I had woken up later than usual the next morning. The storms had finally ended, but the sky was still cloud filled which made the morning light much more dull. Apparently my body used that as a way of squeezing in more sleep that I desperately needed.
I buried my face into the soft pink hair below my chin, taking a quiet breath in. I was so relaxed, so at peace that I didn't want to actually wake up. Sakura hadn't moved at all, still clutching onto me like I would disappear at any moment even while she was sleeping very heavily. I just wanted to keep my arms around her for the rest of the day like this. Tangled up in each other under the nice warm blanket. It had been so long since I felt like this, I just had to soak it in for a long as possible.
I let her sleep until her body forced her to wake up, her grip on me loosening some as she yawned softly and stretched. I laid there with my eyes closed, just seeing what she would do next. I was certain I was going to get yelled at or maybe punched for the way I was all over her, but it never came. She laid there waking up slowly and when I peeked out of my right eye down at her she was looking up at me as if examining me.
"Good morning…" I said softly. The moment of truth was here and I almost wasn't ready, especially because she looked a bit shocked to say the least.
She let go of me and I instantly hated it. The feeling of her warmth disappearing slowly as she got up wordlessly, sitting on the edge of the bed for a minute as if processing what she was doing or why for that matter. I didn't say more, just let her sort herself out however she needed to.
When she got up off of my bed and walked out of my room I knew something was wrong. I sighed, rolling onto my back. I wish I knew what the older me would do in this situation, if there were ever a situation like this in the first place.
Once I shut the bedroom door I hurried to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. My mind was a mess from that dream…that re-living of what happened. That man with that eye.
I shuddered thinking about his face again. It was disturbing and I wasn't sure if it was because he had looked like Kakashi-Sensei moments before or if it was the way his mouth twisted when he flashed that evil grin. Like he knew something I had only just accepted and the worst part was it wasn't even Kakashi! He second hand witnes—
I stopped myself, thinking about the way he had looked at me just before it all went dark. How he realized he couldn't get to me, how powerless he had suddenly been…I had never seen him look at me like that. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, tears rimming my eyes without me even noticing.
"*Please, please be okay…*" I said quietly, gripping the edges of the sink and letting the tears drip down my cheeks.
"Are you alright?" Kakashi had appeared in the doorway. I forgot to close the bathroom door, of course I did. How embarrassing…first last night and now this.
I took a breath and let it out, taking my right arm and wiping my eyes before standing straight up again, not looking at him still. "Yeah, I'm fine. What are we doing today?" I tried to sound like I hadn't just been having a mental breakdown.
Even with his mask pulled up I could see the concern on his face, I don't know if I was just being over emotional or what but it hurt to see him look at me like that. I had to remind myself he wasn't the same one…he wasn't Kakashi-Sensei.
"Nothing". He shook his head. "Unless you have something to let Lord Fourth know…"
I knew he was meaning last night and this morning. I knew I should probably tell them about the man, about everything that happened that day…but what if they shipped me off to interrogation? A scarred man with some sort of overly powerful Jutsu and a weird eye? It sounded insane to even say it to myself and I was there.
I shook my head. "No, I have nothing to report". I had to buy myself some time…just a little bit of it and I could figure this out without them becoming in danger. I couldn't afford to lose more than I may already have and if this is the past then I need to let things go how they were supposed to. It's bad enough I was here as it is.
Do I let this go? Do I ask her about all of the crying? Why do I feel like I have no idea how to speak to her all of the sudden. I don't ever care this much, especially about people I don't even know. Jeez if the other guys saw me right now they would be speechless, I might even have gotten made fun of for a minute.
I turned and waved my hand non-chalant as possible. "Alright, well if you want to talk—"
"I don't". She interrupted quickly before walking past me on her way to get her shoes on.
I stopped and gave her a look of confusion. "Where are you going?"
"Just out onto the steps for some air. Are you going to need to follow me there too?" She huffed a little, pulling the second one onto her foot.
I probably was supposed to…no it was a guarantee that I was required to be with her at all times. I could give her space though…sit inside and watch her maybe so she could be alone. I weighed the pros and cons quickly before giving her my answer. "You go ahead, but don't wander off and if anyone stops don't talk to them".
