Hayate sighs and lifts his head to allow his teammate to fluff his pillow. Hinata continues to fuss over him, making sure he's tucked in properly and that he has enough water to drink and is he hungry? Because if he is she can make him something if he wants.

"Hinata," Hayate calls as his teammate flutters about his bedroom.

The hospital is too full to accommodate him, what with the war going on, and while Hinata hasn't finished her training, the medics trust her enough to make sure he won't keel over.

"Hinata, stop, please. I'm fine," he reassures, stressing the last word.

It probably would have worked if his body didn't decide that now is a good time to try and hack up a lung.

Hinata's hands are immediately on his back, hands glowing green. Hayate sucks in a raspy breath and glances at her, a wry smile on his lips.

"Okay maybe I'm not a hundred percent fine but it's not like I'm dying." Another coughing fit wrecks through him. "Yet."

"Hayate-kun," Hinata admonishes lightly, brows pinched, "you sh—shouldn't joke about things like that."

She's probably right, but everybody has their way of coping and this is just his.

Hayate shrugs and gulps down the glass of water she hands him.

"So…" he says, licking his lips and leaning back against the mountain of pillows his teammate had stacked behind him, "...how are the replacements?"

The side of her mouth quirks down at his crude wording.

"If you are referring to my temporary assignment to Team M—m...to Team Seven then it is going….well…" she says shyly, hands twisting the fabric of her shirt.

Before he can determine if the nervous gesture is the result of her natural timidness or something more worrisome (Kakashi better not be bothering her), he senses his youngest sibling's chakra approaching his room.

The door creaks open and his little brother Ken peeks through the crack. Hinata gives him a gentle smile that coaxes the boy into the room proper.

"I have the water you asked for," he mumbles, ducking his head to hide under dark bangs and offering a bowl of clear water to Hinata.

Hinata carefully takes the bowl from him with a quiet 'thank you'. Hayate chuckles as his little brother goes red-faced. Ken glances at Hayate, a pout on his round face that makes Hayate chuckle harder. His pout turns into a worried frown when Hayate coughs wetly.

"Is Big Brother going to be alright?" he asks, voice small. Hayate curses internally, hating himself for making him worry, for making them all worry. He's the eldest brother, head of the household after his father's passing a few years ago. It's his job to look out for his family and care for them, his duty. Not theirs.

And yet here he is. Bed-ridden for the third time this month.

Gods, he's such a burden.

As if sensing his darkening thoughts, Hinata's hand finds his. She gives it a comforting squeeze before turning to face his brother with a soft yet determined look to her.

"He will. I will make sure of it."

Hayate knows she will. There hasn't been a sickness or injury she hasn't been able to help him overcome. He flips his hand around so they're palm-to-palm and intertwines their fingers so he's holding on tightly to her.

"All your brother needs right now is rest a little bit, okay?"

Ken hesitates before nodding slowly. "Okay."

Hayate sends his brother a reassuring smile and waves him away.

"Go on, Ken-chan, your big brother is in goods hands."

He holds up his and Hinata's joined hands in emphasis.

Ken brightens, "Yeah, yeah!" he agrees eagerly, raising his little fists. "Big Sister Hinata is the best!"

Hinata flushes prettily.

Ken leaves the room with a smile on his face that is mirrored by the two chuunin.

Hinata gives his hand one last squeeze before gently untangling their fingers. Hayate sighs tiredly and settles back into his bed. He watches as Hinata cups the bowl of water in her palms, her face drawn tight in concentration. Soon, the water begins to boil.

Hayate's brows go up.

"Neat trick. Did Obito teach you that?"

"No," Hinata responds, placing the bowl under his nose so he can breathe in the steam, the mint leaves she'd dropped inside giving it a pleasant aroma that further soothes his aching throat. "Hatake-kun did."

His eyebrows go higher.

He's never understood the two of them. Hayate knows they were close for during Kakashi's brief stint at the academy and that something happened between them that ended their friendship. Not that Hinata ever gave up trying to mend their broken relationship.

