Dango ontop of the Mountain

[Mitarashi Anko]

It was a warm day just like any other day in the Land of Fire. The one thing that was off about it was that the wind was blowing like if there was a storm that was approaching. The clouds that were in the sky did not look big enough or dark to open up and rain. There were only a few days out of each month that the Village Hidden in the Leaves got rain, those days were far and in between, but welcomed nonetheless. Today though it just seemed like a storm was taking it sweet time to each the village, most the street markets outside had already taken their stuff inside their shops so they did not lose their inventory because of the wind.

For one person today only meant that it was another day and that she needed something to do. She was Mitarashi Anko , a Special Jounin for the village and specialized in forbidden jutsu that was taught to her by someone she used to look up to. Today started out has a normal day for her; she went to find out what the Hokage had in store for her for today. When she went to see the Hokage, she found out that she would be the second proctor for the upcoming Chuunin Exams that was being held her in a few months. This was the first time she was giving the chance to be the proctor of the exam, this made her realize that the Leaf was trying to place more responsibility on her shoulders, something that she would gladly accepted.

After her meeting with the Hokage and Ibiki, another special Jounin, she was use to working with him and knew when to cross him, but it was something that she was not going today. She started to wander the streets of Konoha until she passed the dango shop. To those that knew her; knew that her one weakness was in fact dango. She could eat nearly all the store out within a few days if the shop owner allowed her to do so. She bit her lip slightly and reached into her pocket and dug out her coins. She frowned when she saw the amount that she had. The coins in her hands were barely enough for two plates of dango and she knew she needed to pick up some milk for her apartment later. She bit down harder on her lip as if she was trying to think what she was going to do. Milk or dango, those two words ran in her head until finally she closed her fist and walked into the dango shop.

She smiled at the owner and placed the coins on the counter. She would have to retrieve more money later from her place. ”You know what I want. Two plates please.” She had a big grin on her face. She waited a few minutes for her order to get done. She pasted about tapping her fingers against each other. She was never really patience when it meant getting dango. She looked up when she heard her name called and walked quickly over to the counter and thanked the owner and took the bag in her hands. She walked out of the shop and looked around for the perfected place to eat them for the day.

As her lavender eyes scanned the village for a moment, they were caught off guard when she saw the Hokages’ faces. She had not been up there for a while and she knew there were places to sit and eat her dango. She smiled when she made up her mind to eat up there, it would allow her to think about her exam she was going to do and allow her to enjoy the breeze today. Her eyes shifted slightly to the people that were walking around as if they were about to take her dango, and that would not be a pretty site if someone decided to try and do that to her.

Within minutes she took off and started to jump up on the rooftops of the village. It was faster than walking by foot and that meant she could sit and enjoy her food quicker. Her mind at the moment was slowly on her dango right now as she came to the top of the faces. She looked around slightly and saw that she was the only one there. Today was turning out perfect for her.

She walked over to one of the benches and sat down. She took out the first plate of the dango and took the plastic off the top of it. She took her index finger and slowly counted out six sticks. She wanted more than twelve but sadly that was all she had enough for. She picked up the first stick and licked her lip slightly and took the first bite of the dango.

Her hair lavender hair started to blow in the wind and the sound of plastic getting hit by the wind could be heard. This did not seem to bother her one bit has she continued to eat her dango. She tapped her finger tips against her leg has she held her stick up in front of her face. Anyone could tell she was enjoying herself for the most part at the moment. Nothing could really ruin her day or her or could it?

[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi was not much of one for sleeping in...nor had he ever been. However, the last night had exhausted him greatly. As he was waking up, some of the first thoughts that flowed groggily through his head were those of last nights training session. Though he had been training alone, there was someone else with him...simply a copy of himself that he'd conjured easily enough. He was fighting himself...and it was a bit of a challenge. He had been specifically training the limit of his Sharingan. He'd managed to defeat his clone, but it had been a while. He knew extensive use of his Sharingan was dangerous because he lacked Uchiha blood, but he was training to make it less dangerous than it was.

For the first time that morning, he opened his right eye. He found himself face-to-face with his Icha Icha Paradise novel that he hadnt even bothered reading last night. However, his gaze did not linger long on the orange book...it was the picture behind it that he was focused on. It was a picture of his former team, consisting of The Fourth, Rin & Obito. Blinking, he didnt let himself linger on this, and instead he pushed himself up and stretched. He cast a glance out the window and estimated that it was about mid-day...maybe noon, at the latest. By far time to get up... Kakashi thought. Pushing himself out of bed, he saw that he had only bothered to take off his flak jacket, headband, sandals, & over-shirt last night. Geez I was tired... he mused. Standing up, he walked through the door to his bathroom, and quickly showered, dressing in his normal dress, minus his flak jacket, sandals & headband. He washed his hands, and stared lazily into the mirror with both of his eyes.