She pursed her lips as she looked at me unamused. "Anything else dad? Or can I go".
I rolled my eyes, this mood swing thing again. "Go, I'm going to catch up on some reading". I smirked a little when I saw her mimic me out of the corner of my eye before the door shut behind her. I didn't lie about reading, I just never said where. I grabbed one of my ichi ichi books and went out the back door, jumping onto the roof and into the big willow tree that draped over the top of the house and got comfortable.
She had sat down at the end of my steps, watching people go by at a safe distance to where they would have to be paying attention to notice her there. This would be easy, a relaxing day of enjoying the outdoors and no interruptions. Is this what retirement feels like? I might get a head start on it.
Air is just what I needed, I could feel my body and mind starting to calm down already. I focuses on the faces and voices of people walking by. I was always surprised at how close to the center of town Kakashi-Sensei lived, especially since he enjoyed his alone time it seemed.
Eventually, I moved to lay in the grass next to where I had been sitting. It was still damp from the rain but I didn't care one bit, the sun was much warmer today so it was nice feeling. I closed my eyes, thinking about positive memories to pass time. It didn't last long before I heard footsteps that were definitely not just passing by.
"Did he kill her and leave the body out here?" One of the voices said, clearly from near the entrance of the yard.
"You think Kakashi would do that?! He would never hurt someone like that!" Another chimed in defensively.
"OW!" Both male voices said in unison.
"You both need to knock it off, she's just sleeping". The female, who clearly just corrected the behavior of the others, said.
I knew those voices from yesterday. I froze in my spot, trying to make it seem like I was very much taking a nap so maybe the trio would leave, but that would be too easy.
"Hey! kakashi!" Gai shouted in the direction of the tree above the house. He must have been masking his chakra this whole time for me not to notice him up there. So much for not following and watching me.
I sat up on my elbows, looking behind me as Kakashi hopped out of the tree, walking down the pathway to them with a book still in one hand and the other in his pocket. For a minute I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He looked just like his older self suddenly, so nonchalant about things.
"Yes, what do you want?" He said as he reached the three friends. I was still just watching but now I was behind him, I wanted to stay as quiet ad possible so that I didn't almost change the future by speaking to them. It was so weird seeing Asuma again…I felt sort of lucky to be able to, but also felt like Shikamaru should be the one here for this.
"There's been some reports of more explosions outside of the village. Have you heard anything from lord fourth?" Asuma asked.
Kakashi shook his head. "I haven't seen him today, but we may need to head over there". He looked back at me and nodded his head for me to get up so we could go.
"Say, who is that girl anyway?" Gai had to ask, he seemed the same, still couldn't mind his business.
"Dont worry about—" Kakashi was interrupted suddenly and I held my hand out to the three ninja.
"Mina Haske" I smiled. "Nice to meet you all". I shook Gai's hand, getting a nod of approval from them all. This could work…and in the future Mina Haske wouldn't even exist. If anything this could benefit both of us if I went by an alias. This way I could go out in public more often and wouldn't need to worry about avoiding the people I already knew. I doubt any of them would remember what I looked like if it were just in passing anyway.
Kakashi looked at me skeptically, I could tell he wasn't a huge fan of my impromptu plan but there wasn't a way out of it at this point. "That's right, she's just a friend of mine visiting" He smiled. She's from Kumogakure, she was sent by Rin to let me know how things are going and Lord Fourth has allowed her to hang around for a little bit of time.
Gai's eyes looked like they were twinkling. "A shinobi from the land of lightening! What an honor it is!" He slid over to me and kissed my hand. "Such a beautiful lady as well!"
I had to hold back a cringe as I pulled my hand away. Is this where Lee got that from? Jeez I never imagined Gai sensei being so…forward. Who was I kidding he was just as weird as Lee. "Um thank you. I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend". I flat out lied to him, immediately seeing his defeated retreat.
"Yep sorry Gai, she's off the market". Kakashi smiled. Anyway, we should be leaving. I'm sure Lord Fourth would like to brief me on what is going on. He had held up a hand and waved as we walked past them. I followed closely next to Kakashi and heard Kurenai whisper, "I bet it's Kakashi".
I couldn't help the smile that danced on my lips. *Only in my wildest dreams".
