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the-isekai-ninja · 6 days ago

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The Konoha Academy Spring Festival ✧ Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Grand Gesture

Part 2 of the For Your Own Good Series Chapter 12/12 ✧ Work Masterlist

Relationship: Hatake Kakashi x fem!Reader

Content: fluff, angst, slow burn, mutual pining, awkward flirting, suggestive humor. brief description of past physical violence toward reader by male oc. alternating POV. self-ship coded; please see author's note on series page for defined characteristics of reader.

Word Count: 3.3k

Work Summary: Kakashi can't deny it; he's developing feelings for you. When he hears that you've signed up to organize and work the Shinobi Academy's Spring Festival, he wonders if he can use the opportunity to finally spend time with you; uninterrupted by his noisy students or your duties at Ichiraku. But of course, a genius like him should know it won't be that simple.

Read on AO3

For the rest of the day, you were distracted. You took down orders wrong, stumbled over your words, and bumped into a stack of bowls—still containing cold, uneaten ramen—sending them crashing to the ground.

After you nearly sliced into your finger while chopping produce, Ayame ordered you to go sit in the stock area and take five. And as you plopped down on the one stool that fit in the tiny room, you couldn’t help but put your head in your hands.

Dismissed by my baby sister. This is a new low.

But to be fair to yourself; it had been a weird day so far, and it brought up a lot of feelings. Feelings that were next to impossible to sort out in just five minutes.

Determined not to let your overthinking get the best of you, you rejoined your sister two minutes earlier than expected but not a moment too soon. There was a reason Ayame didn’t handle the front of house on her own yet, and after feeling like you weren’t missed while you volunteered with the festival, you had to admit it felt good to be needed. The new appearance of the dinner rush could have just been another blight of an already difficult day, but you welcomed it. You pushed everything else from your mind and focused only on all things Ichiraku.

And it worked.

Until it was time to leave.

In your whirlwind of determination, you’d been a little too efficient. Cleaning up the shop had taken less time than you wanted it to, and Ayame practically had to push you out the door. The long day had left you exhausted, and the last thing you wanted to do was trek all the way to the village gate to tell a guy you didn’t want to date him.

Weird that it was the “right” thing to do, though.

The issue of Kotetsu had caught you off-guard, but you would be lying if you said you didn’t feel guilty now that you realized you had kind of blown him off at the festival. Not guilty enough that you owed him anything, as he so boldly put it, but still; you never meant to just disappear like that. And if you didn’t go and finish the conversation with him tonight, it felt like ditching him all over again. Which you couldn’t—in good conscience—do.

Life must be so much easier for people who don’t mind being jerks.

You reminded yourself that it didn’t need to be a big deal. Just give him the courtesy of an answer, so that things don’t have to be weird if you run into each other in the future. If he’s halfway decent, he’ll understand. And if not, I made the right call.

True, you didn’t know him very well. But you’d seen enough to make up your mind; Kotetsu wasn’t the guy for you.

Maybe you had your walls up a bit too high, but after the way your last relationship ended, you couldn’t help it.

There wasn’t much to say about Zakuro. He was a pretty typical guy of the Hidden Leaf; trained as a shinobi, but was only ever an average one. Attractive enough, but in a conventional way. His ego grated on you at times, but no more than most peoples’ could. It wasn’t a perfect relationship, but it wasn’t bad either. Just two people who were reasonably attracted to each other deciding to see if it could go somewhere.

Your biggest issue with him was his attitude toward Naruto. Zakuro fell quite decidedly into the “Naruto is a monster” camp, and though Naruto was practically a member of your family by this point, Zakuro’s attitude didn’t upset you as much as it should have. You were all too aware of how most people—especially shinobi—tended to perceive Naruto.

You tried to change Zakuro’s opinion when you could, even going so far as to spend time with them together so Zakuro could get to know Naruto beyond whatever the village was whispering about him. But Zakuro continued to look at the Uzumaki boy like he was worth less than dirt, and Naruto made no effort to hide that the feeling was mutual. To keep the peace, it wasn’t long before you learned to keep those two worlds separate.

Maybe one day—you stupidly hoped—Zakuro would come around.

And you continued to hope, until about six months ago, when the relationship abruptly ended.

