About an hour into their visit with Naru, Sakura had to leave to go to work. Leaving Kakashi and Naru alone together to continue their bonding for just a little bit longer despite the fact that the hour was growing late.
The two talked about everything, well okay, Kakashi talked about everything ranging from missions to the forming new relationships between some of Naru's friends. He told her about how Temari had proposed to Shikamaru, been turned down which led to his kidnapping and return about a month later. After which Temari had found out that she was expecting and was currently getting her things together in the sand village so that she could move to Konoha and live with Shikamaru since he was the father of her baby.
Shika still denied anything happened between them, but the Copy nin knew better. And after a subtle threat from both of Temari's brothers, Shika figured it would be in his best interest to just give in. So he was more or less doomed to domestic bliss whether he wanted to be or not.
Which had been stupid of him since it brought up uncomfortable questions from Naru. Questions like, "Are you married? Kids?" He'd answered no on both counts while silently cursing himself for mentioning relationships at all. Naru had looked at him then, her vermilion red eyes peeking out from under her bangs and he could have sworn that he caught something in her expression.
Something that he couldn't quiet place right then. But he knew what she must be thinking.
He was thirty, nearly twenty years older than he had originally thought he would live to be. He was still single. No girlfriend. No bastard kids. Nothing. He didn't even have a house plant to call his very own.
She was probably wondering what was wrong with him to make him avoid such attachments. Well, his answer was simply. To date there had never been anyone good enough to form those bonds with. Because when he decided that he liked someone enough to even bother to put down roots, he wanted to make damn sure that the woman was worth it.
He'd met too many women with ambitions of becoming a Hatake for the wealth, title and such; not to be overly cautiousabout who he involved himself with. He'd had a few women on his list of possible mates but a majority of those women had been either dating someone seriously or gotten married.
Leaving him back at square one until about three weeks ago when he'd been called to the Tower to take part in a meeting with Tsunade and the council whom were all concerned about his lack of an heir. Their decision was to force him to retirement with in the next month so that he can find himself a woman to bear his offspring.
Frankly Kakashi thought it was rather unromantic of them, but there wasn't a lot that he could do about it.
Orders were orders and the council and Tsunade all had very valid points for why they wanted him to settle down. Which meant that if he was going to find someone to settle down with, he would have to look to someone that was younger than him by several years or he'd never find anyone.
"So what else is new?" Naru asked all of a sudden. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and tipped his head back to look up at the sky. Evening had come and the sky was slowly starting to darken. He supposed that he should be shocked by how long he and Naru had been sitting there talking since it had only been three thirty in the afternoon a few hours ago. But to be honest he wasn't surprised.
He'd enjoyed his lengthy near five hour talk with his former student. Even if she didn't say much, he'd still enjoyed the visit. He'd been feeling lonely for the past five years while waiting for her to come back from training. And while he spent as much of his spare time as he could with Sakura, it hadn't changed the fact that he had always been waiting for Naru.
He simply hadn't felt whole without her running around the village, getting into trouble...needing him to bail her out of odd and comical situations that always left him gnashing his teeth and growling at someone in a furious manner while trying to hold onto her.
"I can't really think of anything else to talk about." Kakashi said softly, deciding to wait until Naru had re adjusted to life in the village before he mentioned his retirement.
"Then I guess it's time to call it a day." Naru said as she slowly got to her feet then looked at him expectantly. He sighed and slowly got to his feet, staggering a little bit as a new wave of exhaustion hit him.
He might have fallen, might have hurt himself on the marble stone or something if he hadn't staggered hiself right into Naru, who wrapped her arms around him automatically and held him there against her until his legs decided that they would cooperate with him just a little bit longer.
Hopefully long enough to get him home since there was no damn way in hell he was going back to the fucking hospital.
He put his hands on her shoulders and gently moved her away from him and gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry. I guess I'm still a mite tired from before."
Naru looked at him for a second then poked him in the chest, dead center over his heart with her index finger and said in a chidding tone. "You should take better care of yourself, wolfy. You're far too young to spread yourself so thin."
Kakashi laughed at her somber words. Oh god she was just precious! His laughter died down to a soft rumbling amused chuckle as Naru gave him a serious look. "Your right. Your right-" He said as he patted her softly on the right cheek with one hand before saying. "Come on. I'll walk you home."
Naru grasped his wrist in her hand and slowly shook her head no, then countered. "Nu-uh. I'll walk you home." Unsure of how to repond to his former student's words, he lapsed into total silence as Naru started walking while still holding onto his wrist and sort of forced him to walk along behind her while wondering if she even knew where he lived.