safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

twenty-nine

"You know him?" Kakashi nonchalantly pointed at the stranger on his windowsill and raised an eyebrow at Eri.

She shrugged and shook her head. "Apparently he knows me, though."

"What do you mean? You don't remember me, Eri-san?" The long-haired man asked defensively, pointing a dramatic finger back at the two of them. "I've known you since we were young in the Village!"

"I haven't known you." She rebutted, narrowing her dark eyes.

"Stalker." Kakashi gasped dramatically, intending to get a rise out of the long-haired man.

"This has nothing to do with you." He glared with a childish fury in his light brown eyes. "So shut up!" He huffed.

The white-haired shinobi laughed light-heartedly and rubbed the back of his head. "You did break into my apartment. I think that means it does have something to do with me."

The stranger chose to ignore Kakashi's curious threatening. Instead, he turned back to Eri who was getting impatient. She was bleeding, and it was getting on her roommate's things. More so, an odd man shattered his window and got glass all over the carpet that would probably take forever to clean out of it.

"It's Tomiichi! Tomiichi Takaki!" He shouted, desperate for the woman to recognize him.

But she frowned and shrugged again. "I have never heard that name before."

The man got even more pale, if possible, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "You're too cruel, Eri-san."

Kakashi put on a lazy and aloof air - per usual - but he was absolutely focused. He was carefully analyzing the subtleties between the stranger, Tomiichi, and Eri. He completely trusted his roommate. There was no question in his mind of the truth that she didn't know him, but he did not know why he was there or what he wanted from her.

"What do you want?" She asked sternly.

"I came here for you, Eri-san."

"Why? I'm not leaving." She stated bluntly. Her body was stiff ,and her muscles were tense, and this subtle change in her behavior was not unnoticed by her companion.

"I guess I should clarify." Tomiichi grinned at the thought of his purpose for seeking out the woman who ran away from Kirigakure. "I'm not here for you in particular. I'm here for your kekkei genkai; to carry it through my clan."

Kakashi recalled one of the first conversations he had with Eri. In her own words, she explained that she was always running from her secret fate at Kirigakure; she was escaping those that were after her life, whether it was to kill off her clan or to claim her kekkei genkai as their own through marriage and children. This man that broke into his home seemed to admit that his purpose was to pass on Eri's kekkei genkai through his clan, or his children and their names.

This angered him, but he tried to remain calm and collected in order to best protect the girl. 

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure it's my kekkei genkai, so no. You cannot carry it through your clan."

"Well, Eri-san, you don't have a choice."

Irritated and belittled, Eri laughed. She certainly did not take well to being treated as an object. Kakashi could tell that she was becoming heated and was preparing to attack the dark-haired man. He placed a sturdy hand on her shoulder, and as soon as he did, he could feel the tension leave her body.

An invisible force suddenly pushed the two of them together, then shoved them to the ground. The strong unseen walls nudged them even closer together against the texture of the carpet until their legs were entangled and the girl was pressing on his chest to keep herself from crashing into him.

She bit her lips, grimacing in pain as she tried to keep the force against her back at bay while small beads of sweat slipped down the white-haired man's face as he also tried to keep the invisible box from closing in on them. This must have been Tomiichi's jutsu, but when they glanced over to see his reaction, he was gone.

At this point they were stuck. If Tomiichi attacked, they were not in a physical position to defend themselves. At least they knew that he wanted Eri alive, so he wouldn't try anything that would actually kill her.

"Eri." Kakashi muttered, a minuscule sound of pain in his low voice.

"Yeah." She groaned. The invisible walls were so strong that she had to use every muscle to keep them from crushing them.

"Do you trust me?"