Officially, a DateMe entry. It'll be my first challenge :)
Anyways, here's the second part of Innocence.
I had a bit of trouble with it, hence why it's being updated four or five days later than the first chapter. Hope you guys do enjoy though :)
Innocence, cont...
The lunch bell rang and doors slid open as students exited them, all chatting excitedly. Kakashi nodded to the few students that always opted to eat in the classroom, rather than venturing out and risk being late to class, before slipping out the door, thoughts on his empty stomach and the bento he had not had time to pack this morning.
Catching sight of a snack machine, Kakashi made his way over to it, stuffing a hand into his pants pocket in search of change. His fingers grasped nothing but air and lint, to his disappointment. Kakashi let a finger slide down the wall of glass separating him from the sugary snacks in the vending machine with a depressed sigh.
'What a day to not bring any spare change...'
Scuffing his feet slightly on the polished floors of the school, Kakashi made his way grudgingly out of the school building, intent on grabbing a few rice balls at the nearest convenience store. As he stepped out the side exit door, the faintest hint of pickled vegetables and lightly fried meat hit him, sending all his senses and complaining stomach into overdrive. His nose twitched slightly as he followed the direction of the mouth-watering scent of food, his mouth salivating just the slightest.
His steps led him behind the school, where one could see, from a nice vantage spot, the sports fields. The view was only somewhat obstructed by the large trees that made Konoha High so well-known. Walking curiously, Kakashi examined the famed "dirty and disgusting" back of the school. His eye took in the clean and evenly-mowed grass and the trimmed bushes that bordered the side of school with interest. His steps stopped when his eye finally found a bed of flowers, each placed carefully in their spot, creating a beautiful mix of color. Reds bloomed proudly, yellows swayed with the wind invitingly, whites stood alone, their magnificent heads held up with arrogance.
Kakashi felt his heart stop when he caught sight of a small sprig of delicate, tiny flowers, off to the side in a little group, looking for all the world to be an afterthought, a last-minute decision. Pale lavender petals fluttered in the wind, the thin stems looking like they would snap with even the lightest of blows.
Involuntarily, his mind wandered to her, the flowers triggering a forceful reminder. He almost smiled at the thought.
They both shared the same ability to make him stop in his tracks, hopelessly lost in the serenity and beauty of their appearance.
He felt himself take a step closer, a profound feeling niggling at his chest, making him want to more closely observe the beauty that he had accidentally stumbled acro-
Clunk!
Kakashi nearly jumped at the surprising noise, but managed to get a hold of himself in time. Turning to face where the loud noise had come from, Kakashi felt his heart leap at the sight that greeted him.
Sitting on concrete steps was the person that had occupied his mind these past few days, the thought of her always sneaking in, images of how her eyes always widened so widely when she was surprised, or how her cheeks would color so brightly when she stammered over a few pieces of text when reading out-loud readings in his class always popping up randomly.
She was doing both of those things right now, the beginnings of a blush starting to color her cheeks as she stared at him in unconcealed shock, a pair of chopsticks halfway raised to her lips. Kakashi noted with interest that a few grains of rice were escaping the shaky grip of her chopsticks... His stomach gave a loud rumble at the thought of food, every single one of his senses reawakening in the presence of it, all packaged neatly in the sleek bento box in the girl's pale, trembling hands.
"K-Kakashi-s-sensei?"
An unsettling sense of deja vu hit him, making the corners of his lips twitch.
"It's a surprise to see anyone back here, Hyuuga-san."
The words from so long ago—had it only been a week?—were altered only slightly and enunciated in the same tone as the one he used before. Kakashi was gratified to see the girl's eyes widen in recognition as she stared at him, but she quickly averted her gaze. She placed her chopsticks unsteadily on the corner of her half-eaten bento box before bowing her head and murmuring a few indistinct words, her hands already in the motion of picking up her things.
Recognizing these actions, Kakashi took a few steps forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to stop her.
Was it wrong of him to notice how his hand nearly engulfed her shoulder?
"You're still eating, right, Hyuuga-san? It's fine if you stay."
The girl shook her head before muttering out a few words. "N-no, it's fine, I w-was just finishing up a-anyways, Kakashi-sensei."
Marveling at the softness of her voice, Kakashi shook his head stubbornly before letting go of her.
"You were still eating. It's better to fill your stomach now, so you won't go hungry later. Wouldn't want your stomach growling during my class, now would we?" he added as an afterthought, chuckling a little when he saw the look of absolute mortification on her face.
