[Shizune enters the courtyard and sees Masami weeping on the ground. Shizune rushes over to comfort Masami]

"What happened out here?"

[Masami responds mournfully]

"I don't know! It all got out of hand so quickly! Iruka misunderstood, then Kakashi showed up at the wrong time, and-and-and-I just don't understand!"

[Shizune notices Masami smells scorched as the former helps the latter to her feet]

"Come on, there's no point in crying out here in the dirt. Lets go inside, clean you up, I'll make some tea, and we'll talk about it"

[Together they walk inside and head for the galley. Masami takes a seat on a stool at the kitchenette. Shizune hands Masami a wet, warm, washcloth then sets some water to boil. Masami wipes her face and neck while Shizune takes a seat]

"Are you alright?"

"I'm not seriously injured"

"I'm not asking about physically"

"I'm not sure. I'm confused. I'm hurt. I'm just not sure what to think"

[Shizune pities Masami and frowns thinking about Tsunade's objective]

"Just keep calm, breath, and tell me what happened. Maybe I can give you some insight? Or at the very least you can get this off your chest"

"It started at the very beginning of my arrival. I met Kakashi and Iruka at the same time. I thought they were both cute in their own ways, Kakashi with his ultra cool attitude and Iruka with his sweet wholesomeness. It kept feeling like one of them would slip by me then the other would fill the gaps. It felt almost like a game the way it went back and forth. Maybe it's my fault for entertaining either of them."

"Did you...you know... get really "close" with either of them?"

"No! I've never even kissed either of them! Admittedly though, I have come close with both of them, but I never made it to that initial milestone. But I feel like I've hurt everyone, Kakashi and I ending up in that awkward position with Iruka walking in on that. Then Iruka accusing me of leading him on. I felt terrible!"

"Are you more attracted to one more than the other?"

"At first I thought I liked Kakashi more because he was oh so cool. After spending time with Iruka and hearing how much pride he has for his village and witnessing his passion for his students I was swayed. Even after I spent the afternoon with Kakashi again and fell a little bit under his charms, I couldn't ignore I was still thinking about Iruka in the back of my mind. I'm slightly thankful Guy washed Kakashi and I out when he did because it prevented something from happening. On my way back here I decided I was going to cool things off with Kakashi so I could see where things were going with Iruka, but now... everything is just a mess. Out in the courtyard, Iruka was angry. He attacked Kakashi. Kakashi fought back and it went out of control. I tried to stop them. I failed. I failed miserably"

[Masami wipes a tear away. The kettle whistles and Shizune gets up to prepare the tea. She sits back down with two cups and hands Masami a tissue]

"Thank you"

"You're welcome..."

[Against Shizune's better judgement she begins to speak in accordance to Tsunade's wishes]

"I think things with Iruka are at a bust now. It sounds like Iruka and Kakashi are so mad at each other now, you might just make things worse if you try to talk to Iruka. Kakashi on the other hand sounds more like a victim. Maybe you could try to smooth things over with him?"

[Masami looks sadly down at her cup]

"yea, maybe..."

[She quickly finishes her tea]

"I'm going into town and try to clear my head"

"Are you sure? Do you want me to join you?"

"No thanks. I'm just going to freshen up then head out. Don't worry about me, I'll be alright"

"Okay"

[Shizune feeling slightly guilty about participating in Tsunade's plot watches Masami leave the kitchen]

[Masami goes to her room and removes her seared clothing. She shakes out her hair hoping it doesn't smell too burned. Pulling on a fresh dress and refixing her hair and makeup, she dowses herself in jasmine perfume to disguise any lingering smell. She wanders into town and finds Shushuya, she walks up to the bar and takes a seat]

:::::

[Iruka is by himself, hidden in shadows he sits at booth hidden from the entrance of a restaurant. He sits, trying to drink away his anger]

(iruka thinking) "How could she? I thought she understood me! I told her one of my heart's greatest desires and she didn't care!... but she did say I didn't understand... What didn't I understand? It was pretty clear how Kakashi had dived head first into her cleavage... But she was so sincere when she chased after me. If she didn't care, she wouldn't have bothered to follow me out of the compound, right? If she didn't care she wouldn't have reached out to grab me and prevent me from leaving... Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should talk to her. I do feel like a bit of an ass now for being so aggressive towards her. And for what I did to Kakashi. If this really is all just a misunderstanding then this mess is all my fault... Oh God, what do I do now?"

[The strong smell of jasmine fills the air]

(still thinking) "No way, it can't be..."

