*Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I simply borrow them for my own musings and fantasies and do not get paid for their use in said musings or fantasies. –Nira

Chapter 21

Kurenai and her usual group of friends were seated around the fireplace at their favorite bar. They always got there early because it was such a coveted spot. It was warm, right next to the bar, away from the bathrooms, outside, and the only circular seating area that wasn't directly next to or under the speakers so they could all actually have a conversation without straining to hear each other or needing to shout to be heard. Kurenai had a full view of the door with Asuma to her left and Anko to her right, and Guy, Genma, Kotetsu, and Izumo were all comfortably seated around with their drink of choice in hand. The night was still young, only about 9:30, and the music was still pretty downtempo while the crowd slowly gathered so it wasn't difficult to hold a conversation.

Kurenai was lifting her glass to take a drink when a silver-haired shinobi duo walking in caught her attention. Kakashi was wearing a maroon button-up dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, black slacks, and black dress shoes, and Yuriko was in a very casual pair of destroyed jeans, a beige tank top, an emerald green cardigan, flats, and her usual purple mask, and they were smiling and having a conversation, it seemed as they walked toward the group at the fireplace in no particular rush to get there.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Anko inquired, her jaw dropped as she pointed out the pair in their lackadaisical mood.

Instantly, everyone's eyes turned to look where her gaze had fallen to see Kakashi and Yuriko and the looks of surprise and disbelief on everyone's faces were priceless. Kurenai, on the other hand, couldn't help but smirk. She knew that Yuriko was trying to break out of her shell and make friends, so it wasn't a surprise that she was spending time with Kakashi since he was, after all, her team Captain. When Kakashi and Yuriko had finally made their way over, they couldn't help but notice that there was a very distinct lull in conversation among the group and that everyone's eyes were on them.

"This is a surprise," Kurenai smiled, breaking the silence. "Kakashi and Yuriko both joining us this evening? What's the occasion?"

"Kakashi, you little liar. You could have told me that you and Yuriko were an item," Genma chuckled and instantly, Yuriko was nervous and almost regretted coming out at all.

"We're not an item," Kakashi sighed, casually pulling the seat out for Yuriko before he took his own seat next to Genma.

The gentlemanly gesture hadn't been missed by anyone, but nobody said anything. It just brought a warm feeling to their chests and a knowing grin to their lips as they watched the two settle in around the fireplace with everyone else. While Yuriko and Kurenai struck up a conversation, Genma immediately began questioning his friend.

"What's going on? The last time we talked, you and Yuriko weren't exactly getting along very well. What happened?"

"It was all a misunderstanding. We've talked it out like adults and moved past it. It's really not a big deal."

Kakashi waved a waitress over to order himself a drink and Yuriko also ordered a drink for herself, telling the waitress that all of Kakashi's drinks were on her earning the pair another incredulous look from the group gathered.

"Uh huh. That's why you're dressed up and smiling more than I've seen in years. It's got nothing to do with the gorgeous woman next to you or anything."

Kakashi refused to give his friend the satisfaction of knowing anything by taking a drink and remaining silent as he tuned in to the other conversations around the fireplace. The one that caught his attention the most, however, was Yuriko's conversation with Kurenai.

"The last time we talked you'd spent the night at Iruka's house. How did that go?" Kurenai asked.

Both Kakashi and Genma almost choked on their sake hearing that line and it felt like Kakashi had just been punched in the stomach. Genma's eyes were huge as he gazed between Yuriko and Kakashi, wondering how his friend was going to react to the situation. In his usual fashion, Kakashi composed himself and kept his expression stoic and unreadable. Kakashi knew that Genma was watching him and was appreciative of his years as an ANBU operative. The training paid off in the sense of him being able to hide his emotions from everyone in an instant while internally his stomach was churning.

"I felt terrible about being such a burden, but he was so nice about it. He made breakfast and offered to spend the day together, but I'd had errands to run so I left shortly after eating."

"How did you end up at his house anyway? You hadn't really explained it."

Yuriko went on to explain the situation of how she'd ended up alone in Iruka's bed while the entire group listened, intrigued. Kakashi had no idea where she'd gone that night. He knew that she hadn't been home, but he didn't know that she'd literally spent the entire night with Iruka or that the reason she'd been out was that her house didn't feel like a home. Knowing Iruka, Kakashi was sure that he had been a perfect gentleman and nothing had happened between them, but it didn't really calm his concerns or the ugly green monster of envy that was rearing its head again at the thought of the two of them together. He took another shot of his sake and kept his gaze on the fire and all of the guys noticed his instant change in demeanor.

"So you and Iruka, huh?" Anko grinned. "I can see that. You'd make a cute couple. Kind of awkward, but adorable nonetheless."

"It's really not like that at all," Yuriko blushed, her gaze downcast as she stared into her mixed drink and Kakashi's spirits lifted slightly, though not by much. "I was just so tired and I didn't want to go home or be around people… but I'm trying."

"Well, we're all glad you could make it out tonight," Kurenai smiled and raised her glass to her friend in cheers.

The night continued with more drinks and conversation and Yuriko made a very conscious effort to participate and enjoy herself. A few short hours later, her energy was drained and she felt the need to remove herself from the crowd to recuperate. She paid for hers and Kakashi's drinks and bid everyone goodnight before she politely excused herself. Kakashi had loosened up as the night carried on and he'd had a few more drinks but he couldn't shake the nagging jealousy of Yuriko and Iruka spending time together. He tried to rationalize why it shouldn't matter, but no matter what he told himself, he just couldn't.

