A sign for Delicious Delights swung gently in the breeze of the morning sunlight. But unknown too many outsiders, the bakery had been awake well before dawn. The bakery itself had been hustling with bakers who were hurrying to finish the morning treats before it was time to open the doors, and among them was the owner and found of Delicious Delights, Airi Mae. “Overhead!” She shouted, pulling a baking pan from the stone fireplace and holding it high above her employee’s heads. Dangers were nothing new at the bakery and the possibility of catching on fire and burning yourself was an everyday live action probability but… that’s the worst that could happen.

“Under!”

“Behind you.”

“Don’t step.”

“Stay still.”

The tiny kitchen full of six people including the owner kept busy but they were working together well, after nearly five years of active service feeding the community of the Hidden Leaf Village’s heavy shopping and work district is should come as no surprise that the little shop that could kept itself busy.

Hard work always paid off when the stores hours begun and the people flooded in to make their purchases. Laughter, talking and greeting all echoed throughout the small bakery and restaurant as the patrons showed their love and support for the young girl’s business. Some showed their enjoyment of her goods for the fact that they were delicious while others… the more informed individuals supported her business as a way of showing thanks and respect for the former Chuunin and the devastating loss she had happen so many years ago.

Her loss was the loss of her chance at the Jounin exams, and while… while she could have gone to complete the exams at a different, the busy bakery took up her ability to return to the Ninja field. After that fateful day and that horrible accident out with her comrades Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy it felt as though her dreams were taken from her. But the dreams soon became a distant memory as the demand for her baked goods sky-rocketed when she opened the store-front and the smiling blonde did her best to not let her sadness get the best of her. However… it was not uncommon to find her out in the woods continuously training her body and mind in the ninja way. That was Airi Mae for you, never one to let life get her down.

“Phew!” She exclaimed wiping her brow from her head. “Looks like we’re all restocked!” She announced as the breakfast rush finally departed and the rest of the kitchen supplies were loaded into the front of the shop.

Returning from the back she stepped out into the shop front and waved at her staff with a large basket on her arm. “I’m off to make the delivery, I should be back shortly.” With that and a polite white smile, the blonde haired girl in the white apron over her flower printed summer dress started her walk towards the academy.

There was never really an explanation on why the academy requested baked goods for the staff from her shop every three days but… she wasn’t going to complain. A lot of her old friends were active Chuunin and enjoyed talking with her along with sharing stories and complaints about the students; to which she would respond with laughter as she sat with people and talked. Some learned a long time ago that it was actually okay to talk about the active life of a Chuunin but others were still weary that even after all these years, it would be a sore subject.

There was… admittedly some jealously that they were able to take on students and teach them the ways of the ninja but… this was the path she had chosen and the path she will take. Arriving at the academy, she made her way to the Sansei’s lounge and began to set up the treats she had brought for the staff members.

Castella
Kuzumochi
Monaka
Karinto
Namagashi
Red Bean Soup
Suama
Tokoroten
Taiyaki

Once everything was out on the displays with labels on the serving table, the blonde began to look around the room. She didn’t bring plates but she knew there was some but where… “Hmmm…..” Airi pondered to herself, tapping her chin as she looked That was until her blue eyes landed on a set of plates on a high shelf, “There you are!” She said as she grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the high shelf. Standing at 5 foot 4 inches, she needed the help of stools and chairs to get around in her daily life but it wasn’t anything new for her, her small frame and short height did come with its advantages.

Climbing onto the chair, the blonde reached up and grabbed the plates, however she leaned a little far back as she pulled the plates down bringing them to her chest and then felt the chair move from under her, “Oh no!” She yelled as the legs stared to lean back pulling her back with it. Oh… oh this was going to hurt!

Somewhere in the vast sprawling metropolis that is Konoha village, sits a moderate and unassuming house. This house belongs to one of the most infamous ninja know to the shinobi world, Kakashi Hatake. The sun is still hours from rising, but this man’s day is just about to start.

No alarm goes off, but at 4:15 am Kakashi opens his eyes, a moment later he closes his left eye again and pulls himself out of bed. He quietly and quickly showers, shaves, and gets ready for his daily exercise. Ten minutes later he steps out from his house and starts his morning jog.

Over the next several hours Kakashi diligently and silently went through the motions required to maintain his physique. He spends this time reviewing his plans for the day, as the exercise routine is so deeply ingrained in to that he can do it nearly without thought.
4:15 wake up
4:25 -7:50 morning workout
8:00 freshen up from exercise
8:45 check in with the Hokage
9:45 grab first missi-
He pauses mid-way through a pushup as he realizes that his old schedule isn’t going to work anymore ‘You finally passed a team’ he reminds himself before continuing with his normal workout.

-

‘I’m supposed to meet up with Team seven at 10’ Kakashi muses as he takes a glance at the position of the sun ‘That’s in two hours, so I have four hours to spend’ he was tempted to spend the hours at the Memorial Stone as he usually would but seeing as that was where he told Team 7 to meet him today he would have to find a different way to kill the time.

With a mental shrug, he hopped to a nearby roof intending to actually make true one of his usually excuses and ‘Get lost on the road of life’ just to see what would come of it.

