The Art of Deception
---
Author's Note: Wow, you guys really like this story, don't you? I'm soooo glad you do. Again, I'm sorry that the last chapter was so short, but it was almost purely a NejiSaku fluff chapter, so there was hardly any plot-forwarding. This chapter will definitely move the story along a bit, but with the same amount of fluff involved. Jackpot, eh?
---
Scroll IV: Honest
Please don't mind what I'm trying to say,
cause I'm, I'm being honest...
--Cartel; Honestly
---
Red-tinted blue eyes watched carefully as Neji and Sakura sat down at a sushi restaurant, looking exactly as if they were on a... a date. A date. It was almost more than the disguised Uchiha Sasuke could comprehend. As if seeing Hyuuga Neji actually with a girl wasn't weird enough, the Byakugan-user just had to take the only woman he'd ever felt anything for and be on an undercover mission with her. Damn it all. If Neji's hand got any closer to hers, and if he hadn't been an Uchiha, Sasuke would have charged over there with a kunai, killed Neji, and blown his cover. Thankfully for both shinobi, he resisted the urge and breathed in deeply, working on masking his surely-pulsing chakra.
"Ano... Sir?"
The poor hostess was the one that bore the brunt of his hostile stare. "Nani?" he asked sharply.
She flinched, as though his single word had struck her. "W-would... ano, would you like to have a seat?"
He kept his gaze on her, watching indifferently as she trembled. "Hai. Over there, please." The hostess nodded frantically and led him to said table (conveniently near to Neji and Sakura's), and he sat, acute hearing picking up every word and he pretended to scan the menu.
"Natsu-kun?" he heard Sakura's voice, slightly worried, and with an undertone of puzzlement, sound from next to him. That voice... that had kept him up at night. "I love you with all my heart. Sasuke-kun."
"Hn?" Neji's response was noncommital. The brown-haired ninja looked at the menu, looking at it for anything that would satisfy his now-intense hunger.
"How long do you think we'll be here?" she asked, playing with her water glass.
Neji shrugged absently. "I don't know. Until we find something. Tsunade-sama gave us those scrolls, so I guess that if she needs us to come home, she'll tell us."
Sasuke frowned. Scrolls? What kind of scrolls? Communication scrolls, he thought with a burst of recognition. That was the only way they could talk, anyway, without the messages being intercepted.
There was silence for a moment until Sakura spoke again, her pitch lighter this time. "This is a nice place, don't you think? Kiba-kun and I went to a place like this once."
Both Sasuke and Neji stiffened, but Sakura didn't seem to notice. She was playing with a chopstick, twirling it in her fingers with utmost concentration.
"The mutt?"
Sakura scowled at the chopstick. "Don't call him tha-"
"When did you ever go out with him?" Neji's white eye twitched slightly, but his face was unreadable as always.
Sakura gazed boredly at the twirling utensil in her hands, lithe fingers slipping in and out of vision. "Hm? Oh, I don't know. A couple days ago, I think."
"He's dating Temari-san, isn't he?"
The pink-haired kunoichi sighed, rolling her eyes and looking Neji in the eye for the first time, chopstick still whirring perfectly between her slim digits. "Kami-sama, Nastu-kun. It was a friendship date."
"There's no such thing as a 'friendship date', Kane-chan," Neji said in a stern voice, looking at her intensely. "That's a contradiction in terms."
"There is, too such a thing!" she protested hotly, never missing a beat, the chopstick still going, though a little faster this time. "I'd watched Akamaru for him while he was in Suna, and he treated me for lunch." She paused, eyes narrowed, with a small smirk on her face. "Are you jealous again, Nastu-kun? I didn't know it was in your nature."
Neji folded his arms. "Well, you are my fiance, as I said."
"Well, then. Kane-chan certainly is. But is Neji jealous?" To anyone else, this would have seemed completely ludicrous, but Sasuke listened carefully, not noticing that he was gripping his own chopsticks tightly.
Another pause permeated the table, pregnant and full, letting the other conversations of the restaurant seep in.
"Just looking out for you."
"Mm-hm. Sure." Sakura looked smugly at her chopstick, continuing to play with it.
Neji was irritated. She couldn't get the better of a Hyuuga! Smirking slightly, he leaned over the table and whispered lightly in her ear, relishing the shudder that passed down her spine. "You don't appreciate my concern for you, Kane-chan?"
