Thirty minutes later you find yourself sitting leaned up against the cracked wall, beaten and bruised. You are holding a cloth covered ice pack over your lip which was cut open in the ruckus you and your brother had caused. You had managed to put on an oversized t-shirt to cover up your risqué outfit as you aren't feeling so sexy anymore.

Your entire apartment is in shambles, the only thing untouched are the rooms upstairs. There is a human sized hole in the middle of your living room wall leading to the next room. And everything made of glass, aside from the sliding door, is in pieces. Your landlord is going to evict you for sure.

You cuss out loud. Things are going to get far more complicated for you now.
You close your eyes and lean your head back against the wall wishing someone was here to help you.

"Hana!..." You hear Kakashi's voice call out to you from your front door. He rounds the corner to the living room and drops everything in his hands to the floor. You watch as he scans the living room, kitchen, and the hole to your spare room finally setting his eyes on you. Leaning against the wall, bleeding from different areas holding that cloth over your lip.

To embarrassed to look at him you stare at the broken end of your floral sofa. You really liked that sofa... Kakashi rushes to your side.

"What the hell happened, Hana?" He asks, his voice wavering slightly.

Your eyes finally meet his.
"My brother stopped by for a visit...it..." You adjust yourself painfully trying to sit up straighter. "It didn't go so well... as you can see."

"He did this?!" Kakashi growls, clenching his fist and tiny specks of electricity sizzle around his hands. Oh he's pissed.

You remove the cloth from your mouth to explain.
"It was more of a team effort. He wanted to talk, I wanted to kill. Things got out of hand..."

"Out of hand is an understatement..."

The fury in his eyes when he said that was a little frightening. You haven't seen Kakashi this mad ever.

"I'm going to kill him...I'm going to fucking kill him!" He shouts while looking you over.

You place a hand on his cheek trying to calm him down.
"It's ok. I'm ok."

He lowers your hand and shakes his head.
"No it's not ok... I'm taking you home with me. You're staying at my place from now on."

He lifts you up and you nestle into your favorite spot in his arms feeling much needed relief.

You're safe

You're loved

You're secure

Three things your brother had offered you and threw away. But you know this man will never do the things your brother has done to you. You know this man is your everything. You wrap your arms around his neck trying not to get blood on his shirt and whisper in his ear.
"I love you."

He squeezes you tightly reciprocating the affection his own way.

Yet you gasp at the pressure on your ribs.
"Ahh...That hurts."

He loosens his grip and sighs at you.
"Hana, I am extremely pissed off right now. If I see that man I am going to crush him.."

As much as you want to see him go at it with your brother, this isn't his fight. And besides, your brother isn't what you thought he was. So you say the words with fear in your heart, hoping Kakashi doesn't snap at this.
"I can't let you do that."

Kakashi stops at the door and looks down at you in disbelief.
Angrily he replies.
"You don't have a say in the matter!"

He carries on walking you out of your home, slamming the front door with his foot.

"Kakashi, it was my fault. He just wanted to talk and I started a fight instead."

You explain and he huffs at that.
"Let's talk about this when we get home. I can't hear anymore right now, or I'll go mental."

"Ok." You reply meekly.

—————————————

"Let me see your lip." He says and removes the cloth from your mouth.

"It's not so bad... Could be worse." You state.

"That is not the mentality you should be having right now. These lips are one of my favorite things.." He confesses and examines the gash.

Smiling inside you reassure him.
"It will be gone by tomorrow."

"That's not the goddamn point, Hana!." He snaps.

Wow...He sure is mad right now. You're starting to think he's more angry at you than anything. He runs his hands along the bruised part of your collar bone.
"This is fractured for sure. And most of your ribs are broken..."

"I'll be fine." You reply.

His eyes flick up to yours.
"I'm not going to say this again. Nothing about this is ok or fine, Hana! Get it through your head!"

You stare at him surprised by his brash remark and harsh tone. At that you start to cry like a little baby. You didn't mean to, but his anger towards you is hurting you more than it should. You know he is just pissed about Shiro and that it probably doesn't have anything to do with you, but you can't help but feel like the target here.

