Naruto profoundly enjoyed the look on her sensei's face when he opened the apartment door shortly after breakfast on Sunday to see all four of the other female genin peering up at him with cautious smiles. "Hello Kakashi-sensei," Hinata greeted him politely when no one spoke. Her lavender eyes shifted to Naruto, and she asked hesitantly, "Um, we were wondering if Naruto wanted to come clothes shopping with us?"

Oh, shit, this was an ambush. The disgruntled tilt of her sensei's brow and the uncomfortable tension in his eye and shoulders melted, cruel amusement taking its place as he glanced at Naruto, who was trying to sneak away, shaking her head rapidly and staring at him with her best pleading puppy eyes. "Oh, she'd love to," he said, magnanimous. "Wouldn't you, Naruto?"

"Well…" She found herself shuffling her feet back and forth. "I've got to go grocery shopping, and—"

"Nonsense, I'll go," the man answered instantly, snatching her by the arm just as the instinct to bolt fully formed in her still slowed hindbrain, and the girls were beginning to giggle as they picked up on the fact that Kakashi-sensei was teasing her—well, more like bullying, in Naruto's estimation. "You should go have fun with your friends. I forgot to give you your allowance yesterday…" He pushed her in front of himself, blocking off her exit as he dug in his vest for his wallet. He shoved a much more reasonable amount of money than last time into her numb fingers as she stared at Ino's predatory smirk, feeling quite like a prey animal.

"But sensei, what about the laundry, and—?"

"It's your day off, I'll do the laundry. Now go, shoo, don't come home before dark."

"But—" He pushed her outside with a firm hand between her shoulder blades. Sakura steadied her as she stumbled, the door shutting behind her and the lock sliding into place with audible and final clunk. "Shit."

Ino snatched the money out of her hand and was dragging her down the steps by their locked-together elbows almost instantly, saying as she counted, "Damn, Naruto, I wish I lived with a hot older guy who gave me money to buy clothes."

Flushing scarlet, she was saved from responding by Tenten, who corrected, "Well, Ino, your dad is pretty hot, so you sort of do."

With a put upon gagging sound, the other blonde handed the money back as they reached the bottom of the steps. "First off, Tenten, gross. Second off, Kakashi-sensei is hot as sin, you'd take him over my old man any day, and you know it. Third off… Naruto has plenty for an outfit or two, where should we take her?"

"Well, we could stretch it further if we took her thrifting," Sakura pointed out, face red and clearly as eager to change the topic away from their teacher's physical attractiveness as Naruto was.

"Or we could skip it, and I could buy us all ice cream," Naruto suggested weakly, only to be roundly ignored.

"But don't you think she deserves new stuff? You remember all the rags she wore throughout the academy, don't you?"

"Hey! They weren't—"

"But her wardrobe is practically nonexistent, she has so many basics to build up…"

Hinata cleared her throat behind them, and Ino twisted to look at the girl over her shoulder, never breaking pace. "It might be better not to overwhelm Naruto," she suggested gently. "Maybe one or two outfits is enough for now, and we can help her build upon her wardrobe gradually."

"I like that idea, if my opinion matters at all," Naruto told Ino, who snorted derisively.

"It doesn't, but Hinata's right, we actually want you to wear the things we get you, and I can just picture you looking at a bunch of clothes, shutting down, and putting on exactly what you're wearing right now."

Naruto could not argue, because that is exactly what she would do if confronted with fashion choices. Of course, it wouldn't be a problem because Kakashi-sensei would be dressing her, but she couldn't tell them that. She wasn't exactly the most socially adept person in the village, but she knew enough to realize that people would raise eyebrows and perhaps be concerned if they knew she was letting a grown man treat her as a doll. But really, she sort of liked it, and could sense that it was filling some kind of need for the older shinobi, so who's business was it other than theirs anyway?

"What kind of shoes do you own, Naruto?" Tenten asked her, and she suddenly realized she'd missed a chunk of conversation, too focused on her roommate, thinking about how odd it was that he was so casual in choosing her underclothes when he was so awkward about so many other vaguely intimate things… She was probably still feeling the alprazolam a little bit, considering her anxiety was so manageable and her thoughts wandering.

She paused, surprised at the question as she glanced down at her strappy, practical boots—she hadn't liked them at first, but they were really growing on her. "Uhh, these. And the sandals I used to wear every day with my jumpsuit." She cringed, expecting mockery, but none came. The other girls exchanged glances, the atmosphere becoming sad, and Naruto didn't want that, so she added, "It… makes me happy, that we're hanging out. Even if fashion is stupid and I don't get it. So… thanks."

"Of course, Naruto-chan." Sakura's voice was warm, and her smile sweet as she linked her arm with Naruto's free one. "What are friends for?"

