A Marriage Inconvenienced (ch.12)
Good fortune arrived on Konoha. People crossed the village gates with good moods and money to spend. Some were desperate for one last trip before the winter months and the boom in tourism caught everyone off guard. As surprises go, it wasn’t the worst thing that could happen.
For some visitors visiting Konoha was a pilgrimage, a chance to see the famed location where the first ninja village was established. They gawked at the Hokage Monument and walked the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of sketched faces in their copy of Who’s Who in the Ninja World. And they stared at the Hokage Tower, hoping to see the silhouette of the Hokage through the top window.
Konoha became a center for art as painters set up their easels and began to sketch. The coming of autumn meant the tree canopy would burst into a dazzling array of colors at any moment. The artists want to capture it for themselves and waited for the moment the tree’s changed. Meanwhile, they bided their time by sketching anyone who wanted a portrait. When the sun set, the crowds gathered on the fields to listen to the musicians. Troops of actors took the center of the village, performing plays and spreading their names to the masses that visited.
Others tourists arrived to sate their own curiosity, eager to see if the rumors were true. They kept their eyes peeled for trees that had been turned into ninjas and the infamous pig army. And when these things were not spotted, the visitors would remark on how well these secret organizations were hidden from the public eye.
The streets filled with people as they wandered down the narrow streets and snatched up items to take as souvenirs. It had gotten so bad that any locals with a grasp of chakra had taken to the rooftops. Many of them watched the tourists pass their streets from their windows and grumbled under their breath. Then they looked at their wallets heavy with money and feel better. But they were looking forward to when Konoha would empty once more and life could return to normal.
Restaurants were filled with noise of success. The cooks at the back of the restaurant busied themselves with requests, clanging their knives as meat sizzled on the fire. Servers scuttled across the restaurant with platters of food and plunked change into a growing pile of money. The customers were crammed into booths and added to the cacophony with their laughter. It was hard to get a seat at any restaurant and most locals had abandoned casual gatherings for lunchtime into the quiet of their own homes. But for some, there was still room at the restaurants.
The Sixth Hokage of Konoha never had trouble finding a table. On this day, he looked at the crowded restaurant impassively. He could not feel the joy that adorned so many of the diners’ faces. The most he could muster was a touch of annoyance. Didn’t they know that a grave injustice was at the verge of breaking?
He looked at his own table to see three amused faces. “It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s freaking hilarious!” Anko responded as she clutched her stomach with laughter. Shizune gave Kakashi’s hand a soft pat in sympathy.
Anko waggled her eyebrows. “Well, it had to come from someone. At least you know it wasn’t one of us who started it. Genma wouldn’t have started it because he’s too much of a coward and Shizune thinks you are respectable for some reason. And I would have come up with something way better.”
“I’m not gay and don’t encourage it.” Kakashi was grateful that the din of the crowded restaurant prevented his voice from carrying beyond their table.
Genma chuckled into his glass. "Yeah, we know that. And I told them that, but Inuzuka is a bit of a social pariah. I swear he's even worse than Inoichi's daughter.”
Kakashi scowled as he continued to poke at his food. "Where in the world did they get such a ridiculous idea anyway?"
Genma shrugged. "I don't know.”
“Sakura was the one who stopped it,” said Shizune. “She’s the only one who had a sense to think the accusation through. The rest of them were more than ready to believe it.”
"Really?" Kakashi was honestly surprised by this news. It was an odd coincidence that Sakura was the one defending him even though she was the only one that actually had seen any evidence supporting it. He was pleased by the information. "Wait... did you mean Kiba Inuzuka was spreading the rumor?"
"Yeah." Genma quirked an eyebrow as Kakashi gave a sigh of understanding.
"I may have done something..." He shook his head in exasperation. "I was playing a joke on Naruto, but it appeared the idiot didn't have enough sense to sober up before he went to spread the rumor. Most people would have keeled over after drinking that much alcohol.”
“That’s too bad,” replied Genma. “Anyway, there’s nothing to worry about. As long as you don’t do anything to convince people otherwise, it will die out.” He reached for the glass bottle on the table. “Do you want any more sake, Kakashi? If not I’ll finish the rest of it off.”
Kakashi looked at his empty cup. “No. I think I’ve had more than enough.” He was determined not to make a fool of himself. Sobriety was good for that sort of thing.
