Like most airbenders, Juno defaulted to introspection. She could often get lost in her own mind during free moments, staring off into space while contemplating some memory or feeling. While it could result in over-thinking and needless worrying, it also lent itself to developing a rich inner-landscape. Her imagination was so vivid and precise, she could recall the exact feelings and sensations of several key moments in her life, both good and bad, to the point where she could almost imagine herself back in those situations.
Since coming to the Land of Fire, this trait had been revealed to be somewhat of a mixed blessing. In the early days, her grief and pain had nearly overwhelmed her, with only rigorously applied zen practices offering momentary relief. Once the edge of that sadness had been worn smooth (due, in no small part, to the recent bonds she had forged) she could now enjoy allowing her mind to wander freely without the fear that it would default to melancholy.
That morning, sipping a recently brewed jasmine green tea, Juno felt the pull of a strong memory. She could not avoid it if she tried, the smell and taste of the brew dragging her back nearly ten years. Sitting in that small cabin, the smell of charcoal and freshly brewed tea, the wind howling voraciously outside. Her two beloved friends snickering and chattering by her side. She could still remember Ami's nasally laugh and Li Fen's more reserved chuckles, often hidden behind a palm to the mouth.
She consciously chose to remain in that memory instead of the two days that followed, the final happy moments with her friends bringing a bittersweet smile to her face. Finishing her tea, Juno took her dishes to the sink to wash them and left them drying on the rack. Looking at her work with her hands on her hips, Juno felt inordinately proud of the evidence of her self-sufficiency.
She finished the rest of her morning ablutions swiftly, having become acclimated to her new grooming routine. Tying her hair into its customary half-up bun, Juno gave herself a final once-over in the bathroom mirror, telling herself that she was just making sure that no food had stuck on her face. Being extra fussy with her appearance had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that her one-on-one training with Kakashi was scheduled for that morning.
You'd think she would be better used to it at that point, having now had several such sessions with the enigmatic jounin. But while the training itself was interesting and exciting, her attraction for him tended to make her feel more than a little awkward and clumsy.
This was especially so with the hand-to-hand combat training, something Kakashi had identified as an area of improvement for her. While it was true that she was a better bender than a martial artist, she had to admit that her struggles to improve under his tutelage had less to do with her aptitude than it had to do with how flustered she got when they were grappling around on the ground together. Even now, the memory of his tall body pressed intimately to hers while she tried futilely to escape his hold made a blush rise to her face. It wasn't helped that there was a part of her that didn't want to escape.
Even worse, Juno was almost absolutely certain that her feelings were utterly transparent to him. While her training as a diplomat had taught her to control her emotions in certain high-stress settings, it seemed as though this skill had not at all translated to hiding girlish crushes. There were only so many times she could blame her flushed face on getting too much sun or eating spicy food just before coming to training. Kakashi's raised brow was enough to convey his disbelief.
She gave one last pat to Asa's belly as he sat snoozing on the bed before emerging from her apartment into the morning sunshine. Juno slowly made her way to Team Seven's usual training ground. She knew by now that there was no point in rushing, since Kakashi was just going to be late anyway. Besides, Konoha was currently experiencing a string of beautifully warm weather, and Juno liked to try taking different paths to and from the site, giving her more opportunities to explore the village.
She turned down an alley alongside a popular tea house, deciding to take a route that she knew would bring her by a lane full of wisteria. She had stumbled upon it a few days prior, and knew that the heady smell of the blossoms would go a long way towards distracting her a little.
In the meantime, despite a not-insignificant effort on her part, her mind turned back to her little silver-haired, distractingly-charming problem.
She honestly didn't know what to make of her situation. Mostly because Kakashi himself was so difficult to read. If Juno had thought that he was completely uninterested, she could have put all her efforts into squashing her feelings and focus on developing their friendship.
But there had occasionally been...flashes. Little hints which suggested that maybe he liked her in the same way. Their usual banter just skirting the edge of flirtation and suggestiveness, a hint of reluctance when it came time to release her from his hold, a subtle lingering of his gaze on her form that she caught out of the corner of her eye. Once, when Juno had achieved a rare victory which resulted in her straddling his hips and pinning his arms above his head, she had suddenly been caught by the heat in his gaze, his single visible eye catching hers with an intensity that left her breathless. Then, in a blink, she had suddenly found herself straddling a log after a puff of smoke alerted her to his last minute getaway.
