It was nearing the end of the day and Kakashi and Mei decided they had time for a little sparring before they ate dinner. Mei found that Kakashi was a demanding but fair partner to practice taijutsu against. He challenged her without grinding her into the dirt the way Tsunade could, both metaphorically and physically. Taijutsu had and never would be Mei's specialty. Still, it kept her in shape, on her toes, and she got to spend time with her husband.
They'd been going for several minutes without pausing and yet neither had managed a hit. Mei was getting impatient so when Kakashi left himself open, she knew he was probably luring her into a trap. She went for it anyway, swinging as hard as she could, putting her frustration into the punch. Then something strange happened.
Kakashi's face abruptly slackened. Mei pulled her punch but she didn't have time to redirect her trajectory. She toppled into Kakashi and they both went down in a tangle. Mei didn't have time to get up before one of Kakashi's personal guard rushed over.
Both kunoichi were crouched over the Hokage when his eyes refocused and he scrambled up. They jumped back and were shocked when Kakashi called out, "Training Ground Sixteen is on fire!" When he launched himself in that direction, Mei presumed, she and the ANBU exchanged glances and took off after him.
As they dangerously crossed the borders of multiple training areas, Mei realized what had happened. She dialed up her speed to ask Kakashi about it but she couldn't catch him. He was like a hound hot on the trail. After thirty seconds of sprinting, Mei could smell smoke.
Mei and the trailing ANBU emerged from shriveling leaves into what was, Mei presumed again based on the flames, Training Ground Sixteen. The heat was intense, instantly drying the skin on Mei's face and hands until it felt tight. Multiple trees were ablaze in a pulsing orange glow that quickly set the surrounding trees on fire. If the flames kept up at that rate for long, the whole forest would burn.
Kakashi was already using a water dragon to fight the fire but there was no nearby water source. He had to use extra chakra to manifest the water as well as manipulate it. Mei knew he'd also be recovering from receiving the shadow of his clone's experience. The Mizukage folded her hands through the practiced signs. Kakashi may be better at taijutsu and faster, but water jutsu was her specialty.
Mei warned the ANBU to stay back. She sprung to the top of a tree, hurled herself into the air, arched her back, and ejected a spout of water at the flames Kakashi was fighting. She kept her hands in position and adjusted her aim to the next section of forest on fire, and the next. When she started to lose altitude she cut the flow, allowing herself to breathe as she landed and sprang toward the next line of fire. Kakashi joined her.
"Do I want to know?" Mei shouted to her husband. She paid for her quick inhalation with a coughing fit. The air was filled with smoke.
"My clone did something very stupid if that's what you mean," Kakashi called back. He sounded winded but did not cough. The fatigue of that clone's day of work came with it, along with the knowledge that the clone had killed itself when an experimental fire jutsu literally backfired.
Their soot-stained hands went through the same seal set and their water dragons tore through the rest of the fire. The whole incident took no more than fifteen minutes but Kakashi's shoulders were bent like he'd been fighting all day.
The trees surrounding the sixteenth training ground were now only wet charred stumps. Some of the forest was still steaming. The remains of burnt limbs and sticks littered the ground. Where grass was still visible it was black, curled, and withered. Kakashi surveyed the damage with a carefully passive expression. The village's volunteer fire fighters arrived to check if there was anything to be done, there wasn't.
Kakashi stayed for as long as was necessary and then withdrew quietly. Mei followed him, a silent shadow. Back in his room, Kakashi sat on his bed, looking at his hands. Mei pulled up a chair to face him. He hadn't said anything when she followed him back to his room and shut the door behind them. Mei figured he needed her. She wasn't wrong.
"What was I thinking? I could have hurt someone."
Mei was ready for this conversation, knowing her husband's nature. "Your clones take more risks because they know there will be no permanent damage if they die. You know that so they know that," Mei reasoned.
"My clones can't transfer their deaths to me but what about others? The fire could have spread. People could have gotten hurt."
"But they didn't," Mei soothed. "You made a mess and you cleaned it up. No one was hurt. You need to remember that."
"Just when I think I'm doing the right thing," Kakashi trailed off.
Mei leaned back in her chair, folding her arms in front of her. "If you discover what the definitive 'right thing' is for a kage, you let me know. I never knew."
Kakashi raised his eyes to look at her.
"We have a lot of power, as kage, but we're humans too, we're just people. We make mistakes. You made that clone wanting it to practice jutsu, so you can do a better job of protecting your village, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"No buts," Mei cut him off.
"I enjoy it too, learning new jutsu," Kakashi countered. "It's really for me. There are other things my clones could be doing." The guilt showed through in his voice.