-

Three hours later found Kakashi at the Academy, with the intention of pulling his students records and tests. While he had been given a dossier on them all, he felt like going to the root of the information anyway as he he had already restocked his groceries, bought a few new books, ran in to a few of his old Anbu Kohai who were off duty, put in a requisition request for more basic field supplies and played a few games of rock paper scissors with Guy. He could have gone to meet up with his team, and was in fact originally planning on it, but when he spotted the Academy changes his plans seeing as he found another way to “productively” waste his time. Plus from the smells he could gather wafting from the school, they had recently got a delivery of baked goods and he could use a snack before he dealt with his brats.

Thus the copy ninja chose to follow his nose as it leads him to fresh treats.

He arrived at the door to the sensei’s lounge shortly after Airi had finished setting everything up, silently he stood in the door way leaning up against the frame as he watched his friend climb up to the high shelf using a chair, of all things.

She was Kakashi’s only ‘Civilian’ friend and he often forgot just how it was that civilians dealt with everyday issues, and how more often than not it was wildly different from how a highly trained Shinobi would deal with it.

Such as how he didn’t bother to lock his front door, but always made sure his windows were locked every time he went out.

He was just about to speak out when he noticed she was going to fall, and was moving before Airi had even made a noise. To the untrained Kakashi would look like a blur as he moved from one end of the room to the other in the span of a heartbeat.

To the experienced, his movements were the equivalent to a lazy stroll as he moved in to position to catch Airi with one arm before she fell too far. And in a playful bid he had pulled out his book as he did so, making it seem like he had caught her by pure happenstance.

“Ahh Airi” Kakashi said with obviously excesses cheer, not turning away from his book “How nice of you to drop by”

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! Airi’s blue eyes squeezed shut as she felt herself starting to fall backwards. Her instinct had her clutch the plates to her chest to prevent them from baking before her felt the impact against her back but, instead, she felt a hand. Confusion moved across her face as she slowly opened the slits of her eyes to see a face. A face she knew all too well and a face that surprised her to even see. “Kakashi?” She said with a surprised tone to her voice as she was practically lying in his arm while he nonchalantly read his book.

“Can’t catch a break can you?” She responded in a teasing tone before quickly adding, “Please don’t drop me.” Once she was on her feet she went over to the snack line up that she had made and handed him a plate. “Help yourself.” Her bright and cheery tone matched the brightness of her blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes. Tucking her hands behind her back she leaned towards him. “So… I heard you passed some Genin…” Of course she would have heard. Despite her civilian status, she stayed in the loop for a decent amount of the school’s information tree; mainly due to the fact that her bakery was so popular people walk spend time talking and eating so she overheard a lot.

The biggest thing on everyone’s lips was the fact that Kakashi passed the nine-tailed fox child. To many this came as a large surprise but not to Airi, for she understood the child’s importance and what’s more, she didn’t blame the child for anything. A small smirk made its way across her full lips as she gave him a small poke with a finger before tucking her hands behind her once again. “You’re getting soft.” Of course her mannerisms showed that she was just teasing him but, y now he should be used to her teasing. “I don’t know if you can handle students… maybe you need someone to keep an eye on you and make sure you’re not slacking.” Kakashi… slacking? Now that was a joke in itself. If you wanted something done, you assigned it to him. But that didn’t stop her from giving him a hard time.

“I should monitor one of your lessons to make sure you’re not just dragging them through mud.”

Kakashi just eye smiled at Airi as he took the plate “Don’t mind if I do” he said before placing some Taiyaki and Suama on his plate. They were the easiest things to eat alongside his habit of keeping his face hidden. The reason for the habit was much more out of amusement now then its original purpose, but that didn’t mean he was just going to drop it.

“Indeed I have, it was only a matter of time I suppose” He answered neutrally as he took a seat at the nearby table “But it seems that Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha were able to pass my little test.” He explained before rolling his eye at his friend’s antics.

“Oh yes I’m getting positively doughy” he replied dryly, one of the Suama vanishing from his plate mid-sentence “Next thing you know I’ll be rolling down the street looking like an Akimichi” he shook his head lightly as another treat disappeared from his plate. If there was anyone else in the staff room, they would have been slightly surprised to see Kakashi so jovial compared to his regular standoffish self. But that had more to do with the fact that he was talking with Airi.

“If you want to know how I am at teaching you could always go and request a D rank or two, after all they will have to get used to them soon” Kakashi offered. D ranks were the bane of all Jonin instructors, as they are insufferably boring to the veteran ninja. The fact that they were useful for teaching the basics of how the mission are taken and for the basics of filling out after mission reports was irrelevant.

Much like anyone else in Konoha, Airi had never seen Kakashi’s face except she didn’t have the desire to see it. If he wanted to show his face, she’d gladly view it considering how long she had known the guy for but… that didn’t stop her from wanting to feed him. Then again she was never one to turn the opportunity away to feed a friend or family member. Including but not limited to her old friend. However it had been so long since she’s trained her sight that the food did look like they were disappearing before her eyes.

Her blue gaze moved from the plate to him as she took a seat next to him at the table. Her small elbows rested against the table as she placed her small face into her hands as she watched him. A small laugh left her as he mentioned rolling down the street. “A round Kakashi, now that would be a sight.”

