The afternoon sun blazed through the gaps in the heavy curtains, casting long streaks of bright light across the rumpled sheets. It was already well past four in the afternoon. The sheer passage of time was the only real indicator of just how long they had been completely wrapped up in each other.
Mei lay collapsed against the pillows, her hair a wild, beautiful mess across the mattress. She let out a long, exhausted groan, staring up at the ceiling with a lazy smirk. "How many rounds was that?"
Kakashi sat up on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his messy silver hair. He felt a light sting from the fresh red lines tracking down his back, but his energy levels hadn't dropped a bit. "I didn't bother keeping count, but we've officially missed breakfast... and lunch."
Right on cue, both of their stomachs let out a loud, demanding growl that echoed through the quiet bedroom.
Mei laughed softly, burying her face in a pillow. "Fix it, husband. I'm starving."
Kakashi chuckled. Standing up, he pulled his underwear and pants from the floor back on, deciding they could both worry about a proper shower later. Leaving his shirt behind, he walked bare-chested out of the bedroom and into the suite's high-end kitchen. It was time to use some of that Sea King meat.
Standing by the counter, he mentally reached into his inventory and summoned a massive, thick slab of fresh Sea King meat. The moment the steak materialized on the cutting board, Kakashi was impressed by the quality. The marbling was completely perfect, looking incredibly rich and delicious.
Washing and drying his hands, Kakashi went about preparing the Sea King Steak.
He rifled through the kitchen drawers, pulling out a handful of spices, sea salt, and some butter. He lathered the Steaks generously in the seasoning, letting the spices press deep into the thick cut. Tossing two heavy skillets onto the stove, he dropped the butter in, letting it melt and sizzle fiercely before placing the massive Sea King steak directly onto the hot surface.
Within minutes, the kitchen was filled with an absolutely mouthwatering aroma. The scent was incredibly rich, savory, and deep, far surpassing the smell of any standard beef or wild game found anywhere in the Land of Fire. It was the kind of smell that pulled people in regardless of how hungry they were.
Sure enough, the heavy scent didn't take long to drift down the hallway. The rustle of bare feet against the hardwood floor signaled Mei's arrival. She leaned against the kitchen doorframe, watching him with a soft smile. She had completely ignored her dress, instead throwing on Kakashi's discarded wedding dress shirt, the oversized fabric hanging loosely off her shoulders as she eyed the sizzling skillet.
Mei walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his bare waist and pressing her front against his back. She rested her chin on his shoulder, leaning in slightly to get a closer look at the steak searing in the skillet.
"Mmm, whatever that is, it smells incredible," she murmured, her voice vibrating against his skin. She tightened her grip on his waist, her eyes tracking the juices bubbling up around the seasoned crust of the meat. "I don't think I've ever smelled anything like it. Where did you even find this?"
Kakashi flipped the massive steak over with a pair of tongs, letting the other side hit the hot, bubbling butter with a loud sizzle. "Let's just say I have my sources," he replied, tilting his head slightly to look at her. "It's supposed to be incredibly nutritious. Perfect for recovering after a... long day."
Mei let out a soft laugh, her fingers lightly tracing the lower edge of his ribs. "Is that your way of saying we needed a stamina refill?"
A short while later, Kakashi and Mei stood by the kitchen sink, placing two plates into the basin that didn't even look dirty. The massive Sea King steaks had been completely devoured in record time, neither of them leaving a single scrap behind.
Mei leaned back against the counter, letting out a satisfied sigh as she patted her stomach. "I don't know what kind of animal that came from, but I think I could sleep for five hours, or run to Kiri and back."
Kakashi smiled, rinsing his hands under the faucet before turning to look at her. "Let's start with that shower first."
Mei's eyes lit up with a familiar, playful spark as she unbuttoned his oversized dress shirt, letting it slide off her shoulders and pool onto the floor. "Lead the way, husband." Mei said in a singsong tone, clearly liking referring to Kakashi as 'Husband' now that it's official.
The massive walk-in bathroom instantly filled with thick, rolling steam as the hot water from the rainfall shower head began to spray against the stone floor. Kakashi slid the glass door open, stepping into the warmth, with Mei right behind him. The heat felt incredible against their skin, loosening up whatever slight tension remained from the long day.
As the water washed over them, Mei leaned against the tiled wall, letting the stream soak through her hair. She ran a hand over her face, wiping away the water before looking over at Kakashi with a sudden look of realization.
"Oh, that reminds me," Mei spoke up, her tone shifting to one of slight frustration. "Where is the kunai you gave me? I realized I lost track of it some time ago, and no matter how much I searched my office, I couldn't find it anywhere."
"Well, about that."
Kakashi sighed and continued as Mei turned her body under the spray to look at him.
"You would know about the events surrounding the Kazekage, right?"
"Of course, everyone and their mother knows…"
Mei paused; the kunai Kakashi had given her happened to disappear at the same time, not enough time to warn him that it was missing, and enough time to-.
"Someone used it against you."
Kakashi smiled in satisfaction despite the topic. "Yes, someone used the kunai to ambush me. Naruto was getting drawn to another place at the same time; the situation was obvious. The one ambushing me knew this, and so did I, but I wasn't taking a chance."
Mei's expression went cold, waiting for Kakashi to explain further.
