Chapter 26: Maria

Author's Note: HAPPY THANKSGIVING to those in the United States! A HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to all my wonderful readers, and to all the follows/favorites/ reviews. Thank you so much for encouraging me to write! I am loving this hobby more and more by the day.

The barbecue spot was full of noise and laughter. When Kohana, Jiraya and the rest of Kakashi's team walked in, Asuma's team bombarded all of them. Kohana spotted Kurenai on the right of Asuma and waved to her. Ino and Choji dragged Naruto, Sai, and Sakura to their table where Shikamaru sat lazily, his eyes closed and arms folded. Asuma called out, "Jiraya-sama, Kohana-chan. Over here."

They pushed their way through the tables and reached the booth. Kohana slid in next to Kurenai while Jiraya sat on the left of Asuma. Kohana noticed that the both of them had their menus propped open.

"Didn't order yet?"

Kurenai replied, "No, we've just arrived."

"Where's your team, Kurenai?"

"Oh, they wanted to spend some time with their families."

Kohana giggled, "And you wanted to spend some time with Asuma, right?"

Kurenai and Asuma both blushed, and seeing Asuma flush red threw Kohana into another fit of laughter. Jiraya chuckled along with her, "Now, Kohana. That's enough."

Kohana hiccupped, "Sorry. But all jokes apart, I am really happy for you."

Kurenai smiled brightly, "Thank you, Kohana. We are too. I never imagined that I would have met such a wonderful person, and I certainly didn't think we would come this far."

Kohana tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

Kurenai glanced towards Asuma, and said, "Some Shinobi at our level at least are not very willing to partake in relationships. First, there's always the matter of time and energy. But, most importantly, it's about the things we see and the people we lose. It's hard to commit yourself to someone when you don't know what's in store for the next day."

Jiraya agreed and said proudly, jerking his thumb towards Naruto, "It's a hard life. But, look at Minato and Kushina, and whom they've brought into this world. When it's meant to be, it will be."

Asuma added, "That's true. It's good that I love Kurenai so much. Every day with her is worth it."

Kurenai smiled blissfully and extended her hand across the table to squeeze Asuma's. Kohana gazed longingly at their entwined hands, and said softly to her, "I wonder if that will happen to me."

Kurenai withdrew her hand and said, "Of course, Kohana! I'm sure you will find someone you love." She then said teasingly, "Then again, I think you already have."

Kohana blushed, and swatted her arm. She changed the topic, "Let's order. I'm hungry."

The dinner passed quickly. Asuma, Kurenai and Jiraya managed to divert Kohana's mind furom Kakashi's travels. Kohana mostly listened to her father recount stories about his childhood. Asuma especially enjoyed these tales as they included his father scolding Jiraya for his frequent bouts of ineptitude.

Naruto's table was located right behind Kohana's, and she caught snippets of their conversations as well. Naruto was boasting about his upcoming training trip with Jiraya, and excited about the new jutsus he would likely learn. Ino and Sakura were naturally quarrelling. Kohana giggled when she saw Shikamaru's bored expression as he idly watched his teammates converse. His posture suddenly reminded her of Kakashi, and she felt her stomach lurch.

She shook her head forcibly, and told herself, "He's fine. He will come back." Kohana didn't understand why she missed Kakashi so much. He was a friend, and she was sure that they had never seen each other as anything more than friends. But, why was it that she worried about him constantly, felt the need to see him, talk to him? Was Kurenai right? Had she fallen in love?

Kohana felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that Jiraya and the others had stood up. She saw a hefty wad of bills neatly placed on top of the bill.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I paced out for a moment. Are we done?"

She followed the others out the door and they exchanged quick goodbyes. Jiraya told her that he would see her tomorrow, and walked her back to her apartment. Kohana entered her flat and took a quick shower before changing into comfortable nightclothes and plopping onto the bed. She felt refreshed after having taken a bath and smiled contently as she wrapped the comforter around herself.

Several hours later, though, she woke to a quiet shuffling. Her eyes flew open and she sat up straight trying to adjust her eyes to the dark. The pale moonlight that filtered through her curtains illuminated the room just enough for her to make out a silhouette of a small moving…dog.

"Pakkun!" she screeched, her voice raspy.

The dog jumped onto her legs and told her, "Don't be so loud!"

