Chapter 31!
Title: "Doors and Distractions –Pt. 1"
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!
Note: I couldn't cut this anywhere without completely ruining the feel I wanted for it, so I've uploaded two chapters at once!
Twice the chapters for half the wait!
lol XD
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He reached for the doorknob, contemplating if he should turn it or not.
…
Answering this door would not only be opening a door to some pesky visitors, but would be opening the door to all sort of dangerous possibilities.
But it couldn't be too bad, right?
Just as Kakashi turned the knob, deciding to put some faith in the mercy of the universe, the door immediately barged open, barely missing Kakashi's face as it flew ajar, causing a great gust of wind.
"We brought DRINKS!!!"
And with that, a rush of overly hyper Jounins crashed into the apartment, all of them scrambling to take off their sandals at the same time, others just walking passed the still-unmoved Kakashi to get inside the, soon-to-be-cramped, apartment.
Kakashi finally let out a sigh when the stampede passed him entirely, dozens of identical blue sandals lined up in front of his door.
Ah… the classic 'Let's-have-a-party-at-the-injured-guy's-place'-Party…
This curious custom started with the simple 'get-well' party, but now, over the years, it's evolved into more of an excuse for the, usually responsible, Jounins to act like normal adults for a couple hours, and possibly get drunk.
People would be surprised how many Jounins practically turned into Naruto when they had free time to spend and free alcohol to drink.
(Anybody who attended the Masquerade could offer their testimony.)
It wasn't a side that they showed publicly, of course… these get-togethers were like those secret military meetings, where instead of maps and platform documents, they exchanged jokes and drinks…
The Jounins' private irresponsibility must have something to do with their constantly dangerous lifestyles… Jounins always had more steam to let out than the others…
Even so, it was still pretty rare for the Jounins to have so much fun in only a few days…. A 'social fundraiser', and now a 'get-well'-party?...
This must be a lucky week for the top shinobi of Konoha… except for Kakashi, who had already had his fill of party-induced drama to last a few more months.
…
Kakashi limped back into the hallway, as he lamented over getting injured for very different reasons than before.
He decided to pull on his teacher-face and try to calm down the overly excited Gai and Anko who seemed to be spreading the excitement already by dragging chairs and cushions into Kakashi's bedroom.
Kakashi limped after them, the cut on his hip acting up a little.
He followed the crowd into his own room.
"Why does everybody always go straight to my bedroom?" Kakashi asked no one as he walked into the doorway.
Anko immediately started laughing at the context-less, rhetorical question. Other snickers joined in.
…
Looks like the maturity level in this room just went below sea level…
…
Just as the snickers were dying down, there was an uproar after the next statement.
"That's because we all know how much your bedroom needs some traffic!" Kakashi immediately recognized Osuzaki's voice, not only because of the gruff tone, but because he was about the only man who would constantly joke about Kakashi's lack of a love-life… or night-life, at least.
Kakashi shook his head with a begrudging smile, acknowledging Osuzaki, whose arm was in a sling, with a raised hand.
It was also another silently-agreed-upon custom to make fun of the 'injured-guy'…
Kakashi couldn't exactly think of their excuse to joke about the wounded, but he wasn't going to push the matter if they were only going make these kinds of jokes… the kind that didn't really apply to him anymore…
"That's only because he's saving himself for marriage…" Kakashi couldn't catch whoever said that one.
"That's enough, now…" The 'injured-guy' spoke up, feeling a little obligated to turn down that severe exaggeration,… which had already been proven wrong many years ago.
Everybody laughed on their own at Kakashi's bachelor-life (or lack thereof)… everyone except a very awkward Iruka in the corner, who was having a hard time pretending to laugh.
Kakashi could imagine the thoughts going through Iruka's mind.
Iruka was the only one that knew, other than himself, that he wasn't exactly single anymore… and that this bedroom did have a guest not too long ago.
Though it wasn't exactly the kind of situation these hyper Jounins were discussing.
…
But as if this conversation wasn't enough to make Sakura's presence completely out of the question, Kakashi could see how much worse things were going to get as soon as that sake bottle took a couple trips around the room.
Hopefully they don't get too out of hand… this time…
Kakashi prayed to himself as he found his spot on his bed again, preparing himself for further immature jokes and jabs…
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Why is time going so slowly?
I complained in my mind as I locked the bathroom door behind me, peach-colored towels in my arms.
Taking a shower was a nice, soothing way to pass the time… and I wouldn't be distracted by my insatiable need to check Warble every other second, hoping that more than 2 minutes had passed, when it had actually only been one.
I started slipping out of my clothes absent-mindedly.
