Chapter 12: Coming to an understanding
A/N: Hey everyone! Since we've seen Cloud pretty much bash Kakashi on a daily basis, I've decided to do a chapter where they try to understand each other and become more civilized. Hopefully it'll work; otherwise Mikomi is going to have a hard time dating someone that her brother wants to kill constantly.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.
Enjoy!
/
It was another long day for Mikomi as she came back from her mission. With the village being short on manpower, everyone had to work twice as hard on their missions and had to do twice as many hours.
She didn't mind really. The pay was good and the missions kept her in fit. The thing that did bother her though was her older brother.
Last week, she had a few missions with Kakashi and Cloud just had to be on the team when he heard about it. It was bad enough that Zack followed her around like a lost puppy, but when Cloud joined into the fray, it was a bloodbath.
The Ex-SOLDIER made sure Kakashi was within his eyesight at all times.
He wouldn't let the scarecrow be near his sister unless he was around and he made sure than when they had to stay at a hotel for the night that she had her own room so they wouldn't have to share.
She was grateful that Cloud took his role as her older brother seriously, but he could go overboard sometimes. He wouldn't let any guys near her and he pretty much beat Gai to a bloody pulp whenever he tried to seduce her.
It made her wonder how she was able to have Kakashi as her boyfriend.
Running a hand through her shoulder length hair, she sluggishly headed back home. She wasn't really feeling well at the moment, but she couldn't complain. She had missions to do and couldn't afford to slack off.
Plus if Cloud found out that she was getting sick, he would lock her up in the house until she felt better.
"Damn my older protective brother" she muttered.
/
Cloud sat in the living room as he waited for his little sister to come home. He had a mission that he had to do in Edge, but he wanted to see her before he left. It was just his way of making sure that she would return home for the day and that she was alright.
Plus he wanted to make sure she wasn't around Kakashi.
Just thinking about the scarecrow made him growl. He didn't know why, but he just hated the man so much.
Maybe it was because he was dating his sister and he was suffering from the 'overprotective brother complex', but whatever it was, he just didn't want any guy to be around his sister.
With Akatsuki trying to get their grubby hands on her and Naruto, he didn't know if he could trust anyone within the village. He had seen people willing to give up their loved ones, just so they could live peaceful lives. It disgusted him so much that he held a secret grudge against the villagers. He was fine with the village, but the people of Konoha rubbed him the wrong way.
He just couldn't understand why they hated Naruto and Mikomi so much. He knew that since they had Usagi and the nine tailed fox sealed within them, they were labeled as monsters.
They weren't monsters. To him they were simply normal humans who were branded by cowards who didn't know what a true hero is. The villagers here simply hid from things that they weren't used to but when his brother and sister did something heroic, they would try to get close to them and claim that they supported them.
It unnerved him that whenever Naruto and Mikomi did something good, the villagers acted like they were celebrities and wanted to bask into the glory as well.
"Selfish bastards" he thought.
That's why he hated it when Kakashi was near Mikomi. For all he knew, that scarecrow was just trying to bask in all the glory that his sister got just so it would make him look good.
Yuri came into the living room and put her trench coat on.
"I swear, the ninjas in this village are either stupid or are breakable"
She stopped getting ready when she saw her godson sitting on the couch.
"What are you still doing here?" she asked.
"You're supposed to be on your mission"
Cloud just gave his godmother a shrug.
"I want to wait until Mikomi gets home" he said.
"I never leave without saying goodbye to her"
Yuri smiled brightly at that.
"Aww, isn't that sweet of you" she gushed.
"What a nice older brother you are"
"And I want to make sure she's isn't anywhere near Kakashi"
At that, Yuri's grin faltered. She knew that Cloud hated Kakashi a lot and she thought it was stupid. She kept telling him that he didn't know Kakashi well enough to judge him, but he just wouldn't listen.
She sighed and placed her hands on her hips.
"Cloud, I've told you this a thousand times. Mikomi is old enough to date whoever she wants"
Cloud snorted and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, well I think she shouldn't be dating anyone, especially when the guy is the same age as her brother"
Yuri snickered at that.
