~Chapter 8:Morning Cat~


(Wednesday September 17 Ichiraku Ramen Bar)

~Nina~

Nina angled herself against the outside wall of Ichiraku and observed the village life around her, offering a half-hearted smile whenever someone took the time to greet her. Many people recognised Nina solely because she apparently mostly resembled her father.

Hmpf.

Being early to the meet-up with Kakashi gave Nina time to stew on their mission and what it may, or may not, entail. Her nails ruthlessly sank into her biceps, saved only for the sleeves of her standard-issue, black, long-sleeved shirt.

~Flashback~

(ANBU Nina 14 years old)

The first time Nina donned the porcelain-white mask of ANBU was for a mission—a death sentence for a soul she would never know but never forget.

Oh, how he, their target, had begged between sobs in his final moments. Pathetic. He feared death, yet Nina couldn't conjure a scrap of sympathy or empathy. She silenced his gargled cries by running her katana's blade across his throat; his lifeless body thwamped to the ground at her feet.

Standing side-on at her back, Hound gave his solemn orders. "Leave no trace."

Nina didn't, following her Captain's directive to a tee.

~End of Flashback~

Having slumped down the building's side too far to be comfortable, Nina adjusted her stance. She looked around at the passing couples, frustration and nervousness mixed in the pit of her stomach.

Can we do this?

Can I do this?

The answer was as it'd always been for Nina:

Shinobi Rule #9

A Shinobi must always carry out the mission assigned.

"You probably hate me, don't you?" Kakashi asked, with his nose stuck in his book.

Heh.

For the second time today, the ordinarily tardy Copy-Nin arrived not just in time but also with a few minutes to spare.

"Can't say you're my favourite person right now," Nina agreed as she about-faced to enter Ichiraku. Kakashi pulled aside a flag hanging across the bar's front awning, clearing a path for them to walk through. "But, I don't think I could ever hate you," she hummed, making her way to the two stools at the far right end of the bar.

Nina caught Teuchi's attention and placed her order by holding two fingers up. They'd often frequented the ramen bar for mission debriefings and were creatures of habit—both always ordered miso soup with eggplant.

~Kakashi~

As soon as Teuchi turned away, Kakashi began explaining the mission to Nina. "They're engaging the Leaf village in hopes of enhancing the diplomatic status. The village hasn't had any reported rebel activity for over six months. However, a few recent reports, possibly unrelated, have surfaced and are enough to justify an investigation." Nina's eyebrows knitted together tightly as she listened to his run-down, but as she said nothing, Kakashi continued. "I don't foresee any trouble with the locals if we can keep our cover believable."

"Here you go, two eggplant miso soups," Teuchi announced, placing two steaming bowls atop the bar.

Kakashi got in first, "Thanks, Teuchi." He grabbed one bowl setting it down in front of Nina; she'd still not said anything. Their fingers touched as he retracted his hand, causing her to startle violently.

"It's fine. I'm fine," Nina assured, using serviettes to mop the splashed soup up. "Sorry, Hatake, I spaced out."

Giving her a minute to sort herself, Kakashi took the second bowl from the bar for himself and began eating. Asuma knew his sister well; he really would have his work cut out for him if she was apologising for something so meagre.

After finishing his meal, Kakashi pulled his mask back up and continued their discussion. "A fledgling relationship won't suffice. We're best to adopt a fairly long-term type of relationship arrangement. One of the keynotes mentioned a Fireworks Festival next Friday night. We should use that to our advantage, citing a romantic getaway."

"Good thing we're both so experienced with that," Nina snarked, puddling in her bowl.

The longer this conversation went, the more Kakashi's mind mulled over the Fifth's footnote for the mission.

Just what exactly am I working with here?

"Never mind, Sarutobi, we'll have a few days before we arrive to work on your conviction. See you at the gates at, let's say, six?"

~Nina~

"Don't you mean eight?" Nina huffed, pushing the still three-quarters-full bowl away from her.

Kakashi ignored her, passing her bowl over the countertop to Teuchi. Nina stood, digging out the Ryo to pay for her meal and deliberating on whether she, too, would play the ignorance card for his patronising suggestion or not.

Nope. I can't let Hatake walk out of here thinking I can't hold my own for this ridiculous mission.

And that's all there was to this; a mission.

I can do this.

In Nina's overthinking, she'd forgotten that she was a kunoichi. She'd used fake, performative tactical affection countless times. It was a detached and strategic affair suited to the shinobi world.

Staying mindful of wandering eyes, Nina decided to test the field a little. "You know, I might just let you try and teach me, Old Man," she said waggishly.

"Old man?" Kakashi repeated. "Show some respect, or—"

"Or what?" Nina pressed and stepped in so that her front was flush against his turned back.

