8 - hush hush
It's been quiet these days. Kakashi mused as he walked slowly through the streets, making his way from the Memorial Stone. He didn't visit nearly as much as he did before the Fourth Shinobi World War, but still made a point to do so often. As civilians and shinobi alike stopped to alternatively gawk or wave, Kakashi let out a little sigh. A little too quiet. Kakashi would never admit it out loud, but while he definitely didn't miss war, he did miss the lively, relatively carefree days with his cute little genin. Ah, here's one of them right now. Though I guess she's not that little anymore, he conceded with a hint of nostalgia.
No, Naruto definitely wasn't a little girl—or boy, as it were—anymore. She still favored orange, but tended to wear it in more subtle ways than she had as a child. Thank the Kami-samas. And she had grown up for sure. Though she'd never be tall, Naruto was a woman now; an adult in her own right.
Naruto, having spotted Kakashi, ran over. "Kakashi-sensei! This is perfect, I was just thinking about you!"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Actually…" Naruto looked down, and—was she blushing? "Could you meet me tonight? Let's get Ichiraku's together! I'll treat you, even!"
Both of Kakashi's eyebrows were raised in alarm now. Did Naruto just ask him out on a date? Was the world ending? No, all of his genin were obviously celibate and had no interest in relationships, there was no way. Had she even had The Talk? Wait, right, she did train with Jiraiya for over two years, there's no way she doesn't know what sex is. Hold up, derail that train of thought immediately.
As Kakashi's thoughts swirled, Naruto glanced at her watch. "Oops, I actually have to go, I have a meeting with Baa-chan. I'll see you at six!"
Shit. Now he had to show up.
Kakashi sat at the counter of Ichiraku's, a vein violently twitching on his forehead. If it weren't for his overwhelming curiosity, he would have left half an hour ago. Instead, he was left waiting here like a loser.
Hatake Kakashi did not get stood up. Ever.
"Hatake-san?" Ayame blushed lightly as she caught the attention of her long-time crush. Not that it was anything serious! Just…no one could see Hatake Kakashi's real face and not develop a tiny crush. And that's all it was! Honestly.
"Yes, Ayame-san?" Kakashi smiled pleasantly, despite his inner frustration. Ayame was pretty cute, after all.
She blushed harder. "Are you sure you don't want to get anything?"
"Ah, no, thank you. I'm actually waiting for someone."
"Waiting for someone?" Ayame furrowed her brow. "A girl?"
"Well, technically speaking."
"All… right..." Hatake-san was beautiful, but man was he strange. Ayame continued pondering the issue as she retreated to take another customer's order. Still, for Hatake-san to actually wait for almost an hour, this has to be someone special! Ayame wasn't sure she liked that. Silly girl, she chastised herself. You have literally zero claim on him.
As the clock ticked ever-closer to the hour mark, Kakashi seriously contemplated just leaving. Sure, the man made others wait for him on the daily, but he didn't appreciate having the tables turned on him. Just as he started to get up—screw his curiosity, he'd find Naruto some other time—he spotted Naruto standing by the counter, eyes wide, mouth gaping open.
Kakashi opened his own mouth in preparation for some dry comment about her promptness (he recognized the irony, but he really didn't appreciate being the one made to wait), but in her customary fashion, Naruto beat him to it.
"Kakashi-sensei! You - you're - you're actually already here!" Her finger pointed accusingly at him in shock.
Kakashi paused in his retort to consider that. She was right; for unimportant occasions he always made an effort to be at least an hour late, more out of habit at this point than anything else. This time, he had been so overwhelmed by his own curiosity that he had actually arrived at the time Naruto had specified without considering that, knowing her sensei well, Naruto might have accounted for his perpetual lateness. But still, since when had Naruto of all people planned in advance that way? That showed foresight, a trait Kakashi hadn't been sure Naruto was capable of outside of fights. Children really did grow up fast. He could've sworn that just yesterday, Naruto was meaninglessly spamming shadow clones at him during a spar.
Oh wait, no, right. That was last month.
"Maa, let's just eat, shall we?" Most of his irritation having fizzled out, Kakashi gestured at the seat besides him. Naruto eyed him suspiciously, but sat down and was soon distracted by the prospect of delicious, delicious ramen.
"Hey, Ayame-oneechan! Where's Teuchi-occhan?" Naruto greeted the woman enthusiastically as always.
"He's resting today, says his back is troubling him. He's always complaining about how he isn't as young as he used to be, lately." In her head, Ayame was busy concealing her surprise. Hatake-san was waiting for Naruto? She is his former student, but… Is something else going on, I wonder?
