Kakashi and Nayamae continued to walk in an awkward silence down the darkening street. Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had felt so uncomfortable in a situation. He glanced at Nayamae. She seemed to feel just as uncomfortable as he did. Kyrie had made it seem like she knew something about the two of them they didn't.

She acts like we're in a relationship, Kakashi thought to himself, shaking his head.

The street was lit by the lights from restaurants and the lamps hanging from ropes across the buildings. The glow was warm and the smell of food inviting. Crowds of people were still milling about the marketplace, even as the sun went down. Conversations were loud as people discussed their plans for an upcoming festival. Laughter echoed across the street. Nayamae glanced into the restaurants as they passed, trying to keep her mouth from watering.

"Kakashi," she said, holding his arm back. "Let's get something to eat."

"There's food at my apartment," he replied flatly, pulling his arm from her hand.

She frowned, but continued to follow him. As they walked, Nayamae felt increasingly uneasy. It wasn't because of Kyrie's comment, but with every person they moved past, she was feeling overwhelmed by sensing everyone's individual patterns. Her head felt dizzy. She reached out and grabbed the edge of Kakashi's shirt, pulling him back.

"Now what?" Kakashi asked, annoyed, looking back at her. "Whoa, hey! Are you okay?" He caught her before she completely lost her balance. "What's wrong?"

"Just tired," she replied unconvincingly.

"Come on," he urged. "We're almost there." Kakashi put his arm under hers and half-carried, half-dragged her down the street. People gave them strange looks as they passed. "Can you use your legs at all?"

"Slow down and I'll be able to," she said tiredly. Immediately, Kakashi felt her entire body tense. She quickly glanced around them, as if looking for someone.

"What is it?" he asked, looking around as well.

"Someone's been following us," she whispered, hardly moving her lips as she spoke. "I thought I recognized his chakra pattern, but I wasn't sure."

"Wait, you can detect chakra patterns?" Kakashi asked, surprised. "How come you didn't tell me this before?"

"As if I've consistently told you things about me," Nayamae countered, still looking around them. She was leaning heavily against Kakashi. "Wait here," she said, quickly pushing herself off of him and weaving herself into the crowd.

"Hey! You're not well! Nayamae, come back!" Kakashi yelled, straining to see her between the people. "Dammit!" He pushed his way between the villagers, accidentally knocking their items out of their hands, and apologizing hurriedly before moving on to try to find her. He stopped to look above people's heads, searching for at least a glimmer off of her black hair. She was simply gone. "Seriously?" he huffed. "Fucking hell…" He didn't know the extent of her health, but she was obviously dizzy and needed rest. He was surprised she had taken off when she did.

She was able to sense someone following us, but who? He thought to himself. He decided to find the spot where she had told him to wait, in case she had come back. He waited a few minutes until he finally spotted her moving between the crowds. "Nayamae!" he called, catching up with her before she could fall again. "You can't just run off like that!" he scolded. "Who were you looking for?"

"Not here," she whispered harshly, letting Kakashi put his arms around her to help her the rest of the way to his apartment.

"Hey! You're not well! Nayamae, come back!" Kakashi's shouts were drowned in the din of the people around her. She couldn't let him see where she was going. She sensed Kabuto was hiding in an alleyway close by. With her head pounding, she quickly ducked into the darkness of the alley, meeting Kabuto behind a large pile of trash. The smell of the garbage made her crinkle her nose in disgust. Kabuto was disguised again, wearing a mask over his face and an odd hat over his eyes. When she caught up to him, she tried not to lean too much against the wall behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked between breaths. "You've got some nerve-"

"I'm not here to take you away from this village," he said sharply, cutting her off. "You've obviously gotten them to trust you enough they want you as their spy."

"Then why are you here?" she asked again. "What does Orochimaru want? What more could the bastard still want with me?"

"You know he would rather have you dead right now," Kabuto said seriously. "You may want to take that threat a little more to heart. Especially after the last time. He didn't appreciate you coming at him with a sword."

"I didn't appreciate him beating me and shoving me into a closet," Nayamae growled. "I also didn't appreciate him controlling me like a puppet whenever he wanted."

Kabuto forcefully grabbed her left hand, bringing it closer to the only bit of street light in the dark alley. "Your friend Kakashi Hatake hasn't removed this seal yet? That's surprising. You would think they would want you completely under their control rather than under Orochimaru's."

She tore her hand from his grip. "He's not my friend," she replied defensively.

"Then whatever he is to you, be careful," he warned. "You don't want a repeat with Ryu now do you?"

"You have no right to speak about him!" Nayamae hissed. She could feel her skin growing hot.

Kabuto smirked. "Be careful," he repeated, pointing at her seal. "If you don't want him to find you, I would get that removed as soon as possible." With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Nayamae slumped against the wall as her exhaustion settled. Her skin slowly cooled, but her head continued to swim. She barely remembered getting up and finding her way back to Kakashi. She also barely remembered him carrying her up the stairs and into his apartment. He had gently laid her on his bed, covering her with the blankets. It was still too early in the evening for him to sleep, so instead he made soup for them both, ate, then checked on Nayamae. She was still resting. Quietly, he pulled out an extra cushion and comforter for himself and laid it out on the floor beside his bed.