While those little flashes had given her hope, it also gave her the suspicion that, maybe, Kakashi was as uncertain with what to do with these feelings as she was. She could occasionally sense a certain reluctance in him, like he was holding back from doing something that he wanted to do. And Juno didn't know how to convey to him that she would very much like it if he would just go ahead and do it already.
So they were stuck in this strange limbo, dancing around each other in a will-they-wont-they situation that was driving Juno a little mad. And spending more personal time than usual working out her frustrations in bed, via her hand and her very precise imagination.
Shaking her mind to clear her head of the exact thing she didn't want to be thinking about just before meeting with the man in question, Juno turned her mind back to the present. She took the time to smell the wisteria and admire the sight of the blossoms drifting in the slight breeze before finally arriving at the training ground.
She put herself through her usual warm-up exercises. Various water and fire bending forms that loosened her muscles and brought her mind up to full day-time wakefulness. While she was moving she found it easier to keep herself focused on the present, with the kind of zen mindfulness that had been instilled in her as a child. It was all the ebb and flow of her body, a joyful sense of physicality and grace, balanced with fierce and focused bursts of power. She felt totally at ease in these sorts of exercises, mind free from worry and uncertainty.
All until glancing up and realizing that she had an audience, of course.
Spotting the shock of silver hair against the green background of the trees, Juno placed her foot a little too far to the side and stumbled slightly, righting herself with a small blush. Great, two seconds in and she was already making a fool of herself.
She cleared her throat and smiled brightly at her teacher in an over exaggerated recovery.
"Good morning! Nice to see you before noon today, Sensei."
Kakashi merely nodded, seemingly content to ignore her lapse in grace without comment. He began stretching casually while Juno regained her equilibrium. She waited patiently while he finished, eager to hear what he had planned for them today.
She didn't have to wait long. "I was thinking...did you ever have Avatar specific bending training?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you learned the traditions of various peoples who could only bend one element...was there ever any training about the things that you alone could do as the Avatar?"
She thought about it for a second, "Well...there was my training for achieving and controlling the Avatar state, but beyond that I'm not sure about what you mean."
He nodded, as if expecting this answer. He finished stretching and then turned to face her.
"I've been sitting on an idea I'd like you to try out. As you know, talented shinobi have the potential to control many different kinds of chakra natures simultaneously, not dissimilar to you being able to control multiple elements. Because of this, it's not unheard of for adept ninjutsu users to combine these attacks in novel ways. I have a feeling that your bending training has neglected the potential for these kinds of combinations, as your trainers only had the potential to control one element at a time."
She nodded along cautiously, "Okay, so what did you have in mind?"
"Firstly, are you familiar with the explosive qualities of flour?"
The question threw her, "Eh?" She was sure her expression successfully relayed the doubts she had of Kakashi's sanity.
"Hear me out. You know when fine particulates get exposed to quick successions of oxygen and an ignition, it can often result in an explosion, yes?"
Juno cast her mind back, "Oh! Actually, I know exactly what you mean."
That brought back memories. Back when Juno and Benji were early in their courtship, they had wandered down for a midnight snack. They had been in the middle of getting frisky in the pantry when Juno had accidentally knocked over a candle onto a sack of flour. They had been um...stirring the flour up with their activities, and both taken utterly off guard by the blast that had followed. Only Juno's quick reaction with her newly mastered firebending skills had saved them. The rest of the pantry, not so much. That had been embarrassing to explain to Benji's father the next day…
Kakashi's eyebrows lifted, curious, "Oh? Personal experience with that one?"
"I don't know what you're implying." Juno replied with her nose turned up primly.
He nodded his head, "Of course." His tone suggested he didn't believe it for a second. "Well, I think you could replicate that effect with your bending. If you stir up fine particulates of earth with your earth bending, condense a funnel of air with your airbending, and then apply a quick blast of fire…"
"Big boom?"
"In a nutshell, yes."
Juno thought about it. She couldn't come up with a reason why it wouldn't work. And, although the implication that her bending instruction had been anything less than stellar smarted a little, she could also see how her teachers may have overlooked this application of her abilities. Such a strange combination of different bending styles simply wouldn't have occurred to them.
"We can give it a try I guess. You might want to stay back a little."
Instead of complying, Kakashi sidled up to her back instead. Juno's heart started kicking into overtime without her permission.