~O~
Initially, Sakura had been hesitant of spending so much time with Kakashi. She didn’t want to endure his teasing while fulfilling his request. But he had surprised her by remaining professional as she worked on his eye. He never mentioned her upcoming marriage, her apprehension towards the Sharingan, or Norio. Even the innuendo filled letter she had left by mistake was never brought up again. In fact, she was beginning to enjoy her time with him.
Word had leaked out to the village about Sakura’s spring wedding and strangers in the village were constantly nosing into her business as she walked down the street. They were always asking details of the ceremony and critiquing her choices. One time, two retired kunoichi in their seventies argued if green or grey was a more complementary to her pink hair. It was a moot argument since Sakura had always gravitated towards the color red. She slinked away as soon as the two women had forgotten about her and heard that the women had come to blows.
It wasn’t much better in the hospital because most of the people who she worked with wanted to be involved in some part of the ceremony. Some wanted invitations for the lavish ceremony and some people just wanted details. And when Sakura was home she was forced to respond to her daily letter from the Ehime estate. Hiding in Kakashi’s office for couple hours was the only peace she got nowadays from the wedding.
The process of shutting down the Sharingan was a tedious one and every advance was miniscule even by her standards. The foreign charka was resilient and was trying to reestablish the connection after she severed the ties. And the chakra had begun to recognize her as a threat and she had to be very careful not to agitate it too much.
Sakura slid into her customary spot on Kakashi’s desk. “I hope you drank enough water this time. It’s unsightly that the Hokage passes out from a little blood loss.” Sakura rested her feet against the seat of his chair as he leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk.
“I forgot to eat that one day because I was busy.” Kakashi grumbled. “You wouldn’t believe that amount of reorganization I have had to do recently. Missions are coming from every corner of Konoha plus the standard ones in other villages. Some of the homes in the village were not given enough support when they were built a few years ago. We told the owners when they moved in, but some people put it off. Now that everyone is traveling by rooftop, everyone wants them fixed. The influx of money means that they can afford it. Poor Tenzou has been working twelve hour days.”
“You are so full of excuses. Do you know how many sprained ankles we’ve had to fix at the hospital because idiots are falling through the rooftops? It is such a moronic injury, but we get them healed up and out the door. You should know better than to skip lunch and be dehydrated. Especially since you knew that I was going to be here and you end up bleeding all over the place.” She pressed one hand over Kakashi’s eye and another on his temple and send out a miniscule bit of chakra to his system.
“I can feel the eye spinning,” he said. “And I’m not trying to activate it. It didn’t do this before.”
“It recognizes my chakra as a threat,” responded Sakura. “Then energy is like a river that is attempting to flood a dam. If it pushes me back with enough force then you would get hurt. That’s why we are taking our time with this.”
The energy in his eye reacted violently and pressed against her chakra. Sakura ignored the burning in her hand and the instinct to retreat and carefully severed another connection of the eye to his system. Kakashi grunted in pain and Sakura felt her left hand grow warm with blood. She slowly pulled back her chakra, careful that she did not go too fast. If she made any sudden moves, the unexpected force of the agitated chakra could damage the eye or brain area.
Free from his system, Sakura clenched her hands. The tiny operation had given her chakra burns across from her palms and down her wrists, something she hadn’t experienced since she was a rookie.
“We’re making good progress,” she remarked as she wiped some of the blood off of his face. “In another week the connection to your system will be severed. Then all we need to do is push back the foreign chakra into a dormant state and connect you chakra system properly to the deactivated eye.”
“That’s great,” Kakashi gasped as he buried his head into her shoulder. “Can you repeat that again when I’m paying attention?”
Sakura stiffened from the physical contact before forcing herself to relax. His right hand had wrapped around her waist at some point in time. She should have pushed him away and made him retreat from her personal space. But from the way he was shuddering, Kakashi was preoccupied with gaining control of his own motor functions. And his hands hadn’t wandered anywhere troublesome yet, so she let him be.
“I have a headache,” he said in a muffled voice. “Is there anything you can do about that?”
Sakura brushed her hand against the top of his head to smooth out his hair. “I’m afraid not. If I were to heal anything, it would send back our progress. I think you should go home and get some rest. The light will only make your headache worse.”
Kakashi lifted his head from her shoulder and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. As he did so, his hand around her waist slid back, grazing along her thigh and knee. She clamped down the urge to question his actions. The last thing she wanted Kakashi to know was how aware she was of his touch.
“How are things at the hospital?”
“Good. I’ve been working with Shizune on the next batch of medicines. We have identified a few strains of bacteria that could give us some trouble. In a couple of weeks we are going to have to pull most of the staff to work on the new vaccines for winter. You should send out a message to the villages in the next week to tell us what is in demand. We don’t know how much to make until they get back to us.”
