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DISCLAIMER: Naruto isn't mine. Despite my dreams. Just kidding... kind of... not really...

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Three
- PUNISHMENTS -

The Hokage had said that some other jounin was supposed to fill her in on the mission, so she had nothing to do but wait. She basked in the village and the happiness – it refreshed her. She was taking a walk on a random street when she saw the same man from the day before walking the opposite way as her.

He was reading the same orange book and looked completely engrossed in it. She frowned when she saw the title "Make Out Paradise". She knew it had to be porn. There was the title that helped prove it, the way that the villagers glared at him when he walked by, and the fact that he was entirely consumed by the "literature".

She didn't have anything against porn – she always thought of it as something all males take part in at some point and was therefore inevitable. But, he was reading it in public and she wasn't sure how to react. She knew she had to do something. When they were crossing each other, she gently but firmly took the book from his hands and stopped walking.

She began to read the page and lightly blushed. It disappeared quickly as her embarrassment turned to anger and confusion. Kakashi turned and stood in front of her and tried to get the book back but she kept it out of his reach and continued reading. All she said was, "Porn."

His face was red but he held his hand out and calmly said, "Please give me my book back."

"Porn. You walk around reading porn." Her voice sounded emotionless and she kept reading.

"Please give me my book back." He sounded more forceful this time.

Kohare finally looked at him and stated, "No. You don't even have the decency to read porn in your own home. You don't deserve this book."

"I'll have to take it by force, then." She could tell that his porn meant a lot to him, which wasn't a good thing.

"Try." She turned the page. 'Let's see what he's got...'

He made a fast grab at the book, but she was expecting him to. She quickly stepped back and his hand only met air. He started moving faster and faster and she kept dodging left, right, ducking, and jumping while still reading. Suddenly they stopped.

Kohare looked down from the book. His hand was cupping the back of her neck. He had reached to the side, planning to curve his arm around but she accidentally moved into his hand. She was only confused. No one had ever touched her in any way before except to hurt her. This situation was entirely foreign.

"Eh… gomen?" he said with his hand still in place. Her eye twitched. 'Who does he think he is?' He slowly pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck. She sighed, shut the book, and swiftly punched him. She left him dangling from a tree limb by his feet.

Kakashi slowly walked back from a meeting with the Hokage. He held in his hands his favorite book, "Make Out Paradise". He was reading another rather steamy part when a soft hand gracefully swiped it up. He turned to face the thief and recognized the woman from the day before. She was reading his book.

He tried to get it back from her but she just moved out of the way and said, "Porn".

He felt extremely embarrassed that a stranger was reading his own porn. He figured that asking first for the book would be the fastest way to get it back. Then, once he got it he would make sure to never cross paths with her again. He requested, "Please give me my book back."

When he heard her say "Porn. You walk around reading porn," with no emotion, he wondered what she was thinking. Most people would give it back, completely embarrassed, or at least start yelling at him.

Since he was the probably older male and she was the younger female, he knew doing anything rash could quickly and easily turn into an arrest for molesting. He tried again. "Please give me my book back." He could feel all of his blood going to his face.

He was surprised when he heard the woman say, "No. You don't even have the decency to read porn in your own home. You don't deserve this book." He knew for sure then that she was not going to simply hand it over.

"I'll have to take it by force, then." He was confident in his abilities.

"Try." This was now a matter of pride for him.

He tried to take it quickly, but she dodged. He tried faster and she dodged. All she did was dodge dodge dodge as he grabbed grabbed grabbed at nothing.

All the while she red his book and he finally understood how others felt annoyed when he read while fighting. Abruptly, she stopped moving. He was confused for a moment when he felt something soft under his hand. It was her neck, and he was holding her like he was going to pull her closer to him. He felt a soft pulse beating rhythmically.

Without thinking he said, "Eh…gomen?" Then he pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck, wary of what she was going to do next.

He saw her sigh, shut the book, and he felt fear like he hadn't in a long time. He saw a fist and then woke up dizzy, hanging from a tree.

He cut himself down from the branch with a kunai he had on him. Next he searched himself and the area for his book. She had taken it. 'Damn. It's gone. What the hell did she do with it?' he wondered. He was going to get that book back no matter what. His pride and limited edition copy were on the line.

When Kohare had left that pervert she headed back to the hotel to get more sleep. This entire village was tiring. She poured herself a glass of water from the mini-kitchen and brought it to the nightstand. She pulled out sweats from the pack she had bought.

Whenever she changed her clothes or took something out, she would use it and put it back. You never know when you might have to make a run for it – she liked to be ready.

She stood in between the nightstand and the bed, facing the bed. She started to lift her shirt up when she recognized the presence from behind her.

"What do you want?" she asked. She didn't stop changing shirts. Her back was to him anyway and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Yet another new situation. She knew most people would be embarrassed, but she wanted to get into some more comfortable clothes. It wasn't like they knew each other well.

"My book, please," he responded, his blush and nosebleed hidden by his mask as she pulled off her shirt. He expected her to stop when he came into the room, but he wasn't complaining.

"How do you know where I live?" she questioned, pulling the fresh, loose shirt over her head.

"I just want my book back." She leaned down behind the nightstand and stood up, her pants now in her hands. The nightstand blocked his view of her from the waist down.

'Avoiding the question, eh?' She stepped into the warm, inviting sweat pants, feeling Kakashi's creepy gaze on her. She was starting to regret continuing to change.

