Chapter 3: Tranquility

That night, Anko couldn't sleep at all. She kept on tossing and turning. The things that Naruto said that afternoon echoed in her mind. 'Argh!!!' Anko rose from her bed. She put on her robe and decided to go outside to get some fresh air and to think.

Anko yawned. When she was about to go outside, she saw Kakashi sitting by the lawn. He was looking at the stars. Anko was watching him from inside.

"Why are you still awake?" Kakashi said while still looking at the stars.

Anko smirked, "Just wanna think and get some fresh air."

"Hmm..." Kakashi looked at Anko. "Come, sit here with me." Kakashi said.

Anko sat beside Kakashi. "And you, why are you still awake?"

"Solitude is good once in a while." Kakashi started to gaze at the stars again.

After minutes of silence, Anko stood up. "And don't forget star-gazing! I'll go get us some tea."

Kakashi agreed. "That would be nice."

Anko went to the kitchen. She got two cups and started preparing the tealeaves. After a couple of minutes, Anko went outside holding two cups. She handed the other one to Kakashi.

"Thanks." Kakashi sipped the tea. "You could call me Hatake if you like. That's more unfussy."

"Ah. Okay, hatake." Anko was speechless. She couldn't think of any better topic than this:

"So, are you liking any girl right now?"

Kakashi didn't answer the question. "How bout you? Liking any guy right now?"

Anko quickly sipped her tea to hide her blushing. "Uh... No one at the moment."

"Ah, is that so? How about Gai?" he asked.

Anko recalled all the covering up Naruto made for her this morning. "Wahaha. That was nothing!" answered Anko scratching her head.

Kakashi laughed a bit. "Nothing huh?"

"Yeah." She haven't seen Kakashi laugh like this before. The laugh seems to have some kind of mixed emotions, not just gladness. "Tell me more about yourself, Hatake."

Kakashi stared at his tea. "Me? Well, you know me. I'd like to keep my profile low. Other than that, I love moments of tranquility—just like this."

"I love it, too. It feels good sometimes to just sit back, relax, reminisce, and enjoy the calm environment." Anko sighed.

Kakashi never knew he and Mitarashi Anko would be similar in temperament on an aspect like this. "Yeah. Hey, I never knew you could be like this. Hehe."

Anko never knew, too. "You think I'm the loud type who just does nothing but fool around and eat squid balls?"

Kakashi chuckled, "What if I said yes?"

"Then you're wrong." Anko smiled just to show that she wasn't offended at the statement given by Kakashi.

The chilly wind blew.

Kakashi yawned and stood up. "Hey, it's getting too cold here. Why don't we just sleep? I'm getting a little sleepy already. You need rest as much I do..."

"Ah, yeah. I'm shivering already." Anko replied.

Kakashi helped her up by holding out his hand gently.

"Hey Hatake"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for the time..."

"Yeah, No prob."

And they went back to their own respective rooms.