Sorry this chapter took me longer than usual, it's been a long week lol. But it's here now yay!
Thank you so much everyone for all your support, your reviews and opinions are so very much appreciated. Pleas continue to leave reviews, you guys are amazing.
Special thanks to my beta for this story CherryBerry12.
I hope everyone likes the new chapter.
The week had gone by quicker than usual for Sakura. She wasn't sure if it was excitement or nervousness that had made Friday come so quickly. Either way, here she was, leaving work on a Friday at 4:00. Even then, she could only convince Tsunade to let her leave so early by promising to take home some research to work on over the weekend.
She still had two hours until she was supposed to be at the Kintai Bridge to meet Sukea for their date. Sakura had changed her mind about going several times over the past few days. Ino's words from their lunch on Monday had been running through Sakura's mind all week long.
She couldn't deny that Ino had a few valid points.
A guy doesn't decide to take you out after he has already gotten what he wanted unless at some point he decided that you were worth more than what he had originally came for. Guys also wouldn't turn down other women who were clearly interested in entertaining them for the evening if they weren't more interested in you.
There was no denying that Ino's lecture had helped to push Sakura into showing up for her date, but it hadn't been the deciding factor. No—when it really came down to it, Sakura was going on a date with Sukea because she wanted to. She liked him, and he liked her. She enjoyed spending time hanging out with him, and she enjoyed talking with him.
Sakura was known to never indulge in things. She never bought herself anything that wasn't a necessity and she only went out to have fun when Ino dragged her out of the hospital. She didn't do spa days or get her nails done; she never did anything just for herself anymore.
That's why she decided that she would go out with Sukea. Sakura wanted to be selfish just this once. She wanted to do something for herself without worrying about anyone else just for one night. She wanted this. She deserved to have a little fun, right?
Right! Sukea and I are just having fun. It's nothing serious. We are two grown people meeting up to have a good time. There's no harm in going on a couple dates with a fun guy. As far as the sex goes, we are both consenting adults who are fulfilling each other's needs. As long as it doesn't become serious, there's no harm done, right?! Sakura reassured herself as she opened her front door.
Looking at the clock to check the time, she realized she only had an hour to get ready before she needed to leave. She could do that. She quickly stripped out of her hospital uniform and got into the shower. As she lathered up her shampoo in her hair, she tried to plan her outfit for the evening.
But as she thought about what she would wear, she realized she had a small problem. Sukea had never told her where they would be going or what they would be doing for their date. How was she supposed to know what to wear? "Great, like I'm not bad enough at picking out what to wear when I do know what I'll be doing," Sakura muttered to herself.
"Are you seriously in there talking down to yourself before your date, Sakura?" Ino called from the doorway. Sakura, who was in the middle of washing her hair, abruptly stopped at the sound of the familiar voice and scrunched her nose in mild confusion.
"Ino, what the hell are you doing here?" She called back.
"Obviously I'm here to help you get ready Sakura! A little gratitude would be nice, ya know."
"Oh. That's good." It really was a good thing Ino showed up to help. Even though Sakura knew it was probably just to make sure Sakura actually went on her date, Ino was there to help, and Sakura was grateful for it.
"Damn right that's good! Now get out here so I can get started," Ino shouted as she headed back into the bedroom.
When Sakura got back into her room, she found one of her dresses and a pair of leggings laid out neatly on her bed. The dress was one that Sakura had only worn once to an event in Rain Country. Sakura had always liked it—she just never had a good reason to wear it after the small get together that she had originally bought it for.
It was a fitted dress, not skin-tight but it didn't flare either. It was dark green with sleeves that came just below the elbow. The leggings were all white and they were skin tight; Ino had even picked out a pair of knee high brown boots to go with it.
After Sakura had dressed, she took a moment to look at herself in the mirror.
It really was a rather cute outfit. Ino usually didn't pick such casual and modest clothing, especially for a date. Before Sakura could dive any deeper into Ino's reason for the sudden change, she was being pulled into a chair where Ino began styling her hair.