Every time Kakashi-sensei gave me a 'meeting-time', which he always seemed to do, I was always left with that impatient itch to constantly check my clock like a kid checking their calendar, re-re-recounting down to Christmas…
But I guess it was better than the times he would just say that he'd show up at 'some time' and leave me completely clueless…
I sighed, a little annoyed…
…
But, when thinking about the entire situation, I should be considerably happy that I could even see him again today… for the third time…
…
Our time together was always split up or interrupted… it was getting really irritating…
…
I paused for a second, taking a deep breath, trying to count my blessings.
Having someone like Kakashi-sensei, who was talented, strong, kind, smart, understanding, caring, incredibly handsome, and insanely attractive as my lover definitely outweighed any feeling of complaint I could ever have…
But… thinking about it that way…
…having Kakashi-sensei by my side is more than I deserve, isn't it?
…
… And then that question came up again…
…
Why is he with me?
…
I looked back to the mirror, that question resonating in my mind as uncomfortably as it had earlier…
Even though I wasn't distracted by Warble anymore… my thoughts were definitely making things even worse…
But I completely lost everything I had been thinking about when I saw something I definitely didn't recognize in the mirror.
Just below my collarbone… a mark…
What's that?...
As soon as I touched my fingertips to it I immediately remembered what had happened this morning.
His lips had kissed me there, but it wasn't a normal kiss.
His tongue…
I shook my head quickly, I couldn't think about that, especially when his words came back to me with that memory.
"You still need some more time before you can say you 'know enough'."
…
He was right… the way I was even freaking out over a single… kiss mark… was probably proof enough that I was a ways away from being at his level...
But I couldn't help but feel a little shaken… this was really different for me…
Kakashi-sensei never did this before…
Every time he kissed me, it was only a fleeting feeling that I could never really tell for sure if it only a dream or not… but this… this was evidence… pure, physical evidence.
Everything was real… I wasn't dreaming… I wasn't going crazy… He is with me… for some reason…
I looked back to the mark.
I felt a little weird when I suddenly felt grateful that I usually wore high-collared shirts… that sneaky sort of thought didn't belong to me, it sounded more like the thought of a…
…
… the analogy that came to mind was a little weird:
A hormone-driven teenage girl from one of those teen soap-operas that was trying to cover up the marks her adventurous boyfriend left behind…
…
…
That wasn't me, right?
…
Well, I don't think I could afford to be hormone-driven since my 'boyfriend' ( I still didn't like using that meager word to describe Kakashi-sensei's relationship to me) wasn't 'adventurous', but was 'experienced'…
…
… Which one was better?
…
"Ugh!" I ran my hands through my hair a little roughly.
I really couldn't think about this!…
I couldn't keep trying to judge our relationship like this… we weren't normal, but we weren't bad… we care about each other, deeply.
That's all that matters!
I stomped over to the shower, determined never to compare our relationship to the soap-opera ones ever again.
I sighed as the water hit me, finally realizing how immature that entire thought process was.
…
I'm really hopeless, aren't I?
…
What does he even see in me?
I'm really not good enough for him…
…
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"Are Konoha women not good enough?!" The nasally voice of one of Kakashi's female colleagues suddenly spoke up, sounding drunk. She was pointing at him accusingly from across the room.
"I never said that." Kakashi quickly waved his hands in front of him, trying to smile reassuringly, definitely not looking for a fight…
He wondered for a moment if she still held a grudge from when he had turned her advances down in the past, using that over-used phrase 'I'm just not looking to be in a relationship right now…'…
She only hiccupped at his response, not acknowledging the fact that everybody was staring at her.
"You never show any interest in anyone!" She slurred a little vindictively…
"No, I wouldn't go that far…" Kakashi mumbled, more to himself than to anyone.
Somehow the conversation had taken a turn for the worst, going from joking around, to discussing work, swapping mission stories, to… this…
"Well, it's not like you're all that attractive!" She spoke up using that obnoxious voice with a clumsy vengeance.
Anybody with a fair amount of interrogation training could hear the lie in her words.
Laughing took over the air again as she fell over onto her back, snoring before she hit the floor… Kakashi still felt rather awkward, but grateful that the others just laughed the ordeal off.
"… I think that's enough, Houin-san…" The mousy friend of the obnoxious one picked her up from the floor. Some of the laughing Jounins helped her out, carrying the only drunk person in the apartment out of the bedroom.
Overall, the end result of this 'party' wasn't as damaging as Kakashi had expected, but he was still impatient to end it.
"… I think this has been enough for all of us, today…." Kakashi spoke up, adding onto the last sentence.
The others all agreed with sundry mumbles.
It had been two hours already….
Kakashi wasn't so tired of the company (maybe a little annoyed), but he was mostly hoping to get everybody out before 6:00, which was in another five minutes… seemed a little too late now.
"Yo, Kakashi… the longer you stay single like this, the rowdier the ladies are gonna get, waiting for you to finally get back into the market."
Osuzaki took a seat on a chair next to Kakashi's bed, continuing the overly-discussed subject some more as everybody else started to get up and leave.