Staring back at him was himself. Pulling his mask up, he blinked. One black eye, one red. One flawless, the other marred by a scar striking through it. He blinked once, then asked silently Obito...if only I shared your Uchiha blood, then maybe I would be able to use your gift to a greater extent.... He stayed there for maybe one more minute, but then he shook himself, and proceeded to put on his jacket & headband, adjusting it just so that it covered his left eye. He didnt bother to eat, though he probably should. He merely passed his table on his way to the door, and he slipped on his sandals. Once he was out the door, he flew down his open-air apartment hallway and leapt across the rooftops of the members of the town. He had absolutely no clue what he was going to do today, so he decided to head to the top of Hokage mountain.

It was a silent journey that he made. He mainly kept to his own thoughts, a normal way of going along for him. He was mainly a 'reflector' and he thought about the past alot...probably to an extent where a few people would say it was unhealthy. However, it didnt bother him. To Kakashi, it helped him see mistakes he'd made in the past, and how to try to either correct them or never let them happen again. However, one thing he seemed to have little luck doing was keeping promises of protecting the lives of people important to him. However, he let his thoughts lapse a bit as he approached the mountain.

Pulsing chakra into his feet, he ran right up the back of Hokage mountain, as not to be disrespectful in any way. He clambered up the back of the mountain, only to come to an abrupt halt as he spotted another person atop the mountain. He didnt initially recognize the figure, but he took a guess at who it was. She was semi-recognizable from the back, because of the way her hair spiked up, and the jacket she wore. However, he said nothing of a name, just to make sure. He didnt want to suffer the embarrassment of getting someone he recognized's name wrong.

Walking up beside the figure, he didnt even look down, but just stared out onto Konoha, and said "Enjoying the day?"

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko was not too sure who she was going to meet up here today. There was very little people that came up here now a days it just seemed like everyone forgot about the Hokage of the pass. It was something that Anko herself would never forget because she knew that if it was not for them that she would have no place to call home and would always be lurking behind Orochimaru’s shadow. This was the village that took her in after knowing what the snake creep did to her and she owed them something, well that is what she thought anyways.

Anko looked up at the person that spoke to her from behind. She was not even paying attention to what was around her. She frown slightly to herself and started to mentally kick herself in the butt. It was not like her to allow someone to sneak up on here like this and she would have to come up with somehow to repay this person back for their creepiness towards here. She reached up her dango stick and took a big bite off of one and started to chew it in her mouth. The taste alone made Anko forget about the person that was standing behind her for a moment.

It took him coming up next to her to realize he was there. She looked up at him with her left eye and blinked slightly. She knew who he was just because of the mask. Everyone that did not know Kakashi personally knew about the Sharingan user that wore a mask over his nose and his headband over his eye. The mask always interested her because it was a secret and hidden from few. She smirked slightly and took another bite out of one her dango. She was surprise that he decided to talk to her.

”Yes, I am. It is always peaceful up here and a good place to enjoy some dango, Hatake Kakashi.” She paused for a moment it. She knew his name, she might as well give him his before he tried somehow to get it out of her. There was no telling what he could be up too and she did not wanted to find out the first time she was actually meeting him face to face like this. She did have some respect for those that were of higher rank than what she was. ”I am Mitarashi Anko.”

Anko moved one of her hands up and made sure her curse seal was hidden from view. There was no need for everyone to label her a monster right at the moment. She wanted a normal conversation for once and not one that seemed to think she was a threat to the village just because she wore the cruse mark that was given to her. She finished off the first plate of dango and decided to have a bit of fun with Kakashi since he did not look like he was expecting it in the least.

Without warning, she got up and appeared behind him. She reached her hand into his back pouch to only lay her hands on his famous Ichi Ichi book he read. She smirked and pulled it out and jumped back away from him. She looked at it like she was disgusted slightly. ”Kakashi-kun! What are you doing with such nastiness in your pouch?” She stuck her tongue out at him and opened it up to the first page. The first page was not that completely bad yet. She shook her head slightly with a small sigh. ”Now I know why you hide behind that mask Kakashi-kun!” She placed her hands on her hips and watched him.

There was laughter in her eyes as the sun hit them. It was a while since she had this fun and she did not care if she was preying on someone that did not fully know her. Her brown trench coat dance towards the right and her lavender hair did the same over her headband.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi stared out over Konoha. She didnt respond for a moment, and it made him wonder if she had even heard him. He cast a glance downward out of his right eye to see if she showed any kind of ready response. He actually thought he met and held her gaze for a second or so before they looked separate ways again. She acknowledged him by name, which was sort of odd considering he'd never actually met her face-to-face.

However, he let that go. It was actually kind of a relief for people not to be referring to him as "sempai" or "sensei". She gave an acknowledgment to him out of respect for a higher-ranking shinobi...she gave his name before proffering hers. Thank you... he thought. He knew he had recognized her from somewhere. He'd seen her at some Jounin meetings, even though she and others there were Tokubetsu Jounin, provided he remembered correctly. It had been just a general briefing on some current statuses around the Fire Country...nothing major. However, now all he really knew about her was her name, rank, and that she was the only student of Orochimaru. Who knows what she's like, with a person like that as her sensei... Kakashi wondered. He was no judge, though. She had yet to leave a first impression. "Dango, eh?" Kakashi observed. "Yes...it does seem like a decent day for good dango, Anko...". He left her name at that, because it didnt seem like an appropriate time to use her last name, right after she had for him; or use honorifics. Not to mention she didnt seem like the type to mind...

Kakashi was about to inform her that just his first name was fine, as he had addressed her. However, she caught him completely off guard. She had put the dango stick down and leapt to her feet. She was behind him in an instant, and before he could react, she snuck a hand into his hip pouch and pulled out his book. She'd already retreated to a safe distance when he spun around. She gave the book a look, then asked him a question about why he had such perverse literature in his bag.

However, it wasnt so much the questio that took him off guard than it was what she called him by. Kakashi...kun? he thought. I havent been called that since I was...what...9? he noted. Cocking his head to the side, he was sure his expression was mix of utter confusion and just 'lost' ness. "Well uh...thats different" he commented tentatively, half-extending a hand to get his book back. "But uh...thats...I enjoy reading.." he said, stumbling for a decent response to her first question.

Not but a few seconds later though, another brunt was thrown his direction. She commented on the book, naming it as the reason for his mask. However, he finally caught on that she was playing with him, and he caught on for a number of reasons. Her voice and actions had a hint of laughter in them. Also, not to mention that Kakashi had memorized at least a quarter of that book, and he knew the first page was not that bad. However, if she was going to mess with him, he would play along...he actually had the time to express a bit of leisure today. "Well..uh...thats not exactly the reason I wear a mask..and going through someones pocket is one way to get yourself flicked, dont you know?" he asked with a bit of a smile. "However..." he said, lowering his voice a bit in a mock-threat. "Know what you're up against when you go taking someones favorite book.. Anko-chan" It felt odd referring to someone that was more his age with such child-like honorifics, but, it seemed suiting, because she had pulled it first. With that, he stepped forward quickly, giving a bit of a lunge for the book. Even though Kakashi knew he came off as a person who was all-business serious, he could afford to have a little laughter and joking around in there, probably most thanks to Gai.

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[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko looked up to him when he told her that it was a good day for dango. She looked down at her plate and smiled some. Obviously he did not know her all too well. This was her breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the most of the week. There was times that she had something else to eat but usually it was this and sweet beans. ]”Hmmh, dango is good just about every day of the week!” She took another dango into her mouth and closed her eyes before placing the plate down on the ground.

Anko watched him turn around to face her when she stole his book. It seemed to her that this was the first time that someone ever lifted said book from Kakashi so easily like that. This for some reason pleased her a great deal. Now she knew how to hit him where it hurt if he tried something funny with her. A smirk formed on her lips has he respected to her taking it. Four…no three simple words came from his lips. She could not see him actually say the words because of the mask, but she could hear them just fine coming from his lips.

She held the book out of his reach when he tried to get it from her with the simple phrase of he liked reading it. Her smirk only grew on her face as she placed the book behind her back and moved her other hand behind her back. She was going to make him work for the book. There was no need to give it back to him just yet when she was enjoying teasing him by holding it from him.

She tilted her head when he told her that taking his book would lead to some flicking. She laughed slightly and shook her head some. ”Oh are you going to flick me Kakashi-kun?” She knew calling him by kun was something that she normally did not do with people are used for the most part. There were some times it was needed and sometimes that it was not need. Most children used the honorifics because that was how they were raised by their parents. For Anko she used them with adults to annoy them, she would stopped when he looked annoyed.

