AUTHORS NOTE: Mostly Shikaku's point of view, for all of you who have been wondering how Kakashi made it from the Hokage's office to his own bedroom.

I will take request for side notes throughout the main story, if there's a moment you feel like you've missed, let me know in either the reviews of by dropping me a note. I make no promises, but I'll consider every prompt ^.^

XOXOX

Side notes to
Hidden Feelings, Hidden Lives

XOXOX

Addition to Chapter 27; When The Walls Come Tumbling Down
Drabble title: Now What Do We Do?

XOXOX

"Milady… Not that I'm not happy that the guy's stopped muttering, but… "

"I know, I know! Damnit, I know!" She looked at her companion, Shikaku was holding Kakashi up, pushing him against the desk in order to make it a little easier on himself. She looked at the syringe in her hand, "I… Kind of flipped a little…"

"I noticed," He said dryly, "What are we going to do with him now?"

Tsunade bit her nail, "We could – no, that's stupid. Maybe if we – wouldn't work. On the other hand… But no. Can't very well… No. We can't. Or maybe…" She looked up at him, frowning, "Shikaku, he lives alone, doesn't he?"

"He does, why?" He shifted a little, the man was heavier than he'd expected. Dead weight.

"Any close friends?"

"Not that I know of. There's Gai, but… That would be a horrible idea, and he's out of town right now anyway. I think he hangs out with Iruka Umino sometimes, but I'm not sure how close the two are, so…"

"Umino? The schoolteacher?"

"That one," He shifted again, draping one of the copy ninja's arms over his shoulder, "And Shikamaru, apparently…"

"He's a kid."

"Exactly."

"We could stay with him…"

"Lady Hokage, I don't know about you, but I have a meeting at five-thirty… And after the day I've just had…"

"I understand… I'm tired too. Of course that just leaves…"

"Leaves what?"
How can a guy that's so slim weigh so much?

"Check his pockets, Shikaku. We're tying him to his own bed."

He just stared at her.
You're kidding, right? We're tying him to his own bed? Are you crazy?! You can't tie a jounin down and just hope for the best! That's never going to work! And this isn't just any jounin, either, it's Kakashi Hatake… There's no way mere ropes are going to hold him. And… His own home? What the hell?

"Shikaku…" She wiped a hand over tired eyes, "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it really isn't. I have a set of leather straps like the ones Ibiki uses. They're attuned to my chakra, and I can read yours in as well. So long as we make sure he can't form signs, he's not getting loose. And we can't put him anywhere else, because that would mean informing other people. So it has to be his own place. We can take turns checking up on him. I'll wait with him until he wakes up, at least."

The Nara sighed, "Alright, you've got a point, I suppose… One problem; I can't hold him up and check his pockets. I need both hands just to keep his head from banging against the desk…"

"Right… I'll do it," She walked over, and for a few moment they stared at each other awkwardly, "Eh, Shikaku… His pocket is, eh…"

"I know…" He swallowed, shifting a little. But it seemed like it was impossible to move himself far away enough so that Tsunade's hand wouldn't get too close to his private parts, "Oh what the hell, just do it, Tsunade," He eventually grumbled. Biting his lip as he stared out the window. He could feel her hand slip inside the younger man's pocked, brushing past his own body every now and then.
This is embarrassing… If Yoshino saw me now, she'd have a fit.

"Found them!" Triumph in her voice as she held up a small keychain. There were seven keys on it, a little figurine that looked a hell of a lot like Paccun, a hanger of the with leaf symbol made out of silver and a little pouch. Curiously, she opened it, "There's a couple mini-kunai in here! And… Wait, is that…?" She turned the pouch around, emptying the contents on the desk.

Shikaku craned his head to see, chuckling a little at the assortment of items that had fallen on the Hokage's desk.

There were six mini kunai – a handy tool if you knew how to use them – all safely tucked into little scabbards, which was a good thing given the other items the pouch contained. Like the four condoms that had fallen out, or the mini-sized lube bottle. There were also some coins and a button. A broken piece of silver chain that seemed to belong to either a necklace or a bracelet and a length of wire. Needle and thread had also been stuffed in.

"How the hell did that even fit in there…?"

"Obviously the man knows how to pack a bag, Shikaku. What I find amusing is why? He could've easily stored all of it in a scroll… Think he forgets how to release it if he gets too horny?" She gave him a naughty wink, but he pretended he didn't see.

"Stuff it back in, Tusnade. These are personal affects. Check his other pocket, too, though. There might be more of those kunai…"

Shikaku realized that this meant that Tsunade's hand would once again be in extremely close proximity – actually even closer than before – a little too late But he just shrugged, it had to be done, and Tsunade wasn't one to use the situation against him – Not now and not in the future.