After Ino was finished with her hair, Sakura then stood before the full length mirror once again. Her hair was cascading down her back with thick curls. Ino had taken a small bit of hair from both sides just above the ear and pinned it at the back of her head, framing her face nicely.
She had a moment where she wished that she could stay like this for her date. With the perfect hair, the make-up, the outfit, and the guy, she wished for a moment that this was all happening to her as Sakura instead of Saki. These were the exact things she'd wanted since she had come to terms with her true feelings for Sasuke.
Shaking those thoughts away, she quickly performed the seals for the transformation jutsu. She watched in the mirror as her pink hair darkened to red, her green eyes shifted to blue, and she grew two inches taller.
Well, that was it. She was ready. Just in time too, she realized as she looked at the clock—she had twenty minutes until she had to be at the Kintai Bridge. It was about a fifteen minute walk from her house, maybe twenty with heels. "I guess I should get going then, huh?"
Ino nodded and gave Sakura a big smile that she'd saved just for her. She truly was her best friend. "Have fun, I'll see you tomorrow for our weekly date, " Ino said. "And you better not be stingy on the details this time, Forehead!" she shouted as Sakura made her way out the front door.
Kakashi stood at the Kintai Bridge under his Sukea henge waiting to see if Saki would show up. He had arrived fifteen minutes before their scheduled meeting time and it was just minutes away from 6:00. Oddly enough, he was nervous; he didn't even get nervous during battle. So why the hell am I nervous now? he chastised himself. It's only dinner. It's nothing.
But it can't just be nothing. If it was nothing, he wouldn't be so nervous, and he wouldn't have bothered to actually show up on time. Okay, it's something, but nothing serious!
He checked his watch for the time once again—6:02. Shit! Did she decide not to come? Maybe she was just running late, or got lost on the way there. Or maybe she didn't actually want to come. Technically, she had never officially agreed; she had said that she would think about it.
"Sukea," the soft feminine voice of Saki called from behind him. Or maybe she really was just running a couple of minutes late.
Kakashi turned around to come face to face with Saki. She looked nice; her outfit fit well with the time of year and would do just fine for what he had planned for them. As he looked at her in the light of the setting sun, he realized that this was the first time that he had seen her in natural lighting.
Every time he had seen her before had been at night and indoors, and she had been attractive even then. But looking at her now, he noticed that she was naturally very beautiful, the kind of beautiful he'd want to see lying next to him in bed wearing only his T-shirt with her hair messy and loose or draped over his arm in an elegant kimono.
Or simple and lovely, just the way she was right now.
Maybe he would still get the chance to see her in that elegant kimono or in his bed wearing his T-shirt—a voice in the back of his mind said he certainly hoped so.
"Am I late?" she asked timidly, silently hoping he wasn't upset. He didn't seem like the kind of man to get upset easily, but he hadn't said a single word since she had arrived.
"Ehh, no. Not at all, right on time," he reassured her. "You look great by the way. I really like that dress on you."
"Oh, thank you! I have only worn this like one other time. It was for an event in another village a couple of years ago."
"You should wear it more often. It suits you and the weather as well," he said lightly but honestly.
She gave him a bright and beautiful smile before responding, "Well, I'm glad you like it. Maybe I will wear it more often just for you," she half joked.
He gave a small chuckle before clearing his throat to ask, "Are you ready to go?"
She nodded before wrapping her arm around the one he had offered to her.
Kakashi watched Saki's expression intently as she looked around the restaurant. He was trying to gauge her reaction to know if she liked it or not. This was his first official date, after all, and he wanted to do things right.
The establishment was a small yet nice restaurant called Nabe. It was off the usual beaten path, so it wasn't ever overcrowded, but it was a nice place. Not overly fancy, but definitely not a dive bar. It was something of a casual spot but with a classy edge.
The walls were a deep red with velvet seating pillows to match. The table cloths were pure white with little white napkins. The waitstaff wore solid black kimonos with dark red obi. Genma had said that it was on the nicer side for a first date, but Kakashi wanted to make a good impression for their (and his) first date.
They didn't have to wait long for the hostess to return to the lobby and show them to their table. When they arrived, Kakashi made sure to pull a chair out for Saki. Once she was seated, he took his seat across from her.
Another woman in a black kimono showed up immediately to set a hot pot of water and a small basket of assorted teas on the table for them. "Would you like a moment to decide or would you like to place your order now?" she asked politely.
"I can be ready now if you are, Saki. " Sukea told her. "But if you need a few minutes to think about it, we can wait."
Not wanting to cause the woman any extra trips and not wanting to make Sukea wait for her to choose something, she decided to just take a chance with whatever the server recommended. "No, it's fine. I can decide now. What would you recommend?" Sakura asked the server. "It's my first time here."
The woman smiled politely. "I think that all guests should try the assorted nigiri sushi. It's a
platter of various kinds of sushi, each piece made by placing the ingredients on top of hand-pressed vinegared rice."
That really did sound good. "Alright, I'll have that then. Thank you!"
"My pleasure. And for you, sir?" she asked, turning to face Sukea.
"That sounds great actually, I'll have the same," he told her.
After the woman left to give the kitchen their orders, a small silence fell over the table. Kakashi immediately began to try to think of a topic of conversations when Saki beat him to it.
"This place is really nice. I've never been here before."
"Yeah, it's kind of a local secret spot," he told her with a small chuckle.
"Really? Well, how did you come to find out about it? I've lived here my whole life and I've never even heard of this place, much less actually been here," Saki commented.
It was true,=; she didn't even know that this place existed until twenty minutes ago. So how could Sukea, a man who usually only passes through Konoha every few months, manage to find it?
Shit! He hadn't thought that statement through before blurting it out. "Uhh, well, I know people around here. People who have lived her a long time and know these little spots."
Sakura looked at him for a moment—that did make sense. Over time and with his profession, of course he'd meet people here. He probably even had a few friends here.
"Who do you know here? Maybe we know some of the same people by chance," she asked, honestly curious to know more about him.
"Well, Genma is one. You know that already though from last week, I suppose."
"Mmhmm, how did you meet him anyways?"
"Ehh, I actually met him through another friend, Kakashi Hatake. Do you know him?" He knew it might be a little unethical to ask someone their opinion of you while you were in disguise, especially if you had a romantic interest in them. But Kakashi was very curious to hear Saki's unfiltered thoughts about him.
He justified his question by telling himself that if he were to continue seeing Saki, then it was important to know what she thought about the real him. If she hated him, then continuing on past tonight would be pointless, and if she found him interesting or attractive then that would only help him in his pursuit.
Sakura frowned. Kakashi Hatake? As in her former sensei and team leader Kakashi? Seriously, what were the odds of that happening? "I do know… Of him. I mean, everyone here does, right? He's the Famous Copy Ninja after all," she said, clearing her throat a bit.
"I see, so you have never met him personally, then?"
That was a tricky question now, wasn't it? "I have, a while back. But he more or less ignored me back then, during the war. I cross paths with him every once in a while here in the village, but he doesn't notice me any more now than he did then, so I usually try to leave him alone."
She knew she couldn't just come right out and say that she was his former student and team member, but there were lots of people in the war. If Sukea ever decided to ask Kakashi about it, then it would be easily shrugged off when Kakashi told him that he didn't remember her.
Besides, Kakashi really did ignore her—then and now. She was still upset about him passing over her on Monday like she didn't even exist, and she had even seen him leaving Tsunade's office on Wednesday too. Both times he had walked right past her and he never came to see her to catch up after he returned from his mission.
Did she just say that they had actually met before? Had he met her before? He would like to think he would remember such a woman if he had. But according to her, they had apparently met during the war. He had apparently also ignored her several times.
She seemed… rather upset about it,
He felt like a jerk and an idiot. He would definitely need to reflect on that a little more later.
"So, that's how I know him. How I know of him, I mean. How did you meet him?"
There was no point trying to lie; too many lies would give him more chances for error, more chances to contradict himself. "ANBU, I met him in ANBU."
