Roses {Kakashi Hatake}

18. The set-up

"Kaa-san, tou-san," Akahana started, standing in front of her parents' graves, "I don't know whether you can actually hear me, but I wanted to tell you I'm in love with someone, even though I haven't quite figured how to tell him."

Silence. But what else had she expected? Her parents were dead, there was no way they could even give her a sign that they had heard her at all. Neither could they tell her what she could do.

She stood in front of their graves for a while, until she was joined by Aoi, "I'm sure they're looking over us from up there in pride." Akahana turned his attention to him, "Especially towards you, you've become stronger than anyone could imagine."

"Thank you, oji-chan, I just wish they could send some sort of message."

"You and me both," he said, "but they're still with us," He pointed towards Akahana's chest, "in there."

Akahana smiled, "I can still hope and pray for a miracle."

Aoi nodded, "We all will, Aka-chan."

***

"I'd say we make sure Kakashi can be a prince Charming on a white horse," Gai said, "Bring Aka-chan to a fake dangerous situation and..."

"That won't work, Might-chan," Isamu butted in, "Aka-chan is way too proud for that, even though she doesn't want to admit it."

"Besides, we want something 'real', right?" Kurenai said, "We don't want it to be too forced."

Asuma nodded, "Us planning this does kinda contradict that, but I agree with Kurenai."

The five of them remained silent for a while, all in deep thought. Isamu and Katsuko had offered their 'services' in the friends' idea to set those two lovebirds up.

Katsuko was the first one to speak up, "Cause an accidental kiss?"

"A dashing rescue?" Gai proposed yet again, causing everyone else to sigh.

"Gai, for the last time, Aka-chan is not a damsel in distress!" Kurenai stated, stomping him. "I dare to bet that independence is exactly what Kakashi fell for in the first place."

Gai looked down, trying to come up with something else. Unable to do so, he looked up and said, "What if we have no other options?"

Isamu sighed, "Then we might consider it as a possibility."

Gai smiled and returned to his 'thinking mode', which basically meant that he was staring at the ground in a weird stance.

***

"Kurenai-chan, what's so important that my luch time needs to be reduced?" Akahana questioned when Kurenai told her to go somewhere, "I like to enjoy my food, ya know?"

She munched at her dango and reluctantly stood up. After swallowing, she bid Shikaku goodbye, wished him lots of succes now that his wife was pregnant, and left with Kurenai, holding on tight to her dango.

"Trust me, this is very important," Kurenai assured her, "You just gotta wait right there on one of the benches."

Akahana shrugged, not knowing what Kurenai was trying to achieve, but she trusted that she wasn't the type for filthy pranks.

So she waited, watching as couples walked hand in hand in front of her or cuddling on the bench in front of her. What kind of place was this anyway? A park for lovebirds?

She jumped up in surprise and let out a nervous smile when she heard a familiar voice, "Kakashi-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Asuma and Gai said I had to come here," he said, "They told me to wait here for someone." He hesitantly sat down next to her, "How about you?"