"Fine," She reached around Kakashi, her arm squeezed in between the two men. Reaching into the copy ninja's pocket, she felt something hard, but it wasn't inside the pocket.
So me trying not to touch the guy isn't exactly helping, huh? Can't blame him, I suppose, men are more physical than woman are, after all. Still… Little funny.

She pulled out a handful of things, laying them on the desk a little ways away from the contents of the pouch, "Pockets are such handy storage boxes after all…" She said sarcastically.

Next to the little mountain of personal affects found inside the little pouch on Kakashi's keychain now lay another little mountain, mostly receipts and other scraps of paper. There was a small pencil – almost completely used up – and another two buttons. A little metal plate like the ones on the copy ninja's gloves and – heaven help her – another three mini-kunai.

"See? If he carries them around in that little pouch, I was sure there'd be more…"

"Yeah, we'll have to clear his leg holster, too. And take of the flack vest. Check every single one of his pockets…" She sighed.

"We're better off doing that when he's laying down, though. Do you have a bag to keep all that in? I'll carry him, but we'll have to hurry a little because I'm not exactly used to this kind of work-out anymore…"

XOXOX

He'd laid the man across his back, fireman style. Kakashi seemed to be getting heavier with every step, but he didn't complain. Even if his companion was probably stronger than he was…

They'd opted to leap across the rooftops, even though it was dark outside, there were still people around, and no-one should see this. No doubt the rumors would start to spread and within a day or two, Kakashi would be dead, or Shikaku a pervert, or Tsunade would have drugged the silver-haired man in order to have her way with him, or… He really didn't want to think about it anymore.

"It should be this building…" Tsunade said a little hesitantly, pointing at one of the oldest apartment complexes in Konoha. It was run-down and shabby, somehow – to Shikaku at least – it looked like the perfect hideout for Kakashi Hatake, the man that no-one seemed to know.

"Which door?" He muttered between panted breaths. She looked at him a little worriedly, but didn't say anything about it.

"According to records… Third floor, the apartment on the far right."

He nodded, taking another jump. He landed on the roof of the complex, wasting no time in taking the last jump off the roof and unto the third floor landing. Tsunade soon followed, fumbling around with the keys for a little while. She tried all seven, and finally, the door opened.
Of course it had to be the last key…

She hesitantly crossed the threshold, flipping on the lights, "Huh? What's this?"
Leaning down, she picked something off the floor.

"Tsunade… Walk will you?"

"Right," She chuckled, opening the first door, "So that's the kitchen… That door might be the bedroom…" She walked in, opening the door on the far wall, "Nope, bathroom!" She called over her shoulder.

Shikaku nodded, that just left one door. Walking over, he opened it to reveal the man's bedroom. It was small, but tidy, and he walked in without any hesitation, groaning as he finally dumped his heavy load down on the bed, "Tsunade, let's be clear, I'm never doing that again," He rubbed his aching lower back.

"I'm sorry, Shikaku… I really am," She brushed past him, repositioning the younger man so that his head lay on the pillow and his legs at the foot of the bed. She quickly pulled down the zipper on his flack vest, and Shikaku helped lift Kakashi's upper body so she could slide it off, "This thing's heavy…"

"Leave it alone, Tsunade. We've already been through too much of his private stuff… It's not right."

"I know…" She hung the vest on the little hook at the back of the door before returning to remove the man's leg holster.

Shikaku had dropped himself on the desk chair, rubbing little circles on his lower back, muttering softly about how he was getting too old for this. She had clearly decided to ignore him.
He watched her fumble with the holster, but didn't feel like offering to help. This was her mess. And his back hurt. He was really getting old…

Finally, the holster came off and she handed to him. Without looking, he put it on the desk, it wasn't any of his business what the man kept in there. But he kept a sharp eye on Tsunade as she checked every pocket on the silver-haired man's shirt – the woman was way too curious for his taste.
Not much came of it, though. Another pencil, a few pieces of paper – one look from Shikaku and she handed them over without a hitch, he placed them in the top drawer of the desk. Four more mini-kunai, a bundle of senbon, a little box of food pills. Nothing special. He sighed.
Thank god…

"What have we here…?"

Oh crap! Now what?

"Shikaku… What is this?" She turned to him, a small item between her thumb and index finger.
He leaned in, studying it for a brief moment before leaning back again, chuckling.

"I honestly hope that's been sterilized…"

"What?"She coked her head, studying the little item again, "What is it?"

"Tsunade… What you're holding there is what they call a 'butt plug'. Do I need to explain in detail what it's for?" He chuckled again, somehow this felt like payback for the boner she'd accidentally given him back in her office.

"Riiight…" She quickly placed it on the windowsill, unconsciously wiping her hand on her leg, "I know what it's for, Shikaku… "

"He's the pervert of Konoha, Tsunade," He chuckled again, "What did you expect?"

