Kids In The Dark (A Kakashi Love Story) (1st Place in NWA Kakashi 2015)

Awkward

"Meiko, you need to focus." Kakashi snapped at her, and the girl gave a timid nod as she once again brought up her fake leg in a swift kick to the tree trunk ahead of her. When the leg came in contact with the trunk, a few shards of broken wood shattered off of it.

"Harder." Kakashi said, and Meiko raised her eyebrows at him as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. But she followed his order, bringing her leg around even harder against the trunk. A larger dent was created, and a few more shards broke off.

"Harder, again!" Kakashi shouted, and the girl threw her arms down as she looked back at him.

"I can't! I can barely move my leg as it is Kakashi!" Meiko said, a single bead of sweat traveling down the girls face. Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, the annoyance practically radiating off of him.

"If you ever plan on being a true ninja again, you have to push past this!" Kakashi said, and Meiko threw her arms up in the air.

"Can't you see I'm trying?! I'm doing so much better for myself, but it's not enough is it?!" Meiko said, moving closer to Kakashi as if she was trying to intimate the man, but with her small stature it was nearly impossible.

"I'm just telling you that you need to get better. You're not giving it your all, and that's not what shinobi do." Kakashi said, leaning down so that they were face to face with each other.

"I'm not a normal shinobi, if you haven't noticed!" Meiko said, pushing her face a little closer to his. The two began to glare at each other, neither one of them blinking as they glared.

"Obviously not." Kakashi said. "You're much more than a normal shinobi. You have to push yourself much harder than anyone, because you're not a whole. You're parts, and that's something you have to deal with forever Meiko." Kakashi said, and Meiko sighed heavily as she glanced down at the ground, breaking the intense glare between the two.

"Yeah, I know." Meiko said, and Kakashi sighed as well before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"It's not that I don't believe in you, Meiko. Because I do. But you have to push yourself harder than anyone I know, it's harder for you to be a shinobi than anyone you have ever heard of. But I know you can do it." He said, his hands rubbing up and down her back slightly. "I know you can, I know you can." He kept repeating to her.

Meiko was quiet for sometime, mostly because she didn't know what to say. He had faith in her, but did she have faith herself? Obviously, she didn't. She always felt as if she was a burden to everyone, and that was just something she couldn't shake from her memory. With a sigh, Meiko looked up at Kakashi with a blank look on her face.

"Thank you." She said quietly, and Kakashi nodded gently, pressing his lips against her forehead from under his mask. A blush formed over her cheeks, and she slowly pulled away from him.

Kakashi smiled at her slightly, his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side slightly. Meiko laughed quietly as she stared at the white haired Jonin, playfully shoving his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." Meiko said.

"It's okay. I'm pushing you too hard, and I apologize for that." Kakashi said, before he took a deep breath and reached forward with his hand, his fingers lacing through Meiko's. This small action caused a blush to fork over the girls cheek as she slowly glanced away at the ground, a small smile playing on her lips. "And to make up for that," Kakashi continued. "I-I wanna take you out to eat. My treat."

Meiko stared at the taller man in front of her for some time, a blank expression on her face that Kakashi couldn't read, until the ghost of a smile formed over her lips. "That sounds great." She said.