She watched him and smiled more and took a few steps backwards. Her hands was still clasped behind her back holding the book and she made sure to know he was right there in front of her. At any give them he could use a jutsu on her or something, but she was going to show him that she was not just a little kid that would fall so easily to those tricks. ”Likes reading the book huh? What is your favorite part in it than?” She knew that there was no way he would say that, she knew what the book held in it. She just wanted him to stumble at his words.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi was still forward a bit much from his little lunge to get his book back. She playfully stuck it behind her back so that he couldnt get it, and she looked as though she was ready to back up a step or so. She mentioned that Dango was good every day of the week. Tilting his head, he asked "Uhh...isnt eating dango every day a bit sweet? Or...a bit much of whatever kind of dango you're eating? Ninjas must eat vegetables!" he knew he must have seemed like he was giving her a bit of a lecture, but hey, it was intended in good humor.

Keeping his head tilted, he added to it by craning his neck as he moved to the right slightly to try to see around her to get to his book. He knew it was stupid of him to be showing how much he liked that book, but he felt sort of incomplete without it. She was taunting him, asking if he really would flick her. He thought for a moment. Would he actually flick her? Or would he pull off some kind of technique to get his book back. Am I really that desperate? he asked himself with a bit of wry humor. However, before he could respond, she threw a bit of poking fun out to him. He asked her what his favorite part was.

Well..thats new..yet again... Boy am I getting alot of 'new' exposure today.. he thought quietly to himself. However, as he thought what his favorite part of the book was, he flushed, his face paling a bit at the thought, and he glanced sideways sheepishly. The book was perverse, no doubt about it, so of course the people that read it were looking for...well...the perverseness of it. However, he wasnt about to openly admit that to her. He had just met her. Well...I...uh..." He was stumbling, badly. Thinking quickly, he responded fast...a bit too fast. "I enjoy the entire book." he declared. However, shortly after he said this, he knew she could take that and twist it against him quite fast.

He'd worry about that later, but for now, his main objective was the book. He moved forward in a flash, sidestepping her plate of dango by an inch or so, but he came right up close to her about six inches or so, looking down on her. She was a bit shorter than he was, so his chin came close to the top of her head, but he didnt intend to be demeaning by standing so close to her to appear to 'tower' over her, it was just a mock-intimidation. "But, Anko-chan, I might just flick your hand to get my book back." he said with a mock-serious voice, but it was easy enough to detect the humor in it...

[/blockquote]

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko listened to Kakashi when he tried to give her a lecture on how vegetables were good for her as well. She did like them every now and there but nothing came close to having a good sweet tasting dango. ”That is why you do not eat the sweet ones that often and you get the carrots tasting ones every now and then silly.” She laughed slightly and shook her head some. She was not sure what that about him that made her want to play around with him but she was not about to back down now.

Anko watched Kakashi look away from her when she asked what was his favorite part of the book. She wanted to laugh but held it down in her throat. Today was turning out better than what she thought it was going to be at first. She would have to remember to come and seek out Kakashi whenever she wanted to torment him like this again. So far he seemed like the perfect best to do play around with her. He was playing right back with her and that was something that she did not get every day of the week or so. Kakashi was now her new best friend in the matter of things, the only problem was, did he know this?

Her smirk on her face never fell as he tried to slip past her with just a simple “I like all of it.” She knew even with these books that there were parts that were boring; she had found a couple of those spot herself in them. ”Now now, I am sure there are there must be something that you like out of all of the things that could be in here.” She paused for a moment before she got a devilish look to her face at the moment. ”Perhaps I should read a bit out it out loud?” There was no way that she was going to read this book out loud. She was literally just pulling his leg on the matter to see how far she could get away with. Anko had no set boundaries when she started to tease someone; she pushed until she found those boundaries.

Anko watched Kakashi to move past her plate of dango and towards her trying to get the book back from her. She pulled out of his reach when he came right up on top of her. It was something that she was no expecting that right off the back. She looked up slightly to him when he started to speak. He was not even but a few inches from her at the moment trying to sound imitating but there was something about his voice that told a different story. This made Anko want to laugh some more but she bite her tongue to keep it to herself.

It took her just a few seconds to come up what she was going to do about how close they were. Anko looked up and nudge the top of her head against his chin and disappeared away from him. She reappeared by her plate and picked up one of her dango sticks. The book was still behind her back with her free hand. ”That if, Kakashi-kun, you can get near me to do so without me moving away from you. How badly do you want it?” She tried to speak in a serious tone, but at the moment it was failing her.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Kakashi had to admit that he was not expecting something such as a "carrot flavored" dango to exist. He backed up half a step and looked at her squarely. "There is such a thing as a carrot-flavored dango?" he paused "I've never heard of it..." Kakashi didnt eat dango very much, nor had he ever. Last time he'd had a dango was when he was a teenager. Rin had tried to lighten his mood a bit with something sweet- a dango. That was the same day I discovered I dislike overly-sweet foods... Kakashi thought. He snapped back to reality with a grim look on his face as though he'd suppressed a shudder.

