A/N This is my first story... thank you so much for the reviews. Yes I know it's pretty rough, but I'm currently revamping it to make it more accessible to all readers. If you notice a format change between chapters it's because I'm updating that as well, so please bear with me! Please keep leaving reviews, I'd love to hear from you :) Blessings!

"Hey Sakura! I'm going to meet Iruka-sensei for some ramen, want to come?" Naruto grins gleefully while calling out to his friend and teammate.

"Sorry Naruto!" Sakura answers, her voice wavering between matter of fact-ness and apology, "Tsunade-sama asked me to meet a colleague of hers at the village gate and escort her in."

Naruto envisions a fat, middle aged, woman, in dumpy business attire, wearing glasses with a large mole on her face and he smirks at the thought

"...well I hope she's nicer than Grandma Tsunade..."

"What was that Naruto?" Sakura asks with slight agitation; she doesn't take too fondly of others speaking ill of her mentor

"Oh nothing! I don't want to hold you up! I'll see you later Sakura!" Naruto replies briskly while casually putting his hands behind his head and strolling away.

The two part directions as Naruto heads off for Ichiraku and Sakura walks toward the gate. Strolling along, she ponders to herself about the person she is about to meet. The way Tsunade-sama spoke of her colleague, she clearly held this woman in high regard. Would this stranger be old and frail looking? Or perhaps overly fierce and masculine? As Sakura approaches, she spots a woman she doesn't recognize chatting animatedly with Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, the chunin gate guards at the check-in desk. Both men are clearly interested in this new person but the stranger is cordial. Sakura surmises this must be the guest she was sent to fetch, so she starts sizing up visitor.

The woman looks fairly average, nothing much is outwardly notable about her. Sakura thinks that although the stranger is dressed formally, her clothing does nothing to hide the woman's abundance of feminine attributes. While feeling a twinge of envy over the foreigner's voluptuousness in comparison to her own curve-less body, Sakura still manages to applaud her for her modesty. The jealously however, taints the rest of Sakura's assessment as she thinks the purple streaks running through the woman's dark hair look funny and that the only reason why the gate guards are being so friendly with her is because they're both hoping that she's easy. Approaching the check-in desk, Sakura feels more justified in her bias as she hears Izumo and Kotetsu are definitely trying to flirt with woman. Interestingly though, this stranger is politely rebuffing them both, which Sakura finds unusual for someone who doesn't look like she gets out much. Clearing her throat, Sakura makes her presence known which Izumo acknowledges by peeking his face quickly around the unknown woman.

"Ah yes! Here she is, Masami-sama! This is Sakura, she is Tsunade-sama's apprentice"

When Masami turns to face Sakura, Sakura is stunned. Masami is in her early twenties, with a fair and delicate face, and striking violet eyes. Masami's perfume infiltrates Sakura's nose and upon hearing her speak, Sakura is just as caught up in Masami's spell as Izumo and Kotetsu

"Hello Miss Sakura! My goodness," Masami pauses as she places her hand over her heart, "you are absolutely lovely! Although if I know my colleague Tsunade, she didn't choose you to be her apprentice solely for your beauty." Sakura already feels a wave of happiness but Masami has more to say, "I bet you're talented, wicked smart, and possess strength of character; all of which are attributes which are way more important than anything you can see on the outside."

Finishing, Masami cocks her head to the side and smiles at the young girl with pink hair. Gushing now, Sakura thinks to herself that perhaps her face value assessment may have been a little too harsh; of course this woman is Tsunade-sensei's friend! Masami is clearly intelligent, nice, and well-dressed! Having been complimented by someone so obviously classy, Sakura blushes then clears her throat before speaking

"Thank you Masami-sama! I'm very honored to make your acquaintance! Please allow me to show you some of my humble village on the way to Tsunade-sensei's office." Offering her open hands, Sakura asks "May I carry anything for you?"

"Of course you may, my sweet girl! I apologize it's rather rude of me to shed my traveling clothes before arriving at my final destination," Masami pats the trench coat draped over her arm which is also holding a wide brimmed sun hat, "but it is quite warmer here in the Land of Fire than in the land I just traveled from."

"Oh no, it's understandable! And I'd be honored to help you, please follow me..."

Taking the coat and hat then leading Masami into the village, Sakura no longer feels burdened as the hokage's errand girl, but is now delighted to be escorting Tsunade's guest.

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For Kakashi, it's just another day. He woke up leisurely, checked in at the assignment desk for any upcoming duties, then attended to some basic housekeeping at his apartment before stepping back out again. Although many people interpret him as a secluded individual whether he's brooding or losing himself in one of his beloved novels, he's never truly alone when his thoughts are always keeping him company. He often considers the comrades he has lost and how he can never thank them enough. After spending an unknown amount of time at the Memorial Stone lost in internal conversation, Kakashi figures it's probably best to head back into the village. He has a difficult time finding a reason to be sincerely happy in his life, and the best he can do is distract himself. Pulling his favorite book out he begins to walk without any particular direction in mind, but as he's passing by Ichiraku he pauses to sniff the air as he detects something that is distinctly not ramen.

"That scent is nice... it smells like... jasmine."

Stealing a glance over the top of the pages, what he sees sparks an immediate intrigue in him.

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In a familiar scene Naruto is seated next to Iruka at the ramen shop, Teuchi slides two bowls in front of them and as Naruto is about to dig in, Iruka asks

"Hey Naruto, I thought you were bringing Sakura with you today?"

"Well I invited her but she said she was busy meeting Grandma Tsunade's buddy at the gates"

"Hm" Iruka responds with a face of casual understanding, "I'm sure whomever this is, must be a very important person or else the Fifth Hokage would not have sent Sakura"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's eat!" Naruto says eagerly while cracking open his chopsticks.