Sakura missed a twirl, and the chopstick clattered to the table. A blush spread across her cheeks, and Neji smirked again, kissing her lightly, chastely, on the cheek and sitting back, watching with delight as she stuttered like his cousin. All his irritation was, suddenly, quite gone.
Snap.
Sasuke looked down at his chopsticks to find with mild and not-shown surprise that they had snapped cleanly in half from his death grip. Thankfully, his targets hadn't seen or heard...
"Erm... can I get you some new chopsticks, Sir?" a waitress asked softly. Without speaking, Sasuke handed them to her, and she gave him a new pair, quickly walking to Neji and Sakura's adjacent table. "Would you like to order?" she asked them.
"Oh, hai," Sakura said, fighting down her blush. "Green tea and eel rolls, please."
"Of course. And you?" She turned to Neji.
"Same."
Sasuke watched as Sakura stood after the waitress left, tugging slightly on her shirt. "I'll be right back," she assured the Hyuuga in front of her. She strode to the bathroom. When Neji's head was turned, so did Sasuke, walking calmly after her. He waited until she came out, and "accidentally" bumped into her.
"Oh! Gomen nasai," she apologized, looking up at him. Her guilty smile faded when she saw his eyes. It looked... like... the Sharingan... No, it couldn't be! His eyes... this man's eyes... were blue, not red or black. "S...Sasuke," she said lowly, wearily, not really meaning to say it out loud. She looked at the man in alarm. "Gomen," she repeated. "You're not... ano... gomen."
She made to leave, but he touched her gently on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he said gruffly. "My name is Mezumi Rai. I've never heard of this 'Sasuke'. Do I look much like him?"
Sakura answered with a small, sad smile. "Vaguely. Very vaguely."
"Gomen for bumping into you, Miss...?"
"Ah... Watanabe Kane," she answered quickly, holding out her hand with a truly 'Sakura' grin.
He bowed over her hand and kissed it gently, almost a brush of lips rather than pressure. "Watanabe-san. I believe I saw you at the Mizu Inn?"
She looked slightly surprised, at either his touch or his comment. Or maybe both. He held onto her hand. "Probably. That's where I'm staying."
"The man I saw you with, then? A friend?"
"Her engaged," a serious voice said from behind her. Neji eyed their joined hands and put an arm around her waist. Sakura looked at him with a light flush.
"Lucky man," the Uchiha said with a small smile, almost more like a smirk. He released her hand. "I wish you both the best."
"Ah... arigato," Sakura answered hesitantly, grasping Neji's hand in a tight, comforting gesture. His chakra level went down a bit, calmed. "Natsu-kun, this is Mezumi Rai-san. Mezumi-san, this is my fiancee, Sato Nastuhito. Nastu-kun, he's also staying at the Mizu Inn."
"How interesting," Neji said, with the air of one being completely uninterested. "Kane, sweet, our food is here," he said to her. "Excuse us," he returned to 'Mezumi Rai', leading his wife-to-be away from the man. He hardly believed what he'd said. Sweet? Damn, I sound like Naruto.
Uchiha Sasuke smirked wider from beneath his disguise, retreating from the restaurant without another glance. The tiny recorder he'd placed in her 'engagement ring' would start recording very, very soon... he'd be able to hear whatever happened for the next 48 hours. After that, he planned to 'bump' into the couple again.
Sakura, meanwhile, was eating contentedly, ignoring the angry gazes her companion kept on shooting at nothing particular. Finally, though, she set down her chopsticks with a small slap and stared at him. "What is it?"she asked, exasperated. "Do I have something on my face?"
Neji sighed, annoyed. "No, I'm just watching."
"Natsu-kun, you'll give it all away if you act like... well... you. Be a normal person for once and eat, damn it! I can hear your stomach from over here!" That being said, she pushed his uneaten food towards him, and watched with triumph as he resignedly picked up his chopsticks. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" she cooed. "How is it?"
He humphed. "It's good," he managed, taking another huge bite.
He didn't think that her knowing grin deserved a response.
---
"I'm not sleeping with you, Kane."
"Shut up, Natsu-kun," Sakura said with a groan. "It's just a bed. If we want this to look realistic..."
"Who's going to look in on us at night?" he demanded, making his way to the bathroom to change. Sakura was already in a tank top and a pair of panties (he had had great trouble not looking at her smooth, slim legs) and was now tucking herself into the giant bed.
"Perverts, the hotel owner, I don't know! What I do know is that we're engaged, and you can't even sleep in the bed with me!" She's a good actress, Neji thought with a small smirk as she continued her rant. "Get your damned butt in here or I'll get it in myself!"A pause, then a groan. "That sounded wrong."
"Hai, it did." Regardless, she kept on pleading, her bottom lip stuck out in an exaggerated pout. Neji growled angrily. "Fine, woman! I'll sleep with you!"
"...that sounded wrong, too."
"Shut up."
Sakura was already asleep when Neji emerged from the bathroom, clad in only pajama bottoms. Her hair was tucked in a low ponytail, with her bangs hanging limply, the opaque pink covering her eyes. Her mouth was open slightly, her chest rising and falling. One hand was under the pillow and another was curling the covers around her to cutely cover her face.
Neji smiled slightly and took out his hair tie, lying down next to her and slipping the covers over his muscled form. Struck by a sudden impulse, the chestnut-haired jounin tucked Sakura's pink bangs behind her ear, giving him a view of her face from the side. He traced her jawline softly before realizing what he was doing, and quickly pulled the covers up, ashamed with himself.
It's all her fault.
---
And he was thinking that again, strongly, when he woke up to find his arms around hershoulders and her face in his chest. Her hands were on his abdomen, and his were playing with her hair. His chin was on top of her head, and she was breathing lightly onto his chest. Sunlight streamed through the curtains on the windows, and his white eyes noticed with considerable widening that one of her legs was on top of both of his and hooked under one, rather possessively.
"Natsu-kun?" she murmured lightly, eyes fluttering open. Neji quickly retracted his hands, letting go of her hair rather sharply. She winced slightly but looked at him with a dreamy smile. "Good morning...?" She looked down and seemed infinitely more awake all of a sudden, removing her hands from his chest and untangling their legs. "Ano... gomen," she said with a fierce blush, rubbing the back of her neck as she sat up on her knees.
Neji sat up as well, trying not to let a blush come to his own face. "No, it's okay," he said, a little stiffly. "An accident."
"Right. Hai. An accident." She said it as if she was reassuring both of them.
Neji looked away. "Shower?"
"Hai, I'll go first," she said quickly, nearly running to the bathroom.
Neji finally relaxed, relaxing against the bed with a large exhale. The sexual tension in the air was slowly disspating, but he still felt her silky hair in his fingers, her fingers tracing the lines of his stomach. Snap out of it, he commanded himself. It was an accident, after all. He kneaded his forehead with his fists, rubbing vigorously where the curse mark laid under his bandages.
"I'm done, Natsu-kun," a timid voice said from behind him. Neji turned and quickly reversed, blushing heavily (to his shame). The towels in this place are too damned small, he raged mentally. "Natsu-kun?"
He whirled around, not able to cover the redness of his cheeks. "Right. Arigato."
Sakura smiled slightly at the blush her fiancee sported, but wisely didn't say anything. As he showered and she changed, her grin stayed in place. It was obvious that poor Hyuuga Neji was flustered by the compromising position they'd been in (she didn't blame him) and the fact that she'd walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel?
As she was pulling on a pair of shorts, Sakura stopped, open-mouthed. Was he... did he... like her? No. There was no way. This was Hyuuga Neji! The second-coldest man in Konoha (well, actually first, if you didn't count Sasuke). He couldn't like anyone like that!
Her mind frantically replayed the events of the past days. The mild seduction, the jealousy when she was caught with Mezumi-san, the tenderness in which he'd comforted her on the journey to Lightning, and now the terribly cute blush when he'd seen her half-naked?
It all added up, but...
No.
The seduction was just to irritate and fluster her, of course. She had been slightly annoying towards him right before that. The jealousy was probably either fake or simply anger that she'd been gone longer, making him wait to eat... she'd noticed that he was practically starving when she had left to go to the restroom. The kindness that he'd shown her on the way here was probably just regular kindness. I mean, he was one of her best friends, right? It was merely brotherly caring.
Right.
That had to be the explanation. It was, after all, the only logical thing.
"Kane?"
Her head turned of its own accord at hearing the voice of the person she'd been thinking about. "Natsu-kun?"
"Are you planning on finishing getting dressed?" he asked with an amused smirk.
Sakura looked down at herself, her hands still grasping the belt of her shorts, and blushed for around the fifth time in ten minutes when she realized that the only thing she had on was her pink bra, and the underwear peeking out from her not-yet-fastened shorts. "Ahm..." She giggled nervously. "Hai. I just got distracted."