Pulling a hand from her face she reached forward and gave his nose a gentle poke with her finger before pulling her hand back and giving him a playful grumpy look. “So, let me get this straight. You want me, to think up a D-rank job, go through the paperwork required, submit it and pay for it just to watch you train your Genin?” Airi’s round cheeks puffed out in a playfully mad manner as she tucked her hand back under her chin. Her face scrunched together in thought as she pulled herself up off the table and crossed her arms under her dress. “Actually… I might have something in mind.” Her lips curled into a knowing smirk as her blue eyes shot back up to look at him, an eyebrow raising slightly. “Alright.”

With that she uncrossed her arms and stretched slightly above her head. “I have a few things I need to prep for but other than that I have a free day. What’s your plans for the day?” She asked with a bright smile. She wanted to ask how training the kids were going; especially the Uzumaki boy and the last of the Uchiha clan but… that could wait until later. He might not even have much experience with them outside of passing the children, but with the two gifted boys and the smart girl in his group; they probably give him some form of insight of how they are as ninjas.

Kakashi face went blank for a moment when Airi so easily agreed to pay for the ability to watch him train some brats. He had been expecting more protests with her adorable faux anger, before he relented with suitably dramatic flair. He was ever so slightly disappointed about that for the second it took him to notice the smirk she had adorned.

‘Either they are going to hate me, or Airi is going to try and embarrass me over that offer’ Kakashi mused, before giving an internal shrug. Either way it ended up was fine by him; his team could learn a few lessons from this either way. Sakura would see that there are options outside of being a kunoichi, Naruto would learn not to try and prank him and Sasuke… Well he would worry about that him learning anything later.

“Let me know when you have it submitted it so I can request it, would be a shame if you went through all that just to end up with…” he paused for a moment taking on a slightly exaggerated thinking pose as a few more treats disappeared from the table “Say team 10” he finally offered, figuring that they would have the most difficulty getting the mission done due to having an Akimichi on their team.

“As for my plans for the day, I just stopped by to pick up a copy of the files on my new Genin before meeting up with them at ten to start our first day of training” Kakashi answered cheerily, while also pointedly not looking at the clock in the room. He knew perfectly well that it was 11:30 and that he was late. Despite that, or perhaps because of that, he made no effort to hurry with his snack or to go get the copies that he had mentioned.

Kakashi was always… an interesting person, to say the least. Which is probably what attacked the small blonde to him and caused her desire to pull him out of his quiet and stand-offish shell. Now it was giving each other a hard time, playful banter and sarcastic remarks that filled their regular conversation and even after they hadn’t seen each other for long periods of time, things always seemed to return to the way they were. And for that, Airi was grateful. In her younger years, she looked up to Kakashi for this abilities and it wasn’t long before she became the obnoxious little sister and a bit of a pest to him. As life progressed, her ability to express her feelings became better and she went from obnoxious to… well less obnoxious and began to recognize what was going on in her little heart. She had developed feelings for her friend and… didn’t quite know what to do with herself.

That was until last month when Might Guy stepped forward and asked for her hand to her parents. Her parents approved and the family rejoiced… except for her sister who showed signs of sadness and jealousy while Airi didn’t know what to think. She… she liked Guy but she liked Kakashi. Did he know… about anything?

Her blue gaze shifted back to her friend as more food disappeared from the snack table. Boy he was eating his fill wasn’t he? A small giggle left her as she imaged Kakashi rolling down the streets and attempting to climb up the side of buildings with a blotted belly. Silly boy, slow down!

“Ah that explains why you’re at the school.” A tone of understanding left her as her arms fell back down onto the table. “Well you still have ti… WHAT!?” She sprang to her feet, the small spunky blonde as energized as ever. “TEN? TEN AM?!? Kakashi it is ELEVEN THIRTY!” Placing her small hands in her blonde hair she gave it a pull. “Are you seriously sitting here eating snacks while your Genin have been waiting for you for over an hour?!” Without giving it a second thought she let go of her hair, moved to his side and snatched his ear giving it a yank. “You’ve got to be kidding! You can skip the paperwork; you should be with your students!”

She wasn’t blowing steam or angry, it was more like a sister lecturing her disobedient brother when he did something wrong. Or a best friend getting on someone’s case about not doing what they were supposed to. Or just Airi getting on Kakashi for being the pure definition of the word ‘late’. “I bet I know where you said you’d met them too.” Letting go of his ear, she placed her hands on her hips playfully glaring down at him. “Do I need to drag you there or should I go get them and bring them here?”

A countdown had started in Kakashi’s head after he mentioned the time he was supposed meet up with his team. Everyone who knew Kakashi knew he was late to everything, nearly without exception. The difference, and the reason for the countdown was-

“WHAT!? TEN? TEN AM?!? Kakashi it is ELEVEN THIRTY!”

Airi was the only person to still give him a hard time about it. And that always made him smile, a true and honest smile, which was never the less hidden behind his mask. Everyone else he knew had given up chastising him about it even the Hokage only ever grumbled about it occasionally. He figured that no one felt like doing anything about it because his overall reliability when it came to missions, one of the few things he was prompt for, but she never let him get away with it if she had any say about it.

