A/N: Here's all I've got for now. A sudden burst of inspriation, and now more writer's block. Argh! I'll hopefully be able to post something soon, though. Anyways, if not, let me tell you all Happy Christmas first. Happy Christmas. There. Now that that's done, I'm going to make a small warning. There's a little bit of shocking news in the beginning of the chapter, but anyone who knows anything about Aoi and his personality so far won't be too very surprised. I just wanted to warn you so that you can...galvanize...your self against it.

Legal Stuffiness: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters therein. Takuda Natsum is my property, however. Please do not use her without permission, or I'll be very sad, and sick Sasuke on you.

Chapter 5: Under Guard

When I woke up, I was in a darkened room, with apparently white walls. My head hurt like hell, and I tried to sit up, but I couldn't. I looked around, and saw that I was in a hospital room. What the hell happened? After three more tries, I finally was able to sit up, then I flung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up weakly. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to make it across the room on my own, so I leaned on the wall, using it for support, and went around until I got to the door. I opened it, and stumbled out into the hallway, falling to the floor.

A man with spiked black hair and a bandage across his face helped me up, and said, "You shouldn't be up after what happened." He led me back inside, and put me back to bed.

"What did happen? Where's Kakashi? Where's Ino?" My confusion over the situation was obvious, and it was only getting worse. He only smiled at me, and left. Annoyance rose, and I started to tap my fingers on the bedcovers. I hate this. I don't even know what happened! Why does my head hurt? Why am I so weak? Then I got an idea. That little chart at the foot of the bed might be able to tell me a few things…

I reached over and plucked it from its holder.

Name: Takuda Natsumi

Age: 25

Occupation: Graduate Student

Place of Residence: N/A

Incident Report: Examination by Tsunade. Patient is suffering from minor injuries: two fractured ribs; as well as aftereffects of an inhaled toxin, as yet unidentified. Also note: evidence of apparent sexual assault.

Treatment: bed rest, increase of fluid intake, contraceptive measures and screening for sexually transmitted disease.

Security: Chuunin guards at hospital, as well as during hours not spent in the presence of Hatake Kakashi.

I nearly fainted. "Sexual…assault?" I breathed. That bastard. He did that to me while I was unconscious? My stomach felt very queasy. Then the dizziness came, and I had to grip the sides of the bed to keep from passing out. "They'd better come up with something better than just security." Just then, the door slid open, and Kakashi came in. I started, alarmed. "Stop where you are. Are you really Kakashi?" My heart was hammering in my chest, and I could barely keep my voice from cracking.

He stopped, hands in his pockets. "What color panties are you wearing, Natsu?" I was never so happy to hear a perverted comment.

When I tried to get up, he ran over to the bed to stop me, and sat on the edge of it. At first, I couldn't speak. "I'm sorry…" I cried into his shoulder, barely able to breathe between the nearly gagging sobs. "I didn't let him in. He just kind of appeared."

"Shhhh. It's alright." He held me close, and I leaned on him for support. "You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone." I heard the emotion in his voice, and I looked up at him. He was trying very hard not to cry, it seemed. That damned mask and his stupid forehead protector were in the way. I couldn't see his face. I pulled both off at once. What I saw made me want to cry even more. His eyes were so sad…and his lips trembled slightly, as one might think a small child's would when they were putting all their energy into simply not crying.

"No, please don't, Kakashi. If you do, then I'll definitely lose it." I squeezed him, and he returned the embrace much more fiercly. In spite of all his effort, and my request, he began to cry quietly as he held me. To my surprise, I didn't completely lose it. I just cried right along with him, but not like when I saw his genjutsu.

When he partially pulled away from me, he didn't seem like he could look me in the eye. "I…I don't want to lose you." His voice was choked with his tears. "Too many people who were important to me have died." Then he looked at me, his eyes filled with something akin to panic. He gripped my shoulders. "I can't…no. I won't lose you, Natsumi." I blinked at the incredible force of the determination in his voice. I had known for a long time about his friends when he was younger. He told me one night when he, Ino and I had all gone to my aunt's bar and drank ourselves stupid.

