Chapter Note: Will she see his face?

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As she opened her eyes the next morning, she took in the sunlight peering in through her window and reflected on the events of the previous day. She had an Anbu operative in her home at this very moment and had seen behind the standard issue white mask. This would usually be a death sentence, yet she was still alive. Shutting her eyes as tightly as possible for a moment, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was okay, her peace was disturbed but it would be over soon.

She dragged herself out of bed and walked to her dresser with light footsteps. Pulling out a pair of black khaki pants lined with pockets and a dark green tank top that matched her eyes, she quickly got dressed and pulled the skin-tight white forearm coverings she had made a few years ago over her arms to cover her scars. She hadn't had them on the day before, not expecting company, but she doubted the Anbu had seen the scars. He had been very out of it the day before so even if he had seen them, he likely wouldn't remember. Tying her thick, auburn hair into a high ponytail with her bangs free to frame her face, she was ready to face the day.

Walking to her kitchen area, she started putting together a fish soup from a fish she had caught and stored two days prior as well as eggplant she had picked from her garden. She didn't have much in terms of variety when it came to food, so this would have to be the best she could give him to help him get his energy up. As she was cooking, she heard a floorboard creak from across the room and her eyes quickly found the source. The man was standing with one arm against the wall and a lazy glint in his eye which was pinched like he was smiling.

"Something smells absolutely amazing in here," he stated as he leaned further into the wall. She put the ladle down that she had been stirring the soup with and moved the pot from the heat before walking across the room with long strides to stand right in front of the man. As she looked up into his eye, she suddenly noticed the height difference between the two. He was only a few inches taller but he definitely had the form to be considered much bigger than her physically. She trained, sure, but he definitely had the edge. She scowled at him.

"You are supposed to be resting. Not getting up and walking around, trying to rip your stitches. Go sit down on the couch or go back to bed and don't get up for the rest of the day." She poked him in the chest as she spoke sternly, getting the point across. She needed this man healed and out of her life. His smile only seemed to grow behind the bandana and he waved a hand at her, almost looking apologetic.

"Mah, mah, relax. I've had worse. I'll make myself comfortable on the couch. Thank you for your hospitality, Avie." The nickname she had given him the night before rolled off his tongue casually in a way she found almost flirty. She rolled her eyes and hoped he didn't see the light blush darkening the spatter of freckles on her face.

"Whatever. Let me get you the soup. You need to keep drinking fluids today while you're resting. I'll be around the cabin all day today so you tell me if you need anything. Don't go getting things by yourself, Anbu guy. What should I even call you anyway?" She snorted as she turned away from him and started getting the bowls for the soup. She heard him walk further into the room towards her and she turned around after filling both bowls to meet an intense one-eyed stare just a few feet away from her.

"You aren't supposed to know about Anbu..." he stated simply. She blinked once at his demeanor and her eyebrows came together in a scowl.

"Everyone knows. We just don't talk about it. You can hide your movements but you can't hide your entire existence. I saw your white mask and I've seen what's underneath. If you're going to kill me over it, at least wait until I've set the soup down so it'll just be blood staining my good clothes." she snapped. His shoulders slumped and he looked towards the ground, almost looking ashamed at being accused of threatening to kill her.

"I'm not going to kill you, but I don't think you understand the danger you're in just knowing what's behind the mask. When I exit this cabin, I can't be seen as an Anbu operative leaving the area. You'll get tied into the mission report." He sighed deeply as he grabbed his bowl of soup and a spoon before he stumbled over to the couch and carefully sat down. He put one of his arms over the back of the couch and made eye contact with her again, the almost amused glint back in his eye.

"I'll be Hatake Kakashi, just coming back from my vacation in the Southeast shores of the Land of Fire. And you, Avie, will simply be a kind merchant I ran into on the way home." Her thoughts screeched to a stop as she looked at him. Was he serious? Did she really have Kakashi from the bingo books in her home right now? The Kakashi from her class back in Konoha? Of course she had her suspicions when she saw the gray hair and face mask, but she had been desperately hoping she was wrong. She pressed her fingers to her temple and glared at his smiling face.

"Fine. Eat your soup and be on your way when you can walk whether that's in a few hours or a few days. I don't need a high profile nin in my home ruining the peace I've created here. And when you're gone, forget I ever existed." she spat before stomping out of the front door, slamming it behind her. She realized she hadn't eaten her soup but she wasn't going back inside for it. Instead, she headed to the garden and snatched a tomato off of one of the vines next to the cabin. Taking a bite out of it, she stalked towards the wood pile around the back of the house and picked up the ax wedged into the chopping block.

She finished the tomato and grabbed a log off the pile to chop into pieces for her winter stash of wood. She brought the ax down hard, splinters flying from the wood as the pieces fell evenly to the sides. Picking up another log, she repeated the process. She continued this for hours until she had run out of logs to cut. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she wedged the ax back into the chopping block. Her stomach grumbled and she bit back a snarl.

She didn't have a problem with Kakashi himself, he hadn't done anything to personally wrong her (yet), she had a problem with the fact that her past was coming too close to her present and he was a danger to her current peaceful life. He was the prodigy that had left his class in the dust as he ascended the ranks under Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage. Kakashi had barely been around anyone his age as he took on higher and higher risk missions, even leaving his own team behind at some point. Of course he was Anbu. And of course that stick-up-the-ass brat was lying and would be reporting all of this word-for-word when he got back to the village.

