Beautiful World (Kakashi)

Begin.

Hello, my name is Hatake Kakashi.

I'm not much of an interesting person-- well, I don't think so anyway.

I am twenty-seven years old, my birthday is on September 15, not that I care for birthdays anyhow.

I have several hobbies, which I will not get into right now...

I have no family. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are pretty much the closest thing I have to family. Other than those guys, no one is really involved in my life. Friends? Yes. Aquaintances? Yes. Girlfriend? No.

I am a Jonin, a ninja of Konoha. My life is pretty laid back, simple.

I don't ask for much... but things seem to hurl towards me anyway, whether I ask for it or not.

The first thing I thought about when I woke up was my hitched breathing and a sound of something hitting the ground with a light slap. Glancing down I see the first volume of Icha Icha Paradise on the ground, noting the unfortunate pages that haphazardly bent themselves upon impact. I grimaced.

Eh... it's not like that book hasn't gotten abused before.

Looking around, I found that I had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. This was not unusual. Earlier that evening I had just come home from a B-rank mission.

My eyes slowly traveled up to my door, hearing loud yelling-- ah, yes. That's what woke me up. After stretching, I rose and padded towards my door, pressing my eye against the peephole. The hallway was empty, but the yelling could still be heard.

Huh, funny. It sounds like it's right outside this door.

Sighing, I grabbed a coat that was on hanging on a chair and went outside. It had better not be the Morimoto's again...

Following the voices, which was coming from a floor above me, I was surprised to have seen my landlady, a petit, middle-aged woman with graying hair, wrapped in a robe, and red faced, was violently yelling at... some other lady.

I scratched my head. Who... -- Hmm... I couldn't recall who Mrs. Narita was yelling at. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen this woman before.

She had deep brown hair, pretty long from what I can see, brown eyes, she wasn't skinny-- but she wasn't fat either, she wasn't terribly fit, I mean, she didn't look like any kunoichi I know and looked almost unhealthy with those dark circles around her eyes-- eyeliner, from the looks of it. Oh, the lit cigarette she was smoking didn't help much either.

I feel my eye wander down to her body... it must've been forty degrees outside, this girl was wearing nothing but a black knee length dress, red heels, and lipstick.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?!" Mrs. Narita's loud shrieking brought me back to the situation. "IT IS THREE-THIRTY IN THE MORNING!" I see the little landlady tap her wristwatch impatiently.

The woman in front of her took a drag before nodding coolly, looking way too exhausted for the nagging.

"ALL THAT... THAT RACKET! YOU JUST MOVED IN HERE NO MORE THAN TWO WEEKS AGO AND YOU ARE ALREADY DISRUPTING THE NEIGHBORS!" I didn't think it was possible for Mrs. Narita's face to get any redder than it already was, but it was happening-- and it such a frigid setting. I wonder how she does it.

Continuing to nod, the woman went on to say, "I sent those people away, didn't I? They're not here anymore," one of her hands waved about, showing that no one was around and she smiles, "I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Narita, I'll try to prevent it from happening again. It's just hard trying to get rid of some... people," she blew out a long silvery strand of smoke, "Persistent. They were persistent and rude."

A finger rose up threateningly, pointing erectly at the woman, her eyes widening only slightly before looking tired once more, "You, Ms. Junko has been the rude one! Waking the neighbors up..."

I don't know what it was, but... when those brown eyes flicked away from the fuming woman, towards the ground, to my feet, and then to my face... I knew... I knew I was in for some trouble.

As a slow smile formed on those deep red lips, she stared at me. It wasn't one of those smiles girls send at me before slipping me their numbers, it was more like those smiles that kind of move you. I kind of felt singled out, and for a minute, I couldn't tell what was real or not. I had to blink several times before regaining my composure again. It was too late by then, Mrs. Narita was already racing towards me, looking angry and frantic.

"Hatake-san! Hatake-san! Oh Kami-sama! I hope this racket didn't wake you up! I know you must be busy tomorrow morning..."

