Tsuki winced when she heard someone enter her shared adjoining bathroom. As she quickly muted the music playing softly around her room and dimmed the lights she lamented yet again on her inability to find a better apartment. Her current residence was a small room with a tiny sink and stove separated from the living area by a half wall. The living area consisted of a TV, a couch and an old stereo system (her bed folded out of the couch). It was mostly clean, with the exception of some papers scattered on the floor. She didn't mind the small space; actually she found it rather cozy; however sharing a bathroom with her neighbour was becoming increasingly more difficult.
Her neighbour happened to be none other than the well known Jonin Kakashi Hatake. Why he chose to live in such a place with the money he made she still couldn't figure out. A Jonin made substantially more than a Chunin who never got assignments.
A feminine giggle floated out of the bathroom making her roll her eyes and turn on the TV. Kakashi was a nearly unparalleled womanizer and Tsuki got a very unwilling and unwanted front row seat to his conquests. The days when he was gone on mission with his team were bliss for her.
Technically she was the Hokage's secretary so he should know who she was but there never seemed to be any recognition when he saw her in the hallway and she didn't make any effort to get to know him either. Another giggle and she sighed, turned off the TV and crawled into bed. It was going to be a disgustingly long night.
The next morning was sunny and warm, making Tsuki rejoice as she pulled on her brown leggings and long green skirt. Her top consisted of a protective mesh shirt with a grey silk tank top cover. Regardless of her current status she was a shinobi and she didn't pause as she strapped her weapons holster to her leg. She collected some paperwork and tied her long brown hair into two simple braids before beginning her short walk to the Hokage tower. Everything was almost back to the way it had been before an attack by some unknown group of ninja, much like the old Akatsuki, that had nearly levelled the village that year. Naruto Uzumaki had taken over when the fifth Hokage had been gravely injured and she had recently completely abdicated to him. Although Tsuki was nearly five years older than the young man she had a great respect for him. He had taken her in after the battle when she'd lost her memories. She retained most of her skills but had no memory of who she was before the disaster and any records of her seemed to have been destroyed. She could've been left without any work at all but Naruto made her his secretary and saved her life.
"Good morning little-moon!"
She turned to see her friend Kazuma running towards her and waved.
"Good morning."
"How was the home last night? I heard the neighbour came back yesterday." He slung an arm around her shoulders and pushed a stuffed bun into her hands. "Don't even try to tell me you've already eaten."
Tsuki made a face at him but began to nibble on the bun discovering it was filled with cheese and sausage.
"Thanks Kazuma. Yeah he was back and with another woman." They entered the building and waved to a few people. "It's disgusting."
Kazuma laughed and pulled away from her.
"Agreed but it's a guy thing. I'll see you at lunch."
"Ok see you."
Tsuki plodded up the stairs to the Hokage's office and pushed open the door to see the young leader in a deep kiss with his former team mate and head medic.
"Oh I'm sorry!"
Tsuki covered her face as a deep blush crawled across it. She heard a laugh and looked up into Sakura's smiling face and Naruto's blush.
"We've shocked poor Tsuki I'm afraid." Sakura giggled and kissed Naruto's cheek before hugging Tsuki and laughing merrily. "Guess what!?"
The stunned secretary just stared at the pink haired kunoichi.
"What?" It was then she noticed the ring on Sakura's finger. "Oh my goodness, you're getting married?!" Tsuki looked incredulously from Sakura to Naruto, a huge grin spreading across her face at her bosses embarrassment.
"Yes!" Sakura hugged her again. "Oh, I'm so happy!"
"Congradulations!"
"Thanks. But I really must run, I have another shift at the hospital." Sakura kissed Naruto again and ran out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Naruto and a giggling Tsuki.
"Congrats. Hokage-sama." Tsuki gave him a mock reproachful look. "I only wish you had told me so I could begin to plan around the wedding." She straightened his robe smartly and went to her desk to begin the day's paperwork.
"Oh please don't be mad Tsuki! I wanted to tell you but I didn't want to risk Sakura finding out! I didn't even tell Sasuke in case he let it slip to Hinata."
Naruto still looked very flustered and Tsuki took pity on him.
"I was kidding Hokage-sama. I can arrange all your work around it easily. When do you want the ceremony and the honeymoon?" He gave her a pained expression and she smothered a giggle. "I'll talk to Sakura-san about it later then."
Naruto nodded and after Tsuki gently reminded him of his morning appointments he made his way out of the office. The rest of the morning was uneventful and Tsuki was more than ready for her break when it came around. After dropping a note on Naruto's desk she trotted down the stairs, humming happily. Unfortunatly she only made it about halfway before her sandal slipped off the edge of a stair and she found herself tumbling forward into a large, warm, solid object which she quickly realized must be a person. A long arm caught her around the waist and propped her back up on the nearest stair.