Kakashi only hoped that if he went along with it, Osuzaki would get bored of it and stop.
"I don't ever plan to get back into the 'market' again…" Kakashi offered an ending to the subject truthfully…
Even if things didn't work out with Sakura right now… he'd wait…
"Don't say that!… So serious… you sound like some sort of widower…" Osuzaki started off with a joking tone, but it didn't stay so playful for the last part of that statement.
Nobody was really paying attention to them, the others were only waving at Kakashi, who'd nod at them as they walked out of the doorway.
Kakashi really didn't like where this was going, those last words stung a little.
He looked away from Osuzaki, trying to think of a way to politely kick him out.
The safest bet was to 'win' at this conversation and send him on his way.
"It's not like that… I'm not completely blind to women… but I'll know when I meet the right one…" Kakashi not only felt a little discomfited for having this weird conversation after so much ridiculousness, but he felt the most discomfort for having to talk like he hadn't already met the 'right one' yet…
There was a sudden movement from the corner of the room, Kakashi looked up at it.
His eyes met Iruka's only for a moment.
They both knew what this conversation was turning into…
They both knew who was on Kakashi's mind.
"The 'right one'?.... That doesn't sound like you Kakashi… You never used to believe in that stuff…" Osuzaki's words pushed a little roughly.
"Yeah, well… people change…" Kakashi responded, feeling a little frustrated, checking the clock again. He really needed an interruption. He saw Iruka slink out of the room, clutching his drinking glass a little awkwardly. Kakashi envied his easy departure, but was completely stolen away from that thought when Osuzaki spoke up with that serious tone again.
"How many years has it been?... Eh, Kakashi… Since that woman-"
"I've lost count." Kakashi shot down the rest of that sentence, firmly, before it could do anything to him.
"I doubt that." Osuzaki rebutted gruffly, taking a swig from his glass, not seeing the glare Kakashi was directing towards him for a moment.
"It's all in the past… I'd prefer it if it stayed there…" Kakashi shifted in the bed a bit, scowling behind his mask.
"It won't stay there though… not with the Asa-"
"Osuzaki!" Kakashi cut him off loudly.
He hadn't felt this amount of irritation, this amount of annoyance in a long while… there were only a few subjects that caused his blood to boil, and this was combining two of them… even if Osuzaki was an old friend, this definitely wasn't something Kakashi wanted to discuss with him… he never did with anyone.
They both sat in silence for a minute or so…
Osuzaki stood up from his chair, much to Kakashi's relief, but turned around before leaving…
"Fine, I'll stop, but let me offer you some advice…"
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I reached up to knock on the door.
I knew I was a few minutes early, but I couldn't help it…
Better early than late…
Just as my knuckle was about the tap against the wood of the door, I hesitated… I heard voices from inside.
Lots of voices, muffled… they sounded tired, but excited.
Somebody was slurring random words loudly like a drunk.
What's going on?
I took another moment before finally raising my hand to knock, but somebody answered the door early.
"Oh, Sakura-san!" Gai-sensei beamed down at me… apparently he was in a good mood.
But why was he here?
Why were all these people here?
Why was that one woman almost drunk off of her feet?
And why did I recognize her voice from somewhere?
All my questions were pushed aside when I was pulled inside.
"You're here to heal up Kakashi, right?" Gai spoke up. "He's in that room, on the left…" He directed me towards the bedroom like I had never been here before.
That been the only room I had been in…
"Uh, thank you…" I said politely, still distracted by all the commotion that the Jounins were causing as they sorted out their sandals, talked, put chairs away.
Whatever was going on, it was ending already.
I took one last look around, watching as Gai-sensei was herding out all of the others through the open doorway, shouting with that epic tone he loved using.
I turned back around towards the bedroom door which was still several feet away.
I was surprised to see Iruka-sensei standing next to the door like he had just come through it.
He leaned against the wall, looking down at a cup, swishing it in a little circle slowly.
He didn't seem to be his normal, cheerful self…
I started walking towards the door, planning on just greeting Iruka with a wave and a few words before going through that door, but as I got closer, his eyes flashed up to me.
His expression was strange… like he suddenly remembered to do something really important.
He walked over to me before I could reach the door.
"Hey, Sakura…" He said, putting on a fake smile. "…. You here to treat Kakashi-san?" He asked further, trying to sound friendly. I didn't know why he would have to ask…
"Ah, yes…" I answered with a small smile, nodding at him.
Even though he went out of his way to greet me like that, I really wanted to see Kakashi-sensei… I really wanted to talk to him…
I tried to walk passed Iruka-sensei, through the gap between him and the wall.
But his hand suddenly shot out and landed on the wall… his arm barricading my way.
"So, how have you been, Sakura?" He spoke up again, looking down at me.
