Struck: A Kakashi Hatake Fanfiction

Chapter Fifteen: Slipping

I woke up to a kiss... A sloppy, wet, adorable kiss. Yuuta seemed to be feeling much better this morning. He'd stayed in a ball at my neck all night and now he had his paws on either side of my face while his tail whipped furiously.

"Hey, Yuu," I cooed giving him a rub on the top of his head. He nuzzled into the crook under my chin and I chuckled.

"Someone's feeling better," Kakashi yawned as he came inside the room. He was already dressed for the day, mask and all.

"Yeah, he seems to be. Are you sure we can send him Pakkun—he'll be okay?" I asked as I sat up, placing Yuuta in my lap. He stared up at me with a lopsided grin, his tongue poking out on one side, tail still wagging.

"The pack will take care of him, you've got nothing to worry about. And we can summon them any time," he reassured me as he took a seat on the side of the bed.

I felt terribly guilty. I feel responsible for him. But I can't very well take care of him and investigate the death of my parents at the same time. Little Yuu had wormed his way into my heart already, but I couldn't keep getting distracted.

Sensing my hesitation, Kakashi adds, "You've already saved his life, Emi. That's more than a lot of people would have done... And he's totally in love with you—he'll be fine."

I sighed and nodded, he was right. He performed the summons and Pakkun appeared.

"Kakashi, so early?" he grunted as he stared at us.

"Sorry. Look—" he started glancing at Yuuta.

Pakkun followed his stare and sighed. "I'm babysitting aren't I? Well, I'm sure the other pups will be excited."

"Thanks, Pakkun."

I gave Yuuta a peck on his little nose and he licked mine in return. "Be good, Yuuta," I said handing him over to the pug. "Thank you, Pakkun," I said as I sat Yuu on his back. The pug nodded and they were gone.

"You said you didn't make it to all your contacts yesterday, right?" Kakashi asked as I got out of bed to grab my change of clothes.

"Right, there's two left to check out but...Kakashi, if we don't get any leads today, I really want to look into the missing girls. That old woman the other night—"

"Emi, you're literally the profile for these missing girls."
"Yes, but she said her grandson would meet me in public. Before it gets dark. Lots of witnesses." I said emphasizing each point. He still didn't look convinced and I stomped into the bathroom.

Of course. Well, it's not like I need an escort. Or his permission. I'll just have to...slip away. Somehow. Sigh.

"When?" he called after a minute.

"Tomorrow," I lied, thankful to be out of his sight.

"I'm coming with you," he said from the doorway giving me a start.

XXXXX

Her toothbrush was sticking out of her mouth, a little bit of foam was dripping down her chin, and her eyes were wide. A certain scene from one of Jiraiya's books came to mind...Goddamnit, no Hatake. Focus.

She held up a thumb and then shooed me out the door. I complied and took a seat in the chair outside until she was ready thinking of literally anything else.

"These guys didn't just vanish into thin air," she snapped in frustration as we headed back to the inn.

I nodded. "There's something else going on here."

All we learned today was that apparently no one knows anything about Hideshi Fukuda or any of his friends. She wasn't the only one frustrated, I really didn't like the idea of taking Emi back to that village to confront Konton.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. Emi was lost in thought and I didn't interrupt her. Soon we were standing outside of the door to her room.

"I'm gonna grab a few things and then go find something I can pulverize," she said with a forced smile.

"I can come with you—"

"Actually, I'd like to go on my own...if you don't mind."

Ah.

"Of course," I said quickly. "I'll see you later then." I gave her a smile and a wave and made my way to my room.

XXXXX

I sighed as I closed the door behind me.I didn't like dismissing him like that, but if I brought him to meet this guy he'd probably just clam up like the rest of the people we've talked to in this village. I cannot hit another dead end. Besides, Grandma Matchmaker not-so-subtly let it slip that this Ichigo was single. And quote "quite the looker, wink wink" end quote. Well, never send a man to do a kunoichi's job, right?