Kakashi brings me into a hug, I begin to wonder if he is intoxicated, but he didn’t smell like sake.
“Everything has been going great for you, I want it to stay that way forever.” He gives me a squeeze before he lets me go. He says goodnight before he closes his bedroom door. He leaves me there, breathless, warm, and feeling dizzy. My heart raced when he looked at me, I wanted to be under his stare forever, I’ve never felt anything like it.
After a late shower I call it a night, tomorrow will probably be the same. Sage Moriko is teaching me two more earth techniques, then we’ll begin with wood training. I was nervous and a little excited for it, but more nervous than anything. I don’t know how it will go. I can’t possibly be better than the first hokage, he was godlike, and I was... not. I can’t imagine I can ever be as powerful as he ever was. I don’t want to fail this world, and I have my doubts. I know I shouldn’t be thinking so down of me, but I’ve never had this kind of responsibility. It wasn’t until recently that I had to take care of an infant, but taking care of the world, that was unreal, and it felt unthinkable. I still can’t wrap my mind around it.
The next morning I expect Tomoko to summon me to the Forest but I am free to do as I please today. By midday I have practiced the earth jutsus I already know in secret. Kakashi was doing his own training with his sharingan, I volunteered to go up against him, but he didn’t want to put me under a genjutsu. It was then that I bump into Sakura, and Ino, they were walking down the street when they spot me.
“Kiyoko, so glad we bumped into you. Sakura and I were on our way to meet the girls at the hot springs, why don’t you join us,” Ino smiles. I have nothing to do, so I might as well relax while I still can. After this I’ll probably be grind to the bone with sage training. I walk along side Sakura, she was smiling today.
“Even Kurenai-sensei is joining. And Tenten and Hinata are going to be there too. I’ve just got back from a mission, this will be worth the while,” Ino stretched her arms to the sky as the hot springs grow in the horizon.
“I’m surprised Kurenai-sensei agreed, I thought she would rather spend time with Asuma-sensei. They don’t think we can tell, but they are totally dating,” Sakura comments. It makes sense, I always saw them together. We enter the lobby, where we pay for our bath, I take this opportunity to pay Sakura back.
“I’ll pay for you Sakura. Its the only thing I can do right now,” I say as I pay for her entry and for mine.
“Its fine, thanks.”
The employee gives us our robes, and towels, while I undress and fold my clothes in a basket. We make it to the hot springs, and see Tenten and Hinata already soaking in the steaming water. Sakura and Ino disrobe and jump into water, I on the other hand didn’t feel like showing much of my skin. Eri helped me with bathing, but I felt their eyes on me. It felt like they were waiting for me to undress. Tenten laughs.
“Just come on in. Its not like we’re making a move on you. I mean I’m sure someone we know wants that, but...,” Tenten shrugs.
“Tenten, stop teasing her,” I hear Kurenai enter the room. She looks softer without her gear, all of the girls looked for them, without their pouches and forehead protector. There was a lot less women than men in the ninja world, but I think women are stronger, faster, and smarter. Have you seen Hinata and Sakura in action, its scary. I’m glad they are my comrades not my enemies. I disrobe and get into the water while they are distracted. The steaming water feels like the water at the Shikkotsu Woods, it felt so great.
“Kurenai-sensei, I thought you would be with Asuma-sensei,” Tenten says, she actually sounds surprised.
“What can’t I have some time with girls. If you don’t want me then I can go,” She says, but she slips into the water.
“It must be nice to have that special someone you always want to spend time with you,” Ino slumps into the water.
“Kiyoko and Kurenai-sensei are lucky.” Tenten grabs a towel to scrub her face.
“Me? Who?” I ask, I tie my hair into a bun, the steam was beginning to make me feel warm.
“You and Kakashi are always together. Its so nice to see his gentle side. I’ve known him all of my life, and he’s been through some tough times. I haven’t seen this part of him ever,” Kurenai smiles at me. I was special to Kakashi, he was special to me too. He always keeps his promises, and he keeps me warm when I felt like I was turning into ice.
