Sexy Jutsu

by She-bop

OC x Sasuke, Kakashi, Jairaiya, Kiba, primarily Gaara and probably others; a strange woman comes to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and disrupts several of the teams; rated M for various adult themes covered; straight and not exactly straight sex

5. Betrayal

As they were getting ready for their company, Kakashi started a conversation they had been putting off.

"I found someone willing to try being your training partner," he began carefully.

"Oh, who's that?" she distractedly inquired.

He didn't answer that. "I think I've also found a way to accommodate your prerequisite for continuing your training," he added.

She didn't like the way he worded it. "You have the way," she insisted.

"So I do," he mused and before she could ask anymore, their company started to arrive and they had to put it off.

Sasuke was a little more awkward than usual but covered it nicely by just being quiet, as usual. Their dinner went well and they left all smiles a couple of hours later. Calixta and Kakashi were in the middle clearing the table when there was a knock on the door. He answered it and let Sasuke in.

"Ah, Sasuke, did you forget something?" she looked around to see if he had left anything behind but found nothing.

The dark-haired teen shot his sensei an unsure look. It was quickly becoming apparent that Kakashi still hadn't told her about their substitution.

"Come away from there, Calixta," Kakashi motioned her from the kitchen to the sitting area. "You didn't want to train your abilities into skills until you knew what it was like to be affected by them the way others were, right?" Kakashi began.

"Yeah," she gave Sasuke a nervous glance to which he did not react.

"And you wanted me to do that because of my ability to copy your jutsu," he continued. "Well, I'm not the only one. You've seen Sasuke use his sharingan before so I know you're aware of it. He has agreed to take my place in that charge so that I can maintain my required position as objective observer," he explained.

"He what?" She demanded and then quickly turned to the teen. "You what?"

"If you find that unacceptable then I'm afraid we're at an impasse and I will have to report to the elders that you are reneging on your agreement," he warned.

"How poetic," she muttered as she mused that the last person to encounter her without any control or means of directing her would be the one she would submit to. "Okay," she agreed after a long moment of thought.

Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn't realized until she agreed that he didn't really believe she'd go for it, especially after how mean he'd been to her in the past few months.

"Good. So, do what you have to," he motioned to the pair of them. Their eyes grew wide with incredulity and he almost laughed at them. "What's the hold up?" he teased.

"Right here?" she questioned incredulously.

"Right now?" Sasuke added immediately after and with a matching tone.

Kakashi pointed at Sasuke, "Yes." Then, he pointed to Calixta, "Not necessarily. Just don't go too far. I'd like to be able to keep an eye on you," he winked but it was lost due to his bandana.

She turned to the dark-haired teen sitting only a few feet from her and eyed him carefully, looking him up and down.

"Stop looking at me like that!" he told her. "It's weird." She giggled and he felt a chill go up his spine, then, a familiar pulsing in his body. It made him gasp lightly when he realized that she had already started.

"You're gunna have to just start whenever you can," she told him evenly.

Kakashi was amused by their interactions. Their relationship was unique to say the least. They obviously cared a great deal for one another but their personalities clashed so severely that it was almost impossible for them to agree on anything. He was also amused by his younger student's intense blushing as he blinked and summoned his family's eyes.

As she stared at Sasuke, Calixta eyes became half-lidded and she gave a slightest gasp. "Your feelings for me have grown," she whispered.

He sneered at her and about a minute later, he felt confident enough to make his own advance. However, the only outward sign of this at first was that his eyes narrowed and focused on her a little harder. Instead of taking her in, now he was asserting himself.

She gasped again when she felt her own power reflected back at her. "My god."

He smirked at her first vocal indication of his influence over her. "You're not resisting me at all," he noted.

She nodded vaguely.

He scoffed at her and she flinched.

"Sasuke, be nice," Kakashi warned in a stern voice. "I highly doubt she was mean to you."

His features softened.

"Good," he said and stood to leave them be for a few minutes, figuring privacy would be the best thing for their progress at this point. But he didn't go very far. He just went over to finish the job they'd started of cleaning up and doing the dishes.

That made Sasuke bold and he intensified the chakra he was focusing on her. The flush on her skin intensified. "You're more attracted to me than I realized," he mused. "And here I thought it was just an act to get under my skin."

"I wouldn't do that to you," she whispered.

"And you still feel guilty don't you?" he surmised from the feelings he was getting from her as well as the way she was behaving.

"You've made sure of that," she replied. "Not that it's made much of a difference. In fact, I think I like taking your abuse because it's the closest I've gotten to repenting for all the terrible things I've caused."

He didn't like that answer. "Well stop it," he ordered.

"Wh-?"

"You heard me. I said stop it. I don't want you to feel sorry for me, okay? It's dumb 'cause you don't do crap like that anymore," he told her.

Kakashi couldn't help listening to their conversation and feeling oddly pleased.

"But you-"

"Never mind all that," he dismissed and increased his focus on her again for emphasis. She squirmed under the pressure, much to his delight. "And you're right, this is pretty hard to control," he conceded.

She smiled a little at the near compliment, which let Sasuke know that if he was going to make a bold move, that would be the moment. Her confidence had sufficiently returned even though she was incapable of sitting still in his presence. So, with a smirk, he utilized the sexy-no-jutsu.

This time her nose gushed violently and she flew backward to the floor.

Sasuke giggled, "Oh dear!"

Kakashi's eyes bugged out and he rushed over. "Sasuke! Damn it!" he scolded, helping the girl up to sit up on the floor next to where she had been sitting.

"Sorry, 'Kashi-sensai," he pouted in a sexy voice at his teacher.

Kakashi rolled his eyes and fought the temptation of just nailing them both right there like that. Just as he was about to slap his student, Calixta had regained enough of her sense to start undressing, which he only realized because she was pushing his hand off her shoulder so she could remove her shirt and bra. That made him second guess his rescue and withdraw to a safe distance again.

She looked for a moment at Sasuke, "Femme fatale," she mused as she removed her pants and underwear.

As she slid her panties down her legs, he noticed her hands were shaking slightly. This put him into action once again. He placed his hands on hers and helped guide her the rest of the way. He picked up the panties when they were off her feet and looked at them. "Pretty cute," he commented before tossing them side.

She just stared blankly at him for a moment and even when she did speak, "Yeah," was all she could manage, thinking somewhere in the back of her mind whether or not she had a cuter pair she could have worn for the occasion.

"So…you wanna finish what you started the other day?" he proposed in a naughty voice.

Calixta grinned at the idea and pushed Sasuke down onto his back where he landed with a soft thump. Then, before he could blink, she was between his legs and lapping at his slit. He came for her mere moments later and when he tried to sit up, she lifted his hips and kept going.

"But I already-ah," he protested.

She laughed and kept going, making him cum twice more like that before letting him lay down flat on the ground. He lay panting and dizzy and she couldn't help marveling down at him. He was almost completely spent, sexually speaking, and had a lovely glow about him as she brushed a few stray hairs from his eyes.

He gave her an oddly affectionate look as he looked up at her. However, now he felt as though it was once again his turn to make a move. "What are you thinking about?" he ask curiously.

"You," she told him simply.

He laughed a little at that and sat up. "Do you prefer me like this or should I change back?" he offered honestly.

"I prefer you how you prefer to be," she answered honestly.

He was displeased by that answer. He wanted her to decide.

"Change back," Kakashi ordered and was immediately obeyed.

Suddenly, Calixta felt overly exposed because Sasuke wasn't naked anymore. She shifted slightly, self conscious. However, that didn't last. When he leveled his gaze on her again, she was moving toward him and pulling at his clothes.

"Let me undress you," she requested breathily.

He nodded almost stupidly at the request and she immediately started back to work. When he was naked with her in Kakashi's living room a couple minutes later, he almost couldn't believe himself, even more so when he realized how hard he was.

Seeing he wasn't inclined to speak, she brushed her lips against his, carefully requesting a more forward advance from him again. To oblige her, he kissed back and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling them tightly against one another.

She gasped and moaned against him and a few minutes later, she was on top of him, riding him furiously.

"H-Hey, slow down," Sasuke nearly pleaded, biting his lip.

She shook her head fitfully from side to side and rode him harder.

"Hey!" he grabbed her and rolled them over so he could be on top. "I said slow down," he pinned her and she wiggled violently in his grasp.

She gave a sharp gasp at his sudden motions and the tightness of his grip. "Ah, I can't. It's too much. Don't tease me," she whined.

He laughed a little at her, a small affectionate sort of laugh.

"Oooh, but you're so close," she complained.

That was, of course, why he wanted her to slow down.

"I never held anybody back, please, don't be so cruel," she moaned.

"But-" he tried to protest as her legs wrapped around him and she started bucking against him.

"Cum inside me," she pleaded, "Be strong with me."

Her pleas made significant dents in his self-control. The feeling of her arousal was starting to overwhelm every last part of him and soon he would give in, but not without one last glance at his sensei. When Kakashi gave a slightly distracted nod of approval, both Sasuke and Calixta felt the snapping. This was the first time since that first night that Sasuke had felt it; Calixta on the other hand had lost count of the number of times it had happened to her.

He finally dove into her with all the strength he could muster and had they been in the right mind for it, they would have feared for the stability of Kakashi's sitting room floor. As it were, neither could think of much of anything save the burning heat between them that exploded a few minutes later when he came deep inside her.

Again, he rolled off her immediately. But this time, this was the extent of his initial withdrawal. He was quite content for the moment to lay next to her panting while they gathered their senses.

Kakashi finished cleaning up a couple minutes later but before he could speak to either of them, Calixta turned to Sasuke, who was still staring dazed at the ceiling, and whispered, "Thank you."

"Well, that was interesting," Kakashi interrupted their revere and they both sat up. "I hope it was worth it," he sat down, "for both of you," he added offhandedly and started to serve them some tea.

As they regained their composure, Sasuke slipped his underwear and pants back on while Calixta opted for her panties and t-shirt. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensai," she bowed a little to him.

"Don't thank me just yet. That was just the beginning. Now you have to let me train you," he reminded rather harshly.

"Yes, of course," she submissively agreed.

"And Sasuke here has agreed to be your training partner," he added.

"What?" Calixta blinked with surprise and turned to the dark-haired teen. "Really?"

"Yeah," he reluctantly confirmed.

