Orochimaru trailed his fingers onthe trees as he passed by. /Soon... Soon.../
Then a nearby noise made him turn his head. Nemari stood, watching him. It still unnerved him to see his own eyes watching him. But no matter.
"Shall we begin?" He asked her. Her response was to attack him with 5 shuriken hurtling towards him. As he dodged them he thought /Sure gets to the point quickly../
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Kakashi walked aimlessly through the forest, hands in his pockets. His eye was looking upward to the tree tops. His foot caught on something and he fell. He heard a quiet moan.
Looking down, he saw a woman somewhat his own age sprawled on the ground. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was labored. She was covered in blood. His uncovered eyes widened in surprise.
Gingerly lifting her, he set off back to the village. Now he had an excuse for being late today..
In the hospital building, Kakashi laid the woman down gently in the gurney. He watched as she was taken away before turning to leave. But before he stepped out the door, he closed his right eye briefly before putting his thumbs loosely back into his pockets.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"You want me to what?" Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You heard me." The Fifth Hokage folded her hands across her lap. "I want you to take care of her." Kakashi considered protesting but wisely said nothing..
As Kakashi headed home, pondered the woman. Who was she? Where was she from? Why was she injured? But none of these answers could be found out by thinking about it. She would have to tell him. And it wouldn't be polite to ask her for her life history, shorthand, to satisfy his curiousity.
Since tomorrow was an off day for his team, the woman was to be sent to his house. Kakashi's orders were to protect her until they knew more about her. It had been a week since they had found her, but she had spoken little. Kakashi hadn't even seen her since the day he had found her.
Through all this thoughts, he found himself at his own front door. He entered, looked around, and sighed. He lived alone, so cleaning wasn't always a priority. But he should probably make it presentable. /All the training and life-risking missions we go through, and we still have to pick up dirty laundry../
Not too long after Kakashi had finished breakfast and gotten clean clothes on, he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." He called. Hastily, he put the book he had been reading in a safe spot.
When the woman walked through the hallway to the living room, he had to force himself not to stare. She was beautiful. But her eyes startled him. They were very familiar. Catching himself before his thoughts wandered a bit too far, he spoke first.
"Hatake Kakashi at your service." The woman inclined her head in return.
"Uchiha Nemari at yours." She watched with interest as Kakashi's exposed features showed shock.
Uchiha?" He murmured to himself.
"Ah Sensei, can I trust you?" Kakashi was not sure whether to be flattered or insulted at the use of the word Sensei.
"I suppose."
"Well then." Nemari's eyes glittered as she told him her story..
"My mother was a beautiful woman, who was to marry a third cousin to keep the Uchiha strong. But she was not fond of him. She was instead, entranced by my father, Orochimaru. After concieving me, she ran away with him to get married. But before the wedding date, she disappeared. My pregnant mother was taken by her cousin, who was angry by being cheated out of his marriage by Orochimaru. Orochimaru could not get to her, despite his numerous tries. He gave up.
During childbirth, she called for my father. But he was not there. After I was born, she died. Tough as she was, she had given up. I was shunned and disgraced from the clan. Passed on from strange family to family until I ran away to train as a ninja. But it seems I have learned little."
Kakashi was almost speechless. He did not expect her to be so open with him. But he felt as if he knew her and to his point of view, liked her. "You're very trusting." He remarked.
"I know who to trust. Those Anbu of yours are a different story." Kakashi half-smiled, remembering his days there.
"I guess so. I don't suppose you want to tell me how you ended up so near death lying in the forest?" This caught her attention.
"Not yet." She answered cautiously.
"Well then. What is it you do for fun?" He wasn't sure he liked the look in her eye.
"So," Nemari started, blocking Kakashi's kick and returning it with a punch. "What's under that headband?"
Dodging her punch, Kakashi stepped back.
"Can I trust you?"
"Depends."
"Then we'll save that for another time. I'm hungry." Truth be told, Kakashi was beginning to grow tired. After a couple hours of sparring, his muscles were beginning to ache. Neamri was quite a worthy oppenent. He was also starting to like her, between their exchanged banter and hits.
