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Kurenai stares at the sight before her in stunned silence, deciding against all reason that someone has to have managed to slip something into her drink without her knowing or cast a very strong genjutsu, because there’s no way in hell that this was really happening. She was clearly high, hallucinating, or both.
“Is… is he OK ?” Asuma asks her, his voice barely above a whisper as he ducks his head near hers, the scent of tobacco thick on his breath. He looked as confused as she felt.
OK, so maybe she wasn’t high and Kakashi Hatake -the ANBU, the cold blooded killer, the FOX- really was having a full blown meltdown in the middle of their go to izakaya, tears spilling out of his good eye as his hands trembled around the precious little treasure Guy had plopped there several minutes prior, bringing about the beginning of the end of the poor man’s sanity.
“He’s so fucking small ,” Kakashi sobbed as Guy frantically nodded in agreement, also in tears.
It was a miniature pug puppy, the thing so small it could fit almost entirety in the palm of Kakashi’s hand, a fact that was making the man loose more and more of what little marbles he had left as the minutes trickled by, the puppy’s existence clearly too much for him to handle in his drunken state.
Kurenai shook her head as if in a daze, trying to remember the last time she’d seen Kakashi go this nuclear over something in a good way. “I… I honestly don’t know.”
Kakashi ignored them as he continued to sob over the puppy, his words becoming more and more incoherent by the second as he coo’d at it alongside his Eternal Rival™, something on the lines of Pakkun being muttered in reference to the tiny animal as it was shifted from hand to hand as if he was unable to decide which one deserved the honor of holding it more before eventually settling on cupping it with both.
“I knew you would love him, Kakashi!” Guy wailed, causing a few heads to turn in contempt. “May he forever be an indication of how close we’re bonded and may he be your most loyal companion!”
Kakashi nodded frantically as the puppy curled into his palms sleepily with a soft yawn, clearly over the attention and not at all bothered by how loud Guy was being.
Had Kakashi acted this way with all of his dogs as puppies?
Something in the back of Kurenai’s buzzed brain told her that he probably had. The man came off as calm and stoic to most people, but she knew from experience that he tended to become… erratic when certain aspects were involved. Those perverse novels the late fourth’s teacher wrote were often one of those things, the ANBU practically breaking his neck to get a copy every time a new one released, and puppies were oh so very obviously another one of those things if tonight’s fiasco was any indication. Kakashi was straight up behaving like a wife who’d finally been blessed with a child after many years of longing despite the fact that he already had a concerning amount of the flea bags. Six or seven, to be exact, and far more than could reasonably fit in his tiny dorm.
Kurenai and Asuma exchanged a look, unsure if they wanted to be part of this escalating clown show. They’d already gotten banned from several other locations thanks to Guy’s strong personality and there was a good chance this one was going to be the newest addition to said list if they didn’t bounce and ditch the duo soon… On the other hand, though, It was mildly entertaining to watch and the puppy could perhaps be used as a bribe if it came down to it. Soft paw pads and all that.
“Hand him over,” Kurenai suddenly demanded, cupped hands outstretched over the table toward Kakashi, who happily slid the sleeping puppy into her hands, more tears flooding out of his eye. Whether it was out of excitement or distress she wasn’t entirely sure, and his presentation was making it increasingly harder not to laugh at him and sour his mood.
Asuma poked at the pup half interestedly before turning his attention back to drink and trying to get Guy to stop making a fool out of himself by asking about his recent missions only to be blatantly ignored.
Kurenai prodded at the tiny puppy in her hands and she could already see the insanity that would follow in the coming weeks as Kakashi trained him. No doubt he’d stitch a tiny vest to match the ones his other dogs had and tote him around in his coat pockets, ready to pull him out and present him to any and everyone he possibly could. He’d probably also teach this one to speak as well, an odd trait that only certain shinobi were able to instill in their animal companions and one he’d undoubtedly learned from his own teacher. She chuckled to herself as she handed the pup back to his impatient owner, who immediately fled the izakaya with him with a half assed later the second fur touched fingers, much to Guy’s visible dismay.
Dorks.
The next morning her prediction had come true. Kakashi had appeared in the market with the puppy, the tiny thing clad in a tiny blue hand stitched Henohenomoheji vest and looking very confused as to why he was being paraded around by a crazy masked man who was smiling so hard you could see the outline of it against the fabric of his mask. It was a stark difference from how Kakashi normally acted, though, which was nice, so she bit her tongue and sent a silent prayer that he’d continue to have happy days like this so that she could have her damn friend back once and for all.
She made a mental note to send Guy a thank you when she got the chance, perhaps in the form of one of those workout tapes he liked so much.
Kakashi noticed her, then, his eye sparkling as they made eye contact and she smiled tenderly.
Yeah, she’d most definitely have to get Guy one of those tapes.