Neji sighed and shook his head in amused confusion. "You amaze me, Kane."
She smiled and pulled a polo shirt over her head. "I try." She put her ring on, tied her hair up in a messy bun, and followed him out the door. They walked downstairs happily, exchanging comments and small compliments and grins, and grabbed a muffin each for breakfast.
"Watanabe-san," a low voice called from behind them.
Sakura turned to see Mezumi Rai sitting down, a cup of tea in his hand. "Mezumi-san! Good morning," she answered cheerfully, waving.
"Good morning to you two, as well," he said gravely, nodding to Neji, who stiffly repeated the gesture. "What are you two doing today?"
Sakura shrugged slightly. "We're going to ask someone what we could do."
The woman at the desk from yesterday spoke up with a small laugh. "You came at a wonderful time," she announced. "This week is the Spring Flower Festival. It's very fun; there's entertainment, street vendors... it's very crowded around here this time of year." She gave them a kind smile. "There's always something to do here now."
Sakura nodded with a smile of thanks. "Come on, Natsu-kun, let's see the festival! Sayonara, Mezumi-san!"
"Sayonara." The tall man inclined his head and watched as they ran (or rather, Neji was dragged) out the doors. He looked at Keichi and nodded slightly, and the disguised Kabuto left the room.
---
"What should we do first?" Sakura asked Neji, linking arms with him and holding his hand.
Neji looked around the milling streets. "Anything that looks suspicious," he answered. "Remember, we're looking for Sound, so any trick, anything that has to do with sound of any sort, we'll have to check it out."
Sakura nodded, but she was completely taken by the contagious happiness of the streets. Vendors shouted their cold wares as the sun beat down on the pedestrians. Shop stalls lined the places unoccupied by buildings, flashing attractive fabrics and little trinkets to take home. A thin string of musical notes hit her ears, and she turned to her right, seeing musicians. "Let's go hear!" she said excitedly, pulling a groaning Neji towards the sounds.
To their surprise (and in Neji's case, suspicion), Keichi from the hotel was there, holding a flute. A woman with flowing black hair delicately plucked the strings of a shamisen, while another man hit a drum with a deliciously pounding rhythm. When they started playing, Sakura felt like she was in heaven. The tones wove together and spread out again, pitches full and rich at times, then delicate and soft at others. The drum seemed to meet the beating of her heart, and she didn't notice Keichi staring at her.
Neji did, and gave the musician a glare so hostile, so forbidding, that it would have scared any man out of his wits. However, the man simply raised an eyebrow and respectively reverted his eyes, continuing his playing while not missing a beat. "Kane," Neji whispered into her ear. She didn't look at him and answered with a halfhearted 'what'.
He frowned and shook her gently. She didn't look at him. He pinched her arm. No response. Neji stood in front of her, starting to get worried. When the music stopped and applause filled the air, she didn't stir. She continued to look in the distance with a dreamy look on her face, a small, contented smile stretching across her features. "Neji," she said lightly, forgetting his fake name, "wasn't that lovely? Come on, let's go meet the musicians."
Before he could protest, her hand was around his wrist and pulling him with her damned amazing strength towards the platform. "That was amazing," she said weakly, staring at Keichi and the others.
The woman smiled slightly, though it was more of a smirk than a smile. "Arigato," she said rather smugly.
The man with the drums didn't say anything, but turned away, fiddling with something behind the platform. Keichi, however, stepped down and bowed. "Domo arigato, miss. I'm glad you enjoyed it." He turned to Neji. "You, Sir... you didn't enjoy it?" There was an insolent smile playing on his lips.
Neji, with one eye on Sakura, released his wrist from her death grip with some difficulty and dragged Keichi to a corner out of hearing. "What did you do to my fiance?" he asked furiously. "She's in a daze!"
"Good music does that to some of us, Sir," Keichi answered with a sarcastic twist of the lips. "To the real appreciators."
"Good music doesn't literally turn people into puppets," Neji hissed. "How do I snap her out of it?"
Keichi shrugged disrespectfully. "Well, I don't know, Sir. I suppose you'd have to kiss her or something."
Neji froze.
The hotel worker smirked slightly. "That isn't a problem, is it? Like you said, she's your fiance."
