Chapter 4 - A Midnight Encounter

Three figures sat around a round table covered with a silky cloth and elegant dinnerware.

"It's crazy to think how much time has passed." Mused the first.

The second nodded. "I remember when they were just children, barely out of the academy. How does it feel to see your student getting married, Kakashi?"

The man in question shrugged, taking a sip of sake. "He's not my student anymore."

"That's why he still calls you sensei then?" The other two chuckled at their little joke.

"If I recall, Iruka, he was your student before me and he also calls you sensei."

"Ma, being an academy instructor and being a sensei to a genin team are very different. You have a deeper connection with your students"

"I would beg to differ, my friend!" Gai said. "Academy instructors are the building blocks of our genins! You've inspired them in their youth to continue being fine shinobis and kunoichis!"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair to observe the party that was currently happening while his friends bickered about who knows what. He felt pride bloom in his heart when he witnessed the marriage ceremony between Naruto and Hinata. Kakashi thought about how far Naruto had come from being hated by the village, to becoming a war hero, and now marrying the young woman whose affections for him had gone unnoticed for so long. Naruto had lost so much when he was born, but gained much more in his 20 years. The number of close friends that were there to celebrate their friends' milestone was a testament to how many close bonds he had formed.

"-ashi. Oi, Kakashi." Gai said, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face. Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance and waited for him to continue. "Iruka and I are going to find Kiko and Mai. You going to be okay here?"

Kakashi gave his friends a nod and reassured them that he was fine, all he needed was a good glass of sake. The two males were satisfied with his answer so Iruka rolled Gai's wheelchair to find their respective significant others.

Kakashi's gaze followed his two friends towards the bar. Kiko, a tall brunette with lavender eyes, tapped her friend Mai, who was also Kakashi's receptionist, on the shoulder. Mai turned her head to where her friend was pointing and a happy smile lit up her face. She made her way towards Gai and bent down to press a kiss to his lips. Kiko also had a big smile on her face when Iruka walked up to her and grabbed a hold of her hips. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded shyly at him. He took her hand and guided her to the dance floor where many other couples were dancing to a slow song with their loved ones.

Kakashi looked over the dance floor and noticed that many of the couples were people he recognized, most of them were part of the Konoha 11. It was still incomprehensible to him how fast they all grew up and were now in serious relationships to shinobis and civilians alike.

He suddenly felt a pang in his heart, he felt so...out of place. All around him he only saw happy couples and most of them were 12 years younger than him. It was tough watching his students and friends starting a new family and beginning the next part of their lives with loved ones. Staying in that ballroom felt suffocating now. Kakashi downed the rest of his sake and quickly left the party quietly; he would apologize to Naruto later, right now he needed some air.

It was midnight now, the village was dark except for the street lights and a few bars. He breathed in the cold crisp air and felt a sense of calm wash over him. He had accomplished a lot in his career; academy graduate at 5, chunin at 6, jonin at 12, anbu captain at 13, and Hokage at 32. All that and he still felt like his life was incomplete. After what he experienced in that ballroom, he had a vague idea as to what was missing in his life.

He rarely ever had relationships with women, mostly because he knew they didn't know what they were getting themselves into. He has been a shinobi for more than half his life, he's seen things and been through more pain than the average person. Over his life he had developed many demons that would continue to visit him at night. He was not short of admirers, but if they knew just how broken he was, they would run for the hills in a heartbeat. He had also lost a lot of his loved ones in tragic ways, he couldn't be with someone that didn't understand the dangers of being involved with a shinobi. He feared losing the people he was close with and he feared that they would lose him.

At the end of his musing, he found himself standing at the memorial stone. He ran his hand over the familiar names of his former team.

"I could really use some advice Sensei, Obito...Rin." Kakashi sighed. He placed his hands in his pockets and looked at the stone one last time before leaving.

Kakashi walked through the quiet streets of the village. There weren't too many restaurants opened at this hour but the light from one particular stall caught his attention. He didn't know what it was that compelled him but he walked towards the familiar stall and pushed aside the white cloth with red lettering. He took a seat at the stool and realized there was another patron sitting a seat down from him.

She didn't seem to have noticed his appearance yet. Kakashi vaguely noticed how tired she looked. She had a bowl of ramen in front of her but her movements were slow...sluggish almost.

A voice broke his train of thoughts. "Oh, Kakashi! I didn't know you were here, sorry about that. What can I get for you?"

Ayame had stepped out from the back where she was cleaning some dishes to check on the girl and was surprised to see Kakashi here at this hour. To be fair, they weren't supposed to be open this late either but because it was Naruto's wedding day, they closed for a bit to attend his wedding but reopened again because Naruto had expressed a desire for ramen. Her father couldn't possibly say no to his favourite customer so he had sent Ayame on over to re-open the shop. Her first customer so far was the new girl whom she had met through Hinata. Though she was only there because she had just finished a 20 hour shift and hadn't had dinner yet so Ayame happily made her a steaming bowl of fresh ramen.

Kakashi smiled politely. "It's okay Ayame, I wasn't here for long. I'll have an eggplant miso ramen please." Ayame nodded and disappeared into the back to start on his order. Kakashi glanced to his side again, Mizuki had yet to notice his presence. He saw her sigh before taking a bite of her ramen. The somber look on the girl's face did not sit well with him, so he chose to speak up at that moment.

"Hello Mizuki-san." He curiously watched her turn her head towards him with a small but tired smile.

"Hello." It was perplexing, this was the first time she had sounded so lackadaisical. It was the complete opposite of the cheery and easily embarrassed girl he had run into before.

"Are you okay, Mizuki-san? You seem tired." Kakashi watched her turn her head back to her bowl of ramen, absentmindedly poking around at her nearly empty bowl.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just been a long day and there was a minor emergency. Everything's okay though, I'm just tired and I was pretty hungry. This delicious ramen helped tremendously."

Kakashi nodded even though she couldn't see him. He vaguely remembered during dinner Tsunade had abruptly left only to return an hour or so later. Sakura had informed him that one of the jonin that was ambushed on their way back had required an emergency surgery. Most of the staff had to take care of the other patients in critical condition, so Tsunade went to assist with the surgery.

"That's good. I heard from Tsunade that you are fitting in very well."

Mizuki chuckled. "I guess so. Everyone has been so kind and inviting so I had no problem making new friends. How was the wedding?"

"It was good."

"You must be happy sharing that moment with your former student, ne?"

Kakashi nodded, somewhat agreeing with her assumption. He is happy that he was able to witness this moment of his former student and son of his late sensei. However, the suffocating atmosphere of the wedding was also the reason he was here instead of at the wedding reception, but she didn't need to know that.

A comforting silence settled over the two. Kakashi was reflecting on the turn of events this night when Mizuki stood up and placed some cash on the counter.

"I should probably get some rest before my next shift. Have a nice night, Hokage-sama." She gave him a small wave and a smile before walking away. He listened to her footsteps until it completely faded into the night.

At that moment, Ayame had returned with his bowl of ramen and placed it in front of him. Kakashi looked down at the steaming food and sighed; he wasn't even hungry to begin with.

"Can I take this to go, please?"