I remember the first time I met you. I walked into a small, dimly lit, hole in the wall pub that catered to mainly ninja, and on a Saturday night it was filled to capacity. There was a cloud of smoke that made my eyes water and the smell of too many perfumes lingering made me sneeze as I made my way through the throng of ninja, most I recognized from treating at the hospital. I felt a slight breeze blow in from behind, shivering from the feel of my favorite, casual maroon skirt being picked up and flowing around my legs gently, I ventured deeper into the pub.
My eyes were dancing from head to head, not looking for anyone in particular, when I found you. Silver, spiked hair sat atop a hanging head, which connected to a lean physique that was slouching; You looked worn and beaten, my guess was that you'd just finished a mission. I had not seen you for a while, only passing you in the streets or the seldom moments where one of us was exiting the office of Lady Tsunade while the other entered; We would not stop to make conversation, I would always smile to you and offer "Hello Kakashi-sensei". Your nose was always buried in your book but upon hearing my greeting, sometimes you would look up and offer an eye crease, the crevices flowing from the corner of your eyes becoming more pronounced in your age since my days as one of your students, I took notice; Other times you would not even look up from your novel, I used to refer to said book as trash, but simply raise your hand and give me two fingers, I was never offended.
The night when I found you slouching, elbows resting on the edge of the bar, I decided to approach you and introduce myself. I slipped onto the stool that was directly beside you silently, ordered some alcoholic drink that would probably choke me and then slowly turned my head towards you. Your head was down, staring into a little cup filled with sake, not once did you blink as I continued to stare and even when I offered my greeting, you still did not move. I introduced myself, my ninja rank and what I was drinking, this seemed to catch your attention for your head turned until you were looking at me. Time seemed to drag on, what was seconds felt like minutes as you took your sweet time in creating an eye crease, signaling a smile underneath your mask, and asking me "What exactly are you doing?"
"Introducing myself" I explained, and I continued to explain after you so eloquently responded with "Ah", I explained that we did not know each other outside of work and that I had not seen you in ages, I explained that I wished to change this fact about us. You regarded me with what little interest you had as we sat, side by side on our little brown stools that were worn with time and faded from use, drinking our alcohol; You ordered a different drink for me after realizing that I was a novice. You behaved as your usual self, teasing me somewhat; Asking "How old are you again? 14?" My reply was to deliver a delicious smack to the back of your head and answer "Hmphh no, I am 18" I took pride in stating my age, it made me feel like an adult in your presence, like I was finally on par with you; Your amazing abilities.
Thirty minutes of conversation and nursing our drinks turned into an hour and thirty minutes of making real conversation and nursing our drinks. After almost three hours of conversation consisting of life, missions, and why you always escape from the hospital early, I was clearly inebriated and tried to steady myself as I stood on legs that wobbled like jello. Your steady, strong arm laced around my upper torso and without waiting for my answer, you announced I would be escorted home, by you. To this day I cannot figure out if it was entirely the alcohol that made my cheeks flush to what I am sure was cherry red and heat to a silly degree, I cannot figure out if it was the alcohol or the way you had your arm braced against me, never once acting inappropriately towards me; You were the epitome of a gentleman that night.
You did not laugh when I would stumble or make a joke and laugh at it, you just kept your pace and staggered on. I did not know how you knew where my apartment was, considering you had not been there as far as my knowledge went. I thanked you repeatedly for walking me home, insisting I did not need it, even though it was very gracious of you; Your simple reply was "I can't let my former student walk home alone, now can I?" Of course accompanied by your eye crease.
My door came into sight and your arm did not leave my side until we were standing on the mat that read "Welcome" that was positioned perfectly on the front step. Once again I thanked you and you simply nodded, my thoughts were hazy as I watched you turn around and begin your descent. I cannot recall how I made it from standing upon my mat to grabbing a hold of your jonin shirt, but I did; You turned your head, a questioning gaze met my eyes. I asked to meet you again, I did not want to lose contact with you again, I said. From what I could tell, you smiled, and nodded. Turning back around, you continued down the steps as my hand let the fabric of your shirt slip between my fingers.
As I stood, frozen from alcohol or confusion I do not know, watching you reach the bottom of the steps, I heard your voice call out to me in the night. Your voice was smooth and like velvet when I heard you speak, my mind cleared as I listened intently to your words, something akin to hope swelling inside my gut. "We will see one another again" were the exact words you spoke before disappearing into the beautiful night, I looked up, stars smiling brightly upon the world in the midnight sky, each little light sharing its warmth. I smiled that night as well, for that night was the night we really met. Haruno Sakura met Hatake Kakashi; The man.