"Actually, I think it's probably best if I stay nearby, in case you need to make a quick getaway." His tone was soft as he came nearer to her. He rested one hand softly on her hip and Juno thought she would spontaneously combust instead of the dust particulates. "I'll shift us away if it looks like you can't direct the explosion safely."
Juno swallowed thickly. "Right, makes sense." she strained out, almost certain that she wouldn't have the concentration to execute the move properly with him looming so closely behind her. And was she just making up the observation that his hand was suspiciously low for just a simple safety precaution?
Right, she should concentrate. It's not like she was about to try and create a literal explosion or anything.
Juno thought about the best way to approach the technique. Kakashi had suggested an air funnel to direct the earth particulates, but wouldn't a compressed air ball work better? She knew that sometimes, when sparing with a firebender, compressed air balls could react to fire in often violent ways. It would probably make it more likely that an explosion would result.
She widened her stance slightly, and prepared to use three bending techniques at once. It was usually only something that she attempted when in the Avatar state, but she could definitely do it without the help of her past lives. It just took a little more concentration than sticking to one or two elements at a time.
First, the earth particulates. She didn't need the deep stance and strong motions that normal earth bending used, seeing as she only wanted to stir up fine particles. With an upward sweeping gesture with her left arm, Juno connected with the dry surface dirt on the ground in front of her. The weather had been sunny and dry lately, so separating fine particulates from the earth was relatively easy. The dust rose in a fine stream a meter or so in front of them.
Once the dust was in the air, Juno moved quickly. First, spinning up a condensed air ball in her right palm, she thrust it forward. Then, before it could spin the dust away altogether, she sent a jet of fire with the same hand, two fingers jutting out to direct the stream.
There was a loud band, a concussive wave of heat pressed against her front, and then suddenly, Juno was staring up into the blue sky.
She blinked slowly twice, stunned. There was a ringing in her ears, but she could make out a muffled sound nearby. Shaking her head, she realized it was Kakashi's voice.
"...alright? Did you get hit by any of it?" His voice suddenly came through clearly, as if someone had pulled a wad of cotton out of her ears. Coming to, she realized that Kakashi's voice was actually coming from just beside her, and that the somewhat soft surface she was half-lying on was actually his body.
He must have made good on his promise to pull them back to safety. Juno turned to look at him, which brought her face within an inch of his own. He looked none the worse for wear himself, his one eye pinched with mild worry as he looked her over. The proximity was doing nothing to help her get her bearings, but she was still a little too shell-shocked to get up. Instead, she flopped onto her back again.
"I guess it worked then?" she asked dryly, bringing one hand up to her face to rub at her eyes. When she opened them again, she turned over once more to look up to Kakashi, who was half-leaning over her. She smiled wryly at him, a little embarrassed.
He simply stared at her, charcoal eye seeming to bore into her own. Juno was very aware of all the places their bodies were touching, up to the arm that had been wrapped around her shoulders in an effort to brace her fall. Then, he shook himself, carefully disengaged from her, and sat up to survey the field.
Juno did the same, leaning back on one arm and taking in the scene of destruction.
It was...not insubstantial.
A crater the size of a sabre-moose-lion stood where they had just been moments before, grass blackened and curling away in residual fires. Juno judged that the epicenter of the explosion had been slightly ahead of where she had just been standing. Without Kakashi's quick reflexes, she'd probably be Fire Nation Barbeque at this point.
She raised her eyebrows, a little bit impressed despite herself. He must have moved within an instant when he had sensed what the outcome of their little experiment would be. The fact that they ended up as far away from the crater as they did made Juno suspect that he had been holding out on her with regards to his speed when they sparred.
"Hmm, I may have to think about this a little more," Kakashi mused, eyes roving over the scene of destruction. "I don't suppose you could create some kind of airbending shield that would direct the blast away from you? Or maybe use your firebending to control the blast itself?"
This was a common conversation for them. Despite Kakashi's wealth of knowledge surrounding ninja techniques and the nature of elemental attacks, he was absolutely not an expert on bending. The problem for Juno was that she often found it difficult to put into words how she actually went about controlling the elements. Benders didn't have the same kind of technical terminology as ninja did to discuss the finer points of their techniques. It relied on a lot of intuition, instinct and feeling. At a certain point, Juno's vocabulary would fail and she would just shrug her shoulders and just say 'I don't know why it works, it just feels right'. Kakashi could sometimes get frustrated with the wishy-washy answers, but they were coming to realize that there was just a fundamental difference in the way they both controlled the elements.
