Disclaimer I don't own Naruto!

Hello! This is a very special event for me! For you see, it's my 100th fanfiction! I decided to write this fanfic especially for the Naruto fandom, as it's the fandom that's been kindest to me, especially concerning Kakashi/Sakura. So here it is, my 100th fanfiction!

Enjoy! :)

Sakura stared in dismay at her hands. They were stained liberally with blue, all the way up to her elbow. Just great. She should've known better to dye Hinata's hair three hours before her blind date.

Hinata stared at her in dismay. "Is something wrong?" Her hair was even more splendidly blue than it normally was. She'd been crying earlier because she saw a gray hair, and Sakura and Ino decided that dying her hair was the best way to make her feel better.

Sakura waved her hand in denial. "Whatever. It's not like it matters." That probably made no sense to Hinata, and judging by the look on her face, it didn't.

"What?"

"My hands..."

Hinata looked down and her mouth formed a small o. "Sorry!"

"Don't apologize! This was our idea."

"Yep," agreed Ino, bustling into the room with a bottle of conditioner. "I'm sure your date won't mind. Blue is in this year."

"Yeah, I should dye my face and present myself as a smurf." replied Sakura, grinning.

Ino did a strange little dance. "Smurfalicious!"

"...I'm going to pretend that never saw that."

"Hey, slut, you should get going. You've got to get ready."

"Really, bitch? Because I think I look dazzling in my scrubs."

"You're full of shit, forehead." said Ino, physically shooing her out, like Sakura couldn't put her in a headlock in two seconds flat. Fifteen years of karate did that to a person.

Sakura walked back to her apartment and attempted to clean up before her date, but the blue refused to come out. It was like being in a special kind of hell, where you were doomed to stare at stained blue grossness for at least a week. Five days, if you showered four times a day.

She wondered if she should wear her little black dress (every woman needed one) but decided against it. This guy could be a creep or a stalker or work at Taco Bell or, knowing Ino and her lack of ability to find datable men, a tall twelve-year old.

She dress in fairly modest clothing, even going so far to wear a turtleneck. She hoped this guy wasn't one of those guys who loved boobs and wouldn't say more than five words to her because she didn't have any.

The restaurant they were meeting at wasn't far from her house, so she walked there and still had time to spare. She was glad she didn't wear heels, especially since Ino was fond of short men, and she did not want to be taller than her date.

She was early, so she sat in a booth by herself, hoping it was Ino who had picked this place, because the talking fish on the wall just wasn't doing it for her. It was a cozy place, though, with wood-paneled walls and big, plush seats. The bar had an air of warmth about it, like even the drunks were having fun.

It was ten minutes before her date arrived, and her inner self cheered. He was far more handsome than she'd expected, although the white eye-bandage covering his left eye was a little off-putting. His hair was silver and he looked relaxed in his long black overcoat. The waiter led him over to her table, and he sat across her with...was that a nervous smile?

He awkwardly scratched the back of her neck and said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kakashi Hatake."

"I'm Sakura Haruno," she replied. He looked familiar, like she'd met him before, or at least seen him. "I'm not sure if it's nice to meet you yet."

"At least you're honest. Waiter, could you take our orders?"

They ordered, and Sakura peeked at Kakashi from above her menu. Up close, the skin around his bandaged eye was red and raw, and she reasoned whatever the injury was, it was recent.

He saw her looking and looked embarrassed. "I lost my eye in a fight. I mean, not a gang fight, but, um, the army." His face turned beet red. "I understand if you don't want to date me."

Sakura shook her head emphatically. "That's not true at all! I'm a doctor, and I see a lot of people who've been worse injured than you. If I don't want to date you it'll be for a completely different reason."

Kakashi looked relieved and quickly regained his composure. "A doctor? That's pretty badass. More badass than the military."

"Thanks. I have trouble getting dates when men find out I'm a doctor. I think it threatens them, me making more money than them."

Kakashi laughed, and it was a nice sight. "That explains why someone so pretty doesn't have a boyfriend. Usually it means they have a personality defect or lots of baggage, but you seem pretty clear of the former."

"But not the latter," she smirked. "Even a pretty doctor lady has a past."

