It's been three days since I last saw Kiba. I found myself missing him more and more each day. Today Naruto called me into his office to let me know that the team made it safely to their destination and have officially begun their mission. Based on the information they gathered so far about the targets they will be tracking, they are expecting to be back in two to three weeks instead of three to four. I was pleased of the news. I almost texted Kiba a few times, but then I remembered that while on missions all shinobi leave their phones at home. You didn't want to get distracted in our line of duty.

Ino and I are having a girls day of pure laziness, one of our favorite past times. "Ok Sakura, I picked up the chocolate, popcorn, chips and soda last night. Did you call Ichiraku for the delivery?"

"Yup, it's been taken care of. The only thing we need to do now is find something interesting to watch on TV." I picked up the remote and began checking our DVR for any recordings we may have.

"Hold up, we haven't gotten a chance to really talk since your first date with Kiba. And that was last week! You gotta catch me up!"

"Ok, well um, what do you want to know?" I grabbed two sodas from our fridge and handed one over to her while she thought of her first question. While she took her time thinking, I decided to go ahead and make the first bag of popcorn.

"Oh I know, you said he was a good kisser, but it was just a normal kiss. So, did you like, make out with him yet?"

I felt myself become flushed, "Well yeah, sort of I mean. Saturday we decided to get together after my training with Kakashi. They both left for a mission later that night. Kiba said he wanted to see me before he had to go. And anyway, when he took me home, we well, yeah we kind of made out. But we weren't all handsy or anything like that."

Beep.

"Popcorns done, can you grab the chips and we can make our way to the couch?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure thing. Anyway, my next question is how was it? Was he any good? I bet he was, I hear that a lot of the people from his clan are good at that stuff, animal instincts and such." Ugh, I wanted to slap her when she winked at me. As my best friend, she knows exactly what it takes to make me blush, and she tends to take full advantage of it.

"First, that is two questions. But the answer is the same, yes, oh my yes. He was amazing." At this point we both plopped down on our couch and giggled like little school girls. Once we finally quieted down, the atmosphere got serious.

"Do you, miss him?"

"Yes."

"When I hooked you two up, did you think you would find yourself missing him after just two dates?"

"Not in the slightest." I sighed. "Ino, I know I don't love him, but I believe that if thinks keep going as they are, there is a very real possibility that I may someday."

"That's great, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah I know, except that it scares the shit out of me. What if the same thing that happens between Sasuke and I repeats itself with Kiba and I? I don't think I can handle that kind of heart break again."

"Relax, nothing of the sort will happen. Sasuke was already a missing-nin by the time he confessed to you. But even when he tried to come back to the Leaf under supervision, he still wasn't completely here. Everyone could tell that he still hated everything about this place. The memories were too much for him, he was already too far gone by the time he tried to love you."

"Yeah I know, but what if I"

"No, stop. Stop right there. None of what happened to Sasuke is any of our fault, you and Naruto need to stop beating yourselves up about it. There truly was nothing that we could have done differently. And besides, this is all the past now, you just need to worry about the present and the future."

"You're right, I know. I'm just nervous."

"Well you have no reason to feel that way. I wouldn't have suggested Kiba as a first day if I thought it was a bad idea. Did you forget that I've been with you and picked you up time and time again after Sasuke broke your heart? You were with Sasuke for about a year, and sure you seemed happy, but I could tell you really weren't. I don't know what he did, and you don't have to tell me if you're not ready, but I know he did something. You were always so much quieter when he was around, but if you were alone, you were the life of the party… so to speak of course. Kiba is stable. Kiba is dependable. Kiba is kind, caring, courteous, funny and responsible. You don't need to worry about him, you're in good hands. Trust me on this."
"I know, I know."

Ding-Dong.

"That must be the food. Don't worry Sakura, I'll get it." While Ino was gone I thought through everything she had said. She was right, and I knew she was right. She had logic and facts on her side.

"Here, this one is yours."

"Thanks."

"So, did you think about what I said while I was gone?"

"Of course Pig, you know me too well." I opened the lid off my little to-go bowl so that the ramen could cool down some.

"Alright then, what have you decided?"

"You're never letting this go are you?"

"Of course not, I wouldn't be me if I did."

"True. Well, I can't argue with facts. I've only gone on two dates with the guy and he has already treated me better than Sasuke ever did in that whole year that we were together. Falling for him wouldn't be so bad. It would probably do me some good if I did. He is a great guy, and he has his shoulders on his head. So, I'm happy where I'm at."

"Glad to hear it! Oh, so those flowers. Did you get my note about them?"

"Yes, and it was kind of odd. I'm guessing they didn't get ordered from your shop? I figured if they did you would have called in to see who they were from since no note was included."

"You mean, they really weren't from Kiba?"

"Not that I know of. I mean, he brought me flowers the day before, do you really think he would do it twice?"

