Kakashi & the Kunoichi from Thunder Country

Author's notes: I use single quotes for thoughts, double quotes for speech.

PART V - A SLOW SEDUCTION

5.1 Reversed Serendipity

Rikako had a stroke of luck when Kakashi entered her father’s office with his injured genin.

The poor kid was really messed up and she was terribly concerned at first but Kakashi capably helped out with the operation so it proceeded smoothly. 'He probably could have been a real medic-nin if he had wanted to...' She thought ruefully about the need for both medics and soldiers. 'How nice it would be if only medics were necessary and no soldiers at all...’

It was the most serious operation she had had to perform. So much blood, all over her, yet he had the audacity to say “You’ve never looked more lovely…”

His compliment flustered her as he had never complimented her looks before, though he had referred to her team back then as his cute genins. 'He was just being nice after I saved his new genin and his respective ass. But...oh crap!' She suddenly realized, 'I’m practically naked!' She berated herself as she noticed the outline of her nipples, the swell of her breasts and the valley in between, all clearly visible along with the cut of her underwear and tank top. 'I’m never wearing a thin robe ever again, no matter how hot it is! That pervert! Ugh!' She had always been modest to a fault. While other kunoichis her age were flaunting their assets she kept hers covered up in public and had not deviated from her usual attire. She did not like men hitting on her, nor anyone staring at her.

She was still standing outside the door of the waiting room when the next thought struck her. 'Wait, this is my chance. The chance I’ve been waiting for all these years. It’s time to put plan A into action. What a stroke of luck!'

She closed her eyes and concentrated, planning to reach out to his mind to slip him a subliminal thought. But when she tentatively touched his mind with hers, she found he was already thinking of her, warm but sad thoughts. It was hard to see any clear images and it confused her, but that made it easier. He wouldn’t notice an external presence. She slipped him three simple words: “I love her.”

But it did not work out the way she planned. Instead of getting closer to him, he pushed her away. 'He must be gay! There’s no other explanation. Why else would he push me away like that? It doesn’t make sense. How could my plan not work? My subliminal suggestions always work! He must be gay!'

She was furious that he ended their mentor relationship. Furious that she did not get what she wanted this time. So furious she was near tears, the first time since she was a toddler. As she walked away from her sensei of so many years, her mind started spinning its next web of deceit.

'This means I must proceed to plan B, which is training with the intent to defeat him. That means I need a sensei who can defeat Kakashi and his sharingan. The only sensei I know of who can stand against him is Gai sensei. That should also piss off Kakashi, Gai being his eternal rival. I need to improve my speed and taijutsu, then Kakashi’s going down!'

-...-...-...-...-...-...-

“Good evening Gai-sensei,” Rikako said with a smile and a deep bow. She tracked Gai down at the local sake bar before he started consuming his daily quotient of premium sake.

“Otori Rikako, isn’t it? Aren’t you too young to be in a sake bar?” Gai glanced up from pouring his sake into a little cup and looked quizzically at the dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman.

“Yes, but I’m not here for the alcohol, I’m here to see you, sir,” she said respectfully.

“Me? What would a disciple of Kakashi want with his eternal rival?” His thick bushy eyebrows rose up. Rikako felt a chill down her back as she noticed how creepy they looked, like black fuzzy caterpillars, larvae of the Painted Lady Butterfly, Vanessa Cardui.

“That’s exactly why I want…I mean need you to train me. I feel Kakashi sensei’s training is not…adequate. There’s something lacking. I think, because he has a sharingan, his techniques and fighting style are developed around it. I’ve learned many techniques, but since I don’t have a sharingan, I can’t utilize them with his level of success. I don’t think I’ve reached my full potential. And as his rival, your style is complementary. I believe I could learn a lot from you. I’ve already spoken to Kakashi-sensei…” she said slowly and methodically, without stopping for a breath, so Gai would not have a chance to interrupt.

'Hmm, nice speech, and she’s right about Kakashi and me, but it’s unusual for shinobis to switch mentors...'

'Good, he’s considering it. I need to think of something to say to convince him…' Rikako stared at the odd man in green. “Oh, and I really like your aerodynamic jumpsuit, such a wonderful color…”

'That would improve her performance and she would look very cute in a green jumpsuit. Too bad my other students didn't follow darling Lee's shining example,' Gai thought, then said aloud, “All right, Otori Rikako, I will agree to take you on if you agree to do two things. First, tell me how you beat my team in the second chuunin exam." 'You guys were so much weaker!'

"Oh that, we made an alliance with a couple of other teams."

'I see, she is a smart one. If she's as hard working, I could mold her into a super-shinobi with skills in all three areas of nin-gen-tai jutsus!' "Second, you must follow my regiment exactly!”