Iruka chuckles at his former student as he watches Naruto furiously plow the ramen into his mouth. In the time since Naruto has graduated from the academy, he's grown much in the way of shinobi and Iruka couldn't be any prouder. Iruka has had many students and will have many more, but Naruto is special to him because he's like the little brother Iruka never had. Looking fondly at Naruto, Iruka can only smile as he follows suit and begins eating. After a few moments of soup slurping and noodle gobbling, Sakura's voice chimes in behind them and everyone turns to see.

"Hi guys! This is Masami-sama, she is the guest Tsunade-sensei asked me to greet."

Turning around, Naruto is shocked because of how much she differs from what he had originally imagined. He expecting someone old and boring, not the total knock out standing next to Sakura. Puffing his chest out and speaking in a hyper masculine voice, he introduces himself

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I would love-" Sensing he's about to saying something embarrassing and stupid, Sakura lands a monster punch on his jaw

"Naruto, you're too young for her!" She hisses

"Ahem..." Teuchi, the ramen chef clears his throat while wiping his hands on his apron

"And you're too old!" Sakura snaps to Teuchi, effectively flattening his intentions. The smile on his face sinks and he tries to make himself look busy by attending to the food.

This woman already caught his attention by his keen nose but now catching a glimpse of her, Kakashi won't stop himself from approaching the noodle stand. Hoping there's a lot more to her than what he can see, he quietly tucks his book away then extends a hand towards Masami.

"Hello, I'm Hatake Kakashi. It's a pleasure to meet you Masami-sama"

Gently shaking his hand, she gives him a coy smile which unnerves him despite his penchant for keeping his cool

"The pleasure is all mine, Kakashi." Masami replies with a brief nod before moving on; she doesn't want to feed into the moment too much. Turning towards Iruka, she watches as he ungracefully rises from his seat.

Iruka stutters as he wipes the sweat from his palm onto the leg of his pants before extending a hand, "H-hi, I'm Umino-" is all he manages to stammer out when he is plowed over by Guy who arrives trailing a cloud of dust.

"Kakashi! There you are! Our presences have been requested by our Hokage, so has Iruka's, have you seen him?" Guy asks in oblivious innocence. Suddenly as if his eyes had abruptly opened for the first time, Guy takes notice of Masami and instantly begins lusting after her. It's not everyday that a beautiful woman walks into the Leaf Village, so he wants to make a good first impression, and he tries to muster his suaveness but fails

"I am Might Guy, and I couldn't help noticing such a refined, sophisticated, and exquisite lady! I too am quite cultured despite being Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey that your beautiful eyes have been so fortunate to gaze upon! May I be so honored as to escort you to your destination today?"

At first she just stands there with a blank expression until Guy gives the "nice guy pose" to Masami. The combination of the wink/smile/thumbs-up, shocks her into giving him a nervous smile followed by an uncomfortable chuckle. Struggling to politely decline, she answers him

"No thank you Guy. It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance but Sakura here has been quite gracious company, and I would not want to offend by arriving without her"

Sakura picks up on Masami's discomfort and becomes slightly annoyed that a loser like Guy-sensei, even if he is a jonin, thinks that he's in her league.

"Masami-sama, you are very kind. Yes, we must be off! I'll see you all later!" Sakura slightly over exaggerates her farewell as she moves to quickly whisk Masami away. Everyone turns to watch them leave as both women give a gentle wave before proceeding, and Guy gets lost in his thoughts.

Despite having only exchanged a handful of words with her, her beauty is already inspiring delusions of grandeur. Guy's loneliness and desperation make it all too easy for him to envision himself in a tuxedo standing next to Masami wearing a bridal gown. Sighing at the prospect, Guy's thoughts begin to shift as his eternal rival falls into view. Why does Kakashi have to be so ultra-cool? It's way to easy for guys like him to pick up a women like Masami! Guy glares at Kakashi, while his vision changes to himself crying and throwing rice as Kakashi and Masami drive off in a car with a "JUST MARRIED" sign on the back.

Kakashi, noticing Guy's piercing stare, tries to lighten the air with a friendly chuckle then tentatively asks

"Heh, is there something wrong Guy?"

Snapping back into reality, Guy shakes his head and quickly replies, "It's nothing Kakashi!"

Despite his reassurance, Guy silently feeds into his fantasy by telling himself that he and Masami are tied by fate to be together, and that although Kakashi is his rival, Masami's heart is one thing that Guy will capture, and not Kakashi. Becoming excited by his thoughts, Guy barely notices as Iruka grumbles from under his feet

"Guy, could you please get off me?!"

"Ah-ha! There you are Iruka! We must move with great haste!"

"Can I at least finish my..." As Iruka turns to look at his ramen, he sees Naruto has not only finished his own bowl, but Iruka's as well

"Never mind." Iruka says flatly as his expression diminishing

"What?" Naruto rudely asks before belching and rubbing his plump abdomen, "Man, I'm stuffed! Thanks for lunch Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka just glares at the boy in the blue and orange jumpsuit, as Guy shakes his head then speaks with too much enthusiasm

"You three go on ahead to the Hokage's office. I'm going to find the rest of Team Guy and we'll meet you there"

Guy takes off running in a cloud of dust again, leaving the other three shinobi coughing and fanning the dirt out of their faces. Iruka begrudgingly puts his money on the counter before sliding his hands into his pockets and muttering

"C'mon Naruto, we don't want to keep the Hokage waiting..."

And just as he did earlier, Naruto puts his hands behind his head as he begins walking

"Meh, big deal. We'll get there when we get there..."

Kakashi follows behind them and pulls out his book out again but before he cracks it open, he has a hopeful smile. Being quick to catch on to things, he realizes his summon to the Hokage's office and Masami's arrival may be more than coincidental.

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