A/N: Surprise! I haven't abandoned this story :)

Thank you to La Moonlight Lily for returning once again as a beta for my fics. I appreciate you so much 3

It seemed that Hatake was in a rare mood this evening and Genma welcomed the change in his comrade. He clapped Kakashi on the shoulder and chuckled as they entered the establishment.

They were greeted by the backs of the hostess and another guest with a familiar spiky purple ponytail. Genma could overhear the hostess tell her, "The three companions you requested will join you shortly," before Anko caught sight of them and smirked over the collar of her long tan coat.

Kakashi discreetly coughed beside him, and Genma's own snickers tickled the back of his throat as the hostess approached them. "Good evening and welcome esteemed shinobi guests. How may we serve you this evening?" She bowed to them.

"We could do with an uncomplicated evening," Kakashi offered.

Genma slipped the senbon between his lips as he smiled at the repetition of his words and he was quick to add, "With dinner, a good view and good company."

The hostess returned their smiles with one of her own. "This way please." She gestured to them in an invitation to follow her down the hallway to their left. She stopped at the door at the end of the hall and pulled it open. "This room has the best view of the courtyard."

Genma curled his tongue around the senbon in his mouth as his eyes drank in the room. There were few furnishings within; one large low table stained a deep brown, flanked by two wide square floor cushions of the same hue on either side. As he stepped inside, his foot was cushioned by the woven straw tatami mat, worn and soft. Paper lanterns stood from the floor in both far corners opposite to him. The simplicity of the room's décor highlighted its feature: two shoji doors were left wide open, framing the view of the well-maintained courtyard that lay just beyond them. A Japanese maple tree proudly grew thick branches that spread upward like veins from its base into a crown of gold, orange, and red autumn leaves.

The warm air in the room served as a reminder of the hot summer it had been in Konoha. Genma was grateful for the gentle night breeze that the opened doors allowed in. It bore the crispness of the changing season, refreshing and invigorating him.

The sound of shuffling feet drew his attention to the right side of the room. The hostess approached a narrow paulownia wood chest that had been deliberately placed where it could remain unnoticed against the wall. She pulled open two of the three drawers, then pushed aside one of the sliding doors, retrieving a yukata and obi for each of the men.

Genma accepted the two garments the hostess handed to him and watched her cross the room to give the rest to Kakashi. "Please change into these and make yourselves comfortable," she said. "I'll return in a few moments." The hostess bowed herself out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Kakashi retreated to one corner, turning his back to him before he began to undress and so Genma did the same. He unzipped his vest and shrugged it off, sighing at the relief of its weight leaving his shoulders. The brunette pulled the senbon from his mouth, yanked his shirt over his head and let it fall to the floor as well. He carefully inserted one sharp end of the senbon underneath the cotton bindings around one trouser leg, cut through them and then repeated the action to free his other leg before returning the senbon to his mouth. The tokubetsu jounin hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his trousers, tugging them down to step out of them. He had to turn to the side to shake one foot out and in so doing spied a bared cheek of Hatake's pale rear. Genma turned back to his corner and pushed his final article of clothing off as well.

He picked up his muted maroon yukata and thrust his arms through the sleeves, enjoying the soft, breathable fabric as it glided along the hair on his skin. He bunched his uniform into a pile in the corner and reached for the obi the hostess had chosen for him. It was nearly the same shade as his hair, and he wound it twice around his waist before tying it off, leaving a large gap in his robe above it. Genma kicked the last of his discarded clothing into the corner with his heel as he turned to face his fellow shinobi.

Kakashi had just finished tying his black and grey speckled obi, securing his cobalt blue yukata tightly against his frame. Genma noticed the other's uniform had been neatly folded, the garments stacked upon each other in a tidy pyramid in his corner. Hatake folded his arms across his chest and looked down at his yukata. "Whenever I arrive here, it's by chance, and yet I'm treated as if I was expected," he said.

Genma chuckled his agreement, tucked his thumbs into the obi at his waist and strode across the room to the open doors that led out to the courtyard. He leaned his frame against one of the doors and Kakashi joined him to enjoy the view. "That's really something, isn't it?" Genma pointed at the maple tree as he offered his admiration of it. "I wonder how old it is."

"Hmm," came Kakashi's husky reply. "I don't think I've ever looked at a tree and wondered about it like that. Actually," the silver-haired jounin tucked his hands into the sleeves of his yukata and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "I can't remember the last time I just looked at a tree instead of assessing it."

"Assessing it?" Genma tried to scan the tree with an analytical eye instead of an appreciative one.

"Yeah. You see," Kakashi pointed at a prominent thick and twisted branch that extended out from the base of the tree, "that branch could support my weight and would be good to jump from. Or," he raised his arm to a cluster of leaves high above the ground, "that would provide a good vantage point while remaining hidden."

"I do see," Genma lisped his reply around the senbon in his mouth. "I suppose that's how I ought to see it too, as a member of the Hokage guard," he muttered.

"Not necessarily," Kakashi's reply came quickly. "What do you think of when you look at it?"

Hatake's tone of voice and quiet volume betrayed his genuine interest in Genma's perspective, or so the tokubetsu jounin reassured himself. He shelved a glib reply in favor of the truth. "When I look at a tree as old as that one, I wonder if it was planted within the village by one of the founders, or if the founders planted the village around it."

The breeze found its way into the gap of Genma's robe, so he freed his thumbs to fold his arms across his chest. "It's a reassuring thought," he continued his explanation. "to know that it thrives after so much time and change."

Kakashi nodded his head slowly in understanding. Then he broke the brief silence between the pair with a soft chuckle. "You know, if the Professor were here, he'd be comparing the leaves to the Will of Fire."

"It would be poetic, I'm sure." Genma couldn't help a hushed laugh.

A rap at the door to their room ended their conversation. "Excuse me, honorable shinobi, I've returned with this evening's menu. May I come in?"

"Please, before we become brooding philosophers instead of ninja," Kakashi murmured just loud enough for his comrade to hear.

Genma swallowed his laughter and called over his shoulder. "Yes, you may."

Both men turned to face not one, but three women that stood in the doorway to their shared room. The hostess entered to set the menu on the table and turned to introduce the other two women. "Allow me to present your companions for this evening, Sentaku and Zaira."

A/N: Sentaku=Choice

Zaira=Western Orchid (you know who you are xoxo)