I patted the hand that had been grasping my arm, trying to comfort and appease the riled up little woman. "Mah, it's OK. I've gotten enough sleep already. Why don't you, uh..." I didn't notice just how disheveled Mrs. Narita had been until she was close up. The poor woman, she looked like she was chewed up and spit out by Gamabunta. "why don't you go back to sleep, neh? I'll handle things from here."

A large, grateful smile spread across the old woman's features. "Oh, Hatake-san. You are such a wonderful man. Always taking care of everything. You treat me so well. I cannot believe you are not with a woman yet..." Before she could get into the whole topic about her daughter that lives in the a small town no more than an hour away from here, I gently ushered the tiny woman down the stairs, promising her that we could discuss it some other time.

After waving the old woman goodnight, I turned back to the hallway she had been standing in to find the young lady sitting on the floor, a cigarette hanging from her red lips and her hands rubbing her arms.

It took a few seconds, but her eyes finally met mine again. She smiled politely, "Thanks, mister," I walked towards her and nodded, then held out my hand and helped her up. "Heh, thank you," She threw aside the cigarette butt and crushed it with her one of her heels. "I'm sorry, all that noise must've woken you up." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. I didn't notice how short she was. She barely reached my chin.

"It's alright. I usually wake up around this time anyway," my eye creased into a happy curve as the woman gave me a bewildered look, then laughs-- quite suddenly.

"I'm Junko. Terashima Junko."

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Charmed," As we shook hands, I was surprised to find her hand soft and cold. Way different from my calloused, warm ones.

After a pause, I nodded, "I guess I'll head back to my place now," I say, and yawned before waving, "Ja ne."

She didn't say anything as I started to walk away, but after taking my third step down the stairs, heard her call out to me, "Kakashi-san!"

I turned slightly, watching her shivering body approach me, her hands still trying to create friction with her arms, "I... I can't get inside my apartment."

"Hmm?" I looked past Junko and at her closed door. "Can't get in?"

She grinned, suddenly looking sheepish, "Uh... I lost my key and I really don't want to wake Mrs. Narita up for a spare. Think you could help a neighbor out?"

Bringing a hand up to rub my chin, I started to think. "Hmm. Well... whenever I lock myself out, I find a screwdriver and just unlock my door."

At this, Junko's eyes brighten, "Oh, that's a great idea! That probably works way better than a bobby pin!" my look of confusion goes unnoticed as she seems to become immersed in her own thoughts, still astonished by the screwdriver idea, probably. "Ah, gomen (sorry). Anyhow, that's a wonderful idea! Do you think you could unlock my door for me, please?"

"Sure thing," I didn't mind helping those in need. Damsels in distress kind of thing, you know? I turned around once again, continuing my path. "Oh," I had forgotten. I hear a soft gasp escape from Junko when I suddenly appeared next to her, who had been hugging herself by her door.

"You're fast!" she looked amazed. Must've not been use to ninjas.

Chuckling, I nodded, "I get that a lot. Here," Removing my coat, I draped it around her smaller frame and patted her head. "you can borrow this for the mean time. I'll be back."

"…Thanks." There was that smile again.

------------------>

It didn't take me too long to find the screwdriver, which was in the fridge. To save time, I walked up the walls to where Junko had been waiting. She was, again, startled by this simple act of chakra control and jumped slightly, eyes widening.

"Amazing!" I hear her whisper, chuckling at her expression.

"It's a ninja thing."

"I figured," she laughed, tugging my coat around her tighter, "I've never seen any of that happen in real life before-- just heard about it."

"Really? Are you from here?" I was already jiggling the screwdriver in the keyhole but it wouldn't open up immediately. I guess this lock wasn't as responsive as mine... then again, I abuse my lock constantly doing this, maybe it's weak now.

Junko leaned against the wall and watched me, "I use to live in Konoha, until I was about five or six, and then my parents got a divorce and my mother and I moved away from here."

No. No luck yet. Maybe I should've brought a different size... "To where?"

"Several places. Here and there," her voice trailed off, thoughts becoming lost again, probably. "um, is it working?" as she leaned in, I could smell the faint scent of her perfume and cigarettes.

"Not now, but it will," I assured her as she shrugged, still smiling. "you moved around a lot?"

