We're at Kakashi's apartment, making dinner for everyone in 2nd Unit, when the room suddenly went dark.
"W-what's going on?" I exclaim.
What in the world!? Is this a lackout? A terrorist attack!?
"Haruno, calm down."
"Hatake... Ow!"
In my panic, I accidentally bump my leg on a table.
"Geez..."
Kakashi's hands touch my hands. An instant later, I'm wrapped in his comforting embrace.
"You okay?" he asks calmly.
How could I possibly be okay!?
"Calm down... okay?" Kakashi whispers softly in my ear.
His large hands rub my back like he's comforting a child.
There's no way I'm going to be able to 'calm down' while he's doing this!
My heart is pounding so hard that I'm worried he'll be able to feel it.
No. I've got to calm down. He's just treating me like a puppy. I can't read too much into this.
I feel Kakashi's warmth with my whole body. The more I try to avoid my feelings, the stronger they become.
Kakashi is my boss... I can't have feelings for him. I just can't.
"Whoa, Nelly! There, there..."
"Whoa, Nelly?" Hm?
"Uh, I'm not a horse!" I protest.
Kakashi chuckles, "Are you calm now?"
"Yeah, sorry about that little freak out," I apologize, "What happened?"
"I probably just tripped the breaker."
"The breaker?"
"If I use the rice cooker, the microwave, the oven and the washing machine at once, sometimes the power switches off," he explains as he stands in the darkness.
"The washing machine was on?"
"Yeah, it's on a timer," he says, "Ow!"
I hear a dull thud.
"Hatake, calm down..." I say.
"Jerk..."
I hear a witch flip and the lights come back on. Suddenly everything looks normal again.
"Oh... good," I say relieved.
"Damn circuit breaker..."
I hear the ding-dong of the doorbell.
"Oh, they're here," Kakashi says.
Kakashi and the men greet each other. Kakashi waves them in and the 2nd Unit guys the into the apartment.
"Cheers!" everyone says.
The room is filled with the sounds of our glasses clinking together.
"This looks fantastic!" I say cheerfully.
I praise Kakashi's efforts before digging into some clam sauce pasta.
It tastes amazing!
"This is great!" Naruto shouts.
"Delicious, as always," Sasuke says.
"Yeah," Neji says.
"Look. Shikamaru and Sakura are too busy eating to even comment," Sai says.
Our mouths are too full to talk, Shikamaru and I express ourselves by simply pointing angrily at Sai.
Few minutes later...
"So, if it's like that, then what's the Chief of Detectives trying to pull, anyway?" Shikamaru asks.
"He might not even have a goal in mind," Sai replies, "We can't rule out the possibility that he's acting under coercion."
"But that wouldn't explain the increase in the number of drug busts," Naruto implies.
"That's true," Sai says.
"We need to figure out what the other side is getting out of this," Sasuke says.
The number of drug busts has gone up since Sakai became Chief of Detectives. One would assume that a drug ring would see that as bad for business...
"We have no idea what either party is getting out of this deal..." I say.
"There's gotta be something bringing them together," Shikamaru says, "Somebody's gotta be getting paid."
"What if we took a look at case files from previous investigations?" Neji asks.
Kakashi sighs deeply, "That could be a problem. Old case files are all kept in the archives, but access to those case files is strictly monitored. If we tried to take a look at another unit's case, a record would be left showing what had bee accessed, by whom and when."
"We couldn't pretend to look at something from a 2nd Unit case, but actually check out some case files from drug-related investigations?" I ask.
"Old case files are strored in an electronic filing cabinet," Kakashi replies, "Every unit has their own designated area, and their case information is stored there. It would be great if it were like a normal bookcase, and we could just go up and secretly steal a case file off a shelf, but we don't have free access to other unit's folders.
"Oh..." I say.
"So basically, it's not that we can't access their case files, it's just that it's almost impossible for us to do so without anyone finding out." Naruto says.
"Yeah, that's out problem in a nutshell," Kakashi says.
"No access to old case files... This is not going to be easy," Sai says.
"If only we could access them while concealing our identity somehow..." Sasuke says.
Kakashi looks up from the table, "Well, that just means that it'll be hard for us to read old case files, that's all. We'll get to the bottom of this case another way. We're not just gonna sit by and let this corruption slide. Dirty cops make me sick," Kakashi says, punctuating his statement by tossing back a gulp of his drink.
"Boss is getting all riled up," Neji says.
"Man, Boss can't stand a crooked cop," Shikamaru says.
"He hates liars, always has," Naruto says.
"Always has?" I ask.
"Yeah, all the way back to when he used to head-up a motorcycle gang," Sai says.
"M-motorcycle gang!?" I exclaim.
"What? You didn't know about that?" Sai says.
"Yeah. If anyone really got him angry, that was it for them, and dislotalty was unforgivable," Sasuke says.
"Anyway, no joke, he was the boss of the whole Tokyo area," Shikamaru says.
"Hey! What the hell are you telling Haruno!?" Kakashi exclaims.
"Relax, it's only the truth," Naruto says.
"Hatake, are they serious?" I ask.
"I mean, the stuff they're saying isn't total fiction, but..." Kakashi replies.
"Is it true or not?" I ask.
"I just like bikes, that's all," Kakashi replies, "I wasn't into all those custom jobs with noisy, high-pitched mufflers. I love Harleys. That's the only bike for me."
"Oh..." I say.
Custom jobs? What's a high-pitched muffler? He must've been deep into this motorcycle gang stuff.
"I mean, fights would always turn into such a big deal."
