Kakashi looked at the small mansion with a small whistle through his mask. Back in his world (and wasn't that such an odd thing to say?), there were noble mansions much larger than this. Still, this abode was nothing to scoff at, it spoke of serious riches at the very least.
They all paused when Kakashi stopped moving.
"Impressed, huh? Yeah, we've done pretty well for ourselves." Kazuma boasted, eyes closed as if he was basking in some kind of attention.
"Not really." Was Kakashi's short response.
"Huh?!" But Kakashi walked on with the girls who seemed to ignore what he said to just put the day behind them and hopefully freshen up for their guest. "Jerk."
Darkness had been the first to shower. She, being polite as she was with new people, offered to let Kakashi go first as the guest of the house but he quickly shooed her away, perfectly happy waiting for everyone else to go first. Aqua had looked at him with something akin to approval and went on about how 'Kakashi knows how to treat women' or something like that. Truth be told, Kakashi didn't pay her ramblings much attention at all. But he did notice when Kazuma stole her place to shower and she cried at the door until the boy let her get in with him.
Did they have a big bath here? Or were those two together in a relationship? Meh, it wasn't any of his business, he just hoped they cleaned up after themselves.
"Spar with me."
Kakashi looked up from his chair, blinking slowly at Darkness. "Sorry?" He had been making awkward small talk with Megumin, who wanted to know about where he came from to which he kept dodging most questions. It was in an effort to make her piss off, but it just made her more adamant in getting information from him. Sigh, kids.
"I asked you to spar with me. Fight me. Beat me."
Okay, that last wording left little to the imagination, but he hadn't showered yet anyway. Aqua had stayed inside after Kazuma left to rest. Seriously, was that girl playing in the water or something?
The man stood up, stretching his muscles afterwards. "Fine, lead the way." Megumin stood up in tandem and looked like a puppy following its parents.
Darkness nodded with excitement, leading down a long hallway to a large empty room that basically substituted as a training area.
"I'm the only one that actually uses this room, so feel free to do what you feel like in here." The crusader walked up to a far wall and picked up two wooden swords. "Are you familiar in handling a sword?"
"Of course." Kakashi hadn't used a sword since his time in Anbu, but he certainly was not that rusty.
"Good." The woman tossed him one wooden weapon, before holding her own in her preferred stance. "Come at me with the intention to kill. Whoever lands what would be a fatal blow wins."
"Alright." Kakashi noted her stance. It was uneven, and not in a good way. She was much too stiff. Still, it wouldn't hurt to dust off the cobwebs. He too settled into his stance. "Megumin, can you yell start for us?"
"Start." Megumin said with little enthusiasm. For some reason, she didn't seem overly excited for the match-up.
Immediately, Darkness charged Kakashi and the man braced himself for a slew of attacks. Was she a slow, powerful hitter? Or rather, was she a person to swing with reckless abandon, willing to sacrifice herself to deal damage?
"Haaa!" Darkness attempted a downwards swipe at Kakashi. She put all her strength into this swing, there was no way Kakashi could withstand it-
"You... missed?" Kakashi asked curiously. "Did you have your eyes closed or something?" That had to be a fluke. It had to be.
"Argh, that's right! I was just testing your reflexes!" Again, she charged, this time going for a diagonal dissection-!
Kakashi put his right hand up, indicating for her to stop.
"What's wrong?"
"Did you ask me to spar just to waste my time or are you mocking me?"
"I-I would never do such a thing! I really am trying my best!"
Kakashi was completely dumbfounded. "Megumin, explain please."
The mage sighed in resignation. "It's true. Darkness's defense is pretty unbreakable, but her offense pretty much doesn't exist. She couldn't hit the broadside of a barn."
Kakashi turned back to a blushing Darkness. The tips of her ears were as red as a tomato and she could not even look him in the eye.
"Well, it's fine Darkness. If you can't hit me, I'll just have to bring the fight to you." Without any more warning, Kakashi dashed at Darkness, suppressing his full speed naturally. He would ramp it up if it was necessary. Surprisingly, Darkness did manage to block some of his swings until he went up a level and then she was completely outclassed. To Kakashi's surprise though, she would not falter. No matter how hard he hit her, she took it like a champ, in fact, she took it with quite a happy expression on her face. She must be excited about facing a tougher opponent, he mused.
Finally, he did a strong swing towards her neck, feeling fine with it based on how she took everything else. However, the wooden sword broke on impact. They both stopped and spoke.
"I must say, though your strikes leave something to be desired, your defensive capabilities are truly amazing. You're still young, so you'll have plenty of time to get better at hitting things."
Darkness looked visibly joyful at the praise. So much so that Kakashi wondered if anyone had ever said anything nice about her abilities in any genuine manner.
While they conversed on swordplay, Megumin grew bored of watching Kakashi annihilate Darkness in the dojo. She was intrigued by him, but she could only watch Darkness get aroused from damage before she just had to go.
"You think so?" She asked with a genuine blush. "You say I'm young, which would mean you're older. How old are you exactly?"
Kakashi rubbed his chin with his left hand. "Ah, I can't really remember. It's been so many years, you know?" He smiled at her with his eye. "I'm practically ancient."
Darkness frowned. "I refuse to believe it. There may be a slouch in your posture, but Kazuma is the same way and he is younger than I am. Tell me the truth."
The man sighed but relented, "I'm thirty years old." While Kakashi was never one to worry about aging, he did not exactly appreciate people thinking he was a fossil unless he allowed it. The hair threw people off, but it was silver! Not gray!
The crusader's eyes took on a frightening glint as the gears in her head starting turning.