Hayate doesn't understand why she keeps trying despite the Hatake's repeated rejection. He doesn't understand how Kakashi can treat someone as kind as Hinata so cruelly.

He doesn't understand why Kakashi keeps her at arms distance when he so clearly wants to do the opposite. He doesn't understand why he punishes himself like this.

(Hayate suspects it might have to do with those old rumors that still pop up every now and then, the ones about Konoha's White Fang and his fall from grace.)

Although lately Kakashi has been... softer. Not quite as harsh and dismissive as he usually is with his teammate. Not after that time a near feral Kakashi had crashed into his and Hinata's hospital room after that terrible, terrible day.

Hinata puts the bowl away and grabs one of his spare blankets, rolling it up tightly. Hayate watches her carefully as he asks his next question.

"Is he treating you alright?"

He never knows with those two. Kakashi might be less of an asshole now but that doesn't erase the fact that he's still an asshole. And Hayate knows his teammate cares for the Hatake, making him food (lucky bastard), mending the clothes he leaves to dry, and speaking up for him when anybody badmouths him in her presence. It's the only time he's ever seen her truly angry. As for Kakashi...well, he's still not sure what to think, softer or not. Before that odd hospital visit a few months ago Hayate was convinced Kakashi hated her.

Turns out he couldn't have been farther from the truth.

(His teammate is just too easy to love.)

Anko is going to be ecstatic when she catches wind of all this, the little gossip fiend.

"Hatake-kun is very professional," Hinata replies diplomatically.

Hayate thinks back to the wild-eyed predator that'd looked seconds away from going feral at the sight of his injured teammate and the gentle manner in which he'd caressed her face.

Pfft, professional his ass.

Offering his teammate private training sessions and sniffing her when Kakashi knows she's not paying attention.

Honestly, Hayate thought he had it tough with Obito, the Uchiha's affection for her running deep. At this point, he's going to need a broom to start beating back all the admirers his oblivious teammate has managed to unwittingly attract.

At least he can trust Kou to have his back in this.

"If you say so..." Hayate sighs slowly.

Hinata sighs fondly and moves to tuck the rolled-up blanket under his knees.

"Hatake-kun may not be the most...sociable person," Hayate snorts at that. Talk about the understatement of the century. "But he has been very accommodating and he is a...good...teacher," she finishes, her lips quirking up at the end of her sentence.

Huh, he wonders what that's about.

Hinata grabs one of the medicinal jars on his bedside and unscrews the lid. Hayate's nose wrinkles at the strong odor but obediently opens his lounge yukata without having to be told.

This isn't the first time (definitely not the last, either) he's been bedridden with bronchitis nor is it the first time Hinata has tended to him. He's actually the reason she started studying medical jutsu more intensely, having just been an interest she shared with her Nohara friend.

Hayate had tried to dissuade her at first but Hinata had been uncharacteristically passionate about it, earnest in her quest to be useful and pointing out that their team lacked a medic. So Hayate had backed off and let her do her own thing.

It's probably the only reason they're still alive after that disaster that had landed them both in the hospital. If she hadn't spent the last dredges of her chakra healing his broken leg he doesn't think he'd had been able to drag them back to camp to get medical help.

Hinata rubs the cream between her palms so it's not cold. Hayate smiles at the thoughtfulness.

She is so kind.

Hayate eyes the bruises peeking out from his teammate's sleeves.

Maybe too kind.

He looks away before she can catch him looking. The way his teammate had closed in on herself the one time he'd dumbly asked about it isn't something he wants to repeat. He doesn't want to hear the excuses she uses to justify them, that's it's just clan training and if she weren't so terrible she wouldn't get hurt so often.

Hayate sighs as Hinata applies the cream to his chest.

"Hinata?" he whispers, not wanting to break the peaceful quiet that has settled over them like a warm blanket.

Hinata hums in reply, pale eyes flicking up to glance at him under long lashes.

Hayate opens his mouth but he's not sure what he should say—if he should even say anything.

In the end, he settles for:

"Thanks," he clears his throat when his voice comes out too rough, "thank you for always taking care of me."