She laughed, sounding almost bitter, "Yeah, I suppose so. We never stayed for too long, mother and I. Even after we separated I still didn't like to stick to one place for a long time. I guess I'm a free-spirit or whatever it is they call those types of people."

There was a light click and I found myself ridiculously happy at my accomplishments. Wow, I really need a hobby. "Ta-da."

I pushed open her door and Junko lets out a delighted cheer. "Oh! Thank you SO much, Kakashi-san!" She stepped into her apartment, her smile growing larger by the second, "I owe you one."

Her deeply rimmed brown eyes twinkled at me and we both stood there. It wasn't awkward at all, really. It was kind of nice. I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my head, "Mah, if you ever get locked outside again, I'll lend you my screwdriver."

Junko laughed, which sounded sort of nice. Didn't sound like bells or chimes, or what have you. It was sort of husky, but not terribly low, and still melodious. It was nice, actually. "Thanks, Kakashi-san. I'll keep that in mind," she looked down at her toes before quietly removing my coat and handing it back to me. "thanks again for the coat. You're a really nice man."

"Well, goodnight, Junko-san."

I waved goodbye before shoving my hands in my pocket and walked away. Junko still had not shut the door as I continued to walk away.

Just when I was about out of hearing distance for her, I heard a soft click of a door.

I wonder what she was thinking about.

End Kakashi.

------------------>

Begin.

"... other than that, Sakura has been doing well, and Naruto too. As for Sasuke... well, haven't heard from him." The ninja looked over at the black memorial from where he sat with a soft smile. "That's pretty much the update on my team, buddy."

The usual silence was his response as he idled in his spot, "Oh, yeah, I guess I didn't tell you about what happened this morning?" Kakashi feels his left, then right pocket, letting out a small triumphant sound when he found the object he was searching for. From his pocket, the man pulls out a plain, white envelope with 'To Kakashi-san' scrawled on the front.

"Just before I was leaving I found this slipped under my door," pulling the envelope open, Kakashi clears his throat and reads aloud:

"Thank you, Kakashi-san again for helping me last night. Your kindness means a lot to me. If you find yourself in a rut, don't hesitate to ask me for help. I probably would be of no use, but I would do everything in my power to help out. And sorry again about waking you up, I know you probably have important ninja thingies to do.

I definitely owe you one.

-Junko "

At the end of the letter there was a messily sketched drawing of a face that resembled the sender of the letter, this amused Kakashi. "She's a new neighbor of mine," he futilely explains, again, receiving not so much as a peep for a response. "she's not so bad so far. Nice, overall. Better than the cat lady that lived above me. She was really out of control..." as if he realized the silliness of the one-sided conversation Kakashi lets out a laugh.

Patting the memorial, he silently rises from his spot on the ground, bows, and turns away.

It was about time he left.

------------------>

The day had pretty much gone the same way as it always had. He read his book, he trained, did some moderate leveled missions, nothing too complicated.

Kakashi, although appeared as if he was not at all fazed by the dull income of missions, was worn out. He hadn't gotten much sleep as of late, which was probably one of the factors to this abnormality. Hatake Kakashi was never one to be deterred by anything as trivial as B-rank missions. 'Just tired.' He told himself as he climbed up the stairs, already imagining himself in his comfy, warm bed.

When he had reached the second floor of the building, the floor his apartment resided in, he heard footsteps behind him, quickly ascending the stairs. Kakashi let out a tired sigh before turning around, ready to greet Mrs. Narita, who was probably here to talk about how he and her daughter could wed and make beautiful grandchildren for her. 'Definitely not in the mood today.'

He stopped himself though when he saw the person that had finally reached his floor was not Mrs. Narita-- in fact, the person was a man in a business suit. He looked like he was around his mid-forties, thick black hair, a handsome chiseled features, and soft green eyes. The man caught sight of Kakashi. First, he gave him a suspicious look, and then he tried to smile, but it had looked forced and painful; all the while, the man had looked nervous.

Kakashi politely gave a nod before the man practically bolted away and up another flight of stairs. "That was odd..." he said to himself before walking inside. The strange man was immediately forgotten once Kakashi's head met with his soft, inviting pillow.

