Meiko moved up to the gates of Konoha, and smiled when her best friends came into sight. "Hey guys!" Meiko called out, waving her hand at them, moving towards them at a much faster pace than normal. Kotetsu gave her an uneasy smile, and Izumo acted as if he didn't hear her.

"Oh hey, Meiko." Kotetsu said as she stood in front of the desk.

"I haven't seen you guys in a while, how have you been?!" Meiko said, the happiness basically radiating off of her.

"Fine." Kotetsu said, his voice basically completely monotone.

"What's wrong guys? I haven't talked to you in days." Meiko said with a pout, and Izumo rolled his eyes slightly.

"Maybe because you're not as fun as you used to be." Izumo said, and Meiko tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't do anything we love to do anymore. You can barely walk. You're not so much fun when we're not vandalizing the town." Izumo said, and Meiko nodded her head slightly, before she slowly moved away from the counter, her head still hung low.

(Waiting for xXAkatsukixLoverXx to kick some ass.)

With a small sigh, Meiko waited for Kakashi, Gai, and Rin. They had become her friends more than her 'best friends,' had lately. Since the first attack Meiko was part of in this war, she had not been the same, of course at no fault of her own. Losing your leg could do that to people, change you at least.

Gai and Kakashi walked through the gates, and Meiko's eyes lit up slightly, until she realized that Rin wasn't with them. She ran towards Kakashi the best she could, who was staring at her with sad eyes, his body visibly tense.

"Kakashi, what happened? Where's Rin?" She asked quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder slightly. Kakashi opened his mouth from under his mask to speak, but instead he fell against Meiko's shoulder and silent tears fell down his face.

"She died, Meiko. I-I tried! S-She jumped in the way of my C-Chidori, and it went right through her heart! I-I killed her." Kakashi whispered quietly, Meiko's arms wrapping around him tightly as they both fell to the ground, to their knees. Meiko's legs gave out from under her when Kakashi fell because of the tight hold he had on her. Kakashi leaned against his friend, and they just sat their like that for a while.

Gai ended up walkin past the two, saying he would go fill out the mission report for them, so that they didn't have to worry about it, for Meiko to get Kakashi somewhere else for now. Meiko could tell Gai was upset, because not once did he use the word youthful in his sentence. With a small sigh, Meiko helped Kakashi to his feet, lacing  their fingers together as they walked towards Kakashi's apartment. Meiko ran her thumb along Kakashi's knuckle gently, in an attempt to calm the man down, and to an extent, it worked.

They arrived at Kakashi's household, and Meiko's dark eyes watched at Kakashi's hands moved with the door knob, how every movement seemed to be a struggle for him. It was the same was she moved after she lost her leg, and that scared her.

Kakashi and Meiko sat down beside each other on the couch, and Kakashi played with his hands slightly in an attempt to not cry, but after a few minutes, he couldn't help it. He had vowed to protect Meiko and Rin, secretly promising Obito he would look after both of them, and he had failed. Meiko was broken, and Rin was dead. Obito was dead, his father was dead. How much more death could Kakashi possibly take in his life at the young age? How much more hurt and regret could Kakashi hold in his body?

Meiko moved closer to Kakashi, and wrapped her arms around him. Her head rested on his chest, and she slowly moved her fingers around on his chest in small circles, comforting him in the only way she knew how. And surprisingly, it was actually calming to him.

They sat together in silence for a long time, before Kakashi's hand slowly moved onto Meiko's arm, and his fingers wrapped around it tightly. "M-Meiko's..." Kakashi whispered quietly.

"Yeah, Kakashi?" She asked, glancing up at him lightly, her brown eyes gazing into his onyx eye.

"I-I promise. I'll never hurt you. I'll a-always protect you." Kakashi said, and he leaned forward, his lips connecting to her forehead from under his mask. A light blush formed over Meiko's cheeks, and she nodded slightly.

"I know." Meiko said, and she leaned up slightly, kissing Kakashi forehead gently, before she rested back into his side. The two laid there for a while, holding each other in silence, until Kakashi's light snores filled the room. Meiko glanced up at him with a small smile, her eyes glancing over his soft features. The pain that had been on his face was gone while he left, as if he had never felt pain in his entire life, and that was something Meiko wished she could see on his face more.

In the last couple of months she had spent with Kakashi, she had really learned how to read him like an open book, from the smallest movement he made that would really show how he felt, to the tears that fell down his face when he thought about Obito, or what happened to Meiko, his father, and Rin. Kakashi was not one to show his emotions to anyone, by no means. But Meiko learned how to read him easily, because they were a lot alike.