Juno shook her head. "I'm fast, but not fast enough to use my firebending to control something like that. The air-bending shield might work though. I'd have to make sure it's in place at exactly the same time as igniting the dust though…" She thought about it for a moment, then smiled at him, "I think it's doable."
"Great, let's try again, then."
They got up, dusted dirt off their pants, and got back into position. It took a few more tries, one of which resulted in Kakashi having to pull them away from the blast radius once more, but Juno started to feel that she was getting a handle on the move. It was such a quick succession of gestures and forms that it challenged even Juno's great technical grasp of bending.
After a few hours, Juno felt that she could reliably produce a safe, and effective, explosion on command. It was still a little difficult to control the exact size and force of the explosion, but Juno felt confident that she would at least be able to create one and survive the experience. And probably make sure that any allies did too, provided that they were standing behind her.
Probably.
Juno tried the move one last time, the motions feeling much more smooth than her first attempt. First, send the dust up, create a condensed airball-ignition zone as well as preparing the airbending shield, then, quick as a blink, ignite the dust-ball and snap the shield in place.
The explosion fired off in the air in front of her, the air-shield doing much to protect her from the heat and concussive sound resulting from it. She was getting proficient enough that the move didn't leave her ears ringing anymore.
Hand on her hips, she turned to face Kakashi triumphantly. "I think this one's in the bag, sensei! Just call me 'Juno the Magnificent Explosion-Bender' from now on!"
"Hmm, it's a bit of a mouthful, don't you think?" He replied.
"Oh, like 'Kakashi the Copy-Cat Ninja' is any better?" Juno shot back, eyebrow raised.
"Ah, fair point," he conceded.
Juno smiled cheekily at him, "So sensei, does mastering today's training mean you're paying for lunch today?"
"Don't think you're getting off that easy. The usual rules still apply," he responded, already heading to the opposite side of the training ground.
Since their first, dramatic spar, Kakashi and Juno had continued their standing bet of 'loser pays for lunch'. Thus far, Juno had paid for the bulk of their meals, due to her being caught off-guard by the huge variety of techniques that Kakashi could employ. The more she learned about ninja techniques however, the less of an advantage that was for Kakashi. It was even getting difficult for him to catch Juno unsuspectedly within a genjutsu like he had their first fight. Juno was far more aware of the subtle residual spiritual energy that she could sense when confronted with such an illusion.
All in all, they were evenly matched. While Kakashi still outclassed her when it came to weapons and offensive hand-to-hand combat, Juno was far superior when it came to mid-ranged elemental attacks. Since that was where the majority of Kakashi's jutsus came into play, she had a good edge there.
Juno had also managed to identify a major weakness in ninja battle structure. From her understanding, typical ninja ninjutsu battles consist of a constant stream of give and take. One party uses an attack, and the other either needs to dodge or come up with a counter measure to protect themselves or redirect the attack.
Juno, on the other hand, could bend the elements of the attack seamlessly. Such an immediate assertion of control was something she found Kakashi struggled to adapt to. All same-type benders fought each other with the knowledge that their attacks could be quickly turned against them, and developed lightning-fast reflexes and counter-counter measures in these events. In her experience thus far, ninja simply did not have the experience and training in these types of fights. They also lost precious time forming hand signals, which gave Juno a window of opportunity to overwhelm them with an attack of her own. Since training with Kakashi, Juno had found that her skill in that area had only improved. She had a feeling it was this ability that would give her an edge over most of her future opponents.
Kakashi had been helping her in that regard, highlighting and focusing on the techniques that would keep typical ninja unbalanced and unprepared.
But those techniques wouldn't help her now. Kakashi was getting too familiar with how she fought. Between them, at this point, it was anyone's game.
Juno bounced a little on her feet, trying to loosen up her muscles. She kept a close eye on Kakashi, who was standing nonchalantly opposite her, hands in his pockets. She wondered how many of his opponents he had been able to keep off-balanced by his excessively casual attitude. Well, two could play at those games.
She angled away from him and stretched her arms over her head, cognisant of the way her breasts lifted and strained against the cloth of her cheongsam. Casually, as if unintentional, Juno stretched down to touch her toes, presenting her opponent a choice view of what Juno privately thought to be her best asset. Tucking her head down to peek between her legs, she was gratified to see that lone eye fixed exactly where she thought it would be. He momentarily met her gaze from between her legs, and Juno sent him a saucy wink. He shifted in his stance, and Juno knew that she had caught him off-balance.
