Sown

thirty-three

[This chapter has been split into two parts, the second of which will be posted the day after tomorrow to mend my tortured sleep schedule. The next chapter will have explicit content ; I am giving warning now as I do not want to have to make the entire story 18+ for the sake of a few chapters. All chapters will be marked accordingly (🛇). I cannot personally condone underage readers to partake.]

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Living together, so to speak, was a new experience in and of itself. Neither Hanae nor Kakashi were too used to sharing a close quartered living space with someone else, especially someone of the opposite gender. The Umu clan complex was vast and each direct family had their own building to house ; Hanae never shared a room with Tatsui though she had slept in the same bed as the boy seven years her junior on multiple occasions. Members of the ANBU Root and regular ANBU slept in rooms according to gender and having never been particularly close to a female in any sort of way Kakashi wasn't familiar with the intricacies of congenial cohabitation. That wasn't to say that their arrangement didn't work.

In fact, it worked out better than either could expect. Samurai armor was conveniently collapsible, everything from suneate to sode fitting inside the shell created by the do and sitting at the foot of the bed. Flak jackets fit on hangers and hung easily from the wall beside the door. The desk was large enough to fit two chairs beneath and sizable stacks of paperwork atop, and seeing as neither of them were attending the same duties at the same time they each had their share of undisturbed study time. Her diagrams of battle formations did dominate the bulletin board hanging above the desk, though.

Shacking up also worked to bring them closer. Hanae was already asleep the first night Kakashi returned to the shared space, thoroughly exhausted after running 300 laps (in full armor) around the training grounds with Rock Lee. He glided under the covers, watching the expanse of her back facing him to make sure he didn't wake her before settling to rest facing the ceiling. The action was short lived ; mere hours later the jounin was jolted awake with a shout, his heart beating out of his chest. Heavy pants filled the room followed by a raspy voice filled with lukewarm concern.

"What happened?" Hanae murmured half awake. She sat up, taking in his distressed state with squinted eyes. He shook his head and tried waving her back to sleep but she would have none of it. Her motion was natural, coaxing him into her chest with deft hands. Pressing him close, Kakashi could hear the relaxing beat of her heart. The slow rhythm paired with his partner's gentle breathing calmed his, the feel of her body below him and tightly gripped in his arms lulling him back to slumber. He confessed his nightly haunts to her upon waking, skirting around the details of the dreams to which she expressed complete understanding.

It amused him how diligent she was. Hanae was a proper workhorse and never relaxed until she felt her work was done (meaning she never relaxed as the woman felt there was always something more that could be done). Liaisons between Fire and Iron, diagrams of battle strategies and formations, reports detailing what they knew of the enemy, and more always filled her hands and her side of the desk. When not studying she trained her body tirelessly, honing her stamina and iaido. She was a completely different person in and out of work, and the effort did not come without reward.

She was beaming with pride upon entering the room on their third day together. "I'm home," Hanae greeted the man sat at the desk.

"Welcome home," he replied. The exchange had become customary at this point. Kakashi caught the subtle gratification pulling at her features as well as the hint of sweat radiating from her skin. "What are you so happy about? Aside from life, of course."

"Haha," she mocked, placing her waraji neatly beside his sandals. "I've been given my position. As of today I'm the kumigashira of the kaze-gumi." He stared at her blankly and slowly quirked his brow. "In shinobi terms I'll be the captain over the samurai who have an affinity for wind release. Lord Mifune decided it himself. I'll be serving under him in the Fifth Division."