However, it wasnt remembering that he was talking to someone that snapped him back to reality...it was her playful threat that she would read some of the book out loud unless he specified his exact part. Well...all of it was legitimate... Kakashi thought. But, apparently Anko needed a bit more proffered to satisfy her. Again, he was left stumbling for words. He didnt want everyone to know how much he read those books, so he quickly tried to think of a page he knew had something on it. However, he was coming up page-less, and was searching for the words verbally rather than just in his head. She even looked up at him, bumping her head on his chin slightly, making him take another step backwards. "Well..um...page...well...this is funny, I cant think of it...give me a minute. Page..uh..." he began, but he knew he was dragging it out too long, and that he wasnt the greatest liar when he wasnt trying.

Seconds later, she was behind him again. Spinning around, he saw her grab a stick of dango. She challenged him...how badly did he want his book? He could hear laughter breaking through her serious voice, and he completely forgot about her 'threat' to read out of the book for the time being...he was more occupied with getting his book back. In response to her question, he moved to mirror her. He stepped around her with his hands in his pockets. The left side of his face was even with the right of hers, and even though he couldnt see her, he reached his left hand back, putting it on the book. I want it pretty badly, Anko-chan. I do like to read, after all." he said, his voice level, but sprinkled with concealed humor as he gave a light tug to the book.

He was actually starting to enjoy this. Most of the time, whenever he and Gai messed around, it was Gai pulling all kinds of "youth" antics that drove Kakashi up the wall to no end. So, in return, Kakashi countered it by acting bored, distracted, or indifferent. However, with Anko, this wasnt the case...he was actually starting to enjoy himself coming back at her antics with his own.

[/blockquote]

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko nodded when Kakashi questioned her about the flavors of dango. She had pretty much tried them all before and only found out there were some that she did not care for. She would never make anyone try dango if they did not want it. It was their choice, but Anko could not get enough of the tasteful treats. ”Of course they have different flavors; they can’t all be the same. No one would really like them if they were.” Anko blinked slightly when she realized that her sweet tooth for dango came into play. It just happened to be just after her little trip with Orochimaru when she was younger. This was the first time she had actually placed the two together.

Anko pushed the thought of Orochimaru out of her head when Kakashi watched her when she threatened to read something out loud. Today for her could not be better in the least. It was not every day she got to pick on one of the strongest and best ninjas in the village. She just hoped that he would not turn away from her and decided that she was not worth his time. A playful smirk came across her face when he told her to give him a few seconds to recall something. She pulled the book in front of her and started to slowly open it. She was really about to read something from the book. She knew she would have to choose the section carefully so she scanned the page real quick and flipped to another.

Anko reached up and took a bite of her dango has Kakashi mimick her movement. She knew they was easy movements to follow, she was not really trying to be fancy in the long run. She felt his hand on the book and the tug at it. She smiled just slightly when he called her Anko-chan again. He had called her that three times already and it never got odd coming from him. She laughed slightly and pulled the book away from her and allowing it to slip into one of her pockets in her trench coat. Most would have to be desperate to dig their hands into her pockets. ”You still have not answered my one question about your favorite part and you want me to just hand it back to you, Kakashi-kun…” her voice this time was low and a hissing whisper. She wanted to tease him and judge his actions towards her.

Anko was having a time of her life at the moment. She never really did this around people anymore, because most wanted her to be serious and focus. Those two things combined meant that Anko was preparing for the Chuunin Exams which was something that she found to be a bore without something to keep her mind off things. At the moment it seemed like she had found that certain something and already had her teeth sank into it. Kakashi was something that she was not about to let go without a fighting chance.

[Hatake Kakashi]

In response to his tug on the book in her hand, she pulled it away to make it just out of his grasp. He didnt bother to turn his head to see what exactly she did. She would probably transfer it from her one hand to the other or something along those lines. Based on how he was crouched next to her, he couldnt see her because of the headband covering his left eye, and the left side of his face was nearest to her. Judging by the small 'thunk' he heard, she probably slipped it into her coat pocket.

Damn... Kakashi thought. She was making this harder and harder for him to get his book back. He was about to speak before she started speaking. She commented on how he was trying to get his book back for free, and get away without telling her what his favorite part was. Truly, Kakashi couldnt deny that. He rarely told anyone that was interested his favorite parts of the book, and it was rather hard to find someone that was interested in it, so that made it all the easier to keep it a secret.