“Yes sir!”

“Okay, for now, do a hundred laps around the village.”

“A hundred laps? Do you mean around the village proper or the entire village?” She did not feel like starting her regiment quite yet.

“Huh? Uh, within the village walls.”

“Do you mean along the main paths or actually along the walls?”

“Uh, main paths.”

“Do you mean now as in now immediately or now as in soon?”

Gai was now beginning to regret accepting her. It seemed she did not really obey orders nor did she express the same enthusiasm as his dear Lee.

“Er, it is getting dark so you may start your regiment tomorrow.”

“Yes sir! I’m sorry for troubling you, please excuse me and enjoy your sake.” She bowed before she left, while thinking, 'There’s no way I’m ever going to wear a hideous green jumpsuit like that with clashing leg warmers. Kunai me!'

She quickly sent a thought to Gai, 'Black is fine. No jumpsuit!'

-…-…-…-…-…-

Training with Gai was no picnic. He was a much harder task master than Kakashi. And much more of an annoying idiot. They were so different, like night and day. Gai was beyond enthusiastic, passionate about everything he did, and loud, very loud. Rikako liked silence and being left alone to work out jutsus, but Gai was practically on top of her all the time, yelling out encouragement and advice.

“No, no, not like that! Hit it harder! Faster! Open those gates!”

And whenever she tried to talk to him about the things she had learned in the most recent book she was reading, his eyes glazed over. At least Kakashi pretended to be interested in stuff like how different metals formed alloys and which proportions were best to forge particular weapons. Kakashi sometimes even asked her questions to show he was actually listening. Gai usually changed the topic by ordering her to do more laps.

Still he was a good teacher, better than Kakashi for her weakness, and her taijustu improved dramatically.

-…-…-…-…-…-

5.2 Plan A Revived

Rikako always wore black because it was practical. 'If you wear the same thing everyday, no one can tell whether it’s really the same outfit or not. And you don't have to think about what to wear, such a waste of time. And if it gets dirty or bloody, it’s hard to see.' She had nine black long sleeve T-shirts and nine pairs of black pants and three pairs of black sandals.

'And black does not make you stand out. If you wear the same thing everyday, then something completely different, you will stand out when you want to.' So for her jounin graduation, she bought the most ostentatious yet tasteful dress she could find. 'Red, it has to be red, he likes red,' she recalled the impression she gleaned when she touched Kakashi’s mind.

But she was a lousy seductress, her worse rating as a kunoichi, having had no practical experience. It was hard for her to make small talk, hand out platitudes and flattery, act demure. So when Kakashi approached her after she received her jounin scroll, instead of playing up to him, her instinctive reaction was to unleash her year’s worth of frustration. 'Oh, I didn’t mean to insult him! He was being nice. I’m such an idiot! The whole point of this stupid dress was to attract him. What do I do now? Did I miss my chance? No, there’s always the shinobi memorial…'

The shinobi memorial. His obsession with it rivaled her obsession with him. Curious to know why Kakashi was always late, her genin team would stake out his abode and follow him in the mornings. They consistently found him visiting the engraved stone, just standing there for an overly long time. Of course, Kakashi knew his team was following him. so he often stood there even longer than he usually did just to test their patience.

-…-…-…-…-…-

He appeared just as she knew he would. She wasn’t sure how to proceed, and she nervously tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ear. It had long been a force of habit whenever she was nervous or excited or frustrated. It kept her hands from trembling or shaking or clenching. 'Now can I defeat him at my level?'

But she felt a soft warm glow from him, something that she had never felt before. Maybe it was because her powers had improved in the past year. Maybe because he had changed.

To her surprise (she was sure she’d have to resort to plan B and knock him unconscious after plan A failed so miserably), he admitted that she was important to him. Not exactly the thought she had slipped him a year ago, but good enough. She could run with it. Then she finally got to see his face after all these years.

The mask had been a focus of obsession with her. There were other shinobis who wore masks, but not all the time. Even on missions he never ate with the team. There was always an excuse: he had to keep watch; he wasn’t hungry; he ate already; he’d eat later. It was more than mysterious; it was part of him and the reason for it could explain what kind of person he was. She had to know what kind of person he was in order to proceed with her plans.

There was no disfigurement other than the scar running vertically across his left eye. It was almost disappointing, just another pretty face. He looked younger than his years despite the gray hair. He had good skin tone and no obvious wrinkles. 'It must be because he keeps his face covered up and away from the sun,' she analyzed. His admission made her giddy and she couldn’t stop laughing in celebration of plan A finally succeeding. And though she lived her entire life as a lie, the next line was true, just not in the same way he meant.