He immediately fell asleep.

------------------>

"COME ON! LET ME IIIIIN!"

With each bang, Junko flinched. It sounded as if the door was about to come off at the hinges. 'Funny what alcohol can do to a person-- especially one as lanky as Matsuda-san.' An especially loud bang at the door caused the woman on her bedroom floor to yelp.

"I can't stay in here..." she mumbled, fearing the unruly man would get in eventually and does only Kami-sama knows what. She definitely didn't want to find out.

Pulling her window open, Junko takes one last look at the door, cringing at the loud banging. 'If there's any damages, Matsuda-san won't mind taking care of it.' She then hopped out onto the fire escape.

A wave of uneasiness washed over her as she caught sight of what was underneath her. If she were to fall from this height...

Shuddering, she mentally toughened herself before proceeding upwards on the latter. Perhaps she could stay on the roof for a while.

When she finally reached the next standing point of the fire escape, Junko just about collapsed, out of breath. Not to mention it was freezing. "I-I sh-should've b-b-brought a c-coat!" Scolding herself, she leaned up against the window, jerking at the contact with the cold glass.

'Window?!'

Realizing where she was, she spun around, hoping there wasn't anyone watching her. The last thing she needed was to be reported to Mrs. Narita. That woman was like part dragon or something! To her relief, and surprise, the window belonged to the best person in her current situation, the only nice person she knew in the entire village so far, Hatake Kakashi.

It looked like his bed was situated right by his window, giving anyone across the way an easy view of his well-defined chest.

But that was beside the point!

Another gust of frigid air sent Junko into shivers before she hastily pulled open the window and snuck inside, shutting her way of entrance closed behind her. "Oh!" As she slammed the window closed, she lost her footing and crashed down onto the sleeping ninja, who woke up instantaneously.

Blinking slowly, Kakashi, masked and headband-less, watched his neighbor, who was plopped on his lap, pale and wide-eyed. "...Junko-san?" his voice came out sounding muffled and confused.

A pause. Then, "Kakashi-san! Good evening! Oh wait..." squinting, Junko looked up at the wall where a clock hung, ticking away. It was 1:20 A.M. "Or should I say, good morning? I don't know..." Casually sliding off the ninja, the woman makes her way to the chair, which was positioned by his nightstand.

Kakashi shook his head, treating the moment as if it could've been a possible dream. When he stopped, he realized it was all very real. "What are you doing here?"

"Just trying to surprise you?"

"Isn't popping through my window a little much?" Kakashi places his headband on, and pulls it over his left eye.

The woman laughed as she pulled out a cigarette from her dress, "Actually, I'm having some problems up there," for the first time, Kakashi heard the yelling from above his ceiling. Before the ninja could question further, Junko defends the delirious Matsuda, "Oh, it's nothing big, really. A friend of mine," Kakashi gives Junko a wary look but she continues on, "--is really drunk, you see. He'll go away after a while, don't worry..."

"I see," Keeping a steady gaze on the woman, he watches as she fidgeted, nervously avoiding the man's eyes. 'Probably doesn't want me to prod.' A small sigh leaves him, deciding it'd be best not to get any answers out just yet. Wasn't any of his business anyway, "Would you like something to drink?"

Junko's once tensed shoulders, sagged in relief, a small smile pulling at her red lips, "Got any scotch?"

"Scotch?"

"You know, scotch and soda?"

It took him a while, but Kakashi caught on to the unfamiliar drink, "It's a foreign drink, isn't it? Don't think I have that."

"Oh, I forgot," the woman chuckled, shaking her head, "I forgot where I was for a minute."

Kakashi says nothing to the comment, making a mental note of it. Instead, the visitor politely asks for some water, to which he retrieves from the fridge, and then handing the bottled beverage to the woman.

"So, you're a ninja, right?" Kakashi nods, back in his bed again, leaning against the wall, his eyes tiredly watching woman repositioning herself. "Are these your kids?"

His eyes flicked from Junko to the photo of his team, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. "If you mean kids as in students, yes. I don't have any kids in general."