She always has. Learning medical jutsu for his sake, sharing her mittens and scarves when the weather gets cold, making sure he's eating properly. She's always taken such good care of him. Since the moment they'd been put on the same team she's been looking out for him.

And Hayate wants nothing more than to return the favor. Especially now that it's just the two of them left.

"If there's anything—I mean anything—you need, I hope you, uh, know that I'm here for you."

Hinata's face softens and she places her open palm over his heart. One pulse of chakra and he'd be dead. But Hinata is his teammate and trusts her with everything he has. His heart could be nestled in her palms and he knows with utmost certainty that it'd be safe.

"Thank you," Hinata's eyes shine with unshed tears, "that m—means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"Your, um, welcome," Hayate stammers, the moment catching up to him. Hinata finishes applying the cream and tucks him in one more time before leaving to go downstairs.

Hayate falls asleep to the sounds of Hinata and his younger siblings making dinner.

Kakashi knows something is wrong the moment he wakes up that morning. His head feels like it's been stuffed full of cotton, his limbs heavy, and there's this itching, burning need to—

Shinobi Rule #8 A shinobi must abstain from overindulging in the three vices: money...

Kakashi stumbles his way to his shower, tugging his clothes off himself along the way, and twists the shower knob. He scrambles inside, letting the ice-cold water pelt down on him. He slides down against the tiled walls, his fevered skin soaking up the cool feel of it.

. ..alcohol...

He steps out of the shower after who-knows-how-long. The loss of time should be worrying, he's pretty sure he's late for his team training, but he can't bring himself to care. He's so tired but at the same time, there's this frenzied drive in him, urging him to go out and find someone and stuff them full of his seed—

...sex...

Kakashi's eyes widen and he hurriedly throws on a pair of loose sleep pants, his skin too sensitive for anything else, and dives into his bed. He burrows himself deep underneath his covers despite the heat beginning to claw at him.

What...what is happening to him?

It's two hours past their agreed meeting time and Kakashi still isn't here. Minato looks at where Obito is pacing, grumbling under his breath about his missing teammate, his two other charges standing off to the side, concern visible on their faces as the three-hour mark nears.

Minato is worried himself. It isn't like Kakashi to be tardy, the boy unfailingly prompt and professional in everything he does.

Hinata turns to Rin, the two talking between themselves quietly. Finally, Rin nods and approaches him, Hinata on her heels. Obito stops his pacing and follows them.

"Ano, sensei," she starts, anxious, "don't you think we should go check on Kakashi-kun?"

Minato nods and places a hand on Rin's and Hinata's heads, pleased with their concern over their fourth member. Obito's still scowling but he doesn't protest the idea and Minato considers it an improvement. He pats the Uchiha on the head. The boy grumbles but his body betrays his true feelings, cheeks flushed a pleased pink.

"Good idea, you two. Wait here, I'll be back in a flash," he says and smiles when Obito groans at the pun. Minato reaches for the seal planted in Kakashi's flat and grabs it with his chakra.

He blinks as his eyes adjust to Kakashi's dark apartment. Immediately he spots the trail of clothes leading to the bathroom. The sight doesn't sit right with him, Kakashi being a very neat and clean individual. He isn't the type to leave his clothes strewn everywhere unlike another student of his...

Minato carefully makes his way to Kakashi's bedroom where he feels his chakra signature...fluctuating in distress. His eyes widen in alarm and he quickly enters the room. His eyes scan the room but finds it bare except for the panting lump on the bed.

"...sensei…?"

Minato is alarmed by how weak his student sounds. He approaches the bed and carefully peels back the layers of blankets and pillows. He unearths a sweaty, trembling Kakashi, his dark eyes hazy and unfocused.

"It's okay, Kakashi, it's going to be okay." Minato makes sure to keep his voice steady despite his quickly rising panic because Kakashi is burning. He needs to get him to a medic. Now.

"Kakashi, can you hear me? Okay, good. Here's what's going to happen." Minato is careful to detail exactly what he's going to do, aware that even in his weakened state Kakashi is still capable of dealing considerable damage. "I'm going to pick you up—no, bad Kakashi, no biting—and then I'm taking you to the hospital."