Kakashi had grown up before his time, and Meiko knew that. She knew that everyone sometimes forgot that Kakashi was just a kid still, only in his teenage years. For he acted far beyond his time, far wiser than anyone he knew and anything that could ever be taught to him.

Meiko blamed that on his father, making Kakashi join that academy at such a young age, killing himself and leaving his young son on his own after he found his body. Kakashi was too hard in on what he did, he was just a child, with the mind of an adult.

Though she couldn't blame it all on his father. Kakashi had his faults into it too, being overly tight about what the handbook said, and he took everything way too seriously. Meiko knew he needed to lay back sometimes, and he also needed someone to be there for him.

And she was going to be that person for as long as she could.

//

Meiko was asleep against Kakashi when he woke up, their bodies have completely shifted throughout the night. Kakashi and her were both laying across his couch, Meiko closest to the cushions, and Kakashi directly beside her. His arm was draped over her waist, placed lightly under her shirt so his bare hand was placed on her lower back. Her hand was place on his chest, her small fingers clenching at the fabric of the shirt he had on, her hair laying messily along her face, a peaceful look on her face. Meiko's legs were tangled in Kakashi's, her false leg over his hip bone, and her real one wedged in between of his.

Kakashi smiled down at her from under his mask, unaware of what the warm feeling in his stomach was of her being this close to him. Unaware of why he wanted her to be even closer than she already was, and for her to be around all the time. He was unaware as to why she didn't judge him for killing Rin, for causing her to lose her leg, for letting Obito die.

He had let everyone on his team down. Failing to protect Rin, failing to protect Obito, falling to protect Meiko. He failed his sensei by not being able to keep his team safe, to keep everyone he cared about out of harms way. What kind of leader was Kakashi? He felt like nothing more than a failure to the ninja world.

Meiko stirred slightly in her sleep, her robotic type leg scrapping against Kakashi hip bone. It was another painful reminder of how he had failed to protect her from harms way, but it was also proof enough to him that she was still here. That's all he could really ask for, all he could deserve. In his mind, he didn't even deserve the caring nature that Meiko had been so kind as to show to him, even after everything.

"Meiko." Kakashi whispered to her, knowing she wouldn't hear him because she was asleep. "I just want to thank you for being the person I can rely on the most. I'm not great at being a friend, or being able to show and tell people how I feel. But I want you to know that I really do appreciate you, and everything you've ever done for me. When I first started... writing you those notes, I was just trying to scare you into not doing what you were doing to the town... Because I knew that your father would probably kill you, and so would the villagers. I was just trying to scare you. But the more letters we sent back and forth, the more I felt this need to protect you. I-I don't know where it came from, or why you make me so fucking nervous to even look at you. I don't know what the feeling is, but I promise Meiko, I am going to protect you. No matter what."

When he was done with his small speech, he was unaware that Meiko was awake, and had heard every word Kakashi told her. She had to fight the blush off of her cheeks, shifting around slightly so that her hair covered her face to block the blush on her cheeks.

Could Kakashi had really meant all of those things he said to her? She had lost everyone close to her lately, so it was not surprise that Meiko had a hard time believing Kakashi. Her best friends weren't even her best friend anymore, so how in the world could she believe that Kakashi meant a single thing he said.

Maybe it was the tone of his voice when he told her that, maybe it was the way she could feel the emoting behind his words. Maybe it was the way he held her at this moment, and how he had promised to protect her from the moment she lost her leg.

Or maybe it was the way he didn't judge her for losing her leg, and how he trained with her to become strong without the use of taijutsu, her strong point. She had to basically relearn being a ninja, and Kakashi was patient with her for that reason. Anyone else he trained would have not been given the leeway that she was, and Kakashi couldn't put his finger on why he gave her all the leeway she needed.

The two of them had a lot of feelings that they couldn't decipher, they couldn't figure what any of the feelings were. Why they felt all nervous around each other, why they're hearts sped up when the other even glanced at them, and why they're stomachs got this funny feeling in them when the other smiled.

But to everyone else, it was clear what the two felt. From the small glances they gave each other, to the way that they lit up around each other. Oh yes, it was clear to everyone, even the older Sarutobi brother.

That the two were in love.

But they didn't know that yet.

//

HELLOOOOOO.

I am co-writing another story with MidnightRavencrow on the account MidnightPilots ! It isn't up yet, we haven't gotten that far, but it would mean a lot to us if you followed that account.

Also check out the story I co-write with Gaara-Panda on this account called Beetle In The Shadows!

I love you guys. ❤️