Chapter 3
They started heading back to the campsite shortly after that interaction. Hinata was trailing behind Kakashi with her face burning in embarrassment. He'd neatly reduced her to a limp noodle with barely any effort just a few minutes ago.
He had backed away afterwards and told her that it was enough for now. He hadn't been impacted by their interaction in the slightest whereas she had experienced a multitude of troubling sensations she thought nibbling on her lower lips.
After they got back to the campsite Hinata went over to socialize with the rest of the Anbu seeking a distraction. She wondered how they would react to the observed intimacy between Kakashi and her. She assumed they would think it was a part of the mission and give them the privacy to continue. One of the Anbu (the Fox) happened to be a Hyuga so it was pretty much guaranteed that he would know this was an act.
The Rabbit Anbu had started making dinner so Hinata decided to help out. She put a rice pot on to boil and started gathering ingredients to make soup.
.
.
Kakashi had hunted and skinned a bird and was roasting it above a separate fire while he observed how diligently Hinata moved around assembling the food. She was clearly at least basically skilled at cooking. He filed this away in his memory because it seemed like something you should know about your fiance.
He found her movements to be very graceful as she moved between tasks. Her skin glistened from the fire and from time to time she would elegantly flick away the hair hanging down from her bun.
After a few minutes he realized that he was staring at her, so he quickly looked away.
The rest of the Anbu were busy as well, some had moved to the woods to continue training. And some had moved inside their tents to remove their masks (Kakashi assumed), and perhaps to read. That was often an activity he had used to keep occupied during his own time as an Anbu.
In truth Kakashi was a very introverted person who disliked small talk and he didn't care what people thought about him. He carried his Icha Icha Paradise novel with him everywhere to dissuade people from engaging him in conversations. A grown man reading a romance novel seems to freak most people out, which amused him.
In fact, he used the Icha Icha novel cover as a sleeve for various literature. He had read Jiraiya-sama's writing of course. However, anyone would be hard pressed to re-read a book series continuously day after day. He was surprised at how no one had caught onto his trick yet other than Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Hinata's movements again distracted Kakashi from his thoughts. He observed her move to the side where there was a bush with red berries. She picked a bunch of berries and brought it over to be washed.
"Are those safe to eat?" he asked aloud.
She glanced at him startled, "Yes... Kakashi". He could tell she struggled not adding an honorific to his name.
"How do you know?".
"I am interested in medicinal herbs. I have a greenhouse that I manage back at home. I know how to tell apart weeds from poisonous plants and what is classified as edible or medicinal. At least from the plants that are native to our country" she said gesturing at the flora and fauna around.
"How did you develop an interest in plants?"
"Well… my mother was very passionate about them, she actually built the greenhouse that I mentioned. When I was younger I found her journal about medicinal plants. At first I read it to get closer to her, but over time I realized that I had an affinity for plants too". Hinata smiled self consciously realizing that she was rambling.
"Hinata…" he interjected "don't be embarrassed telling me about yourself. We have less than a week to get to know each other well enough to pose as a couple, so please be yourself as much as possible".
"I think... if anything... it's you that needs to follow that advice" Hinata replied, taking him by surprise. "Most people in Konoha don't know much about you at all".
He observed as she quickly checked on her soup before getting up and walking over to him. With the light from the fire framing her figure, she looked hot walking over. He tensed a bit as she came forward almost in self defence. The funny part was that she had no idea of the image she presented. Most women with a figure like hers would easily use it as a weapon, but that thought hadn't seem to have occurred to Hinata. Finally she knelt in front of him and despite himself Kakashi felt his grip tighten on the knife he was holding. He did not enjoy encroachments into his personal space without an invitation, but... he forced himself to relax and put his whittling aside.
"Tell me a little about yourself" she said.
He looked at her with a blank expression and exhaled a controlled breath soundlessly through his nose. He forced his neck and shoulder muscles to relax. This mission was proving to be more troublesome than he had anticipated, but fortunately he wasn't a fish out of water. He was a grown man with considerable experience in negotiation.
"Well Hinata… why don't you tell me what you know about me?". His sarcastic tone did not escape her he could tell based on her expression. It was his way of giving her a gentle warning as she dipped her toes into waters he only wanted her to wade into. He didn't want her to actually develop feelings for him. He had known many women over the years who had trouble with this simple distinction. After a while all women eventually sought to try and save him from the loneliness they assumed he felt.
"I… know that you are reclusive. Your father was the White Fang and he was a legendary ninja. He was the leader of the Hatake clan" she paused observing his reaction.
Kakashi did his best not to stand up and walk away as she started talking about his father.
