t e m p t a t i o n | k. hatake lemon

o n e

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WHEN SHE WENT OUT that cold morning she didn't expect her journey to be long, she planned to gather special herbs and spices native to her land for the arduous winter to come and it shouldn't have taken longer than a few hours to return. But fate had other plans in mind for her that day, and she was in for a world of change.

Looking back on it that day had been perfectly so, a chance for two strangers to meet and open each other to different worlds, a wondrous love story waiting to happen corny as it was. But she didn't know that at the time.

She only knew that the brisk morning air was frigid as she breathed and the tips of her fingers felt numb to the touch before she tucked them into her cloak for some warmth. The morning sun carefully snuck up over the distant mountains and dusted the brown and yellow hues of fall in a soft golden glow, and she couldn't have felt any less peaceful as she took in a beautiful scene before her.

"I'll be back soon enough!" She called softly back into an empty home, shutting the creaky wooden door to her small cottage before adjusting the worn satchel to fit snugly over her shoulder. A small smile graced her soft features before she set out into the towering thicket of trees surrounding her humble home.

It was on quiet days like these that she was grateful she lived a distance from the bustling and noisy town where she grew up, albeit a bit lonely she found the solitude to be peaceful. She didn't get many visitors save for a few merchants or weary travelers looking for a place to rest every once in a while, and not many were familiar with the woods so they kept far from it. She liked it that way.

Had she known her peaceful solitude would soon be broken she might've chosen to stay in that cold morning, but fate came with no warnings so she carelessly traveled through the deep woods with a chipper smile and a determined bounce to her step.

Her small form made its way gleefully through the towering trees, her boots crunching over browned leaves and taking her down a familiar path as her mind wandered. She knew this place like the back of her hand, no rock left unturned. The forest was like a second home to her, she'd spent countless mornings wandering deep into the woods for hours before returning home just before the sun went to slumber below the horizon. Her parents would always worry that she'd get lost, but she always wandered her way back just in time for supper.

"You look lost." A smooth voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she immediately scrunched her nose up at the distinctly sharp smell that began to burn her eyes.

"And you're burning a toxin," she piped back, immediately finding the source of the fire and aggressively stomping it out with the heel of her boot, "poison sumac, the last thing you want to be burning around these parts. Where'd you even find this type of wood?"

"It was cold."

"Yes, and it could've potentially killed you had you gone to sleep near this. Seriously, how are you even talking right now this stuff is impossible to be near." She coughed, using her cloak to cover her burning nose as she kicked the damp dirt beneath her shoes into the hastily made campfire before her.

It was then she noticed the red liquid leeched into the wet soil beneath her feet, dark stains colored the brittle leaves scattered throughout the floor. The dark red trail led up to the gaping wound of a masked man with one visible piercing silver eye gazing into her own. Her heart thrummed loudly in her chest for just a moment as their gazes connected, and then she burst into action.

"It's okay, there's no need I can handle this on my—"

"Nonsense." She interrupted, her hands moving before her mind could process the horrid sight. Healing was second nature to her, a skill generated after years of tending to the sick and wounded. These wounds, although ghastly, were not unfamiliar in her life. She knew it all too well.

"Thank you." He mused softly, words so simple yet for some reason it sent unfamiliar shivers down her spine and her heart thrummed softly once again. But the sight of blood soaking through the cloak she had hastily pulled off and pressed to his wound kept her mind focused as she rummaged through her satchel for emergency supplies.

"My home is not far from here, just beyond that grove of trees behind me," she began, finding nothing but a few healing salves for burns and rashes. "I can help you stand but you're going to need to pull your weight."

"I think I can manage on those terms," He started, grunting in pain as she hefted his arm over her shoulder and quickly lifted him, "you're pretty strong for your size."

"Goes to show that I can handle my own if you try anything funny." She tossed back, carefully guiding him back down the path she came from.

"Message clear," He chuckled at her remark before hissing in pain, his body towering over hers as she adjusted her cloak to his bloody torso.

"Just a little more, hang in there yeah?" She grunted, the weight of his body proving to be a feat even for herself.

He nodded, brow furrowed and sweat dripping down his temple as they both hobbled towards her home. Given the size of his wound, she was thoroughly surprised he had managed to stay conscious for so long after enduring that amount of blood loss. She only hoped he wouldn't pass out before she could get him to her door.

"I'm sure you can tell I'm a ninja from The Leaf," he said through clenched teeth, "and I know I'm on enemy territory so—"

"This is neutral land. What happens anywhere else is of no difference to me." She said curtly, a sense of relief flooding her body as her wooden cottage came into view. Just a little more.

"Yes but, if I'm not going to make it I—"

"You're going to make it." She reassured him, turning to meet his piercing gaze for a few moments. She could see the doubt in his single visible eye. "I promise you."

"You're quite beautiful, a perfect last memory before I pass on," he mused quietly, not exactly talking to her but as if speaking his thoughts out loud.

She felt her face heat up and her stomach fluttered at his words before she turned away quickly. "You're not going to die."

Before she knew it they had made it to the door of her humble cottage, and she quickly threw open the door and he tumbled in and onto the floor of her doorway unconscious. She cursed silently, wishing she could have gotten him on something more comfortable before anything.

But this would do.

Three hours passed and she managed to get him into stable condition. By no means was she a licensed medic or one who healed through the use of their chakra, but she knew her way around an injured soldier. It sure wasn't her first. Her father often praised her for her gift at healing, always telling her to go make something of herself within the hidden villages who'd been in a silent war with one another, but she was never one for war or the suffering that came with it.

She had managed to get the leaf ninja onto a makeshift bed she'd prepared by the fireplace before she carefully placed a warm blanket over him, keeping her eyes low as she placed it over his uncovered face.

She had managed a glimpse of his face while inspecting him for injuries and by god was he a handsome specimen.

He was a vision of the gods.

He had no business being as gorgeous as he was, and paired with a body chiseled by the throes of war itself he was a sight to admire. She'd seen her fair share of handsome men happen along her humble home, searching for a place to rest and a bite to eat but none like this.

She couldn't explain it but something about him almost made her nervous for him to wake, yet a strange sort of giddy excitement bubbled up inside at the thought of him opening his eyes. But she was quick to squash the feeling. He was an injured soldier who needed help, and she was sure with a face like that he without a doubt had a woman back home waiting for him.

With a small sigh she carefully gathered the blood-soiled clothes from the floor beside him, rekindling the fire beside him, with the blood loss he suffered and exhaustion she wondered how long it'd take for him to wake.

Perhaps then she could learn the name of the masked man with the piercing gaze and a graceful charm to his demeanor.

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