Reconsidering Bachelorhood

A Forest Encounter

It was a nice sunny day, there were a couple clouds in the sky but not enough to darken the mood. Today was the first time Mizuki had a day off where she wasn't completely exhausted. It was a good day to do a little exploring. Unfortunately, because of her busy schedule she didn't have much time to cook a good homemade meal. She got more takeout than she would've liked to admit. That was going to change today, she was determined to enjoy the weather and cook herself a nice meal to cap off the day.

She wore a pair of black shorts with a dark blue top and a pair of comfortable shoes. On her back was a bag with water, wallet, and a bento box for lunch. Her long hair was tied in a loose bun. She left her apartment and made her way towards the gates saying good morning to the two guards that greeted her on her first day here who she later learned were Izumo and Kotesu

When she had talked to her co-workers about her plans for her day off, they had suggested to her to explore the forests of Konoha. According to them there were a lot of hidden gems in these areas and if she found them, she wouldn't regret it. They told her how they had discovered some well hidden caverns with underground rivers and ponds full of unique fishes, meadows with the most beautiful waterfalls, and creeks with the clearest water she could possibly find. Hearing the stories from her co-workers made her excited to discover those sights herself.

Honestly, when she first came out here she had no plan. Her idea was just to choose a direction and start wandering but not far enough that she ends up getting lost.

"Alright, which way should I choose?" She muttered to herself. She summoned chakra to her feet and leaped into the trees. She climbed to the very top of the tallest one she could see and peered over the grand Konoha forest hoping to find something that might interest her. And there it was off in the distance, to what she guessed was East, was a mountain. It wasn't quite as big as Hokage rock but big enough that it drew her attention. In the end she decided that was where she would go first.

From a distance, the mountain had looked closer than it actually was. It had taken her longer than anticipated to get there but she eventually did. She jumped down from the trees and walked through the edge to see a small clearing at the base of the mountain. Several large trees grew at the base and a small stream trickled down the slope of the mountain, through the clearing, and continuing into the forest.

Mizuki walked towards the stream but stopped in her tracks when she noticed there was someone already there, leaning against the tree seemingly asleep. Curiously she crept up to the stranger who turned out to be familiar, very familiar. Upon closer inspection she realized it was Kakashi.

'What is he doing so far away from the village?' She wondered. She walked towards him with the intention of waking him up, thinking that something was wrong. A startled gasp escaped her mouth when his eyes suddenly opened and focused on her.

"Mizuki-san? What are you doing out here?" Her Hokage asked, raising his eyebrows.

Mizuki quickly took a step back when she realized how close she was to him. "S-sorry. Today's my day off and my co-workers suggested I do a little exploring. I stumbled upon this place and noticed you, I thought something was wrong so..." She trailed off, a little embarrassed at being caught. She hoped he didn't think she was stalking him or anything.

"I see."

"What are you doing out here?" She asked in return.

Kakashi chuckled. "I needed a break from the paperwork before my meeting with the council."

"Oh that makes sense. When is your meeting?"

Kakashi gave her a closed eye smile and replied. "30 minutes ago."

Mizuki sweatdropped at hearing that.

'Eh...how is he the Hokage when he's late to everything?' She wondered to herself. Her co-workers told her he was always late, no matter the circumstances. Hinata shared that when Kakashi was her husband's sensei, he would always be late to every training session. It became such a regular thing that Naruto and his teammates would purposefully show up an hour late just so they wouldn't have to wait too long or they would start training without him.

She surmised that it was probably because of his work ethics and maturity that got him his position. After all, his illustrious career did begin at an incredibly young age; she knew he had the intelligence for the job. Though, she did wonder what the other Kage's thought about his tendency to be late, surely even they were not spared.

Mizuki kneeled down a few steps away from him. When he didn't move from his lax position, she assumed he was okay with her being there. Kakashi curiously watched the blonde woman take a seat in front of him. He had no issues with her being here but he thought she would've wanted to continue her explorations.

"Aren't you worried about the council getting mad?" She inquired.

Kakashi shook his head. "They can wait. Besides, as long as all items on the agenda get covered, they shouldn't care." He explained.

Mizuki nodded. That made sense...kind of, and maybe they showed up late to the meetings as well like Naruto and his teammates did. Though, wouldn't telling him the meeting was happening earlier than it actually was a more effective method she wondered.

"So you say you're doing some hiking on your day off?" He asked, diverting the conversation away from his meeting that he was trying to avoid all thoughts of.

Mizuki gave him what he would describe as a cute smile and nodded. He particularly liked the way her azure eyes had a slight glimmer in them. "Yep. I didn't have a particular place I wanted to go so I just kinda picked a direction and went with it."

"I see. Well, if I may offer a suggestion, if you head North for about 15 minutes you'll see a large lake. Around the lake are some unique rock formations surrounding the lake that people call meditation rock because of how calming that place is."

"Really? That sounds interesting, I think I'll head there after." She said, looking in the direction that Kakashi had pointed towards. When she turned her head back to him to ask more about it she noticed he was on his feet now.

"I would love to be your guide, this forest really does have many wonders, but I should probably get to the meeting now." He explained with a smile. Mizuki quickly stood up as he put his hat back on.

"Oh it's okay. I really appreciate your suggestion so thank you."

"I'm glad and maybe next time I can join you. Have a nice day Mizuki-san." With one last smile Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke leaving a blushing Mizuki standing rooted in her spot.

'H-he didn't...he didn't really mean that right?'