and
Bloody Noses
-Hatake Kakashi-
That impudent loathing feeling washed over you as you stared out the window of your apartment. Once a year this day came and once a year you sealed yourself away from everyone and everything. Of all the days you hated, this one was the top on the list. Hate was possibly not a strong enough word but it would suffice for now. Though this was to be one of those days filled with love and compassion, the feeling of utter disdain still remained. You wanted to lock yourself away in your apartment and stay there until the pink-infested day was over and done with.
You're teammates, though still not knowing why you hated this day, understood you not wanting to be bothered with questions. Not that they would get any answers anyway... They had found out rather quickly what you would do last year. The thrown vase and toppled chair spoke for themselves.
Hitori Kira hated Valentines Day.
Sora had been the first to realize one of the reasons behind your disdain for the holiday. You had no one to share it with, nor did you seem apt to ask anyone to share it with you even though she, Machi and Tanaka tried to get you to come out of you hollowed shell. You had explained to the Kunoichi later that you just had this feeling in the pit of your stomach... The feeling that nothing good would ever come from a day filled with pink and red hearts, sonnets and talk of love.
"Ninja are emotionless tools of their countries. Why trifle in such stupid affairs?"
Sora could not fight this argument. It was what had been drilled into your heads from the first day at Konoha's Ninja Academy. Ninja were nothing more than tools. Tools do not have emotions. It was the simplest of things, or so it seemed.
Kakashi himself was at his wits end. He had never done anything like this before and was slightly discouraged by what he had heard. The only person who seemed to support him was Sora. That boosted his confidence somewhat though Sora had told him over and over again for the past week to be extremely careful when approaching the subject.
Hesitating as he neared the door, Kakashi stopped. This whole thing was beyond nerve racking for the poor boy and he just wanted to turn around and head back home.
But he couldn't...
If he didn't do this now he would never have the courage to do it again. Taking a deep, nervous breath the silver haired Shinobi knocked his knuckles against the wooden door. There was silence. 'Maybe she's not home...' he told himself quietly. 'Or maybe... maybe she's out with someone else...' But then why would Sora encourage him so only to watch him fall face first in the dirt?
Slowly the young Konoha ninja turned away from the door. Maybe he would see her tomorrow. Not that he would have the courage to-
A soft click sounded behind him, stopping him mid-step. Turning to look over his shoulder, Kakashi saw the handle turn almost as if it were in slow motion and then the door slowly slide open to reveal the girl he'd been wanting to see all day.
"Kira..." he said softly as you stared out at him, watching him almost apprehensively. A smile slowly spread across his face as he turned fully to you, taking a small step forward so he was closer. His visible eye was closed and mirroring the hidden grin that was growing under the navy blue mask. "Happy Val-"
The door slammed shut in his face or slammed on his face would be more accurate.
"I told you..." Sora grumbled, sounding none too sympathetic as she stared down at her comrade Shinobi who was now cradling a bloody nose.
"Well how the hell was I supposed to know? A simple "be careful" is somewhat vague..." the silver haired ninja retorted.
Sora sighed in defeat, knowing she probably should have gone into more detail on the subject of you and Valentines Day. "Fair enough," she grumbled. "But we have to find a way to make this right..."
"How about you start by leaving her alone... If this is the one day she really seems to hate then let her hate it," Kakashi reasoned. "Stop meddling in her affairs so much."
Sora glared at him, sticking her tongue out childishly. "It's my job as he best friend to be nosy about her business."
"Fine, be nosy but leave me out of it..." Kakashi stated flatly, still holding his slightly bleeding nose. "I don't need another door connecting with my face...
Sora snickered softly, earning a mild glare from his visible eye. "I'm sorry but..." she let out another stifled giggle. It's funny..." she said, holding back another sputter of laughter.
Across the room the door opened, revealing behind it the two other figures on your and Sora's team. Tanaka, followed closely by his brother Machi, walked into the room. It only took Tanaka about three seconds to register that Kakashi was there... and apparently bleeding. The darker haired ninja of the twins stared at him in slight confusion. "Um... what happened?" he questioned, glancing at Sora for answers. This did not prove helpful as the dark haired Kunoichi burst into yet another fit of giggles.
Kakashi sighed and removed the rag from his face, glaring at Sora. "I went and saw Kira... she kinda slammed the door in my face and crushed my nose..." At this explanation even Tanaka had to chuckle.
"You didn't know about the whole "I hate Valentines Day so you'd better not talk to me" thing did you...." the boy asked, grinning.
Kakashi frowned slightly and looked back over at Sora. "No.... I believe your teammate failed to mention that little detail..." he growled before sighing, his gaze going down to his feet. "Now I have to figure out a way to make this all up to her...."
The room fell silent as the four pondered their own thoughts, the occasional giggle coming from Sora only to be rewarded with an angry glare from her Jounin counterpart. But finally a light bulb clicked on.
"I have an idea..." Machi said, taking a step forward. Tanaka and Sora moved in closer, the three making a group around Kakashi as Machi spoke his, in his mind, fool proof plan.
You were laying on your bed... just laying there waiting for this god awful day to end so you could finally be happy. You'd never told anyone why you hated Valentines so much... the reason you scoffed at its very name before turning to run.
You had always hated the fact that your father was never there anymore. Nearly fourteen years had passed and you still could not allow yourself to get over his sudden death... He had been all you had ever had. Now here you were almost twenty-five and still moping around. But... you couldn't allow yourself to forget that you were alone now...
'My mother abandoned me... my father's dead... and I never allowed myself to get attached to someone else for fear they would do the same... rejection is cruel but death is worse. I don't want to see another loved one die.'
You sighed heavily and closed your eyes. If you could sleep then the day would pass so much faster...
A loud knock echoed on your door. You laid there for a second more, hoping the person would just leave you be but another knock came. Growling in annoyance, you picked yourself up and walked out of you room. The front door of your apartment was about seventeen or so feet away from your bed room door... hopefully whoever was knocking would have enough sense to run during the time in which it would take you to reach the wooden object...
You turned the lock and opened the door slowly, glaring out of the crack but stopped, blinking in mild confusion.
No one was there...
'Did I imagine that?'
Frowning, you turned to start back inside but something made you pause. In the back of your mind something was hinting for you to look down. Going with the impulse you tilted your head and glanced down at your feet. There on the pavement was a small glass vase, two dark red roses held within it. You stared at the simple object for a moment, taking note of the folded piece of paper resting beside it. With a sigh you decided to humor whoever it was and bent down, retrieving both the letter and vase. Holding the fragile object carefully you turned your fingers so you could open the note. Inside were four simple little words that made your heart jump for a split second.
You stared at the note and shook your head, a faint smile crossing your lips. "Kakashi..." Turning you walked back into your apartment and closed the door, going back to your room and setting the vase, flowers and note on the table next to your bed.
It might not have been completely what one would expect on Valentines Day, but for Hitori Kira it meant more than those in that pink-infested world of love and happiness would ever know.
