Author's Note: I own nothing except Reyna; even Kayha and Katara are creations of a friend. Everything you recognize is property of Masashi Kishimoto. Characters may continue to be slightly OOC
I also have to give credit to my friend, her alter ego is Kayha just like mine is Reyna, for the great ideas and the fun caffeine driven writing!
BATTERS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO EXPLODE…
The next few days passed quietly for the three of them, Reyna finally starting to calm down about the whole Kayha transformation. That was, at least, until she saw Kayha entering the village. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run and run far. Even with Kakashi walking along behind her, as he'd been doing ever since she had returned, she bolted in the opposite direction. Kayha was headed towards the hospital and Reyna turned and headed away. She didn't get very far before Kakashi caught her again though, wrapping both his arms around her and pulling her back against him.
His scent hit her mind, but she continued to fight his hold, the instinct to get away from a predator over riding everything else in her mind at that moment. Gradually she started to calm down and he loosened his hold, turning her to face him now. He met her gaze and sighed as he met nothing but panic and fear.
"Reyna, calm down, you're fine," he said quietly, keeping a solid grip on her vest.
Slowly she started to force back her fear though it was still evident in her tense posture, "I really don't think I can be around her, Kakashi. There are times when instinct over rides everything else."
"Well then you're going to have to work through this. Just remember you don't have to do this alone, Reyna."
She nodded, though he could tell that she wasn't looking forward to this. Slowly they started back down the street, Kakashi once again had his book in hand, but now he was walking almost shoulder to shoulder with Reyna. They reached the house before Kayha and Reyna immediately locked herself in Kakashi's room while he remained downstairs with Temari. Reyna didn't appear even when the scent of supper wafted up to her and made her stomach growl. She decided she would much rather be hungry than have to face Kayha. All else failed, she was pretty sure she could slip out in the middle of the night and snatch something when everyone was asleep, even if she did have to share a bed with Kakashi.
She didn't have to worry about how she was going to sneak out of his bed without waking him though. She could hear someone cleaning up in the kitchen and the gentle murmur of voices though she couldn't make out the words. She was curled up on the pillows, knees to her chest when Kakashi opened the door, a plate in his hand. She lifted her head and sniffed the air, meeting his gaze before her eyes flickered to the plate.
"You brought me supper?" she asked.
"You didn't think I'd let you starve up here did you? I figured I'd let you do this your own way at your own pace, but eventually you know you are going to have to see her," Kakashi replied, handing her the plate as she uncurled her legs and sat up.
Eagerly she started to eat even as he spoke and nodded, "I know, just…not right now."
Kakashi nodded and laid back on the bed, his feet still on the floor as he stared at the ceiling. When Reyna was finished eating, he took her plate and headed back downstairs. The sound of conversation continued below her, and she really wanted to be able to go down and talk to Naruto and Sakura, but Kayha's voice also drifted up to her and kept her firmly on the bed. It was a while before Kakashi returned and she heard the others also making their way to their rooms for the night.
In the few days since she had returned, most of her things had migrated from her own room and into Kakashi's so she was already changed when he opened the door again. Without a word, he grabbed his own change of clothes and disappeared into the hall again before returning a few minutes later. Reyna shifted onto what was quickly becoming her side of the bed while Kakashi slid under his own blanket. Silence settled over the house, and despite sharing a roof with Kayha, Reyna was quickly asleep.
Reyna shivered slightly and reached for her blanket, only to realize that it was nowhere near her. Forcing her eyes open, she squinted against the sunlight that entered the room around the heavy curtains on the window. Based on the amount of light, it was late in the morning if not early afternoon and based on the sound of his deep, steady breathing even Kakashi was still asleep and the house was still silent.
She rolled over and realized that Kakashi had her blanket wrapped around him, "Kakashi!"
Reyna's sharp bark near his ear brought a groan from his mask covered lips, "What?" he muttered in return.
"Give me back my blanket! I'm cold!"
"What? This is my blanket, get your own!" he snapped back at her, not enjoying the fact that he had been awakened in such a manner.
