Sunshine

The early morning sun casts a warm glow across Kohona, peering through and caressing her to awaken with the new day. Her eyes flutter open to the view of the peaceful village, birds singing their joyful songs, and the scrambled hum of conversation through the open window, gently persuading her out of bed. She smiles softly at such a beautiful morning, hoping she could wake up this way every day for the remainder of her life.

Sitting up in bed, she hears a soft knock at the front door. She didn't carry extra clothes, so she had slept in just her underwear, making her way to answer the door while wrapping a sheet around her exposed body. She had yet to go shopping, deciding that would be her goal before the end of the day. She cracks the door open, peering through the slot she created. The masked shinobi from last night stood tall in her doorway, and she smiled.

"Howdy," she says cheerfully, even whilst groggy.

He's confused by the greeting but brushes it off as her just being a strange character. He barely notices her holding a sheet tightly to her chest and the way her bare thigh peeks through the loose fabric. He clears his throat and thanks god there's a mask covering his face.

"The Hokage has requested your presence. I'm here to escort you," he says dryly.

She nods excitedly, he told her he was coming yesterday, so it was no surprise, but his arrival meant everything was set up for the jounin test."I'll get changed. Give me just a second!"

She runs off to her bedroom, forgetting to shut the front door in her eagerness to get ready. She drops her bed sheet and throws on the only clothes she has. The black, sleeveless, and skin-tight tank top brings with it a sense of comfort as it hugs her torso, paired with baggy cargo pants fitting nicely around her curvy figure. She straps her utility belt diagonally across her chest, rotating it, so the pouches are accessible behind her back while also being discrete from the front. Most times, it works in her favor to look like a defenseless woman, also adding to the thrill of knowing she's tricked her prey. She then straps a second utility belt around her waist and pulls on her sturdy yet lightweight combat boots, lacing them up tightly. She double-checks all her weapons are accounted for before rushing back to the front door where the shinobi waits patiently.

Seeing her figure approaching, he walks off silently, leaving Katsume to trail behind him. She jogs lightly to be side by side with him. "You're quiet today," she jokes.

The man huffs in amusement, keeping a brisk pace, "I'm always quiet."

She chuckles, lacing her fingers together behind her back and stretching. "If I remember correctly, it was you who started the conversation with me yesterday," she smirks, looking up at his familiar cat mask. The mischievous glint in her eyes was a nice contrast to how vacant they had been the night before, a pleasant change he could appreciate.

"Touche." a subtle smile tugged at his lips.

She smiled, then remembered her revelation the night before, "Hey, by chance do you know where they took my horse? We got separated upon arriving in the village." The tall man ponders for a moment. He remembers a couple of jounin exclaiming to one another a few days prior that the horse they commandeered had vanished into thin air. He thought the interaction was strange but wrote it off as a weird dramatization that the horse had simply run off.

"A large black horse, right? It disappeared shortly after it was taken to the stables. Would you like me to find him?" It wasn't really in his job description, but he wouldn't mind helping her out if need be.

Katsume shakes her head urgently, "No, but thank you. If he's gone, that means he went back to the Shizuka Plains," she fears he might be confused, so she decides to elaborate, "The horse is a summoned animal, he and his species reside in the Shizuka Plains. I'm glad he went back. I had feared he might've stayed out of spite to give me an earful for forgetting about him." She laughs nervously, thanking the heavens Daku decided to cut her some slack for once.

He hums in understanding. One thing had him questioning, though, summoning takes an immense amount of chakra and control, especially for an animal of that size, yet he could only feel trace amounts in the woman. He wonders if she's using Chakra Disguise or if she's just a freak of nature. Though, considering who her parents are, he wouldn't be surprised by either.

"Well, you got lucky then. It sounds like a lecture may have been well deserved," he laughs as she swats at his arm, "Hey, we're not that close! You can't go around hitting people like that!"

She's surprised he's broken from being so quiet, and she can finally hear the personality in his voice instead of some monotone robot man. She smiles at him, "Really? I was starting to consider you my friend."

"Then, I would say your standards for friendship are questionable," he jokes with a sardonic laugh.

She rolls her eyes, " My best friend is a horse, so my standards aren't exactly high." She bumps her shoulder into his arm playfully, "Lucky you."

He looks down at her with a small smile, "Oh yes, lucky me." his tone was sarcastic, but he was growing fond of the woman deep down. She reminded him of someone special to him once upon a time. The way her smile seemed to make everything brighter despite the blinding sun of the summer day and her naturally sociable voice made him feel like they had been friends their entire lives. It all drew him into a desire to spend more time with her anytime he can, and he couldn't stop it. Everything about her was so peculiar to him.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

They enter the Hokage's office, chuckling lightly about something Katsume had said. They're met with the eyes of three familiar faces; Tsunade, Jiraiya,...and, low and behold, Kakashi Hatake. She glares at Jiraiya skeptically, who wears an amused and unapologetic expression. The Anbu shinobi nods in greeting to the fellow jounin, then bows to dismiss himself.

Katsume rips her eyes away from her father to glance at the jounin she'd met the day prior. As she remembers their brief interaction, she smiles softly at him to acknowledge his presence. It wasn't anything special. Fireworks didn't go off when their eyes locked, and she didn't get tunnel vision like they were the only two people in the world as described in romance novels. It was normal. He's just a man she met. But she couldn't shake the feeling that this man would play a significant role in her life. Whether good or bad, she didn't know, and that disturbed her.

