Chapter 18:Two Words
(Monday-September 22-Amegakure Village)
~Kakashi~
Walking back to the hotel, under cover of a borrowed umbrella, Kakashi reflected on the day's undertakings. Although he and Sarutobi had been successful for the most part, it'd been a mixed bag.
Nina had fled the orphanage without explanation, leaving him to surmise it was something to do with Kimi's apron. With the afternoon pulling into the evening, Kakashi busied himself preparing dinner for everyone. He went with Oyakodon, a classic comfort meal for home cooking that needed limited prep time and was also packed with plenty of protein.
The kunoichi arrived back at the orphanage just before a thunderous storm hit, again not disclosing her recent whereabouts to Kakashi. She sat opposite him at the table while the children squabbled amongst themselves, wheeling and dealing over who sat next to whom. By the meal's end, Maya was on his lap, unafraid of using her feet to guard the coveted spot.
When all the bowls were licked-cleaned—quite literally—Nina and Kimi cleared the table and took the dirty dishes and cutlery to the kitchen to be washed. Meanwhile, Kakashi lent Yuuma a hand with setting up containers to catch the leaking drips throughout the mouldering residence.
With the jobs done, the children settled in their new beds for the night, and feeling the effects of his early rise, Kakashi announced his and Sarutobi's departure. He humbly accepted the weathered umbrella from Yuuma. Popping it open, he forwent holding hands with Nina to hold the umbrella to provide the most even cover for them both.
Silence never particularly bothered him; twice as true when he shared it with Nina, but something felt…off. Neither had uttered more than a handful of words. Kakashi didn't know what to make of it. Had he said or done something wrong?
Hmm.
There wasn't anything he could pinpoint with surety.
~Nina~
Shit. Shit.
Nina raced to take cover under the overhanging eaves of the closest building, hugging her back to its external wall. The umbrella had failed, disintegrating under the weight of the continuous waves of hammering rain. She watched as Kakashi sprinted across the road to the adjacent shop.
The downpour made it near-impossible to make out little more than silhouettes; none matched the Copy-Nin's. With nothing else to do but wait for his return, Nina's mind travelled back to another rainy night.
~Flashback~
(Konoha's Cenotaph- Night time- Nina 14 years old, Kakashi 16 years old)
In the drizzling rain, Nina sat against Konoha's cenotaph. She twirled a kunai around her right index finger, wishing she had her brother to speak to rather than a fucking rock reserved for the names of the dead. Asuma wasn't dead; he was off playing bodyguard for the Land of Fire's daimyō.
Despite sensing someone approaching, Nina didn't bother readying herself.
"You're too young for this world to break you," Kakashi remarked, his silver hair catching the moonlight that strove to break through the cloudy night sky.
"Says Konoha's perfect child soldier," Nina bit back.
"To Konoha's perfect weapon."
Nina snatched her fingers closed around the kunai. Every shinobi was a weapon, but..."Not perfect," she muttered through gritted teeth. The kunai she threw landed millimetres in front of Kakashi's toes.
"Not your observation to make," he said, stepping over the kunai with ease.
Nina huffed, accepting she'd have to collect the bloody thing herself. On her feet, she stood toe to toe with Kakashi. "But it's yours?" she questioned, looking up at him.
He shrugged his shoulders without unpocketing his hands. "My experience over yours says yes."
Hatake—just two years older than her—was infuriatingly arrogant. However, Nina had wondered why he'd waited until now to stage whatever this was—her induction was finalised a few hours ago.
Many would argue that ANBU Black Ops was no place for a fourteen-year-old, and while that may have been true, the twelfth rule of the Shinobi Code of Conduct was indisputable.
Shinobi Rule #12
The shinobi world is a world of shadows.
Nina walked around Kakashi, bending down and picking up her kunai. "Still, it's not your choice."
"No, but I don't recommend it."
Nina's body tensed, and her hand gripped the kunai's handle unforgivingly. The hushed words were heavily laden with self-reproach, yet they'd been said by a man openly branded by many as a cold-blooded friend killer.