Angry, Neji mentally cursed. How was he supposed to... when she was... well. Damn it, he'd have to, wouldn't he? "There isn't a problem," he answered coolly, walking over to Sakura. He stared at her dazed face hesitantly for a moment, then leaned in...
"Natsu?" her voice was limp, and the hazy look was slowly going out of her jade eyes. "What happened? Is the concert over?"
Neji breathed a mental heavy sigh of relief and put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Kane. We're leaving." From the corner of his eye, he saw Keichi smirking, and resolved to beat the man up when they saw him again. There was something infinitely suspicious about him... about the whole group of musicians. Sakura sagged against him alarmingly, and he glanced at her, seeing her face pale. "Here, you're worn out. We'll get something to eat." He firmly grasped her around the waist and led her to a food stall. "What do you want?"
"Um... dumplings, please," she answered, voice frail.
Neji practically force-fed her. To others, it may have looked cute, seeing him feed her, but she could hardly hold up the stick. "Kane, are you all right? That music must have had some trancelike effect..."
Revived slightly, Sakura sat up and grabbed the stick of food from him, eating more. "I'm fine," she said, voice stronger. "Just... tired. Do you really think that the music had a trance in it or something? If it did, why weren't you affected?"
Neji frowned. "I don't know," he said, hating to admit it, "but hurry up and eat. We should investigate further. That Keichi guy has something to do with something bad, whether it's Orochimaru or not."
Sakura nodded and disposed of the stick, standing up by herself and walking freely. "I feel much better now," she said after a while. "Arigato for taking care of me. And don't say it's because I'm engaged to you," she added hastily, for his mouth was open, "you're using that excuse too much lately. You care about me, and it's nice. Don't worry." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but give her a reluctant grin back. "Now," she said happily, breaking the mood and making Neji all but fall over in surprise, "let's look for something else to do! Oooh, look at that kimono, Nastu!" She led him towards a stall filled to the brim with beautiful fabrics and started browsing, leaving Neji to lean against the wall, arms folded.
So this is what it's like to have a girlfriend...
---
As soon as they got back to the hotel, after they'd finished their respective shopping or spying and the sun was setting, Neji grabbed Sakura's wrist and marched straight up to the woman behind the desk. "Is Keichi available? I'd like to speak to him."
The woman frowned, troubled, as she noted his glare. "Well... no, Sir. He quit just a while ago and left. Said he was heading to where he could make better use of himself. Is there something you need help with?"
Neji exhaled through clenched teeth, producing a hissing sound, and Sakura put a calming hand on his arm. "No," she replied, answering for him, "we don't. We would just like to speak with him... we heard him playing with a group of musicians before, and it was very good. We wanted to ask him about it."
"Oh, then gomen nasai." The woman shook her head. "He was a good employee, too, only if he did stay for a couple days."
Neji looked up, white eyes furrowed in a frown. "Only a couple days? How long was he here?"
"Well, he came around two days before you did," she answered, leafing through papers, "asking for a job. We'd been shorthanded, you see, so I let him have be an all-purpose sort of guy... leading to the rooms, serving meals, and such. I never thought he'd leave so soon, but good help is hard to find these days, isn't that what they say?" She chuckled to herself. "If you like music, though, there's an outdoor concert in the park in about an hour. Lots of people will be there, and there will be different shows afterwards. I'm sure you'd enjoy it." She looked at them eagerly. "It's a great place for couples."
Sakura blushed prettily and smiled. "Well, I'm sure we'll be glad to check it out," she said, tugging on Neji's hand. "It sounds like fun, doesn't it, Nastu-kun?"
"Tremendously so," he answered drlyly, earning a chuckle from the old woman.
"Now, I'm sure you'll have a good time. They serve dinner, there, too, but it's rather formal, so I'd suggest dressing as if you're going to a nice evening party. Dresses and all that."
"It sounds great. Arigato, Nitta-san!" Sakura and Neji climbed the stairs quickly, thoughts running through each mind. "So, Keichi came two days before us?" she murmured to him as they passed another couple. "Sounds kind of suspicious."
Neji nodded, the frown still etched on his handsome features as they arrived at their room. "He reminds me of someone... I just don't know who." He turned to her, frown deepening. "Why are we going to that stupid concert thing?"
She sighed and turned the key in the lock, pushing open the door. "Relax. It's a good chance to look around more and easier.It'll be nighttime, right? You can use Byakugan without being sighted. And besides, it does sound like fun." She entered the room and shoved open the closet. "But what to wear... something 'rather formal'?" She mumbled to herself as she pawed through the contents of the closet, and Neji rolled his eyes.
