Thrusting her arms tightly across her chest, her dark eyes kept their hold on the face before her. She had to say something, anything. Perhaps something light-hearted, after all she hadn't seen him in a few weeks and had missed his face although she tried to distract herself from seeing him, with all those feelings flushing back towards her. She held up a natural smile, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear."Well you seem to be having a very productive day" she teased, looking at the green cover of the book in his hand. It wasn't very unusual to see him reading the Icha Icha series, he nearly always had one of those books up to his face, only putting them down when busy on a mission or training.

"Naruto and Sakura are busy training and as I have no other missions today I thought I'd better catch up on my reading" the voice replied, now tucking the book away into his back pouch, his attention now focused on the female standing not too far away from him. "I haven't seen you in a while, been busy at the Academy?" Kakashi asked, arms hanging loosely by his sides.

"Yeah, the graduation exam is coming up so alot of things need to be prepared. You have been busy lately too, now with your squad back and those missions. Must be great to have them back again" she trailed on, not knowing really what to say. It was something she couldn't help, even after all those years ago since she met him. She stared nervously at the ground, holding her arms tightly, covering up the loud thudding of her heart.

"Yes indeed. But they do get on my nerves with their constant squabbling" he chuckled lightly, raising his right arm behind his head, scratching his head a little.

She giggled quietly, letting both her arms fall, clasping both of her hands together, trying to sound more carefree and not so tense "Sounds fun. Although I'm sure your too busy reading to notice" she said with a sarcastic grin, lightening up. She loved teasing her friend, although he was nearly always serious most of the time. It was good to joke around and happily talk to him, only for as long as she could take. She quickly glanced at the sky, noticing it getting darker by the dawning minutes, desperate to get away from the awkward situation. She could feel uncomfortable already, her mind racing to those memories she kept locked up, quickly pushing them back.

He smiled, although it was covered by the dark mask which covered the lower half of his face. "I assume you have somewhere to go" he guessed, as she peered up at the side, gazing at the now darker sky. He also couldn't help but notice her unease, wanting to go as soon as possible. It was becoming regular now, he realsed but wasn't sure what was going on so he justkept quiet.

"Uh yeah, I have to help out at my sister's house" Ayaka quickly spoke, surprised he was so intuitive.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. I never seem to have the time anymore" he sighed, his focus on her gentle smile she always wore and her kind eyes.

"Yes it was" she said quietly, staring at the ground, holding her blush. She couldn't believe she still did that although she knew nothing could ever happen, deep in her heart. She too missed spending time with him despite the fact that she was almost avoiding him on purpose. She did highly value her friendship with him, but she didn't particularly want to get close to him, only for the same thing to happen again. So, not seeing him aided her recovery despite that she would love more than anything to just hang around with him, all day every day. She quickly shook that stupid thought from her mind. It hadn't been easy to get over her heartbreak. So avoiding him became a common fixture. But after a while, just before she started working at the Academy, he started to talk to her slowly, just polite conversation at first, remembering all the good times they once had but never mentioning their brief relationship. So they struck up their friendship once more, despite it being one sided, seeing him just brought up those odd feelings again.

She still couldn't deny her heart. It would still beat faster when she saw him, her cheeks running a red colour whenever she was close to him. It was all too much to bear, although necessary to move on. Not being easy, she hid her feelings, from him, everyone else and almost herself. She tried not to think about it, not wanting to destroy her heart any further. though it was hard to fix what was already been done. Not seeing him regularly was a big bonus, Ayaka didn't want to add to the damage that had already cast on her.

He nodded sympathetically, missing company. It could be pretty lonely at times so talking now and again with a friend helped to bring out his sprits, especially since it seemed they never talk for long which saddened him. "We should certainly catch up sometime, whenever we both have the chance." Kakashi kindly and politely replied, genuinely meaning it. "I shall let you go back to your business. I hope to see you soon" he exclaimed then turned away.

Ayaka warmly smiled, her feet kicking the ground soft. "Of course. Bye" she looked up as he left, waving, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. Soon. That word repeated in her head. She happily let herself forget about her precautions she usually took; just delighted he was there today. The black haired female looked away, hoping as to not be seen blushing. With that happy thought in her head, she was practically skipping with joy down the street, unable to think of anything else. She was happy that she spoke to her friend, that was all, she kept telling herself as she found herself opening the latch to her sister-in-law's house.

Closing the dark wooden door quietly behind her, she was soon back to reality and now longer in her dream like state of mind. "Naoko come back here!" the shrill voice of the fair haired woman in the kitchen shouted as she chased the black haired little girl wearing a light purple dress Ayaka had bought earlier on in the week.

"I got it" Ayaka enthusiastically said, taking the child by the hand and whisking her up into her safe arms. The girl looked up at her aunt's smiling face and petted her hair. "Aunt Ayaka!" Naoko giggled, wriggling in her arms. She set the two year old down on the sofa with the doll her mother gave to her.

"You seem, well, cheerful" Emi let out, slightly confused to her friend's sudden sunny dispositionas she stood in the kitchen doorframe, her mind on her sister-in-law's actions. "What's up? Was school that great today or did I miss something" Emi chuckled, poking her head back inside, checking on the dinner.

The warm feel of her rosy cheeks hadn't quite disappeared and started to get even warmer now. Looking down at the wooden floor then upwards, covering up her embarrassment."Yeah well I just had a good day, that's all"Ayaka shyly replied, sitting next to her niece, playing with her absent mindly.

"Okay whatever, you never tell me anything these days" the brown haired woman in the apron sighed, taking the food out on to plates.
She was normal quite open, sharing everything and anything with her close friend but when it came to him, she didn't want to say anything, it hurt too much. But it was so good to see him again it truly was it made her day infact. Then Ayaka's smile began to drop, feeling her heart sink. She shouldn't think like this. It would only hurt her even more. It was her plan to stay away from him, not get closer. She just would have to engross herself with work, avoid him more often. She quickly cheered up, content with her plan.

Ayaka and Emi took the food to the dining table, Naoko eating her rice and vegetables hungrily. Ayaka stayed quiet after her quick thought. Picking at the food without paying much attention to the flavours, she was too far away in didn't whether it was a good or bad idea seeing him again, perhaps both. Yes, both she thought. As they both cleared the table, Ayaka crashed on the couch, not saying much to Emi all night, knowing she would wonder why the sudden change of tone,her head going through her mind. Her long black hair sprawled out from under her head, resting on the soft cushion as she closed her eyes, letting the good feeling wash over her, trying to not letting it bother her for the rest of the night. Emi put her now sleeping daughter to bed and rushed off to her bedroom, saying goodnight to her sister who was staying the night. She hadn't asked any more questions, knowing she would fail miserably to get anything out of the quiet footsteps of Emi going to bed, Ayaka was finally alone. She could now dream happily, letting her feelings words repeated in her mind, a blissful smile leaving her face as she fell asleep on the warm couch, just forgetting all of her worries.