Author's Note: Where to begin? I am soooooooooooooooooo sososososo sorry for my delay in updating DX What has it been, 3 weeks? I'm sorry T.T At least it wasn't a year like my last big fic... XD Life has been really hectic lately so I've been unable to write much, but I managed to write this up during school whenever I had free time or got bored... and then spent another few days to procrastinate on typing it up v.v Anyway, it's here now, so I hope you all like it :3
This chapter is a classic, "If this were an anime episode it would be filler", type thing... I mainly just had fun with it, not to mention most of it was written on sleep deprivation XD Some of it may be really random and odd, but I'm hoping you guys will like it :) It's finally a sweet little chapter with some fluffy bits, for all of you fellow romantics out there X3
Please don't take some of this seriously XD
P.S. I had a review requesting Team Gai, unfortunately I was unable to incorporate them into this chapter :( I will, however, be sure to bring them in at least once in either the next chapter or the one after :3
Reviewers: ( I love you guys, seriously... :D )
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Thank you all so much for your support! *Hugs* X3
Kakashi ran a hand through his white hair as he left the Hokage's office, slowly walking towards his apartment as he tried to ignore his exhaustion. He was a ninja after all, and he to be ready to work for days without rest. He'd definitely become much too pampered since his team had been assigned to him.
The Jonin glanced up at one of his windows to see the light on, knowing he had left Erza to shower while he was gone. He hoped she had finished by this point, mainly so he could clean up, himself, before finally sleeping.
Walking through the door, he found Erza sitting on the couch, hair dry as she quietly read a rather large book, eyes scanning the page quickly. She still wore her ninja garb, but she had somehow found a way to clean it while he had been gone. He briefly wondered how, though quickly put it out of mind as she glanced up and smiled at his entrance.
"Hello Kakashi, welcome back." She greeted, placing the book on the table after closing it with a slip of paper to save her spot.
The ninja blinked in surprise before easily returning her smile, nodding in response, "Hey. You should probably get some rest soon; we don't need you collapsing from exhaustion or something. Getting kidnapped is tiring business." He pointed out with a chuckle, walking over to view the title of her book. He was surprised to find one of the schools textbooks, History of the Leaf.
Following his gaze, Erza quickly moved to explain, "Sakura gave it to me after you split off to speak with the Hokage, she thought I might be interested in reading up on the village." She explained with a smile, "She was right, of course, and she also told me about a dessert shop that's open close by. She said that you would know where it is and that I should ask you to take me there tonight, considering all that's happened… Of course, if you're busy or tired I wouldn't mind waiting." She assured him quickly, not wanting to burden the ninja.
While Erza spoke, Kakashi began to grow suspicious of his pink-haired apprentice, all too aware of what she was trying to do. Knowing her, he assumed she and the others would be waiting at the dessert shop to see how they're little 'date' went. Pretty clever on Sakura's part, he had to admit. "Alright, sounds good to me. My treat." He offered, gesturing to the door.
The red-heads eyes lit up as she began to imagine the types of cakes she could eat here, while another part of her brain grew excited at the thought of finally seeing Kakashi without the mask. He would have to take it off to eat, wouldn't he?
They quietly walked side by side to the shop, Kakashi periodically glancing around for any sign of the Genin he knew would be there. When he finally spotted them on top of the adjacent building where they could overlook the outside of the shop, he had to force himself to hide his amusement.
After a quick exchange with the guy behind the counter, Erza had ordered a whole cake with strawberry toppings to eat at the shop, the guy looking a bit taken aback as he glanced between the two of them, obviously wondering how the two of them were going to eat an entire cake on their own. As they walked towards a small table that sat outside, Kakashi choosing the table mainly to mess with his students, he caught them leaning forward as if straining to get a better look at them.
"Kakashi, have you noticed your students sitting up on that building over there? It appears they were expecting us to show up." Erza said with an amused smirk, quietly sipping at the tea one of the waitresses had offered. She kept her voice low so as to be inconspicuous, and the white haired ninja found himself laughing at the fact that she had picked up on that fact.
"yes, it would seem that way. They may be obnoxious at times, but you really have to admit that they have a certain charm about them. I think they might believe us to quite fond of each other." He added, leaving the statement open so he could gauge her reaction. He was pretty fond of her if he was honest, but he wasn't going to be the first to admit it. She was incredible, as a person and a fighter, and he found himself innately drawn to her.
