Chant d'Automne

SMUT WARNING: Because I want to see Kakashi and Hinata with their clothes off, I have written certain scenes in this chapter a little more graphically than necessary. If you don’t want to read this for some reason… um, you’re weird. No, seriously. Just skim over the ‘nasty’ parts.

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Chapter Eight: ‘Quelle heure est-il au paradis’

Notre vie à deux s’arrete donc là

Là où les dieux ne s’aventurent pas

Moi qui aimais tellement ton sourire…

Pourquoi, pourquoi, meme quand les gens s’aiment

Il y a, il y a, toujours des problèmes?

…

Laisses moi voir venir le jour…

Il est minuit à Tokyo

Il est cinq heures au Mali

Quelle heure est-il au paradis?

--de ‘La Vie à 2’ par Manu Chao

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“When I was last here, the service was much faster,” Kakashi whispered to Hinata, rubbing the back of his head and seeming somewhat embarrassed. Hinata quickly reassured him that the service was fine, although it wasn’t.

They were in line in the lobby of a rather upscale inn, their disheveled appearance attracting disapproving stares from the few other late-coming patrons. The décor was chic and minimal and clean, a stark contrast to the cluttered, crowded streets of the city outside.

“So, how did you find this place?” Hinata quickly asked Kakashi, in an attempt to make conversation.

“Umm…” The one visible part of his face, his eye- he still wore the mask and hitae-ate in public- suddenly looked very shifty and uncomfortable. He avoided her gaze. “Ah, it’s our turn!”

The line to book a room hadn’t been very long, but each group ahead of them had been picky and difficult to please. The young, grumpy looking woman behind the desk looked up from her papers and brightened when she saw Kakashi. The narrowness about her eyes returned for a second when she saw Hinata.

Hinata hung back, feeling put-off, but Kakashi stepped forward with a friendliness that Hinata thought was probably fake. She was getting a little better at interpreting and recognizing Kakashi’s moods and emotions, but he was still something of a blank slate. She usually couldn’t tell what he was truly feeling.

“A room for two, please,” Kakashi said to the clerk. Hinata noticed a feral gleam in the woman’s eye as she perused the Jounin.

Yes, this was exactly what Kurenai said about Kakashi, or rather what tended to happen when women were around him.

The clerk tossed her hair and glanced behind Kakashi at Hinata. “Your daughter?”

Kakashi mumbled indiscriminately, then requested a room upstairs.

“Of course.” She smiled sweetly and handed him two keys from under the desk, making sure to brush his hand as she gave it to him.

“Room twelve, upstairs to the right, second from the end of the hall.” She paused and lowered her voice. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Kakashi responded.

Hinata thought she saw him wink at the clerk, and her suspicion was confirmed when the irritating woman released a high-pitched giggle.

A flash of something other that annoyance passed through Hinata. What did this woman know about him? What could she possibly have in common with him? She was pretty, granted, but nothing else could have recommended her to anyone. Hinata soon realized it was jealousy but gave herself no time to dwell on it.

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When they arrived at the room, another challenge confronted the teacher and student: there was only one bed.

“I’ll take care of it.” Kakashi made for the door, but Hinata stopped him.

“No, it’s okay.”

“I don’t think sharing is a good idea…”

“No! Me neither. I’ll just sleep on the floor. You don’t have to inconvenience yourself.” Hinata unrolled her sleeping mat on the floor next to the bed, as if doing so would prevent further argument.

Kakashi apparently agreed that he should get the bed, because he sat down on it without saying anything more.

“Tomorrow we’ll continue training,” he announced. “I want to see how much you’ve improved.”

Feeling oddly rebellious, Hinata responded, “And you’re sure I’ve improved?”

Kakashi looked over his shoulder at her. “I suppose we’ll see soon,” he answered calmly.

Hinata’s ears burned and she hunched her shoulders over the papers she had taken out of her pack, detailing distribution and density of chakra in the human body. In the few days she and Kakashi had spent together, she had hardly had time to continue her research. But it- the unanswered question- always lurked in her mind. Hinata theorized that, if she could answer it, she could unite the two disparate sections of her findings. It wasn’t a sure thing, but if the two were united, worked together and didn’t contradict each other, she should be able to restore her chakra flow.

“Don’t you feel like you’ve gotten better?” Kakashi asked.

“Um, well…yes, I suppose.” She shuffled her papers aimlessly, then put them aside and began laying blankets over her sleeping mat.

“Hmm.” Kakashi looked as if he wanted to get up, but stopped himself, and said nothing else. They went to sleep without further incident.

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The next morning, Hinata woke up early, with a sore neck. Kakashi was still asleep, which was normal.

Honest to God, that man needs more sleep than a hibernating bear, she thought to herself. She regarded his prostrate form on the bed as she entered the bathroom. He definitely had more grace than a bear, though. Preoccupied by the idea of what Kakashi would look like with more body hair, she went about her daily routine. After her recent stint in the wilderness, she appreciated the luxuries of civilization much more: a sink, a shower and fresh towels. Living outdoors tended to make her feel like a bear after a while. She paused and looked at herself in the mirror, combing fingers through her long hair. Maybe she should cut it. Then again, she was basically a failure as a ninja, and probably couldn’t make a career out of being one. She would keep it longer for a while, in case the ninja thing didn’t work out and she would have to be able to attract a husband or something.

After she had taken an extra-long shower, washed her face with the fancy lemon soap provided by the hotel and gotten dressed, Kakashi was still asleep. She tiptoed around and leaned over the bed, just to be sure. He was on his stomach, his unmasked face partially obscured by his arm. His spiky silver hair swept across his forehead, catching the daylight; it’s hue reminded her more of the moon than the sun, however. Her gaze drifted down to his shoulders and back- she knew she should look away, that this was almost a breach of his privacy, but she couldn’t. Finally, he shifted slightly and the threat of being discovered staring at him was enough to make her dart away to the other side of the room. He had said they would be training today, but it was already nine. She could try to gentle rouse him- but then what? Maybe she had misheard him? What if she woke him and he got angry with her?

Tying her hair up with the yellow ribbon that had held the soap, she left the room. As always, a walk was sure to clear her mind.

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The city’s life, it’s people, was already fully in motion by the time Hinata had gone downstairs and outside. Even the snobby clerk from last night had been to busy to ignore her properly, with the right amount of scornful jealousy.

Once outside, Hinata took in all the new sights, sounds and smells slowly.There were a lot of street vendors, some with carts, others with stalls, but none were set up right outside the hotel.

Like the small-town girl she was, Hinata stood in gape-mouthed, wide-eyed awe until the two large front doors of the inn crashed open. A tall man dressed in sharp, modern black clothes rushed out, as if looking for someone. She stepped aside to let him pass, and then noticed, right beside one of the doors, and unobtrusive plaque.

‘No loiterers, solicitors or vendors of any kind.’

How… welcoming.

So far, she couldn’t quite understand why Kakashi felt loyal to this place. It didn’t seem like his style, not the people or the surroundings. But what did she know about him? More than the average person, although that didn’t amount to much.

Making a mental note of the landmarks around the hotel (she didn’t want to delay the day’s training any further by getting lost), Hinata wandered off.

There were so many people, Hinata ended up lost anyway. It was hard to get anywhere in the push and pull of bodies and the maze of stalls, so when the opportunity came, she ducked down a side street. There was instant relief from the blazing market square sun, and a vendor with a small cart was selling cold sake. She reached for her wallet but felt something odd—another hand!

She whisked around just in time to glimpse a short, brown-haired figure darting off. Before she knew what she was doing she was following him, weaving through the slow-moving people and making hair-pin turns that led them deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of back streets. To her surprise, she was able to run without much strain. She was still a little achy, but the movements felt simple.

Soon she moved at a faster rate than the short thief, whizzing around and over the obstacles created by crowds in the narrow alleys. When he slipped through the legs of a crowd of people, she jumped over them without hesitation. Within seconds of the jump, she was rebounding off the walls of the buildings, with velocity that almost scared her.

Confused, frightened eyes followed her, but weren’t distracted for long from their drinks or business transactions.

The kid—or maybe it was an unusually short man? —was remarkably fast, but she was faster. And she could get over things. Sooner or later he would run down a dead end, if she didn’t catch up to him first.

Suddenly, her quarry made a sharp right. She followed and was forced to come to a jolting, dusty stop. Another square, filled to the edges with a market was laid out in front of her. The kid was obviously clever. Hinata rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly. A split-second decision put her back in pursuit, dashing through the knots of the city’s inhabitants, who all seemed to like to come out of their houses at once. She kept her eye out for a short, brown-haired person in dirty clothes. That could be anyone, but at this point, she didn’t care. She wanted her money back, and no one was going to get it back for her.

Now the hot sun seemed to give her energy and egg her on instead of being oppressive as it had a few minutes before. She began to move even faster, and found that her small body could fit through gaps that a ninja Kakashi’s size probably couldn’t manage.

A couple of times she leapt onto the flimsy roof frames of stalls to look for the kid. He was farther away now and was walking. He apparently thought he had shaken her.

Instead of descending on him like a vulture, though, she tailed him for a while, curious about who he was, what he wanted. She was sure it was him; his grimy pants had that tear from when a washer woman had hit him with a broom earlier during the chase. The moment he approached a vendor, however, she struck, using her newfound speed to snatch him away, into the dark shadows of one of the city’s ubiquitous alleys.

“Give it back!” She turned the thief around by his collar.

It was a child, as she had assumed—a little girl. Her round, sun-darkened face was dominated by large black eyes. Even though the hair was short and filthy, Hinata was sure it was a girl. Something in the way she looked at her. The eyes held a trace of sensitivity that hadn’t been quashed by street life and the mouth was slightly full.

Hinata wrenched her wallet from the child’s hand and stepped back, still holding her by the shoulder. The girl’s dark eyes glared back at her.

“What do you want?” She demanded. “You have your money back. I didn’t have a chance to spend any of it.”

Incensed at the girl’s attitude, Hinata shot back, “Why did you steal it in the first place?”

The girl squirmed away from her. “You’re not from around here. And it’s obvious you have enough money to spare some for others who don’t.”

Hinata realized that there would be no reasoning with her, and no apology either. She decided to try another tactic.

“How old are you?”

She paused, then answered quietly, “Eleven.”

“Are you hungry?”

The girl had no hesitation in answering this, and nodded ‘yes’.

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Over bowls of rice and vegetables, Hinata exchanged stories with Akiyo, who was as talkative as Hinata was quiet.

“You really can’t trust anyone in this city,” she enumerated. They sat at stools at the short bar in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Akiyo’s short legs swung in the air, not long enough to reach the ground.

“I mean,” the young girl continued, “besides common thieves like me (and there are a lot of us,) you have idiots like the feudal lord’s relatives, who are basically given a free reign. And they do a lot worse than stealing sometimes, too.”

“But I can trust you,” Hinata interjected.

Her companion shrugged noncommittaly. “You bought me the best food I’ve had in—a while.”

“Must’ve been a really long time, if you can’t remember it.”

Akiyo nodded rather pitifully. “But,” she suddenly brightened, “there is an upside to all this.”

“What?”

She smiled conspiratorially. “Ninja.”

Immediately, Hinata was overcome with a coughing fit and signaled the man behind the counter for a glass of water.

“What about ninja?” The older girl asked with trepidation, her eyes still watering.

Akiyo lowered her voice and leaned in. “No one talks about it in public, but… well, the thing is, the feudal lord and his relatives hire ninja to take out citizens who’ve been making trouble. But not everyone here is as poor as I am, so they hire them too, for protection--”

The proprietor had approached them and, without saying as much, indicated that they should pay and leave, because there were people waiting for their seats.

After they had left the restaurant, there was no more talk of ninja permitted, since Akiyo insisted that it was too dangerous to talk about them in public.

“The feudal lord passed a law a few years ago after his cousin was assassinated--”

“Assassinated?” Hinata wondered aloud

“Quiet!” Akiyo hissed. “--stating that it was illegal for anyone within a certain distance of this city—I’m not sure how far—to hire ninja. So, of course most people have taken this to mean that you can’t even talk about ninja, which is why we have to whisper.”

“So, is it illegal for ninja to just be here, even if they aren’t hired?” Hinata asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“No…but all the same, if I were one, I wouldn’t go around advertising my presence.” The younger one stopped and looked at a building to their left. “Is this where you’re staying?”

Sure enough, it was the snooty hotel. Hinata was pleased to see that during the time she had been gone, someone had painted graffiti over the unwelcoming sign.

“Yeah! How did you—nevermind. I’d better go back in; I didn’t tell my, um, friend, where I was going.”

“See you later, then!” Akiyo grinned and vanished into the crowd.

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Back at the room, Hinata discovered that she had forgotten to take a key. Now the door was locked and her teacher could still be asleep, which meant that she would have to wait outside. He could already be gone, too, out looking for her. She hadn’t left a note or anything.

She knocked with a sense of dread. To her delight and surprise the door opened after a few seconds. Kakashi stood in front of her, in his wrinkled nightclothes. His hair was disheveled and messy and he had only one sock on. Why did he always look so good, when he should look like crap?

“There you are!” He smiled and let her in, closing the door behind her. “When I got up this morning I realized I hadn’t given you the other key, like I meant to.” Sitting in a cushy chair across the room, he took a thin volume from the dresser right next to him. “Anyway, the key’s right over there.” He pointed at a nightstand beside the bed.

“I thought we’d take a break today,” He continued, flipping through pages in his book. “I know what I said yesterday, but this day’s already half over…Let’s just take it easy today.”

“Okay.” She had been about to go get Icha Icha Paradaisu out of her bag to read, but sat back down quickly on the bed after realizing that it’s rightful owner was in the room.

All afternoon, Kakashi watched his student out of the corner of his eye. He kept forcefully reminding himself to call her ‘student’- not Hinata or anything else. His often-wandering mind needed the push back onto the road to concentrate on the task at hand. That was, train a young ninja in taijutsu and strategy, with the ultimate goal of getting his sword repaired. The objective was not to get distracted by glimpses of skin and a sweet smile, and the occasional, surprising outburst from a person he expected to be shy and quiet.

From what he could remember, and infer, his father had been easily beguiled by beautiful women, but hadn’t dealt with it nearly as well as his son. His sharp gray eyes had strayed more than once from his pretty wife to her friends, to fellow ninja, to various winking barmaids and waitresses. It had gone ignored, but not unnoticed by the legend’s wife and son. Kakashi had similar urges as his father, but coped with it in a less destructive way: Jiraiya-sama’s fabulous novels.

Speaking of which… he hadn’t been able to find his copy of Icha Icha Paradaisu for a few days, and although he had it practically memorized, he still felt uneasy without its faded cover and dog-eared pages beneath his fingers. It had disappeared around the time of… the bath.

He once again turned to the ensorcelling pages of Icha Icha to distract himself from the vista Hinata presented to him as she leaned over her reading on the bed.

Jiraiya never failed to come up with convoluted, engrossing plots, saucy, intriguing new characters, and, of course, a few creative sex scenes.

Watching Kakashi read the series, one would expect the times he blushed, snickered, and covered his mouth with a daintily out of place hand to be when he read a tender, florid declaration of love or a racy sex scene. In fact, he usually wasn’t embarrassed or uncomfortable (few things phased or surprised him anymore), rather amused with Jiraiya’s free-flowing adverbs and mixed metaphors.

Hinata, however, was preoccupied with her academia, and didn’t notice the few times her teacher chuckled to himself, either at Jiraiya’s writing, or a particularly creative or shocking sex scene.

Kakashi kept tabs on her, though, from his position slouched in a chair across the room, facing the bed. The midday sun never left them alone, even spending this purposeless day inside. Radiating through the window, it brightened every elegant piece of furniture in the room, glazing them pale gold. Zephyrs tinged with scents from the market made the gauzy curtains balloon in and out of the open window, as if trying to fly free, but never quite lifting off. Voices, screams, dogs barking, birds squawking, and general haggling reminded them that a world existed outside their gilded haven.

Despite the distractions- visual, auditory and olfactory- Kakashi glanced at his young charge.

“Letter for you!” The hotel desk clerk’s irritating voice somehow managed to slip under the door, along with a thick, flat rectangle.

Kakashi, who was closer, stooped to pick it up. He had this deceptive way of moving that made him seem both nimble and languid. At the same time, his posture had an underlying power, lithe and purposeful.

“It’s for you.” He grinned, a sight that had become less unusual to Hinata in their short time together. “I wonder how they found you.”

Hinata shrugged and swung her legs off the bed, sitting up.

“Does it have a return address?” She asked, putting her papers into a haphazard pile.

He looked at the white square in his ungloved hand. “It says ‘Hanabi’- is that your sister?”