She was obviously shocked but didn't press him further.

Sasuke stayed only long enough to finish his tea and then politely took his leave of them to sort out his feelings.

"Do you feel better now?" Kakashi asked when the teen was gone.

"I think so…" she muttered.

"Was that not as satisfying an experience as you had hoped? I don't think I could have done any better," he shrugged.

"Oh no, it's not that," she dismissed.

"Then what?"

She gave him a critical look. "I'm not sure. It's probably nothing."

"I don't really believe you but if you do become sure, you'll let me know," he told her as though it were a fact, which it pretty much was.

"I'm beat."

"Get some rest then. You're going to need it."

"Wh-What about Sasuke?" she asked suddenly before entering her room.

"What about him?"

"You don't think this will interfere with his other duties?"

"I am his sensai. I'll make sure he doesn't become overwhelmed."

"Naturally. Forgive my questioning you," she playfully bowed and retreated.

---

Their training progressed for a full month before Kakashi took pity on Sasuke and decided they'd had enough of one another.

"You've made great progress with Sasuke," Kakashi commented over dinner.

"Thanks, I guess," she managed.

"Which means we can move to the next step."

"And what's that?" she reluctantly asked.

"It's all well and good to exercise your influence over someone who is knowing and willing. It is something else entirely to influence someone who is unaware."

She frowned but nodded.

"I know you don't like that idea but it is the next step. Tomorrow, when you go to the market, I want you to do something. Charm the fifth person who makes eye contact with you for more than three seconds. Well, unless it's a child or something," he retracted.

"And do what with them, exactly."

"Well, we wouldn't want you to get carried away," he laughed a little, "See if you can get them to follow you back here. That way when you let go, if they get angry, I can deal with it, okay?"

"Sure," she agreed with a heavy sigh.

"Good."

---

She did as she was told, even if she did try to avoid making eye contact with most people she encountered, which meant that most of the people she had lengthy eye contact with were vendors.

She was just getting her change from the fourth vendor and fourth person to make eye contact for more than three seconds, when she was suddenly startled.

"Ah, Calixta!" Guy greeted.

She started and looked up at him to find her smiling down at her. Naturally, their eye contact lasted more than three seconds and she silently started cursing fate. However, she remembered her mission and put on a smile.

"Good afternoon, Guy-sensai," she said sweetly, slowly starting to get a feel for him.

"Shopping I see. I hope Kakashi doesn't make you do all his household chores," he teased.

She laughed a little. "Oh, no, of course not. Bah, he's not around half the time anyway to notice if I do anything or not," she dismissed.

"Well, that's good. Where are you headed now?" he inquired when he noticed her looking around a little.

"Oh, I'm just finishing my shopping. I was hoping to buy some sweets but I'm just not sure what I want," she pouted playfully.

He gave her a strange look. "You're much more pleasant with me this time," he remarked.

"Yes. I regret my rudeness," she admitted shyly.

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he dismissed with a grand gesture.

She started slightly at his exaggerated motions. "Ah, ha ha," she gave a nervous laugh but continued to slowly assert herself.

"There are several different places you can find some good sweets but my students seems to really like that shop over there," he pointed to one down the street.

"Oh, thank you," she took a few steps in that direction. "I-I've never been in there before. Would you mind coming with me?" she carefully asked.

He found her request a little odd but then again he found her very odd so he let it go. "Of course. Where are my manners," he laughed and followed her into the shop where he helped her decide that fudge was the best choice for that day.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she raved as they exited. "This look so good!" she pulled out a piece and noticed how closely he was watching her.

"Would you like some?" she offered it to him.

"Oh, no I couldn't. You bought that," he declined.

"Oh, please? You deserve it for helping me!" she insisted and held it up to him. She would have held it in front of his lips if she wasn't so much shorter that it would have been too awkward.

"Alright, if you insist," he took the fudge and ate it. He was just about to comment on how good it was when he looked over and noticed she was licking the traces of chocolate that had stuck to her fingers. He would have thought she was doing it on purpose but she wasn't looking at him, and seemed completely content with her sweets.

She noticed his momentary staring but didn't react to it, simply smiling up at him. "It's very good," she commented.

"Yes it is," he replied, slightly distracted.

"Well, I suppose I'm done for the day. I should get all this stuff back," she heaved her bag over her shoulder.

Her bag looked a little heavy to Guy, "Here, why don't you let me carry that for you. It looks quite heavy."

"It is a little heavier than usual. I'm making dinner for Team 7 tonight and you know how those boys can eat," she giggled a little and actually saw a reaction in his eyes at the sensations she was affording him.

He laughed with her. "Then allow me," he held a hand out to accept the bag when she handed it to him.

She carried her sweets separately and they had pleasantly light conversation while they walked. He found the whole scenario very appealing, so much so that he hardly realized what she was doing to him. However, there was still a slight tingle in the back of his mind, the tingle of memory.

When they arrived, she started up the steps first. When she knew he was behind her, she turned back to him, "Guy-sensai," she began carefully. "Thank you, very much for going out of your way like this."

"It's nothing, really," he insisted, setting the bag down on the porch.

She smiled and reached into her bag of sweets. "Here, you deserve at least one more for carrying my things." This time when she offered the cube of chocolate fudge she was standing a few steps above him and that allowed her to put the sweet treat to his lips.

That was the straw the broke the camel's back. She'd pushed too far too fast and he recognized the rushing feeling starting to course through him from the first time he ever saw her. "Kakashi!" he yelled authoritatively.

She appeared slightly disappointed and the silver-haired man exited his front door a moment later.

"Guy? What are you doing here?" he questioned incredulously.

Calixta turned to her teacher, "Number five," she said evenly and Kakashi laughed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Guy demanded.

"Why don't you come in and I'll explain," Kakashi motioned for them to come inside after he picked up the bag of groceries. He put on a pot of tea and they talked while Calixta put things away. "I'm sorry about that, Guy. It was sort of an experiment," he admitted.

"An experiment? So you put her up to it?" Guy nearly demanded.

"Something like that. I'm trying to train her abilities and I told her to get the fifth person to make eye contact with her for more than three seconds to follow her back from the market. I'm more than a little surprised it was you," he half-teased.

"It's not what it looks like," Guy insisted.

"I'm sure. I hope you're not too offended," Kakashi tried to mend.

"No, I was just helping her carry her stuff back from the market. She shouldn't have to carry that heavy bag all by herself," he amended.

"Of course," Kakashi placated.

"Kakashi-sensai, he's not being entirely untruthful. Guy-sensai is a good and honorable man. My influence held little bearing over his actions if only because I knew he would recognize it if I tried too hard," she told him.

"Then why not simply move on to the next person?" Kakashi proposed. "I only proposed the fifth to make it random."

"It doesn't get much more random," she insisted.

"And I could still tell what she was doing. I just wasn't sure until we were on the porch that she was doing it intentionally," Guy added.

Kakashi appeared disappointed. "Perhaps I should send you back to the market to find someone else then."

She was obviously disappointed by that but didn't argue.

"Don't be so hard on her," Guy eased quietly so she wouldn't hear. "All things considered, if you don't tell anyone I said this, she did better than I'd care to admit," Guy conceded.

Kakashi nodded. "I appreciate your candor," he genuinely replied.

"So don't let it happen again," he snapped.

"I'll see what we can do about that." Kakashi agreed and decided not to send her back to the market that day.

"You did well today. I am quite surprised, and I think Guy is surprised as well. Though, I would recommend putting him on an off-limits list," he half-joked.

She nodded. "He is almost too honorable to fall for my tricks," she mused.

"That is probably true but it is good to know those kinds of limits. Though, you seemed to overcome that somewhat. Tell me, had you intended to buy fudge today?"

"No," she admitted.

He nodded in approval at her improvisation.

The next three times he had her do this, she brought back much less interesting prey, a shopkeeper, one of the older students at the academy, one of the workers renovating one of the shops. All took the news in stride and vowed to be more vigilant so as not to fall for her tricks in the future.

Her fourth try was somewhat different. The fourth time, she didn't come back. Since a common theme of chivalrous behavior was emerging in that the males that she influenced wanted to carry her things, Kakashi insisted that if she buy anything, it be small and easy for her to carry this time.

She had just exited the candy store with a lollipop when she happened upon Jiraiya, who was absolutely stunned with her on sight.

"Good afternoon, Miss," he greeted with googley eyes.

"Oh, good afternoon, sir," she blushingly greeted, knowing she'd found her next victim.

"Where are you off to on such a lovely day?" he asked.

"Oh, nowhere special," she dawdled.

"Oh? Would you mind if I joined you then? You see I am in sore shape for company at the moment and could really use a friendly face like yours to brighten my day," he leered.

"That sounds very pleasant," she conceded and when they started walking, she took his arm, an action that she knew would be considered too forward by most but that this man would obviously appreciate.

They flirted for nearly an hour while wandering around the city. He showed her places that she'd never seen before.

"This place is beautiful," she marveled at one of the many hidden gardens of the Leaf Village.

He sat down on one of the benches and uncorked his bottle of sake to sip while she wandered about, looking at this and that flower or insect. He quickly realized that this woman could find beauty in everything she saw. Even the venomous spiders that dangled dangerously from their webs, she commented on their grace and patience with awing admiration.

"Please, have a seat. Just watching you is making me tired," he patted the place next to him on the bench.

She gave him an odd little smile and did as he asked. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously of his bottle when he took another sip.

"Sake," he answered simply. "Would you like some?" he offered it to her.

That made her falter. "I-I've never had any before," she admitted. "What's it like?"

"Never?" he questioned incredulously. "Well," he thought for a moment. "It's probably pretty bitter if you've never had it before and this stuff's kinda strong anyway," he tried to explain.

She looked around to see if anyone was watching even though they hadn't seen a single other soul since entering the garden. "May I?" she asked mischievously.

He handed over the bottle, curious for her reaction and was not disappointed. She made a bitter face before coughing and sputtering even though she'd only taken a small sip before handing it back. "Hmm-ah-hmm," she cleared her throat. "You're right. That is quite bitter," she swallowed again to get more of the taste out of her mouth. As she did, she felt the liquid warming her belly. "But very interesting," she added carefully.

He smiled at her. This woman had potential. "So, what's your name anyway?" he asked suddenly when he realized that they'd spend the better part of the afternoon together without exchanging such pleasantries.

