Miki's eyes snapped open, dreams of a woman with black hair and cold eyes had woke her. She sat up slowly, so she wouldn't wake Kakashi. Sushi had positioned himself in between the two of them. He and Kakashi were both still sound asleep.
She rubbed her bare arms, it was a cool rainy morning. She had worn her usual light nightshirt and shorts to bed. Had she known it was going to be a chilly morning, she would have dressed a little warmer.
Miki smiled as she watched him sleep, his face completely uncovered. It'd been so long since she'd seen his face she almost had forgotten what he looked like. The first time she met him, he was in the hospital suffering from severe anxiety attacks shortly after the death of his teammate. At that time, she was still learning about the brain and how to perfect her ability to examine a person's mind.
The first time she entered his mind, it was a tangled mess of violence and guilt. It had taken her a few times before she could find him in the midst of it all. She knew more about Kakashi than she would ever let him know.
The first time he saw her scars peeking out of her shirt, he didn't look at her with pity. When he had asked her how she got the scars, her explanation to him was short and direct; she was one of many that was injured during the nine tails' rampage. She remembered grinding her teeth in anticipation of him saying something stupid like what a shame it was that happened to her beautiful skin or gush like an idiot saying how sorry he was that happened to her, like many other had responded in the past. Instead he just shrugged and said terrible things happen everyday. The nurse that was with the two of them thought he was cold and rude for saying that. Miki thought it was the best response; it was truthful.
She looked at him now, asleep next to her. She reached out, not thinking, and was about to touch his cheek. He moved quicker than her eyes could follow, Sushi bolted from the bed searching for safety. From her point of view, Kakashi appeared on top of her, pinning her hands above her head.
He was so close to her, their noses almost touched. Her senses were hyper aware of their closeness, his body pressed on top of hers.
"Miki-chan, I'm sorry. It was a reflex." He spoke softly.
"It's ok, I should have been more careful waking you up." She bit her bottom lip nervously, her cheeks reddening.
Kakashi was about to lose complete control. She was looking up at him through long eye lashes and flushed cheeks. He could feel her heart beating hard against his as their breaths mingled together. He had dreams of being close to her like this. He wasn't sure if she would ever want to be with him, she had seen inside his mind at his worse. He was in a dark place in his life when they met. Maybe she could still look at him with tenderness because she'd seen worse than him or maybe she looked at him this way because he was the worse.
Miki stared up at Kakashi, wondering what his next move was going to be. She tried to keep her breathing steady, what if he didn't feel the same way she did? In the years they'd known each other, he never showed any signs of wanting more than just friendship. Truth be told, she didn't feel like she was worthy of being in a dating relationship with anyone. Being involved with the underhandedness of the Black Opps wasn't exactly when men looked for in a girlfriend or the ability to go through their memories, thoughts, and dreams. The very few men who had expressed interest in her were either scared off by Gai or found her scars (physical and mental) to be too much baggage.
No, she thought, there's no way he sees me as anything other than a friend at most.
They remained frozen in place, searching each other's eyes for answers. Kakashi's grip on her wrists finally loosened. Miki anticipated on him getting up, but instead he touched her cheek tenderly. He tilted his head, his good eye half closed. Miki sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for the moment.
Kakashi moved away from her so suddenly, she felt air rush across her lips. She sat up quickly, looking at him curiously. He was facing the doorway, with his mask back on. She wondered quietly to herself how he could move so fast.
"Someone is about to knock." His voice steady and focused.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. "I'll go see who it is."
"Wait." He turned around to face her.
"What is it?" Miki cocked her head to the side.
Kakashi looked at her, taking in the sight of her. Her dark hair was ruffled down to her waist, her skin still flushed from their almost kiss. His eyes followed the scars that climbed up her arm, disappeared into her shirt and crawled up to her neck. She wasn't beautiful in spite of her scars, she was beautiful because of her scars.
The sound of the door knocking brought him back as he nodded at her. He watched her glide across the bedroom and into her living room. She may be a medic ninja, but she moved with great stealth that came naturally to her better than some of the elite ninja he knew. It was almost as if her footsteps never touch the floor. He followed behind her quietly and moved away from view before she opened the door. He highly doubted the woman she spoke of would bother knocking, but he wanted to be cautious regardless.
Miki smoothed her hair a bit before opening the door, the sound of rain gently humming followed.