…"You’re important to me, too"…

But a sweet innocent kiss was not enough for him after waiting for so long. She released his hands and was about to turn away to return to her books and scrolls, but then he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer for a genuine kiss. A long passionate kiss where his lips varied their pressure and moved across hers.

'I will bear this,' she thought to herself. 'I'm close to getting what I want. I will do anything, even allow this bore to sully me.' (The last part of her thought was influenced by a horrible historical romance she forced herself to read.) To reinforce her determination, she entwined her hands into his hair and pulled him even closer.

Then she felt his tongue flicking at her lips, lightly probing between them, trying to convince her mouth to part.

She felt like retching. She had read about this kind of stuff in books. She had done her research. As soon as she was of age, she bought a couple of the titles she saw Kakashi reading. It just seemed really gross. She could taste his breath, and what he had for breakfast (eggs and toast). 'I can bear this!' she insisted. 'I must draw him in, bind him.' She parted her mouth slightly to invite his tongue in.

She felt his tongue touch hers lightly and then across her teeth. Then the kiss grew deeper more insistent as his tongue plunged further in. His hands started roving across her body. They moved from her waist to her back in vertical strokes. Then one hand ventured to touch her breast.

That was the last straw and she pulled away abruptly. "We haven't been on a date yet," she reprimanded.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he started to say while scratching his head in embarrassment. But what he really wanted was to throw her over his shoulders and take her back to his place for a marathon sex session.

“No, it’s all right... I was just surprised.” Her face was very red.

He had never seen her that embarrassed before. 'Red's such a nice color on her…' He reached for her again.

“Someone might see us,” she tried this excuse.

“I don’t care…”

“But then they’ll see your face,” she pointed out.

At that thought, he pulled his mask back up.

“You really are incredibly weird.” She shook her head while laughing.

"Yes, but that’s why you like me."

She turned her head away and thought, 'No, I don’t. Not at all. You are just my target, part of my mission. You’re an annoying idiot, though admittedly a rather good-looking one.' She changed the subject to direct his attention away from any further romantic overtures. "I have to finish up my project and return these books and scrolls back to the library archives."

"Well, I don't really have anything to do today. Mind if I tag along? Maybe we can pick up lunch?"

"You mean get takeout?"

"Takeout is always better. It’s cheaper because you don’t have to tip and the food is just as good and you can eat anywhere you want," Kakashi explained practically.

"A picnic then?"

He nodded.

She considered, 'That would give us some privacy. We can find some isolated spot. If he takes a nap I can...'

"All right, I just need half an hour."

Kakashi sat beside her and took out his brown paper wrapped book, planning to read while she worked. He stopped before he turned to his bookmarked page. "Umm, if this really bothers you, I can put it away." But the way he held his book firm and the pleading look in his eye told her he really did not want to at all.

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me."

"You should try reading them sometime. They're really good. I promise it's not just the explicit scenes, there's a lot of humor and drama..."

"I'm sure there is. Maybe I will." She blushed again and turned her attention back to her own dry books. She did not want to admit that she had read a couple of them as part of her research on him.

-…-…-…-…-

5.3 First Date

As they walked through the village, there were other couples holding hands or linking arms. In contrast, Kakashi had his hands in his pockets as usual, and Rikako insisted on walking either in front of him, which was hard as his stride was nearly twice hers, but then again he walked slower, or a couple of steps behind him. No one seeing the two would have thought they were together at all, which was exactly what each wanted. They were both very private people who did not want to be the topic of shinobi gossip.

Kakashi patiently waited at the library while Rikako returned her books and scrolls. The librarian was quite surprised to see him within the premises. 'What’s Kakashi sensei doing here? He never visits the library, we don’t have the kind of books he likes,' she thought, but asked aloud, “May I help you Kakashi sensei?” The pretty blonde batted her blue eyes at him. 'Sigh, I still have a crush on him. Can’t let my hubby find out.'

“Huh? No, I’m just…browsing.” He did not want to admit he was waiting for Rikako so he randomly picked up a book and flipped it open. It turned out to be a book on how to raise a family while having a career as a shinobi. He nearly dropped the book, but quickly put it back and decided to wait for her outside instead. 'Family, no, I’m not the family type. She’s not either is she? Why am I even thinking about this? It’s just a first date!'

When she came out, they just looked at each other and nodded, then made their way separately to the restaurant which sold bento boxes to take out. Rikako looked over all the prepackaged lunches, trying to decide what she wanted. She finally decided to get whatever Kakashi was getting, which turned out to be the chicken teriyaki with a couple of dumplings and a side salad.

She waited for Kakashi to offer to pay. It took a while before Kakashi realized she was waiting for him to take her box to the cashier along with his. He was not use to paying. Usually his dates paid his way for the privilege of his company. She also made sure he carried the lunches. 'That’s what men are supposed to do, according to those etiquette books,' she noted to herself. 'I think he needs a copy.'