Saki blinked at him but didn't interrupt, giving him the opportunity to continue or not.
"Remember when I told you that I was previously a member of the Shinobi Forces?" She nodded, so he continued. "And I told you that I had lost my entire team?" Another nod.
"I joined ANBU after both of my teammates were killed on separate missions. Then while I was in ANBU, my sensei and team leader was killed in the Nine-Tailed Fox attack.
"A few years after that, the Third Hokage released me from duty. I took on photography as a way to try to see the world differently."
Kakashi wasn't entirely sure why he was sharing such personal things with Saki; he never talked about this kind of thing with people. Something about Saki made him feel comfortable, though. Something inside him told him that this woman was not a threat, that she would never hurt him.
Sakura didn't know what to say to that. She never would have guessed that Sukea'd had such a past. She had heard that ANBU had the most brutal missions of any shinobi. They often had very short lives and a lot of them suffered severe mental and physical issues over time.
She had learned a lot about them while working at the hospital. She had taken it upon herself to learn as much as she could after an ANBU member had come in to the hospital one night after attempting suicide. They had a higher percent chance of that as well, and Sakura had been the one to heal his self-inflicted injuries.
"I'm so sorry, Sukea. I.. I didn't. I know what ANBU goes through, I've seen it at the hospital."
"It's fine, Saki," he reassured her. Not wanting his dark past to ruin their date, he quickly made for a change of subject. "Tell me about the hospital."
"I usually work with healing patients, but I recently got approval from Lady Tsunade to start work on a new project. It has to do with the poison department, but I won't be making a type of poison, it's actually a healing agent.
"There is a special plant that is used as a poison that immobilizes the victim and makes it impossible for them to get away. But when I studied the compounds of the plant and its active agents, I realized that it has a lot of good agents as well, ones that we could use if we could control them.
"I think that if we use smaller doses and then dilute the doses so they aren't quite as powerful, then we could use it as a fast injecting method of alleviating severe pain. It could give medics proper time to heal a patient in the field without them going into shock."
Kakashi was impressed. If what Saki was saying was true, it would be an amazing aid for shinobi in the field. It could do a lot of good if they could get it to work.
The server arrived with their food and did her best not to interrupt any more than she needed to, understanding that the two of them were on a date and clearly enjoying their conversation. She made sure they didn't need anything else and quickly left them alone once more.
The two of them ate their food as they continued on with small talk. Kakashi had learned that her favorite color was red, and Sakura had learned that his was dark green, much like the dress that she was currently wearing. She told him her favorite food was dango and that she hated spicy foods. In return he told her that his favorite food was miso soup, that he disliked fried foods, and never ever ate sweets.
They discovered that they had many likes in common as well. They both loved to read, they both enjoyed long walks, they both liked to swim in the summer, and they both preferred dogs over cats.
They had plenty of things that they could enjoy and share together; they were very compatible.
The server was now clearing the dishes from their finished meal off the table. Kakashi had originally planned for the date to end with dinner, but him and Saki were enjoying themselves a bit more than he had expected. He was now trying to think of something they could go do that would still provide them with a decent amount of privacy.
Sakura could tell that Sukea had slipped off into his own mind for a moment, she wondered what he was thinking about so hard. She hoped that she wasn't boring him to death. Maybe he was just thinking about the rest of their date.
Was there a 'rest of the date'? He had never really told her what he had planned after dinner…. She hoped they'd do something she was really enjoying their evening and she wasn't ready for it to be over yet, especially considering that it might be the only date they had together.
"So what now?" she asked.
Kakashi instantly snapped out of his trance, a little embarrassed to realize that he had spaced out during their conversation. Now Saki was looking at him expectantly, asking what he had planned for them next. He assumed that that was a good sign; the problem was that he hadn't actually planned any further than this.
Thinking back over their conversation, he searched for clues to something that she would enjoy. Remembering that she had mentioned she liked to take long walks, he thought of the small park near the memorial stone that wasn't well-known. "Ehh, I thought we could go for a walk, I know of this nice park here in the village."