It was October 9th, the day before Naruto’s birthday. You’d spent the whole morning baking him a cake like you’d done for years, but a kid only turned 12 once, and you’d been a little too ambitious with the decorating. When Zakuro showed up to take you on a pre-planned date, he found you nowhere near ready; with frosting on your arm and berry juice staining your fingers.

Instead of offering to help, or at least complimenting you on the nearly-finished product, Zakuro had only said, “Are you kidding me?”

And though his tone didn’t hide his anger, you didn’t see it fast enough. You laughed; apologizing through giggles like this was nothing more than a funny story you could tell him over dinner, and asked him to give you fifteen minutes to wrap up the cake and change clothes.

Your nonchalance set him off further. “You’re seriously making a birthday cake for a demon?! You want to celebrate that shitstain being born?!”

It was stupid; but your first reaction was surprise that Zakuro didn’t know you’d been doing this for years, and hurt that he hadn’t known that about you. You only responded: “I always do.”

He had never raised a finger to you before, but his anger on that day had crossed some threshold in his mind, and he hit you hard enough across your face that the resulting bruise mottled dark purple and bright red. Before the sting even fully set in, Zakuro pushed the cake to the ground and squashed it under his foot as he stepped forward to get in your face.

“I’ve put up with this bullshit for too long. Naruto is garbage. Drop him, and clean yourself up so we can go.”

Then he left.

Needless to say, you did not make it to dinner that night. You went to your father’s, giving him and Ayame the shortest version of the story you could stomach to tell. They gave you ice for your face and helped make a new (less elaborate) cake, and the following day, that simple cake brought a smile to Naruto’s face that was so bright and thankful, you almost didn’t care what had happened the previous day.

You hadn’t seen Zakuro since. He must have written you off completely when you didn’t show up for dinner that night; choosing a “monster” over him. You still worried you might cross paths with him one day, but at least he had the decency not to come to Ichiraku. Which, considering the colorful threats your sister had for him, was in everyone’s best interest.

All that sad story to say: the way people acted toward Naruto spoke volumes to you. And from what you’d seen, Kotetsu didn’t pass the test.

Not many did, sadly.

Iruka was one of the good ones, but things just weren’t like that between the two of you.

Kakashi is another one, but… similar problem.

You sighed, wishing things were different with him. What you said to Ayame was true; you would rather have Kakashi as a friend than nothing. But it was obvious that you liked him more than that, and you were worried your crush would cause a problem down the road if you didn’t get it under control.

Which it was… mostly.

A frustrated huff left your lips. It just wasn’t fair! It wasn’t your fault Kakashi was funny and clever and charming. He was probably the most sought-after man in the Leaf! It would be weirder if you didn’t have a crush on him.

You wondered what he wanted to say to you earlier. It couldn’t have been too important, if he didn’t wait around. But a little excitement fluttered through your heart, considering that at least this meant he had a reason to come back tomorrow.

Eventually, you would have to get the crush under control. You had to.

Still, the excitement bubbled in your belly until you reached the village gate, where it instantly soured. Kotetsu was sitting there with another shinobi you recognized but didn’t really know. The two men were laughing over something funny enough to have them clutching their stomachs with tears pricking their eyes. At least he’s in a good mood.

Kotetsu looked up as you approached, quickly nudging the other man with his elbow and sitting up straight. “Y/N, hey,” he started. “You know Izumo, right?”

“Hi Kotetsu. Izumo.” You waved awkwardly.

“Be right back,” Kotetsu said to Izumo, both of them devolving into another controlled fit of laughter before he walked around to meet you. “So. Did you have time to give my offer any thought?”

“Yeah, I—”

“Any night this week works for me,” he cut you off, smirking. “Obviously the sooner the better, though.”

You let out a breath. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to turn you down.”

The smile disappeared from his face and his eyes flashed with a look of confusion. “What do you…” Suddenly his face relaxed, that easy smile returning. “If this is a bad week, we can just set a date for another time that’s better for you.”

“No, that’s not the problem.”

“Then, what is the problem?”

“It’s not that there’s a problem, exactly…” You forced down a groan. “I’m just… not interested.”

His brow furrowed like he’d ever considered this possibility. “Why not?”

Explaining why you weren’t interested sounded like a nightmare, but maybe it could be a good thing if it meant he might act differently in the future. You mentally sorted through what you could tell him and what was none of his business.

