Chapter 9: Kakashi’s Friend
Kakashi jumped lazily from one building to another. He had just arrived from a mission. He looked down and stopped when he spotted Hinata and Naruto. The sun was setting as one more of his dates were over. He had never thought Naruto would be the first to give that step. He still remembered how he won the bet that started on the village. Some had bet Naruto would do something to Hinata that would make her hate him. Others had bet she would faint more than five times, all bets were of that kind but he didn’t bother to think about the possibilities. He knew Naruto, and Hinata wasn’t that hard to figure out. He bet they would have a nice date and wouldn’t even have a mouth to mouth kiss since it was the first date. He thanked them silently for saving his savings.
He continued on his way and almost fell a roof when he saw Sakura and Sasuke kissing by the lake. Now that was something he had never seen coming. He decided to walk to have some time to think about all the changes that were going on the village.
He felt kind of empty. Since Kumi had taken his Icha Icha paradise book he didn’t have much to take his mind into. Even in missions at night when camping they put his mind in something else besides the dangers of the night.
The worst thing was she wasn’t even talking to him. Since the day she told him what her blood line did she had become a close shell. He entered his apartment finding the same way he left it before the mission. He couldn’t expect anything else. As he went to his bed to a well deserved rest he saw at his desk some wrapped pages. That got his attention. He opened one and couldn’t help to be surprised. There were five pages of his Icha Icha book. He opened the others and found they were too copied pages of his book. He counted the pages and found there were thirty of them. Almost five for every day he was gone in his mission. He wondered how she knew where he lived. He was about to start reading them when a bird stopped in his window. It was an eagle all brown and red eyes. It stared at him evilly before letting another package of pages fall in the desk
“You are one lucky bastard” said the bird before flying off
“A summoning?” wondered Kakashi
Kakashi knew there were more pages but did not open them. Instead he stood up and went to give his report to the Hokage. He had forgotten about that but somehow seeing that bird reminded him of doing so. He entered and left her office with no problem, as he was about to leave he saw the same bird enter a window and go into a room. He followed it. The room was filled with large computers and the sound of typing. That had to be the monster computer he had heard the Hokage got recently. There were several boxes with records to the side. Only one person was there with the bird.
“Kumi” he recognized her long hair and hunched form over a screen.
“Hey Hatake” she said not looking away from the screen “you found me”
“What are you doing here?” he asked seeing he type at the speed of light.
“The Hokage asked me to transfer all the information from the last twenty years into this monster computer. It’s incredible how much it can fit into it. Maybe a hundred years of records and history. I am almost finished. Tell me how your mission was?”
“It went well” he said sitting on a chair
“That’s good to know” she said
“Now leave” said the bird
“He is my friend Cucu. Don’t be mean” she said in a calm tone.
“Then good bye” Cucu disappeared in a cloud of smoke
“Sorry, he can be very over protective” she said standing and smiling at him smugly “you look tired Kakashi, don’t tell me you are turning into an old man”:
“I am not tired” ‘and I am not old’
“Good, I had wanted to see the night life of Konoha” she took her bag “What do you say? Do you know any good places?”
“Well…” he actually wanted to rest.
“Great, just let me get change and we go” she ran out of the room and he waited outside for her to return. When she did he wondered if she had planned this all along. It could be that her reputation of being the Deceiving Star was very true. She wore a short black skirt a black top under a black fisher net shirt and a black jacket. She looked like she was one with the night. The dark circles around her eyes made her look scary and something else he preferred not to think of.
As they walked in the late streets of Konoha Kakashi couldn’t help to be nervous about how many male ninjas were looking at her and her small skirt. For the first time he had to admit she looked younger than how old she actually was. He had not noticed that the first time since he had just read the info about her.
“So where do we go?” she asked and he thought before going into the ANBU bar. Mostly ANBUs and even Jounins were the ones to go there. Kumi looked happy to be there. He guessed it was her kind of place with all the mysterious feeling around.
“Well, if it isn’t Kakashi!” they saw a shine in the darkness
“Why now?” asked Kakashi before Gai came out of the darkness
“And you are not alone” he looked at the curious Kumi
“Hello Gai” said Kakashi keeping his cool
“Well Kakashi, you didn’t tell me you had a girl friend”
At those words everyone turned to see them. They could not believe what they had just heard. Kumi took Kakashi’s arm scared. She didn’t like to be the center of attention.
“I am not, he is just my friend” said Kumi with a pout
“Of course lady” said Gai sarcastically before a fist connected with his face
“I mean it” she cracked her knuckles “we are only friends”
Kakashi was happy for once to be called her friend. Gai was unconscious, no one now dared to look at them and she said she would buy the drinks. It wasn’t so bad to be around her after all. She had a heck of strength to drink and many stories about the many lands she had seen.
“Sometimes I escaped the clan. I don’t know why. I just ran as far as away I could looking for I don’t know what but only found many lands that no one around here has heard of. The clan always knew I would find my way back but still I think I am missing something. I guess it began a year or so after my Uchiha cousin died. Still I haven’t found what I am looking for but I guess there is no point to look anymore since I am turning old” she said looking through the liquid of her drink.
“Old?” asked Kakashi giving her a wondering look. She didn’t look old at all. She looked young. And admitting she was old would be like saying he was old too.
She didn’t talk much after that. Instead she took the drinking harder but seemed like she didn’t even had one when she talked.
“I challenge you Kakashi baka. Let’s see who can drink more of these little devils” she ordered two bottles of the strongest thing they had
“I am in!” said Gai sitting in the same table as them
“Have it your way, just don’t start crying later” she said
Kakashi sighed before silently accepting. Again all the eyes were on them. Kumi started. She drank them slowly. Kakashi did the same and Gai just swallowed like a duck. Gai passed out after the first bottle was over. Kakashi and Kumi glared at each other. It was an official dare. They ended the second bottle and a third and a fourth when suddenly Kakashi lowered his glass. Kumi smiled triumphant before drinking one more glass and declared her self victorious. Kunoichi around the bar cheered. Kakashi was patted in the back a few times. He was glad that at least he didn’t end up like Gai in the floor being stepped on.
It was from there that things got blurry.
When Kumi hugged him and then…and then what? There was something soft against his body. He felt his breath caught on his throat…
There was music and a lot of people talking and laughing…and there were more drinks and he just felt so well with that other body against him…
And there was Anko with a camera smiling at him and Kumi. She laughed as the good feelings continued to flow through him…
Then there were dark streets and then a window from his apartment and then his clothes falling…
He realized he wasn’t alone but still undressed, he took off his mask then…
Then there was Kumi fighting with him over who would get the bed…
And here clothes were then gone and her red eyes looked at him with a feeling she said she had been detecting from him all night…
Kakashi woke up with a horrible headache. He cursed his luck. This could have been a great excuse to be late if there was actually any meeting for him at this time. The light of the outside world was too bright as it entered his window. He sat pushing his hair back. His other hand rested on his bed but it didn’t touch the bed. Instead it touched flesh that wasn’t his; a shoulder. He looked down at the half covered figure of Kumi. She was sleeping but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was she was in his bed and for uncovered part of her body it seemed she had no clothes at all.
Kakashi looked at one side and to the other wondering when would his team come out and say ‘You fell for it’ but they never came. He got even more worried when he saw her move.
“Mmmm…Kakashi” she said turning around to where he was and placing a hand on his knee. Shiver ran through his body.
‘Kami’ he didn’t know who else he could ask help to.
He saw her sigh and then smile before she opened her eyes and stared at his mismatch ones. She blinked once and then again before her mouth hung open. She covered her own mouth to not scream as she pulled the blanket to cover the rest of her body. For their luck this was a single bed and the blanket was not enough, she uncovered Kakashi
“Pervert!” she covered her eyes and Kakashi took the pillow to cover his dignity.
She uncovered her eyes slowly glad she wasn’t seeing that.
“So…I think we drank too much” he said with a nervous smile, and no mask.
“I guess” she said looking down “Sorry”
“It isn’t your fault…completely” he said before she gave a sad smile
“Do you remember anything?” her face had a light red
Kakashi thought before his good memory was cursed. He remembered…everything. One look at his feeling made Kumi realized that and cursed her good memory as well. Both looked away. It was a very awkward situation to fall into for both were not teens and knew what could happen if you drank too much and got too friendly.
“There is a bathroom across the hall” he said before she wrapped herself in his blanket, collected her clothes that were everywhere and then went to the bathroom with a small ‘thank you’
When she was gone he sighed. That was a night he wasn’t going to forget.
Kumi stepped into the cold shower. Her eyes began to fill with tears but she made no sound. She knew she couldn’t forget that night and for some reason she didn’t want to.
“Raidon” that name escaped her lips and she wondered why but felt a starving pain in her chest
Tamiko was more than angry. What kind of example was her sister giving Mina by not getting home? She wondered what troubles had she gotten herself into. She wondered why had her sister had stayed in Konoha. She knew she had planned to leave not long after arriving but instead was now even helping the Hokage with the filing. Was it because of that masked ninja that used to come visit her a few days ago?
“What am I thinking” she laughed at herself “She would never fall for anyone again” or could she? ‘I made sure of that’