“Yeah.” She was about to get up and take the letter, but Kakashi was faster and brought it to her.

“Thanks.” She smiled shyly.

“I’ll be outside,” he responded. Then he crossed the room in a few long-legged steps and disappeared out the window.

Hinata glanced back down at her letter. Her nerves were still tingling from that smile Kakashi had given her.

9 August

‘Dear Sister,

You are so lucky!!! I can tell that you aren’t thinking much of it, and don’t appreciate the opportunity you’ve been given, but Kakashi is, like, one of the hottest guys around. Even though he’s way older than us, he totally has the mystery vibe going, you know? By the way, I mentioned this all to my teammate, but don’t worry, she won’t tell anyone.

As for my team, nothing very interesting, but at least I have Kiko (the one I told about Kakashi.) The other guy is really quiet and kind of creepy. Our Jounin teacher is also kind of weird. She really likes dogs, and uses them in her jutsu. She also said that her brother was on a team with you… Kika? Riba? Ring any bells?

Other news besides that—not much. A day or two ago, father said that a ‘gentleman caller’ would pay me a visit. Ahem I wonder what father hopes will come of this meeting.

Ah, well. Make the best of your time with Kakashi! (winkwink) And tell me what he looks like under the mask!! You must have seen his face by now!

Love, Hanabi.’

Hinata smiled to herself, enjoying the sense of warmth that always came from talking to her sister. Noticing writing on the other side of the paper, she flipped it over. There was a frenetic-looking post-script.

‘15 Aug. P.S.- Father says I am engaged to ‘gentleman caller,’ the one who visited. He is not bad looking, but everything else about him is repulsive. Father adores him. I have no choice. Come as soon as you can. Marriage set for 19 August.’

She did nothing except inhale once, deeply. All this time she had been cavorting with Kakashi, creating her own reality and ignoring those who might need her help. Her chest felt tight, heavy. Numbly, she folded the letter and slipped it into her pocket. Then she lay down on the bed, noticing the most commonplace things in the room in fine detail. The way the bed sounded when someone got onto it. The shadows on the ceiling. The pattern of the wood grain on the bedpost… slowly, her consciousness faded and these details merged into the overwhelming blankness of sleep.

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Even at his age (which was getting a bit uncomfortable for him to think about in exact quantities), Kakashi’s senses were sharper than those of most ANBU members. His remaining original eye could see perfectly, he could detect certain faint smells from among many overpowering ones and he could hear whispers in a storm.

So, in order to give Hinata some measure of privacy, he had gone and waited at a café a few blocks away from the hotel. True, he could still sense, in several ways, anything that was going in their room, but he was too lazy to go far enough to ensure her complete privacy. Anyway, he could just block things out.

That was the case at the café, too. It was western-style, with outdoor wrought-iron tables and chairs under striped umbrellas. There were pesky waiters, too, who kept coming over to his table and asking if he was ready to order yet, to which he responded, “No, I need some more time,” and smiled nicely. After the fifth time, it got annoying, since he was rereading one of his favorite parts of Icha Icha Takutikusu, where Kyo’s old flame Etsu comes back. At that point in the story, Kyo and Junko were married and sharing a bed, but Etsu comes to seduce Kyo without knowing this and sneaks into their bed. The scene that followed…Jiraiya had really reached a high point.

Finally, he asked for a glass of water—he didn’t want to spend any money, since he wasn’t hungry or thirsty and didn’t want to take off his mask.

“Will you be ordering anything else?” The waiter demanded grumpily after slamming the glass of water down on the table.

“Maybe later,” Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

Over two hours passed, Kakashi sensing nothing from the room where he had left Hinata. By this time, he had finished rereading the whole book, and had reverted to staring at his glass of water, with a fake-moody expression intended to put off any impatient waiters.

But the vulture’s impending attack could not be helped.

“Sir,” one approached him. “We have a lot a of customers waiting for a table, and you’ve been here for quite a while. Please pay-- ” He reached into his apron, then realized that the odd silver-haired man had never ordered anything and therefore owed no money. He leaned close to Kakashi, speaking in a hushed tone. “Sir, please leave now. I don’t want to make a scene.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He stood up and looked the man straight in the eye. He had learned early in his ninja career that intimidation was often more powerful than physical strength.

It probably was a good idea for him to be heading back, he thought as he walked out. He knew his student was quiet, but this was unusual. Anyway, she could be napping, in which case there was no need for him to be out of the room.

Kakashi landed on the overhang outside their window and looked in. She was there, lying on her side, legs drawn up and eyes open. She didn’t look scared or traumatized, just… he thought about it. Listless. He was used to seeing her doing something, perhaps nothing important or flashy, but aside from when she was sleeping, she was always productive in some way, always finding a little more energy in her own quiet way.

When he went in she didn’t react, aside from looking at him and looking away.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. Yondaime’s words came to him, unheralded: “Don’t be such a tightass, boy. Show some compassion.”

“What’s wrong?” He asked, scared of the possible answers. As a teacher he should help her; another, more personal part of him simply felt compelled to. It bothered him to see her like this.

A rustling of paper and cotton sheets came from behind him, and then a pair of legs slid over the side of the bed next to his. She sat next to him, though not too close, and handed him a letter, presumably the one she had received today.

So. Some news concerning her family had upset her. Understandable, considering what he knew of the noble clan’s outdated traditions, and of the history between Hinata and her father.

‘Dear Sister,

You are so luck--’

Before he could finish, the paper was snatched away from him and flipped over impatiently.

“Sorry.” Her voice sounded as small as he remembered it sounding as a genin. “The other side.”

