Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Curative Career of Kaori the Ninja Nurse ❯ Kakashi & the Kuchiki Family ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Kakashi and the Kuchiki Family

Excerpts from Kaori's Notes:

Father: Address him as Kuchiki-sama - he likes those younger than he to be respectful. He's a bit old fashion,but not terribly strict. He likes his job as Vice-President of Konoha's Fidelity Trust accounting firm. His main goal in life is to retire with 100 million ryou in the bank, liquid. Pretend to be interested in his job. He loves it when someone's actually interested in debits and credits and high finance, especially new investment opportunities.

Mother: Address her as Hana-san since she likes to be more familiar. She's got rather strange but practical views on life and relationships. She runs a beauty salon. Her number one goal is to see me married no matter what, even if it's to a 90 year old monk! She's energetic and proud of looking younger than her age. Compliment her cooking and how young she looks.

Younger Sister: Address her as Sumire-san. She's married and has three children. She's normally very nice but not when she's overtired from the kids. Her husband works with my father and they get along well since he's pretty quiet and submissive. Her main goal in life is just to have a happy healthy family and somehow find time for herself. She used to help out at the salon but now that she has three kids she's been too busy. She and her husband are suckers for people who play with their kids.

Younger Brother: Address him as Akira-san. He's married to Sadako and has one child, a tyrannical little brat. My brother used to be a standup guy willing to go out of the way to help others, but ever since he's been with her, he's been a lot more selfish. The less said about his wife the better. They love compliments on their brat. Their main goal is to be better, more successful, more happy than everyone else.

Things to remember about "us": We met at the hospital when Sasuke was hospitalized after you sealed Orochimaru's curse. Then we met again when Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura where hospitalized after their fight with Gaara of the Desert. We went out a total of three times before you were hospitalized.

First date you asked me out to dinner. We went to Kami's Tea House. I had the chicken bento, regular, with soup and salad and you had the beef teriyaki deluxe.

Second date we went to see “The Adventures of Princess Fuun” running time from 6:00pm to 8:15pm, after which we picked up two House Special ramen from Ichiraku. During the movie we had popcorn with light butter and I had a diet soda and you had a regular soda.

Things I like: Reading, especially tragic romances.

Food: House Special ramen, steamed pork and cabbage dumplings, pan fried pork and chives dumplings, warm tapioca custard, mochi ice cream.

Things I don't like: Ignorant, idle, idiots likesome of my coworkers! And sister-in-law! Noisy people. The color green (but this is just recently). I don't like food with vinegar like pickled vegetables, tomato sauce, lemon sauce, sour stuff in general.

Other Notes: Remember to bring some fruit or desert or something to dinner since that sort of custom is very important to my family.

Kakashi read none of it. The notebook lay on his dining table untouched.

"Don't you think you should start reading that book?" asked the Obito voice two hours before dinner with Kaori's family.

"I'm just going to wing it. It shouldn't be too hard to get along with everyone. Besides, it'll be more interesting this way," replied Kakashi as he did his best not to prepare for his date.

He had finished his mission early, but, as usual, was in no rush for his second date with Kaori. He knew dinner was never ready by the appointed time. The table had to be set; the food had to cool down; and there was always small talk to engage in. Instead, he decided to rest up a bit before leaving.

Unfortunately, he fell asleep and did not set his alarm clock. After a couple of hours of light sleep, where he never quite reached deep sleep mode, he woke up abruptly - an internal sensor finally woke him. It was already an hour past, so he rushed out the door without checking his appearance. Almost there, he slowed down to his usual saunter. He did not like to look like he was in a hurry. A slow pace suited his cool persona.

Kaori's parents' house was a medium size house with two stories and a small backyard for gardening. He estimated there were probably three bedrooms. The exterior was fairly well maintained though he had the impression that the inside would not be nearly as immaculate as Kaori's apartment. There was more of a casual ease to its aura. He calmly walked up the two steps and rang the doorbell.

Kaori's brother Akira was nearest the door so he was the first one to reach the doorknob in the mad scramble as everyone tried to be the first to greet the guest. Poor Kaori who was the smallest of the adults got pushed aside.

"Welcome to our humble abode," her brother said with an exaggerated bow.

"Hello," Kakashi replied as the rest of the family gathered behind Akira, blocking the doorway. Kakashi just stood there for a minute as Kaori's entire family stared at him.

Kaori roughly pushed everyone aside to clear a path for Kakashi to enter.

"Come in Kakashi-sensei," Kaori said pleasantly. "It's not polite to stare," she whispered harshly to her family.

Kakashi walked in without directly looking at anyone or greeting anyone in particular. At a glance he took in his surroundings and was secretly pleased to see his expectations were correct. The rooms had a comfortable homey feel, decorated with numerous personal objects, unlike Kaori's place which was fairly stark and unsentimental - much like his own.

"You're just in time for dinner," said Kaori's mom as she guided him to the dining room.

"That's okay. I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat something, I insist."

"I already ate on my mission."

"What exactly? Shinobi rations? That's not real food. Sit down and have a real home cooked meal. When was the last time you enjoyed something like that?" She started piling up a bit of everything from the assorted dishes she had laid out.