Her eyes met his for a moment before returning to her tea, nodding with a small smile, "It would seem that way." She answered quietly, her words neither accepting nor denying the previous statement.
Kakashi quickly scrambled for something else to say as he felt the conversation come to a halt, speaking the first thing that came to mind, "About getting you back home, I was thinking we could check the area where you first appeared for any clues as to how you got here in the first place. We may or may not find anything, but I'm sure your friends back at your guild are hard at work to find you, seeing as it's almost been a week since you showed up here. They're probably worried sick." He spoke, his tone reassuring as he tried not to show his disappointment at the thought of her leaving. Especially since he'd already grown so used to seeing her. Sure, she had been gone a few days, but he'd still spent that whole time thinking about her. I mean, he totally didn't think about her. At all. Why would he do that?
Erza nodded her agreement, seeing down her tea as she began to think, "That does seem like the most logical course of action. I may be able to find some form of magical energy, hopefully a magic circle, that I can hopefully reverse or duplicate. I'm not Levy though, so I don't know whether or not it would work." Her words were basically gibberish to his ears, seeing as he knew nothing about magic circles, but he assumed they were similar to the summoning seals. "Though, if I can't reverse it, and the others can't reverse it, then that would mean I was stuck here… Without ever being able to see Natsu or Lucy or-"
Kakashi cut her off by placing a finger over her lips, only briefly wondering how the others would react to that before beginning to speak, "There's no use in worrying about it. We're going to do what we can from our end, ok? I'm sure they won't stop until you're back, no matter how difficult it is. I doubt they could forget about someone like you, it seems like it would be impossible. So have hope, you're going to see your friends again, I assure you." Yes, he was just that smooth.
"You're right, Kakashi… I bet you here that a lot though." She added with a chuckle as her whole body relaxed, "I can't imagine Natsu ever giving up the search, he's not the type." As she spoke, the baker approached with the cake Erza had ordered, slicing it to place a piece on Erza's plate before Kakashi refused his own, earning a frown from the wizard. "Are you really not going to eat anything?" She questioned, wasting no time in taking a bite from the treat.
He smiled, "I'm not really hungry at the moment, especially for something as rich as that cake. I probably wouldn't be able to keep it down." He chuckled, his stomach churning nauseously at just the smell.
"Oh… More for me than!" Erza smiled cheerfully, taking another bite. She was a tad disappointed that she wouldn't get to see his face, but she could deal with it. For now, anyway.
Kakashi's mind began to bring something to his attention, something he really didn't want to inquire about. Finally, curiosity won out and he was forced to voice his thoughts to her, "So… You talk about this Natsu guy a lot, were you dating or something?" He questioned, trying his hardest to look nonchalant as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away, pretending to be interesting in the boisterous group that sat in the store, insides burning with curiosity.
Erza laughed loudly, seeming genuinely amused as people turned to look in mild interest before turning back to their own conversations. "Dating? Natsu? Please, he's probably the last guy I would consider dating." She finally grinned after coming down, "I probably talk about him because I respect him… And he's like the little brother I never had, I suppose. He's brash and impulsive, not to mention destructive, and I have to admit that he's a more cheerful and carefree version of myself. He's gotten me out of tough situations before, and would never leave a comrade to fend for themselves. Why the sudden interest, though?" She added slyly, hiding her small smirk with her cup as she took another sip of the tea.
Kakashi was never happier that the mask hid most of his face as he blushed slightly, laughing sheepishly, "No reason, just curious! As my houseguest for the time being, it's only natural that I'd want to know things about you. What if some strange person showed up at my home and I didn't know who it was because you never told me? That person would end up in prison or dead probably, especially if he wasn't a Leaf Ninja." He explained, quickly formulating a cover. It made sense, right? "So, how's the cake here?"
The wizard was successfully distracted by change in topic, immediately changing to an expression of deep thought as she examined the remaining half of her third wedge of cake. "It's very good, I'll admit, but it's missing what makes our cakes back in Magnolia taste so good. Perhaps it's the magic energy they use to make it, who knows." She finally decided with a shrug, taking only a moment to launch into a full narration of what the cakes were like in her hometown.
Kakashi found himself smiling at the red-head as she talked, trying to figure out how someone as sweet and charming as her could turn into the strong and confident warrior he saw on the battlefield. If he would've seen her from afar, or only had only spoken to her a few times, he probably wouldn't have guessed that she could fight as well as she did. Quite frankly, he liked both sides to her personality. She was different from anyone he'd met before, and that was probably part of her appeal. Not to mention he's a sucker for intelligent girls. Her hair was nice too, so maybe add red-heads to that list.
