A Time and a Place for Everything

Chapter Two


Morning came far too early in Juni’s opinion. She hadn’t been ready to wake up by the time Kakashi had returned from his shift and gently shake her awake. She groaned as she woke up and shook herself to wake up completely. With a smile, she glanced up at the man who had been plaguing her dreams. However, she did get up and was on her shift before she could really complain.

By the time the sun rose above the horizon, and Juni had gone to wake her partner, she found he’d already been up and was waiting for her. She paused when she saw him holding one of the Icha Icha novels. She smirked, shaking her head, moving past him to her bag.

“’To the fan who rivals Kakashi’s obsession to Icha Icha’,” Kakashi started.

Juni froze, her eyes widening. She felt her pulse quicken as she turned to look at Kakashi. He looked at her, holding the book up with a smirk. She paled, feeling a bit faint.

“Where… did you get that?” she asked, her voice in a whisper.

“It fell from your bag,” he answered, smiling slowly. “Quite an... interesting read isn’t it? Who knew Jiraiya had it in him to write about… us.”

Juni felt herself blush then, looking down. She didn’t know what to say, other than to move to him and take the book from his hand. She shoved it back into her bag, finding it hard to look at him at that moment.

“Did you ask him to write it?” He questions, standing behind her.

“No,” she answered, still not looking at him.

“What’s wrong…? Did you not want me to read it?”

“I… I don’t know yet, Kakashi. I wasn’t even done with it.” She turned and looked to him finally. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure what you would think about it. I’m not even sure what I’m to think about it.” She sighed quietly, moving to sit on her bag then. “I mean… he wrote a story about us. A sexual story at that.” Juni ran her hand through her hair again, not really noticing that her fingers were shaking.

“Does it bother you that he did?” he asked his voice actually rather low.

“That’s what I don’t know about,” she answered, looking to him again. “I just don’t know. Part of me enjoys the story; the other part of me doesn’t want it to make everything between us awkward. You’re my friend, my best friend. I don’t want some… silly little fantasy to break us apart to where we can’t even look at each other.”

Kakashi moved then. He was knelt before Juni before she could protest. His hands moved, cupping her cheeks, staring at her intently with his uncovered eye. She blinked looking up at him in confusion.

“Nothing is going to tear our friendship apart, okay? Nothing. Not some silly story that the world’s biggest pervert wrote. Not some irritating civilians pressuring us to drop the friend act and become lovers. Nothing.” He moved then, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Juni was actually unsure how to act to this sort of affection. Kakashi didn’t show these kinds of things normally. Hesitant, she brought her arms up, wrapping them around him to return the hug. She smiled slowly, resting her head on his shoulder. She figured while he was letting his guard down like this, it was a good time to enjoy the moment.

“Sometimes, their nagging doesn’t annoy me so much,” she admitted to him then, still holding her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we were more than friends. I wonder what it would be like to know that there’ll be someone to come home to, someone to share a warm bed with on cold nights without it being a one night stand, and just having someone to love unconditionally without any worries.”

It was times like these that Juni both loved and hated. She enjoyed the nice and comfortable times with her partner, but also hated that they were so short and far apart. Just holding each other seemed to make everything alright in the world. But, when he pulled away, it took a lot for Juni to not feel like the world was going to end without his touch.

“Such is the lives of the shinobi,” Kakashi murmured against her before pulling away. “We all hope and wish for things that we know we may never get. Unfortunately, love is one of those things we my never get to experience fully.” He let out a quiet sigh before standing, stretching as he did so.

“It’s not fair,” Juni whispered softly. “It’s not fair that we can’t love like normal people.” She sighed softly, moving to stand as well.

“Not everything in life is fair. We take that risk when we become ninja.” He reached out then, ruffling her hair with his gloved hand. “We should get everything together. We’re already late starting the day. We’ve got to make up for lost time.”

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More than half a day had passed by the time Juni and Kakashi met up with the caravan that would be escorting them into the land of Water Country. The two masked their chakra, needing to keep a low profile so as not to alert any ninja that might track them. Even though the two jounin could take on a group of ninja without breaking a sweat, the two really didn’t want to have to start any wars between the villages.