"What's yours?" she countered quickly.

"Jiraiya," he replied simply.

"Calixta," she answered.

"I see," he nodded in recognition.

"So my reputation precedes me then," she replied flatly.

"Hardly. I put very little stock in reputations. I've just always liked that name," he told her and she blushed a little.

"You've met others with my name?" she asked curiously.

"One or two, none as pretty as you," he flattered.

"You surprise me," she admitted.

"Oh? Why's that?" he distractedly prompted before taking another sip.

"Most people, when they figure out who I am, they stop flirting with me," she told him seriously. "Not that I generally go around flirting like this, mind you." As much fun as that could have been, she didn't think it would make her as many friends or at least friendly acquaintances that way.

"Well, for one thing, I'm not like most people. For another, they only do that to prove you're not influencing them. I have nothing to prove, well, at least not in that area. There's only the two of us here and I think we both know the state of that affair," he told her with equal seriousness.

She had been working on him from the moment she saw him but ceased in her efforts almost completely when they had entered the garden. "Are you cross with me?" she asked with cautious, pleading eyes.

"It's not fair to ask like that," he teased, nudging her a little harder than she was expecting.

"I don't know any other way to ask," she managed to reply.

He laughed a little at that. "How about this, I won't be cross with you if you give me a little kiss," he bargained lecherously.

She gave a little giggle. "Yeah, okay," she agreed, thinking that one would not need special abilities to seduce this man.

Her giggle sent a little shiver through him and he smiled down at her in a silly way before presenting his cheek.

She thought it odd that he would only want a kiss on the cheek but didn't question him as she leaned up to fulfill her part of the bargain. At the last second, however, he fulfilled her expectations by turning his head so they could kiss on the lips.

He expected her to sheik and pull away, maybe even receive a slap. Instead, she surprised him by clasping either side of his face with her hands to make it a real kiss that deepened into a brief make-out session shortly after.

He had a lecherous grin when they parted to catch their breath. "I couldn't be cross with you after a kiss like that," he mused, mostly to himself as he took another sip.

"May I try that again?" she asked, feeling a little dizzy already.

He happily obliged, knowing she wouldn't take very much, and their conversation continued from there until they decided that it was late enough for them to part ways.

"Ah, Jiraiya-san" she carefully began.

"What is it, dear?" he affectionately answered.

"I was wondering if after all that you might find it in you to do me one small favor," she tried.

"What might that be?" he figured he would agree but he knew better than to agree before knowing what she had in mind.

"Walk me back to Kakashi-sensai's?" she proposed.

He gave her an odd look. "For what purpose?" he incredulously questioned.

"Well, you see…he's been trying to train my…abilities and as part of that," she explained the exercises he'd been having her do.

"Is this the first time you'd be coming back empty handed?" he asked curiously.

"This is only my fourth attempt but yes, if you say no it would be the first," she answered honestly.

"I don't think I have the time," he told her evenly.

Her brow furrowed. After wasting all afternoon with her, he didn't have the time? "Are you sure? It would only take a moment," she pressed hopefully.

"I'm afraid you failed. It wouldn't be right for me to give your sensei the wrong impression," he reasoned.

She thought that she hadn't failed as much as she stopped trying. "I see. You could just tell him that I failed," she proposed. "I just don't want him to think I wasn't trying," she told him.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid the answer is no because no matter the reason, I would still be where you were supposed to get me. But, perhaps you'll succeed in the future," he offered hopefully.

She pouted but it did no good so she said her good bye to him and went back empty handed.

"Oh? No such luck today?" Kakashi greeted from his hammock.

"I'm afraid not," she grumbled.

"And after taking so long too, I'm a bit disappointed," he teased.

"I'm still…" she trailed off and pursed her lips in a moment of thought. "I need more time," she told him.

He liked that answer. "Good, that means you're picking more difficult subjects," he approved. "Who is it this time?"

"I'd rather not say just yet," she replied hastily because she got the impression the two men knew one another fairly well.

"Oh? Are you sure? If it's someone I know, I may be able to offer some guidance."

"Perhaps if I fail again next time," she replied and he seemed to like her initiative.

"Okay. I ordered out for tonight because I wasn't sure if you were ever coming back," he teased. "It should be here any minute."

---

One afternoon, later that week, Calixta went with Naruto for ramen. He was always so enthusiastic to eat but he felt guilty that she always cooked for him so suggested they go out this time instead, which she happily accepted.

"This is wonderful, Naruto!" she told him as they arrived. "I don't have anything to do today and I was afraid I would just stay cooped up in the house all day."

"Well, if you ever get too bored, come check out our training. It's usually pretty fun to watch even if you're not training yourself," he offered.

"I might just do that one of these days. I've been curious to see how he trains you three," she told him but before he could reply, another presence entered.

"Ah! Naruto!" Jiraiya greeted heartily and then he noticed who he was sitting with. "And with such beautiful company!" he took the seat on the other side of her.

The man making ramen behind the counter gave Calixta an unsure look because of how forward the older man was being but she dismissed his concern and he stopped paying attention to them again.

"Oh, Pervy Sage! This is Calixta," he introduced between bites. "Come to think of it, you two would probably get along pretty good," he teased them. "Here," he had just started to weave the sexy-no-jutsu when he felt her soft hand gently touch his.

"Please, Naruto, not now. Not while I'm eating," she requested quietly and then mumbled, "You're almost as bad as Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Naruto questioned curiously but was ignored.

"Good afternoon, Jiraiya-san," she politely greeted after regaining her composure at the nickname Naruto had given him.

"Oh, you've already met?" Naruto surmised.

"Yes, I was pleasured with Calixta-chan's company earlier this week. You know, my dear," he turned to her but still spoke loud enough for the young blonde to hear, "it's not fair to target one so young. He doesn't stand a chance."

That made Calixta and Naruto exchange strange looks and laugh.

"Oh, Jiraiya-san, you are too funny," she dismissed.

"Ha, yeah right!" Naruto added. "Like she could do that perverted stuff to me!"

Jiraiya was amused by how comfortable the two were with one another.

"All done!" Naurto suddenly announced about a minute later. "That was great!"

"Here, dear," she took his bowl and handed it back to the man behind the counter. "One more for him please," she told him.

"Aw, you don't have to do that. One bowl's good enough," he managed.

That caught Jiraiya off guard. He had never known Naruto to refuse free food.

"You need your strength. Please, let me do this for you," she pleaded softly.

Naruto blushed a little at her tone but it was hardly noticeable. "Yeah, okay. Thanks," he managed.

"You handle him very well," Jiraiya commented to her when Naruto started to slurp up noodles again.

"Don't say foolish things," she dismissed.

Jiraiya let it go, realizing that it was the affectionately maternal air she took with him that made him so willing to listen to her. "So, are you free after this? Or do you have to keep babysitting," he teased.

"She's not my babysitter!" Naurto violently argued.

"Of course I'm not," she turned her full attention to Naruto once again. "If anything, I'm under your supervision," she told him playfully and that made Naruto's happy demeanor return.

It unnerved Jiraiya how true that could have been but shook it off.

"But to answer your question," she turned back to the older man, "No, I'm not doing anything after this."

"Perhaps we could go for another stroll. Our last one was so nice that I haven't been able to get it out of my mind."

Naruto scoffed. "He just wants to get a good look at you naked."

"Now, now," she turned back to the blonde for a moment before returning her attention to the white-haired man. "It's difficult, isn't it, when no one takes you seriously, especially when you speak from the heart?" she proposed in a soft, knowing voice.

Jiraiya was taken off guard by that. "Now you're saying foolish things," he dismissed because of how closely to home she it.

"Of course," she conceded, seeing that she had managed to push one of his buttons.

Naruto left them alone together after finishing his second helping and thanking Calixta for her generosity.

"I think you should know," she began as they started wandering around together, "That I feel oddly comfortable with you."

"Oh? I do tend to instill an air of confidence," he boasted.

She giggled a little at his boasting and he felt a little shiver run up his spine.

"So, you're going to give it another try?" he asked with playful suspicion.

"That's what I was getting at, well, sort of. You see, it seems that when I feel a deeply genuine affection for someone, it is difficult for me to keep it to myself," she admitted.

"Oh?" he was obviously intrigued by that. "How so?"

She blushed and looked away. "When something pleases you, you smile. If something pleases me and I do not give in to the smile, you could, perhaps, feel me smile instead," she offered.

"Is that so?" he mused and she nodded in affirmation. "Then how I am to discern what is causing the strange feelings you give me?"

She faltered. "I-I don't know."

That made him smile a little. "I see. Fascinating," he remarked with a nod.

"You…don't mind?" she carefully queried.

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Is there somewhere you'd like to go today?" he offered, changing subjects.

She was startled by the sudden change. "Oh, I don't know. Honestly, I haven't had much opportunity to see what there is to do," she admitted.

He laughed again. "Okay, let me show you a few things then. The village isn't very big, but we have a few things I could show you."

She was delighted by that and he felt another warm chill ripple through him. He liked the idea that she was so obviously receptive to him.

He showed her several different places. Her favorite seemed to be the art museum, which didn't surprise him in the least. If only because it reiterated the impression she had given him in the garden, that she could sense the beauty in anything. It made him want to push her to see if that was really the case or if she had a limit for that.

"What do you think about this one?" she motioned to a statue.

"I've never liked that one. It's so obnoxious," he complained.

She gave him an odd look. "But just look at the curves here, the mix of colors," she pointed out.

Through these exchanges, he was able to determine that her sense of beauty could not be dissuaded by cynical criticism.

"You have quite an eye for beauty," he commented as they exited the museum.

"Why thank you. It's hard not to find beauty within such a collection," she replied.

He shook his head in disbelief. Apparently, she was unaware of the skill he saw in her. "Indeed."

Throughout their day, she slowly worked her influence on him and due to her natural affection for him, he didn't seem to notice.

When the sun started to lower in the sky, she breathed a heavy sigh. "It's getting late. I should get back," she remarked with a note of regret.

"Alright," he sighed. "I hope to see you again sometime," he offered.

"You could come to dinner tonight," she offered hopefully.

Jiraiya desperately wanted to accept. "I'm afraid not tonight. Perhaps another time."

She appeared crestfallen. "Oh, okay."

