safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

seventy-two

Eri got to the village entrance by the time that she and Anko were expected to meet up, but no one was there waiting for her. Anko's threat held no ground when she was the one that was late. "What a character..." she muttered to herself.

"Eri!" The distinct rough, yet feminine voice called out to her. "Sorry I'm late!" Anko had finally arrived, slowing down as she caught up to the lighter-haired woman. She rubbed the back of her head with a cheeky grin, holding a bunch of packaged sweet treats in her other arm. "The bakery had just prepared a bunch of fresh goodies and I couldn't help myself."

Eri nodded her head side to side, weighing the situation. "You know, that's a perfectly justifiable reason to be late."

Anko's brown eyes glistened upon the other girl's response. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Eri snagged a pastry from the violet-haired woman's arms. "But only if I get one."

"Hey!"

The pastry was already unwrapped with a bite taken out of it. "You were late." She turned and started walking down the path, setting out on their mission.

"Don't take it out on the food."

"I'm not. I'm enjoying the food."

"But it's my food."

"You need - what - like twelve pastries all to yourself?"

"Yes." Anko answered confidently.

"You do not." Eri chuckled and she raised a casually judging brow. The snack-absorbed kunoichi felt at ease when the other girl laughed; to the extent that she was okay with her taking some of her sweets.

The lighter-haired girl suddenly felt a pressure on her cheek. She blinked in shock and looked to her side to witness Anko licking her thumb and staring at her with hungry eyes. Noticing her reaction, she said, "You had chocolate on your cheek."

"You're... kinda weird." Eri responded with a closed-eyed grin as a bead of sweat slipped down her forehead.

The odd woman beamed with pride.

"Did we, um, have any sort of relationship before this?" Eri asked, slightly nervous and looking down in fear of the unknown.

"Not in particular." Anko stated. "We were at a few of the same gatherings and have had a few conversations, but that's it. Why'd you ask?"

"I think with most people I get vague impressions of what our relationship was or how close I may have been with someone... but I couldn't pinpoint anything for you." The mauve-haired girl explained thoughtfully and innocently.

"Are you saying I'm unimportant?" Anko smirked, but her brow twitched irritably.

"No! That's not what I meant!" Eri threw her hands up defensively, trying to make her not think that she was some distant and irrelevant character.

"Ah, don't worry. It's fine. I'm just teasing you. We didn't have enough of a relationship for it to leave such an impression."

"Sorry..."

"Anyway, who do you have these impressions about?"

"Kakashi, for one"

"That makes sense. You two were super close; even I could see that."

"Yeah, I've been told. But how?"

"Well, when you came to Konoha, you guys lived together. It was his mission to keep track on you and protect you, or whatever. You only moved out recently, and that's how you got to where you are now."

"We lived together?!" Eri's voice became significantly higher.

"Yeah, for two years. It was blatantly obvious you two were into each other, too. I wasn't close enough to know if anything came out of it, but I'd be surprised if anything didn't."

The mauve-haired girl looked as if she had self-destructed, walking aimlessly as her head whirled. She started mumbling to herself in a high-pitched tone, spiraling into a fit of anxiety. "Two years...? Into each other...? I guess that was pretty obvious? That explains some things, but I don't know. This is weird. What do I do? Is this why I had a freaking sex dream about him?"

Anko chuckled. "Don't worry, pretty sure we've all had a sex dream about Kakashi."

Pulled from her trance, Eri gasped. Embarrassed that she had admitted it out loud.

"Something about the whole mysterious, masked ninja vibe is super sexy." She raised a brow at the confused kunoichi. "The real question is: mask on or off?"