It's telling how out-of-it his student is when he doesn't kick up a fuss at the mention of Konoha's Shinobi Hospital.

Minato doesn't want to use his hiraishin and risk making Kakashi sicker so they'll be going the old-fashioned way.

He swallows guiltily when Kakashi whimpers, wriggling in obvious discomfort when Minato wedges his arms beneath him but at least he doesn't snap at him again, the fight gone from his body. He lifts the boy with ease and they're off.

He bursts into the busy hospital moments later, his small charge cradled to his chest.

There's still a war going so it takes an uncomfortably long time till a medic is free enough to see them. Minato thinks it shows how much discomfort Kakashi is in when he tries to set him down on the examining table and he refuses, a miserable whine filling the air.

"It's alright." The medic says, approaching them, "Just make sure he stays still." Minato watches anxiously as her palms glow green waves them over his student. Kakashi sighs as the cool chakra washes over him, his grip on Minato's shirt easing the tiniest bit.

The medic's stern expression lightens as she finishes her examination. She picks up her clipboard and looks over the information again.

"Hatake? Hmm, so not an Inuzuka but maybe…" She looks at him, brows raised. "Are you aware of any Inuzukas in Hatake-san's bloodline, Namikaze-san?"

Minato blinks, a little taken aback by the seemingly random question.

"Um, no? But he does have a contract with the dog summons...if that helps?"

The medic nods.

"It does."

She puts down the clipboard and meets his eyes, expression serious. Minato matches her.

"Just to confirm, this hasn't happened before has it?"

"No," Minato is quick to confirm, "I mean he's had a few fevers before, of course, but never this…" Minato looks at Kakashi's flushed face, breaths coming in hard pants. "...bad…"

"Excellent. First, let me reassure you that this is all normal."

"What?" Minato blurts out loud. How—in what realm is this normal.

The medic sighs, "I'm not an expert on the subject, so I'll refer you to an Inuzuka specialist for further questions and advice, but I can explain what's going on at a basic level."

Minato nods, "Yes. Please." He doesn't understand why they need an Inuzuka specialist or anything really so he'll agree to anything so long as she tells him what's wrong with Kakashi and how he can help him because he hates how useless he feels right now.

"It would appear that Hatake-san is experiencing his first rut."

Minato's mind blanks.

His first what?

"What?"

And thus ensues the most bizarrely educational conversation Minato has ever had. The medic is patient and explains it in terms he can understand, going so far as setting up an appointment for later that day at one of the Inuzuka's clinics so they can explain more in-depth.

To sum it up: Kakashi's going through puberty. A very intense form of puberty characterized by a deep, instinctual need to breed. Simple as that and also not.

Minato does what the medic tells him to do—makes sure Kakashi has easy access to water and easy-to-eat-foods, lots of privacy (Rin and Hinata are still concerned and after a brief but intense battle of wills he convinces them that Kakashi is simply feeling unwell and will be absent for a few days and, no, he doesn't require a live-in medic)—before going to the Inuzuka for his appointment.

Minato leaves the compound with an armful of informational packets and some, ahem, special items for Kakashi to help him through his rut sealed into a scroll.

Minato is at a loss.

Well to be honest he's been kind of out of depth ever since Kakashi was assigned to him and that hasn't really gone away. But he's since learned to just roll with the punches which is all you can really hope for with a team like his.

Don't misunderstand, he's a dutiful sensei, supplying his students with the correct exercises and knowledge to improve themselves. He makes sure they know he's there should they have any questions or concerns. But his newest addition...he's not sure what to do with her. He's never met someone so painfully shy and so kind.

Minato can't say he's ever known anyone quite like Hinata, especially not a Hyuuga who all like to pretend that emotions are beneath them. Hizashi and Hinami might be an exception but Hizashi does have his moments where even Minato, easygoing as he is, wants to punch him in his handsome face.

Kushina, however, has no reservations and regularly drags her teammate into public brawls when she feels he's being 'too uptight'.

It's frustrating. It's been weeks since Hinata was assigned to him and in that time he feels like he's made very little progress with her.

