Escape from Reality
"Well, are you going to talk to him?"
The young woman, made a move of surprise. Her friend was just behind her.
"Kurenai! Stop scaring me like that!"
"Come on Anko. You've to tell him one day."
"I-I can't. I'm too timid. And he will probably never like me..."
"Stop telling such stupid things. You're certainly not timid and you're friends since the beginning, so what could go wrong? Come on Anko!"
"No!"
"Kakashi and Anko KISSING in a tree!"
"No! Never!" exclaimed the other woman, surprised by the enthusiasm of her friend.
"There he is! Go on!"
And Kurenai pushed Ankor in the street.
The young woman stumbled directly on the person she wanted to avoid. He caught her up with one arm, while holding his infamous book with his free hand.
"Hey, Anko!"
The young woman pushed herself away and made a step backwards, her eyes rifted on her shoes. This situation was so embarrassing...
"Uh,well,hem..."
Anko cleared her throat.
" I-I'm sorry Kakashi. It was Kurenai who pushed me. It was an accident, I'm really sorry."
"No problem. You want to take a walk with me?" was the lazy answer she got.
Anko became redder than a tomato. She rubbed her arm nervously, and managed herself to look at the masked Jônin with a almost normal looking face.
"Sure..."
They walked randomly through the village. He was reading one of his favorite books, greeted his pupils Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke and seemed to smile, time to time. Well, more like grinning sickly like a pervert who was enjoying erotci pictures in his mind. She ever wondered if how he did when he had a nosebleed under his mask...
She was walking next to him, a bit in retreat, trying to stop her knees of trembling and her cheeks to become red as roses. She barely looked at him and stared at his back. She felt guilty. She wasn't the shy and timid type of woman! Where was her legendary energy and sarcasm? Anko really didn't felt proud of herself: just one guy made her self respect...no, her proud melt like ice in the sun. She had to get a grip, now! But...on what?
'I'm so pathetic...'In the park, he invited her to sit next to him, in the shadow of a cherry-blossom tree.
Anko swallowed and sat down.
It was very warm even for a summer day and even under the shadow, the atmosphere was heavy. The dust of the road raise by the wind and a dog passed, panting, overwhelmed by the heat.
Kakashi was wearing a black t-shirt, showing his muscled arms. Anko asked herself how he could live with that black mask in that weather.
But the question felt strange in her mind: she was the one was wearing a jacket when the mercury was exploding in the thermometer...
She began to plait a rebellious lock of hair. She thought that she had a weird color of hair: dark purple. Who would have dark purple hair? Like she wasn't weird enough in the eyes of the other persons and her students...It was true that her over energetic behavior could seem that she was a sadist. Maybe she was one, because she never stopped training, running from a mission to another and never gave herself a day of rest. If Kurenai wasn't there, she wouldn't be there, 'hanging out' with the great Copy-Ninja.
Her companions hair was uncommon too. They were gray as an old man's, but that was just part of...yeah, well, Kakashi. Gray hair and a mask was part of him and there was nothing to change to that.
"So, how are you doing these days?"
His question snapped her out of her thoughts.
"F-Fine...A-And you?"
"Everything goes smoothly for me. Thanks."
Anko swallowed again, really not on her ease.
'I'm stammering! Hold a grip on yourself, girl! Be natural...'"Why am I so nervous? It's just..." she thought out loud.
"It's just what?" asked the young man.
'Great.'"N-Nothing, Kakashi. It's only that..."
"Oh, I see. I understand.
'He understands?!'"I've to go on a A-rank mission tomorrow with my team. Don't worry, everything will be fine."
'Man, I thought...'Anko smiled, releaved he didn't know her secret.
"So...Kurenai said that you had something to tell me." he suddenly added, still acting like he didn't care the slightest bit.
"Whaaaat? I never had something to tell you!"
'Errr...'"I mean...Nothing very important..."
"Oh? She said that it was of capital importance."
"Really?...I mean..."
'Kurenai, you're so dead when I come back home!'The wind blew again, but from the east, brining fresh air to the overheated country.
The young woman saw Kakashi taking his mask off. He breathe deeply the air and said:
"Haaaa! Fresh air is really nice to breath when it is so warm as today. Don't you think?"
He smiled. He had a pretty handsome face and a warm smile. But, he wasn't that impressively beautiful like the gossips liked it to tell around. Nevertheless, she was charmed by him and instantanely liked him more. It was the first time that she saw him without his mask. In fact, as far as she knew, no one had ever seen him without his mask.
Anko's face became crimson red and turned her eyes off him.
"Why are you so red, Anko? Do you have some fever?"
He turned her face to his and touched her forehead and cheeks.
"Nope. Your cheeks are fresh as the wind."
He smiled again, but didn't take his hand off her cheek and gazed in her eyes.
For a second, she thought that he was going to kiss her...
But, no.
He sat back and took his book again.
Anko felt stupid and ridiculous. After all, Kakashi was already married to his books, so, why would he interest himself to her? Suddenly, she felt relieved and asked right away:
"Still ready Jiraya's books? I really don't understand why you likes them so much. I've tried one of the library, but it was really lame."
No answer.
"You could at least say something. You invited me here."
Still nothing.
"Oh, well, since you're stuck with your book, I'm out of here..."