It was why he always made sure to see how she was doing occasionally; she was the only person who seemed to care about him as a person, or at least that was how he saw it. Guy was his Eternal Rival yes, but only in regards to being the best ninja. Sarutobi cared for him, probably, but he cared for all of the ninja under his command. That was as far as most of his friendships went, comrades-in-arms, even Airi started out that way, but things had changed after she retired, possibly even before that.

Still, he was rather out of the loop, when it came to the goings on in her life.

The masked nin let offered no resistance as his friend went to yank on his ear. “Would you look at that, so it is” he said lazily as he glanced at the clock scratching at his chin as he did. Thinking about it a moment longer he stood up and made a single Shadow Clone, making sure not to have the smoke obscure him as he did so. With a nod his clone ventured off to get the copies he was intending to get, after all no reason to not get them since he was here.

Turning back to Airi he ran a hand through his silver hair and attempted to look sheepish “Well it seems to be that I lost track of the time” He wasn’t fooling anyone, but the tradition was to be upheld none the less “Guess I should head out to meet up with them, you’re welcome to join me, if you want” he offered as he half turned to the door, hoping she would, even if only for part of the way there. After all he hadn’t had a chance to talk with her in some time, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

The fact that it would mean he would be even later in meeting up with his team since he would be walking was merely a side benefit.

Kakashi was late for everything… everything and that was something Airi was not known for. She was a timely person who even arrived early to things no matter what it was. Then there was her friend. In fact, it regularly blew her mind if she happened to pass him during her early morning treks around town. Sometimes she’d call out to him but other times she didn’t, she just enjoyed watching him. He probably knew he was being watched, maybe even by her, but he still went about his day and it was funny to see him in such a nonchalant manner getting groceries or supplies. He was very relaxed and almost at peace. It was hard to believe he was considered one of the most dangerous ninjas in the world.

During their time as young children, she never saw him like that. He was, different, around her. A good different and it seemed that her big personality rubbed off on him as his banter with her grew into what it was today. Even with his sheepish actions and attempted innocent actions she could see the lighter side of the deadly ninja that most people didn’t get to see. “You lost track of time?” She repeated in a tone that said she didn’t believe him at all as she leaned forward slightly to show her seriousness. “You’ve got to be kidding.” Of course his was and this was completely common for them.

Then he offered for her to go with him and her head jerked back in surprise. “Oh… um…” Her face crunched together in thought. She would love to watch him train the kids but he was already late as is… She stumbled slightly over her thoughts. It would be fun to be able to talk to him more but he was already running late… “HEY!” She shouted at him as he started out the door already.

Too late her decision was made. She hurried after him in a huff, “Wait! My short legs can’t keep up! Hey!” Catching up with him she jumped, landing her small frame against his back her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso. “Alright mister!” She said with a grin to him. “You can travel fast even with someone on your back and you and I both know that this is quicker than walking. Just… don’t drop me. I’m too adorable to drop.” A cheeky grin moved across her face as she beamed brightly at him before pointing forward. “CHARGE!” Yes… this was his civilian friend….

Kakashi didn’t even break his stride as Airi latched on to him from her jump, thought he did roll his eyes at her choice of actions. “I shall do me level best to see that you don’t fall” He replied as he deviated from just following the hallway and instead headed to the nearest window. Since he wasn’t going to be walking there was no reason to bother with heading to the doors.

He quickly opened his chosen exit and almost immediately was on the roof. He took a moment to make sure his orientation was still correct before he turned and started bounding towards Training ground three. He also made sure that Airi was securely held in place via subtly use of Chakra, he wasn’t planning on going his top speed, not even his cruising speed, but he knew that it was still faster than she had gone in quite some time.

“So” Kakashi started after settling in to his easy pace, it would get them there in a ten minutes or so “How has the past while been treating you?” He asked casually, figuring he could use this time to fill in the gaps that had happened since they had last had a chance to talk. It would also serve as a decent distraction from the proximity, not that Kakashi was shy or unopposed to it. It was just nearly impossible to not notice Airi’s scent while she was wrapped around him, just as it was nearly impossible to not notice how soft she felt.

As his paced ease she relaxed a little against his back. It was like lying on a giant pillow of muscle and it was at that moment that she realized just how small she was compared to him. That and it wouldn’t surprise her if she looked like a small dog barking at a large dog. Except he doesn’t bite back - - why? Fear? Nah, he wasn’t scared of her. Annoyance? Maybe it wasn’t worth arguing about. Or maybe it was because that’s just how Airi is and how she’d like to try to keep him on the straight and narrow. But you never quite realize how small you truly are until your toe to toe or, in this case, back to chest with someone.

Her small arms hung gently against the front of his chest as he climbed through the window and started towards the exact direction she thought the Genin would be at. Most of the time Kakashi was rather unpredictable but… sometimes you just, well, know.

“It has been a while since we talked huh?” Her voice filled with a hint of thoughtfulness as she thought back to the past few months since they had gotten a chance to speak. “Let’s see… I’ve created a couple new recipes including new mixtures for curry. I’m hoping to get those into a kare pan here soon and have some taste testing done. The store’s still popular, almost popular enough that I could let the employees run it so I think I’ll need to take a vacation soon. Maybe somewhere warmer with some sun, I’m starting to get a bit pale, if I keep going people will think I’m a ghost!”