Don't get him wrong! Hinata is a hard worker and an exceptional student, sharp and focused like the edge of a blade and she's shaping up to be a remarkable tracker especially when paired with Kakashi.

It's just...well...the thing is…

Hinata is nice .

Too nice.

And it's affecting her overall progress as a kunoichi and that of his other students.

Hinata does fine when sparring against Kakashi, the two obviously familiar and comfortable with each other. Kakashi isn't one to pull his punches and Hinata knows this and acts accordingly, giving just as good as she gets.

But when he puts her against Rin or Obito or even himself, her performance greatly drops.

Obito, to his exasperation, is much too besotted with both girls to train seriously which leads Hinata to hold back so much in their spars that they're practically useless. With Rin, well, her taijutsu is good but against a Hyuuga from the main branch , it's always a short fight even with the heiress's reluctance to do her serious damage. And with him, Hinata is much too timid (bordering on terrified) to concentrate properly despite his best efforts to appear as friendly and approachable as possible.

Personally, Minato finds her hesitance to harm her friends and himself heartwarming. The shinobi part of him, on the other hand, can't believe she's still alive.

Of course, Hinata is perfectly fine sparring with his sour student who happens to be on medical leave.

Minato is at his wit's end.

So he does the logical thing and introduces Hinata to his girlfriend.

Kushina is the most confident person he knows (aside from his sensei) and he's hoping that maybe just a little bit of that will rub off Hinata.

"Okay, Hinata-chan," Kushina cracks her knuckles and Hinata's eyes widen as the older kunoichi steps into a stance, the ground cracking underneath her feet. "Show me whatcha got, 'ttebane!"

Kushina dashes after the Hyuuga and the girl just barely ducks out of the way of her punch, the tree behind her exploding violently.

"HEY!" Obito yells, struggling against Rin's hold on him. "What's the big idea?! Are you trying to kill Hinata-chan?"

"Of course not." Kushina rolls her eyes. "I know how to hold back."

Obito splutters.

"That was her holding back?" Rin whispers to herself in horrified awe.

Minato sweatdrops.

On second thought maybe this isn't such a good idea…

Hinata watches the other kunoichi closely, falling back into a defensive position. However, Kushina doesn't waste time before she's launching another viscious attack that Hinata only barely escapes, chunks of packed dirt flying into the air from the crater Kushina's heel made.

Hinata comes out of her roll and settles immediately into her family's stance, her eyes narrowing. The bulging veins around her eyes give her gaze a certain intensity and weight.

Kushina grins, a truly feral expression on her face that nearly takes his breath away.

"C'mon," she beckons, "I said show me whatcha got."

Hinata's eyes sharpen and she blurs forward with a speed that leaves him impressed.

Huh, Minato thinks, watching as the two kunoichis engage in a brutal bout of taijutsu, each giving as good as they got, though he can tell Kushina is being careful not to hurt his student too badly.

Obito is silent for once, expression awestruck. Rin has a similar expression, eyes round and wide as she struggles to keep track of Hinata and Kushina.

Hinata's hands are practically glowing with chakra and for the first time since she's joined their team, Minato sees the fearsome kunoichi hidden underneath her timid smile. Kushina must see it too because she throws her back head and lets loose a raucous laugh and Hinata's lips quirk upwards in return.

...okay maybe this was a good idea after all…

Rin cries out in alarm and Minato cranes his head back as Hinata goes sailing over their heads.

"Hinata!" Obito yells and scrambles to catch her. "I got you, I got you— oof!"

The two collide in a ball of arms and legs, rolling out of the training ground.

"Obito! Hinata!" Rin panics and runs after them, arms outstretched.

Kushina winces, "Oops."

Minato sighs.

...or not...

Obito is ecstatic.

Well, okay, he's not totally heartless that he feels happy that Kakshi is sick. It's just nice to have his two best friends all to himself for once, especially considering that Hinata isn't going to be running missions with them anymore come next week, Hayate having been called back to active duty following his month long recovery.