"Ahaha, he sounds just like Ōnoki-jīchan! Tell him I said hi, will you?" Naruto giggled.
"Of course, Naruto-chan. An order of your usual?"
"Actually, I'm feeling something spicy today. Surprise me!" Naruto turned to Kakashi. "How about you, Kakashi-sensei? Don't get something expensive just 'cause I'm treating you!"
Kakashi eye-smiled in amusement. "A regular miso ramen sounds great."
"Sure thing! One miso ramen and one surprise ramen coming right up!" As Ayame retreated to the kitchen, her mind swirled with possibilities. She's treating him? So it's not a date, right? Unless she asked him out? This is so confusing!
Kakashi's mind was also considering similar thoughts. He decided, in tribute to his dinner companion, to take the direct route.
"So why did you want to grab dinner together?"
"Hmm? What, am I not allowed to want to spend time with you?" Naruto grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff.
"No, no, of course you are." Kakashi conceded. But—that didn't really answer his question. Kakashi continued to sneak glances at Naruto, trying to catch a hint of a reason for this mysterious dinner-slash-definitely-not-a-date.
"So!" Naruto beamed at Kakashi. "Tell me about your recent mission. That's why you haven't been around this month, right?"
"Ah," Kakashi agreed. "Well, outside of the boring classified stuff, I do have a story involving the dogs. At one point Bull managed to get stuck in this tiny doggy door while he was following Pakkun, and instead of helping him Pakkun just sat there and laughed. Problem was, the person we were tracking was in the other room, and I wasn't with them at the time. So apparently the target comes in, and all he can see is this huge wiggling dog butt, and Pakkun's still laughing…"
As Kakashi told his story and Naruto giggled, Ayame came over with their orders. I'm not sure, Ayame mused, but this really looks like a date. She noticed Kakashi smiling underneath his mask, his expressive eyes giving him away while Naruto leaned towards him, overcome with laughter. Ah well, I never had a chance anyway, and he'll be good for Naruto-chan. Naruto-chan had always been like a little sister to her, and if she had to weigh her tiny crush on Hatake-san against her affection for Naruto-chan, Naruto-chan would win hands down.
"...and of course this is when I come in, while Pakkun is finally telling Bull through snorts that he could just reverse summon himself instead of struggling through the now cracked door."
"Sorry for interrupting, but here're your orders!" Ayame placed a extra large super spicy duck ramen in front of Naruto, and a regular miso ramen in front of Kakashi. "Let me know when you want more, Naruto-chan!" Ayame winked.
"Thank you, Ayame-san." Kakashi said.
Naruto, still giggling, waved to catch Kakashi's attention. "Hey hey, you can't stop there! What happened next?"
"Maa, patience, Naruto. Well, I'm just in time to see Bull poof away, and I hear a loud 'what the hell?' from the other side of the door. I recognized the target's voice and didn't want him to catch me there, so I…"
Definitely a date! Ayame thought as she hurried away. I've never seen Naruto ignore ramen before!
After they had each finished their meals, Naruto's multiple bowls stacked high compared to Kakashi's more modest pile of two, Naruto turned to Kakashi and began to speak.
"Actually, you were right earlier, sensei. I did have an actual reason for asking you out tonight."
'Asking me out?' Kakashi's eyes widened. Naruto probably just meant that casually, but I'm alarmingly not sure at this point, and I don't want to ask. Kami, I hate confrontation.
"It was your birthday two weeks ago, right? I wasn't able to give you your present because you were on your mission, so I thought I could do that now!"
Kakashi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and preceded to smile. Ahh, that's why. My students are so adorable. "Maa, you didn't have to. But thank you, Naruto. I don't see anything, though…?"
"I sealed it away so that I could keep it a surprise!" With a proud smile, Naruto pulled out a scroll with a flourish, laying it out and channeling some chakra into it. A present poofed into existence, wrapped in an unassuming grey.
"Can I open it now?"
"Of course!" Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement. Kakashi pulled the present toward him with no small amount of curiosity, and began to unwrap it slowly. The air was almost palpable with Naruto's anticipation. As Kakashi opened the box, he spotted—was that—no, Naruto couldn't possibly be that cruel—it was. Youthful green filled Kakashi's vision as he pulled out a full-length, authentic (damn the Sharingan. Kakashi didn't have it anymore, but he still remembered the sight of the accursed thing), Gai-approved jumpsuit.