"Gai!" Miki exclaimed, surprised to see her brother. "What are you doing out in this weather?"
She grabbed him by the vest and pulled him inside, slamming the door behind him.
"It'll take more than rain to-" Gai noticed Kakashi before he finished his sentence. He looked over at him, then back at Miki and then back over at him. "Uh..."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head with his eye closed happily. "What's up, Gai?"
Gai looked back at Miki, who was blushing uncontrollably, then back at Kakashi...his eyes narrowed thoughtfully on him for a few minutes before he shifted his gaze back to Miki.
"Did you two...?" Gai cleared his throat, the vein on his forehead bulging.
"No no no no." Miki shook her head, her face bright red.
Gai looked over at Kakashi, his gaze telling him to confess.
"I stopped by early this morning." He shrugged an answer.
Miki shook off her nervous energy as her skin began to go back to its usual color. Gai had always been particularly touchy when it came to her dating life, but this wasn't just any guy. This was his eternal rival as Gai loved to refer to him. She smiled to herself, Kakashi could handle a confrontation with her brother.
"Yeah, he just got here a minute before you did." Miki smiled with her usual composure. She needed to redirect the attention back on Gai or he would ask more questions. "So what brings my favorite brother to see me so early?"
Gai's face lit up at the acknowledgment, his little sister knew how to pull on his heart strings. He patted her on the head. "I was checking on you. You never came by yesterday."
"Oh," Miki blinked hard as he patted her head. She hated it when he did that, patted her like a child. She caught his hand. "I wasn't feeling well after I checked in on my patient...so I just came back home and went to bed early. I'm sorry, I should have checked in with you."
"I'll forgive you this time." He gave his signature smile.
"However." Miki crossed her arms over chest tightly and looked at him sternly. "You should be at home resting!"
"I've had plenty of rest and I heal really quick." He gave her a thumbs up. "I already told Lee, Neji, and Tenten our training resumes tomorrow!"
"Wow." Miki's composure relaxed. "You're actually going to take today off? Good. I was going to put you back in the hospital myself if you didn't."
Gai smiled smugly. "More like I gave them the day off...they're going to need it for the training I have in store for them."
Miki sighed. "Well, since you two are here... How about I make us all some breakfast?"
"That sounds great!" Gai cheered. Miki snorted a laugh, his positive energy was always great to have around.
Kakashi smiled and nodded in agreement. He was glad to know that she was a good cook.
"I'm going to go change first. You guys just make yourself at home." Miki watched with a smile as Gai was already thumbing through her book shelf. She knew Gai wasn't much of a reader, but he was the type of person that had to constantly be busy doing something.
Miki looked over at Kakashi and smirked before leaving the room.
"So what's the deal with you two?" Gai said just as soon as she was gone, his eyes cutting to him.
Kakashi sat down on the couch. "What do you mean?"
Gai turned around and propped himself against the book shelf. "I'm not blind. It definitely felt like I walked in on the middle of something."
"Like what?" Kakashi's voice was cool and nonchalant.
Gai shifted uncomfortably. "Aw man, don't make me say it!"
Kakashi smiled under his mask a few moments before he decided to give Gai an explanation. "I heard Miki wasn't feeling well, so I stopped to check on her for you on my way to the training grounds this morning. As you can see, it was raining, so she invited me in."
"Oh." Gai exhaled deeply in relief. "Not that it would be a bad thing if you did want to uh...get involved with little Miki."
Kakashi cleared his throat, he always did his best to steer clear of this conversation with Gai.
"Just know that if you ever broke her heart or even cracked it...You will get the beating of your life." Gai used his usual dramatic tone as he shook his fist at him.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Gai." Kakashi stifled a laugh by clearing his throat again.
Miki reappeared in her usual green long sleeved shirt and black shorts. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail that swayed with her movements. Sushi followed behind her, meowing loudly to announce their presence.
Gai jumped, almost knocking over the book shelf as he exclaimed, "I forgot that THING lives with you!"
Miki giggled as she picked up the cat. "Aw, Come on Gai! Its just Sushi."
"Can't you put him in your room or something?" Gai backed up from them, uneasy.
"But he's so happy to see you!" Miki followed her brother with a mischievous grin, Sushi meowing in her arms.
"Miki! I'm not kidding!" Gai's voice hit a pitch that Kakashi had never heard come out of him before.
