Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it's all from the brilliant mind of Masashi Kishimoto.

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Kakashi walked down the street, not at all bothered by the fact that he was two hours late for that stupid gala Gai told him about. He still doubted very much that Gai's fiance was as perfect as he said. Knowing Gai, he could exaggerate greatly.

Kakashi came to the huge mansion, apperently owned by Etsuko's parents.

"Rich much?" he thought aloud. Sighing, he approached the door, and, ignoring the heavy bronze knocker, he knocked with his fist. A woman who looked older than him with black hair done up in a tight bun answered the door.

"Are you one of Gai's friends?" she asked him, quizically. Kakashi almost laughed.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he said. The woman raised her eyebrows at him, but let him in none the less.

Kakashi strode into the great hall. He looked about. He noticed a lot of people wore fancy dress clothes while he wore only his everyday wear. He didn't care though, he wasn't here to turn a few head, he was here to prove Gai wrong.

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Etsuko was hiding around the corner of the long corridor leading to the stair case. She spotted her two friends, Kurenai and Anko below. She smiled.

"I'll go talk to them for a while," she decided. She was about to leave her hiding place, but was stopped by someone suddenly wrapping their arms around her waist and pulling her close. Suprised, Etsuko reacted on instict. She turned around and hit the person across the face.

He yelled out and staggered away from her. It was Gai.

Whoops, Etsuko thought. "S-Sorry, Gai... I just got a bit suprised." Gai looked at her, smiled, and straightened up.

"It's okay, Etsuko-chan. Your reflexes are on top form today," he said. Etsuko thought he looked a little awkward with a red hand mark on his cheek. She felt a little guilty. Suddenly, Gai spoke again.

"Why are you up here all on your own?" he asked her. "You should be down there, enjoying the party."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second, I'm just... pondering up here," Etsuko told him.

"Alright, I'll wait for you down there," Gai said, leaving. He turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Don't be long, now."

Don't rush me unless you want the hand on the other cheek, Buddy, Etsuko thought, bitterly as he descended the stairs.

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Kakashi leaned against the wall, waiting.

Gai better hurry up with showing me his fiance, he thought. I don't like to linger long at these pointless galas.

He sighed and looked up, cracking his neck, but doing so, he nearly stopped breathing. He couldn't tear his eyes from the top of the staircase.

Standing there, was a beautiful woman. She had long black hair, done up, and sky blue eyes. She wore a strapless dress which was black at the top, and the skirt was red, reaching to about her knees. On her arms, she wore seperate sleeves from her dress which were also black. She gazed down at crowd, looking a little sad. None the less, she was stunning.

Although his neck hurt from craning it up at a sharp angel, Kakashi would not take his visible eye off of her. It seemed to be dismissed as a sin if anyone tore their attention from her.

Who is she? he thought. She's beautiful.

As a slow song suddenly came on, Kakashi ceased his staring, stopped leaning on the wall, and quietly made his way to the stairs. He dashed up them as if being chased, rounded the corner, and skidded to a halt once he saw the back of the woman. Feeling his heart hammer against his rib cage, he approached her.

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Etsuko continued to stare out to the crowd below her. She was pretending that she didn't hear Gai and was taking as much time as she liked up here on her own.

"I-It's nice up here, isn't it?" a voice sounded behind her. Startled, Etsuko jumped and turned around, afraid to see who it was.

Thankfully, it wasn't Gai or her parents. It was someone completely diffrent.

The person was a man. He was tall, dressed casually, and three quarters of his face was hidden by a mask and his bandana. Etsuko could only see his right eye. She smiled.

"Yeah, I don't really like crowds, I'd rather stay up here," she told the stranger. He nodded. He walked up beside her and looked down to the crowd with her.

Etsuko glanced at the man. She didn't know what happened, but she felt a sudden attraction to him. She was some how drawn towards the man. She felt as if she had seen him before... but where? In the town square? On a mission? In her dreams? Who knew?

There was a particular aura around this man. He gave Etsuko an odd feeling and a number of questions in her mind. The strager seemed so mysterious, and yet, Etsuko felt like she had known him forever.

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Kakashi was having a hard time keeping his eyes forward and off of the woman he stood next to. He felt as if he knew this woman from somewhere. He knew he never seen her before, but she looked so familiar. He glanced at her quickly.

As he glanced at the woman, he suddenly remembered a line a character in a book he read spoke about a woman. "She doth teach the torches to burn bright. Did my heart love 'till now? For I never saw true beauty 'till this night."

I'll say, he thought. The woman wasn't slathered in make up, and she didn't seem to have any plastic surgery done. She was naturally beautiful. Suddenly, she spoke.

"Well, I have to get going now," she said.

"Oh, okay. Well, I-I'll see you around then?" Kakashi said, disappointed that she had to leave.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," the woman nodded. As she walked past Kakashi she suddenly tripped. She was about to fall to the ground, but Kakashi caught her aburptly. Suprised, the woman gazed up at him with her sky blue eyes. Kakashi got lost in them.

"Thank you," she said, straightening up. But doing so, she stayed in Kakashi's arms. Kakashi tried to draw his hands from her waist, but he just couldn't. It was as if some invisible glue had stuck them in place. However, the woman didn't seem the least bit irritated by his arms around her. Her eyes didn't stray a milimeter from him.

"Excuse me, but have we met before?" she asked, blushing.

"I... I don't think so..." Kakashi stammered, unable to breathe. "Unless in a dream..." He stopped. He probably sounded like an idiot. But apperently the woman didn't think that.

"That would be my best guess too," she breathed.

The both of them said nothing. Only the sound of music and other people down below could be heard. Kakashi felt very anxious. He wasn't used to holding a woman he hardly knew in his arms.

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Etsuko looked at the man who held her. She didn't know who he was but she felt a warm and passionate feeling grow in her heart for him. Suddenly, she asked him, "If you don't mind me asking, sir, why do you wear that mask?"

"I can easily do without it," he said, pulling the mask down to reveal his nose and mouth.

Unable to stop herself, Etsuko leaned in towards him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Etsuko had always dreamt of a perfect man for her since she was a kid. Now she had found one. She didn't care about her betrothal anymore. She didn't care if Gai saw her. This was the man she had been searching for. She could tell.

I knew love at first sight would bring us together, she thought.

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Kakashi was taken aback. He was kissing a woman he had only just met. But he didn't seem to care right now. It seemed that she didn't either. Suddenly, she drew from him, smiling. Kakashi couldn't help but to smil too.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, by the way," he managed.

"Akita," the woman told him. "Etsuko Akita." She stepped towards him and whispered in his ear, "Forgive me, but you made my night much happier than it was. Thank you, Kakashi Hatake." With that, she bounded off, leaving Kakashi stunned.

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Alright! Now we're getting to the good stuff... That quote from that book I said Kakashi had read was actually from Romeo and Juliette, did you know? Small world...