Evenings at the Ichiraku Ramen

Quinquereme

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It was either pure coincidence, or Shizune had been stalking him.

Kakashi was sitting alone, enjoying a hot bowl of Tonkotsu ramen. It was nighttime, and the windows of Konoha were ablaze with white and yellow light. Chimes tinkled faintly as Teuchi hummed something to himself, wiping bowls behind the bar counter. His daughter, Ayame, was nowhere to be seen.

The hour was late, and the copy ninja was Ichiraku Ramen's last customer. At least, until she arrived.

"Evening, Teuchi-san. One order of the usual, please." Voice fraught with tiredness, Shizune settled down two seats away from Kakashi. She looked particularly beaten down today, sighing and massaging her temples.

He quickly slurped up the last of his meal and replaced his mask.

"One extra-large tonkotsu coming right up," chirped Teuchi, putting the broth to a boil. The exact same dish his last customer had ordered.

Kakashi turned around in his stool, leaning back against the counter. He let a few moments pass, listening to the crickets and the chimes play an idle evening symphony. Somewhere along the road, a firefly flickered in the darkness. He ran a hand through his hair, and felt himself speak.

"It's a bit late for ramen, don't you think?"

A pause. "Yes, well,"

She didn't turn to face him, elbows resting lightly on the counter, hands cradling her head. "You know how it goes."

He smirked, reaching for his cup of water. "By 'it' you mean filling in as Hokage?"

Shizune smiled—half a real smile, and half a grimace. "Tsunade-sama has other…non-administrative things to take care of."

Kakashi pulled down his mask, and drank. Silence settled over them, except for the faint 'glug glug' as he drained his cup. The hokage's assistant sniffed the air, taking in the tantalizing smell of the still-cooking broth. She turned in her seat as well, facing the deserted road, mind focused on many things at once. It had been a year since Tsunade had accepted Haruno Sakura as her student, and the intensive training sessions left little time for anything else. Paperwork was low on the Godaime's priority list, if it was there at all.

"Your food's here."

Train of thought interrupted, her eyes darted to his.

He'd forgone the head protector, and the mask lay pulled down at his neck. Shizune felt her throat go dry. She'd never seen the entirety of Kakashi's face, and the fact that even his students had tried to sneak a peek at it and failed spoke of highly its improbability. Yet there he was before her, bare-faced. Illuminated by, of all things, the light of the Ichiraku Ramen.

She wasn't sure what to say.

The steaming bowl of noodles waited in front of her.

"A-ah. Thank you."

Kakashi found amusement at how visibly startled she was. He didn't show it of course—the line of his mouth (now exposed for the world to see—with the world consisting of Shizune, mainly) remained impassive. She moved stiffly, reaching for a pair of chopsticks and neatly breaking them in half.

There were sounds of Teuchi moving boxes at the very back of the shop. And then the crickets.

As the medical-nin began eating, Kakashi found himself drawn to the delicate tapering of her fingers, and how gracefully she held the chopsticks aloft. Shizune began working into her meal (still in a disbelieving trance) and the copy ninja thought to bring out Icha Icha Tactics for a casual browse.

When she had finished the noodles, he was still perched on his stool, facing the road.

"Do you always come to Ichiraku this late, Kakashi-san?" Relieved now, that he had put his mask back on. She could function properly without that glorious distraction.

He flipped a page, wondering if Jiraiya had any plans of releasing a third volume. Pervert literature was highly popular these days, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to expand his bibliography.

"No," he said. "Today is special."

He had spent a large part of the late afternoon at Obito's grave. It was his birthday, after all. Kakashi had lit a candle, and had proceeded to lose his way on the road of life once more.

"I see," she replied, as if it were as simple as that. Shizune wiped the corners of her mouth, and put money on the counter, got ready to leave.

Kakashi pocketed Tactics, stood as well.

"Where are you off to now?" She reached up to move the bangs out of her face. Those fingers again.

"Home, sleep." He paused. "And you?"

She shrugged. "Back to the office."

"You sleep there?"

"Oh, just for a few minutes. I mean, there's been a horrible backlog of documents that need looking over and immediate response, especially with regards to the other villages—"

"I'll walk you there."

Shizune looked up, unsure of how to respond to that.

"It's dark," offered Kakashi.

"Are you implying I can't defend myself?" The flash of indignation in her voice. Rank jōnin, protégé of one of the legendary sannin, impeccable chakra control and medical ninjutsu abilities, not to mention she was an expert when it came to the utilization of poison in combat—

"And it's on my way home," he added.

She considered this for a moment. "Fine."

They started off towards the Hokages's office, walking approximately a foot apart. Kakashi let out a yawn and ran a hand through his hair again. The night air was cool and crisp, and the crickets had gotten louder. After a bit of unreasonably awkward silence, Shizune began recounting the events of the day: how she'd discovered a sheaf of scented stationary from an unnamed admirer of the Godaime's, various A and S-rank missions to be issued the following week, and how Gai had unceremoniously crashed into the office, looking for Tsunade.

Kakashi observed how the moon was full, but the stars were covered by clouds. A few minutes later, they stopped short of the Hokage's office.

Shizune spoke up. "You didn't have your mask on back there." It was not a question.

"I take it off when I eat, you know."

"Why do you always wear that thing, anyway?" She turned towards him, and he could feel her probing gaze on the lower half of his face.

"It's a thing."

"A thing," she repeated.

"Yes." He shoved his hands into his pockets, showing no sign of giving any other explanation. A sliver of moonlight ran down her left eye as she frowned at him. Kakashi nodded to her, and motioned that he was going to leave now.

"A-ah. In that case, thank you." Shizune offered a little bow.

He let himself linger a moment longer, as she walked towards the building, and entered.

Kakashi resumed the stroll towards his apartment, walking languidly. His mind flipped through the events of the day: a grave, a candle, a blue sky. The tiredness in Shizune's voice, the way she held her chopsticks, and the sensation of the cold air against his lips as he beheld her startled face.

"Hmm," said Kakashi, to the crickets.