Everyone just blinked. Kakashi managed to speak out, "That's it?"

"What? You don't like it?" Erika asked back casually.

"It's not that we don't like it," Itachi finally collected his thoughts. "It's just… It seemed too simple. Are you sure it worked?"

Erika scoffed at Itachi's (well, more like everyone's) remark. She seemed to be pretty offended that no one really trusted her. She roughly grabbed Sasuke, which surprised everyone. But Sasuke could tell that she had no malice in her grip. She broke Sasuke away from his brother and marched to the door.

Everyone was too stunned to stop her at the moment, but before they could, she declared, "I'm going to take him to the restaurant. He will have better chance of survival than Itachi if anything happens with the villagers. (She didn't forget to smirk.) Itachi, you will wait in your manor. I used to live there for a while, so it wouldn't be horribly messy. If you don't feel like walking on the street—and trust me, you can. Then you can just use your jutsu, I don't care. Sasuke will tell you how our date went." Frowning, she slammed the door behind, leaving everyone speechless.

Jiraiya was the first one to react: laugh. His laugh roared to fill the dead silence in the office. Itachi nervously glanced at Hokage who in return, looked rather stunned. But she closed her eyes and let out a small laugh.

"If Erika is that pissed about everyone not trusting her, then I'm sure the job is well done. I don't think I ever saw her mad like that." Jiraiya managed to say that in his nonstop laughter.

Kakashi's eyes nervously glanced at Itachi and then to the door. Jiraiya could hear him mumble, "….calling it date"….

Jiraiya hid his another smile. Hm, what should he say? He had this funny feeling about Kakashi ever since he heard the story from Tsunade about them. How… what should he say? How Kakashi was always caring and protective about this girl—more than any teammate would do, that is. He practically almost jeopardized his shinobi career in order to protect the girl's identity. It seemed that his unusual behavior didn't catch anyone's attention—not even himself. But it sure didn't escape Jiraiya's eyes. Jiraiya wasn't sure for himself until he heard Kakashi's subconscious murmur. Chuckling, he strode toward the silver-haired nin.

"What do you say that we catch up for now, eh?"

Kakashi looked at him surprised. But he didn't dislike the idea so he agreed.

The two men disappeared in smoke.

"Where are we going? Let go of me!" The teen shouted.

Abruptly, Erika let go of his arm. He could feel his arm tingling with blood rush. Grumbling, he asked, "Why are you so pissy anyway? It's not like…"

"Excuse me," she turned toward him, full of anger. "I had to use up a lot of chakra to resurrect your brother, busted my ass trying to save Konoha from you, AND practically messed up everyone's mind so that they would remember you guys as heroes not traitors. Instead of thank you, all I get is… is…." Not able to control her anger, she just turned around and began to march. "Follow me." She curtly said.

"To where?"

"We're going to the restaurant. It's been a while since you ate, right? Everyone needs good food in their stomach."

Not knowing what else to do, Sasuke obediently followed. Rather shyly, he looked around the village. It looked same, yet different. Sure, all the building and people were same, but the old memories washed into his head like a new wave. He knew he belonged here a long time ago, but did he still belong here?

He wasn't so sure.

Erika pulled him into a new restaurant he hadn't seen before. He could see that it was a sushi bar. It looked elegant with mahogany wood floor and the tables with same kind of wood. The lanterns, which didn't give off too much light, glowed in various places. Sasuke just blinked. He hadn't eaten any decent meals in years. Training with Orochimaru, unfortunately, and constantly being on the run didn't include the best meal plan. The host looked at Erika and Sasuke. He couldn't seem to figure out who Erika was, but he sure did notice Sasuke, to his fear.

"Hey, aren't you Sasuke?" The host greeted happily. Sasuke flinched without knowing. He had no idea how villagers would react, so he was nervous to his very bone. But to hear something so… warm left him speechless.

"I remember hearing about you from the border patrol. It was a good thing that you found your brother. How is he doing?"

"He's doing just great. He was heavily wounded, but now he should be out of hospital any time soon. Could we get a table please?" asked Erika, obviously trying to cut the conversation short.

The host shot a displeased look to her since he wanted to talk to Sasuke a bit more about what had happened. But he was just a host, and they were the guests. If this woman, who looked already pissed off, called the manager or something, he was dead meat. Picking up the menus, the host walked them to the table.