"When I teleported to the kunai alongside Sasuke, we were underground in a large cavern; there was some spatial barrier that kept me from leaving. I could probably have used my flying raijin inside the barrier, but I didn't get to think about my situation for long, as 100,000 identical enemies swarmed Sasuke and me. They were not anything impressive, mostly chunin-level, some with jonin-level capabilities, but they were very rare"
Kakashi saw her eyes widen at the number of enemies before he continued.
"Sasuke and I managed to deal with all of them, thanks mostly in part to his abilities, but that was just part of this ambush. I'm guessing that the ambush had the purpose of killing me; that'd be the obvious, but I think that it's more likely that I was being tested."
"Tested?" Mei repeated, her voice returning as her mind quickly shifted into the analytical gear of a village leader. "A test that requires sacrificing a hundred thousand troops just to see what you're capable of? Kakashi, that isn't a standard rogue Ninja group or a bitter political rival. Whoever orchestrated this has access to resources that shouldn't even exist. That force is more than what the Five Great Nations have combined, and they're all chunin level…. The majority of ninja don't make it to see chunin, or if they do, it's the stopping point for the majority."
Kakashi nodded, knowing well that her words were the truth; every village had a limited number of Jonin. Not every Genin would be assigned to one; they're usually assigned to a Chunin or sent straight to a reserve corps for merit-based work to advance. Only the lucky, politically connected, and talented individuals get the chance to have a Jonin as a sensei.
"Yes, I'm aware of the implications," Kakashi said, the warm water running down his face as his tone turned dead serious. "I've thought it over and have concluded that the force the world will likely face is connected to the Akatsuki, the one I warned you about. If a hundred thousand were willingly thrown away, then the force already gathered has to be in the millions. One million if we're lucky, but I have a feeling that it's much more. However, as I mentioned earlier, that wasn't the end of this ambush."
"Millions..." Mei whispered, her voice tightening as she forced herself to maintain her composure, looking up into his eyes with absolute focus. "An army that size would completely change everything. It wouldn't be a war for territory or political leverage; it would be a war that would decide the fate of the future.
She took a sharp, grounding breath, her protective and analytical instincts locking together as she squeezed his arms. "But you said that wasn't the end of it. If a hundred thousand chunin-level soldiers were just the warm-up... Kakashi, what else happened down there?"
"I directly called out what I assumed to be the mastermind; he came out of the wall and didn't say a word. It was around this time that I noticed that Sasuke wasn't himself; he looked sick and was running a very high fever. I did my best to protect him while fighting off a wood-style user, something I didn't expect in the slightest. He created wood golems and dragons with ease."
Mei's eyes widened even further, her breath hitching sharply in her throat. The mention of millions of troops was terrifying enough on a strategic level, but Wood Style was legendary. Aside from the stories of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, it was a bloodline limit that belonged to what some would have called a God.
"Wood Style?" Mei managed to say, her voice tight as she tried to process the sheer impossibility of the situation. "With golems and dragons? Kakashi, that's the kind of power that founded the Hidden Leaf. To face that while protecting a sick student in an enclosed cavern under a spatial barrier..."
She let out a shaky breath, her gaze scanning over his bare chest and shoulders once more, her relief that he was standing here completely uninjured mixing with a profound sense of gravity. "How did you manage to get Sasuke out of there alive against someone like that?"
"My only option was removing that barrier and escaping with Sasuke. I couldn't fight someone that strong while protecting him, and the cramped space also wasn't to my advantage. My enemy, on the other hand, didn't seem to care that we were deep underground; he created a large statue with 1000 and rained them down on me as I stood in front of Sasuke. I was thankfully able to break the barrier and teleport away with Sasuke before the cavern was able to collapse on our heads. It wasn't a very good situation for me, but I wasn't about to put my student in danger trying to fight."
Kakashi sighed as he saw how worried she was.
"I'm telling you this not to worry you, but I want you and your people to be ready, and I'll help you ensure that the ones you trust most become stronger. But I can't exactly hand you another kunai; I don't want them possibly targeting more than they already might."
Mei nodded, thinking it over and the basic information that she knew of the Flying Raijin before she grabbed his hand and put it on her right butt cheek.
"You can place marks, right? Do it; this makes it easier, and I won't need a kunai. You can also come directly to me when needed."
Kakashi nodded and placed the mark, the ink flaring on her skin before it faded into her natural skin color and went invisible.
"Quite the intimate place to put one of those. My sensei used this to frighten the enemy into abandoning their marked comrades, and here I am placing one on my wife's ass."
"It's convenient, and I'm sure he'd have done the same with his wife."
Kakashi didn't give that an answer. Minato did, in fact, do the same, but his mark was integrated into Kushina's seal.
Mei leaned up and kissed Kakashi on the lips.
"Enough of the serious talk for now; let's finish in here before the water gets cold and go enjoy our time."
"Right," Kakashi agreed easily.
The heavy weight of the conversation was pushed to the back of Kakashi's mind for now. Turning back to the cascading spray, they took their time washing each other down, simply enjoying the warmth of the hot water and the quiet comfort of their first afternoon together as husband and wife.
- Chapter End -
As promised. The next chapter will contain some of Kakashi and Mei walking around, visiting places, the dango shop he went to with Sasuke and Naruto, and more, but more serious chapters will be coming soon; I don't want to rush and make all this seem meaningless.