He heard the trenches between Iwa and Konoha were bad, but he didn't know they were that bad. Bad enough that Hinata was genuinely worried for her teammate's health. Obito feels bad for her. She'd nearly run herself ragged, running back and forth between training and missions to tend to her sick teammate plus all those shifts at the hospital she spent with Rin volunteering.

Kushina had given her a stern talking to when she'd collapsed from exhaustion.

Luckily, their current mission is a light one. They'll be accompanying Minato-sensei as he goes about inspecting and strengthening the seals on the borders and outpost camps. Their job is simply that of an extra pair of hands, Sensei handing them a stack of seals and having Hinata use her byakugan to locate the deteriorating seals and replace them with the newer ones.

It's simple work but very important to the war effort all the same.

Right now it's just Obito and Hinata, Rin having been summoned to assist this post's medics.

"Two meters...one meter…" Hinata's eyes flicker to a random tree, veins bulging. She steps up to it and very lightly brushes it with chakra, allowing them to see the crumbling seal.

"Got it!" Obito slaps the new seal on top, feeding his chakra into it. It glows briefly before fading into the bark. "Was that the last one?"

"Yes." Hinata deactivates her jutsu and turns to face him with a pleased smile that Obito mirrors.

"Yatta, Hinata-chan!" Obito grabs onto her sleeve and swings their arms happily. "We make such a good team, ne?"

Hinata's smile deepens which only makes Obito's widen in turn.

"We do, don't we?"

Gently she tugs her sleeve out of his grip and Obito's heart warms when she slips her hand with his.

He'd held her hand a lot back in the academy, his friend needing someone to guide her when she became too anxious. Then as she became a little more sure-footed it just turned into something they did, a reminder that he's got her back and she's got his.

It's a nice reassurance given the war looming over their heads and the knowledge that soon he won't see much of Hinata, their teams scheduled to depart for separate parts of the war.

They'll make it out of this war.

Obito gives her hand squeeze and he grins to himself when Hinata squeezes back.

They will because he, Rin, and Hinata—they're meant to be together just like the moon and the stars and the night sky are meant to be together. He knows this deep down in his bones. Any other outcome isn't worth thinking about—he can't because a world without them together is wrong.

And the world, despite its flaws and tragedies, is right. So he'll come back to her, to Rin and Hinata just like he knows they'll come back to him.

After all, he can't be Hokage without the future head of medical corps and the future head of one of Konoha's most prestigious clans (he loves his clan, really, but the elders...he trusts them about as far as he can throw them...with one arm tied behind his back and the other super sore from an epic spar where he totally beat Bakashi) at his side. He needs to know that he can at least count on two people to always have his back.

And maybe...

Obito looks over Hinata, eyes roving over the delicate curve of her jaw and up to her pretty pink lips and he wonders what they'd feel like against his lips—

He tears his gaze away, cheeks flaming.

….maybe after the war is over…

Hinata bends down and plucks a yellow daisy. She turns to him and Obito's heart beats faster, face reddening as she steps close and tucks the flower against his goggles. Hinata giggles and squeezes his hand and Obito's heart feels fit to burst with all these overwhelming emotions she inspires inside him.

Maybe one day...he can tell her.. .both of them ...how he feels, of that future he wants so desperately for the three of them.

They walk back to camp hand-in-hand.

Kakashi is aware of his sensei periodically checking up on him that first, horrible day and the subsequent days after, Kushina stepping in when his sensei and his team have to leave on a mission.

Since then, he hasn't had much strength to do much else but sleep, drink, and sleep some more, bathroom breaks interspersed here and there.

The second day is simultaneously better and worse. Better because he's lucid, able to think past the haze clouding his mind, and worse because he's lucid. Aware enough to see what his sensei left for him on his bedside table.

Kakashi stares at the bottle of lubricant, stamped with the Inuzuka's clan symbol, the label displaying the silhouette of two wolves...in a very intimate position.

Kakashi gulps and hurriedly places the bottle back with the other myriad of mortifying supplies. Instead, he picks up one of the informational packets and re-reads it for the fifth time, anything to take his mind off the uncomfortable burn in his loins.

