"Meiko, you need to focus." Kakashi snapped at her, and the girl gave a timid nod as she once again brought up her fake leg in a swift kick to the tree trunk ahead of her. When the leg came in contact with the trunk, a few shards of broken wood shattered off of it.

"Harder." Kakashi said, and Meiko raised her eyebrows at him as if she couldn't believe what he was saying. But she followed his order, bringing her leg around even harder against the trunk. A larger dent was created, and a few more shards broke off.

"Harder, again!" Kakashi shouted, and the girl threw her arms down as she looked back at him.

"I can't! I can barely move my leg as it is Kakashi!" Meiko said, a single bead of sweat traveling down the girls face. Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose, the annoyance practically radiating off of him.

"If you ever plan on being a true ninja again, you have to push past this!" Kakashi said, and Meiko threw her arms up in the air.

"Can't you see I'm trying?! I'm doing so much better for myself, but it's not enough is it?!" Meiko said, moving closer to Kakashi as if she was trying to intimate the man, but with her small stature it was nearly impossible.

"I'm just telling you that you need to get better. You're not giving it your all, and that's not what shinobi do." Kakashi said, leaning down so that they were face to face with each other.

"I'm not a normal shinobi, if you haven't noticed!" Meiko said, pushing her face a little closer to his. The two began to glare at each other, neither one of them blinking as they glared.

"Obviously not." Kakashi said. "You're much more than a normal shinobi. You have to push yourself much harder than anyone, because you're not a whole. You're parts, and that's something you have to deal with forever Meiko." Kakashi said, and Meiko sighed heavily as she glanced down at the ground, breaking the intense glare between the two.

"Yeah, I know." Meiko said, and Kakashi sighed as well before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"It's not that I don't believe in you, Meiko. Because I do. But you have to push yourself harder than anyone I know, it's harder for you to be a shinobi than anyone you have ever heard of. But I know you can do it." He said, his hands rubbing up and down her back slightly. "I know you can, I know you can." He kept repeating to her.

Meiko was quiet for sometime, mostly because she didn't know what to say. He had faith in her, but did she have faith herself? Obviously, she didn't. She always felt as if she was a burden to everyone, and that was just something she couldn't shake from her memory. With a sigh, Meiko looked up at Kakashi with a blank look on her face.

"Thank you." She said quietly, and Kakashi nodded gently, pressing his lips against her forehead from under his mask. A blush formed over her cheeks, and she slowly pulled away from him.

Kakashi smiled at her slightly, his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side slightly. Meiko laughed quietly as she stared at the white haired Jonin, playfully shoving his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier." Meiko said.

"It's okay. I'm pushing you too hard, and I apologize for that." Kakashi said, before he took a deep breath and reached forward with his hand, his fingers lacing through Meiko's. This small action caused a blush to fork over the girls cheek as she slowly glanced away at the ground, a small smile playing on her lips. "And to make up for that," Kakashi continued. "I-I wanna take you out to eat. My treat."

Meiko stared at the taller man in front of her for some time, a blank expression on her face that Kakashi couldn't read, until the ghost of a smile formed over her lips. "That sounds great." She said.

Kakashi looked at her with a wide eye, before he laughed and relaxed back slightly. "Great. Should we go now?"

"That sound great as well." Meiko said, and the pair turned from the training field and began to walk together, their hands still laced together. Their arms swaying back and forth slightly as they walked through the town, looking for a place they could eat.

"Do you want to go to ichruka's?" Kakashi asked, and Meiko gave a small, timid nod as they walked towards the famous ramen shop. They entered the small ramen shop together, sitting down on stools of the bar, Meiko fumbling with her fingers slightly as they did.

"Ah, Meiko! Kakashi! The normal?" The guy asked, and both Kakashi nodded. It was a comfortable silence that fell upon the two, but neither of them particularly liked.

"So, how's Minato been lately?" Meiko asked, and Kakashi shrugged slightly.

"Ever since he became Hokage, I don't see him that much unless I go over to his house and make sure everything's okay, and get missions. But he's good."

"How far along is Kushina now?" Meiko asked, the joy filling her voice. She loved the idea of children. But she had basically decided against kids of her own because she was now trying to keep her leg as secret as she could.