He felt her disappointment and it weighed heavily in his chest. "I'm sorry. Maybe next time," he regretfully took a step away from her and felt a slight pang.

Without thinking, she made up the step between them and caught him in a warm embrace. "Thank you so much for today," she told him, pressing her face into his strong, broad chest, "I had such a good time."

When she hugged him, some of the pain he felt from his withdrawing from her dissipate so he hugged back and felt an even greater sense of relief. "I did too. Let's do it again sometime," he said and withdrew again. This time, the pang he felt wasn't as intense and she allowed him to leave. However, he couldn't help, once he was a little ways from her, stopping to watch her walk away from him.

He felt, somewhere deep within him, the urge to follow her but he knew better and went about his business, leaving Calixta to once again return from her day, empty handed.

"That certainly took quite a while," Kakashi teased when she returned just in time to start their dinner before he got the chance. "I thought you were just going to lunch with Naruto."

She blushed a little. "That's how it started but I met the man from the other day while we were out," she informed.

"Oh? The one you failed to charm last time you went to the market?" Kakashi prompted.

"Yes, that's the one," she answered as she started their meal.

"It seems you failed once again then," he mused playfully.

She wondered what he would say if she knew who it was. "Perhaps."

"Still need more time?" he teased.

"Unless you'd rather I move on," she suggested.

"No, I'm curious about this latest conquest of yours. I want to see if it pans out."

"He's not a conquest," she insisted.

"Call it what you will," he shrugged and let her go about her business. "I wish you'd tell me who this mysterious person is."

She didn't answer, simply kept working.

This made Kakashi wonder about her relationship with the mystery man but he had the feeling that if he wanted answers, he would have to pry them out of her and he wasn't up for that. So, instead, he went out that evening to do a little independent research.

This research consisted of asking around to see who Calixta had been spending her time with while she was out. Of course, there was Ebisu. No surprise there. The two of them had hit it off stunningly well and he hoped they would remain close. He provided her with a sense of normalcy that she wasn't accustomed to and it had been very good for her. Even after he found out who, exactly, he was dating, he didn't seem to mind. Though, this was probably because he'd become acquainted with her before he knew.

Then came the surprise, Jiraiya. Well, it wasn't a complete surprise. To find that the two had never crossed paths would have been an even greater surprise but needless to say, he was surprised to find that the pair had been sighted together by many different people and at many different locations. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the man she was pursuing.

He found this man peering into the women's bath that same evening.

"Oi, Jiraiya," he called quietly so they wouldn't get caught peeping.

"Ah, Kakashi. I knew you liked my novels but I didn't think you'd ever join me for a peek," the older man mused.

"I understand you've gotten to know one of my students," Kakashi began.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and remembered the woman in question. "Calixta?" he assumed.

"Yes."

The white-haired man took one last long peek before standing. "Let's go someplace else to talk about this."

Kakashi was intrigued by that. Usually, unless it was a serious mission, prying the older man away from his peeping sessions was all but impossible. He gave a quick nod and followed.

"What about her?" Jiraiya prompted when they were a safe distance away.

"I wanted to know what you thought of her," he replied simply.

"At nine o'clock at night? Is something the matter?" he incredulously questioned.

"No, nothing's the matter. Now's just when I had time to ask you," he replied simply.

"Oh, okay then," he breathed an overly exaggerated sigh of relief to cover the fact that he was actually a little worried. "So, what do I think? Well, she is probably the prettiest person in the Hidden Leaf Village now," he commented while making crude hand gestures.

Kakashi gave a little laugh of agreement. "That's a little more subjective than I was looking for."

"Are you checking on her progress?" Jiraiya surmised.

"Progress?" Kakashi carefully clarified.

"Yeah, she told me about the latest stage of her training," the white-haired man elaborated and he didn't sound terribly amused.

"Oh?"

"Do you think it's safe for her to go around doing things like that here in the village?" he questioned.

"She can handle herself, at least, she can now," Kakashi reasoned. "And no," he lied, "I simply heard you two were spending some significant time together and I trust your judgment."

He didn't entirely believe the younger man but decided to take him at his word anyway. "She's an interesting individual. So much of her is yet undiscovered."

"You think so?" Kakashi prompted.

"Yes, but it's buried under so much nonsense that I'm not sure she'll ever get that far," he sadly continued.

The younger man had had those kinds of suspicions as well and it was why he was pushing her as hard as he was even though it was only just getting a little easier to get through to her. He gave a nod of agreement.

"What do you think about her?" Jiraiya asked boldly.

"I agree. She has amazing potential but she's so difficult to get through to."

"You're wondering if she's even worth the effort at this point?" the older man surmised rudely.

Kakashi frowned which was hidden by his scarf. "Not exactly. I'm just not exactly sure what to do with her," he admitted.

Jiraiya scoffed. "I can think of no shortage of things I would do with her."

Kakashi shook his head in exasperation, wishing that was all he had to do with her. That would make his life much less complicated.

"Since we're on the subject anyway, I've wanted to ask you. Have you noticed her taste for aesthetics?"

"Her what?" Kakashi repeated.

"She's got an eye for things that you don't see very often," he added vaguely.

"What are you getting at?" the younger man pressed.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. You surprise me."

"Knock off the mysterious bit and just tell me."

"You're no fun. I just noticed that in the time I've spent with her, she has a keen eye for finding what's beautiful in everything. I think you could probably hand her a plate of shit and she could find something genuinely positive to say about it," he laughed at the idea.

Kakashi's brow furrowed. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person?"

"Calixta," he paused when he realized he didn't have another name for her. "The seductress from the north."

"Yeah, that'd be her," Kakashi sighed.

"I don't get it then. You're usually very good at seeing these kinds of things." He shrugged. "Hey, since you're here, I wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?" Kakashi reluctantly obliged.

"You two doin' the dirty deed?" he crudely suggested.

Kakashi frowned and was glad it couldn't be seen. "It's not like that."

Jiraiya nodded in approval.

"Thank you," Kakashi left without another word.

The next time he knew Calixta was going to be out for a significant amount of time, Kakashi decided it was time to invade her privacy. This was the first time he felt compelled to do more than enter her room and give it a quick sweep. This time, he went through her things.

Speaking with Jiraiya made Kakashi realize that even though he'd lived with Calixta for almost a year now, he knew very little about her. He didn't know what she liked or disliked or anything really and he realized it was just as much his fault as it was hers. He had expected her to open up much more once she became comfortable with their arrangement and she did, but only a crack.

Her room was clean, as always. Everything had its place and that order was only disturbed when she was disturbed. A few minutes of searching later, he found one of the large trunks she'd brought with her originally. It was pushed under her bed and latched but not locked. It was heavy but as it moved, he felt and heard no shifting from within.

When he opened it, he was surprised to find it was filled with paper and every piece was filled with her handwriting. Without thinking about whether it was right or wrong, he took the piece on top and read it.

Jazaki Shindo - kind eyes, always gives Naruto extra big helpings, kind wife, darling children, amazing noodles!!, soft spoken but good heart

That was all that was scribbled on that page. Curious, he thought and set that one aside to take up the next page.

Jiraiya - big heart, lovely sense of humor, perceptive senses, excellent tour guide, odd taste in art, voice that makes a tingle in my ears, understanding in ways I don't understand

Appeared to me as "conquest" number 4 but I couldn't keep it up, not sure it matters, he was onto me, should probably keep trying though; the garden was amazing

Saw him again while at lunch with Naruto, didn't hesitate, spent the afternoon together and went so many places I can't remember them all, art museum was the best, so many precious and beautiful things I almost cried so many times

This page had some other notes on it, mostly the minor details of their impromptu dates. He would have read them in more detail but the next page caught his attention.

Ebisu - charming, welcoming, adorable sunglasses, cute smile, says he's a dork, K-sensai says he likes me, called me a "wanderer", wonder if he's right, concerned about my well being but I don't know how to reassure him

If K-Sensai tells me to "conquer" him, I absolutely will not!

My first real, normal date, took me to dinner at a wonderful little café with live music, stayed out very late but the music was so very good, talked about so many things, felt so good, wonder if this is how other people feel all the time as I can only hope and wonder, kissed at the end of the night and was so moved by his gentle urgency that I could hardly speak, when his hand touched my cheek I thought I would faint

Suddenly, Kakashi felt guilty for his intrusion upon her privacy as he set down that sheet without reading the rest. He sat for a long time on her floor, next to her bed, debating whether or not to continue. His limited search thus far had revealed much more about her than he had anticipated. At best, he had been hoping to find a diary or even a journal. Kneeling before the trunk, he flipped through the stacks of paper to find that she had catalogued seemingly every single person she had met in the Hidden Leaf Village, even if it was only a single word to describe them. Digging deeper, he found more names that he did not recognize. He could only assume they were people she'd met before coming to their village. The sheer number of names was daunting and he tried to disturb them as little as possible as he flipped through them.

After his conversation with Jiraiya, he wasn't surprised to find nary an ill word about anyone. It almost bothered him. Then, a thought occurred to him. Through all the names he saw, he did not see his own. Hastily, he flipped through the stacks again to find that he had not overlooked such a document. That really bothered him so he put everything back the way he found it and left her room.

Even throughout the whole next day, he couldn't stop thinking about her trunk of papers, or more importantly, the absence of the paper with his name on it. She had to have it. But where? The next opportunity he got, he scoured her room for the paper in question but found nothing of the sort. So, instead, he sat down and read another few of her dossiers.

Sasuke - curt, careful, distant but drawn, strong, willful, bashful, quick witted, the way he looks at me sometimes causes such turbulence in my emotions that I have trouble looking at him, mixed signals, tells me I'm lazy

K-Sensai had him check up on me while he's away, was napping when he came by and he woke me, wasn't completely dressed and I think I saw his nose bleed a little before answering the door in my underwear like an idiot, got dressed and fed him cookies, says I should speak to Naruto about my abilities

Came again to check on me, was very curt with him, tried to make him go away without letting him in but no such luck; he said K-Sensai doesn't trust me to take care of myself, probably right, wished I could tell him but he would give me that look, busted a can of soda and drenched me, laughed at me but blushed when he saw my shirt sticking to me, very cute, got angry; accused him of still being attracted to me even though I dare not find out for sure; he accused me of using my abilities, told him I didn't have to, told him what K-sensai told me to do, called me a whore

Came again to check on me, third day now, said something I don't quite remember and left quickly

The rest of her entries made during the times Sasuke was checking on her were much less interesting so he skimmed them until he reached the next section.

