"Iruka, why don't you join us for a drink for once?" Kakashi smiled at the younger man through his ever-present mask and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Iruka looked up at him and sighed before turning his eyes to the sky above him. The sun had just began to set, turning the sky a luxurious pink-purple as the blue faded away. Turning back to Kakashi's mostly covered face, Iruka smiled and rubbed the back of his own neck, looking guilty.
"I don't know Kakashi, it's a week night. I have class in the morning!" He laughed nervously and avoided eye contact with the older jounin. Kakashi threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh.
"Oh don't be such a wet blanket, Iruka-kun. I haven't seen you go out in months, live a little! It's just a few jounin, besides someone's got to beat Asuma in Shogi!"
Nodding sheepishly, Iruka stayed at the grey haired shinobi's side as the walked through town. Iruka eyed the village he had grown up in, it was bustling even at this late hour. It had been a time of peace for Konoha and the city was thriving. If only he could get that Naruto to graduate the academy. He sighed as he thought of the feisty blonde, shaking his head. As the two approached the bar they couldn't help but notice the rather large group of jonin gathered inside.
"Just a few?" Iruka raised an eyebrow at Kakashi and he could do nothing but shrug his shoulders. He could see the backs of several shinobi's he knew, Asuma, Genma, Aoba, Mizuki, and even Hayate was there; he never came out.
"Well, it looks like they beat us here. I didn't know our usual round of drinks became such an occasion." Kakashi eyed the large crowd gathered around a single table, each of their cheeks were already pink from sake and a wide smile planted across their faces.
"Is there some special occasion we missed the memo for?" Iruka asked as the walked through the door into the bar, triggering the tinkle of a bell announcing their presence. The group of jonin turned around to greet them but before they could get a word out a woman's voice rang loud and clear.
"Iruka-kun!" Before the young sensei knew it he had two thin but strong arms wrapped around his neck and a woman's warm breath tickling his neck. The feeling made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Blushing deeply, he pulled himself out of the hug and stared into two bright yellow eyes looking back at him. His breath immediately caught in his throat and he could only let out a choked,
"Chi-Chiyoko?" The other shinobi laughed heartily while the girl drew away and struck a pose winking at the blushing chunin.
"None other!"
Kakashi had been shocked when he saw a woman, a beautiful one at that throw herself on Iruka. He wasn't what you would call a lady's-man. However, what really caught Kakashi's attention was the name.
"No love for an old friend Kakashi?" The voice snapped the Copy Nin from his thoughts and he stared at the woman standing in front of him. Her silky black hair was tied into a thick braid with fringe and stray hairs framing her stunning face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, he shook off the urge to rub his eyes and make sure he wasn't imagining things. Her yellow eyes were a dead give away but still he just couldn't believe it was her. However when she pulled her bee-stung lips into a smile, her fanged canine-teeth glinted with mischief.
"Onigoroshi Chiyoko." Kakashi bowed his head to her but couldn't bear to touch her. It felt like his blood was boiling underneath his skin, he shifted uncomfortably underneath her gaze.
"Such formalities Hatake Kakashi. Please, sit."Chiyoko laughed and turned back to Iruka. Her best childhood friend, here in front of her as a grown man. She slipped herself underneath his arm and placed her hand on his waist. She led them to the table and stared at the other shinobi around her. She couldn't believe all the hooligans she had grown up with would become these fantastic ninjas. Iruka's soft voice brought her back to the present,
"How many years has it been Chiyoko-san?" She turned her yellow gaze to meet Iruka and scoffed.
"Six since the last I saw you, ten since I left Konoha. That doesn't mean you have to treat me like a stranger Iruka-chan."
Iruka swore his heart was going to pound right out of chest, and prayed Chiyoko wouldn't notice as she led him to the table everyone was gathered around. As they sat, Iruka tried to stealthily size up his old friend. Her cheeks were tinged pink from the sake, she'd always been weak for the stuff just like her father. Iruka studied her carefully, he just couldn't believe this was the same Chiyoko that left ten years ago. She was a grown woman now, it made him nervous. She was always praised for her beauty when they were growing up, but now she had blossomed in a way that made Iruka blush. The raven hair beauty shrugged off her flak jacket and hung it on the back of her chair, making Iruka's cheeks an even deeper shade of pink. She wore a shinobi outfit not all that different from his own but it was tailored to show off her best.. assets. A navy blue long sleeved top like most Leaf ninjas wore, but hers was cut daringly low showing off her lily-white flesh and the gifts womanhood had given her. The shoulders of her top were also cut out, revealing the two tattoos she had received when she was still a toddler. The sign of a demon slayer, as if the yellow eyes and fangs weren't proof enough.