"You're going to be hot as hell by the time we're through with you," Ino added, kicking Naruto's fight or flight back into gear, but she seemed to expect that reaction, because her grip on Naruto's arm tightened before she could try to pull away. "With a body like yours, it's easy, of course, all you need is some fashion assistance. Lucky for you, I'm an expert."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be sexy," Hinata suggested diplomatically. "That may not be her style." Naruto shot her a grateful look, and the girl blushed, averting her gaze.

"Ugh, fine," Ino groaned, rolling her eyes. "Then we'll make her mostly cute, with sexy on the side. Does everything have to be orange?"

Naruto side-eyed the other blonde. "Cooperation will increase if more things are orange, yes."

Sakura laughed. "You're starting to talk like sensei, too. C'mon, it'll be fun, even if there's only a little bit of orange."

…

Kakashi was disappointed but not surprised to discover that Naruto had not yet written in her journal about the previous day. He was curious to know what she'd made of everything, and whether she was processing it okay. But in the meantime, he sank into her desk chair and settled in to read the last week's worth of entries, even as guilt ate at him from the inside out as he violated her privacy once more. The first two new entries from the previous week were rather long, and the first had multiple unfinished lines.

Sunday

I fucked up today. Some loser pinched my butt while I was out with Sakura, & I freaked out. I don't even remember all of it, but apparently I broke the guy's hand, threw him on the ground, & beat the crap out of him. Broke his nose. Super over reacted. I didn't mean to, but I

She didn't finish whatever that thought had been, instead starting on a new line,

Sensei got upset that I was in trouble for it. It really wasn't a big deal, I over reacted and did something I shouldn't have, just like when I kil

Did Naruto… feel guilty about killing her abuser? That wouldn't do at all… She tried to express herself again, this time with more success.

He went & yelled at the Sandaime, apparently. I'd give up ramen for two months to have seen that! I don't think I've ever heard sensei yell. Plus I've definitely never seen anyone yell at the old man. It's about time someone did, really. But it's awful, because sensei got in trouble, & it's all my fault. I got really worked up thinking about how he's eventually going to realize he doesn't want me here & kick me out—

Was that what she'd been thinking? Gods, she had no idea what he'd do to make her stay with him. He'd lose it if she moved out, he could feel it in his teeth. He'd lose his mind, and drag her back kicking and screaming if he had to.

—but when he got home & found me crying, he got all serious & told me he LIKES having me here. I don't know, maybe he does. At first I thought he was being so nice & taking care of me in ways he doesn't have to because he felt bad for me, but it's starting to feel like he just wants to. I don't know why.

It suddenly washed over Kakashi again how much Naruto trusted him. She didn't know why he touched her, why he braided her hair and coddled her, yet she showed no suspicion concerning his motives whatsoever. Gods, he was horrible, horrible, the worst thing that could have ever happened to her…

Briefly, he entertained the idea of putting the book back and never opening it again. Trying to earn that trust she'd bestowed upon him. Being a gentleman, or at the least, a halfway decent guy. But he caught the word sensei in the following paragraph and started reading again before he'd even made the conscious decision to do so.

Speaking of sensei, today while he was sleeping off his hangover, I went into his room to get his laundry. I snooped a little bit. I feel terrible about it—

His involuntary laugh was black as tar. She felt bad for snooping?

—but I only looked around, I swear. I didn't touch anything. Well, except some of his books. He has a crazy huge collection of those pervy books he reads all the time during training. I picked one of them up, & it had a picture of

Another unfinished sentence. It hadn't occurred to him that she might have noticed his bookshelf when she went to strip his bed, though in hindsight, of course she would have. They were rather colorful, and Naruto was famously easily distracted by colorful things. He wondered fervently what she made of it, if it scared her to live with a man who owned what was likely to be one of the largest collections of erotica in the Land of Fire.

Kakashi admitted freely that it was a strange hobby for a man in his twenties. It was the only genre he'd found that shut his brain off enough that he could absorb himself in what he was reading, and relax. There was no way to be a shinobi for long without finding what turned your brain off. Guy ran; Kurenai read mystery novels; and, a very little known fact, Asuma folded origami, but only cranes. He had thousands of them in boxes shoved under his bed. And of course, they all drank, but drinking wasn't always an option in their line of work.

Well, anyway, they were pervy & gross, and I regret opening one.

He would have killed to know which titles had caught her attention, what she'd read, what she'd thought about it, but she abandoned this line of thought, moving into the clipped, informative style that ended her longer entries and generally characterized her shorter ones.

Ino & Sakura painted my nails, nice of them. Sakura was nice today, it was fun to run errands together. Didn't have enough to get ramen—next time!

He'd have to remember to pick some up for her, he mused as he turned the page to keep reading.

Monday

Today was weird. I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll go in order?

