oOo
Pieces
A Kakashi Romance
3. Emiri's Heart
"Emiri-senpai! Oh, Hokage-sama!" Emiri and Kakashi were greeted with bows by the medical-nin who noticed them walk in together.
Emiri greeted her team of specialists that she had personally and extensively trained the past month. "Ryo-san," she greeted her lead specialist who showed the most progress in the short amount of time, "The Hokage is taking a tour of our clinic today. Do you have a moment to show him the site?"
"Yes, Emiri-senpai," said Ryo as he rounded the corner of the front desk.
"Ryo-san is one of the best we have on location," Emiri beamed at Kakashi. "He will give you an excellent tour."
"Er, thank you, Emiri," said Kakashi, his eyes widened fractionally. He expected a tour with the young woman, not her assistant.
Kakashi watched as Emiri walked away, greeting staff as she passed. She was quite popular, Kakashi realized, , unsure of how a young woman like her could have slipped his notice—even though she was a year older than his now grown-up students.
"Ready, Hokage-sama," asked Ryo.
Kakashi nodded and allowed the eager young man to show him around. The clinic was small, but well organized. In one part of the hospital, several medical experts were seen treating physical injuries of Academy students. In another part of the clinic, the hospital was divided into section. In a large room, Kakashi saw several young kids sitting in a circle with two staff in what appeared to be group therapy.
In another wing of the hospital there were several smaller rooms. Two were currently occupied.
"We do group therapy and individual therapy," Ryo explained as they paused outside one of the room. Inside, there was a kid who looked to be about eleven years old with his eyes closed and a staff member holding her glowing green hand over his forehead.
"She is assessing his memories to understand how we can provide the best care."
Finally, their tour ended at a large, outdoor terrace.
"Emiri-senpaaaaaiii! Look at me!"
"Hiroko! Chopsticks are not kunai!"
Kakashi chuckled behind his mask when he saw Emiri sitting on the ground with a handful of children that looked to be under six years old.
"Isamu, be careful!" Emiri held up her bowl of rice as a five-year-old boy fell onto her lap, laughing hard.
Emiri gave the boy a stern look, but it quickly faded as she laughed as well, a sound like bells in the wind, Kakashi noted. She put her bowl aside and lifted the boy from her lap. Emiri glanced up at that moment and noticed Kakashi and Ryo. Gracefully she stood and brushed the dirt from the seat of her shorts.
"Ryo-san will you supervise them as I talk with Kakashi-sama?"
"Yes, Emiri-senpai." Ryo grinned broadly as he joined the children and the children protested at Emiri's leaving, but rejoiced for Ryo joining them.
Kakashi and Emiri started to walk away when Emiri stumbled. Reflexively, Kakashi reached out an arm to steady her. He looked down to see the little boy Emiri identified as Isamu hugging tightly to Emiri's knees.
Emiri glanced at Kakashi's hand on her upper arm, and Kakashi removed it. Emiri then knelt to the ground to be eye-level with Isamu.
Isamu scowled beneath his messy black hair and dark eyes. "Emiri-nee-san, don't go."
"I'm only going to have a conversation with the Hokage-sama. Have you met him before, Isamu?"
Isamu continued to scowl as he looked up at Kakashi. "Why do you where a mask?"
"Isamu, that isn't polite."
"It's fine, Emiri," Kakashi chuckled before he crouched down as well. "Because, Isamu, it makes me look cool." Kakashi closed his eyes as he smiled through his mask.
"You're weird!" Isamu exclaimed and clung to Emiri once more.
"Isamu…" Emiri sighed. She eventually pushed the little boy off of her and ruffled his hair. "Go finish lunch and I will be back later, okay?"
"Isamu, you have good tracking ability," Kakashi complimented the small boy. "I almost didn't hear you come."
Isamu glanced warily at Kakashi once more before he ran away to Ryo and the other children.
Emiri smiled faintly as both she and Kakashi stood.
Wordlessly, Kakashi followed Emiri to the front of the clinic where there was a bench in front. Emiri sat first and pat the seat beside her for Kakashi to sit. Kakashi removed his hat and sat beside the young woman, running a hand through his silvery hair.