"Uh, more private place, please." Erika handed him couple of bills. Strange, the host thought. It was rare that the guests would reject their table. But he did earn extra tip that hosts never earned. He escorted them to a quarter where two-people table laid. The room was for reservation only, but tonight was an easy night and there was no reservation anyway. The host opened the door happily and asked, "how is this one, Miss?"

Erika gave a smile that sent flutter to the man. "Thank you very much." She sincerely added. Sasuke sneered at the man without even thinking about it.

After the man left and closed the door, they sat down in somewhat awkward silence since the last time they saw each other was… well, when they kind of tried to kill each other—in Sasuke's part at least. But he had to make a comment about how she was acting in front of the host.

"You sure were flirty around that guy."

"That's a girl's way of getting everything." She smiled coyly. Sasuke wasn't easily affected by girls but he was taken aback by the smile. He just turned away to hide his reaction.

The waiter, expecting a lot from the host's comment, came in expectantly. "Good evening. How are you doing?" The waiter was just looking at Erika to Sasuke's annoyance. He didn't like being ignored for any reason. But since the waiter's behavior was obnoxious, he decided that it was better to be ignored. Actually he was enjoying how Erika was being bothered by the waiter's actions.

"I will just get this one." She nonchalantly pointed one of the entrees in the menu. Reluctantly, he turned around to face Sasuke and his entire face expression changed. Sasuke, noticing the change, raised his eyebrow. The waiter couldn't speak for a while as if he had been choked with… tears?!

"Are… are you Uchiha Sasuke?" The waiter cautiously asked.

Sasuke, who was too dazed to think properly, just nodded. From the corner of his eyes, he could see that Erika was trying her best not to laugh. The waiter grabbed Sasuke's hands to his surprise.

"Oh, when I have heard stories about you, I just felt horrible about how much you had to ordeal. But don't worry, now that you found your brother, everything will be just fine."

"Um, excuse me." Erika tapped his shoulder, still holding her laughter. "If you don't mind, could you please bring us the food we ordered?"

"Oh, of course!" The waiter dabbed his eyes with the napkin on his arm. "I will be right back."

As soon as the waiter left, she let out all the laughter that she had been holding while Sasuke groaned in annoyance. After a hearty laughter, she stared at him seriously.

"Well, what do you think? Do you still think that people will smack your head and drag you and your brother out of the village?"

"Why does everyone talk about me anyway?" Sasuke rested his head on his hand in frustration.

"I just planted that fake memory into their head so it's pretty fresh, that's why. Don't worry. After couple of days, it will be fine. But your brother might have to go through the same thing. Just make sure you guys have the story set in your mind and not to say anything stupid." She comfortably leaned against the chair.

Soon the waiter brought the drinks without any words, for which both of them were grateful. Sasuke silently stirred the straw in his glass.

"So… everyone thinks that I just rescued my brother?" Erika nodded while she was sipping her orange juice. Sasuke stared at his glasses incredulously.

"And no one will suspect us?" Again, she happily nodded. "I…." Sasuke began carefully. "I can't believe it was.. that simple."

Erika's face became serious. She put down her glass and stared at him in his eyes . Deep, swirling amber eyes were so mesmerizing that he almost lost himself in them.

"The process might look simple," she stated. "But the opportunity that this will happen is less than one in million. Honestly, what's the chance that your brother will rise from dead and explain the situation, and you will be forgiven for everything you've done and allowed for a new fresh start?"

Sasuke stared at her astonished. So many things were happening that he couldn't put his head straight for the most part, but to hear it like that… He did finally feel lucky that he and his brother were given this opportunity. From his lips left the words that he probably said to no one, but he deemed that she deserved it.

"Thank you." He quietly whispered. Erika raised her eyebrow in surprise. She didn't know Sasuke that well, but she did get a feeling that he was pretty proud and would never bring himself to say those words. But she did like it.

"Now you understand why I was so mad, huh?"

He did. They were given with this incredible chance to start their life anew. No, it was better. The village thought they were heroes in a way. But when it actually happened, all they gave her were suspicion, and distrust. Considering her status, she really lowered herself to involve everyday matters of Uchihas. She indeed deserved gratitude.

"Ah, here comes the food!" She exclaimed happily. Both of them finally enjoyed their food with all of their misunderstanding put aside.