“Ya, Kakashi-sensei looks at you differently. Its so full of warmth,” Hinata smiles widely. I see Ino and Tenten nod in agreement. Warmth huh, I always feel warm when I’m beside him.
“Enough of this boy talk, I don’t want to feel depressed for not having a special someone,” Ino waves her hand and the conversation ends there. After some time, I change back into my clothes, the others stayed for a while longer, but I was beginning to get heat exhaustion from the steam and hot water. I feel new, and my skin glowed, there was no dirt in my hair either.
I see Kakashi walking up ahead, by the way he walked I could tell he wasn’t at his best today, I rush to see if anything is wrong. When I finally get to his side, I can tell his face is pale, too pale for him. He’s been busier than usual, and on top of that he’s been training with his sharingan, he’s been pushing himself too hard.
“Kakashi, are you okay?” I ask, he notices my appearance. He puts up a strained smile.
“Ya, I’m feeling just fine.” I know he is lying, he was sweating. I touch his cheek with the back of my hand, I pull away, he’s burning. He was beyond okay. I take his elbow in my hands and guide him home, he was too sick to argue. Who would have thought Kakashi would ever get sick, but here he was leaning on me for support. I felt my heart quicken a bit, believe it or not, I liked being needed. Of course I’m sure Kakashi could take care of himself, but I liked taking care of someone else. I like the sense of being trusted and being responsible. I use most of my strength to get him up the stairs, he was breathing a little heavier now. He had a fever, and he was sweating. How do I help him get better? Once we are inside the apartment, I help him take his shoes off, and get him to bed. I untie his forehead band, and get his flak jacket off of him. He’s almost sweat through his shirt.
“You haven’t been getting enough rest, have you?” I ask, as I grab a new shirt from his dresser.
“I could say the same for you, you’re coming home late too.” I let him change, while I get cold water in a large bowl and a clean towel.
“Do you feel cold? Have headaches?” I was looking through the cabinet for medicine. I grab a glass of water for him.
“Its just a cold, I’ll sleep it off,” He closes his eyes. I soak the towel in the water, and squeeze most of the water out. I lay it on his forehead, that should help him lower his fever. He’s asleep in minutes, I grab his sweaty clothes and throw them in the washer. I resoak and squeeze his towel, every few minutes. He wakes up again half an hour later. I see him sit up in his bed, and getting his cover out of the way.
“Kakashi you have to rest,” I say, as I see his feet touch the ground.
“I just need another blanket,” He argues.
“I’ll get it for you,”
“I can get it,”
“Just let me take care of you Kakashi. You’ve taken me in and you’ve done so much for me, I want to take care of you like you took care of me,” I tell him. He shivers once more, but gets under his blankets. I grab the extra blanket, from my bedroom, and throw it over him. It’s warm from the sun hitting it this afternoon. I refill his glass of water that he gulped down. I was sitting beside his bed, when I hear a knock from the front door. I get the door quickly, Kakashi has just fallen asleep again. Eri stands there, looking very much pregnant, three months really does make a difference.
“Glad you’re home, I was thinking we could get something to eat?”
“I’m sorry, but Kakashi is sick, and I want to take care of him,” I say. She smiles.
“That’s okay. I’ll come around later this week. Oh, if its a cold, a nice chicken broth, with steams vegetables, its full of nutrients. It’ll cure him for sure, and since you’ll be the cook I’m sure he’ll eat a whole pot,” Eri pats her belly. I thank her as she waves goodbye. It was getting late, and I was thinking about making dinner, now it’ll be both delicious and beneficial. I reapply the new towel on Kakashi’s forehead, before I go to the kitchen. I get broccoli, carrots, squash, potatoes, tomato, and the chicken broth. I begin to trim what I didn’t want in the stew, I seasoned the broth, it was smelling great. Another recipe for the book, I toss in the vegetables, and put the flame to medium low. I’ll let them steam with the broth, and then it’ll be ready. I go check Kakashi, and change his towel, his fever still hasn’t cooled. He was shivering, but his hair stuck to his forehead from the sweat. I felt helpless, all I could do for him is change his towel water, and make him food. I’m sure he has been sick before, and he’s always done it for himself. I have never taken care of a sick person, and he has never been tended to. I was special to Kakashi, and I feel like Kakashi is always going to be special to me too. He’s the one who’s always been there, he’s at arm length away. He’s always ears for me when I don’t feel at my best. I want to be that person to him. I guess you can say the girls were right in some ways. I take the time to finally unzip my own flak jacket and untie my forehead protector.