“I’ll work on that tomorrow. I’m scheduled to visit the Academy and the less time I spend there, the better off I am.”
Sakura frowned. “Don’t be a wuss. I worked the pediatric wing for a year and children aren’t that bad.”
“I like children. It’s that there are so many of them. All of those tiny faces look up with innocent expressions while secretly plotting how they are going to use chakra to get rid of the hot water in your apartment. The less I am around them, the better off.”
“You were wonderful when we were in Snow Country. I don’t see how it’s any different.”
Kakashi laughed. “Of course it was different. I’ve known those kids since they were tiny. I find them less annoying.”
Sakura shook her head. “If you say so. Just finish up what you need to do and go home to get some rest. You don’t want to strain yourself too much.” She slid off of the desk and reached over to throw away the blood-soaked cloth in her hand. “And remember to send out that letter to the villages.”
Kakashi opened an eye to watch her walk out the door. Tucked underneath her arm was another letter from the Ehime Estate. He had been completely surprised to open the innocuous letter to discover a letter which was nothing more than shameless dirty talk. He heard from the mail office that she was getting letters from the Estate daily to go over her wedding plans, and it was doubtful all of them were from Norio. He clamped down the urge to remove the letter from her arms to open it himself. But still the question remained. Was that letter filled with same salacious language?
The headache was intensifying as the sun lowered to shine directly into his window. Deciding to call it a day, Kakashi left his office and walked down the hallway that led him to his office. As soon as he was inside, he closed the curtains, sat down on his couch and closed his eyes. It was too early for him to go to bed yet. Perturbed, he went to the kitchen to heat up some leftover rice.
The Sharingan was agitated and it kept watering as he ate. A headache was intensifying and he wished it would go away. But the annoyance was worth it. He needed Sakura to see how comfortable she could be with him, and the only way he could do it was if she spent time with him. Anything less than business would have caught her suspicion and she would have refused any invitation. Having her take out the Sharingan was the perfect excuse. Most people would have called him stupid for giving up one of the most sought after kekkei genkai for a girl. And if he were an observer, he would agree whole-heartedly with this assessment.
But he loved how much Sakura was changing. Sakura stayed longer than necessary with him because she wanted an escape for the rest of her life. She was now receptive to his words and reciprocated every affectionate touch he gave her. Likewise, she wasn’t afraid to argue with him, fearless of his title as she cut straight to the heart of the matter. And because of this, he considered his tactic to win her over a partial success.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Excuse me for the interruption, Hokage-sama,” said the guard. “I believe it’s another one of your special ladies and she-"
"Just let us in!" Genma’s voice cried out from down the hall
Kakashi gave the guard in front of him the nod and the guard left. Genma was standing at the end of the hall.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say this.” He popped the senbon out of his mouth and gave a cheeky grin. "Sorry, I'm late," he said with great relish. He stepped aside to reveal young petite woman with soft curves and cerulean hair.
"Kakashi Hatake, I want you to meet Aoi. She is a visitor from the next village and she has a bit of a thing for ninjas."
Kakashi had been joking when Genma had made the suggestion two months ago for a ‘lady-friend.’ Now he was uncertain how to react. “I don’t think this is wise. I’d rather not deal with unnecessary complications.”
The young woman gave a small smile as she made her way inside Kakashi's home. "I don’t like complications either Hokage-sama. That is why I am very discreet." Her voice became lower as she slid off the jacket on her shoulders and faced him. "I am also very willing." Her hand reached forward to press against his chest.
Kakashi's protests diminished as her hand slid lower.
"I thought she was to your tastes, Kakashi. I know you have a thing for women with distinctive hair colors. Have fun, you two." Genma gave a wink and closed the door to leave the two of them alone.
Kakashi found himself on the sofa and she leaned forward to straddle his lap. "I don't normally need to have other people looking for women for me," Kakashi said, feeling the urge explain.
Aoi nodded. "I understand. You’re terribly important and don’t have time to waste on silly things like this. I can't believe that no one has even thought about addressing this problem of yours."
He groaned in frustration as she slid off of his lap. But then she gave him a coy smile and she spun around. Kakashi relished the sound of her zipper as it opened and felt his heart rate increase as her skirt fell to the floor. He reached for her, and admired her toned thighs as he moved his hands up. The edge of her shirt lifted and he caught sight of something odd.