"So, it seems you've been through a lot lately," said Jiraiya, pouring Sake into Kakashi's glass.

"Haha, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you were doing." Kakashi accepted the glass and emptied it in one gulf.

It had been a while since Kakashi had Sake and the alcohol was spreading through his system fairly quickly. After a few more exchanges of Sake, Kakashi could feel his head dizzy.

Noticing that Kakashi was giving into the alcohol, Jiraiya asked teasingly. "It sure must be a lot of work to take care of Erika, eh?"

Kakashi groaned sluggishly. "Tell me about it. It's like being a babysitter. But…" His eyes twinkled as if he remembered something. "I do have to say she helps a lot of housework. That really saved my life."

"But still, you seem to care a lot about that girl."

"Well, she was like a lost… hic kitten when I first found her after Orochimaru." Kakashi explained slowly, getting more Sake along the way. "She woulda been a gooooooner if I wasn't there. It's what a teammate would do."

Jiraiya let out an exasperated sigh. "No, Kakashi. Can't you think of something else? Like…. You might consider Erika more than a teammate?"

Kakashi's half-lidded eye met Jiraiya's. His face was full of confusion. "Jiraiya-sama, I know I'm drunk. hicBut I have nnnoooo idea what you're talking about."

"Think about it." Jiraiya patiently urged on. "Don't you think that you feel a bit more caring about her? More than anyone else you can think of? I saw how you were distracted when Erika said she was on a date with Sasuke." He made a mischievous grin, finally remembering the episode.

Kakashi's eyebrows met each other, making a slow frown. "Yeeaaahhhh," he answered. "I do remember hic that. It was just… ssssssssso annoying to hear that word, DATE." He groaned in frustration and drank another cup of Sake.

Jiraiya quickly took the cup away in fear that Kakashi might not be able to steady himself later. "Well, Kakashi. You know what kind of books I write. So I know lots about relationship and such. And you are the biggest loser who can't even figure out his own feelings."

Kakashi snapped his head at what he had just heard. Obviously, Jiraiya's words brought some shock into him and his head was a bit clearer than before. He narrowed his eye and stared at the old man. "What are you suggesting?"

Jiraiya was impressed with how Kakashi snapped out of alcohol so fast. Maybe what he had said was indeed true. "Why don't you think about it? I think you're way so used to the life with her that you can't even figure out what's going on with her. Have you ever imagined life without her?"

Kakashi frowned again and thought deeply (as deeply as a drunken man could). "No, he finally answered.

"Kakashi," Jiraiya put on a serious face. "I knew you from god-knows-when, and I know you've been through a lot when you were a lad. Personally, I think you have something going on with Erika and I'm not the only who thinks that way. I just want you to find happiness in life that you deserve." He smiled like a father. "It's enough already that you're blaming yourself for your past, right? I think Erika can help you with that. To move on, and enjoy life as present, not past."

Kakashi blinked at him slowly. As he was listening to Jiraiya's words, his mind became clearer. And when JIraiya finished his speech, Kakashi couldn't believe how much he was moved by it. Was it because the old man's words were true? Was there really something in him that cared Erika more than anyone else?

For that question, there was no doubt: he did. But he always thought that it was companionship, a normal feeling for teammates. But… what if that wasn't the case like Jiraiya had said? However…

"Jiraiya-sama, you're forgetting one thing. I'm a human, and she's not. In fact, she's a…."

Jiraiya grinned at Kakashi for finally admitting his feelings—partially, at least. "So? She is still a woman, Kakashi. And it's not like she has never loved a man." He winked. "If that man did, why not you?"

Kakashi didn't say anything in response bur merely shook his head. "I don't know. My head hurts pretty badly and I'm sure Sake isn't the only reason."

Catching the sarcasm in Kakashi's farewell, Jiraiya merely smiled. "You're welcome. You know that you already know what you have to do."

Groaning, Kakashi stood up from his chair. His head still felt dizzy from the alcohol and this conversation. "I think I will clear my head for now. Thanks… for talking to me." He murmured quietly, not really sure if he really was grateful for the talk.

"Ah, sure. You can always see my book for reference if you need any help."

Kakashi just shook his head in disbelief and walked out of the building, leaving Jiraiya behind. He sure had a lot of things to think about now.