"Actually, Kakashi is older than you" she said.
Cloud whipped his towards her.
"What?"
Yuri nodded.
"He's 27, you're 26. You do the math"
Cloud's face paled drastically. Hearing that his little sister was dating someone who was older than him made his stomach churn.
"That's not right!" he thought.
Yuri just laughed at her godson's reaction. It was always funny to get Cloud off guard.
"Oh, relax" she said.
"Kakashi is a really sweet guy. And it's not like Mikomi is dating someone Jiraiya's age"
Cloud shivered at that.
"Please stop talking" he said.
Yuri just laughed and left to go to the hospital.
"I'll see you later" she called out.
Cloud sighed when he was alone again.
After hearing that Kakashi was older than him made him hate the scarecrow even more. That just proved that he was dating his sister just for the fame and glory.
"Why else would an older guy be dating a younger girl?" he thought.
He was pulled out of his thoughts again when the front door opened and Mikomi stepped into the room.
He was about to lecture her about dating people who were a lot older than her, but he stopped when he saw the drained look on her face.
He quickly got up and walked over to her.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
Mikomi looked surprised to see him still at the house, but she gave him a weak smile.
"Yeah. I'm just tired" she said.
She didn't want to tell him that she wasn't feeling good, otherwise he would have stayed home from his mission. Instead, she faked a yawn to throw him off.
Cloud gave her a skeptical look, but decided not to dwell on it.
"Why don't you rest before you go on your next mission?" he suggested.
Mikomi shook her head.
"This is my last one for the day, so I want to get it over with" she said.
"I just came home so I could pick up Zack"
She whistled loudly to alert her furry companion.
She grinned when she saw her pet wolf come hurtling down the stairs in a manner of seconds. Cloud rolled his eyes at his best friend's eagerness when it came to tagging along with Mikomi.
Zack gave Mikomi the puppy dog look as he wagged his tail.
"We get to go on a mission?" he asked.
Mikomi nodded.
"Yeah. It's one around the village, so it shouldn't be hard"
Zack cheered as he jumped up in the air.
"Woo hoo!" he cried.
Cloud sweat dropped at the sight.
"Are you sure you're not a puppy disguised as a wolf?" he asked.
Zack just gave him a look.
"You're just jealous that you don't have as much energy as I do" he said.
Cloud just rolled his eyes.
"Sure, you go with that" he said.
Mikomi smiled as she watched her older brother bicker with his best friend. She thought it was nice that he was able to reunite with Zack, even if he was a wolf now.
Cloud just ran his hand through his spiky hair when saw that he wouldn't be getting anywhere with the argument.
"I'm off" he said.
"I'll try to get back before dark"
Mikomi gave him a weak smile.
"Be safe, Ni-san" she said.
Cloud nodded and gave her a quick hug before running off for his mission.
Zack looked back at Mikomi and wagged his tail some more.
"Mission time!" he cried.
Mikomi just chuckled weakly and left the house with Zack in tow.
/
"Mission time! Mission time! I get to go on a mission!" Zack sang.
Mikomi chuckled weakly before cringing. She suddenly felt really light headed and staggered a bit as she walked.
It seemed that she was sicker than she thought.
Zack stopped singing when he saw Mikomi standing still. His ears went back, knowing that something was wrong and went up to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Mikomi gave him a weak smile and shook her head.
"Nothing" she said.
"I just suddenly felt dizzy is all"
Zack didn't buy it. He knew whenever his master was sick or not. But since he didn't want to argue with her, he decided not to say anything.
They continued walking for a bit towards their destination. Even though the mission was within the village, the place they needed to go was pretty far away.
Mikomi groaned when she felt her head pounding and had to stop again. She had to close her eyes or else she would get sick from the dizziness.
Now Zack was really worried. If his master was sick, then she shouldn't be doing any missions.
"Come on, Mikomi. Why don't we go home?" he suggested.
Mikomi winced but shook her head.
"Don't worry. I'm fine" she said.
"Let's just get this mission over with"
Zack gulped.
"But-"
"Yo!"
Kakashi and Gai came up to them.