"That sounds lovely. I would love that;" she said as she smiled brightly at him.
Oh, that smile of hers is going to get him in trouble; he just knew it. "Great, let's go then."
He stood up and offered her a hand to help her out of her seat. They then made their way to the front where Sukea paid for their meals. Now outside of the restaurant, he led the way down the street towards the park.
As they walked side by side, Kakashi mindlessly brought his arm up to wrap it around Saki's shoulders, effectively pulling her in and holding her snuggly against him. He was never the kind of man to display affection, especially publicly, but he found himself not too concerned with his actions at the moment. If he were being honest, it was rather nice to have someone to share moments like this with.
"Dinner was wonderful, by the way. Thank you!" Saki said from her place at his side.
"I'm glad you liked it. Does that mean I get a second date with you?" he asked, smiling down at her.
Saki wrapped the arm closest to him around his waist and leaned in a little closer. "I would like that," was all she said.
Was she agreeing to go out with him again just like that? Maybe this isn't so hard after all. Now all he had to do was plan their next date. Shit! Well, I might as well get some ideas while I have the chance.
"What would you like to do next time?"
"That's a good question." What would she like to do for a date? Something she already enjoyed doing? Maybe something new? Kiba had only taken her out twice, once to see a movie and once to the ramen shop. After she gave him her virginity, he seemed to lose interest in trying to impress her.
She tried for months to tell herself that he wasn't a bad guy, but the more that she thought about it, the more she couldn't deny that Kiba had really only been dating her for sex. Then he broke up with her because she was "frigid."
Sakura thought that non-traditional date ideas were the best ones;, she had always hoped that she would find a guy who liked them too. Maybe Sukea was that guy. Surely she had a great date idea that she never got to experience. "I've never had someone cook for me before, unless you count my mom."
"Is there anything in particular that you would like to have made for you?" he asked.
"Maybe Inarizushi?" She suggested. She hadn't had that since her mom died when she was sixteen.
"I think that I can make that work." He knew how to make Inarizushi; he also knew that it kept well at room temperature, which made it perfect for taking on outings. It was currently the middle of October, so it was cooler outside but not cold yet. If they went during the day, it would be perfect weather for a picnic.
Kakashi knew of a small lake in a clearing not far outside the village, it wasn't well known. He would just need to come up with a few more food items and pack a blanket for them to sit on. Great, a picnic date it is then.
"Are you free during the day time, or do you work at the hospital then?" He needed to know if she was even available to see him during the day time for this to work.
"I'm free on the weekends, though I usually have brunch with a friend on Saturdays. That never lasts past 11:00 am, though. She has to be at work at noon."
"What about during the week?"
"Sorry, I'm at the hospital all day during the week." She told him with a sad smile.
"I see. What about Sunday, around 2:00 in the afternoon? Would that work for you?" he asked.
"This Sunday, as in the day after tomorrow?"
He gave a short nod. "If that works for you."
She didn't have anything planned for Sunday except for house work. Meh, what the heck? Why not? "Sunday would work just fine."
"It must be getting late," he noted as he looked around the abandoned park.
"Yeah, it is. I should probably be heading home. I have work I brought home from the hospital that I need to get done if I want to have any time for our plans Sunday."
"Can I walk you home?"
Sakura wasn't so sure that that was a good idea. She didn't want Sukea showing up at her place and seeing Sakura instead of Saki. But then again, she did live in an apartment so maybe he could just walk her to her building. Then even if he saw the real her walking around there he would just think that she was another occupant of the building.
"Yeah, sure. Thank you!"
The walk to her apartment building was done in a comfortable silence, both with their arms still wrapped around each other. When they reached her building, she was half worried and half excited at the thought that he might want to come up with her.
But he seemed to be taking the gentleman approach and ended the night with a kiss instead.
"Sunday at 2:00?" he asked again.
"Sunday at 2:00."
"See you then, Saki."
"See you then, Sukea."
She slipped inside the doors to the building and hurried up to her apartment as he turned on his heel to head home. The date was over, but they had solid plans for another and neither could be more pleased about it.