The girl wavered for a few seconds before finally releasing a short sigh. She sat down smoothly and opened the bento she had hurriedly packed away, grabbing her chopsticks with precision. Kakashi watched her pick at the white rice that contrasted sharply with the dark color of the bento for a few moments before releasing a frustrated sigh.
Plopping himself next to her, Kakashi pointed at the food in her hands, ignoring the shocked look that crossed the girl's face.
"If you're not going to eat that, it's better not to waste it."
The girl's lips opened before she mutely closed it. She looked at the bento box carefully before turning to look at him, a look of understanding suddenly dawning on her face.
"I-I'm not hungry..." She bit her lips, something Kakashi couldn't help but notice, before continuing. "S-so if you w-want it, Kakashi-sensei... G-go ahead..."
The delicious plate of food before him was too much. Kakashi just couldn't resist the temptation anymore.
"Thank you," he said in an almost breathless tone as he stuffed himself, not even letting the few seconds of saying "Itadakimasu" distract him from this appetizing meal in front of him.
"Y-you're welcome?"
--
His feet were moving of their own accord, ignoring the muted yells ringing in his head.
They were taking the run-down path to the back of the school without his permission, his steps mysteriously light against the dusty ground.
'This isn't right.'
He couldn't possibly be feeling hopeful about spending lunch with a teenage girl, one who was barely eighteen, barely adult. One who enjoyed watching a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy spend his days running soccer drills every day, one who was in the gardening club, one who had marked "teacher" as her career of choice.
One whose eyes were a beautiful shade of lavender, the paleness of them its purest form. One who talked so softly that he had to strain his ears to hear her hesitant words. One who had no qualms about talking to air, letting her voice color it with the innocence of a young girl in love.
One who was currently staring at him, her radiant pale lavender eyes widened in shock, the dark lashes that framed them enhancing the surprised look.
Kakashi felt the protests that were mumbling half-hearted warnings in his head crumble into ashes, the faint wisps of them fading away when he saw the way her lips slowly curved upward into a small, welcoming smile.
Lifting up the small box in his hands, Kakashi grinned, his eye crinkling lightheartedly as he did so.
"I brought my own lunch today."
--
The sky was dreary and overcast, a promise of heavy rains and loud thunderstorms in them. As if to tease, raindrops started splattering against the windows, started pouring onto the grassy areas and into the school grounds.
Kakashi felt his heart drop at the rain. It looked like a lunch with Hinata wasn't possible today...
It was with heavy steps that Kakashi trudged down the stairway, a pout almost on the verge of forming on his lips. The dreary mood that followed him turned sour when he heard loud claps of thunder in the distance. Girls squealed up and down the hallways and were instantly followed by boys' teasing shouts.
Kakashi turned the corner uninterestedly, a hand rubbing at the eye covered by a dark scarf. He looked down the empty hallway curiously, wondering where the students had all gone.
Loud yells suddenly erupted up the stairs, making Kakashi jolt in surprise.
"Hyuuga confessed to Uzumaki!"
"Ehh?! No way!"
Kakashi's eye widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. A sinking feeling settled in his heart, one that made him feel vaguely sick.
Leaning against the cold walls of the school, Kakashi placed a hand over his eyes as he reclined his head back, his silver strands crushed against the off-white walls.
'So she finally did it...'
He wasn't jealous, not really. He had known all along that she harbored feelings for the enthusiastic, dense blonde, that much had been revealed in their first, accidental non-instructional meeting.
He wasn't jealous, not really.
The painful thudding of his heart wasn't serious, just a curious symptom the storm had brought. The ragged breaths that escaped his lips didn't mean anything; he was just hungry...
His mind involuntarily brought forth peaceful lunches spent in the calming presence of the stuttering, blushing girl. His lips curved into a small smile as he remembered the way her cheeks would always blush prettily when he complimented the beauty of the garden, and the way her eyes would light up when talking about gardening and the different types of flowers there were, and the way...
His fists clenched painfully, his nails digging deeply into the palms of his hand.
'Hinata...'
--
Priceless masterpieces, works of art, awe-inspiring pieces...
As a teacher, Kakashi saw numerous of those, artworks he could admire, but never touch, all in the form of giggling school girls.
He had never been an artistic person, though, so it didn't really matter to him, whether he could touch it or not.