"Sorry about Isamu," said Emiri, wincing slightly. "He's a sweet boy, he just…"
"He lost everything in the war," Kakashi supplied, and Emiri simply nodded.
"I hoped for his sake that he came from a large clan, but when I looked into his personal history I was disappointed. His dad was from Kirigakure, and you know about their brutal traditions for students—so, there was no family on dad's side, and mom was a Konoha shinobi. She had lost her family in the previous war. He literally had no one left." Emiri sighed heavily. "We serve a lot of orphans here, and we have a portion of the clinic that goes to housing them, but it's not enough. These kids need family. Isamu…"
Kakashi remained silent. He watched as the corners of Emiri's red lips turned up in the slightest of smiles.
"When I found Isamu, he was three years old, and hiding by himself in a tree, and he didn't talk for six months after the war. We took care of him in the hospital before we started the clinic, and I would visit him every day and read him a story. One day as I was leaving he just grabbed my hand and looked at me with such big eyes and asked for another story." Emiri then chuckled. "It's kind of sad isn't it? Somehow, I let down my guard and my feelings have interfered with my mission. Don't let this fool you, Hokage-sama. I was among the top of my class, and I can be professional."
"It's not a weakness to care for others, Emiri."
Emiri turned her green eyes on Kakashi at that moment, and she silently regarded him, as if trying to understand exactly what he was all about. Kakashi was used to that, women, men, anyone, really, staring at him to pick him apart both with good and bad intentions.
While Emiri openly regarded him, Kakashi did the same to her. Every time he saw her, she had her dark hair down and over her shoulder, the tips of her hair ending just under her breasts. Her long-sleeved kimono dress fell to her upper thighs and had slits on either side that went all the way to her waist where her porcelain skin would occasionally peek out above her black shorts. She was, Kakashi noted, very beautiful.
And so much younger than him.
"Hey! Emiri! Kakashi-sensei!"
Kakashi and Emiri looked away from each other, as if broken by a spell. They turned to see Ino and Sakura walking toward them, both slightly disheveled.
"You're both back at the same time," Emiri observed.
"Yeah," said Sakura. "Our missions ended up being connected by a single rogue shinobi."
Ino and Sakura paused in front of Kakashi and Emiri. Ino narrowed her gaze and crossed her arms. She leaned forward and glanced at Kakashi and Emiri. "Hmm, are you two on a date?"
"Absolutely not!" Emiri jumped to her feet, her face flushed. "Kakashi-sama came by to see the clinic and also explain that Kirigakure wants to open a clinic there too."
"That's not romantic at all," Ino sighed.
"Stop, Ino."
Kakashi glanced up at Emiri when he noticed the hardness in her tone. Was the idea of a date with him really that horrible? But the young woman now had a far away look in her eyes. Kakashi then glanced at Ino, and Ino's teasing smile fell.
"Emiri-nee-san, I'm sorry. I—"
"It's fine, Ino." Emiri cut her off. She then sighed. "I need to go back to the children. Let's talk about this tomorrow."
Emiri paused and gave Kakashi the slightest of bows before she left, wordlessly.
"Don't worry, Ino," said Sakura, touching her friend's shoulder gently.
"It's been two years," said Ino.
Kakashi glanced at the girls, unsure of what they were referring to—the war? That was two years ago. "Do I need to know?" he finally asked.
Sakura glanced at Kakashi, her emerald green eyes sad. "Emiri was engaged to Hyuuga Neji."
"Their wedding was set for three weeks after the end of the war." Tears filled the corners of Ino's eyes. "Emiri had always been a rather serious type, but she was so much more fun before The War. I thought in time she would be okay again, but that's not the case. All she does is work."
Kakashi understood. He thought of the Emiri and her easy smile—he could almost imagine it: a kind-hearted girl with a dry sense of humor before the war, a girl who loved Hyuuga Neji.
With a sigh, Kakashi stood and adjusted the Hokage hat on his head, and glanced at the two girls. "Report to me tomorrow about your missions. Go get some rest."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," the girls answered in unison as Kakashi walked away.
Author's Note: Expect Wednesdays to be the days "Pieces" is updated! :)
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