"I think she's eight months now. They are going to be moving her somewhere else to give birthday to the son." Kakashi said, and Meiko nodded slightly as their bowls were placed in front of them.

"Thank you!" Meiko said with a smile.

"Welcome, Meiko."

"Anyways, is that because of the fox?"

"Yeah, because the seal weakens when she gives birth. It's better to have her away so that the fox won't be close to the village if the seal breaks. Which none of us believe it will, but still." Kakashi said, and Meiko nodded slightly.

They began to eat their food, the only sound was the slurping of the noodles every once in a while from one of their mouths. Meiko was fairly good at not looking at Kakashi when he ate, since he had his mask down. She respected that he didn't want anyone to see his face, so she didn't sneak a peak.

No matter how many times she wanted to.

When they finished eating, Kakashi and Meiko began to argue about who was going to pay for the bill. In the end, Kakashi won the argument. And by won, that means he secretly gave the money to the owner when Meiko was yelling at him.

"I cannot believe that you did that. I wanted to pay. I said I would pay. But no! Kakashi wants to pay." Meiko said as they walked through the town towards Kakashi's home. The night line shined down through the cracks that the roofs left open from the lack of connection, and it made the path home a peaceful one.

"Oh get over it, Sarutobi. You're too headstrong." Kakashi said, standing at the end of the stairs as Meiko started her way up. He always walked behind her in case she fell, so he could catch her. Once she was a few steps up, Kakashi started up the stairs behind her.

"You just can't let someone else win, can you?" Meiko laughed as she opened the door to Kakashi house with the key he had given her, allowing herself in.

"No, no I can't." Kakashi laughed as he closed the door behind him, his eyes traveling over to Meiko who was sitting on the couch. She had her legs crossed as best she could, considering her leg still bent. She had her knee cap, but under that was gone.

"Figures." Meiko said, watching as the white haired shinobi sat beside of her. Nearly on instinct, she rested her head on his shoulder and their fingers laced together, resting between them. This was completely out of both of their nature, but they couldn't help the warm feeling they got when they were close to each other.

Kakashi rubbed his thumb slowly against the girls knuckle gently, his breathing calm and collect with the silence around them. Meiko let out a happy sigh as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"Meiko, can I talk to you about something?" Kakashi asked, and the girl nodded.

"Of course, Kakashi. What is it?"

"Well, I had this talk with your brother about something I've been feeling for a while. I cannot help the way I feel around you. You make my heart beat so fast, and my stomach turns in circles when we touch. I hate watching you leave when you have to go home, and I just want you around all of the time. I am not sure why I feel this way. Why I want to... to kiss you. To hold you. I swore I would never get attached to someone, because getting attached only leads to heart ache. I mean look at Obito and Rin? I lost them, and I did care about them. I may not have shown it a lot, but I did care. But with you, I can't help the attachment that I feel with you. Meiko, when I talked to your brother and I told him all of the feelings that I felt, he told me that I was in love with you. I thought about it for a long time. A long long time, and I just... I think he was right. Meiko Sarutobi, I think I love you." Kakashi said, his voice growing more and more quiet as his speech went on.

Meiko sat up from her place on his shoulder, and she stared at him. She stared at him and began to think about everything they had ever done together. All the training, the fighting, the laughing, the long nights of hold each other, the smiles, the tears, the promises. The long nights of staying awake with one another and just joking about random things.

As Meiko stared at him, she smiled. Not a simply smile that Meiko normally wore, no this was a large smile that spread across her cheeks. She placed her hands on Kakashi cheeks, and she kept the smile on her lips.

Kakashi stared at her, his eye showing the nervousness that he truly had. But what happened next, was something that Kakashi did not expect. The girls head leaned forward, slowly, slightly itching towards him.

and Meiko pressed her lips against Kakashi's through his mask.

It was a simple kiss, but it was enough that you could see the fireworks that exploded when their lips touched. The warm sensation that trailed through the pairs body, and the way that the atmosphere changed from nervous to loving in a split second.

And in that moment she knew. She knew that she loved him just as much as he loved her.

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SORRY FOR THE WAIT BABIES. I JUST STARTED SCHOOL YESTERDAY AND IVE BEEN GETTING READY FOR IT