Hey-ya, potential and actual readers!

I'm releasing this chapter against my better judgement because I usually endlessly tweak them until I give up for the time being, and then come back after a week before finally uploading the final draft, but I currently like how this one turned out so I'm risking it!

Special thanks to xXSakuraBlossomsXx for continuously reviewing, you're the best!

Please enjoy!

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The Broccoli Trick

Come on, Mizu – it's now or never.

Or actually it's now and then one year from now. But who knows, we might die in the meantime, so maybe it truly is the last opportunity to ask Kakashi for his hand. With that gloomy thought on my mind, I took a step closer to him.

"Kakashi-san, you should probably give me your hand so we don't get s-separated."

Ugh, my voice kind of trembled at the end, and knowing Kakashi he probably sensed it along with my impure thoughts. I managed to keep up the serious expression regardless, implying a strictly practical nature of my request. Thank Kami for the ninja gloves though, because my palms were definitely sweaty.

Kakashi gave nothing away. He was curiously observing me, probably waiting for me to avert my eyes. Eyes which I refused to blink with. Eyes that were becoming tearier by the minute because I needed to win this stare-down.

I came by his place to pick him up so he won't show up unreasonably late at the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival, and waste his precious free day on something unnecessary like not allowing himself to enjoy simple things and be happy because of the unfortunate fates of his closest friends and family, as he is wont to do. I filled a picnic basket with alcohol, figuring we would just buy some food from the booths. I tasked Sakura and Ino with procuring a sufficient amount of blankets for the entire company. Naruto was given the task of bringing the cards, and Shikamaru was actually bringing the cards, because there is no way Naruto will remember to do it. The others were also carrying alcohol, and some promised to bring something homemade and delicious. I had a feeling this would be our most successful Hanami as of yet. Now, all I needed was for a certain handsome hokage to comply with my unreasonable requests to feel absolutely overjoyed.

Bearing in mind that I didn't have a chance in Hell of ever becoming his girlfriend, I still got influenced by all the moe in the air. Yeah, that must be it. Festivals are magical like that. I was infected by some airborne disease making me crave normalcy which was so foreign for this topsy-turvy ninja world. I just wanted to fully immerse myself in the festival experience. I could die happy if he would just give me his darned hand.

And let me tell you, I almost did.

As I was looking at our hands getting entwined in slow-motion, I practically developed a heart condition. I was so elated, my mind went completely blank.

Wow.

What was I supposed to do now? As I thought, this was too much, too soon. What was I thinking, asking him to give me his hand? My body is not ready for this!

"You know what, we're ninjas, we can probably find each other in the crowd if we get separated," I grinned at him, trying to disentangle my hand from his, but he didn't allow me to.

"Mizu-chan, are you abandoning your duty of keeping your Hokage safe?"

Wow, our Hokage was trying to piss off someone in the immediate vicinity of his jugular, how extraordinarily brave of him.

I strengthened the hold on his hand, challenging him to question the loyalty I had for the village again and suffer the consequences. He nodded solemnly, giving me a thumbs up with his other hand.

With a renewed zeal and confidence I pulled him towards the meeting point. I went first so as to clear the path, taking my task seriously. On the outside, at least. On the inside, I was back in my first life's fangirling days, and squealing with excitement.

Kakashi was so nice. He wasn't a touchy-feely guy, but he saw that I was struggling back there and he wanted to help me out. I take back all the times I called him a betrayer of friends even if he did hoard sweets just to taunt me.

"Miss, stop by our shop, we have some nice matching shirts for you and your boyfriend. Oh, Hokage-sama, I didn't notice you there."

Beet red, I started yelling at the shop owner saying the Hokage doesn't have time to dillydally all day and casually browse his stall, so as to effectively conceal my embarrassment.

"Are you seriously suggesting our Hokage-sama is anything less than unbiased? Try offering something which could actually prove useful, something other than T-shirts saying," I furiously picked up one of the shirts to illustrate my point, "I am babe, and If lost return to…babe…"

This was actually very useful, not to mention cute! This way I could actually have a backup plan for if we got separated. But would Kakashi wear something like this? I quickly checked his reaction.

He was casually chewing on some dango. I had no idea when or where he had picked it up, but that was currently irrelevant. How did he even manage to eat it when I was holding his other hand - No. Focus, Mizu. Examine his attitude towards the shirts.