I nod my head, "Uh-huh..."
So, he's saying he got into a lot of fights?
"Even guys I didn't actually know would name-drop that they knew me to try to intimidate their opponents. I always got stuck cleaning up the mess in the end."
So, he was so scary, that guys mentioned his name to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies?
"Is Boss really going to keep going on about this stuff?" Sasuke asks.
"Look at Sakura's face..." Naruto says.
"You can tell exactly what she's thinking, it's written all over her face," Sai says.
"Yeah. She's freaking out," Neji says.
"Somebody, help her out," Shikamaru says.
Kakashi struggles to explain his potty past. Meanwhile, the other 2nd Unit guys sit at his side, whispering secretively.
"But what're you gonna do?" Kakashi says, "I got them to straighten up their acts, so we could ride honest."
So he was able to unify the motorcycle gang in the end...
"Long story short... Basically, Boss really hates dishonesty," Naruto says.
Naruto places his hand on my shoulder.
"And his past is what made him the charismatic leader we've all come to adore today," he continues.
"I guess so..." I say.
He's probably right.
"Well put, Naruto," Sai says.
"You could have helped me out a little earlier!" Kakashi lets out an exasperated laugh and jokingly punches Naruto on the arm.
"Sorry, your story was interesting... I got all wrapped up in listening to it," Naruto says.
I guess you don't learn to be a self-assured leader without life experience. Or maybe it was innate leadership skills that allowed him to charm people.
It's probably a combination of both. I steal a glance at Kakashi. Kakashi sits, relaxed, with a knee up, and his chin resting in his hand. His right hand casually brings his glass of white wine to his masked lips.
His arms are so big...
I remember that, just a few minutes ago, I was wrapped up tightly in those arms, and feel an intense rush of butterflies at the thought. I vividly re-live the feeling of being held in the dark.
Gah! This is NOT the time to be remembering that!
Embarrassed, I take a big bite of bean sprouts.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me." Naruto says.
It looks like he remembered something.
"Hm?" I ask.
"The lights were off when we got here. What happened?" he asks.
*cough* *cough*
I almost choke on my food.
"Whoa, that was quite the reaction, Haruno..." Sasuke says.
"We struck a nerve," Neji says.
"Sketchy..." Shikamaru says.
"What exactly were you two up to, Haruno?" Sasuke asks.
"N-nothing! I just got a bean sprout stuck in my throat just now, that's all!" I say quickly.
I don't have anything to be ashamed of, but my cheeks flush red anyway.
"Alright, guys, don't tease her too much," Kakashi jokingly scolds the guys.
"Boss, what did you do with the electricity off?" Naruto asks.
"It wasn't that we were doing anything, really. I just tripped the breaker, that's all," Kakashi replies.
Yeah... From Kakashi's perspective, nothing happened at all...
I feel tiny pang of sadness.
"Whaaaat? That's all?" Naruto asks.
"Haruno freaked out a little in the dark, and umped her leg on the table," Kakashi explains.
"Boring. Sounds like nothing happened," Sasuke says.
"Hey now, don't go could have in the same category as you, Sasuke," Kakashi says.
"Nice burn, Boss," Naruto says.
"It's true though, if it were me, I wouldn't have stopped until..." Sasuke trails off.
"S-Sasuke!" I stutter.
"Boss would never. I can't even imagine him making a move on a subordinate," Naruto says.
"That much should be obvious," Kakashi says, "I'm in charge of this unit. I could never mix work and pleasure."
Ouch. I feel another pang of sadness.
"I said that I wouldn't cross that line, and it's my responsibility to set an example. How could you guys trust me if I didn't keep my word?" Kakashi asks.
Everyone nods in agreement.
"Boss, you're kind of awesome," Naruto says.
"Damn, Boss! Could you be trying any harder to make yourself sound cool?" Shikamaru asks.
"Hey, hey! No making fun of your superiors!" Kakashi replies.
I stand quietly to the side as everyone jokes around. I pick up the empty plates and bring them to the kitchen.
"I'm in charge of this unit. I could never mix work and pleasure."
Kakashi's words play on a loop in my head.
There's no way Kakashi would ever get involved with a detective in his own unit.
As I wash the dishes, I sigh for the millionth time. For some reason, I feel really down.
Wait a minute! What am I feeling depressed for!?
Suddenly aware of my own train of thought, I panic.
What does it matter to me if he doesn't date subordinates? It doesn't, right?
Kakashi is my boss. He's just nice to me because he's a good boss.
I shouldn't have a problem with what he said, but...
I freeze for a moment, shocked.
Oh my god! No! I... like... him...
"I know we were one person short out there! What're you washing dishes for!?" Kakashi suddenly says.
"Eeek!" I say, surprised by his presence.
*CRASH*
Surprised by Kakashi's sudden appearance, I get flustered and drop a plate.
"I-I'm sorry!" I stutter and apologize quickly.
I hurry to clean up the broken plate pieces.
"Ow!"
My index finger starts bleeding.
"Hey! You okay?"
Kakashi gently takes my hand in his own.
"You're bleeding."
Worried, he looks into my eyes.
"I'm okay. It's nothing serious," I assure him.
The cut on my finger aches in pain.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have let you wash the dishes..." he apologizes.
The hand Kakashi is so gently holding burns with heat. My heart starts beating like crazy. My body feels hot all over.
What is this? Why do I...? Why does this happen to me when I'm close to him?
"Haruno? Are you alright?" he asks.
I close my eyes tightly and try to quiet my racing heart.