"You stole my blanket last night and now I can't find it!"
"Then it's on the floor. Fetch…" he muttered not thinking.
Reyna snarled, "That's it!"
She yanked her pillow, which he'd also managed to steal from her in the night, out from under his head, bringing a curse from the silver haired man beside her. Once she had her pillow in hand, she brought it down over his head and then his torso before pushing him off the edge of the bed where he fell with a thud.
"Ha! I win!" she bounced onto her feet, jumping on the bed in victory.
Little did they know that downstairs their fight was a source of amusement to the rest of the house. The small group snickered and wondered if that was the end. Just as they were about to continue with their days a yelp from Reyna drew them all to a pause.
Kakashi sat up on the floor and watched Reyna celebrating what she thought was a victory. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't about to let that go and before she realized he was moving again, he had tackled her off the other side of the bed, bringing a very undignified yelp from her as they both hit the floor.
"What was that about you winning?" he asked.
"I will get you back for that fetch comment…" she warned before hitting him with the pillow she still had in her hand, again.
"What the hell?" Kakashi muttered as Reyna levered herself to her feet using his shoulder.
"What? I'm not allowed a playful side?"
Kakashi grinned to himself, finding he kind of liked this side of her, "It's going to take some getting used to, is all."
Reyna rolled her eyes and gathered up some clean clothes before ducking out of his room to get changed in her own. Kakashi did the same and the two ended up heading for the stairs at the same time and Reyna bolted ahead of him, bounding down the stairs.
Kakashi shook his head at the change in her attitude, but he was willing to bet that the instant she say Kayha it would disappear. He followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen where she was making herself something to eat and he joined her. It seemed that everyone else had headed out already and the house was quiet.
For the next few days, Reyna and Kayha avoided each other, which meant that Kakashi didn't see Kayha much either. Still, he decided that it would be a good idea to shadow Reyna around the village in order to ensure she didn't pull another really stupid stunt like she had with Griffin. One afternoon, Reyna slipped into the kitchen at the house and froze, Kakashi behind her as always.
"What the hell?" they muttered in unison, taking in the mess around them.
Flour coated most of the kitchen and Temari was standing in the middle of it all. Reyna shook her head, slowly picking her way over to the other woman. She glanced up at the ceiling and was shocked yet again since Temari had somehow managed to get some kind of batter on the ceiling along with more flour.
"What happened in here?" Kakashi asked.
"I baked a cake," Temari said proudly and Reyna quirked a brow.
"How in the world did you end up with this kind of mess?"
"Well, the flour kind of slipped out of my hands and then I tried to catch it and it flew everywhere," Temari shrugged, "I'll clean it up, no worries."
Again, Reyna glanced above her, "And you got cake batter on the ceiling how?"
"Oh, well…while I was mixing it, the batter kind of…exploded." Reyna stared at her, at a loss for words, "but look, the cake's done."
Reyna glanced over to where she was pointing and once again shook her head, "You do know that cake batter isn't supposed to explode right? And that cake looks like it could be used as a weapon. No offense, Temari. Why are you baking a cake anyway?"
"For Gaara's birthday tomorrow," she informed her, "Didn't you guys hear about the party? Kayha and I are throwing it, but I guess I'm going to have to go and buy a cake now."
Reyna sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Kakashi, "What kind of cake does Gaara like?"
"I was just making a marble cake for him. I'm not actually sure what he likes," Temari admitted.
"Kakashi do you think you can find something to do that does not involve hovering over me for about an hour and a half? I'll help Temari make another cake and if I leave the house you have my full permission to put me on a leash if you want."
Kakashi quirked a brow at that but nodded, "Sure, I'll just hang out and read for a while in the living room while Naruto's not here and it's quiet."
Kakashi headed out of the kitchen, heading for the living room and the couch while Reyna turned back to Temari, "Alright. Cooking lesson number 1…batters are not supposed to explode…neither is flour."
