I Can't Stand You

Closed - Ebisu / The Overnight Guest - Kakashi

Ebisu had been practically floating all day he had been so looking forward to seeing Katsu tonight.  It had taken all of his willpower not to go before midnight: he didn't want to seem desperate.  He wanted to seem casual with her.  Maybe he would finally get a little more personal with her.  He was a pretty private person, but he was feeling more comfortable with the idea of speaking to her about more personal topics.  Maybe he would ever tell her why he had a black eye.  He could make it kind of a joke...

However, when he reached the front door of the shop, the neon was off and the door was locked.  She didn't say that she wouldn't be here tonight.  Where was she?

And then, a bolt of panic shot through his brain and body.  Was she okay?  Something must've happened, since she wasn't here.  Should he check the hospital?  Who else did they know mutually who may know what was happening?

Mizuka.

If something was wrong, Mizuka would know.  They were good friends.  He quickly took off toward the Hatake residence.

***

Kakashi opened the door, still half asleep, but quickly woke up when he found Ebisu on the other side.

"What is it? What's happened?"

"Nothing. It's not an emergency. Sorry to bother you, Lord Kakashi."

He quickly turned to leave, but Kakashi reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder.  Something was happening, otherwise this particular shinobi wouldn't be beating on his door this late.

"It might not be an emergency, but it's important enough to come over late. And you can cut the Lord crap. What's going on?"

As his eyes adjusted, he realized that Ebisu appeared to be extremely embarrassed.  And very panicked.

"Do you know if Katsu is okay? I know she's good friends with Mizuka..."

His voice trailed off. What would Ebisu want with Katsu? And then, he realized...

"She's okay, she received some upsetting news. She's actually here, staying with us because she didn't want to be alone tonight.  I can get her if you want-"

"No. Please, don't. I only wanted to make sure she was okay. Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Goodnight-"

Ebisu practically ran from the front porch, leaving Kakashi smirking in the doorway. As he closed the door, Mizuka was walking down the hallway in her yukata toward him.

"Is everything okay?"

"That was Ebisu. He came by asking about Katsu. He was worried because the Kat's Meow is closed, most likely."

He watched a smile spread across her face.

"There's something going on there. I walked in a couple of nights ago to her on the stripper pole wearing his glasses. He was just standing there, watching her. So, him coming to make sure she's okay is adorable. How much did you tell him?"

"Just that she received some bad news and didn't want to be alone. So she's here. And then he literally ran from the porch."

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sounds typical."

"W-Who was that?  That wasn't him, was it?"

A bleary eyed Katsu appeared in the hallway, undoubtedly awoken by the knocking and Mizuka leaving the bed the two women were sharing tonight.

"Oh, no.  That wasn't him."

Katsu still looked as if she may cry.  Mizuka scooped an arm around her friend and ushered her back to the spare bedroom, blowing Kakashi a kiss over her shoulder before shutting the door.  He grinned as he locked the front door and headed down the hallway to check on the boys before going back to his lonely bed.