~Kakashi~

Kakashi looked over his right shoulder, down at Nina. He knew what the kunoichi was doing; he was aware of methodical seduction tactics. She wasn't close enough to be too inappropriate but was much deeper into his personal space than usual. Tsunade's words were irrefutably valid; he would have to tread delicately with Nina.

Nonetheless, Kakashi couldn't help but engage in the flirtatious assault. "I'll teach you a lesson."

"Are you flirting with me, Hatake?" Nina asked. He could hear the challenge in her voice as she spoke. "I mean, it'd be fine if I weren't worried you'd break your hip. Don't want anyone to accuse me of senior ab—"

Kakashi turned around and gripped her right hip with his left hand, brushing his thumb over the thin fabric of the skirt covering her hip bone just under the fold of her shirt. Wanting to keep his touch teasing and reminiscent of her seductive ploy, he only took one swipe and let his hand fall away.

"See you in the morning, Sarutobi."

~Nina~

Dazed, Nina watched Kakashi drop his head to one side and dip under the flags, leaving Ichiraku. She felt her eyebrows draw together as she struggled to match things up in her mind.

Is Hatake another one of Konoha's fuckboys, or isn't he?


(Thursday September 18 Konoha's Gates)

~Nina~

The next morning, warm sunshine poured down from the cloudless sky as Nina shouldered against the frame of one of Konoha's hulking-wooden green gates. She intermittently cast her eyes to the clock behind the two gatekeepers, watching as the minutes ticked by—well past the meeting time Hatake had imposed.

~Genma~

Genma yawned, wiping the sleepy dew from the corners of his eyes. Guard duty at the village's gates wasn't his or Raidō's usual posting; they were helping out while Izumo and Kotetsu assisted the Fifth. He grunted and adjusted the senbon in his mouth. "A watched pot never boils, Sarutobi."

The kunoichi gave him the cold shoulder, literally. Nina twisted her body, nursing her weight on one shoulder.

"Only one man would leave such a fine-looking woman waiting," Raidō remarked.

Genma told himself he shouldn't meddle. However, Raidō's wolfish leering at Nina gave him the perfect idea to polish the turd—so to speak—that was Kakashi Hatake.

The Copy-Nin was plenty capable of not fucking up his part in the bet, but courting Little Sarutobi wasn't going to be a cakewalk. For whatever reason, the silver-haired shinobi seemed to lack the little something-something that should make him sexually, or at the very least, romantically appealing to the frigid medic.

It can't hurt to try, huh?

"Want some advice?" he whispered, throwing an arm around Raidō's shoulders. Genma glanced over to Nina discreetly before dropping his voice further. "Call her darling. Trust me."

A coaxing wink and Raidō was stalking over to the kunoichi with his chest stuck out like a proud peacock. Genma wrapped his hands behind his head and settled back to watch the morning's entertainment play out.

~Nina~

Nina sighed for the umpteenth time. It'd been all she'd done all morning, and she hadn't even left the fucking village.

"Darling, you're so pretty it hurts," Raidō purred in her right ear.

Nina scowled dirtily over at Genma, who averted his eyes, whistling in feigned innocence. She then pulled her attention back onto the jackarse who'd tried to woo her with a sleazy pet name.

Trailing her fingers over Raidō's flak jacket, she maintained eye contact through a few flirtatious bats of her eyelashes. From his chest, she smoothed her hands out and over his shoulders. Strength surged through Nina's body and exploded out of her right kneecap.

Raidō wheezed, and his body instantly doubled over, responding to the violent crushing. Nina condescendingly patted his left shoulder twice. "Best you go to the clinic."

"Sorry I'm late. I had morning cat," greeted Kakashi cheerily.

"W-what?" Raidō sputtered while cupping his assaulted groin.

"You know…when your cat lays on you in the morning, and you can't get out of be—? "

"Save it, Hatake," Nina interrupted, slinging her backpack onto her shoulders. "Let's get moving before I need to explain to Lady Hokage why her interim gatekeepers wound up in the hospital."


(Hokage's Office)

~Tsunade~

"Ibiki," Tsunade addressed Konoha's staunch Head of Interrogation. She'd anticipated his calling, although not so soon.

"Care to explain why I just witnessed Nina Sarutobi leaving the village with Kakashi Hatake?" Ibiki asked gruffly.

"Not particularly," Tsunade replied, sliding over another file from the never-ending stack of paperwork.

"Lady Tsunade, that kunoichi is heading an investigation—"

"I'm aware of the nature of that investigation,"—she looked up from under her eyelashes—"but Sarutobi isn't of any use to anyone in her current state. Also, unless you have come in possession of any new information, we are at a dead-end."

"Dead-end?" Ibiki's eyes shot wide open.

"I caution you, Ibiki, to watch your tone," warned Tsunade, folding her hands over each other on the desk.

Ibiki cleared his throat, recomposing himself slightly.

