He couldn't see the wisdom behind his master's decision. No matter how he tried, there seemed to be no logical explanation that would come from it. Wait for Kaiko? The order sounded so dumb to him, it was as good as saying "we'll just be like sitting ducks for the meantime".
He leered at the bathing figure and thought that his brother was lucky to have tasted a piece of this bitch. Well, he did die… but at least he was a satisfied man. With the strong urgency tightening a certain part of himself, he wrestled against the idea of satiating such desires. Or I'll end up dead, he thought, remembering how that one-eyed asshole killed his brother along with two of his comrades. He, in comparison to those three – his brother included – was wise enough to know when to let emotions get the better of him. And he's still alive, isn't he?
Something about the late afternoon brought chills to her spine. At first Kaiko shove it off as a senseless paranoia, but later on, while brushing her damp hair in front of a looking glass, a familiar image appeared from who-knows-where. She was about to scream for help but any attempts were immediately prevented by a large, calloused hand over her mouth.
"Well, well, well…" he whsipered, his mouth pressed so close to her ear, "what do we have here?"
A muffled reply came from beneath his hand.
"I wonder what day it is… or have you forgotten because of that silly ol' boyfriend of yours."
She tried to squeal, struggle.. anything just to break free from him but it was worthless. He was too strong. "I hope you do remember.. chief gave you five days. JUST five days."
She nodded.
"Good. And the eye?"
She just stared back at him with eyes huge as saucers.
"Oh, so you're too busy fondling with your boyfriend, huh?" the words rolled from his mouth like threats. "Let's see what happens when he finds out."
He? Kaiko swallowed hard.
"Steal it." He said curtly, hurling her onto the floor like a piece of trash.
Kaiko watched him jump through the window and vanish.. like a nightmare. But she knew it wasn't just some premonition. He's real. And Kaiko predicted that he knew about the Lazarus eye. He knew everything. And he had been watching her. Closely.

Kakashi felt uneasy.. what with all these women fussing over the pieces of silk garment on display. He never really went out to buy women's clothes. For one, he never really had a reason to. But now, well, he realized that Kaiko barely had any choice of clothes so he decided to buy her some spare. One or two, maybe three. And he couldn't guess her size so the kind women in the shop helped him figure that out. Three women of three different body sizes, standing before him clad in similar garments (but different sizes). He didn't know buying women's clothes could be so bothersome.
"Now sir, with whose body size was she close to?"
He looked at the three giggling ladies. If he didn't knew better, he would assume the three ladies were immensely enjoying this awkward situation. Again, he looked from one, to the next, and to the last one. Which body size? It was impossible for him to imagine Kaiko in any of those three laughing ladies. To him, her body size was, well, her own.
"It's hard to tell.." he muttered out.
"But surely, you can find one that matches..?"
"Yeah.. matches her size.." he stepped forward and took a closer look. It made him feel like a vulture.. an awkward vulture.
"Well," the shop keeper asked. If she was getting impatient, it obviously didn't show in her voice.
"I think it's the first one.." he pointed at the woman before her and looked at the shop keeper. "I'd also like one of this," he moved toward the shelves and pointed at a cream silk dress. "in that size."
"Anything else?"
He looked around. Well, he had to admit that he didn't know a thing about women's clothing. They just, well, seem to fit in most people. So all he had to was scout for the prettiest color he could find. And pseaking of prettiest color, he spotted another one, in light green. "And that one."
The shop keeper nodded. "Now, give those clothes back." She barked at the three ladies. "Gently, please…"
Kakashi sighed. Now, that wasn't so hard.. Next time though, he made a mental note to take Kaiko with him so he whouldn't go through such troubles ever again.

The tatami mats seemed to have become warmer with the shuffling of her feet as she paced back and forth, it'll probably burst in flames if she doesn't stop. And she couldn't stop. Her entire dream have crumbled before her very eyes. She should've known, the chief will not just bid her goodbye and trust that she comes back home in time. This is all a big mistake. She's supposed to steal the eye, not fall in love with the very man safegurading it! Tsk. This is a disaster! The fifth day! Tomorrow is the fifth day? She wasn't sure anymore. Days have passed and frankly, with Kakashi sprouting out of nowhere, it seemed as if an entire lifetime have already been wasted. Wasted. Damn.
Now, where could that damned Lazarus eye be?
She stopped her pacing and decided to look around. Well, if Kakashi suddenly appears all of a sudden, she could just tell him that she lost something. Yeah, that would work. Just bat an eyelash and it'll be fine. She started to look in the nearest drawr, then the cabinets, then the boxes.. anywhere. Whenever an assault turns out useless, she scans the immediate surrounding for any possible hiding place and proceeds with her digging. Her hands were shaking, beads of cold sweat trickled down the sides of her face, but it'll be fine. Maybe he had hidden it somewhere. Someplace. Just think one at a time. It could be…
Her fingers scraped against something smooth but hard, and pointed at some angles. She struggled to reach the bottom of the deep box and found it. He had hidden it in here? Maybe he wasn't as bright as they say he is.
Kaiko frowned and inspected the circular piece of twinkling gem in her hands. This is the Lazarus eye, right? Not some fake replica of some sort? Her frown deepened. Then she looked at the box to make sure.
He had hidden the Lazarus eye with her belongings.
Oh great. Here comes the guilt.

