Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Oh, and I can't believe I haven't done this yet, but I want to publicly say thanks to liahjh1289 for being awesome and helping a fellow Kakashi-lover out by beta reading for me.


Chapter 27 - A Welcome Distraction

Genma sat a plate of waffles in front of Amaya, grabbed his own plate, and sat across from her. They were in his apartment having breakfast before the finals of the Chunin Exams began. Genma had to proctor due to Hayate's sudden murder. She hadn't known Hayate well, but his death saddened her, especially since he'd left poor Yugao. Amaya hadn't known her well, either, but she could sympathize. If Genma died she wouldn't know what to do, and she silently admitted she'd feel the same if it were Kakashi. She swallowed the bite of waffle that had turned to ash in her mouth. Banishing the dark thoughts ruining her meal, she waved her fork at Genma. "Why're you always the one cooking? My skills have improved, you know."

"They have, but I'm still better. And I enjoy it. So you might as well…." The Tokujo stopped and stared over Amaya's shoulder.

She turned to see Raido poking his head around the corner, staring at the plate of waffles left on the counter. She smiled at him. "Come join us, Rai." The scarred shinobi didn't seem to hear her. Instead, he snatched up the plate and was gone. Amaya returned her attention to Genma. "What was that about?"

"He has this thing about waffles. He won't eat them in the same room as me anymore. Says I'll steal them. I've stopped trying."

She didn't know what to say to that. She wasn't even sure whether he meant he'd stopped trying to steal them or stopped trying to get Raido to see sense, so she changed the subject. "So I was thinking about throwing a party after the Chunin Exams are over."

"Oh?"

"And I was going to invite Raido, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Kakashi…."

Genma sighed. "I'm not your parent, so you don't have to list off who you're inviting to see if I approve or not."

"Oh…. I just thought you might…."

"I might what? Have a problem with you inviting Kakashi? I don't like the idea, not after everything he's put you through, and I can't say I'm thrilled you want to patch things up with him. I think that will only encourage him to thinking you still have feelings for him—"

"But I do."

That made him stop. He knew how much Kakashi had meant to her, how much he still meant to her. The fact that she was willing to try and be friends with someone who had caused her no end of pain attested to her feelings. He had to calm the rush of panic at the thought of losing her before he could speak again. "Do you love him or…." He left the sentence open, inviting her to fill in the rest.

The auburn-haired woman put her head in her hands. "I'm not sure. I just know that he means a lot to me…. A lot more than a friend would."

"Are you saying you want to break up?" The words nearly caught in his throat, but he forced them out in as even a tone as he could manage. He picked up his senbon from the table and nervously started rolling it between his fingers.

"No! I love being with you, but I thought you should know where my head's at."

"Do you love me?"

She frowned at him. "Where's this coming from?"

"You can love someone's company and only think of them as a friend. I want to know if you love me."

"Of course I do."

The tension building in Genma released all at once and he slammed a hand on the table, causing the glasses and silverware to jump. "Then say it. You haven't said it, not once, since we've been together."

"I just did."

"No, you didn't."

"You want me to say it?"

"That's all I want."

Amaya rose from her chair. She put her hands on his face and kissed him. When she pulled away, a smile played across her face. "I love you."


Mamoru perched on Amaya's knee. "What's so bad about telling him you love him? As long as you mean it, there's no harm."

The pair sat high in a tree outside the stadium where the Chunin Exam finals would take place. The gates didn't open for another ten minutes, and though civilians and shinobi alike waited to be let in, the auburn-haired Jonin knew no one would hear her. Even a ninja's sharp senses dulled a fraction in large crowds. She stared at the sky through the shifting leaves a moment before answering. "I do love him, but the way he acted…. I felt forced to tell him. You'd think he knows I love him."

"He may know, but it's nice to hear it anyway. Men aren't as different from women as they like to think, but perhaps, and I say this only to allow you to see things from all angles, you don't love him, at least not in the way he wants you to. Perhaps that's why he made you uncomfortable."

"So, I love him...as a friend or a brother or something? Is that what you're getting at?" She wasn't sure whether he was right or wrong. Her emotions were too tangled to decipher.

The russet-colored mouse shrugged. "Maybe. Only you can answer that. But I can tell you what I see."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what have you seen?"

"Thankfully, less than what I saw when you were with Kakashi. But I've noticed you don't look at him the same way you did Kakashi. And when you talk about him, it's not the same."

"I'd hope so. I was young, didn't know all that I do now. I've grown a lot since then."

"I know you have, and I don't mean to put doubts in your mind, but—"

"Wait, do you want me to get back together with Kakashi? I thought you hated him."

"I do. You just seemed happier with him."

She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Of course I thought I was happy. I was a teenager having sex, but I'm happy now—with Genma."

"I don't understand you," Mamoru huffed. "You call me to help you work through what you're feeling, but you practically ignore everything I say. Why do I bother?" The mouse disappeared in a puff of smoke. The auburn-haired Jonin folded her arms. Mamoru was wrong. She was happy with Genma…. Wasn't she?

Below, the stadium gates opened, so Amaya dropped from the tree to join the crowd, sweeping her troubled thoughts into a corner. She'd figure everything out later. Right now, she had to cheer Naruto on to victory.


The stadium was packed. Amaya guessed that anyone who could leave work or who had the day off was here, though she picked out Haku and Sakura quickly. She took the empty seat behind Sakura, who sported a much shorter haircut than the last time the Jonin had seen her. "I like your hair, Sakura."

"Amaya-sensei! Thanks for your advice. Because of you, I made it to the semi-finals. And I was able to help Naruto and Sasuke." The pink-haired girl smiled. It wasn't hard to see she'd grown stronger in mind and body since Amaya last saw her.

The Jonin smiled back. "I'm glad I could be of some use to you after all." She leaned forward to address Haku in the growing noise of the crowd. "How've you been? Is your training going well?"

"Yes. The Elder Council wasn't pleased when they found out, but they've allowed me to continue. I did save a Konoha nin — which apparently counts for something."

"Well, that's good to know. Do either of you know when the matches are going to start?" She picked out Naruto from the line of Genin behind Genma on the stadium floor but didn't see Sasuke. She wasn't surprised; he was training with Kakashi, after all.

"They should be starting soon, but I'm worried. Sasuke isn't here yet," Sakura replied.

Amaya gave her a reassuring smile. "He'll be here."

"And I don't know where Ino is either. She said she wanted to watch the matches with me," the Genin mused half to herself.

The tattooed Jonin glanced around and pointed. "That her?"

Sakura waved Ino over and the blonde kunoichi let out a sigh when she sat down. "I thought my mother would never let me leave the shop. It took forever to close down."

"You're Inoichi-san's daughter, aren't you? I've heard a lot about you," Amaya said. "It's nice to finally have a name to go with one of the first faces I saw when I came back."

Ino looked at her for a moment before recognition flared in her eyes. "You bought lilies from our store. Amaya Kato, right? Sakura's told me a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope?"

"Yeah. She says you're the reason she had the strength to make it through to the semi-finals."

The Jonin smiled. "I appreciate the praise, but all I did was teach her a lesson my sensei taught me. The rest was all her."

"Look," Sakura interrupted, wanting to draw their attention from her. "I think they're about to start."