Mikomi gave Kakashi a weak smile. Even when she wasn't feeling good, just seeing him made her smile.
"Hey you guys, what's up?" she asked.
"We just came back from one of our missions" Gai said.
"Now we just need to report into Lady Tsunade and get our next missions"
He blushed when he saw the rosy hue on Mikomi's face.
"Ah! I get to see the rare sight of Mikomi's rosy face! Even when she's exhausted from her missions, she still carries that heavenly hue around here! I could just die in happiness!"
Kakashi noticed this as well, but was thinking differently than Gai.
"Are you ok, Mikomi?" he asked.
Mikomi just blushed but nodded sluggishly.
"Yeah, why?" she replied.
Kakashi's eyebrows went down and he placed his hand on her forehead. He frowned when he felt his hand go warm.
"You're burning up" he said.
Mikomi blushed some more and quickly stepped back.
"I-I'm fine, really" she said.
"I'm just tired from my missions"
Kakashi studied to see if she was lying.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
Mikomi nodded her head, but regretted doing so since the dizziness she felt overcame her and made her pass out.
"Mikomi!" Zack cried.
Kakashi quickly caught her when she fell forward.
Gai shrieked like a girl when he saw Mikomi pass out.
"Oh no! Mikomi!" he cried.
Kakashi sighed as he carried her bridal style.
"Just as I thought, you are sick" he said.
He looked at Zack to see him whimpering over his master.
"Come on. Let's take her somewhere to rest up" he said.
Zack's ears went back.
"But we have a mission to do" he said.
Kakashi pulled out the scroll that was in Mikomi's pocket and handed it to Gai.
"Since you wanted another mission, here you go" he said.
Gai would have protested about taking someone else's job, but since this was supposed to be Mikomi's and that she was sick, he couldn't refuse.
He almost had an obsessive look in his eyes as he held the scroll.
"I get to go on Mikomi-chan's mission! It's as if I'm going on it with her!" he thought.
Kakashi just ignored him and looked at Zack.
"Alright, follow me" he said.
Zack groaned and followed Kakashi towards whatever destination he had in mind.
Gai was left drooling over Mikomi's mission.
"I wonder what it could be?" he thought.
He unrolled it, hoping it would be something good, but fell over when he saw that he was suppose to go to this elderly woman's house and give her a sponge bath.
"Fate is so cruel!" he thought.
/
Kakashi managed to unlock his apartment door while still carrying Mikomi at the same time.
"Why are we at your place?" Zack asked suspiciously.
"Shouldn't we take her to the hospital?"
"You know as well as I do that Mikomi hates the hospital" Kakashi said as he placed Mikomi on his couch.
"Once she woke up, she would wreak havoc on the place and run away. Besides, I don't think she's sick enough to pay a visit to the place she hates most"
Zack sighed at that.
"You do make a good point" he admitted.
Kakashi went to his sick and dampened a rag before going back to the couch and placed it on Mikomi's forehead.
"At least it's not so bad" he said.
"I think she just overworked herself with the missions got a fever from stress"
He ran a hand through his gravity defying hair.
"Although, it would be safe to call her family just so they know what's going on. Do you know if anyone's in the village?"
Zack shook his head.
"Everyone is out on a mission. Jiraiya is training Naruto and Yuri is busy at the hospital" he said.
Kakashi sweat dropped at that.
"What about Cloud?" he asked.
Despite fearing Mikomi's adoptive brother, he held a lot of respect for him for raising two Jinchuriki's willingly.
"He's on a mission, but he would abandon it in a heartbeat when it comes to Mikomi" he said.
"You'll have to get him on his cell though"
Kakashi nodded.
He carefully pulled Mikomi's phone and went through the phone book until he landed on Cloud's number.
He gulped slightly, knowing he was going to be on Cloud's death list when he found out that he was talking to his sister's supposed boyfriend.
"Good luck" Zack said.
Kakashi smiled weakly and hit Cloud's number.
He heard the phone ringing a few times until he heard a familiar voice.
"Mikomi, whatever Naruto's done, it's your problem until I get back" Cloud said on the other line.