She pressed her advantage. Instead of folding up from her stretch, she just planted her hands into a headstand and flipped her feet up, using them to send a blast of air towards Kakashi. She had subtly aimed for his right, and so came out of her flip prepared to fire off a blast of firebending to where she anticipated he would land while dodging her attack.
Well, he wasn't there. Juno cursed, but had sort of figured he wouldn't fall for such a weak tactical ploy. She looked around, trying to spot where he had ended up, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A pit of dread dragged her stomach down. She hated this sneaky ninja pig-horse shit.
She widened her stance, sending feelers out. She had found that a combination of passive earth and airbending sense put her in a good state of readiness for...whatever it was that Kakashi had planned for her. It was difficult to keep the opposing bending natures active at the same time, but since she had such a natural airbending sense she just had to split her attention 30-70 to have both operating at the same level.
She took a few centering breaths, and tried to sink into a zen state. Waiting for the slightest flicker of awareness to tickle her senses.
When it came, it came from below. She found that Kakashi preferred attacking from the ground when he could get away with it, and he had come to learn that earthbending was her weakest element. As it was, Juno had only the slightest hint of warning before he exploded up from below, and she dodged at the last second to clear the area.
Or at least, she tried to. As she leapt away, a hand suddenly grasped her ankle, and she fell back to the ground with a resounding smack, all the air driven out of her.
Sitting up, gasping for air, Juno saw that the figure that had emerged from the ground was merely a clone, sending her a two-finger salute before poofing away in a cloud of smoke. The real Kakashi, who had somehow managed to avoid her awareness, released her ankle and crouched down at her feet, eye crinkled in a smile. Juno groaned and laid back down on the ground, arm thrown across her face.
"You know, I was actually thinking I'd like some dim sum for lunch today, with some tom kha soup to start," Kakashi mused, finger to his lip as if deep in thought.
Juno lifted her head from the ground. "Oh, is that all? You sure you don't want anything for dessert with that, sensei?"
"Well, you know I don't love sweet things, but now that you mention it I've had a strange craving for some mochi lately."
Juno groaned and laid back on the ground.
Juno had learned early on that the Kakashi had no compunctions about making her pay for things, despite the fact that she was privately sure that he was well-off financially.
They were strolling along a busy artery of Konoha's business district, heading towards a restaurant that Granny Futaba had recommended to her recently. It was well-known for its specialty soups and high-end aperitifs, and Juno was not looking forward to footing the bill all on her own. Any food that was served in such tiny quantities combined with little green garnishes on top was sure to hit her meagre bank account right in the gut.
But, she had made Kakashi buy her glazed duck last time she had won, so fair's fair.
They were approaching the restaurant in question when Kakashi was suddenly hailed from a patio nearby. The way Kakashi sighed, as if in resignation, piqued Juno's interest, and she turned to face the group in question.
They were...colourful to say the least.
It was a group of four, all fellow shinobi, judging by the leaf headbands. It was two men and two women, and Juno had barely any time to take in the details of their appearance before they were accosted by one of the men in question, a green blur who was suddenly within two feet of them, the gleam of his wide grin and shiny-bowl cut hair nearly blinding her.
"Ah! If it isn't my rival! Out and enjoying the good weather I see! And in the company of such a lovely young woman, Kakashi, you dog!" Quicker than a blink, he was before her, pumping her arm in the most enthusiastic handshake she had ever experienced. "Might Guy, pleased to make your acquaintance, companion of Kakashi!"
"Ah, thank you, I'm Juno." Juno blinked, stunned into simplicity by the sheer enthusiasm of the greeting.
"Juno! What a lovely name for such a lovely spring flower! I'm so glad Kakshi has found such a paragon of youth and beauty to pass time with!" Juno felt as though her brain was getting rattled along with her arm. Who in the world was this whirlwind of energy?
"Cut it out Guy, you'll put us off our lunch." Kakashi complained. His casual response led Juno to believe that this was a somewhat typical occurrence for him, which actually blew her mind more than the force of Guy's personality.
"Yeah, come on Guy, you still need to decide what you're going to order," came the reply from the table. It was a woman with dark hair, pulled up into a tail at the back of her head. She wore a mesh shirt and a long tan trench coat, and was currently teetering on the edge of her chair.