No way he was going to let her know his favorite part of the book that easily. But in all honesty, he liked the whole book...he just had difficulty deciding which part he liked the most. But, one part stuck out in his mind than the others. However, there was another close one. Pulling that section out of his mind, he transferred his crouch to balance on his toes. He propped his head up on his left hand, his chin on his palm and his elbow on his knee. He pulled a somewhat defeated expression and matched his voice to it.

"Oh, Anko-chan," he began "You got me...chapter eight." He paused before grinning and speaking again.

"Honestly, Anko-chan, I wouldve almost preferred you steal my headband or something replaceable like that rather than a book that I find highly amusing. I-" he cut off rather sharply. It was just re-iterated who he was talking to. For all he knew, she would take him seriously, and snatch his headband right up and give him back the book. Or a glove. Or something else along those lines which he didnt exactly want to loose.

Please dont... Kakashi thought grimly. I rather like my gloves, and I sort of need my headband...but I can do without. I just prefer not to... However, this was Anko Mitarashi. Based on what he'd heard, what little he knew, and what he'd seen today confirmed it; she was sort of unpredictable, and bound to do anything spur-of-the-moment. This might get interesting... Kakashi thought, bracing himself for whatever might come next.

[/blockquote]

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko watched Kakashi crouch down and rest his head on his head. She had to admit to herself that he looked rather cute like that, but there was no way that she was going to tell him that. She tilted her head slightly at him unsure what he was going to do at the moment. She knew with him that if she let her guard down that there would be bad consequences. She was also a Jounin and had to play that part in front of the other Jounin.

She took a look around, she was glad that there was no one else around them at the moment. She could express herself and try and get him too as well, but there was no way she was going to tell him that she had a slight crush on him. She thought it would be too weird for her it just come out and say something like that to someone that really she just meet face to face. She knew there were some limits that she just would not cross yet.

She looked down to him when he mentioned chapter eight in the book. Her smirk on her face only grew more at this new found secret of Kakashi. It was nothing that she was going to go running into the village screaming at the top of her lungs, but it was something that she could tease him about now and she was not above doing that. She was about to say something when he started to talk again about how she could have stole something replaceable. She had the book at home and knew he could pick it up someplace else. Actually picking up the book though, could mean a lot of trouble. No, she would give him his book back in time. She also formed another idea about taking something else of his.

She smirked down at him and disappeared and reappeared behind him this time. She reached out her hand to the back of his head and slipped her fingers through his white hair below his headband. She pushed her hand up through his hair and slipped her fingers under the headband and took the headband from his head.

Once she had the headband in her hand she held onto it in case he wanted to try something. She leaned her free hand on his back slightly and looked at his face on the side that had his eye open. She wanted him to see her for what she was about to pull on this one. She leaned in closer and whispered in his head. She spoke an exactly line from chapter eight for him without looking at the book. She had pretty much memorized the book before now, but never really told anyone that she read them. She was now giving it away that she had at least skimmed the book if not memorized it. She was not sure how he was going to react to her taking his headband and quoting something from the book to him, so she cautious moved back away from him and held the headband out for him to take if he wanted too. Her eyes sparkled to him saying. ‘Come in get it.’

[Hatake Kakashi]

After he told her the small, half-lie, a smirk took all of a couple of seconds to crawl its way across her face. She didnt appear to move at all, as though she was enjoying the bit of lavish that was running through her body. She, Anko, had just wrung a half-true secret out of him, Kakashi the Copy Ninja. He smiled, the expression hidden behind his mask, She appeared to be easily entertained, like a child in a way, but it was controlled, like an adult.

He kind of liked that. He had been acting like an adult since before he was a teenager. He hadnt had much of a childhood, so those around him, that had acted their age were the closest thing he had to a childhood. He had observed how people like Gai still had a peculiar...youthfulness...to their personality. Apparently, Anko had this trait as well. However, she was not nearly as..."flabouyant" or "expressive" of this trait as Gai was. Apparently, Anko had kept this child-like trait alive and well like Gai. It was amusing, and almost...cute?

Seconds later, and before he could move or say anything, she vanished reappearing behind him not even a second later. Before he even reacted, let alone blinked, he felt a hand run through his hair...her hand. What is she playing at? Kakashi wondered. He should have seen what was coming next, but he didnt, and the surprise he received from her actions almost knocked him out of his crouch. She literally whisked his headband right off of his head. He heard the metal jingle as she adjusted it in her grasp. His hair immediately collapsed without the headband to hold it up.