Kakashi gulped and tried to calm himself down before he spoke.
"H-hey, Cloud. This is Kakashi"
He could practically feel the murderous aura emitting from the other line.
"What the hell are you doing with my sister's phone?" Cloud hissed.
"Where is she?"
Kakashi laughed nervously.
"Um, well that's the thing" he said.
"She's kind of unavailable at the moment"
"What's that suppose to mean? What happened?"
"U-um…just how far are you from the village"
"I'm in Edge, but I can be there in a couple of minutes, why?"
"Well, I guess Mikomi had a fever and passed out from it"
"Passed out? Is she alright?" Cloud asked with a slight alarm in his voice.
"She's fine, she's just resting" Kakashi said.
"But I thought it would be good if someone in her family knew what was going on"
He could hear Cloud sighing on the other line.
"I'll be there as soon as I can" he said.
Kakashi nodded at that.
"Ok. We're at my apartment since she hates the hospital and don't worry, Zack is with her"
"Ok, I'll be there soon…and Kakashi?"
"Yeah?"
"You do anything to her while I get there, I swear I will cut you up into little pieces and make it look like it was an accident"
Kakashi gulped and started to sweat.
"O-of course. I won't lay a finger on her" he stuttered.
"You damn right you won't" Cloud said.
With that, the line went dead.
Kakashi closed the phone and looked at Zack.
"Well…that didn't go as bad as I thought it would" he said.
/
They didn't need to wait for very long. Cloud was banging on the door just ten minutes after he hung up with Kakashi.
"That was fast" Zack said.
Kakashi opened the door and had to step back as Cloud barged into the apartment and went right over to Mikomi. He knelt in front of her and felt her forehead. He knew better than to wake her up, otherwise she would have hit him in a defensive matter.
"How is she?" he asked quietly.
"She's fine" Kakashi replied.
"She just probably overdid it with the missions"
Cloud sighed and hung his head.
"I should have noticed" he said.
"She was looking a little pale earlier"
Kakashi gave him a weak smile. He didn't realize how Cloud looked like Minato at this point. Whenever Mikomi got sick, he would always blame himself for not preventing it.
"Don't beat yourself over it" he said.
"Sometimes she doesn't know when she's sick herself. Once her mind is set on something, she follows through it, no matter"
Cloud gave him a tired glare. He didn't want to admit that, that was what Mikomi was like. Tifa blamed him by saying she picked up some of his habits, but he just shook it off.
When he saw her shiver, he pulled the blanket that was on the couch off and covered her with it.
"Might as well let her sleep this off" he said.
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He knew that Cloud wouldn't leave until his sister was up, so he decided to try to make this situation as less awkward than it was right now.
"I'll go make us some tea" he said.
"I'm sure you'll need it after coming back from a mission"
Cloud looked up at the scarecrow. He was tempted to slug him for bring his sister to of all places, his place. But since he called him to let him know, he decided to cut him some slack.
"That sounds nice" he said.
Kakashi nodded and went into his little kitchen unit to prepare the tea.
Cloud looked at Zack, who was laying at the foot of the couch.
"Keep an eye on her" he said.
The wolf gave him a mock salute and went back to taking a nap. Since he wasn't going on a mission, he was going to catch some shut eye.
/
"I'm surprised that you actually called me to let me know about Mikomi. I would think that would be the last thing that you would do" Cloud said as he sipped his team.
Both males sat at Kakashi's small table and drank their tea silently.
Kakashi left his tea untouched. He didn't want anyone, not even his girlfriend's brother, to see his face.
"It was the right thing to do" he said.
"I would have called Yuri or Jiraiya, but you're the more sane parent out of them. They would have made things worse. Plus, since you're Mikomi's legal guardian, you have the right to know first on what's happened to her"
Cloud chuckled weakly.
"Aren't you a kiss up" he said.
Kakashi sweat dropped.
"That's not what I was intending" he said.
"I'll admit, Yuri and Jiraiya can be childish when it comes to being parental figures to their godchildren, but when it comes to you, you take the job seriously. You act like what a real parental figure is suppose to be like, none of this childish stuff"
Cloud looked at Mikomi for a moment.