K-sensai set us up, because of his sharingan, a substitution, ironic that he should be the one, wish I knew how he felt about it, whole thing was sort of a blur, there was anxiety, longing, repression, felt some of his anger again but it left quickly, liberation, fear, ecstasy, just what I needed, so long I wondered, to change places, nearly lost my mind I think; he takes control so naturally, envy, admiration, exposure, overexposure?, volatility, catharsis, godforsaken snapping, the reset button, broken down so far, so base, so little it takes but so much there is

After that, she detailed her impressions on their training sessions together.

Fitful resistance, tolerance, denial, fear, overwhelming doubt, I hate that he can feel these things from me but it gives me purpose for my control, so hard to let go for both of us, so hard to hold on, electric touching so XXXX, in moderation this sensation would be fabulous, heat, pressure, spinning, dancing, coursing, pulsing, restraint, vivacity, immediacy, intimacy?, his hair is so soft, eyes of fire no matter what, pushes me so hard, so well, so often, hates when I'm comfortable, nearly intoxicating at times, want to caress his cheek and punch him in the nose

As much as Kakashi was amused by that last line, the part she crossed out annoyed him to no end. He had been trying to think of a word to describe the electric sensations he sometimes felt from her. As he thought about that, he looked once again for his own name among the countless others. Again, he found no such document, much to his displeasure. Out of spite, he took another paper from the top of the stack and read it quietly to himself.

Might Guy-Sensai - intense, intense, challenging, admired, curious, confident, quick, very quick, forgiving

Met during my first dinner out with K-sensai, was very forward, was rude to him, incredibly rude, felt threatened, intimidated?, by him somewhat but cannot say why, handled me well; returned to apologize and was told to forget, honor, pride, confidence, handsome face

Happened upon me just in time to be my first "conquest" in my new training, tried not to push my luck, did fairly well so I'm told, he took it well I am led to believe, though I know most of his actions were not driven by me, perhaps guided but that is all, so much passion, focus, determination

Kakashi shook his head in exasperation. Every dossier he read made him want to read what she had written about him even more. He was sure there had to be one for him and the fact that there was no trace of such a thing.

He had just picked up the sheet with Sakura's name on it when he heard someone approach. He couldn't believe that he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the front door open but that didn't matter. It was already too late. She returned earlier than he expected.

Calixta came home from a quick brunch and the house was quiet. Wondering if Kakashi had left but as she approached her room, she saw that it was open and heard shuffling from inside. The sight and sound made her step quicken and she gave a sharp gasp when she caught him snooping.

She was so horrified that she couldn't speak. It was obvious what he was doing. The trunk was open and there was a paper with her scribblings in his hand as well as in a small pile to the side.

"Calixta, you're home early," Kakashi dryly surmised, mentally slapping himself.

"W-Wh-Why?" she demanded quietly. "Why would you-?" she felt a tingle in her throat and it made her words stop short.

Kakashi breathed a heavy sigh and set the paper back in the trunk, closing and attempting to slide it back where he found it.

"What's the point?" she yelled and stormed into the room. Using a physical strength that he didn't know she possessed, she lifted the trunk and threw it to the ground violently. "Why even bother?" she grabbed an armful of papers as they scattered about and threw them in his face.

"I was simply curious about you because I realized how little you've opened up to me," Kakashi managed.

"You don't want to know who I am!" she told him incredulously. "You just want to turn me into something acceptable!"

"Calixta, please, calm down. I realize what I was doing was wrong but-" he tried to ease.

She gave him a look of absolute disbelief. "Of course you realized. I'm not an idiot! Maybe I should just be disappointed that I caught you. Getting caught red handed isn't very ninja, is it?" she accused.

"No, I suppose it's not," he agreed, hoping to placate her somewhat, though he was clearly disappointed with himself for getting caught.

"I hope you're happy," she told him as she started to walk out of her room.

"Actually, there seems to be one missing," Kakashi pointed out. She was already furious so there wasn't any worry about making matters worse.

She shot a suspicious, almost dangerous, look over her shoulder but didn't reply. "I'm going back out," she curtly informed as she headed for the front door again.

"Wait, just a minute," he called after her but she was already gone. He could have forcibly stopped her if he really wanted to but he knew that would only cause the situation to degrade further. When she slammed the door, he breathed a sigh of regret and wondered just how much damaged he had caused.

Instead of following her, he went back to her room to try to put the papers back in her trunk. Most of them were in great, sliding piles and had not gotten out of order. However, that was not the case entirely, leaving him with some organizing and shuffling to do. Still, he found nothing with his own name on it. Sure, there were references to him on nearly every page made for someone of the Hidden Leaf Village but they didn't tell him anything he didn't already know.

When he was finished cleaning up what he considered to be his mess, he waited for her to return and wondered if she would. The look of absolute betrayal that she gave him made him almost sick to his stomach. He wondered if he had failed her or his mission and wanted to seek her out to attempt to make things right but he knew it would only cause more of a scene. So, instead, he sat at home all the rest of the evening drinking sake, a sure way to make it so he wouldn't leave his house.

---

She ran out of Kakashi's house and down the street, not bothering to care which way she was going. She could feel the hot tears she'd been holding back start to overflow and run down her face. There were so many people out that afternoon and she didn't want to disturb any of them so she ended up stopping when she reached the secret garden that Jiraiya had showed her the first time they met. When her feet stopped moving, she couldn't stand any longer and threw herself on the grass at the base of a large, welcoming tree to sob until she passed out from physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.

That evening, however, she wasn't the only one seeking solitude in that garden. Jiraiya had decided that would be a good place to sit for a few drinks and look up at the stars before heading out for his next mission. Needless to say, he was more than surprised to find the beautiful woman that had monopolized his non-duty related thoughts sleeping on the ground.

He walked over to her and crouched down to have a better look. He half-expected her to wake from his presence but in fact, she seemed to relax a little and didn't stir as he observed her eyes darting beneath her eyelids and the way her breath came in slow, shallow breaths. Seeing her like that made him want to hold her.

Carefully, a minute or so later, he nudged her, "Calixta," he quietly called.

She stirred at the sound of her own name and her eyes fluttered open a moment later. "Jiraiya?" she blinked up at him as though she thought she was dreaming.

"Good evening," he greeted somewhat ironically.

She looked around nervously as she remembered why she had been sleeping there in the first place. "Ah, good evening," she managed to reply as she sat up, brushing some of the stray foliage from her clothes and hair.

"So, Kakashi kick you out or somethin'?" he teasingly proposed and the immediately regretted it because of the deer-in-the-headlights look she gave him.

She almost started running again but when she saw how ready he was to stop her from such an action the idea left her mind. "No… not exactly," she managed.

"You wanna talk about it?" he proposed, offering her his sake.

"I dunno," she shrugged but accepted the small jug with a thank you. This time, the face she made was actually less bitter than the expression she was making due to her mood. "What do you think of Kakashi-sensai?" she asked carefully after a quiet sputter from the burn of the alcohol.

Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow. "He's a good man, from what I've seen, and a good teacher. Excellent taste in fiction," he remarked offhandedly.

She sighed and nodded. "I've never had anyone like him in my life before. I don't know what to do sometimes and I think it really frustrates him."

"Being frustrating for your sensai is part of being his student," Jiraiya commented. "But I'm sure you're fine. You're a very considerate person."

She didn't really respond to that.

"What's bothering you?" he pressed honestly.

"I feel…betrayed," she told him sadly.

"By Kakashi?" he surmised.

She nodded and felt the tears start to sting her eyes again.

"May I ask what he did?"

"He," she paused to think of the right way to put it, "I found him going through some of my most personal things."

"Aw, Kakashi's just a perv. Don't get so bent out of shape for him trying to sneak a peek at your panty drawer," he dismissed.

She laughed a little at that, "If only it was that!"

Jiraiya liked that idea but not what it implied. "Then what?"

"I write…sometimes…when no one else is around," she elaborated painfully. "No one has ever seen a word of it until today."

It was obvious that she felt extremely violated. "I see. I'm sure he only did it-"

"To know me better," she finished for him. "Yes, I realize that."

"Then you should try to forgive him," Jiraiya advised. "He is after all only human."

"I know…I just felt so…I had to get out of there. I was furious with him and afraid I would do something I would regret. I know I shouldn't have been. Hell, if that's the first time he's been through my things, I'd be surprised."

"I'm surprised you caught him," he commented. "Perhaps he wanted you to catch him?"

"I don't think so. He looked so startled when he saw me, unless that was part of the rouse too."

"Do you think that if you opened up to him more, he wouldn't have invaded your privacy like that?"

"I dunno. We've spent so much time together but…I guess neither of us knows the other very well," she sighed. "But he makes me so uncomfortable. I feel like everything I do is under scrutiny."

He nodded with understanding. "That's probably because it is."

"Thank you for waking me. It would have been very foolish to sleep the night here," she shyly laughed a little.

Her laughter warmed his heart more than the sake he'd been sipping. "Not at all. I've spent many an evening here."

"Oh? With whom?"

He gave her an odd look. "By myself."

"Oh," she appeared startled. "Am I intruding?"

He laughed a little, "Not at all. In fact, I consider finding you here to be a very pleasant surprise."

"Oh. What's it like?"

"What's what like? Finding you here?" he questioned.

"Oh, no," she giggled, "Not that. I meant, spending time by yourself. Do you enjoy it?"

"Sometimes it's nice to get away from everyone. I find the occasional solitude very relaxing when I need to think," he replied wistfully.

"That must be nice," she looked away, toward one of the flower plots nearby.

"You don't get much time alone?" he surmised.

"Not exactly. I'm not supposed to be alone for very long," she admitted shamefully.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"It's bad for me," was all she could manage at first. "I need people around."

"We all need people, we're social creatures, all of us," he eased.

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better," she told him, still staring at the flowers.

"It doesn't seem like I'm doing a very good job," he half-grumbled.

"Just seeing your face made me feel better," she told him with a shy little smile.

He felt his heart flutter again and part of him wondered if this was some sort of trick but the look in her eyes told him otherwise. "You flatter me."

"I never noticed those flowers before," she looked back to the flower plot.