"No, I don't. That would be odd. Well then, if we go by word of the grapevine, that would leave our suspects at Neji, Lee and Genma."

"I know, and I already crossed off Lee. If it was him, he would have signed his name and pronounced his love and promised his life and soul to me or something."

"That's true. Well then Forehead, it's gotta be Neji or Genma."

"Kakashi seems to think that they came from Neji."

"Really now? And what would Kakashi-sensei know about it? Hmm?"

"Oh, he and Kiba are on the same mission. So I told him to stop by before leaving. He saw the flowers and helped me come to the conclusion of where they came from, he suggested Neji as he climbed out the window. Though, he did admit that it could have been Genma."

"You sure they aren't from him?" I didn't really get the 'him' of which she was referring to. At this point, there were simply too many 'hims'.

"Who do you mean by 'him'?"

"Kakashi-sensei of course. Don't think I didn't notice the drop on the honorific."

We had a stare down before the laughter fits began. I swear, it was a good five minutes before we could calm down.

"Man Ino, that was funny. There's no chance they could be from Kakashi. In all the years we've known him, he has never had a woman by his side. We all know he is straight though because of those damn Icha Icha series he reads. But no female has ever caught his eye."

"Yeah I know, but what a good laugh that was! I can't picture Kakashi-sensei buying with any female, though it would be easier to imagine it if we knew what the man looked like."

"That's true. Naruto and I still have bets on what he is hiding under there. Sai has thrown in a couple of his own bets on it too."

"Yeah I know, he told me about it. I think all of you should give it up though. Nobody is ever going to see his face. I'm convinced that the mask is a part of his skin now and will never come off unless surgically removed."

"You might be right Ino, but it's still fun to wonder. And one day, I hope to uncover that mystery. Anyway, how are you and Sai doing?"

"Pretty good, I haven't heard from him since he left for his mission though."

"That's right, I forgot that he was on one. Kakashi told me during our training that Sai wasn't there because of a mission. When did he leave?"

"When you and I were shopping for your date. Don't worry, I spent the night before with him."

"Well that's good, what did you get to do?"

"Heheh, well, you see…" Ino, nervous? This can't be good. "Well, we were at Kiba's."

"You mean you went there after you left here?"

"No, I mean I was there and my shadow clone was here. Now, before you get mad just hear me out. Kiba was telling Sai how he was nervous, and he asked Sai to bring me over. He was just asking some questions and wanted to know if you really were interested in going on the date with him or if it was something that I talked you into. He was thrilled once he knew you were for real."

I thought about it. I really should be mad at her for ticking me but, "Don't worry its fine. Things seem to be working out, granted he isn't my boyfriend or anything yet. But he might be, soon anyway. And if you hadn't gone over there who knows, maybe he would have flaked out of the first date."

"I never thought of it like that. In that case, you're welcome."

"Ino, keep your tongue in your mouth before I remove it forever."

"Yeah yeah, anyway go ahead and hit play. I think we're done here."

We sat in near silence for most of the night. The only sounds that came from us were laughter and side commentary on the shows we were watching. In the end, we were both glad that we watched the Big Bang Marathon.

The next morning I woke up to a huge mess. Good thing I'm off today too. I slowly made my way to our fridge, stretching all the while. When I finally got to it I saw the pretty handwriting of my best friend.

Forehead,

Sorry that I couldn't help you clean up this morning. I woke up late and had to rush to work. I promise to help you clean up when I get home. Enjoy your day off.

~Pig

I smiled at how silly her request was. Enjoy my day off? She knows that I can't enjoy anything knowing that there is a mess like this lying around. It's one of the reasons we became roommates in the first place, aside from being best friends. She can't stand messes either, we're both detail oriented and like things to remain clean and tidy. Cleaning on my day off wasn't such a bad thing though. I liked to turn up the tunes and dance as I cleaned everything. And a dance party is a form of fun after all. Okay, so I wasn't normal because I enjoyed cleaning. Who cares? I'd rather enjoy a chore than hate it.

I put my hair up into a sloppy bun, flicked on the tunes and began my work. By the time two hours passed, I had everything picked up and put where it belonged, cleaned all the dishes, wiped off the table and counter tops and swept the kitchen floor as well as vacuum the carpet in the living room. I also managed to vacuum the couches, and mop the kitchen floor.

To say Ino was shocked when she got home was an understatement. She was thrilled. It didn't have as much to do with coming home to a spotless apartment like I originally thought. It was because Sai was by her side.

"Welcome back Sai." I reached out and hugged my team mate. Ever since his feelings came back, he's been more open to normal human behavior. He still called me things like 'Ugly' and 'Flat-chest' but I didn't mind. It was a term of endearment he had for me. I called him 'asshole', so it worked out. "How was your mission? I didn't know you had one until Kakashi told me during training Saturday morning."