Kohare swiveled her head around and looked at him for the first time. In all seriousness she said, "You can have your porn back when you learn to handle it responsibly." She didn't know anything about people, but she couldn't stand the thought of letting someone contaminate an innocent place.

"And you already do?" he said, amused.

"Yes. Please get out of here now." She turned her head to the bed and started pulling the tucked sheets back out from under the mattress.

"Hai, hai. Oh, there's another thing. We're going on a mission tomorrow." Kohare stopped in her tracks.

'He's that jounin? Damn,' she thought, still facing towards the bed. 'He dropped the book subject fast. I wonder why he let it go so easily.'

"Meet me at the main gate 9 o' clock tomorrow. I'll debrief you later. Ja ne." and Kakashi disappeared.

What he didn't see was Kohare's eye start twitching. She felt a part of her that had been dormant for a long time stir and suddenly explode. 'That damn ass! He broke into my room, ordered me around and left!'

Kakashi hadn't ever left. He was watching from a tree outside her room – Hokage-sama's orders.

"I have a mission for you, Kakashi." The Third said as the door to his office closed. "Yesterday a girl arrived in Konoha. We suspect her of being the killer of the Mizukage," and he opened a file, revealing a picture of the same woman Kakashi had thought had an empty presence.

Kakashi gaped. 'Could that woman be the killer of one the strongest ninjas in the world?' he wondered.

"I want you to keep an eye on her, Kakashi. She'll be going on the mission with you. If she did kill him I don't know why she would be here, but just in case."

"Hai."

"We can more accurately test her skills and find out her intentions on this mission. She's definitely a highly trained ninja. You need to get close to her and learn about her, get her to trust you. It's like a seduction mission."

Kakashi sweatdropped.

"This mission is too advanced for the experience level of all of Team 7." Kakashi nodded, understanding that if they were to encounter the killer, the genin wouldn't stand a chance. Plus, they couldn't keep a secret and having them watch him 'seduce' a girl was not something he particularly wanted to happen.

"You're to go to the Land of Silk to retrieve a bolt of fabric."

"Fabric?"

"Yes. It is woven from a plant nearly impossible to find and only in the Land of Silk do they know how to weave it. It's a complicated process since its chakra amplifying properties gives it other unusual characteristics. It'll be with a woman called Futaya Sorane, she knows you're coming. Keep a close eye on your charge. If the killer is the girl, I trust you to make the right decision." The last sentence confused Kakashi, but he knew to have faith in the Third.

"What more can you tell me about her?" Kakashi asked.

"Well she matches the description of the killer. As you saw, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, high braided hair with bangs, about 5' 5", around 20 years old. The girl's name is…" he checked the file. "…Kohare. She already told the gate guards that she didn't know what her last name was." Kakashi pondered how that was possible.

"She's staying at suite 203 on the second level of the Tsubaki Hotel. I don't know anything about her techniques so be very careful. It will just be you and her on this mission- I think you can handle it."

"Hai."

"Dismissed."

Kohare arrived at the gate at noon, her new backpack slung across her shoulder – if it was the Hokage's orders she knew she had to go but that didn't mean she couldn't be late. As she strolled towards Kakashi who was looking as nonchalant as ever, she didn't feel bad at all. She knew that when people were late they should act sorry, but she didn't feel anything. Maybe because first, even though she was three hours late, Kakashi deserved it. He was a pervert. He deserved to be kept waiting. Second, if he looked so bored, he probably didn't care.

Kohare had slept in since she didn't set her alarm. She was planning on using it as an excuse to be late and was happy that it worked. A part of her also wanted to make Kakashi wait as punishment for well… everything.

"Gomenesai," Kohare said, not sounding apologetic at all. She realized then that she didn't know his name, not that she ever wanted to know anyone's name. Names lead to feelings. Scary feelings.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Hatake Kakashi. You? " Kakashi asked, as if reading her mind.

"Kohare." She didn't feel like voicing the excuse that she didn't know her last name and when Kakashi didn't ask about it, she felt relieved. No one had ever not asked her about it before.

"So what's the mission?" Kohare asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later." Kakashi replied. He figured that if she knew what the mission was, she might try to bolt.

She could feel a part of her wanting to pout. "You said you would tell me today."

"I said I would tell you later. Not today." Kakashi spoke triumphantly.

'One day I will kill you, Hatake Kakashi. One day…' Kohare plotted the assassination as she turned to leave.

By the time Kakashi had gotten to the gate, it was 11 AM and Kohare was nowhere to be seen. Usually he was the late one.

It worried him a bit, but he knew she could handle it herself and put on his best poker face. When he saw her approaching him he did feel frustrated and suspected that the object of her existence was to be constantly giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Gomenesai," Kohare said. It didn't seem very sincere to him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Hatake Kakashi. You? " Kakashi already knew her name, but he still had to ask.

"Kohare." He remembered that the Hokage said she didn't know her last name and so he didn't ask about it. He also figured that always explaining it would get tiring and he needed her to like and trust him.

"So what's the mission?" He had been hoping she would ask that.

"I'll tell you later," he said, suppressing a smile.

"You said you would tell me today." 'That's what you get for making me wait,' he thought.

"I said I would tell you later. Not today," Kakashi elaborated with smugness.

He watched her back as Kohare walked away and could almost feel the coldness rolling off of her. Getting this woman to like him would be harder than he anticipated.

I have the rough drafts of the next chapter done already, so expect it soon! It should be done in a week or less - check out my profile page for specifics.

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