They did not speak until they were far away from downtown Konoha. They were now past the training grounds.

“Where are we headed?” she finally asked.

“You’ll see,” he smiled at her mysteriously from under his mask.

Kakashi led her to the base of a cliff and made her climb to the top where there were large boulders with holes blasted through. His favorite chidori training area.

“Here?” she asked, surprised, recalling the time he finally relented to teaching her the chidori.

-...-flashback-...-

“I can’t teach it to you. You don’t have a sharingan. It’s an incomplete jutsu without it. You can’t counter your enemy’s counter while attacking at that speed and your speed isn’t good enough.”

“I don’t plan to use it as an assassination attack. I just think it might come in handy for things like…blasting through a cave if there’s a cave-in, punching through a locked door, situations like that...”

“There are other jutsus for that.”

“Well, who else are you going to teach it to?”

Kakashi sighed and gave in. Who else could he teach it to? He taught Sasuke but he was gone. Naruto and Kenji could not remember complicated seal sequences. Sakura and Takeo did not have enough chakra to sustain it. Would he ever get another chance to teach it? It’s not like some long lost Uchiha relative was going to show up. And there was no point arguing with her once she caught hold of an idea. She might give in for a while, but later she would bring it up again and again. The more he said no, the more determined she would be, and she would return to the topic with a new counter argument.

In their one-on-one training sessions, without the boys holding her back, without holding herself back, she showed her true talent. He learned a lot about her during those sessions, she less so about him.

-...-end flashback-...-

“It’s private, no one will see us here,” he explained.

The ground was hard rock. She had expected a soft spot by the river. But she shrugged and made the best of it. She found a spot in the shade and settled down to eat her lunch. She placed her bag right next to her so he wouldn’t get too close.

They ate in uncomfortable silence. He, because he didn’t know what to say, not having been in such a situation before. Usually his dates were dinner dates followed immediately by bedtime with little need for extensive conversation. She, because she was thinking and plotting her usual manipulations.

“You usually get the eel combo,” Kakashi said lamely, trying to start a conversation after being halfway done with his lunch.

“Hmm? That’s true but I didn’t want to…smell fishy,” she said with a blush, while thinking, 'since when did he notice something like that.' But it was true, whenever their team stopped for food during a mission, that’s what she usually ordered. This time she just got whatever he was having so she didn’t have to worry about possibly sharing her food, which she also found kind of gross. Being a medic-nin made her rather obsessive about germs. Also, if they ate the same food, kissing would be less… disturbing.

He moved closer and sniffed her. “You smell nice, like jasmine soap as usual.”

“Seems you know a lot more about me than I do about you. So tell me about yourself." She was trying hard to make conversation to prevent him from sucking her face again.

"You’ve known me for six years. We’ve been on numerous missions together. What’s there to tell? Besides, I thought you knew everything about me from your father."

"Only a few things. For some reason my dad doesn’t like to talk about you. He doesn't like you," she stated bluntly.

He shrugged. "I've never been one to win popularity contests."

"If you take off your mask, you'd win one with the ladies," she teased.

"I only want one," he replied smoothly.

She blushed again and tried to steer the conversation back to him. “So if you weren’t a shinobi, what would you be? Did you ever want to be something else?”

“Not really, but I’ve been thinking of doing some writing.”

“What kind of writing?” 'If he says like what he reads, I won’t be able to stop laughing.'

He shrugged. “Maybe an action adventure series based on my missions.” 'With lots of sex and romance but she might laugh at that.'

“That sounds interesting. I’d be interested in reading that.” 'Know thy enemy!'

“So what about you?”

“Actually, I thought it would be nice to start a psychological counseling services department at the academy or hospital. They have some counseling classes at the academy, but it’s not the same thing.”

“Hmm, interesting goal, but aren’t most counselors more… sympathetic?”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a tinge of annoyance creeping into her voice.

“They’re usually more the touchy-feely type.”

“Are you saying I’m too cold to be a counselor?” Her voice’s pitch went up slightly.

He shrugged.

Rikako was a bit sensitive about her lack of sensitivity. “It’s important to be objective, not to get pulled into the patient’s pain,” she rationalized. “I don’t need to feel what the patient is feeling. I just need to point out how he should cope. It’s all in the textbooks. Anyway, that’s not going to happen for some time… But you’re right, I probably do need some tragedy in my life so I can be more sympathetic,” she added the last part in reconsideration as if she were planning to conduct a scientific experiment.

'I wonder if she realizes that sometimes the things she says come off sounding quite…strange.' “No one should want tragedy,” he finally said.