The clumped, spiky ends of the hair strands fell in his face and on his neck. They sort of tickled his skin, because of how he was not so used to feeling the hair against his skin. He shut his left eye. He didnt want to start using any chakra that he didnt need to use. No need to do so now. Well this is annoying... Kakashi thought. He was not in the least annoyed by Anko's playful antics. He found them amusing. It was holding his left eye closed while he kept his right eye open that annoyed him. It was a bit of a trouble, really, to hold one eye open and the other closed. He generally kept both eyes open, provided he had his headband. But his left eye was generally covered by his headband, and it didnt make a difference whether it was open or closed.

He blinked as he felt her breath right by his ear, and felt the weight of her hand on his back. Out of habit, he turned his head slightly in the direction of her words. What he heard surprised him greatly. He had read the first Icha Icha book over so many times that he knew exactly what she said. It was a direct quote from a sentence on page three of chapter eight. Once she stopped talking, he spoke as well, quoting the line right after it. The particular chapter was about the main female character revealing her true feelings and desires for the main character. The two characters had both just gotten out of incredibly deep relationships, so it was quite a move on her part.

Who would have thought that Anko read the rather...entertaining...series of books that he did? He had to admit that he was not expecting it from her. He fought for half a second to control his expression on his face. Over the years, his eyes had become key in portraying what he was feeling and thinking. They were probably better for displaying his expressions than his actual face. His expressions were often not seen besides his eyes. He wanted to mask his amazement to her, as not to betray anything he may have been thinking, however, he felt the need to comment on it. He felt the weight of her hand disappear off his back, and he heard her footsteps clatter lightly against the rock surface. He decided now he should try to get his headband back. He slowly stood up and turned around.

Once he was facing her, he walked forward a few slow steps and looked at her, trying to read her expression. Whenever people first saw his scar, they had a mix of reactions. Over the years, he'd seen amazement, awe, fear, questioning, and nothing at all. However, he always added to that when he revealed his Sharingan. However, more of the reactions he got were amazement, fear, and realization of who he was. He didnt know how she would react, but he expected nothing at all. However, he pushed these thoughts aside. She had been asking for it, taking his headband like that...no. He had been asking for it, giving her an idea like that. He shook his head and extended his right hand, palm up.

"I should not have given you that idea, should I have? Not the smartest move on my part, I'll admit. But now you have two things of mine that I value highly...the book, and something I half need, the headband." he added a bit of laugh to his voice for the last part, and thought his words over before he said anything else, in case he were to accidentally give her any other ideas "But I'd like that back now, please." He narrowed his right eye in an amused look before he ran a hand through his messy hair. He quickly returned his hand to the 'asking' position. He cocked his fingers twice, beckoning for her to place the headband in his hand.

[/blockquote]

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko watched Kakashi when she quoted the line to him and he quoted the next one back. She smirked slightly to herself mainly because Kakashi played back with her. He was the first one that she actually let in on that she read the books and he did not give her a weird look. It was more of a shock one that she had read them. She wanted to laugh some at his expression, but something about her made her hold that back for right now. No she wanted to toy with him more than anything at the moment. He was the first one in a while that had not told her to cut her act already and grow up.

When she moved back she watched him get up and stalk slowly over to her. She held his headband in her hand tightly. She titled her head slightly staring at the scar on his eye. She had heard the rumors that he held the Sharingan like the Uchiha, but that was for her a forbidden topic. She would have hated to talk about her curse mark on her shoulder and she did not want to ask too many questions about it right now. She wanted to get to know Kakashi better not drive him away with silly questions about the past. That could wait until later.

Her lavender eyes were drawn to his good eye when he started to talk about how she had two of his things and he wanted at least one of them back. She gave a goofy smile and nodded some. She understood at least wanting to cover his eye all too well. She wanted to hide her curse mark and that was why she wore her trench coat wherever she went. ”Yes you did bring this on yourself. You are by no mean mad….I think you find my actions funny under that mask of yours. Should I take that next?”

She held out his headband without another word about it. She had a small innocent smile about her face at the moment, but under her eyes they were plotting something. Something told her going for the mask, however, would be crossing the lines with Kakashi, so she was slowly coming up with something else to take of his. She was trying not to move her eyes to see what else she could take of his, but it was harder than what it looked at the moment.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes slightly and the watched him has he took back the headband. She did like running her hand through his hair and wanted to do it again. She wondered if she was going to be able to do that again. Only time would tell right? There was no way he would like her how she liked him. This realization slightly made her sad and it showed in her eyes of all places. She was good about not letting her face show that she was hurt, but her eyes was a completely different matter.