His hand froze when he noticed the tattoo engraved on her hip.
"Aoi," he said in a strangled voice. "You're said you’re from the next village over?"
"Oh yes, Hokage-sama. If you have any more urges for companionship, I'll be more than happy to take care of them." She had begun to nibble at his ear.
The next village a short distance away. It would take a civilian a day to reach the village on foot. It would take an average ninja a few hours. But for an elite shinobi it would be about an hour, which wasn't very long at all.
"That's a nice tattoo," he said as he stared at the leaf symbol that was drawn on her skin. Now that his mind had caught up with his libido, he was beginning to realize what a horrible mistake he was on the verge of committing. A peculiar conversation that occurred a few weeks back rang in his head.
“And then there is Konoha at the hip of Fire Country, which bears the insignia of Leaf with pride. Our village contains tight thighs of ninja strength.”
"I wear my tattoo with pride," Aoi said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kakashi felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on him as Gai’s smiling face popped in his head.
"Well, I'm happy that you are so proud of your country. No, there's no need." He stopped her as she began to remove her shirt. "I'm not interested."
"What?" She stared at him in disbelief. "You were so eager a few minutes ago."
"I have regained my senses." He reached for the floor and handed Aoi her skirt. "I'm sure you are very lovely and enthusiastic," Kakashi winced at his unfortunate word choice.
"Okay," she shrugged and put on her pants. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."
"I do." Kakashi shut the door and heard the click of her heels as she walked away. While Gai had called Kakashi his “eternal rival,” this would probably be taking the situation a bit too far. Relieved he had avoided a crisis, he went to bed blissfully alone.
He awoke a few hours later to a loud thumping noise at his door. Kakashi groaned as he untangled himself from his sheets and made his way to the front. Wasn't the whole point of having a pair of ANBU guards was to prevent this sort of thing? He flung open the door, determined to give the person who was rudely interrupting him a firm dress down for interrupting his sleep.
"What the hell, Kakashi?" Genma was standing at the doorway with a disgruntled expression. "I tried to help you out and this is how you repay me? How could you be so thankless?" He slipped past Kakashi and made his way inside.
"Please, come inside," Kakashi said dryly as he shut the door. He really didn't want anymore visitors tonight. The headache had eased but he hated it when his sleep was interrupted. During missions he could stab the person who had bothered him, but Genma probably wouldn’t like that.
"Why did you send Aoi away? She was perfect!"
Genma was speaking rather loudly, and Kakashi moved to the kitchen to get a bit of distance. The urge to commit violence would growing stronger. But Genma was hot on his trail, determined to extricate a response. "She wasn't to my tastes."
"That’s a lie," said Genma stubbornly as he snatched the glass out of Kakashi's hand and downed the cup of water.
Kakashi's eye narrowed in annoyance and noticed the pointed thermometer lying just beyond his reach. "Why are you being so rude to me?" He moved back to the living room where pillows would be the most likely weapon.
"Rude? What about you? I go through all of this trouble to find someone for you and you shoot her down. Do you know how many women would like to sleep with you?" Genma held out his hands with a wide distance between them. "Now do you know how many of them would have stayed quiet about it?" He dropped his hands.
"Aoi was the one girl I know who would have kept her mouth shut. Every woman I ran across would have blabbed her mouth and possibly claim she was carrying your child. But I know you like discretion so I was picky. And then you reject her!"
Kakashi shrugged. "It was better off that way, trust me."
Genma shook his head. "Yeah, so you think. But you hurt her feelings. She ended up going to the bar and explaining how she you turned her down. She's only discreet for her partners and you weren't one of them."
Kakashi winced. "How bad was it?"
Genma poured himself another glass of water. "Kiba was there and nowadays all of the bars and restaurants are packed. There's not stopping the gay rumor now. As far as everyone is concerned, you have just come out of the closet."
Kakashi sighed as he made his way over to the couch. It wasn’t a war, it wasn’t a bijuu, and it wasn’t a horrific massacre. The rumor wasn’t a crisis by any means. He should be thankful that this was his biggest problem. But that didn’t help the depression that was overcoming him
“Maybe you could say you’re bisexual,” his friend suggested helpfully.
Five seconds later, Genma was out on the street.
~O~
Norio looked out of his study window and saw the top of the trees were beginning to change. Winter would be here soon enough and he would be forced to stay at the estate for anther few months. He wasn’t certain how Tomio could stand being in once place for so long, and he was grateful that it was his responsibility to meet with clients. It would be nice to have once last trip before winter settled in.