'He's an amazing fighter, strong, agile, and hit me without remorse. This can work.' Steadying herself for the unthinkable, Darkness blurted her request.
"Marry me!" She asked with a perverted blush.
"I refuse." Kakashi's rejection was immediate.
"Kuh-!" Darkness threw her head back in ecstasy. "Very nice.."
Kakashi had no idea what was wrong with this girl, but he felt obligated to give her an explanation. "Sorry, but you're the age of my former students, so that's just weird. Plus, I don't know you at all."
"I'm like your students? Which means... Can I be your student?!" She asked with real excitement in her voice.
The question gave Kakashi pause. Another student? He already felt like he was a C-tier sensei at best. He'd never say it out loud, but the fact that all of his students went to bigger and stronger masters did sting his ego a bit. Sure, he deserved it. He hadn't taught them as much as he should have, and he should have been the one to keep Sasuke in the village and perhaps one day they could have taken Itachi out together as a team. But Kakashi knew better than anyone that he couldn't change the past.
"Hmm, tempting offer. But what's in it for me?" He asked, pointing at himself with his thumb.
"Is it money you want? Room and board?"
"Well, a place to stay would be a good start..." He admitted embarrassingly. For most of his life, Kakashi had lived a simple lifestyle which meant most of the money he saved went right to his savings. To be on the verge of homelessness was pretty humbling.
"Very well. I can't promise that Kazuma will say yes, but I'll do my best at convincing him."
"Thank you, Darkness."
"I'm telling you, Kazuma. Kakashi would be a fine addition to the house! And maybe the party!"
The talk of letting Kakashi stay in the mansion was underway. The gang all sat together at the living room table, letting their thoughts be heard. Kakashi was in another room, and though he could if he wanted to, he elected not to listen in on their deliberations and instead just read his erotic novel in peace on the couch.
"What is he good for?" Kazuma was honestly happy about the chance to recruit Kakashi. The man was no nonsense on the field it seemed, and he killed those toads easily without breaking a sweat. He wasn't overly handsome either so that meant Kazuma could also not be inadequate! Perfect! "I mean, do you know his specialties?"
"From what I gleamed from him, he excels at offense. While he may only be at a low level, he claims that he is a trained soldier back home. I believe him, his sword work was fantastic!"
Megumin slammed her hand down. "Absolutely not! I'm the one who deals the damage on the team, he'll take my spot!"
"Don't be so hasty, Megumin. He wouldn't serve the same purpose as you, he'll just supplement Kazuma in his role."
Megumin pouted but relented at her explanation. Aqua, who up to now had been silent, voiced her opinion.
"I think we should let him stay here. I sense tons of power in him, so I can rely on him to kill all the monsters. That means I'll be living easy."
"...right. More importantly, after speaking with him, he said that is he's willing to train us! Kazuma, think about it! He could train you to become stronger without needing levels! Megumin, he could teach you some self-defense in case you need to fight off an attacker without us around! Aqua!"
The Goddess looked at her in anticipation, eyes sparkling.
"...you can ask him to...um..."
"Yeah? What can I do?!"
"Uh.. he can teach you how to... anyway!" Darkness turned away from Aqua, making it a point to ignore her tears.
"I'm not one to exercise, so no thanks."
Megumin nodded. "Agreed. We refuse."
"But he can stay, right?!"
"If he does his part around the house and pitches in with money, I don't see the problem."
"Yes! Thank you, Kazuma!"
"I bring magnificent news! You can stay here on the condition you help with chores and money."
Kakashi closed his book smoothly and put it away in his new cleaned pouch. He was glad to have a clean uniform.
"I'm glad to hear it. So, where will I be staying?"
"Right this way!" Darkness purposely picked a room closer to hers, for no particular reason...
"This will be your room. My room is down the hall, Aqua is in the corridor on the left, while Megumin and Kazuma are staying in the corridor on the right."
"That's interesting."
Darkness cocked her head, confused. "What is?"
"It's just, I figured you all would sleep close to one another in the same hall."
"Oh, well we all like some space between us."
"I hear you there. But it is intriguing Kazuma and Megumin decided to sleep near one another, no?"
Darkness's brain slowly started putting the metaphorical pieces together. She looked up at him, scandalized. "You don't think-?!"
Kakashi, being a troll, rolled with it.
"I do."
"I must stop Megumin from being fondled by that brute!"
"Is Kazuma really all that bad?"
"At one point, Kazuma used his coveted steal ability to steal Megumin's panties!"
Hearing that, Kakashi pondered on what kind of treatment Kazuma would receive from the female ninja if he did that to them. All the scenarios ended with him being 'less' of a man afterwards, it made Kakashi shiver.
"Hmm, I knew someone who was also an unabashed pervert."
"Really, what happened to him?"
"He's dead." Kakashi answered, as if it was the most normal thing to say.
Darkness lowered her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry if that made you upset."
Kakashi waved off her shame. "No, it's fine. He died in battle, so it was honorable."
"I see."
Silence reigned then, as Kakashi coughed but said nothing.
"I-I'll see you later, Kakashi-sensei!" Darkness bowed in respect before taking her leave. The label as a sensei made Kakashi forget to even say his goodbye in return.
"Sensei, huh? I'm such a fool." Even though he didn't want to make connections here, they just fell onto his lap. Even still, he didn't dislike the companionship.
Ending Note: This will not be a Darkness x Kakashi story. I haven't really considered if he will have a romantic interest at all, but if you guys have ideas on who he could end up with, who would you want? Megumin, Yunyun, Aqua, and Darkness are off the table though. Kakashi prefers women closer to his age. So, if I did do it, I personally lean in the Luna direction. Of course, if you prefer he end up with no one, let that be known.