His eye never leaves hers; even as her gaze seems far away, he admired her. Her eyes were like the soil of the richest earth, but as the morning rays cast through them, they shone brighter and warmer than anything he'd ever seen. Like they captured every drop of sun, morphing them into golden pools of honey...then pink. Wait, pink? It wasn't in her eyes but on the apples of her cheeks running over the bridge of her nose to the tips of her ears.

Did she say something embarrassing? Why would she be blushing? Is it warm in here? Why is she looking at me like that? Oh. My. God. No. Have I been staring at her this entire time?!

Kakashi clears his throat abruptly, turning his gaze to the Hokage and Master Jiraiya, who had requested his presence, his skin burning beneath his mask. Katsume does the same, meeting the suggestive eyes of her father once again.

What the fuck was that? They all thought in unison.

As Tsunade's eyes bounce from every person in the room, she clears her throat, "Alright, for the first order of business, Katsume, the paperwork has been filed and you are officially a citizen of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." she smiles at Katsume as she continues, " As for your jounin test, Kakashi Hatake has been requested to evaluate you." Tsunade turns to Kakashi, " I would like your report before this evening. If you decide you need more time to fully asses her skills, then you may have the rest of the week to do so." Kakashi glances at Katsume's intent gaze, she had a faraway look again, but the expression she held was determined, a fire burning within her amber eyes.

He nods once in understanding, "Of course, Lady Fifth. I'm grateful for your trust in me." he bows as she dismisses him and walks briskly towards the door.

Katsume had been zoned out, set on the idea of proving herself, on making the Old Bat proud of the skills she spent years drilling into her. As she comes out of it, she notices Kakashi already halfway out the door, "Oh...right!" she turns to catch up with him but finds she's been stopped mid-stride, a delicate yet tense hold on her forearm. "Be careful...please." The eyes of her mother, fearful for her safety. It was a sickening sight. Ripping her arm away from her grasp, she glares down at her distastefully.

She turns to her father she notices the same expression her mother had, but it has the opposite effect on the young woman. She didn't want to worry him. If anything, she wanted to show him just how strong she is. To see the pride light his features. Ignoring her mother completely, she throws a thumbs up and a familiar cheeky smile, reminding him of his younger years, desperate to prove himself to those he admired. He mirrors her with his signature smile.

Do your best, mini-me.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

As the sun reaches its pinnacle, it bears down on the life below. Bright and ruthless for the hours when the elusive shadows cower in dread. The absolute worst time to have a faux battle. She was already drenched head to toe in sweat, severely putting a damper on her excitement. After leaving the Hokage's office, Kakashi Hatake leads the way to the training field in complete silence.

However, grateful for his lazy pace, it was quite contradictory to the one he had set while in the mansion. She came to the conclusion his professionalism should be taken at face value, which was an amusing revelation. She appreciated how quiet he was. He dragged his feet as he read a little orange book, savoring the pages and soaking in the peaceful bliss. She understood the feeling wholeheartedly as a fellow lover of books. The Old Bat wasn't much of an academic, but she would always find books of every genre for Katsume, thinking the more she read, the less the hag had to teach. She loved the feeling of being enraptured in reality so different from her own. She wouldn't dare disturb him, so she trailed quietly with her hands clasped loosely behind her, admiring the architecture, the low hums of conversation, and the children laughing as they played.

Kakashi glanced back merely to ensure she was still following, but what he saw made it difficult to look away. A gentle breeze floated through her hair of snow, the sun's rays constructing a perfect halo as it shined over the silky tresses. A look of complete adoration graced her features as she marveled over the blissful village as if she had never seen anything more beautiful. Those amber eyes were like a honey trap for his gaze. He reluctantly returns to his book before she catches him in it once again.

Lost in the beauty of the village she can now call home; she finds herself falling back, having run into something large and sturdy. An arm finds its way securely around her torso, steadying her balance.

"You should really pay more attention to your surroundings." his voice low and soothing.

She chuckles nervously. "I think that's what did me dirty, actually," she says, giving him a cheesy smile.

He releases his strong grip backing a good distance away.

The expansive field surrounded by thick trees was like heaven to her. With so much room, she could finally go all out. A priceless opportunity.

Kakashi realizes he probably should have come up with a specialized way to assess her abilities, but with so little knowledge about her, he decided to wing it. Surely putting the trust the Hokage and Master Jiraiya have in him to shame. He would've just recycled the bell test, but since it's mostly designed for teamwork, it wouldn't necessarily work in this circumstance.

The thought of fighting the daughter of Master Jiraiya was slightly intimidating, but from the way she emanates so little chakra, it's a wonder why she would want to be jounin. Those two could have at least told him something about her. She may not be able to do a single jutsu for all he knows. Master Jiraiya believes he's the man for this job, so he will get it done regardless of how minuscule the task may be. He sighs, wishing he hadn't given up his only free time from his rowdy students to test some wanna-be kunoichi.

She can be as pretty as she wants. She's not getting a free pass.

"We'll start with taijutsu, hand-to-hand combat, and go from there," he says loudly so she can hear from his distance.

"I can hear you just fine. No need to yell," she said with growing irritation. She may have brought it upon herself, purposefully making herself look defenseless, but damn she hated being belittled. Geez, how dumb does he think I am? " Let's get this over with. I'm hungry."

Kakashi was slightly taken aback. Her attitude thus far had been rather neutral, if not happy, but right now, she seemed completely different. Did he say something wrong? No matter. She's probably trying to get herself into a certain headspace. He could understand that. He gets into a fighting stance, fully prepared to take whatever she can throw at him.

"Alright, give me everything you've got."

"Oh, believe me," she smirks, "I will."