Immediately Kakashi starts to console you.
"Shit....Hana, I'm sorry. Please don't cry..." He wipes the tears from your cheeks making you look at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you so badly. I'm just...I'm having a hard time with this."

Sniffling, you reply quietly.
"I know."

He sighs hard.
"I'm mad at myself for not being there. For letting some asshole hurt my girl. No one gets to lay a finger on my girl. ..No one!."

His last words were said more to himself. But the way he calls you his girl sweeps your tears away. You smile up at him madly in love and can't help but kiss him. You lean towards him and press your lips over his mask-covered mouth then remember your lips probably need stitches.

You push him away, complaining about the sting of pain from his mask sticking to the wound.

"I think we should take you to the hospital." He says, very concerned.

You shake your head.
"No way! I'll be fine by tomorrow, it's just a few broken bones and a cut lip."

He studies you for a moment before speaking.
"Alright, I will go grab my first aid kit." He says overly pronounced, reminding you that he has one and you don't. You roll your eyes.

"When did you become a doctor?" You reply back.

He makes his way towards the bedroom door and turns to look at you.
"When I met you." And he leaves the room heading towards the kitchen.

Ouch...Yeah he's really upset. You have never seen him like this before. It would be wise not to test him right now as you are sure he has no patience for sarcasm or your typical banter.

He returns carrying a large plastic orange case with locks on each side.
"What is that?" You ask.

"It's my first aid kit." He says, and places it down beside your feet on the floor.

"It's almost as big as my suitcase.."

"Yeah...well...I don't know much medical-jutsu, this is the next best thing. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? Sakura is working tonight."

You shake your head quickly and reply with a solid no. The hospital is last on your list of places to be. Right now all you want is to snuggle up to your favorite person in the world and maybe eat some snacks.
"They don't have chimichangas at the hospital." You state.

And finally that comment breaks his anger. He chuckles.
"No they don't. Should I warm some up for you?"

You smile at yourself for brightening his mood.
"Yes please...see? I'm in very good hands." You reply and watch him pull a stitch kit out from the gigantic box.

"You're not going to stitch these lips are you?" You ask nervously.

"No, the cut isn't that bad. I have bandage strips that do almost the same thing." He replies and pulls a bandage wrapper out of the stitch kit.

"Ok good."

"Alright, now hold still." He comes in close, tilting your head up to the light and pauses for a moment. You watch his eyes flit about your face and can't help but ask.

"Is there something on my face?"

He smiles warmly through his mask.
"It's amazing...even with a fat lip and a black eye, you're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"I have a black eye?" You ask, although you can barely get the words out.
You're about to cry like a little baby again at that comment. He notices you tearing up and gets straight to work on stitching up your wound.

"Only a slight black eye." He replies.

You both grow quiet as he focuses on closing the wound, being extra careful not to cause you anymore pain.
"You're too good to me." You say, shyly.

He shakes his head.
"No, I'm not good enough. Now shhh and stop wiggling."

You try your best not to smile through his bandage stitching, only earning a few looks of disapproval before he was finished.

"There. Let's get you into bed." He helps you into bed, making sure you don't put any more weight onto your broken ribs. Then he leaves you with the remote while he goes to make you a snack. After that much use of your stone against your brother you are starving again. You had burned through that entire shake earlier in a matter of minutes.

Kakashi returns with a bottle of water and a plate of chimichangas with all the fixings. You wiggle excitedly in bed watching him lay out the spread beside you.

It was then your phone began to ring from who knows where. You look up at Kakashi and notice his pocket is lit up, buzzing away. This was confusing as you were pretty sure you had left your phone at your house and didn't see him grab it. He pulls it from his pocket, hands it over and takes the words right out of your mouth.

"Wizard." He says and winks.

You burst out laughing and look at your phone. Immediately you cringe.

Kakashi climbs in on his side of the bed and leans over peeking at your phone. He laughs hard at the flashing name on the top of the screen.
"Who the hell is M'Lord?"

"It's my landlord...duh."