Just then, the door opened, and Tsunade walked in. I glared at her. "Hokage-sama, I would appreciate it if you would knock." My eyes flicked meaningfully to Kakashi, who was still leaning on my shoulder, and I kept him there in spite of his attempt to pull away.

The older woman smirked, ignoring Kakashi completely. She saw that I had been looking at the medical chart. "I'm glad that you're awake, Natsumi-chan. Now is as good a time as any to ask you. Do you remember who did this to you?"

I snorted. "Yeah. I know who he is, and I can tell you where the bastard lives, too." Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "I'll give you three guesses, Hokage-sama."

"Aoi?"

"You got it. But the last thing I remember is Aoi squeezing me until I couldn't breathe, then him saying something about me being his and not anyone else's." The realization sank in for all of us there that he had raped me after I'd passed out. Tsunade looked furious.

"Kakashi, I want you, Ino and Hinata in my office. Shikamaru too, since you asked him about what to do." When I looked worried, Tsunade poked her head into the hall, and called for the guard. She pointed to the spiky-haired man. "This is Kotetsu. He'll be guarding you when you're not around Kakashi. I'll be switching him out with Ino once a day."

I reached out to shake Kotetsu's hand. "Nice to meet you. I hope you like lectures; school tomorrow, you know." He seemed to almost wilt where he stood. I chuckled. By this time, Kakashi had recovered, and replaced his mask and forehead protector. I asked him, "Do you think he'll do?"

"Better him than Naruto." My eyes widened at the mention of Kakashi's former student. That little crack-head was more perverted than Kakashi. He'd tried to look down my shirt the last time I saw him. It was a good thing that Sakura had been there, because she hit him on top of the head, nearly knocking him out. Yeah, she was really scary. Then I thought of the other third of Kakashi's old genin team. Uchiha Sasuke. That kid gives me the fucking creeps. Not only did he have a very cold glare, but he was always brooding about something. He looked at you like he was thinking of different ways to kill you.

"Frankly, that's a good thing." I looked over at Kotetsu. "I'll try to make sure you don't fall asleep in class, ok?" He snorted, then resumed his arrogant smirk. He was interesting. It might take a little doing, but he might make a nice addition to my group of friends. It would just be to pry the guy's mouth open and get him to say something other than things that concerned guarding me.

Soon after this, Kotetsu went back to his post at the door, and barriers were set on the two windows. Tsunade said I'd have to stay overnight for observation, but that I could leave in the morning in time to be at school. Kakashi had brought me a change of clothes, so I didn't have to stay wearing that stupid hospital gown. Honestly, don't they make them that actually close in the back?

"So, off to class!" I was glad that I wouldn't be missing any more school. It was hard enough to catch up with only having missed a couple of classes, let alone as much as if they'd made me stay in the hospital. Kotetsu stifled a groan. "Come on, Kotetsu. It's not that bad. You might find my Administration class a little boring, but that's tomorrow. I have my Materials Conservation Lab today." Again, he groaned.

"Don't you take any classes that might interest normal people?"

"What kind of class would you want to go to?" I asked, prodding him in the ribs as we walked.

"Hmm. Never thought about it. I like to read, so maybe a literature class."

I blinked, then decided to tease him. "Oh, yeah. I'm sure you've read all of Shakespeare's plays, and you're a huge fan of Sir Walter Scott." The sarcasm practically dripped from every word, and he made a face.

"Actually, I kind of like Dante better. The Inferno is actually really good." I was surprised. I asked if he liked John Milton, prepared for him to launch into praise (I had noticed that if you like Dante's Inferno, you generally like Paradise Lost, which I utterly despise). "Ugh. That guy's really…I don't know. He's just not my bag." I laughed at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Ever read Ivanhoe?" I asked. Walter Scott is one of my favorite authors. I love him. I'd never really finished reading anything by Dante, so I didn't think I could really talk about that.