He heard it was supposed to be nice at Konoha this time of year.
Chapter Thirteen
For some visitors visiting Konoha was a pilgrimage, a chance to see the famed location where the first ninja village was established. They gawked at the Hokage Monument and walked the streets, hoping to catch a glimpse of sketched faces in their copy of Who’s Who in the Ninja World. And they stared at the Hokage Tower, hoping to see the silhouette of the Hokage through the top window.
Konoha became a center for art as painters set up their easels and began to sketch. The coming of autumn meant the tree canopy would burst into a dazzling array of colors at any moment. The artists want to capture it for themselves and waited for the moment the tree’s changed. Meanwhile, they bided their time by sketching anyone who wanted a portrait. When the sun set, the crowds gathered on the fields to listen to the musicians. Troops of actors took the center of the village, performing plays and spreading their names to the masses that visited.
Others tourists arrived to sate their own curiosity, eager to see if the rumors were true. They kept their eyes peeled for trees that had been turned into ninjas and the infamous pig army. And when these things were not spotted, the visitors would remark on how well these secret organizations were hidden from the public eye.
The streets filled with people as they wandered down the narrow streets and snatched up items to take as souvenirs. It had gotten so bad that any locals with a grasp of chakra had taken to the rooftops. Many of them watched the tourists pass their streets from their windows and grumbled under their breath. Then they looked at their wallets heavy with money and feel better. But they were looking forward to when Konoha would empty once more and life could return to normal.
Restaurants were filled with noise of success. The cooks at the back of the restaurant busied themselves with requests, clanging their knives as meat sizzled on the fire. Servers scuttled across the restaurant with platters of food and plunked change into a growing pile of money. The customers were crammed into booths and added to the cacophony with their laughter. It was hard to get a seat at any restaurant and most locals had abandoned casual gatherings for lunchtime into the quiet of their own homes. But for some, there was still room at the restaurants.
The Sixth Hokage of Konoha never had trouble finding a table. On this day, he looked at the crowded restaurant impassively. He could not feel the joy that adorned so many of the diners’ faces. The most he could muster was a touch of annoyance. Didn’t they know that a grave injustice was at the verge of breaking?
He looked at his own table to see three amused faces. “It’s not funny.”
“No, it’s freaking hilarious!” Anko responded as she clutched her stomach with laughter. Shizune gave Kakashi’s hand a soft pat in sympathy.
Anko waggled her eyebrows. “Well, it had to come from someone. At least you know it wasn’t one of us who started it. Genma wouldn’t have started it because he’s too much of a coward and Shizune thinks you are respectable for some reason. And I would have come up with something way better.”
“I’m not gay and don’t encourage it.” Kakashi was grateful that the din of the crowded restaurant prevented his voice from carrying beyond their table.
Genma chuckled into his glass. "Yeah, we know that. And I told them that, but Inuzuka is a bit of a social pariah. I swear he's even worse than Inoichi's daughter.”
Kakashi scowled as he continued to poke at his food. "Where in the world did they get such a ridiculous idea anyway?"
Genma shrugged. "I don't know.”
“Sakura was the one who stopped it,” said Shizune. “She’s the only one who had a sense to think the accusation through. The rest of them were more than ready to believe it.”
"Really?" Kakashi was honestly surprised by this news. It was an odd coincidence that Sakura was the one defending him even though she was the only one that actually had seen any evidence supporting it. He was pleased by the information. "Wait... did you mean Kiba Inuzuka was spreading the rumor?"
"Yeah." Genma quirked an eyebrow as Kakashi gave a sigh of understanding.
"I may have done something..." He shook his head in exasperation. "I was playing a joke on Naruto, but it appeared the idiot didn't have enough sense to sober up before he went to spread the rumor. Most people would have keeled over after drinking that much alcohol.”
“That’s too bad,” replied Genma. “Anyway, there’s nothing to worry about. As long as you don’t do anything to convince people otherwise, it will die out.” He reached for the glass bottle on the table. “Do you want any more sake, Kakashi? If not I’ll finish the rest of it off.”
Kakashi looked at his empty cup. “No. I think I’ve had more than enough.” He was determined not to make a fool of himself. Sobriety was good for that sort of thing.
~O~
Initially, Sakura had been hesitant of spending so much time with Kakashi. She didn’t want to endure his teasing while fulfilling his request. But he had surprised her by remaining professional as she worked on his eye. He never mentioned her upcoming marriage, her apprehension towards the Sharingan, or Norio. Even the innuendo filled letter she had left by mistake was never brought up again. In fact, she was beginning to enjoy her time with him.