“Well, honestly, I didn’t like the way you spoke to Squad Seven earlier.”

“Squad Seven? What do they have to do with— Oh, I get it.” His posture shifted to a defensive pose. “You’re waiting around for Kakashi, aren’t you?”

Heat immediately flushed your cheeks. “No,” you answered, knowing that your face was telling a different story.

“Look, obviously you can do whatever you want but I’m just warning you; Kakashi’s never gonna be a “boyfriend” kind of guy. If you know what I mean.”

You face twisted in stunned disbelief, but Kotetsu must have interpreted your silence as ignorance; barreling on.

“I heard that when he was in the ANBU, he slept around with every—”

“Stop.” Your tone left no room for discussion. “Kakashi is my friend. I’m not talking about him like this.”

“Okay, sorry,” Kotetsu winced, sounding sincere enough to make you feel a bit better. “Just… be careful around him.”

The unnecessary protectiveness had you rolling your eyes. “Kotetsu—”

“Seriously. You don’t get the nickname “friend-killer” for nothing.”

You hated to admit it, but considering how far removed from the inner shinobi world as you were, there was a lot you didn’t know. The missions they went on—high-ranking ones anyway—were not discussed with civilians. Sure, word would get around in a lot of cases, but the information was usually fifth-hand and barely credible.

It was true that Kakashi’s old teammates had died on missions years ago. But you didn’t believe he was responsible. No matter how many nicknames would imply otherwise.

“I’m gonna go now,” you announced, decidedly pointing over your shoulder back toward the village.

Kotetsu looked chagrined, and you could tell he was regretting the way this conversation went, but he had no clue what to do about it. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he winced. “Sorry—again.”

You offered him a friendly smile as an olive branch. “Hope the rest of your shift goes well.”

“Yeah, you too. I mean—” He smiled back. “I hope things go well for you, too.”

Such a weird day.

You trudged home, looking forward to the leftover yakisoba in your fridge and a warm shower before bed. Actually, no. A bath. This was the type of day that bubble baths were invented for. Would it be too much to eat in the bath? Eh, that might be asking for trouble. Dinner first, bath second, then start fresh tomorrow.

Although, today wasn’t over just yet.

As your apartment came into view, you noticed a figure leaning back against the wall beside the door. There was just enough light for you to recognize a shinobi uniform and a head of messy silver hair.

“K…Kakashi?”

He stood up quickly, hiding his hands behind his back. “Y/N, hi,” he smiled, keeping his hands hidden. Whatever he was holding made a crinkling noise with even his slightest move.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Did I scare you?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he teased. “But I suppose this proves I shouldn’t rely on chakra signatures to tell me whether or not I’m alone.”

“Well luckily, anyone who could sneak up on you for that reason wouldn’t be a threat.”

He hummed. “That may be true.”

You shifted on your feet, waiting for him to explain what he was doing outside your apartment at this hour. “So… what brings you by?”

He paused for a moment before removing his hand from behind his back. He extended the mystery item to you: a bouquet. A rather pretty bouquet of pink, red, and yellow flowers of various types. “Here,” he smiled. “This is for you.”

Your face flamed so quickly you felt the heat singeing your eyelashes. “For… me?”

“Yes.” He leaned forward a bit to force the flowers a little closer, pressing them into your clammy grip.

You hesitantly closed your fingers around the stems, accepting the gift. “I, um, I’m not sure what to say,” you stammered. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like them,” he answered, his eye crinkling a little tighter.

“I… I just don’t understand why you’re giving them to me.”

His eye flew open, and you thought you may have registered surprise. “Well, I want to apologize again. For how I handled Asuma.”

“Oh, Kakashi, I told you I forgave you.” You waved your free hand in between you. “You don’t have to apologize again.”

“Yes, I do,” he insisted. “I feel like my apology at the banquet may have been misleading, and I want to correct it.”

“Misleading? No, Kakashi,” you somehow blushed harder, mortified that he was looking to relive that experience again. “I appreciate you coming over here and bringing these flowers; really, it’s very sweet. But it really wasn’t necessary to go through all that trouble. I understand what you were saying.”

“No, please,” he asserted, stepping closer and commanding your full attention. “I didn’t explain myself properly.”

“I know you didn’t mean to embarrass me,” you recited. “You were just trying to correct your friends’ assumptions. It’s perfectly fine.”