Well, he didn't seem especially interested. He just kept on chewing and unnerving me with his steady gaze.

There is no other choice. I will have to use it – the broccoli trick!

The broccoli trick was basically designed to give a person an impression of control over making decisions. The idea was to offer two choices, seemingly giving the other person freedom to choose for themselves. Parents would use this to give their kid the option of choosing to eat two or three broccolis, but it was applicable to other situations. For example, this one.

"Kakashi-san, do you want us to buy these two shirts or do you prefer some other ones?"

I figured he wouldn't care about some shirts, so he'll go with the easiest option – choosing the two shirts I was holding. I smiled angelically.

"Maa, I want those two."

I looked at the shirts he had selected, and was getting for free because he "was the Hokage, and wearing the shirts was free advertising so they will pay for themselves, and hopefully they will fit nicely, why not put them on right away", and next thing I knew I was wearing a shirt with kage written on it while Kakashi's just said hoe.

And ironically, I kind of liked the shirts (even though I would never admit that out loud), since this shade of jonin green always went along nicely with my hair, and, as it turns out, Kakashi actually looked really good in pink. Also, the words on his shirt were my shirt's shade of green, while mine were his shirt's shade of pink, so that was also a nice touch.

However, let's not forget the most important thing about this – Kakashi and I were wearing boyfriend-girlfriend shirts! Talk about living the dream. Although the shirts were kind of impractical, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only two people who had ever worn them. I imagine not a lot of couples wanted to be known as the hoe-kage pair. Thankfully, Kakashi was so casual about everything, and so confident in himself that he didn't care about what others might think. What a truly admirable individual. Literally, goals.

We picked up some more dango on the way, and finally reached the meeting spot. Iruka, Sai, Sakura, Ino, and Tenzo were already there and taking advantage of our still scarce numbers to lie sprawled on the blankets. Upon reaching them, I cheekily stood in front of Kakashi hiding him behind me.

"Look who I brought, ta dah!" I then stepped aside to fully show them my greatest accomplishment as of yet – making Kakashi arrive somewhere on time.

"We know – he's two heads taller then you," Sakura rolled her eyes good-humouredly.

Ino laughed at that, adding "Actually, Kakashi-senpai's so tall, we noticed him in the crowd from a mile away. We already had time to process the whole experience by the time you reached us."

"Rude," I pouted.

I decided everyone's lack of appreciation for everything I do can only be alleviated by some alcohol, so I poured myself a cup of the strong stuff. I managed to take up the most coveted spot next to a tree, which provided both a nice shade and back support. Sakura and Kakashi immediately exploited my benevolent personality to put their heads on my stretched out legs and use me as a pillow.

"You're both so lucky you're extremely loveable, I hope you know that."

Sakura giggled, and Kakashi hmed at me, giving me a saucy look with only one eye open before relaxing completely into my lap with both eyes closed. He seemed content, or even… happy? I abandoned the drink to comb my fingers through their hairs lovingly.

It didn't take long for the quiet daze we all seemed to had fallen into to be over. All it took was the number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja.

"Mizu-chaaan, no fair, you took the best spot." He crossed his arms, pouting in such an adorable manner I almost gave up the spot immediately.

"I don't get it, how could I take a spot next to myself, huh? Do you get it? Because the best spot is next to- you get it."

"Naruto-kun, when you become the Hokage you can have the best spot, so hurry it up a bit," Kakashi yawned, disinterestedly.

Naruto looked downright shocked and also a bit insulted. "K-k-k-k-kakashi-sensei? You arrived before me? Shizune-san! Come quickly, you're not going to believe this! Actually, let me check first. Kai!" He looked at a decidedly present Kakashi, and started rubbing his eyes. Not soon after Shizune also arrived, dropping (and wasting) a perfectly good dango, deeply shocked at the unexpected development. I flashed them a peace sign, finally being able to flaunt my amazing accomplishment.

"Mizu-san, did you do this?" Shizune cried out, impressed.

"Don't underestimate the skills of Konoha shinobi!" Uh-oh, I my inner-Naruto was showing. It was quickly subdued though, after Shizune fell on her knees next to me.