When the caravan came into view, both ninjas gave friendly waves, as well as a certain hand sign to the leader of the group, letting him know they were the ninjas that they were to be meeting up with. One of the men came to Juni, taking her bag off her shoulder. She frowned, not expecting it to be taken from her. She went to take it back, but Kakashi touched her shoulder and shook his head. Watching, she saw the man delicately place her bag into the cart that was being dragged by two mules. Even though she was perfectly capable of carrying her own bag, the man was only being polite in not wanting her to have to do so. Juni shrugged as she watched Kakashi take his bag to the cart, laying his next to Juni’s.

“I believe the two of you know what your objective is?” a low voice asked to their right. Juni lifted her eyes to observe a short and stout man standing near them. His eyes were narrowed, but she could easily see his soft grey irises. He wore a black bandana over his mop of shoulder length blonde hair. From her point of view, the man looked to be in his mid to late forties.

“Of course,” Kakashi answered, a smile forming behind his mask. He wore an eye patch over his sharingan eye rather than his usual hitae-ite, only to mask the fact that they were ninja even more. “She is to pose as a concubine; I’m to pose as a farmer. It’s a simple task. Get in, get the information, and get out.”

“You make it sound so simple, Hatake,” the man laughed, shaking his head. “I hope you realize who you are dealing with. Donto is not a man to be taken lightly. He is a cruel and vicious man and will do just about anything to get his way. Killing is his game.” He took the time to turn his gaze towards Juni. “And I know if you’re not careful, raping a pretty girl wouldn’t be too difficult for a man like him. Women who fall victim under this man rarely ever live to tell the tale.”

“I can take care of myself,” Juni whispered, even though her voice shook ever so slightly.

“I hope you’re right, miss. I hope you’re absolutely right.” The man turned a moment then, looking at his group of men and women. “We leave. We should get to a small village, if not close, before nightfall. We stay the night at the inn inside the village until morning, and then we leave for a two day trek to the objected town of Fuzinate. We will discuss lodgings for the town before we arrive.”

“Understood,” both ninjas responded with a nod. The caravan leader gave two short claps of his hands, signaling their journey to begin.

Once the group started walking down the path, Juni and Kakashi lingered towards the back of the crowd so as not to be overheard with their own conversation, afraid someone might listen in and hear some things they shouldn’t be hearing. Juni actually bit her lip, her nerves starting to give her anxiousness away. Usually, the kunoichi didn’t get nervous. She didn’t understand why a situation like this was any different from one before.

“Are you worried?” a voice purred near Juni’s ear, making her jump again, not expecting it to be so close.

“Just a little,” she answered, taking a moment to bite her bottom lip. “What if this man is what that man said?” She looked at Kakashi a moment, doubt in her magenta eyes and she knew he saw it. “You know how I am, Kakashi. You know I don’t get nervous or worried, or even afraid of a mission. Why am I being like this now?”

“I don’t know,” he answers with a quiet sigh. He lifted his hand, not to pat her head like he would have if he were trying to lighten her spirits, but rested it on her shoulder this time with a gentle squeeze. “I don’t blame you for worrying. I know you’ll figure something out. You always do.” He gave her his ever famous smile, his visible eye forming a happy crease across his face.

“I really hope you’re right about this, Kakashi… I really do.”


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Even at the slow pace that the caravan took, the small group made good distance through the rest of Fire territory and into rogue territory. The small group made only one stop to fix a small break in the wagon carrying their luggage and other supplies. It didn’t take the workers long to fix the problem before they were on their way again.

For a long while, neither Juni nor Kakashi spoke to one another. Juni wasn’t one for awkward silences, as it put nervousness in her thoughts. Occasionally, she would glance at the man, and every time his nose stuck in his book. She too wanted to read her book, but was afraid of how her thoughts and actions might lead to if she started reading the smutty words that Jiraiya wrote about them. If only one scene could arouse her, who knew what another scene could do to her. She groaned to herself and sighed, looking around their surroundings, and taking everything in.

“You’re restless,” Kakashi said to her, not even looking at her as he continued to stare at his book. “Perhaps you shouldn’t think too hard of this mission.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she responded, rubbing her arm in a nervous gesture. “You’re not the one afraid of everything going horribly wrong and failing a simple task.”