He bursts out laughing again.
"That's too funny."

"Should I answer?" You ask him.

"Yes, M'lady." He replies.

You take a deep nervous breath in. This is not going to be good....

"Hello?"

"Hana! Are you ok? The neighbors been complaining about loud bangs and things smashing. Did you..." She clears her throat. "Ummm...did you lose your temper again?"

Kakashi snickers at you listening intently to your conversation. You glare back at him and press a single finger to your lips motioning for him to shut up. Then you whip up a story.

"No, I didn't lose my temper. Someone broke into my house. I had to fight them off, thank god for my combative skills or I would have been done for."

She grows quiet listening, and a silence takes over the conversation as you wait for her reply.

"Look, Hana. I...well...I have heard some of the problems you have caused in other lands. I know it's not your fault. It's because of your condition. But...I think it's best that you move on and find another place to live as it is costing me more to have you stay than keeping the place empty." She stops breathing all together waiting for you to respond.

You huff out a shaky breath. This was inevitable, you knew it, but it still stings you badly.

"Ok. How long do I have?"

"Ahhh..well...I can give you a week."

That is barely enough time to fix up the place. You look over at Kakashi trying to hold back your tears. He returns the look sympathetically.

"Ok...I understand... Thank you." And you sadly hang up, dropping your phone into your lap.

You both sit thinking about everything and how things have gotten even worse than before, until finally Kakashi breaks the silence.

"You can stay here as long as you want." He says.

You sit up painfully and lean forward placing your head in your hands, entangling your fingers into your hair, very hurt and very frustrated. This isn't the way you wanted things to go. You almost feel like you have forced Kakashi into this commitment somehow. It has been just over a month since you have met him and you're already moving in?

"Thank you. But, I don't want to force us into something we aren't ready for." You reply.

"You have been staying here more often than not. I think it will be fine." He places a gentle hand on the back of your head, stroking your hair. "You're always getting the short end of the stick, huh?"

And you couldn't agree more.
"Always. I am beginning to think I'm cursed."

"Well, I'm here. I will make sure you are taken care of....always."

You sit up straight looking into his eyes.
"I owe you so much."

"Nah, you've given me enough. Although I could use some saury. It's been so long...." He pulls his mask down and pouts at you.

And you can't help but smile a little.
"I will do whatever you want me to do. But I think I should still look for another place in the meantime. I don't want to push you. It's not fair."

He gives you a warm smile and kisses your cheek.
"You can do as you wish, however for the next two weeks you are staying with me for your safety."

"Ok. And thank you, Kakashi. Really, I mean that deeply."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He replies, brushing it off. "Let's talk about your brother now."

"Right...that was a weird encounter."

He raises a brow.
"How so?"

"Well, he knows about us. He has somehow figured it out. He also told me our father had taken over his mind for years, and now he's back to his old self. I'm guessing he woke up after haido and our father's death."

"Huh.. I don't really care if he knows about us. In fact I think it's good he does. But this would mean Naruto was right about his feelings towards you." He replies.

That sparks a memory of your brother gawking at your half clad body.
"Yeah..." You reply almost shamefully.

"So what does he want with you?"

You shrug.
"I have no idea. We didn't get that far into the conversation, but he assured me he will be visiting me again soon."

Kakashi growls something under his breath.
"We need to get control over that stone. You know...he revealed to us some very good information at the hokage hearing."

"What's that?"

"You have a Kekkei Genkai. A rare one in fact."

You blow out a breath thinking about it.
"I had no idea. And I still don't quite understand it."

"If what he says is true, which I believe it is just for the fact that you can't control even a simple jutsu, then you have the ability to take chakra and multiply its strength by ten. You do the same with that gelel stone."

"Gods..."

"Hey, it's a great thing! And now I know how to fix your stone control. We should practice tomorrow."

You chew your lip nervously and are quickly reminded of your stitch bandages.
"Ow."

"Don't be nervous, I got you this time."

"I know." You reply and decide to push your fears away. It was true, Kakashi has your back this time, the likelihood of you losing control of your stone's power is down at least ten percent with him around.