She shot him a wry smile, "Oh I dunno… A huge dildo?"

He laughed – waking up Kakashi was impossible right now, anyway, "Maybe he has a couple stashed away, who knows? But," He turned serious again, "Don't go looking, Tsunade… It really wouldn't be fair. Even this is…"

"I know… But this was actually necessary, Shikaku. I did find weapons, plenty. I just also happened to find a butt plug…" She giggled a little, "Still… Let's just get this over with."

A frown had appeared on her face, and she pulled a storage scroll out of her sleeve, "You know how to read your chakra in these, right?"

"I do," He had turned serious again, too. Biting down on his thumb so he could add his blood to the seal. He quickly formed the signs and let a few drops of blood fall on the leather, cursing under his breath as a couple of drops missed and fell to the floor.

"It's enough, Shikaku, don't worry about it."

"That's not it… The guy's a bit of a neat freak. Not a lot of people know, but… I'm gonna get something to wipe that off, right back," He stood, walking over to what they'd earlier determined was the kitchen. Behind him, he could hear Tsunade getting to work.
This still feels wrong… We shouldn't even be here, it's clear he'd rather not have anyone else know where he lives… And this place… It feels so uninviting. How can he live here… It's almost completely bare, it doesn't even look like anyone lives here…

He flipped on the lights and started walking over to the sink hoping there would be a towel or something there that he could use.
So clean… The place is old, but… Everything here sparkles. You'd almost start to wonder if he spends every day that he's home cleaning his apartment…

He found a rather old-looking towel in one of the cabinets, running some water over it before turning back to the bedroom. When he walked in, Tsunade was almost finished with tying the man up. Shikaku pulled a face, this just felt wrong. But he didn't say anything, instead wiping the blood of the floor and returning to the kitchen to rinse the towel out.
Where do I put it now? I didn't see a hamper or anything around… Maybe in the bathroom…

Nope, not here either. Hmmm… Now what? I know most people would probably think I'm overreacting here, but I know Kakashi would hate it if I just left the thing laying around. That's one of the few things I actually know about the guy… That, and that he's apparently gay… Bloody whores, made them bleed, hurt them… Poor guy.

Eventually he shrugged, placing the wet towel in the sink. He really had no idea where else to put it. As he returned to the bedroom, he blinked.

"Eh… Tsunade? Does this mean that Kakashi isn't the only pervert we have?"

"Oh shut up, Shikaku. We forgot to check his back pockets."

"You do realize that's an incredibly compromising position, right?" He chuckled, looking on as the blonde fumbled around to check the pockets on the man's butt.

"Shut up, or do I need to remind you that you got a boner from nothing but my arm brushing past you?" She smirked, he knew she did, even though he couldn't see her face.

Feeling his face heat up, Shikaku swallowed, "Tsunade…"

"Oh it's alright, I won't tell anyone, and after we're done here, I vote that all the embarrassing stuff's never happened, okay?"

"Deal."

As they turned to leave, Shikaku remembered something, "You found something on the floor when we walked in, didn't you?"

"Yes, a little note from Sakura. I put it on the desk. I'll give it to him when he wakes up. As soon as he's lucid again. It's kind of important."

"You read it then," There was disapproval in his voice as he watched the woman turn the lock behind them.

"I did. It's nothing big, she apologized for something she said, and asked to talk to him. I have no idea what that's about, but apparently it's important to the two of them…"

"Right…" He took the stairs down, "Weren't you going to wait here until he wakes up, though?"

Behind him, he could hear her sigh, "He's not going to wake up for at least twelve hours. I thought I might as well go get a futon and sleep a little in the kitchen, that's all."

"Sounds like a plan. Let me know when he wakes up, will you?" He didn't look back at her as he took the next flight of stairs.

"You worried, Shikaku?"

"I am. And I'll have to deal with Shikamaru when I get home. He's bound to be even more worried than you or me."

She stayed quiet for a while, as they walked next to each other through the dark streets.
After almost ten minutes, she spoke again, "Shikaku… Why was Kakashi at your place to begin with?"

"He's friends with my son, apparently."

"You're not telling me everything, are you?" She frowned just a little.

"I'm not. But really, Tsunade… " He bit his lip for a moment, "Just don't ask right now, okay? I have some stuff to sort through first."

"Alright. You know you can always talk to me, right?"

"I can. I know that. But right now…" He sighed, "Right now I just need to think," He nodded a good-bye at her, wishing her a good night as he turned into an alleyway that would serve him as a shortcut.

Kakashi, Shikamaru… Gay. My only son is gay. My heir is gay. The heir to the Hatake clan is gay. Shikaku sighed.
We have a little problem here…