From what she remembered about him, he was obsessed with rules and laws after his father passed away, he wouldn't just twist them to make life easier for her. If he hadn't caught onto her identity yet, he would if he was around long enough. He was extremely smart and very good at digging into things that weren't his business. There were only so many people with her features that he could have met in his lifetime and if he remembered anything about his classmates, she was going to get dragged back to Konoha by the very man she had decided to heal out of the goodness of her heart. She had seen the bingo book. 'Kakashi of the Sharingan' was dangerous and she was no match for him if it came to her resisting him.

She stewed in her thoughts as she went back to the garden to pick broccoli and green beans for a stir fry she could make for a late lunch. She needed to keep it together and not act too differently around him. She'd already let her knowledge of Anbu slip. It wouldn't be long before he realized that she was a shinobi from Konoha and started digging.

Shaking her head, she walked back into the cabin and brought the vegetables to the kitchen to rinse them in clean water she'd collected from the creek two days ago. She glanced at the couch when she noticed it was oddly quiet in the room and saw Kakashi laid down across the couch, one of her books from the bookshelf laying open on his chest, dead asleep. She snorted to herself and started cutting the vegetables to prepare them for the stir fry. She paused for a moment when she saw two clean bowls and spoons sitting on her drying rack. Running a hand through her bangs and taking a deep breath, she looked back at the man passed out on her couch. She'd told him to rest, not do chores...

She finished cutting the vegetables quickly and pulled a small sack of oysters from a cool bin that she'd added a seal to in order to keep everything inside cold enough to act as a fridge. She'd built this cabin with her bare hands but technology was something she couldn't get her hands on out here so she made do. She dug the meat from several oysters and tossed them on a pan that she'd started to heat with some oil. She'd caught the oysters herself the last time she'd gone to the coast and knew they needed to be eaten soon or they'd go bad. She left a few for her to use later that night but most of the oysters were in the pan starting to sizzle. She was adding the vegetables and sauce when she heard a groan from across the room.

Looking back at Kakashi, he was half sitting up and half laying down, his eyebrows knit together in pain as he forced himself to a sitting position, catching the book that he'd fallen asleep reading and setting it next to him on the couch. As he settled, he opened both eyes for a moment and looked up at her with a soft sadness in his eyes. Had he been dreaming during his nap? The red of the Sharingan was unnerving to look at but she knew that if he'd intended to use it against her, it would've already been too late for her since she'd already looked at it.

"Hey..." he muttered, suddenly sounding as exhausted as he looked. She frowned at him and set the stir fry to simmer as she walked over to him. He looked up at her with drooping eyes as she put the back of her hand to his forehead. Sure enough, he was very hot to the touch. She clicked her tongue.

"You have a fever. Once lunch is done I'm going to check your wounds. Hopefully it's not an infection. I'll add broth to your food so there's more liquid for you. I thought you were doing much better so I was going to give you just solid food but that's not the case." He nodded at her assessment and leaned into her cool hand before she removed it. He had a red tinge to his cheeks and he felt clammy.

"Can you get to bed by yourself?" she asked as she crouched down to eye level with him. His Sharingan was still focused on her as he nodded. She put one hand on his still naked shoulder and wordlessly told him to go back to bed. He didn't even argue. He pulled himself off the couch and stumbled down the hall, using the wall for support while she watched his retreating back. She frowned. It was possible it could just be from healing but she was concerned about the sudden fever.

She went back to work on the stir fry, finishing it as fast as possible and then making a quick bone broth to add to Kakashi's. Grabbing a glass of water to bring to his room, she started walking across the living room when the book he'd been reading caught her eye. Icha Icha Paradise... she'd been gifted it years ago when some pervert with white spiky hair came through the nearby town while she was there, telling her it was a signed first edition and she looked like she needed romance in her life.

She'd eagerly told him thank you at the time but when she got home, she realized the book was almost pure porn. She rolled her eyes and tucked the book under her arm before she kept walking to Kakashi's room. Leave it to the asshole to read porn in her home. Walking into Kakashi's room, she was happy to see he'd made it to bed by himself, though he was laying on top of the covers and he was breathing in light pants.

Setting the food and water down on the table, she started pulling the dressing off of the two largest wounds. Looking at them, they looked irritated but had no sign of infection or ripped stitches. She rewrapped them and sighed.

"No infection or rips. I'm not sure why you're feverish but I think it could just be part of the healing process. Eat and drink what you can right now and then get settled for bed. Stay in bed tomorrow. No sneaking around or witty comebacks." She put an arm around his shoulders and helped him sit up as she gave him his bowl. He was sweating and shivering. She absentmindedly started to rub small circles into his back. He took small spoonfuls with his head turned away so she couldn't see his face. He managed to finish the entire bowl as well as a glass of water before she laid him back down and pulled the blanket over him. She turned to the clean water bowl and clean rag she'd brought in the night before, thankful for her own foresight. She filled the rag with cold water and wrung it out, folding it and placing it on Kakashi's forehead. He let out a sigh of relief and cracked one eye to look at her.

"You're a good cook, you know that?" he said softly with a small smile. Avurin looked away.

"I'm glad you like it. Please go to sleep and get some rest." she muttered. When she looked back at him, his eyes were closed and he looked like he was already asleep. The sun was still up, casting mid-afternoon shadows through the window, but she was done for the day. She needed to watch over him until this fever passed. She used the rag to wipe some of the sweat from his hairline and rinsed it, placing it back on his forehead.

What had she gotten herself into?