He watched Miki pick on Gai with the cat and chuckled to himself. It was cute the way she teased her older brother.
"Pet him! He missed you!" Miki sung as she held Sushi out to Gai.
"He may have missed me last time!" Gai pointed accusingly at the cat. "But his aim will eventually improve! And I won't be held responsible for what I do when that monster attacks."
Sushi meowed pitifully as Miki hugged the cat close to her. "Aw, you hurt his feelings."
"Good!" Gai stuck his tongue out at the cat.
She set the cat down gently. "Go on into the kitchen, Sushi. Gai doesn't want to play with you." Miki stuck her tongue out at her brother as she followed the cat into the kitchen to make them breakfast.
Kakashi's muffled chuckles made it to Gai's ears. He spun around and glared at him. Even his laugh was cool, he thought to himself with a closed fist. "What's so funny?"
Kakashi shrugged. "Nothing..." He paused. "Scaredy cat."
Gai sucked in a deep breath. "I'm not afraid of the cat."
"Sure you're not." Kakashi teased him.
Kakashi watched Miki from a distance as he hid in a tree, he had a perfect view of her office window from here. She had insisted that she didn't need him to watch over her at work. She told him that it would be foolish for the dark lady to come after her at the hospital, too many witnesses. Kakashi knew she was right about that, but he also knew Miki was a creature of habit. She would be easy to stalk because she stuck to a basic daily routine with only a few variances.
He thought about going to Lady Tsunade and telling her about the threat made against Miki, but then Black Opps would find out she withheld information. And Kakashi knew how that would go over with them.
Still, he thought maybe following her secretly would reveal to him if anyone else was. She left for work earlier this morning even after he suggested she take the day off. She only replied with her patients needed her and that if she didn't have something to take her mind of that woman she would lose her own mind.
At the time he agreed with her and told her that he would meet her at the hospital at the end of her shift. He considered telling Gai about his sister's predicament, but as noble as his intentions usually are, he would probably do something foolish.
He watched as Miki leaned forward at her desk and rubbed her eyes before pushing her chair back to stand up. She looked drained from the busy day and it was time for her to be off duty now. She ran her hands through her hair before picking up her bag and moving out of view.
That was Kakashi's cue, he moved quickly from the tree and appeared near the entrance to the hospital. He opened the door as Miki was reaching for it. Her eyes widen in surprise before she smiled at him.
"Hi." Her voice was low as she continued to walk.
"Looks like you got finished early, I was just coming up to meet you." Kakashi walked next to her.
"Oh." She replied as she picked up the pace. He matched it, keeping up with her.
"Is something wrong, Miki-chan?" Kakashi looked at her suspiciously. Was she uncomfortable with him because of this morning? She seemed fine when he and Gai walked her to work this morning. Then again, maybe she didn't want to say anything to him in front of her brother.
Miki only shook her head no and gave him a small smile.
"If its about this morning-" He started.
She shook her head swiftly and gave him a shy smile as she whispered. "Tired."
Miki was acting very strange, he thought to himself. Something about her is off... He couldn't quite place what it was. She seemed impatient and in a hurry, it was very uncharacteristic of her. He watched the way she walked, like she was about to break into a run at any moment. She always moved with such grace and stealth, she was one of the few that could sneak up on him.
She looked up at him and gave him a little smile before looking back ahead again.
"Miki-chan." He reached for her wrist, but she ran.
He stood still a moment, shocked that she bolted like that. Was she having some sort of mental break down? The shock wore off and he came to his senses.
"Miki-Chan!" He ran after her.
She ran around a corner ahead, he turned the corner in time to see her go down an alley. She stopped at the dead end, without turning around.
"Miki-chan. Why did you run like that?" Kakashi approached her cautiously.
Her shoulders began to shake as deep laughter escaped her lungs.
Kakashi clenched his teeth, how could he have been so stupid. He should have seen straight through this. He threw a kunai at the imposter. The imposter turned around and caught it as the disguise went away with a poof. A man dressed in black with bright red spikey hair and blue eyes appeared.
"Where's Miki?" Kakashi glared at him.
The man shrugged as he threw his hand up and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The kunai fell to the pavement with a clink!
Damn it! Kakashi thought as he ran back to the hospital, the real Miki could still be close and he may be able to get her back if he hurried.