Everyone else took a seat around him. He sat at one end of the table while Kaori's father sat at the other end. Kaori sat on Kakashi's left and her mother on his right. Kaori's brother sat next to his mom and his wife next to him with their toddler. Sumire sat next to Kaori and her kids sat between her and her husband. Kakashi noted there was no boy-girl-boy-girl order and they were probably sitting in the least offensive way. He remembered Kaori did not get along with her brother or sister-in-law and was indifferent to her brother-in-law. He watched the ensuing chaos as dishes were passed back and forth and as the kids tried to grab everything and as their parents grabbed their kids' hands.

"Stop it."

"Don't grab."

"Don't touch."

“Use your chopsticks.”

“Use your napkin.”

"You don't like that."

"Try this, you'll like it."

“I don't!”

"Just eat it!"

Kakashi did not touch his food but just listened and watched the busy family, taking it all in, all the chaos and warmth of a family.

He noticed Sumire's baby staring at him. It seemed the baby had never seen a one-eyed man before. Kakashi looked over at the baby and stared back. His eyebrow angled in a mock frown. The little tyke started bawling. Sumire groaned. She was hoping to have dinner in peace, but now she had to deal with a fussy baby. She glanced at Kakashi and had a sneaking suspicion that he was responsible.

"Kakashi sensei, please try my mother's cooking," Kaori encouraged, expecting that Kakashi had read her notes and would compliment her mother's cooking.

Kakashi lowered his mask to eat. A sudden stillness fell over the Kuchiki family. Time froze and for a minute, everyone was quiet as they observed his fine face. Even the baby stopped crying. An impartial observer would have noticed their irises and pupils contracting and distorting into heart shapes.

The guest took a bite of his food and chewed thoughtfully. "It's kind of tough, and a bit too salty," Kakashi honestly appraised the stewed beef.

"Oh, you should eat that with the rice and it may be overcooked since it had to be reheated," Kaori's mother said defensively. 'Because we were waiting for you!' she angrily added to herself. She smiled tightly.

"Er, mom's cooking is best when it's fresh and warm," Kaori quickly interceded. She tried to change the topic. "So dad, how's the world of numbers."

"The usual. We're gearing up for the next round of changes in the tax code."

Kakashi yawned rudely. "Sorry, but tax talk is less exciting than watching my kunai rust."

"Well, it's certainly not as exciting as the life of a shinobi." Kaori's father face grew dark at the insult to his profession.

"Er, so how's things with you, Akira?" Kaori now tried to divert attention to her brother.

"We caught some card counters the other day."

"I never understood why counting cards is illegal. It's all a scam. Gambling is just a government sanctioned racket. All those addicts just throwing their money away. It really should be banned," Kakashi interjected.

Akira and his wife glared at him for insulting their livelihood.

`What the hell is he doing?' Kaori thought angrily. It seemed Kakashi forgot everything she had told him and didn't read her notes at all.

The awkward silence was broken by Sumire's two older children who started to fight.

"He touched my food!"

"She touched my food!"

"Haha now you got my germs!"

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"Stop it kids - it's dinner time," their father said ineffectually.

"Let them fight. I'm always on the lookout for shinobi recruits," smiled Kakashi. He gave the kids a thumbs up.

The parents glared at him for encouraging violence. The kids stopped fighting and stared at the strange adult.

Unlike dinner with Gai, dinner with Kakashi was much more strained. Each member of Kaori's family wondered what Kaori could possibly see in him besides his good looks, which admittedly, were very good indeed.

Kaori's father noted that although Kakashi was late because he was on a mission, Gai sensei also had a mission. but he had the foresight and consideration to finish his mission well ahead of time and arrived right on time for dinner.

Kaori's mother noted that Kakashi had not brought anything to dinner, unlike Gai sensei who sent flowers and brought a huge, though mutated, turkey. It was the thought that count and apparently Kakashi was not very thoughtful.

Sumire and Akira and their spouses thought how Kakashi was terrible with children, unlike Gai sensei who knew exactly what to do to entertain their children and keep them from fussing or fighting.

They all silently agreed that Gai sensei was much, much better. All he needed was a makeover while Kakashi had more serious problems.

Meanwhile Kakashi happily and obliviously relished his food despite his initial criticism. It was nice being with a family even if he wasn't truly a part of it. He couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed a meal with a family and it was the first time he had met the parents of one of his dates.

So why wasn't he behaving better? Why was he going out of his way to antagonize everyone? Even though he hadn't read Kaori's notebook, she had already given him a heads up summary at dinner the other day. He should have known what to expect and what to do to impress them.

He chewed his food slowly and watched as the family ignored him and talked amongst themselves. Kaori clearly got her looks from her mother, who was still attractive though age and three children had naturally added weight to her frame. Her hair was the same reddish brown color with no gray and he deduced that she recently had it colored. He vaguely remembered that Kaori said her mother ran a beauty salon. A pleasant thought crossed his mind as he imagined the pretty nurse beside him aging gracefully in a similar fashion.