"So there's another thing I have to tell you. It's about that meeting I was in while your brother was over visiting." He replies.

"Great..."
You begin to pick at the plate of food as he explains.

"It looks like we will be sent on a mission much sooner than I thought."

You place your chimichanga down.
"Fuck..."

"I know...but thankfully it's only an A class mission. It won't be so bad. However, Your brother will be joining us as it is a mission for the land of lightning. It would seem they are still working together...at least for now."

"The only thing that would make this worse is if Konohamaru is joining us."

Kakashi hums nervously.
"Ahhh...well...He is joining us actually. After you left the restaurant, Naruto had placed him on every mission you and I are subject to. So there's that too.."

You begin to spit out a plethora of profanities before settling down and asking.
"What is the mission?"

"It will take place halfway between the land of lightning and land of fire. There is a group of lower rated rogue shinobi terrorizing the area. We are to take them out."

You scowl.
"Does anyone know the reason why they have gone rogue?"

Kakashi nods.
"Yeah, apparently they were exiled from surrounding lands for dealing and gambling. They have caused a lot of people a lot of trouble. I think this mission is legit. It was given to us by not only the hokage from the land of lightning but Mrs. Mizukage as well. She is vouching for them."

You blow out another long breath.
"So, we go in, kill them and go home?"

He nods.
"Let's hope it is that easy."

"And how many rogues are there?"

"Last time they counted there were five. But that number could be more by now. We are taking a team of five shinobi." He replies.

"Alright. But I thought Shiro and I were to be placed on higher classes missions?." You say defeated as there is nothing you can do about it. You're being voluntold right now.

"Well..they want to test you out with a lower class mission first. Something safer...but I'll make sure it is a quick mission. We leave in two days."

"Two days? I'm supposed to be moving out of my place, and I have a ton of repair work to do so I can get my damage deposit back. We are also training tomorrow." You cover your face with your hands feeling the intense pressure.

"Hey it's ok, I've already worked that part out. Naruto will fix up your place. He's pretty good at that stuff and with his clone jutsu he can get it all done in no time. We can move all your stuff into storage for now...." He pauses for a moment searching the sheets for more words. "Look...I know you feel like things are moving fast between us...and I don't want to scare you off or anything. But I have no problem with you living here...it is up to you how fast you want to go and I will be here no matter what decisions you make."

Your heart flutters. He is just the greatest man you have ever met.
"Thank you. I appreciate it. I'll ask around and see if I can get my stuff into storage."

"Great." He leans back against the headboard and picks up the remote, changing the channel to a documentary on previous wars.

You remove the plate from the bed and everything else he has set up so you can snuggle in beside him. There are so many things running rampant through your mind, so many terrifying scenarios that could take place. You have a lot to deal with over the next few days and have no idea how to get it all done. Life really sucks right now. You praise the gods for Kakashi, as you're pretty sure you wouldn't be able to handle it all without him. You curl your arm around his chest nuzzling into his shoulder.
"Things are going to get way more complicated, Kakashi."

"I know. But remember I am five steps ahead...always..."

He was completely right, this man is always miles ahead of everyone else. You are beginning to think he is some sort of secret genius. It was then a thought crossed your mind. Before Kakashi, it was your brother who was by your side...although it has been many years. Shiro was the man Kakashi is to you now minus the attraction and affection. You wonder if Shiro and Kakashi are equals on a shinobi level, if Shiro out does Kakashi in strength. You have no idea as you still don't know what Kakashi is capable of. What you do know is that he is strong, agile, and extremely smart from what he has shown you so far. If Kakashi doesn't out due your brother in brute strength then he would most definitely out due him in combat tactics.

These thoughts spark some questions for Kakashi.
"Hey...are you still going to go after my brother?"

He sighs.
"Not if you don't want me to. That being said, I am going to have a long chat with him though."

You trace your fingers over his chest.
"If he gets mouthy or wants to fight, you have my permission to take him on."

He chuckles and squeezes you.
"Thank you, kitten."

You both quiet down after that and spend the next hour watching tv while your stone gets to work on your broken bones.