He read the p.s., disgusted but not surprised at Hiashi’s tyrannical rulings. He gave back the letter, which she folded rather mechanically and put into a pocket in her pants. They both sat there for a moment, doing nothing. Kakashi’s eye followed Hinata’s hands from smoothing her pant legs to resting in her lap. He felt that he should attempt to be comforting, but had no idea where to start.

A breeze blew in through the window, luring his gaze away from her delicate hands, the ones that had helped him when he was hurt… It was late afternoon, the same time they had left Konoha a few days ago. Ikomo City and Konoha were very different, though. Konoha had trees almost everywhere, and a moderate climate. Ikomo was stifling, with vegetation only in designated areas. Anything else was unprotected by law, and therefore trampled into the dust by the thousands of uncaring people.

What could he do to help? He drew a blank. Many things ninja came to him instinctually, and the rest he could learn within a few minutes. But compassion? Even if he felt it, which in this case he did, he didn’t know how to express it.

Not knowing what to say, he simply put his arm around her narrow shoulders, gently pulling her close to him. To his surprise, she didn’t resist. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. For once, neither one of them felt weird about physical contact with the other. It wasn’t awkward, there were no sexual undertones. A few moments passed in which all that seemed to exist was the expansion and contraction of their breathing, and the pressure of their bodies against one another.

Then Kakashi admitted, without really thinking, “You know, when I was younger, your father wanted me to marry into the branch family.”

Damn. That was definitely a callous thing to say in this situation. She had just received bad news about her family.

Hinata responded, though, her voice possessing the quiet steadiness he was used to. “Are you sure it was my father?”

“Very sure. Hyuuga Hiashi is a hard man to mistake. I think he went to a lot of trouble to distinguish himself from his twin.” He paused and pulled down his mask so he could speak more easily. “You were probably pretty young then. Anyway, it fell through.”

“What happened?” She still seemed reserved, but he was glad to see that the apathy had disappeared.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “I, ah… didn’t have quite the self control I do now…”

“And…?”

He should have known that she would pursue an answer. “I… got caught with one of the maids in Hyuuga main house, if you get my meaning.”

“Really?” Hinata shifted a bit, sounding surprised, but not disapproving. “Was it Sumi?”

“I think so…”

“I remember that!”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t that young, maybe six or seven. Well, that is young, but Father was really angry, so…

Kakashi hmm’d. “That was one of his defining traits.”

Suddenly it felt like they were back to normal, except Kakashi’s arm was still protectively around her shoulders. He removed it quickly.

“Sorry.” Hinata apologized aimlessly, sensing his discomfort but not knowing what else to do. They scooted apart.

He was frustrated with his male instincts again, the ones that kept urging him to bang his student. He definitely wanted to, that was established in both factions of his brain, Reason and Instinct, but of course Reason won over…for now, an evil voice added.

Agh! Voices in his head were talking to him! Not really. This was what happened when he was deprived of Icha Icha Paradaisu. He had already reread Baiorensu and Takutikusu. He needed to get back to Paradaisu before the new volume came out! Thinking of Icha Icha made him think of sex, which made him think of Hinata, who was sitting right next to him. He almost sighed out loud. He behaved more ridiculously than Gai sometimes.

As a means of sidetracking his flustered mind, he blurted out (his sense of restraint really seemed to have gone out the window this afternoon): Are you hungry? Let’s go out for dinner—my treat!”

“Dinner?”

“Just a thought. If you want to go, just let me know when you’re ready.”

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Dinner with Kakashi-sensei. Her sister would kill for this ‘opportunity’. Hinata, however, was not so bloodthirsty, although her eyes did wander his form when she thought he wasn’t looking.

A meal outside of the room meant that she had to clean herself up.. Her face still felt stiff from dried tears, her clothes were wrinkled and Kakashi had been looking at her hair oddly. A couple minutes later, down in the street with a characteristically unruffled Kakashi by her side, she was glad to find that her preparations had, happily, not gone to waste. Ikomo city’s night life was vibrant and wild. Even the seediest alleys had an air of exclusivity, as chic patrons came in and out of bars chattering or stumbling drunkenly.

Her teacher fit in well. Along with his regular blue mask he had worn a white ANBU vest over a sleeveless navy shirt, but had foregone the animal mask and katana. The overall effect was quite dashing, and while Hinata tried not to stare, many passing women (and some men) did not afford him the same courtesy. As usual, Kakashi seemed oblivious to the attention he attracted.

Hinata, on the other hand, felt the burn of every pair of eyes that looked her way. She always worried that they were judging her, which was kind of unreasonable, but still… Her clothes didn’t really stand out. She had worn her regular dark purple pants (minus kunai holders) and black sandals, but replaced the heavy parka with a lavender wrap jacket made of lightweight cotton.

“This way.” Kakashi’s hand on her shoulder guided her to follow him. They moved from a busy, well-lit main street down a darker patched alley. Her teacher’s no-nonsense expression warned any drunken lechers to keep their eyes off his pretty, young companion.

“Here.” He motioned her through a door over which hung a red and orange paper lantern and a sign reading ‘Ikomo City Gourmet.’

Inside, it was cramped, packed with clusters of people at small round tables set low to the ground. Wide rectangular cushions in brightly patterned red and orange fabric served as seats. The decoration, too, was a compromise between East and West, placing painted fans and scrolls alongside stained glass wall sconces and oil paintings of fruit and coastal landscapes.

A beaming, plump waitress led them to a table towards the back of the restaurant. When they had taken their seats, she left to give them time to decide what they wanted.

On the menus placed in front of them (the menus themselves were something of a rarity) Hinata saw many unusual offerings. Most of them sounded foreign: ‘risotto,’ ‘oysters,’ ‘escargots,’ ‘gnocchi.’ There were a few familiar things, though, such as miso soup and rice with vegetables. Behind the menu was a wine list.