Kakashi looked up.
"Did you say something?"
Anko smirked. Typical Kakashi, asking if you said something when you were saying something quite important. The young woman snatched the book out of his hands.
"Hey, give it back!"
But the young woman stood up and climbed in the tree.
"Another Icha Icha book. You're such a pervert, Kakashi!"
"Give it back!"
He walked on the branch behind her, but she jumped already on a higher branch.
"Just curious what's so interesting about these books..."
"Gotcha!"
Kakashi wanted to catch her from behind, but she stopped him with one hand on his forehead.
"I begin... Junko walked to the door and breathed deeply. It was now or never...He knocked on the door. An angelic figure opened him. "You're just in time..." "
She continued to read the next few lines, but was already bored. She gave the book back to Kakashi.
"I don't know why you like so much these books. If you think that real life and love is a guy knocking on a door and that suddenly the perfect woman opens him, you're dead wrong...Love is something that you build up for years and not just a crush. Love is liking the person in all the ways he is, even with his faults and be ready to protect that person with your life. Love is something you will share all the time, even the most boring, bad and horrible moments...I'm just...surprised that somebody, so intelligent as you, can be interested in these books."
"And you're convinced that what you just said is the real definition of love?"
"..."
Anko began to blush again, but she answered, sure of herself:
"Yes, I do. That's the way I love...someone right now."
Kakashi put the book back in his pocket.
"And who is it, if I may ask?"
"I-I can't tell you...It's a...secret. Yeah, it's a secret."
"Sure you can tell me."
She felt all her blood rushing in her cheeks. But she tried to answer most naturally as she could:
"But if I tell you, it wont be a secret anymore."
"You must be right."
"Why do you like these books anyway?"
"I need them to escape for a while of reality."
"Oh."
Kakashi leaned back on the tree and stared to the afar. He seemed sad suddenly. She knew that he had a difficult life and that he lost his best friends. Suddenly, she felt that she was some way gone too far with teasing him. Embarrassed, Anko looked at her feet that were hanging in the space between the branch and the ground. His answer had disoriented her. Was reality so hard for him than?
"You still didn't answer my question."
His voice snatched her out of her reflections.
"Which question?"
She looked up and saw her companion observing her.
"You had something to tell me. What was it?"
The words of her friend came back in her mind.
'Come on Anko. You've to tell him one day. Yeah, right...I had something to tell... Nooooo, find an excuse, find an excuse, find an excuse...But it was no use. She breathe deeply and answered:
"WellIreallylikeyouandIwantedtotellyouthatbutIdidn'tdaretoandyeahIjusttoldyoubutdon'tgetyourhopestoohighupit'sjustacrush,butthat'saliebecausethecrushisthereforoverayearandyeahIlikeyou."
Out of breath, she stopped. Kakashi looked at her, like she turned insane for a second.
"I quite didn't understand what you said. Could you please repeat, but slowly this time?"
"Repeat...slowly..." she repeated.
"Please."
Anko swallowed and became crimson again.
"I wish I could disappear, right now."
"What?"
"I said that I wished that I could disappear right now."
"And why would you disappear?"
"Because...Just because you asked me to repeat myself!"
"Is it that terrible?"
"Why did you ask me to hang out with you?"
Kakashi thanked immediately the creators of the mask, because he felt his cheeks turning red.
"Just for a random reason. I was bored, that's all."
Anko's face took an angry grimace.
"Well, thanks, Hatake! I really appreciate to know that you like my company as replacement for your books."
"You can't replace my books."
"Thank you for moving the knife a bit deeper in the wound."
"I didn't mean it in the way you think."
"Not helping."
"You're much better than any book in the world."
He took her by her chin and approached his face of hers, while he was lowering his mask. Their lips touched. Very lightly, but it was a kiss. Her first kiss...She was older than twenty-five years and had still never kissed, she realized.
It was a wonderful feeling, way more extraordinary than in all the books she ever read. It was like...a treasure. A soft and warm treasure, just discovered, that she wished to keep for her all alone. She wished that Kakashi would only kiss her and nobody else.
When he let her go, her asked:
"You've still nothing to tell me?"
"I love you Kakashi..." she mumbled annoyed. "And now don't ask me to repeeat myself, cuz I won't do it anyway."
He grinnned.
"What would you answer if I asked you to marry me?"
"What do you think?"
He gazed in her eyes. They twinkled like hundred stars together; it was the only answer she would give him, but it was enough.
He leaned to her and gave her a second kiss, but longer and more passionate than the first. He felt her arms slipping around his neck and he took her by her waist, embracing her tenderly.
The book slipped out of his pocket and fell with a THUD on the ground. But Kakashi didn't care. He didn't need them anymore thought. The young woman he had in his arms was way enough for him to escape of reality...
Kurenai looked from the ground, a bit further, smiling. They were kissing, in a tree...
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Oooookay. Before anyone makes any remarks of "Kakashi isn't in love with Anko but with Kurenai" or "Kakashi/Sakura ftw!" or "It's too mushy mushy pink" just know I wrote it for the fun~ So, if you want to make a critic, make it constructive. I write for my own pleasure and also for that of the other people, so, I'd love to be able to make better stories.
Also, I wanted to apologize for my grammar x.X; which sucks I guess.
Anyways, thanks for reading~