As he should.

"I am confident Nina will be eager to continue the investigations upon her return. For now, she and Hatake are on a mission that requires their expertise. Please respect my decision."

"Yes, Milady," Ibiki acknowledged.

Tsunade exhaled, pulling out the file containing Nina's notes on the investigation. She empathised with Ibiki's frustration. It was taking too long, and what's more, it'd drained her best. For the time being, Tsunade reviewed her subordinate's findings, disregarding her burgeoning bookkeeping.


(KonohagakureEn-route to Amegakure)

~Nina~

Irritation ebbed away at Nina's subconscious. This contrived mission not only pulled her away from the investigation, but she would also miss the opportunity to catch up with Temari. The kunoichi from Sunagakure was due to arrive any day now. Aside from Hanako, few female shinobi offered Nina as much of a sparring challenge.

Tch.

Nina wondered how Raidō—and his testicles—were fairing at the clinic, which reminded her that she had a point to settle with Kakashi. Until the last-minute drop-in visit to the clinic following their debriefing at Ichiraku, which resulted in a little more than a passing conversation with Ayame, she thought she had her mission partner worked out.

"I can't figure you out, Hatake," Nina said, fixing her eyes on the road ahead.

"What's that?" he asked as if she'd pulled him back from another planet.

"You. You're a walking contradiction. You're annoyingly cocky and a shameless flirt, but…." Nina thought back to the discussion with Ayame yesterday. Then moved on to her own interactions with Kakashi at Shushu-ya and Ichiraku. "You're always respectful towards whoever you're interested in, or whichever way that goes. You gauge their interest and never press the issue if you get nothing. It just... doesn't fit."

"Why not? I like the company of a warm body. Who doesn't?" Kakashi replied, cocking his head a bit in her direction.

She squirmed, doing her best to keep it undisclosed to the man at her side. Being a shinobi meant that you eventually learned to take certain measures to address the repressed part of your duties. Unfortunately, few had the privilege of a constant romantic partner and instead made do with the more cheaply means through one-night stands and the like.

Not that I—

"There's no need to be an arsehole about it. No means no. I'm man enough to accept that, and anyone that can't doesn't deserve to breathe a second longer."

Nina chewed the flesh on the inside of her cheek. She almost felt a twinge to apologise to him for lumping him in with Konoha's top-ranking fuckboys.

"Did I say something wrong, Sarutobi?" Kakashi chuckled.

"No. Not at all. I'm just…." Nina paused to find the right word. "—Processing that."

~Kakashi~

Kakashi dug his thumbs under and gripped the straps of his backpack, focussing on the well-trodden dirt path ahead. Nina would process his words, as she always did, turning them over repeatedly in her mind until she trusted and believed in them.

His eyes narrowed from the dappled sunlight streaking through the canopy above. At this pace, they should arrive in about two days, allowing them to fit in some training. Leading the unruly trio of his own squad seven, Kakashi knew better than to push someone. He preferred to let people open up at their own pace. However, when an opening presented itself…

His own hands whipped around to gently but firmly snatch the kunoichi by both of her wrists. Even if it'd been an innocent action—simply aiming to hold Nina's hand—Kakashi knew that you don't just grab a shinobi's hands. Those are weapons, and to do so, is a threat. However, this was a bridge that needed to be crossed.

"You know, for someone who's supposed to be the most compatible match for me, you're a…." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, willing Nina to finish her sentence. She sighed, pulling against his grip. "I can't wait for this mission to end," she protested hotly.

"Compatible skills, not personalities," he corrected, to which she rolled her eyes at him.

Kakashi heaved a sigh, releasing Nina's hands, and shoved one of his back in his pocket. When he'd turned the tables on her, he could easily liken her to an awkward, pubescent teenager. That was somewhat disconcerting, considering the physicality required to succeed in their mission.

~Nina~

Nina contemplated marching right back to the village and handing over the money they would have earned to Tsunade. She looked up from her trembling hands at the back of Kakashi's head.

Dammit.

She padded forward with the muttered curse, standing beside him.

With the silence stretched uncomfortably thin between them, Nina shuffled to face Kakashi, narrowing her eyes at him. He levelled her stare and then looked ahead.

"If you want this mission to be successful, Sarutobi, you will have to hold my hand."

Tch.

Nina frowned at his outlaid left hand. Having had her fill of failure in the past fortnight, the last thing she needed was to turn this mission into yet another one. There was a pause, and then she shook her head. Her hands were trembling again, but for an entirely different reason.

Nina grit her teeth, weaving her fingers between Kakashi's and folding them over the back of his fingerless gloves. She felt him squeeze her hand and sighed softly, responding weakly in kind. It was becoming increasingly apparent he'd be taking the lead on this mission, not out of habit but a need.

~End of Chapter~