"They only bloom at night. During the day, they just look like green sticks," he mused, handing the sake back to her.

She accepted it without thinking. "They're marvelous."

"Just like you," he mused quietly.

"Now you're the flatterer," she mused with equal quietness to let him know she could hear him.

"I only speak the truth," he replied and then he noticed the strange little smile she was wearing. "What's that look for?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about Kakashi-sensai. Even if he reads every page in that trunk, he'll still be left wanting," she smirked.

"Oh? How's that?"

She gave him a curious look. "I'd rather not say," she blushed a little.

"Fair enough. Gimme a kiss instead?" he proposed, pointing to his cheek, which was already starting to turn rosy with intoxication.

She giggled at him and grabbed him by the cheeks again to plant a firm, warm kiss on his lips. Then, she breathed a sigh. It was almost a chuckle and leaned upward to plant a softer, sweeter kiss on his forehead. However, much of the sweetness of her gesture was lost because her chest was so close to his face.

Jiraiya made a stupid little sound as his hands reached up to cradle her heavy bosom. Again, he was expecting a slap and received none. She gave a heated gasp and look down at him without pulling away.

"Ah, you're so forward," she blushingly awed.

"I was under the impression you were somewhat used to forward men, and women for that matter," he added offhandedly.

"I-I-," she stammered as she felt her blush quickly spreading, "Not here I'm not, this village has been different," she managed after the first couple of squeezes.

He would have backed off if she had given any indication that she wanted him to. "Heh, I've always been a little different in that department," he mused.

"I guess that makes two of us," she mused and then, since it was a little awkward for her to just sit there and get groped, she kissed him again.

This was very much to his delight and he pulled her into his lap. She was smaller than most of the women he'd been with and fit very well into his lap. They were content like that for some time until his hand reached into her shirt and felt, in addition to what he was after, paper.

"Hm?" he broke their kiss to look down at his discovery, "What's this?" he pulled at the corner until it came into view.

She gasped and he felt his heart skip a beat. "It's…what Kakashi-sensai is looking for. Well, he didn't know that when he started but I'm sure that's what it became a search for," she half-mused.

"Is that why you keep it on you? So he can't find it?"

She nodded guiltily.

"I suppose that clinches it," Jiraiya greedily concluded.

"Clinches what?" she blinked curiously.

"Oh, I ran into Kakashi the other day and when I asked, he said that the two of you weren't…well, intimate, so to speak," he made a crude gesture for emphasis.

She gave an odd look. "He said that?"

"Was he lying? I mean, I don't really care who you're with as long as they don't care about me," he reasoned.

"It's not like that," she told him.

"That's exactly what he said," Jiraiya chidingly reported, though he hadn't completely stopped groping her.

She appeared disappointed.

"It looks like you were hoping it was like that." This time he stopped groping.

"No, well, ugh, I don't know," she suddenly went limp, allowing her head to fall and rest on one of his broad shoulders with a heavy sigh.

"Why don't you tell me what it is like then?" he proposed, running his fingers through her hair to ease them both.

"I'm sure you'd rather not hear about my affairs with others," she dismissed.

Jiraiya shrugged. "I want to hear about you."

She lifted her head and gave him a look of shock. "Do you really mean that?" she asked quietly.

He was only able to hear her because her mouth was so close to his ear when he spoke. "I don't say things I don't mean."

"Have you ever…had sex with someone out of obligation?"

"No, I don't think so. It's happened during the course of covert missions but it was hardly an obligation. Are you saying you're obliged to sleep with Kakashi?"

"Ah, well, no. Not exactly. It's more like the other way around," she couldn't maintain eye contact as she spoke.

"How is that?"

"Because of the nature of my abilities and how difficult my chakra is to control…I require certain…activities on a regular basis in order to…maintain my stability," she carefully explained.

"Oh? That's very interesting. And Kakashi, as your sensei and guardian, is charged with helping you maintain those activities?"

"That would be the case," she sighed.

"And you don't think he wants to?"

"It doesn't matter if he wants to. He does it because he has to. It's all so stupid."

"Not at all. I can see where your tension is coming from. Perhaps getting out and socializing a little more might do you some good," he suggested.

"I've been working on that. This latest stage of training has been very good for that," she half-joked but then grew slightly saddened again.

"What's that look for?" he chided because he had just breathed a sigh of relief at her smile starting to return.

"Oh, I was just thinking that it wouldn't be as bad if he'd let me give back a little more. He does so much, gives so much…" she trailed off because she knew she didn't have to continue.

"But I've heard that you do all his cooking and cleaning. Naruto even brags about how good your cooking is."

"I don't mind all that. It gives me something to do and it's not like he expects it. I don't do it when I don't feel like it," she shrugged. "Actually, I've started to hold back on some of that because I think it bothers him."

"Well, you're his student, not his significant other. He's probably concerned about giving you the wrong impression."

She rolled his eyes. "You've never seen us together so I'll just let you know, he makes it perfectly clear that he and I are not romantically involved and that's fine. I don't want romance with Kakashi-sensai."

"What do you want then?" Jiraiya couldn't help asking as he handed the bottle back to her.

Calixta pursed her lips for a moment before taking a contemplative sip. The alcohol wasn't any less bitter than the first time she tried it but her reactions were becoming less and less intense as she became accustomed to it. "It's not like I don't want to be his student anymore. He's been so incredibly patient with me that I couldn't possibly ask for anything better…but I want a lover who doesn't operate out of obligation. I mean, he doesn't even let me-" she started to babble but stopped herself suddenly.

"Doesn't let you what?" Jiraiya prompted lecherously.

She gave him a weird look. "Are you sure you wanna talk about this?" she questioned.

As far as Jiraiya was concerned, whether or not he wanted to talk about it wasn't the issue anymore. It was obvious to him that she needed someone to talk to and he was the only one who made himself available to her in a way that she was receptive to. There was no doubt in his mind that there were probably a number of others who could have taken up this charge but, as luck would have it, it fell to him. "After stopping so suddenly, you've made me very curious," he teasingly answered.

"He doesn't encourage me to…reciprocate his actions or take certain kinds of initiative."

"You have a superb knack for being vague, my dear," he continued to tease as he continued to drink.

"He does all these amazingly wonderful things to me and he won't even let me give him a handjob," she blurted out.

That made Jiraiya laugh heartily, nearly knocking her off his lap.

"Isn't it idiotic?" she continued.

It took a moment for him to catch his breath to respond and even when he did, he was still wiping tears from his eyes. "Well…yes but no," he managed.

"That's the worst answer ever!" she playfully punched him in the chest.

He laughed again, this time at himself, "I suppose it is. Let me try to explain."

"Yes, please do," she teasingly prompted. Even though this was a subject that has caused her much discomfort, she felt oddly at ease speaking with this person about it.

"Well, it's idiotic because you're marvelously attractive, among the other lovely qualities I've discovered in you. It's not because I'm sure he feels you're just as obligated as he is. He probably doesn't want to push you into anything you wouldn't want to do." When he saw her about to argue with that he added, "Even if it's your offer."

She still didn't like that. "I understand that but…oh, I don't know. He's just so frustrating," she banged her head on his shoulder. "I just feel like…like he's afraid of losing control of me or something, like I'll just start doing jutsu on him or something and…ugh," she sighed. "I just want him to feel as good as I do when we're together. I mean, sometimes he doesn't even let me get him off. He just takes care of me and leaves."

He gave an affectionate chuckle and ran his fingers through her hair again. "Maybe you should just do it. Don't be discouraged by him. If he looks like he wants to get off, then do it."

She appeared appalled by that. "I couldn't do such a thing to him. He's been too good to me to ignore his wishes. For whatever reason, he doesn't want me. I just have to accept that."

"You know, you could relieve some of his burden by seeking satisfaction elsewhere," he suggested.

"I know…I'm just worried that it would turn into the same thing."

He nodded with understanding. "That's a reasonable concern," he admitted. "Here, why don't you let me distract you from him for a night? I'm sure you've realize that I'm not averse to your advances."

She gave a shy but still rather sly little smile before kissing him again. "Yeah, okay." With that, she was as forward with him as she wanted to be. Sometimes that meant grabbing him, pulling him impossibly close, and groping him through and under his clothes. Other times, that meant sitting back a bit and allowing him to do as he pleased. All this resulted in them coupling in that garden, beneath the large tree and lying beneath its canopy, breathless for several long minutes afterward.

As far as Jiraiya was concerned, that could have been contested as the best love-making session he'd ever participated in and he couldn't help staring stupidly upward as the euphoria slowly faded. She was so perceptive and so animated that he had significant difficulty thinking of a rival for her.

"Mmmm…that was wonderful, thank you," she told him as she cuddled against him.

His head was still spinning and his initial reply was only a vague nod. "Indeed," he managed after a moment of thought. "You know," he told her once he could sit up again and grab his sake, "I wouldn't mind helping you out more often if it suited you," he offered.

She gave him a wide smile and he felt his stomach flip-flop for a moment before she hugged him gently. "That would be very nice."

They drank until she passed out and, since he was still reasonably sober, he carried her back to Kakashi's if only because he knew of no other place to take her.

He knocked on Kakashi's front door a little while later and heard someone stumbling to get to the door inside.

"Ji-Jiraiya?" Kakashi squinted out the door when he answered it. His scarf was down and his bandana askew, leaving his sharingan partially exposed, and he looked a little disoriented.

"Kakashi, good evening," the older man greeted with a wide smile.

"What's all this?" he motioned to the woman sleeping in the larger man's arms.

"Oh, I just happened upon her and thought I'd bring her back to you," he replied simply. "May I come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Kakashi stepped aside, feeling very foolish. "Her room's back this way," he led the older man back to her bedroom where she was tucked into her bed and allowed to rest peacefully. "Thanks for bringing her back," Kaksashi said after her door was closed.

"It was nothing, really," Jiraiya looked at the door as though he could see through it to the sleeping woman inside.

"Would you like a drink, since you're here?" Kakashi was slowly remembering his manners.

"Sure, why not?" he shrugged and followed the younger man to the table where he had obviously already been drinking. He picked up the bottle of sake that was sitting on the table to find it over half-finished as Kakashi retrieved a second saucer for his guest.

"Where did you find her?" he asked when he sat down with his guest.

Jiraiya described the spot.