A gentle laugh left her as she thought more, should she tell him? “Mom and dad are obsessed with trying to get grandchildren and Ana’s become a rather popular painter around town.” Maybe their obsession is why they were okay with saying Guy could have her hand in marriage without actually asking her. But then again… Guy wasn’t bad but he just wasn’t… “How about you?”

“Good to hear you bakery is still doing well” Kakashi replied “I would guess that the constant order from the academy are the reason for the upswell, lots of new Genin are now earning a paycheck and have had to smell your deliveries every few day” he added, the glint of satisfaction in his eye going unnoticed, after all he might have had something to do with the orders starting up in the first place, not that anyone was aware of that.

“I’m willing to try your baking recipes, but you’ll have to get someone else to test your new curry” Kakashi said as he waived waved at few Chunin as he passed them by, they just stopped and stared at him as he bounded across the roof tops, mainly because of the fact he had a civilian on his back. He still recalled the first time he had tried one of her new recipes’, she was fantastic with baked goods but it was more of a tossup with her other culinary attempts, at least until she had time to revise those recipes.

“As for a vacation…” he trailed off for a moment as he ran a quick review off all the places he had been in his life. “South isn’t too bad this time of year, you could also try for a trip to the hot springs in Hot Water” he offered. Konoha had peaceful connections with Yugakure, as did most of the Shinobi world for that matter, due to the fact that they were a prime tourist attraction because nearly all of their villages’ boasted fantastic hot springs. Not that Kakashi even got much of a chance to partake, seeing as he had never taken a vacation, but he had been through their land on a few occasions. “Still if you’re looking for sun, only place that gets more than us is Wind granted that is because they are a dessert”

He just hummed noncommittally at the last developments that Airi brought up. He was never sure how to respond when parents were brought up considering he never knew his mother and his father… Well it was never a good idea to dwell too much on him. “That reminds me, I need to find someone who can teach Naruto how to paint better” he said off handedly “Might be able to get him to calm down a little”

“As for me nothing all that exciting or new on my end, other than the fact that a team finally passed the Bell test, which means I’ve got my first Genin team to train” he explained as he moved off the roof tops and in to the trees “But you knew that already” And it was more or less true, since being removed from the Anbu and placed back in to the Jonin roster there hadn’t been many things of note that he could talk about “Oh! The new Icha Icha came out recently” Other than his beloved book series that is.

---

Back at the academy Kakashi’s clone was reading through the various notes and old tests that his new students had taken and it was beginning to realize just how much work he had ahead of him. The notes on Sakura were exactly as the dossier had led him to believe. Sasuke’s was more or less the same; though it praised him more than the veteran Nin felt was justified. Naruto’s on the other hand, told a very different story.

Leafing through everything, it seemed almost as if the other instructors had tried to sabotage the blond genin, which considering Mizuki had turned out to be a traitor, might not be too far of the mark. His physical test scores were fine, outside of the atrocious taijutsu stance the kid had; it was in the academic side of things that Kakashi noticed the most issues. It almost seemed like Naruto had no idea about the basic concepts about Ninjutsu, chakra theory, or any of the theoretical side of being a ninja, that or a serious literacy issue. Kakashi wasn’t sure what was worse to be honest.

Running a hand through his hair the clone quickly set about making a copy of all the relevant paper work he had found. The original would want to review all of this in more detail when he had time, but it was not now, considering he had technically broken in to the records.

‘To think, getting lost on the road of life actually turned out to be useful’

Airi huffed in a bit of disappointment. “The one time I got you sick… the one time and you will not try any of my other food? It’s been years since I cooked for you!” Her voice was playfully persistent as she poked gently at his chest with her finger. Fresh from the hospital and ‘retired’ from being a Chunin, she invited Kakashi over for lunch which she attempted to make along with some homemade biscuits. The biscuits were a hit but the other food was a hit to his stomach and he locked himself in her bathroom for a good hour vomiting. After that he stumbled out, thanked her for the meal than offered to take her out to lunch next time. Since then he’s ate her baked goods but never touched her food again. Boy she’d make a horrible wife if she hadn’t been practicing…

A wife… The phrase echoed in her mind and her small hands gripped onto the vest across Kakashi’s chest. “Kakashi…” She began softly, in a whisper to his ear, “Do you think…” Oh she had so many questions she wanted to ask the man she was on the back of but… her nerves got the best of her and she buried her face into the nape of his neck and shoulder. “You can slow down a bit?” Her face was boiling hot, she couldn’t ask him those questions, that wouldn’t be a good idea. At least not yet…

Feeling her face calm down a little she pulled it from the nap of his neck and gave a smile as her hands loosened their grip on his jacket. “I’m surprised you haven’t finished that book already. You must really be slacking.” Her voice was slightly teasing as she gave him a grin. “Did you hear? They’re making the first book of the series into a movie.”

Her voice was teasing and playful as she informed him of that and her playfulness returned. Why would she suddenly get shy like this? Where would her mind go? And why couldn’t she make herself talk to him about certain topics? Instead she made herself change the topic and mask it with humor before she addressed him with another question, “Are you doing a structured training plan or are you going to wing it? Group exercises or personal growth training? You know, things like that.” If there was one thing she was looking forward to as a Chunin it was the ability to teach people the art of being a Ninja and yet… she didn’t even have time to get her own Genin to train so she, theoretically was living vicariously through Kakashi by asking him questions and asking to observe him. But those dreams… they were gone now.