"Mm. I don't think so. Wasn't that one the one that has all the knights in it?" Well, that conversation quickly degenerated into talking about comic books, since he had very different taste in classic literature than I did. We continued on the differences between various superheroes and how much we hate certain art styles until we got to my lab, then picked up the topic again once the class was finished. Then, it was time for him to switch with Ino. We met at the coffee shop in the library. "See you tomorrow, Natsumi-san."

Ino looked after him. I thought I saw her eyeing his backside. "Uh, Ino. Try not to ogle him, will ya?" She turned around, a blush rising on her cheeks. My eyes narrowed. "You're just as bad as Sakura. Why don't you just ask him out?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't think that would work out. He's not my type, but it does no harm to look, you know. Besides, you have no room to talk. It took you forever to get together with Kakashi." I sighed. "Anyway, I'm hungry. You want to go and get some food?" I nodded, and we went down the street to our favorite pizza place. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better. I don't remember any of what he…er, did to me, so I guess that's a good thing. But man, do I want to kill him!" Not only had he stalked me, but he had burned my apartment, tried to kidnap me, and he'd done something that I would rather not think about. Something just occurred to me. "I don't think it's me he's out to hurt, Ino." When she looked at me questioningly, I said, "Think about it. He didn't threaten me. He threatened Kakashi. I don't remember him attacking me, but Kakashi's really upset about it. What else am I supposed to think?"

"I dunno." Ino was thinking, but I wasn't too surprised when she said, "Shikamaru's always the one who's better with this stuff. It makes my head hurt." I laughed, and we waited for our pizza.

A head poked around the corner of the booth we sat in. "Did I hear my name?" Ino jumped, since Shikamaru popped up right next to her ear. He chortled, and then slinked around the barrier between our booths. Ino moved over, and he came to sit with us. "Sorry about that, Ino." He looked across the table at me. "You think he's got a grudge against Kakashi?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he returned to Konoha and bought off a few people to avoid being prosecuted for being a missing-nin. Then he reformed his ways, or so he said. These are all things that people neglected to tell me until after he dumped me." I looked pointedly at Ino. She looked away quickly. "From what Ino belatedly told me, Aoi was basically shoved over a cliff by one of Kakashi's former students." The fact that he'd lived through that just showed how much of a persistent bastard he was.

Shikamaru didn't look conviced. He just shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Nah. I just think the guy's jealous. Since you're what he wants, he's not really going to hurt you, but my guess is that Kakashi's fair game." Both Ino and I looked at him. He really is a genius. Our jaws nearly fell onto the table. The lazy ninja sighed. "Please tell me that you guys considered that before you started jumping to crazy conspiracy theories. Oh, man…you guys are so troublesome." Shikamaru ducked both of our hands, since Ino and I had both reached over to smack him on his head.

"Ok. If that's the case, what do we do about it?" I asked, completely exasperated.

He shrugged. "Well, I can't think of anything that doesn't involve using you as bait. Not without sacrificing a few good shinobi. I like you, Natsumi, you're real cute and all, but I'm not about to risk the lives of any of my comrades if it isn't necessary." I blinked. There was this similarity between him and Kakashi: you never really know when they're suddenly going to get serious on you. And it was adorable with both of them. Ino was trying not to giggle. I rolled my eyes. She really needs to get laid…

"I understand, and you don't need to get all pissy. So, tell me about me as bait. I have no objections, as long as there's a reasonable chance of safety."

Ino and I walked back to Kakashi's apartment without incident, and she settled in to grade some papers while I started on a long-neglected term paper. My eyes didn't want to focus on the book in front of me, and I sighed. What is my problem? I have no choice. Of course, Kakashi might object, but Aoi can probably spot a replacement jutsu, so it wouldn't be a good idea to try that. So I'll just have to be bait. But will that lazy ass's plan work? Kakashi was really very overprotective, so it might not.