“I didn’t say I want it. I said I need it to know how others feel. You’re right, sometimes I’m afraid I don’t feel much at all. That’s what makes a good shinobi, isn’t it? But a lousy counselor?”

“It’s not that shinobis don’t feel, they just control their emotions. But sometimes it's hard to distinguish the difference. I’m sure you’d make a fine counselor,” Kakashi said encouragingly while thinking, 'Not really, but why ruin someone’s dream.'

“The legendary Sannin Tsunade did much to advance the field of shinobi medicine, but only as it pertained to the body. The mind must be in equally good health in order for a shinobi or any human to perform satisfactorily.” A rather cold and clinical analysis, but what she meant was she wanted to help those whose minds suffered from the trauma of war, or missions gone wrong, and the lost of loved ones. Her father had told her many stories of shinobi suicides in addition to horrific deaths in his attempts to dissuade her from becoming a shinobi. Instead, it had strengthened her resolve. 'Such a tragic waste of life, I want to help.' Despite her misanthropic views on humanity, she sometimes had grandiose ideas of saving humanity from itself.

“That’s a worthy goal. I didn’t know that’s what you really wanted to do.”

“Actually, I don’t know what I really want. I’m afraid I don’t have any long term goals.” 'I only have one short term goal right now,' she thought to herself as she stared at her target appraisingly. 'I want to know him, get closer to him.'

'I want to know her, be closer to her.' “You know, all those questions you asked in the past, I didn’t answer them very well. You can ask me anything now, I promise I’ll give you a real answer.

She was unprepared for this. She didn’t have her list with her and she struggled to think of something. “Well, I already know what you look like under that mask. I know how you got your sharingan and about your best friend. Let’s see... are you satisfied with how you lived your life? Do you have any regrets? If you could go back in time, what would you change?”

'Sigh, she had to ask me something like that. I thought she’d ask something typical like how many women have I slept with. So many regrets, so many things I want to change.' “Regrets… everyone has them, don’t they? But there’s nothing you can do to change the past. And I wouldn’t change anything, despite my regrets. After all, it means I may not be here with you.” 'Good answer!' Kakashi mentally patted himself on the back.

“That’s a good answer. Is that from one of your books?” she laughed at her own joke.

'Why is it that every time I say something vaguely romantic she cracks up?' he thought, slightly annoyed. But he couldn’t help but smile at the laughing young woman before him and he moved in closer, hoping to steal another kiss. She allowed him to kiss her, but as soon as his hands started roaming again, she pushed him away.

'Haven’t had one play hard to get in a very long time,' Kakashi thought ruefully.

“How about we do some training? I haven’t faced off against you in a long time. I think I’ve gotten much stronger.” 'I can end this today if I beat him.'

Kakashi sighed, “It’s just after lunch. It’s not good to train right after you eat.” 'Geez, I hope she doesn’t turn into another Gai with his absurd challenges!'

She nodded and suggested, “Maybe you should take a nap.” 'That would work too,' she thought. 'The ways I can get to him are if he’s asleep, or unconscious, either naturally or by drugs…'

“I’m not sleepy. If anything, I’m feeling full of energy right now,” he said as he tried again to pull her closer.

“I want you to use your sharingan against me to see if Gai’s training was useful.”

But Kakashi was feeling lazy and amorous and did not want to train at all. Instead he was trying hard to kiss her neck while she thought furiously for another plan.

“If you beat me, I’ll…I’ll let you get to second base…” (a euphemism based on a silly boring civilian game that she learned from some horrible adolescent book).

That got Kakashi’s attention. “So you think you can beat me and my sharingan now?” he asked, rather amused at her persistence.

She shrugged. 'I’ll go at him at 70 percent and ramp it up to 90 percent, that way I can gauge how much more I need to improve and I don’t want him to know my full power yet. He’s older now, and if he’s been as lazy as he was in the past, I might have a chance despite that eye. He won’t use fire jutsus, and there’s no source of water here, and the ground is hard rock so earth jutsus are limited. He won’t use his chidori against me. If I fight him under the guise of training…this could work.'

“All right,” Kakashi agreed, “I’ll accept your challenge, and the prize.” He added the last part with a grin and a twinkle in his exposed eye. “What do you want if you win? I’ll let you get to third base with me,” he chuckled at his offer.

But she replied seriously, “If I beat you, then it’s over. I won’t have anything more to do with you. After all, I can’t be involved with a guy who’s weaker than me.”

'She’s seriously serious,' Kakashi thought, 'She’s never been one to prove how strong she is. I wonder what’s up.' “All right,” he nodded, “I’ll come at you seriously.”