Word had leaked out to the village about Sakura’s spring wedding and strangers in the village were constantly nosing into her business as she walked down the street. They were always asking details of the ceremony and critiquing her choices. One time, two retired kunoichi in their seventies argued if green or grey was a more complementary to her pink hair. It was a moot argument since Sakura had always gravitated towards the color red. She slinked away as soon as the two women had forgotten about her and heard that the women had come to blows.
It wasn’t much better in the hospital because most of the people who she worked with wanted to be involved in some part of the ceremony. Some wanted invitations for the lavish ceremony and some people just wanted details. And when Sakura was home she was forced to respond to her daily letter from the Ehime estate. Hiding in Kakashi’s office for couple hours was the only peace she got nowadays from the wedding.
The process of shutting down the Sharingan was a tedious one and every advance was miniscule even by her standards. The foreign charka was resilient and was trying to reestablish the connection after she severed the ties. And the chakra had begun to recognize her as a threat and she had to be very careful not to agitate it too much.
Sakura slid into her customary spot on Kakashi’s desk. “I hope you drank enough water this time. It’s unsightly that the Hokage passes out from a little blood loss.” Sakura rested her feet against the seat of his chair as he leaned forward and placed his hands on the desk.
“I forgot to eat that one day because I was busy.” Kakashi grumbled. “You wouldn’t believe that amount of reorganization I have had to do recently. Missions are coming from every corner of Konoha plus the standard ones in other villages. Some of the homes in the village were not given enough support when they were built a few years ago. We told the owners when they moved in, but some people put it off. Now that everyone is traveling by rooftop, everyone wants them fixed. The influx of money means that they can afford it. Poor Tenzou has been working twelve hour days.”
“You are so full of excuses. Do you know how many sprained ankles we’ve had to fix at the hospital because idiots are falling through the rooftops? It is such a moronic injury, but we get them healed up and out the door. You should know better than to skip lunch and be dehydrated. Especially since you knew that I was going to be here and you end up bleeding all over the place.” She pressed one hand over Kakashi’s eye and another on his temple and send out a miniscule bit of chakra to his system.
“I can feel the eye spinning,” he said. “And I’m not trying to activate it. It didn’t do this before.”
“It recognizes my chakra as a threat,” responded Sakura. “Then energy is like a river that is attempting to flood a dam. If it pushes me back with enough force then you would get hurt. That’s why we are taking our time with this.”
The energy in his eye reacted violently and pressed against her chakra. Sakura ignored the burning in her hand and the instinct to retreat and carefully severed another connection of the eye to his system. Kakashi grunted in pain and Sakura felt her left hand grow warm with blood. She slowly pulled back her chakra, careful that she did not go too fast. If she made any sudden moves, the unexpected force of the agitated chakra could damage the eye or brain area.
Free from his system, Sakura clenched her hands. The tiny operation had given her chakra burns across from her palms and down her wrists, something she hadn’t experienced since she was a rookie.
“We’re making good progress,” she remarked as she wiped some of the blood off of his face. “In another week the connection to your system will be severed. Then all we need to do is push back the foreign chakra into a dormant state and connect you chakra system properly to the deactivated eye.”
“That’s great,” Kakashi gasped as he buried his head into her shoulder. “Can you repeat that again when I’m paying attention?”
Sakura stiffened from the physical contact before forcing herself to relax. His right hand had wrapped around her waist at some point in time. She should have pushed him away and made him retreat from her personal space. But from the way he was shuddering, Kakashi was preoccupied with gaining control of his own motor functions. And his hands hadn’t wandered anywhere troublesome yet, so she let him be.
“I have a headache,” he said in a muffled voice. “Is there anything you can do about that?”
Sakura brushed her hand against the top of his head to smooth out his hair. “I’m afraid not. If I were to heal anything, it would send back our progress. I think you should go home and get some rest. The light will only make your headache worse.”
Kakashi lifted his head from her shoulder and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. As he did so, his hand around her waist slid back, grazing along her thigh and knee. She clamped down the urge to question his actions. The last thing she wanted Kakashi to know was how aware she was of his touch.
“How are things at the hospital?”
“Good. I’ve been working with Shizune on the next batch of medicines. We have identified a few strains of bacteria that could give us some trouble. In a couple of weeks we are going to have to pull most of the staff to work on the new vaccines for winter. You should send out a message to the villages in the next week to tell us what is in demand. We don’t know how much to make until they get back to us.”
