Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The sky was dark, with flickering lamps lighting the narrow Konoha streets. Soft yellow light filtered through the windows of stores and homes, casting long, heavy shadows across the alleys. Inside a bar, Hiriko propped her elbows against the worn counter, her chin in her hands. A black strand of hair fell across her face and she lazily blew it out of her face.

Around her, there was loud rambunctious whooping, blasting music, and sweaty bodies packed into the small room. Dim lighting and the stench of stale sake gave it a grimy feel. Hiriko didn't really mind the atmosphere; she visited often enough, usually after a particularly stressful mission. But she never arrived by herself, where socializing with random strangers was the norm. Anbu aren't known for being good at making friends.

'Where is that girl?' Glancing over her shoulder, she scanned the crowd looking for her friend. Friend nowhere to be found, her forehead hit the table with a thud.

A bright mop of orange hair spun onto the barstool to the right of the kunoichi. "Hiriko, guess what?" The loner looked up and glared.

"Kame, you ditched me!" The brunette hissed, grabbing her shoulders. "Where the hell were you?"

"I got a date!" The redhead squealed, clutching the other woman's shoulders in return, albeit much gentler. The irritated girl paused.

"Wait, really?" The civilian had been searching for a partner for over a year.

"Yes! Can you believe it?" She beamed.

'Hardly,' Hiriko thought wryly, but ignored the question. "Yeah... so, how is he?"

Kame seemed to swoon in her seat. "Oh, so dreamy. Like, totally gorgeous, practically model-worthy."

Hiriko laughed with her. "Well, other than that? Is he a civillian or a shinobi? Where's the date?"

"…Um, not sure 'bout that."

"Whether he's a shinobi or about the date?"

"Uh, both."

"Kame!" Her friend rolled her eyes, chuckling. "How do you not know?"

"He was just so hot… I was distracted."

"Okay, how hot is this guy? Like, give me a description. Beard? Outfit? Hair? Teeth?"

"Well, he has nice hair, all soft-looking and silver. He was wearing a black tee and pants, and…"

"And?"

"I can't really tell anything else. He had this half-mask thing on."

'Half-mask?' The kunoichi whipped around, scanning the room for a silver-haired, masked man. When she laid eyes on him, she groaned.

"Kame, that's Hatake Kakashi! How'd you not recognize him? Do you even know his name?"

"Er…"

"Don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"But he's cool, right? Like, sane and stuff?"

"He's famous. For killing people. He's a shinobi."

"But, you're famous too, right? You kill people all the time."

The ninja winced at her bluntness. "Not as famous as him."

"Well, you both murder people. You both do ninja stuff."

"Not to scare you or anything…"

"Huh?"

"His nickname in anbu was 'Friend-Killer Kakashi.'"

…

"Of course." The civilian fisted her hair in her hands, groaning. "The only guy that's interested in me is some creepy insane psycho-murderer. Of course."

"Hey," Hiriko consoled, "Chill. I've heard he's changed."

"Whatever. Who cares? I don't want to end up dead after the first date."

"No, I think he's really cool now. Hasn't killed a comrade in a long time."

Kame stared at her friend. "Yeah, 'cause that makes me feel so much better."

"Maybe you should give him a chance. I turned out fine, right?"

"Other than your utter lack of socializing like a normal person?"

"I'm pretty sure Hatake can socialize."

"But still… Friend-killer?"

"You should still go for it. I promise that I'll protect you."

"You can take him on?"

Not in a million years. "Yeah, totally!"

"Well…" I appreciate the amount of faith you have in my combat skills.

"Here, I'll go talk to him now. Just wait a second." Stepping off the barstool, Hiriko picked her way over to Kakashi, who was standing casually against the wall, no doubt listening to every word.

"Hey, Hatake."

"Hn?" A lazy gray eye focused on Hiriko.

"You know Kame? The girl you asked out?"

"Yeah?"

"If you pull any of your weird ninja crap on her and hurt her…"

"Yes?"

"I will ruin you."

Kakashi looking decidedly amused, she sauntered back to her seat and ordered another glass of sake.

"Is it all good now?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't dare mess with you now, trust me."

"Thanks, Hiriko."

"No problem. I'd take him on any day for you."

"Same."

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed my new oneshot, it took me a while to write. But hallelujah, the file upload works again! I don't know what was glitching last week, but it was a huge pain to copy'n'paste everything. I'm 99.99% positive I missed at least one italicized word in the latest chapter of the Unknown Uchiha.

Thanks to everyone who supports me and my writing! :)