'She’s not susceptible to genjutsu, at least not those at the normal level. Her speed is not as good as Gai’s but it is now on par with mine. But I know all of Gai’s moves, I shouldn’t have any problems…' Kakashi evaluated as he countered her initial moves.

To his surprise, she was not just fighting up close with Gai’s taijutsu moves. She interlaced her attacks with ninjutsu, so he found himself defending against multiple attacks, a kick to his left, flames to his right. She was unfairly using her custom made weapon, the telescoping spear, in her right hand while performing seals with her left. It seemed she was deadly serious.

The hard ground cracked open and shards of rock flew out as her staff, flowing with chakra, struck the ground, missing the veteran shinobi by less than a kunai's length. He returned the favor by sending the rock shards back at her via a wind jutsu. Her staff spun around in front and around her, deflecting tne projectiles back toward him.

But Kakashi was not as lazy or out of shape as he appeared from his poor posture and schlumpy clothes. Despite her improved speed and taijutsu, his sharingan proved to be a great advantage for him and too much of a disadvantage for her. He was able to avoid the rocks, and predict her ninjutsu and taijutsu moves after a couple of rounds. But after five minutes of continuous fighting with his sharingan exposed he started feeling fatigued and knew he had to end it soon. The rocks behind him exploded as she missed him and hit them with her staff.

'Was she really serious? Or was she just saying that to motivate me? Guess I can’t take that chance, so I’ll have to beat her, even if…'

To her shock, he purposely took a direct hit from her staff. But it was a feint to draw her in closer. Despite bleeding profusely from the puncture in his left side, he grabbed her and held her in a tight headlock with a kunai to her throat. “If you really want to defeat me, you’ll have to be willing to give up your own life,” he advised, then released her and collapsed to the ground.

“You’re crazy, this was just training,” she scolded as she instinctively knelt by his side to tend to his wound, forgetting that she had planned to knock him unconscious.

'Sure didn’t seem like it,' he thought as he watched her carefully and tenderly stop the bleeding with her chakra. Without asking, she quickly unzipped his shinobi vest, and pulled up his shirt. The hole had stopped bleeding but the wound was still open. She took her first aid kit from her bag and started to wash and disinfect the wound, coolly blowing on it to take away the sting. Then she channeled her chakra to regenerate the cells to knit the wound together. Finally she wrapped bandages around his midriff. All professionally and expertly done, automatically without a conscious thought other than to repair the damage.

He watched her pretty little face as it furrowed in concentration, her nimble hands as they quickly moved across his body. Despite the pain in his side, the light touch of her fingers, the heat from her chakra, and the sight of red excited him, but there was no seductive intent on her part and her look of concern appeared to be genuine. 'I was just being paranoid. Why would she want to hurt me?'

“You’re too reckless,” she continued to berate him. “Was winning worth your life?”

“You said I would lose you if I didn’t win. I’d give my life for you,” he said smoothly.

“You’d give your life to protect a paying client,” she pointed out bluntly.

Kakashi sighed, 'She’s so unromantic.' But despite her harsh words, he could see she wore a hint of a smile.

'Almost, if I had fought at him at 100 percent, it would be a draw. I must get 5-10 percent better to ensure a win, or prevent him from using his sharingan, or make him use up some chakra before we fight, or weaken him with poison…or be willing to take a hit like he just did...'

By the time they were done, the large boulders were obliterated. They were both exhausted, bloody, and sweaty. But he had defeated her and she was forced to continue to endure his advances.

-…-…-…-…-

Author's notes: The irony here is Rikako is an insensitive, unsympathetic telepath. Despite knowing how people feel, she doesn't sympathize and maintains her objectivity.

-…-…-…-…-

5.4 The Shinobi Memorial

After the first week of the usual awkwardness that exists in every new relationship, the couple settled down into a rather comfortable understanding. Kakashi was allowed to get to second base only.

On a slow day, after a less rigorous training session, the apparently diametric couple was lounging around by the river. Rikako was sitting and leaning against a tree with Kakashi’s head in her lap. She did not like being used as a pillow but she put up with it for the greater goal. They were both reading their customary books. Hers was “The Evolution of Shinobi Weaponry” while his was “Pursuit of Paradise.” She was casually and without thinking playing with his hair, as she read about the aerodynamic designs of kunais throughout the ages, when he suddenly sat up and turned to her.

“I would like you to accompany me to the shinobi memorial tomorrow morning…if you’re not busy.” He added the last part when she said nothing but raised her eyebrows in surprise. He always liked to be alone during his visits.

“Sure, what’s the occasion?” she asked, knowing there must be one.

He shrugged as though embarrassed. “It’s the anniversary of my best friend’s death. I thought it would be a good time to introduce you.”