“I’ll work on that tomorrow. I’m scheduled to visit the Academy and the less time I spend there, the better off I am.”
Sakura frowned. “Don’t be a wuss. I worked the pediatric wing for a year and children aren’t that bad.”
“I like children. It’s that there are so many of them. All of those tiny faces look up with innocent expressions while secretly plotting how they are going to use chakra to get rid of the hot water in your apartment. The less I am around them, the better off.”
“You were wonderful when we were in Snow Country. I don’t see how it’s any different.”
Kakashi laughed. “Of course it was different. I’ve known those kids since they were tiny. I find them less annoying.”
Sakura shook her head. “If you say so. Just finish up what you need to do and go home to get some rest. You don’t want to strain yourself too much.” She slid off of the desk and reached over to throw away the blood-soaked cloth in her hand. “And remember to send out that letter to the villages.”
Kakashi opened an eye to watch her walk out the door. Tucked underneath her arm was another letter from the Ehime Estate. He had been completely surprised to open the innocuous letter to discover a letter which was nothing more than shameless dirty talk. He heard from the mail office that she was getting letters from the Estate daily to go over her wedding plans, and it was doubtful all of them were from Norio. He clamped down the urge to remove the letter from her arms to open it himself. But still the question remained. Was that letter filled with same salacious language?
The headache was intensifying as the sun lowered to shine directly into his window. Deciding to call it a day, Kakashi left his office and walked down the hallway that led him to his office. As soon as he was inside, he closed the curtains, sat down on his couch and closed his eyes. It was too early for him to go to bed yet. Perturbed, he went to the kitchen to heat up some leftover rice.
The Sharingan was agitated and it kept watering as he ate. A headache was intensifying and he wished it would go away. But the annoyance was worth it. He needed Sakura to see how comfortable she could be with him, and the only way he could do it was if she spent time with him. Anything less than business would have caught her suspicion and she would have refused any invitation. Having her take out the Sharingan was the perfect excuse. Most people would have called him stupid for giving up one of the most sought after kekkei genkai for a girl. And if he were an observer, he would agree whole-heartedly with this assessment.
But he loved how much Sakura was changing. Sakura stayed longer than necessary with him because she wanted an escape for the rest of her life. She was now receptive to his words and reciprocated every affectionate touch he gave her. Likewise, she wasn’t afraid to argue with him, fearless of his title as she cut straight to the heart of the matter. And because of this, he considered his tactic to win her over a partial success.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Excuse me for the interruption, Hokage-sama,” said the guard. “I believe it’s another one of your special ladies and she-"
"Just let us in!" Genma’s voice cried out from down the hall
Kakashi gave the guard in front of him the nod and the guard left. Genma was standing at the end of the hall.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say this.” He popped the senbon out of his mouth and gave a cheeky grin. "Sorry, I'm late," he said with great relish. He stepped aside to reveal young petite woman with soft curves and cerulean hair.
"Kakashi Hatake, I want you to meet Aoi. She is a visitor from the next village and she has a bit of a thing for ninjas."
Kakashi had been joking when Genma had made the suggestion two months ago for a ‘lady-friend.’ Now he was uncertain how to react. “I don’t think this is wise. I’d rather not deal with unnecessary complications.”
The young woman gave a small smile as she made her way inside Kakashi's home. "I don’t like complications either Hokage-sama. That is why I am very discreet." Her voice became lower as she slid off the jacket on her shoulders and faced him. "I am also very willing." Her hand reached forward to press against his chest.
Kakashi's protests diminished as her hand slid lower.
"I thought she was to your tastes, Kakashi. I know you have a thing for women with distinctive hair colors. Have fun, you two." Genma gave a wink and closed the door to leave the two of them alone.
Kakashi found himself on the sofa and she leaned forward to straddle his lap. "I don't normally need to have other people looking for women for me," Kakashi said, feeling the urge explain.
Aoi nodded. "I understand. You’re terribly important and don’t have time to waste on silly things like this. I can't believe that no one has even thought about addressing this problem of yours."
He groaned in frustration as she slid off of his lap. But then she gave him a coy smile and she spun around. Kakashi relished the sound of her zipper as it opened and felt his heart rate increase as her skirt fell to the floor. He reached for her, and admired her toned thighs as he moved his hands up. The edge of her shirt lifted and he caught sight of something odd.
His hand froze when he noticed the tattoo engraved on her hip.
"Aoi," he said in a strangled voice. "You're said you’re from the next village over?"
