A/N: no, I don't own Naruto, I'm not male, and I'm not Japanese. I'm also poor. Chapter dedicated to Oni-Hime-san for wanting a continuation.

Is This Love?

Chapter Two: Unrequited

(A month before chapter one)

Kotetsu walks down the hall, dreaming of her again, not really caring where he is going, or what he is doing.

"Kotetsu, man, get your head outta the clouds, or Tsunade is going to hurt us for being late again." complained his long time partner and roommate Izumo. "You've been daydreaming for ages now."

"Yeah, and you know that I don't have the courage to ask her anything. She's too far above me" Kotetsu replied, looking downtrodden. "She'd never notice me anyway."

"Dude, we work for her teacher, you see her daily, I'm sure she's noticed you." replied Izumo, looking at Kotetsu with a bit of disgust. "You just need to grow a spine long enough to actually talk to her and not stutter at her."

"Don't laugh at me Izu, or I'll tell your next girlfriend some of your strange habits" retorted Kotetsu, blushing slightly.

"You assume I'll have a girlfriend, I prefer less attachment than that, and why do you always assume it's going to be a woman?" Izumo calmly replied.

Kotetsu shudders at the unexpected image. "Y'know Izu, that was not something I needed to see or hear right now. And if we don't hurry delivering these papers, Tsunade will have our hides for lunch. S...Sakura took her sake away again."

"Y'know 'Tetsu, you really need to stop stuttering her name, and when you talk to her. That was she might actually get that you like her, and are not just stuttering because you are a moron."

"Thanks Izu, way to be an ass to the guy who pays half the rent. And I'm making sure to tell your next date that you snore." Kotetsu blushed.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo" cried out Izumo. "Don't do that. No one would want to sleep with me after that."



"That's the point. Then I won't have to immediately leave when I get home from working late." Kotetsu quipped back. "Now come on, Tsunade is waiting for the papers in that folder you have."

"What folder?" Izumo asked. "Seriously, what folder?"

"Don't tell me you left it back at the apartment. She's gonna kill me for not reminding you. And she's sober."

"Then we'd better run, huh. Let's go, time's wasting, and she's getting more sober by the minute."