[Hatake Kakashi]

After he started to move towards her, Kakashi had started analyzing her reaction, or what reaction there was to analyze, through his right eye. She didn’t show much of a reaction initially. She was gripping his headband tightly, as though she was determined to not let it go, no matter his protests. She was toying with him, he could feel that, but for some reason he was willing to let her continue and have himself go with it…it didn’t bother him much at all. The only part that bothered him was that he was letting himself get these things stolen. He hoped that she wouldn’t try to steal anything else, lest he loose his vest.

Through his o-careful observation, he only gathered that she seemed like she wanted to say or do something. He couldn’t confirm this though, but his best guess was she wanted to laugh. However, he was not only searching for her reaction to his advances in trying to get his headband back. He was also searching her gaze for any sort of reaction to his other eye. Her head had tilted back just a little as she observed. She said nothing, but looked as though she were thinking. He felt a small prickle inside of himself that made him wonder what exactly she was thinking, or what she wanted to say now. He was not sure at all so the he said nothing.

He was actually sort of relieved that she didn’t show any negative reaction. He didn’t want someone to have a slight deterrence from him because of some superficial judgment of a physical feature. After he spoke, she pulled a smile. It wasn’t a full-out or serious smile, it was more of a playful one…one that sort of made him want to chuckle a little. He didn’t, though, since she started to speak. She confirmed his suspicions, and for that he wanted to kick himself. He shouldn’t have given her any sort of idea like that. She sort of called him out, though, that he was mad and that he found her actions amusing. However, next she threatened to take his mask.

That wouldn’t do. Kakashi didn’t express his sudden wariness outwardly, but he thought to himself That’s not going to fly…I’ll stop her before she does anything like that…. However, she said nothing more about it and offered his headband, relaxing her grip so that he could take it. He responded after half a second and plucked his headband from her. He didn’t snatch it, nor take it too slowly. He also didn’t waste any time tying it back.

He only got through tying it and adjusting it so it sat level across his head before he noticed something. His right eye thought he saw something. He hadn’t pulled his headband down quite yet, so to confirm anything he saw, he cracked open his left eye, his…Obito’s Sharingan. What he thought he’d seen was confirmed…some sort of sadness, pain, and/or distress making its way across Anko’s eyes. He had wanted to look at her with his left eye because not only was the vision a bit sharper, but it sometimes saw things his right eye didn’t. He opened both of his eyes fully now. What on earth could she be sad about? She was messing with him and had just forfeited his headband back.

He wasn’t going to stay silent, though. ”Anko…is something wrong…?” he asked. Obviously there was something, but if she said there wasn’t, he would perhaps press a little into the matter, but not too much. He himself wasn’t a fan of people pressing him too far to say something he didn’t want to.

[/blockquote]

[Mitarashi Anko]

Anko studied the scar for a moment or so. She did find it a bit attractive on him, but there was no way that she was actually going to tell him that. She was already hiding a blush from him, because of it. Blushing would be a bit bad at the moment and he would most likely call her on it and that was something that she did not want. For now she would just look as if she was happy that he was not mad at her for pulling of his headband. She knew he held the Sharingan in his eye, but she was unsure how much he could use of it. He was in fact Konoha’s Copy Cat Ninja.

She watched him take back his headband and when she commented about the mask he showed no signs of actually acknowledging that he had heard her. Anko, however, knew that Kakashi was not a Jonin for any good reason. He was considered the best Jonin out there at the moment and she was still considered a level below him. She knew that he probably went on guard from her comment and she would have to act sly for the most part if she even dreamed about getting the mask below his chin. She actually was only teasing him by this point; there was no way that she was going to attempt to pull that off when he was tense, even if he didn’t show it.

Anko did not realize that she had been off in her own little world. She sorta acknowledged him asking her if there was something wrong, but it took her a moment to actually pull out of it. She placed her hand over her shoulder purposely covering her curse mark up and placed a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and shook her head at him as if she had just taken a big bite of one of her dangos.

She turned around in a sharp movement with her hand still over her shoulder and looked up slightly. She closed her eyes with a small sad side. There was no way that she could see telling him about the crush she had on him. She didn’t think that Kakashi was the type to actually look on women that why other than the books that he read. She knew that he had no girlfriend, but it was not like Asuma and Kurenai relationship either. There was nothing between them to hide for that matter. ”You want your book don’t you? Well what if I don’t give it back to ya, Kakashi? Going to use that Sharingan on me until I do?” She was more on the lines of teasing him and wanting to see what he would do until she cave in and gave the book back to him.