I tried to peek over his arm… the door was right there, wide open…. But I couldn't get to it with Iruka-sensei here.
"I've been doing well, Iruka-sensei…" I answered, my already fading smile suffering a little more as he eased himself to lean his shoulder against the wall, completely blocking my line of sight now.
He looked back down to his little cup, swishing it around again… he wouldn't look me in the eye.
I got the feeling he didn't want me to get to the door…
But that didn't sound like something Iruka-sensei would do… then again, he definitely wasn't his normal self right now.
Something was really weird about all of this…
"Are your medic-studies going well?" He asked another small-talk question… but he didn't really sound like a teacher right now.
Ever since Iruka-sensei found out about Kakashi and me, he's started acting less and less like a teacher around me… it was really different.
"I'm taking a break from it right now, but I still practice… I think I've gotten a bit better." I tried to share a bit more, hoping it would satisfy whatever curiosity was making Iruka-sensei act a little weird.
"I'm glad to hear that…" He said quietly, looking back down, again, to his cup, which smelled of sake.
I wondered if Iruka-sensei was drunk for only a spare moment… it didn't really fit in my mind… a drunk Iruka-sensei… besides, if Iruka-sensei ever got drunk,, I would've thought he'd be the funny kind of drunk… or that he wouldn't act this broody, at least.
"Osuzaki!" I heard Kakashi's muffled voice speak out from the room sternly… Something really weird was going on…
I tried to walk around Iruka-sensei, already forgetting my manners now that all my attention was on Kakashi-sensei's muffled voice.
"… Sakura…" Iruka-sensei called my name again... I almost didn't pay attention to him, until I heard him finish the sentence. "…what do you know about your next mission?...."
I looked back up to him, his eyes trying to read my expression… he seemed a little… hurried. Like he hadn't planned on asking me that just now, like it had slipped out.
I knew I probably looked confused… as well as a little shocked…
Why was he suddenly bringing this up?
"… Only the name 'Asaka'…" I answered, already feeling my curiosity grow, while Iruka seemed to be getting a little more serious. All I had heard was the name 'Asaka', and then everyone would suddenly go quiet… nobody was willing to talk about it for some reason… it was getting really frustrating.
Iruka-sensei leaned closer for a spare moment, his voice lowering.
"Did you want to know more?"
….
….
"What?" I couldn't think of anything else to say.
He leaned away.
Why was everybody treating this mission like it was top-secret, like there were things to hide?!
"I wouldn't tell you if I didn't think you might hear it from another, unreliable source first… even so, I can only offer you the surface of the details…"
"Would you really tell me more about it?" My curiosity growing.
Iruka-sensei nodded a little hesitantly.
Something about this topic was really strange… I had rarely seen Iruka-sensei ever get this serious…
"Only if you do a few favors for me…"
I gave him a questioning look.
"Don't tell Kakashi about this…"
That was a really tough favor… that would be keeping a secret… it felt like I would be lying to him.
I suddenly felt like we shouldn't be having this conversation if Kakashi-sensei couldn't know about it…
… but I really wanted to know more about 'Asaka'…
I was about to ask what the other 'favors' were, but he started talking again.
"I have a few things to clear up at the Academy after this… I should be there pretty late… come see me if you still want to know more after you treat Kakashi-san…"
"O-okay…"
Iruka-sensei showed one last, almost-fake, smile before he walked away from me.
He still had that 'I-didn't-really-plan-to-say-that' look on his face.
I was still confused…
But what I heard a voice say from Kakashi's room confused me further…
"Fine, I'll stop, but let me offer you some advice…"
It was a gruff voice that I didn't recognize.
"…Burying the past means nothing if you didn't want to let it go in the first place… find a way to let it go now, before you get yourself killed…"
There was a long pause… I wanted to take a look at what was going on, but from the way that man was talking… something really serious was happening, I didn't want to walk into it.
"I can handle myself…" Kakashi's voice.
"Like you did the last time?" That gruff voice offered that last sentence with a sarcastic note just as I saw a man walk out of the room.
He only gave me a glance before walking passed me.
I didn't recognize him from anywhere… but Kakashi knew him, apparently.
I watched the man walk down the hallway, slip into his shoes, and go out the door.
He was the last one.
Everything was really quiet now.
I was finally alone in Kakashi's apartment with him… but I suddenly felt a little scared to walk into that room.
I wasn't scared for myself or of Kakashi… I was just nervous about going into that, previously tense, room.
As soon as I heard Kakashi-sensei take a deep sigh that ended in an aggravated groan, I felt a little bit more worried…. But I found the confidence to walk through that doorway.
He didn't seem to notice me at first, his face was in his hand, he was rubbing his eyes.
I wasn't used to seeing a stressed Kakashi-sensei…
Everybody was acting so weird…
…
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Onto the next chapter! :D