"Thank you..." She bit back a gasp as she looked up into a single dark eye.
"Not a problem. It would be a terrible shame to see such a pretty young thing get hurt."
Kakashi's eye twinkled at her over his mask. However, the voice and words that made most girls' blush and stammer just made Tsuki cringed and roll her eyes, leaving him rather startled.
"Tsuki! Are you ok? Oh hello..." Kazuma bowed a little in Kakashi's direction before examining Tsuki. "I was on my way to meet you. Are you hurt?"
She laughed and reassured her friend that she was fine before turning and bowing to a still ruffled Kakashi.
"Thank you very much Hatake-san. Are you on your way to see Hokage-sama, because I'm afraid he's not in at the moment? However if you leave a message with me I will make sure he gets it as soon as possible."
Both the men stared at her as she fixed her most professional smile on her face.
"Tsuki...Naruto's secretary Tsuki?" Kakashi seemed stunned that such a girl could work for his former student. "Umm no that's fine. I'll be seeing him at the benefit later." The Jonin took one more puzzled glance at Tsuki and noted how Kazuma glared at him before he waved and strolled off, hands in his pockets.
"Wow! Tsuki that was amazing! Although I guess knowing what he really like helps so he can't pull that stuff on you too."
"Hmm, oh yeah." Tsuki smiled up at Kazuma who took her arm and lead her down the rest of the stairs, still chattering. Of course she thought, she would never fall for Kakashi's tricks and yet, she could still feel the warmth of his arm around her waist. She continued to muse to herself until a question from Kazuma shook her out of her thoughts.
"Are you going to the benefit tonight?"
"What? Oh yeah. Hokage-sama has a few important guests to meet and has asked me to assist him. Of course I won't be staying long. But at least I get to wear a pretty dress."
She laughed and poked at the food in her bento. She was actually very much looking forward to wearing the dark purple gown she'd found for herself, it made her dull blue-grey eyes look brighter and complimented what little shape her 5 foot 4 body had.
"Aww. Now I'm sad to missing that." Kazuma pouted.
"Don't worry I'll be sure to talk at least one picture." Tsuki continued to jokingly console him until their break ended and they both headed off to work.
The afternoon passed in a flash and soon Naruto was telling her to take some time to get ready for the benefit. She happily reminded him that his tux was in the second closet and yes he must wear it, if only to look good for his new finance.
Tsuki hummed to herself while she bathed and dressed. She applied a little make-up before looking at her full appearance in a mirror. Usually she made a point of not worrying about her looks, simply accepting them as they were instead of worrying about if she was considered pretty or not. Now however, she had to admit that she felt particularly feminine in the long silk gown with her hair lightly pinned back in front and cascading in loose curls down her back. The light purple eye shadow made her now blue-green eyes and long dark lashed stand out and her cheeks and lips were a pale pink. So, feeling confident she made her way across the village to the benefit.
The Hyuuga estate was so brightly lit Tsuki had to wonder what their neighbours must think of the extravagance. Every powerful shinobi and business person in Konoha was at the event, making it quite the relay for Tsuki so she was happy when Naruto finished his important business and went off to socialize and celebrate his engagement. She briefly considered leaving right away but treated herself to a few things at the desert table first and soon found herself chatting with the youngest Uchiha child.
The girl's mother came by to apologize but Tsuki just laughed and waved off Hinata's worries, helping the expecting mother of three find a seat and telling the little girl a story until Sasuke came back from congratulating Naruto and thanked her for looking after his family.
Just as she was about to call it a night and get her coat she felt the tingle of her space being invaded and a hand touched her arm.
"Yes?" She turned, expecting to see Naruto or someone looking for him and instead found a certain silver-haired shinobi.
"Yo."
All Tsuki could do was blink and stare.
"Tsuki right? It feels like I've seen you somewhere before ..." That definitely snapped her out of her shock.
"You have actually Hatake-san. We have adjoining rooms in Willow apartments." Her voice was level and matter of fact but inside she was seething. It was so typical that he couldn't be bothered to remember a woman who didn't warm his bed.
"I would stay and chat, however I was just leaving. Good night Hatake-san." With that she stormed off to get her coat but when she stepped out into the cool night air she found herself face to face with the copy-nin yet again. He bowed and she thought she saw something like guilt in his lone eye but when he rose it was replaced with his same winsome look.
"Please Tsuki-san, let me walk you home."
"Umm no." She was far too upset to trust herself on the rather long walk back. However as she walked away she noticed calmly that he followed her.
"We live in the same building. So technically I'm not following you."
Tsuki jumped and turned around, gaping at him.
"Did you just read my mind?"