'How peculiar. Introducing me to a dead man.' But she smiled and nodded as if it were the sanest thing she had ever heard. “That would be nice. Should I bring something?” She had never had to buy shrine offerings. No one she knew had ever died, or rather there was no one she cared about who had, or rather there was no one she cared about.

He shrugged again. “Obito liked sweets,” he suggested.

“All right, I can get some of those sweet bean pastries. Thank you for inviting me,” she added the last part sincerely. The invitation touched her more than she was willing to admit. And his feckless charm was growing on her despite her resolve to the contrary.

-…-…-…-…-

Despite her presence there, Kakashi remained silent as he laid out the shrine offerings and burned the incense. She felt like an intruder. 'How strange. It’s like I’ve been called to meet the parents,' she thought wryly. 'How loyal he is. Still mourning after two decades. When my pet parakeet died, I mourned for a week before I replaced it. But I suppose people are not as replaceable. If I died I wonder how long my parents would mourn. Maybe they would be relieved instead. Kakashi never shows much emotion. Then again it’s hard to tell with that mask. He must have great depths of emotion to feel such devotion after so long. But he owes that eye to his best friend and it’s a constant reminder. Still…he’s a good person isn’t he…and he doesn’t deserve what I plan to do…'

-…-

Rikako’s Diary Excerpt age 5

…I want to be good. I like people who are genuinely good. But I just can’t seem to stop from being contrary. Like mom told me not to eat any cookies and even though I didn’t want any, I just had to, even knowing she’d yell at me. It’s like I’m doing it just to see her reaction. And like when dad asked me not to draw on his prescription pads. I just had to, just to see the veins pop out of his head. They don’t really punish me. They just give me “time-out” to think about my actions. I already thought about them and I know they’re wrong, but I made the conscious decisions to do them and I can’t stop myself once I make up my mind…

-…-

She stood behind and to the side of him as he silently spoke to his friend. He stood there with his head lowered for a long long time and she started feeling restless and bored. She then walked over and placed her arms around his waist, pressing her body against his back, a comforting hug. But it was really so he couldn’t see her yawn. He woke from his reverie, placed his hands on hers and turned his head to say with a smile from under his mask, “I think Obito would have liked you.”

She blushed. 'No he wouldn’t have. Not if he knew what I plan to do. Damn, he’s making me feel so guilty.' She usually did feel guilty for her actions, her manipulations, but much like an obstinate child, the feeling never stopped her from current or future actions. Now she couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say. Finally she answered, “I’d like to thank him...and you.”

“For what?” Kakashi’s eyebrow arched just slightly.

“Well, it seems your adulation of teamwork was because of him and that’s what you’ve tried to pass onto us. I don’t think I’ve ever properly thanked you for that.” 'There, I can come up with something stupid and comforting to say, even if I think it’s bunk.'

But her words touched something deep within the shinobi veteran. He silently placed his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly. This was when he knew he was really falling in love with her.

“Tell me about him, Obito, your best friend.” 'Know thy enemy.'

Though he thought about Obito constantly, he rarely spoke about him. Never put his feelings and regrets into words. She had spoken of starting psychological services to counsel shell-shocked shinobis…was she analyzing him as her first patient? “He was a good person. He always tried to help others. He was often late because of that,” Kakashi finally said. He smiled a bit at the last part. Obito’s pathetic excuses were even worse than his.

“So today is also the anniversary of your sharingan? Maybe you should celebrate that instead…”

“That’s nothing to celebrate,” he remarked sharply.

“But you’ve saved many lives because of it. I know you feel responsible for your friend’s death, but even if it were your fault, all humans make mistakes. As long as we learn from them and try to prevent others from making the same mistakes, we should be allowed to forgive ourselves.” 'Who says I won’t make a good counselor?'

That was something he had told himself a thousand times over, but hearing it from her now irritated him. “What do you know, you’re still a child.”

'If I’m still a child, then what the hell are you doing with me?Pervert!' “Doesn’t a child’s innocence provide a clearer view of the human heart and soul? Before it’s tainted by hard experience.”

“I doubt you were ever an innocent child.” He couldn’t help but smile a bit.

She shrugged. 'No, I was never an innocent child. Not when I know what people are really like.'

In the past, others had tried to comfort him, told him that it was not his fault; others like her father blamed him, knew that it was. But she said it didn’t matter and she thanked him. A simple thing perhaps but it was something that he needed to hear. That sincere expression of gratitude, it made Obito’s sacrifice more bearable. 'This girl, she’s always been wise beyond her years. Is she a reincarnation of an old soul? A great sage from the past?'

She would have been the first to admit that she was nothing more than a charlatan, using what she knew about human nature to project an aura of calm wisdom. But her understanding of people was based on books and the impressions she gleaned from their minds, rather than human interactions. And she knew that people did not behave in the way that you would expect from reading their minds. Even Kakashi was not what he appeared to be.