He couldn't think of anything else to buy for her. Earlier this day, just as he had arrived from home, he managed to steal Rin from the hustles and bustles of work and inquired about a few things about what a woman would want.
"Hmm.." Rin had said, her brows dancing in thought. "It really depends on the woman. You should get her something reeeeaaaallllllyyyyyy romantic."
And that was the only answer he was able to get. Romantic. Now what does that word mean? Well, his learned definiton of it would involve something hot, steamy and stimulating, and it obviously doesn't apply to Kaiko. Yeah, they've done it but well, Rin wasn't referring to that definition of romantic.. or maybe not?
He immediately vanished the thought from his head. She wasn't referring to that, you little twerp. So, he was back to the preliminary matter at hand. What's romantic?
Well, he tried to talk to Gai, and again, managed to steal him from the hustles and bustles of work.
"Romantic, you say…" he looked up to think. "Romantic…"
And that was all he was able to get. Obviously, the highly spirited one was never acquainted with the term.
So again, the problem.
He thought about registering more help, since a lot of people in Konoha would be more than willing to help him. But.. BUT! Doing that would give them a hint about his personal life. Oh great, the entire village would find out that he's talking about romance. And even worse, someone else might find out. He wouldn't rule out the possiblity of Kaiko getting into more troubles because of him insert exaggerated worries here as well as visions blown in greater proportions and his reputation. And there's no way in hell he'd allow that to happen.
So again, the problem.
He clearly had no other choice but to solve this on his own. And that's why he bought her clothes. Women love clothes, or so he believed so. He passed by that garment shop and, remembering that Kaiko didn't really have clothes of her own, thought it was a bright idea.
Well, at least until he had already paid for the clothes and started wondering, is this romantic?
The answer he got was obvious..
And so he thought he should buy something else to give her… along with the clothes, of course.

This is the final step. Kaiko told herself as she looked into the crowd of trees ahead of her. Once she goes into that forest, her feet will definitely lead her back to the bandits. And it'll be her home once again. Her greatest fears will happen. Everything about Konoha village will be a dream. A twinge of sorrow gripped at her heart. Konoha village will be a dream. It was her habit to repeat things to herself, as if that would force some sense into her stupid little brain. And it usually doesn't. Usually.. but not now. The more she told herself, the more it made sense. She was never meant to be in this village. Her destiny was to be dictated by the Lazarus eye. Yes. That is what the old hag from her childhood had meant to tell her. I will find my place. And my place isn't here.
She wanted to take one step, but her foot refused to obey. Trecherous foot.
Kakashi is just a dream. He will not understand her anyway. True love, as far as she knew, involved lots of understanding.. and he didn't have that. He wouldn't have that. They are star-crossed lovers, and stories like that only find a dead end. This is the dead end.
She lifted her right foot and began to run before she could change her mind.
Goodbye Kakashi.

He was beaming like a brilliant madman the minute he saw the apartment. Going through a flight of stairs, he silently congratulated himself for coming up with a very good idea. No, actually he stole it from one of those naughty books with anonymous writers. His idea of romantic was, after all, derived from those steamy novels. The idea was simple, all he had to do was pamper her. She was a bruised, and he figured she's still terribly scarred, like that heroine from that erotic novel he once read, so all he had to do was make her feel good. Maybe he's patterned this after the novel, but Kaiko wouldn't know (unless she had read that erotic novel too, which, was impossible). Besides, whatever he's going to do, it comes entirely from the heart. He just didn't have any ideas so he borrowed from that dirty book. And he's not planning to entirely copy everything, because in the novel the hero jumped the heroine afterwards. No, no, he's not thinking about anything hot and steamy right now.
Oh, wait..
What did the hero do?
He cooked.
Kakashi looked at his grocery. He paid a visit to the market and requested for all ingredients of his favorite ramen.. however.. he forgot one very important detail:
He didn't know a single thing about cooking. Especially ramen.
"Damn!"
He thought of any person in this whole wide world who could teach him the basics of ramen cuisine, and thankfully, one from outside his workplace sprouted from his mind. Hugging the bag of clothes in one arm and the bag of grocery in the other, he swiftly retraced his steps and dashed toward his favorite ramen house.
Thankfully, he had sharingan to back him up. He was able to memorize the thing in no time..
Thank you, Obito, for the nth time. Elated, and extremely proud of himself, he gently knocked against wood. Once. Twice. No answer? Maybe she's asleep. He opened the door, it was his house, after all.
The sight of his place in total disarray halted his thoughts.
Kaiko… He looked around.. there was no sign of her… And then it hit him.
The Lazarus Eye.
Before he could take another step, he spotted the box where he had hidden the Lazarus Eye. And it took no further thinking to figure out that the eye was no longer in its hiding place.