"Oh, yeah, I know that garden. The one with the night bloomers, right?" Kakashi managed.

"That's the one."

"What was she doing?"

"Well, when I happened upon her, she was quite asleep but she woke up shortly after I arrived and we talked for a while," he shrugged.

"You talked?" Kakashi scoffed.

"Among other things," she winked.

The younger man gave a nod. That was much more what he was expecting. "What did you talk about?"

Jiraiys smirked. "You, mostly."

Kakashi had a feeling that was the case.

"Looks like you could you could use someone to talk to as well," the older man chided.

"What makes you say that?" the younger defensively questioned.

"'Cause I know from experience that sake bottles are terrible listeners," he motioned to the bottle with a slight laugh.

"What did she tell you?" Kakashi pressed.

Jiraiya shook his head. "What do you think she told me?"

Kakashi looked away.

"Did you want her to catch you?"

"Not really," Kakashi admitted. "I was so caught up in reading what she'd written that I didn't hear her come back. I was an idiot," he sighed.

"Yeah, she thinks you're pretty idiotic too," Jiraiya laughed and when Kakashi grumbled he continued, "but that's not why."

"Oh?" Kakashi dryly prompted.

"Yeah, she can't figure out why you don't let her do more for you," he elaborated.

The younger man breathed a sigh of frustration. "She's not supposed to be doing things for me," he insisted.

"Yes, well perhaps not officially but would it really hurt to let her do a few things every now and then?" he proposed.

"She does plenty already, more than she should," Kakashi commented before taking another sip.

"This really got to you, didn't it?"Jiraiya took his sip in turn.

Kakashi didn't want to answer that. "I don't usually drink this much, if that's what you mean," was his reply.

"That was one indication," the older man shrugged. "That…and the fact that you weren't out looking for her."

"It wouldn't have helped to chase after her," the younger shrugged.

"Are you sure she wasn't hoping you'd chase her?"

"With her…I'm not very sure about anything but you can sort of tell by the way someone slams a door whether or not they want you to follow them. No, she wanted nothing more than to get away from me."

Jiraiya frowned at that. "She's much less angry with you now."

"Thank you for that."

"How are you going to make it up to her?"

Kakashi shook his head a little and took another drink. He had been debating whether trying to make it up to her was a good idea. "I dunno if I should even try."

The older man frowned.

"You think I should."

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to."

"If that's what you think, there's no changing your mind. You've already had too much to drink to argue about that kind of thing. It's just what I would do if I knew someone felt as betrayed by me as she feels toward you."

"Betrayed. Is that the word she used?" Kakashi looked out the window to avoid eye-contact.

"At least once. I didn't bother to count," he shrugged. "She just needed some time to get over how upset she was."

"I hope you're right."

"Well, you look pretty beat. I'm gunna take off," Jiraiya stood and announced without warning.

"Night," Kakashi called as his guest showed himself out and stumbled to bed.

They both woke late the following morning. She woke before him and was surprised that the whistle of the tea kettle didn't wake him. She finished her tea, cleaned up the dishes he left out from the night before, and waited another hour before attempting to wake him. In fact, she wasn't sure he was even there. However, when she pressed her ear against his bedroom door, she could hear him sleeping inside.

Without knocking, she carefully, quietly opened his door and peeked inside to find him sprawled out on his bed, half dressed. She couldn't help thinking how adorable he looked like that but when she did, she saw him stir, giving a little whimper. Since his scarf was bunched up around his neck, she got to see the slightest of smiles start to tug at the corners of his mouth.

With that, she couldn't help approaching, silently closing his door behind her. As she drew closer, she pulled off her shirt and bra but left the rest of her clothes on. She stood at the side of his bed for a long minute, simply watching him sleep because it warmed her heart unimaginably to see him so peaceful. However, that feeling unaccompanied by appropriate action caused him to stir again, this time into waking.

He cracked an eye to see the presence he felt near him. "Calixta?" he squinted up at her.

"Shhh…" she drew closer until she could reach his barely-on bandana, "May I?" she lightly dragged her fingertips over the leaf symbol.

He gave her a strange look but didn't argue so she did what she wanted. Though, it wasn't quite what he was expecting, which was for her to pull it up off over his head. Rather, she pulled it down over his eyes. "Huh?" he reached a sleepy hand up to push it out of the way again but he felt a gentle hand on his wrist a moment before she kissed him. This caused him to lace his fingers with hers instead of trying to pull away because he was severely hung-over and the darkness was actually preferable to the light of day that poured in through his window.

He didn't get to see the way she awed down at him but he could feel it because she was holding back her actions. It wasn't because she necessarily wanted to but because now that he couldn't see, she didn't want to startle him. She liked him like this, lethargic, compliant, and wanted it to last as long as possible. "You're going to let me do whatever I want to you and I'm not going to have to use my jutsu to do it," she told him evenly when her lips reached his ear.

She felt a shiver go through him as she spoke and he could only nod in response. "Good," she told him with a sureness that he had rarely heard from her as she finished undressing him. "Tell me, why did you go through my trunk?" she asked when she exposed his growing erection.

"I was curious about you so I went snooping," he admitted.

"Was that the first time you went snooping?" she pressed as she began to coax him to his full length with her amble bosom.

He groaned a little at the feeling before answering. "The second," he admitted.

"I suppose that is a lot of reading for one sitting," she mused lightly before flicking her tongue out to tease the swelling head of his cock as it emerged from between her breasts.

"Indeed it is. Is that everyone you've ever met?"

"No…sadly, no," she sighed a little. "Many of my records have been destroyed over the years…or else there might be a second trunk," she half-joked. "Did you mean for me to catch you?"

He laughed a little at that. "Unfortunately, no," he admitted.

"Was your curiosity satisfied?" she continued to ask even though he was now completely hard with precum beading from the slit in the tip.

He laughed again, "Yes and no," he answered between breaths.

"Oh? How do you mean?" she pressed.

"Yes because I got to know a lot more about you, or at least how you perceive others. No because there seemed to be something missing," he dryly answered between pants.

Then it was her turn to laugh.

"This is cruel, you know that right?" he teasingly chided.

"Oh? What's that?"

He gave a groan of mock-frustration. "Interrogating me like this, it's not fair."

She paused for a moment to see if he really felt that way. It was the first time she'd used any of her abilities on him without permission but she had to know. He didn't get to see her smirk when she realized that he was actually rather impressed with her. All he got was the faint feeling of her chakra probing him for a brief moment.

"What was that? I thought you weren't going to-?" his words stopped mid-sentence when she started to gently suckle the head of his cock while rhythmically lifting and squeezing her breasts around his shaft.

"Shut up and cum for me," she ordered between sucks and was rewarded a minute later with him cumming in her mouth.

He knew he shouldn't have been, but he was mildly surprised by how eagerly she sucked every last drop from his shaft before retreating from him. When they were no longer in physical contact, Kakashi reached a slow, lazy hand up to his bandana. He hesitated for a moment to allow her time to stop him if she wished before lifting it on one side to see her.

"I'm going out. Do you need anything?" she told him as she carefully redressed so as not to reveal the papers she kept hidden in her blouse.

Kakashi's head was still spinning. "Ah…no…I don't think so…" he muttered.

She nodded and headed for the door, still licking her lips a little.

"Hey, so am I crazy or didn't you write about me?" Kakashi managed to call after her when her hand was on the door.

"You might be crazy," she giggled a little and let him feel how pleasing it was for her to tell him that. "Either way…I doubt you'll find it," she told him as she exited.

Well, at least he knew that the thing he'd been searching for actually existed. On the other hand, it was out there and she thought it was hidden well enough that he would be incapable of locating it. He didn't resume his search that day but he planned to the next time he thought it was safe to search.

She was gone for most of that day but, returned for dinner that evening and, appeared to be in a fairly good mood.

"Another date with Ebisu? Or perhaps it was Jiraiya this time?" Kakashi half-teased when he saw she was in good humor.

She laughed a little. "No, I'm afraid not," she replied, putting on a kettle of tea.

"Regardless, it appears that you succeeded in your fifth conquest after all," the silver-haired man began.

"Fifth? But I never-?" she stopped to think. Number five had been Jiraiya and after last night, she had disregarded that mission in favor of forming a more genuine relationship with the older man.

"Master Jiraiya brought you back last night. You were asleep so I'm not surprised you don't remember."

"Oh? Does that count?" she asked incredulously.

"It counts enough for you to move on. Maybe try one of the more perceptive young people in the village," he suggested.

"Oh," she shrugged and accepted his determination. "Okay."

"I can't tell you how surprised I was to see him bringing you here like that. You must have put some spell on him," Kakashi continued teasing.

She shot him an odd look.

"Is that why you were so forward with me earlier? Was it something he said?" he pressed.

She smirked a little. "You know me better than you think," she told him.

"I know Jiraiya," Kakashi corrected rather pointedly and it caused her to pout a little. "What did he tell you?"

She blushed. "I don't really remember," she sheepishly replied.

Kakashi cocked a curious eyebrow. "Really? He might be disappointed to hear you say that."

As they spoke, she was recalling the evening but it was coming in fits and spurts of sights, sounds, feelings, emotions, everything was a bit of a jumble. However, overall it gave her a warm feeling inside to remember the evening. "Oh, I remember the important parts," she replied impishly.

"So you two did have some fun. Good for you," he encouraged.

She blushed again but this time not as deeply.

"I wanted to ask you, but I didn't really get the chance yesterday, have you ever written anything decidedly negative about anyone?" Kakashi asked genuinely.

"What do you mean?" she blinked curiously at him.

"Well, since you caught me I feel like I can ask you. You don't seem to have written anything bad about anybody. I was wondering if that was intentional," he elaborated carefully.

"Just how much reading did you do?" she asked, shaking her head in exasperation. "I just write what I feel. I don't think about whether it's good or bad or whatever. It just is. That's all that matters, right?" she proposed.

He gave her an odd look that made her very uncomfortable.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she shifted in her seat.

He shook his head, much the way she had a moment ago. "It's nothing," he dismissed.

She obviously didn't believe him. "You're a terrible liar sometimes, ya know that?"

"How do you know I'm not a terrible liar all the time?"

"I don't," she shrugged. "That's why I'm hedging on that one. I'd like to believe that if you're as good a ninja as you say, that you could give me a bald-faced lie I'd believe."