"There's nothing wrong with enjoying what you do. Learning and performing the right jutsu for the right moment is what you're good at," Mei encouraged him. "There's nothing wrong with pursuing that in the name of protecting your village. Is it also self-serving? Yes. But so is you eating and sleeping. Are you going to say, 'if I hadn't been sleeping, then I could have done more work for the village'?"
"I have said that," Kakashi deadpanned.
Mei gave an annoyed shake of her head. "You would." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "You getting sleep at night is self-serving but it also serves the village. Don't beat yourself up." Mei crossed her arms. "I could do that for you, if you wanted."
Kakashi's eyes shone. He'd forgotten the punch Mei had almost scored on him. "You'd have to get a hit in to do that."
Mei narrowed her eyes at him, her smiling lips opened to give a retort but no sound came out. She shook her head at him again and shut her mouth. "Next time I won't pull my punches." They stood up together to walk to dinner, sooty clothes and all.
"Is that what you've been doing?" Kakashi teased. "I thought you just couldn't keep up?"
Mei stopped and twisted, aiming a kick where Kakashi's calf met his knee. Kakashi kicked her foot away with his other foot, he hardly broke his stride.
Mei gasped in disbelief. "How do you do that?"
"Spar with Guy sometime, you'll see."
Mei looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe I will."
Kakashi stopped in his tracks to look at this wife. Mei kept walking for a moment and then she stopped too and looked back. Kakashi's face was a mixture of shock and concern.
"What? You don't think I can do it?"
"No," Kakashi replied slowly. "You can do it." He was thoughtful for a moment. "I should tell you what you're in for though."
Mei smiled. "Well tell me over dinner after you've had some time to think about it."
As they continued walking toward the dining room, Kakashi grew serious again. "Yamato's going to be mad about the trees."
"Tell him I did it," Mei advised. "He likes me."
"If by 'like' you mean he's terrified of you," Kakashi replied.
Mei gasped dramatically. "Yamato and I are pals!"
"You scare him," Kakashi insisted.
"Of course I do! In the world of elemental combinations, lava beats wood."
000000
Once Kakashi had advised Mei on wearing sturdy pants and gloves if she intended to train with Guy, the conversation moved on to more complicated topics.
"I almost forgot to tell you," Kakashi began a new thread of conversation. "I had a meeting with the Leaf elders today. They asked if I'd considered continuing the Hatake line."
Mei froze, food halfway to her mouth. Considering how Kakashi had reacted to her elders asking about such a thing, she was surprised something in the Leaf wasn't on fire right now. Well, that something ELSE in the Leaf wasn't on fire. Training Ground Sixteen was probably still smoking. "What did you tell them?" She suddenly wasn't hungry, despite the mirth in Kakashi's eyes.
"Because of your elders, I was prepared with a response and I remembered what you said about treating them like in-laws. That gave me an idea." He paused, a thought side-tracking him. "It's like they're all reading from some elder handbook we're unaware of. What makes them think that it's an appropriate question?"
"It has been six months," Mei spoke to her plate. She pushed her remaining food around.
Kakashi frowned. He'd thought the story of what he'd told the Leaf elders would amuse his wife, not make her feel worse. They'd resolved this concern in the Mist hadn't they?
"Regardless of how much time it's been, it's still none of their business," Kakashi spoke with a firm, steady cadence. "As the Mizukage's husband, it's not an appropriate question to ask. But apparently my elders didn't get the memo from your elders." Kakashi smiled again. He watched his wife's reaction as he explained. "So I expressed my shock that they'd ask about our sexual activities. But since they had asked, I told them I was prepared to go into explicit detail."
Mei's head shot up, her emerald eyes huge behind her bangs.
"When they heard that," he continued, "they hastily assured me no details were necessary and the conversation was over." Kakashi smiled at his wife.
Mei smiled back. She wished she could have seen their faces. Considering Kakashi's public reading habits, they would have thought he was being serious. And Kakashi manipulating them into withdrawing their question was probably more effective than if he'd openly threatened them.
Mei's return smile was not as large as Kakashi had hoped but she was smiling. "Mei, don't worry, this will end it, I know them." His expression suddenly darkened. "They haven't posed any related questions to you?"
Mei shook her head, mute but feeling better all the same.
"Good," he replied. "If they ever do, you'll tell me?" The question sounded friendly but she sensed an electric undercurrent to the request.
Mei nodded. She thought about what Tsunade had said, how Kakashi let people push him but remained calm unless they pushed too far. But she'd also said he knew where and when to strike and it would only be once. "I will, but I don't think they'll dare."
"I agree. I don't think any of them have a death wish."
Kakashi was cheerful again but Mei knew that he'd meant every word. If anyone disrespected her, there would be dire consequences. As it was, Kakashi's threat of details had scared the Leaf elders into silence.