“A good book deserves to be savored” Kakashi stated haughtily as he slowed his tree hopping down to a genin equivalent speed. “And I did hear about the movie, rumor has it they are trying to get Yukie Fujikaze to play the female lead” he said with enthusiasm at the prospect of them getting such a famous actress to be a part of the series, seemingly oblivious to Airi’s internal debates.

The truth was a different matter however, as given their close proximity it was rather difficult for Kakashi to not notice his friends behavior. He could feel the extra heat that radiated from her face when she buried in to his neck. He could easily tell that what she had asked him wasn’t what she had originally wanted to from the tonal shift as she asked. There were a hundred other subtle clues that Kakashi could pick up on that told him she was nervous about the topic she nearly brought up.

If it had been anyone else Kakashi would have simple ignored their behavior, or directly called them out on it, but Airi was one of the very few people he could call a friend. Because of that he would let her bring it up when she was comfortable. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try and find out anyway, perish the thought. He was one of the most skilled ninja in the village, being noisy came with the territory. Airi being his friend just meant he wasn’t going to drill her for information, wouldn’t stop him from taking a third or fourth look over all of her actions to try and piece it together from those however.

“As for training…” Kakashi started before he realized a flaw in his original training plan. He was used to training other Anbu, or helping out newly minted Jonin, not Genin. He didn’t voice said realization however “I’m going to start working on group cohesion for the first half and cool down with personal training. Not going to worry about any particular structured plan at the moment.” As he explained his very impromptu training plan, he was working on breaking down his normal training regime for lower ranked ninja. He would worry about tailoring it to each of his students when he had a better idea about where they needed work; after all it’s not something he could learn when he was playing around with them during the Bell test.

‘You have started to get soft Inu’ He thought harshly, it was twice today that he had slipped up. Once with his daily schedule and just now with not realizing that he wasn’t treating his mission of training his team with the focus it deserved.

“What about you?” Kakashi asked dragging himself out of his self-depreciative thoughts, he would have time for those later “Have you ever thought of picking training back up?” he wondered casually. He knew that after she got out of the hospital her drive to be a kunoichi had crumbled, but that was years ago. Granted they tended to avoid the topic, but he was curious and it could be what she was nervous about.

To show she was paying attention Airi nodded and made a few noises of ‘ah’, ‘mhm’ and ‘I see’. It didn’t surprise her that he was excited about the movie and who was staring in it. He was such a sucker for those books and that side of him always made her smile. It seemed so… random that he would have such a love for books, much less be so dedicated to a series like that. But that’s what made Kakashi different and different wasn’t always a bad thing.

“So… you don’t have a plan.” Were the words that left Airi’s mouth but they were, of course, accompanied by a playful laugh. There was no doubt that he had some sort of plan but it might not be entirely thought through but that could come at another time. That was Kakashi for you, but again he was always someone she would put her faith in no matter what the situation was. She had never seen betrayal within his nature and hoped there was never a day where it would happen. Simply because he was not a ninja you should mess with… ever. But there was nothing to fear if you were a loyal member of the Leaf Village or its allies; you were safe. “Well, I look forward to seeing what you do with your interesting group of Genin who finally understood the meaning of the Bell test.” She said with an encouraging nod with a bright smile.

General surprise moved across her face when he asked that question everyone beats around the bush about. The surprise moved to a sense of knowing, a smile across her face, “If anyone was going to come out and ask me straight it would be you.” Then again it had been almost five years ago since the accident and no one had approached her with the question directly until today.

“It has been a thought actually.” She began, “More and more recently come to think of it. The bakery can practically run itself with a few supply gatherings here and there. And I do miss traveling along with teaching Genin but… I’m thinking if I return I should become a Medical-Nin. I owe my life to the skills of the medical-nin and I want to repay the favor by helping people who get injured.” Her small head rose and fell with a nod. “I learned I was kind of… a bit… maybe a little reckless back in those days. I do feel like if I dedicate most of my time I can return to the shape I was in before, or at least close; but with a different path. There’s just…”

Again with the pausing, her voice trailing off once more, “A lot of factors right now will make beginning my training once again difficult.” Her gaze moved forward as they went through the treetops. “Thanks for letting me watch you train though.” A bright smile showing her straight white teeth pulled across her face, “Maybe I’ll pick up some tips by watching. I may be out of practice but it is like riding a bicycle.” She was confident she could get back on the Ninja bike when… when things weren’t so difficult.

“Airi, your mother and I have promised your hand to Might guy. We think he would be a really good match for you. There would be no need for you to return to being a Ninja with a ninja as a husband.” Her father’s words rang in her ears, the man didn’t understand his daughter’s desire to be a ninja but… that was okay, he was doing what he thought was best for his daughter and she could not fault him for that. It just… made her sad it wasn’t discussed with her first.

"The next time I see Ana, I can ask her about giving Naruto painting lessons if you'd like. She's not been in the best of moods lately but maybe having a student as spunky as Naruto would bright her up."

