatake."
"You can't be serious."
Kurenai just smiled.
-- finis ---