Shizune fiddled with the belt of her yukata, trying her best not to appear awkward as she walked with Kakashi towards the restaurant that he chose. It's true that they went on dates but the last tine that they did was almost four months ago. It's slightly strange for her to go on a date with him again since their relationship was not yet known to their friends and colleagues.

She glanced at him. Kakashi looked so calm. His face was relaxed, his hands buried in his pockets and eyes looking forward. She huffed silently. If I could only have that confidence, she thought.

They entered a fairly new restaurant and chose a corner table and sitting across each other, his back turned away from the door. Shizune picked up the menu from the edge of the table and he did the same.

"They have brown rice here," he told her absentmindedly, his eyes still on the menu.

Shizune blinked, "You… remembered that?"

Kakashi looked up, "Of course I did. You… like that, right?"

Shizune smiled and nodded. Even though she still felt awkward, she still thinks that this is nice. More than nice, actually. It had been awhile since she had the chance to relax like this with him. And with everything going on right now, it's nice to take a break once in a while.

The waiter arrived and took their order. She chose tempura and brown rice for herself while he had a miso soup, Gyudon and Gyoza for himself.

"Oh and two bottles of sake, as well," he added just as the waiter was leaving.

"Alright, Hokage-sama," the waiter muttered as he scribbled the order and disappeared to the kitchen.

Shizune raised her eyebrow, "On our first date and you're already trying to make me drunk?"

Kakashi chuckled, "Please, it's only a bottle for the two of us. A bottle wouldn't hurt."

She scoffed, "Yeah, right. I could drink alcoholic beverage as much as Tsunade-sama," she said sarcastically.

He rested his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, "You… don't?" he asked uncertainly.

She laughed, "Of course I don't! Why does everyone assume I have a high tolerance for alcohol?"

He shrugged, "Maybe because you accompanied a legendary drunk for years."

"Hmm, point taken," she concedes and then smiled, "I remember that time that you had to carry me back to my apartment because I was so drunk that I can't even stand up."

His eyebrows raised, obviously interested, "Really? What happened?"

"Well," she began with an animated look on her face, resting her elbows on the table as well, "We just started dating that time. Only a few of our friends know of our relationship back then and they decided to go out and have a few drinks with us to celebrate. It was Kurenai, Genma, Aoba, Yamato and Anko. Gai couldn't come because he had a therapy session going on."

She chuckled, "And I got carried away, I guess, because all I can remember was drinking sake and then waking up on my bed in the morning with a hell of a hangover. Turns out I drank five bottles of sake before passing out right there on that restaurant table. My limit was only three bottles!

"From what Anko said, I was mumbling non-sense for a good half an hour before you decided that I need to be in my bed already and picked me up from my seat. I was so drunk and uncoordinated that you had to carry me on your back. I was so embarrassed that time because I thought the villagers were mocking me that time! Oh, god, I thought I was going to die of embarrassment that time," she finished retelling the tale with a laugh.

Kakashi laughed as well, "If only I could get you that drunk again. I want to know what you were mumbling."

She huffed, "You will never see me drunk again. I'm not going to make that mistake again," she promised with a little pout. She knows in herself that it's a lie and she'll probably get so drunk again but not tonight.

Just then, their food arrived along with the bottles of sake. They ate in comfortable silence broken only by the little commentaries on their food. When they finished their meals, Kakashi went ahead and ordered dried squids to go with their sake.

Kakashi poured himself a cup, "Shizune," he spoke, sounding unsure of himself and staring down at his cup of sake, "I… well… you know I'm not good with words, right?"

She studied his forlorn form. It seemed that he still hadn't moved on from what happened yesterday. Kakashi is a person who can't easily let go of their anguish and she couldn't leave him in his sadness.

The waiter arrived and set the plate of squids on the table. When he left, Shizune put her hand on top of his, looking at his eyes intently as he looked up, "Kakashi, please stop worrying about it. You apologized to me, right? And I forgive you. Please know that I am here for you and I care about you. I will be by your side whenever you need me and I'll be here as long as you need me here. Whatever it is that lies ahead, I'll be here," she said earnestly, sincerely. She watched as his mouth gape slightly and stared at her speechless, his eyes shining with the tears that he's holding back.

When he finally spoke again, it was not the words she was expecting, "I need you beside me all the time," he confessed almost breathlessly, "Because, Shizune, I..."

"Kakashi-sama!"

Shizune glanced behind him. Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted when Genma, along with Aoba and Raido, entered the restaurant and made their way to the table. She pulled her hand away and Kakashi deftly pulled his mask up his face turning to look at them.

The men sat beside them, with Genma sitting beside her and the other two sitting on Kakashi's side.