"Good, because I have baggage too," he chuckled, tapping his bandaged eye gently. "Although mine is right out in the open."

Their food arrived, and they were quiet for a few minutes as they started to eat.

"How did you meet Ino?" Sakura finally asked. "She doesn't seem like someone you'd know."

"Really?" he asked curiously. "Why not?"

"I don't know, you're not an infatuated teenager or a basement-boy following her like a creepy, devoted puppy."

"Are those the men she attracts?"

Sakura dug a fork into her noodles viciously. "Pretty much. She's got a horde of devoted boy-slaves but no real men, if you know what I mean."

Kakashi tried and failed not to laugh at this, letting out an undignified snort. "I think I do. I met her a couple years ago, when I was substitute teaching at her high school. She kept coming onto me, even though I flat-out refused her. I eventually told her I was gay and she moved on. That was, until she caught me making out with the math sub."

Sakura laughed really hard at this until it processed. She'd gone to high school with Ino. She vaguely remembered Ino chasing after an "older man." She even remembered having a young, slightly lame, mostly pushover hot sub for english.

"That was you?"

Kakashi snickered at the look on her face. "Did I sub for you? How weird is that?"

"Very weird! I can't believe Ino set us up!" Sakura stabbed at her meat, and Kakashi didn't say anything. When she looked up, he was eating silently, and she realized she must've hurt his feelings. "I mean, I barely remember it, so whatever, right? See, I always manage to scare guys off. Dam it, I'm going to start rambling..."

"It's fine. You're very sweet, even when you're being mean."

"That made absolutely no sense."

"A lot of things don't make any sense. Life doesn't make any sense."

"Shut up before I decide you're a hipster and never speak to you again."

"Ouch."

"So how old are you, grandpa?" teased Sakura. "Thirty-five? Forty?"

Kakashi was indignant. "Twenty-six! And you?"

She tutted. "Never ask a lady's age, silly."

"Ah, of course. I was raised better than that,." he said, wagging his fork at her.

"I'm sure your mommy would be so ashamed if she saw you now," said Sakura, mock sighing in disappointment. "What a breach of etiquette..."

"Who knows? She's better dead for twenty years." said Kakashi casually. Sakura suddenly felt like a big butthole.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-"

Kakashi held up a big, calloused hand (that she may or may not have been tempted to grab) to stop her. "I'm a big boy, I can deal with it. It doesn't even bother me anymore. If you want to know, my father committed suicide when I was nine. That gave me a little more to think about than my mom."

Sakura wanted to bury herself in a hole and die. "Oh."

"In my spare time I liked to build birdhouses and take the neighborhood dogs for a walk," added Kakashi, hoping to defuse the tension. "Sorry for springing that on you. 'My dad committed suicide, nice to meet you' isn't the best pick-up line."

"How long has it been since you were on a date, you old geezer?"

"Too long. Before I enlisted, probably."

"Birdhouses? Really?"

"Hey! They gotta live too!"

"In birdnests!"

"Birdhouses are the mansions of the bird world. I like building mansions."

"That's a great way to look at it."

"You know what else is a great way of looking at it?" asked Kakashi, smirking.

"What?"

"Your face!"

She suppressed the urge to shove him. "How mature, butthole."

"Your face is a butthole!"

She fake karate-chopped him in the throat and he pretended to die, spasming all over the booth. The elderly couple across from them stared in horror.

After a glass of wine each he paid the bill and started to leave. She'd had a good time tonight, far better than she'd thought. He offered to walk her home, and she thought, hell, it's two blocks, what the hell.

They chatted about their interests and things they hated and whether or not a blowtorch was an appropriate weapon for the zombie apocalypse. It was shortly after Sakura had finished her in-depth analysis of the hardiness of zombie flesh that he kissed her, right on the lips. It was soft and quick, barely more than a peck, but it sent butterflies from her stomach straight to her brain.

"Wow."

He bit his lip, looking nervous. "Can I call you?"

She nodded, barely managing to refrain from telling him her exact hospital schedule, from lunch breaks to patients.

He strode off in his big overcoat, and she realized she hadn't met a more nice, sweet, ridiculous human being in a long time.

Maybe she'd buy that bitchy Ino-pig a purse.

Reviews are love! :)