Young blooming flowers in the midst of their youth, as a flamboyant colleague of his had once said, had no appeal to him, were not interesting in the slightest. Their admiring looks made him shiver, their misguided confessions made him sigh.
Yet, with one look, one single innocent gaze, he found himself staring after her, his neck craning to catch the sight of indigo strands flying around a corner. He found himself spending his days thinking about her, his thoughts focused on the way her eyes curved when she giggled, when she laughed, when she tried her hardest to frown indignantly at something provocative he'd said, only to fail miserably. He found himself laughing, in spite of himself, found himself enjoying the company of another person.
Never had Kakashi been so intrigued by a single person, so interested.
It made sense, though, to Kakashi, in a way.
Hyuuga Hinata wasn't a piece of art, something to be admired from afar, never to be touched.
A child's drawing.
In her was the innocence one could find in the doodles of a child who could hardly hold up a crayon, their pudgy fingers clumsily clutching at it.
She was beautiful, in that way.
Her curious gaze had drawn him in, captured him in a deepening abyss, one that promised him nothing but harsh words and fearsome lawsuits.
Kakashi couldn't find it in himself to care though, not when he was watching her stand lostly, off to the side, her eyes still rimmed red and her cheeks still tear-streaked, drenched in the pouring rain, rejected by the one she had loved for so long. Kakashi didn't know how she could still stand there, could still stand to watch the boy who had casually brushed off her confession, her heart-felt words, with a simple teasing smile, disbelief coloring his every feature.
Her breaths could be seen clearly in the misting rain, their white puffs swirling in the air. Her indigo locks clung to her cheeks in clumps, soaked by the rain, and her clothes hugged her tightly, making her trembling shivers even more pronounced. Her cheeks were flushed darkly, a sure sign of sickness.
Kakashi strode forward, the umbrella in his hands flying open in his haste. His shoes squished in the rain-soaked ground, catching her attention, and an expression of shock slowly settled on her weary features. Pushing past her half-hearted greeting, he thrusted the umbrella into her hands, ignoring the look of confusion on her face as she gripped the handle loosely.
"It's raining."
As if to prove the point, the rain started pouring down even harder. Kakashi stared up at the moody sky for a few seconds before shaking his head, trying to clear up the drops that had landed on his face.
"Y-you need it, though..."
Kakashi smiled at her hesitant words. letting a small hint of amusement cross his face.
"Ah, but I don't need it as much as you do."
The girl flushed as she looked down at herself, seeming to have suddenly realized her drenched state. Looking back up, she stared at him, a hidden question in her pearly, swollen eyes.
Why?
Running a hand through his rain-drenched hair, Kakashi shrugged his shoulders vaguely.
"I guess I just don't like to see people crying in the rain."
The girl flinched slightly at his words, probably having thought that the rain would have disguised her heart-breaking tears.
How naive.
--
Hyuuga Hinata was beautiful, something Kakashi had concluded shortly after their first accidental meeting.
Beautiful in ways that he just couldn't describe.
Kakashi had fallen, had let her in through the chinks in his walls, and unknowingly, she had found a way into his heart, through her curious gazes, her soft smiles, and her blushing cheeks. In a moment of weakness, he had let his heart feel the warmth of her innocence and gentle spirit.
And there was no way he would step back into the coldness again willingly.
--
Taking a few steps forward, Kakashi suddenly turned around, a questioning smile on his face.
"Why don't we get you changed out of those clothes and get something warm to drink?"
Not waiting for her answer, Kakashi stuffed his hands into his pants pockets and walked away from the school entrance, thoughts swirling around in his head.
The sound of hesitant footsteps sounded from behind him, making Kakashi smile. The rain that was pattering his head in an increasingly annoying way suddenly disappeared, blocked by a familiar umbrella, one that closely resembled the one he had given away just moments earlier.
"Y-you need it, t-too, Kakashi-sensei," murmured a soft voice at his side. "Or else you'll get s-sick."
He was feeling so warm all of a sudden.
Noticing how Hinata was standing on the top of her toes to hold up the umbrella to his height, Kakashi took it from her, a small grin growing on his lips.
"Hot chocolate?"
With an embarrassed blush, she nodded, the corner of her pale lavender eyes peering up to look at him, a faint smile on her lips.
"W-with marshmallows?"
So mysteriously warm.
Kakashi ruffled her soaked hair with an amused crease in his eye.
"With marshmallows."