He eats the soup left for him in the fridge—thank the gods for Kushina's cooking—and falls asleep, a full belly lulling him to sleep.

Kakashi wakes the third morning panting, his dream fading, but what little he can remember leaves him red-faced, more so when he sees the mess he'd made in his pants.

He takes a very long, very cold shower.

Kakashi spends the rest of the day feeling restless, pacing the length of his apartment, and it's only his impeccable self-control that keeps him from running out and breeding—

Kakashi takes another shower.

At least his gas bill will be light this month. As for his water bill...not so much...

It's one of the only things that work to make this all somewhat bearable. The only other thing being the fading scent of lavendercontentcinnamon lingering on his bed after Hinata's last visit to his apartment. Kakashi presses his face into the covers and his body goes lax as putty as he takes in the soothing scent.

But eventually, it fades, it had to, with how he'd rolled in it, trying to get the scent to imprint on him. And now even cold showers aren't enough to banish the hardness between his legs and he is miserable.

By the fourth day, he can't take it anymore. He's avoided touching himself despite everything, refusing to give in to his baser instincts, but even he has limits, the burning need to rut into something—anything—bordering on painful, his knot swollen and aching.

His wolf howls in triumph.

Kakashi opens one of the lubricants, this one claiming to mimic a female's slick with ninety-nine percent accuracy, and he takes a tentative sniff.

He throws the bottle across the room, chest heaving and eyes wild. It takes him several long moments to get himself back under control.

The scent...it isn't... bad per say. The image of a sopping wet cunt fills his mind's eye before he banishes it with a shake of his head. It is certainly arousing...but there's this profound sense of... wrongness that he can't shake off.

It's not the act of masturbation, no, Kakashi has accepted it as an inevitable outcome.

He's only human after all.

No, it's just that...the scent...the scent itself—it's wrong.

Kakashi rummages through the other scented bottles, sniffing each of them, and while they do smell very alluring none of them are the right one.

Not that he knows what the right one even is.

Frustrated, Kakashi opens one of the larger bottles and perks in interest when he smells...nothing. He sniffs again but there isn't really anything. Maybe something...damp? But not much else.

He sighs and cautiously squeezes the liquid into the palm of his hand.

It'll do.

Later, when Kakashi tries to remember the rest of the fourth and subsequent fifth day he finds that he can't. It's all one big blur. The only thing that's clear is that burning need followed by a deep sense of dissatisfaction, Kakashi never really getting what he wanted—what he needed —in the end.

Thankfully, his rut is over by the sixth day. Immediately he wants to go back to active duty (he loathed Minato by the second day when he'd found out he'd been officially labeled Not Fit For Duty Per Medical Reasons), but his sensei is adamant he spend the today and the next day recuperating, pointing out that these things take time and Kakashi...he understands.

He does, truly.

But just because he understands doesn't mean he has to like it.

The first thing he's going to do—after burning his sheets and stuffing Minato's... care package into the depths of his closet—is invest in some good, shinobi-grade rut suppressants so he'll only be forced to endure this humiliating loss of control four to five times a year as opposed to thirteen or more times a year.

Kakashi climbs out of his bed and grimaces when his sheets cling to his damp skin.

On second thought, maybe he'll take another shower first.

Minato's team is odd, to say the least.

He has the prodigious son of a disgraced war hero, a civilian-born kunoichi whose skill in medical jutsu promises to rival Tsunade's in the future, a cheerful, clumsy Uchiha, and a timid Hyuuga.

They sound like the cast of one of his sensei's stories.

Especially with the love-triangle-square-circle-thing they got going on.

At first, he'd thought it was Obito→Rin→Kakashi

And then with Hinata joining their team, he'd thought it was Obito→Rin→Kakashi→Hinata

But as he spends more time with them it's actually more like Kakashi→Hinata⇄Obito⇄Rin→Kakashi→Hinata?

Minato groans.

Hinata turns around from where she's taking point ahead of them and shoots him a look while Kakashi whose behind on her left quickly uses the Konoha sign to ask what's wrong to which Minato signals back that everything is alright, shooting Hinata a comforting smile. Kakashi switches his focus back on tree-jumping and scouting ahead with his nose and Hinata reluctantly gives a nod and turns back around.