"This round is on me, boys." Chiyoko winked at the group and waved over a waiter. Kakashi had already taken out his Icha Icha Paradise when Asuma gave him a hard punch on the shoulder.
"Come on Kakashi, Chiyoko's here, you could atleast pretend you're having a good time." The Copy Nin scoffed and slipped his beloved book back into his flak jacket. This whole situation was making him uncomfortable. Chiyoko was here. She was here after he had not seen her six years. She was back, more lovely than ever, and of course his fellow male jonin caught onto that quickly. He stared at her with his exposed eye, trying to strip away her guard. Dying to know what this girl was up too. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, he knew he couldn't think about Chiyoko as a normal woman. It was much more complicated that. That made her so hard to read. She was a demon slayer, born and raised to protect the people. Not only the citizens of the Leaf, or even the Land of Fire, but people and shinobi alike from every country. Kakashi stared at the headband tied around her neck, it was her pass, he proof of neutrality and her key to be allowed in to any Hidden Village and treated like she was a shinobi of their own. The triangle with the eye in the middle, the sign of the Onigoroshi or Demon-Slayer clan. Fed up with his own thoughts Kakashi leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and locked eyes with Chiyoko's shining yellow ones.
"Why did you come back?" The question made the jonins immediately stop their conversations and stare at the two; the tone in Kakashi's voice was not a friendly one. The words seemed to be soaked with poison. Chiyoko coolly finished her drink and stared in Kakashi's steady gaze.
"You certainly get the point, don't you?" She waved to the waiter for another drink and leaned back in her chair with two fingers on her left temple. "Father's orders."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the girl and recalled her stoic father. His name fit him so well, Iwao literally meaning 'the stone man', he was a fierce ninja who also possessed the Onigoroshi Kekkai Genkai and knew no weakness.
"Why would Iwao want you to come back here?" The air was thick with silence until Chiyoko finally exhaled loudly and flipped her large braid back over her shoulder.
"There is someone he would like me to meet, Kakashi." The answer didn't satisfy the copy nin. This girl was so different than the one he knew as a child, yet so the same. He couldn't help but wonder who Iwao would want her to meet. She already knew all of the shinobi her age and older, and no one new had come to the village. Before Kakashi could string his thoughts together Chiyoko laughed to break the painfully uncomfortable silence. Her fangs shined brightly and gave her that permanent look of mischief. She threw back her head and downed the remnants of her rice wine. The group returned to casual conversations but the air was much tenser than before. Kakashi remained silent, he was always a mood killer he couldn't help but think to himself. After an hour or so, Chiyoko stood, a bit wobbly from the alcohol and slung on her flak jacket.
"Well boys, it's getting late. This girl needs her beauty sleep."
Asuma stood up quickly, nearly knocking the drink out of Genma's hand who was sitting next to him.
"Where are you staying Chiyoko-kun?" The burly jonin blushed when his question was responded with laughs from the men around him.
"It's not like this guy has an alliterative motives, right?" Genma teased as he elbowed Aoba in the side sniggering while Asuma glared hotly at the two. Chiyoko stepped away from the table and walked behind Iruka's chair who was sitting quietly beside her. She draped her arms over his shoulders and placed her face next to his.
"I was hoping to stay at Iruka's. Like I use to when we were young, right?" She recoiled and stared into the blushing mans face beaming that trickster smile of hers. Kakashi couldn't help but scoff when he saw Asuma's disappointed face and Iruka's beat red one. Iruka swallowed hard and stuttered before he could let out a squeaky,
"O-of course, Chiyoko-kun." The kunoichi gave him a devilish smile and stood up to her full height, reaching into her left breast pocket of her flak jacket. She pulled out a wallet and tossed cash on the table before winking at the group and walking out the door of the bar, triggering that tinkle of the bell with Iruka hot on her heels.
Kakashi picked up the money and rolled his eyes before scoffing, "What a show off." and tossed the money back down. Aoba picked up the cash and examined it closely, "This is enough for our bill and then some." He scratched his head in surprise remembering the quite stingy Chiyoko he grew up with.
"Demon slaying is a lucrative business is it not?" Kakashi turned on his heel and walked out the bar's door after flashing the remaining shinobi a wave. All the copy nin could think about was the raven haired girl with the yellow eyes.