Kakashi was nearly asleep when he finally heard Nayamae moving on the bed above him. He saw her silhouette in the darkness, sitting up against the wall. "Hey," he said softly, sitting up as well. "You alright?" He saw her shake her head. "Hang on a sec," he said, reaching towards the lamp on the nightstand, lighting the room with a soft glow. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, pointing to the empty space beside her. She nodded, moving over to give him more room.

They sat in silence for a long time. Kakashi thought she looked troubled.

"What's going on?" he asked finally. "Who was following us earlier tonight?"

She took a deep breath before turning her head towards him. "It's nobody you would know," she replied.

"Okay then," he said, nodding his head. "Then why were we being followed?"

"He just wanted to warn me." She paused. "I think... Orochimaru knows where I am." She told him the conversation she had with Kabuto, avoiding giving Kakashi his name and what he had said about Ryu.

"We'll take care of that seal right after we talk to the Hokage tomorrow," he assured her. She nodded before tiredly leaning her head against his shoulder. He looked down at her, surprised she was being this comfortable, especially after the heated argument they had earlier in the day. Silence passed between them again.

"Kakashi," Nayamae said quietly, "I'm dying."

"I know," he said softly.

Silence again.

"I'm being reassigned from ANBU to become a teacher," Kakashi said finally. "I'm not sure what that means for you being under my supervision, but we'll discuss that tomorrow." He wasn't sure why now of all times the Hokage had decided to remove him from ANBU. If Nayamae was going to be their ally, she needed someone she could trust. That was the whole point of getting her to become loyal to him, wasn't it? Nayamae adjusted herself beside him, wrapping her arm around his. Again, Kakashi was surprised by her behavior, but said nothing. They sat quietly, listening to the street below calm down as the night continued on.

Eventually, Kakashi realized she had fallen asleep on him. Her arm was still wrapped around his, but he was in no hurry to move. He was comfortable beside her. She was warm and peaceful. She hadn't said anything directly to him, but he wondered if this was how she was beginning to show that she trusted him.

You can be loyal to different people in different ways. How was she going to be loyal to him? Kakashi let his mind ponder this while he slowly drifted off to sleep, leaning his head against Nayamae's.

Kakashi woke with a start, finding himself still sitting up against the wall. Beside him, Nayamae was curled up against him, still holding onto his arm. He observed her for a few moments, staring at her sleeping face, which was mostly covered by her hair. He gently moved the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She smiled slightly in her sleep, adjusting herself closer to him. "Ryu," she breathed sleepily. Kakashi frowned, surprised to find that he felt disappointed she didn't realize it was him.

He sighed heavily, looking out the window as the sun slowly peeked over the horizon of the village. He was thinking of ways he could get out of Nayamae's grasp without waking her when she suddenly jumped away from him, awake and looking fearful as though he had just tried to attack her.

"Hey, it's alright!" Kakashi said, putting his hands up. "It's just me."

Nayamae tried to relax and slow her breathing down. "Right," she panted. "Just you…" She rain her fingers through her hair. "It's just you," she assured herself.

"Are you alright?" he asked, knowing he was probably going to receive a vague answer.

"I'm fine," she replied, putting her face into her hands.

He slid from the bed, standing beside it. He held his hand out to her. "Come on," he said, "We've got a long day ahead of us." She peek from between her fingers, not reaching for his hand. He sighed, lowering his hand slightly. "I get nightmares too," he admitted softly. He reached out to her again. She eyed his hand, hesitating to take it. "Hey, breakfast isn't going to make itself," he said, trying to joke with her. She hesitated still, but took hold of his hand anyway, letting him lead her out of the bedroom. He sat her down at the low table, going to the kitchen. After a several minutes, he returned with two plates of eggs for the both of him.

"Eat up," he told her. "We have a long discussion with the Hokage today."

She nodded, picking up her utensils to eat. She watched him as he removed his mask to eat. "Why do you wear that mask all the time?" she asked. "It doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose other than hiding your face."

Kakashi paused. "I wear it to cover my scar," he replied shortly, shoving food into his mouth and avoiding her gaze.

She frowned. "That's one excuse, but your village headband does a better job of that. Why not show your face? There's really nothing wrong with it."

He finished chewing before replying sternly. "Please, hurry and eat so we can go talk to the Hokage."

She huffed. "Fine. I guess I'm not allowed to ask questions about you, even though you've asked plenty of questions about me." He kept quiet, though he silently agreed that she was right. He was being unfair and he knew it. However, he was more irritated that he couldn't keep her from wanting to argue with him nearly every time they spoke to each other. It was almost as though she purposely wanted to annoy him.

The rest of the morning passed in equal silence. After eating, they showered, dressed, and got ready separately, giving the other as much space and privacy as possible in Kakashi's small apartment. Finally, they were ready to leave, both walking out into the cool morning air.

