The Girl Under the Mask-Kakashi x OC Romance

Chapter 12

"What's clouding your day?" Jiraiya asked as he came upon Kakashi. He was sitting on a bench outside the training grounds, watching the clouds above with a forlorn look on his face. Kakashi's one visible eye just glanced at the white maned man, then back up at the sky. He just shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll just have to rephrase that question," he said, taking a seat, "What are you thinking about?" Jiraiya dropped an arm across the back of the bench and leaned back with a leg crossed.

"Atsumi" he answered with a sigh.

Jiraiya looked at him confused, "Exactly how could thinking about that girl get you looking like this?" He wondered, remembering watching him follow her around the bar with his puppy love.

"Because it's complicated. I want to do so much for her, be more for her...but her son..." Kakashi sighed, thinking of the secret that was keeping her from opening up.

Relief washed over Jiraiya's face. "Oh, thank god you know about the son." He clapped Kakashi on the shoulder as he breathed a sigh of relief, hating keeping that secret from Kakashi.

Kakashi's shoulder tensed under Jiraiya's touch and his head turned slowly to look at him. There was something in his eye that made Jiraiya nervous. "You know about her son?...she told you ?!"

Jiraiya gulped "But you just said-"

"I know by accident. The 'complicated' is that I'm still waiting for her to trust me enough to tell me...and then she tells you before me?!" Kakashi was quickly becoming outraged at this revelation.

Oh no Jiraiya thought with a sweat drop. "Kakashi, it's not like that. She didn't-" he trailed off, his argument falling on deaf ears when Kakashi left him there at the bench to go confront this 'complication'. "Atsumi's going to kill me..."

*-*-*-*-*

"Does it smell good?" Itatsu took a deep breath, then turned to me with a closed eye grin and nodded his head.

We were strolling through the market grocery shopping when we passed a flower stand. The colors of the pretty flowers caught his eye and he ran right for them. He held onto the rail and pushed himself up on his toes to get close enough for a good whiff.

Itatsu reached a hand out for a bright yellow tulip. "You want a flower?" He nodded his head with a mhmm. When I didn't grab the flower, he turned to me and saw my patient stare as I waited.

"P-ease?" He asked, remembering his manners.

"Well, since you asked nicely-" I switched the handle of the grocery bag to my left hand so I could fish the change out of my right pocket. The lady wrapped the tulip stem in a sheet of white tissue, then handed it to Itatsu. "-and-" I drawled out when he turned on his heel to leave.

He twirled back around and gave the lady a big grin,"Thank you!"

"Aw," the lady cooed at his cuteness, "you are quite welcome, dear."

His manners taken care of, he tried to turn on his heel again "uh uh" I tsked, holding my right hand out for him to take before he got ahead of himself. He eyed my hand for a moment-because holding mommy's hand didn't go with his current 'I'm a big boy" phase. "Either you hold my hand or I hold you." I told him. He quickly caved and we carried on our way towards home.

We walked about two blocks through the market when I heard a tear. It didn't take long to figure out where the sound came from when the sound of falling vegetables thudded on the ground around my feet. "Uh oh!" Itatsu gasped while I grumbled. The handle of my bag tore.