The two laughed a little at that and set about starting another cake batter and while Reyna was the one who knew how to really cook, she took a small step back and let Temari do most of the work. Kakashi only stuck his head in the kitchen once when there was a crash and the sound of the two of them laughing. While the oven reheated, the two had started to clean up the mess and had knocked the first cake on the floor. It didn't even sport a crack in it, and Temari sighed.
"Guess you were right, Reyna. That would have been really, really bad."
Reyna grinned and shrugged, "Hey, at least if anybody gets out of line we have something to throw at them."
Kakashi rolled his eye and returned to the couch to continue reading. When Reyna reappeared from the kitchen she had Temari in tow. The two sat down on either side of him and leaned back. He glanced between the two of them before he finally asked.
"Did you two get the kitchen cleaned and the cake baked?"
"Of course and we even got the ceiling done," Temari replied.
"But now we need icing and decorating tools. Which means that if I want to go and get them, I had to come and get you in the process," Reyna added, "And Temari insists that I have to do the icing."
Kakashi nodded, "Alright then, I guess we have to make a trip to the store then."
Temari opted to remain at the house and start cleaning the rest of the house in preparation for the following day while Reyna and Kakashi headed into the village. As they strolled down the street, they happened to pass a store with a large colorful poster in the window. Reyna didn't even bother glancing at it, until Kakashi let out a small squeak of astonishment and joy and bolted to the window.
"Kakashi?" she asked, as she watched him bolt and plaster himself against the glass.
"Oh…my…god! I can't believe I forgot this was coming out soon. I totally missed it when it was in theatres! I want it…I want it…I want it…" Reyna quirked a brow, wondering when he had turned into a six year old girl until she saw what the poster was advertising.
"Kakashi, it doesn't come out until the first of September. That's like eight months away," she pointed out.
"But…I want it now…" he whined.
"Well, maybe you'll get it for your birthday," she hinted.
Kakashi sighed, but stepped away from the window, leaving a face print looking sad, "Alright, fine. I guess I can't stand here for eight months and wait…or can I?"
"No you can't. We need icing for Gaara," she snapped, walking away and drawing a look from a passing citizen.
Kakashi fell in step behind her, pouting. They reached the store where Reyna headed for the baking goods, filling the basket that Kakashi had grabbed on his way in. As they headed to the check-out, Reyna got an idea.
"Hey, Kakashi?" she said sweetly.
Kakashi lifted a brow at her and sighed, "Let me guess…you forgot your wallet?"
Reyna nodded, "That and I think we should pick up something to make for supper tomorrow for the Kazekage. What do you think?"
Kakashi shook his head, "Fine, but you're paying me back."
"Oh, don't worry…I'll pay you back…" she grinned at him before heading off.
Kakashi shook his head, not sure if he should be looking forward to that day or not. He could never tell how serious her threats were. After they finished paying for their purchases, the two of them headed back to the Kazekage's house. Reyna put the finishing touches on the cake, while Temari watched her and Kakashi settled back at the table to continue reading his book.
When the rest of the group returned to the house Temari put them to work getting everything else ready for the following day. She was pretty sure that Gaara would be at the office all night and most of the next day, but she had a plan to get him home anyway. Kayha headed off to find Gaara and to keep him at his office for as long as possible. When she arrived she didn't see Gaara anywhere among the stacks of papers in his office.
"Gaara? Gaara are you in here?" she asked, stepping further into his office.
"Where else would I be?" he asked, poking his head out around a stack of papers on his desk.
"Oh the answers I could give to that question," she laughed to herself and Gaara quirked a brow at her.
"Did you need something, Kayha?" he asked with a sigh knowing he was going to be working all night to get his paperwork done as it was; he didn't need the interruption.
"No, not really. I just haven't seen you since you got out of the hospital and I got back that I figured this would be the best way to do that."
"Kayha, I don't have time to fight with you about something stupid at the moment…maybe later. We can schedule it in somewhere," he replied, concentrating on the scroll in front of him.
"Gaara, I didn't come here to fight with you. I just came here to…" she sighed, and shook her head trying to come up with a reason for being there, other than to keep him there.