Naruto burst into laughter. "You," she gasped, struggling to speak. "Your face!" She bent over, gasping her stomach as tears of mirth filled her eyes.
Kakashi continued to stare at the jumpsuit, unable to tear his eyes away. Is is worth giving this to Gai? Kakashi wondered. Or should I just burn it? Kakashi considered it some more, before ultimately deciding to kill it with fire. Maybe he'd ask Sasuke if he'd be willing to use Amaterasu. It was for a noble cause, after all. Sasuke might even enjoy it.
Naruto guffaws had petered out into manageable giggles. "Look inside," she gestured at the box.
Kakashi put aside the jumpsuit, reluctantly looking inside, half-expecting some other prank. Instead, he saw another storage seal.
"Go on!" Naruto encouraged. "I swear it's not a prank this time."
"It better not be," Kakashi warned, reaching his hand in to release the seal.
"You'll like this for sure!" Naruto grinned exuberantly, a definite blush coloring her cheeks this time. Kakashi wasn't sure whether it was from excitement or embarrassment—but why would she be embarrassed by her gift?
A puff of smoke revealed a stack of paper. On the top, Kakashi could see the words Icha Icha Resort written in Jiraiya's scrawl. Was this possibly...? Kakashi's eyes were large as he stared at Naruto and the sheaf of paper in turn, having temporarily lost the ability to speak. Could she have really...?
Naruto's face was bright red at this point, head ducked sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of her head like she always did when she was feeling uncertain. "I've held onto this for a little while now because Ero-sennin wrote it, but I thought you might appreciate it more than me. It's not finished, but I actually added an ending based on what he told me he was planning. Take good care of it, ne?"
Kakashi picked up the stack of paper reverently. "I'll treasure it always," he murmured, voice thick with emotion. "Thank you, Naruto."
Naruto, surprised by Kakashi's uncharacteristic display of emotion, simply hummed in response. After a short moment of comfortable silence, Naruto suddenly sat up straight in her seat, eyes wide.
"Oh crap, Kakashi-sensei! Do you know what time it is?"
Kakashi, startled out of his reverie, answered more hesitantly than usually. "Around 8:35, I'm pretty sure."
"I'm late! I promised I'd meet Hinata-chan at 8:30! Sorry sensei, I gotta run!" Naruto started gathering her things, yelling for Ayame. "Nee-chan, lemme get the check!"
Just before Naruto rushed off, Kakashi grabbed her by the wrist. "It's all right, Naruto." He eye-smiled. "You gave me such a wonderful present that was definitely worth more than just a meal. I'll treat you this time.. I don't want you to be late for your date, after all." He winked.
"Are you sure? Thank you so much, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto rushed off, waving a quick goodbye to Kakashi and a startled Ayame.
I was just teasing, but she didn't deny it. Kakashi hummed as he collected his gifts, making sure to tuck the unpublished draft away carefully. Is it possibly an actual date? I need ask Sakura—being away on missions all the time really leaves me out of the loop.
Ayame came over to Kakashi, bemused. "What was that all about?"
"Ah, she was just late for something. I'll take the check, please."
"Got it!" Ayame hurried away, concealing her shock. Such an eventful meal! Ayame squealed, just a little. This is the first time I've ever seen Hatake-san pay for someone else!
Meanwhile, Kakashi was coming to a slow realization of his own. Wait, if Naruto added her own ending to Icha Icha Resort, he stared down at the bag containing the draft, did Naruto just write and gift me porn for my birthday?
prompt: isn't it too quiet?
sorry this is almost two weeks later than I promised (lol I was not indeed smote where I lay) but as my friend said, it's better than two years! ;D
I changed my name for reasons. (mostly because I thought that last one didn't really fit me anymore. apolausta comes from apolaustic - devoted to enjoyment (which, if you know me, is real af).
also YAAAY the tenth chapter! I never thought I'd reach this point lmao. I celebrated by making it the longest chapter so far at just over 2,300 words! WOOOO! (don't get used to it though. honestly.)
I've been dumb busy - busy enough that I'm literally posting this in the ten minutes I have free. three cities back and forth in like a week, designing a curriculum for high schoolers, teaching two classes a day, additional activities like all the freaking time and also lots of japanese (I am not japanese so this is draining). christ I'm exhausted. therefore please review! it deeeefinitely motivates me to write, and stokes that muse! (tbh the muse is dwindling slightly so hit me up, brah, hit me up). also they just make my week so like pls.
thank you as always for reading! (if you enjoyed - or not, haha - revieeeew)