Glancing up to check on the Genin, he could see their eyes glued onto the 'couple' as they tried not to miss a single detail. He saw Naruto move to say something, earning him a slap as she quietly ordered him to be silent. Why they were even bothering to be quiet at this point, he didn't know. He was sure anyone would know those three were up there, it wasn't hard to figure out. He saw Sasuke say only a single word, which he assumed was a derogatory term seeing as it was the Uchiha, earning an indignant response from Naruto who was hit by his pink-haired friend once again for breaking her orders. Note to self, make them work on sneaking sometime in the near future.
Looking back at Erza, he saw that most of the cake was now gone, a pleased smile on her face as she finished yet another slice. She could probably compete with Choji when he thought about it. He tried to figure out where all the food went, seeing as she was definitely not showing the amount of calories she probably consumes back at her guild. After examining her figure for a second more, he realized just where all those calories went. Not that he was going to complain about it.
Once she had finished the entire cake, Erza dabbed at her face with a napkin, having eaten with only the finest table manners the entire time. They made sure to pay the baker before heading home for the night, walking close enough that if his hands hadn't been stuffed in his pockets, they probably would've touched her own. He had to admit that despite his exhaustion, both mental and physical; he had really enjoyed spending time with Erza. She was definitely someone he wouldn't mind spending more time with, and a small part of his mind secretly hoped that she wouldn't find a way home. He'd probably never see her again if she did make it back, and he didn't really want to go through that.
The wizard was pretty too, beautiful worked better, and he couldn't help but continue to glance over at her as the moon and various lanterns cast a glow over the place. Not that he was going to tell her anytime soon, he didn't imagine she would welcome that too much. She didn't seem like the type of girl that wanted guys hitting on her. He could easily picture her breaking his nose or something if he said what was on his mind at the moment. He'd definitely been reading too much 'Icha', perhaps he should take a break? Hahaha... That wasn't going to happen.
Erza noticed his gaze as she looked over to the ninja, raising a curious eyebrow, "Yes?"
Kakashi once again rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness, silently cursing himself and her sharp senses as his cheeks warmed slightly. "I was just thinking that… I should've tried some of that cake earlier; it looked so good that I'm beginning to regret my decision." He lied, still getting a nauseous feeling when he thought of eating it.
Not surprisingly, Erza bought it easily, looking pleased as she smirked at him, "I told you to, but of course you didn't listen. Now you're probably regretting that, since most people do when they don't take my advice." She said haughtily, looking much too proud. He wasn't surprised that she would be a bit full of herself; it was only natural when you were that awesome. He liked that she was confident like that. Of course, he didn't have that same probably. He was awesome enough that he wasn't arrogant or prideful, duh. How could the great Kakashi be full of himself?
When they reached the apartment, he unlocked the door and held it open for her as she walked in, a quiet thank you being said as she immediately changed into her pajamas and headed for the couch, her hair in a loose ponytail. He briefly wondered about his three students, figuring they would be waiting for any more signs of romance between the two of them. Especially with Sakura at the lead, she wouldn't rest until they become a couple. Why couldn't she focus on her own love life and leave his alone?
"Goodnight, Erza." He smiled, remembering with a silent laugh how awkward the first night she came here had been, especially for him. Now it felt as if she'd been there forever. Of course, he'd prefer to have her sleep in his room, but he figured she wouldn't be too fond of him saying that either.
"Goodnight, Kakashi, sleep well." She answered with her own smile, placing the usual sword underneath her pillow, showing Kakashi it was there for the first time. Of course, he had already guessed she had something there, but he'd never brought it up. It would be useless against a Genjutsu user, but he didn't say anything since he didn't plan on leaving her alone for a little while longer so it didn't really matter.
Needless to say, he did have a dream that night. It was strange, but he had to admit it was one of his fondest. I mean, who wouldn't want to skip through a field of cake with Erza? It was a little creepy when he saw his students turned into cupcakes of course, but that was the only real issue with it. At least it didn't have anything to do with 'Icha' since he had allowed himself to read a chapter before falling asleep. That would've been awkward.
A/N: Like I said... A lot of this was on sleep deprivation... XD *Hangs head in shame and packs up writing career*