A puff of smoke was let out, "No wife?"

"No."

"No girlfriend?"

"Nope."

"Hmm," Kakashi raises a brow, amused, watching as Junko intently stared at the ground, her mind obviously somewhere else.

"Why do you ask?"

She shrugs, suddenly looking careless, "Just didn't want to be caught in an awkward situation, is all. Can't tell you how many times I've been in those." The shinobi quirks a brow at the odd comment, Junko remains oblivious and rambles on, "Anyhow, aren't there different levels of being a ninja? Which one are you?"

"A jounin. Other than being the Hokage, that's the highest level of ninja one can achieve." He explains mechanically, getting a comprehending look from the other.

"Think my dad is that..."

"Your father is a ninja?"

A nod, "Well, the last I heard he was, anyhow. I was a young when I left here, so I'm not all that sure. My mom rarely spoke of him, unless it was to blame him for something. It was never his fault though," the smile she wore looked empty as she recalled her past, "every time something would go wrong, mom would immediately blame my dad. I felt bad for him. He was stupid for loving someone no one could make happy. Hell, my own mother couldn't make herself happy." Spiteful, the cigarette was put out before another one was lit, a sour expression etched on Junko's face.

"You don't seem to get along with your mother," Kakashi says lightly, getting a chuckle.

"That's an understatement," putting out the cigarette, Junko's expression immediately changes, her smile brightening, "We despise each other, really."

"Why is that?"

Junko's mouth parted slightly, as if to say something. She hesitated briefly before shaking her head, "I rather not get into that," she smirked and then took another gulp of water, "perhaps some other time."

"Have you seen your father?" Well, the whole mother topic was off limits, for the time being. She barely knew her father. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask questions about him. 'Why am I doing this anyway?' Kakashi wondered.

Here he was having a conversation half naked, with a total stranger in his bedroom at one in the morning. Any normal person would've gotten rid of the intruder upon her arrival. 'I guess I'm far from normal. Besides...' There was something particularly strange about Junko. It had a strange pull on Kakashi's curiosity.

He was so accustomed to the ninja life. Being in order and professional, strong and secure. Then, there was this Junko woman. Eccentric, seemingly small and insignificant if one were to spot her in a crowd of people-- but something about her presence gave him a... outlandish feel inside his soul. Something different. 'I'm going to have to ponder that some other time when it's not 1:00 in the morning.'

"Not since mom and I left," she softly says, letting the cigarette slowly burn between her fingers, "and that was fourteen years ago, just about. It's strange how a person can forget about another as supposedly important as their dad. As the years went on, I eventually forgot his face," her eyes squinted as if trying to recall, but not succeeding "I never did get another dad after we left. Mom always had a guy temporarily, supporting us and when she got fed up, she'd get another one."

Kakashi had a disapproving frown on his face-- not like anyone could tell. But he didn't seem to appreciate the type of style Junko's mother had lived... "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."Alas, it was not his life to control.

The cigarette that lingered in her fingers finally burned its way to her skin, she let out a silent curse before dropping it on the floor. She held the injured finger in her hand, clenching her teeth. "Oh no," brown eyes fell to the ground where the cigarette sat, no longer alit. "I'm so sorry! Let me--"

"It's fine," Kakashi cuts in, gently taking the hand of the injured finger into his grasp, pulling it into the moonlight. He inspected the small burn closely. Junko leans in as well, taking a look for herself.

"It looks alright," she attempts to retrieve her finger, only to have it gently pulled back.

Kakashi shakes his head, and then grabbed a small green bottle and a roll of bandages from the shelf above his bed, "It's better if you treat it, it might leave a nasty mark."

"I've had worse," Kakashi's eyes went up to the wide ones of Junko. She didn't mean to let that slip. He didn't question her as he applied the aloe vera on red mark, then proceeded to wrap the wound. "Thanks," she gratefully took her finger back. Only noticing just then, how warm Kakashi's hands were compared to hers. "You usually keep this stuff by your bedside?" she watched as the man placed the things back to their original spots on the shelf.

