Love Triangle: Kakashi vs. Genma

27 | Busy As Bees

Kakashi didn't know how right he was. Team 7 kept him busy. Naruto was always complaining about wanting another mission. A more challenging mission. A real mission. He was sick of babysitting and retrieving lost (runaway) cats. Kakashi couldn't blame him necessarily, but the kid didn't know when to stop (something that Kakashi has been chewed out for a time or two now). It wasn't until the Hokage himself gave them the mission to the Land of Waves was Naruto actually satisfied.

Kakashi didn't mind the mission and typically he wouldn't mind even this long of a mission. But he already hadn't seen [Y/N] in a few weeks, other than by happenstance when he was passing by. He would smile and she would wave and that would be that. He was careful not to let his students see—he was sure they would harass him, and probably [Y/N], endlessly. But he missed her more than he thought he would. Part of him was beginning to regret not having just kissed her that night a few weeks back.

That's why as soon as they were back in the Leaf Village, he decided to go looking for her. It was just him being friendly, after all, right? No harm done. But even still, he couldn't help feeling disappointed with no luck of finding her. He decided he would try again later and headed out to the memorial stone. To his surprise, that's exactly where he found her. He knew she visited every once in a while, remembering those she had fought beside and lost, friends that had fallen in battle, and ANBU members that went down valiantly. He also knew that this was her safe place to sit and think about Itachi.

When she was sixteen and Kakashi twenty, both still in ANBU, they had received an urgent assignment to investigate the Uchiha territory. It was there they found the entire clan had been massacred, save for Sasuke. [Y/N] spent the next few hours sitting with Sasuke, who was a mere six at the time (Kakashi often found himself wondering if Sasuke would remember [Y/N] or not now). Kakashi and the others who had come put the pieces together and realized that Itachi himself was behind the murders. [Y/N] had been heartbroken. Though Itachi was three years younger than she was, he was very mature and quickly became her best friend in ANBU while he worked alongside her under Kakashi (who blamed himself for not having had more of a positive impact on Itachi before he was promoted up from under Kakashi).

[Y/N] blamed herself too. She had no idea he was dealing with anything or even planning anything like this. Itachi had always been kind-hearted to her, so the news of his betrayal shocked her to her very core. She became very bitter for the next few years (as did Kakashi), which Asuma and Kurenai and Guy had argued was the reason they wanted them both pulled from ANBU in the first place. Now, years later, they were both much better off and much happier. Kakashi was grateful that his friends had been there for him then, whether he knew he needed them or not.

He stood there and watched [Y/N] just a few moments longer, as she sat with her head bowed, fingers tracing various names engraved in the stone. When she raised her head, he started making his way over to her. He was quiet walking over and cleared his throat when he got close enough.

"Hey, listen, I was here fir—KAKASHI!!" [Y/N]'s face lit up in excitement as she turned and jumped up to hug him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her legs around his hips. He chuckled and held her almost as tightly, breathing her in. She always smelled of strawberries and vanilla and it made his heart flutter. "Hi. I'm assuming you missed me then?"

"Of course I did! I haven't seen you in weeks!" She almost placed a kiss on his covered cheek but stopped herself just before she made the movement. Instead, she blushed and dropped her legs to the ground, letting him go. "How was your trip?"

Kakashi sighed. "Eventful and tiresome. I think these kids might be the death of me. Do you wanna get dinner and I'll tell you about it?" The words were out before he could stop them, but relief settled over him when she laughed and nodded.