Watching Nemari slide into a chair into a table, Kakashi thought he could get used to this. But after he set out the ramen he remembered tomorrow was training for his team.
Then Kakashi noticed how intently Nemari was watching him as she ate her ramen. "Yes?" He asked, amused.
She finished her spoonful, reminding him of the way Naruto ate, shoveling it in like there was no tomorrow. "Well I was kind of hoping to see you behind that mask." Then she returned to finishing the rest of her ramen, pushing the bowl closer to the inside of the table, following him with her eyes as he looked at his untouched ramen.
Kakashi laughed, leaving her puzzled. "Sorry, Nemari-san. The first one finished eating takes a shower. That's you. Go on now. You might want to take one before me anyway. I take long showers.."
Nemari glowered for a bit, then let up. "Alright. But don't call me that. Just call me Nemari."
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Fine then, Nemari." He watched her leave for the shower, waited for the water to run for a bit before rolling down his mask to eat, chuckling to himself a bit.
Both showered and clean, the two bedded down for the night, Nemari in Kakashi's bed, and Kakashi in a sleeping bag on the floor. Nemari faced Kakashi's back. She couldn't help but let her thought's wander, making her glad she was ready to go to bed. Her mind was a little frazzled. As she settled in, she breathed deep, enjoying the security of a bed that she got only once in a great while.
Kakashi, facing the wall had his eye open, sighing and wishing he could express his feelings better. He had only known Nemari for a day but.. Sighing, he moved again, trying to get his mind to quiet down and let him sleep, despite the person that was but 10 ft from him. Nemari was thinking the same thing..
~1 week later~
"So now we know who she is and where she came from, but know I want to know how she ended up in such a condition. You have done well Kakashi, but we need to know more. We welcome her here in the Hidden Leaf, but we cannot have a spy in our midst." The Fifth Hokage looked Kakashi in the eye.
"Of course, ma'am." Kakashi replied. Then with uncharacterstic energy, he let himself out the door to return home.
He seemed, the Hokage noted, much happier since the girl had arrived. She smiled, and shook her head. /It's about time he perked up more./
When Kakashi returned home, he found Nemari spread out on the couch, watching TV. Looking up, she grinned. "Got any food?" Kakashi rolled his eye.
It wasn't long before Nemari was done with her shower. She watched Kakashi enter the bathroom. He always seemed to finish eating just as she was done. No matter how quickly she took a shower. It made her irritated. Knowing his routine, she found out he did not lock the bathroom door when he took showers. Probably because he lived alone and saw no reason. Grinning evily, she thought rather happily /Just another thing to my advantage..../
After the water had been running for a bit, Nemari, as quietly as she could, opened the bathroom door. The curtain was drawn, and the room steamy. Quickly, she snagged his clothes. She was kind enough to leave him a towel. Or so her thinking went.
A while later, she heard the water turn off, and surpressed a giggle. She didn't have to wait long.
"Nemari?"
"Yes Sensei?" She knew just how to get on his nerves.
"Give me my clothes back." Hearing that made her burst out laughing.
"Not until I see the man behind the mask.."
"Ha ha funny."
"I'm serious." Her eyes were glued to the door as it slowly opened...
Kakashi stood in the doorway of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and arms crossed. His Sharingan eye only made him look more handsome. Or so Nemari thought. Her growing feelings for him were growing more and more apparent to her, but she hoped not to the man in front of her.
Nemari could not help but admire him. Sure, she saw him quite a bit, but it was different like this. Quite different. Enough to make her blush.
She noticed with alarming clarity the numerous scars on his body, which she got a close up of as he approached her, grabbed his clothes and stalked back into the bathroom, closing- and locking, Nemari noted, the door.
Back in the bathroom, Kakashi sighed. Nemari could not know what was going through his perverted mind. /It's the books./ He told himself.
But something inside of him told him it was more than the books. Sighing, again, he ran a hand through his hair. /It's not like she feels this way about you./ He told himself. He had to complete his mission.
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Chapter notes: Part A...cus Part B is stil being worked on and I wanted to post...I still have to get a title for this chapter too...