Falling for Temptation (A Kakashi Hatake story) Naruto fanfic

Chapter 26: Scorch

Tea, served in delicate porcelain cups, accompanied whispered conversations between patrons and the courtesans. The atmosphere was one of intrigue and secrecy, where fleeting connections were forged amid layers of subtlety and veiled emotions.

In a corner, a low table held an assortment of decadent delicacies, tempting guests to indulge in the pleasures of both the flesh and the senses.

"Jiraiya-sensei," she still addressed him as her teacher despite the distant way she treated him. She was polite that way. 'I suppose it's better than nothing.'

"When you return to the Leaf, please don't be surprised that I'm out in the open."

"By out in the open, you mean..."

And she only told him what she could. Jiraiya paled as he listened, and soon, he felt ill and uncomfortable about it. More pity than not.

'In the past, it was an Uzumaki. Now it's a Hatake.'

"So Kakashi, huh? Soon enough, even enemy shinobi would know it." He told her, whistling about how the word would spread that the infamous Kakashi of the Sharingan found himself a lover.

'I suppose it's for the best. Many would target her to take vengeance on him. Like Ysolde. Although I should know better than anyone, they'd be at her mercy if they tried.'

"He's a very popular man. You're not exactly low-key either."

She leaned back, nodding. "Were you ordered to kill him?" And she laughed spitefully. Shaking her head, she told him no.

"Oh dear gods, no."

He thought long and hard, as a silence drawled on. A quietness that seemed to drag on forever. 'Should I do something now? If history truly is trying to repeat itself, maybe I can change things..'

"Can you?"

He paused at her cold voice and her eyes that looked directly at him, seeming to pierce his soul. It was a frightening ability she had honed as if reading minds even when she wasn't.

He knew the trick behind it, even the theory. About analysing the expressions, the body language, and the most subtle hints.

'That's right. Can I help her now? Can I help Kakashi? The answer is-'

"I'm not asking you to help me sensei. I'm asking you to help Naruto. I can handle myself."

Her bright blue eyes were clear, although blank even her expression was wiped clean. Almost doll-like, empty in nature.

She was cruel that way.

"But you have to come back to the Leaf." She was firm and forceful in the way she talked, her fierce expression telling him she'd drag him back if that's what it took.

'I've never met the child before. I wonder how he grew up and who he took after?'

He felt a fondness for the boy, although no familiarity. Naruto was, after all, a painful reminder of another failure. His failure to save his student. Just as Nhira was, a walking, talking vivid incarnation of his regret.

Minato and Kushina's dying wish didn't make it easier to love the child or to see him. He hadn't returned to the village in part to search for Orochimaru, and another part was to avoid his guilt and perhaps his grief.

'Maybe this family is cursed. Nhira's family and then Naruto's family. Or maybe I'm the one that's cursed?'

"If not for me then for him. You're the only one with the influence to overcome the elders and forcefully take Naruto."