"Oh yes, Hokage-sama. If you have any more urges for companionship, I'll be more than happy to take care of them." She had begun to nibble at his ear.
The next village a short distance away. It would take a civilian a day to reach the village on foot. It would take an average ninja a few hours. But for an elite shinobi it would be about an hour, which wasn't very long at all.
"That's a nice tattoo," he said as he stared at the leaf symbol that was drawn on her skin. Now that his mind had caught up with his libido, he was beginning to realize what a horrible mistake he was on the verge of committing. A peculiar conversation that occurred a few weeks back rang in his head.
“And then there is Konoha at the hip of Fire Country, which bears the insignia of Leaf with pride. Our village contains tight thighs of ninja strength.”
"I wear my tattoo with pride," Aoi said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kakashi felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on him as Gai’s smiling face popped in his head.
"Well, I'm happy that you are so proud of your country. No, there's no need." He stopped her as she began to remove her shirt. "I'm not interested."
"What?" She stared at him in disbelief. "You were so eager a few minutes ago."
"I have regained my senses." He reached for the floor and handed Aoi her skirt. "I'm sure you are very lovely and enthusiastic," Kakashi winced at his unfortunate word choice.
"Okay," she shrugged and put on her pants. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."
"I do." Kakashi shut the door and heard the click of her heels as she walked away. While Gai had called Kakashi his “eternal rival,” this would probably be taking the situation a bit too far. Relieved he had avoided a crisis, he went to bed blissfully alone.
He awoke a few hours later to a loud thumping noise at his door. Kakashi groaned as he untangled himself from his sheets and made his way to the front. Wasn't the whole point of having a pair of ANBU guards was to prevent this sort of thing? He flung open the door, determined to give the person who was rudely interrupting him a firm dress down for interrupting his sleep.
"What the hell, Kakashi?" Genma was standing at the doorway with a disgruntled expression. "I tried to help you out and this is how you repay me? How could you be so thankless?" He slipped past Kakashi and made his way inside.
"Please, come inside," Kakashi said dryly as he shut the door. He really didn't want anymore visitors tonight. The headache had eased but he hated it when his sleep was interrupted. During missions he could stab the person who had bothered him, but Genma probably wouldn’t like that.
"Why did you send Aoi away? She was perfect!"
Genma was speaking rather loudly, and Kakashi moved to the kitchen to get a bit of distance. The urge to commit violence would growing stronger. But Genma was hot on his trail, determined to extricate a response. "She wasn't to my tastes."
"That’s a lie," said Genma stubbornly as he snatched the glass out of Kakashi's hand and downed the cup of water.
Kakashi's eye narrowed in annoyance and noticed the pointed thermometer lying just beyond his reach. "Why are you being so rude to me?" He moved back to the living room where pillows would be the most likely weapon.
"Rude? What about you? I go through all of this trouble to find someone for you and you shoot her down. Do you know how many women would like to sleep with you?" Genma held out his hands with a wide distance between them. "Now do you know how many of them would have stayed quiet about it?" He dropped his hands.
"Aoi was the one girl I know who would have kept her mouth shut. Every woman I ran across would have blabbed her mouth and possibly claim she was carrying your child. But I know you like discretion so I was picky. And then you reject her!"
Kakashi shrugged. "It was better off that way, trust me."
Genma shook his head. "Yeah, so you think. But you hurt her feelings. She ended up going to the bar and explaining how she you turned her down. She's only discreet for her partners and you weren't one of them."
Kakashi winced. "How bad was it?"
Genma poured himself another glass of water. "Kiba was there and nowadays all of the bars and restaurants are packed. There's not stopping the gay rumor now. As far as everyone is concerned, you have just come out of the closet."
Kakashi sighed as he made his way over to the couch. It wasn’t a war, it wasn’t a bijuu, and it wasn’t a horrific massacre. The rumor wasn’t a crisis by any means. He should be thankful that this was his biggest problem. But that didn’t help the depression that was overcoming him
“Maybe you could say you’re bisexual,” his friend suggested helpfully.
Five seconds later, Genma was out on the street.
~O~
Norio looked out of his study window and saw the top of the trees were beginning to change. Winter would be here soon enough and he would be forced to stay at the estate for anther few months. He wasn’t certain how Tomio could stand being in once place for so long, and he was grateful that it was his responsibility to meet with clients. It would be nice to have once last trip before winter settled in.
He heard it was supposed to be nice at Konoha this time of year.
Chapter Thirteen