When I go back to his room I see he has opened his eyes again, and he was sitting up. He’s sweat through his shirt again, and he was leaving his sweat on his pillow. I go grab a towel from the bathroom and lay it over his pillow, before I give him another shirt. He doesn’t wait for me to turn around, and I see a glimpse of his toned body. I turn away before I see anymore than I need to.
“Are you hungry?” I ask as I see him lay down again. His shivering has calmed, and I hope the hot vegetable soup will kick the fever away. He nods, and I go get him a bowl of the freshly cooked stew. I grab the little table, for him to set it on. I blow on it while I make my way back. He sits up again, his back against the wall. He takes the spoon in his shaky hands, but he doesn’t ask for help. He wasn’t completely unable to do anything.
“Its great,” he says as he chews. I bring him a glass of water, and a bowl for myself. I wanted to eat with him. I want to thank Eri again for this recipe, it really did taste great, maybe next time I”ll add noodles to add some grain. He eats every drop of it, and his shivering has slowed immensely. I feel relieved to see him doing a bit better. I pick up his plate, and set it on the side table, before I touch his forehead again. It was still warm, sleep was probably best now.
“I’m going to clean up for a bit, call me if you need anything,” I say and grab the plates. Kakashi grabs hold of my hand. His hands were still cold, but I only felt his warmth.
“Thank you,”
I smile, “don’t worry about it. Get some sleep.”
Kakashi gives me a side smile, before he lets go of my hand, and tucks himself under his blankets. I clean the dishes, and take some time to clean a bit around the house, and straighten my room. It was getting late, and the moon rose hours later. I was looking for a blanket for myself, but I couldn’t find another one. Kakashi only has two blankets, and he’s using both of them, that has to be why I can’t find another one. Looks like I’ll be sleeping without a blanket tonight, but its fine. If it helps Kakashi get better, than I don’t mind being cold a night. I closed the hallway closet, and changed into my pjs.
I was tying my hair when I hear Kakashi call my name. I enter his room to see Kakashi shivering ferociously again. Oh no, he’s back to his high fever again, its almost as bad as it started.
“I’m freezing,” his eyes are closed.
“There aren’t any blankets. I’ll run to the neighbor’s and lend one. Just hang tight,” I say.
“Please lay with me,” He says like he didn’t hear what I said. I see Kakashi shakely open the blankets for me. My warm body may help him calm his shaking. I get in the blankets, they were very warm already, he wrapped his arms around me. His shaking continued, if he didn’t wake up better, then I’m going to inform a doctor. He tucked his head in the nook of my neck, and I felt his body fold onto mine. His arm went around me, like he clung to me. He was trying to feel my heat.
My heart raced, I didn’t know where to put myself, but I rested a hand on his head. I wiped the sweat from the side of his face. He didn’t wear a mask, his breathing slowed, as I ran my hand through his hair. This motion rocked us both to sleep.
Kakashi’s POV
I wake up with a minor headache, it seems like the worst has passed. The sun was barely rising, but that wasn’t what woke me this morning. It was the sound of a steady heartbeat that woke me. I remember the sound of her heart and the feeling of her hand running through my hair, that is how I fell asleep. She stayed beside me all night, trying to ease my sick mind and body. Her face was close, that I noticed every detail of her features. Her eyelashes were dark and long, something I hadn’t noticed before. Her hair was tied back, but strands fell out in our sleep. I found myself tucking them back in their place.
Her skin was soft, and warm. It was this warmth that rid me of the shivers. I’ve never slept so soundly like last night. I want her to stay beside me everyday, it was like she cured me of every regret I have ever felt. She cured more than just a cold. I kiss her forehead, and pull her closer. There is more to her than anyone knows, and I want to be the only one who sees it.
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Until next chapter!