"Oh good, you stopped." He caught up to her effortlessly and she could almost feel his mischievous grin on her from behind his mask. "You know, it really isn't safe for a woman to walk on her own at night. There could be all sorts of dangerous men about."
"I can protect myself." She paused. "Thanks."
She continued walking but this time he kept up with her easily. The rest of the way back was filled with him trying to get her to talk while she politely but firmly kept him at bay until they reached her door.
"Good night Hatake-san." Before he could say another word she entered her room and closed the door in his face. Kakashi paused briefly before he raised and hand to knock when he heard a sharp "Don't!" from the other side. He chuckled and returned to his room alone for the first time in quite awhile.
For the next week Tsuki found Kakashi outside her room every morning and outside Naruto's office every evening. These were never long meeting as he always managed to disappear before Kazuma showed up but they confused her to no end. He always simply chatted to her about something silly like the weather or Naruto's exploits as a young Genin while she treated him with aloof politeness and at times borderline hostility. Kakashi never knock on her door or asked her to go anywhere with him, he was just a constant presence that she was having more and more trouble finding annoying.
Sunday she had a day off and she slept in late. It didn't bother her at all to wake up near 2:00 and cook a light breakfast before considering taking a nice bubble bath. She crept quietly into the bathroom and lock the adjoining door before climbing into the steaming tub of water and relaxing. She had almost dozed off again when she heard a knock on her room door.
Tsuki sighed and wrapped herself in a towel before unlocking Kakashi's door and going back into her room. The knock on her door came again.
"Just a minute!" Wondering who could possibly want to talk at this time on a Sunday she threw on a pair of dark blue sweats and a grey tank and opened the door.
"Hi!" To Tsuki's astonishment she found Sakura, Ten-Ten and Ino standing outside her room looking very pleased with themselves.
"Come on, we are going dancing." Tsuki stared at them.
"Excuse me?"
"We are go-ing to a cl-ub." Ino giggled. "Come on, even Naruto's overly serious secretary must have a fun side."
"Don't be mean Ino." Ten-Ten smiled at Tsuki. "It'll be fun. Trust me!"
"B-but I don't have anything to wear!"
Sakura laughed.
"That's why we got here so early. We have to get ready too." They trotted into her room, wach dragging a suitcase. Two hours later found Tsuki in a dark blue skirt that just brushed her knees, a tight brown tank top edged with lace covered by a loose silky grey top that hung down in the front, revealing the brown tank and her cleavage. She strapped on a pair of grey sandals that wound a short way up her leg. Ino helped her braid her hair into two loose lengths on either side of her head. The others were dressed in slightly more revealing outfits, Ino's artfully tattered green dress only covered the most private sections of her body and made Tsuki shudder just to imagine wearing it.
"Alright ladies. Let's hit the town."
They set off giggling and easily slipped into the nearest club where Sakura and Ino immediately took off to the dance floor while Ten-Ten and Tsuki went and sat at a table near the bar.
"How come none of the boys came out?" Tsuki knew that Sakura usually couldn't get rid of Naruto and Ino was rarely seen without Shikamaru. Ten-Ten shrugged.
"Neji is at Hinata's for dinner, he just can't pull himself away from those little kids..." Ten-Ten wouldn't look at her and Tsuki reasoned the two had probably had another fight so she let the subject drop.
"Tsuki get over here!" Sakura was waving and shouting across the floor but Tsuki just shook her head and laughed. She glanced around the club, barely recognizing a single person until her eyes found a certain silver haired shinobi.
He was over at a far table flirting very openly with a very voluptuous red head. For some reason, instead of her usual disgusted annoyance she felt an almost stabbing pain in her chest. No way, she shook her head, there was no way she was hurt or jealous because of him. For a second she thought their eyes met but she turned away quickly and tapped Ten-Ten on the shoulder.
"I'm going to get a drink, do you want something?"
The other girl just nodded so Tsuki headed to the bar.
"Two bottles of sake and a shot of whiskey please." The bartender nodded and Tsuki drank the shot before heading back with the bottles. Around 4 bottles later and both the shyer girls in the group were up dancing with Sakura and Ino.
"Bai bai!" Tsuki giggled drunkenly and waved to the others as they staggered off in the opposite direction. She turned around and began walking back towards her apartment. Turning into a side street she kicked a can a little ways down the alley.
"Stupid Kakashi...he thinks he's soooo special." A strong wave of nausea hit her and she had to lean against a wall for a moment. "Woah...haha that doesn't feel good."
"I can help you feel better, sexy." Tsuki turned around quickly, holding her head, and found three fair sized men at the end of the road coming towards her. "How about you play with us for a bit?"
"Yeah right." She glared at them and pushed herself off the wall. "Don't even try anything or i'll..."
She gasped when someone grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall again. Her head collided with brick as she blacked out.