Title: Maturity
Disclaimer: ...yeah, sure.
Rating: PG ( K+ ) – there's slight allusion to mature themes, but nothing specific.
Spoilers: Once again, people, I can't spoil AU.

Summary: OneShot. He leaned down, close enough to whisper in her ear, "You can't let your family shelter you forever, you know." Platonic KakaHina.

I see Kakashi as a Lit professor. Don't ask me why.

Another DateMe entry. This month's couple – KakaHina, Theme – School's In.

Brriiiiiing!

"Hold it!" commanded Kakashi Hatake, motioning for his class to sit back down. "Before you go, I want to remind all of you that your book reports are due at the beginning of next class. Typed, double spaced and don't try anything funny with your fonts; twelve-point Times New Roman only. Now get lost."

At their instructor's eagerly awaited instruction, the students of class 2-F all rose to their feet and, after the minimum amount of scrambling with their bags and papers, each began their daily dash to the exit. They clotted in the doorway, fighting against one another to get out a few precious seconds faster, but managed to extricate themselves from the larger group in twos and threes. Once they had flung themselves out into the busy hallway, they disappeared amongst the masses, blending in perfectly with the excited Friday crowd.

Only one student excluded herself from this melee, choosing instead to remain seated at her desk with her fidgeting hands folded before her. She appeared to be waiting for something, though what could only be assumed by a casual observer.

"Is there something you needed, Hinata-chan?" Kakashi – who was scarcely less eager than his pupils to distance himself from the classroom, if his packed bag and loose tie were any indication – asked, raising his eyes to the lone girl in his presence.

"Umm...," she began, directing her gaze to her twiddling thumbs. Her cheeks were patchy with color. "K-Kakashi-sensei, I...I..."

Flicking his one good eye to the watch ticking away on his wrist, the teacher felt compelled to sigh. "Spit it out, please, Hinata-chan."

The red flush in her face brightened at the gentle scold. "I...I c-can't do the assignment, S-Sir."

With one snowy white eyebrow lifted as high as it would go, Kakashi replied, "And why not?"

Dipping her blushing head until her eyes were no longer visible beneath her bangs, Hinata eventually responded to her teacher's question with, "M-My father d-doesn't want me to read the novel. He says it's d-d-dirty."

The veteran educator rolled his eye, clearly exasperated. "Let me guess," he said, dropping his briefcase back onto his desk before strolling down the middle aisle of desks toward Hinata. He tucked his hands in his pockets as he stopped in front of her, looking down at the shamefaced student as he continued, "You're one of the three students in your year who didn't get permission to take Jiraiya's Sex Ed course last semester?"

Hinata didn't answer, nor did she have to; it was perfectly clear that Kakashi had guessed correctly by the way she sunk deeper into her seat.

"Well, Hinata-chan," he began, turning so that he could sit on the edge of her desk. "Unfortunately, I can't give you a pass on this assignment. It's worth at least a quarter of your grade and I can't have the other students thinking I treat you special."

"B-But, m-my father says – "

"Honestly, I don't really care what he thinks," Kakashi interrupted, crossing his arms. "Do you have any objections to the material that I've been teaching lately?"

Raising her face slightly to peek up at her teacher through the heavy veil of her eyelashes, Hinata bit her lower lip before shaking her head to the negative effect. "N-No..."

"Then what's the problem?"

The Hyuuga heiress began fidgeting with her fingers again, apparently indecisive as to how she should answer. "My family is very...c-conservative. They don't approve of books l-like...like this."

The material of Kakashi's mask shifted slightly, seeming to imply that he was smiling beneath it. He leaned down, close enough to whisper in her ear, "You can't let your family shelter you forever, you know."

"I kn-know..."

"If you think about it, it's better that you're exposed to this kind of material now, in a safe environment. What'll you do when you go away to college and have to read something like this – or worse? Will you tell your professors that you can't do it then, too?" he reasoned, lifting his eyebrow at her again.

Hinata was quiet for a long minute, during which she appeared to be contemplating what was said to her. When she finally spoke up, her answer was less than satisfying; "I d-don't know...I'd have to ask my f-family."

Once again, Kakashi sighed, heavier this time. Standing, he said, "Fine. Either do the assignment or get a letter from your father explaining why you can't. I'll find something else for you to do."

Stalking up to his desk at the front of the classroom, Kakashi grabbed up his briefcase and yanked what was left of the knot out of his tie. Stuffing the neck adornment into a side pocket, he turned and made a beeline for the classroom door, all the more anxious to leave.

"Umm...S-Sir?"

Stopping at the sound of Hinata's voice, Kakashi inclined his head to look back at her. She was standing next to her desk now, back straight and hands down by her sides. "What is it, Hinata-chan?"

After inhaling deeply, she asked, "D-Did you say that the papers had to be a minimum of five pages long? Or was it s-seven?"

Laughing once, he shook his head. "Five. And good luck."

— — —

Author's Note: Uhhh...maybe I could've done a little better plot wise, but I'm going out of town tomorrow, which means that I've got one less week than usual to get my entry done. This is the best effort I've got right now. I still like it, though...I think n.n;

. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .