Kakashi the Bride Thief - Part 3
Notes: Read Part One Here! :)
That night Kakashi was plagued with a nightmare. One he hadn’t had since he was in ANBU. Except… it was different this time. He was the same age as he is now, wearing jonin gear instead of ANBU. He was running towards an enemy in the forest, chidori sparking on his palm near the earth. The familiar screech of the thousand bird jutsu pierced the air until it hit its target.
She was wearing that pretty red dress… made even more red by the blood spilling out of her chest. His hand had struck straight through her heart. Her eyes were blank, staring straight through him. “K-Kakashi…”
Awake, he shot straight up in his bed, his forehead laced in sweat as he struggled to breathe yet he didn’t want to take off his mask this time. He hated it when he’d breathe hard enough to wheeze a little. He felt so weak.
His hands balled into fists and his eyes closed, nose scrunched in distress.
The next week he deliberately avoided her this time. It was easy for a ninja like him. Whatever the reason for the nightmare subsided after not seeing her for a few days so that’s how he’d have to keep it.
Kakashi made his way to his favorite bookstore but the moment he opened the door he saw a glimpse of her behind a shelf and, like a school-boy, he hid behind a bookcase. She’d been wearing a pretty sundress.
His heart was pounding harder than it had on any stealth mission he’d ever faced. His body felt weak near her and it wasn’t just her wind affinity.
“Thank you for everything!” She’d said cheerfully to the bookstore clerk then headed out without seeing Kakashi.
It felt like he was committing some kind of sin. Wanting her. Even though he wasn’t. It was normal for a young man to desire companionship. It didn’t feel normal to Kakashi though. It felt like… selfishness.
He’d thought he’d moved past his guilt and shame of the past, but really, it just took on a new form.
“You should talk to _____, Kakashi. She’s been asking about you.”
Guy? When did he get here?
When did he end up at a ramen joint?
Oh right… he walked out of the bookstore and Guy ushered him off to get lunch.
“I’m sure I’ll come across her eventually.” Kakashi shrugged, then flipped open his book.
Guy put a hand on the book to push it down. “Not if you keep avoiding her.”
Kakashi’s expression stayed the same as it always has, if a bit annoyed at Guy touching his book. He moved it back up and pretended to read. “I’m not avoiding her.” He leaned against the wall.
“Riiiight.” Guy shook his head. “This is the springtime of your youth!! You should be buying her flowers and singing her sonnets!”
Kakashi gave him a deadpanned look. “This isn’t the first time you’ve tried to set me up with someone.”
“True, but it’s the first time that you like the girl.” He pointed out with a shiny toothed grin and a thumbs up.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and left, feeling more agitated by his friend’s antics than usual. As much as he internally appreciated the intent behind it, the truth was that he didn’t want it right now.
That night he was hands in pockets, strolling along the street like usual when the sound of her voice caught his attention. It was coming from a restaurant.
Well… it couldn’t hurt to peek right?
He casually walked by, only to see her next to Jiro again. A pang of jealousy curled his hands into fists in his pockets. He felt so immature for being envious over her betrothed, but it couldn’t be helped all the same.
She was right in front of him. How long had he been staring into space for?
She answered without him needing to ask. “You used to stay overnight at the hospital sometimes, remember? The next day you tended to be a little out of it when that happened.”
“Do you… want to talk about it?”
“No. Thank you.” He turned his head in shame.
“You know… your nightmares back then, they were a traumatic response.”
“I know.” He said. He wanted to leave, his body was wrought with shame, but he couldn’t. Not when she was the one who soothed his nightmares back then, well… when he’d let her.
“But now… it might have to do with something else.”
“Well… our nightmares can show us our anxieties throughout the day or potentially our greatest fears. In a way, it also reveals what we care about most.”
“I see.” He murmured. It was silent between them for a time before he spoke. “Do you train often, _____?”
“I do, though I doubt it’s at the same level as you or Guy.”
“Would you like to train with me tomorrow morning?”
She smiled. “That would be lovely.”
“Lovely?” He tilted his head, arms folded. “Who said I’d go easy on you?”
Her eyes widened. “Ha ha… you’re just kidding… right?”
Kakashi leaned forward, his hands behind his hips in a patronizing stance, shadows casting along the flop of his silver hair. “Nope. Is… that a problem for you?”
_____’s breath hitched. They were so close to each other now. His nose nearly touched her own. “N-Not at all.”
He leaned back with a hint of a smirk. “Good. I’ll see you at five then. Eastern forest.” Hands back in pockets he walked off with her watching after him.
Wearing her jonin gear, a cropped green vest with a white tank top underneath and blue ninja sweats. Her headband held snug on her forehead.
“Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” Kakashi said, seeming to appear out of thin air with a hand raised in greeting.
“Just a few minutes.” She shrugged. “I knew you’d be late.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly only to return to his natural state. “Let’s start off with a simple test I give to genin.” He said, then pulled out a pair of silver bells from his pocket. “Except. I do expect you to actually retrieve them. You are a jonin after all, aren’t you?”
She watched as the bells jingled on the string between his fingers. “Right.”
“Good.” He hooked the bells onto his pants then took out a book and started reading.
She gasped. “Icha Icha?! I just bought that one!”
“Ah. Is that right?” Kakashi snickered lowly, sinister. “Well then, if you can’t get the bells before lunch…” His eyes narrowed and his body leaned over her. “I will spoil the ending for you.”
“Kakashi Hatake you wouldn’t dare!” She exclaimed.
“Oh? Then you have nothing to worry about.” His voice held that lilt of sadism underneath his masculine tone and it sent a shiver down her spine of a pleasant kind. Standing upright he continued reading.
After several clumsy attempts to retrieve the bells, _____ ended up on the floor with her arm pinned back and Kakashi sitting lightly on her lower back. “I’m disappointed. I thought you’d at least be better than my genin.”
“Maybe I just wanted to see how it would feel to have you pin me.”
It was the first time he heard her outright flirt with him. His heart seemed to stop and before he knew it the woman beneath him disappeared and the real _____ snatched the bells out from under him.
She looked so pleased with herself when he stood up to see his defeat.
“Couldn’t win the honorable way hm?” Kakashi taunted, trying to play off how fast his heart was beating.
“Oh you’re one to talk.” She chuckled, then tossed him his bells back. “Although, I’ll admit, I didn’t think it would actually work as well as it did.”
“Either way. With that kind of form you shouldn’t be taking anything higher than C-Rank missions, jonin or not. You’re rusty.” He scolded.
“I don’t always have the luxury of choosing what missions I take. And I spend most of my time working and studying medical-jutsu.” She said, “Besides, I think you’re underestimating my defensive capabilities. This wasn’t a good test for that.” She pointed out.
“Regardless. I could have killed you if I wanted and-”
“No you couldn’t.” Her eyes were steady. “I wouldn’t let you.”
Kakashi’s hands balled into fists in his pockets and he looked away from her but she approached him all the same. “This was just a bit of fun, that’s all. You weren’t trying your very hardest and neither was I. Okay?”
“You don’t seem fine. You seem worried.” Her voice was softer now.
Kakashi still couldn’t face her.
“Besides… in a few days I’ll be going with Jiro to the Land of Waves to be wed. This won’t be a concern of a Konoha ninja for much longer.” Her voice was somber.
It was meant to comfort him… but it hadn’t.