-…-…-…-…-

5.5 Kakashi’s Quarters

Rikako had not seen Kakashi’s home before their non-platonic relationship, though she knew where he lived. Her genin team had followed Kakashi home on several occasions out of curiosity, wondering how their sensei lived, whom he interacted with, and if he ever took off that mask. But once he went home, he never came out, so the team’s curiosity was left unsatisfied.

He lived simply in a one bedroom apartment. Sparse furnishings, little clutter, a few framed photographs and lots of books neatly arranged, by no apparent order that she could see, on several bookshelves.

Even at home Kakashi still wore his dark blue Leaf shinobi uniform, but without his vest, and his forehead protector over his left eye and the mask over the lower half of his face. He was so accustomed to covering up that he only took the mask off when he ate, slept, showered, or when he wanted to make-out.

Kakashi did not like eating in public so often he suggested dinner at his place, usually takeout, but today they picked up groceries.

'I wonder if he’s a good cook. If he’s been living by himself for so long, he should have developed some cooking skills.'

Her own cooking skills were rather abysmal. Rikako didn’t understand why. She always followed the recipes exactly but they never turned out right. Her mother, who never used a cookbook, had wanted to teach her while she was growing up, but Rikako never had time for it. It was unnecessary for being a shinobi. After all, shinobis made good money and could afford to eat out all the time, and while on missions she could survive on shinobi rations. Besides, food just wasn’t that important to her.

Her grades in home economics at the academy were rather mediocre. On the few occasions she made a serious attempt, no one encouraged her to try again. It annoyed her that something so simple as cooking, as following a simple set of directions, defeated her. Nothing ever turned out looking like the pictures. It was all just another lie perpetrated to trick the customer into buying the book. Another life disappointment. But her mother said cooking was an expression of love and perhaps that was where her deficiency lay.

“So what are you planning to make?” she asked.

“Me? I thought you were cooking. That’s what women do isn’t it? I just bought all the ingredients.”

She looked at him appraisingly. Was he teasing her? Or was he seriously a male chauvinist? She shrugged. “Sure, I’ll cook, just don’t complain later.”

He chuckled, “So there’s something you’re not good at.”

'There’s lots of things I’m not good at. Putting up with idiots, holding my tongue, (she was only able to do those things passably then ranted later about them in her diary), doing dishes, laundry, any sort of housework...' She was spoiled. Her mom still took care of all that, which was why she still hadn’t moved out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help.” His cutting skills were excellent. He was able to pare and dice vegetables at lightning speed.

Her kunai handling was never great and even using a simple kitchen knife was clumsy. 'I can stab someone with a knife, cut their throats, perform surgery, but how the hell do you pare vegetables so finely and dice so quickly without cutting digits off?'

When it came down to it, he did most of the work while she just stirred. And he did it without looking at a recipe.

"You see," Kakashi explained, "the trick is not to add too much water. If you follow the directions exactly, the sauce will be too thin and bland. Then you'll have to add more of the curry cubes."

"I see..." Rikako contemplated this advice seriously. "It's a ploy perpetrated by the curry manufacturers in order to fool the consumer into buying more curry..."

"Er, I never thought of it that way before. You know, not everything is a conspiracy..."

The conspiracy concocted chicken curry tasted quite good. 'If he can do it, so can I! I won’t lose to him in something so simple!' She added cooking to her list of things to learn to do.

Later, as Kakashi did the dishes, Rikako made herself comfortable on his couch, browsing through one of his books, while mentally steeling herself to progress to the next stage of her plan. She had found no opening to poison him. And his sense of smell and taste were acute. He would probably be able to detect most poisons. She was still unable to defeat him with absolute certainty. It was now down to the last resort.

But what if she gave up her plan? What if she stopped thinking of how to invade his mind to find out her origins? Did her past really matter? What was important was the present and future, more than the past. What if she freed herself of her obsession? Was it really that bad to be with him? She looked over at the handsome older man who was washing the dishes. 'If he’s willing to do all the household chores, I wouldn’t mind being with him for real,' she thought with a smile. 'These past couple of weeks…he’s actually very nice, and interesting. Not exactly considerate, still rather weird, but I think I do like him quite a bit…and I’m getting used to all that kissing and touching…'

But then she forced those thoughts out of her head and focused on what she needed to do.

-...-...-...-...-

Author's Notes:
The title "A Slow Seduction" not only refers to Rikako's attempt to seduce Kakashi but also how she gets pulled in despite herself. The cooking curry part was written before the Curry of Life filler episodes.

"Anti-lemon" coming up next.