He would admit, that at times he wondered how Yuri was able to raise Naruto and Mikomi on her own like she did. She was so childish and crazy that he wondered if she ever took parenting seriously.
That isn't what a 13 and a 19 year old needed. What they needed was someone who acted mature and took their role as a guardian seriously. Not someone who acted like a child and had to be taken care of by their godchildren.
"Someone needs to take better care of them" He admitted.
"And godparents who get drunk and write trashy novels isn't part of that description"
Kakashi chuckled weakly.
"And I take it that you're the serious parent?"
Cloud scoffed.
"I'm their brother. Of course I take my role in their life seriously. I want them to know that they can lean on someone who will actually take care of them and not act like as if they were just their friend. I want them to know that they have a father figure in their life"
Kakashi's eyes harden when he heard that.
"Minato was their father" he said.
He didn't want anyone trying to take Minato's place. He was such a good parent and teacher that there would be no one like them, no matter how hard they tried. And if they did, that would be an insult to Mikomi. She already had a father and didn't want an imposter playing his part.
Cloud's eyes harden as well.
"Don't even start with me" he said.
"Already know Naruto and Mikomi have a father and I respect that. I wouldn't even think of trying to take his place. I hate it when people think that they're taking Zack and Aerith's place back where I'm from. It would ruin their memories and it would cruel to them. They're their own self's and nothing will change that. And if anyone has anything to say about it, I'll slug them"
Kakashi looked at him surprised. He didn't want to admit that he thought that was the real reason why he became Naruto and Mikomi's foster brother. He had heard about Zack and Aerith and how they were so similar to them. It angered him that Cloud was probably using them to replace the friends that he had lost. They were always treated badly in the village and to think that they were being given artificial love just made him mad.
But after hearing that this wasn't the case, he became to respect the chocobo head. He didn't want anyone to think that was the case and that he loved his brother and sister dearly. It made him feel at ease knowing that his old teammate was being taken care of by someone who really loved her like a sibling.
"I guess I don't need to worry" he said.
Cloud raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Kakashi's eye curled up to show that he was smiling.
"I'm just relived that they have someone who is really looking out for them and considers them family. I would hate seeing them just being used"
Cloud scoffed and finished the rest of his tea.
"Of course I would care about them" he said.
"If it wasn't for them, then I would probably be stuck in the miserable state that I was in. They understood my pain and pulled me out of my shell. I wanted to protect them from the people who torment them and humiliated them"
He glared at Kakashi.
"Especially from you"
Kakashi held his hands up.
"Me? What did I do to you?" he asked.
Cloud pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Don't give me that" he said.
"You're just like any other guy in this village. All you want is a pretty girlfriend that you can fool around with and show around as if they were some trophy. Don't think I haven't seen any of the looks you or the rest of the men in this village has been given to my sister. I'm just letting you know right here and now that if you hurt her in any way, that I will personally kill you and take great pleasure in it. I don't care if you were old teammates, I won't let you treat her as if she was some object, you hear me?"
Kakashi blinked for a moment before he started laughing.
"Oh boy! Now that's the kind of reaction I wanted to hear" he said.
He wiped a tear from his eye before looking at the blond.
"It just shows that Mikomi is in very capable hands. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical when she said she made new friends from a different world and that they didn't care that she was a Jinchuriki. And then when she said you adopted her and gave her a family, I thought that this was too good to be true. The only reason why someone would want to take care of a Jinchuriki would be because they find them useful and have them treated as tools. But now I see that's not the case and it relives me knowing that she has a good family who is looking after her"
Cloud just leaned back in his seat.
"Naruto and Mikomi are people, not tools" he said.
"And if I wanted something done, I would do it myself. I wouldn't get them involved"
"That's good to hear" Kakashi said.
"I'm sure Minato and Kushina are happy knowing that their children are loved…although I'm sure they would be even more happy if their daughter had a boyfriend"
A tick mark appeared on Cloud's forehead.
"Don't even start with that" he said.
Kakashi pouted.