He grinned under his mask, "I'm a ninja, remember? While I like to pride in the fact that I am quick in reflexes and often times come home with only a few scratches, I've had a few serious injuries I'd have to take care of myself."

“Gosh, being a ninja must be hard,” Junko leans against the chair and looks dismally down at her finger, “Always fighting, always getting hurt-- hurting others. How can a person stay sane?”

She looks at Kakashi, the emotions in her eyes not synchronizing with her question. It seemed more rhetorical than anything. “A lot of us aren't sane, actually,” Kakashi responds with an almost too bright of a smile, “We all handle the after effects of our job differently.”

Another quiet moment pervaded the room and it was then the two realized the conversation was getting too personal-- too personal for two strangers.

Junko, Kakashi found, was a great conversationalist. Right when things started to become tense, she quickly hopped back into a lighter topic, a topic one wouldn't remember in about a week or so. She spoke of Matsuda and his usual drunken tirades, it was funny at times, only if there were more than one person (that individual being Junko)-- and from there went onto telling funny stories of other men she known in her life.

"You seem to have lots of male friends," Kakashi states before Junko happily continued.

Kakashi winced at the dejected expression on the woman's face, instantly regretting his words. He didn't realize until that very moment how offensive it sounded. Usually, the ninja wouldn't have made such a mistake, but it was so late at night... "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to have sounded so rude," he sincerely offered, preparing to be ignored. Women (at least the ones he knew) tended to be unforgiving, especially if the male hinted at her being promiscuous (intentionally and unintentionally). He didn't speak to women all that often, just his colleagues, but rarely did he get to witness such reactions, it was usually professional when he spoke to someone, like Kurenai or Shizune.

The only times he got to see such raw reactions was by watching the female students. Sakura and Ino were pretty good at it. Poor Naruto had to pay the price.

"Oh, it's nothing," Junko waves, the pained expression on her face still lingered, "It's true, I do-- or did. I'm not sure. They're just... people in my life. Not really sure if I mean anything to them, but they don't mean much to me." She placed her cup to her lips, only to find that she had drank the entire thing.

Kakashi offered to get some more, but Junko denied, saying that she didn't feel thirsty anymore. The room closed up in a tense silence once more, causing Kakashi to regret his words from earlier on. He looked out the window by his bed, taking notice of the morning sun's beams peaking through the dark horizon.

It was a sight to behold, the deep greens, tints of pinks, splashes purples and a blend of other wondrous colors one wouldn't imagine finding in the sky, ever. Kakashi seldom took the time to look out on the scenery in the morning. Then again, it wasn't like he was up at 5:00 AM all too often. If he were to ever wake up that early, he wouldn't have paid much attention, he'd be more focused on getting ready for the day and to visit Obito's grave, by the time that was all done with, it would've been seven or eight in the morning, at which the sun already would've passed the point of its phenomenal stage.

He hears Junko shuffling out of her chair before she climbed onto the end of his bed, leaning against the wall. Looking out the window, she sleepily smiles at the pretty sight, her eyelids drooping. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" her whisper barely reached his ears. She dreamily looks out and rests her head against the wall, looking unexpectedly comfortably against the hard, cold surface.

“Yes, it is. I've never really seen this before,” Kakashi watched the dozing Junko from the corner of his eyes, a small grin on his concealed lips. “Have you?”

A small, tired laugh escapes her before she whispered, “Every morning... when someone lives such an ugly life, a little beauty like that is important to have. Small hope...”

Kakashi did not fall asleep until the sun had completely risen, revealing the familiar picture of the village.

The surrealism of the night, finally driven away with a recognizable scene which anchored him to life, rescuing him from any chances of being spirited away with this lost woman and had eased his guard and lulled him to a peaceful sleep.

Shattered girl living in a horrid world, will you find the sunrise?

-------------------

So, what do you guys think? I'd like some messages before I spit the second chapter out. I don't wanna put time into this if no one is gonna read it :P, especially when I have something like AWH (a total mess) to fix up (:. Hope you understand.

TO AWH READERS: I am still working on AWH. I actually tried putting all the chapters together, but everything goes ape when I get to chapter 7, it won't let me put it in with the other parts without messing everything up. D: