safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

eighty-nine

Kakashi slammed the door behind him and leaned back on the aged wood, deflating with a heavy sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose and lifted the headband over his eye as silent, salty droplets dripped down to the hem of his mask.

"So damn selfish." He whispered, barely squeaking out a syllable before wiping his tears and standing straight.

Shocked, confused, unsure, hurt, and incredibly sad, Eri slowly rose to her feet and quietly walked to the door, following after him. She lifted her hand to knock, but paused. She had to respect his wishes. There was a reason that he became overwhelmed with a pain-filled anger.

She turned and walked away on the long, lonely road back to Konoha.

Kakashi listened to her footsteps dissipate and sat on the cold, hard ground. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, trying so hard to still hear her on the other side.

After about five minutes, Eri felt her own tears spilling from her eyes. She couldn't stop them. Kakashi had every reason to reject her in her confused state, and that's okay. But why did it hurt so much?

She threw her head back and let the tears fall, catching a drop of water right on her nose.

She laughed, and looked down at her hands. "Of course." She muttered, voice cracking slightly as her fingers trembled. "The sky would decide to cry right now, too."

Like the emotionally overwhelmed independent and introverted characters they were, they had blatantly ignored the quiet thunder rolling kilometers away from them as a storm slowly approached the island. The waves had grown rougher over the fifteen-or-so minutes she had been walking, and now they were a chaotic dance of foamy white caps around the rocks.

The rain started to fall lightly, and grew heavier every second until a loud clap of thunder shook the ground beneath her and it began to pour. If she weren't stuck in it, it would have been peaceful.

Kakashi was shaken back into reality with the thunder, crackling right above the cottage. "Damnit." He groaned and cursed himself for being such a 'good man.'

He tore the door open and ran into the downpour.

Eri was slowly walking away, drenched from the rain. Her hair was stuck to the wet skin around her chin and neck, and her soaked clothes clung to her body. It was impressive that she wasn't shivering, but she seemed completely distant and aimless.

The white haired shinobi caught up to her in only five minutes, but by that time, he was also already dripping with rain water. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was behind her, so he took his vest and dropped it over her head, offering the slightest bit of shelter from the weather.

She stopped, as if suddenly realizing that he was there, and turned to look up at him. He couldn't meet her wide eyes, so he placed a hand on top of the vest, keeping her head down. "You can go back after the storm is over." He mumbled. "For now, come back to the cottage."