Genma playfully put his arm around her shoulder and grinned, "Shizune-san! Having a good time with Hokage-sama, eh? Why are we not invited?" he joked.

Shizune glanced at her companion and noticed the way that Kakashi's eye twitched in annoyance. She merely smiled and pushed Genma's arm away. From the smell of alcohol in his breath, it seemed that the men already had a few drinks themselves. Aoba was already slumped on the table, his elbow almost knocking the bottle of condiments and his sunglasses askew on his face. Raido wasn't doing any better either: he was leaning heavily against Kakashi and his eyes halfway closed.

"Just eating dinner, Genma-san. It's been awhile since I relaxed this way," she replied.

"Ah same, same. We had a few drinks from that other restaurant, as well! And I wanted food! And these wimps too! Oi, Aoba! What food do you want?!" Genma said, his words uttered in a drunken voice, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders again. Kakashi's hand on the table clenched and she pushed Genma's arm away again. She was getting worried with his reactions; it's not like him to be annoyed with Genma's drunken antics and, besides, these are their friends.

Shizune tried to laugh but it sounded forced to her, "Yeah well, Hokage-sama and I should go now. We have an early start tomorrow."

She tried to stand but Genma was blocking her way. He put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her down to sit again, "Shizune-san!" he exclaimed. The usually quiet man turned into a loud one when drunk, "Stay for a while! Let's have a few drinks!"

"Genma," Kakashi finally spoke, his voice had an edge of warning, "We can't stay long. We have work early tomorrow."

The brown haired man waved his hand dismissively and laughed, "Then leave Shizune-san here, Hokage-sama! We're not going to stay out long! Jounin promise!" he said, putting his hand up in a mock promise.

Kakashi's hand unclenched. He pushed Raido off his shoulder and making the man wake up and crash against Aoba, who woke up as well. He finally gave the man a smile behind his mask, "Maybe not," he began as Raido and Aoba started to argue beside him, "but my girlfriend is tired with today's work and she needs her rest. Don't you, Shizune?"

Shizune almost laughed out loud at their reactions. The men beside him fell silent and stared at the Hokage like he was an alien. Genma's mouth fell open in shock, his eyes wide as he stared at Kakashi speechlessly. Kakashi left the payment for their meal at the table and stood up. The men stood up wordlessly to let him pass, still staring at him, and Shizune stood up as well.

Genma stared at her.

She gave him a smile, "Excuse me, Genma-san."

He stood up.

Kakashi took her hand in his, entwining their fingers and merrily made their way out of the restaurant. She giggled once they were out on the street.

"I think you gave them a heart attack, Kakashi," she quipped. If the villagers were staring at their joined hands, she didn't care anymore.

He chuckled and tightened his hand, his warmth seeping through her skin and warming her from the inside, "They're getting annoying and everybody needs their rest, especially my very hardworking girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes, "You're being cheesy."

"Only when I'm with you."

"Are you trying to flirt with me?"

He shrugged and smiled at her, "Maybe. Do you want me to flirt with you?"

She hummed, "Depends. Are you going to use lines from Icha Icha?"

He laughed, "Okay, never mind. I think you need to rest."

"Really? You only learned romantic lines from that book?"

"Hey! Jiraiya-sama's book is very informative, I'll have you know."

"Whatever you say, Hokage-sama."

They were nearing her apartment when she remembered.

"Kakashi," she said, "What were you going to tell me?"

"What?" he replied, looking at her confusedly.

"You were going to tell me something before Genma-san arrived," she explained.

He looked away for a moment. It's already dark but she thought she saw a slight blush on the exposed part of his face.

When he looked back at her, he was already smiling, "It's nothing," he finally answered as they stood before her door.

She looked at him, doubtful for a moment, and concedes with a smile. She didn't have to pry.

"Alright then," she agreed cheerfully and pulled her hand away from his grasp, stepping closer to her door, "Good night, Kakashi."

He lowered his mask and took a step forward, pressing their lips together. She closed her eyes and her hands settled on his shoulders. His put his arms around her waist, bringing her closer to his body as he kissed her passionately.

They were both breathing hard when they pulled away and Kakashi leaned his forehead against hers. Shizune still had her eyes closed, savoring the warmth of his body against hers. When she finally opened her eyes, she found him staring at her.

"What is it?" she asked playfully.

He grinned, "Nothing. Just committing your face in my mind."

She giggled and gently pushed him away, "I think you're the one who's tired. Go get some rest, Hokage-sama."

He stepped back and gave her a smirk, "I can stay the night."

She rolled her eyes, "Get some sleep, Kakashi-sama."