Despite the nonchalance of the remark, Juno felt as though she was under some intense scrutiny from her, as well as the remaining two party members of the table. There was a beautiful woman with shockingly scarlet eyes, and a dark-haired man with some kind of smoking stick hanging from between his lips.
Despite the myriad diplomatic experiences under her belt, Juno suddenly felt a bit shy, confronted by some of Kakashi's friends.
Or, at least, she assumed they were his friends. They all certainly seemed familiar with each other. Despite her infatuation with him, Juno recognized that Kakashi was a frustrating mystery to her. Outside of training and spending time with Team Seven, she knew very little about him as a person. His history, his people. Sensing an opportunity to learn more about him, not to mention sparing her wallet, Juno turned to face Kakashi.
"Why don't we eat here with your friends? We can have dim sum another time." Kakashi eyed her, and she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was trying to do. She plastered her most innocent looking expression on her face, paired with the biggest seal-puppy eyes she could manage. Taking in her expression, Kakashi merely heaved a sigh and nodded resignedly.
"Ah, a most excellent idea Juno-chan! Any friend of Kakashi's is a friend of ours!" Guy launched into action, pulling a table and some chairs next to theirs. Juno was amazed at his energy, and was also intensely amused by the fact that this person was apparently Kakashi's 'rival'. A more contrasting pairing she could not envision.
Juno sat in the proffered seating, and turned to her neighbour, the woman with the red eyes. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion."
The woman smiled, "Oh not at all! It's always a treat to have Kakashi join us on our outings. He's far too antisocial for his own good." She leaned conspiratorially towards Juno, "We basically had to hog-tie him to get him to attend his own birthday-party once."
Juno laughed while Kakashi groaned. He mimed getting up from his seat as if to leave, "Eh, maybe I changed my mind about eating here after all."
Juno just laughed at him and nudged him with her foot. "Too bad! No take-backsies."
"I don't remember that being a rule."
"Well obviously you didn't read the fine print! It was right next to the rule that says the loser can veto the winner's choice if they come across the winner's friends at a restaurant unexpectedly."
"Hm, I knew I should have hired a lawyer before committing to anything."
The woman next to Juno chuckled at their antics, and turned towards her. "I like you. I'm Kurenai by the way, and this is my husband Asuma," she gestured towards the dark-haired man opposite her, and then to the woman at the end of the table, still teetering precariously on the edge of her chair, "and that's Anko. We were all classmates with Kakashi."
Juno smiled, "Ah, what was that like? I find it hard to imagine Kakashi as a kid."
Kurenai chuckled, "Oh he was insufferable. A real know-it-all and annoyingly good at everything."
"Oh, so not much has changed then."
A server soon came by to take their food and drink orders, putting a pause on their conversation, something that Kakashi looked pathetically grateful for. Juno settled on an order of kimchi bi bim bap after a very lyrical recommendation from Guy. She was relieved to hear Kakashi order something well within her budget.
"So Juno, tell us about yourself. How are you finding living in Konoha?"
Juno's smile was a bit strained. While she hadn't been forbidden to reveal the nature of her arrival to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, she still found the conversation to be a bit awkward. So far, she had only spoken about it with Granny Futaba, who had taken the information in stride. She had a feeling it would take something incredibly strange to rattle that woman's feathers though. She was struggling to think of how to respond to the inquiry when Anko spoke up from the end of the table.
"What Kurenai means to say is that we actually already know everything about you, but we want to hear it from your side."
"Anko!" Kurenai scolded, and turned apologetically to Juno who was blinking in surprise. "Sorry, she wasn't properly socialized as a child."
"Um, it's okay," Juno responded distractedly, mind spinning. "So, what exactly do you mean that you know everything about me already?"
"Well, here's the thing you need to understand about ninja, Juno," Kakashi piped up from opposite her, "They're terrible gossips. If the information isn't strictly confidential, it'll be run around the village three times before you can say 'Konohagakure'."
"Really? I'd have thought that ninja would be a little more discreet." Juno was a little disturbed at the thought of being the subject of gossip, but also strangely relieved. It would be nice not having to dance around the subject of her other-worldly nature on a constant basis. "But, how did the information about me get out in the first place? The only people I spent time with are Team Seven and my landlady."
"Well, I heard about you from my old man. He was pretty impressed with your showing during your assessment, and wouldn't shut up about it at the dinner table." Asuma shook his head slowly side to side. "Then my nephew definitely went spreading it around the ninja academy the very next morning. Pretty sure the whole village would have heard about it by the end of that first day."