Almost immediately, they were greeted by an enthusiastic, "KAKASHI!" They turned to see Guy making his way up to them. Behind him walked another man and a woman. The man had a beard and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. The woman had black hair that touched her shoulders. Her eyes were as red as the lipstick she wore. Both of them were obviously shinobi. "Kakashi! Stop and talk for a moment!"

"We are never going to get to the Hokage…" Kakashi muttered tiredly as they approached. Nayamae stifled a laugh. He shot her a glare.

"It's good to see you back to normal, Nayamae!" Guy said excitedly, giving her a thumbs up. "I was beginning to think you'd stay a fox forever!"

She gave him a nervous laugh. "That's partially inevitable, Guy."

"Kakashi, we haven't seen you in a while," the woman said. "We just wanted to make sure everything was going okay."

"We heard you're becoming a teacher! Quite the lifestyle change from ANBU," the man said, eyeing Nayamae. "Hi, I'm Asuma," he introduced himself, extending his hand to her. "This is Kurenai."

Nayamae nervously took his hand. "I'm Nayamae," she told him.

"It's good to finally meet you," Kurenai told her. "Guy kept telling us Kakashi was keeping some girl at his apartment," she joked.

"Ah…" Nayamae replied uncomfortably.

Kakashi stiffened. "We have an appointment to speak to the Hokage. We have to go," he said quickly, half-pulling Nayamae down the street before the three could say anything else.

"Hey!" she cried, running to keep up with Kakashi's longer strides.

"Sorry," he apologized not feeling a bit sorry. "We really are running late now."

"Lord Hokage," Kakashi greeted. Nayamae stood beside him.

"Kakashi, Nayamae, good to see you both again." Sarutobi greeted cordially. "Well? Have you decided?" he asked Nayamae.

She nodded. "Yes. I'll work with your village on one condition."

Sarutobi cocked his head. "Oh? What is that?"

She paused. "Kakashi stays with me."

Kakashi looked at her in surprise. He quickly caught the eye of Sarutobi. They were both thinking the same thing: she was becoming loyal to him.

"Why would you like him to stay with you?" he asked. "He won't be in ANBU much longer, if you didn't know. He'll have different responsibilities. And, I was under the impression yesterday you didn't like him."

"Not especially," she said bluntly. Kakashi frowned. That wasn't what he wanted her to say. "He said he would teach me to read. Kakashi stays with me," she insisted.

"Teach you to read? Hmm… We can arrange that." Sarutobi looked to Kakashi. "Add reading and writing to the list of her training," he said seriously. He turned back to Nayamae. "In the meantime, we'll find a place for you to live and start a training regimen for you. You need to learn how to investigate Orochimaru and Shinjou before you can go after them." She nodded. He smiled at her. "I'm glad you've agreed to work with us. Now, if you would please go with Chiharu, she'll show you where to get started. I must speak to Kakashi in private for a few minutes." The door behind them opened and a blonde haired woman entered, waiting in the doorway.

Nayamae looked to Kakashi, seemingly unsure. He nodded at her and she reluctantly left the room, following Chiharu. He watched her leave, the door closing with a soft click.

Immediately Kakashi turned back to the Hokage. "You seem to be making progress with her," Sarutobi commented.

"It would seem," he replied, thinking of how he liked the way she walked. "I'm not sure how, but she's trusting me more often than not."

"That's good, that's good. Just keep at it and I think she will be a very valuable ally."

"There's one issue though," Kakashi said, crossing his arms. "Orochimaru left a mark on her hand before she turned into a fox. It's possible he may be using it to track her. Someone followed us last night, but she wouldn't tell me who. She could sense their chakra pattern."

"She could sense them? I didn't know she was even capable of sensing chakra patterns." He folded his hands under his chin.

"Neither did I until last night," he replied. "She's convinced Orochimaru knows where she's hiding. I think whoever it was following us last night works for him and threatened her."

"Hmm," Sarutobi hummed, thinking deeply.

"I am going to do what I can to remove the seal from her hand. It needs to be gone as soon as possible."

"I agree. He could be using it to manipulate her in ways we don't know yet," he said seriously. "See that you remove that seal at once. We can't have Orochimaru knowing what we're up to." Kakashi nodded. "Afterwards, keep getting Nayamae to trust you. Do whatever you have to do. You're dismissed."

Kakashi left the Hokage's office after a quick bow. He found Nayamae waiting for him outside, sitting on a bench and eating an apple.

"There you are," Nayamae said impatiently, standing. "I wasn't even sure if you were still here at all."

"Give me your hand," he suddenly ordered, holding out his own. She gave him a quizzical look, but put her hand in his anyway, taking a loud bite out of her apple. The mark was still there, but it was slightly darker than before. Kakashi narrowed his eye. "Come on," he said, keeping hold of her hand and walking forward. "Let's take care of this seal once and for all."

I realize this has been mostly dialogue which can be kinda boring, but the action will pick up soon! There are things to be learned and themes to explore!

Hey.

Thanks for reading. :)