Then I heard Ino sigh. I turned, and she was staring out of the window. "What's up, Ino?" She looked over at me, and God, did she look miserable. I got up from the floor where I'd been sitting, and sat next to her on the couch. "Come on, Ino. If I gotta tell you about me almost being kidnapped, you have to tell me what's got you depressed. I didn't think it was possible."

"I hate being a teacher. I miss being on the same team with the guys." She looked out the window again. Today was the first time in months that I saw him, Natsumi." She bit her lip. I rolled my eyes. You mean you miss being on the same team with him, don't you? Ha! She's just as hopeless as the rest of us. I snorted, and she looked at me, and the smug smile I had, and said, "What?"

"Oh, dammit, Ino. You said it to me, so I'll say it to you. Just get it over with." She started sputtering.

"He-he doesn't like me that way, Natsu. I'm sure of that. There's that Sand chick…Temari—" her voice became a growl at the name, a dead give-away that she loathed the woman, "—who seems like she's the closest thing he's got to a girlfriend…" I once again laughed at her. "Dammit, fuck you, Natsu. I don't know why I even told you anything."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Did you even talk to him about it?" She looked away. "Dumb-ass! You should at least talk to him. If you get things straightened out, for good or bad, you'll feel a lot better, I promise. Just look at me and Kakashi!" She looked at me, still sullen.

"You're not just messing with me? Do you really think he'll talk to me?"

I rolled my eyes. "He put up with you for…how long? And I didn't see him coming to sit next to me at the pizza place. He's a lazy bastard, and he'll probably never say anything about it on his own, so you'll have to be the one to approach him. You know that, I'm sure you do." She nodded. "Now, if you want, you can call him and have him come over since you can't leave. I'll go take a nap." I stood up, threw the phone at her, and started walking to the back of the apartment. "Just don't do anything on the couch, ok?" I grinned evilly, and ducked the shoe she threw at my head.

When I got into the bedroom, I flopped down on the bed. I was tired anyway. Too much shit going on all at once, and I needed a nap. I took my cell phone out of my back pocket, and put it on the bed next to me. Ten minutes later, I was dead to the world. There are just some times, when I fall asleep, you can't wake me up with a marching band in the same room. What does wake me up, is the stupid ringer that Kakashi put on my phone. I mean, I love the Pixies, but "Where is My Mind" gets old after a while.

RRRRRRrrrr…Stop!

I reached out, and grabbed the phone. I flipped it open, and said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Natsumi. How are you, darlin'?"

"Can you ever fucking call me when I'm not sleeping? What do you want now?" I sat up, pushing my hair out of my eyes. "Wait. Don't tell me, 'cause I don't wanna know. Just leave me alone." My finger was inching toward the little red button that was labeled END. Before I could touch it, though, he spoke again.

"Wait, please?" The tone of his voice was pleading, which was unusual to say the least. When I didn't hang up, he continued. "I want to meet with you, if that would be alright. Could you be in the park tomorrow night, nine o'clock, where we used to meet?" There was a park with rolling hills and some statues, where he used to like to meet me.

"Why should I? So you can kill me? That's all you haven't tried. Why are you doing this, Aoi? I'm so tired of fighting you. Why?" I really was tired. So fucking tired. This had been going on for longer than I would have liked. Was he doing it to get me back? That didn't make sense. If he had been, then he wouldn't have incinerated my apartment, or raped me while I was unconscious.

"Natsumi, when are you going to understand that I love you? I've been trying to make you mine again, but you just don't seem to be getting the picture. You're still with him. What is it about him that's so special? Why don't I have that something?" He sounded genuinely hurt. I thought about it for a moment, and then decided that I didn't care. If he thought that attempted kidnapping, arson, rape, and stalking were the best way to make a girl come running back, he had another thing coming.