An unrepentant shrug and nod was the masked ninja’s response to the accusation that he didn’t have a plan. It was true enough at the moment; he would build a plan after he built up some trust with the team. “Most plans don’t survive contact with Naruto from what I hear anyway” He added as his excuse, which could be true considering so few people could catch the prankster if he didn’t want to be found.

An eye smile was given in response to being called out at his blunt antics; a small part of him relaxed as well as she took his question in stride, glad that it wasn’t a touchy subject for her. Passingly he wondered if it had ever been, but dismissed the thought as he paid attention to her answer.

“A Medic, huh?” he said thoughtfully “It is a noble aspiration, and too few ninja have the patience to pull it off” he said softly ignoring the phantom pain in his covered eye “And honestly, of the ones I have worked with, those that had a specialization change after an injury tended to be the better ones as well so I’m sure you would do great” he explained. His tone was still soft but it carried the great amount of respect he held for the medical corps. He had been tempted to become a medic after the loss of Obito, but then… Rin… Kakashi just didn’t have the hands for it, not after that.

Kakashi wasn’t blind to the longing Airi had, and once again he was keenly away that she was shying away from something. Though now he had a few more clues as to what it might be, as well as a few ideas as to whom he would be able to get the information from.

Shaking his head lightly to clear away all the excess thoughts “Don’t mention it” waving the thanks away with a gesture “and that would be appreciated, I even have a good idea on how to bribe him to be a good student for her” he said with a chuckle thinking of how Naruto might want to learn more about
Sealing considering how it had impacted the young boy’s life.

“In return let me know if I can be any help with any of those factors, hmm?” he added with a look. One that many of his teammates were used to, it was the one that said that they were in this together, no matter what “this” was.

His confidence in the medics made her feel fuzzy inside. Something about choosing that path meant that she could really help people! Her first idea with the bakery was to make people smile by feeding them and now, when she decides to return, she knew she had the support of her friend. Her beaming smile said that she really appreciated his kindness towards her choice.

“You do realize that teaching Naruto how to paint properly would just mean more lucrative designs on the Hokage’s faces. Maybe some misplaced mustaches, giant kissy lips, buck-teeth; the possibilities are endless.” She couldn’t argue with the fact that it was a good idea but at the same time, it was an idea that it could be taken in the line of ‘evil’ as well. “Then again, Ana is very scary when it comes to make sure her paintings and talents are not wasted… I think between your bribery and Ana’s threatening Naruto might be able to stay on the right track.”

A small laugh left her and one more than one occasion she had stepped on her sister’s brushes, backed into a painting she was working on or threw away something that looked like it was messed up. Only to have brunette ball of fury come at her with swings and rage. Ever since then, she never got near Ana while she was painting.

Then there was his comment about helping her with any of the factors she had mentioned. Her head jerked in surprise and her gaze moved quickly to Kakashi’s face. His expression, even behind his mask, said he meant it and she felt her heart pound against her ribcage. This man’s dedication to those he cared about was commendable and admirable. Face on fire again, she buried it in the nap of his neck and shoulder while giving him a hug from behind. “Thank you.” She said softly to him.

“IS HE ALWAYS LATE! IT’S BEEN TWO HOURS?!” Naruto’s voice echoed through the forest area full of annoyance at a volume that the Village Hidden in the Sand could probably hear him.

“Sorry…” Airi said quietly as she pulled her face from him. “I didn’t mean to make you more late, especially by asking you to slow down…”

Kakashi nodded his agreement to Airi’s assumption that Naruto might take the painting lessons to the opposite extreme and instead paint more graphic graffiti across the town, and in truth was completely fine with that possibility. After all he was curious just how many people realized just what Naruto had gotten away with and wouldn’t be very surprised if no one caught on to the realization that the kid had slipped past Jonin and Anbu to desecrate a national monument, in broad daylight, wearing neon orange, and the brat didn’t even know how to stick to walls using Chakra yet. “Here is to hope we can succeed where even Iruka has failed” was all he had to add.

He just replied with a soft smile at Airi’s soft thank you, glad that his message was received loud and clear. He also absently noted that it was the second time she had blushed with in the past twenty minutes, but he would put that aside for later, when he was out snooping to figure out more about those ‘Issues’ she was having.

“Oh, don’t apologize” he jovially as they neared the meeting point he told his team earlier “If not for you I would likely be even later, I lost track of time remember?” he said with a tilt of his head, knowing full well that he would be just as late, if not more so, tomorrow.

With a burst of speed Kakashi covered the last stretch of their journey in the blink of an eye. Rather than appearing in front of his team, he instead was at the top of one of the trees overlooking the memorial stone. Around which his new team waited.

Naruto was pacing, obviously frustrated and grumbling insults under his breath, and would occasionally send a glare at Sasuke, which was promptly ignored by the Uchiha. The dark haired genin had chosen to lean up against one of the posts and was busy scanning the nearby trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of their elusive Sensei. Sakura was less obvious in her frustrations, she was sitting down at the post next to Sasuke, but the twitching of her eye told Kakashi all he needed to.

He let out a small sigh of disappointment at his team, but didn’t hold it against them really; they would learn to make better use of their time while waiting for him, eventually. Instead he jumped down from his tree top vantage and landed on the unoccupied post. “Yo” he said evenly with a little wave to his students.