“It’s not a simple task,” he said quietly to her, closing his book a moment. “Being a hired concubine to gather information can be dangerous for a woman, even for someone like us.” She knew he couldn’t say ‘ninja’ just incase there were rogues out who would take that information as an advantage.

“I just wish I weren’t so scared of something bad happening,” she whispered. She looked up at him when she felt his arm around her, pulling her close.

“Look at me,” he told her, and didn’t continue until she looked up at him. “You’re going to do fine. Just, relax, okay?” She sighed and looked down again. He brought a hand up to her chin, pulling her face back up to make her look at him. “You’ve got nothing to be afraid of. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be there. I’m not going to be too far off, I’ll know if something isn’t right.” She sighed and nodded, letting her eyes close. He hugged her, pressing a masked kiss to her forehead. “Just don’t worry; it puts wrinkles on your forehead.” She felt him smile against her and she couldn’t help but hit his chest. He let her go, still smiling behind his mask as he brought his book back out to read again. “Where’s your book?”

“It’s in my bag,” she answered, pointing to the wagon.

“Ahh.” He was quiet a moment again, turning the page as he finished the one he was reading. “How come you’re not reading it?” Juni blushed.

“I don’t think I could read it, walking with all these men,” she gestured to the traveling merchants. Kakashi looked at her, a smirk on his face that she noticed behind his mask. “It’s different from all his other books, Kakashi. This one…” She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “This one I can actually feel what he wrote, like it’s actually happening.”

“You mean something like this?” She didn’t know when he had gotten behind her with his arms behind her in a strong embrace. Even with the mask on, she could feel the warmth of his breath against the side of her neck and along her ear making goose bumps rise up on her arms and legs. One hand slid along her stomach, the other moving to run his palm along a clothed breast, giving it a firm, yet delicate squeeze. She gasped, blushing. “Do his words make you feel that?” he whispered against her ear. He felt her quivering in his arms.

“Yes…” she whispered, letting her eyes drift closed. And as quick as the feeling of his touch came, it was gone, and he was back to his distance before, his book open again. ‘Such a tease!’

“I see… Yes, I suppose that would be a problem.” He glanced at her with his uncovered, dark eye. He smirked at her again before going back to his book.

“We’ll be arriving to our overnight stay soon,” the caravan leader said to them as he approached closer to them. “I hope that’s not a problem for the both of you?” He looked between the both of them, a flush still on Juni’s skin and the unreadable expression on Kakashi’s face.

“No, it’s not a problem at all. We’re not needed in Water Country for another day or two,” Kakashi answered.

“I see. We should be arriving to the small town in less than an hour.” With that, the man turned to go back to the front of the line. Kakashi smirked again.

“Look at that, a place to stay for the night. And an opportunity for you to read.” Kakashi glanced at Juni with a knowing look in his eye. As if he had something planned in his secretive mind of his.

“I don’t know if I want to read with you around either, you pervert,” she teased, grinning at him. “I may read though, after I’ve gotten a bath, if this place we go to has a bath.” She saw a look in her partner’s eye and she knew he was picturing her in the bath. “Stop thinking of me naked, Kakashi,” she scolded.

“Stop bringing it up,” he teased back, a smile still on his features. Juni shook her head and went quiet, a smile on her features.


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True to the caravan leader’s word, they arrived to a small town just on the outskirts of Fire Country territory. Luckily for them, there were enough vacant rooms for all of the members of the group so that none would have to room with Kakashi or Juni, leaving the two alone. Juni was quite glad that the room wasn’t as run down as she’d expected. Even if it had been, she wouldn’t have complained.

Inside the room, Juni dropped her bag next to a bed and sighed, raking her hand through her hair. She glanced back at Kakashi, who seemed to have been watching her, but looked away when she looked at him. She smirked a moment, shifting on her feet. She reached into her bag, pulling out clean clothes to change into. She also fished out the book that Jiraiya had written for her, tucking it into her clothes, but Kakashi noticed that she’d grabbed the book, a knowing smirk hidden behind his mask.

“I’m going to go wash up. Is that okay with you?” She asks, looking at him again. He didn’t look at her, keeping his nose in his book.

“No, that’s fine, go ahead,” he answered, waving his hand at her dismissingly.