"Kakashi is something that you'll never be, Aoi. He's a good man." I said this, and then hung up. Fucker. The phone rang again. I answered it. "What is it?" This was getting really fucking old, and I was so tired of it, I just wanted to get rid of him.

"Please, Natsumi. Please meet me? Tomorrow night? Please?"

Just to get rid of him, I said, "I'll think about it." And then I hung up again, but this time he didn't call back. "Great. Now I'll never get my nap." Grumbling, I opened the bedroom door and called out, "Is everyone decent in there? I'm coming in!" I walked out into the living room, and there were Ino and Shikamaru, sitting next to one another on the couch. He was looking as lazy as ever, if a little annoyed by the interruption, and I thought that I saw a little bit of lipstick smudged on his mouth. I had to try really hard not to laugh at Ino, since she was really red. "Everything ok?"

"Was until you decided to interrupt." Shikamaru's eyes rolled.

I raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I could go back into the other room…" Ino's eyes grew large. "I do have a pair of earplugs. You'd just have to listen for Kakashi coming back home!" Now Shikamaru turned red, and sighed. "Oh, I was only kidding." Ino looked relieved. "Since I'm guessing that a change of subject would be welcome, Aoi just called me. He wants to meet me, tomorrow night, in the park."

Ino's eyes narrowed. I'd told her about what he used to like to do in the park, and she'd thought he was nuts. In all likelihood, he probably was. I'm not into public displays, but he was. "We'll need Kakashi and one other person." Shikamaru said this, tapping a finger across his lips. "My plan is simple, and might actually work, if you and that cracked out boyfriend of yours can keep your hands off of one another long enough to get it done."

"I can control myself. You'll have to talk to him about that." Shikamaru can be really frustrating. Ino was going to have her hands full, but then again, she was used to him.

"Oh, and you'll need to wear something…distracting. You'll help her, right, Ino?" I glared at him as he said that. I take it back. Frustrating is a mild word for it. He's really fucking well annoying. At that, he rose and moved to leave, but before he could get to the door, Ino moved faster than I'd ever seen her move, grabbed him, and gave him a very memorable kiss goodbye. That was the only time I can think of that he didn't have a sarcastic comeback. He just backed jerkily out of the door, blinking and trying to catch his breath.

As soon as the door closed, Ino made a horrifically loud girlie squeal. "Damn it, Ino! What did I tell you about that? You sound just like Sakura! Humph. Now, let's go and find something distracting from the closet." I only really said that to get her mind off of Shikamaru, but it turned into something like a fashion show.

The final decision was that I should wear the dark red lace shirt with the black leather skirt (slits up the sides to mid-thigh) and a pair of knee-length lace-up combat boots that Ino was going to lend me. I was a little concerned about not wearing anything under the shirt.

"What better distraction than your boobs?" Ino's grin was really quite evil, and I was not a little scared. She was just trying to convince me of this when Kakashi came into the room.

"I agree that her breasts are a distraction, Ino, but why are you looking at them?" Kakashi's tone was one of false jealousy. He walked over to me and gave me one of his knee-wobbler kisses, and then asked what we were doing. After we explained everything to him, he nodded. "Shikamaru's plan is simple, but I'm still worried that you might get hurt, Natsumi. I mean, would he really meet you in a place alone? Wouldn't he bring his goons with him?"

I sighed. Aoi wasn't going to hurt me. His behavior was cowardly, but selfish. When he wants something, he doesn't stop going after it until he either gets it, or he dies. Kakashi agreed to the plan in the end, and Ino went off to see Shikamaru and recruit Kotetsu into the little game. When she'd gone, he looked over at me, a familiar twinkle in his eye. "Oh, no you don't, Kakashi. I need these clothes to be in good shape for tomorrow."

"I can be gentle." As if to prove his point, he ran a light fingertip over my collarbone, and I could barely feel it. That didn't stop me from shivering at the pleasant feeling that resulted from that feather-soft touch.

"At least let me take this stuff off."