"Um, your old man...?" Juno inquired.
"Yeah, the Third Hokage."
"Oh." She sat back in her chair, a little flabbergasted. She could see Kakashi eyeing her from across the table, and she sent him a reassuring smile. "Well, I guess it's nice to know that I don't have to worry about navigating that conversation anymore. Only so many ways you can say 'Oh yeah, I'm not from this world' and not sound completely insane."
"Yes it's certainly an invigorating tale, to be sure," Guy commented, "and the way you aided Team Seven during the battle with Zabuza Momochi was truly righteous! Konoha is elevated by the vital energy of such a blossom of youth!"
To Juno's relief, Guy's tirade was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Over lunch, Juno slowly got to learn more about Kakashi's classmates, and answered plenty of questions about herself. The group was intensely curious about the world she had come from, and especially curious about her upbringing as the Avatar.
As for Juno, she felt intensely relieved to be spending time with other adults. As much as she had come to love Team Seven, there was only so much you could get out of conversations with thirteen-year-olds. And spending time with Kakashi was just as likely to leave her feeling anxious and unsure as it was leaving her feeling invigorated. Stupid feelings.
Lunch soon turned into sharing a few bottles of sake, and before she knew it, several hours had passed. Over the course of the afternoon, she managed to learn a few revealing stories about Kakashi's childhood, and nearly split her gut laughing at Kakashi and Guy's shenanigans. They were nearly as bad as Sasuke and Naruto, although saying that out loud had earned her an outraged look from Kakashi.
Finally, they all had to go their separate ways. Squaring up their bills was a little painful for Juno, especially when Kakashi insisted she pay for his liquor as well as his food. Standing up with a stretch, Juno turned to say her goodbyes.
"Well Juno, you'll have to start meeting with us more often now. Don't let Kakashi hog you all to himself." Kurenai insisted, giving Juno a brief hug. "We try to get together whenever all of us are in the village between missions. A few of our other classmates are out of town right now too, so you'll have to meet them."
"Okay, I'd love to." Juno replied with a grin. It felt good to widen her social circle a little. Meeting Kurenai, Anko, Asuma, and Guy made her feel a little more like she was settling into life at the village. Soon enough, she'd like to think that she could call them friends of her own.
Kakashi and Juno waved goodbye as they turned towards Juno's apartment. It was their usual routine that he walked her back to her place after lunch. It had started because Juno just hadn't known her way around the village and would frequently get lost, but that was hardly a good excuse now. But if he wasn't going to stop on his own, Juno wasn't about to suggest it.
Juno was in a great mood. The good food, good company, and slight buzz from the sake made her feel like she was on top of the world. She bumped her shoulder against Kakashi's, smiling when he glanced down at her.
"I like your friends, they're nice." She said a little inanely, realizing that she actually might be slightly drunk. Maybe sharing that fourth bottle of sake hadn't been the best idea. She sensed a nap with Asa in her near future.
Juno couldn't be sure, but she sensed Kakashi's expression from beneath his mask. She was getting better at reading the micro-expressions revealed by the little of his face he showed the world. This close, it was easy for her to spot the slight laugh lines crinkled at the edges of his eye, and the angle of his face hinting at a wry smile.
"They're something alright,' he chuckled, "I'm glad you like them, it's good for you to have other friends."
"Oh, are we friends now, sensei?" Juno teased, dancing ahead of him a little. They were turning onto her street now, and she could see their neighbour, one of Granny Futaba's cribbage player-friends, out front mowing the lawn. He sent her a gaunty wave which she then returned.
They stopped at her front stoop, and Juno faced him, prepared to say goodbye for the day.
What she wasn't prepared for was the expression on his face. The sardonic, light hearted smile was gone, replaced by something intense and maybe a little hungry. Juno felt her eyes widen and heart rate increase, conscious of the distance between them. If he took a little step forward, and she tilted her head up, then maybe they would…
Kakashi cleared his throat, glancing at her neighbour before taking a few steps back. Juno was mentally cursing the old man for mowing his lawn at that precise moment as Kakashi sent her a little wave in farewell.
Swallowing her disappointment and half wondering if she was just imagining things, Juno went inside. Asa, who was munching on the bowl of nuts and dried fruit she had left out for him, chirruped in greeting before going back to his snack. She tugged on one of his ears before flopping down on the bed with a sigh.