"It was easy. After being in the Foundation, single person missions aren't really difficult to me. Sorry I missed training, I'll be sure to make it this Saturday, Naruto already granted me the next two weeks off."

"Great, sounds fun. Since Kakashi is on a mission, maybe you'd like to join us Ino."

"Sakura, he's your team mate, I trust you around my boyfriend. Besides, I work Saturday morning. But, the two of you have fun. Anyway, Sai and I were going to head out for some dinner, do you want to come?"

"No thanks, you two go. You deserve a date. I work early tomorrow, so I think I'm going to spend the night in the hospital tonight. I have some paperwork I want to get a head start on."

"Alright, well don't over work yourself. Make sure to actually sleep tonight, I know how you can be. Anyway, I'll see you at work tomorrow, I go in after lunch."

"Gotcha, have fun guys."

The door shut and I was alone again. Might as well pack my bag and head over to the hospital. Maybe I'll pick up some sake for Tsunade, I know she is there today. She's always there on my day off and vise-versa. Even though Shizune is her right hand, I'm second in command of the hospital. Shizune is more of a helper to Tsunade as well as the one in charge of the medical nin that get assigned to squads. Once my bag was packed with all I would need I headed out my window and traveled by rooftop. Who's to say that Kakashi gets to have all the fun?

A couple of hours later I was in the office of a very tipsy Tsunade. We had already managed to empty two bottles of sake and only had one left. We were savoring it. "Can I ask you something shisho?"

"You know you can Sakura, what is it?"

"Well, I was wondering…Is there anything that you, regret?"

By the pause on the conversation and the sorrowful look on her face, I could tell that there was, and that she wasn't expecting to hear this particular question from me. At least, not right now.

"Yes. I regret allowing Jiraiya to track down Pein. The idiot wasn't supposed to fight him; he wasn't supposed to get himself killed."

"But, you know it was his choice and he would have gone even if you had said no. Right? And it's not your fault that things turned out as they did."

"Of course I know that. But it doesn't stop me from thinking the way I do, from feeling the way I feel. Sakura, I'm going tell you something that not even Shizune knows."

"Go ahead, you can trust me. I want to know."

"Sakura, I…loved…Jiraiya. Much like you loved Sasuke. He wasn't just my last squad member, he was my close friend. I think about him, even now, and all I can think is, 'Maybe I should have said yes.' Just one time, that could have been all it would have taken to give us happiness. Maybe if I had tried to love him like he loved me, he would still be alive. But I was too much of a damn fool to notice my true feelings until it was too late. Don't make the same mistake I made."

That was a lot. Not nearly what I was expecting to hear. But it still gave me reassurance that maybe just maybe this thing with Kiba could provide us both with happiness in the end. "I won't Shisho, don't worry."

"Good, that's a relief. So, is this the part when you tell me about Kiba?"

"What the?" I was baffled, "How the hell did you hear about it?"

"Seriously, it's old news. Everyone knows that you have been on a date with him and that a simple date isn't all that went on. Every shinobi with a sharp nose is talking about how his scent was on you the next day. So, are you going to volunteer the information, or do I have to embarrass you until it comes out?" There's the motherly figure I know and love.

"Nothing that you're thinking happened, happened. All we did was hold hands, hug, and kiss. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. I'm not even officially his girlfriend yet."

"I know, but you will be in time. Trust me, woman's intuition."

"Now you know you're like a mom to me, so I think you mean, 'mothers intuition'."

"Yeah yeah, either way I'm right."

"True, well, thanks for the talk. I'm going to go ahead and head over to my office for some sleep. See you later."

"Goodnight, daughter."

The Mission-Kakashi POV

The camp fire was dying down and besides the guys' conversation; the only thing that could be heard was the pounding of rain outside of the cave's entrance. "Man, this is dumb. Why did it have to rain? It's gonna take forever to track them now. "Kiba was growing more impatient by the minute.

"Don't worry about it Kiba, once the rain stops we still have baykugan and Shino's insects. It'll take no time."

"Kakashi is right you know. And besides, we were going to have to make up camp anyway. Now is a better chance than any." Shino poked the fire with his stick, trying to control his boredom.

"Yeah Shino, I know he's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I just want to get home, it's already been two weeks, and we were hot on their trail when the rain started."

"You mean you just want to get back to Sakura?" Neji smirked at Kiba, he knew how he felt.

"So what if I do?"

"Relax, you're not the only one missing someone."

Really now? That drew my attention. "Neji, I thought you and Tenten broke up?"

The Hyuga prodigy looked over at me and I could tell there was pride in what he was about to say. "We did. She thought I was sneaking around, which I was, but not in that way."

Shino spoke up next, "Well, what other way is there?"

"I was ring shopping."

Everyone fell silent; no one dared to say anything. And finally, I could get some sleep.