do violets like sun or shade?
Kakashi could remember each time it happened. Count each incident on both hands, when petals began choking him during moments of weakness.
It began one evening, several months into his unknowingly long mission, protecting his sensei's pregnant wife. Kushina had shouted up to him on the rooftop to come join her for dinner. At first he refused adamantly. ANBU weren't meant to leave the shadows. But the Red Habanero was terrifying when she didn't get her way. So he reluctantly agreed and climbed through the open window. He stood awkwardly by the dining table, a seat set out in an open invitation.
"Kakashi-kun, you know I'd prefer it if you didn't wear your mask at the table. I miss seeing your handsome face." Kushina pouted as she finished placing plates of food on the table. She gasped and held a hand to her small round stomach, her eyes wide with wonder. Yet all Kakashi could assume was; pain. He rushed to her side and led her to the open seat and bristled when Kushina reached up to take off his porcelain mask after she sat down.
"There we go! I want to see your face when you feel it." Kakashi gave her a worried yet curious look when she grabbed his hand tightly and held it firmly to her stomach. At first he felt nothing and tried to remove his hand. It was awkward and he was sure his sensei would have his head if he were to walk in at that very moment. He was sure he was breaking a multitude of rules.
But Kushina was insistent and then he felt it. A little flicker of movement against his palm and he stared down at his hand in awe. The baby...Naruto was moving. For once in his life his lips quirked into a resemblance of a smile and he didn't notice how much he was being stared at. Kushina wore a fond smile at how utterly captivated he was.
It was then that he felt the tickle at the back of his throat. The trance had been broken and he stepped back from Kushina coughing slightly into his fist to hide his embarrassment. Yet it evolved into a coughing fit and Kakashi gasped as he lost all the air trapped in his lungs. He coughed a final time stepping away from Kushina's worried petting on his back, making sure he wasn't seen as he plucked whatever it was that lodged itself in his throat. He stared down in horror at the small flower in his hand. He'd seen them everywhere and all the time, even today on his travels as Kushina stopped by one of the training ground to watch fresh genin spar and train. Violets, velvety purple and centered with a golden yellow, a close match to his sensei's hair.
"Kakashi..." Kushina gasped, worry expressed clearly on her face as she held her shaking hand in front of her trembling lips. "C-can you please explain why you just coughed up a flower. Do...do I need to call Minato?" At the mention of her husband, his mentor, their hokage, he tensed and absentmindedly grabbed her shoulder. "No...no, no, no. That's not necessary, Kushina. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Kakashi stalked over to the waste bin in the corner and tossed the flower into it. "See, all good." Kakashi reached over to grab the mask and Kushina laid a gentle hand on his wrist.
"Kakashi...you can't just ignore this. That's not something you..." She trailed off when she looked up to see Kakashi pleading her with his eyes to drop the subject. "Please...I said I'm fine Kushina. Minato will be home soon so I'll getting back to my post now."
Kushina frowned but removed her hand and watched with worry as Kakashi covered his face with the porcelain mask. He nodded at her and shunshinned back to the roof where he shoved his thoughts on choking up a flower to the back of his mind. To be thought back on at a later point. He sighed into the humid air, the summer night wrapping around him warmly. He stayed in his silent perch even when Minato returned home an hour later, and told him he was relieved of his duty for the night.
See he had tried to keep his wandering thoughts at bay but they came back twice as strong. Why exactly did he cough up a flower? At the moment when he thought to himself;
'I'll protect you from everything and anything. You will have my undying loyalty.'
He had swore an oath, and it caused him to spit up a violet. What in the fresh hell was going on? He stood after a few hours, past curfew, lurking in the moonlit sky keeping his footsteps light as he slipped through the still open window. He crept quietly through the home until he was standing next to Kushina. His eyes trained on the small bump and he could feel his fingers twitch when he remembered the feeling of Naruto as if he were reaching out to him. For him. He pinched his eyes tightly together and sent a silent apology to Kushina and his sensei.
He need to confirm his suspicions, so he reached a hesitant hand out and pressed it against Kushina's stomach and had to stifle a gasp when Naruto moved against his palm again. He pulled away when the same fluttering annoyance caught at the back of his throat but a hand grabbed his wrist before he could leave. "Shh. You'll wake Minato. Let's talk in the other room, okay?" Kushina led him out to the dining room and sat him down in a chair before taking the mask off his face so they could speak properly.
Despite his reluctance, he stayed still and allowed her to. She smiled at him softly, as a mother would when she found her child's troublesome nature amusing. She grabbed his shoulders and looked him in he eyes before she spoke. "I'm not upset Kakashi." He looked away in shame. He had just wanted to test his theory, but perhaps he should have asked first.
"Maa, I just wanted to say goodbye to Naruto before I left." He mumbled and Kushina smiled. How did Minato manage before with a student as adorable as Kakashi? "I see. I'll tell you what. We can keep this a secret between us if...and only if you tell Minato about the flower. It scared me half to death, ya know."
Kakashi swallowed the stab of guilt for making Kushina worry like that. He thought that it was a random thing, but he had proved his theory. Whatever it was, it was tied to either Naruto or the vow he made. "I..." He looked back at Kushina and he felt another sting at her expression. It was like she was scolding him. And perhaps she was.
"Yeah...okay." Kushina smiled gratefully and ruffled his hair adoringly. "Thanks. Now go home and get some rest. Oh and don't forget to eat, young man. I know you haven't been eating properly." She pouted and knocked him on the head teasingly. She watched as he stood and replaced his mask once again, turning to slip through the window once more.
"Kakashi?" She called out once more and he glanced back at her questioningly. "I know you don't need to worry but I think of you like family. So be careful on your way home, okay?" He nodded and was gone just like that. She smiled wistfully and rubbed at her stomach and chuckled lightly as she made her way back to the bedroom. She climbed into the bed and the jostling of the mattress woke Minato.
"What's going on?" He mumbled sleepily, wrapping a protective arm around her and Naruto. She giggled and whispered into the room. "Just saying goodnight to Kakashi. He was being stubborn again." He groaned and sighed. "That's the fourth time this week. Do I need to give him a stern talking to?"
Kushina smiled sleepily and yawned as she felt the drag of slumber invitingly. "His heart is in the right place, but he needs to take better care of himself. Maybe you should give him a vacation." Minato bit his lip in thought. "I think that's a great idea. I'll give it to him first thing in the morning. The boy will work himself into an early grave at this point." Minato yawned and fell asleep almost instantly. Kushina caressed her stomach as she too let her mind drift off.
Kakashi waited on the roof for both of them to finally fall asleep and then decided he needed to do some digging. Whatever was happening was not normal. And he would find out whatever he can, so he didn't burden his charge with more stress. That was the last thing he wanted. Kushina was so kind, it wouldn't sit right with him.
Plus if he wanted to explain things properly to his hokage, it was best to have enough evidence and knowledge, otherwise it would be based on a hunch. But his hunches were usually right.