“No, it’s not. Because that’s just it…” he argued, taking a pause like he was choosing his words very carefully. “What I told Asuma… when I agreed with him… I wasn’t correcting a misunderstanding. I was creating one.”

“What do you mean?”

“My apology that night was incomplete. I apologized for making you feel uncomfortable, but there was more I should have said. I’ve been trying to find the right time and the right… way to tell you.” He glanced at the flowers and awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is probably still not right. But I need to tell you before I lose my nerve. Again.”

Your heart was pounding, your chest so tight you weren’t sure you’d be able to get any words out. But somehow, you managed.

“Okay,” you nodded. “I’m listening.”

His gaze shifted to the ground as he gathered his thoughts. “The truth is, I was… flattered when Kurenai thought we were at the festival together. As… more than friends. As a couple.”

You could only stare at the beautiful blush dominating the visible twenty-five percent of his face. You were hearing his words, but for some reason they were hitting your ear like a foreign language.

“But when Asuma opened his big mouth,” Kakashi continued, “I started second-guessing everything, and I just went along with him, even though I didn’t actually agree.” His dark eye locked onto you. “I acted like a coward, and there’s no excuse for the way I hurt you.”

“It’s alright,” you offered automatically.

“It’s not,” he countered. “And I should have told you all this at the banquet but I—”

He took a breath and steeled himself. “Y/N, I do have romantic feelings for you. I like you. A lot. I like being with you, talking to you. You make me feel like… I’ve never felt like this before. And if I haven’t completely ruined my chances with you, I came here to see if you’d like to go on a date. With me.”

During the entirety of his explanation, you could feel your eyes widening and your body getting warmer and warmer. “You… want to take me on a date?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “I thought maybe I could take you to dinner… n-not right now, I mean—!” he quickly added. “I know it’s late and you’ve been working all day, but maybe another night? If you were interested, I mean.”

The butterflies in your stomach were fluttering like mad, and you couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled from your chest. Was it seriously possible that Kakashi of the Sharingan was as nervous as you were?

“I would really like that, Kakashi.”

He let out a breath. “You would?”

“Yes,” you smiled. “Is that so difficult to believe?”

“A little,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck again. “After all the trouble I caused, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you weren’t interested.”

Stupid man, you affectionately thought as you gazed up at him. “I am definitely interested.”

He actually let out a nervous laugh. “So, would you be available tomorrow night?”

You had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from hysterically giggling with euphoric nerves. “Tomorrow is good for me.”

“Great,” he exhaled, sounding more relieved than you ever would have allowed yourself to hope. “I’ll meet you here. Should we say seven?”

“Okay,” you beamed. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Kakashi smiled. “Well, I guess I should let you get back to your night.”

You laughed; that yakisoba and bubble bath were now the furthest thing from your mind. “I should probably put these in water,” you said, holding up the flowers. “Goodnight Kakashi.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

He waved before walking off with his hands in his pockets, and though it might have been wishful thinking, you thought you spotted a spring in his step. You lifted the flowers and inhaled their delicate scent, your head going even fuzzier with thoughts of the Copy Ninja being flustered over you.

Ayame was right all along, you realized. She’ll never let me hear the end of it when I tell her.

But it would be a small price to pay. If there were ever a time you wanted her to be right and yourself to be wrong, this was the perfect one.

Kakashi Hatake had feelings for you.

That idea—that fact—was enough to make the stress and exhaustion of the long day disappear completely. You would never complain about a weird day again if you had Kakashi to look forward to at the end of it.

Which, tomorrow, I do.

And hopefully, this will only be the beginning.

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tags (join the list): @pastelle-rabbit, @stressyviv, @the-isekai-ninja, @kcch-ns, @bakugouswaif, @bleep-bloop-blogs, @cutcolorcomposure, @haseenamalik184, @holdmybankai, @tanyaspartak, @a-girl-cant-decide-on-a-name, @dog55teeth, @leemoonna, @zeyzeys-stuff, @heeseung-lover686, @hatakenami, @vindelatrix

author's note: the festival arc is over but i plan to continue kakashi and reader's story in a new work! so if you enjoyed please keep an eye on the series or consider joining the taglist <3

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#i saw this go up yesterday and have been WAITING to have the free time to finally read omggg #HE FINALLY DID IT HE ASKED HER OUT!!!!!!!! KAKASHI IM SO PROUD OF U #exploding Zakuro with my mind

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the-isekai-ninja · 25 days ago

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a/n: kakashi word vomit i wanna make out w him

masterlist

kakashi is so attractive & he never believes it until you show him how much you’re attracted to him. when you first see him you’re doing a double take bc no one said the famous copy ninja was such a stunner ???

it takes a lot of courage and teasing from asuma and kurenai before you even think about talking to the silver haired shinobi. at first kakashi thinks you’re nervous because you’re scared of him, so he assures you he wouldn’t hurt you.

