The Wave

Speechless

Sarah was a nervous wreck as she got herself ready for her date with Michael that night.  It did not help that Orion was sick with the flu.  He had been throwing up off and on since last night when he had vomited all over her. He had finally stopped about an hour ago, but only because he was refusing to eat anything.  She barely convinced him to drink.  She should be staying home with him, not galivanting around with Michael.  She had said as much to Neo, who had forced her to get ready with a "stop trying to make excuses and get your ass ready!"

She made a face as she looked at her image in the mirror.  The dress was a little big on her. The last time she had worn it, Joe was still alive.  She only owned two dresses.  One was the one she was wearing; the other was her funeral dress.  She had almost grabbed the second as a personal protest, but then took the first.  "Well, shit," she muttered. "This isn't going to work."  Asking Neo if she had anything she could borrow was also out the window as Neo was tiny all over, she wouldn't be able to fit her leg into one of her dresses.

She made a small growling noise before ripping the dress off.  She shouldn't be having to agonize over this.  She should be curling up on the couch, watching some movie with her boys tonight like they usually did on her weekends.  Not going out with that frustrating, infuriating... damn sexy man!  She felt her face flush at the silent admission.  She had to admit, he was sexy, and she actually did like him but fuck, her luck with men did not have a good track record.  She had made it sound like she was rebuffing him for his sake but in reality, it was for her own.  She had been almost completely devastated when she lost Kakashi.  Then Joe had patiently won her broken heart, nursing it back to health.  She had then lost him too.  She didn't have think she could go through that again.

Michael was persistent like Joe and reminded her so much of Kakashi it had rattled her cage on more than one occasion.  He even looked like him sometimes.  If she allowed him even an inch in, she would be falling for him.  Her heart couldn't take losing another love.  Only her boys had kept her going after Joe's death.  Her heart, though, still was bleeding from the deaths of both men.  It would be completely destroyed if she allowed the wounds to heal only to lose again.

She gave a small huff before turning back to her closet.  There had to be something in there that would be appropriate!  She flipped through almost everything in there before she came across a skirt and a black silk top that she had completely forgotten about.  The skirt was one that she had worn to a Comicon a few months back as part of her costume she had slapped together.  It was black faux leather.  She shimmied into first the black silk shirt then pulled on the skirt, tucking the shirt into it.  The skirt was a little shorter than was comfortable, she would have to be careful when bending over or flash someone, but it did fit her better than the dress.  She then grabbed her pair of knee-high black boots.  She groaned inwardly as she pulled on one boot and the doorbell rang.

Kakashi had a hard time not laughing as he heard a commotion on the other side of the door the moment he rang the bell.  The door flung open with a big smiling Ti on the other side.  Once again, Kakashi felt a pain in his heart as he looked at his son.  So much lost time.  "Mike! I talked with mom and she's okay with you teaching me!"  He was bouncing up and down in his excitement and those eyes so like his own were sparkling with his happiness. "So when can we start?  I really want to be able to-"

"Ti! For goodness sakes, let the man come in before you pounce on him," Neo chided as she came up behind him.  "Come on in, K-Michael.  She's still getting ready."

Kakashi placed his hand on Ti's shoulder as he passed inside, giving it a squeeze before stepping into the home.  He was surprised when he got a good look around the place.  There was no evidence of Sarah's love of his world to be seen anywhere.  It was a far cry from the apartment he used to spy on her in.  There was a few Van Gogh framed prints up on the wall, current school portraits of the two boys, and a few other prints spread about the open concept living space.  It was actually quite bare in comparison.  He then noticed on the television stand that also served as a false fireplace was a wedding picture of Sarah and he presumed her late husband.  He had been a rather large man and had a glint in his eyes that told Kakashi in an instant he had been cunning in life as well.  He knew he had spent some time in prison.  Orion had many similar features to his father.  He forced himself to look away from the portrait then back to Ti who had followed him into the living room.

"We can start training as soon as tomorrow if that works out with your mother.  I'm assuming you go to the Dojo frequently?"

"Every other weeknight," he responded with a big grin.

"That will work, I'll join you and instead of you taking your regular classes, you'll spend the time with me instead."  He met his eyes and raised a finger to him, "I will warn you, though.  I will be a hard Sensei.  I will push you to your limits and beyond.  That is the only way you can get the skill level that you're desiring."

"You've trained others?" Ti asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, I've had several students.  One even became the top warrior of his village."

Neo barely managed to keep from snorting.  That was an understatement.  Naruto was the strongest shinobi that ever lived in his world. Ti tilted his head to the side, frowning a bit.  "I thought you lost all your memories."

Kakashi's brows shot up and he knelt a bit in front of him, "That I did for many years but one day... they came back, and I remembered who I was in my old life."

"Who were you?" Ti asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, who were you?"

Kakashi glanced away from Ti to where Sarah had quietly come into the room.  His mouth dropped open slightly as he looked at her.  He was momentarily speechless.  She was wearing all black, a mix of leather and silk, with knee high black leather boots.  Yet it was her hair that made such a dramatic change, it was a bright auburn threaded through with golden highlights.  It looked more natural, more real on her features than the white blonde ever had and made her features even more striking.

Neo's laughter shook him out of his trance, "I do believe you've made him speechless, Sarah."

"You changed your hair," he managed to finally say.

Sarah gave a nervous laugh, touching one of the locks alongside her face.  "After our discussion earlier, I thought it was... necessary to go back to my natural color."

"So that's your natural color... it looks much better on you," he swallowed hard before straightening.  "You look incredible."

A flicker of a smile crossed her features, "Let's get this over with."

"Sarah," Neo almost choked out at the words.

"Yes, you're right," Kakashi responded as he straightened.  "We should be going."  He looked at Ti once more, "We'll talk more when we begin training."

Sarah eyed him as he extended his elbow out to her, a direct challenge for her to take it. His dark brow raised, daring her to refuse.  She reluctantly stepped forward and slid her hand into the crook of his arm, allowing him to escort her out of the house.  She almost came to a stop as she looked at the motorcycle parked out front.

"Uh... I'm not really dressed for riding on that."

Kakashi chuckled, "Nonsense, you'll be just fine.  Biker chicks ride with less than you have on all the time."

"Biker chicks do a lot more than I ever would," she retorted as she watched him retrieve a second helmet that he extended to her.

"Somehow I don't believe that," Kakashi chuckled. "Come on, you'll enjoy yourself, I promise."

She hesitated a moment before putting the helmet on.  He grabbed his helmet and did likewise, climbing on the bike first.  He extended his hand to her and assisted her as she got settled behind him.  The skirt hiked up quite a bit and was tight across her upper thighs from being taunt from the spreading of her legs.  She narrowed her eyes on the back of his head for a moment as she realized she was going to have to sit almost flush against him.  Devil.  He intentionally was trying to force close proximity.  Clever.  Point to Michael.

Kakashi almost laughed as she finally moved close enough to where she needed to be to hold onto him before he kickstarted the engine.  From the corner of his eye, he could see his son looking out the window, watching them.  He smiled slightly before revving the engine and taking off, grinning as her arms tightened and she gave a small squeal behind him as he roared away from the house.