When Yuriko left the bar, instead of walking toward her apartment, she turned and started walking toward the training grounds. It wasn't long after that Kakashi also excused himself, feeling that he'd had just a little bit too much alcohol and that it wasn't doing anything to numb his thoughts. The group watched as he made his way out of the building, all with knowing smirks on their faces.

"There's totally a love triangle going on between them and Iruka," Anko laughed.

"You think so?" Guy asked, not entirely sold on the idea. "Kakashi isn't the type to cross that kind of line when they work together."

"No, but Yuriko told me that she's considering giving up the mask to become a team leader for genin squads," Kurenai added. "If she does, then that means that she would no longer be his subordinate and whatever they've got going on could blossom into something bigger."

"I don't know. I'm rooting for Iruka. He's a great guy and lives for his students. It might be good for him to have someone like her in his life. I really do think they'd be good for each other," Anko interceded.

The conversation continued, but Kakashi had already left and he'd caught a glimpse of Yuriko walking in the opposite direction of their apartment building. Out of curiosity, he followed her, wondering where she might be going at such a late hour. He'd often wondered what she did when he heard her departing her apartment late at night but he'd only followed her the one time to the Hokage monument where they'd had a conversation about his former relationship and he'd had more questions than answers left by the end of the talk. Yuriko had decided to go for one of her late-night swims to ease her mind from some of the topics that had come up in conversation and work off some of the alcohol in her system.

They'd reached the training grounds where she and he had first met, fortunately, untouched by their earlier training session, but instead of stopping at the clearing she continued further on until she reached a lake that he, himself hadn't even known was there. She paused at the lake's edge and Kakashi hid in a tree to continue observing. When she'd tilted her head back, exposing her masked face to the sky, Kakashi was struck dumb. The moon was full and bathed her face in a hoary glow turning her cascading hair into a curtain of silver satin that softly blew in the gentle summer breeze. She looked like an angel the way her entire being shined in the moonbeams and his heart skipped a beat. Never before had he seen such splendor, and to think that it was his ever-guarded neighbor and colleague that he was currently gawking at baffled the former ANBU captain.

Yuriko walked away from the shore toward the tree that Kakashi was hidden in, unknowing of her audience. She removed her flats and placed them at the foot of the tree and as she began removing her clothing and mask, Kakashi's face flushed red and he averted his eyes. The curiosity got the better of him, though, and he couldn't help but continue his observations. It wasn't as though he'd never seen a naked woman before, and he already knew her measurements anyway from the time he'd broken her door and they'd gone shopping for a new outfit for her and she'd bought those very same jeans. She hung her clothes on a low branch and returned to the water's edge, gingerly stepping in and adjusting to the coolness as the waves caressed her ankles. She sighed and closed her eyes, gliding through the water along the shore with long, confident, sweeping strides that slowly morphed into a slow, somber dance. There was no music but she could feel the rhythm in the lapping of the waves and the breeze as it danced through the leaves, playing with each one intimately. Yuriko, herself, swayed and glided through the water with the grace and elegance of falling sakura petals, her expression contemplative and melancholy.

Kakashi was dazed, completely and totally enraptured in the feminine beauty of Yuriko's that he hardly, if ever got to witness. There were tears in her eyes as she let herself go, her curvaceous body moving as fluidly as the water licking her feet. As the wind picked up, so did Yuriko's movements, her expression lifting more and more as she twirled about, splashing water everywhere, her legs kicking and slicing through the tiny waves as they crashed against her calves as she'd gotten deeper into the water the more involved she became in her dance. Soon she was up to her waist and dove in, swimming further away from the shore and deeper into the water's depths, allowing the bubbles to trail along her slender frame and tangle in her hair before flowing freely behind her and taking all of her cares away with them. When she finally resurfaced for air, she was completely calm and at peace. She floated on her back, staring up at the sky and let out a sigh, allowing her lips to curve into a contented smile. She was proud of herself for having been out and interacting with everyone. It was a good step toward her goal of becoming more open and approachable and her training session with Kakashi had been invigorating and well overdue.

Kakashi debated with himself on whether or not to approach her. He'd been battling the urge ever since she'd begun dancing, wanting to take her hand and hold her waist and dance with her. Though she was nude, his desire to be with her and hold her was far from sexual. It was innocent and simply for the sake of touch and being touched. He craved human contact, and the realization was strange and new to Kakashi. He'd never admired a woman just for being a woman before. All of the women he'd been with had had a purpose—stress relief of the most primal of senses—but it was very different with Yuriko and he wasn't sure if it was from the alcohol, all the time they'd spent together that day, or just her.

Not wanting to frighten her or freak her out by exposing himself and alerting her that he'd been there the whole time, Kakashi opted to stay quiet and hidden and just enjoy the elegant display of raw emotion that she never let anyone else see. A small smile crept over the shinobi's face as he realized that his former teammate was much more complex than he initially thought and that she had shown quite a bit of herself that she probably hadn't intended to in just one short day, and he'd witnessed it all and was left awestruck and amazed.

The wind had begun to pick up after a while of Yuriko just floating in the water and she found that the water was less forgiving in its refuge from the cold than she'd anticipated as the calm surface of the lake also began to get choppy. She swam back to shore, quickly rang her hair of excess water and got dressed as fast as she could, but with her skin and hair still being wet, her clothing did little to shield her from the wind's bite as it seeped down to her bones, chilling her through. A storm was coming and Yuriko wanted to be somewhere safe and warm where she could keep herself awake to ride it out. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened the last time there had been a thunderstorm. She doubted the Hokage would want to fix her door every time a storm rolled through, and the thought brought a brief respite to her impending dread as she cracked the faintest of smiles. She was in for a long night after her already long day and she was not looking forward to it in the least.