“YOU’RE LATE!” Was the the shouted replies from not only Naruto but Sakura as well. Sasuke just leveled a glare at Kakashi, which was summarily ignored.

“Yeah, Sorry about that, I lost the key to my house and had to get a replacement” he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The town talks about Kakashi in a bunch of different ways. Some knew him as dangerous, others knew him as stand-offish and a few knew him as lazy. Most knew him as the guy who just couldn’t keep track of time. But very few knew the Kakashi she was seeing. The Kakashi that honestly and genuinely cared; very few people get the opportunity to see him like this and, if she were to wager, the few that have seen it were part of the Anbu, then there was Airi.

His mention of him ‘loosing track of time’ made her giggle softly as they kicked up speed and went towards the training grounds. Viewing the students from above was a sight to behold, simply because they seemed like… well an odd team. You have Naturo pacing, Sasuke leaning up against one of the poles and Sakura looking like she was going to slam a Kunai into Naturo’s foot just to hold him still. Her blonde eyebrows rose as she looked over Kakashi’s shoulder. “Whelp… you could always use the excuse that 85% of a Chunin’s job is waiting.” She said as she turned her head to look at him. “Just don’t overdo that line okay?” A small giggle left her as he took off from the tree.

The children’s unison scream even made her flinch yet he handled it so casually that even she groaned a little matching the two annoyed Genin. Giving him a little tap, she felt his chakra slowly let go and she dropped gracefully to the ground behind the pool and stepped out, much to the surprise of the Genin. “Hello.” She said brightly with a small wave.

“OOOOHHHHH I SEE!!” Naruto began before placing one hand on his hip and point an accusatory finger at Kakashi, “You were late because you were out with your GIRLFRIEND!”

To that, Airi’s face went beat red and she was quick to jump in. “Oh no! No no no, you’ve got it all wrong!” Despite her pathetic attempt to cover herself, Naruto just grinned at her.

“There’s no reason to be shy Sensei’s girlfriend.” Naruto said with a grin and a nod before tucking his hands behind his head. “You just wanna come and see how awesome I am, I get it. But I think you’re way too pretty for Kakashi-Sensi.”

After staring at Airi for some time, Sakura’s eyes began to sparkle. “Oh I know you!” An awkward laughing Airi finally looked her way, seeming almost relieved from being pulled away from the conversation with Naruto, “You’re work at Delicious Delights.”

“YOU WORK DELICIOUS DELIGHTS?! I LOVE THAT PLACE! THE TAIYAKI IS THE BEST!”

A laugh left Airi as she nodded, “Thank you, but I don’t work there… I am the owner and founder.” To that the kids’ jaw dropped as they looked at their Sensei.

“YOU’RE DATING THE OWNER OF DELICIOUS DELIGHTS?!”

And… topic brought back up again, as Airi’s face went into her hands.

“Now now, no need to be rude Naruto.” The silver haired ninja said as he sat down on his chosen post, his nonchalant demeanor entirely unruffled “This is my friend, and former colleague, Airi Mae” He explained as he gestured to her “She is a retired Chunin, and she opened her bakery after the hospital stint that caused her retirement” his tone was light, if a touch melancholic, as he explain the basics of who Airi was. “I offered her the chance to come along to today’s training as something of a secondary point of view for me.” He finished smoothly giving his students a moment to think about what he said.

As an incredibly experienced Ninja, one who has ran the gamut of jobs from D ranks to unlisted Black ops, Kakashi was nothing if not an expert of self-control. He had been through war, natural disasters, and had lost nearly everything that was important to him. To surprise him could easily be considered a career defining moment for he had encountered it all in one way or another.

All of that serves to highlight just how important the surprising and brief flash of longing that Kakashi had felt at his student’s accusation that he and Airi were dating. The masked Nin hadn’t really had many relationships of the romantic sort, the price of being a prodigy, but now the idea had been formed about such a thing happening between him and Airi. Kakashi carefully placed that idea off to the side, fully intending to examine it later but he couldn’t deny that he was drawn to the concept.

“And no, we are not dating Naruto” Kakashi added as the blond genin opened his mouth to say something. Kakashi noted and dismissed the sense of loss that came with the statement, not wanting to get caught up in the implications just yet. It was the same reason he noted but put aside Airi’s reactions, after all it could be simple embaressment.

Naruto just pouted at being shot down before he could speak, but quickly went back to grinning.


“What do you mean by secondary point of view Sensei?” Sakura asked her head tilting in curiosity as she split her attention between Airi and Kakashi trying to understand what he meant.

“It put it simply I have been training mainly jonin, with the occasional chunin, for the entirety of my teaching career. You lot are my first genin team, so to make sure I don’t overlook something I’ll occasionally have Airi dropping in on our training” Kakashi explained with an eye smile as Sakura nodded in understanding.

It wasn’t his first plan, neither was it his second plan, really he had decided it just barely on the spot. Still he had a good feeling about it, so long as Airi was alright with his sudden improvisation. Plus It would help her get back in to the swing of things easier when she was more easily able to get back in to training, and give him the chance to snoop around without being as suspicious.

"I don't get it" Naruto said after a moment

"You are such a dope" Sasuke sighed "Basically he got someone less used to being a ninja then him to point out all the things that he is so used to doing that he forgot that they weren't taught at the academy"

"Oh"