Nina stared at her shaky reflection in the kunai's blade. The shinobi world was also a lonely world. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled; her reflection was now clear and defined. "Consider your recommendation heard, Captain."
~End of Flashback~
Nina blinked, holding her hand out to catch the water droplets as they dripped from the eaves. She really had been a melancholic teen. Nonetheless, Hatake never treated her with kid gloves, and it had to be said that the man's everlasting patience had reigned her in, got her back on track and made her shinobi skills blossom.
(Amegakure Inn- Room 302)
~Kakashi~
Placing one hand on the cold tiles of the shower wall, Kakashi sighed, then dragged his other hand from his nape through his hair and roughly rubbed his face deliberating on the turn of events.
In a pure accident, he'd bumped into one of the young ladies who'd apparently witnessed his morning training session when exiting the store after purchasing two new umbrellas—one for the orphanage and one for him and Sarutobi. As soon as it was reasonably polite to do so, he'd excused himself. Not soon enough, according to the kunoichi. At his next glance across the road, Nina had already set off toward the hotel. Kakashi followed behind her at his usual pace, not bothering to hasten his steps to catch up.
Once in their room, he'd offered Sarutobi the comfort of a hot shower first, but she rejected it with a shake of her head and a mumbled, "You go."
Finished showering, Kakashi opened the bathroom door, half expecting to be greeted by a cross-armed, foot-tapping Nina. Instead, she was pacing around the small coffee table, engrossed in reading.
Kakashi padded around the corner to the internal laundry and shoved his wet clothes into the washing machine. Nina continued to pay him no mind, still circling the coffee table while reading.
Kakashi turned around, leaning against the small laundry countertop, and folded his arms across his chest. He cleared his throat. "I didn't realise you were the jealous type, Sarutobi?"
~Nina~
Nina stopped, slapping her book closed with such force that she stroked the book's spine in remorse. Hatake's words oozed with the slick bravado that made every part of her skin crawl. His suggestion that she was, was…
For fucks sake, what is the word?
Right.
It was wholly, completely, unquestionably absurd that she, Nina Sarutobi, was jealous.
"I'm not," Nina bluntly refuted, exchanging her book for the items she'd set aside on the laundry countertop for a shower.
Kakashi made short work of blocking her path to the bathroom. "It's impolite to lie," he chided, foiling each of her attempts to side-step around him. "Especially to someone who's trying to help you."
Nina furiously swept his hand off her shoulder. "If you want to play Amegakure's STD and STI roulette, that's your fucking business. Just know you,"—she needled the Copy-Nin's chest with her index finger—"will be the one telling Lady Tsunade we failed this mission because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants."
Kakashi wrapped his fingers around her index finger and grabbed her wrist with his other hand, twisting it palm up. "Keep it there."
Nina ripped her hand from his hold, shaking her head from left to right. Within her next breath, Kakashi's hands were on her, stealing away her kunai and holding it to her throat, coercing her backwards against the laundry countertop. His eyes burned with savagery, and his jaw muscles were visibly taut beneath his mask. "Don't," he warned, pushing his body weight against hers. "Now, give me your hand."
"Or what?" Nina challenged, ignoring that one of Hatake's knuckles was currently all that separated the kunai's blade from her jugular.
"Palm up, Sarutobi." Kakashi shifted forward; his taller frame easily caged her against the counter.
Nina thought it comical that he was trying to outmuscle her; even a minuscule burst of her concentrated chakra would be ample to wind the Copy-Nin. It wasn't a fight he could win. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What, no manners?"
Kakashi's grip on the kunai briefly slackened, and Nina dropped her chin in smug confidence. "That's what I—" Her voice cut to a gasp. Rendered compliant by the threat of cold steel against her throat, she tilted her chin upwards.
"Please," Kakashi murmured, voice honeyed and thick.
Nina took a shallow breath and held her right hand out, palm up, hating that her hand still trembled against her best efforts. The faintest scoff puffed through Kakashi's mask.
