Chapter 4
"Oh no." Tenten wished with all her might that her eyes were deceiving her. Why was she working today? Why was her Sensei power walking towards her in that hideous uniform of his? Why is there an actual glint in his eye? Did he follow her here? Was it Lee?
"TENTEN, MY FLOWER OF YOUTH! You never told me you work here."
"Gai-Sensei...I started not too long ago..."
"Flower of youth?" Her boss questioned.
"KAKASHI! MY ETERNAL RIVAL! I SEE YOU'VE MANAGE TO LURE MY FLOWER HERE! I DON'T CONCEDE TO THIS DEFEAT! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"
"Gai-Sensei...you know the Boss?"
"HE'S MY GREATEST RIVAL!"
"Boss...?"
"Don't know." Kakashi deadpanned. Tenten smiled as she saw her Sensei deflate at such words.
"You broke him."
"It'll make him stronger." Sure enough, Gai jumped up with even more energy than before.
"YOU'RE RIGHT! MY SPIRIT HAS BEEN AWAKENED. LET US DUEL!"
"Sorry, I'm working." Kakashi left with duster in hand.
"It's ok, Sensei. Next time, catch him after work."
"YES, MY FLOWER OF YOUTH, YOU'RE RIGHT. I WILL RETURN!" He run out faster before she even had the time to blink or respond.
"Flower of youth?"
"Yep, that's me."
"You go to his dojo?"
"Uh huh. You too?"
"Nope. School"
"Ah, I see. Rivals?"
"His idea."
"Why?"
"No clue."
"He'll be back."
"I know."
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Sasuke looked at the girl sitting across from him. It was more than looking, he was shooting daggers at her. And all she did was look back with a bright smile, seemingly enjoying his discomfort.
"How was your dinner? Did you enjoy the shrimp?" She asked.
"You said it wouldn't be boring." He hissed.
"I'm having fun!"
"You're lying." She laughed at his statement. Anyone could tell she really was enjoying herself. She never believed he would actually show up at one of these extremely long and tedious clan banquets. Her surprised was quickly replaced with amusement as some of the female elders from various clans had inspected and made inquiries about his personal life. Especially his martial status. He was not as patient as his older brother or as tactful. In the end, short of using physical violence, he ran away and hid behind her. She took pity and started a boring conversation about business to hinder the others. After it was safe, she had let her laugh ring freely while he glared.
"Don't worry, there's only another two hours."
"What?!" That earned him a couple weird looks.
"Shhhhh. I'll show you something when dinner is over."
True to her word, she led him away from the crowd when dinner was dismissed and it was back to boring after dinner mingling. These banquets were always held at someone's fancy mansion so the gardens and libraries were great places to hide out. She walked them out to the back garden where lights illuminated the pathway and beautiful trees and shrubs stood.
"Why do you go to these things?" He asked.
"Clan duties and because I'm the eldest. Same for Itachi, I believe."
"Oh..."
"Will you come back next time?"
"Once is enough." She laughed in understanding.
"We can wait here till it's over. Or check out the library if you want."
"Here is good. Don't need another person trying to set me up with their daughter/niece/cousin."
"Didn't someone ask for their nephew too?"
"..."
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Kakashi observes as his barista's face changes from happiness to worry then to anger then to anxiousness in a matter of minutes. She really isn't fit to play poker. It amuses him that one person can display all those emotions so easily without a care. In comparison, he always had a blank face on. Although, how can anyone really tell when he wears a mask every day.
"Did she steal your hair tie?"
"No"
"Clothes?"
"No"
"Shoes?"
"No"
"Boyfriend?"
"No! She-"
"Girlfriend?"
"No! Listen! She didn't steal anything."
"Ooooh, then why do you look like that?"
"Remember my story the other day? That's Hinata and that's Sakura."
He followed the direction of her outstretched finger to see the dark haired girl from before and a pink haired girl. The dark haired girl was calmly listening to the other girl anxiously explaining something. The poor girl was twisting her hand nervously. At long last, the dark haired girl reached out and held the other girl's hands. A reassuring smile accompany the gesture. The two soon stood up and hugged. They said a few more words to each other and separated. The dark haired girl walked towards the counter and Kakashi took that as his cue to leave.
"How are you? How did it go?" Tenten cautiously asked.
"I'm ok. Everything is ok. I'm happy for them, truly. Don't worry, hehe" Hinata assured her friend.
"She's going to give Naruto a chance and they're going to start dating."
"Oooooo..."
"It's really ok." Hinata laughed again.
"Then do you want to go out with Ino and I next week?"
"No...I'll get drunk again and Neji won't be pleasant to deal with when I get home."
"Gah, he needs to get a girlfriend and stop being so overbearing."
"You could take that spot..."
"No thank you!"
"Hehehe, we could be family."
"Dream on!"
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A/N: May the Fourth be with you!