Kaori's brother and sister clearly resembled their father with their greater height and stronger frame. They both had black hair, but like Kaori, their eyes were hazel with flecks of green. Sumire had a more motherly look than Kaori, softer, more friendly, open and patient looking. The brother had an honest square face, which belied the fact that he hustled dice for a living. The hated sister-in-law was all bones and sharp angles with black eyes and red hair that was obviously dyed. The feckless brother-in-law whose name Kaori had a hard time remembering, was much like she described, that is not memorable at all - just a plain quiet balding man who seemed nice enough.

Kakashi listened in amusement as the couples bickered over what and how much to feed their little brats. He watched as Kaori's mom piled more and more food on his and Kaori's plates before they had a chance to finish their initial servings.

Then Akira decided to make another attempt to befriend his sister's beau. He said good-naturedly, “I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. My sister is not as nice as she appears. Even though she's a nurse, she doesn't have any patience - get it?” He laughed at his own joke. Although he meant it as a good-natured tease, his wife picked up on it in a not so nice way.

“That's right. You'd better be careful or you might find yourself wearing tonight's dinner,” Sadoko said in reference to Kaori's last blind date.

Kaori's family all laughed, oblivious to her feelings. She felt her temperature rising and steam starting to build.

Sumire saw the tell tale signs of her sister's anger and said in her diplomatic way, “We're just teasing of course. Kaori's a wonder sister and nurse and all around person. I don't know how she puts up with us irresponsible types. We can't blame her for losing it sometimes.” Her comment did not make Kaori feel any better.

Undaunted, Sadoko tried another tactic to annoy Kaori. She was certain that Kaori and Kakashi's relationship was a sham. If Kaori had really been involved with such a famous shinobi for so long, she definitely would have boasted about it. “So where did you and Kaori meet?” asked Sadoko in her most friendly voice, which still had a touch of malice.

“At the hospital.”

“When?”

“Hmm, it was during the chuunin exam preliminaries.”

`That's true,' noted Kaori, praying that Kakashi would get this part right.

“Really? That long ago? She hasn't mentioned you at all. I would have thought your first date would be big news.”

`Oh, please please don't say anything that will give me away!' thought Kaori desperately.

But luckily Kakashi just shrugged. "A serious relationship is not something to be discussed lightly."

“So it's serious?” Kaori's father interjected, frowning again.

"Well, er, it's the most serious relationship for the both of us," Kakashi replied honestly, thinking of how serious Kaori was when testing his memory the other day.

Kaori nodded mutely, surprised at how well Kakashi was fielding the questions now.

“So, has Kaori told you about the time she hurt her arm at the Academy?” Sadoko tried again to find an inconsistency, knowing it was really her ankle.

Kakashi just nodded vaguely.

Before there could be any more trouble, Kaori broke in, "Kakashi-sensei has to be up early for a mission tomorrow so we'll leave first."

"Well actually..." Kakashi was about to say when Kaori abruptly stood up, ready to leave.

"Oh, you have to have desert first. Kaori come help me in the kitchen." Her mother gave her that look that meant we need to talk. There was no denying her mother or she would just have to hear it later, so Kaori dutifully followed her into the kitchen where she had a elaborately decorated chocolate cake.

"So is it really serious? Like getting married serious?" She figured any son-in-law was better than none at all.

"Er, not exactly. It's still early. He's just recovered you know and we're both really busy."

Her mother sighed in relief. "I don't know about that guy. He doesn't seem very reliable. Gai sensei seems to be a better choice."

“Not that again. I've told you over and over, no way!”

“But really Kaori, if you compare everything but their looks, Gai sensei comes out on top. He was on time despite having a mission. He had the foresight and consideration to bring gifts. He got along with everyone. He was funny and smart and entertaining.”

“He's not my type, so just forget it!”

“I just want you to be happy. I think in the long one you'd be happier with someone more attentive, more vibrant, more caring. Take it from me, marriage is a life sentence so make sure you get along with your cell-mate.”

“Do you say things like that to dad?”

“Of course, and he agrees with me 100 percent. Remember, it's not what's on the outside, it's what's on the inside that counts.”

“You tell me that each time I see you. I know what I'm doing.”

“I certainly hope so for your sake. The rumors I've heard about that man...”

“What rumors? Forget the rumors - they're all lies!”

“Are you sure? He does read those perverted books doesn't he?”

“Er, yes, but that's not a big deal. They're best sellers so men most in Konoha probably have a copy. I bet dad has a copy.”

Kaori's mom quickly dropped the topic of Icha Icha books since her husband did have the whole set and she had read them as well. “Uh, well, what about the ramen girl? I heard they have something going on.” She had heard it from her customers at the beauty salon who had heard it from someone who had heard it from Otoha.

“It's a lie. There's nothing going on between them,” Kaori said with a confidence she didn't quite feel.

“Well, what about how's he's late all the time? It can't be because of missions all the time.”

“You know, everyone has a personality quirk. Look at Gai sensei's green jumpsuit. Which is worse?” Kaori said defensively.

What could her mother say to that? The green jumpsuit was the one thing that was very, very difficult for anyone to ignore. Kaori's mother sighed and gave in. “Right, you're an adult and you know what you're doing. I'm not going to say anything else…for now.”

-…-…-…-