Disclaimer: I hope everyone realises that the original cast of Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Chapter 19

"Natsuki I know you're awake."

No, my eyes are closed and I am ignoring you. I'm 'asleep'.

"You're only delaying the inevitable talk."

No I'm not.

"You're acting like a child."

Am not!

"Fine. Stay like that all you like Natsuki, I have the day off. I can stay here all day."

... Fine! I've got the day off too, so there. I'll leave at midnight. I was still lying with my eyes tightly closed and Kakashi's arm around me, when I was shoved off the bed. I sat up on the floor and glared at Kakashi, "I'm awake now, happy?"

"Immensely." I blew some of my hair out of my face, before gathering it all at the base of my neck and digging in my pockets for a hair tie, when Kakashi's voice stopped me. "Why don't you leave your hair out? It looks... nicer." I raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, before defiantly tying it back. Kakashi rolled his eye, "Suit yourself then."

"Mm-hm," I said, standing up, "I will- hey give me that back!" Kakashi lounged on the bed, my hair tie being tossed lazily between his hands. Damn he was still fast. "Kakashi..."

"Hmm? Did you say something?" I lunged for the hair tie, but missed. He just kept tossing the damn thing. "I thought you were faster than that Natsuki." I lunged again, but he was so damn tall that he just stood up and held the hair tie out of reach. "Are you going to jump for it?"

I glared at him, "Well I'll just go home and get another then."

Kakashi stopped me from leaving though when he stepped in front of the door, keeping a hand on me. "You aren't going anywhere without me." he said, before pushing me to sit on the bed. "Now, let's talk. First, why were you scared last night? And why did you come to me?"

I sighed, "I felt scared, like I was being watched. I thought in my scared mind that it might have been Madara, so I wanted to go where I felt safer. Azami's was out of the question; even if he did attack me there, although both Gai and myself could probably hold him off for a while, he could just use Azami as a hostage and we wouldn't do a thing. Naruto was out of the question; I won't lead that evil man to him. I came here because here we could at least hold off an attack, and there's no one he could use as leverage that couldn't handle the situation."

Kakashi nodded, frowning a little, but seemingly satisfied with my answer. "Have you ever had more than platonic feelings for me?"

"What?" talk about change of topic, "Isn't that a given really? At some point all not-blood-related relationships go down that path, however briefly, right?"

"You're avoiding the question, but I'll let it slide this time." He said, his arms crossed in a pose I knew meant he was annoyed, "You had better answer this next question properly."

"Or what?"

"We'll see..." I was frowning at him now too, but waited for his question. "Do you, or have you ever, loved me?"

My eyes widened, that was a pretty big question to drop on a girl. How am I supposed to answer that truthfully without saying that I do love him? "That's, erm, what? I mean, is that really the question you want to be asking? I just, erm, I didn't get the question."

Kakashi started stepping forward, closer to the bed and therefore closer to me also. He was starting to make me nervous, that single eye of his never leaving my face. I really wanted to teleport away from here, but I didn't doubt that either he or Azami would find me, so I really was just delaying the inevitable if I left now. Still... I was feeling really uncomfortable. Blink damnit Hatake! "You heard the question perfectly. Now answer it."

"I- I- I-"

"I have all day, I'll wait for this answer."

"I, Kakashi please, can't I just-"

"No. Answer, now." I couldn't voice my answer apparently, so I dropped my head and nodded, keeping my eyes on my hands on my lap. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long did you love me?"

'Did' I love him? He thinks I don't right now? "... Well I think I started a few months after I met you..."

"And you stopped seven years ago." Kakashi sighed.

"I-"

"I should apologise for forcing that kiss upon you before." Kakashi said, "It was wrong of me and it will not happen again. We can pretend the whole thing never happened if you want, I'll understand."

"Kakashi let me-"

"Why don't I walk you home now? Then if you're attacked I'll be there to help you-"

"HATAKE!" he actually jumped, good. I stood up – not that it made much of a difference – and walked over to him, before shoving him to sit on the bed. Now at least he was at a more reasonable height for me to talk to, "Listen to me for a second, okay?" he nodded, and I took a deep breath in, "I said I started falling in love with you a few months after we met... I never said I stopped." He looked shocked, so I thought I should explain, "I was really pissed off at you, annoyed, frustrated, confused and depressed after you left me, but I didn't stop being in love with you. It's not really something you can just switch off and-"

Before I knew it I had something tied around my eyes, and was pulled against a warm chest as I had the living daylights kissed out of me. Seeing as the person seemed shorter than me, I was guessing Kakashi was still sat down. But I needed to get everything out, so I pulled away from the kiss, but he kept his arms around my waist.

"Kakashi I wasn't finished."

"Finish later," he said, already pulling me back to him, "I'm catching up on missed time."

"But you were the one who wanted to talk!"

"We did talk."

"Kakashi!"

"I love it when you say my name."

I hope he could feel the death glare I was sending him through the hitai-ite over my eyes, and I managed to successfully whack him on the side of his head. "Kakashi you pervert, let me finish talking!"

"Hmm, fine." I was suddenly pulled forward, and I lying on top of him now. "Well? Talk."

"... I hate you."

"And I love you." His hands moved from my waist to cup my face as he guided my lips to his. Again, the moment his lips touched mine I began kissing him back, reaching out to touch his face only to have my hands placed on his shoulders. I let it be, I'd find a way of seeing what he really looked like eventually, and just sighed into the kiss. His hands were running up and down my back, not trying to grab a feel strangely enough for the pervert that he was. Then again, I doubted he told everybody he loved them. After a little while longer though I pulled away and leant back to rest on his chest to pull the hitai-ite off my eyes. Kakashi had his mask back in place already, and groaned in annoyance since I had stopped kissing him, "Why did you stop?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "You're acting like a hormonal teenager."