[Masami enters the building. She walks right by without noticing Iruka and takes a seat at the bar. Still considering whether or not right now is a good time to try to reconcile with her, he watches her immediately order a shot. Then a few minutes later another. The more he drinks, the lower his inhibitions get and he makes up his mind to talk to her. When the waitress stops by to check on him, he buys a drink for Masami & requests the waitress to invite Masami back to the booth]

[At the bar, Masami is already a bit misty eyed. The bartender hands her a drink she didn't order. Upon asking what it is for, the waitress points towards Iruka's dark and concealed booth and says the gentleman seated there bought the drink for Masami and invites her to come by]

"Sure why not, I've got nothing else going for me right now"

[Masami slides into the booth and as her eyes adjust to the dim light, she realizes she's seated across from Iruka. He watches her eyes get big as the understanding sinks and he places his hand over her wrist as she moves to get back up]

"Please wait. I'm sorry Masami. I was wrong. I should've let you speak before I flew off the handle like that"

[She stops and looks at him. Despite the affects of the alcohol beginning, she can tell he's sincere]

"Iruka I like you. I want to be with you and see how far things go between us. But I really didn't think you were the kind of person to react like how you did tonight"

"It was wrong of me. I'm not sure if I've ever felt about any woman the way I feel about you. It scares me a little bit to know how far I've fallen for you and how fast."

[The waitress stops by again, deposits two shots, a new drink for Iruka, clears the empty glasses, then as she's about to leave, Masami orders another drink despite being only halfway through her current one]

[Masami tips back the shot in front of her, then reaches across the table and takes Iruka's shot too. He's slightly surprised by this, but lets her be]

"You really hurt me tonight Iruka"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used that attack-"

"No, I mean, I want you. You hurt me. I'm not sure if this is worth pursuing anymore"

[She kicks back the rest of the drink in her glass before the waitress returns with another]

"Please forgive me. Let me try again. I'll do things better this time"

[Iruka's words start to slur. He's been drinking longer than she has and it's beginning to take it's toll]

"Sure, whatever"

[Masami's smaller frame but faster rate of drinking matches her closely with Iruka]

"It's too noisy here, can we go to my apartment and talk?"

"Take me there"

[Iruka throws money down on the table and together they shuffle towards his apartment. When they get there, he fumbles with the keys but gets them inside. He allows Masami in first, next he steps in then closes and locks the door. He turns around and fumbles for the light switch but before he can reach it, she leaps on him]

[He's excited that he's kissing her and ignores the taste of alcohol because he can't tell if it's coming from himself or her. Masami jumps up and latches her thighs around his waist and he responds by wrapping his arms around her back. Iruka's lack of balance results in them falling back to the ground, landing in a seated position. He groans in her mouth due to the impact of the fall but he quickly forgets as he pays more attention to her hands on his body]

[Still kissing him, she starts with her hands on the sides of his face, a thumb on each end of his scar. Then she moves her fingers up into his hair and slides out his ponytail. After running her fingers across his scalp, she breaks their kiss by getting up on her knees while he's still between her thighs. He slides his hands up the back of her thighs, under her dress then presses his face into her breasts and breathes deep taking her in. Then he gently nips her indicating for her to sit back down. As she does his hands slide over her firm round buttocks, then he moves his hands to the front of her body, still under her clothes. Finding the part in the dress where it fastens in the front, he rips it open releasing all the button snaps at once. She forcefully pushes his flak jacket off his shoulders, then pulls his shirt up. Her cool nimble fingers give him goosebumps as they roam across his chest. She presses her body against his, and while her arms are still through the sleeves, he pushes he dress down to her elbows and slides her bra straps off so he can kiss her shoulders. Impatiently he forces his hands up under her bra so he can grab a hold of the fleshy mounds that have been teasing him. Both of his hands are overwhelmed by the size and heft, they feel firm yet soft and inviting. He feels her sensitive nodules harden at his touch, so he gently pinches them resulting in her moaning and pressing herself down into him. He's fully erect and through the barriers of his pants and her panties he feels her heat and wetness soaking through and inviting him in with every eager grind. He can barely stand it, but his conscience whispers at him from the back of his mind and he can't ignore it. He removes his hands and puts them at her waist, pushing her back to a sitting position on the floor. He looks at her and asks]

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes..."

[She responds in a guttural tone and moves to press her body against him again, but he stops her. He holds her face in his hands and stares deep into her eyes]

"No Masami, look at me. Breath. Think. We've both been drinking, are you absolutely positive this is what you want?"

[Her eyes become lucid and her breathing slows. She leans back and pulls her dress back over her shoulders]

"No, Iruka, you're right"

[She pulls her legs back from around his body and begins to re-button her dress]

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done this. I want you. But not now, not like this"

[He can see she's starting to burn with humiliation and he starts to regret his hesitation. Masami speaks]

"This is embarrassing. I need to go"

[She hurries to move out the door but Iruka tries to catch her]

"No wait, you don't have to leave"

"No, I do. I really do. I've made this all worse. I understand if you never want to see me again"

[She opens the door and before he can argue she uses her speed jutsu to escape down the hall, then pauses only to turn and escape out the main door and back out into the night]

(thinking to himself) "Good job Iruka, way to screw everything up. Now what am I going to do?"

:::::