"Mizu-senpai, please consider taking an official Hokage-collecting job. You will be handsomely compensated for your services."

"Haha, how many Hokages do I have to collect?" I tried deflecting with humour to demonstrate my lack of interest. Sure, I took pride in being able to drag Kakashi around Konoha, but chances of him suddenly starting to avoid me were too high to risk using that ability too often.

"Only one," Shizune deadpanned, unwilling to give in.

"…the future one?"

"The current one."

Wow, Shizune was truly immovable.

"Shizune-san, I would love to, seriously. I mean, hunting down Kakashi-san is always a fun past time. But I also think he would make catching him increasingly difficult, just to spite me."

Shizune looked so devastated I tried to further convince her just how impractical the idea was by adding: "Unless I were to somehow get a head start on him by, I don't know, sleeping at his place or something. But that's ridiculous, right?"

Kakashi suddenly perked up. "Is it ridiculous, though?"

I scoffed. "Yes. It 100% is."

Shizune didn't seem to know what Kakashi was thinking but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. "But is it, really?"

Uh-oh, Kakashi was steadily gaining supporters. I need to act fast. Sakura will surely take my side on this.

"Sakura, please tell them that sleeping at Kakashi's place just so he would come to work on time is ridiculous."

I didn't like Sakura's smirk.

"Hmm, that depends. Do you value more when the village operates at full capacity, or… what was it, propriety? No, that can't be it, you were holding hands with Kakashi-sensei just a minute ago, and he has hoe written on his shirt."

I pushed both of them off me, deciding to ignore anything else that comes out of their vile mouths.

"Naruto-chan, come sit with me, two spots suddenly opened up," I cheerily called him over.

"Yosh! Mizu-chan, you're the bes…K-k-k-k-kakashi-sensei?"

This guy!

I caught Kakashi into a chokehold for daring to exude killing intent at the precious ball of sunshine that is Naruto.

"Don't be scared, Naruto-chan. He's just joking inappropriately. You know, like he usually does."

Naruto still refused to come over, and offered some weak excuse about wanting to get some dango.

"You know what, I will take the job. And I'll personally ensure you arrive every day at exactly 8 AM, Ka-ka-shi-san," I sing-songed his name and grinned maliciously to make the threat especially scary.

"Oh, good. Then we can also use this opportunity to train you to sleep correctly."

I scowled at that. What was he talking about? I released him from the hold so that he could explain himself.

He saw my confused expression, and eye-crinkled at me: "Haven't you noticed? As a ninja, you're a failure if you aren't alert even when you're sleeping."

I rolled my eyes. Sure it made some sense, but people aren't dolphins, they can't keep one brain hemisphere active and sleep with their eye open, just in case someone tries to attack them. Right?

Sakura gasped. "That's right – you did fall asleep at Naruto's party, completely oblivious to the music and other noise! I thought that was weird, but leave it to Kakashi-sensei to notice you don't know how to be half-conscious while you sleep."

"Sakura-chan?! You also do that?"

"Yes? They teach this stuff at the academy."

Oh. My. Kami! I knew there was some ulterior motive behind the academy naptime! I was just so grateful for it I never noticed the point was to learn how to sleep like a ninja! Although, taking into consideration how this profession is just a glorified paranoia contest, it really shouldn't have been that surprising.

"Haha, I actually fell asleep at the party because I was very tired, and I felt safe enough to tune out all the noise—"

"Truth be told, I was kind of impressed you managed to fall asleep in Gai's presence. But that serves as an additional incentive to start your training immediately."

Fuck. I am a failure as a ninja.

"Then, Kakashi-sensei, I'll depend on you to teach me how to sleep like a ninja. Please take care of me!" I bowed feeling already unusually tired due to my bleak sleepless future.

Hm? Why was Kakashi suddenly blushing?

He coughed uncomfortably, and collected himself so quickly I thought I had imagined the slight blush at the edge of his mask. I checked if Sakura noticed anything, but she and Shizune were currently getting their shares of the dango Naruto had brought.

"Then, I'll depend on you to wake me up on time, Mizu-sensei." His voice was deeper and softer than usual, and the look in his eyes was so intense I felt a tingling sensation everywhere. And I do mean everywhere.

I practically fainted. Just what did I get myself into?