The tale of Mayumi

Chapter 73 - Retirement... Sort of

The celebrations for Naruto's Hokage inauguration had been loud, chaotic, and—by Mayumi's count—at least three instances away from turning into a full-blown bar fight. Not that anyone would have been surprised. After all, this was Konoha.

Naruto had spent most of the night getting smacked on the back, hoisted onto shoulders, and nearly drowned in bowls of celebratory ramen. At some point, Lee had challenged him to a "Hokage Endurance Contest" (whatever that meant), and even Shikamaru looked mildly entertained—which was about as expressive as Shikamaru ever got.

Meanwhile, Mayumi and Kakashi had spent the night in their usual fashion: Kakashi lurking off to the side with his ever-present book, and Mayumi making sarcastic commentary about everything happening. She made sure to point out that Naruto had already lost his Hokage hat three times in the span of an hour.

When the night finally started to wind down, the couple managed to sneak away, strolling through the quieter streets of the village.

⸻

"Mayumi," Kakashi said after a few moments of peaceful silence.

"Hm?" She looked up at him.

"I just realized something," he continued, his tone unusually serious.

She tilted her head. "You're finally admitting that my jokes are superior?"

Kakashi sighed dramatically. "No. I just realized... this is the first time since we got together that I'm not waking up tomorrow with a pile of paperwork taller than Naruto."

Mayumi blinked. "Huh. You're right." She gasped in mock horror. "Oh no! What will you do? Who will you be without the never-ending Hokage stress? Will you survive?"

Kakashi gave her a dry look. "I'm still an advisor to Naruto, you know."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, but let's be honest, your main job now is making sure Naruto doesn't accidentally declare war by mispronouncing a treaty."

"...That is a legitimate concern," Kakashi admitted.

Mayumi grinned. "But seriously, this is kinda weird, isn't it? We've always made it work, but we've never had a normal relationship. You've always been Hokage, always busy, and I've always been running around on missions."

Kakashi hummed in agreement. "Which means..."

Mayumi smirked. "Which means now I get to distract you whenever I want."

Kakashi laughed. "I don't think I ever wasn't distracted by you."

She threw her arms around his neck dramatically. "And now we can finally plan our wedding!"

Kakashi stiffened. "...Right. The wedding."

Mayumi pulled back, eyeing him suspiciously. "Don't tell me you forgot we were engaged."

He sighed. "Of course not. I just..." He scratched the back of his head. "We got engaged years ago, and I'm just realizing we never actually did anything about it."

Mayumi huffed. "Because you were busy being Hokage! And I was busy making sure you didn't work yourself into an early grave! But now..." She poked his chest. "No more excuses."

Kakashi smirked. "Fine. But only if you promise not to turn the wedding into a classified mission."

Mayumi gasped in offense. "I would never!"

Kakashi gave her a look.

"...Okay, maybe a little."

He chuckled, pulling her close again. "Either way, I guess we have time to figure it out now."

Mayumi grinned. "And we can finally go on missions together."

Kakashi hummed. "Not sure how I feel about that. You have a history of, well... ignoring mission parameters."

Mayumi scoffed. "Listen, technically my methods always work."

Kakashi sighed. "Technically, you once levitated an entire group of rogue shinobi into the Hokage office instead of following protocol."

She shrugged. "Potato, po-tah-to."

Kakashi gave her a lazy, fond smile. "You know... for all the chaos you bring into my life, I wouldn't change a thing."

She smirked. "That's because you like my chaos."

"...Yeah," he admitted softly. "I really do."

She kissed him then—quick and playful, yet lingering just long enough to make his heart skip.

"C'mon, future retired Hokage," she said, pulling him toward their home. "We've got wedding plans to ignore for another few months."

Kakashi laughed as he followed her. He may have stepped down from being Hokage, but with Mayumi by his side, life was never going to be peaceful. And he wouldn't have it any other way.