Arsehole.
~Kakashi~
Kakashi hesitantly pulled the kunai away, never entirely believing the kunoichi would adhere to his direction. "Earlier today, I sent Pakkun to Konohagakure with a request."
"For?" Nina shot back.
For all the playful bantering with her did for tickling Kakashi's ego, he feared further provocation would fuel her distrust—something he needed none of for the mission and bet. "Additional support for restoration works on the orphanage."
"Tenzō?" asked Nina.
"Mhm," Kakashi agreed. Tenzō was the sole inheritor of the Wood Release, a nature transformation kekkei genkai, a combination of Earth and Water Release, and perfectly suited for the job.
"And they approved it?" Nina asked, her brows arching high.
That, Kakashi didn't know. It was a steep request considering the village's manpower constraints. Tenzō was also a member of the ANBU Black Ops, meaning securing his release relied on a two-fold approval from Konoha's ANBU Commander and Hokage.
"For fucks sake, Hatake. Did your request get approved or not?" Nina gruffled with her hands on her hips.
"Shall we find out?" Kakashi asked. He calmly redirected Nina's hands—she'd need both to hold Pakkun—palm up, shunting them together until her pinkies touched.
With a nod of Sarutobi's head, he sliced his thumb using the kunai's blade, weaved a series of hand signs, and pressed his right hand's five fingers down on her open palms. Channelling a small amount of chakra to his fingertips, Pakkun appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Yo. Request approved, Boss," Pakkun greeted. "Tenzō's ETA is tomorrow night."
Kakashi would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that discussion. "Good. Thank you, Pakkun," he said, looking to Nina for her reaction.
She shoved the pug into his chest. "I'm going for a shower."
Kakashi twisted his body, watching as the kunoichi recollected her belongings strewn over the floor, then headed for the bathroom; the door slammed harshly closed behind her.
Hmm.
Sighing, he crouched down, allowing Pakkun to leap out to put four paws on the wooden floor. He knew he'd never get an outright apology from Sarutobi, but, at the very least, he'd expected a thank you.
*Thirty Minutes Later*
~Nina~
"I'm such a fucking idiot," Nina grumbled to her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She tugged on the borrowed, long-sleeved shirt she'd chosen to wear as a nightie. She bit her bottom lip, deep in conflict with her conscience. That wasn't flirting; that was fighting.
Ugh.
Nevertheless, although Nina didn't understand why he'd gone to such lengths to help, she owed Hatake thanks.
After brushing her teeth, she opened the door to a sight that was the embodiment of master and canine. On the freshly laid-out futon in the far corner of the room, a fraction away from the ceiling-floor-length window, Pakkun was snoring, curled up at Kakashi's feet. He, too, had fallen asleep; the newest Icha Icha lay open, pages down on his chest.
Nina threw her dirty clothes into the machine and put away her other bits and bobs into her pack, then tiptoed to Kakashi's bedside. She bent down, carefully picking up his book. "Don't think I'm any less mad at you because—"
A photograph fluttered to her feet as she stood up. Clutching it in her fingertips, she discovered it was actually two that'd been stuck together, back-to-back. On one side, Hatake was pictured with Minato-Sensei, Obito and Rin. On the reverse, it was him with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. She'd never figured him to be the sentimental type. After all, emotions were an unnecessary thing to a shinobi.
Assuming he'd used them as a bookmark, Nina quickly tucked the conjoined photographs into the book. She set it on the floor beside the lamp, clicking its switch off and tiptoed around to her side. Nina knelt, shuffling in under the covers on her side of the bed, mindful not to wake the Copy-Nin. Lying on her side, facing the centre of the bed, she thoughtfully directed her gaze to his sleeping form.
Two words; that's all Nina had to say. It's what she wanted to say. In fact, earlier, she'd have happily shouted them in his face. A moment of silence passed, and Pakkun's husky snores filled the space. Nina rolled away to face the window, kicking one foot out from under the blankets.
Thank you.
~End of Chapter~