Juni shook her head at him, chuckling quietly as well. She stepped towards the bathroom, flipping on the switch that illumed the room with a dull light. She stepped over to the tub, reaching to turn the faucets on as well. She knelt there a moment, waiting for the water to get to a temperature that she wanted. Standing again, she started to pull off her traveling clothes. She sighed, looking at herself, noticing what had been covered looked much cleaner than her exposed flesh. She didn’t know she’d collected that much dirt on herself.

Once all of her dirty clothes had been stripped from her body, she stepped into the overly warm water and sighed happily. Her muscles relaxed under the heat, making her mind swim just a little. Juni rested against the side of the tub; her eyes drifting closed a short moment. When she opened her eyes again, she noticed the bottle of bath oil that had been placed on the small rack where soap would go. She picked up the bottle, opening it to smell it. One whiff of the oil and she thought she was in heaven; the scent was of a flower grown near Konoha that she had loved ever since she was a child. With a scent that she loved, she poured the oil into the water, the aroma filling the small room.

Sighing quietly, Juni relaxed a bit more in the water, taking the moment to savor the warmth. When she could finally bring herself from her thoughts, she sat up enough so that she could read while in the tub. She knew she wouldn’t be in there too terrible long in case Kakashi wanted to clean himself off as well. She was sure he was as dirty as she had been.

Opening the book to where she left off, she read. For a moment, Juni was absolutely glad that the novel wasn’t anything but smut, that there was actually a plot involved. She never would have guessed that the words Jiraiya wrote would be contents of a life she wished she could have with her partner. Sighing again, her magenta hues read over each line of fiction, her heart swelling over what she wished she could have.

The couple in the novel was happy and quite content with each other. Juni wasn’t entirely sure if Jiraiya made them ninjas quite yet; she hadn’t gotten that far. The two chatted with each other, much like how they really did. The teasings were written quite well by the author, as she could picture what they said to one another really happening. Juni sighed again, losing herself in the imaginary world.

Kakashi knew to give her privacy when she was in her bath. While she bathed, however, he snuck out of the inn’s room and out to the small town for something to eat before all the shops closed. Thinking of his partner, he did get her something to eat as well as something for himself. Luckily, there was a restaurant still open that allowed him to order and take it to go.

Happy with his shrimp, chicken, rice, and vegetable plates, the copy-nin made his way back to the inn and their room in only fifteen minutes of being absent. Once inside, he locked the door securely and set the bags on the small dining table in the room. The smell of the bath oils finally wafted to him. He closed his visible eye, taking in the aroma. There was something about it that made a very pleasant sensation run down his spine. He shook off his thoughts while getting his plate out to eat while he waited for the bathroom to be unoccupied for his own bath.

However, as Kakashi ate, his thoughts kept drifting back and forth between moral and reason revolving around his partner. Why was he thinking these things about her? She was only his partner and friend; there was no excuse to the thoughts of her naked, hot, and bothered running through his mind they way that they did. He snuffed the thoughts again and continued to eat for a few short moments before a little voice inside of him told him that his thoughts were right, and that he really did love her more than he wanted to admit.

It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t his thoughts just leave him in peace and let him eat? All he wanted was to have happy thoughts and focus on their mission at hand, even though it hadn’t officially begun yet. Sighing to himself, Kakashi continued to eat, all the while ignoring his mind and thoughts.

Unlucky for him, Juni decided at that moment to exit the bathroom. He glanced up at her, seeing her hair wet, and clothes damp from the moisture of the bath water that she hadn’t dried completely off. She smiled at him, slowly padding over. Her book, he noticed, was still in her hand. Closed, he could tell that she’d been reading. There was a flush on her cheeks and it wasn’t just from the heat of the water.

“I see you went and got food,” she noted, looking at the unopened box. “Yum!” She grinned, sitting across from him to eat, setting her book down to do so. He eyes her a moment, without saying a word. She felt his eyes on her and she ignored it for as long as she could. “See something you like?”

He was taken back by her words as he gaped at her, not knowing what to say. Had she really said that? He blinked at her, just staring at her for a moment more. However, she had begun eating again, her eyes downcast at her meal. She smiled slowly as she ate, not looking at him.

“I’m… going to go take my bath,” Kakashi murmured after clearing his throat. He scratched the back of his head as he stood, excusing himself into the now empty bathroom. He shut the door behind him firmly, earning a small chuckle from the kunoichi he left behind. Inside the room, he leaned against the door, his eyes staying closed a moment. The scent of the oils was still strong in the room. Kakashi sighed a moment, his eyes drifting open then. He sighed and moved from the door to start his bath.