"I know… that he went against protocol when he saved his comrades during a mission. He compromised the success of the mission to save their lives" she said gravely, "as a result he was ostracized from the village… a-and he eventually took his own life".
He looked up at her darkly, all traces of humour gone from his expression.
"Your mother died when you were very little, and you were raised by your father… s-so that loss must have been h-horrible for you…" she paused, the gravity of what she was saying and its implications truly sinking into her heart for the first time. Her breath hitched as he watched the pain washing over her face. You don't even know the half of it, he thought sardonically. She redirected the conversation after that seeming to understand he didn't want to discuss this.
"You are known as a genius, you became a Chunin at age 6 and a Jounin at age 12. And you were an Anbu Captain for a while. You had the sharingan" she paused thoughtfully almost as if wondering how that had happened. "You trained Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura of course and you are highly respected in our village". She paused now at a loss of what else to say.
He strategically waited a couple of seconds giving her a chance to continue and commented, "What a neat and succinct summary".
She blushed at the tone of his voice looking down at the ground.
There wasn't anything she had said that was not common knowledge he noted trying not to lash out at her for mentioning his father. He had grown up with this pain and he knew when his irrational side was trying to take over. Nothing she had said had been wrong but he struggled in his mind as to how to answer her question.
In reality he was a simple man, scarred by a lifetime of loss. He did not get close to anyone because he knew how unbearable it was to lose those that he loved. There was a pattern, first there was his mother, followed by his father and then countless after that; Obito, Rin, Minato, Kushino and even the Third. And over time… he had simply stopped. He had stopped caring too much.
It was true that he now had other people in his life who cared for him and vice versa, however a healthy dose of apathy shrouded his heart blocking him from feeling love too deeply for anyone. That was why he spent most of his life reading, working and visiting the graves of his loved ones.
That was too depressing of a summary to tell her so instead he said. "My clan is known for our independence and wonderlust… most of my people are now scattered across the world exploring…. After my father died there wasn't a true leader remaining and I think that led to the clad disbanding. My mother was from the Inuzuka clan. I inherited my sense of smell and tracking from her… I think".
"Do you wear that mask because of your sense of smell?" she blurted out and then covered her mouth with wide eyes. Hinata reverted back to her juvenile gesture of poking her fingers together "It's just a rumour that is going around" she mumbled.
"I am only half Inuzuka..." Kakashi explained patiently and he could see the wheels clicking into place in her mind. Of course if Kiba didn't need to wear a mask neither did he.
"I wear this mask because since I was young my father trained me to become an Anbu operative. When he died, my life didn't exactly go as he planned, at least... I don't think so", he paused, "but it is my way of carrying my father with me everywhere I go. Besides by now I have gotten used to hiding behind this mask. I wouldn't know what to do with my face otherwise".
Hinata looked up at him in astonishment. This was something he hadn't told anyone before and he was struggling to understand why he'd blurted all that out when she raised herself onto her knees and closed the distance between them. It seemed that she was initiating a hug.
Kakashi felt her arms wrap around his neck gently as she tugged him down towards her and despite himself he felt his heart warm a bit at the effort she was making.
For the purposes of this mission he really could have made up any bullshit, but perhaps the fact that Hinata herself was so honest forced him to be straight up with her. Lying to her seemed like a betrayal of trust even though he owed no loyalty to her.
He wrapped his arms around her relaxing after a few seconds and pulled her in even closer, enjoying the exotic scent that clung to her. He noticed that she had started rubbing his back as a gesture of comfort, and he closed his eyes enjoying the closeness to another human being that he so very rarely experienced outside of sex.
As Kakashi held her tightly back Hinata realized that she was able to smell his scent. It was sandalwood and mint wrapped together. It smelled really good and she lost track of where she was. She slipped into a comfortable daze clinging to his vest as his scent and body heat enveloped her securely and she felt relaxed for the first time in... maybe ever, which was bizarre given their circumstances.
"Ahem" a clearing throat of an Anbu officer startled her. She yelped and jumped from his arms falling backwards onto the ground.
Excellent ninja senses on this one, Kakashi thought with amusement looking down at the ground where Hinata was sprawled. He had sensed the Anbu member getting close to them but hadn't ended the embrace as he had wanted to observe Hinata's reaction.
"Kakashi-san" the Dove Anbu called out. "Can I talk to you for a bit?" she asked politely. Kakashi murmured in agreement and left after throwing a brief look at Hinata. She waited for them to walk away before getting up and dusting herself.
The Anbu hadn't seemed embarrassed to interrupt them at all... wow they really do mean business!
After staring at the retreating backs of the two figures for a few seconds, Hinata went back to the fire to serve food to her comrades and to set aside a portion of food for herself and Kakashi.