“Sensei?”

“Hmm?”

“What kind of restaurant is this?”

Her teacher folded his menu and looked her in the eye. A flash of heat shot through her belly, then radiated throughout her body.

“It serves a variety of western foods, as well as the best miso soup I’ve ever tasted.”

“Western foods?” She pressed.

He shrugged. “If you’re curious about something, order it.”

And that was the end of the exchange. Of course, she didn’t want to order too much—he said he was paying, but she would feel guilty just ordering whatever she felt like. The wine list was intriguing, though. There were many different types, as with sake, but apparently, there were also ‘red’ and ‘white’ wines. But technically she wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol. She should ask him if it was okay to have some, and even if he said no… she could always order it, and then when it came, drink it anyway. Maybe he didn’t realize how old she was… no, she would do better to ask.

“Kakashi?”

“Yeah?”

“Is it okay if I, umm…” She ran her fingernail along the edge of the wine list.

“What?” He observed the tall rectangle in her hand. “Did you want to try a wine?”

“Is that okay?”

“Fine with me.”

“But, you know I’m not twenty yet, right?”

He cast her a rather bemused look, then crossed his arms and leaned back. “Hinata, you shouldn’t worry so much about breaking the rules, or getting on people’s nerves. No matter what you do, it’s going to go against some rule, or bother somebody. It’s good that you care about other people’s feelings, but sometimes you need to care about your own first.”

“Umm…” She fidgeted, churning what he had said in her mind. His point made sense… for anything she did, there would be something or someone who would find offense with it. Her old self would have resolved to try to be less of a presence in the world— the less she did, the less she would break the rules and anger people. But how small could she become, before she ceased to exist, metaphorically? “… I understand.” She said quietly. Speaking louder, she added. “I think I’ll try a red wine, then.”

“Good!” He smiled at he conspiratorially, now sitting normally again. “You know, I drank before I was twenty, and it’s not a big deal. Just don’t overdo it. Besides, I think you have better things to worry about.”

“Like what?” This unexpected burst of confidence was fun, letting her feel less tight, physically and mentally.

“Like how I’m going to kick your ass when we train tomorrow.”

She could swear he was smirking under that damn mask. And damn him for looking so good doing it, too.

“That may be a given, but don’t pretend like you can follow anything I’m saying when I’m talking about the science of chakra.” Feeling spurred, almost ecstatic, she resolved to order something outrageous and strange from the menu—that thing called ‘gnocchi.’

A few minutes later the waitress returned and took their orders. Hinata stayed true to her resolution and requested a red wine called ‘Merlot’ (Kakashi’s suggestion) and gnocchi strozzapreti, which the waitress explained meant ‘priest-strangling gnocchi.’

“Why?” Hinata cried, reconsidering her rash dining decisions.

The woman chuckled. “The story goes that a priest, a long time ago, had some to eat. But they were so good that he ate too fast, and choked to death. Don’t fret, though, dearie! You have this handsome fellow to look out for you!” With that she smiled brightly at Kakashi and asked for his order.

Distracted, Hinata listened halfheartedly to Kakashi telling the woman he wanted sake and miso soup with eggplant.

There were a few minutes of awkward silence during which they both pretended not to notice each other playing with the items on the table. She felt as if it were her duty to get the conversation started, and thus asked, without thinking, “Why do you wear a mask all the time?”

“Not all the time,” he countered.

“Well, you know… in public.”

He looked away momentarily as a tray of tea was set down on their table. Finally, after pouring a cup for both himself and her, he seemed to be about to answer her question, which she already regretted asking. Picking up his cup in one deft hand, the other pulled his mask down, his gaze holding hers with deliberate, teasing slowness. Hinata narrowed her eyes, but then began to giggle.

“You like to create drama, don’t you?” She observed after taking a sip of tea. That offhanded, unstudied comment coming from her, who was usually so careful about what she said and did, was enough to get the conversation going.

"What makes you say that?"

"Umm... do you remember the chuunin exams? When you had to escort Sasuke there? And you were really late, but made a flashy entrance anyway?"

"We had to try to intimidate Gaara somehow..."

By the time that bowls and plates full of steaming food were set down in front of them a short while later, Hinata had essentially forgotten what the waitress had said, thanks to a glass of wine and Kakashi’s surprisingly pleasant and engaging conversation.

“Sakura told me that you almost didn’t pass them during survival training,” she remarked, taking a sip of wine.

He laughed. “They really sucked. Most new teams do, but they were exceptionally bad.”

“So why did you pass them?”

“Second chances, I suppose.” He watched her eat a forkful of gnocchi. “How is it?”

“Good. Yours?”

“Good, as always—I’ve been here before.”

She wanted to ask when and why he was here before, but was initially too shy. A gulp of her second glass of wine fortified her, however.

“Before?”

“On a mission. Do you want dessert?”

“Dessert?”

“Or are you just going to keep repeating the last word of everything I say?”

Hinata realized that she had been doing this and was slightly embarrassed. But she had to get him back somehow.

“Everything you say?” She teased.

“Funny,” Kakashi said drily. “I wasn’t planning on giving you laps to do tomorrow, but since you seem to find humor in everything…”

“No, no, let’s get dessert.”

A short time later the waitress returned for the last time bearing a cinnamon roll for Hinata and something else she didn’t recognize that Kakashi had ordered.

She attempted to eat the roll daintily, but it was impossible not to get some of the sticky glaze on her fingers. When this happened she resorted to trying to lick it inconspicuously off her fingers, but stopped when she saw her teacher watching with an odd glint in his eye. He was working on a small glass dish full of what looked like chocolate and that required him to use a spoon. It could be a sweet bean dish, she supposed, but taking into account all the other strange food served here, it was just as likely to be chocolate. She had only ever had chocolate once before. It had been a treat from a visiting aunt, who had stayed in the House only a day before somehow insulting her father.