He seemed to be grinning under that mask of his, if there was one piece of cloth I hated in this world, it was THAT piece of stupid cloth, "I feel like a hormonal teenager when I'm with you." I hit his chest, which did two things. It made him laugh, and it hurt my hand. Damn his stupidly hard pecs! No one's chest should hurt my hand like that. I got up and started to leave the room when his hand grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going?"

"I owe you a breakfast."

I could see the grin now through the mask as Kakashi jumped up off the bed to follow me, "And I owe you a date."

"That you do, but for now..." I pushed him back, "You go wash and change. I don't need you following me around like a puppy, I'm not helpless, and it's just breakfast. Go." He pouted through his mask, but nodded, taking his hitai-ite back from around my neck and trudging to his bathroom I assumed.

He really was acting more like his teenage self, and I wasn't sure if I should feel this happy about that fact of not. Shrugging to no one, I made my way to the kitchen and went to check his fridge. I almost sweat-dropped at the sight. It was empty. I shook my head before grabbing my coat and teleporting home, grabbed a few ingredients for one of my favourite breakfasts; omelette. Teleporting back I heard Kakashi still in the shower, and went about making two omelettes. I wasn't the best cook, but the few dishes I liked I made really well. This was one of them.

I had finished cutting all the ingredients and was frying the bacon when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist. I smiled, but slapped the hands away, "The chef is busy, so you can only look, not touch."

I smiled at the grumbling I heard behind me, before a scraping of chair legs on the floor told me Kakashi had gone and sat at the table waiting for the food to be ready. I hummed to myself as I poured the beaten egg mixture into the pan and watched it cook, before flipping it and setting it on a plate and starting on the second omelette. I was finished quickly enough, and grabbed both plates and turned only to almost scream.

"Kakashi what are you doing?"

"You said I could look." I rolled my eyes at him. Kakashi really took things literally, didn't he? He had grabbed a chair and spent the entire time I had been cooking, sat watching me, or from the direction his eyes had been before I turned around, he had been watching my arse. Pervert. I side stepped around him and placed both plates on the table before pouring two glasses of milk. Kakashi looked sceptical at the choice of drink. "Milk?"

"What?" I asked, "It's good for you, and the calcium helps keep your bones strong. What do you usually have?"

"Nothing, I don't usually eat breakfast."

"But it's the most important meal of the day!"

"I prefer lunch."

"You're weird."

"And yet you love me." I glared at him across the table, but he was still smiling by the looks of his eye. I shook my head and took a bite of my omelette, "I'm signing Team 7 up for the chunnin exams." I choked on the omelette, gulping down on some milk and coughing slightly. When I had calmed down, I turned and glared at Kakashi again, already finished with his breakfast of course. "I... don't have the best timing with things, do I?" I kept glaring. "You knew this was coming Natsuki, you already know the outcome of the whole thing."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it. Can't you just-"

"No Natsuki. I can't change things just for my benefit, or yours, or anyone else for that matter. Things must happen for a reason. Sasuke must get the seal, the Sandaime Hokage must die, Naruto must retrieve Tsunade, and Orochimaru must get Sasuke."

I nodded, resting my head in my hands. "I know. You're right, of course, it's just so horrible. They're only twelve."

"They're genin."

"They're still children Kakashi."

Silence took over the rest of breakfast. I sometimes wondered if it would have been easier to have come to Konoha having no idea what would occur in the future. I think it would have been easier. But then, I probably wouldn't have led the life that I did. And if things happened for a reason, then there had better be a good goddamn reason behind all this. To quote a certain Hyuuga, this was my fate. But in the back of my head I knew a lot of people would get hurt, and I worried about one event in particular. Since Itachi hadn't defected from the village, who would come with Kisame after Orochimaru's invasion? And if it was who I think it will be, I sure as hell hope I'll be ready in case anything happens.

After breakfast I kissed Kakashi goodbye and headed home, stopping by Naruto's to check on him. I used my copy of the key and went inside, only to find Naruto sitting on the couch in thought for once. "Naruto-kun? Are you alright?"

He looked up and smiled slightly when he saw me, coming to wrap me in a hug. "Hi Natsuki-chan, what are you doing here?"

"I just came to check on you," I said, planting a kiss on his head. "Tell me what's wrong, and don't even try and deny it. My sister senses are tingling."

Naruto just nodded his head, and took a deep breath before he spoke, "Natsuki-chan, do you know what I am?"

Oh... that's right, he didn't know I knew. "You are my little brother."

"No, I'm a monster. That's why everyone hates me." he raised his sky blue eyes to me, looking so sad for once, "I have the Kyuubi in me."

I nodded my head, "I know."

He blinked in surprise now, "You know? Then why did you make me your little brother? I'm a monst-"

"You are not a monster, and you already know that. You aren't as silly as you let everyone believe either. And as for why I made you my family, isn't 'I love you' enough?"

"But you hardly knew me then."

"But I wanted to know you." I hugged him tight to me, knowing a day with my Naruto-kun was in order. The world wasn't right when Naruto was upset. "No matter what happens to either of us, and no matter what anyone – including the Kyuubi – says to you, I want you to remember that you will always be my little brother Naruto, first always. And I will always come to help and protect you, even when you don't know it. That's what big sisters are for."

"I'll protect Natsuki-chan too." He said, flashing a small grin at me. I smiled back, how could I not? Naruto's smile was the most contagious thing in the world. "So did you make up with Kakashi-sensei?"

Oh god, he's spending too much time with Azami.