Here For You - Kakashi Hatake x OC

Chapter 3: Years Go By

*Normal POV*

Kakashi and I had become the best of friends. Years have gone by, we were both 9 now. We had both graduated the Academy early with perfect scores, and became young genin, joining a squad together, training hard and going on missions. We would visit the KIA stone together and lay flowers for our fathers. We had grown to love each other's company and the fact that we lived next door to each other was comforting. I could always rely on Kakashi. If I ever had a nightmare about my father, I would come to his apartment, he would make me tea and hug me, even if it was three in the morning, he'd tell me that everything would be okay. He would always be there for me, as I was for him. He would come over in the middle of the night, silently hugging me on my couch, sometimes we would fall asleep like that, in each other's arms. I loved our friendship.

The day came when Kakashi and I were separated from our team to join other teams, with genin of our own age. We experienced a lot during our missions, and we were ready for everything. I was sad that I wouldn't be on the same team as Kakashi, but it's not like we'd never see each other again. "Good luck with your team, Kashi," I smiled at him and he chuckled at his nickname, he always did. "You too, talk about it at dinner tonight?" He asked. "Of course," And we walked away from each other to meet our new squads.

Tamiko-Sensei was very strict, but she was also very nice. She started us off by introducing herself and having us meet each other properly. My other two teammates were Hiroji Fujimoto and Ishiro Himura, two hot-headed, rivalry-driven boys, who seemed to argue constantly about winning my heart. This would be an interesting journey.

Kakashi knocked at my door and I smiled as I let him in. I was making dinner tonight. We switched each night, so tomorrow he would be making dinner for us. Although, sometimes we went out for dinner if we were both too exhausted from training and missions. He sat at the table as I placed our dinner on it – miso soup and eggplant. He grinned at me as he noticed what I had made, "My favorite, Katsi." I smiled at my nickname, "I am aware, Kashi, I've known you for many years." We laughed and asked each other about the teams we had been assigned to. "I'm on Minato-sensei's team, he's amazing, unlike my teammates. I got stuck with Obito, who is always late and isn't that good of a ninja, he hasn't even awaken his Sharingan yet, and Rin, well... She's Rin," Kakashi told me and I cringed at Rin's name. I didn't like her much, just like all of Kakashi's fangirls. They irritated me. He noticed this and laughed, "Katsi, are you jealous?" He sang the last part teasingly and I punched him. "Shut up," I muttered as he bellowed laughing, "I don't like any of your fangirls, not because I'm jealous, but because they're actually annoying." "Alright, alright, I'm sorry, tell me about your team."

I was glad to have gotten away from the previous subject and answered, "Well, Tamiko-sensei is pretty cool, very strict which I like, maybe she'll be able to beat some sense into my teammates. They're obsessed with being stronger than one another and getting me to like them," I finished. I couldn't see Kakashi's emotions since he was turned away at the moment, eating his soup. I respected that he wanted to keep his face hidden and never pressured him to show it to me. He turned back to me after a moment, mask back on his face and his bowl empty. "So, do you like one of them?" He asked angrily. I choked a bit on my eggplant and stared at him. "No, I don't, they're much too hot-headed and weird for my taste. I think they were joking anyway." He eyed me. "Who's jealous now?" I teased, poking his arm. However, he took me by surprise when he stood up and yelled at me, "Shut up!" He had never yelled at me before, he had never even raised his tone at me up until now. I could see the anger in his eyes subside to guilt, as he sat back down, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," He looked down, looking ashamed. "It's okay, Kashi, I don't know why you did it, but it's okay. Now, finish your dinner before it gets cold!" I smiled at him. He obliged and turned away. I was confused by what had just happened, but I waved it off. He had always been very protective of me, he didn't want to lose me, I knew that.

He stood up to leave and I walked him to the door. He hugged me and left, waving goodbye. I closed the door and leaned up against it. "I wish you knew," I whispered to myself.

*Kakashi's POV*

As I left Katsumi's apartment and entered my own, I couldn't help but feel guilty. I had yelled at her for no apparent reason but of my own stupid jealousy. I knew she wouldn't be angry with me, but I couldn't shake of the feeling that I had hurt her, which I would never intend to do. She was the light that brought me back to life, she stood beside me through thick and thin, she was the only one I had. I knew she cared about me, and I cared about her more than I cared about myself. I'd do anything for her. One day, she'll know how much she means to me. As my head hit the pillow, I got lost in my thoughts and I rolled around restlessly. Another sleepless night, with her flooding my thoughts.