"Aww, come on" he said.
"Why won't you let me go out with her? I would never do anything to harm her. I would die for her if it came to that"
"It doesn't matter. I won't allow anyone to date my sister. I even beat the crap out of Gai when he tries to seduce her. I want to keep her safe" Cloud said.
"I understand that" Kakashi said.
"But remember that she's 19 years old and can make her own decisions and needs to have her own freedom. The more you pull her in, the more she'll push you away"
"What are you, my physiologist?" Cloud asked.
"No, but I just know that's what will happen if you act that way" Kakashi said.
Cloud scoffed, not liking that he was getting advice from his sister's boyfriend.
Kakashi just chuckled.
"I just don't want a rift to form between you two" he said.
"You really mean a lot to Mikomi and I'm sure it would tear her apart if that happened"
Cloud didn't say anything. He had to admit that Kakashi had a point. After becoming so close to Mikomi and making her and Naruto part of his family, he didn't want that bond to be severed.
Who would have thought that this scarecrow would have helped him with that?
They both turned to the couch when they heard Mikomi groaning.
"My head" she whimpered.
Cloud was up from his seat and knelt next to Mikomi.
"Hey" he said quietly.
"How are you doing?"
Mikomi looked surprised to see her brother.
"Ni-san? What are you doing here? I thought you went on your mission?"
Cloud gave her a small smile.
"Kakashi called me and told me you weren't feeling well" he said.
"Why didn't you let me know you were feeling sick?"
Mikomi shrugged sheepishly.
"I didn't think it was so bad" she said.
She looked at her surroundings and grew confused.
"Where am I?" she asked.
Kakashi came up next to the couch and waved at her.
"Yo!" he said.
Mikomi's face went beat red. She was in Kakashi's apartment and was sleeping on his couch.
"Oh my god! I'm in Kakashi's place!"
She could just hear Aerith and Usagi laughing at her.
Cloud could sense her embarrassment, so he thought it would be a good time to take her home.
"Alright, let's get you home to you can relax" he said.
He picked her up and carried her protectively. Mikomi wrapped her arms around his neck since she still felt a little lightheaded.
"Feel better, Mikomi" Kakashi said.
Mikomi just nodded since she couldn't say anything.
"Thanks for everything" Cloud said.
He started walking towards the door, but stopped to look at him.
"You can see her every other weekend and she comes home at 10" he said.
"You bring her home any later then I'll have Vincent shoot you"
Kakashi looked surprised.
Was Cloud really letting him date his sister?
"Consider it as my way of starting to trust you" he said.
"You said you want to protect her, so let me see it"
With that he left, Zack following after him and leaving a stunned Kakashi behind.
/
"That was pretty bold of you, Cloud" Zack said.
"Giving Kakashi permission to date Mikomi"
Cloud just shrugged.
Mikomi looked up from where her head was resting on Cloud's shoulder. She was impressed that he would allow Kakashi to date her as well. It looks like he was finally letting her grow up.
"Thanks for that, Ni-san" she said.
Cloud rubbed her back in a reassuring manner.
"Listen Mikomi" he said.
"I know I haven't been your older brother for very long and I tend to be overprotective of you. But I just want you to know that I love you like you were my flesh and blood and that you have someone who is looking out for you. I might be going overboard with it, but I just don't want to see you get hurt. I know you've dealt with it growing up, but it's just not right. I just want to be the person you can go to when you're in trouble"
Mikomi smiled softly and closed her eyes.
"It's ok" she said.
"I'm glad that I have such an overprotective brother like you. Sure, you go overboard at times, but I'm sure you're still getting used to having siblings. I guess we'll just have to adjust to that…and me having a boyfriend"
Cloud snorted at that.
"I can't promise you anything on that" he said.
Mikomi just smiled and fell asleep in her brother's arms, feeling safe and secured.
It seemed after today, Cloud would start trying to respect Kakashi.
Keyword was trying.
/
A/N: so there you go. Cloud is starting to respect Kakashi more after what he did for Mikomi. But will last, or will he just end up killing him like he intended to?
Please review and tell me what you think.
Ja ne