“you don’t have to be so nervous y’know, i don’t bite” he smiles, eye crinkling and it makes you flush.

“I’ve just never tried flirting with someone as attractive as you” you blurt out, cursing kurenai for encouraging the three shots you took before walking over to kakashi.

kakashi is shocked, his only visible eye now wide and mouth in the shape of an ‘o’ (even if you can’t see it). he doesn’t say anything, wondering how you could find someone as average as him attractive.

nevertheless kakashi doesn’t make you feel awkward, continuing the conversation. the two of you click perfectly, laughing softly and getting to know each other. kakashi is quick to ask you when he’d see you again, thankful his mask is hiding his profuse blushing.

four months later the two of you as sitting on his couch, the movie was mere background noise as you looked at your boyfriend, something akin to a magnetic force pulling your lips towards his exposed neck. you press feathery kisses all over it, kakashi sighs softly.

“thought you wanted to watch this movie?” he chuckles, moving his neck so you can kiss him with more ease. his words are airy, and you know he’s not complaining nor does he want you to stop.

“you’re too hot to not make out with” you breathe out between kisses, planting some along his jawline before finally landing on his lips.

kakashi is quick to move you, grabbing you by the hips and placing you on his lap. he’s never been one to deny your affection, and he wasn’t gonna start today.

he thinks maybe you’re just feeling clingy today, he’s been gone on a mission for a week or so anyway. that must be all it is. kakashi chalks it up to you missing him after missions for months, no matter how many times you tell him you just think he’s so fucking hot.

it’s not until a little over a two years into your relationship that kakashi lies awake in bed, realizing you’d never once stopped showering him with your affection and compliments. he’d figured once the honeymoon phase was over the rose tinted glasses you had on must’ve come off, but it seemed like they never did.

every day you still greeted him with a sweet smile and a flurry of kisses, “how was your day handsome?” or “hi pretty boy, how’d it go?” or any variation which included complimenting him.

kakashi lets his mind wander, grateful that you were as in love with him as he was you. you stirred in your sleep, flipping and curling into your lovers side unconsciously. it made his heart stutter as he closed his eyes, letting your warmth and steady breathing lull him to sleep.

kakashi comes home the next day with his vest already off, navy undershirt untucked and hair flopping naturally over his forehead.

“how was work toda-” you feel the words stuck in your throat as you drink in the look of your boyfriend. he usually gets home in uniform and immediately goes to the shower and you see him freshened up and changed. it’s a rare, breathtaking sight to see him as disheveled as he in right now.

“what? do i still have blood on my face?” he haphazardly wipes at his face with the back of his hand. you shake your head at him, not trusting your voice as you clear your throat and lean in to kiss his cheek. “what’s got you so flustered, pretty?” his deep honey voice has your cheeks burning as you stare at him.

“you look good” you admit, a small smile on your lips, not trying to hide how badly you wanted to jump his bones in that moment.

“hmm, do i? ‘m all sweaty” kakashi mumbles, letting a cocky grin play on his lips as he bends over slightly to allow his lips to hover over yours, “missed me that much baby? you made me late this morning” he smiles as your crash your lips into his, not able to hold yourself back when he was only mere inches away from you.

“not my fault you’re so fucking attractive” you say between kissing him, squealing softly when kakashi pulls you into him by your waist.

it’s in every kiss your place to his skin, ever gentle and needy touch, breathing your love into him as you hold him impossibly close. every action and gesture of yours is enough to reassure him as you shoo him off to shower while you finish dinner. kakashi lets the hot water hit his flushed skin with a happy sigh, forever grateful he paid for asuma’s lunch for a month in exchange for him to play cupid.

#mmmmmm #the dream #kissing him and kissing him and kissing him and kissing him and kissing him and

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