This morning, Kurenai-sensei, Guy-sensei, and Asuma-sensei came over, & I stayed in my room to give them privacy, but they started arguing & I was curious so I cracked my door open & it seemed like they were upset because one of them was going to have to do something none of them wanted to do. So I suggested that whoever drew the short straw had to do whatever it was. Sensei LOST & now he has to give us a SEX ED LECTURE!

There was a face drawn after this revelation, but Kakashi was unable to determine if it was meant to convey horror or shock.

He seemed weirdly passionate about it, even though he didn't want to do it. He decided we need an anatomically correct model to practice putting condoms on, but I don't know why he didn't just use a cucumber or whatever. He was very dramatic about the whole thing, tried to go in disguise. It was kind of childish. He's always telling me to do things that I don't want to do, & that it's good for me to break out of my shell, but what about his shell? Sensei is very 'do as I say, not as I do.'

Well, she wasn't wrong.

But he ended up doing it without a disguise. I guess I'm proud of him? Is that weird to say? He's just so closed up.

He let me see it. It was scary looking, but he said it was the normal size & that girls like it. I don't know how. I can't even fit

He stared at those words for a moment, the blank space after them, burning to know how that sentence was going to end.

Anyway, he also taught me how to shave. Another thing he really didn't have to do. Maybe he's just lonely? Sasuke said that we're both 'touch starved' which I guess means we don't get hugged enough or whatever. I somehow convinced him to let me lean against him while we sat together on the couch. At first he acted like I was holding him hostage, but I think he secretly liked it. I liked it. He said I was beautiful, & I don't know what he meant by that.

It was almost funny, how she was holding all the pieces in her hands and couldn't put them together. How the only thing stopping her from figuring it out was that she trusted him to be a responsible, well-adjusted adult who had her best interests at heart.

Hung out with Sasuke & Sakura. We came up with a plan to put joke questions in for the sex ed Q&A. It was really fun coming up with them!

So much else had happened that he'd nearly forgotten. He searched his pockets, and sure enough, found the little slip of paper that said Is it normal to have sexual thoughts about your sensei? in his girl's messy handwriting. Was it just a joke? If it was, was it significant that Naruto had written it instead of either of her co-conspirators? He scanned the rest of the entries, but it didn't come back up.

Tuesday

Sensei wasn't kidding about the grunt work. Today we picked trash out of the river. I kind of like doing that, though, & it's funny how the teme's nose turns up when he holds trash, like it's beneath him.

Wednesday

We babysat in the morning, & trained in the afternoon. Chakra control making a little more sense. Sensei is still letting me cuddle him on the couch at night, & staying with me until I fall asleep, & braiding my hair. I wonder when he'll get bored & stop.

Never.

Thursday

So tired. We built a garden for this crotchety old hag, & she yelled at us the whole time we were moving her stupid rocks around. Really pushed it with sensei, I put my head in his lap & took a nap. Guess he didn't mind. Sakura & Sasuke keep looking at each other kind of funny. I hope I don't have to watch them kiss.

That was interesting. It would be convenient if Sasuke's newfound investment in his surroundings fixed upon Sakura rather than Naruto as a potential progenitor of the revived Uchiha clan.

Friday

Good day. After mission (that stupid cat again) and training, sensei took us out for ramen. It's so weird to eat with him in public after seeing him eat like a normal person at home. Teuchi-san and Ayame-nee-chan are treating me like normal again. I wish people on the street would stop looking at me like

The last entry was left unfinished, due to lack of time or lack of desire to finish her thought, Kakashi had no idea. He scanned back over the new entries, looking for anything interesting that he hadn't caught the first time, but other than the unfinished sentences, it wasn't exactly an opaque text. Naruto wasn't exactly opaque, either, yet he longed desperately to know her every thought, to hold them in his hands and understand her completely. He wanted to read her brain instead of just her journal. And wasn't that just another layer to how unfair it was, that he wanted to treat her like a mysterious and complex woman instead of a relatively simple little girl?

Naruto was always so good to him, Kakashi thought as he replaced her journal exactly as he'd found it, just off center of her desk and with the front cover open. Gentle with him when he was uncomfortable, and careful around his edges. She was starting to really care for him, like a father or a brother, maybe, it was clear as day on her face, and he repaid her with betrayal and manipulation. He was already wondering how to orchestrate a conversation with her to probe deeper into whether she felt any guilt for how she handled her attack. He was already thinking about coming back and reading more the next chance he got.

He stripped her bed, keen on making good on his promise to do the chores he had forced her to neglect. The thought of her horrified face at the insurmountable challenge of going clothes shopping with her peers made him smile; she was just so cute, so much herself. Sure, it had made him feel a little bad to make her, but he really believed she'd be healthier for it, that it would improve her relationship to her body and her appearance. And if he maybe was a little bored of his options, and maybe did want the thrill of seeing her in new things in combinations he chose… That was secondary.