Juni hummed to herself as she ate, grinning on the inside. It felt nice to tease her partner, just to see the reaction in his visible eye. She continued to eat then, thinking to herself. Her thoughts kept moving between reality and the book she’d been reading. She knew she was getting obsessed with the fantasy novel. Juni sighed, hating this about herself. She knew that what she read wasn’t real, but her heart and mind were telling her that she could make it real if she just accepted the fact he was meant for her. She shook her head to rid the thoughts.

Done eating, she threw out the trash and moved to lie down on the large, king sized bed. It was big enough for the both of them. For a moment, she wondered if he would share it with her, or if he would sleep on the floor like he did on some missions. Sometimes she wondered why he did that, but she never questioned it.

Lying there, she stared at the ceiling for a long moment. She wondered idly if she could make the fantasy world in her book into a reality. She wondered what the risks would be if she were to even try to get his attention for more than just friendship and partnership. She was tired of feeling alone.

Sighing quietly, she pulled her book close, opening it to read a bit more. A soft whimper escaped her as she came to another smutty part. She tried as much as she could to get through the pages before groaning and closing the book. It was just too hard to read about something she longed for in reality. She groaned in frustration and rolled onto her side, staring at the wall with her back to the bathroom door.

Juni wasn’t sure how long she lied there staring off into space. Her thoughts swam together so much that not even a coherent thought made any sense to her. So lost in her thoughts, Juni took in a soft gasp when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her, seeing a very shirtless Kakashi hovering on the bed behind her. She furrowed her brows in confusion, her eyes trailing down his form where his towel wrapped around his waist.

“This has got to be a dream,” she murmured, looking back up to his masked face. “Because… there is no way you’re really here… like that.” Her eyes closed a moment, just to put everything together. She had to have been dreaming. But, when she opened her eyes again, he was still there. She blushed.

“See something you like?” his voice purred, countering her with the words she’d spoken only moments before. Kakashi didn’t wait for a response as he removed his mask slowly. He smirked at her then, a finger trailing along her cheek. She leaned into his touch, even as he dipped to catch her mouth with his, kissing her gently.

Juni was convinced this was still all a dream. She was positive that Kakashi was not really hovering above her, kissing her, and wearing nothing but a towel. But, as she felt him deepen the kiss, she knew this had to be real.

Kakashi shifted above her, angling just right to where they seemed to fit together perfectly. He moved her onto her back then, a leg slipping between hers strategically. She gasped against him as his knee rubbed against her hard. A wave of pleasure rushed down her spine from the touches. Her mind swam more, not even wanting to listen to reason. She didn’t care if it was real or not; she was in heaven.

He trailed a hand along her frame, purposely groping her. Juni let out a soft whimper as his hand covered a breast before giving it a firm, yet delicate squeeze. With the sensations pulsating through her body, she cleared her mind enough to bring her hands up to his chest, pushing him back at arms length. She looked at him confused, arms shaking.

“Forgive me for asking,” she whispers, breathless, “but… why? Why now?”

He moved a hand to her cheek, brushing his fingertips along her flesh, brushing back part of her hair as well. He couldn’t help but smile at her, though it was a crooked smile.

“I can’t deny it anymore, Juni,” he purred. “No matter how many times I tell myself this isn’t right and no matter now many times I tell my heart that what I feel for you can’t work out, it always comes back to this. It always comes back to my heart telling my mind to get over my fears and quit denying it.” He stared down into her eyes, running his fingers along her face. “And I’m tired of running. I’m tired of being afraid of what’ll happen. I’m not running anymore.” He couldn’t help but smile at her again with a kind, loving smile that she had seen only twice before. “I love you.”


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Author’s notes: So, that’s the end of Chapter two. I hadn’t meant for it to be so much of ramblings, and I hope that’s not too boring. I hate the fact that I ramble too much. I plan on not making it so much “Omg get over the fact you love him/her and just admit it!” for much longer. They’ll realize the truth soon, I swear.

And as for the end of this chapter… is she awake or dreaming? I guess you’ll find out in the next chapter! X3