"What? Why?" Kohana whispered.

"Kakashi's asleep."

Kohana asked cheerfully, "He's back? Hold on…why are you here?"

"Look to your left."

Kohana turned her head, and her mouth dropped open. Kakashi Hatake was asleep on her bed, turned on his side, wearing a pair of pants, a tight fitted black shirt and his mask.

Pakkun explained, "His shower stopped working. He forgot to pay the bill. I hope you don't mind that he used yours."

Kohana stammered, "No, of course not. But, why is he sleeping in my bed?"

Pakkun sighed, "I'm sorry about that. Apparently, he was too tired. I told him you might not take it well."

"No, it's okay", Kohana said quickly.

Pakun raised an eyebrow, "Huh."

Kohana amended herself, "I mean. It's fine. He just got back from a mission. Obviously, if it was any other day, I would have kicked him out."

Pakkun just shrugged, and mentally thought, 'I doubt so.'

Kohana clapped her hands softly, and said happily, "Well, Pakkun, do you need anything?"

"No, I think I'll go now."

Kohana nodded, "Alright, goodnight."

She watched him vanish in a poof, and swallowed nervously. She quietly walked over to her closet, pulled out a comforter, and tiptoed to Kakashi. She slowly laid the comforter on his figure before shuffling over to her side of the bed, where she laid down her back facing Kakashi. She took a couple of deep breaths and smiled contently. Her eyes closed, and she fell back into a deep sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open as she registered something hard underneath her head. Her eyes widened as she appreciated her current position. During the night, she had somehow managed to snuggle her way into Kakashi's arm, which was draped around her. He was still fast asleep completely unaware of their close proximity.

Kohana hyperventilated and she made an attempt to extract herself from Kakashi's hold.

'Of course', she thought sardonically, 'even asleep, he's unbelievably strong.'

She admitted defeat on her 5th try, and just lay rigid trying her best to minimize any contact and desperately hoping that he would at least move. As she waited, she wondered whether sleeping with his mask was something he did every night. She felt a sudden urge to rip the mask from his face, as she did not know what lay beneath. She thought she wouldn't get a better chance since Kakashi was asleep and at his lowest defense.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she shifted slightly so that she could touch the edge of the black fabric. She pulled it down an inch, and stopped, watching for any sign of unrest. His eyes remained closed. She continued to pull the mask down, but stopped halfway in disappointment. Of course, she had not revealed his face, but another mask.

"What does he need two masks for?"

"To stop people like you from invading my privacy", Kakashi said abruptly in a joking tone.

Kohana snatched her hand away from him.

"You're awake!"

"Good morning, Kohana."

Kohana narrowed her eyes, "How long have you been awake?"

"I've just woken up." He then looked at his hand, which encircled Kohana. He said sheepishly, "Ah. I apologize. I should have taken the couch."

He retracted his arm, and allowed Kohana to move back a few inches.

Kohana murmured something inaudible to which Kakashi didn't respond. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched.

"What time is it?"

Kohana glanced at her alarm clock, "10:00."

Kakashi cursed, "I'm late."

Kohana said, "Well, that's not unusual."

"I'm supposed to have met someone at the gates 15 minutes ago."

"Who?"

"Maria."

"Well, that's descriptive."

Kakashi answered, "Tsunade-sama appointed her as your second trainer."

"But, you're going to train me." Kohana said this forcefully.

"I'll be there whenever I can, but as you've noticed yourself, I've been away for long periods. I don't want my absence to interfere with your training."

Kohana tilted her head, and asked innocently, "Have you learned anything new about the Akatsuki?"

Kakashi's eyes widened, "How did you know about the Akatsuki?"

Kohana laughed, and led the way into the living room, "My father."

Kakashi shook his head in exasperation. " It's none of your concern, Kohana", he said sternly, "Anyway, thank you for letting me stay. I forgot to pay my rent."

Kohana scowled but said, "Anytime."

"I'll see you soon. I'll arrange a meeting with Maria so that you can meet her. She's your age. I'm sure you both will get along."

"Right."

"Ja ne!" he waved, before rushing out the front door, leaving a slightly irritated Kohana behind.

She traipsed to her kitchen for a cup of coffee, grumbling, "I don't need Maria. I need you." Kohana didn't know it then, but she had definitely fallen in love.