“Hinata!” Kakashi was trying to get her attention—she had been zoning out. “Hey, Hinata!”

“Wha--?”

“You were staring.” He motioned to his dessert.

“Oh, sorry. Um… what is it?”

“Chocolate mousse. Want to try some?”

“Oh, no, it’s yours, I couldn’t--”

“Don’t be stupid” he said brusquely, holding out a spoonful.

Seeing no other ways to resist she leaned forward and closed her lips around his spoon, then dragged them off inch by inch, never breaking eye contact. He held absolutely still until she had pulled back, his eyes hooded and unusually dark. She couldn’t tell if he had reacted otherwise to her unintentional display.

The mousse was amazing, better than the chocolate her aunt had brought. The chocolate was bitter and deep, but still sweet, and mixed with something deliciously smooth and creamy, like fresh milk, with an aftertaste of hazelnuts. The tastes and scents filled her mouth and nose; she suspected she had a sort of dreamy, mental-patient smile on her face.

“That was… interesting,” she commented quietly

“Mmm.” He agreed.

Neither of them was talking about the mousse.

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They were back at the hotel, outside their room in the dimly-lit hallway.

After their little exchange over dessert, neither had said much. It was strange how a thing like that, with so much potential, could dry up conversation.

Kakashi was muttering to himself, fumbling for the key. For a moment, Hinata had the impression that he was just as nervous as she was, but then scrapped that notion. What did he have to be nervous about? At last, he turned to her and said, “I may have lost the key.”

“Oh! Umm…” She dug into one of her own pockets and her hand brushed Hanabi’s letter by accident. “You gave me one too. Here.”

After he had unlocked the door, he stopped her, his hand on her arm.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Hinata?” He asked earnestly, looking her in the eye. “You seemed okay at dinner, but…”

His concern was frankly surprising, but she couldn’t help being a little flattered.

“Yeah.” She smiled gratefully at him.

“Good.” He released her arm and they both went in. At the sound of the door shutting behind her teacher, Hinata began to feel the slight tickling of butterflies in her stomach. Was she really going to do this?

“You know,” Kakashi said as he pulled off the white ANBU vest, obviously oblivious to the state of her stomach. “I’m sure you could tell what I was doing at dinner, right?… trying to distract you. It seemed like it was working—I hope you don’t mind. And we both needed a break.”

“Oh, no! Not at all. I mean--” She felt her cheeks tingeing; it was really inevitable, “—thanks for everything.” She smiled at the floor.

There was a rather tense silence during which each wondered what to do next. Hinata knew that she would have to make the first move, somehow. Although, it would be easier just to let it go—No! If she really wanted to change, she would have to start following through on things, even the difficult ones.

“Well,” Kakashi said with a note of finality, turning to go sit in his favorite chair, “if there’s anything else I can do--”

“Yes!” She blurted.

Kakashi turned back to her, his patented unreadable expression securely in place, his face still covered by his mask.

“What is it?”

“Umm… you can… you can… distract me? some more?” She hated how her voice squeaked into the upper registers; it made her sound young and insecure—which she was.

He had taken a few long-legged, unhurried steps back toward Hinata , and now stood in front of her, while she sat on the bed.

“What can I do?”

She could actually feel the heat burning in her face now, and thinking about it just made it worse.

“Y-you… well, I…” She slid off the bed slowly and stood up. Why was something so simple so hard to say? ‘I want you to kiss me.’ There. She could say it to herself, so why not to him? But it was more than that. She wanted him to… mmm. Maybe… a harebrained idea had come to her.

She stopped twisting her hands together and reached one up to Kakashi’s face. (They were close now, close enough that had he been wearing his jounin vest it would have brushed against her chest and stomach.) When he didn’t flinch or pull away, she grasped the edge of the navy blue stretchy material that was his mask and pulled. The back of her hand brushed against his uncovered cheek. It felt completely smooth and shaven. His face was calm and unperturbed by her brashness. Only his eyes, searching hers for an explanation, gave any hint at his thoughts.

“Why do you shave if you wear a mask most of the time?” The instant the words left her mouth… it was really no use anymore. She had knack for asking stupid questions at bad times.

Indeed, Kakashi’s eyes were unfathomable. Perhaps his jouning senses had already alerted him of her true intentions. In which case… he had done nothing yet to impeded her. This was a good sign. The again, all that had happened was the removal of his mask and a few odd questions.

He had encouraged her to forget about the rules, to pursue what would make her happy, rather than what she thought other people wanted. It could be argued that it pleased her to make others happy, but that wasn’t always true. Too often her own well-being was sacrificed to preserve harmony.

Then, barely thinking about it, Hinata stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Kakashi’s.

It was not the romantic, sweep-you-off-your-feet kiss she had wanted and imagined. The two of them stood very still, their lips still touching until Kakashi pulled back a few inches, leaving their faces very close together.

There was a thick silence around them, save for the faint sounds of their breathing.

Hinata wondered, for a brief second, if she had really overstepped her bounds—well, of course she had, but what would her teacher do? She had just kissed him, for God’s sake.

Instead of punishing her, however, he did something extremely unexpected. He kissed her back.

Now, it was the kiss she had wanted, complete with arms wrapped around each other and hands tangling in hair.

His lips were closed against hers at first, soft, insistent and a little chapped. Then she felt something new and wet—his tongue and she opened her mouth too. All her brain could process as Kakashi nibbled on her bottom lip and the sensation sent bolts straight to the pit of her stomach, was that Kiba had not been so talented. Kakashi seemed to own her, to know exactly where to touch her to elicit a small gasp or a shiver. All of his restraint was gone; the flood gates had opened and released a torrent of unprocessed, passionate energy.