He would like to believe that too and generally it would be true but with her he wasn't so sure. "So you don't feel negatively toward anyone?" he tried again.

This time, it was her turn to give an odd look. "Why are you asking me such strange questions?"

"Because I've never bothered to ask them before," he shrugged. "Humor me."

"I suppose I have but why would I want to keep a record of such feelings? I write to remember that there are good things and to sort out the way I feel," she answered.

"So you have felt badly toward someone before?"

"Well, of course. Isn't that part of being human?" She shook her head in exasperation again. "Though sometimes I may wonder to what degree I resemble the rest of humanity, I know I am human," she almost laughed at herself but held it back.

He felt her sad laugh and gave into it himself so that she didn't have to.

"But, I think I understand what you're getting at now. So, I'll say that by and large, I find it difficult to see bad things in people. I know they're there. Everyone has them but when I look at other people, I see their goodness and little else," she finally answered, knowing that she had been putting him off and wondering if he realized it too. It was very likely that he did.

"Why did you say anything about that?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

She quirked an eyebrow. "What do you see when you look at people?" she genuinely questioned.

"I see…people. They're not good or bad until they prove otherwise," he answered. "But it's not just people for you, is it? It's other stuff too, right?" he pressed now that she was giving him real answers.

"Other stuff? What kinds of other stuff are we talkin' about here?" she laughed a little to lighten the mood and it seemed to work.

"Anything. Art, nature, food?" he tried.

She gave a non-committal shrug. "I suppose that's true."

"Fascinating," he tried not to marvel too much. This certainly explained her reluctance to use her powers as most ninja would. Though, most ninja hadn't had the life she had.

"Really?" It didn't sound like she believed him.

"Quite," he answered simply.

"If you say so," she almost grumbled as she finished their dinner preparations.

"You don't believe me," he surmised.

"Oh, I believe you. I just don't understand it, that's all," she told him as she handed him the dishes to set the table.

Now more than ever he wanted to read what she had written about him. Before this conversation, he hadn't thought that to be possible but the idea that it wouldn't contain any of his truly negative aspects just made it all the more appealing. "I'm leaving for a few days starting tomorrow. I would have given you more notice if that's what I had gotten," he dryly mused when he suddenly remembered.

"Oh? Another exciting mission?" she teased.

"So it seems and I'll be taking my team with me so Sasuke won't be around to check up on you this time," he half-teased back.

"Good!" she scoffed.

"Oh, come now. The two of you are getting along better now than I've ever seen," Kakashi pointed out.

"So do I get to throw a big house party while you're gone then?"

He cringed. With her ability to gather people she could very well destroy his home. "I'd really rather you didn't. But if you wanted to have someone over, that'd be just fine," he answered almost parentally.

She giggled and saw the shiver it caused in him, "Sorry about that. That's the hardest one to control so far," she admitted.

"D-" was as far as he got before she corrected herself.

"Well, not sorry, but you know," she covered.

"That's better and it's okay, really. It's completely inoffensive to say the least," he managed. In actuality, it was probably the best feeling he'd ever experienced while not in physical contact with another body.

She quirked an odd look but didn't argue.

"I trust you'll be sufficiently entertained in my absence then?" he chided.

"I'm sure I'll manage." She served their meals a few minutes later and they were nearly half done before she said what was on her mind since she left that morning. "Sorry for sort of attacking you this morning," she blushed, stirring her noodles because she didn't want to make eye contact.

He laughed at that. "Please, don't apologize for that. It was unexpected but I'm sure you could tell I enjoyed myself," he managed.

Her blush deepened. "Well, I'm glad," she resolutely replied in spite of her obvious embarrassment.

"What made you do it?" he pressed willfully.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she countered with matched will.

"Well, I did ask," he replied.

"I've wanted to do that since the first morning I woke up here," she answered frankly.

"R-Really?"

"Now you're the one who doesn't believe me," she chided.

"Oh, I didn't say that," he managed even though he was now also blushing a little. "I'm just surprised."

She didn't think he should be surprised at all.

"If it took you nearly a year just to do that than Ebisu might be kind of disappointed," he teased.

"That's completely different," she scoffed.

"If you say so. I don't think I've ever met such a prudish pervert as you."

They both laughed at that. "Now you know I can't just go around being a perv like you and everyone else. People will think I'm up to something,"

"I think the people here are getting used to you. You'll be able to be yourself in no time."

"Myself?" she repeated in a quiet, near awe. "Who's that?" she rolled her eyes.

He didn't like that response. "Don't be like that. It's okay if you're still figuring out who that person is," he eased and she seemed to appreciate that. "Besides that's a terrible attitude to have for going out for dessert."

She smiled a little and shook her head. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

***

It seemed that they could not go out together without running into someone that Kakashi knew. This was of no special surprise since he knew nearly everyone in the village but it still seemed to surprise her.

This time it was Kiba out for the same after-dinner treat. But they didn't get to see him right away. The first thing they saw was Akamaru barreling toward them, more specifically toward Calixta.

The little white dog ran up to her and leapt up onto her. He was lucky that she was quick to catch him or he would have simply bounced off her breasts and landed gracelessly to the ground.

"Oh! My goodness! Who in the world are you?" she greeted the canine warmly, letting him lick her face.

"Akamaru!" Kiba emerged from the ice cream stand, chasing after his pup. "I'm so sorry! He's not usually like this!" he reached for his dog but it didn't want to leave her arms.

"It seems he likes you," Kakashi teased.

"Akamaru! Down!," Kiba scolded again and the dog gave a reluctant whine.

"Oh, if you don't mind, he's just fine. Absolutely adorable in fact," she doted on the dog.

"He doesn't usually jump on people like that," Kiba tried again. Actually, he'd never known his dog to jump on anyone but him and maybe his closest family members. He would have been put off by this except his dog had happened to pick the most attractive young woman he'd ever seen.

"So if this is Akamaru, then you are?" she prompted the young man.

"Ah, Kiba, Kiba Inuzuka," he managed after a moment.

"It looks like we're headed for the same place," Kakashi noted where the teen had emerged from and started walking again. As they walked, Calixta and Kakashi exchanged meaningful looks. He wanted her to test her power on this young man because of how receptive his dog was to her. Usually the beast was protective so this was a definite change.

She giggled when the pup began to lick her cheeks again and they both saw the boy and his dog react to the sound. Kiba shivered and Akamaru melted in her arms, something that made the owner more than a little jealous because of the way her breasts pillowed the dog's head.

He didn't try to get Akamaru back while they ordered their ice cream cones and when Calixta and Kiba were seated at one of the tables off to the side of the shop, Kakashi ducked out for a few minutes, citing that he saw someone he knew across the street and saying he would be back shortly. He had seen someone he knew but really it was an excuse to give the two younger individuals a few moments alone.

"So, what team are you two on?" Calixta inquired as they licked their ice cream. Well, she was doing more licking than he was. He was so fascinated by her that his was melting more than he was eating it.

"Team 8," he explained his team and she seemed more interested than he thought she would be.

"They sound wonderful. I'd love to meet them sometime," she smile wistfully at the descriptions he provided her.

"I'll introduce you, if we get the chance," he managed in spite of how his stomach flip-flopped at her smile.

Then, she took a particularly long lick off her ice cream to see how he would react. She wasn't disappointed. He barely held back his nose bleed, however slight, but his dog, on the other hand, wasn't as self-contained. He could sense his owner's tension and took action in the form of trying to burry himself between her breasts.

She made a girly squeal of surprise as he dove down her shirt.

"Akamaru!" Kiba scolded. He couldn't believe his eyes, which were bugging out of his head. "Get out of there!"

She giggled and squirmed, mostly because the dog's nose was cold and wet on one of her warmer body parts.

When his dog still wouldn't come to him, Kiba, without thinking, reached for him. He didn't realize what he was doing until his hands had touched her chest. He did manage to extract his whining dog but not without blushing so deeply that his facial markings nearly disappeared.

Her giggle continued when she saw how mortified he was. "It's quite alright, really," she tried to ease.

"I can't believe he did that," Kiba couldn't even look at her anymore he was so embarrassed.

"It's okay," she patted him on the head as he zipped the pup into his jacket. "I promise," she leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead.

Unfortunately for Kiba, he happened to look down just as she did that and caught a peek down her shirt, making his dog go for it once again. This time, he didn't escape his owner's grasp but he did manage to cause the young man to stumble forward and right into her, giving Akamaru what he wanted.

"Ack!" Kiba stumbled backward from her and fell on his butt. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him tonight!" he managed from his prone position on the ground.

"Oh, my dear!" she didn't listen to his apology. "Here, let me help you up," she leaned over and reached out a hand.

Kiba thought his head was going to explode. "Uh, no, that's okay. I got it," he stood and made sure he was a good few feet away. Luckily for him, Kakashi was on his way back.

"What happened here?" the older man asked playfully when he saw the pair standing with their ice cream on the ground.

"I'm really sorry, Kakashi-sensei. Akamaru sort of got kinda excited and we dropped'em," Kiba explained.

"Oh, well that's alright. Here," he took them back over to the stand and got them each a new ice cream cone.

"Thank you very much, Kakashi-sensei," Kiba managed as he accepted the substitute for the one he'd carelessly dropped while retrieving his dog in a panic.

"It's nothing," the older man dismissed. "Calixta, are you ready to go?"

"I think so," she nodded and then turned to the younger man, "It was nice to meet you, Kiba-san," she smiled, "And you too, Akamaru," she winked and patted the dog on the head.

"Uh," Kiba's brain stopped for a second, "Yeah, you too," he gave a silly little smile as they parted ways.

"How'd it go?" Kakashi asked when he knew for sure he was out of earshot of the boy and his dog, both of which had exceptional hearing.

"It went well," she smiled a little at her sensei.

"Looks like you had him pretty good," Kakashi teased.

"It was easy," she admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"Oh? Why's that?" he questioned curiously.

"The dog," she replied simply.

"I thought that would be an obstacle for you, honestly."

She shrugged. "Animals like me."

"Obviously," Kakashi chuckled.

"Though if I hadn't started with the dog, it may not have worked as well. They are very close, very close," she explained.

"That they are."

"Adorable puppy though," she mused. "It seems to respond to him without him having to do anything."

"They have something of an instinctive bond, you might say."