He sighed heavily and put his mask back up his face. He smiled behind his mask, "Good night, Shizune."

The lighthearted mood of that night was shattered when the ninjas from missions began returning with injuries inflicted by the group of rogue shinobi.

Shizune had to work at the hospital more often due to the influx of patients that needs tending and Shikamaru had to take over her job of assisting the Hokage at the Tower. The more common injuries were made with blunt forces, shinobi tools and poisoned senbons. Fortunately, they already have the necessary ingredients for the antidote to treat the patients.

From the report of the victims, they were usually attacked by five men, all bearing the scratched forehead protector of Yuki and were wearing blank masks. Yamato's team had already widened their search but, even with a Hyūga Jounin and a Yamanaka ANBU, they still couldn't seem to pin-point the exact location of these ninjas.

The stress of these criminals was obviously getting to Kakashi. She would see that the lights at the office are still turned on late at night and she'd be going to the Tower after her shift at the hospital. There, she would see him either slumped on his desk or staring out the window. The bags under his eyes are getting worse, too. She knows that his nightmares get worse whenever he's under a lot of stress and she can't help but wonder if he ever slept in the last two days.

On the third day, Yamato's team made a small progress in their mission.

Hyūga Hoheto, during their search, managed to see a slumped person behind a tree, obviously trying to hide from them and holding his bloodied arm. He still tried to fight them off but soon realized that he was clearly outnumbered. Yamato easily encased him in a wooden cage when he attempted to run away.

On their way back to the village, Yamato interrogated him but he kept his mouth resolutely shut. They immediately brought him to the hospital to have his injury treated and Kakashi had decreed that, once he's treated and he doesn't want to talk, he'd be brought to Ibiki's care. The man still tried to fight while he was at the hospital and even tried to attack the doctor who was treating him. They had no choice but to drug him enough to put him to sleep.

On the fourth day, the ninjas sent by Koyuki arrived at the village. They were brought in by Sai, who was the one who spotted them approaching the village. The ANBUs were Osamu and Hikaru and the Jounin, Daisuke and Setsuko. What surprised them was the attendance of Miho, who was included in the entourage of the young daimyo and Koyuki's personal guard.

"He said he was requested by Koyuki-sama since he was one their best Sensory Nin," Kakashi explained as they walked back to her apartment that night.

It was almost midnight and Shizune was absolutely exhausted. The influx of injured shinobi seemed endless and she had to be in one operation to another. Good thing Tsunade had decided to stay at the village for a little while longer and offered her assistance immediately once she knew that they need more medics in the hospital.

"That would be a good thing," she said with a yawn, "Yamato's team needs the added Sensory Nin so they can find these criminals."

"That's true," he agreed, "I had Yamato set-up groups with the Yuki ninjas so that one group can rest and the other can continue the search. We have to take care of this situation immediately. The shinobi are suffering," he explained, his eyes downcast.

She lightly squeezed his hand reassuringly, "It will be over soon, Kakashi. We now have more help with the arrival of Koyuki-sama's ninjas and we can also gain intel from that man that they captured. By the way, did he talk already?"

He shook his head, "Not yet. Ibiki is thinking of having Ino take a look in his memories tomorrow since he doesn't want to talk."

She nodded thoughtfully, "Ino would be a great help with that. We can easily gather information with her help."

She yawned again, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. She was so tired. She had to do a 16-hour shift today and her eyes are heavy. Her feet were in pain too. Wearing heels and having to run around the hospital treating various patients is not the best combination.

"You look tired," he commented as he looked at her.

"Gee, thanks," she replied, wanting to sound sarcastic but her voice sounded more drowsy. She turned her head to stare at him and realized that he must not be doing great either. His eyes seemed haunted, the bags under his eyes a shade darker than it was yesterday and his shoulders were slouched slightly. As the Hokage, this must be harder for him.

The stress is taking a toll on the both of us.

When they reached her apartment, she embraced him, her arms around his neck. He gladly welcomed the gesture, his face pressing against her neck as he took her in his arms. He whispered her name against her skin reverently.

Her hand drifted up his head, gently massaging his scalp, "It's going to be alright, Kakashi. They will catch those criminals soon."

He buried his face deeper against her neck, "I can't lose you too, Shizune," he said in a broken voice.

Shizune closed her eyes in a sad realization. He must be having nightmares again, and it must be about her dying.

She couldn't really do anything but tighten her arms around him, to try and reassure him that, as long as she's breathing, his fear wouldn't come true.

"You won't lose me, Kakashi," she whispered in his ear, telling him the same thing that she told him a long time ago, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be by your side as long as you want me."