Belatedly, Hinata realized that she should be less passive. Kakashi was currently possessing her mouth, his tongue welcome but demanding. She pressed her mouth harder onto his, at the same time arching her body up against him.

He groaned against her, a deep, masculine sound that made her clench her legs involuntarily.

At this point, she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She wanted both of them to have less clothes on but didn’t know how to tactfully accomplish this. Kakashi seemed to have an idea, though. His hands were on her hips and he had widened the vee made by the overlapping material of her top so he could kiss the small indent at the base of her neck.

Although enjoying the ministrations on her neck (there was a peculiar tightness all over her body, centered at the junction of her legs) she was impatiently pulling on the fabric of his shirt.

Finally he straightened up and looked at her with that damn smirk, his eyes hooded and mischevious.

She swallowed thickly. They were still standing close enough that she could see the curving points of the tomoe in his Sharingan. A handful of his shirt was still held tightly in her fist.

“Is there something you want, Hinata?” He pronounced her name softly but distinctly, adding a bit of a seductive roll to it.

Deciding that two could play this game, Hinata let go of his shirt and took a step back..

“Yes…” She trailed off, looking demurely at the floor. Then she looked back up at him, eyes innocently wide, her hands working at the tie on her wrap jacket. When at last it was undone she left the flaps of the jacket hanging there, slightly parted, showing the shadows of her breasts under the fishnet undershirt.

“Your turn.” She smiled sweetly at him.

All she had seen was one blink of his mismatched eyes, before he had whipped her around and pinned her against the stretch of wall next to the door.

“You want to play games?” He asked, his tone light, but which could not conceal his jagged breathing. Both of her arms were pinioned above her head, held tightly by the wrists in one of his long-fingered, elegant hands.

“I-I’m not sure,” she whispered. “What kind of games?”

He cupped her face with his free hand and kissed her gently. This kiss was giving, less a release of passion or a demand than an expression of tenderness and an invitation. He released her wrists and moved that hand to the other side of her face, where his thumbs rubbed little circles on her cheeks.

Her hands began wander his body, first his face and neck, then shoulders, and finally his chest and abdomen. Seeing it was certainly a treat, she mused, but actually getting to touch… it was better than she had imagined, even through a shirt. It was all hard, smooth angles. The tension in her body was becoming unbearable. She wanted his hands on her skin now.

To try to clue him in to this, she slid her hands up his shirt. His skin was hot as her fingers ghosted over it.

He seemed to take the hint, and pulled a glove off with his teeth before slipping the hand inside her unlaced jacket. Long, tapered fingers played with the mesh, brushing tantalizingly on her waist before going higher, higher… touching the underside of her breast through the mesh, which she desperately wanted to peel off and throw in the corner. His touch on the sensitive skin was tickling her, she was sure because of nerves—she wasn’t usually ticklish in the extreme.

One glance into his eyes , which contained hot, unnerving desire drove any thoughts of ticklishness out of her head. She couldn’t look away, even though her cautious side was screaming something along the lines of ‘What are you thinking?! He’s your teacher!’ And her sex drive/inner demon answered, ‘Precisely. He’s gorgeous and he wants me.’

Kakashi’s hand cupping her breast brought her out of her reverie in quite a pleasurable way.

“Where do you hide these?” He murmured, thumbing circles around her nipple. There was a slightly amused tone in his voice, masking something less innocent.

Instead of responding, as she wasn’t really sure what he meant, she pushed her chest forward into his hand, trying to increase contact.

He chuckled and spread her legs with one knee, then pressed his body up to hers and kissed her hard. At once, everything was hot and demanding again: his mouth on hers, his fingers teasing her breast, his leg pushed up between her thighs, rubbing and creating the most wonderful sensation that pulsed and tingled and made her want more. He wasn’t touching her enough, she wanted him to go harder and faster.

“Kakashi,” she gasped. He had just broken the kiss and lowered his head to her breast, placing small kisses all around her peaked nipple, carefully avoiding actually touching it; it was frustrating but arousing. At the same time Hinata felt something besides Kakashi’s leg brush against hers. It was—oh, gods—his erection. It had to be. The realization sent another shoot of pleasure to the bottom of her stomach, where it seemed to sit heavily, adding to the mounting pressure that ruled her body at the moment.

“Sensei…” She moaned around the word, but it was still audible.

Suddenly, he stopped everything. He still stood rather close to her but his leg was gone from between hers, his hands and lips were a safe distance away from her breasts.

The expression on her face was inscrutiable; his downcast eyes suggested disappointment. Hinata was afraid to ask why he had stopped.

“Damn,” she heard him say. She followed his gaze downward, where it rested, not on her half-exposed chest, but on the telltale bulge in his own pants. Perhaps he now expected her to service him?

She was about to drop to her knees, even though she had no experience at this kind of thing, but Kakashi stopped her, interpreting the subtle movements of the body with a well-trained eye.

“No, Hinata,” he said softly. Then the tone of his voice changed. It was almost—cold.

“We can’t do this. It’s not—-right.” He gave her a final, chaste kiss on the lips, then added, “I hope that was enough of a distraction.”

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Author’s Notes: Another four months, another chapter! (ha ha.) Well, my plan to have more frequent updates was a spectacular failure. Sorry, désolée, slicha (Hebrew), duibuqi (Mandarin.) I’m so sorry in all the languages I know. The only consolation is that this chapter is ridiculously long, about three times the length of the other longest chapter of this story. And there’s smex!! (which I hope isn’t too badly written.) Anyway, hope you liked it.