"Why do girls care so much about what they wear?" he asked, more to himself than her, but she heard anyway.
"It gives everyone an impression on who they are," she answered. "Besides, when you're a girl and you meet another girl, practically the first thing you look at is what they're wearing. First impressions, you know?"
"...sure." He brought out the red shirt and a pair of black pants, eyeing the shirt with a suppressed sigh.
Sakura looked at it. "Wow, that's so cute!" she practically squealed, diving at him and snatching it from his grasp. "Who would think that you had a sense of fashion!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped, grabbing it back.
She scoffed at him. "Well, you always either wear those damned baggy white clothes or your ANBU uniform. I'm the only one that's seen you in normal, fashionable clothes. But that really is nice. Did you get it?"
He didn't answer. Let her think what she would; but there wasn't really any harm innottelling her that Ino picked it. She wouldn't go crazy just because he was implying that he himself bought it, that he himself had a so-called 'sense of style'... "What are you, wearing, then?" he heard himself asking scornfully as he faced her. "If it's so important?"
She was going through her closet again. "Ano... well, Ino bought me this one dress, but I'm, ah... not sure if I should wear it..."
"Why not?" he asked. "Is it 'cute'? Is it acceptable to be seen in?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm that was not lost on his bride-to-be.
She scowled at him. "It's definitely cute, and it's acceptable... I think. But..."
"Then wear it, damn it!" Neji growled, going into the bathroom. "It's just a dress!"
"Well, fine, Mr. Grouchy!" she yelled, grabbing said slinky dress and tossing off her clothes. Well, he didn't see it... no wonder he doesn't care if I wear it or not... She slipped it on and stared in the mirror, amazed. Wow, Ino was right. I look... well... She suppressed a grin. Sexy, damn it. Hell yes, girl! Knock 'em dead!
Neji walked out of the bathroom seven minutes later, fidgeting slightly in the dressy clothes. He was definitely going to kill Tsunade, Hokage or not. "Are you ready yet?" he asked irritably, looking up. "Because... because... cause... ano... Sak-- Kane..." He trailed off weakly, white eyes wide and a blush streaked across his face.
Sakura looked at him with a bright smile. "Aa, I'm ready! This is going to be so much fun!"
Neji only stared.
The dress she was wearing was... sexy, to say the least. It was a dark greenish-blue with a spattering of tiny sequins up her right side that had a handkerchief hem and went to just above her knees. It had a shirred bodice and was tight enough to noticeably enhance her smooth, already-perfect curves. It pushed her up in front enough to give just the right amount of cleavage, and it was a spaghetti-strap that ended a couple inches above her butt, giving him a clear view of her smooth, creamy skin on her back. She wore silvery sandals with just enough heel to look good. Silver earrings dangled delicately from her earlobes, with crystal at the bottom, and she'd taken off her engagement ring, stringing it through a thin silver chain necklace so that it hung enticingly from her neck.
Meanwhile, Sakura was checking out her date with a bit more than satisfaction, the black pants fashionably straight, the deep red shirt enhancing his eyes. It was untucked casually, with a couple buttons undone at the top, giving a view of his collarbone. A strand of hair from his ponytail covered his shoulder, while another flopped in front of his eyes... Wow. He looks... great! It was the cool, relaxed, yet incredibly hot look only select few could pull off... Damn, Konoha has some fine men... Inner Sakura mused with a grin, clenching her fist with a hearty "SHANNAROOOO!"
Sakura patted her carefully-coiffed hair, set in a semi-fancy updo, and looked at him. "Do you like it?" she asked, oblivious to his stares.
"Ano... hai," he mumbled, looking away quickly. "It's very nice."
"I'm glad," she answered, looking at herself in the mirror. She glanced at him and frowned slightly. "Natsu, you can't have your hair in a high ponytail! That's too casual. Here." She crossed swiftly over to him (he wondered how the hell she could even walk in those heels) and took out the black band holding his hair in place and sweeping it back into a medium ponytail, her fingers running through his hair. "You have soft hair, Natsu-kun," she murmured.
"Arigato," he thanked her awkwardly, stepping back. A small smile adorned his features at her obvious excitement to going to a party, even if she was on a mission. "Come on, then. Let's go."
She smiled at him and held his hand. "Let's."