"You came here to do what?" he asked, glancing up at her again.
"To…see if you needed help with anything."
"Really? And here I thought you'd be here bitching because I won't buy your fuzzy pants," he seemed genuinely surprised that she wanted to help.
"Well, I could do that too. You know how much I love my fuzzy pants and I did pick the ones that were on sale, but as always I have figured out a way around a situation that I don't like."
"Oh?" he asked, only half paying attention to the conversation now.
"I'm going to ask Naruto if he can buy them for me," she grinned and Gaara's head snapped up.
"You're going to ask who now?"
"You know…Naruto? Are you even listening to me anymore? He's the hyper active knuckle headed Leaf Ninja; usually wears bright orange. You do remember him, don't you? He's staying at your house right now?"
Gaara was beginning to wonder exactly how their conversation had got to this point, "Of course I know who he is, I just don't like the idea of someone else giving you gifts. Besides, I thought you were here to help me."
"Oh yeah, that's right too. So, what do you need me to help with?" she asked.
Gaara gestured around him at the papers, "All this paperwork."
"Oh…" she looked around her and sighed, "I'll help you, but first…"
"But first what, Kayha?" Gaara sighed, not sure he really wanted to know what she needed first.
"I need to put on fuzzy pants," she beamed at him.
"Oh boy, not this again," he muttered just loud enough that she heard him as he shook his head, "Kayha, you are seriously obsessed with your fuzzy pants. You know, you could give Kankuro a run for his money in the obsession category."
"Yeah, I know but I need to be comfortable in order to do this; it's going to be a very long night. Which means I should pick up some sake while I'm out too, that should make the night seem far shorter than it actually will be."
"No sake!" Gaara snapped, remembering the last time she had been drinking at the party Naruto and Kankuro had set up for him.
"Fine, I'll give up the sake tonight as long as I get my fuzzy pants in the morning," she grinned, dropping down to the floor and taking a stack of papers to go through.
"Kayha! Enough with the fuzzy pants already! I need to get back to work!"
"Fine, I guess I can live without them for now, but this isn't over, Gaara. I'm still going to ask Naruto tomorrow."
"Just give it up!" Gaara snapped annoyed.
Kayha was a little upset but shook it off as she turned her attention to the papers she had taken. The night passed in silence unless one or the other had a question about where a paper went to or what to do about something or another. Around four in the morning, Kayha was finding it harder and harder to stay awake, her head dropping to her chest finally as she lost her battle to remain awake. Even Gaara was beginning to have issues paying attention to what was written on the papers before him. He didn't immediately notice that Kayha was sleeping sitting cross-legged in the middle of his office floor surrounded by papers as he was determined to be finished by morning. The words were beginning to blur in front of his eyes and he was just about to give in and sleep at his desk when the sound of papers flying brought his head back up and he looked around for the source. It turned out to be Kayha who had finally fallen over, sound asleep and sent papers flying around her.
"Kayha," he called and when he got no reply he called out louder until he finally woke her.
"What?" she groaned, still mostly asleep. "If someone's attacking tell them to come back later when I'm awake."
Gaara shook his head, "Kayha, go home. I shouldn't be too much longer here."
"Okay, Gaara. See ya tomorrow…" she muttered as she pushed herself to her feet and disappeared out the door.
When Kayha reached her room, she didn't immediately notice anything out of the ordinary. Just before she collapsed into her bed, she finally noticed that the fuzzy pants she had been bugging Gaara to buy for her were lying on her bed. Smiling to herself, she quickly changed into them, muttering about finally being comfortable again before she was once again fast asleep. Gaara didn't return home that night as he fell asleep at his desk.
A/N: Yep, that's right another party…this time though is even more entertaining than before…hehehe
KAKASHI: Oh no…now what are you planning?
REYNA: You'll just have to wait and find out… *evil grin*
KAKASHI: I don't even want to know what your mind has come up with *sighs and goes back to reading* Oh, but remember everyone, reviews keep their minds coming up with crazy things to get us into…why am I supporting this again?