He saved me (A Kakashi Love Story)

Chapter 16

Everyone paraded out the door, through the backyard, and into the woods, following a well-worn path into a large clearing. A big pile of wood was stacked next to an even bigger fire-teepee. There were a few concentric rings of large logs for sitting around the fire.

"Who wants to do the honors?" Gia asked, gesturing at the teepee.

"ME ME ME ME!" Shane shouted, jumping up and down.

Gia sighed amusedly, "Does no one else want to light the fire? He does it all the time!"

Takeo rushed forward, "I got this!"

"Wait, Takeo, don't-" Gerilynn cried, but was cut off by a loud bang as the fire burst to life, multicolored sparks shooting up into the sky.

I jumped, covering my ears, wincing. Kakashi laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine. The fireworks will be loud too, but they're worth watching," he said.

"Better be..." I muttered, rubbing my ears.

He chuckled at me, and pulled me to a seat close to the fire.

"Why's the fire so many different colors?" I asked him curiously, glancing up at Kakashi.

"Because-"

"Because I made it that way," Takeo interrupted, coming up behind me.

I raised an eyebrow, "How?"

"That's one of my secrets," he said mysteriously. "My specialty is explosives and fire. That's why Aki and the others call me their 'little pyro', although, I'm honestly not very short..." he continued, frowning slightly.

"You aren't short unless you're my height or less..." I pouted, having to tilt my head back to look up at him.

"How old are you?" he asked cautiously.

"Twenty-two." I turned back to the fire so I wouldn't have to keep my head back.

"Wow. You look younger. ...That's a good thing," he hurriedly added on. "Anyway, I'll leave you two alone. I've gotta go prepare for the show later." He walked off.

"... Why do people think I get offended when I'm told I look younger than twenty-two?" I mumbled to myself.

"Because they're used to Gerilynn, and she hates being called younger than she is," Kakashi rumbled.

"Oh..." I stated, glancing u at him. "......Have you decided what your favorite color is yet?"

"Yup. Silver," he stated easily.

"What's your favorite weapon?" And it went on like this for quite some time...

Until Gerilynn walked over, Irishi at her shoulder.

"How are you liking the bonfire so far? Takeo told me this is your first time," she asked amiably as she and her friend sat down beside us.

"Pretty good, thanks. It's kinda... weird for me though. I'm used to people not really being social or kind to me... It's... nice" I ended, smiling.

"We're actually pretty nice people, once you get past all the homicidal tendencies and weird hair," Irishi mused, glancing at Kakashi's hair.

"Eh, I think the hair's cool," I shrugged.

"Heh heh. Even Gai's?" he chuckled, tilting his head at the other side of the fire, where Caterpillar Man was talking to Gia.

"Well... Most of it, anyway," I amended, laughing with them.