A head injury. Mito had nearly been blown up by "some strange force" right after the Hyuuga heiress left her. While Kakashi was awaiting Minato's decision, sitting safely in Konoha, Mito had only been saved by her chains.

Yes, he was hovering, but Mito had nearly died out here alone (okay that might be going a little far) and had lost weight since the last time he saw her. She loved his cooking, so what was the problem?

Mito kissed his cheek. "I'm fine." She was. Kurama had noticed that their chakra had been headed to a brain bleed she'd missed - duh - but now that her chakra was mostly recovered, she'd be able to recheck herself just fine. It was nice being doted on, but she wanted more cuddles and to share the responsibilities, even if they were in the kitchen.

Kakashi was cooking for an army, it seemed. He'd brought a crazy amount of supplies. She licked her lips at the pots and pans on the stovetop, rocking on her bare heels.

Kakashi kissed her head, holding her in place for a moment and scenting her. Again. "Go sit."

"You just got here," she whined. "You're my guest!"

"That's silly."

Mito sighed, allowing Kakashi to steer her into an overly cushy barstool. He was such a stubborn man.

They'd made love and with all of the pent-up frustration of being apart, the tenderness yet desperation had made nearly clawing each other apart all the more sweet somehow. Gods, she was fucked. "I missed you."

Kami, she was a broken record, too! She was going to smother him and a man like Kakashi wasn't into being smothered, surely.
Ah, she was fucked! Super fucked!

"Missed you, too," he rumbled easily, bending down to smell the miso. Something was missing…

"So what have I missed while I was gone?"

Kakashi's eyebrows only slightly lifted but he schooled his features quickly. Let's see, in the months she'd been gone:

1. Rogue lieutenants were crawling out of the woodwork and joining under the Akatsuki banner.

2. They had proof the underground Yakuza and their ilk were funding the Akatsuki, too. The things he'd seen had been… horrible. Kakashi knew he shouldn't be surprised by the despicable things humans were capable of doing to each other but it always struck him as particularly disturbing when it was civilian-on-civilian. Or on children of shinobis or civilians.

3. He'd additionally been tasked with tracking Obito or Sasuke, the latter of whom had been reportedly seen with both Orochimaru and his MOTHER, who left the village, stealing away in the night to find her sons. Kakashi blew out a sigh and tried to shake off the feeling that the reliable Inuzukas were only slowing him down in his searches. Teamwork was paramount. They kept each other motivated and alive. And he'd never admit it out loud but he enjoyed working with Kiba, particularly on his weapon's handling. Always nice to throw an ax.

4. Shisui had been sent after Mikoto-sama first, and he'd yet to return. Minato was worried.

5. Jiraiya, with Minato's blessing no less, had loosened Naruto's seal and nearly died because of it. It was only thanks to Sora's quick thinking (why would Jiraiya-sama risk his grandchild being around a situation like that?) to use Minato's kunai that the toad sage was saved in time. Unbelievably, neither boy had been carrying Minato or Mito's kunais at the time. Minato repaired the seal but Naruto had only been able to handle one tail of chakra before that. Loosening that seal when he couldn't control even that much power didn't make sense to him…

6. Thus Naruto had been back in the village for a short time, with overwhelming guilt, shame, and depression. He was such a positive hothead of a kid. It was difficult to see him that way, and Kakashi wasn't good with those things. Mito could've helped out more, he was sure. Of course, Mito would've probably also half-beat her father and godfather to death so maybe it was good she wasn't there.

7. there was the whole thing with the empty graves.

"Did something happen?" Mito asked, having become deeply worried. Surely he would've told her immediately, right?

"Maa, no," Kakashi replied, allowing her to taste the soup. "Nothing. –Nothing much has been going on, I mean." He gave her an eye-smile, hoping to convince and soothe her but only saw the briefest flash of pain cross her face before she turned away after tasting.

"I see."

Way to go, Dumbass, Kakashi admonished himself.

Mito believed that ninjas needed someone to have their back and keep their secrets; that any decent ninja (or as Mi put it, "human being") needed someone in their corner so they wouldn't lose their mind or soul. Something like that. And that's what she hoped to one day have.

And she was right, or at least with the two of them, it should be right. Asuma and Kurenai had that, Asuma had shared when Kakashi had asked him about what had recently changed, and it seemed to have taken them leaps over their disgustingly sweet on-again, off-again romance. With that in mind, he guessed it was story time, although that wasn't his strong suit. "Maa, Asuma and I took out a pair of Akatsuki."

Mito bounced right back next to him, wide-eyed and sunny. "Did you?"

Kakashi grinned and turned away a bit. Everything inside of him was screaming at him to ravage and worship her again but she needed to eat. "Hmm. Not going to ask if we're okay?" he teased.

"Please," Mito smirked, hands hooking on her waist. "You two have my complete faith. Over anyone!"

Kakashi felt warmth bloom in his chest. "They were pretty good." They were really good. Frankly, Kakashi hadn't known just how good Asuma was.

"Who was it?"

Kakashi sighed. "Thaaaaat's the thing," he drawled, beginning to frown. "We have no idea who they were. BIG guys, both of them," he explained. "S or high-A class but no one seems to have ever even heard of them."

"DNA analysis?"

Kakashi huffed. "Supposedly of civilian background. No matching records."

Mito narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound right." That can't be right. Wait: that doesn't even make sense! Kakashi shrugged as he ladled out a bowl of miso for her. Mito plated some rice.

Kakashi got the feeling that he and Asuma were being assessed as much as they were being fought during that battle, up until the end. That was bad because although he was a known entity around the Elemental Nations, Asuma - because of his years of service at the Capitol - was not nearly as widely known. If their bounties went up, he supposed that would clue him in more.

Mito internally moaned when he put down the fish she'd shoved in a preservation seal a few days ago. It was cooked now but moist and then he put a shrimp sauce over it. She tried not to drool. "I know they usually travel in pairs," she said quietly, meaning the Bakatsuki, "but maybe the rogues were lower down their totem pole or something?"

"They had the rings." Mito's excitement was palpable but he shook his head. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the rings, he would've guessed they were disguised Iwa shinobis. No hitai-ates, though. Even for the Akatsuki, that was unusual - or it had been. "We brought them back but they disappeared. From a secured location."

"A retrieval mechanism? —OH my God, this is so good Kakashi," she added, because damn could this man cook. If he kept this up, she was gonna put a ring on that stud. Or a harness. Or whatever you'd put on a stud.

Fuck, he'd look awesome in some kinda sexy, slim, barely-there harness.

"Nope," Kakashi answered, not realizing what Mito was thinking about. "Sensei said no, although he wrote down the sealing formulae. …It disappeared, along with the rings, from his office," Kakashi told her, surprised at how almost fun it felt to gossip about this. "And the bodies from the morgue."

"Whaa… Le gasp! No way!"

Kakashi chuckled. "Way."

"Holy…" Mito stopped and then gave him a pointed look. "Then we've got a traitor. …And 'stolen?' Or is Tou-san hiding the rings and design of the seal?" She doubted that he'd hide bodies. Maybe Tsunade's got them and she's keeping them on the down-low?

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, having wondered the same thing. "I hope it's the latter, but he was pissed." He tapped the side of his nose to mean that's how he could tell it was real.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders, Mito gave him a slow tour of the insanely large yacht she'd found in Uzushio. "Do you know who it belonged to?"

"It was for sale, in a seal, and brand new." Mito huffed, blowing her cheeks out. "It's weird, ya know. Yachts were NOT popular on the island. From what I've read in journals and stuff, just like with normal boats, people felt they were money-pits." Kakashi snorted, looking like he could only imagine as he watched the solar panels shift. One could see seals written all over them. "And a vessel of this size: the only way they'd get it through the eddies was in a seal. –Which is the reason I never intended to use it."

Kakashi hummed, pulling her close and kissing her, trying to hold himself off. She was killing him, running around in a long, white tee and nothing else. He slapped her ass when she gently bit and pulled at his bottom lip, silently warning her that she'd better watch herself. Groaning, he rested his forehead on hers, still worried about her. "Ummm. Why not?"

Mito grinned. Kakashi was worked up. She was ready; what was the problem? She ran her hands over his broad, muscular shoulders, sighing. "It's WAY too big to put in the museum. And I'm not an expert but I think the bottom would've split if it were to sit anywhere on land." She sighed and tugged his hand to lead him forward. "I don't have jacks or whatever they call the things used to hold boats on land for anything half this size."

Kakashi nodded and then, looking ahead, he slowly straightened up, staring at the fancy-ass fishing deck. Mito liked him like that. Oh, she liked his lazy look, too: how he was always coiled like a spring underneath that facade. But when Kakashi stood up straight and tall, his eye glittering with interest… She sighed, a simpering sound that made her blush. "See something you fancy?"

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow at her and gave her a long slow once-over. "I see a lot I like."

Mito ducked her head and pushed a lock of hair back. "I meant on the fishing deck."

"Fishing deck," Kakashi blankly parroted, gazing thoughtfully at the four captain's chairs and all the useless crap behind them. Was that a hot tub? Why? There had to be at least six full, large baths on this monstrosity. "I've never been deep sea fishing."

Mito grinned her head off, glad he'd be able to experience something he obviously had wanted to do with her. "Well, that's easy to fix! –C'mon!"

Hours later, Mito realized Kakashi was WAY into fishing. At this point, he might want to spend the rest of his time out here. He was so dang excited, though, every time he/they reeled one in, she couldn't help but be happy for him. Mito was beginning to feel a little sorry for the fish. "We've caught a lot."

"We can put them in a scroll for when we get home," he muttered smoothly, his eye focused on the shimmering water. It was dark out now. Mito curled up in his lap but seemed like she didn't mind doing this. Although when was she going to initiate? "How's your brain?"

"Fine."

"Hmm." He shifted away uncomfortably. "I almost forgot about the mission."

Mito hummed. "Me, too." She got up when he caught some kind of weird slimy-looking white thing that they immediately threw right back in, wide-eyed when it landed straight in the mouth of a shark. "Hee!"

"Mutant shark," Kakashi figured in a low growl, staring at a shark the size of which he'd never imagined.

Mito tilted her head as she watched more, smaller sharks swarm around it. Much higher and safe on a giant-ass boat or not, they made her nervous.

A couple of weeks before, she got mad and punched an enthusiastically murderous, snippy shark's head off. That was incredibly stupid because other sharks were in the area and went on a feeding frenzy which was fascinating and exciting, yet now, after being blown up… "Let's move." Kakashi's eyebrows lifted high enough that she couldn't see them under his bangs.

"Hn. Can I drive?"

"Yes, you can drive," Mito chuckled. "But you have to wear the captain's hat."

Soon, they were bouncing off the barrier. Mito groaned and Kakashi opened his Sharingan eye. Then she squeaked when he jolted, his knees just catching him, her hands flying over her mouth after she caught his arm. "Kakashi! You're Sharingan! It's…"

"Off," he realized, blinking. He'd gotten that sickening sensation of having what amounted to a ruptured eardrum or something, something that he usually only experienced if he switched eyes rapidly while being punched from two or more directions. (Unless his eardrum had truly ruptured.) He looked up at her and sent chakra to his eye, turning it back on, but if he looked at the border, the damn thing would turn off again. Instantly.

"Holy crap!"

Mito was so excited. She knew Kakashi could draw but damn; she could see what she needed to know now that the seals were recreated on paper. He didn't understand them but she did. –Or she understood many of them, anyway. "Okay," she cheered, "now I can work on repairing that barrier. But… I wonder."

Kakashi was tired and grouchy. His eye kept turning on and off and Mito had said Obito's eye, even turned off, was pretty. When he reminded her of who it once belonged to, she'd locked herself in the bathroom and screamed, and although she was fine now, he wanted to go to bed. He'd been fed, watered, and needed one more thing aside from sleep. And did she realize how big the border was? They'd be doing this for the rest of their lives. That wouldn't work. "What is it?"

"The Sharingan records the images it sees in your brain. –That's obvious; sorry. Immediately, I mean." Kakashi sighed and nodded. "So, I can't help but wonder - considering your reaction and how sick the Hyuugas got - whether anyone with a dojutsu is not supposed to see the barrier."

Kakashi considered it. Mito was still wearing that tee which was distracting. He rubbed his eye; the scar was stinging which was a little odd. He could only "study" the border for less than a fraction of a second at a time. "Maa, maybe since I don't have Uchiha blood…"

"Exactly," she interrupted, jumping up and down excitedly.

If her standing there was distracting, jumping around, joyful was far worse. She'd put on little panties while she was in the bathroom. "You're killing me."

She rushed back, her hands ready to heal. Kakashi caught them. "You're in pain?"

"Yes," he hissed. He closed his eyes and growled at her. Mito took a step back but raked her eyes over him, beginning to look cocky. Oh, she'd done it now. He hadn't been trying to hide his erection and still wasn't.

"You know if you want something, all you have to do is ask for it." Kakashi only crossed his arms over his chest, staring at her nipples. Pervert. "Or order me."

"Order you, huh?" Kakashi slowly stood up, grabbing her hand. "We're going back to the fishing deck." He side-eyed her and hid a grin when she pouted. Brat.

They were not going to be using those captain's chairs for fishing. Not right now.

Days later -

Standing out on the water, Mito knew that this was an impossible task. The barrier, after all, was both below and above sea level, all the way around the continent, and ragged in this part. She could fix a little bit of it but… What? Was she supposed to hand this job off to her brother's grandchildren when she died putt-putting around the Elemental Continent's border? "Fuck."

Plus, Kakashi was in a mood. One, whether he would admit it or not, his eye was giving him fits. Two… Well, she wasn't sure what "Two" was! Aside from the barrier, they'd been fishing (too much damn fishing - and Mito LIKED to fish) and having sex all over the boat. They'd done some nice romantic stuff, too, like setting out a picnic a few times with candles; they'd filled and heated the hot tub and that was nice, as well. They'd had loads of nice talks.

The ninkens had all spent time here and Kakashi had enjoyed them hunting Tenga - who had finally left them to go home.

Seriously, that cat was desperate to partner with Kakashi. She almost felt jealous. Working her bottom lips, her chains retracted again and she walked toward the irritated man who was sitting on a rail. "Is there anything I can do?" Kakashi shook his head, but he only looked even angrier. "I could send you back."

Suddenly he was on her. His touch was light but he seemed dangerous. Hello?! He is! Then he turned away, walking back toward the boat.

"What do you want, Mito?"

"...Nothing," popped out of her mouth defensively before she thought better of it. Kakashi started laughing. "We all have things we want." Still turned away from her, Kakashi dragged his hand through his hair. She couldn't even enjoy the way his ass looked in those goofy-ass orange trunks Naruto had once given him. She felt sick. "What do you want, Kakashi?"

Kakashi shook his head, staring out at sea. "I feel like a traitor." His eyes went wide when after several silent seconds, Mito's chakra surged.

"You said you hadn't been sexually active since the last time."

Holy shit he was going to die out here.

Kakashi was moving fast and trying to force himself to talk fast because Mito wasn't moving but her chains and chakra sure as hell were. "NOT A TRAITOR TO YOU! FOR FUCK'S SAKE, MI," he yelled diving into a roll. "TO KONOHA!"

Mito blinked, her chains having disappeared entirely. She'd have to think about why that was later. "Wh- why?"

Kakashi laughed but it sounded painful. "Because I don't want to go back. I… I hate my job." God, he was ashamed. He sank down on the waves rubbing his face. "I'm sorry. Don't mind me. I'm just… being a dick." A traitorous dick.

Mito's heart hurt. She licked her lips, thinking of how to respond. In the end, words just softly tumbled out of her pie-hole. "I'll never betray your trust." She looked away. "I… always wished I could go to medical school," she admitted. "Like in the West. –Work my way up doing whatever." Chakra did so much - but would she do well if she couldn't use it?

Kakashi swallowed hard and got up, moving toward where she was standing, her pretty face mostly hidden behind a sea of knee-length hair. "You'd be good." Mito let out a self-deprecating little laugh but he meant it. She cared about people and sometimes he wondered if he still did, outside of a small number. "You are good." Truly. "Maa, I could see myself as an engineer in another life."

Mito softly smiled at him and she could almost imagine it. "Not a fisherman?"

"No," Kakashi chuckled, looking toward the giant sleek, white eyesore. "It's nice as a vacation but I'm a land dweller, I'm afraid."

Mito hummed, finding him utterly charming like this, being honest and somewhat vulnerable. "What kind of engineer?"

Kakashi huffed, sounding only a tad or faux irritated, and wrapped his arms around her, leaning his forehead against hers. "Probably something lame like… in the computer field or something." In fact, that's what he'd been studying for Asuma around the clock, because of the upcoming mission to grab back their stolen kids. The Sharingan was great with that stuff and his mind was well-suited to rapidly memorizing, sorting, and analyzing code. "I'd wind up with a flat ass…"

"NnnnOPE," Mito drawled, beaming at him and interrupting. She ran her hands down his meaty butt, squeezing. "Not happening then! Not allowed!"

"Maa, hime-sama's got enough ass for both of us, though, ne?"

"No! She doesn't!"

They spent the rest of the night pretend-arguing over who would be a better architect, him or Tenzo (Mito was on Tenzo's side and she knew Kakashi had to agree, surely. –Although when Kakashi seemed sincerely interested in the idea, she relented that she could be wrong.)

"God knows you can achieve anything you set your amazing mind to, Kashi."

And oh, the hot, smoky look she'd gotten for that bit of truth… Wow.

They even talked about what kind of town they'd live in if they ever had a choice about these things. Which they wouldn't, (especially Mito.) Plus they made love. Even if it sounded over the top, Mito thought it had been the best, most wondrous thing she'd experienced.

Religious or something.

She didn't feel so fucked anymore, aside from literally.

In the morning, they finally talked about what would happen once the barrier hiding the continent fell. Unless they kicked it REALLY early, it would certainly happen during their lifetimes. How they hadn't been spotted already was a miracle.

And then Kakashi realized what day it was, and that the Chunin Exams in Suna began that afternoon.