Obito doesn't give any indication that he's noticed the short interaction. Rin, who is traveling in the center of their formation, does and glances back at him and then Hinata questioningly.

Rin starts to sign but the split attention between tree-jumping, her worries, and remembering the correct handsigns is too great and she misses the next branch.

Rin reflexively cuts off her scream and disappears into the branches below them.

"Rin!" Obito yells, hands reaching uselessly into the space she'd previously occupied.

Minato immediately throws one of his three-pronged kunai below them and teleports there with his arms ready to catch his student only to be beaten by Hinata.

Minato stares gobsmacked as Hinata lands a few branches above him, Rin safely cradled in her arms.

"Rin?" Hinata asks worriedly, drawing her closer to her chest. "Are you alright?"

"Y—yeah," Rin gasps, looking desperately into the other girl's eyes, "Thank you for catching me."

"I would never let you fall," Hinata responds softly; a clear promise in her words.

Hinata's expression is so tender and so like Kushina's when it's just the two of them in bed on a lazy morning and they're just so caught up in each other that time ceases to exist along with everything else and the only thing anchoring them down is each other.

Rin kind of melts, her eyes a warm chocolate, and her voice is affectionate.

"I know."

Hinata's face colors, "I'm g—glad."

Minato begins reevaluating his previous notions as the two look at one another with such utter fondness.

"RIN! ARE YOU—oof!"

The moment is broken as Obito comes swinging down on the branch in front of them only double over when he smacks right into a hidden, lower branch. Obito lets out a pained mewl and begins to slip off only to be stopped by Kakashi's grip on the back of his jacket.

Kakashi gives the two girls a quick once-over. Satisfied they're okay, he lifts Obito a little higher like a mother would to her errant kitten.

"Rin," Kakashi looks at her, his tone conveying nothing but his eyes are hard. "I heard two of his ribs crack."

Rin slides out of Hinata's hold with a sigh, hands already glowing green.

"I got it."

Kakashi drops Obito who hisses at him before sidling up to Hinata who holds him as Rin heals him.

Minato looks heavenwards.

Oh gods, he bemoans, this really is like Jiraiya-sensei's books.

The Hyuuga are considered one of the old clans. Established before any of the great nations and as such, they are a clan rich in history and tradition.

And it is a tradition that has given him the honor of serving their current heiress. He is young, three years his lady's junior, but he has proven himself to be a capable shinobi and is in training to be her permanent guard.

He feels blessed to have been given a mistress as kind and noble as her. But her kindness is both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness.

Thus, Kou strives to improve himself and complete his training so he may be strong enough to support his lady. Because her enemies are now his enemies, her battles are his battles and he will need all the strength he can if wants to protect her long enough for her to become clan head.

(And what a wonderful clan head she will make. He knows it, seen glimpses of the legendary kunoichi she is destined to be)

He has sworn in the name of the Sage that he will guard her now and always till his last breath and beyond even that. His loyalty is eternal.

Kou watches from the background as Elder Yuu knocks down Hinata with a brutal hit to the stomach. His muscles clench, his body screaming at him to move, but his mind knowing that he cannot.

Kou breathes deeply through his nose.

Because as much as he wants to, he cannot shield his mistress from all harm and this knowledge shames him.

Yes, he can send the Hatake's fanatic followers running with a well-placed glare and he can strike down enemies on the battlefield when his mistress becomes too overwhelmed.

But here. In the heart of their clan, he is powerless.

"There is a war going on, girl." Elder Yuu snips, eyes glaring down at Lady Hinata's crumpled form. "And at the rate you are going, you will not live to see the end of it."

A muscle in his jaw twitches.

There is something coming.

He knows it. Has begun piecing it together as he watches from the shadows. He's seen Lord Shimura leaving the council rooms, is witness to the elder's growing disdain for his lady.

Something terrible is coming.

And it is coming for his mistress.

Kou can only grit his teeth and work harder, praying he can put together the puzzle before it is too late.